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Chapter 108: The Invasion of Evil (1)

“Aaaaahhhh!”

The soldiers screamed as they charged forward.

But it wasn’t a cheer to boost their morale, nor a cry of resolve.

It was a cowardly scream, full of fear.

In front of them, the demon smiled, holding a hammer.

Crash.

The soldiers’ weapons and armor were crushed.

Blood sprayed everywhere as they vomited blood.

Lives were snuffed out effortlessly by the demon’s light movements.

Standing amidst the horrifying scene, the demon shivered with delight.

“Aaaah. Good. Very good. This is what I wanted.”

“Uh, ah.”

The soldiers, faces full of terror, stepped back.

The demon grinned and lunged at them.

It was the moment they were about to face death.

“Stop! Demon!”

A knight rushed in at high speed.

The demon pulled back the hammer it was about to swing, using it to protect its body.

The sound of metal clashing echoed.

The eyes of the soldiers, who had braced for death, lit up with hope.

“Oooooh!”

“Sir Garura!”

The knight, called Garura, gripped his sword tightly and shouted.

“Everyone! Fall back! From here on, I will handle this!”

“Yes, sir!”

The soldiers hurriedly retreated.

Ashetiar watched them leisurely, as if observing a playful spectacle.

“Are you risking your life for them? What a gallant man.”

“…Demon.”

Garura gritted his teeth.

Between his blond hair, his blue eyes gleamed.

“Your name.”

“Ashetiar.”

Garura’s pupils dilated.

“…The demon that recently descended.”

“Oh my, you know?”

Ashetiar laughed joyfully.

Garura cursed inwardly.

‘A demon with a name.’

Not all demons were strong.

There were demons weak enough that even an ordinary woodcutter could defeat them.

But strictly speaking, they weren’t really demons.

Fragments of evil and darkness.

They were more accurately called monsters.

In contrast, a demon with a name was a true demon in every sense.

When they descended, they left significant scars on the world.

‘Damn it.’

It was a being that the Swordmaster had to deal with personally.

But Maximus was currently at the border.

Even if word was sent and he returned, it would take time.

‘…I have to buy time.’

To give the Swordmaster time to return.

To give the priests time to prepare.

Garura steeled his resolve.

“Hup!”

Aura surged around his sword.

It was proof of reaching a splendid realm through countless training.

Garura spoke with serious eyes.

“Demon. This is a city of humans. Evil beings like you cannot enter.”

His stance showed he wouldn’t back down, making Ashetiar smile broadly.

“Are you willing to sacrifice yourself? Such a gallant man.”

Ashetiar raised the hammer and lunged.

The speed was incredibly fast, hard to follow with the eyes.

In an instant, he was right in front of Garura.

‘I can see!’

And Garura responded.

He was strong.

As a child, he had overpowered his master just a year after learning swordsmanship.

He grew stronger rapidly afterward.

Even the Swordmaster was amazed by his talent.

It was believed he would soon reach the level of a superhuman, the hope of the Denian Kingdom.

A top-tier elite.

That was Garura.

Garura swung his sword.

The sword and the hammer collided.

‘…What?’

At that moment, Garura felt something strange.

He couldn’t hold out.

His sword was crushed as if it meant nothing.

Garura, panicking, drew out more aura. Brilliant light emanated.

But it was meaningless.

The hammer crushed him like a mountain.

“W-wait.”

“Weren’t you ready to sacrifice yourself? Let me grant you a glorious death.”

Ashetiar mocked, applying more force.

Crunch.

That was the end of Denian’s hope.

Ashetiar wore a sadistic smile.

“Aaah. Good. So good.”

She laughed gleefully as she entered the city.

Screams echoed from all directions.

The sound of frantic footsteps reverberated.

Ashetiar, with a satisfied expression, walked slowly.

She arrived at an empty square.

The place, usually bustling with people and lined with street vendors, was now deserted.

Instead, people surrounded her, centered around the square.

They wore large, golden, gleaming robes. Immaculately clean, uniform attire.

Servants of the divine.

They were priests.

Ashetiar smiled.

“It seems you’re ready?”

“…We give thanks for their sacrifice.”

One priest glared at Ashetiar with calm eyes.

“Demon. We don’t know how you appeared in this world, but this is as far as you go. You should not exist in this world.”

The priest stomped his foot.

The other priests followed suit, raising their feet in unison.

A rhythmic sound echoed.

“As priests who serve the Earth Goddess, we will banish you from this world.”

With those words, the priests opened their mouths.

It was a hymn.

A song of believers with sincere faith.

A beautiful sound praising the divine.

Wooowooong.

The voices of the priests resonated together, creating a phenomenon.

Golden light began to descend onto the empty square.

It pressed down on Ashetiar.

Her body slowly began to be crushed.

“Demon!”

The priest’s eyes widened.

“You should not exist here! Return to where you belong!”

