The Heavenly Demon Can’t Live A Normal Life [EN]: Chapter 53

The choices Roman presented were terrible.

Barco knew Roman was trying to trick him, but Roman didn’t give him a way out.

“I have clearly presented two options, and there are no exceptions. If you don’t choose one today, I will tell my father about the threats I endured. Then, war with Dimitri will be unavoidable. Antoni Barco’s actions have given me reason enough, and I won’t back down unless Barco shows he is truly sorry.”

Roman closed off every escape.

Roman spoke firmly, not letting Barco delay. Baron Barco wished he could ignore what was happening.

‘War with Dimitri is impossible,’ he thought.

The outcome was obvious.

He had already lost a war financed by the Golden Bank. He couldn’t imagine defeating Dimitri, a powerful man from the northeast.

He would likely be completely defeated.

If Barco, already in trouble, were attacked by Dimitri, the Barco family would be destroyed.

In the end, there was only one option.

Roman knew this and offered the only choice Barco could accept.

‘Roman wants to show everyone Dimitri is stronger than Barco,’ he thought. ‘He wants to come to my house and punish my son, Antoni. This will shock all the important families. The Barco family, already defeated and with a terrible reputation, would have no chance to recover.’

It was devastating.

In front of Barco’s last remaining allies, Roman was mocking the Barco family and trying to destroy them.

‘He’s so cruel,’ Barco thought.

Roman offered the hilt of the sword, suggesting ritual suicide.

Barco had to give up his pride.

Bowing his head to the ground and taking responsibility for the defeat himself, he was forced to offer his eldest son for punishment in his place.

Words were hard to say.

His eyebrows twitched.

Baron Barco, who had once been all-powerful in the northeast, couldn’t bring himself to bow to the young Roman Dimitri.

There was only one way to protect his pride: to prepare for the Barco family’s destruction and kill Roman, who had fearlessly come to his home, for all to see.

But, he couldn’t do that because he wanted to live longer.

Baron Barco’s strong desire to live led him to accept the reality he didn’t want.

“Antoni Barco’s matter shouldn’t become a family issue,” he said. “I will tell Antoni Barco to apologize directly. Is that enough? Will that stop your anger if I bring the eldest son of the Barco family to his knees?”

He shouted, driven to the edge.

The chance for recovery was gone. Baron Barco, who had lost everything, spoke desperately with bloodshot eyes.

However, Roman replied, “When did I say I wanted Antoni Barco to kneel?”

“…What does that mean?” Barco asked.

“If he is to be punished, I will choose the method. Who would let the guilty choose their own punishment?” Roman’s voice was cold.

Even after pushing Baron Barco to the edge, Roman revealed his fierce intentions, as if he still wasn’t satisfied.

“I propose a trial by combat with Antoni Barco,” Roman said.

At those words, Baron Barco’s face showed astonishment.

Trial by combat was not a common method.

It was a public execution, a way to make someone pay for their sins with blood and death, pushing them to the edge of life and death.

If Antoni Barco were to undergo trial by combat, his chances of surviving against Roman were slim.

‘Is he saying he’s going to kill Barco’s eldest son in front of me?’ Barco thought.

That couldn’t be. If he did, Roman wouldn’t survive either.

Roman simply said that he couldn’t forgive Antoni Barco just for kneeling, and if he accepted the trial by combat, he might be crippled.

Barco thought, ‘He’s so cruel.’ Even after I humbled myself, Roman wants to make me pay even more.

He felt dizzy.

What Roman was saying was clear: whether to risk the fate of the Barco family or abandon his son.

The answer was already there. No matter how much Antoni Barco was the eldest son and heir, it was unavoidable if it could prevent war with Dimitri, even at the cost of one of his arms.

He squeezed his eyes shut.

Having lost the war with Lorens and facing a mountain of debt, the choice to sacrifice Barco’s eldest son was a bitter pill to swallow.

But it was reality.

After much thought, Baron Barco said he would accept Roman’s proposal and left the conference room.

Then, he told his son, who hadn’t yet understood the situation, about his future.

“Ah, Father!” Antoni cried.

“I’m sorry,” Baron Barco said.

“Absolutely, absolutely not!” Antoni shouted. “Roman Dimitri is a swordsman who even defeated Homerus, isn’t he? Are you really going to risk the life of the Barco family’s heir? Please, reject Roman Dimitri’s proposal. That fellow will never let me live.”

Antoni Barco knelt down, grabbing Baron Barco’s trouser leg with a terrified face, crying and begging.

He knew that even if he survived the trial by combat, he wouldn’t come back unharmed.

Baron Barco thought his eldest son was mature, but now Antoni acted like a child, refusing to face reality.

Seeing this, Baron Barco spoke sternly.

“Pull yourself together,” he said. “You are the eldest son of Barco. From the moment I said I would hand over the position of heir to the Barco family to you, you had to be ready to do anything for the family’s sake, even if it risks your life. Roman won’t be able to kill you. If he intended to kill you, he would have brought guards and made sure he returned alive. So, accept reality, become stronger, look Roman Dimitri in the face, and never forget this humiliation so you can take revenge in the future.”

