Chapter 182: Amaranth Monastery (6)

“Kkyaaaaaak!”

Kamadi Olson. As the eldest son of the Kamadi family, his father was drinking buddies with Saint Alexander. He was suspected of raping a woman living in a rural village while drunk, but thanks to Alexander, it was settled. The controversy over assaulting an innocent person turned into a heartwarming tale of him catching a robber, and the farmer who was beaten to death became a cruel and ruthless robber, and was even hanged from the gallows after his death.

He was now covering his face. This was because a shape, unrealistically pitch-black, was flying towards him with its edges sharpened to a point. A black light pierced his ankle, and a scream erupted. His ankle, dangling in a different direction, could no longer support his body, causing him to tilt, and Andre’s heavy fist came crashing down on him.

The man, who had been chasing false honor, ended up like a rat crushed by a cartwheel, painting a mural on the floor with his innards.

“Kkyaaaaaak!”

Jean Paul. He came from a noble family, and his clan had offered many bribes to Alexander. As a Paladin, he too had many dealings with bribes; he extorted donations from farmers and even branded a farmer who tried to report him a heretic, sentencing him to be burned at the stake.

His violent and greedy actions were always smoothed over by Alexander’s endorsement, calling him ‘talent needed to defeat the Demon King,’ but the black light, as if mocking the saint’s authority, pierced his neck at high speed.

Jean Paul, now sporting a large hole like a whistle, collapsed on the floor and met his death.

“Kkueo-eok…!”

Chris Elven. He was the scion of a prestigious noble family that had lasted for 150 years. His father believed that aligning with Alexander was crucial for the family’s continued prosperity, and Chris Elven, driven by his father’s ambition, barely scraped through the Paladin exam.

He was endlessly violent towards those beneath him, notorious for beating a servant to death and verbally abusing a local priest older than him, spitting out, ‘What do you know?’, thus courting controversy. Having been warned that his position would be precarious if he didn’t make a contribution in this incident, he charged at Andre before anyone else.

And as his reward, he found himself impaled on protruding rebar from the market wall, facing the oncoming black light. Before he could even react, the wall collapsed, burying him in a mound of dirt.

“Aaaaaaak!”

Edward Mine.

He possessed outstanding holy power and admirable swordsmanship, but his womanizing nature tarnished his reputation. The incident where he slept with his subordinate’s wife and then executed the subordinate for ‘insubordination’ when he sought revenge caused public unrest, and numerous devotees witnessed him summoning young female acolytes to his room under the guise of ‘reading them a book.’

To quell the suspicions surrounding him, Edward Mine aspired to become a hero like Wolf, but his dismembered body was now being wielded like a club by Andre. After being swung a few times until he was reduced to mere chunks of meat, his final words were a scream.

“No! Nooo! I don’t wanna die! Kyaaaaaak!”

Jeff Taylor.

He was the oldest Paladin participating in this subjugation mission. He enjoyed insulting Paladins from non-noble or poor families. His proudest achievement was extorting a fine from a country boy who came seeking to become a Paladin and then chasing him away; he considered commoners becoming Paladins a disgrace and led the bullying.

And as he fled, a black light pierced his back, rendering his lower body immobile. The countless black lights relentlessly struck his entire body, as if gnawing away at him. Thanks to this, he was able to scream his lungs out as he died, more than anyone else.

And.

Dick Evans.

And.

Abraham Jix.

And.

Tom Daniel.

The priests and Paladins hiding behind cover wore complex expressions amidst the deaths of their comrades. In the midst of the black rain, the grand family names and authority were utterly useless. There was no room for resistance against the sudden barrage.

Most of the arrest team perished in a single moment of bombardment, and the survivors lay on the ground, crippled with injuries that would likely end their knighthood.

“Aaaah…!”

And Andre was no exception to the injuries. Andre’s body was riddled with holes like a honeycomb, black blood pouring out from between them. He was so preoccupied with tending to his wounds that he couldn’t even think of attacking Taffy.

Taffy, confirming that most targets were down amidst the black mist, flew towards the horizon. From behind cover, Lumia got up, frowning. Blood dripped from her arm, and many of the personnel responsible for rear support were also wounded.

And then, Andre’s eyes flashed as he growled.

“You bastards…! Do you think I’m going to die…?”

Just then, Milia pointed at the map of Amaranth Monastery and said, “My guess is that Ahhtila’s main body is here, in Amaranth Monastery.”

