Chapter 192 : Chapter 192
Chapter 192 : The Fallen One (3)
I looked indifferently at the screaming Zenburga.
How many times had I chewed over the thought of killing him.
But now that I faced him, instead of excitement, my blood felt cold.
I thought I knew how I was maintaining my calm.
It was distinctly different from when we met before.
The current Zenburga was not an overwhelming opponent beyond my reach.
Killing him now was not such a difficult task for me.
‘Come to think of it…… Is the gap in ability between Zenburga and me widening this much? Something is strange.’
I was dealing with Zenburga far too easily.
It is true I became stronger and Zenburga became weaker after losing the Necklace of the Void, but there was a gap difficult to explain with just that.
‘It seems like something definitely happened…….’
Apart from the aspect of the battle, Zenburga’s eyes were still sharp.
I needed to surely break him so that he could no longer resist.
Slash!
Maron dug into Zenburga’s shoulder blade.
The guy gritted his teeth and swallowed a scream.
Adding strength to the hand gripping the sword, I asked him.
“What happened to Lord Tayon?”
“Kuhaha, don’t tell me you believe he’s alive? You’re too naive.”
“Did he pass away? Then do you know how his corpse was handled?”
“Why should I answer that!”
Zenburga swung his fist in a rage.
Still, his fist flew at a terrifying speed and the power loaded in it was tremendous.
It was just a fist, but a sonic boom sounded as if the air was being torn.
However, as soon as I grasped that he was making a large movement, I twisted and pulled Maron out.
In the end, Zenburga’s left arm was cut off.
Taking advantage of the gap as his balance collapsed after losing an arm, I also dodged Zenburga’s fist.
His muscles, which looked as if no blade could penetrate and embed into them, were torn apart helplessly.
Normally, he would have shown terrifying recovery speed to the point where even a severed arm would grow back, but perhaps because Cutting Absorption shaved away the Demonic Energy in chunks, he could not easily recover from the wound.
Huuuuk…… Huuuuuk…….
Zenburga let out rough breaths.
“Tell me whenever you feel like talking.”
“……Tayon is dead. His corpse was torn to shreds and scattered all over Myeolji. That is the truth you wanted to hear.”
“You will have to answer properly.”
I did not believe Zenburga’s words.
Because Demons were not simply beasts crazy for blood.
High, Middle, Low.
They are Demons divided by solid ranks.
Furthermore, it is a strict class society that ranks individuals even within each hierarchy.
Although it is a society that can proceed based on a powerful leader, only those who know how to follow a system can maintain a class society.
If they were guys with thoughts, they would not have treated Tayon carelessly.
Even if they killed him, at least they would have kept the remains.
‘There is no way they didn’t know Tayon’s value.’
I wanted to believe so.
I attacked Zenburga again and again.
He tried to counterattack while screaming, but unfortunately, it was not threatening at all.
However, I still hadn’t found out Tayon’s exact life and death or whereabouts.
I continued the attack within the line of not ending his life.
And I asked about the question blooming inside my head.
“By the way, why have you become this weak? Did you get disciplined by the Demon King because you had the necklace taken away?”
Like handling a beast.
I didn’t have to add such words. My eyes were already saying so.
“Discipline? No way. As you said, I have become weak. My Demon ranking dropped a lot too. Since I am only 16th now.”
Zenburga giggled.
“But the soldiers who followed me from before are still following me. Do you know what that means in Demon society where power is everything?”
“Well. I don’t really know.”
“It is the fact that I was given a role important enough to surpass all of that!”
Zenburga’s face brightened.
Even though he was practically dying just a moment ago.
“What role is it?”
Zenburga glanced back slightly, not at me who asked the question.
The main unit of the Expedition had already arrived.
The Expedition was sweeping away the Demon Beastkin.
The battle was entering its final stages.
Screams of Demon Beastkin were heard from everywhere.
Zenburga’s subordinate troops continued meaningless resistance and fell endlessly.
But Zenburga didn’t seem to care.
It was an attitude as if it didn’t matter even if his subordinate soldiers died, or even if he himself was fated to die.
Before I knew it, the separate unit stopped participating in further combat and surrounded the space between me and Zenburga.
There is nowhere for Zenburga to run.
‘Was he always a guy like that? I thought he was a guy who terribly cherished at least his own race like other beastkin.’
He is an enemy I must kill anyway.
I decided not to think more about him.
“If you aren’t going to speak properly about your role or Lord Tayon’s life and death, just die now.”
I raised the sword high.
Energy gathered on Maron.
I intended to end his life with this attack.
It was regrettable that I couldn’t know more about Tayon’s life and death, but Demons to question were scattered all over Myeolji.
“Oh…….”
Zenburga admired the massive power loaded in my sword and spoke quietly.
“It seems the Expedition has gathered enough now.”
