Chapter 20
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: At Least Put Up a Resistance.
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Jackal drew his sword, his eyes blazing fiercely.
The aura emanating from an A-rank adventurer was on another level entirely.
It was worlds apart from your average B-rank.
The mage behind him, Floa, was already a drooling mess from the aphrodisiac gas, yet Jackal's eyes still burned with sharp focus.
'He's strong.'
Not only was he expelling the aphrodisiac gas with his mana, but the speed at which he gripped his weapon and assumed a stance was incredibly fast.
'Can't let my guard down.'
These intruders were leagues above the first bunch of adventurers who'd stormed the dungeon.
Those guys had been C- and D-rankers, right?
They'd dropped so quickly it hadn't even felt like a fight.
"You look like you'd be fun to fight."
Arubis whined eagerly in my hand.
The moment I'd drawn the sword, it had sucked up my demonic energy and was now itching to unleash its full power.
If it wanted to show off that badly, I'd let it.
"Hah!"
Jackal closed in at blinding speed.
He vanished from my sight in an instant.
Clang!
A flash of light sparked from outside my vision.
I instinctively raised my sword.
Arubis clashed against Jackal's blade, sparks flying everywhere.
"Hup!"
If I'd reacted even a fraction slower, he'd have carved a deep gash across my face.
"Damn it!"
It was a strike packed with mana.
"Not bad."
"......"
He didn't seem like the talkative type; he barely reacted to my words.
Jackal darted out of my range again, vanishing from sight once more.
Then came another strike from the shadows, aimed at my vitals.
Clang!
Sparks scattered in all directions again.
Clang!
Before we'd even exchanged three full clashes, he disappeared once more.
This time, he melted into the darkness.
"Assassin type, huh?"
No.
This was a ploy to draw my eyes away from the woman.
Jackal's desperate struggle to divert attention from Floa, who couldn't even fight properly.
Loyalty to his party member, eh?
Though telegraphing it like this wasn't the smartest move.
I picked up a loose stone from the floor and chucked it at Floa.
Whoosh!
The demonic-energy-infused rock hurtled toward her head.
Clink!
Jackal emerged from the shadows, glaring at me with murderous eyes as he blocked it.
"If you keep hiding and drag this out, it'll be a problem for me."
I had my own time limit, thanks to this sword.
"You bastard."
His glare was laced with pure venom.
"From now on, I won't target the woman. You should stop screwing around too."
She was mine to claim anyway.
No need to kill her.
Jackal, oblivious to that, nodded as if accepting the deal.
"Alright, let's get back to it."
The words had barely left my mouth when Jackal lunged again, sword aimed at my throat.
I parried his attack.
Clang!
This time, I went for his heart.
Clang!
Sparks flew.
Silver arcs bent, black arcs twisted.
Jackal tracked the demon's movements with his eyes.
He unleashed every technique in his arsenal.
Rolling on the ground, kicking off walls, even deploying hidden weapons from his gear. He threw everything he had at me.
But nothing landed.
The demon seemed to ignore any damage below a certain threshold, not even flinching.
You needed mana behind your strikes to hurt him.
Once he realized that, Jackal switched to frontal assaults entirely.
Each clash piled fatigue onto their bodies.
Muscles trembled, bones ached.
Every time their swords met, spasms shot through him, tempting him to drop his guard.
"Ngh!"
With every exchange, the demon's energy was gnawing away at his body bit by bit.
Now even a breeze across his skin triggered muscle pain.
But his opponent had to be feeling it too.
Just as humans were vulnerable to demonic energy, demons didn't fare well against human mana exposure either—or so the lore went.
The fight dragged on for over thirty minutes.
Jackal couldn't recall the last time he'd battled a single foe this long.
'Floa.'
She still couldn't control her body.
She knew enemies were right there, but it wouldn't obey her, leaving her slumped on the ground.
Mana concentration was essential for a mage's spells.
Aphrodisiac-addled as she was, she couldn't cast right now.
'I have to protect her to the end.'
Otherwise, it'd end in tragedy for both of them.
'Gotta finish before those demons in the back join in.'
Jackal's body was at its absolute limit.
'One final strike.'
Take him down, then kill the remaining female demons.
Steeling himself, Jackal prepared his last attack.
And.
With resolve for the finale, he swung.
A strike aimed at the demon's upper body.
