chapter_0154

‘A Dullahan with a demon sword…’ I thought back to the conversation with Nika as we traveled to the demon world.

Dullahan was a formidable opponent, worthy of his position as the First Legion Commander, even without the demon sword. The fact that he now possessed such a weapon was not a good sign.

‘What does he mean by looking for me?’ I wondered.

The most likely scenario was that the demon sword had corrupted his mind, as it had with Astaroth, and he was seeking to kill Mira Crate, but I couldn’t be certain.

The Dullahan, like the masked man, didn’t know that I was Mira Crate. If the demon sword’s intention was to kill Mira Crate, it would have ordered Nika to bring the masked man, not invade the Empire directly.

Of course, the fact that he had attacked the succubi without hesitation, resulting in heavy casualties, indicated that he wasn’t in his right mind.

“We’ve arrived, Master,” Nika said, stopping at a cliff near a forest. It was a remote valley straddling the border between human territory and the demon world.

The succubi, who had been hiding quietly in a hastily constructed hideout, began to emerge one by one, their numbers drastically reduced.

Astaroth was the commander of a ‘legion’, and the number of succubi should have reflected that title, but now there were barely over a hundred of them.

“Is this everyone?” I asked, my eyes narrowing.

“Yes. These are the ones I could barely save. The rest…” Nika trailed off, her voice heavy with guilt.

The succubi, suffering from extreme mana deprivation, approached me, their eyes gleaming with desire. They rubbed their thighs together and pressed their lower abdomens, where their wombs were located, as if they couldn’t control their instincts.

Fortunately, the succubi I recognized, those who had once lived in Nika’s castle, had survived. That included Priscilla’s sister, who had been tortured and abused while being held captive in the same castle, her mind now half-gone.

‘So it ends up like this…’ I thought, a bitter taste in my mouth.

I had intended to make the succubi who had tortured and fed off humans pay for their actions, but I never imagined it would turn out like this.

“……” Nika couldn’t bring herself to meet the gazes of her subordinates, feeling responsible for their plight.

In fact, considering that the Dullahan had become even stronger with the demon sword, it was a miracle that any of them had survived and managed to escape. The loss of mana had taken its toll, but it could be replenished.

‘I should replenish their mana first, now that I’m thinking about it.’

The succubi, aware of who I was and that the Queen was with me, still tried to seduce me, unable to control their instincts. If I had stayed any longer, they might have pounced on me without a second thought.

“Follow me, Nika. I have something to do,” I said, and Nika, her tail swaying happily, obediently followed.

Nika, whose instincts as a succubus had become extremely strong due to the excessive loss of mana, wore an expectant expression, her face flushed with anticipation.

“Huuuh… Huff…” I did as I had promised and replenished Nika’s mana. She leaned against a tree, her knees buckling, her eyes glazed over with pleasure.

“I know you’ve been through a lot, but don’t keep it all to yourself. Share it with the others. If there’s not enough, let me know. And don’t blame yourself too much. It’s thanks to you that so many of them survived,” I said, offering a few words of encouragement.

“Y-ye, yehet…” Nika mumbled, her eyes half-lidded with pleasure.

I returned to the hideout and, as expected, the succubi, having realized what I had done, rushed towards Nika, ignoring my presence. I knew they wouldn’t be satisfied with just one session, and indeed, it wouldn’t be enough.

‘How should I find the Dullahan?’ I wondered, the immediate crisis averted but the bigger problem still looming.

With the Dullahan now wielding the demon sword, the best course of action was to deal with him as soon as possible, but waiting for him to appear could take an indefinite amount of time, and searching for him in the vast demon world was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

The worst-case scenario was that our paths would never cross, or that our hideout would be discovered if we wandered too far. That’s why I had to stay here no matter what. It would be impossible to escape a second time if they found us again.

Nika, who had barely escaped with her life, was unlikely to be discovered easily, but there was no guarantee that she wouldn’t be found eventually.

“Kill… kill me…” a faint voice whispered, and I turned to see Gloria, the succubus who had once been Gloria, muttering to herself.

She was bound in a position reminiscent of a mating press, her legs raised and pressed against her sides, her knees almost touching her chest. A sticky liquid dripped from her mouth, soaking her buttocks and the hole between them.

“Kill me… please, kill me…” Gloria, her eyes half-lidded, drool trickling down her chin, begged me with a desperate gaze.

“You’re a succubus now, so you won’t go crazy from pleasure. Adapt and make the most of the eternal youth and beauty you wanted,” I said, my tone firm.

Gloria, her plea rejected, let out a hollow laugh, her eyes vacant. I turned to leave but paused, struck by an idea. What if I used a succubus as bait to lure the Dullahan?

“Hehehe…”

Fortunately, there was a succubus willing to volunteer for the role.

.

.

.

My plan worked exactly as I had hoped.

Gloria, as soon as she left the mountain, was spotted by a group of ghost cavalry patrolling the demon world in search of succubus traces. And within five minutes of their discovery, the Dullahan arrived.

If Gloria had truly wanted to die, as she had begged me, she could have died right then and there. The Dullahan, without hesitation, charged at the succubus before him, intent on killing her.

But in that moment, the desire to live took over, and Gloria, her mind clouded with fear, screamed the information I had given her if she ever wanted to live. She survived, and the Dullahan, without a moment’s hesitation, accepted her words and left with the ghost cavalry, promising to wait at the Ragyeona Plains.

‘He still has loyalty to the Demon King…’ I thought, a bitter taste in my mouth.

