The Heavenly Demon Can’t Live A Normal Life [EN]: Chapter 169

Rumble!

The ground shook hard.

The force of the hit threw people backwards. Dust filled the air, so thick you could not see what happened.

This was more than just a fight between two people.

People were covered in dust. They looked around, their faces showing shock.

Whoosh!

Then, the wind blew.

Slowly, the dust cleared, and people’s eyes grew wide.

He dropped to one knee.

“……Cough.”

Blood ran from his mouth and nose, but he lifted his head to look at the man in front of him.

‘Was I beaten?’ he thought.

He had put everything into that last attack.

He was sure that facing Roman directly would win him the fight. But Roman Dmitry had not stepped back. He had met Nicholas’s attack with his own.

Now, he was kneeling, defeated.

His special attack, the one he had spent sixty years perfecting, had not beaten Roman Dmitry.

He coughed, tasting blood.

His eyes flickered.

Roman looked down at him, his face showing nothing.

Count Nicholas felt hopelessness wash over him.

‘It’s finished,’ he thought.

Roman Dmitry had won.

He should accept defeat.

But Count Nicholas made his shaking legs stand up.

Blood dripped from his arm, drop by drop.

His body felt like it would not move, but he gritted his teeth and lifted his sword.

“……I’ll continue.”

His voice cracked.

‘I will keep fighting,’ he said, his voice breaking.

People said a swordsman should accept the result of a fight. But Count Nicholas could not accept this. He knew it looked weak and foolish, but he couldn’t stop.

He remembered the Cairo royal family. They were depending on him.

His mind knew he was beaten, but when he thought about what would happen to the royal family if he lost, he could not give up.

Truthfully, he was lost.

He had failed to protect them, looking weak in front of everyone. Fighting was all he had done for sixty years. Fighting to the end was the only thing he knew how to do.

His heavy eyelids forced him to give up, but he swallowed the blood and forced himself to stay awake.

“Why do you go so far?”

It was Roman Dmitry.

Count Nicholas’s attack had been dangerous.

Roman could have used a special move, the Demonic Heavenly Sword Art, to win easily. But Count Nicholas was the strongest swordsman he had ever fought.

If he hadn’t met Butler and had a year to train and get stronger, he might not have survived Count Nicholas’s fierce attacks.

But he had won.

He had overcome the challenge and defeated Cairo’s greatest swordsman with his power.

Count Nicholas smiled weakly.

“……Why do I keep fighting? Isn’t it clear? I am Cairo’s greatest swordsman. Even if I am destroyed, I cannot let my spirit be destroyed.”

His voice was getting weaker.

This was not a glorious defeat.

Count Nicholas was bloody and broken, not the proud figure he once was.

But what else could he do?

His sword might be broken, but he had to show his strength of will, even if it meant his complete destruction.

“Let’s finish this,” he said.

He pushed off the ground to run forward, but it was too slow.

Blood flew from him and hit the ground as he moved, looking like he would fall down any second.

Roman smiled slightly.

‘Richard Nicholas,’ he thought.

‘He is a truly great man. He is the heart of Cairo.’

Roman decided he would not kill him. But he also knew that to move forward, he couldn’t be too gentle.

Roman sent a message directly into Count Nicholas’s mind.

Count Nicholas, running towards Roman, suddenly opened his eyes wide at the words he heard in his head.

In that instant – Flash! Thwack! – Roman’s sword cut through his chest.

Blood shot out like a fountain.

Count Nicholas’s eyes went blank, and he fell to the ground in the same running pose.

He fell heavily.

Cairo’s greatest swordsman was defeated.

An era of his rule had ended.

—

Willas looked at Count Nicholas’s bloody body and said, his voice shaking, “…With this, Roman Dmitry is now the top swordsman in the Cairo Kingdom.”

It was a shocking result.

No one cheered.

People were silent, staring at Count Nicholas, then at Roman, their faces blank with disbelief.

Willas was also in shock. He couldn’t hide it.

Willas loved watching these public fights. He couldn’t believe what he had just seen.

‘This is unbelievable,’ he thought.

Roman Dmitry. He was someone they were watching closely.

Because he was improving so fast and was so talented, people from the Valhalla Empire were keeping an eye on him.

He had climbed from 99th place to 2nd place quickly. His progress in beating the best fighters in Cairo was impressive.

Willas had to admit Roman Dmitry was skilled. But he still didn’t think Roman could beat Count Nicholas.

Valhalla’s spies had said Count Nicholas was even stronger than before. Based on all the information they had, Roman Dmitry should not have been able to win.

But Roman had won.

And he had won easily. Watching Roman completely defeat Count Nicholas in a direct fight, Willas felt like his mind was spinning.

‘Did we think too little of Roman Dmitry?’ Willas wondered.

‘No, that’s not it. No matter how strong we thought Roman Dmitry could become, he has become even stronger. A monster has appeared in Cairo! Roman Dmitry would have been famous even if he was born in the Valhalla Empire.’

His heart beat fast.

Count Nicholas was not a top fighter in Valhalla. But the fact that a young man in his twenties had beaten him meant they had to pay close attention to how quickly Roman was improving.

“I’m ending the public fights now,” Willas announced.

He rushed away.

The results of the fights didn’t matter anymore.

He needed to contact his country, Valhalla, immediately.

