Chapter 42

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Translator: Ace

Chapter: 42

Chapter Title: Demon Maloctis

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Ian descended the stairs into the underground, confirming with his own ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠eyes that his ominous feeling—wondering if Pandemonium was up to no good—was far more than just a hunch.

It was thick and dark.

Of course, it was underground, so darkness was expected, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠but the gloom Ian felt was something else entirely.

Magic hung thickly over the entire underground. That meant the whole area had been demonized, which implied demons were present.

'The demon descent was a success, then.'

It had worked. And it was inside.

Which meant he absolutely couldn't let his guard down.

The interior was a vast cavern. A ceiling high enough for even the three-meter-tall Ddol Ddoli to stand upright without issue, and an expansive space. Several black mages in robes were within.

"Argh. Why are there so many?"

"Who's here at this hour... Gasp!"

The people inside reflexively turned their heads. Dozens of robed black mages, midway through their bows, shot to their feet and stared straight at Ian.

"Who the hell are you!"

"Just your average human."

"How did you get in? There was a barrier!"

"Broke it."

"No way. You broke a barrier that blocks even sixth-circle magic?"

"Wasn't hard."

Ian shrugged nonchalantly, but inside, he was shocked.

'Blocks sixth-circle magic? Damn, no wonder it felt so sturdy.'

Now he understood why the guards had been stripped of their sword.

Someone capable of designing a barrier like that had to be multiple sixth-circle mages or at least a seventh-circle black mage or higher.

If such a powerhouse had stepped in personally, it would've been weirder if they hadn't been disarmed.

Though that big shot didn't seem to be here now.

"Anyway, there's a demon in there, right?"

"What?"

"Is there a demon or not?"

"How dare you refer to that lord as...!"

The reaction was fierce. That meant yes.

'Not sure if I should be happy or not.'

If things went well, he could recover the sword and collect a demon soul. If not, he might not get the soul—or he might end his life right here.

'But seriously, isn't this way too hard for just retrieving one sword?'

"What's the commotion?"

A voice rang out then. Low like a cave's echo, resonating in the chest—it sent chills down Ian's spine.

Something was approaching. Roughly over two meters tall, with massive demon wings on its back, a hulking horned, dark-red humanoid demon.

The demon drew near. With every step, Ian's nerves tightened, his hairs standing on end. The magic emanating from it was no joke.

'This one's strong.'

Strong. Stronger than the upper demon he'd faced before.

He couldn't tell if it was mid-tier or upper-tier, but one thing was clear.

'It's regained a good chunk of its true power.'

The thick magic proved it, as did his instincts screaming danger.

'Damn it. This is straight-up unfair. We're barely past the game's early story, and why do these monsters keep popping up?'

It wasn't fear so much as frustration. Honestly, it was just a sword retrieval mission. Grab the sword, head back, learn spatial teleportation magic, upgrade Ddol Ddoli—a super simple plan.

But why was the world like this? Why was it forcing obstacles in his way?

Was it divine will saying he'd sucked too much honey the past four years and now it was time to step up? Like, you're in a game world, so clear the story or whatever?

"It's been ages since I last saw such a strong human."

Ian snapped out of his thoughts at the voice directed at him. The demon was staring right at him, speaking with a smile that oozed leisure.

"You're incredibly strong. Enough to give me chills. Human, did you come all this way just to bring me joy?"

"Ugh, bad breath."

"...What did you say?"

"Eww, what did you even eat... Oh, sorry. No offense intended. It just reeks."

It was genuine. Not hostility because it was a demon—just an instinctive reaction.

What was he supposed to do about the stench? It hit the moment the thing opened its mouth.

"Hahaha. What an insolent human. But that's fine. I like the strong ones. Someone as powerful as you can be as rude as they want."

"I don't like you, though? And I'm not that strong. I suck at fighting."

"I'm not talking about raw physical power. The strength I mean is holistic—your physical might, soul strength, karma. All of it combined. In that sense, you're... remarkable. Utterly intoxicating. Was there ever a human this strong?"

The demon shuddered in delight, its face ecstatic. Ian recoiled in disgust. That blissful expression was seriously creepy.

"Whatever. Just one question: Where's Lavris?"

"Lavris? What's that? I don't remember human names."

"Not a human. It's the sword's name."

"Sword? Oh, that one? I ate it."

"What?"

"Ate it. Delicious. Thanks to it, I could descend to the human realm. Heh."

Ian's face twisted. Ate ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it?

'So this stinky bastard has the sword in its gut?'

Ian scratched his head furiously. Lavris was a royal treasure with immense power. They'd used it to summon the demon, which made things extremely inconvenient.

'Means I can't recover the sword without taking down that thing.'

He'd have to fight, after all.

Not that he could've run anyway.

"Anyway, nice to meet you. I'll dote on you plenty. It won't hurt too much, so come here."

The demon approached. Ian backed away, and Ddol Ddoli stepped forward to block it.

-Can't go to owner.

"Hm? What's this?"

-Ddoli.

"Right. Soul of the rock. Mind stepping aside? I'm not interested in you."

