Chapter 21 : Chapter 21
Chapter 21
Ian did not take his eyes off the Knight Commander.
Chomp, chomp.
The Knight Commander was devouring the bishop's heart as if no other being in this space was visible to him.
A statue, modeled after the holy god of light, looked down on the Knight Commander and Ian, and the bishop's blood spread across the pure white floor.
“……”
Meanwhile, Ian stared at the Knight Commander with a hardened face.
It was hard to even breathe in the face of his aura, which grew stronger with every bite of the bishop's heart.
‘Damn it.’
Acting on an instinct that he shouldn’t let the bastard finish his meal, he quickly pulled a dagger from his pocket and threw it.
Clang!
Surprisingly, the dagger that struck the center of the commander’s forehead made a sound and fell powerlessly to the floor.
Even a dagger thrown with mana couldn't even leave a scratch.
“Wait.”
After saying that, the Knight Commander greedily swallowed the heart and spoke with a satisfied smile.
“There’s nothing as delicious as the heart of a fallen priest.
And you even brought the vice-bishop.
Thank you for this.”
An unbearable stench flowed from the bastard’s mouth along with his words, and his low, rumbling voice crawled up his body from the tips of his toes like a snake, sending shivers down his spine.
Just hearing his voice made my whole body tremble.
This bastard was a disaster.
One that shouldn’t be here.
An entity beyond the norm that I had never seen even once in the game.
Instinct, every cell in my body, constantly sent warnings that I should never move recklessly, that I should even hold my breath.
‘What is this?’
I was screwed.
A monster of this caliber was not in the plan.
According to the investigation that had lasted for weeks, the Knight Commander was a 4-star paladin who had been pushed out in a power struggle and abandoned in the Moner family.
Not a monster that chewed on a bishop’s heart.
“Hey, what are you?”
I wanted to at least know the opponent’s identity.
There would be nothing more unfair than dying to some unknown mob.
“Hoo… to be able to speak in front of me, who has revealed his power, you are a remarkable human.”
The Knight Commander sneered, looking at Ian with amusement.
“I am Ajiyog.
The master of this land.
The one true being among the fakes, and the shepherd of the blind sheep.”
The moment Ajiyog revealed his true name, a familiar window appeared before Ian’s eyes.
<Emergency Quest Occurred: Ajiyog the Shepherd>
You have encountered a demon for the first time.
Flee immediately and preserve your life!
Quest Reward: ?
Failure Penalty: Death
“A demon…?”
Ian asked with a confused expression after seeing the sudden quest window, and Ajiyog wiped the blood from his lips with interest and said.
“You knew I was a demon?
How did you know that?
I thought all the descendants of the hero were dead……”
However, as if he had lost interest, his gaze shifted to the vice-bishop on Ian’s shoulder.
“Hmph, hand over the vice-bishop and get lost.
You may have ruined my plan, but thanks to you, I get to have a special meal.
I’ll spare your life.”
The bastard’s eyes glittered with greed as he looked at the vice-bishop.
He had decided to let Ian go and enjoy the banquet rather than use his already scarce power for a manifestation.
For a moment, Ian’s eyes wavered.
If I handed over the vice-bishop now, I could get out alive.
I’d probably get the quest reward too.
No matter what anyone said, if I searched the whole world, it wouldn’t be impossible to gather a dozen or so traits.
Perhaps if I built up my strength and came back, I could kill the bastard.
If I acquired one or two more hero traits that could face an army with the power of a single person, even the monster before me would be no match.
“……”
But my mouth wouldn’t open.
“……”
Before Ian could say anything, the vice-bishop slung over his shoulder moved her lips and whispered in his ear.
“As I thought… as I thought, you were human.
I have been waiting for that demon.
My body has been committed to offering my soul to the demon from the beginning, hand me over.”
Upon hearing those words, Ian’s face contorted.
“Every Tom, Dick, and Harry is looking down on me.”
Even in the face of an enemy that seemed like an unavoidable death, a thick killing intent seeped from Ian’s body.
* * *
In this game world, who could speak of what was real?
“I am the master of this land.
I am the real among the fakes, and I am the only one in this world who can speak of what is real.”
I no longer avoided Ajiyog’s eyes.
I felt as if I had been subjected to an unbearable insult.
That was all mine.
“Hey, go out and ask anyone, who the demon of this domain is.”
I threw down the mask that covered my face in annoyance.
The hardship of entering the game, being pointed at as a demon every day, being the only one who could save this world, the master of this domain, all of it.
Without a single exception.
“It’s me, you bastard.”
As I opened my mouth, I moved all the mana in my body.
My heart pounded as if it would burst at any moment from moving against my instincts.
Taking a deep breath, I inhaled the smell of blood that covered my entire body once again, and as the Desire for Blood activated, I felt a moderate tension in my muscles.
Pushing mana into my muscles, I threw a dagger at the bastard.
Clang!
As expected, the dagger did not leave a significant wound on the bastard, but unlike before, a faint stream of blood flowed from his forehead.
‘Even if I can’t kill him, if I can just buy some time…….’
I had no plan to deal with a demon, but there was no way I had come into a a cathedral without any preparations.
Who knew what kind of hidden power the cathedral might have?
“Reina!”
As I urgently shouted behind me, Reina, who had been hiding, quickly took out a black ball from her pocket and threw it towards Ian.
“Take this and run!
As far as you can!”
As soon as he caught the ball, Ian threw the vice-bishop towards Reina and turned his head to glare at Ajiyog.
“Now, let’s see who the mad dog of this area is.”
After confirming that Reina had safely left the room, Ian smiled fiercely and threw the black ball to the floor.
