The demon is a human. But it wasn’t human.
When one accepts the terrible power from the devil, their mind is corrupted, and their body and face change as a result.
It will be reborn as a being that cannot be called human.
However, the demon in front of them wasn’t like that.
Apart from the exceptional red gaze, she looked like nothing but a human being.
It meant that her self-awareness was strong and that she didn’t lose her beliefs, managing to become something closer to the devil himself.
It was something that Hill Burnett, who had gone to several demon subjugations, hadn't seen.
‘We won’t lose, but…’
He quickly thought of a plan.
The skeleton soldiers on the periphery of the demon weren’t powerful.
They didn’t seem to have any use other than playing an instrument.
Of course, there’s a high possibility that the demon was hiding something, but at least for now, there was one enemy.
Their holy relics didn’t respond, and Irene Pareira too couldn’t give them a warning.
Yet, the troops will win.
No, Hill and Irene would be enough to subdue the demon.
… which made the vice-captain puzzled.
‘Why the hell didn’t it run away?’
The demon should know too. That the difference in power was too great.
No matter how strong a demon is, it couldn’t defeat all the troops alone.
That was something only a real ‘devil’ could do.
And it didn’t seem like the cave had anything valuable in it.
From what they saw, there was nothing there except for the piano and skeleton soldiers.
It was the moment when he was concerned.
With a smile, the demon spoke.
“Would you like to listen to one more song?”
“Shut up! You wicked demon!”
Baron Russell spoke with a stern voice in his usual arrogant attitude.
He wouldn’t have even thought of doing that if he was alone, but now, he was surrounded by the best knights, so his courage sprung up.
Of course, the demon didn’t care.
She smiled more and spoke to Baron Russell.
“But… my performance was quite good, wasn't it?”
“You bitch, spouting…”
“That song was just an appetizer. I’ll show you the real me. Sweet and dark like a bed which embraces a weary body…”
“Uh, ahh…”
“Maybe it will feel closer to a dream?”
“Then, just one more song…”
Baron Russell’s eyes widened, and he nodded.
Little by little, he moved forward, and the people around didn’t stop him.
“Get yourselves together!”
“Huh?”
Once again, it was the vice-captain who brought the Baron back to consciousness.
Baron Russell seemed startled as he took a step back with a blank expression.
Seeing that, the demon spoke.
“Such a pity. What I said was unmistakably true…”
“No need to wait any longer! Kill the demon before it uses another trick! Twilight knights! Everyone…”
Hill Burnett made the decision.
He wasn’t sure what all was prepared beforehand, but it seemed like it would be better to attack now than to give the demon more time to control them.
The knights who listened to the order moved ahead, and the troops of the 6 families naturally protected the magicians, priests, and nobles.
It was the basic formation from before.
However, the knights couldn’t charge towards the enemy.
It was because the powers of the demon unfolded a step ahead.
Whoo!
“Huk!”
A hand reached out from the shadows beneath their feet, grabbing the foot of one of the members, and dragged them into the darkness.
After a while, Viscount Gairn exclaimed as he saw the knight who was dragged towards the demon.
“Sir Jack Stewart!”
“Ah, that was his name? Nice to meet you, Jack?”
A long, loose hair wrapped around Jack’s neck.
He was hanging in the air, struggling to breathe.
The air became chilly.
And the black-haired demon said.
“Ah, don’t worry too much. I’m not a great demon who can keep using great abilities over and over again.”
“You wench…!”
“And I have no intention of killing Jack. I’m a pacifist.”
“What bull…”
“Let’s make a deal.”
Swoosh!
The hair, which was around Jack’s neck, pulled him higher.
“The life and death of this wonderful knight…”
The demon pointed to herself with her finger.
“And my beautiful and talented life. An exchange.”
“…”
“How does that sound? Isn’t it nice? If you clear the way, I’ll get out of here and then leave him in a place I think is safe.”
“Don’t lie!”
“I’m not lying. I swear on the person I serve, Lastor. If you guarantee my safety, I will repay you with his safety.”
“Kua…”
“Viscount Gairn!”
Hill called out Gairn.
A lot of content was omitted, but everyone could see his intentions.
It meant to not fall for the words of the demon.
To never negotiate with the demon under any circumstance.
A directive from the Holy Land.
‘No, even if not about that, they have to be killed! Considering the damage that demon would do by getting out of here alive and the mess it would cause…’
When put like that, Jack Stewart’s sacrifice is inevitable.
Hill intended to attack, even if Gairn objected to it.
However, if he decided to act like that, internal strife may arise, so it was better to let Viscount Gairn be in charge of making the right decision.
The vice-captain's eyes became desperate.
Maybe he noticed that.
With a frown and worried look, Phill Gairn opened his mouth.
“… we do not negotiate with filthy demons!”
A sigh of relief escaped from the knights’ mouths. They all looked at Viscount Gairn with feelings of respect and awe.
