The Heavenly Demon Can’t Live A Normal Life [EN]: Chapter 20

Outside Dimitri Castle.

Kevin was born outside Dimitri Castle.

His home was a small, broken-down house, barely better than a shack. From a young age, he worked with his parents to earn money, doing any job they could find.

There wasn’t a single task he hadn’t done, starting with simple errands.

This was the life of a very poor person. He didn’t even dream of big things, like becoming a hero, something he thought was impossible for him.

He just wanted a normal life, where he had enough food and didn’t worry about being hungry every day.

Shiver, shiver.

“Hoo, hoo.”

His hands trembled.

Cold sweat poured down his forehead, and he felt dizzy as his vision blurred while looking at his arm.

His arm.

Was he really going to cut it off?

Roman hadn’t forced the choice.

The option of following Hans was a life that aligned with his dreams, but Kevin couldn’t shake off the day he first met Roman.

Roman was strong.

He was a man who could take responsibility for his words, and he effortlessly defeated a dangerous monster, a being that Kevin couldn’t even dare to approach.

It was amazing.

Having power.

Having lived a life where he was always deprived of things, Kevin couldn’t ignore this moment.

‘Lord Roman promised me a new life. So, I have to become someone he needs.’

He gritted his teeth.

Crack!

“Kraaah!”

He chopped off his arm.

The sensation of the sharp sword digging into his flesh made his mind, that knew pain well, feel like it was about to fly away.

The problem was that he hadn’t completely cut off his arm yet.

The sword Roman had thrown was dull, and as a young boy with weak strength, he had to cut back and forth many times on the bone to break it.

Scritch, scritch.

A dull sound was heard.

It was a horrible sound, like bones grinding, that made your skin crawl.

It was a sound that made you feel scared and uneasy just by hearing it.

Kevin’s face became very red, like it was about to explode, he was trying so hard, and he couldn’t even recognize what he was doing.

However.

He just acted.

Roman had said that he could become stronger.

In a situation where the word ‘dream’ was being created for the first time, Kevin suppressed the pain again and again.

Thud.

He cut off his arm.

The strength completely drained from his body, and Kevin couldn’t support himself, falling into the pool of blood.

It was then.

Everything disappeared like magic.

The blood that had been pooling on the floor.

The arm that was rolling on it.

And even the pain that was tearing through his mind.

He didn’t know how this happened, but what was certain was that he had passed the third option.

“From now on, you will live as a sword in my place.”

The world changed.

Kevin, with his mind still not recovered, raised his body and knelt before Roman, saying.

“I will follow my lord’s command.”

Roman.

Following him was the direction of his life from now on.

After parting with Kevin.

As Roman returned to his room, Hans rushed out, looking very worried.

“No, Lord! Are you hurt anywhere? There’s blood on the sword, blood!”

“It’s nothing.”

“But……”

“Hans.”

Hans, who was checking Roman for injuries, his face full of worry, quietly removed his hands at the firm tone.

Roman was a strong man.

He knew that he was making a fuss for no reason, as Roman hadn’t even reacted when he defeated the Blood Fang.

And there were no visible wounds. In other words, the blood on Roman’s sword belonged to someone else.

Tsk.

(This sound shows he is annoyed or disappointed).

‘An amazing person.’

Roman smiled.

About Kevin.

Roman had no intention of actually cutting off Kevin’s arm.

He intended to test his will with a temporary illusion, but Kevin chopped off his arm before even falling into the illusion.

The result was the blood on the sword.

Fortunately, the sword didn’t cut into his skin completely, only just barely, but if the magic of illusion had been a little weaker, his arm would have been completely cut off.

He was a very determined person.

He wasn’t a genius like people always describe, but his will was so great that no one could match it.

And.

At Kevin’s vow of allegiance, Roman said in a nonchalant tone.

“The magic training method I will teach you from now on is a very dangerous power. When your achievement is low, the pain is not severe, but the stronger you become, the more you will have to endure the pain you just experienced. However, the only reason I am teaching you this method is that it is a way for a teenager who doesn’t even know the basics of magic to become strong quickly, and if you master this technique to the extreme, you will have the power to protect those around you.”

The Demonic Art of Soul Consumption.

Because it couldn’t be fully explained by the explanations of this world, he called it ‘mana cultivation technique’ to make it sound normal and acceptable.

At those words.

Kevin was moved.

In this world, magic training is not something ordinary people like Kevin can usually learn.

Although the risk was great, Kevin couldn’t help but doubt reality at the fact that Roman was directly teaching him the technique.

Roman was a good person.

He had saved him from being beaten, defeated the Blood Fang, and presented a future to him, a mere commoner, that he had never imagined before.

Why.

Why did he trust him?

He might learn the technique and run away, but he couldn’t understand why Roman trusted him so much without knowing him well.

So he asked.

“Why do you trust me?”

Roman smiled.

Kevin’s words were like the Mad Demon.

The Mad Demon was once an ordinary boy, and he was never given the opportunity to learn ancient martial arts.

He was also able to master the Demonic Art of Soul Consumption through Roman.

At first, he didn’t take Roman’s consideration seriously, but after years of conquering the fighting world, the Mad Demon asked the reason for his blind faith.

The answer was simple.

