Chapter 127
Chapter 127: I Thought You'd Be So Much Tougher Than This
A boundless crimson, like an ocean turned upside down, engulfed everything entirely.
The overflowing rage seemed to envelop the demon before them, as dread spread across the entire ice plain.
The immense figure loomed over the snowfield; scarlet shards of steel lashed against people's faces like countless needles piercing into skin.
Even the Savage Beasts, whose bodies were extraordinarily tough and resilient, felt the pain with sharper, more vivid clarity.
Laiton's scarlet body forced itself through the tear in the sky, one foot slamming down onto the glacier with a crash, shattering the ice surface into powder.
"Ha!"
That tremendous roar parted its blood-red maw and rolled out across hundreds of miles, as though at any moment it would swallow the blood-colored full moon hanging in the sky whole.
4 outstretched pitch-black claws tore through the frozen ocean and drove deep into the shriveled, crimson earth.
The demon continuously drew in the red aura drifting through the air; ten thousand threads of that aura coiled into a scarlet-tinged black vortex that swirled and churned endlessly across the overcast sky.
Demons had always fed on the emotional desires of living beings, using them as fuel to provide a ceaseless source of power for their own growth.
If those emotions ran full enough, a demon could even evolve into a savage beast of rage capable of swallowing the entire world.
Throughout the journey, Laiton had been steadily consuming the boundless fury generated between the Pallid Mage Society and the Savage Beasts.
In addition to that, during the Academy's end-of-term exam earlier, the emotions of tens of thousands of students had all been devoured and absorbed into Laiton's belly.
At this moment, it was even stronger than Yem had been before.
LV50—
Compared to those 2 giants, both at Level 45, this was simply Laiton's complete and total stomp.
Moreover, in terms of divine standing, neither of them could compare to a demon.
Strictly speaking, those giants of flame and ice were not the true demigods themselves.
Even for the demigods whose legends persisted in the extreme north, lifespan was a crucial constraint that bound them.
The true Leviathan and Skadi had long since fallen into slumber somewhere beneath the wind and snow of the extreme north, for an untold number of years.
Although there did exist a few little-known summoning methods, these Savage Beasts had no means of awakening the true demigod giants.
They were nothing more than the descendants left behind by the demigod giants in the extreme north.
Giants who had not inherited even a trace of divine power.
At this moment, whether it was the Pallid Mage Society or the remaining Savage Beasts of the 2 tribes—the instant the colossal demon appeared, they all lost complete control over their emotions.
The scarlet crocodile, still feeding on emotions and growing stronger by the moment, suddenly sensed that the source of those emotions had been cut in half, and felt deeply displeased.
Even the corresponding fear had been forgotten—where would they find the capacity to generate rage?
And as for those Savage Beasts who had never possessed a working brain to begin with—beyond dread, they were even less capable of thought.
Only the well-traveled and knowledgeable Mages, staring at the terrifyingly massive creature before them, had faces that turned pale and grave.
"A demon…?"
Vladimir held his cigar between his teeth, eyes narrowed, coldly watching the immense colossus standing upon the frozen ocean.
The goose-feather snow had transformed into scarlet steel shards swirling through the sky in every direction; beneath the storm, the cigar in his mouth had long since been blown out and snapped in two, and his white fur coat was whipped into a frenzy by the howling wind.
The members of the Pallid Mage Society had already gone ashen-faced, eyes wide open, lips trembling one after another, as though they had lost all ability to contain the fear flooding uncontrollably from their bodies.
Erika, too, stared wide-eyed at the enormous demon before her, her brows flinching repeatedly, as though painful memories were flashing through her mind.
Why?
Why would a demon appear here?
That bewilderment was not confined to Erika alone.
Gwen's expression was equally heavy and grave; the wildly churning steel shards danced ceaselessly around her armor.
Each time the scarlet shards were about to touch her, they would veer away at the last moment, as though with deliberate intent.
No—to be precise, they were avoiding Viktor.
She acknowledged it—she was a Knight.
But that didn't mean she was as brainless as those Berserkers.
In the blink of an eye, Gwen's mind had already connected this to the demon battle in the Royal Capital some time ago.
Why was there such a coincidence?
Demons were extraordinarily rare, nearly impossible to encounter once in a century—yet within just a few months, demons had appeared 2 consecutive times?
And every single time, Viktor had been present.
She felt a faint chill creep through her body. She was leaning against Viktor's chest right now, and yet the moment she thought of that demon—the possibility that it might be connected to Viktor—
When she thought of that ruthless demon, and the warriors who had bravely given their lives…
She couldn't stop herself from linking the demon of that incident to Viktor.
The swagger that had covered the Savage Beasts' faces had long since vanished without a trace, replaced by towering dread.
Faced with an existence that was nearly impossible to overcome, their only thought was to flee.
But every time they moved and were on the verge of running—
The moment their bodies shifted even slightly, those cascading steel shards would pierce straight through their powerful frames.
As though reduced to powder, even their flesh lost all shape, exploding into a bloom of vivid red mist that slowly dissipated.
The pristine snowfield did not grow deeper in color beneath the red moonlight—it was the blood that dyed the earth crimson, until it turned to black.
Watching the scene before them, even those Mages whose bodies were far from robust didn't dare move a muscle, terrified that they would be instantly vaporized in the demon's indiscriminate assault.
In this moment, Gwen felt her limbs go rigid, frozen to a point where she didn't know how to think.
She desperately wanted to believe this had nothing to do with Viktor—but the appearance of the colossal demon before her continued to remind her, again and again.