-Feel very strong magic from you. Very, very bad guy.

"I was going to let you off easy, but you're asking for punishment."

-Ddoli protect owner.

Ddol Ddoli's expression hardened. The demon's eyebrows shot up in an inverted V.

The demon raised its hand. Ddol Ddoli swung its fist instantly.

BOOM!

Fist met fist. The shockwave swept the area. The black mages were all flung into the walls. Ian and Lara, behind Ddol Ddoli, were unscathed.

"Lara!"

"Yes!"

Light swirled, enveloping the surroundings and beginning to purge the thick magic. At the mystical sight, the demon's eyebrows twisted.

"So that's where the foul stench was coming from—a fly."

"Hmph! Wicked fiend!"

"Don't worry. I'll dote on you second after that human."

Sanctuary's power was impressive. It had banished the heavy magic.

But the demon's leisurely expression didn't fade. Its eyebrows merely twitched before returning to normal.

'Not greatly affected.'

Holy power didn't always dominate magic.

Matchups could flip based on power level and quantity.

Which meant the demon's power surpassed Lara's.

Sanctuary's effects couldn't fully reach it.

Still, it was fortunate—the black mages aiding the demon were all neutralized by the sanctuary.

Writhing on the ground, screaming in fits. That left just ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the one demon to deal with.

Quite the advantage.

'Advantage my ass. That demon's the problem.'

BOOM! BOOM! Shockwaves erupted repeatedly. Over a dozen exchanges already. Ddol Ddoli was holding even. But Ian saw it wasn't truly even.

The demon's smile deepened. It had room to spare. Maybe even going easy.

Ddol Ddoli had spare capacity too, of course.

It was in compact mode.

The combat power gap between compact and giant mode was at least twofold by design. If Ddol Ddoli enlarged, victory was possible.

'But how? This place'll collapse.'

That was the issue.

This was an underground space, ceiling barely over five meters even at its highest.

Hard for Ian to provide support fire from behind. One wrong spell, and it'd all come down.

'Lure it to the surface?'

On the surface, odds might improve. Ddol Ddoli enlarges, Lara and he support with magic.

'But what if it flees up there? Chasing would suck.'

Too many thoughts. This way awkward, that way too.

'No choice. Lure it out...'

Ian's thoughts cut off. A sudden alert.

'Huh?'

All of Ian's dilemmas vanished in an instant. Luring the demon? Irrelevant now.

'Wait, what's a Dragon Word?!'

Using that meant it was dead serious. Dragons rarely resorted to Dragon Words.

They were for life-or-death stakes. And it was using one to chase?

'We're screwed.'

Really screwed.

'Run.'

Ian scooped up Lara.

"Ian! Why all of a sudden... Mmph!"

"Quiet. We're in deep shit. Gotta run."

"Huh? What do you mean? What about the demon?!"

"Something worse is coming."

"Worse?!"

"Yeah. A hornless psycho dragon pissed off. Stay still and we're dead."

Ian bolted. The demon spotted him and tried to pursue, but Ddol Ddoli blocked the way.

"What about Ddol Ddoli? You're leaving it?!"

"I can resummon Ddol Ddoli. Don't worry. And I just had a great idea."

They surfaced. Ian chained Blink spells to rapidly escape the area.

"Huff... huff... Gonna die!"

No matter how overflowing his mana, chaining over a dozen Blinks was tough. Gasping, Ian halted to catch his breath.

"We've come far. Should be safe to rest now."

"What're you planning?"

"You'll see."

A wind blew. The sky darkened. Looking up, a massive black shape flew overhead. A dragon. Black dragon.

The black dragon shot past Ian in a flash, heading to where Ddol Ddoli fought the demon.

'Will it work?'

No clue. Had to try.

Ian Blinked another dozen times to a distant spot, watching alerts warily.

'Ian. Timing's key. Summon at just the right moment.'

If he nailed it, jackpot.

Balteros scanned around. The trail was closing in.

'You... I won't let you go.'

Found it. The underground entrance. Balteros's eyes gleamed.

-There you are!

Its eyes flashed. Dragon heart surged mana; magic manifested.

A basic low-tier spell to dig earth. But from a dragon's maw, it was on another level.

RUMBLE!

The ground caved. The underground cavern exposed. The moment the shape appeared, Balteros dove with gleaming eyes.

-Golem, you bastard! Thought I'd let you esc... Gasp!

Balteros was stunned. It wasn't the golem.

A dark-red biped with huge wings.

-D-Demon?

"Dragon?"

Its massive eyes blinked. A demon? Why was it in the human realm!

Wait, where was the golem?

'It was right here moments ago!'

Power lingered. Dragon Word didn't lie.

So how? Did it vanish clean off this spot?

"Why's a dragon here? Wasn't a curse triggered?"

-W-Wait. This is...

Balteros panicked. Wanted to stop, but couldn't. Even as a dragon, halting a diving bulk mid-plunge was impossible.

It rocketed forward.

CRASH!

Collision. Shockwave exploded, massive roar echoing as dragon and demon flew apart.