‘To receive blind faith, I must first believe in the other person. Even if I am betrayed.’

Belief.

It is blind.

It’s not because there is a reason, but because you believe because you are believed in.

But Roman didn’t explain it to Kevin in detail.

Blind faith is ruined when you try to explain it with fancy words.

And Roman had never worried about betrayal in his life.

The stronger the people who followed him became, the bigger their heads grew.

They would know how dangerous it was to betray Cheonma Baek Jung-hyuk.

Therefore.

He just ended the conversation with the word ‘just’.

And now Roman was staring intently at the sword.

He saw the Mad Demon in the blood-stained sword, and from now on, he would form a bond with a child named Kevin who resembled the Mad Demon.

“I’m going to be busy.”

Two weeks until the party.

About six months until the war.

From now on, there was a lot to teach Kevin.

Time is relative.

While Kevin began to live a fierce life, Chris spent long, boring days, wondering if this was okay.

“Boring.”

He had yawned dozens of times.

Chris watched Roman and Kevin from afar.

“The basics are important in everything.”

“Do everything correctly, even if it’s just one thing.”

“Don’t lose your focus.”

It was truly strange.

He knew what they were doing, but he couldn’t understand it.

‘Why are you taking in a boy he found somewhere and teaching him swordsmanship?’

He would have understood if he was a great genius.

But Kevin was neither a great genius, nor was his status so great that he was being taught because of a request.

A mere commoner.

Moreover, he was ignorant of swordsmanship.

He sighed.

Even when he followed Roman, he couldn’t have imagined a scene like this.

‘I thought I would learn the quick way to become strong if I followed Lord Roman. But what is this? He has never taught me anything like Kevin, and he treats me as if I don’t even exist. If that’s the case, it would be more beneficial to train with my old master again, even just once.’

His stomach was boiling.

He was so angry, he gritted his teeth. He wanted to run to Roman and yell.

But he endured it.

Because he had decided to follow him.

If he waited patiently, he thought he would look at him.

“Aargh, damn it.”

Thwack!

He threw his glove on the ground.

It had already been a week.

Chris, unable to suppress his anger at the sight of him abandoning himself and only teaching Kevin, approached Roman and said.

“Lord Roman.”

“……?”

“It’s already been over two weeks since I started following Lord Roman. I wasted one week of that time training alone, and the other week I’ve just been watching Kevin practice. If it’s because you don’t like the way I wasn’t polite at first, I sincerely apologize. So, please teach me something like Kevin. I’m confident that I’ll learn any teaching really hard.”

His will was great.

At the sight of him expressing his will, Roman turned his gaze away from Kevin and stared intently at Chris.

“Didn’t I tell you? To watch and learn from my surroundings.”

“……You don’t mean you really meant to learn by ‘watching’, do you? Not that you would teach me something special?”

Chris was shocked.

What was he talking about?

He, who thought that learning from his surroundings meant teaching, couldn’t accept this reality.

“Lord! Even though I lost miserably in the sparring match, I’m still a person who reached the 2-star level at the age of mid-twenties. I can’t just let my talent that people call genius go to waste.”

Chris reacted strongly.

At the sight of Chris raising his voice as if he wouldn’t back down, Roman stopped himself from laughing.

It was as expected.

He didn’t think Chris would endure being neglected forever.

Roman said.

“Everyone has their own method. Kevin is ignorant, so he needs someone to set the right plan from start to finish until he reaches a certain level. But you are different. Even if I give you any teaching, you won’t truly understand it, but you’ll try to understand it even if you don’t because I’m the one who beat you. And your talent will hurt you in the end.”

“……So you’re saying I should keep watching?”

“No.”

Roman waited.

For Chris to rebel.

Now was the time to show the reality to those who had decided to follow him.

“To accept reality, you need a clear result. How about having a proxy sparring match with Kevin? If you still think you’re right after the proxy sparring match, I’ll give you direct instruction from then on.”

Roman’s proposal was strange.

Proxy sparring.

It was an unfamiliar word.

Chris’s question was quickly resolved by Roman’s explanation.

“The meaning of proxy sparring is simple. Kevin will be your sparring partner, but I will tell Kevin how to defeat you during the sparring match. So, prove your will by defeating Kevin, who is my ‘representative’.”

Roman’s words were absurd.

And, he was angry.

‘……Does this bastard really think I’m an idiot?’

He admitted that he had lost to Roman.

Every morning when he looked in the mirror, he looked at his empty teeth and replayed that moment countless times.

However.

This was not it.

The opponent was a beginner who knows nothing.

Proxy sparring or whatever, his defeat didn’t make sense.

‘Yeah, you’re not satisfied with breaking my teeth, you’re going to completely control me, right? What you want is loyalty without asking why. But I’m not that easy. Even if it means hitting someone important, I can’t stand being treated like this.’

His eyebrows shot up.

He wanted to do well.

He had told his master with determination and left the Knights, so he had a great desire to achieve something and return.

And.

He spent two weeks without any gain.

The dissatisfaction he had barely suppressed exploded at Roman’s arrogant attitude.

“Okay. Let’s fight. I’ll show you for sure this time that I’m not so easily controlled.”

Chris thought that this time it would be different from the last sparring match.