Chapter 61 – Karahan (7)

“Lord Kuran, they’ll arrive in about 10 minutes,” reported a subordinate.

“Their condition?” Kuran asked.

In the Red Scorpion headquarters, surrounded by pale gray walls, thirty-one people stood in groups, led by a gaunt man named Kuran.

“It seems Mariel handled the matter more cleanly than expected. As expected of your daughter, Lord Kuran.”

Kuran’s face twisted in disgust. “She’s a worthless whore’s child. And she even revealed the artifact? Utterly useless.”

“Haha… but she did cut open her own belly to place the artifact inside. Of course, it was only because you forced her to, Lord Kuran.”

“If she hadn’t done that, I would’ve killed her on the spot. Now shut that mouth of yours, Mute. I know you want to bed her, but I told you she’d be sold untouched, didn’t I?”

The man called Mute bowed deeply. “…I’m sorry.”

With Mute’s apology, silence filled the room. Amid the occasional excited breaths of the organization members, Kuran closed his eyes and recalled the events from four days ago.

A black knight had suddenly stormed into the headquarters. Without drawing a sword, the knight had severed the heads of nearly 300 members. No one could follow his movements or sense him with magic. There wasn’t even time to take ‘the drug.’

Even Kuran, the boss of Red Scorpion, could do nothing but watch as his members were slaughtered. When only a tenth of the members remained, the black knight handed them a small piece of paper with a simple message: Kill Hephaestus, the pink-haired smith.

The paper detailed exactly how to lure her, including her future movements. It was a command to handle a mere woman, but it had to be done. Because it was an order from the strong to the weak.

“Hah…” A deep sigh escaped Kuran’s lips.

Although they had recently risen to platinum rank and had crushed three platinum-ranks in total, with Kuran himself killing two of them, they were utterly defeated by a single knight who didn’t even use his main weapon. While the losses weren’t too severe, as only the weaker members were killed, it was still a significant blow.

Just then, the sound of footsteps pounding down the stairs broke Kuran’s train of thought.

“They’re 800 meters away! But… there are two additional members who weren’t reported.”

“Are they women?” Kuran asked.

“Yes. Both are women.”

“Good.” Kuran slowly opened his eyes and stood from his seat.

“By chance—” Mute cautiously spoke, gauging Kuran’s reaction.

“Yes. If you can subdue those two as well, do whatever you want with them. But the one with the biggest breasts is mine first.”

With Kuran’s permission, the morale of the organization surged.

“Heh… Thank you for your generosity, Lord Kuran.”

“But didn’t you have a thing for Mariel?” Kuran asked.

“Ahem, I believe a main course and a special dish are separate matters…” Mute replied.

“You fool.”

“Th-thank you.”

Already, some of the men were grabbing their crotches, their bodies twitching in excitement. Kuran himself felt the heat rise in his groin, imagining the woman gasping under him.

At that moment, Mariel’s urgent voice cut through the crack of the door. “Get the hell out here!”

Simultaneously, the man standing at the forefront threw open the door.

Crash—

Beyond the open door, the sound of something smashing like a pumpkin echoed as Mariel collapsed, foaming at the mouth.

“Kill the pink-haired one first!” Kuran commanded.

At Kuran’s order, the man at the front hurled his axe at the pink-haired woman. The axe, swung by a man who had taken ‘the drug,’ flew with a fierce wind. The wind alone could tear a normal person’s skin, and the axe would shred their body.

However.

Clang—

The small girl standing next to the pink-haired woman lightly flicked the axe away with the hilt of her sword. The axe, its path deflected, crashed into the ground, forming a small crater.

“Wha…?” The man who threw the axe muttered in confusion.

Kuran’s expression also darkened. The attack, performed by someone on ‘the drug,’ was strong enough to tear through even the famously tough hide of a Minotaur. Yet it was so easily deflected.

Kuran scrutinized the girl who had deflected the axe. Black hair, closed eyes. A small frame… and an enormous greatsword?

Kuran recalled the rumors circulating in Ursphere. Rumors of a red-eyed demon who had single-handedly torn through tens of thousands of beasts in Roholan and drank their blood. And that wasn’t all—the nightmare of the east, the one who had slit the throat of Carpeng and bathed in its blood.

