Chapter 8
Chapter 8
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: Hydra's Poison
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The wind-swept cliffs of Hittite Gorge.
Here, the natural gusts blew with such ferocity that they could stoke a campfire to temperatures hot enough to forge steel, and visitors had arrived.
“Yurinel Lafoncia.”
If you knew they were coming, it wasn’t an ambush. It was just a visit.
The Wind Demon King, Horisa, sat at the cliff’s edge and simply smiled. He had no reason left to live. That was why he hadn’t fled from the hero.
“You’ve come.”
“What’s your game?”
The holy sword, forged by the Three Main Goddesses—the most revered deities in the world—gleamed with icy light before the Demon King.
The hero was the one chosen directly by the Three Main Goddesses, wielding power closest to that of the gods themselves.
Even as she aimed the holy sword at him, Horisa let out a sneer.
“Look at me. What game could I possibly have left?”
Only then did the Wind Demon King turn around. Yurinel flinched and stepped back.
His face was skeletal, skin clinging tightly to bone like a skeleton’s. His eyes had long lost their light, clouded white.
Was this truly Horisa, one of the top-ranked Demon Kings, the mighty Wind Demon King?
“Tell us your scheme. Do we look like fools who’d fall for that disguise?”
The prestigious family of demon hunters, who sought to conquer evil with evil.
The last heir of the Western clan—even demons recoiled from them—slashed her whip against the ground.
The whip, Demon Killer, reeked of hatred and resentment, infamous even among demons. Horisa flinched, but his expression soon returned to a wistful smile.
“I knew you were coming. The winds all around me are my ears, channels carrying every sound. But so what? I’m a dying man anyway.”
“So what do you want? For us to listen to your whining?”
The blue-haired archmage, Fanelle, glared at Horisa with a scowl.
“Whining... haha, hero. Do you even know what you’ve done up until now?”
“We know perfectly well. We’ve sent you demons back where you belong.”
“Lucia Western... yes, I’ve heard the tales. The nightmare born from your family’s arrogance.”
Horisa praised her sincerely—truly sincerely.
What the Western family had done was so utterly insane it chilled even him, a Demon King, to the bone.
“To touch Grimudo... that’s the stupidest thing I can imagine. You’d have better odds surviving if you walked into the Triune Church’s main temple and called the three goddesses whores.”
“You dare! Wait— you know about Grimudo?”
Lucia started in fury but lowered her voice. Fanelle grew serious as well.
She narrowed her eyes, aiming her staff at Horisa.
“Tell us everything you know. His weaknesses would be even better.”
“Unfortunately,”
he drawled slowly,
“the Primeval Demon King is an enigma even to us demons. I was called the fifth-ranked Demon King, but even I have never faced Grimudo directly. Nor did I ever plan to. We’re both called Demon Kings, but he’s on another level entirely. There’s nothing good to gain from meeting him.”
“Then there’s no reason for us to let you live.”
“Can’t you tell from the fact that I didn’t run? I’m dying soon anyway. Can’t you even hear my final words? Such narrow minds you have, hero.”
Yurinel Lafoncia replied without dropping her guard.
“You do look unwell.”
“Heh heh, unwell is putting it mildly. I can see Death beckoning me. Already... my hands won’t move properly. That Harma El bitch—hiding something like this.”
“Harma El? You mean the second-ranked Demon King of the demon world?”
“Yes... even she... she could beat me at best, but never kill me. No matter how strong she is, escaping her should’ve been easy for me.”
Gloomily, Horisa murmured.
“If she hadn’t brought Hydra’s poison.”
“Hydra’s poison?”
The demon hunter in leather armor looked puzzled. Her elegant black eyes narrowed.
“You don’t mean the poison from the venomous monster Hydra, do you?”
“That’s right—one of the monsters in Grimudo’s monster legion.”
Kekeke, kuahaha! Horisa burst into laughter, as if something was hilarious.
