Chapter 103
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 103
Chapter Title: WWE
-----------------------------------------------------------------
They had no idea what had just happened.
The fog of blood rising from the intensified battle had clouded their vision.
But soon enough, they would understand what had transpired.
"That’s...!!"
"No way?!"
What emerged was a lone man standing tall, and the form of the demon knight crumbling away bit by bit, vanishing into nothingness.
Kurtz Shleman’s eyes trembled violently as he looked up at the sight.
"...D-dead?!"
Suddenly, a chill wind blew through the shattered ceiling, brushing past them.
Along with it scattered the remnants of the Dark Knight, a being who should never have died, dissipating all too easily.
There had been no fierce struggle there.
No spray of blood, no brutal melee... from the start, this outcome completely defied their expectations.
Kyle Clark flicked his blade with a sharp whoosh!, shaking off the blood clinging to it.
For a brief moment, the scorched flat of the sword gleamed in the falling light as it slid slowly into its sheath.
Then, with a crisp click!, the sound echoed, and the demon knight’s form vanished entirely from the world.
"Hah..."
"What the...?"
They stared at the impossible scene, eyes wide in disbelief.
The gun barrels that had been aimed at the round table like they were ready to fire at any second had long since been lowered.
Not because of any order, but because they were utterly overwhelmed.
The shock of a mere human not just defeating, but dominating a demon knight had frozen them in place.
Questions flooded their minds.
Why hadn’t the "Yul" worked in the first place?
Even if it hadn’t, how had he overwhelmed the demon knight?
No, more than that.
"How the hell did he kill a demon knight...?"
A few of them glanced at the Phantom Sword Umbra gripped in Kyle’s hand.
"...Did that sword sever the Demon King’s darkness?"
"It... it could be."
"There’s no other explanation..."
It wasn’t necromancy, and a human couldn’t possibly destroy a demon knight’s soul.
A human capable of slaying souls?
They’d never heard of such a thing.
But one thing was crystal clear.
That guy...!
Their commander thought, unable to hide his astonishment.
He’s a ridiculous monster...!
The man turned to look at the demons staring up at him.
Gwen and the other demons were just as frozen, stunned by what they’d witnessed.
...The demon knight was dead.
The Demon King’s monster, who should never have perished, was gone.
Killed by a single human.
That fact alone was enough to shock every demon present.
Rhenien, clutching the young Nien in her arms, stared blankly at the figure half-hidden in the light.
"No... way."
She murmured unconsciously.
"There’s no way something like this could happen."
In that moment of miraculous disbelief, an ancient prophecy flashed through her mind.
- His holy sword shall behead the dark knights.
"No..."
- And even fell their corrupted souls.
"No...!"
Unable to hold back, tears welled in Rhenien’s eyes.
She looked down at Nien, trembling with eyes squeezed shut.
This child had always sought the prophecy amid despair.
Even when everyone else had given up, she’d believed in the hero like a beacon.
"Nien...!"
Rhenien pulled Nien into a tight embrace.
He was real...
She wiped away her tears.
You were right all along!
A prophecy she hadn’t believed in, one she thought was just fabricated by her ancestors out of necessity.
It was true...!
"...Sister?"
Nien lifted her head from within the embrace.
"Are you... crying?"
"No, no."
Rhenien shook her head, hugging the child again.
"No. I’m not crying."
This wasn’t the time for tears.
The demon knight was dead, but they weren’t free yet.
"Defense squad!!!"
At the commander’s shout, the lax gun barrels snapped back up, aiming at them once more.
Clack!
"Urk...!"
Gwen moved to shield his kin.
"Gwen...!"
"Rhenien, you okay?"
"...Yeah. I’m fine."
The defense squad soldiers who’d been zapping and threatening them with electricity had fled the moment the fight began.
Now came a suffocating standoff.
Damn it...!
The on-site defense commander cursed inwardly.
What do I do? How the hell...?
He’d ordered his men to at least pretend, aiming their guns again, but he had no clue what came next.
Kurtz is under threat... should I just let them go?
No, there might not even be another option.
That human who killed the demon knight was a monster in his own right.
Look at that face—not a single breath out of place after such a battle.
How is that even the same species as me...!
Even if they gathered every soldier here without the elite defense squad, they couldn’t touch him.
His adjutant whispered softly.
"Wh-what do we do?"
"Fuck...!"
How the hell should I know?!
"For now, contact HQ again..."
That’s when Kyle spoke to the defense squad.
"I warned you. Don’t move a muscle."
