The Heavenly Demon Can’t Live A Normal Life [EN]: Chapter 315

Everyone had left.

Chris remained alone, staring down at his sword with a troubled expression.

He wondered, ‘Why did I choose this path?’ Then, a memory came to him.

A painful memory came back. He saw himself as a young boy on a battlefield. Dead bodies were everywhere. He held his mother’s body and cried.

For young Chris, it felt like the world was over. He saw his parents stabbed. He heard their painful cries. It was too much for a child. Jonathan, the leader of the knights, reached out his hand to him. Chris stopped crying and made a promise to himself.

He would become stronger.

To never experience such a thing again, he vowed to become a swordsman stronger than anyone else.

Lately, Chris had become much stronger.

He had beaten Diego, showing he was as strong as the best fighters on the continent. Enemies on the battlefield were scared just hearing the name ‘Dmitri’s Flash’.

He was getting closer to what he wanted. He thought he was still on the right path. But seeing how much Kevin wanted to win changed things for him.

He wondered, what if he fought Roman Dmitri and lost? How would he react?

He didn’t think he would cry and refuse to accept it like Kevin. He had followed Roman Dmitri and been amazed by him. He now saw Roman Dmitri as someone he could never beat.

He knew he would lose. How could he beat someone as strong as Roman Dmitri? Roman Dmitri never gave up, even against huge armies.

He still wanted to be better than Roman Dmitri, but he knew it was not possible.

Slowly, he started to accept reality.

He was strong enough now to protect himself. Even if he couldn’t beat Roman Dmitri, it was okay.

Roman Dmitri was known as the best swordsman of their time. Chris thought, ‘It’s Roman Dmitri. Maybe it’s okay if I can’t beat *him*.’

He felt like he was strong because of Roman Dmitri. So, maybe it was okay to be second best to him.

“Damn it,” he thought. He felt a rush of anger.

He realized he had become weak without noticing, because Roman Dmitri was so strong. Kevin’s tears and his strong wish to win made Chris feel ashamed.

‘Maybe it’s impossible, even if I try for years. But I, Chris, will fight to become the best swordsman. Even if I have to beat Roman Dmitri, who I respect. Like Kevin, I won’t give up easily just because it’s hard.’

He pushed down his negative feelings. He accepted that he had changed. He would use this change to become even stronger.

He held his sword tightly. ‘From now on,’ he thought, ‘I will train harder than ever. I will not be left behind. I will reach my goal.’ He would become stronger and never give up.

***

Treatment room.

Checking Kevin’s wounds, the healer frowned.

“Tsk. Why are you always so reckless with your body? You know, Chris is incredible. How did he cut you so precisely without hurting anything important?” The healer kept talking.

The healer knew what had happened. Chris and Kevin had been sparring, but it was almost like a real fight. Kevin was covered in blood.

The healer said, “Kevin, maybe you don’t know, but Chris has been famous in Dmitri since he arrived. He looks nice, but he’s incredibly skilled. When he quickly learned to use ‘Mana’ after Jonathan taught him, everyone said a sword genius was born in Dmitri. He really is a genius. Meeting Roman Dmitri made him even better, but he was already amazing on his own.”

Even years ago, people called Chris a genius. Even if they only knew about Dmitri, Chris was special. He learned to use ‘Aura’ very young. He was always different from Kevin.

“Kevin, you are amazing too. Chris usually doesn’t hurt people in practice. But he must have thought he couldn’t beat you without really fighting hard, so he fought seriously. He only did this because it’s you, Kevin. Anyone else would have been defeated much faster.”

Kevin stopped listening to the healer. He was only thinking about what the healer said about Chris being a genius since he came to Dmitri.

‘He’s just different from me.’ Genius. Someone who was already talented, and then became even stronger with Roman Dmitri.

But Kevin was different. He felt unimportant. He remembered being easily beaten by Blood Fang. He hadn’t even known how to hold a sword before he started training.

He had improved a lot since meeting Roman Dmitri. But he still couldn’t beat Chris, who everyone knew was a genius from the beginning.

Today, Kevin realized he had reached a limit. Even when Chris attacked so fast he couldn’t even see it, Kevin felt like Chris wasn’t even trying his hardest.

He felt terrible. He felt weak and ashamed. He felt like he was desperately trying to reach someone he could never touch.

‘In the future, Roman Dmitri will have many strong people like Chris around him. Fernando, Ares, Fred. They are already famous fighters. They will join Roman Dmitri and become even stronger because of him. Every time someone stronger comes, what will I do? Should I just accept that they are better because they started out better than me? Will I slowly become less important?’

No.

He refused to accept that. Even if he wasn’t as talented as them, he wanted to be the person Roman Dmitri trusted most.

This was his only wish. He remembered when his life was dark and hopeless. Then, he saw Roman Dmitri look at him. For the first time, Kevin felt ‘hope’.

He would never forget that day. That’s why he wanted Roman Dmitri to always think of him first when he needed help.

‘It doesn’t matter if I started weak. Even if it takes one year or ten years, I will become stronger than everyone except Roman Dmitri. I will never accept losing easily again.’

He gritted his teeth. He would become stronger. ‘What should I do now?’ he wondered. Suddenly, he had an idea. ‘The Control Stage.’ ‘Guihonmagong.’ Learning this might be the only way for him to become as strong as the geniuses.

***

Adelian Auction House.

It was very busy and chaotic.

For Adelian’s most important customers. Roman Dmitri wanted to auction off the new ‘Third No-Name’ sword, after the ‘Blaze’ sword.

