episode_0100

High temperatures are accompanied by rising air currents. Every time Helia flapped her wings, sparks rose from her body.

Hyunho pulled his body out of the wall. It might be impossible, but persuading through conversation is the best.

“Ugh… Hey, this isn’t the time for us to fight amongst ourselves.”

Hyunho shook his head and dusted off the dust. It didn’t hurt, but it was dizzying because it had been a long time since he had been hit properly. When he came out looking fine, she was looking this way.

“If you have something to say, go ahead. If you have the time.”

She had already lost her cool. Her red-hot horns told me that. She didn’t seem angry when I hit her on the head with a bottle last time.

Helia flapped her wings and took a breath. The fire sac on her chest swelled greatly.

“It seems like it would be difficult to solve it through conversation.”

Hyunho raised his arm, staring at Helia’s neck. He could feel the temperature inside him that could melt even rocks. What was being shot was not breath, but light. The breath that was being emitted with extreme compression was sharp as a blade.

Cheeeing-

A single beam of light was etched into the dark night. The building behind the warrior collapsed in half. Sparks sprang from the melted section.

“Whew, you’re as fast as a rat.”

“Oh my… The little rat got demoted from a rabbit.”

Hyunho caressed the back of his hand. The reddened skin soon returned to normal. The power was tremendous, but it was energy that was ultimately shot out in a straight line. It wasn’t difficult to let it out.

Helia sentenced the boy standing before her.

“Just know that once you enter my city, there is no escape.”

Hyunho laughed bitterly when he heard that. As he said, he had already tried to run away once and been caught.

Except for Helia, the attacks launched by other demons are not effective against you. They are not very threatening either.

But it wasn’t enough to completely distract him. Hyunho frowned at the soldiers rushing in from below. They weren’t threatening, but they were burdensome. It was hard to subdue them one by one.

Hyunho turned his head to find a way to break the situation.

Methods such as collapsing the building or going down and defeating the demons first were out of the question.

Although his appearance has become somewhat strange, he came here to save people, not to commit terrorism. In fact, he has saved many lives thanks to him.

I would have liked to break the crystal and steal the light right now, but I couldn’t see any way to get through Helia.

As Hyunho was looking at the crystal far behind Helia, he saw a flying object approaching.

[Well, I guess it’s okay to break this?]

There, the automaton raised its hand and aimed at the center of the pillar.

Kwaang, the explosion and strong wind that I had heard from the ground engulfed my body. The crack that started in the center of the crystal soon spread far away, and the flames contained within began to flow out.

I gave a thumbs up to the automaton looking this way. The flames that had brightly illuminated the city fell to the ground and lost their light.

So the only thing left in the city was the moonlight streaming in through the crack in the ceiling where we entered. It was barely enough light to see even a few steps ahead. It was enough to hide our bodies.

“Puhhhh…”

Helia, who had been quietly watching the scene, suddenly burst into laughter. Perhaps it was because the city had become dark, but on the contrary, she looked even brighter.

“You, you terrorist bastards…”

Correction, it really was getting brighter. The scales and horns on her body were gradually getting brighter.

That’s the thing, and it’s a bit unfair to call me a terrorist. No, why on earth does this guy, who is one of the Four Heavenly Kings, not know what’s going on?

“I’m the one who should be receiving thanks… But I saved the rest – Huh? ”

Hyunho tilted his head back. As he was talking, something swung towards his face. At this distance, it was probably a tail.

“I just saw what your colleague did, and it’s shameless.”

“That’s true, but… Could you please tell me the reason first?”

Nonsense. Helia declared that with a fire in her mouth. Then she looked at the boy in front of her. He had a cute face that she had seen somewhere, but she couldn’t remember it. She wasn’t the type of person to remember faces.

If he was this skilled, wouldn’t he have remembered? Helia thought so as she spread her wings. Let’s see if she can dodge the shot from close range.

The two shook hands in the darkness.

Helia’s extended fist was straight. However, it was filled with a strength that did not require the use of a grappling technique.

The innate flesh, and the natural armor that protects the body, scales. When they collided with something else, it was obvious which one would suffer.

That’s why we didn’t collide head-on.

Hyunho opened his palm and received Helia’s outstretched fist. When their hands met, Hyunho’s arm twisted.

Helia’s was outside. It brushed Hyunho’s ear. In return, Hyunho’s palm hit Helia’s stomach.

“Krrr!”

Helia, who was hit in the stomach, was unable to breathe out the fire she was holding in her mouth and spat it out into the air.

Hyunho shook his wrist. He had struck unilaterally, and his palm also felt tingly. It was all because of the scales.

“Haa, you’re quite the talent.”

Hard scales. Even if you bring a famous sword with a widely known name, it won’t even show a scratch unless you are a master swordsman. The gap that comes from the difference in race.

But in the past, the gap felt so wide, but now it didn’t even seem like a span. No, maybe…

No. I’m curious, but I guess there’s no need to fight. Hyunho made another offer to her, shining brightly from afar.

“Helia. You know that you are one of the Four Heavenly Kings. The Demon King has changed. However, he is not a friendly person to humans or demons. I came here to save others.”

It was a bit of an accident that the ground was turned upside down in the process. The goddess’s power was felt underground, so they had to hurry a bit.

Destroying the underground city. This was something I should apologize for. However, the only thing I destroyed was the crystal pillar. The rest was caused by the demon tribe that had been branded with the Demon King exploding. It was Karl’s fault, not mine.

“What does that mean?”

Helia didn’t stop even after hearing all that. Her perspective on the city was different from the beginning.

“The reason I accepted other demons was because I had no opponents. This gamble is something you can’t feel the thrill of doing alone.”

