The Spite of a Captured Demon

And it was a demon of quite a high caliber, at that. It was Jukenen, the right-hand man of Edaor!

While Gusion was wondering, Why on earth is a demon like him here? Tae-hyun and his party were whispering among themselves.

"That's not the Guild Alliance, is it?"

"What happened?"

"The Guild Alliance was supposed to come out...?"

Their plan to capture the Guild Alliance, hand them over to Count Marchetti, and shout, "We have avenged Count Bolone!" was starting to go awry.

Of course, the blame-shifting itself seemed to have succeeded, but Tae-hyun was the type of person who didn't just bury a coffin—he hammered in every last nail. Thoroughness was his middle name!

"Who are they?"

"Looking at them, they seem to be NPCs the Guild Alliance ran into."

Lee Da-bi organized the information sent by their scouts. It appeared the Guild Alliance had been wandering around the completely emptied territory when they encountered those NPCs. And...?

"...Apparently, they're demons."

"What?"

Tae-hyun was genuinely surprised. Sure, he had rallied players on a massive scale to exterminate demons, but that was one thing. Actually running into them in this vast world of Fantasia Online was another!

Hmm. I feel a tiny bit bad.

Tae-hyun felt a fleeting pang of guilt. Of course, if it had been a demon wreaking havoc in his own territory, he would have separated its head from its shoulders without a second thought. But at the very least, this demon hadn't caused any trouble in his lands.

In fact, by running amok in Count Bolone's territory, this demon had practically done Tae-hyun a favor! And yet, Tae-hyun had thoroughly exploited and driven away such a helpful demon with his schemes...

"But why are only they coming out? Shouldn't they be with the Guild Alliance?"

"...Well, apparently, they collapsed the passage and escaped by themselves..."

"...What absolute demons!"

Tae-hyun was furious. Any trace of the guilt he had felt a moment ago vanished instantly. How dare they ruin his perfect plan!

"Crush them!"

"Apostle!"

"?"

Just as Tae-hyun was about to roar in anger, one of the dwarves from the Archisus Artillery spoke up from behind him.

"Could you perhaps hand that demon over to us?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Looking at that demon, his horns are sturdy and deep in color. He seems to possess exceptionally robust energy."

These dwarves were expert demon breeders! Having already summoned Gusion, locked him up, and used him as a power source, their discerning eyes were second to none.

The dwarves drooled as they stared at Jukenen. If we capture that guy, we can easily power several cannons!

"Hmm. Sure. That sounds fine."

Listening from inside his cage, Gusion suddenly realized something.

If they capture that guy, will my workload decrease?

Come to think of it, yes! They would extract less energy from Gusion, and since they would have to monitor two demons, there would be more blind spots... Above all, it was incredibly unfair for him to suffer all by himself!

Gusion quickly raised his head and shouted.

"That guy is Jukenen! One of Edaor's right-hand men! He is 176 centimeters tall, has blood type B, is highly vulnerable to lightning magic, and his weakness is—"

"?!?"

Jukenen and his group, having just escaped the passage, were even more ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bewildered than Tae-hyun's party. On top of that, the opposing force looked absolutely terrifying.

I need to either trick them or run!

Jukenen swallowed hard. It would be best to deceive them, but since that might fail, he needed to prepare an escape route.

If he could mobilize his followers and necromancers to block the enemy while he prepared his space magic...

"That guy is trying to run! His specialty is space magic! Quick, cast ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠magic disruption and beat him up so he can't cast anything!"

????? Who the hell knows me this well?!

Jukenen was utterly shocked. Was there some kind of demon expert on the enemy's side? No, even the most specialized anti-demon holy knight orders wouldn't know Jukenen's specific abilities. He had hidden them so thoroughly...

At that moment, Jukenen's eyes locked with Gusion's.

Why is that guy over there?!

Jukenen was dumbfounded. Gusion, the son of the Demon Duke Gusirek! Why was a powerful demon, widely known as a prince of the Demon Realm, locked in a cage over there, rattling off Jukenen's weaknesses like a broken faucet?

Seeing this, a sudden realization flashed through Jukenen's mind.

"Do you have any idea what that Archisus bastard in the Atali Kingdom does to demons? They say you can't even die in peace if you go there."

"They capture you, drag you to their territory, and use you as slave labor, or lock you up in cages!"

Those were the rumors spread by the other demons who had descended to the continent via the World Tree. At first, Jukenen had dismissed it as nonsense spouted by cowards. But seeing a demon locked up like that made the "nonsense" feel terrifyingly real.

And that incredibly intense holy power... Could that guy be...!

"A... Archisus!"

Jukenen felt goosebumps break out all over his body. Only now did he begin to regret his choices. He should have targeted a different kingdom like the other demons did!

"Ugh, shut up already, you punk!"

Annoyed, Tae-hyun snapped at Gusion. Gusion was absolutely desperate to prevent Jukenen from escaping, going so far as to teach Tae-hyun's party various spells to stop him!

Of course, learning magic wasn't a bad thing, but these skills were highly situational. They were niche skills only useful against demons!

Demon Magic Disruption was a skill that disrupted demon magic, Demon Shackle was a skill that immobilized demons, and Rift Collapse was a skill that destroyed dimensional rifts created by demons... He didn't really need to go that far.

"Cain!"

"On it!"

Clang-clank-clank!

With that single move, Jukenen was delivered right in front of Tae-hyun. Terrified out of his wits, Jukenen scrambled on the ground, trying to crawl away.

"Lord Jukenen!!"

"What are you doing?!"

It was a pathetic display that left his followers and necromancers utterly dumbfounded! But Jukenen was far too terrified to care about his dignity. I have to get out of here!

