Ch.115My Prey. (2)

Why on earth was Agares here?

Olivia felt confused but didn’t show it outwardly. She needed to watch for an opportunity to take out a potion from her spatial storage somehow.

Facing Agares who was spreading demonic energy right before them, the Devilhunter and Master of Dark took their stances.

The Master of Dark asked.

“…Do you know what kind of demon this is?”

“Must be a Greater Demon. Probably.”

The Master of Dark nodded and concealed himself in the shadows. Dealing with Agares was the priority for now.

After all, Olivia couldn’t be killed immediately due to the sins she had committed.

The Master of Dark spoke from within the darkness.

“Bind him.”

Wriggle.

Agares’s shadow began to writhe.

Pitch-black tentacles surged from the otherwise flat shadow and seized Agares’s body.

[Oh my.]

Agares exclaimed in admiration. The binding force was extraordinary.

It seemed the rumors were true—the Master of Dark could manipulate shadows as if they were his own limbs.

[Your ability is similar to that bastard Belphegor’s.]

The Master of Dark didn’t wait to hear the rest.

He unleashed his movement technique at full power and charged at Agares. Each time his feet touched the ground, afterimages appeared, creating dozens of illusions.

The Devilhunter, on the contrary, increased the distance. Arrows imbued with pure anti-demon energy flew precisely toward the blind spots in Agares’s vision.

Facing the illusions filling his sight and the incoming arrows, Agares drew demonic energy deep into his lungs. He lightly flexed his swollen upper body.

Boom! The tentacles binding Agares burst apart at once. His eyes glowed red as he instantly saw through the illusions.

A hand shot up through the dust, aiming for the Master of Dark’s throat.

KWAAAA!

His nails, blackened with demonic energy, tore through the air with a terrible sound.

“…!”

The Master of Dark, who had nearly reached him, twisted his body in mid-air to avoid the strike.

He quickly hid himself in the shadows again.

From within the dust, Agares revealed his teeth in a smile.

Indeed, he was fast.

So stealthy that even with demonic energy spread across dozens of meters, his presence couldn’t be sensed.

But if he tried to destroy the ground to eliminate the shadows themselves, arrows would fly in at the perfect moment to block his movements.

Tsk tsk tsk tsk!

Agares’s muscles swelled. Completely covered in demonic energy, he no longer looked human.

The air vibrated violently with the fighting spirit he emitted. Cracking sounds came from his body. Ominous black fur covered his body, unsettling to even look at.

This was the true form of Agares the Ferocious Wolf, Seeker of Evil.

‘I still can’t sense him.’

Agares stopped moving and prepared to lunge forward at any moment. Though he still couldn’t sense the Master of Dark’s presence, he had learned something from their brief exchange.

The man couldn’t hide his presence when attacking.

The next moment, Agares vanished.

THWACK!

An arrow larger than a spear shot up from exactly where he had been standing. The Master of Dark rushed in at high speed, swinging a kama coated with deadly poison at Agares to prevent the Devilhunter from being counterattacked.

Agares crossed both arms. In that brief moment, the Master of Dark’s dagger penetrated deep into Agares’s side, but his stance didn’t falter.

‘…What regenerative ability.’

The Master of Dark abandoned his attack without hesitation and retreated. It was a fatal wound that would have killed any ordinary creature.

But Agares’s regenerative ability far exceeded the Master of Dark’s expectations.

[Good judgment.]

Agares smiled and dusted off his hands. In his grasp was a piece of the Master of Dark’s clothing. If the Master of Dark had continued swinging his kama, he wouldn’t have escaped unharmed either.

Agares spread his arms wide in a show of confidence, exposing his chest.

[Sacrificing flesh to strike bone. A common human expression. But it doesn’t work on demons.]

Agares pulled out the arrow embedded in his chest and tossed it away carelessly.

[The same goes for anti-demon energy.]

It only slowed his regeneration slightly.

The Devilhunter said nothing to the boasting Agares. He simply created magical arrows as usual, nocked them on his bowstring, and gauged the distance.

The demon was strong, worthy of the name Greater Demon. In a one-on-one fight, victory wouldn’t be guaranteed.

But that was all.

‘He’s weaker than Olivia.’

Even now, closing his eyes brought back vivid memories of that day. The moment when the Rebel’s shield was pierced with a single strike, and she faced the same fate.

If Agares was a Greater Demon, then Olivia that day was the Final Hour itself.

That’s why he was confused. Olivia was clearly at the same level as before, yet why was her behavior different?

He was aware that Olivia had held back at the last moment. He had seen the lightning that was advancing explosively hesitate for an instant.

The Devilhunter squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them.

‘…I’ll think about it later.’

Idle thoughts would only interfere with the battle. Against such an opponent, there was no room for mistakes.

More.

The Master of Dark pushed his speed even further. Beyond the point where scenery merely blurred past, now everything appeared as mere lines.

The world hadn’t slowed down. He had become faster.