I had told Gloria that I had been searching for the Demon King’s whereabouts and had finally found a clue. The Dullahan, consumed by the demon sword, didn’t question my words for a second and left, his loyalty to the Demon King intact.

I watched from a distance as he disappeared, a bitter smile on my lips. To be honest, I had been half-expecting him to ignore my words, as the demon sword had corrupted his mind.

“……”

Gloria, who had begged for death, now trembled at the sight of the succubi around her, their gazes hungry. Nika approached me, her eyes filled with concern.

“What should we do with her?”

“She’s completed her task, so she should be rewarded with rest.”

“How long should she rest?”

“For as long as you think is important.”

In the end, Gloria was granted a lengthy rest, and the other succubi, hiding in the corners of the hideout, didn’t dare disturb her. After receiving my mana, they no longer needed to feed on her, and Nika’s presence was enough to deter them.

“Please be careful, Master. Without you, I…” Nika said, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.

“I understand. I’ll be careful,” I said, my voice firm.

This time, I had to be extra cautious. Even when Astaroth had wielded the demon sword, a single blow from him had been enough to break my bones, and Dullahan, proclaimed by Elysier as the strongest among the Legion Commanders when it came to sheer physical strength, was now even stronger.

I rubbed my aching left hand, donning the mask I had worn during my time in the demon world, and drew the Dragon’s Tooth, stepping into the portal Nika had opened.

“Have you finally come…?” Dullahan stood at the other end of the portal, his aura several times stronger than before, accompanied by a ghost cavalry unit. The energy emanating from him was overwhelming, and even my ghost horse was intimidated, its neck trembling as I had to soothe it.

“How is the Demon King… is she still alive…?”

“She is. I’ve confirmed it,” I said, my voice steady.

At my words, Dullahan seemed to falter for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure.

“Show me the proof… surely you wouldn’t make such a claim without evidence…” Dullahan demanded.

I held up a decoration from the Demon King’s coat, something Dullahan would undoubtedly recognize, and his armor rattled as he trembled.

“So she is… she is indeed… congratulations… truly, congratulations…” Dullahan muttered, his armor and helmet shaking with emotion.

After a moment, he continued, his voice steady. “Human who serves the Demon King… may I ask a favor of you…?”

“What is it?” I asked, my gaze unwavering.

Dullahan raised the demon sword, pointing it at me.

“Kill me…” he said, his voice strained.

For a moment, I thought I had misheard him. But it seemed that wasn’t the case. Dullahan stood resolute, his gaze unwavering.

“Wielding this sword is not my will… a strange power binds me… forcing me to hold it… how could I ever lay a hand on the Demon King’s belongings…?” Dullahan said, his voice strained as if he were fighting against the sword’s influence.

“Killing the succubi was also… not my will… a voice echoes in my head… kill all other demons… rule them with blood… make them submit… ascend to the throne… with each echo… I lose myself… more and more…” Dullahan’s voice grew stronger, his willpower fighting against the sword’s influence.

“The fact that the Demon King is alive means… I, a knight, have coveted her possessions and her position… there is no greater dishonor… even if it was not my intention… it is an unforgivable… an unpardonable… sin… a sin that… I must atone for with my life…” Dullahan said, his voice shaking.

Suddenly, Dullahan raised the demon sword, and I tensed, ready for an attack. But that wasn’t his intention.

He struck his left arm with the hand holding his own sword, the clanging of gauntlet against armor echoing in the air. The demon sword returned to his side, pointing downwards.

“Human who serves the Demon King… before I commit more sins… before I can no longer be a knight… kill me… this is my first and last request… may I have the honor of a noble death…” Dullahan said, his voice faltering.

“……”

In the end, he remained true to his knightly nature. I dismounted from my ghost horse, which licked my hand twice before melting into the shadows, not mine, but Dullahan’s. The connection that had been severed when I gave him ownership was now restored. Soon, a ghost horse appeared before the cavalry unit, riderless.

Clack.

I sheathed the Dragon’s Tooth. If he was willing to go this far, I had no choice but to meet him with the same level of respect. I bit my lip, steeling myself, and stared straight at Dullahan.

I removed my mask, the world around me coming into sharper focus. I loosened my hood, my hair dancing in the wind that carried the unique energy of the demon world. I focused my mind on my left hand, the golden light gathering and forming a shape.

“I understand, Dullahan. Or should I say…”

Light appeared in the sky, a golden aura slowly converging to form a spear-shaped silhouette. The mere presence of the light, enhanced by the miasma of the Demon God, was enough to make the ghosts cower, and the headache it induced was excruciating, but I gritted my teeth and endured. I bit my lip so hard that blood trickled from it, and I continued, my voice steady.

“I, Mira Crate, challenge you, the First Legion Commander of the Demon King’s army, to a duel of honor.”

At the revelation of my true identity, Dullahan was momentarily speechless. Then, he quietly muttered, “So it has come to this…”

The morning sunlight dispelled the fog, and Dullahan’s ghost horse dissipated like mist in the wind. His black armor fell to the ground, and he slowly, ever so slowly, donned his helmet, covering his neck.

Clack. The sound of his armor interlocking echoed in the air.

Dullahan forcibly fixed the demon sword into the ground, his left arm the only thing not in a perfect salute position as he held his own sword against his chest, the tip pointing towards the sky.

“I, Dullahan, the honored First Legion Commander of the Demon King’s army, and a knight who serves the Demon King…” Dullahan’s voice was steady, his willpower overcoming the sword’s influence.

Dullahan raised his own sword, pointing it at me, and finished his declaration.

“I accept your challenge.”