“Father, please…!” Antoni begged.

“Antony!”

Marquis Barco was firm.

Only then did Antony Barco realize the truth.

He had to fight. There was no way around it.

Antony Barco, collapsing into his seat, looked up at the sky, his face as white as a sheet.

‘God.’

All he could do was hope that Roman would show mercy.

The stage was set.

Antony Barco.

He stood trial before Marquis Barco and the nobles of the Northeast.

Tremble, tremble.

His limbs shook like leaves in the wind.

His face was as pale as a corpse, and he trembled so violently that the sword shook visibly in his hand.

Actually, the fight didn’t matter.

Roman was much stronger. He had already beaten Homerus easily. Antony Barco couldn’t even use Aura. He had no chance to win or even live.

He knew he couldn’t beat Roman with his sword. His only hope was to beg for mercy.

“Ro, Roman, please! I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to… It was Flora… I was crazy about her… I wasn’t thinking straight when I thought about her marrying you…”

His voice was earnest.

He pleaded for forgiveness, not quite kneeling, but showing that he would do anything if asked.

“We’re friends, aren’t we? Although things went wrong because of Lawrence, you and I had some good times together. Roman. No, Lord Roman. Please, just this once, spare me. If you forgive me just this once and let it pass as if nothing happened, I, Antony Barco, will never forget your kindness for the rest of my life.”

It was pathetic.

This was not how a Barco son should act. The nobles watching looked uneasy.

They glanced at Marquis Barco’s expression.

The Marquis’s face was flushed with anger.

Marquis Barco was angry. He had pushed his son to this point. He glared, watching everything, wanting to remember this moment forever.

Roman drawled.

As he slowly walked towards Antony Barco, Antony Barco startled and held his sword close to his body.

He knew he wouldn’t be killed.

However.

He didn’t want to be crippled.

His pale face was not ready to accept the pain.

Roman spoke.

“How could someone like you ever pay me back? Your family is done for. Your government friends can’t save you. You’ll be broke just paying the bank. Why should I forgive you? You ignored me in public. You tried to trick me.”

In that moment.

Marquis Barco felt something was wrong. A strong warning flashed in his mind.

Just as he desperately tried to stop the duel, Roman glanced at Marquis Barco and swung his sword.

Roman’s eyes were cold. The crowd held its breath.

“That’s right, there’s no reason to forgive you.”

Thwack!

He felt the sword hit something.

Blood flew in the air. Marquis Barco’s face showed pure despair.

A roar tore from Marquis Barco’s throat. He lunged forward, but nobles held him back.

Once.

Baek Jung-hyuk had fought his own brothers.

There was no other way to survive.

He endured the threats of his brothers, who attempted to assassinate him every night, and instead, he plunged his sword into their hearts, cutting off their breath.

Then one day.

As Baek Jung-hyuk systematically eliminated them one by one, the eldest son, who was the most likely successor to the Demonic Cult, said this.

“Jung-hyuk. Do you know what your problem is? It’s that you have no compromise. The moment you recognize someone as an enemy, you don’t think about using your relationship with them, and you unconditionally drive them to ruin. That will one day hold you back. Even if they are weaker than you, you never know what they might do when cornered, yet you don’t allow them any leeway. That is your fatal flaw.”

The eldest son, Baek Ho-yeol.

He was strong.

He was not just a great fighter. He was also able to accept his enemies, even after beating those who tried to take his power.

He was truly a remarkable man.

Even Baek Jung-hyuk respected Baek Ho-yeol, but he didn’t agree with everything he said.

Covered in blood.

Baek Jung-hyuk looked up at Baek Ho-yeol and said.

“You’re right, brother, sometimes you need to give in a little. But if someone is my enemy, I think the only way to survive is to destroy them completely. So don’t criticize my methods. I have lived like this from the bottom of the Demonic Cult, and I will continue to do so.”

Until reaching the summit.

Many enemies are waiting.

He knew killing so many people might bring bad luck. So, leaders like Baek Ho-yeol always said it was important to accept others and make them friends.

He didn’t think that was necessarily wrong.

In fact, those who had been Baek Ho-yeol’s enemies became strong allies after turning to his side.

However.

Baek Jung-hyuk’s method was different.

There was no reason to keep enemies alive.

He believed only death could stop problems from happening later. And Baek Jung-hyuk had learned how to make people afraid.

It was no different now.

The Barcos.

They would see him as their greatest enemy.

He knew they would want revenge, no matter what. So, even if Roman was kind, there was no reason to let them live.

Therefore.

Thwack!

“……Keugh.”

He severed Antony Barco’s neck.

His face was stained with astonishment.

Looking at Roman with an expression of utter disbelief, he desperately tried to stop the blood pouring from his neck with both hands.

Plop.

He knelt.

And then, he slumped to the ground, face down.

The death of Antony Barco.

It was a conclusion that no one in this place had expected.