The Fall of Demon Lazarus

"GRAAAAAAAAH!"

As both legs were severed, an agonized scream tore from above the magic circle.

The ground rumbled. Thud. With his legs cut away, Demon Lazarus toppled, catching himself on the magic circle with both hands — the instinctive reaction of any living creature.

Sadly for him, the circle was still spinning at full force.

Sssssssssshk!

"GRAAAAAAAAGH!"

"It's been a while. That face of yours."

A goat's head crowned with massive horns, a minotaur's muscular torso, and goat legs — Demon Lazarus plummeted into the underground chamber. Of course, everything below the knees was gone now.

"Hey. I don't need you anymore. Get lost."

Fwoooooosh!

"…Hah."

Ssssssssh!

Watching the toxic smoke surge toward him, Kimeries let out a low sigh. In the brief span while summoning Demon Lazarus, he had allowed himself to imagine a different ending — if only for a moment.

"So he really is the Absolute One."

Fwoooooosh. Hissss.

In the end, Kimeries closed his eyes and was swallowed by the Yeokcheon-mudok-ma-gong.

With a flick of his hand, Do-ha sent the poison smoke that had consumed Kimeries streaking straight toward Demon Lazarus.

My power still isn't enough to melt that hide of his.

Gurgle. Hissssssss!

"GRAAAAH!"

"But I can make it hurt."

He clapped his hands toward Demon Lazarus, who was already shrouded in toxic smoke, and a sonic blast erupted.

Kiiiiiiing!

"KRAAAAH!"

Struck dead-on by the sound art, Demon Lazarus thrashed his head wildly. The poison already seared every inch of his body — and now his vision was reeling too.

The ground shook. At last, Demon Lazarus clamped both hands over his ears.

And in that instant, Do-ha's eyes lit up.

"Now."

Do-ha's blade flashed, and two massive arcs of sword energy streaked toward Demon Lazarus's armpits. Unlike the rest of his thick hide, the underarms were a weak point.

Thwack-thwack!

"GRAAAAAAGH!"

"Ah!"

When the sword energy failed to punch clean through, Canteas jolted in alarm. The two blades should have pierced the body entirely — but Demon Lazarus had curled in on himself, and they only sank halfway in.

Unlike Canteas, Do-ha barely reacted.

"Don't worry. This isn't over."

Behind Do-ha's back, two enormous arms of pure qi took shape. Once they had been hazy outlines — now they held a sharp, solid form.

Whooooosh! Thud!

"Graah?"

"Arms up."

He seized Demon Lazarus's arms and wrenched them skyward, laying the demon's flanks bare once more.

"Got to finish the job."

Do-ha drew up his power until veins stood out on his forehead. At the same time, two more massive arms began to form behind him.

"Oh — finally four."

Canteas watched with a delighted smile. Long ago, six arms had always hovered at Do-ha's back. In those days, a single one of them could split a mountain. He still couldn't match that power — but he had taken one step closer.

"Hey, Demon Lazarus. Farewell."

"GRAAAAAAAAH!"

As if he understood the words, Demon Lazarus howled.

Thwack! Whoooooosh! Crash! Crash!

The newly formed arms hammered the half-embedded sword energy like mallets driving stakes.

Shunk!

"Graaah…"

The two blades finally punched clean through his body. Demon Lazarus's eyes rolled back as he convulsed.

Sssssssshk!

Do-ha raised his sword high and moved with almost casual ease. A colossal blade of sword energy dropped onto Demon Lazarus's head and split him clean in half.

Crrrrrack. Thud.

"Huuuh… I'm exhausted."

As Demon Lazarus fell apart in two pieces and died, Do-ha let out a long breath. Fighting while sealing acupoints had piled fatigue on top of fatigue. He hadn't taken any internal injuries, thankfully — but he was truly, thoroughly spent.

"Good work."

"Bag the Demon Lazarus remains carefully. I'll need them later."

"Can I use some too?"

"Sure."

"Oh yeah!"

At Do-ha's permission, Canteas pumped his fist. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Demon Lazarus was rare even in the Demon Realm — specimens were notoriously hard to come by.

"The recording? You got everything?"

"Obviously."

Canteas held out a magic orb. In truth, he had been recording every moment from the instant they entered. They had come to hunt a demon, after all — but on the surface, Kimeries had been living as Chi Wei. The footage was needed to prove he was a demon.

"You know how to add screen noise, right?"

"I'm not an amateur…"

Canteas snorted at Do-ha's question. Normally, projecting a crystal orb played back every recorded scene. When there were moments you didn't want shown, you generated noise to scrub both image and sound.

"Wipe the parts where they were babbling about Absolute One and Lord of the Underworld. Edit the fight scene in pieces too."

"Yeah, don't worry. But Do-ha—"

"?"

"Why did you tell me to protect these corpses?"

Canteas pointed at the bodies in the pit. If they had only been for summoning Demon Lazarus, wasn't that already finished?

"Those bodies need to be returned to their families."

"…"

"What?"

Canteas stared at him, dumbfounded. Do-ha tilted his head. Why was he looking at him like that?

"Moved, are you? Heh…"

"What's your angle?"

"What are you talking about."

"You've got some scheme going. That's why you're doing this."

"This is all about projecting a heroic image…"

"Yeah, right."

"…"

Canteas burst out laughing, and Do-ha scratched his head. Well. That didn't work.

"If we return the bodies to their families, the reason for killing Chi Wei holds up — and also…"

"And also?"

