Chapter 8: Chapter 8

Chapter 8: The Warrior’s Crisis

An ominous cry echoed from not far away.

Without needing to say a word, Leon and Jaelidov immediately turned back the way they came.

“Damn it all! Grandfather did say we might run into a demon beast, but to actually meet one!”

Jaelidov cursed—something unfitting for a noble. Leon could understand his reaction.

A demon beast possessed the strength of a thousand demonic beasts. Moreover, it was known that they grew stronger with time.

Considering they might die at any moment, Jaelidov was actually rather composed.

“Now’s not the time for titles.”

Leon glanced over his shoulder as he spoke.

“It’s already chasing us.”

True to its terrifying reputation, the demon beast was fast—faster than either of them expected. They had hoped to at least make it to the city gate, but that hope quickly crumbled.

Jael, looking back as well, went pale.

“Calm down,” Leon said. “Just like Count Reinhardt said, let’s signal our position with the fireworks first.”

Because of the chance that a demon beast might appear, Count Reinhardt had ordered every soldier in the city to carry a single firework.

He said they were made from special powder—bright enough to be seen even in broad daylight.

‘And the reason Count Reinhardt gave me one as well… must’ve been because he foresaw this kind of situation.’

Leon came to a stop and fired the firework into the sky. Then he turned back.

In the distance, the demon beast was charging straight toward them.

Its speed was beyond belief. Leon thought grimly,

‘Even if we run with everything we’ve got, it’ll catch up. In that case…’

Leon drew his sword. The blade caught the sunlight, flashing with a sharp gleam.

“Leon! What are you doing? Run!”

“I know that! But there’s nothing else we can do but run!”

This wasn’t some ordinary monster—it was a demon beast, a creature rumored to have destroyed entire nations. What could the two of them possibly do against that?

But Leon stood firm, unshaken, eyes calm as he stared at the approaching menace.

“You stubborn bastard!”

Jaelidov had no choice. Though he didn’t want to, he moved to stand beside Leon.

He had thought about using Leon as bait and fleeing, but after spending just an hour with him, he’d already grown attached.

The eerie cry sounded again from behind them, raising goosebumps and sending chills up their spines.

Leon turned his head at the sound.

He saw a demon beast radiating black aura, tilting its head curiously at them.

As his mind went blank, Leon kicked Jaelidov away and rolled to the side himself.

The demon beast chasing them collided head-on with another demon beast. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ novel⸺fire.net

Jaelidov muttered blankly at the sight.

Leon understood exactly how he felt—he didn’t understand what was happening either.

A demon beast, born from the fusion of a thousand demonic beasts… and yet there were two of them.

And now, those two were fighting to the death.

Their battle was grotesque.

The slime-like creatures lunged at each other, their gelatinous bodies writhing and spraying vile secretions in every direction.

Seeing the foul liquid fly through the air, Leon and Jaelidov quickly retreated to a safe distance.

“Did we… survive?” Jaelidov murmured once they’d put enough distance between themselves and the monsters.

They hadn’t truly escaped yet—he couldn’t afford to speak carelessly.

“Leon, let’s stay and watch them fight.”

Jaelidov’s sudden outburst made Leon frown, but what followed made sense.

“This is for the sake of the territory’s safety. Sure, they’re fighting each other now, but what happens when one wins? The victor will recover its strength and attack humans again. The people will live in fear.”

“So you’re saying we should wait until they weaken each other… and then kill the survivor?”

“No. You fired the firework earlier, right? My grandfather will be on his way to fight the demon beast soon.”

It was a logical point. Running away now wouldn’t make the problem disappear.

Leon had heard that demon beasts grew stronger by absorbing life force.

The victor here would likely absorb its opponent’s strength and then flee again.

This was a rare chance—a chance to wipe out a demon beast completely from the territory.

Leon, though from Elphrel, didn’t have to help, but after weighing the situation and risk, he decided—

“You’re right. Holding out until Count Reinhardt arrives is our best option.”

Jaelidov’s face brightened.

“Thank you, Leon. I’ll never forget this favor.”

“I’m helping only because I want to get back to Elphrel sooner,” Leon replied curtly.

But the truth was—he liked Jaelidov.

He’d heard that nobles were all arrogant, but Jaelidov wasn’t. He wasn’t proud or selfish—he was a noble who could look around him, one of rare character.

It was no wonder Elphrel had chosen to ally with people like him.

“Ah! Leon, it looks like the fight’s ending!”

Jaelidov gasped. Following his gaze, Leon saw one demon beast absorbing the other’s body, its mass swelling grotesquely.

The victorious monster let out a deafening roar of triumph.

The sound made Leon’s ears ring.

“When will Count Reinhardt arrive?” Leon asked.

“Any moment now. Just a little longer—hang on!”

