Chapter 146
Chapter 146
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 146
Chapter Title: 42-4. Something That Can Break the Will.
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Drip. A water droplet fell from the ceiling. In the flickering torchlight of the dimly lit basement, only the barest outlines of objects were visible.
In that dark space, the couple bound tightly with ropes wailed toward the man before them.
"Lord Finn, p-please spare us... We'll pay the money, I swear...!!"
A debtor who hadn't repaid the loan on time and what appeared to be the creditor. They already looked like they'd been tortured, their bodies covered in wounds.
"You're way past the deadline. Time to pay the price."
Finn, with his red hair and sunglasses, smirked while propping his chin on his hand. He was burly and tall, all muscle.
"We were wrong... Please, uh, uh... At least spare the child... Demon King..."
The man who seemed to be the husband slammed his head against the floor in apology. Despite the pain, his desperation for forgiveness was clear.
He'd bowed so hard that all his teeth were shattered, blood-mixed saliva dripping from his mouth as he barely managed to speak.
His bound arms and legs thrashed like a fish flung onto dry land.
"The child? Got something you wanna protect, huh? After borrowing from the Hero Cult?"
The red-haired man reacted to the word "child." He was Finn, also known as the Demon King of Martial Might.
He immediately rose from his chair and turned to the blue-haired woman beside him.
"Intinium. How much did these idiots borrow from me?"
"About 140,000 gold coins... Big bro Finn."
They looked like siblings. Their rapport was seamless, always moving together like a unit.
The moment Finn heard the amount, he strode toward the man groveling on the floor. In the blood-soaked air thick with the metallic tang of iron, he grabbed the middle-aged man's hair.
"That's a fuckton of money. Aren't you ashamed?"
"The kid was sick... We had no choice..."
"That's your problem!"
Bam! Finn slammed the man's head into the floor, cursing as he did. The sheer force sent stone dust flying.
A brief silence followed. Even as blood poured from the man before him and he lost consciousness, Finn's expression didn't change.
"Honey!! No!!"
The woman beside him screamed at her fallen husband, but there was no response.
The pool of crimson soaking the floor told the tale.
"Intinium. Bring the brat."
"Got it... Big bro Finn."
His mood soured, he crooked a finger at Intinium with a command.
"Mommy...? What's going on...?"
Soon, a small girl emerged, clutching Intinium's hand.
The child, dragged here without knowing why, coughed repeatedly in pain. She tried to rush to her parents, but the blue-ponytailed Demon King blocked her.
Intinium held up a finger to her lips—shh. The girl's legs gave out, and she collapsed.
"Tell me straight. You really got no money to pay?!"
"We... we don't... Just give us more time..."
Finn menaced the wife while her husband's warmth faded behind her. He could've taken them to a priest right now to save their lives, but their refusal to pay set his temper ablaze.
"Playing hardball, huh? Fine."
Finn cracked his knuckles with a pop, then spread his arms wide. Like catching a fly, he clapped his hands together—smack.
"We'll just feed you to my little sis."
His palms met as if in prayer. Then, Finn began kneading them like snowballs, squeezing with raw power.
"The Apostles of Wrath keep dying, and we're short on bodies."
Crunch, grind. Eerie sounds reverberated through the air, and the couple's bodies crumpled in multiple directions following Finn's movements.
"Bringing Intinium's share from the north was pretty lucrative!"
Plop. A red lump the size of a die fell to the floor. Just moments ago, this middle-aged couple had begged Finn to spare them.
"Mommy!! Daddy!!"
The little girl sobbed at the sight of her parents reduced to meat in an instant.
Her body felt strangely limp, limbs trembling uncontrollably.
"What about the kid... Big bro Finn?"
"Obviously, she can't pay, so she dies too—"
As Intinium licked her lips at the tear-streaked girl, the entire basement shook with a thunderous roar.
Then, the side wall crumbled in chunks, and several knights burst into the room.
"By order of His Imperial Majesty!! Finn!!"
"Follow Knight Captain Reinhardt!!"
Shields emblazoned with crosses and lions—similar to the holy knights' gear Licht had seen during the grade exam.
A white-haired man with streaks of silver gripped one in hand and charged straight at Finn.
"How the hell did the Imperial Knights find this place...? Ah, fuck. The old wizard must be dead."
Finn slapped his forehead and cursed at the sudden intruders. He wondered how his long-hidden workshop had been exposed.
With another Demon King—who held the advantage in information warfare—dead, his location had been pinpointed. He pulled brass knuckles from his pocket and slipped them on.
"No idea what that damn mage is doing!!"
Finn hammered the shield relentlessly, but the golden lion upon it clamped onto his arm and wouldn't let go.
