Chapter 3 - The Troublesome Saintess
The Saintess swung her radiant hammer with fierce momentum toward the unidentified man.
The situation remained one-sided—the Saintess pressing forward while the man effortlessly dodged her attacks.
Boom! Boom!
The sight of a slender woman wielding a golden hammer as tall as herself, smashing the cave floor and stalactites to pieces, was nothing short of spectacular.
‘What in the world… is that?’
But right now, the Saintess was trembling in fear.
Though the man wore unfamiliar attire, he was undoubtedly human in appearance.
Yet her instincts screamed—this was something wearing the guise of a man.
The ominous aura radiating from him had been pressing down on her entire body relentlessly since his arrival.
No monster—no, not even any demon she had encountered before—had ever overwhelmed her with sheer presence alone.
‘Even a Greater Demon shouldn’t be able to incapacitate holy knights with just a single word…’
If that was the case, then what existed above a Greater Demon?
‘The Sixty Fallen Angels…!’
Once divine attendants of the Supreme God Juten, they had betrayed him, fallen from grace, and become demons—former deities now steeped in darkness.
Suddenly, the dying words of the heretic flashed through her mind.
—Soon, the Demon shall descend from the heavens and judge you all…!
‘Could it be… that the “descending from the heavens” he spoke of…?’
Among the Sixty Fallen Angels, the Sky Devil—Vertus.
Centuries ago, he had plunged the entire continent into darkness, drowning the world in terror, earning him the epithet “Sky Devil.” Even now, the Radain Church regarded him as one of the most dangerous of the Fallen.
A chill ran down the Saintess’ spine.
The records were so ancient that descriptions of Vertus’ appearance had been lost to time.
The only detail that remained was this: Vertus, simply by standing still, radiated such overwhelming malice that it forced everything around him to its knees.
If the man before her was Vertus… then calamity would befall humanity once more.
‘…No. It’s not confirmed yet.’
But the Saintess refused to abandon hope.
The man had introduced himself as the Heavenly Demon—a term she had never heard before. She wasn’t even sure if it belonged to any language on this continent.
Moreover…
‘He’s done nothing but evade since the beginning… No other actions.’
“…”
The Saintess lowered her hammer, pausing her relentless assault.
‘First… I should try talking.’
“!”
The hammer came within inches of his face, but he tilted his head just enough to dodge.
Yet the attacks didn’t stop—each swing faster and more precise than the last, aimed squarely at his vitals.
Still, none of them landed. Though if they had, given the hammer’s size, it would’ve hurt like hell.
Whoosh!
“!”
Just as he was contemplating how to deal with this hammer-wielding Saintess—
“…”
She suddenly stopped.
“…What now?”
“There’s something I wish to ask.”
“Hmm… Fine. I’ll humor you.”
Was she trying to negotiate? Might as well hear her out.
“You introduced yourself as the Heavenly Demon. But I’ve never heard that term before.”
“Of course not. It’s not from this world’s language.”
“…Then could you explain what this ‘Heavenly Demon’ means?”
“I don’t see why you’d care, but ‘Heaven’ (天) refers to the sky. ‘Demon’ (魔)…”
He almost said it—demon, evil spirit, devil—but stopped himself.
Now that he thought about it, introducing himself as a demon to a Saintess would be beyond stupid.
“Sky Devil…!”
But the Saintess’ expression twisted.
Wait, how did she piece together the part he didn’t say?
Was there some connection between “sky” and “devil” in this world?
“To boldly declare your true nature… Truly befitting Vertus. To a Fallen like you, humans like us must be beneath your notice—that’s what you mean, isn’t it?”
“You’ve got the wrong—”
“Even if it costs me my life, as the Saintess, I will stop you here. For humanity’s sake…!”
With a resolute expression, she raised her hammer high.
“O Juten!”
Fwoosh!
As she cried out, a radiant halo gathered around the hammer once more.
Now she was powering up on her own?
…This won’t do.
Channeling demonic qi into his legs, he lightly tapped the ground.
[Shadow Moon Step activated.]
In an instant, he closed the distance—right in front of the Saintess’ face.
“!”
Before she could react—
Thud!
A fist infused with demonic qi struck her abdomen.
“Guh—!”
The hammer slipped from her grasp as she staggered, then collapsed to her knees, clutching her stomach.
That’s enough. There’s a limit to how much he’d hold back.
He couldn’t just keep dodging forever while she tried to kill him based on a misunderstanding.
Since Heavenly Demon’s Aura wasn’t working, physical force was the only option left.
“Impossible… The Saintess was taken down in a single strike…?”
A despairing murmur rose from among the holy knights.
“So, let me get this straight—you’re holy knights from the Radain Holy Nation, a country that worships the Radain Church. This place was the Hakram Cult’s stronghold. You raided it to purge them, and in response, their leader performed some weird ritual… which summoned me?”
At his concise summary, the Saintess reluctantly nodded, her face pale.
Of course, he had long abandoned the “Supreme Being” roleplay. No penalty for breaking character, so why bother?
“But what’s this ‘Sky Devil’ nonsense?”
“Among the sixty deities who once served the Supreme God Juten—”
“Skip the lore dump. Basically, you’re saying it’s some ultra-powerful demon, right?”
“…You could say that.”
“Then why did you think I was this Sky Devil?”
