What is Education?

What is education? Is it swordsmen teaching cadets swordsmanship at an academy? Is it parents instilling proper values in their children? As a noun, it is defined as the act of teaching the knowledge and skills necessary for social life, awakening human potential, and cultivating excellent qualities. It is also a word that means guiding someone to develop a well-rounded character.

All of these have one thing in common. Most of them involve "teaching and guiding" someone. Yes, Rowen had drawn his sword and stood up to "educate" the two brats before him. In truth, looking only at their appearances, they were a middle-aged woman and man far older than Rowen. But so what? Had Rowen not died, he would be a monster over a thousand years old.

"You two don't have a single shred of respect for your master, do you?"

I'll personally fix that rotten attitude of yours. Rowen raised his sword and aimed. Frost energy filled the air. The pressure was suffocating. Cordelia and Demir swallowed hard. They had thought this would be easy, knowing Mio couldn't bring herself to kill them and would hold back her strength. But not this man. Who was he? A face they had never seen before. The overwhelming bloodlust and frost only intensified the biting cold.

"Ultimate Art..."

Rowen was fully intent on killing them. He felt sorry for Mio, but this was the final mercy that would snap them out of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠their delusion and send them to heaven. And so, he shouted:

"Sky Cleav—"

"Muscle Kick!"

It was Uba's sudden intrusion. That dumbass, I told him that's a punch, not a kick. Demir's head exploded under Uba's fist. Cerebrospinal fluid sprayed, and fragments of brain matter splattered across Cordelia's face.

"...Huh?"

Cordelia merely tilted her head, as if unable to comprehend what had just happened. Demir... her precious companion was dead. And in a single strike, no less. She hadn't even reacted. There was no way she could have. How was she supposed to block an unpredictable, mindless attack that lacked even a shred of strategy? She was proficient in magic, but close combat was not her forte. Close combat? She didn't even have the muscles to engage in a physical brawl. She quickly widened the distance. More importantly, what? A kick? Uba Kaliarun. She had always known he was stupid, but she hadn't expected him to not even know the meaning of basic words.

"Ah... Demir!"

Nothing was left. Only a headless corpse ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠remained. But Cordelia couldn't even retrieve Demir's body. *Crunch.* The death of a Demon Human made them prey for the shadows of hell. That was a fact everyone knew. Rowen thought to himself. Although he hadn't wanted it to go this way, Uba's intervention had sped things up. Now they surely understood. This was what happened when you committed treason against your master.

"Hmm? I thought he would block it. What's the point of him dying so easily?"

"You're just absurdly strong."

"Rian. I have realized something."

"Hmm? What is it?"

"The sensation of crushing his head was incredibly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠disgusting."

"...I'm sure it was."

Cordelia retreated behind Lucrezia, sending her a warning look. That guy is a monster. But Lucrezia had no time to worry about Uba. She had just tasted something akin to defeat at the hands of that monster's disciple and junior.

"You monstrous bitches!"

"What is a monster like a succubus doing calling humans monsters?"

"Exactly. Lucrezia, are you stupid?"

"...Such insults. Fufu... fufu... I won't hold back anymore."

Hold back, my ass. Sira Yunseul truly thought so. In a battle of life and death, there was no such thing as holding back. Testing the waters? That was only for sparring. Right now, they stood here as representatives of humanity. Though their numbers were few, this was a war declared against the Demon King of Greed.

Arahan and Sira Yunseul held hands, gathering their holy power. A circular, black-and-white Taiji pattern manifested. *Shhhk—* Arahan swung Rosbriel with a madness-tinged smile. *Slash!*

"Argh...!"

A long trail of fresh blood spilled from Lucrezia's abdomen. She hadn't been cut in half; her entrails were still intact. However, the shallower the wound, the sharper the sting. Above all, holy power had touched her. The wound would not heal. Seeing this, Cordelia realized that something had gone terribly wrong.

"...What are you guys?"

What on earth had gone wrong? And from where?

"What do you mean, 'what'? We are the representatives of Kaliarun."

Sira Yunseul unleashed a barrage of punches. *Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom!* Like a bombardment, giant golden fists shaped like lions rained down, crushing Lucrezia's body. Lucrezia felt utterly wronged. The one who had just asked that question wasn't her, but Cordelia!

Cordelia couldn't make sense of the situation. Why did Demir die in a single blow? Who on earth was that white-haired boy? Why was the imperial child standing before them? Uba's two disciples, and even her master... What kind of combination was this? A jumble of the past, future, and present. The 'heroes' before her eyes were strangely mismatched and foreign. Yet, they synchronized perfectly.

One was someone's maid and lover. One was someone's friend and comrade-in-arms. One was someone's blood relative and kin. One was a sibling sharing the same adoptive father. And one had loved someone for over a thousand years. Yes, this was the shape of the bonds forged by that single person. The form of those he had met. Indeed, this was the result brought about by Rowen—the illegitimate child of the Balenos family, once known as the great knight Rian Rose, the demon slayer who had transcended death and crossed a thousand years to march toward vengeance in a new body.

"...This is wrong. This is all wrong!"

"Don't scream as if you've lost everything over a single dead companion."

"...What do you know! You're the ones who killed him!"

"Before that, you tried to kill us—and your own master. Was falling to corruption really that enjoyable?"

And then.

"I have sacrificed far more comrades and family than you ever have."