"No you d—"
As expected, he raised his sword to block his head.
But that was a feint.
Jackal twisted his blade mid-swing, pretending to go for the head.
He'd faced many foes, but only a rare few had forced him to pull out this move.
Lure them into expecting textbook attacks, condition them to focus on the front—then slip in a lethal twist at the end.
Simple, but devastating.
Those who trusted raw power always fell to it.
This was how Jackal survived fights against superiors.
'Got him!'
The demon had missed his blade path.
A flicker of hesitation in his eyes.
It was just a split second, but he'd seen it.
I can win.
If I win.
If I really win.
'I'll confess to Floa.'
Today, he'd realized it.
That he felt more than ordinary affection for her.
Did that thought cause his lapse?
"Guh!"
Jackal's right hand, mid-swing.
'Curse?'
Was rotting black.
Stab!
"Guh!"
Too shallow.
His sudden rotting hand sapped the strike's power.
Jackal glanced at the hooded priestess demon behind him.
She extended a hand toward him, her black eyes gleaming.
That demon's curse.
'I overlooked her.'
His hand went limp.
He'd poured everything into that final belief-driven strike.
"Not quite enough."
The demon sneered down at him.
"Damn."
Those were Jackal's last words.
Slash!
The Demon King severed Jackal's head clean off.
"......"
His body crumpled.
Thud.
'If I hadn't been just a bit stronger, that could've been dangerous.'
I wouldn't have died.
But I'd have taken a grievous wound and suffered for it, no doubt.
"I got complacent."
I hadn't fully grasped that real combat wasn't like the game.
I hadn't realized that superior stats didn't guarantee victory.
Pathetic.
Even with my resolve to grow this dungeon and clear quests, I'd been careless.
"Damn it all."
Thinking this demonic sword could handle ten A-rank mercenaries? Arrogant delusion.
I'd nearly lost to one.
Just raping women to boost stats wouldn't cut it.
Fortifying the dungeon alone wouldn't win fights either.
I needed to make myself stronger.
Rage boiled up.
At my own inadequacy, feeling like a fool.
Almost humiliated myself in front of my subordinates.
I looked down at Jackal's corpse.
One arm was blackened from the curse.
Amy's Desolation curse, no doubt.
I didn't need to ask.
I'd felt her power surge at the last moment.
I turned to her.
I approached Amy, who waited with a smug grin, like she was fishing for praise.
"Demon King, I helped you out. I did good, right?"
Like a puppy.
A tiny little puppy.
One that only had eyes for its master, obeyed only its master, craved its master's affection.
I backhanded Amy's smiling, upturned cheek.
Slap!
"Kyaa!"
Her head snapped to the side.
Her cheek swelled red.
"D-Demon King?"
Tears welled in Amy's eyes.
She looked up at me, bewildered why she'd been hit after helping.
She'd saved my skin, true.
Without her, I'd have suffered badly.
Timing-wise, her aid had been a godsend.
But I'd explicitly ordered her.
Not to interfere in my fight, under any circumstances.
"Didn't I command you to stand by and watch?"
"Hic."
Amy hiccuped, swallowing hard.
"Yet you disobeyed and acted on your own. Isn't that right?"
"Y-Yes."
"You didn't trust me that much?"
Amy shook her head.
"I trusted you."
"Then why interfere?"
"I... I wanted to help."
I understood her feelings.
Seeing me in trouble must've made her body move on instinct.
Still, boundaries had to be set here.
"Amy."
"Yes, Demon King."
"You're my slave. You do what I say, die if I say die—even if it's pretend. You only act on your own when I explicitly order you to."
I locked eyes with her as I spoke.
"Understood?"
Amy nodded.
"Yes."
Punishment over.
Now for the praise.
"Still, you did well. Good technique. Targeting the right arm was brilliant."
I stroked her cheek.
Rewards and punishments had to be clear-cut.
Demonic energy seeped into her still-burning cheek.
The best I could do was speed the healing a bit.
Her expression softened.
"From now on, move only when I command."
"Yes, understood."
Having drilled command obedience into Amy, I approached Floa, still reeling from Jackal's death.
"N-No... Nooo!!! It's because of me, I suggested we come here..."
She wailed and thrashed, clutching his corpse.
"Hey."
The funny part? Even mid-sob, her body was utterly soaked in aphrodisiac gas, lost in pleasure.
"At least put up a resistance."