Chapter 764: The Price of Prudence
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 764: The Price of Prudence
"Heh."
Ariel let out a cold, knowing sneer. "How does it feel to be toyed with for the third time, Lord First Demon General?"
A sudden chill rose.
It came from right behind Zagu.
Muen, who had seemingly charged away, had doubled back at some unknown moment.
His twin blades crossed, slashing out a cruciform radiance.
This time, of course, it wasn't just for show. The Stacked Force he had been gathering on his blades erupted instantly. Intense vibrations intertwined with pure sharpness, easily tearing through the powerful Magic Armor Zagu wore.
And then, through his flesh.
Squelch—
Crimson blood splattered like blooming equinox flowers, a sight of morbid beauty.
"Muen—Campbell!!!"
Zagu roared.
The first time, he could endure it. He had been caught off guard by a calculated scheme; anyone could fall for that.
The second time, he could also endure it. The techniques had shifted, the players had changed; losing a bit of face wasn't the end of the world.
But a third time...
No one with a shred of self-respect could stomach it, let alone the First Demon General of the Demon Race!
The strongest existence beneath the Grand Dukes!
Zagu lifted his foot and slammed it into the ground.
In an instant, the floor—forged entirely of a specific metal—warped as if caught in a storm-tossed sea, surging up in violent, metallic waves!
The massive, undulating ripples extended outward, carrying an unimaginable, primordial force that forcibly repelled both Muen and Ariel!
Not only that, but everywhere the "waves" swept, the soil, vegetation, and crystal barriers were utterly shredded. Aside from Muen and Ariel, who had leapt into the air just in time, nothing survived!
As expected of the First Demon General...
Muen’s eyes swept over the surroundings, his heart sinking.
One stomp.
With just one stomp, this massive botanical garden had been nearly leveled by Zagu.
"A pity..."
Muen twirled his blades with a look of regret.
As expected, those two slashes hadn't been enough to finish the man.
Though he had broken through the defense, the damage seemed too superficial to strike a fatal blow.
If anything, he had only succeeded in maxing out the guy's rage meter.
"Huff... huff... I admit, you've truly managed to incense me."
Zagu took two deep breaths, gradually calming his racing heart.
The cruciform glow had left a massive scar across his back. Even his Magic Armor had failed to withstand Elizabeth’s absolute sharpness; its mana circuits had been severed, rendering it nearly scrap.
Zagu showed no regret. He reached out and violently tore the Magic Armor from his body. Then, he pulled off his faceplate, revealing his true face for the first time.
"That’s... hiss—"
Muen and Ariel both sucked in a breath of cold air simultaneously.
It wasn't because Zagu was exceptionally hideous or handsome. It was because his bare torso, his limbs, and even his unremarkable, middle-aged face were covered in a dense thicket of scars.
Healed scars, old scars, hideous scars.
Then, the muscles on Zagu’s back writhed. The two wounds Muen had just inflicted began to close at a visible rate. However, his healing factor seemed unable to achieve perfection, leaving behind distinct marks.
Pale, terrifying, fresh scars.
In an instant, the damage Muen had dealt vanished, becoming just another set of marks among the rest—becoming another badge of honor on Zagu’s body.
Except...
The new scars and the old ones... the difference was so stark...
Muen’s gaze shifted slightly, meeting Ariel’s eyes.
It was impossible to know if they were thinking the same thing at that moment.
"Be honored. I don't know how long it's been since anyone has seen my 'Full State'."
Discarding his armor felt like breaking free from a set of shackles.
Zagu stared at the culprits who had humiliated him multiple times, a chilling, savage grin spreading across his face.
"This time, I won't hold back. I won't give you another chance to play your little tricks!"
"That sounds rather ominous..."
Muen gave a wry smile.
But a moment later, that smile hardened into unshakable resolve.
"But save the threats. I’ve been used to this kind of talk for a long time. You can't scare me."
Muen’s figure blurred again.
Faced with the terrifying pressure of Zagu’s intimidation, he didn't retreat. Instead, he chose to strike first!
With a power that broke his own limits.
Hundred Stacks.
Slash—
The move looked as repetitive as ever.
But the sweat of day and night, of constant training, always yields a different fruit.
This strike contained not only the weight of his previous stacked power but also a concentrated... sharpness!