* * *
Pssssss!
The acrid smoke that flowed from the black ball that fell to the floor filled the room.
However, even after seeing the smoke that made it impossible to see even what was right in front of him, Ajiyog showed no reaction.
He just stood there, watching Ian with a sneer, as if he were watching an ill-mannered puppy’s antics.
“Poison doesn’t work either?
You shameless bastard.”
Frowning for a moment at the fact that the poison mist, a combination of a whopping 101 deadly poisons, was ineffective.
Ian’s form blurred with the combination of the Ghost Absorption Method and Ghost Step.
The techniques of the Ghost King , who was the most skilled assassin in the game, were specialized in hiding in the dark and taking the opponent’s life.
This mist was a custom-made battlefield for Ian alone.
‘It’ll be hard to kill him, though…….’
Spreading mana throughout his entire body, he condensed both muscle and mana simultaneously.
When the mana, condensed to its limit, began to squirm.
‘Kill ’
Ian’s form, which broke through the mist, shot towards Ajiyog like an arrow.
“Hmph!”
Ajiyog raised his sword in a defensive stance with eyes full of ridicule, but Ian did not avoid or stop.
‘Now, while the bastard is off guard, is the best time.’
His instincts were screaming at him to turn and run right now, and nausea rose from the fear that reached the tip of his tongue, yet Ian suppressed his emotions and poured more mana into his firmly gripped dagger.
Kang!
Kakang!
A series of roars that were unbelievable for a clash between a dagger and a sword echoed through the room.
“Ha!
You’re an interesting one!”
Seeing the bastard with the corners of his mouth stretched to his ears as if he were genuinely amused, I quickly pulled back and hid myself in the mist again.
‘……?’
I glared at the bastard while hidden in the mist.
The demon who was still standing there with a confident smile, not having moved a single step.
‘His swordsmanship is terrible.’
My attacks were all blocked, but that was it.
Both the amount of magic power felt from the bastard’s sword and his swordsmanship were crude.
It was as if a woodcutter who had just picked up a sword for the first time was swinging it around.
Now, while the bastard is off guard, is my chance.
A chance that might never come again.
Ian once again emerged from the mist, gripping his dagger.
“Not a chance!”
I slid towards the bastard who had not moved a single step and raised his sword in a defensive stance again.
Since I already knew it wouldn’t work, there was no need to clash swords.
Bending my waist to avoid the sword, I quickly rolled on the floor and thrust my dagger into the bastard’s knee.
Crunch!
Once again, the satisfying feeling of the dagger digging through bone and flesh was felt at my fingertips.
‘Kill !’
Not missing the opportunity, I continued to pour mana into the dagger that had dug into his knee.
Since I couldn’t see a way to kill the bastard right away, I tried to at least seal his mobility.
Even though I was clearly at an advantage, cold sweat ran down my back.
The fact that this was the bastard toying with me, and not me having the upper hand, could be easily inferred from the bastard’s smile, as if he were looking at a cute pet.
“Who do you think you’re messing with!”
Crack!
Finally, as the hilt of the dagger was completely embedded in his thigh, the demonkin’s black blood began to soak the floor.
Before I could rejoice at the fact that the attack had worked, an ominous aura began to emanate from the bastard’s body, who had slightly frowned at the unfamiliar pain.
* * *
‘Damn it’
Feeling a killing intent that made my hair stand on end from behind, I rolled on the floor without looking back.
Flick!
However, a sharp pain as if I had been cut by a sword erupted from my back, and blood gushed out.
‘What was I hit by?’
My mind went dizzy from the overwhelming pain.
If it weren’t for Ian’s body, if I hadn’t experienced the soul-tearing pain, I would have surely lost my mind.
“Keuk……”
To keep from losing consciousness, I bit my lip, filling my mouth with the metallic taste of blood.
According to the trait [Desire for Blood], my attack power and attack speed became faster, and I controlled the pain with the trait [Dark Emperor].
“You son of a bitch……”
Hiding in the mist, Ian suppressed his presence and watched the bastard.
His breathing method, mana, movements.
He crammed every detail into his head and endlessly contemplated a strategy to turn the situation around.
“Let’s end this now!”
Ian glared at the bastard who was shouting while clutching his pierced thigh for a long time, and a question spread across his face.
The bastard had not moved a single step from the spot where he had chewed on the bishop’s heart.
* * *
When Ian’s dagger flashed in the mist, a hole appeared in Ajiyog’s body, and at the same time, another wound was added to Ian’s body.
When the attack ended, he hid in the mist again, calculated the timing, and attacked again.
Feeling the sensation of the dagger digging through flesh and bone and embedding itself in the body, he rolled, jumped, and ran to avoid the bastard’s attack.
If this attack didn’t work, he would try again.
If the stab was blocked, he would slash from behind, and if a slash was expected, he would throw a dagger.
Instead of a dagger, he would use his arms and legs, and if it could work, he would even bite.
‘Kill.’
There was only one thought in his head.
To achieve that thought, he stabbed with his dagger.
Slashed.
And stabbed again.
Before long, Ian’s blood covered his entire body from the wounds that had appeared one by one, and it was now difficult to even maintain consciousness due to the pain that felt like insects gnawing at his entire body.
And yet, Ian did not lose his smile.
“Hey.”
Ian’s voice, hidden in the mist, echoed.
“You’re about to die of exhaustion right now, aren’t you?”
For a moment, Ajiyog’s face, which had maintained a relaxed expression until now, contorted nicely.
“Look at that face contort, you bastard.”
Behind Ajiyog, Ian, drenched in blood from head to toe, revealed himself without hiding his sneer.