“Everyone, focus! The ‘Third No-Name’ will definitely sell for the highest price ever at Adelian Auction House. We’ve told all our important customers, so stay alert all day. If we do a good job with this auction, I promise everyone will get extra pay!”

Maurice, the auction house manager, finished speaking. His employees nodded, their faces serious. It was early morning, and everyone was ready.

The auction house was full. So many people had come that it felt like a huge, moving crowd. VIP guests invited by Maurice were there, but so were many others. News had spread that Roman Dmitry was selling something new, and people were eager to see it. However, guards at the door only let certain people enter.

This was a special auction, only for people who could afford expensive items. You needed to be able to bid at least 100 gold to get in. So, most ordinary people were kept outside.

People filled the space.

After a long wait, the auctioneer finally appeared before the crowd.

“Thank you for your patience!” the auctioneer announced, his voice loud and clear. “Today, Adelian presents a masterpiece by the famous Roman Dmitry! It’s called ‘Third No-Name,’ and it has already caused a sensation! This sword is not just strong; it’s incredibly special in another way. You see, we have a new test for mana sensitivity. Before, we had ten levels. Blaze sword reached the top level! But this new test is even harder, with only five levels. Experts say that reaching level 5 is like finding a treasure that appears only once in a hundred years!”

He paused, smiling to let the excitement grow. Then he said, “Well, everyone, ‘Third No-Name’ achieved level 5 mana sensitivity on this new test!”

“Wow!” someone gasped.

“Amazing!” another voice shouted.

People in the crowd murmured with excitement. Everyone knew Roman Dmitry was talented, but this was even better than they imagined. The air in the room felt charged with energy.

The auctioneer surveyed the VIPs and announced the start of the auction.

“We will now begin the auction for Third No-Name. The starting price is 100 gold.”

It was then.

Snap.

One person.

Someone raised their hand.

A signal to accept the bid, along with a signal indicating 100 times the amount.

In an instant.

The auctioneer’s face was filled with astonishment.

“…W-what on earth is going on? Number 1 has declared 10,000 gold from the start.”

10,000 gold.

Everyone turned to look at ‘Number 1’.

It was a familiar face.

Then, people realized who ‘Number 1’ was: Marquis Valentino. Valentino was famous for wanting to own everything rare and valuable. People whispered that he was greedy and would stop at nothing to get what he wanted. When he bid 10,000 gold right away, it was clear what he was doing. He was saying, without even speaking the words, ‘I have so much money, you can’t compete with me.’

Valentino had planned for this day. He knew the sword was coming up for auction. He had even sold his jewelry business to get ready. He had gathered a huge amount of money from his businesses and friends. He wanted to make sure no one could outbid him. That’s why he started with such a high bid of 10,000 gold.

Before the auction, Valentino’s advisors had asked him, ‘Is it really wise to bid so high right away? Maybe we should start lower and try to get it cheaper?’ But Valentino had refused. ‘Third No-Name is special,’ he said. ‘It’s worth any price.’ As a collector, he couldn’t stand the thought of someone else getting this treasure for a low price. He knew it wouldn’t be cheap anyway, but he wanted to make it clear he was willing to pay whatever it took.

He felt everyone staring at him. Usually, Valentino loved being the center of attention, and he would smile and wave. But today, he just glared at the crowd. He wanted to warn everyone: ‘Don’t even think about bidding against me.’

1 second.

2 seconds.

Time passed.

After a silence, the auctioneer raised his voice.

“10,000 gold! Number 1 bids 10,000 gold! Has anyone else? No? Going once… going twice… Sold! To Number 1 for 10,000 gold! Congratulations!” The auctioneer was clearly amazed. “Wow! I never thought it would be decided so quickly and at such a high price!”

Successful bid.

The moment the awaited word was mentioned.

Marquis Valentino jumped up from his seat.

Throwing his dignity to the floor, he clenched his fist tightly.

“Yessssssssss!”

Valentino was overjoyed. He felt a rush of pure happiness.

Marquis Valentino, who ran to receive the sword in one breath, said to the knight who followed him as a guard.

“Right now,” Valentino said to his knight, “arrange meetings with all the important families around here. Two families every day, morning and afternoon.”

The knight looked confused. “What for, sir?” he asked.

Valentino grinned. “What do you think? I just bought the most amazing treasure! Of course, I need to go and show it off to everyone!”

Even as he spoke, he could not hide his grin.

At that sight.

The knight, who had talked with Simmons earlier, watched Valentino’s excited face. A worry crossed his mind. *Is this really good for our family?* he wondered. He wasn’t so sure anymore.

Several days passed since then.

The issue that made Dmitry noisy, the successful bid for Third No-Name.

A few days later, people in Dmitry were still talking about the auction, but the excitement was starting to fade. Then, a call came in at Dmitry’s communications center.

Beep.

The communicator crackled to life. But then, silence. The soldier spoke into the device, giving his name and location. He waited, listening hard. Still nothing. He frowned, a bad feeling growing in his stomach. “If there’s no one there,” he said, his voice firm, “I’m going to end this call.”

Just as he reached for the button to disconnect, a faint, broken sound scratched through the speaker.

[…Help… This is… A prisoner… Kraaah!]

Thud.

The communication was cut off.

The message was garbled and unclear. But the soldier caught a few words. He put the pieces together in his mind.

*Help… prisoner…* The words echoed in the soldier’s head. His blood ran cold. “They’re asking for help,” he realized instantly. “A prisoner!” He checked the location of the call. It was far beyond their western border, deep in enemy territory. He knew, with a sinking feeling, who it must be. A prisoner of war. Captured by the enemy.