The Complete Destruction Duo
Understood! Even among the Demonic Humans, they were known as the Complete Destruction Duo. The moment they revealed themselves, they earned a reputation for smashing everything in sight to pieces. They made no distinction between enemy and ally when carrying out their destruction. Anything that got in their face was simply swept away without mercy. They were beings of terror etched into the minds of both friend and foe alike. And right now those very twin Demonic Humans were staring at one man, bodies rigid with tension.
“...Hey. Can’t we kill that thing with our own hands?”
“Calm down. We can’t even lay a finger on him.”
It wasn’t that they chose not to move. The truth was far closer to the fact that they couldn’t. The events from not long ago replayed automatically inside the twins’ heads.
The instant they received word that the Hero of Divinity had appeared in the city, they sprang into action. Her holy knights might have followed her, but they posed no threat whatsoever. They launched a bold ambush and believed they had nearly succeeded. They were certain they could slit her throat before the Hero even had time to resist.
Yet the Saintess was nowhere to be found. What greeted them instead was an eerie, moonlight-like chill. At first they assumed it was simply another Hero or a particularly skilled knight. But the sword dance that unfolded next drove them into a corner before they could even mount a defense. Each flash drew fountains of blood. Their bodies split open with sickening ease. Even remembering it now sent shivers across their entire bodies.
Their flesh was so tough that ordinary blades could barely scratch it. These were bodies that had transformed beyond anything human. Only the being that had granted them power could handle them so freely. Even fellow Demonic Humans loathed facing the pair at once. That unpleasant skeleton, the man who swung his blade like a lunatic, and all the others. The reality was that simply dealing with one of them was already overwhelming.
“What are you staring at?”
The moment the man holding the sword spoke, the female twin flinched hard. That man had carved them up like vegetables even though other Demonic Humans found them burdensome. Every time his blade touched them, their rock-hard bodies split apart. They did not fear pain, yet this went far beyond mere pain. It was utter defeat, endless helplessness, and humiliation all at once. Rage boiled up inside them, but they could not possibly charge such a being recklessly.
Not yet!
Who could have guessed that man would be waiting right here? This could not happen. They were not ready to fight that terrifying existence. They needed the blood of Heroes. If not, then at the very least far more blood and despair had to flow. By now everything should have been proceeding according to their plan. But those damned Heroes kept rampaging in every direction, ruining it all.
The monsters they had lured out as bait lasted less than a day. The demonic creatures they barely summoned through blood sacrifices were wiped out in moments. The Demon God Worshippers did not even dare emerge from the shadows and remained in hiding. In the midst of all that, an unidentified figure who casually suppressed Demonic Humans had appeared.
If they lost the Enemy’s Will here for the first time, the forces they had barely managed to stabilize would likely collapse in an instant.
“...What should we do?”
The male twin turned his head slightly and spoke. Fight here, or secure a detour? The decision would determine everything that followed.
“...”
The Fragment of the Demon God, the very Enemy’s Will toward the world, felt equally conflicted. Things had twisted far more than anticipated. No matter how long it waited, its thirst remained unquenched. The despair that should have overflowed was pathetically insufficient. In the end it had descended earlier than planned, intending to hasten events. But what it encountered immediately afterward was an utterly unexpected being.
It was not a Hero. No matter how one looked, there was nothing that felt like a natural enemy. Yet it possessed an aura both stronger and more horrifying than any Hero. Had they fought on the spot, the Fragment would have lost nine times out of ten. It had gathered as much power as possible afterward, but it was still not enough. So it decided to head directly toward the most promising moment it had been waiting for. At the very least it could claim countless lives in the Royal Capital. With luck it might even kill a Hero and absorb that noble soul. Simply taking that would allow it to handle several Heroes with ease.
Far more delicious than harming ordinary people and taking their blood and lives was the moment of shattering and tearing apart things believed to be absolutely unbreakable. The despair born in that instant was the sweetest prey of all.
When I thought that… that is definitely not helpful.
Any ordinary being would surely feel fear or despair upon seeing it. And that fear and despair was the most exquisite delicacy. But that man held not a trace of such emotions. He simply revealed his power openly, as if urging it to come and have a go. He was strong. Strong enough that the Fragment could not easily predict victory. It did not believe it would lose, yet neither could it be certain of winning. Victory would be hollow at best. Defeat meant annihilation. From the standpoint of the Fragment of the Demon God, the situation was truly vexing.
Bypassing him is the correct choice, but he clearly has no intention of allowing it.
Having finally made its decision, the Fragment of the Demon God shoved the twins aside and stepped forward. Seeing this, the man glanced back at the woman standing behind him.
“I’ll handle this.”
“Do as you wish.”
“...”