In a world that seemed frozen, only the Master of Dark himself, the arrows flying in coordination, and Agares were moving.

The Master of Dark drew a new dagger from his chest. The previous seven had broken against Agares’s body, making this the eighth dagger already.

Fast.

An eerie feeling.

Agares knew well how to deal with assassins. His body was both shield and weapon.

The wounds inflicted by the Master of Dark weren’t even minor scratches. But he couldn’t stop attacking.

The moment he stopped, he would allow a fatal strike.

Slash!

Even now, despite clearly dodging, the air pressure alone tore his skin.

Yet despite this, his heart pounded. Until now, there had been only one target he couldn’t assassinate: Olivia.

Agares was about to become the second.

Of course, he had no intention of allowing that.

The Master of Dark moved even faster. His dagger was now coated with holy water.

*****

Olivia extended her trembling hand. The Devilhunter’s gaze had finally turned away. Unconsciously, she felt her abdomen. There was nothing to touch. It was amazing she was still alive.

If her level had been even slightly lower, it would have been more than enough to kill her.

Olivia took a deep breath and poured a potion on her wound. With her abdomen in such a state, drinking it would be useless.

‘…I think I’ll live now.’

Olivia slowly turned her head to the side. Not far away, the Rebel lay sprawled. Given the severity of his wounds, it would be a while before he regained consciousness.

Olivia forcibly raised her half-recovered body. Her legs trembled uncontrollably, and blood continuously poured from her mouth.

The reason she was pushing herself was simple.

Originally, she had planned to escape. But…

‘…They can’t win.’

Even with the Devilhunter present, they had poor compatibility against Agares. To begin with, Greater Demons are beings that cannot be killed unless specific conditions are met.

Like when they hunted Belphegor in Clue #1 in the past, burning away all the darkness in the vicinity with powerful light.

‘Without holy power, it’s difficult.’

Anti-demon energy isn’t enough. Holy water isn’t enough either. They can inflict damage, but it won’t be meaningful.

No matter how many times they destroy his heart or shatter his head, Agares will rise again unharmed.

There’s a reason these beings stand in opposition to Returners.

She couldn’t leave them to die. Not out of human compassion, but because she hadn’t obtained the clue yet.

[The owner of Clue #7 is the ‘Devilhunter’.]

But she couldn’t step in now.

If she tried to subdue Agares now, the Master of Dark’s and Devilhunter’s arrows would turn toward her again.

She needed to intervene when they were in dire straits…

Olivia stopped her thoughts and turned her head.

Was it her imagination?

Not far away, she sensed the familiar presence of another Greater Demon.

‘…This is!’

The sunset suddenly sank beyond the horizon, and a profound darkness covered the sky. The Returners facing off against Agares looked up at the sky with shocked expressions.

Tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk!

The darkness that grew instantly transformed into the shape of a massive snake. After a moment, the giant snake that had completed its descent raised its red eyes.

[Greater Demon Belphegor manifests!]

Agares grumbled as he pulled out an arrow embedded in his shoulder.

[…What is this nonsense now, Belphegor? How did you manage to descend to the human realm?]

A Greater Demon’s descent isn’t simple. It requires countless lives as sacrifices to manifest in the human world.

[I received help from the Duke of the North.]

[…Asmodeus?]

The great evil acknowledged by all demons. The Demon Lord’s closest confidant and the only Grand Duke in the demon realm.

If she was involved, it made sense that Belphegor could descend.

After all, Asmodeus would easily possess a thousand human souls or so.

Of course, this wasn’t the kind of intervention Agares wanted.

…That black-hearted woman.

[So, why have you manifested?]

Instead of answering, Belphegor drew up demonic energy. His specialty was necromancy.

The South was filled with souls ripe for harvesting.

Belphegor’s demonic energy spread in all directions like a plague. Tens, hundreds, thousands…

The earth became filled with twisted evil spirits.

“…”

The Devilhunter’s face showed disbelief. To think he would encounter two Greater Demons at once.

“…This isn’t good.”

The Master of Dark said, trying to steady his rough breathing. The matchup was unfavorable.

To begin with, assassins are at a disadvantage in one-against-many battles. There was a clear limit to how many illusions he could create.

“I’ll open a path…!”

The Master of Dark hurriedly raised his kama to block Agares’s fist.

BOOM!

With a tremendous sound, the Master of Dark’s body was sent flying.

“Keuugh!”

The Master of Dark groaned. Distracted by Belphegor’s sudden appearance, he had lowered his guard against Agares.

‘Damn it!’

He swallowed blood while staring intently at Agares. Though the Devilhunter was buying time, it was unclear how long he could hold out.

‘This is hopeless.’

They needed to escape, but there was no visible way out.

At that moment.

CRACKLE!

A cold chill enveloped the entire southern region, and for an instant, the world was tinged with blue light.

Brilliant white hair fluttering in the wind.

Sapphire-blue eyes spoke to the Master of Dark.