And then Zenburga thrust his hand into his own chest.
Keoheok!
Massive Demonic Energy spread out with a single scream.
Before, he split his own skull, and it seems he intends to use the same trick again.
But the situation was different from back then.
“Radiance!”
I shouted Eusebia’s Activation Word once again.
Holy Power dominated the space.
It resisted the Demonic Energy and blocked the Demonic Energy from encroaching on our minds.
A situation where even the last move he spat out with determination was blocked.
However, instead of despairing, Zenburga ripped his mouth open and laughed.
“Keukeuk…… Let me introduce you. They are our new friends.”
Rummmmmmmmble!
Something was squirming out of Zenburga’s torn chest.
***
What popped out of Zenburga’s chest was an enormously large blue slime.
Zenburga’s bulk was also quite large, but the size was enough to make one wonder how it was inside there.
Because it was almost the size of a large building.
And the slime floated into the air.
The squirming fluid body covered the sky.
The Expedition members looked up at the slime with wide-open eyes.
It was because a clear and refreshing energy, enough to make it unbelievable that it came out of Zenburga’s body, was emanating from the slime.
It was enough to make the desolate Myeolji feel like a forest.
“It…… It’s a Fairy.”
Raldetun walked out as if possessed and headed toward the slime.
“A Fairy?”
“The energy itself seems similar, but somehow the form is…….”
The Expedition members started buzzing.
But Raldetun did not care, looked up at the slime, and even knelt.
“Lord Rokgun! It is Lord Rokgun!”
“No way?”
“Is it really…… Lord Rokgun?”
The Fairy warriors were half in doubt even after hearing Raldetun’s shout, but when they felt the clear energy emanating from the slime cover Myeolji, they knelt one by one.
Fairy King Rokgun.
The Fairy King who was the king before Frude and whose whereabouts became unknown about 200 years ago.
Originally, he would have had an appearance no different from other Fairies, but perhaps due to some trick the Demons used, his original appearance was nowhere to be found.
However, the blue body of the slime began to turn murky, and not long after, it was completely dyed black.
At the same time, even the refreshing energy he was emanating turned into thick Demonic Energy.
An ominous change occurred, but Raldetun only looked up at the slime blankly.
To Raldetun, Rokgun would be his grandfather.
It seemed he could not accept that his grandfather had changed into a form barely recognizable.
At that moment, the roundly clumped body of the slime became runny and shot a lump of mucus toward the Expedition members.
One of them fell toward Raldetun at high speed.
The ones who saved such Raldetun were Bea and Eidon riding Nihel.
Eidon was able to slow the attack speed by shooting ice magic at the lump of mucus heading toward Raldetun.
In that gap, Bea, who was riding Nihel, succeeded in snatching Raldetun.
Kwa-ang!
It was a close moment.
If it had been just a little later, Raldetun would have become pulp.
“Snap out of it!”
Bea shouted loudly while grabbing Raldetun by the collar.
Raldetun only shook powerlessly in Bea’s hand.
“Why did Lord Rokgun do this to me…….”
“He is no longer the Fairy King you know! Look straight!”
While Bea was awakening Raldetun, the Expedition members’ attacks poured onto Rokgun.
Swoosh!
My leg! My leg is gone…….
Starting from various magic, projectiles like arrows were fired toward the sky.
Sounds of chanting magic, sounds of struggling to block the slime flowing down somehow, chaos and screams were mixed together.
An unexpected blow from an unexpected existence.
The damage to the Expedition was great because it was a blow suffered just when tension was loosening as the battle with the Demon Beastkin was entering the end.
The fortunate thing was that the commanders of the Expedition grasped the situation and reorganized the troops each of them led.
At that moment, someone rushed toward the slime floating in the air.
“Support the Archduke!”
“The Archduke is defeating the slime!”
The Northern Archduke, Evernite, flew up at high speed and drove a spear shaft into the slime.
Kkiiiririririk──.
The slime screamed an incomprehensible scream and writhed in pain.
The Archduke mutilated the slime that was much bigger than himself.
If it is him, he will be able to calm this situation.
I turned my head toward Zenburga again.
Something else unknown was trying to pop out of Zenburga’s chest again.
I thrust Maron into Zenburga’s chest.
The tip of Maron’s sword and the [Red Thread] that wound tightly around Zenburga blocked the existence trying to pop out of his chest.
The existence squirming in his chest screamed in pain.
“……Would this not have happened if I killed you quickly?”
“Eueueuk, I am just a vessel containing them anyway. Does the soup inside disappear just because the vessel breaks?”
Zenburga’s words wouldn’t be wrong.
But I will be able to make a mess of the soup.
When I pledged to kill Zenburga like that, the guy made a distorted smile and spoke.
“You will be greeting him soon. Because the one you wanted to see is also inside here.”
Lord Tayon.
Were you there?