Chapter 138: Great Escape (6)

“Drak-Sai-nim. We captured two Beastmen in the forest. They said they were coming towards the valley, what should we do?”

“Kill them.”

“One of them is still a young Beastman though…”

“What difference does that make?”

“Ah, yes. Understood.”

Drak-Sai sat slumped on the pile of ashes. The corpses of Beastmen were scattered around him. And in the tent where a brilliant feast had once taken place, Baara lay collapsed with his arms spread wide. Baara’s face was a mess. Blood continuously flowed from his mouth, and one eye was smashed from a punch.

His teeth wouldn’t align, and every breath sent a stabbing pain through his lungs.

Drak-Sai, who had defeated him, was not unscathed either. One arm had been severed and flew off, and a massive scar remained on his chest. His entire body bore scratches from Baara, causing blood to flow whenever he moved. Drak-Sai’s only advantage in victory was one thing. Drak-Sai’s subordinates had arrived first before Baara’s could.

And, some of Baara’s subordinates had betrayed him and joined Drak-Sai’s side.

The other Beastmen were all dead, but. This white-furred Snow Leopard and his subordinates were able to preserve their lives under Drak-Sai. Baara trembled watching the scene, but there was nothing he could do. He found the Snow Leopard, wagging his tail and pledging loyalty to Drak-Sai, utterly pathetic.

Most of Drak-Sai’s subordinates were not Imps. However, they were individuals who genuinely pledged loyalty due to Drak-Sai’s hearty character and overwhelming strength. The fact that Drak-Sai was missing an arm wasn’t a significant issue for them.

“Drak-Sai-nim. We will try to find a prosthetic arm maker. Please bear with us for a moment.”

As one of the demons said this to Drak-Sai, the Snow Leopard, who had been lying flat on the floor, lifted his head and spoke.

“I! I know a prosthetic arm maker! I know the North like the back of my hand!”

Baara looked at the Snow Leopard with disbelief. The Snow Leopard faced Drak-Sai with a confident expression. Baara trembled, spat out blood, then twitched his arm and yelled.

“You disgrace to our kind! Aaaargh!”

“Shut up! Don’t speak to him like that in front of Drak-Sai-nim!”

The Snow Leopard spat insults at Baara without changing his expression. Baara felt like he was going insane. He wanted to tear that Snow Leopard apart right now, but his body wouldn’t cooperate.

“Aaaargh!”

He could only scream and writhe like a caterpillar. It was a truly pathetic sight for a king of the Beastmen who once commanded the Demon Realm and the North. Drak-Sai seemed speechless at the Snow Leopard’s confident demeanor. A subordinate demon whispered to Drak-Sai.

“I don’t know if we can trust that guy.”

“Since none of us know the geography of the North, we have no choice but to use him for now. Besides, if that guy hadn’t thrown dirt in Baara’s eyes, I might have lost.”

It was the Snow Leopard who threw dirt at Baara as he was planning a counterattack. Although winning felt a bit cowardly and left a bad taste, the Snow Leopard was still an ally who helped Drak-Sai defeat Baara.

The demons cleared the debris of the destroyed hut and gathered the corpses of the Beastmen dragged from the cave in one place. The small Imps who followed the subordinates scurried to search the Imp settlement, and the demons marveled at how warm and pleasant the cave was.

With such a cozy and hidden refuge, it seemed easy to stay hidden for a while and assess the surrounding situation. The demons said.

“Once Drak-Sai-nim recovers his strength, he’ll conquer the North next.”

“That’s right. After conquering the entire North, they’ll enslave all the humans here and make them offer their souls to Drak-Sai-nim.”

“If they gather all the souls of the North, it wouldn’t be strange for Drak-Sai-nim to become the strongest among the branch leaders. It’s almost time for Drak-Sai-nim to become the Demon King.”

“Yeah, that’s right!”

The demons’ laughter echoed through the cave. As far as they were concerned, the future looked bright.

The Imps surveyed the Imp settlement, wiping away tears. This was because the kind Imps who wanted to gather souls from the human world for their weak selves in the Demon Realm were now lying as cold corpses. Faces contorted in agony and bodies with limbs torn apart.

The faint-hearted Imps, seeing the death of their kin, sometimes fainted from uncontrollable tears, while others trembled with rage, jumping up and down.

There were no remaining mementos in the Imp settlement. Most Imps had difficulty owning personal belongings, and hidden dried meat or small notebooks allowed one to infer their miserable life in the North.

Among them, the Imp leader’s diary was written in a book unusually thick and large compared to the others. The Imp who first encountered the diary sniffed its cover and began to read its contents. Reading the diary with a grave expression, the Imp suddenly startled and began running with the diary.

