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Long hair was blowing in the night breeze. Their face was so pale that it seemed white at first glance, bright red eyes were shining as if they were drops of hardened blood.
‘Demon…?!’
She knew the moment she saw those eyes. Snake-like pupils centered in the red eyes. It was a characteristic that distinguished demons from humans.
She paused for a moment, and her eyes widened in surprise.
“Oh my. She’s a scary girl.”
The demon smiled brightly and hummed.
“Your silver hair, I really like the color. The purple eyes across town are really pretty too, but I’ll take this from you first.”
The voice, whispering affectionately, as if trying to show kindness. At those words, Elaine’s eyes turned cold. There was no need to ask who the purple eyes belonged to
How dare this dirty killer set his sights on Ash?
That’s what they’d been bait for in the first place, but the slimy glint in those eyes made her uncomfortable. Worst of all, he spoke of humans as if they were objects. All this time he’d been killing people while looking at them like that?
Her thoughts changed. Before she’d thought there was no need to know and wasn’t curios about the reason for the murders. But since he’s talking nonsense like this, she felt she now needed to know.
Cheaeng!
“Tell me. Why are you killing people?”
She asked, her voice as cold as her anger as she parried his blows, and her sword again met his claws.
The demon smiled with madness.
“Well, do you really need a reason to kill a bug? I just amassed a collection.”
Bug? Just collecting?
She couldn’t help but chuckle. ……Yes, she’d forgotten about this. The demons were always like this, not seeing humans as anything more than bugs. She’d almost forgotten because the one she’d known the longest was Espel. He was different from Espel, who was friendly even though he had the same red eyes.
The one who talked about killing humans as if it were for fun was just a deranged murderer.
“I don’t need to hear more.”
With a sneer, Elaine swung her sword fiercely.
Chaeng, chang!
Her sword clashed with his nails that seemed to have been carved from obsidian. The demon swung his blade-like claws, red eyes shining. His fingernails could change length, flying out like a spear.
Sharp attacks came and went, and their weapons sparked several times. Indeed, the movements of the demons were different. The demon countered her attacks, which were difficult to follow with the average eye, and even used magic.
But it was short-lived, and soon the tide began to turn. Even the most transcendent of demons could not outwit a being as overwhelming as Elaine.
“Tsk…!”
He took a step back and groaned. Dark red blood flowed from all over his body.
A look of disbelief on his face. Even his magic didn’t work against her, as she either canceled out the incoming magic with her sword or easily dodged it. She barely even gave him a chance to cast his spells.
Soon his nails, which were as hard as metal, broke and his wounds continued to increase. The demon’s face gradually became pale. The moment he was pushed to his limit, Elaine raised her sword high.
The cold tip of the blade pointed at his chest, and without hesitation, she thrust down.
“Hehe, hehe…!”
The sound of someone taking a deep breath was heard from somewhere nearby. A passerby walking down the road had a scared look on his face.
In an instant, a smile appeared on the demon’s face. He quickly snapped his fingers. A fireball created in the air was shot towards the civilian.
“Ugh!”
The passerby screamed, his face turning blue. Elaine gritted her teeth and launched herself toward him. She ran with terrifying speed and wrapped her arms around the passerby. The flame that narrowly missed exploded on the ground. Dirt and smoke rose as a deep hole was made in the ground.
When she glanced back at him quickly, his form was already fading. It was a teleportation spell. He waved his hand at her.
“Let’s never see each other again.”
As soon as he said those words, he completely disappeared. She immediately picked up her sword and threw it, but it only struck the empty ground.
‘Damn, I missed.’
Elaine gritted her teeth and glared at the spot where the demon had disappeared. To give himself an opportunity to cast a teleportation spell…
He’s probably been teleporting from place to place all this time, killing. That would explain why bodies were found in so many different places on the same day.
If they didn’t find him, he’d probably strike again somewhere else, perhaps as soon as that same night.
‘We have to find him quickly.’
“Dame Elaine!”
Just then, she saw the knights who’d been lurking in the distance rushing toward her.
“Is there a problem?”
“I felt the ground shaking from here…!”
Elaine was holding her sword and drops of blood were scattered all over. The knights looked at the cowering pedestrian and the hole in the ground, surprised.
“Did the killer just appear?”
“But I didn’t hear a sound.”
Oh, come to think of it, she was supposed to fire a flare, but forgot while fighting.
But they didn’t hear anything? That’s weird. No matter how far away they were, they still should’ve been able to hear the sounds of fighting. Suddenly, she recalled that no one heard the victims’ screams either.
By any chance, before committing the murders, did the demon cast some kind of magic to block out sound in the surrounding area?
Whatever it was, it didn’t matter right now.
“The culprit was a demon.”
She quickly explained the situation that occurred just moments ago. Also, she informed them he’d escaped. Some knights ran straight to Ash to deliver the news, while Elaine searched the surrounding area with the remaining knights.