He had to tell the leaders what had happened in Cairo.

‘Roman Dmitry is not someone we can ignore anymore. If he still doesn’t want to join us… ‘ Kill him.

If they couldn’t make him a friend, Roman Dmitry was too dangerous to live.

—

After the fight, Roman went towards the royal palace.

It was time for him to be officially named the greatest swordsman in Cairo, now that he had defeated Count Nicholas.

But on his way, a group blocked his path.

“Roman Dmitry,” a voice said.

“I didn’t expect you to beat Count Nicholas.”

It was Marquis Benedict.

He was there with the group of nobles who supported him. They stood together, blocking the street.

Soldiers from each noble family filled the streets. People quickly ran away, feeling the threat in the air. The mood was tense.

Marquis Benedict, who had seemed friendly to Roman for the past year, now looked at him coldly.

“I’ve been thinking a lot since I saw Count Nicholas lose,” Marquis Benedict said.

“Was I foolish not to see this coming? Or have you been hiding your true strength from me? I think it’s the second one.”

For a year, Marquis Benedict had thought he could control Roman Dmitry. Because Roman didn’t seem very strong, Marquis Benedict wasn’t worried, even after giving him a year.

But now, Count Nicholas was defeated.

The Dmitry family had made an alliance in the northeast. And Roman Dmitry had shown he was stronger than Count Nicholas, the man the nobles were afraid of.

Marquis Benedict could not accept this.

The power he thought he controlled was only the power Roman had chosen to show him.

Marquis Benedict was shocked and confused. Roman Dmitry was clever and sly. He knew Roman was smart, but he didn’t expect him to trick him so completely.

‘Roman Dmitry didn’t need a year to get ready for the fight,’ Marquis Benedict thought.

‘He used the excuse of the public fights to get time to rebuild his family, the Dmitry family. From the start, Roman Dmitry only showed me the strength he wanted me to see. Because I thought he was just a simple man from a faraway place, I was sure he would have to do what I said.’

But things were different now. Roman Dmitry was powerful.

Now, if he wanted to, he could create his own army and fight against the nobles. That’s why Marquis Benedict had brought his soldiers. Even though the royal family was supposed to control Cairo, the city guards had let Marquis Benedict’s troops in easily.

Marquis Benedict spoke.

“A year ago, you said you would decide after the public fights were over. Tell me your answer now. Will you join me and the nobles who support me? Or will you choose something else? If you join us, I will welcome you. But if you choose against us, you will pay for everything I have given you.”

The kindness he had shown Roman had turned into anger.

Marquis Benedict said firmly, “Choose now. What is your decision?”

This was the moment of truth.

—

Roman thought about his past life as Baek Jung-hyuk. He had faced a similar choice before, in that life of struggle.

“Jung-hyuk,” a voice from his memory said.

“I will be the only leader of the Demonic Heavenly Cult. I have treated you like a brother until now. But from now on, your choice will decide our relationship. Choose now. Will you live a life of riches and respect by my side? Or will you be my enemy?”

That day, Baek Ho-yeol, the oldest son of the Demonic Heavenly Cult, arrived with so many soldiers they seemed to cover the whole ground, like darkness.

But it wasn’t really a choice.

Baek Jung-hyuk had been showing his strength, and people were even talking about him becoming the next leader of the Demonic Heavenly Cult. Baek Ho-yeol made it clear he would not let Baek Jung-hyuk become more powerful. Baek Ho-yeol was not alone. His other brothers were with him. These brothers had also wanted to be the leader of the Demonic Heavenly Cult, but one by one, they had given up and joined Baek Ho-yeol.

‘What choice do I have?’ he thought.

His life was a constant fight. Every moment was like hell. He never slept well. People who followed him often died, just because they were on his side. Every time, he felt sick inside with anger and pain. He remembered the cruel words and actions of others. He wanted to give up, to end his miserable life.

If he joined Baek Ho-yeol, life would be easy.

He wouldn’t have to fight anymore. He could sleep peacefully without needing a sword next to his bed. But… “Brother,” he had said in his memory. “I’m sorry, but I can’t live for someone else.”

From the deepest part of himself, Baek Jung-hyuk had started his fight by hitting another boy his age with a rock. He killed, and killed, and killed again. If anyone looked down on him or tried to be stronger than him, Baek Jung-hyuk always won, even if it meant fighting dirty, biting and scratching.

That core part of him would never change. He was like a wild animal that had tasted blood. He could not surrender, even when Baek Ho-yeol threatened him with death.

Baek Ho-yeol’s face turned cold.

He stepped back, and his soldiers, who seemed to be everywhere, charged at Baek Jung-hyuk. For fifteen days and nights, Baek Jung-hyuk fought a terrible battle. He was always close to death. He was so thirsty he even drank blood. But Baek Jung-hyuk killed every enemy who came at him.

Finally, he stood in front of Baek Ho-yeol, who looked at him in disbelief. Baek Jung-hyuk cut off his head. Thud.

And now, back in the present.

“I understand what you mean,” Roman Dmitry said.

He looked at Marquis Benedict and the soldiers behind him. This situation reminded him of his past life. Roman Dmitry smiled slightly, a knowing smile.

“But you know what?” he said.

“I don’t think I can live for others. That’s my choice.”

When he heard these words, Marquis Benedict’s face changed. His expression became twisted and evil, like a demon.