Viktor, just what exactly are you doing?
"Listen to me."
Suddenly, a familiar voice rose from behind her, carrying a measure of reassurance and steadiness as it reached Gwen's ears.
"You only need to trust me."
"…"
Gwen tilted her head slightly to the side, wanting to look at Viktor's face, wanting to see his expression.
But Viktor was as impassive as ever, his gaze directed solely at the sky—at the battlefield between the demon and the giants unfolding before them.
Gwen said nothing.
At this moment, how deeply she wished her Heart of Justice would return to her.
If it did, she would be able to examine Viktor with an eye of absolute impartiality.
Rather than like this…
Simply hearing his words, and instinctively wanting to believe him.
The erupting scarlet steel shards sliced through and shredded the countless Savage Beasts fleeing for their lives.
Beneath the blood moon, the red deepened further.
At the horizon, what appeared to be an ever-darkening black cloud seemed to sink toward the earth.
The demon's shadow clearly engulfed everyone—and among the crowd were even the Mage-soldiers who had been locked in confrontation with the Savage Beasts.
Yet those Mage-soldiers were completely unharmed.
As though they had been deliberately avoided—the steel shards seemed to carry a consciousness of their own, capable of automatically distinguishing between humans and Savage Beasts.
Those terrifying shards appeared to act solely against the Savage Beasts.
Beneath that sky-spanning rain of shards, their bodies were no more than paper.
The Pallid Mage Society's side had gone completely numb.
They watched with their own eyes as the Savage Beasts around them were shredded one after another into a bloody mist, their flesh turning to powder and sinking into the snowfield.
Within their hearts, a feeling of profound absurdity began to take shape.
This demon… seemed to have absolutely no intention of targeting them.
Could the demon possibly be here to help them?
How was that possible?
But the scene unfolding before them could not be fabricated.
Countless Savage Beasts continued fleeing across the snowfield, accompanied by despair and sky-shaking wails.
They even used their own kin as shields—but in the blink of an eye, 2 bodies would vanish instantly from the face of the earth.
Before long, even the very last Savage Beast had been reduced to dust, exploding into a crimson puff of mist.
Across the snowfield, towering mounds of blood and pulverized flesh had already piled high.
The entire frozen ocean had been dyed a complete and total red by an uncountable volume of blood, the color refusing to fade for a long while.
In this battle, Glacial Fang and Blazing Sword—no one knew how many of their core fighting forces had been brought out.
Their numbers had even reached the tens of thousands.
Yet in a single night, all of them had been buried in the extreme north, upon the Extreme Northern Ice Plains.
This was a one-sided slaughter.
Those Mages stared at the blood-soaked scene before them, and only when the metallic scent of blood reached their mouths and nostrils did they finally come back to their senses.
The battle was over.
But they felt no relief.
Because this was only the beginning.
Sensing the terrifying enemy before them, the 2 giants raised their heads and turned to face the towering demon together.
Laiton looked down at the 2 giants—each less than half its own size—and immediately broke into a laugh.
That wave of chaos converging from every direction toward where the demon stood produced a deep, muffled sound that reached the ears of all present.
The earth-shaking laughter carried contempt and amusement.
As though utterly provoked beyond their limits, the 2 giants swung their blades and claws and launched a swift assault on the sky-reaching Laiton.
Their footsteps struck the snowfield, each impact powerful enough to send waves of snow cresting 100 meters into the air.
The snow dust mixed with blood seemed to freeze in place before surging forward like a tide, trembling violently.
The Flame Giant swung the greatsword in its hands with a whoosh, slicing through the blood-colored world—that blade of brilliance seemingly the only burst of vivid color left in existence.
Flame coiled instantly around both hands and the greatsword; a column of fire 100 meters high erupted upward, piercing through the dark cloud layer, and slashed down toward the demon like a meteor.
The Glacial Fang Giant's limbs were encased in ice; its pair of enormous icy claws instantly tore open the sea of blood beneath its feet and swept a hook of frozen light toward Laiton.
Caught between 2 simultaneous strikes, Laiton was completely unruffled. One pitch-black claw reached out and caught the cleaving flame.
Its other hand grabbed the Glacial Fang Giant as if picking up a chick, hoisted it into the air, and began swinging it back and forth—the ice proving entirely incapable of piercing even Laiton's scarlet skin.
Crimson light gleamed in Laiton's eyes as it coldly stared at the giants before it, who had so gravely overestimated themselves.
"Want to play a game?"
"The kind where you punch me once, and I punch you once."
The 2 giants naturally could not understand the demon's language. They kept wrenching their claws and blades in every direction, but couldn't pull themselves free from Laiton's grip even an inch.
Suddenly, Laiton let out a thunderous roar, its pitch-black claws snapping into a fist in an instant, sending the Glacial Fang Giant it had been dangling in midair flying with a single punch.
That massive body shot backward at tremendous speed, breaking through the cascading steel shards swirling in the air, and slammed hard into the enormous mountain range blanketed in deep snow.
The other giant fared even worse. Held in the demon's hand, it was dragged across the snowfield again and again, tossed around like a rag, and smashed violently against the great boulders over and over.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The Flame Giant was left barely clinging to life under the terrifying impacts.
After the tremors subsided, the entire ice plain sank into a prolonged silence.
The demon's chaotic voice rose like something dredged up from beneath the frozen ocean—impossibly deep and muffled.
"That's it?"
"And here I thought you'd be so much tougher than this."