Funeral (3)
The Leonhardt family, a family of lions, practically considered Germany their territory, though their main residence was quite a distance away.
This lodging was conveniently located near the airport.
With many foreign travelers passing through, any incident here could quickly spread through social media. The Leonhardt family would undoubtedly dispatch their warriors in response.
However, given the distance to the Leonhardt main house.
It was expected to take a considerable amount of time for them to arrive. In fact, analyzing their movements based on existing data suggested a travel time of at least two hours.
That wasn’t a long time.
The mission’s primary objective was to lure out the guardian and use the demon named 「Rebellion」, a bizarre name indeed, as a pawn to buy time. Meanwhile, 「Crocell」 would kidnap the children from the lodging.
That was the extent of it.
It was a mission designed to be swift.
Not only was 「Crocell」’s task of kidnapping the children relatively simple, but even 「Rebellion」, chosen as a disposable pawn, possessed strength exceeding that of ordinary demons.
A mission that shouldn’t require two hours. That’s why 「Crocell」 delegated the kidnapping to commoners.
As a noble, he considered such tasks beneath him.
But the mission deviated from the plan.
The commoners sent to the lodging to carry out the mission were reportedly dead, and word arrived that 「Rebellion」, deployed to stall for time, was on the verge of defeat.
Impossible.
How many nobles were assigned to this mission?
‘How could a simple kidnapping, merely separating children from their guardian, go so horribly wrong?’
Reluctantly, 「Crocell」 decided to intervene personally.
By then, an hour had already elapsed.
‘Even if I delegated the trivial tasks to commoners and remained behind, two other nobles were投入 [invested] in this operation.’
A total of three nobles were assigned to this seemingly insignificant kidnapping mission.
「Vepar」, who specializes in manipulating the corruption of the sea and wounds.
「Vine」, who emits a scent to guide people in a desired direction.
And 「Crocell」, who wields an ice sword that remains perpetually frozen. All three held the title of viscount.
With such power, they could even hunt down high-rankers [powerful individuals].
Viscount-class demons had awakened but were still largely dormant. Marquis and duke-level demons were yet to awaken. In fact, viscounts represented the pinnacle of power within the current
In such circumstances, assigning three viscounts initially seemed like an excessive commitment of resources, but the moment they visually assessed the children’s potential.
Such trivial considerations vanished like melting snow.
They had to be taken.
The moment that thought consumed his mind.
The lion appeared much sooner than anticipated.
Two hours? She arrived in just one.
‘Should I kill her? Or not?’
Leona Leonhardt.
A fledgling who hadn’t even lived for a century had already slashed his wrist.
「Crocell」 was deeply displeased by this fact.
Ordinarily, she deserved to die, but her status complicated matters.
The eldest daughter of the Leonhardt family. The family’s heir. The future head of the family.
If such a person were to die at his hands, the Leonhardt family, suddenly deprived of their successor, would undoubtedly seek his annihilation with unwavering resolve.
He wasn’t concerned about that. What could the head of the Leonhardt family accomplish alone as a high-ranker?
Even if the family mobilized all its forces, it would only add ten more rankers. It was woefully insufficient to contend with them, the nobles of Paradise Lost.
But the problem lay in their social standing.
If the Leonhardt family explained the situation to the other Nine Heavens Families [influential families] and requested assistance.
Would they refuse to help?
‘Since the successor of one family has died, some families might offer assistance as a formality, but others might seriously commit their forces.’
Even if they sought aid from international organizations like the Magic Society, they, whose maximum power was still viscount-class demons, would suffer a significant setback.
So, he subtly attempted to.
Feigning avoidance of the attack, he aimed to kidnap the children and escape, sacrificing inferior commoners as distractions.
Sizzle─!
The sound of a kitchen knife slicing meat on a cutting board echoed.
The sound of flesh and bone being torn apart. Everyone present understood that it signified the severing of someone’s limbs.
But.
Unless one side had already been defeated.
Now, while the outcome remained uncertain.
It was a sound that should never have been heard.
