Chapter 443
Chapter 443
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 443
Chapter Title: Devilish Bastards
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-Thwack!
-Puk! Puk!
-Puk-puk-puk!
Not satisfied even after beating the high imp to a pulp, we spent a good while kicking and stomping its corpse until it was reduced to scattered pieces. Every time the mace came down, black blood and smoke splattered; every time the blade slashed, entrails and bone fragments flew.
What had once been a high imp was now nothing more than a puddle of black muck.
Overwhelming violence swept the area, leaving behind only a dark pool.
"Total annihilation, Saint!"
"Yeah! It's completely liquefied! Demon juice!"
Elise, having committed such savage acts, looked utterly refreshed. No, beyond refreshed—she seemed almost moved to tears.
Her eyes sparkling, Elise gazed up at the sky.
"Hooray! Hooray! The Saint and I have joined forces to slay our first demonkin! What greater joy could there be!"
"The birth of a guardian of the faith!"
Elise and I, overflowing with joy, trampled the high imp's liquefied remains indiscriminately while holding hands and dancing for a good long time.
-Hop-step-hop!
"Unlike regular imps, high imps are evil beings classified as demonkin! Slaying one is a tremendous feat! Even I've never taken down demonkin before!"
"No way...! And we did it! Incredible!"
Elise raised her voice, shouting excitedly.
From what she said, high imps were monsters classified as demonkin, and this was her first time slaying one.
As a nun of the Radiant Cross Society, it was only natural she'd be thrilled.
It was a massive achievement for her.
And the same went for me, fuck yeah! Me, slaying a demon! I'm so fucking pumped my emotions are overflowing!
"I am the Great Demon King Kim Katt!"
"I am Demon Slayer Elise!"
"Deeeemon slaaaaayers!!!"
"Hee-hee, hee-hee-hee!"
After our little dance, we finally settled down nearby, basking in the sunlight for a rest. Slaying a demon had worked up quite an appetite.
We immediately pulled out the provisions we'd brought and filled our bellies.
"There hasn't been a day this joyful in ages, Saint! Surely the others in the order will praise our achievement!"
"Heh-heh-heh, we killed a demon, after all!"
"The God of Order must be looking down on us with great delight! Ahh, what a joyful, happy day!"
Elise's excitement showed no signs of dying down. But hey, same here! Kim Katt had now surpassed demons!
To the true Heavenly Demon Kim Katt, a mere demon was nothing but a child's joke. Those worthless shits were never a match for me from the start.
"As expected, nothing but good things happen when I'm with you, Saint!"
"Same here, Elise! I'm thrilled too!"
We cackled like that as we finished our meal.
Once we were done eating, we took another look around.
"Heh-heh-heh, yeah. Killing a demon. What an incredible feat. But what's this?"
And then we spotted something.
"Looks like there's something inside."
Something shiny was submerged in the black pool. Elise showed curiosity too. I grabbed a nearby stick and fished it out, revealing its shape.
"A bracelet?"
It was a black bracelet engraved with strange patterns. Had the high imp been wearing this? We'd been so focused on killing and destroying it that we hadn't noticed.
Anyway, two of them came out.
"Demon accessories...! Those engravings look like curse script!"
Elise gasped in horror.
"What the fuck! You demonic bastards!"
I immediately poured water over the bracelets to wash off the black muck, then rolled them in the grass to clean off the dirt. Demon accessories, huh... This reeked of money. Lishya would know what to make of them if I showed her.
Still, scoring something like this? Good things really do lead to money.
"I want to smash them right now! I can feel their utter evil!"
Elise pointed wildly at the bracelets on the ground, screaming fanatically. It was like she was scolding and berating them.
"But we can't destroy them."
Still, smashing them would be a problem.
"Exactly! We need to take them to the order for analysis!"
"Perfect, two of them—one for each of us!"
"Spoils of holy war! Proof of demon slaying!"
I took off my cloak and carefully picked them up. No special aura or anything. Figures. I've handled plenty of evil shit before.
No way something a worthless high imp wore would be anything special.
"But be careful handling them, Saint. I trust you, of course, but demon items could have unknown effects."
"Heh-heh-heh, don't worry. It belonged to the thing we killed with our bare hands. Should be fine. But I'll be careful."
I split one with Elise and stowed them deep in our bags.
Alright, time to resume the investigation. Torturing a high imp for info would've been most effective, but Elise explained that conversing with demons is extremely dangerous.
The order had issued guidelines on it, so it was credible. And probably true.
But a real powerhouse demon might be one thing—these worthless demons cursing or tempting us? Doubtful.
"By the way, Elise. Why the hell was a high imp here anyway?"
"Hmm... That's what puzzles me too. Info on demonkin is scarce. Could be an imp that evolved, or worst case, something that crossed through a gate."
