Chapter 17. Demon Genevy
Whoosh—the axe whistled past my ducked head. I twisted my body at the same time, dodging two spears aimed at my side. Finally, I batted away the sharpened mace from what I assumed was the hero Rayg with my sword.
The demon's assault kept coming. Every inch of those four bodies, from head to weapon, was coated in slime, so even a single hit meant risking paralysis poison. They swung relentlessly without pause. I evaded while watching for a counterattack opening.
Spotting the relatively slow axe wielder, I slashed up through its torso with my holy sword in a flash. ...!! A huge chunk of demonic energy vanished. But it didn't dissolve. Thanks to the massive reserves it'd built up, it somehow held its form.
One more swing of my holy sword changed that. The axe demon split clean in half, crumbling and melting away.
Of course, they didn't just take it lying down. A spear flew toward my back, which looked exposed, but I'd anticipated it. I spun half a turn and knocked it aside with my sword.
Demon Genevy was genuinely rattled there. It wasn't ordinary strong. Sensing real danger of defeat, the demon gathered its slime into one mass. Then it suddenly shot tentacles everywhere, dragging in all the monsters and swallowing them whole.
————!!!! The monsters screamed in agony. They were crushed into meat chunks in the demon's maw. And that fattened the demon even more.
It reshaped itself. ...This time, just one body.
Ah—. I hadn't expected this demon to mimic that guy. Monkey arms, bat wings, lizard head, lion's torso. I recognized it instantly.
Demon King Killkeroid—.
Cheeky bastard of a demon copying a Demon King's form. If the real one found out, it'd be instant annihilation. But hey, dead either way, so last desperate thrash, I guess.
"Kuhahaha!"
It laughed like some third-rate villain. Even mimicked the laugh perfectly. Of course, it couldn't match the real Demon King's power. If it could, it wouldn't be holed up in this backwater—it'd have claimed a chunk of the demon realm and become a real Demon King by now.
Still, honestly, it was a bit intimidating. Even for me, one-on-one with a Demon King in my current state was impossible. That was at least two or three years off, even being generous.
The demon formed massive axes in both hands. Berserker mode. I figured its "master" must be Demon King Killkeroid. No other way it'd mimic the form, laugh, and weapons so perfectly.
As soon as it hefted the axes, it went berserk on me. Fitting the berserker look. But from those attacks, I gauged the demon's limits.
As expected, it could copy the form but not the power. Pathetic for a Demon King assault. If it were real, I'd already have a major wound somewhere. Not that I could ignore it entirely. Weaker than the Demon King, sure, but still a demon. One axe hit would be fatal all the same.
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom—.
Monstrous onslaught. Even the monsters backed off in shock. My team was horrified. Even for the boss, surviving that seemed iffy.
Desperate Yael cranked her orb's brightness to max.
————!!!
Annoyed by that, the demon hurled one axe hard at the mage. Gid blocked with his shield. But the impact shattered it and severed his arm. A gash opened on his face too.
"Aaaaaagh—!!!" Blood sprayed like a fountain.
The monsters charged at the opening. Grendal swung his iron club to hold them off.
"Gid, Gid—!!"
Shocked Yael screamed at the fallen Gid. Kayak bellowed at full volume.
"Healer, heal now, heeeal—!!!"
Gid, mid-scream, started going limp from the paralysis poison. At least his mouth still worked.
"F-fuck, what the fuck, body won't move, it won't fucking move you bastaaards—!!"
"Heal him first, hurry—!"
Grace panted raggedly as she rushed to Gid and healed him. Mahushu grabbed the severed arm and pressed it to the stump. Luckily, it reattached. But the paralysis lingered.
With Gid combat-ineffective, our front line had a gaping hole. The pressure mounted.
Grace trembled, staring at the blood on her hands. Nightmares from back then resurfaced. A breakdown loomed. But she refused to run anymore. Nowhere left to flee anyway.
...Yeah. Die fighting if I have to.
Oddly, that thought lightened her mind. The breakdown faded. The fear eating at her vanished.
Her lover was dead. Comrades too. Her dying wouldn't be weird.
...Right. Death could come anytime. Had to be ready for it.
Grace suddenly calmed. Eerily so. Like enlightenment. The team worried she'd snapped. But no, she healed them again. Minor wounds closed.
Gid thrashed verbally from the ground, yelling he'd rather die. Fed-up Mahushu kicked him.