To make the decision of sacrificing the first knight of his family for the sake of the continent.
It was the right thing to do, but not an easy choice.
“… thank you. And Sir Jack Stewart. I apologize.”
The vice-captain knew it very well.
He nodded in gratitude and looked back at the demon.
The atmosphere changed.
In the midst of that, the face of the demon changed.
It was natural.
As the negotiations failed, there was no way for the demon to survive.
That was what everyone thought. The Twilight Knights moved cautiously.
At that moment, the demon’s expression changed.
A creepy change, as if a mask was changing.
For a second, a chill ran down the spine of Hill Burnett, and once again, something happened.
Swoosh!
“Uh, ahh!”
A similar situation.
Another person was dragged from the shadows and appeared next to the demon.
Black hair split in the middle and held two people but their necks.
It was Ryan Gairn, the eldest child of the Gairn family.
When Phill Gairn saw his son, he screamed even louder.
“Ryan! No!”
“You have to make some sacrifices! All…”
“Stop! Stop!!”
The sound of his voice cracking.
The Twilight Knights and even Hill Burnett stopped.
It was because the way Viscount Gairn spoke was different.
Totally different from how he spoke when Jack Stewart was caught.
If the subjugation went on like this, then no one was sure how the situation would end… an uneasy feeling.
It was an indisputable truth.
Phill Gairn, with a distorted expression, ordered.
“Everyone, even the Twilight Knights, stop!”
“Viscount Gairn!”
“Baron Russell and Baron Lester. Will you follow my words?”
“… stop the Twilight Knights.”
“Stop them.”
Baron Russell and Lester joined with Gairn’s men and stopped the knights.
Nothing could be done.
The two heads had their weaknesses caught by Viscount Gairn, so they could hardly disobey him.
And the air changed again.
With a frantic look, Hill Burnett exclaimed.
“Viscount Gairn! I’m going to overlook this, only this once!”
“Let’s talk! No, it will be too late to talk!”
“What the hell, it’s never too late…”
“Shut up! First of all, say what you want! Look here! The negotiations are open, right?”
Phill asked.
It was madness. With a satisfied smile, the demon nodded.
“Of course. Didn’t I tell you before? I swear on the name of Lastor, whom I serve. I’ll keep my promise.”
“Good. We will stop the Twilight Knights…”
“Twilight Knights! Do not forgive those who block the subjugation of the demon, regardless of the family or status!”
“Hill Burnetttt!”
Seeing Viscount Gairn cry out as if he was bleeding, all the subjugation members looked confused.
Baron Russell and Lester were scared of fighting the Twilight Knights, but they couldn’t refuse the order of Viscount Gairn.
The troops under their command were also unable to keep up with the sudden change.
The Twilight Knights were a mess in their own way.
No matter how important the subjugation of the demon was, it was a great burden to carry out the operation while opposing several noble families.
Excluding the Russell, Lester, and Gairn families, the other three noble families were confused.
The demon, who was watching, whispered to her right.
It was in the direction of Jack. The first hostage.
“How is that, Jack? I think there’s a huge difference from when you were taken… tell me how you feel.”
“Euk… kuk…”
“Look at me now. It’s so hard to answer because I’m clenching your neck too hard! It’s okay, stay there. Because I think I know how it feels.”
Despair, anger, and sadness.
The demon smiled at Jack, who was surrounded by all kinds of negative emotions.
Her smile grew brighter as she watched the subjugation turn into a mess.
Because of this.
It remained there without running away.
The demon licked its red lips with her tongue and looked at each person’s face.
It felt like she was going to lose her mind.
For a second, she thought she was going to die.
It didn’t matter if she was attacked by broken troops.
But if all the troops united attacked her, she wasn’t confident about staying alive.
Now, she just wanted to enjoy the situation a little more.
To look at the stupid faces and leave with good memories.
It was the time when the demon was thinking like that.
Her eyes caught something.
“Hm?”
Unlike the others, with a face that never changed, a young blonde stood there with his eyes closed.
However, his posture was strange.
It was like he was holding a sword. But there wasn’t a sword in his hand.
‘Has he been doing that since the beginning?’
The demon recalled her memory.
Thinking, it was true. That strange guy was like that from the moment she finished playing the piano and greeted them.
Closed eyes and a strange stance.
He stood still as if he was rooted to that place.
As if waiting for something.
No.
Like gathering power.
“…!”
Wheik!
The demon used her ability.
It wasn’t to snatch anyone.
But to avoid and run away from that place.
She didn’t ignore the alarm bells which were ringing in her head belatedly.
‘No letting go… from the beginning.’
The man never thought of letting the demon go!
The moment the demon realized that fact and was about to leave.
Flash!
Irene’s eyes opened.
With that, a huge greatsword which didn’t exist until a moment back, quickly formed.
Shack!
It couldn’t be avoided.
It couldn’t be blocked either.
The demon’s body couldn’t react at all, as it got split in precisely half.