“Drak-Sai-nim! Drak-Sai-nim!”

Drak-Sai barely managed to pull himself together and stand up. Baara lay on the floor, bound tightly with chains. It was time for Drak-Sai to decide Baara’s fate. Even bound by chains, Baara shouted defiantly.

“I have no intention of begging for my life from an Imp! Kill me! It’s a shame you couldn’t become my servant!”

Drak-Sai’s face contorted at the provocation, and he clenched his fists tightly. How could he kill him painfully? No matter how he killed this enemy of the Imps and his brothers, he felt it wouldn’t be satisfying.

“Drak-Sai-nim! Drak-Sai-nim!”

Just then, the Imp holding the diary fluttered his arms like a moth and rushed over. All the demons’ eyes turned to the Imp. The Imp, panting, presented the diary before Drak-Sai.

Baara glared murderously at the Imp who interrupted his final moments, and the Snow Leopard slapped Baara’s face, saying.

“Don’t look at Drak-Sai-nim like that!”

Baara was no longer even angry at the crazy Snow Leopard. As he met the Snow Leopard’s gaze with bewilderment, the Snow Leopard turned his head and put distance between himself and Baara.

“Drak-Sai-nim. Please read the diary! It’s writing left by an Imp who lived here.”

Drak-Sai carefully opened the diary with his thick hands and began to read.

[This place is hell. The Beastmen torment us every single day. Especially the leader of the Beastmen, that bastard Baara, calls one of us every day to rape, murder, and devour us.]

“Aaaargh!”

Drak-Sai felt his anger, which had cooled during the bloody battle, reignite upon reading the calmly expressed tragedy. Baara’s face contorted as if he knew what Drak-Sai was reading.

[Our only hope is the King of Imps. Calling out to Drak-Sai-nim. But we couldn’t secure the sacrifices, so the plan hit a snag. With our strength, we can’t capture Beastmen, nor can we obtain human slaves. All the Imps must die to fill the blood needed for the summoning.]

“Ah! These poor souls!”

Sulfurous tears flowed from Drak-Sai’s eyes. The other demons peeked at the diary’s contents and wore devastated expressions. Drak-Sai turned the page.

[A recently arrived Incubus offered to help us. He’d provide human sacrifices and look after our situation. I heard all Incubi are treacherous fiends, but this one seems alright.]

Drak-Sai recalled the Incubus who had summoned him. It seemed something went wrong midway, the Imps became the sacrifices, and the Incubus summoned him directly. He thought: someday, when he met that Incubus, he would repay the favor of helping his kin.

[The Incubus was friends with K-Sai and Krik-Sai. Hearing that they had passed away, I couldn’t hide my devastation. K-Sai-nim died after being tortured by having holy water poured into his anus, and Krik-Sai-nim was reportedly dismembered all over his body. It was too horrific. When the Incubus described the scene of Krik-Sai’s buttocks being mangled by knives, my whole body trembled.]

“Kuaaaaargh! Uaaaaaargh!”

Drak-Sai tore the diary mid-read. He couldn’t read any further. The horrific deaths of his brothers felt vividly real before his eyes. He jumped to his feet and glared at Baara. Baara, still bound, noticed the shift in Drak-Sai’s gaze and his face contorted.

“Y-you filthy bastard! I will make you feel the pain our brothers endured! Exactly! Unfortunately! I don’t carry holy water! Instead, I’ll pour lava into your holes!”

Baara struggled and screamed.

“W-what are you saying! What does that even mean! I never did anything like that!”

“Stop making excuses! Be a man! Bravely face the consequences of your evil deeds!”

“What the hell are you talking about!”

Fshhhhhhhhhhh

“Kuaaaaaaaaargh! Uaaaaaargh! Aaaaargh!”

Smoke billowed up. Baara’s screams shook the entire valley. Drak-Sai shed tears, mourning his brothers’ deaths.

“K-Sai! Are you watching from the heavens! I am avenging you!”

“Y-you… crazy bastard…! Kuaaaaargh!”

“Next! Bring the Demon Realm drill! I’ll do to you exactly what was done to my brother! Krik-Sai!”

“I never did that! Just kill me instead! You crazy bastard!”

“Spin the drill!”

Whirrrrrrrrrr

The spinning drill lunged towards Baara’s buttocks. A chilling sound and cold wind swirled near his backside, and the next moment, the pain of flesh being torn apart struck.

“Kuaaaaaaaaargh!”

“Krik-Sai! Rest easy! For I am avenging you!”