“They say Hydra’s poison can fell even heroes, and it’s true. Not even my immense mana, nor the winds enveloping my body, can do anything about it. I’m dying bit by bit. Hero, I lured you here because...”
An ambush?
Lucia gripped her whip. Fanelle prepared her magic. Yurinel tightened her hold on the holy sword, her expression calm. But Horisa did nothing.
He just smirked and continued.
“To let you know that the anti-Harma El faction of the Demon Kings is dying like this.”
“What?”
“Heh heh, you humans are such fools. Spilling so much blood just to do someone else a favor. Without realizing it, you’ve become her blade, eliminating her rivals. Though knowing Harma El’s vicious heart, it might have happened eventually anyway.”
Ask who the strongest among demons is, and no answer is needed.
Even a three-year-old child knows: the Primeval Demon King, Grimudo, is the supreme being.
Yet Grimudo is a figure from old tales and legends.
His monster legion rarely appeared in the world, and Grimudo himself never intervened in history. He cared nothing for the fate of demons.
“But the Immortal Demon King... Harma El is different. She harbors grand ambitions. Unifying all demons under her rule and ascending as emperor—that’s Harma El’s goal...”
“So...?”
Yurinel’s voice trembled.
“Now no one stands against her. You’ve taken care of the other Demon Kings. I, who hid away, got done in by Hydra’s poison and ended up like this. Grimudo doesn’t count from the start, so effectively, all demons will fall under her... The Mage Empire’s formation is imminent.”
Horisa clasped his hands behind his back and slumped back to the cliff’s edge.
He had completely let his guard down. Even a mere child could kick him off the cliff. But now, no one dared attack Horisa.
Not even Fanelle, the hottest-tempered of the group.
“When demons are divided, you can score strategic victories. But when they unite, can you? The Mage Empire will be humanity’s nightmare...”
“Heh heh, exactly. Don’t look at me like that. Don’t you get it from me telling you this?”
Horisa’s words rang true.
“Don’t misunderstand. I’m not on your side, nor am I scheming with you. But whatever the grudge between humanity and demons, one thing I know: Harma El must not decide the fate of demonkind. We can’t entrust our destiny to that foolish woman.”
“So you called us?”
“Yes. Stop Harma El yourselves. It’s partly your doing, after all. Right now, with all demons just unified, she seems strongest but is actually most vulnerable. Strike now, and you might succeed. Otherwise, war is all that awaits.”
Could they trust this?
The three heroes exchanged glances. Horisa caught the meaning and smirked.
The man, now shriveled like a living skeleton, pulled out a cigarette and lit it. The wind kept snuffing it out, so Fanelle impatiently ignited it with magic.
“Is this your final courtesy to a fallen Demon King?”
Horisa muttered, exhaling smoke.
“I’ll gratefully accept.”
“Horisa. Truth be told, I don’t fully trust you.”
Lucia Western replied, arms crossed.
“We’ve been hit by Hydra’s poison before. The Slime Demon King Marmannun used it against us.”
“What...?”
Horisa’s eyes widened for the first time.
“No way. That’s impossible. It must’ve been a bluff. If it was real Hydra’s poison, you wouldn’t be alive now. No magic can antidote it!”
The legendary Primeval Demon King Grimudo might know a way, perhaps.
But Horisa didn’t. No matter how he searched, gathering whispers from every wind, there was no cure for this terrifyingly potent poison driving him to death.
“This poison, more fearsome than any curse despite being mere poison, spreads even to those around me. That’s why I keep my distance from you and sent my subordinates away. The idea that there’s a cure for this poison is absurd!”
The venomous monster Hydra—one of Grimudo’s monster legion.
It has nine heads and feeds mainly on pitchblende ore.
Also called bituminous uranium, it ingests the rock, refines it internally, and lives off nuclear fission energy. When uranium fissions, it expels radium as waste, which is so intensely hot it takes the form of flames.
