The Bastard Swordsman Of The Imperial Guard [EN]: Chapter 159

Outside the Gaia Church’s holy ground, the sky was visible.

Of course, the sky was currently covered by a massive mass of flesh, but Calliope stretched, looking at the sky beyond his own flesh.

“An alloy of Adamantium and Millennium Iron… that’s going to be quite profitable. Should I use slaves to mine it later?”

The Demon King Calliope walked out of the holy ground.

Behind him, wounded high-ranking Incubus followed.

“They really are monstrous guys, aren’t they?”

There was no response from the Incubus, but Calliope shuddered alone.

Giant warriors.

Each of them was a monster on par with a human knight commander.

In particular, the giant tribe’s chief, who single-handedly cut down a hundred high-ranking Incubus, had to be dealt with directly by Calliope.

‘The original plan was to subdue the warriors… but this isn’t bad either.’

Calliope looked at the Incubus and some of the giant warriors following him.

It was impossible to enslave all of them, but eventually, some could be made slaves.

Of course, if he had more time, Calliope would have fought more actively and increased the number of slaves, but he couldn’t afford to delay any longer.

Thump- Thump-

Calliope’s mass of flesh, which had swallowed the Plaza of Unity, pulsated.

Once this power was unleashed, reinforcements would arrive from the Empire and the Vanessa Kingdom within at least half a day.

No matter how powerful the Demon King Calliope was, it was better for his well-being to escape before that happened.

His strength wasn’t in direct combat, but in ambushes and nightmares.

‘I didn’t expect there to be so many giants left in the giants’ territory. This is a real windfall.’

In the giants’ territory, there were still many children who had not become warriors and females capable of bearing offspring.

This was reliable information obtained from a giant warrior who had been enslaved.

Currently, Calliope was the only one on the continent who knew this fact.

In other words, if he went to the giants’ territory right now, he could enslave the entire giant race.

If that happened, it would more than make up for all the losses he had suffered so far.

‘If I get a little stronger here, I can get ahead of Maledrakh.’

The ruling class of Alheim is similar to the human countries on the continent.

Even among the Demon Kings, they are not equal, and there is a hierarchy.

Within Alheim, Calliope had a bad reputation.

His subordinates were either Incubus or slaves.

Naturally, he was considered the weakest of the Four Great Demon Kings and had a weaker force than other Demon Kings who had a mix of all races.

But if he were to enslave the giants, that story would change.

The giants were a heteromorphic race with the strongest combat abilities recognized by everyone on the continent.

If he enslaved them, Calliope’s power could become much greater than it is now.

“I’ll give you a nightmare, Maledrakh.”

A nightmare is something that approaches without you knowing.

No matter how painful and 싫어도 [disgusting], you are gradually gnawed at.

That was Calliope’s nightmare.

“Hmm -?”

At that moment.

Calliope felt a divine power approaching rapidly from inside the holy ground.

It was the divine power of the Gaia Church’s Hero and Saintess.

“I’ve been caught up with sooner than I thought. I’m not uninterested in those kids either… Shall I play with them for a while?”

Calliope looked at Archbishop Aldeb, who the Incubus were taking away.

He was taking him because he thought he might be useful as the one who managed the holy ground, but if the Heroes were coming, the story was different.

Calliope was interested in the Gaia Church’s Hero.

‘He’s a human that Maledrakh, of all the other demons, is interested in.’

If he had received the attention of Maledrakh, who watched over the entire continent with disgustingly many eyes, he wouldn’t be a dud.

If he were made a slave, he would definitely be helpful.

‘If he really has the talent that Maledrakh is interested in… I might even keep him by my side.’

As an Incubus, he also liked handsome humans.

Calliope smiled and wriggled his body.

His body slowly began to change.

*

Emerging from the depths of the holy ground, Rael looked around.

This place, where a disgusting mass of flesh covered the sky, was near the Tower of Harmony in the center of the Plaza of Unity.

‘The fact that the holy ground is the Tower of Harmony wasn’t a complete lie.’

As he looked around, thinking that, several people ran up behind Rael.

Lucas and Carlson. Marco and Cecilia came out after Rael.

“Sir Rael, where are you going now?”

“I told you, I have to go catch the Demon King Calliope.”

Rael answered Lucas’ question.

The king of the Incubus.

The Fourth Great Demon King, Calliope.

He was around here.

“Rael, who the heck is this Calliope? Have you ever met him before?”

“I’m curious too. I think I’ve heard the name Calliope before… but I don’t know much about him.”

Calliope was a name he had learned about at the Imperial Academy.

But Lucas only knew that he was one of the Four Great Demon Kings and didn’t know any detailed information.

“He’s one of the Four Great Demon Kings, the king of the Incubus.”

Calliope is the most unique of the Four Great Demon Kings.