This was no longer a mere imitation of Heavenly Fire Draw. It was the result of perfectly fusing Heavenly Fire Draw with his own techniques!
"Hundred-Stack—Scorching Wave!"
The new technique lunged at Zagu like a prairie fire.
And on the other side, with Ariel, what ignited was a literal prairie fire.
"This guy... just how much of my technique has he stolen?"
Seeing Muen use her Heavenly Fire Draw as if it were his own, performing it effortlessly with different weapons and even improving upon it, Ariel gritted her teeth in annoyance.
But now was not the time to fret over such trifles.
She couldn't let that bastard outshine her!
Ariel took a deep breath.
"Beast Heart."
"Boiling Blood."
Though her physical condition had recovered significantly, she still couldn't support the "light pollution" levels of buffs she had used before.
Thus, she could only rely on these two—the ones with the smallest burden but the greatest enhancement to her current physical capabilities.
And then...
"Heavenly Fire..."
Ariel raised the crimson-gold greatsword.
The bandages on the blade had completely unraveled, fully exposing the majestic golden runes.
Flames surged up before rapidly sinking into the blade, causing the entire Heavenly Fire Greatsword to radiate a colossal heat and brilliance, as if it had been forged from living lava!
"Draw—Modified!"
Ariel’s breathing deepened.
If Muen Campbell was using a new move, she certainly wouldn't lag behind.
This time, she wasn't just condensing raw power, but the entire essence of the technique!
She forcibly dismantled the violent Heavenly Fire Judgment and fused it directly into her most practiced and comfortable move, Heavenly Fire Draw!
"Judgment Descent!"
The power of two different forms merged in an exquisite display. Ariel compressed that rampaging, all-crushing force and then let it explode with reckless abandon!
Just like her previous black and white, light and dark!
And so.
On one side was an unstoppable, absolute sharpness; on the other, a surging crimson tide that burned bone and soul.
Zagu was caught in the middle, like a rock about to be pulverized by a giant wave.
And so.
Zagu gripped his spear with both hands.
After his rage, he had returned to a state of absolute calm.
He felt no fear toward their techniques.
Because a rock in the center of a river remains unmoved, even against a heaven-toppling surge.
Just as he was now.
"Ancient Martial Technique."
Zagu spoke in a language forgotten by this era, chanting the name of an ancient move:
"Evil Ghost Aspect!"
A thousand years had passed, and much had been forgotten.
To outsiders, the modern Demon Race were mostly monsters who fought with instinct and ferocity.
But how many remembered that the Demons of old—or rather, "those" who became Demons—were true martial artists who had tempered their techniques to the absolute limit?
Though he hadn't used this move in a very long time, he had to admit that these two human rats truly deserved to see his ancient arts!
"Die, humans."
As the chant fell, terrifying patterns like small snakes writhed out from Zagu’s flesh, spreading across his entire body in a grotesque fashion.
It was the tattoo of an evil ghost.
A totem of death.
And a symbol of power!
Zagu gripped his pitch-black spear and swung it down with a roar, as if to cleave the heaven-toppling waves in two!
*
"The time should be about right."
Grand Duke Divine Will looked up at the invisible sky and murmured softly.
"What?"
An, sitting on the throne, asked warily, "What do you mean 'about right'?"
"I mean, by my calculations, Zagu should have killed Muen Campbell by now."
"Impossible."
An’s expression turned cold, her voice rising sharply.
"Young Master won't be killed that easily."
Even after escaping the kind of imprisonment she had once subjected him to, An didn't believe he would be killed by some random cat or dog.
Even if that "cat or dog" was the famous First Demon General.
"Hehe. Against anyone else, Muen Campbell might indeed have a chance to escape. But that is Zagu."
Divine Will chuckled, showing absolute confidence in his subordinate.
He trusted him because he knew exactly what kind of man Zagu was. This was why he relied on Zagu more than he did on those arrogant, laughable Grand Dukes.
"Do you know, Your Majesty?"
Divine Will placed a hand over his heart and spoke politely. "In the entire Demon Race, you won't find another person as prudent as Zagu. That prudence isn't just reserved for the strong; it applies to all his targets and opponents. No matter how weak or small they seem, he never relaxes, even with an absolute advantage. Therefore, he might encounter trouble... but he will never fail."