"Officially, China ends up in my debt."

He was going to scrub the Demon Lazarus summoning footage anyway. As far as the public would know, a demon posing as Chi Wei had stepped out into the world and slaughtered people.

"And the one who dealt with that demon: Cheonwaecheon A. The Korean Cheonwaecheon who stopped a massacre."

Once that became official, China would owe him. The Chinese government had already been needling Namgung Je-u by insisting Belhart's Eastern Continent belonged to them — a headache Do-ha had been stuck with. This would shut them up nicely.

"Ugh… of course."

Having heard the full picture, Canteas shook his head. Baek Do-ha — more demonic than any demon. Figures.

"Gather the bodies and let's go."

"Yeah. Got it."

Canteas formed a magic circle above the pit and began absorbing the corpses one by one.

Outside the beer hall.

Creeeak.

"Haaaah…"

A black sedan pulled up, and someone stepped out with a deep, weary sigh.

"Association President. Over here."

"…My nemesis…"

"Pardon?"

The Association ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠President bit his lip and glared at Do-ha. Because of everything that had happened in China today, he had been hounded by the Chinese government, the Korean government, and even the Chinese Hunter Association — three separate parties — before finally clocking out.

"Do you have any idea how hard I've had it lately because of you, Do-ha?! Look! My hair is starting to fall out!"

He thrust the crown of his head toward Do-ha. He wasn't lying — ever since meeting Do-ha, his hairline had been steadily retreating. And on top of everything, Do-ha had told him to become a magic swordsman, so now he was studying magic too!

"I'm going to die at this rate!"

Nearly in tears, the Association President grabbed Do-ha's arm. Please… please!! Couldn't he just live quietly for once?! Why did every single move he made set off some enormous incident?!

"Haha… I—I'm sorry. The President has had a rough day…"

His secretary, Roseina, gave an awkward smile and patted the Association President's shoulder. The three groups had grilled him like a congressional hearing, and his nerves were frayed to the breaking point.

"It's all right. Come sit here."

"Ah, thank you, Lady Selenia."

Roseina smiled at Selenia, who was seated beside Do-ha. True to her status as the future Elf Queen, she wore a gentle, soothing expression.

"You've worked hard, Association President."

"…Manager Han."

"Yes?"

"Why are you here?"

"Excuse me? What do you mean…"

"We agreed you would handle all of Do-ha's paperwork — so why are you sitting here drinking beer?! Why am I the only one who suffered?!"

Grab! Shake-shake-shake-shake!

The aggrieved Association President seized Han Jeong-soo by the collar and rattled him.

"Ghk! I—I'm sorry!"

"Ugh, seriously."

Thwip! Thud.

In the end, Roseina knocked the rampaging Association President out with an arrow tip coated in knockout poison.

"My apologies, Do-ha…"

"It's fine. That was entertaining."

Do-ha laughed and waved it off. How could he not understand how the Association President felt? He ought to give him a gift soon.

"How are the two of them?"

"The two of them?"

"Kang Ji-hwan and Han Se-ah."

"Ah~"

Roseina nodded and filled him in. Ever since receiving Do-ha's instruction, the two hadn't set foot in a single Gate — they were training nonstop. They had locked themselves in their own guild training halls and refused to come out.

"Hmm. I should check how much they've improved."

"Nnngh."

The Association President came to, rubbing the back of his neck as he slowly rose.

"Sleep well?"

"I apologize for earlier…"

He bowed his head to Do-ha. He had overreacted badly before Roseina put him under.

"I've put you through a lot because of me. I'm sorry."

"Oh, not at all. The workload has increased, yes — but thanks to you, Do-ha, South Korea is the hottest topic on the planet right now."

The incident he had resolved in China alone was already drawing praise from around the world. Even China — a country that usually laid down ironclad faces — was endlessly expressing its ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠gratitude.

"By the way… Chi Wei was a demon. Don't tell me the Demon God Cult was involved this time too?"

"No. That one came to the Middle Realm on his own."

"Middle Realm?"

"Ah. Heaven, the Demon Realm, and the world where humans live — we call that the Middle Realm."

"How on earth do you know all of this, Do-ha?"

"I heard it from the demons themselves, more or less."

"Well, that's a relief at least. That the Demon God Cult wasn't mixed up in it."

One demon was complicated enough. Drag the cult into it and things would become a genuine nightmare. Fortunately, New Age had been continuously dismantling the cult, so for now they had gone quiet.

"Ah, right!"

"?"

"When you leave later, I'll pull a gift out of the trunk for you."

"A gift? From China?"

"There are some from China, but most of them are from Assemblyman Park Seok-jun."

Pffft!

At the Association President's words, Do-ha sprayed beer before he could stop himself.

Assemblyman Park Seok-jun…? The Park Seok-jun he knew — mayor of Goyang Special City??? Why would that guy be sending him anything…?

"Assemblyman Park Seok-jun seems to be a passionate fan of yours, Do-ha. Whenever negative public opinion crops up, he flies into a rage, debates people, runs favorable articles — the whole works. This time he said you'd gone through so much in China and sent over a hundred gifts."

"…Send them all back."

"Pardon? Assemblyman Park will be disappointed…"

"It's fine. Send them back."

Do-ha exhaled a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠long sigh. Something about this felt off — like some strange character had gotten himself involved…

"Well now, everyone's here, are they?"

"Grandfather."

As Baek Chul stepped into the beer hall, Do-ha rose from his seat.