"!!"
Those few words made over a hundred soldiers flinch in unison.
"You."
"Hiiik!"
Kurtz let out a bizarre squeak as Kyle pointed at him.
"Come here."
"M-me?"
"Yeah, you."
"Wh-why, why, why...?"
As he stammered, a menacing blade emerged from the [Subspace] once more.
Seeing it, Kurtz nodded frantically.
"Y-yes!! Yes, sir!!"
"Ch-chief!"
"Fuck, you lot stay put!"
What could they do against that monster anyway?!
Kurtz approached on shaking legs, and Kyle grabbed his collar, hurling him toward the demons.
"Aaaack!"
"!!?"
Gwen caught Kurtz Shleman in surprise, eyes bulging, when Kyle drew a monomolecular cutter from [Subspace] and effortlessly sliced through his steel restraints.
"You’re in charge of him."
He handed Gwen a dagger.
"If the defense squad tries anything stupid, just stab him."
"...!"
"Hiiiik!"
Kurtz’s face drained of color.
"......"
Nien, nestled in Rhenien’s arms, looked up at him with a shadowed expression, as if recalling a dark memory.
"...Uncle’s gonna get stabbed soon too."
"I won’t get stabbed!"
Uncle too? What the hell was with this demon kid?!
Kurtz screamed at the top of his lungs.
"D-defense squad!! Don’t move a damn inch! Got it?!"
Hearing that, Kyle thought.
That should give me the justification I need.
Thoroughly demolishing the demon knight right in front of them had been partly intentional theater from the start.
To him, with his immortality, the demon knight wasn’t that big a deal.
But that didn’t mean "Yul" and their unreliable resurrection weren’t dangerous to others.
It was just that Kyle, who nullified it all, was the exception.
The general perception of a "demon knight" matched its infamous reputation: a terrifying existence from the lower strata.
If he utterly crushed one right before their eyes?
Without elites, they wouldn’t dare charge.
Now, all that remained was tossing them a plausible excuse.
Smooth sailing so far...
Kyle’s gaze shifted to the great bloodkin across the hall, watching him.
Count-class, was it?
He could probably kill it if he tried.
But his [Hyper Sense] warned otherwise.
Even with [Spirit Eye], that vampire wouldn’t go down easily.
No chance of a quick finish, at least.
How will it play this?
From here, his response would depend on the count’s moves.
From what I’ve heard, bloodkin generally don’t care much about other races—or even their own.
Kyle let out a soft groan.
Guess it boils down to their policy on District 23.
If the bloodkin just stood by here, it wouldn’t bode well for relations with District 23.
But District 21 was notoriously isolationist, avoiding dealings with other districts.
Pretty likely they’ll just watch... but still.
"Miki. Can you ID that count?"
[......]
"Miki?"
[Oh, yeah? The count?]
"You okay?"
[Y-yeah, fine. Just... a bit nauseous.]
"?"
Nauseous?
[Anyway, about that count. Sorry, bloodkin keep to themselves, so data’s scarce.]
Miki, who’d briefly activated the camera to peek through Kyle’s eyes, closed them again, pinching her brow.
...Kyle lives in a world like this.
It was a blur of superhuman speed, too fast to track.
The roaring impacts amid the chaos—miraculously, her earpiece camera hadn’t broken.
Amazing... I couldn’t last a second.
Even just watching had made her dizzy; she hadn’t made it to the end.
Partly the footage blurring from the speed, sure.
Another world entirely. She’d glimpsed Kyle’s true caliber.
...Bloodkin, huh.
Pulling up the camera feed again, Miki narrowed her eyes.
How they react... this is the turning point.
On-site, Kyle groaned softly.
No real intel on bloodkin, as expected.
As their eyes met the count’s, a baron-class bloodkin whispered in his ear.
"My lord, this is..."
No matter how composed vampires were, this unforeseen crisis left them visibly rattled.
They could’ve watched the demon knight get pushed back if the count willed it.
Those things didn’t truly die as long as the Demon King’s darkness endured.
Besides, artists hated others sullying their stage.
But who’d have thought the demon knight would actually die...!
Even they, rarely surprised, were at a loss for words.
Only the count before them hadn’t twitched an eyebrow.
He couldn’t pinpoint why "Yul" failed or how the human killed it.
But the real issue now was their political standing.
"The contract’s no big deal. We can pretend it never existed."
The baron-class vampire whispered further.
"But my lord, you know His Excellency the Duke has been quite concerned about relations with District 23 lately."