In this world, divine power exerts absolute force against demons.

Unable to withstand the great power of the divine, demons are banished.

The priest firmly believed this.

“…Haha.”

But Ashetiar laughed.

“Hahahaha! Hahahahahaha!”

A mad laugh burst forth.

Her laugh, filled with malice and dark energy, shook the world.

The divine power pressing her down crackled and began to waver.

“With just! With just a hymn, you think you can stop me!”

Her white pupils flickered dangerously.

She was Ashetiar.

A named demon, who single-handedly destroyed a kingdom centuries ago.

“Insufficient! Crude and pathetic! You cannot stop me!”

She stomped her foot roughly.

Simultaneously, spikes of darkness shot out.

Kagagagak!

They pierced through and disrupted the divine power.

In an instant, the bodies of the chanting priests were impaled.

The pillar of divine power that oppressed her vanished.

“Th-that’s impossible!”

The priest was horrified.

How could a demon withstand the power of the divine!

The demon mocked him.

“With such a small amount of divinity, you should’ve at least recited holy scripture. Don’t you think you’re overestimating your god?”

Ashetiar gathered her strength.

Darkness condensed.

Then it exploded.

Spikes of darkness spread in all directions.

They pierced through buildings beyond the square.

With a roar, buildings collapsed.

The capital of the Denian Kingdom.

A city built up over nearly centuries was collapsing at the hands of a single demon.

* * *

“This is insane!”

In the midst of this destruction, Milena’s face twisted in anger.

She knew what was happening.

People had rushed down from the royal castle to deliver the urgent news.

“A demon!”

She knew the world was shaking.

She had anticipated that something strange was happening.

But a named demon!

Why had such an entity, which only appeared in history, descended here!

She wanted to deny reality.

But there was nothing she could do about what had already happened.

She gritted her teeth.

‘In this situation, what can I do?’

She quickly thought and made a decision.

“Evacuate! Head to the nearby churches, or better yet, leave the capital! Do not get caught by the demon!”

They would be of no help in battle.

The best they could hope for was not to be taken hostage by the demon.

So the best course of action was to quickly leave this place.

Milena was certainly exceptional.

She found the correct answer amidst the chaos.

But it was also her limit.

What she had were funds and power.

Power and order within the human laws and regulations.

Against beings beyond humanity, against those beyond the laws and order, there was nothing she could do.

Against such demons, only pure force was effective.

So she had to think.

‘…Where are Ketal and Arkemis?’

* * *

Rumble, rumble….

The capital was collapsing.

Knights charged forward.

All of them were from prestigious families, recognized for their exceptional talents.

But they fell and died like commoners.

In an instant, the knights were annihilated.

Ashetiar swung her hammer.

The impact brought down a building.

It was a shop that had stood there for over a hundred years.

As she advanced, she suddenly paused.

“Hm?”

For the first time, her expression changed.

She raised her hammer, taking a defensive stance.

Ka-aaang!

The hammer collided with something.

To an unknowing observer, it would have seemed like the sound came out of nowhere, such was the speed.

Ashetiar grinned.

“Rushed over, did you? You look quite exhausted.”

“…Demon.”

Maximus, the Swordmaster of the Denian Kingdom, gritted his teeth.

Drops of sweat trickled down his face.

He had been patrolling the borders, preparing for a possible demon invasion.

But then, news arrived of a demon’s sudden descent upon the capital.

He had rushed over, but it was too late.

The capital was already half-destroyed.

Maximus looked at Ashetiar with calm eyes.

He noticed the purple horns on her head.

“Ashetiar. The demon who descended recently.”

“Oh my, you know me?”

“I heard you were banished by the Inquisitor.”

“…Hmm?”

At those words, Ashetiar’s smile turned curious.

“So, you don’t know about him either?”

“How can a demon like you be here?”

It made no sense.

It was strange enough that she had descended suddenly, but for a banished demon to return so quickly?

It was incomprehensible.

Ashetiar grumbled.

“I’m actually late. I should have been rampaging much earlier, but my plans got disrupted by a strange guy.”

Well.

I can start now anyway.

Muttering, Ashetiar took a deep breath.

And then she shouted.

“Listen! Humans!”

It was a cry of evil.

“Your world is twisted! You are such weak beings that you can’t even maintain your sanity without relying on a trivial god! Your god made you this way!”

Her voice spread throughout the capital.

People hurriedly covered their ears, but Ashetiar’s voice penetrated directly into their minds.

“Foreign beings are spilling into your world! Your world will perish! It will collapse! But you need not worry!”

It was a declaration and prophecy of evil aimed at this world.

“We will return you to your original state! We will purge all the impure things of this world! Your rightful master will set foot on this tainted land!”

Behold!

Revere!

And fear!

Ashetiar shouted grandly, as if her voice was meant to spread across the entire continent.

“The Demon King will descend upon this world!”