"Shut the fuck up, you're distracting—!"
"Fuck, body won't moooove—!"
"That's why we're suffering, you idiot—!"
While the team panicked from one axe, I'd sliced the demon's body several times with my holy sword. It flailed wildly.
Boom, boom, boom, boom—.
Axes smashed the ground madly.
"You rat bastard, die, die, just fucking diiiie—!!!"
Even tentacles lashed from its body, but somehow, it landed zero hits. The demon was losing its mind. How could a mere human toy with it like this?! Impossible. Unbelievable.
I'm Demon Genevy. Genevy who devours everything in this world—!!
The demon slammed its axe with full force. Tentacles whipped at the perfect moment. No escape, even for me.
...But a flashing streak traced a long arc. It severed the tentacles and the demon's torso.
"Ah—." Demonic energy poured out like a punctured jug.
"Aaaaaaaaagh!" All its devoured prey vanished in an instant.
The sword slashed down again.
"Aaaaaaaaagh!" Slashed once more.
"Stoooop, stooop, pleeeease!"
The demon lost all will to fight. Gluttony was its only trait—no pride or grit. It turned tail and fled.
I pursued relentlessly, hacking away. As its demonic energy drained, the barrier weakened. The pitch-black sky lightened to blue. Light pierced through, and the monsters writhed in agony.
I paused, sword lowered, gazing up. The barrier vanished completely.
...Ah....
Monsters fled the light. The team finally caught their breath amid the chaos.
Huff, huff, huff. Covered in blood and sweat, they collapsed, gasping.
Mahushu sprawled flat. Her torn clothes exposed her perky breasts, but she didn't care. Grace slumped too, legs giving out. Tears streamed nonstop from her eyes.
"Ah, aaa—." She sobbed.
Grendal sighed deeply, staring into the distance.
Of course, it wasn't fully over. I slowly headed where the demon fled. Laughably, it'd holed up in some ruined temple.
"Stoooop, pleeeease...!"
It cowered in a dark corner, trembling. No pity from me—just disgust. I hacked away with my holy sword.
————!!!
The slime shriveled. Soon, even the screams stopped. Demon Genevy vanished completely.
Whew. I exhaled long, turned, and hurried back to the team.
First, checked Gid sprawled out. He wailed pathetically that he couldn't move.
"B-boss, gotta live like this forever? Fuck, my dick won't even get hard? Right? G-gonna be a eunuch for life?"
"Dumbass."
I chuckled. Gid shrieked it wasn't funny.
"Boss, seriously not joking. What do I dooo—!"
"Relax. Paralysis poison. Half a day, you'll move."
His face lit up. But I had more.
"Might not get erections anymore, though."
His face drained blue.
"B-boss. You're scaring me, right? Yeah? For real not? No way, heh, nah? Tell me naaaw—!!"
"Cut it off and live as a woman."
"Boss—!!"
"Kidding, idiot. ...You'll be fine."
"Yesss—!" He whooped.
Yael thanked Gid for shielding her.
"Heh, boss. Gimme a fat bonus. Saved Yael and all—!"
"Good job. Won't skimp."
Oblivious to his state, he grinned sleazily.
I approached Grace next. Slumped, head bowed, soulless doll-like. Silent tears flowed.
I wordlessly hugged her. Nothing else I could do. Revenge never satisfies like you think.
Grendal approached, bowing deeply.
"Thank you. You fulfilled my lifelong wish. My benefactor."
I just grinned and nodded.
"Aaa—." Grace's sobs grew louder. She clutched my shirt, wailing into my chest.
"Rayg, Rayyyg...!"
Calling her dead lover's name, like finally letting him go.
The team gathered. All ragged messes. Yael fixed Mahushu's top, shocked at her exposed chest.
Grace stopped crying, apologized for the scene. I stood.
Surveyed the exhausted team, nodded.
"You all did great. You held strong behind me—that's how I killed the demon. ...This is everyone's victory."
Lizardman Kayak bowed deeply, humbled.
"Pack up and go. No need to linger."
They gathered gear. Immobile Gid got piggybacked by Grendal.
"Fuuuck, this feels weird."
"Dick tingling?"
Mahushu's quip drew laughs. They left the city slowly.
Grace kept glancing back. Walls receded.
...Never coming back. She etched it in her eyes one last time, then turned away for good.
Over the ridge, the city vanished from sight forever.