The Heavenly Demon Can’t Live A Normal Life [EN]: Chapter 22

The fight started.

Kevin heard a voice he knew.

“Sword up, block! Chris will attack suddenly.”

It was Roman’s voice.

Kevin did not know how Roman was talking to him in his mind. He was confused.

He paused for a moment, confused.

He didn’t understand, but it was Roman’s voice. So, he did what he was told.

Then, suddenly—

Wham!

“……!”

His hand burned with pain.

He just blocked like Roman said. But he had stopped Chris’s surprise attack without even knowing it.

“Step to the side. Hit Chris’s chest when he kicks.”

The voice came again.

Kevin tried to do what Roman said. But he was too slow. Chris kicked him in the stomach, just as Roman said he would.

Thwack!

“Kraaah!”

Kevin screamed again. He held his stomach, unable to breathe, and fell to the ground.

Thick saliva dripped from his mouth.

Kevin had cut off his own arm a week before. But this pain was different. It was worse.

Then—

“Leap to the right.”

The voice sounded clearly in his mind.

Kevin knew he had to listen to avoid more pain.

Fighting through the pain, he jumped to the side. Just like Roman said, Chris swung his sword.

“Target the opponent’s left chest.”

There was a chance! Chris was open on his left side as he swung. Even Kevin could see he could attack there.

But Kevin was not skilled enough. His sword moved too slowly. He stumbled, and his attack was too short.

It was a total failure. Chris didn’t even notice Kevin tried to attack his weak spot. Chris easily dodged and kicked Kevin in the stomach again.

Thwack!

“Keugh!”

Chris was winning easily. Kevin couldn’t fight back at all. The pain was terrible, and he tasted blood in his mouth. He felt like he would faint.

But he wouldn’t say he gave up.

Roman hadn’t told him to stop. And what was happening was unbelievable.

“Lord Roman is all-powerful. Chris is moving like a puppet, just like Roman said.”

Roman’s voice was like magic. When he said Chris would attack from the right, Chris did. And the weak spots Roman showed him really looked like chances to win.

But Kevin wasn’t good enough to do it. If he was as skilled as Roman said, he should have beaten Chris already. But his body was too weak.

It was strange. Chris was a strong knight, someone normal people admired. But Roman was playing with him like a toy.

Only then did he understand.

Why he had been sent to spar.

Roman was sending him a message.

“This is how powerful Lord Roman is. Even Chris, who everyone says is the smartest fighter in Dimitri, is nothing compared to Roman. I will be loyal to Roman forever. Even if I don’t understand, I will trust him completely.”

He saw his future. He knew his goal. He pictured Roman in his mind.

He remembered trusting Roman and cutting off his arm. Now, he was sure that following Roman would make him strong.

This one fight changed everything. Roman had given him a reason to believe. A reason to follow him. A reason to be amazed.

Kevin was focused only on the fight, even though he was in pain. He didn’t even hear Chris’s warning.

“This is my last warning. If you keep fighting like this, you will lose an arm or a leg.”

A final warning.

Kevin grinned.

“Give up?” Kevin thought. “No.” Chris didn’t know the truth. Kevin was Roman’s puppet.

If Roman could control even a strong knight like Chris, what could Kevin, just a teenager, do to impress Roman? What could he offer to join Roman’s group?

No matter how much he thought about it, there was only one answer.

Trust. Loyalty.

He was weak physically, but he could show how strong his loyalty was.

“Let’s keep going!” Kevin said. That was his decision.

Even if he got hurt, Kevin wanted to show Roman he was worthy.

Chris didn’t understand Kevin’s determination. That’s why Chris got angry when Kevin refused to stop.

Chris lost his patience. He was no longer sorry for Kevin. Now, he was just angry.

“You don’t know your place…!”

Chris pushed off the ground quickly. He had thought Kevin was just someone unimportant. But Kevin was fighting hard and wouldn’t quit. Chris knew he had to end this now.

He had to finish the fight quickly. Kevin would regret this for life, and maybe lose an arm or a leg.

Chris moved very fast. Like lightning. He moved so quickly, Kevin couldn’t even see him. Chris swung his sword at Kevin’s shoulder.

His arm. That was the price for his stubbornness. Just as the wooden sword was about to hit his arm, Kevin heard the voice again: “One step forward.”

Thwack.

“……!”

Chris’s eyes widened as Kevin took a step forward. *That place* – right in front of Chris’s wooden sword – was a death trap. It was like deliberately walking into the path of a falling blade, a foolish move that reminded Chris of his own humiliating defeat by Roman. *Foolish, but brave.*

Yet, Kevin didn’t hesitate. Even knowing he could be badly hurt, maybe even worse, he stepped forward. He was trying to get in position to attack before Chris could react.

And then, Chris heard the command echo in his mind, as if Roman himself was speaking: *Attack with all your might.*

He obeyed instantly.

Kevin gritted his teeth, his face red with effort. He swung his wooden sword in a wide arc, starting low and bringing it up with all his strength, cutting through the air with a *whoosh*.

They were so close now, it could go either way.

Their bodies became entangled.

The result?

Wham!

The sound of something shattering echoed. It was a loud crack as the wooden sword splintered.