"...Hmm."
"If we do nothing here and let it slide..."
The count’s eyes took on a strange glint as he regarded Kyle.
Then he spoke.
"No helping it, then."
The count, who’d stood motionless until now, took a step forward.
"......!"
People flinched for an entirely different reason now.
A demon knight was one thing, but they all knew what a great count-class bloodkin truly was.
This is...
Reading the ominous air, Kyle clicked his tongue.
Tch, gearing up for a fight?
As he prepared to summon his draconic aura again—
[You. Kyle Clark, was it?]
A stranger’s voice pierced his ear.
Kyle instinctively knew its source.
The count halted with a thud! before the shattered round table.
"You..."
[Don’t speak it aloud. Think it.]
Kyle furrowed his brow.
Some kind of magic?
What’s your angle?
[Nothing much. Just one question for you.]
Before he could question further, the vampire continued.
[Somehow, you killed that undying demon knight.]
...?
[So, Kyle Clark.]
The count’s brow arched.
[Could you... kill one of my kind too?]
"...!"
As Kyle gauged the distance, he replied.
If I said yes?
[Ha, thought so.]
The vampire’s lips curled.
[Splendid.]
Splendid?
[Of course.]
The bloodkin’s eyes crinkled in amusement.
[A being like you is exactly what I’ve longed for.]
Perplexed by the cryptic response, Kyle activated [Spirit Eye] without hesitation.
What he glimpsed was centuries of distilled rage and hatred.
For an instant, a voice from the past echoed through the [Spirit Eye].
- I’ll shatter it. No matter what.
- This damned "Accord"...!
"...!"
Accord?
As that word lingered, Kyle narrowed his eyes briefly.
[Anyway.]
The oblivious count pressed on.
[I’d like to propose a deal.]
...A deal?
[Regrettably, our great Duke is quite mindful of ties with the demonkin for now.]
In other words, with even a Demon King’s knight dead, he couldn’t fully ignore it.
[See the baron-class behind me?]
Other bloodkin watched from a safe distance.
[If I just let you go, they’ll think it strange.]
From the tone, Kyle thought.
You’re no ordinary bloodkin.
[Ordinary bloodkin, eh.]
The count chuckled, raising his hand. A glow accompanied an ornate rapier hilt materializing in his grasp.
The demons gasped.
"No way... a bloodkin’s stepping in?!"
"We have to fight a great bloodkin here too?"
"No...!"
"I-I heard it’s a count...!"
"A c-count?"
"Even for him, that’s..."
The defense soldiers were just as rattled.
"The count’s really doing it...!"
"What happens now?"
"We’ll get dragged in if we stay!"
"But no way that human beats a bloodkin too..."
"As if! Not a viscount— a count!"
Counts were purebloods; their level dwarfed viscounts and barons.
The count’s voice continued in Kyle’s ear.
[No point dragging this out. Let me save face while helping you and those demons slip away cleanly.]
He flourished the rapier with a swish!, lowering the tip gracefully.
In short: pretend to fight. Cooperate for their escape.
Not a bad deal for me...
If it worked, they’d exit far smoother than planned.
But what do you gain?
[Simple.]
The count struck a pose as if tracking Kyle’s movements.
[Once you’re out, hear me out.]
Hear him out?
That’s it?
[Yes. Everything starts with talk, no?]
Talk, huh.
Recalling the viscount who’d lunged first last time, Kyle’s expression turned odd.
Hearing that from a bloodkin feels... weird.
[You talk like you’ve met our kind before.]
I have.
[Oh? Then you...]
The count’s eyes gleamed.
[Your handiwork? That viscount-class who died recently.]
......
Silence answered for him, and the count’s smirk widened.
[Thanks. That confirms it.]
Confirms what, exactly?
[Dragon’s Manifestation]
One thing first.
Draconic aura swirling, Kyle mirrored the count’s stance.
I’ll just listen. I’m a busy man.
[Ha, that’ll do for now.]
Fine, then.
As the tense standoff resumed, demons and soldiers swallowed hard.
I accept the deal.
[Wise choice, human.]
As if on cue, the count and Kyle charged simultaneously.
KABOOM-!!
Meanwhile, at the Al Kimia Alliance headquarters.
"You’re serious?"
The young-faced alliance leader asked incredulously, doubting his ears.
"The Butcher... isn’t with the Security Stabilization Unit right now?"
"Certain."
Austin Marshall, second son of the Marshall Family, smiled faintly.
"The Butcher’s not with 141 Unit at the moment."