Sacred Lion, one of the holy knights' skills.
It looked even more refined than what Licht had seen before.
"Knight Captain Reinhardt!! There are already casualties!!"
"It's cramped here—we've got the advantage!! Focus on rescuing survivors!!"
The knights following him reported the meat chunks—former hostages—to their captain. Reinhardt held Finn at bay, buying time.
"Yo, your shield's cracking? Holy gear really is weaker than holy swords!!"
After dozens of knuckle strikes, damage appeared on what seemed indestructible divine equipment. Finn launched a straight punch at his staggering foe.
"Guh... ack..."
Reinhardt slammed into the wall in an instant. The impact was explosive—cracks spiderwebbed backward like a bomb blast.
Ribs snapped audibly inside, and his heavy plate armor bent like paper.
"Not a bad sandbag. Makes me almost miss the place I used to live with my sis!"
The elderly knight rose immediately, legs trembling.
Finn readied himself properly for the rare opponent enduring his strength, watching as Reinhardt spat a mouthful of blood.
"He's... coming... Finn."
"Doesn't matter who. No one's stronger than me."
"Is that so? Hero contracted with the Earth God."
In that moment, the knight who had plunged his sword into the ground smirked coldly. Finn instinctively shielded his throat from the chill of an incoming blade.
'Shit, we're screwed...'
Fierce winds howled through the breached wall. A long-handled axe embedded itself right beside him with a boom. Anyone could tell it was the Wolf King's mark.
"You held out well. Knight Captain Reinhardt."
"...Your Imperial Majesty."
"Rest easy, my friend. Don't die on me leaving two sons at the academy."
Locke, with a long scar over one eye, draped his cloak over the knight captain. He protected his men without flinching at Finn.
"It took far too long to track your tail, Hero Cult."
"You crazy lumberjack bastard!!"
Finn menaced the emperor charging in his black uniform to kill him, but the situation had flipped completely.
Gone was his earlier nonchalance; now the Demon King barely blocked axe swings aimed at his neck.
"Shall we hear in detail why you touched my daughter?"
One of the Ten Heroes, whose mere presence devoured foes. The wolf that swallowed the sun and bit the moon had successfully hunted the Hero Cult.
"Intinium!! You run at least!! We can't beat the emperor!!"
In this unforeseen crisis, the Demon King of Martial Might sweated profusely and yelled to his sister nearby.
At that moment, in the men's dormitory at the academy, Licht and Kainel were chatting away.
"Kainel, how about we head to the Tardun Temple this weekend?"
"Tardun? Why there?"
"For some intense sword training."
To catch Finn, I'd need to build strength in the end. The incomplete Demon King Slayer that couldn't even fully kill Magic Hat wouldn't cut it. If I were a cheat character like Emperor Locke, maybe.
Kainel and Ariel were blood enemies with Finn too. I might need their help, like in the showdown with the head. Heroes and Demon Kings were closely linked, after all.
"Her Highness Pine's coming too, right?"
"...Yes."
"Then I'll bring Ariel along! She's from the countryside, so she'll love a trip."
He talked like we were couples on a double date. He hadn't been like this before—must've caught it from me. His smug attitude lately was getting annoying.
Two status windows floated before my eyes. After meeting Nex at the confectionery and talking, the love meters had ticked up.
'I did give Pine that chocolate...'
I decided to forget the indecent note suggesting she melt it with her body for her lover. Unless Pine brought it up later, saying it myself would just sound pervy.
She'd hugged the chocolate—almost as big as her—and wagged her tail so cutely. Don't dogs get sick from chocolate? Must be fine since she's beastkin.
"How can I get as strong as you, Licht?!"
Lost in thought, I heard Kainel speak enviously. His hero skills were growing, but he still fell short against Demon Kings.
"Kainel, ever thought about joining the Imperial Knights?"
"...No. Why bring that up out of nowhere?"
There was a Kainel strengthening event in the knights' order in the game. Was there no way?
"I figured mimicking their movements could help."
"Because of the future again? Do you know about my brother too?"
"...."
I stayed silent. It was a sore spot for him. Kainel had backstory where his brother, a knight, died to a Demon King.
That's why he couldn't approach Ariel easily and trained alone without a master. All the protagonists had scars from Demon Kings—that was the reason.
Observing holy knights' moves would boost swordsmanship easily... Ah, right, that method.
"If that's awkward, how about meeting a classmate later?"
"...Who?"
"Someone named Leon."
Holy Knight Leon. Last time, he seemed to have escaped his harem and turned over a new leaf, so he should be fine.
Leon's father was a veteran knight captain. With connections, Kainel might meet him and learn swordsmanship.