Grab!

"Let me go!"

"Can I eat this?"

"No."

"Aww. Demons look so delicious. I'm sad."

With sullen faces, the newly recruited giant warriors tossed Jukenen into the cage.

"Bwahahaha!"

Gusion burst into a hearty laugh at the sight. It was indeed a boisterous laugh worthy of a Demon Duke's son!

"What are you laughing at, you lunatic?!"

From Jukenen's perspective, the laughter was utterly absurd. Had this demon completely lost his mind?

"I couldn't possibly go down alone!"

"...!!!"

Indeed. It was the nature of demons to keep delicious treats to themselves but always share their suffering with others!

Why else had the damage been so catastrophic back when Archisus used to run around tricking the demons of the Demon Realm? It was because the scammed demons kept their mouths shut and recommended him to others, saying, "Hey, Archisus is actually a really nice god! You should make a deal with him too!"

Archisus was a deity who exploited the selfishness of demons to a masterful degree.

"You idiot! To think the son of a Demon Duke is being dragged around as a captive!"

"Hmph. I can't hear you."

Since he had already anticipated Jukenen's insults, Gusion remained completely unfazed. If he were shaken by something like this, he wouldn't deserve to be called a demon!

"Besides, aren't you the real idiot here? A subordinate of Edaor wandering into Archisus's territory."

Gusion had plenty to say in his defense. Honestly, he hadn't made any mistakes. He had simply responded to a formal summoning by the dwarves, got captured, and was then sold to Archisus! It was an unavoidable misfortune.

But what about Jukenen? He was the fool who had willingly shown up in Archisus's territory! He was a complete blockhead.

"What do you mean by that?"

"...Do you seriously not know who defeated Edaor?"

"...My master... is currently recovering from his wounds after the heroes of the continent and the holy orders joined forces to launch a cowardly, coordinated attack on him..."

"Bwahahaha! What utter garbage! Edaor was tricked and exploited by Archisus, and he even had his weapon stolen!"

Gusion pounded the floor of the cage, howling with laughter. Indeed, the most joyful moment for a demon was plunging someone else into absolute despair!

Watching this, the dwarves smiled warmly.

"Oh, my. I was worried because that demon hadn't been smiling lately and seemed so depressed."

"Look how lovely he is when he laughs like that. It brings a tear to my eye."

The dwarves smiled tenderly. Meanwhile, Jukenen was in such immense shock that his mouth just flapped open and shut. Come to think of it...!

"T-that's... that's impossible! That makes no sense!"

"Bwahahaha! You idiot! You absolute fool! Only now do you realize—gasp."

Gusion, who had been cackling loudly, suddenly shut his mouth. Tae-hyun was walking over.

Gusion meekly knelt down and lowered his gaze. Polite and demure! He had learned through firsthand experience exactly how to behave in front of Archisus.

"Gusion. Since you have made a great contribution, I will exempt you from energy extraction for one week."

"T-thank you! Lord Archisus!"

-????

Even in his state of shock, Jukenen snapped out of it in surprise. What had he just witnessed? The arrogant and powerful demon Gusion was groveling like a well-trained puppy.

"Actually, I'm in a good mood. Make it two weeks!"

"Ohhh! Truly...?!"

"Look at you. I'm glad you're happy. Give Gusion some feed... I mean, snacks."

"Yes, Lord Archisus."

The dwarves pulled out mana stones and tossed them into the cage. Jukenen watched with his jaw hanging open. Did he just say "feed"? He was being treated entirely like a domesticated beast!

"Now then. Since we won't be extracting from Gusion, we'll have to make up for it by drawing from Jukenen."

"A most wise decision! Hehehe!"

The dwarves rubbed their hands together, letting ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠out sycophantic chuckles. It was a deeply wicked and devious sound! Jukenen flinched at the noise. Extract what?

"You insignificant mortals! I am Jukenen, a demon under Edaor!"

"Edaor?"

"No wonder he looked like an easy target..."

He had shouted it as a threat, but the rest of the party merely stared at him as if looking at a pitiful, insignificant bug. This was even more of a shock to Jukenen.

"I am Jukenen..."

"Guys. The demon won't shut his mouth."

"Our apologies, Apostle! We will begin extraction immediately!"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Activate the device!"

Whirrrrr!

"Aaaargh!"

Jukenen screamed as he felt the energy being violently drained from his entire body. Gusion watched with a broad, beaming grin.

"I'm so glad you came, Jukenen."

"You son of a... Arrrgh! AAAARGH!"

"Oh!"

Tae-hyun rejoiced at the message window. This was a skill that compiled recipes passed down from demon blacksmiths. Except for the fact that they unlocked one by one at random whenever the skill level rose, it was an absolute top-tier skill.

After all, obtaining recipes of angels or demons on the continent was normally next to impossible! What had he gotten this time?

Tsk. A ranged weapon is a bit meh.

Tae-hyun was lukewarm. Unless it was defensive gear or some kind of siege weapon, bows and muskets were already plenty.

Yu Ji-soo was currently using an incredibly expensive Legendary-grade bow, and Lee Da-bi already possessed a powerful musket, so there was no real need...

Besides, it had Edaor's name on it. Normally, having a name like that in an item's title meant it was top-tier, but because it was Edaor, it somehow felt a bit weak.

If Edaor had heard this, he would have wept tears of blood in sheer indignation!

Should I craft a bunch of these and distribute them to the Power Warrior kids?

There was a common misconception people had. They mistakenly believed that the Power Warrior Guild's combat power was completely garbage!

There was a strong prejudice that despite their astronomical numbers, their actual fighting capability was negligible compared to other guilds. However, that was a story of the past.