Chapter 19
Chapter 19
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: Demon Baron (5)
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He barely managed to gather his scattered wits.
- …….
The demon ground its teeth in fury. To show such disgrace, cowering in terror before a mere human. Humiliation and rage blazed up like wildfire.
Until now, the demon had only failed at possession against far more powerful high-ranking demons. That's why it had panicked, assuming that figure was a high demon in disguise.
But upon closer inspection, it wasn't. A sharp instinct finally kicked in, too late. That barbarian was exactly what he appeared to be. Just a big human. No match for you at all.
Still, it couldn't figure out why the possession had failed. Too ominous to take lightly. The demon resolved to pour all its power into punishing this interloper.
Gathering all its thoughts, the demon sent its muscles and nerves into overdrive.
Kuduk, pakak, pakak—
Purple welts bulged as its muscles grotesquely swelled in an instant. Its skeleton realigned with a twisted crunch. Saliva drooled from its gaping maw, now too wide to close.
Just moments ago, Viscount Adlen's body had been merely portly. Now it was monstrously huge, beyond human.
- Kruk... No need to steal a body... Just kill you outright... That'll do...
"……."
- ……I'll smash you into pulp.
Its massive arm hefted the hefty iron mace. Kadim steadied his breathing low, eyes tracking the demon's movements.
Whoosh—boom!
The air whistled menacingly. The mace's broad sweep covered nearly the entire tent. No room to dodge meant he had to block.
――――――Chaeng!!
A metallic ring assaulted his ears.
Kadim was flung back far. His wrist throbbed, bones numb like he'd been shocked. The axe he'd braced forward split at the head in one blow.
Whoosh—boom!
The demon lumbered forward relentlessly, swinging the mace again. A diagonal slash this time—space to dodge. Kadim dropped low and sidestepped. The mace grazed his hair by a hair's breadth.
The demon gnashed its teeth, brows twitching. Swollen muscles and bones moved like machinery. Without a moment's delay, the mace rose high again. Ignoring the tent beam it snagged, it smashed down with lethal force.
――――――Kwa-ang!!
The ground-shaking impact. A pillar shattered; the tent collapsed. Shaking off the covering hide, the demon glared with savage eyes.
- You ignored my warning to retreat, and all you do is tuck tail and run? Pathetic, you brainless wild dog!
Kadim shot the demon a glance, silent.
Even if not fully controlled, this demon commanded four hundred soldiers. At least mid-tier, conservatively. Facing it head-on without demonic blood? Even for Kadim, impossible.
But he didn't flee. He just glanced toward the castle once. Then discarded the broken axe, hefted a new one, and prepared to fight again.
The demon snorted derisively.
- Ha, pretending to charge? Planning another escape? Not this time, you coward.
The demon's palm faced the ground. Demonic energy flowed like mist; fallen soldiers twisted grotesquely and rose. Ghostly howls erupted everywhere.
"Kuaaa, kuhaaaa!!"
"Kuaaaak!"
The soldiers surrounded Kadim instantly, swinging weapons.
Chaeng—!
Kadim crossed axe and sword to block the incoming spear. He parried the shaft up with his axe blade, then swung deep into the soldier's withered gut during the opening.
Jjeok—guk!
"Kuek!"
Whoosh—no gap to dodge another spear. It grazed his ear, tearing flesh. Unfazed, Kadim ducked low and smashed the knee with his axe. The joint snapped backward, crumbling like broken kindling.
Kadim aimed to break the encirclement and buy time. But he couldn't.
Whoosh—boom!
- Eyes wandering, wild dog! Your real foe is here!
The bloated demon blocked the path he'd just cleared. Kadim twisted away from the raging mace, changing direction pointlessly.
Thus began a breathless struggle.
Chaeng, chaeng, jjeo—guk! Peo—guk!
"Kuaaaak!"
"Kuaaaaak!"
"……."
No matter how many soldiers he felled, no escape opened. Methodically clear them, and the demon raised others. Swing wide to shatter groups, and the demon was there, barring the way.
Not just the demon—the elite few it directly controlled were no pushovers. Dozens down, yet over three hundred remained.
Bit by bit, fatigue built; muscles slowed.
"Hoo, hoo……."
Bit by bit, wounds accumulated on Kadim.
A gash across his nose bridge, countless cuts on limbs, blood streaming from his ear. Smoke rose, healing slowly. Wounds came faster than vampiric regen could mend.
"Huk, huk, huk……."
The encirclement tightened. Kadim reached the camp's edge. The demon mocked the heaving barbarian freely.
- Krahaha! What a disgrace! Strut onto another's feast like you own it, then whimper like a beaten cur!
"……."
- Know your place, wild dog. This is the gap in our ranks. A human with nothing but brawn can't challenge a demon. Should've brought those cursed Elga hounds to kill me. Krukukuku…….
The barbarian's eyes turned skyward. The moon sank toward the horizon. Seeing a half-moon at midnight like this—it truly felt like another world.
No time for sentiment. He'd bought enough time. He glanced at the castle gate again. Finally, a man sprinting desperately came into view.
Kadim drew a deep breath and murmured low.
"Hoo... Indeed. With my current power, I can't take that body down."
- Kaha, yes! Realizing it now—what foolishness...
"But what about your true body?"
- ……What?