That’s the infamous Hydra venom flame. Dangerous enough just to look at, let alone touch. But the real danger isn’t the flame—it’s the poison flowing from the venom glands, which are actually waste expulsion organs.
The peculiarity is that this waste is highly radioactive material dissolved in Hydra’s blood.
Yet this venom is, ultimately, a liquid. Slimes, being liquid monsters themselves, can simply extract it upon contact and are innately radiation-resistant, recovering quickly from any damage. That’s why the Slime Demon King Marmannun could extract Hydra’s venom multiple times.
Some was offered to Harma El to target Horisa,
and some Marmannun used directly, exposing the hero party. The Slime Demon King died smiling brightly, certain the hero party would soon follow.
Yet the hero party lived on—vibrantly so.
“We felt dizzy and nauseous for a bit, then it passed. This is supposedly incurable? Though I guess demons can’t borrow divine power, so it’d be tough for you. Huh, weaker than I thought.”
Fanelle mocked openly. Demons rejected even the infamous evil god Oberta.
Demon Kings, leaders of demons, needed no mention. No god extended a hand to demons. They were descendants of those who defied the gods’ will.
The unknown god behind Kyle didn’t shun demons like a rootless deity should, but that was abnormal. All divine power was hostile to demons.
Trying to heal with divine power was suicidal.
Of course, using divine power to treat radiation exposure was insane, demon or human.
Horisa knew the poison’s uses, even if not its true nature. Whether human or demon, barring freak exceptions like slimes, victims died nine times out of ten.
No hero could withstand it.
Heroes were rare enough, but once used, it always brought death. Self-heating, it required chilled containers or it evaporated.
Hard to obtain and handle, but once ingested, no one survived.
Once, a Triune Church archbishop drank tea, suddenly burned up, and died—divine power useless. It even hastened his end.
Horisa knew rumors that the tea contained Hydra’s poison. He’d scoured info for a cure.
Only a being beyond human could antidote it.
This was unbelievable—unacceptable.
“This... impossible. No way. Antidote Hydra’s poison? How? Did a goddess descend herself? Are this era’s saints that amazing?”
“Saints? A mere commoner priest fixed it with one blessing.”
In the face of this unbelievable reality, even the aloof Demon King crumbled.
Clutching his head, he screamed in despair.
“W-where is that priest? I want to see him. I’ll answer anything—let me meet him. Want the location of my hidden treasures? Mountains of gold, seas of silver—meaningless if I die!”
Better to roll in shit than die. Horisa had feigned composure before death, but a Demon King used to glory couldn’t truly. He’d despaired only from no escape.
A faint hope of survival ignited his will to live. Then it all turned to daggers piercing his heart.
“We don’t know either.”
“What...?”
“We kicked him out. Didn’t want a mere commoner around us.”
Fanelle yawned as she replied,
but to Horisa, it was like the sky collapsing.
He stared blankly for a while before speaking.
“That’s fine. That’s good. I made a fool of myself. You got me good.”
“What?”
“You think I wouldn’t know it was all lies? No one survives Hydra’s poison. A single priest curing it is nonsense, and kicking him out is even funnier. Did you want to toy with me, Horisa, that badly?”
Suddenly, the raging winds distorted. As the hero party’s faces hardened, those wind blades shredded no one else—Horisa himself.
“To insult me, who tried to help you to the end? Fine, figure it out yourselves. Whether you or Harma El survives, what do I care—I’m as good as dead!”
“Hey!”
“Yes, I was the fool. The fate of demons after I’m gone? Who cares. Do as you will. I’ll do as I will!”
The Wind Demon King’s final roar, a curse instead of a scream, left the hero party stunned. Only after the blood mist was swept away by a whirlwind did Yurinel look bewildered.
“Why’d he suddenly...?”
The dead Demon King said nothing, and the living comrades gaped in disbelief.
Only the wind howled on through Hittite Gorge.
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