The demon who drank blood.

“Lord Kuran… that adventurer, could she be—”

Squish—

Mute’s words were cut off as the body of the man standing by the door exploded. And not just him—the man next to him had his lower body torn apart.

There was no time for conversation. The sickening sound of flesh being torn filled the room.

“Damn it…!” Clenching his teeth, Mute bit down on ‘the drug,’ and red mana surged from his hands. Mana far stronger than his own burned through his hands as he released it forward.

The target was the girl wielding the greatsword at the front. Mute smiled grimly, watching the fire shoot forth at a speed too fast to follow with the eyes.

However, his smile quickly faded. The flames he had poured all his strength into were blocked by a silver-white barrier, and then he witnessed the greatsword cleaving through his comrades.

Mute popped another pill into his mouth and drew in his mana again. An even fiercer flame ignited at his fingertips.

Boom!

The explosion roared forth. This time, the target was the robed mage who had summoned the silver barrier. The silver-white energy was slower to react this time.

It would definitely hit, Mute thought. His lips curled into a smirk, thinking it was okay as long as there was a hole, even if they were burned.

“Hahaha! You damn b—what the hell is that?!”

But his smile fell again. The girl wielding the greatsword threw a crawling comrade into the flames to block it. Mute cursed as he watched the comrade he had sacrificed his fingers to incinerate be torn apart by the fire.

At that moment, the girl was already right in front of him, her fist flying toward his abdomen. Mute inhaled sharply, focusing his mana on his stomach. The mana layered into a thick barrier around his abdomen.

But the girl’s strength exceeded his mana.

“Urgh…!” Her ordinary punch shattered the barrier of enhanced mana and broke all of his ribs.

But the girl’s hand didn’t come out unscathed. Having broken through the mana barrier with her bare fist, all her nails were ripped out, and her fingers were twisted. Blood dripped from her wrist as it dangled.

Kuran saw this as his chance and turned to retreat, trying to put distance between them.

But he couldn’t move.

“I did it.” A voice filled with delight rang out.

Creak—crack—scrape—

The sound of skin being peeled off. The sound of bones grinding together. The sound of tough flesh being chewed.

It paralyzed him. It stopped his breath.

Cold sweat dripped down his spine. He forgot to swallow, and drool dripped from his lips.

His instincts screamed. Don’t turn around.

But his body didn’t listen. Slowly, his head turned. His body, his legs, his entire being moved to find the source of that sound.

And then he saw it.

A demon tearing off her own skin. Clutching the greatsword’s blade with her exposed bones. Not breathing, but spewing blood. A demon laughing gleefully as she tore off the head of one of his men.

He saw her.

His teeth clattered together, his legs shaking and dragging him to the floor. His terrified brain, unable to process reality, shut down.

The demon’s bloodshot eyes gleamed as they scanned the room.

“So… this is what it feels like…” The demon’s mouth opened.

“Better than I thought…”

“Aaaargh!!” The subordinate who charged from behind exploded.

“Boss! R-run!” The subordinate on the floor had his head split open.

“You damn bitch!” The man who swung an axe from behind was cut in half.

“Ahh… it’s… better than I thought…” The demon ripped apart the remaining subordinates, smiling in happiness.

Licking the blood off her lips, she slowly walked toward him.

“Don’t… come closer.” Kuran raised his hand and shot ice.

It pierced the demon’s arm. But she smiled.

“Don’t come any closer!” He shot ice again.

It pierced her leg. But she still smiled.

“Aaaaaah!” Fire, ice, wind. Her stomach was pierced, her skin melted, her flesh torn.

But still, “Heh… Heh heh… It doesn’t hurt… Uh oh… I’m in trouble.” She smiled.

Step by step, the demon walked closer, killing his subordinates relentlessly. Until there was nowhere left to retreat.

Splat—

The demon stopped.

“Why are you trembling so much…? Could it be…” Then she crouched down.

“Are you cold?” Meeting his gaze.

“Should I cover you with a blanket?” She smiled shyly.