I couldn’t help but ask her again. “Why do you think that? This could just be some kind of forward base, couldn’t it?”

“I can faintly sense Kelly’s energy here. If she were dead or enslaved as a subordinate, the subordinate link would be severed, and I wouldn’t feel anything, but she’s neither dead nor enslaved. That means she’s being kept alive and imprisoned, right?”

I couldn’t understand Milia’s reasoning. How could that be evidence of Ahhtila being here? Milia added an explanation. “Ahhtila was split in half, remember? He’s constantly recovering his magic, right? One of the most efficient ways to do that is to capture other demons and use them as batteries. Especially if it’s a Branch Manager-level demon who’s continuously supplying demonic energy, she’d be a perfect battery. There’s no reason for a demon to keep another demon alive ‘just because.’ Either devour them or use them as a battery. It’s always one or the other.”

At the same time, by letting Milia know Kelly was alive, it served as leverage for a hostage situation. Despite appearances, Milia cared deeply for her subordinates and friends, and Ahhtila, having lived in the Demon Realm for a long time, would have known her personality.

“So it’s highly likely they’re in the building’s basement? If they were on the upper floors, the demonic energy would be noticeable and arouse suspicion.”

At that, Milia nodded satisfactorily and said, “Exactly. It’s especially likely she’s connected to Kelly via some kind of tool.”

A tool.

Indeed, Kelly was connected by a chain engraved with patterns. The chain ran through a small groove in the wall, connecting to the room on the other side.

Judging by the faint demonic energy felt through the crack in the door, the door itself seemed quite thick.

I wiped the blood off my axe and sank to the floor. The bodies of soldiers were strewn across the floor. Even demon-slaying experts die when hit by an axe. Limbs were scattered everywhere, looking unrealistically like broken mannequins.

Amidst the sea of blood, Kelly looked at me with an awkward expression. I met her gaze and asked, “Aren’t you going to say thank you?”

“Kuhk…! I, I never asked you to save me!”

“Then should I just leave?”

“……”

Kelly fell silent. I found a key on a corpse and opened the door. The chain was sturdy, glowing red as it periodically drained magic from Kelly. Kelly held out the chain to me and said, “Q-Quick, release it! Incubus!”

I rubbed the axe blade against the chain’s surface, lost in thought. If I release it here, won’t he wake up? The magic supply would be cut off abruptly; wouldn’t he naturally wake up to protect himself?

“Ahhtila’s control technique has a major drawback,” Milia had said.

Sitting in the chair, I asked Milia, “What is it?”

“It leaves his own body defenseless.”

“Is that why he’s hiding deep in the basement? Trying to fight safely?”

At that, Milia nodded.

“Fine. Let’s just start by killing that bastard Ahhtila.”

Based on the information Milia gave me, that was the right call. However, Kelly looked anxious as I put down my axe.

“Wha, what is it! Incubus! Are, are you maybe sulking because I didn’t say thank you just now?”

She shouted, thrusting the chain at me. “Don’t play such ridiculous games! I, I’m friends with Milia-nim! I’ll put in a good word! Hurry up and release the chain!”

I reached out towards her cheek. Tear tracks had smudged her face, leaving a slight dampness. I brushed my finger against it and asked, “What? Were you crying?”

Kelly’s face flushed crimson as she whipped her head around and yelled, “Sh, shut up! I wasn’t crying! I, I was just yawning because it’s so boring being here!”

“How cute.”

At that, Kelly blushed even deeper and screamed, “Y-Y-You Incubus! You bastard! Just wait until this chain is off!”

I ignored her unfinished threat and opened the door.

As soon as the door opened, a noxious demonic aura and the foul stench of a demon assaulted my nostrils. I wrinkled my nose at the suffocating stench and surveyed the room.

“Kuo-ooh…!”

There was a massive demon inside. It was about three times my size, with a goat’s head, breasts large enough to be used as sofas, and a lower body covered in beast-like fur.

“What the fuck is this.”

It seemed unaware of my presence, crouched on the floor with its eyes rolled back. Its rear was facing me, and I held my axe. I glanced between the longsword on the floor and the axe in my hand.

I picked up the longsword and said, “From now on, your name isn’t Ahhtila. Got it?”

Kelly twisted her body, trying to peek inside, curious about the situation. Gripping the longsword, I took a thrusting stance and said, “From now on, your name is Drak-Sai.”

If it’s got horns and an ass, it’s basically an imp.