Whose limbs were severed?
The result became clear as the flash that engulfed the area dissipated.
Huh?
“Did he die?”
Half of his body had been cleaved off.
For a human, such an injury would be instantly fatal, and even demons with their remarkable regeneration would succumb to such trauma.
However, nobles like 「Crocell」 wouldn’t die so easily.
It was an injury that would leave him in a near-death state.
Even if he couldn’t move immediately, he could prepare for a counterattack, abandon the kidnapping, and flee to save his life.
He had ample time to do so.
But he remained motionless.
“…….”
「Crocell」’s eyes were lifeless.
Leona Leonhardt initially believed him dead due to the vacant stare characteristic of the deceased. He was clearly breathing, yet his eyes reflected utter despair.
He was mentally dead.
Like a craftsman witnessing a realm he had strived for his entire life, a realm he had only dreamed of. He was frustrated because he knew how high that realm was.
Fortunately, Leona was quick-witted.
She deduced that 「Crocell」’s deathlike appearance was connected to the ice sword that had slipped from his grasp.
Then she realized.
That flash wasn’t merely a simple light.
“Could it be… did you swing your sword and reach all the way here?”
The immense light possessed a sharp edge.
The coolness unique to blades.
It was something someone had achieved with a sword.
* * *
Because it was dawn, the only sources of light were the faint moonlight or starlight. At best, fluorescent lights illuminated the surroundings.
This area was shining brighter than usual.
No, it might be brighter than daytime.
The flames engulfing the buildings and trees cast a red glow across the landscape.
It was a brighter and hotter dawn than any morning.
And at the center of it all.
There was a massive crater that had suddenly appeared in the middle of the road, as if a meteorite had struck, and two dolls (人形) [figurines/humanoid figures].
Blood splattered everywhere.
“…This is quite a bit of bleeding.”
“That’s what I wanted to say?”
The blood belonged to two individuals.
A man wearing a fox mask and wielding a black katana (太刀) [a type of Japanese sword], and a horned mermaid. Their blood soaked the surrounding ground.
A considerable amount of bleeding.
An ordinary person would have died from blood loss after losing only half the blood that stained the floor. In fact, that amount could have killed ten people.
Thanks to the regeneration unique to demons and Seungwoo’s 「Super Regeneration」.
Neither of them had to fear death from blood loss.
But to cover such a wide area with blood.
They had to fight that much harder.
The blood scattered across the area was evidence of a fierce battle.
“You’re crazy.”
Seungwoo, clutching the demon sword (妖刀) [a cursed or magical sword], muttered.
He hadn’t yet manifested his characteristics.
He had only refined his magic power with his crippled body to wield sword energy.
There was no enhancement of physical abilities or sword skills whatsoever.
But this alone was enough to shift the balance of the battle.
“I wanted to say you’re crazy.”
“Shut up for a bit.”
“Understood. I’ll shut up.”
A demon who initially possessed skills surpassing those of an S-class villain.
By killing a viscount-class noble, she inherited her name and authority.
Furthermore, the noble’s authority combined with her original characteristics to become even more formidable. Against an enemy boasting such absurd growth, he managed to achieve equal footing simply by wielding a sword.
In fact, the most astonished person in this situation wasn’t Seungwoo.
It was none other than 「Vepar」.
“But the more I think about it, the more amazing it is. To think you could fight me on equal terms just by drawing a sword. The more I clash my fist against your sword, the more I’m struck by how incredible you are.”
“…Didn’t you say you’d shut up just now?”
“Have you ever met a demon who keeps his word?”
Well, yeah.
“It would be stranger if a demon kept his promise.”
“Right?”
A demon is a creature even lower than a beast, abandoned even by humans.
There was no way they would adhere to social norms like promises.
Of course, Seungwoo hadn’t expected him to keep his word, but he didn’t anticipate him using it as a means of annoyance.
Anyway, even after becoming a noble, his talkative personality remained unchanged.
Despite his transformation into an almost perfect mermaid, his personality hadn’t changed. Seungwoo realized an interesting fact while facing him with his sword.