She was named one of the Four Heavenly Kings simply because she was strong. She received it because it was given to her. She didn’t need that title in the first place.

The promise she made while in the Four Heavenly Kings was that in exchange for building a city for herself, she would protect the demons. Now that the Demon King has changed and she has been stripped of her title as the Four Heavenly King, there is no reason for her to care for the other demons.

“But, yeah… Now I’m done with the title. There’s no reason I shouldn’t take revenge on the Demon King who messed up my lair. It was a free moment.”

In the end, the reasons that remained were revenge and pleasure. He had no intention of denying that. After all, he himself harbored a desire for revenge.

“Then how about we join forces for a moment? Our goals don’t seem to be all that different.”

No matter what, the two of them had the same grudge against the same person. Hyunho reached out and offered cooperation. Helia stared at him intently.

“Well, I think there’s a better way than cooperation.”

He said it was revenge, but that was a lie. Helia didn’t really care. It was true that she was angry about what the little warrior had done, but it was just a momentary anger caused by her sleep being interrupted.

Fighting the Demon King would be fun, but right now I wanted to settle things with the boy in front of me.

“The loser follows the winner. How about that? That’s what fighting is all about.”

She was a dragon of flames, but she was also a gambler and a gambler. It was only natural for her that the loser would become the winner’s spoils. This was also how she accumulated her wealth.

Hyunho sighed. What’s the point of revenge? It’s just fighting.

“No need to say more.”

But this was better. I landed on the half-collapsed building and took a stance. I didn’t draw my sword. I planned to respond to a fight with a fight.

A blazing flame, tense tendons. The two faced each other, glaring at each other.

And as if they had made a promise, they simultaneously ran towards each other.

***

The first one to break was Helia.

She swung her hands down from above, like a beast swinging its claws when hunting. The target was the neck. It was a movement closer to instinct than skill.

Normally, I would have changed the trajectory of that power and used it to strike Helia. That would be the best option in battle.

The classic way to take the lead. But strangely enough, I didn’t want to do that. Fighting with fighting, strength with strength.

Hyunho stuck out his neck and hit Helia in the face with his fist.

“-?!”

Hyunho was thrown to the floor, and Helia to the ceiling. And then again. The two flew towards each other.

“It’s hotter than it looks-!”

A little while ago, at that place, or rather, a little closer to Hyunho, another clash occurred.

The two’s trajectories drawn in the air continued on, hitting the ground, passing through the ceiling, and passing through the building.

If it had been his past body, he would have died several times, but he was fine now. He could clearly feel that he had escaped from humanity. Hyunho put the dangling cervical vertebrae back in, stepped on the window frame of the building, and jumped up again.

He extended his swinging fist in the same trajectory. At the moment of impact, he could see his fist crumbling. However, his opponent was not unharmed.

“Ugh…!”

Power versus power, where there is no such thing as technology. It was stupid, but there was also something to be learned.

Fist and fist collided, and the sound was like thunder. The two bounced back and flew back to the same spot.

‘I think I could do a little bit more…’

What unfolds is the power of the flesh. When I give up the detailed control, other parts of me are finally visible. It is a new way, not the fighting style of when the body has not yet escaped human form.

If you swing it once, it’s an excessive amount of power that will shatter your arm. But now it’s not a penalty. In a way, it’s similar to what Meihen told me before. In other words, it’s a one-hit, one-kill.

Helia, who was thrown out, pierces the chest with her horn.

Grab the horn with your chest bones and muscles and strike with your fist.

At first glance, it may seem like a loss, but a wound as small as a penetrating wound to the chest will heal quickly. In fact, the damage is greater for Helia. Before she knew it, cracks had formed on the scales she had been proud of.

“It’s been a long time since we fought like this.”

Yet she seemed to be enjoying herself. The wounds on her body had increased, but the heat was much hotter than when she first started.

“Okay, this is the final blow. Take this too.”

Flutter, Helia spread her wings and retreated.

The first retreat shown was to create distance for acceleration. With a large explosion, her figure disappeared.

Boom-!

What appeared again with a loud noise was in front of Hyunho. Helia appeared, striking the warrior’s face. It was a decisive blow that went straight in without any room to dodge.

But it was different from before. Even though it was a stronger blow than ever before, this time Hyunho didn’t get knocked back. He only staggered for a moment, but he stood still in that spot.

This fight is the debut of the changed body. The end that was discovered by pushing it to its limit was beyond Helia’s attack.

Even with all that, including the tough muscles and sturdy scales, the physical differences were actually superior to this one. It’s just that now he’s been able to utilize all of that.

But it still hurts the same. For a moment, I felt dizzy.

Hyunho, whose body was pulled back as far as possible, stepped on the ground.

“…!”

The first warning sign she felt. This was dangerous. Helia’s body instinctively chose to back away.

Chlapak-

Helia’s body, which was trying to fly backwards, was caught in a sticky mucus.

“What is this…?”

The identity was a part of Bartholin. It was the remains of his left arm that had been nailed to the ceiling.

No fool would miss a target that has stopped. Hyunho fired the strength he had gathered in his arms.

***

In the place where the dust had swept away, Helia was lying down. The scale fragments that covered her surroundings sparkled in the moonlight.

“Pass, no, perfect score.”

Hyunho finally relaxed as he saw Helia speaking as if she was relieved. By the way, what about passing?

“How about we do it again next time? Something a little different.”

“That’s about it. But can we postpone it until after all the work is done…”

“Yeah. I’ll remember that.”

She was lying on the ground, staring intently at his groin, as if she was hunting something.

…I guess it’s just my mood.