He is an Incubus purist, a unique Demon King who enslaves everyone who isn’t an Incubus.

He’s a really annoying guy in the original story, and in the end, he only keeps Incubus with him until he dies.

All the other demons under him are slaves.

Whether they are high-ranking demons or strong heteromorphic races, there are no exceptions.

Everyone is a slave trapped in his dreams.

There is a reason why the Thousand Slaughter Sword Lord kept cutting down the demons heading to Arconia.

It’s because they are slaves who have to go if their master orders them to.

“The king of the Incubus… why is such a person here?”

“He must have come because he has a purpose. The important thing isn’t his purpose. If we want to survive here, we have to meet him.”

Rael looked at the sky.

The throbbing mass of flesh still enveloped the Plaza of Unity.

The mass of flesh was still still now, but he didn’t know when and how the flesh filling this place would change.

Nia and Harry were inside, as were Lucas and Carlson, and the Saintess.

Rael and the Silver Cross Knights could force their way through, but they couldn’t get the others through the flesh full of magical energy.

To solve that mass of flesh, they would eventually have to face Calliope.

‘But the situation isn’t bad.’

Considering the original story’s settings, Calliope himself doesn’t have that much power.

His real power is his numerous slaves and Incubus.

‘There’s me, Lucas, Carlson, the Saintess, and even Commander Marco.’

If they could fight Calliope alone with their current strength, they could definitely fight.

Rael made that judgment and raised his holy sword.

It was to track down the Demon King’s dark magical energy.

“Help me! Hero! Saintess!”

At that moment, a man ran up from the front.

It was Archbishop Aldeb.

He was sweating profusely and running towards them with a flustered expression.

Even as he ran like crazy, he kept glancing back, looking as if he was filled with fear.

“Archbishop Aldeb?!”

“You’re alive!”

Carlson and Lucas sighed in relief as they saw him.

Aldeb panted in front of Rael and slowly opened his mouth.

“Hero! Demon! There is a very strong demon! You must escape immediately!”

“Archbishop Aldeb, calm down and speak slowly. What kind of demon is there?”

Rael said, making eye contact with him.

Then Aldeb seemed to calm down a bit and continued.

“Th, that is… with very dark magical energy… !”

However, before Archbishop Aldeb could finish speaking,

Rael’s holy sword pierced his chest.

“R, Rael?!”

Carlson looked at Rael, surprised.

However, Rael’s face remained calm.

“Carlson, you trust people too easily. Especially if it’s a familiar face, you tend to trust them without question. A holy knight should be able to see through this kind of trap.”

“A, Archbishop Aldeb?”

Carlson’s eyes trembled as he looked at Aldeb, upon hearing Rael’s words.

Archbishop Aldeb, who had been gasping for breath just moments ago, was now tilting his head with a blank expression, a sword piercing his chest.

“…How did you know, kid?”

Calliope looked at Rael’s face with a curious expression.

Even though he was a hero of the Gaia Order [a religious organization], it was surprising that a mere fledgling who had only lived for 20 years could notice him.

“How could I not know when you’re reeking of a disgusting smell? Besides, I’ve been tricked by another demon who transformed into a familiar face before.”

Rael recalled the first demon he had slain.

It was a guy who kept irritating him until the end, disguised as Carlson.

“Hmm, is that so?”

Screech-

Rael blocked the suddenly erupting demonic energy and drew his holy sword.

At the same time, Aldeb collapsed before him, and the form of a man materialized behind him.

The first thing visible was a neat suit and shirt.

The dark-colored suit seemed perfectly tailored to his physique, accentuating his neat appearance, and his slicked-back hair and gold ring on his finger gave off a sophisticated vibe.

‘He’s not disgustingly ugly, is he?’

Rael looked at his first impression with curiosity.

He had heard that incubi [male demon believed to have sexual intercourse with sleeping women] were all disgustingly ugly, but surprisingly, that wasn’t the case.

Rather, Calliope was more elegant than any noble Rael had ever seen.

If he wasn’t certain that he was an incubus and didn’t sense the demonic energy, he might not have recognized his true form even if he saw it.

“A disgusting smell, huh? I didn’t think I was sloppy enough to be caught by a kid. Is it because he’s the hero of the Gaia Order after all?”

Calliope walked towards Rael after revealing his true form.

There was no sense of caution in his actions.

It was only natural.

Calliope was one of the four Demon Kings of Alheim [the demon realm].

Even though his influence was the weakest, he was still a ruler who governed Alheim.

‘…He’s stronger than I imagined.’

And Rael, looking at Calliope, properly recognized his power.

Rael, Marco at the level of Sword Master [a master swordsman].

And Carlson and Lucas, who were just before Sword Master.

Besides, there was even the Saintess, so he thought it would be manageable, but he was mistaken.