Along with scattering blood droplets, Kevin’s body, like a puppet with severed strings, fell backward.

A momentary victory.

The victor was…

“You stubborn…!”

It was Chris.

In his vision, filled with a look of disgust, he saw blood flowing around Kevin.

The duel was over.

Fortunately, Kevin’s life wasn’t in danger.

By a hair’s breadth, Chris’s wooden sword grazed his forehead, tearing the skin. Chris managed to stop the danger by blocking the next attack with his wooden sword.

The wooden sword had broken from the powerful blow.

And with the pain that built up from the kick to his abdomen, Kevin rolled his eyes back and collapsed.

He was a real piece of work.

Even with crude skills, his will to fight to the end stirred complex emotions in Chris as he watched Kevin. He felt a mix of respect, annoyance, and confusion.

Chris’s victory.

Roman, tending to Kevin, said,

“The offer stands. Tomorrow, if you choose. The path is open.”

That was it.

Roman, as if Chris didn’t exist, was busy treating Kevin’s wounds.

It was a truly ironic scene.

Roman had driven Kevin into a death trap, yet he treated Kevin as if he were someone precious.

“…Why did I even fight?”

Chris returned to his plain and somewhat messy lodgings. The air smelled faintly of dust, and the sounds of the city drifted in through the open window.

He fell into thought.

Initially, his intention was to gain Roman’s attention by defeating Kevin, but the unexpected turn of events had now complicated his mind.

In truth, accepting this duel was a losing battle from the start.

In a fight where he wouldn’t even break even if he won, Chris was momentarily overwhelmed by Kevin’s tenacity.

Especially during the final exchange.

At that moment, Chris was reminded of a past memory.

‘It was just like Master Roman. Stepping into a death trap was both a perfect attack and a defensive maneuver.’

If…

If he hadn’t had the experience of being defeated by Roman in the same way…

Chris was truly ashamed to admit, he wasn’t sure he could have perfectly avoided Kevin’s attack without mana.

Past memories became experience.

He was able to react quickly to the situation he had replayed countless times in his head, and Chris countered Kevin’s attack by dodging it.

In the process, a strange thrill arose.

Even though his opponent was just an ordinary person, Chris couldn’t help but laugh in vain at the fact that he had improved since the past.

Roman hadn’t taught him anything.

And yet…

He was improving.

The single experience of fighting Roman had become the foundation for his growth, turning him into a swordsman who could respond differently in the same situation.

That wasn’t all.

‘Now that I think about it, Kevin’s decisions were all very appropriate. I thought Master Roman hadn’t given Kevin any instructions, but that wasn’t the case. If Kevin wasn’t an ordinary commoner and was just a little faster and stronger, that one decision might have made me the loser.’

He recalled the memory of the duel.

Imagining failing to make a preemptive strike and being countered, Chris thought of other ways to deal with it.

Those moments.

He analyzed them.

Examining them one by one, he tried to understand how Roman had viewed him.

‘I thought Master Roman was Dimitri’s fool, as the rumors said. But after losing the duel with Master Roman, and now having a fight in place of someone with Kevin, I’m convinced. Master Roman is not just a genius. It’s impossible to understand with common sense, but he has reached a level that even my master, Sir Jonathan, the leader of the Knights, cannot reach.’

Roman’s level.

He couldn’t even begin to guess.

It wasn’t just about physical strength; the world of nothingness that Roman’s spirit touched was on a different dimension.

What was he seeing?

Just by crossing swords with Roman once, and by trying to understand Roman’s judgment through the fight in place of someone, his mind was filled with countless teachings.

It was a world he had never experienced while stuck in a well.

The more he analyzed his experiences, the more Chris felt pure admiration.

Roman.

He saw the meaning of what he had said.

It wasn’t just about staying by his side, but about finding a way to become stronger himself by watching him.

“Was I such a fool?”

He chuckled.

Come to think of it.

Roman had given him many hints.

Even in the process of teaching Kevin, he had said many things as if he wanted Chris to hear them, but Chris had refused to accept the situation because he was teaching the basics.

It was a rejection based on prejudice.

He was a swordsman who had reached a certain level, so even though he lowered his head to learn, he wasn’t ready to receive teachings.

However…

Now he knew.

Just by watching Roman and understanding on his own and improving, he could reach another level.

“…I, Chris, do not yet know you properly. The Roman Dimitri I remember is a terrible person, called Dimitri’s fool, but the recent 모습 you have shown is something I cannot understand with my common sense. What is certain is that I acknowledge you. From now on, by your side, until I surpass you, I will steal and learn everything.”

It was his own resolution.

Speaking to himself, Chris set a new goal.

And the next day.

Chris went to Roman and said,

“I do not need teachings. I will find a way to become stronger myself, following Master Roman.”

That day.

Chris thought.

Until he surpassed Roman, he would live as Roman’s sword.

But would he know?

That this statement, uttered in youthful ardor, was a lifelong vow that would determine the lord he would serve for the rest of his life.

A week passed. In that time, Chris watched Roman closely, his mind constantly replaying the duel and Roman’s actions. He was more determined than ever to understand this man.

It was the day of Barco’s social party.