"Even a merchant who can't kill a goblin could handle that."
The abrupt words halted it briefly.
The demon looked toward Molden Castle in horror.
- Y-You... Don't tell me...
It thrust its palm desperately toward the castle. But the thought-infused demonic energy flowed only to the ground, never reaching the body inside.
The demon's protruding facial muscles twisted in agony. The barbarian smirked crookedly.
Kadim had faced possession-type demons in the game, even in his first playthrough. He knew exactly what mattered most against them.
Finding the 'true body'—the root and command center of all thoughts.
Killing a possessed body meant nothing. The demon just shifts thoughts elsewhere. Fools who ignore this slay the vessel, lower their guard, and lose their mind to the next.
From the first sight of the soldiers, Kadim had sensed the demon's nature. While pondering the true body's location, Baron Molden had blatantly given a clue.
'That can't be.'
'…….'
'The basement is off-limits.'
But he couldn't just storm the basement and kill it.
The demon surely left a sliver of thought in the true body for survival. Alerted, it'd hide or flee, wasting his discovery.
So Kadim created a situation forcing all thoughts to focus here.
Before leaving, he'd tasked the merchant with the true body.
'This door leads to the inner castle basement. I'll keep the demon's mind occupied. When the moon's half-sunk, go down and tear apart the grotesque meat lump.'
'B-But sir, the door's locked with this huge padlock?'
Kwa-kang!! Clang—
'Not anymore.'
'…….'
The merchant had executed flawlessly. Thus, bereft of its true body, the demon lost thought control and was trapped in this flesh.
But one problem remained.
- Kruk, kraaaaa!!
How to dispatch the viscount-turned-monster.
Losing the true body didn't erase the embedded thoughts. He had to drop this body to fully erase the demon.
The enraged demon contorted its face demoniacally and raised the mace.
- Kruk... You dare touch my true body... I'll give you the most painful death... Burst your muscles one by one, stuff your guts down your throat...
Kadim remained unshaken. He'd prepared for this husk too.
The demon thought he'd cornered Kadim here. But he'd cunningly felled soldiers to maneuver exactly here.
"S-Sir, I brought it! Here you go!"
To rendezvous with the solution-bearing merchant swiftly.
Whish, whish, whish!
The thrown object spun toward the palisade.
Weak toss, yet it arced high improbably. Spin accelerated away from the merchant.
Over the palisade, rotation slowed, landing perfectly in Kadim's hand.
Thud!
The handle wrapped as if awaiting its master. His eager eyes scanned it.
Wave pattern like a blizzard of cold iron. Razor edge that seemed to slice gaze alone. Deep matte-black haft. Perfect weight, eerie sharpness wafting.
An ancient dwarf treasure, forged with dwarven sweat.
Even a glance showed immense craftsmanship. The barbarian grinned satisfied.
"Hiding just the demon was bad enough—letting a masterpiece rot too. The baron was something else."
The demon recognized the weapon too. It shuddered, stepping back.
- Th-That... Made by those mad northern dwarves... How is that here...
No need to hear more.
Kadim gripped the haft firm with his palm ridge. Balanced perfectly any angle—like it self-adjusted. He twisted his torso, coiled power maximally, then unleashed explosively.
A flash cleaved darkness, spinning blindingly fast.
Parararack—!
The demon barely glimpsed it. The disc of doom crossed instantly, smashing its skull dead-on.
Perkuk—!
The keen blade shredded protruding face and cranium to shreds. Viscous blood, mushy brains, shattered bone mixed in gore, spraying everywhere.
Whish, whish, whish, whish!
The axe flew on, power undiminished. Likely a rare+ item with throw enhancement.
- Krruk... Gueh...
Nothing left above its jawbone, the demon was done. Gurgling blood from its throat, it collapsed, never rising.
Duncan, who'd watched tensely from behind the palisade, crept closer.
"D-Did you get it all, sir? Is the demon fully dead now?"
"……."
Kadim didn't answer, swiftly moving to retrieve the axe.
One target left.
Hwhoosh!
A sudden stab at his side.
Kadim twisted his foot, barely dodging the blade. A mustached middle-aged man in quilted armor glared with hostile eyes.
- Krukukuku... Thought you were a shameless wild dog, but a sly fox pup... So, pretending fair fight then backstabbing—that the new barbarian way?
Kadim silently eyed the now-possessed baron.
'...As expected. It planted thoughts in Baron Molden too.'
Just as planned.
What the demon craved was likely this: sacrificing itself to save Molden, only for Molden to fall, leaving the baron to wail alone. To see that, it needed control over the baron's body first.
The possessed baron was easy. Most thoughts perished with the viscount. His power now? No different from the dozens of soldiers Kadim slew.
Kadim raised his axe. He'd brought the baron personally to finish him.
But what followed was utterly unexpected.
- Krahaha, heh, wh-what...?
The baron turned the sword on himself and thrust hard.
Puk!
The blade pierced armor, gut, protruding from his back like a spike.
The baron chanted through bloodshot eyes.
"Demon... You won't lay a finger on Molden..."
- ...Kruhaaa, khek, kru... H-How did you break the possession...
"...You'll die here. With me."
The hilt twisted viciously, tearing flesh.
Molden's lord expelled the demon with his own power and collapsed like a crumbling tower.