Do you know the sheer, wretched misery of having to kill your own brother with your own hands? Having to experience it once was enough, yet he would have to face it again in the near future. Have you ever stained your hands red by stabbing the woman who whispered her love to you? Have you ever wept like a madman, loved, yearned, and remembered your father?

"That's not it."

Don't waste your pathetic emotions.

"Unless you have wept so much that you have run out of tears, like me."

Stop whining and stay still. That—and only that—is your atonement for betraying Mio.

"I cannot bring myself to kill you, Cordelia," Mio said. Her voice trembled violently, but her gaze remained steady as she looked at the disciple she hadn't seen in so long. To Mio, who had lost her family, Yuria, Cordelia, and Demir were like her own sons and daughters. Yet, Cordelia and Demir had become Demon Humans and hurled flames at her.

"...That's why I'm saying this."

When she actually tried to speak, the words caught in her throat. A heavy, aching sorrow filled her chest. She had thought she had cried all her tears when she lost Rian. But apparently, she hadn't. If she had, what was this hot liquid streaming down her cheeks?

"Do you still think of me as an inadequate master?"

"...I, I..."

"Was my teaching so lacking that you allowed yourself to be consumed by greed?"

"N-No! Master, I..."

"If not..."

If not.

"...then you are nothing but a greedy fool."

It was a sad, cold death sentence. Rowen's freezing blades of ice surrounded her. He froze the surrounding area using his signature time magic. But did she know? That these weren't Rowen's only weapons.

"...!"

Hundreds of ice weapons flew at her all at once. They were impossible to block, hurtling forward in erratic paths that defied prediction.

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..."

Mio wept. Uba also wore a pitying expression. Even in this moment, Rowen... was thinking of Lea.

*Thud! Stab! Squish!*

He repeatedly impaled Cordelia until her body was unrecognizable. Her neck was already severed, her internal organs ruptured, her form reduced to a mangled mess. Mio did not raise her head. There was a reason Rowen had chosen such a brutal method.

"I'm sorry, Mio."

"No. Don't apologize, Rian."

He knew that seeing Cordelia's corpse would only bring Mio greater sorrow. He knew how agonizing it was to witness the death of a loved one, having seen Lea die before his eyes. Knowing that pain, Rowen had preferred this method.

And—

"...Huh?"

Along with Lucrezia's horn being severed by Arahan's sword strike, Sira Yunseul ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠grabbed Lucrezia's arms and ripped her in half like a sheet of paper. It was a gruesome death. But such an end suited her perfectly. This was the fate of one who had betrayed humanity to side with the Demon King. There was no one to mourn her.

Beside Cain, who was lounging on the throne, stood a man. He was not a Demon Human. He was a human. A shadow who had lived through eternity. Sitting beside Cain, the new Demon King of Greed, he twirled a dagger. *Whoosh—* The light, sharp sound of slicing wind tickled Cain's ears.

"Aren't you going to go see them?"

"...No."

"Isn't he a friend you haven't seen in a thousand years?"

Stopping the spinning blade, the man glared at Cain. The shadow of death began to swirl around them.

"...Is that all you have to say? Why did you call me here, Cain?"

Looking at the assassin whose robe shrouded his eyes, Cain chuckled. His distinct red eyes and snow-white hair swayed. The signature frost of the Balenos family swirled around Cain's arms.

"It's nothing much. You use shadows, don't you? I wanted to ask you to teach me how to use that power."

"...The payment."

"Hmm? Payment?"

"Yes. Give and take. That is the law."

Cain laughed. Barbatos, residing within him, laughed as well.

"Are you playing with me right now?"

"...Do I look like I am playing?"

"As you can see, I am very greedy. While I'm still being nice—"

*Shhhk—* Instantly turning into a shadow, the assassin slipped beneath Cain's feet and swung a dagger engraved with a dragon pattern. Cain lightly slipped into the assassin's shadow to escape. The dagger, which had nearly grazed his neck, sliced through empty air.

"Phew..."

"...I do not like jokes, Cain."

"Geez, aren't you a bit too hostile? Don't you think so, Barbatos?"

[Fufu. He is indeed strong, just as the rumors say.]

Isn't that right?

[Abel.]

The robe, fluttering in the wind, revealed the face it had hidden. A sharp countenance and violet mana swirled around him. A legendary name that anyone would have heard at least once. Standing before the Demon King of Greed was the 'Great Assassin'—Abel Tarkhan.

"...Give me my payment. Then, I will teach you how to master the shadows."

"Tsk, fine. Tell me what you want. As you can see, I'm a very greedy man."

He had acquired so much. Abel, staring intently at Cain, held out his hand.

"Three hundred."

"...Three hundred?"

"Just three hundred silver will do."

"Is that really enough? That's barely enough to spend three days at an inn in the human realm."

"...It has always been thus. Three hundred is enough."

Even better. Cain truly thought so. When he had heard that the Great Assassin was in Pandemonium, he had thought it was a lie. Yet, when summoned in the name of the Demon King, he had actually shown up. Yes, with his power... If he could further enhance his dark elf abilities with the Great Assassin's shadow techniques, those who came to face Cain would be slaughtered by the power of their own long-lost friend. Just thinking about it sent a thrill through him. He was no longer the weakling of the past.

"Kekeke..."

[Good, Cain. Keep craving power like that.]

"I'll do so even if you don't tell me to."

[Soon, humanity will be beneath our feet.]

Just the thought of it made him ecstatic. Cain laughed. No, the laughter of the Demon King echoed throughout the entire castle.