‘I can win. But it’s too dangerous. The possibility of casualties is too high.’

Not only Lucas and Carlson, but Marco and Cecilia could also die if things went wrong.

Giving them up to kill one of the four Demon Kings was out of the question.

“Oh my. Did you just scan me for a moment -?”

Calliope grinned and leaned his face close to Rael.

Just as Rael felt his power, Calliope also felt Rael’s power.

“Kid, do you really think you can beat me?”

“If you want to die, just say the word, Calliope.”

Rael raised his holy sword.

Divine power poured out from Saint [Rael’s sword].

Buzzing-

[Be, be careful. Hero. Calliope is a Demon King who has endured for hundreds of years in Alheim.]

The holy sword Saint also trembled.

The power of the Demon Kings had been growing stronger since the Great War.

“That’s strange. We should be meeting for the first time, but how did you find out my name?”

“I have a good informant.”

“Your confidence is admirable. And your talent is unbelievable. Rumors are hard to believe until you see them with your own eyes… but this is even better than I expected.”

Calliope smiled.

He had come to Arconia to bring the giants or the Demonic Cult as new slaves, but it seemed he would get an even better harvest.

“So, you want to fight me?”

“If I have to fight, I have to fight.”

“Oh my, really?”

Calliope stared at Rael as if he saw through everything.

Rael narrowed his eyes, seemingly displeased by the gaze.

He seemed to have already figured out his thoughts.

“Kid, you don’t want to fight here either, do you? Right? One of us is bound to die.”

“No. The one who dies if we fight is you.”

“That may be true. But you don’t want to fight either, do you?”

“…”

Rael couldn’t deny it.

If Calliope went all out here, the possibility of casualties was too high.

“Shall I start? I’ve already achieved my goal. I killed the giants’ warrior, so I’m going to the giants’ territory from now on. I’ll also recover all the power that was occupying the Plaza of Unity. So let’s pretend we didn’t see each other and go our separate ways. Let’s resolve this peacefully without unnecessary sacrifices. How about it?”

Calliope’s alluring voice sounded very reasonable.

If they fought now, both sides would clearly suffer great damage.

Lucas and Carlson, and the Saintess, were people he could never lose.

Besides, the giants’ territory was not something Rael could protect just because he wanted to.

“That sounds like a good idea.”

“Right? If you agree too…”

The moment Calliope continued speaking.

Divine power erupted from Rael’s sword.

The mana condensed inside his body with the Mana Circuit Rotation [a technique to circulate mana] instantly burst forth, granting speed to Rael’s body.

A sword that surpassed human movement, along with the sword energy of the Mana Circuit, rushed towards Calliope’s neck.

Whoosh-!

However, the sword aimed at Calliope’s neck ultimately slashed through the air.

“How fascinating.”

Calliope was already a few steps behind.

His suit fluttered, indicating that he had moved his body.

“Your eyes clearly didn’t want to fight, but why did you swing your sword first?”

Calliope felt a sense of wonder.

Rael’s eyes, as he read them, clearly did not want a fight.

“Yeah. I don’t want to fight, as you said. But it’s better to fight than to just die to someone who’s trying to kill me.”

Rael had been aware of the energy of the incubi hiding behind him from the start.

From the moment he faced a demon, escape or reconciliation was impossible.

“Even if you’re the hero of the Gaia Order, how can a human whelp who’s only lived for 20 years have such boldness? Even demons who have lived for hundreds of years rarely have this kind of audacity.”

Calliope looked at Rael with curiosity.

He felt a different spirit from other humans.

“Sorry, but I don’t want to be compared to demons who don’t even have a proper education.”

“…? What do you mean?”

Calliope blinked for a moment and then began to release his demonic energy.

At this moment, the hero’s words were not important.

“Well-. It would have been easier if you had become a slave without resistance.”

Crack- Crack-

At the same time as Calliope released his demonic energy, the flesh covering the Plaza of Unity began to twitch.

The flesh, as if alive, began to dig into the ground and be absorbed into Calliope’s body.

“…Truly disgusting.”

Rael narrowed his eyes as he watched the scene.

The massive flesh that had covered the sky was sucked into Calliope’s body, which was in the form of a human, and his body slowly began to swell.

His fingers grew grotesquely large, his eyeballs expanded, and his thighs began to swell.

A grotesque sight continued as all the flesh returned to Calliope’s body.

He could finally see the blue sky above his head, but in front of Rael was the face of a handsome man buried in a massive lump of flesh.

“Now he finally looks like a Demon King.”

Rael sighed and raised his holy sword.

Feeling the trembling vibration of the holy sword, Rael looked around.

“Lucas, Carlson, Saintess, and Commander Marco. Stay sharp.”

At Rael’s words, everyone looked ahead, seemingly tense.

“If you let your guard down, you’ll die.”