*
Everything went still.
Zagu silently lowered his spear, surveying the wreckage.
The clash had utterly destroyed the area; not a trace of its original form remained.
Debris, twisted metal, and flickering mana lines were scattered everywhere, as if a catastrophic earthquake had struck. The fissures in the ground were bottomless.
It was over.
"I must say, for prey driven into a corner, you managed to cause me quite a bit of trouble. You have earned the right to be proud."
Zagu looked at his chest.
Two distinct scars, forming a cross, were etched into his flesh.
Though they were already healing at a visible rate, the white of his ribs was still faintly visible within the wounds.
His back was also still throbbing with a searing pain; large patches of his skin were practically carbonized. Even real magma shouldn't have been able to make his powerful body look this pathetic, yet this had come solely from that human woman’s sun-like flames.
Yes, he was injured, and not lightly.
But... that was all.
Because the victor had been decided.
He had taken damage, but the damage Muen Campbell and that human woman had sustained was surely several times worse.
He didn't believe anyone could survive that. Even the most tenacious magical beasts in the depths of the Abyss would have no choice but to die after such an attack.
Of course, given his nature, he wouldn't relax just because he could no longer sense their presence.
Until he had severed their heads, he wouldn't loosen his taut nerves.
It was precisely this caution that had allowed him to hold the position of First Demon General for a hundred years in a race defined by bloody internal strife.
"Cleaning the battlefield is also part of the hunt."
Zagu first approached the rubble where Muen Campbell was buried. This human, personally named by Lord Divine Will, was his primary target and needed to be confirmed first.
His eyes were fixed on the pile of debris. Near the wreckage, a large amount of blood was splattered.
It seemed Muen Campbell was likely—
Zing!
Suddenly, a pure white blade thrust upward from below.
Zagu’s expression didn't change as he swung his spear to parry.
However, the parry only met a flurry of thrown debris.
Behind that debris, a blood-soaked figure followed like a shadow, slashing the blade toward Zagu’s vitals from a lethal angle.
Zagu frowned. The spear shifted in his hands as if weightless, thrusting straight toward the opponent's chest.
But that blood-stained figure... Muen Campbell... seemed completely oblivious to the killing intent carried by the spear. He continued his desperate lunge, blade leading the way.
He wants to... trade wounds with me?
No, in Muen Campbell’s current state, "trading wounds" was a misnomer; "trading his life for a wound" was more accurate.
It was a suicidal, reckless style of fighting, fueled by pure desperation.
In that case, there was no need to take the risk.
Zagu forcibly pulled back to dodge. Muen Campbell’s movements didn't falter, leaving another gash on Zagu’s arm.
Though this hurried sneak attack was nowhere near as powerful as the previous move, it was enough to make Zagu feel impatient and annoyed.
"Enough!"
Zagu forced Muen back and barked, "How much longer are you going to keep up this meaningless struggle?"
"...Meaningless... struggle?"
Muen swayed, struggling to keep his footing. Just as Zagu had predicted, even if he wasn't dead, his injuries were catastrophic.
Yet, he looked up, staring at Zagu with confusion.
"What... do you mean? Aren't we still in the middle of a fight?"
"You've already lost!"
Zagu snapped. "Why continue such pointless resistance? You humans consider yourselves more than beasts; surely you can understand—"
"Resistance? Beasts?"
Muen interrupted Zagu, his tone inquisitive.
He seemed genuinely unable to comprehend Zagu’s words, murmuring to himself:
"How strange... The Demon Race... with all its internal strife... and constant bloody slaughter... shouldn't be like this... Could it be... Ah, right. I get it now."
As if remembering something, Muen had a sudden epiphany.
"Zagu, the First Demon General..."
"What exactly are you trying to say?"
"Don't misunderstand. What I mean is, you are indeed very prudent, and very powerful. As the First Demon General, you live up to your reputation. You must have survived countless bloodbaths and participated in endless slaughters to reach your position today. The scars on your body are proof of that. But..."
Muen suddenly grinned, flashing a bizarre, blood-stained smile at Zagu.
"Lord Zagu, since you became the First Demon General—since you became the strongest beneath the Grand Dukes—how long has it been... since you’ve fought someone tooth and nail, claw to claw?"