Nothing we could know for now.
"We still lack info, Saint. It could be dangerous, but..."
"With we Divine Friends together, danger's nothing."
"Hee-hee. Right you are. Divine!"
"Frrrrriends!!!"
-Kieeeek!!
We charged off again to hunt more imps.
There had to be a reason a worthless shit like a high imp showed up.
And it probably wasn't alone.
High chance of more.
Still, no confirmation of a demon gate yet. With so many imps, one evolving wasn't impossible. Lacking evidence.
"Hey, Elise. Can't we just grab one, chop off its limbs, and torture out some info? Seems more efficient than plain scouting."
"I know that's the most rational approach."
She knew.
"But communicating with demons is extremely dangerous. They corrupt humans with their silver tongues and illusory magic, weaving irresistible temptations. Interrogating them isn't rational."
Elise explained again.
"No guarantee their words are true, either. No matter the torture, you can't trust it as solid info."
Radiant Cross Society doctrine.
And Fusion Confucianism doctrine.
These were absolute faiths nothing could breach. Zero chance of demon scum sneaking in.
Sure, demons spew nothing but bullshit, but interrogation could still yield something.
"Elise, even if it's a demon, it can't tempt us with our unyielding faith and iron wills."
"That's true too."
She pondered, then spoke.
"Hmm... Then maybe we can try an interrogation with maximum safety precautions. It's not supposed to happen, but in this special situation, once might be okay."
"Hey, if it's against doctrine, no need. Plenty of ways without torture or interrogation. Can't violate doctrine."
If it went against her order's teachings, I wouldn't push.
She replied.
"I was too absolute. From the Radiant Cross Society's doctrinal view, communicating with demons isn't an absolute taboo—more like strongly discouraged."
"Ah, so not strictly breaking doctrine?"
"Yes. No need to worry about that."
Good to hear.
Before executing demons outright, we'd try a bit of torture-laced questioning.
Torturing demons wasn't a sin.
It was commendable, even encouraged—a virtuous deed.
"Heh-heh-heh, I was worried I'd make you break doctrine. Religions differ, so doctrines do too."
"It's fine. Bound to happen. Hee-hee, worrying that far—truly, you're deeply considerate, Saint."
"Kekeke! Yeah, I am!"
Elise was reasonable, as always.
Anyway, we resumed patrolling the forest, smashing every imp we encountered. We'd already figured out how to handle high imps from the first one. Next time, it'd be quicker.
No more high imps appeared, though.
Not a common monster, after all.
The order recognized it as demonkin, so not something you'd see just anywhere.
-Grrr! Woof!
-Woof woof!
Instead, hellhounds greeted us. Black bastard dogs like dobermans. We'd fought these alongside imps in the ossuary before.
"Hellhounds... Imps, high imp, and now hellhounds. Even without a demon gate, something sinister and evil is definitely afoot."
"My thoughts exactly."
As we shared that, the hellhounds charged fearlessly.
-Woof!
Pathetic, of course. No match for us.
"You dog stew bastards!"
I lightly thrust my sword, skewering the charging one like a kebab, while Elise timed her mace swings perfectly, shattering their skulls.
-Yelp!
"Evil hounds!"
One strike, one kill. Brutally straightforward. And combos took less than a second.
At our level, massacring low-tier mobs took no time at all.
Time passed like that.
By late afternoon, our haul was miscellaneous monster corpses, imp kills, the high imp slaughter, and its two bracelets.
The bracelets alone were a huge score.
"Let's call it here and head back. Solid gains today."
"Truly satisfying. Slaying demonkin!"
"Heh-heh-heh, still that thrilled?"
"Of course! Such an immense accomplishment!"
"Yeah, yeah. Good for me too."
We returned to the city as usual, sold the junk, promised to meet early tomorrow, and parted.
The investigation with Elise looked like it'd drag on a bit.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The next day, Elise and I left through the gates at dawn again.
Yesterday, right after returning, I handed the bracelets to Lishya, who got super interested and promised to analyze them. Winia was a bit anxious, but I boldly assured her it was fine and to study away, calming her down.
"Alright, Elise. Search starts today too."
"Got it!"
Day three of the investigation.
Killing the high imp had us motivated sky-high, but no real gains. Just thinned the imp population some.
No disappointment, though.
Meaningful results were coming.
Evil imps were getting massacred. That alone was good.
Basically, rinse and repeat.
Investigate with Elise from dawn till dusk, go home for fun times with the wives, then out again at first light. Straight to the forest for imp genocide.
No gates or heretics spotted.
Was the imp fiasco just a blip? It felt like that conclusion loomed, but today too, we entered the forest to uphold justice in this world.