At first they had assumed she was merely his subordinate. But the polite tone he used suggested otherwise. Both the twin Demonic Humans and the Fragment of the Demon God frowned once more. She was not a Hero, yet stronger than any Hero, and the one to whom that man spoke with respect? They were already uneasy enough about the man. What in the world was that woman?
They had considered the possibility of a trick. But that man was a monster who had toyed with even the twin Demonic Humans they took such pride in. What could someone like him possibly fear that he would prepare contingencies? Bringing a weakling as a shield made far less sense than standing beside someone even stronger.
“...”
The Fragment of the Demon God pondered briefly before deciding to test the waters. Wasting any more time would accomplish nothing.
Swish!!
Black energy flowed from its hand, coalesced, and shot forward. The attack made no sound as it cut through the air, not even a hint of presence. Even the twin Demonic Humans failed to notice that the Enemy’s Will before them had launched an assault.
Clang!
They only realized it when the black energy slammed into the man’s sword. Only after the opponent had already assumed a defensive stance did they finally perceive the attack.
Vrrrr…
The sword rang with a deep, resonant hum. It had not been a lucky block. He had perceived the attack perfectly. Realizing its strike had been read completely, the Fragment of the Demon God clicked its tongue inwardly.
Step.
The instant the man took one step forward, the sword came flying almost simultaneously. Despite the considerable distance and the fact that nothing was visible to the eye, the twin Demonic Humans belatedly recognized the sword path that had grazed the neck of the Enemy’s Will.
“You crazy bastard!”
A curse burst from the female twin’s mouth. Had she been the one standing there, her head would have been severed cleanly. It seemed she had only managed to avoid the man’s attack by a hair’s breadth because she was the Enemy’s Will itself, the trace of the Demon God. In truth, the Fragment had not dodged; it had been forcibly diverted.
“...”
The Fragment of the Demon God stared at the man in silence. Countless hostile gazes, brimming with malice, poured toward the swordsman. Even though it had launched a proper attack moments ago, it had passed by with only the slightest margin. Was it composure? A mistake? Or perhaps some other scheme?
Had it been a Hero, the Fragment would have charged in regardless, determined to devour it somehow. Even pure fear would have been enough to provoke an attack. But that man belonged to neither category. The odds of victory were low, and even winning would yield nothing. Then what exactly was it supposed to do?
Retreating meant abandoning the delicious feast about to unfold in the Royal Capital. Breaking through carried the strong conviction that it would not escape unscathed. If there were something to gain by winning it might be different, but suppressing and absorbing a man like this would produce nothing. The best prey was a Hero or someone harboring immense fear. Anything else was useless, nothing more than an attractive but empty shell.
That was precisely why it had tried to fill the entire world with chaos and despair. Yet the Heroes interfered with everything, no matter how trivial, from every direction. Nothing was going right.
How am I supposed to overcome this unexpected obstacle? Just how…
The moment the Fragment of the Demon God growled that thought, every mouth attached across its body began laughing at once.
“...Kuh, kuhuhuhu! Kahahaha!!”
The grotesque laughter of a man, a woman, an old man, and a child erupted together. As the man and woman standing opposite the Fragment frowned at the disgusting sound, the Fragment suddenly leaped backward.
At the exact same instant, a dark spear slammed into the precise spot where it had been standing.
Kwaaaaaang!!!
A cloudy whirlwind of dust swirled up, blocking all vision. A tornado whipped around the spear shaft embedded in the ground. The sharp internal energy mixed within it caused several Demon God Worshippers to stagger or faint outright. Some vomited blood and collapsed, unable to endure.
The twin Demonic Humans bit their lips and prepared to step forward at once. But the Fragment’s command to stand down stopped them. They did not understand the reason, yet it was the order of an absolute being. The pair therefore withdrew their energy and simply endured the dust-choked storm.
Grrrrr…
“...Fuck. How dare this disgusting piece of shit show up here! You son of a bitch!”
The voice came from right beside the massive spear. Hair blending silver and blue shone brilliantly even within the murky storm. Her well-balanced frame, neither too delicate nor overly bulky, made it clear how many bloody battles the woman wielding that spear had survived.
Her coldly gleaming blue eyes were locked directly onto the Fragment of the Demon God. She looked as if she were contemplating exactly how to tear the damn thing into tiny shreds. How best to kill it so that people would praise her for a job well done.
“You fucking bastard. I will definitely kill you and—”
“Jenia.”
“Yes!”
“Clear this dust away. It’s so cloudy I can’t see a thing.”
“Ah, yes! Understood! I shall obey!”
At those words the woman’s face, which had been radiating murderous intent, transformed in an instant. She yanked the spear free and gave it a light swing. The gale died down at once. The terrifying aura she had shown moments earlier vanished as if it had never existed. Now her cheeks were even faintly flushed. To anyone watching, the sight was utterly absurd.