Ch.288288. Albion (2)

The warrior who revealed himself didn’t look particularly special.

His build was only slightly larger than average, covered in ordinary-looking steel armor, and while there was a faint aura emanating from him, it seemed to be at a mid-tier level at best.

Even the weapon in his hand was nothing more than an ordinary iron sword, which led Be’tuna to mock the warrior who had appeared here in what anyone would consider a reckless act of bravado.

[Well, well, a great~ hero of justice has arrived. So, do you plan to cut me down with that sword?]

“…What if I do? What will you do about it?”

But when the warrior countered Be’tuna’s words, the exasperated demon looked at him with contemptuous eyes and swung his serrated axe as if the warrior wasn’t even worth a response.

Whoosh───

The axe swung down, supposedly tearing the mysterious warrior in half, armor and all. The warrior should have fallen to the ground in pieces, without even having time to react, his confident expression still frozen on his face… but…?

───CRACK!

In the next instant, Be’tuna’s serrated double-bladed axe shattered into pieces, scattering across the ground.

[What is this?!!]

Be’tuna unleashed his fury, filled with endless hatred and indignation toward this insolent creature who had ‘dared’ to defend against his attack. He immediately swung the flaming greatsword in his other hand with all his rage.

As a clear crescent trajectory of flames was drawn in the air, Be’tuna, still not letting his guard down, gathered fiery breath filled with anger in his mouth, about to release it when───

───Slash.

“…I should end this quickly.”

With a voice that didn’t match his words—which sounded like the monologue of an overworked office worker—the warrior instantly split Be’tuna’s body in half.

‘W-what is he?!!’

As his body split apart and began to slowly dissolve from the material world, the demon was shocked by this bizarrely powerful warrior—and then genuinely confused when he realized his soul wasn’t being ejected back to the demon realm.

‘W-what is this?!!’

This supernatural phenomenon was beyond comprehension by any conventional understanding. As Be’tuna was directly exposed to it, in the midst of his shock at experiencing something he had never encountered before….

‘…?!!’

Only then did he realize that his soul was being bound to and absorbed by the warrior’s sword. Be’tuna recalled information he had heard in the demon realm about the one responsible for such phenomena.

Previously, a significant number of demons invading this world had failed to return—all of them absorbed by the hands of some transcendent being.

‘Could it be that this man is that transcendent being?!!’

While Be’tuna trembled with resentment and regret, his soul was gradually broken down at the quantum level and absorbed by the transcendent being’s hand.

Thus, Be’tuna found himself paralyzed with fear, unable to do anything… but the situation had already become clear.

In the end, Be’tuna concluded his long, long life with oblivion, unable even to express his anger.

※ ※ ※

‘…Phew, that’s one down.’

Meanwhile, at the same moment, the warrior who briefly watched the demon’s body dissolve and be absorbed into himself—

No, Bjorn Wolfson fell into contemplation, noting that there was no significant change in his condition despite absorbing a high-ranking demon. Soon after, realizing he still had much to do, he was about to leave when….

“Th-thank you! Human warrior!”

A High Elf who had been watching the situation expressed gratitude to Bjorn, and following this lead, other High Elves who had been hesitant also conveyed their sincere thanks to Bjorn.

“You saved us!”

“Thank you, warrior!”

“””””Hurraaaaah!!!!”””””

Since Bjorn had never imagined that ‘those’ High Elves would express gratitude to him, their thanks—given despite their normally towering pride—left a deep impression on him.

‘Come, my legs.’

Therefore, not wanting these elves who had thanked him to simply die, Bjorn used a bit of his power to summon a being from beyond chaos to protect them.

A multi-headed dragon with twelve heads and a massive body standing at least 7 meters tall, supported by six short but sturdy legs—a Chaos Hydra Lord. Despite being corrupted by chaotic power, this drake possessed strength rivaling that of an adult dragon.

[■■■■■■■■■■───!!!]

The elves were momentarily startled by the sudden appearance of the enormous monster, but seeing the hydra position itself with its back to the wall, they realized it had no hostile intent and was actually there to help them.

“Thank you!”

“May your god protect you!”

“Blessings upon you, honorable one!”

So, amid the cheers of the normally haughty High Elves, Bjorn relaxed his body and then contracted it───

“───Enemy raid! The enemy has appeared!”

“The enemy has infiltrated the encampment!”

Having somehow arrived at the center of the demon coalition’s encampment, Bjorn silently swung his sword, continuously cutting down demons amidst the commotion from all directions.

Slash! Slash! Slash!

“───!”

“──!!”

Whoosh───CRASH!!

“────!”

“───!!”

“──!”

Crack! Thud! Crunch!!

“───!!!”

Though the swarming demons shouted and screamed as they charged at him, Bjorn paid no attention and simply continued his slaughter.

Hundreds of times he sliced, cut, and crushed demons with his sword, careful not to reveal his true identity as a transcendent being.

Now, noticing that the demons were trying to distance themselves from him, unlike before, Bjorn sensed something. He threw the severed head of a succubus he was holding and turned around───

‘───There they are.’

There stood seven demons—each representing one of the Demon Lords—whom his master had specifically instructed him to kill personally.

Sloth—a greater demon serving Belphegor. Baphomet, a hermaphroditic demon with the lower body and head of a goat, the upper body of a human female, and bat wings. Despite serving Sloth, it was known for responding well to human summons.

Gluttony—a greater demon serving Beelzebub, and one of Beelzebub’s many fly-bull offspring. Baalzebub-ling, a hideous monster with a fly-human upper body growing from the neck of a bull’s torso.

Lust—representing Lilith among Lilith/Asmodeus, the Succubus Queen wore nothing but a translucent see-through dress over what was essentially a naked body, flaunting her sensual figure and beautiful appearance.

Wrath—a servant of Satan. The High Demon, a typical warrior-class demon whose appearance resembled a “little Satan,” after whom countless demons who set foot in this world were modeled.

Envy—a greater demon who worshipped and secretly envied Leviathan. The Sea Devil, a massive half-snake with an alligator’s lower body, fish scales, six arms, and six snake heads with six eyes each, the offspring of Leviathan and her husband Behemoth.

Greed—Mammon’s possession and part of him. Barbaton, a greedy demon who would absolutely obey the summoner’s commands if offered enough gold. A hunter demon with a bird’s head wearing a metal helmet, dressed in green clothes and hat with a gray cloak, holding a bow.

Pride—one who fell from heaven due to the temptation of the fallen angel Lucifer. A Fallen Angel with three pairs of wings filled with hideous glory and a distorted black halo shining behind its back, a fallen angel and evil demon who looked down on everything.

The demons, each with their distinctive appearance, approached Bjorn while babbling something, but Bjorn paid no attention to what these creatures were trying to do.

[──.]

[─────!]

[────!]

[───♡.]

[──────.]

[───!!]

[────!]

Instead, he realized their words had no value and were merely temptations meant to seduce and corrupt him, so he closed his ears to them.

[──────!!!]

Perhaps sensing that Bjorn would not succumb to temptation, the Fallen Angel among the seven greater demons drew a weapon, pointed it at Bjorn, and shouted to the demons.

‘………..’

As Bjorn remained silent, barely suppressing the disgust that welled up at the sight of the demons, the horde surrounding him from all directions charged with weapons, intent only on killing him.

Bjorn pondered how to deal with these approaching creatures, when he suddenly realized it was time to get serious───

───In the next moment, black dust that was once demons scattered in all directions.