Leon nodded, keeping his eyes fixed on the demon beast.

A demon beast with the strength of a thousand demonic beasts had just absorbed another of its kind.

He had never seen anything like it—no one had. There was no telling what would happen next.

A terrifying surge of power exploded from the creature that had been still moments ago.

The sheer pressure blasted against Leon, forcing him back.

He barely managed to dig in his heels and endure, but Jaelidov had long since been thrown backward by the monstrous aura.

Leon’s hair whipped wildly, and the wind was so fierce he could barely keep his eyes open.

Just as I was enduring the monstrous pressure with all my strength—

The overwhelming aura that had been pouring from the demon beast suddenly vanished.

‘Is it finally over?’

I let out a small sigh and slowly opened my eyes. Just withstanding that pressure had drained a considerable amount of my mental and physical energy.

‘First, I should check the demon beast’s location, like Jael said…?’

I tilted my head in confusion.

The demon beast that had taken the shape of a slime was gone without a trace.

Only the marks left behind from the battle between the two monsters remained on the ground.

I hurriedly looked around, uneasy—

“A strange one, aren’t you? Why in the world are you blessed with such a useless power?”

A man’s voice came from behind me. I didn’t even notice when he appeared.

At that voice, my whole body froze—I even forgot to breathe.

I didn’t understand what was happening. I was trying to move, yet my body refused to obey—as if some primal instinct was warning me not to.

When I barely managed to turn my head, I saw him.

His eyes were inverted—the whites black, the pupils pale—and a pair of deer-like horns sprouted from his head.

There was no way this being could be human.

I asked, “Who… are you?”

“What do you think? I’m the demon beast that just won that fight.”

Looking closer, I realized he wore nothing at all.

Completely naked, the man gazed down at me with faint boredom in his eyes.

For some reason, an indescribable sense of danger emanated from him—something beyond human comprehension.

Something sharp brushed past my neck.

Feeling a cold sting on my nape, I instinctively leapt backward.

The ground where I had just stood caved in violently.

“Oh? You actually dodged that? You’ve got good instincts, huh?”

Landing on my feet, I looked at the ground.

It was carved with a precise, deep line—as if sliced by something razor-sharp.

Had I moved even a fraction later, my head would’ve been severed.

I swallowed again unconsciously. My instincts screamed at me to flee.

But I forced them down. I needed to think rationally.

‘It doesn’t matter how a demon beast turned into a human. What matters now… is surviving.’

The man before me was overwhelmingly powerful—the kind who could crush a weaker being without anyone daring to judge him for it.

The first thing I did to survive was to raise my sword and aim it at him.

The corners of the man’s lips twitched in amusement. The dullness in his eyes faded, replaced by sharp intelligence.

“So dodging that wasn’t just luck, huh? In that case, I’ll give you something better.”

His hand clenched into a fist, bones grinding audibly. Veins bulged as he whispered,

“This one’ll be harder to dodge.”

He took a step forward—

And then, Count Reinhardt crashed down from the sky between us.

The ground quaked under the sheer force of his presence.

The aura radiating from the old man was vast—too immense to belong to a single person.

Reinhardt, the old knight, spoke.

“So another Humanoid Demon Beast beast appears… Fortunately, it seems you’ve only just evolved.”

His eyes gleamed with murderous intent—so sharp that even moving slightly made me feel like I’d die instantly.

The demon-beast-turned-man stared at Reinhardt, face pale, seemingly terrified.

“Y-you… who are you?”

“Reinhardt. A knight who’s fought countless battles against filth like you.”

The Empire was famed for producing knights—but knights weren’t mere warriors.

They were living weapons—pillars that could defend or destroy a nation.

The Empire only selected knights through the strictest criteria. And in this generation, there were only ten in total.

‘Count Reinhardt… was one of those ten knights?’

My disbelief lasted only a moment before hope welled up inside me.

A knight—an actual knight! If anyone could face a demon beast alone, it was him.

Perhaps Reinhardt thought the same, because he charged forward immediately.

The sound of their clash made my knees tremble. The impact alone was enough to send chills through my bones.

But I couldn’t see them—their movements were too fast, too far beyond human limits.

I didn’t regret not seeing it. Instead, I saw an opportunity.

While the demon beast was focused on Reinhardt, I rushed to Jaelidov’s side.

He was unconscious, with blood matted in his hair—likely from hitting his head when he was thrown earlier.

Thankfully, he was still breathing. But head injuries were dangerous; I couldn’t take chances.

I carefully hoisted him onto my back, intending to descend the mountain immediately.

Thunderous explosions echoed behind me, but I didn’t look back.

Count Reinhardt was a knight—and even the weakest knight’s prowess was said to surpass that of Elphrel’s high-ranking warriors.

If anything, staying here would only get in his way.

So I focused on what I had to do—and did it.