“The heretics left dying words about a devil descending from the sky. And you confirmed that ‘Heavenly Demon’ means ‘Sky Devil.’”
“…Sigh.”
Where to even begin?
“So, aside from some cultist’s last words, you’ve got zero proof I’m this Vertus guy.”
“But—”
“Don’t interrupt.”
He was already pissed—dragged into another world by the system, then immediately attacked by people calling him a demon.
His glare made the Saintess avert her eyes and clamp her mouth shut.
“‘Heavenly Demon’—yes, ‘Heaven’ (天) and ‘Demon’ (魔). In your terms, it could be read as ‘Sky Devil.’ But where I’m from, it’s just a title for the leader of a certain organization.”
“What kind of insane group would name their leader ‘Devil’?!”
“…”
…Fair point. The Demonic Cult was a bit unhinged.
“Anyway. I’m just an ordinary human.”
“Don’t lie! Then what about that evil aura you’ve been radiating? That overwhelming presence—no Greater Demon, no, nothing short of something beyond could explain it!”
“Aura?”
Did she mean his demonic qi?
Now that he thought about it, he had been unconsciously leaking it this whole time.
He withdrew the energy back into his dantian.
“How about now?”
“Eh?”
The Saintess blinked, scanning his surroundings in confusion—as if something hovering around him had suddenly vanished.
“The aura… It’s gone?”
“See? Look closely.”
He leaned in until his face was inches from hers.
“Does any part of me look like a demon?”
His perfectly human features stared back at her.
How dare she call this face—handsome thanks to the Heavenly Demon setting—a demon’s?
“Certainly… Your pupils are normal, and there are no demonic sigils carved into your skin, but…”
The Saintess wavered momentarily before hardening her resolve again.
“No. My suspicions remain. That malevolent energy you wielded is undeniable proof.”
“Ah, for—”
This was infuriating.
“Aaaah!! Get away from the Saintess!”
One of the kneeling holy knights suddenly sprang up and charged.
“Kneel.”
[Heavenly Demon’s Aura activated!]
“Guh—!”
Huh, one of them resisted through sheer willpower. Respect.
Ignoring the Saintess for now, he surveyed the cave again.
Corpses of Hakram Cultists littered the ground. At the center of the magic circle lay the desiccated, bloodless corpse of what must’ve been their leader.
Then there were the thirty-two holy knights still on their knees, glaring at him with murderous intent—plus one Saintess.
…Whatever. Do what you want.
He was done with this hassle.
He just wanted to live quietly.
The Saintess’ ramblings about Sky Devils and Fallen Angels were beyond his understanding—and he had no interest in understanding them.
He didn’t know what kind of world this was, but since he was here, he might as well start anew.
A normal life—working normally, earning normally, living normally in a normal place.
That was the dream he’d clung to while grinding through Heavenly Demon Simulator.
“I’m leaving.”
He turned to go.
“Wait…”
“Don’t bother me.”
He shot her a sharp glare as she reached out to stop him.
“Eek…!”
The Saintess flinched, and in that moment, he quickened his pace toward the cave’s exit.
Come at him or don’t—after their earlier clash, he knew they were too weak to be a threat.
“Stop!”
Damn, she was persistent.
He glanced back to find the Saintess standing firm, resolve burning in her eyes.
“I cannot let you go.”
“And if you can’t, then what?”
“I will stop you—even if it costs me my life.”
“Why?”
“Because I cannot release someone suspected of being a demon—or a demon’s vessel. Even if I fail, the Radain Holy Nation will hunt you down.”
“Tch… Wait, ‘Holy Nation’? You mean a country?”
“Correct. This is sacred land under Radain’s dominion. We cannot ignore your presence here.”
So it wasn’t just a religion—this was a full-blown theocracy.
His head throbbed.
The absurdity had reached a point where complaining felt pointless.
‘…Should I just wipe out the entire country?’
As the Heavenly Demon, he could.
In Heavenly Demon Simulator, conquering the Central Plains had been a casual pastime.
‘No, no. That’s how I screwed up the ending so many times.’
After several bad endings, he’d gone on rampages, slaughtering anyone who displeased him.
Naturally, it never ended well.
He’d succumbed to qi deviation, been killed by the Martial Alliance Leader, even assassinated by his own cultists fearing his madness…
Only after repeating those massacre bad endings did he learn his lesson:
Blood begets blood.
It took countless retries before he finally achieved the true ending—a world where he killed no one.
He’d almost repeated the same mistake.
Annoyed, he’d nearly slaughtered the holy knights and Saintess, then the rest of the Radain Church in retaliation, then the armies sent by neighboring nations fearing his power…
Wouldn’t that just make him another blood-crazed demonic overlord, no different from the clichés?
Besides, in this world, he might not get to respawn like in Heavenly Demon Simulator.
“…”
Calm down. Don’t act recklessly.
Avoiding unnecessary fights was the best course.
“…Are you listening?”
So what should he do with this Saintess?
Leaving her be meant she’d keep harassing him.
Beating her half to death to stop her would only provoke the Radain Holy Nation further.
And as a Saintess, wouldn’t she just heal and chase him again?
“…Hello? Instead of staring, could you at least—”
…Ah.
He had an idea.
If he couldn’t shake her off or kill her…
“You’ll chase me to the ends of the earth?”
“Yes.”
“Then you—be my hostage.”