Demons can inherit ‘names’ and ‘titles’ through combat and killing.
‘In that case, external factors like the authority and appearance associated with the name are inherited as is, but there seems to be no alteration to their original abilities or personality.’
He gained new information.
Could he use this in battle?
Well, he could if he wanted to, but it seemed difficult at the moment. It would be beneficial when fighting other nobles.
“Your 잡념 [idle thoughts] are long. It’s 그대로 드러날 [directly revealed] at the tip of your sword!”
“…Don’t act like you know everything when you’ve just guessed it.”
“Oh, was I caught? I just said it roughly because you seemed to be deep in thought. Judging by your expression, it seems I was roughly right. Ah! Come to think of it. You’re covering your face with a mask, so I can’t see your expression. Hahaha!!!”
“…There really are all kinds of crazy bastards.”
His skin and gills were being sliced by the sword.
Numerous scales fell from the mermaid, and sword techniques of speed and precision that the demon’s rapid regeneration couldn’t keep up with were unfolding.
Nevertheless, 「Vepar」 didn’t stop talking.
He didn’t stop laughing.
‘He’s one of the craziest people I’ve ever seen.’
It wasn’t just that he talked a lot during the fight.
He remained calm even when injured, felt pain, and was in a life-threatening situation. In fact, his words and laughter seemed to intensify.
From that perspective, he was clearly insane.
Seungwoo had encountered so many individuals like that that he didn’t react much.
He even called death rest and desperately sought it. Compared to Seungwoo, 「Vepar」 might be relatively less crazy.
He was self-aware enough.
Seungwoo was well aware that he was crazy.
But the reason he considered 「Vepar」 one of the top madmen was because of how he utilized his authority.
‘A fist wrapped in black blood. It corrodes upon contact with the wall, and it rots the moment it touches the skin.’
Blood drawn to its limit. Not only did he recklessly charge into the 적진 [enemy lines] risking death from blood loss, but he also applied the ‘authority of corruption’ to his wounds.
Then the wound turned black and festered.
The use of authority pushed to the extreme.
The battle that disregarded his own well-being was different from Seungwoo’s at first glance, but at least Seungwoo left behind 후환 [future troubles]. He protected his back.
On the other hand, 「Vepar」 didn’t protect his back.
He intentionally drove himself to the edge of the cliff.
콰가가강! [Sound of a massive collision]
Once again, the sword and fist collided.
The sound generated when metal and flesh collided was unbelievable.
A bizarre sound of steel grinding against steel echoed. It happened every time they 맞댈 [pressed] their weapons against each other.
끼기기깅─! [Sound of grinding]
Seungwoo, using the demon sword (妖刀) as a parry to block the fist.
「Vepar」 instinctively recoiled at the sight of the sword’s movement for the first time.
He sensed danger. He felt a strong premonition, as if the hair on his body was standing on end.
That judgment was correct.
The moment the sword’s movement 탈피 [broke free] from the existing frame, 순백’s 검기상인 (劒氣傷人) [pure white sword energy] began to condense on the sword.
A silent stillness, like a bomb about to explode.
Instinctively, 「Vepar」 crouched down.
And at the same time, Seungwoo swung his sword.
That strike shattered buildings and 갈랐 [split] the earth.
Those were all feints.
「Star Cluster Wave」
The flash gathered on the sword.
The 순백 [pure white] wave that sparkled like a star cluster passed by 「Vepar」.
The strike, 질주 [rushing] at the speed of starlight, was aimed at the target Seungwoo had to protect.
The unknown opponent who was threatening his children.
The moment his strike collided with something and vanished. Seungwoo could feel it. He had completely eliminated the group threatening his children’s safety with his sword.
Relieved by that fact.
He could sense another fact by the trembling air.
“You… what are you doing while fighting me right now?”
The opponent facing him with his sword.
Was furious that he had looked away.
And he 아주 뼈저리게 [deeply/painfully] realized that he no longer had formidable magic power left.