Since he disappeared by teleportation, there was no way to know where he went. But she couldn’t just sit idly by. Elaine ran down the unlit street, feeling the cold wind blow against her.
* * *
‘Damn it, I almost got into big trouble.’
The overgrown bushes swayed in the darkness.
Zephyr, the demon who’d run away from Elaine a little while ago, was running through the dark forest. The place he escaped to by teleportation was the forest near the street where he fought Elaine, and also his hiding place.
‘I have to get out of here quickly.’
That woman earlier was no ordinary human. He knew there were Masters, and that they were exceptional individuals for humans, but even so, he’d never encountered a human that was a threat to his life before. At first, he thought she was just a fast bug, but he’d been completely wrong.
He felt humiliated and ashamed that he’d tucked his tail and run from a human he considered a bug, but now was not the time to worry about such things. The woman was probably sharpening her knife in preparation for their next meeting. There was no guarantee he would be safe at their next encounter.
He stopped running at some point. In the forest immersed in shadows, the entrance to his hideout was visible in the moonlight filtering through the leaves. The trees growing around the entrance had curved branches. The branches were intertwined, creating a cave-like shape.
Beyond lay his beloved collection, and the thought of it calmed his chaotic mind.
Zephyr took a step forward.
“Ah, yes…”
Despite the unexpected turn of events, he still managed to accumulate a lot of his favorite collectibles. He didn’t intend to give up his hobby, but he’ll have to go into hiding for a while.
It’s a new hobby he’d picked up after falling into this world through a ‘passage’…
He never really understood humans. For example, if you find a beautiful butterfly, don’t you naturally want to rip off its wings and keep them? What’s so wrong with that? How would he get through this boring life if he couldn’t do even this?
He was walking along, cursing under his breath, when he stopped in his tracks. There was someone at the entrance.
…Who is it?
There’s no way she could have found this place so fast, and no one knows where his hiding place is.
Then there was a rustle, the sound of bushes being trampled. The shadow of a grown man was approaching from the entrance. Zephyr raised his red eyes and stared warily ahead.
Eventually, the other person’s face emerged from the pitch-black shadows. And the moment he saw the same bright red eyes as his, he raised an eyebrow.
“…What?”
He stood tall, his guard relaxed. It wasn’t the woman, as he’d already assumed, but this was equally unexpected.
The man who stepped out from the shadows was one of his own kind, but an unfamiliar face. Gray hair the color of a cloudy sky, and graceful features.
Demons generally had strong individualistic tendencies. Because of this, the demons who fell into this world usually acted alone, rather than moving together.
…Why was he here? Judging by the fact that he’s in front of the hideout, it looked like he deliberately came looking for him.
Zephyr tilted his head and raised his eyebrows.
“Who are you?”
“This is your hideout?”
Suddenly, the man parted his red lips and spoke. It was a low, soft voice.
“And?”
“Then this must be yours, too.”
Something was thrown at Zephyr’s feet. Shining in the dim moonlight were the things he’d painstakingly collected. Eyeballs and scalps of unknown origin were lying on the ground.
Zephyr’s expression grew grim.
“What the hell, Kuck……!”
He didn’t have time to react, the next instant, the man approached without a sound and grabbed him by the throat. His ruby eyes glared at Zephyr.
“Ugh, what…”
Zephyr found it difficult to understand the situation. The man was clearly a demon like him. Why was he doing this?
He couldn’t even resist. The grip that was holding his neck was strong, and in an instant, the man’s magic covered his entire body, crushing him. A low voice spoke.
“I guess I’ve been away for too long.”
“Ack…!”
“Seeing how such impurities have crept into the territory.”
The man tilted his head.
“You’ve been up to some nasty business… So, did you enjoy your little prank?”
What the hell was this guy?
He was out of breath, mind clouded. The man’s magical power pressing down on his entire body was on a different level in every way. While Zephyr was struggling desperately, the man came to a conclusion on his own, as if he already knew the answer to his question.
The man lowered his neat eyelashes and spoke nonchalantly.
“It’s better to eliminate anything that could pose even the slightest threat to her son.”
Those words rang in his ears, his situation seamed unreal. At the same time, the grip that was holding him strengthened.
“Kuhuhuh!”
Zephyr struggled frantically. His magic burst out freely and he clawed at the man fiercely. However, there was not a single scratch on his body. Rather, the man’s magic bound his body even more tightly.
Crunch, crunch.
“Aaaaah!”
An agonized scream rang out. Zephyr’s entire body twisted grotesquely. Twisted bones tore through the flesh of his body, protruding as he convulsed, blood pouring out all over.
But the face of the man watching was extremely peaceful. He whispered calmly.
“This is your fault.”
“Kruk…”
“That’s why you shouldn’t have touched this place.”
“Espel…?”
That’s when he heard a thin, trembling voice behind him. The hand that had been casually about to toss the body aside, froze. Espel slowly turned around.
Beyond the thick bushes, he saw a familiar silver-haired woman. She stared back at him, her eyes shaking like they were about to break.
“… Elaine?”
