Chapter 27: The Demon Lord’s Training and a Costly Surprise

Each successive Demon Lord was a powerhouse, their strength undeniable. Their unique talents, keen senses, and resilient physiques coalesced perfectly, allowing them to unleash astonishing destructive power with even minimal training—as if violence itself were an innate art form they were born to master.

Yunajin gripped her sword with both hands, a rare expression of earnest concentration now etched upon her delicate face.

Had Qiaolun been present, he would undoubtedly have marveled at any adversary capable of eliciting such a serious demeanor from the Demon Lord.

Innumerable weighty afterimages of black shadows streaked through the air, each step they took leaving a fresh indentation in the ground, until they finally closed in on that petite, pink-clad figure.

As a terrifying gust of wind whipped at her hair, Yunajin became keenly aware of the first creature audacious enough to rush towards its demise.

With a swift, decisive motion, the obsidian blade tore through the air, utterly disregarding the flanking shadows as it cleaved the approaching entity cleanly in two.

To Yunajin’s perception, the crystalline blood drifted down like falling leaves, its surface reflecting the myriad other dark shadows surrounding her.

She spun, her blade a horizontal arc of cutting black, transforming into a crescent of obsidian that swept outwards, striking at the monsters encircling her.

Clang—

The sound was akin to steel grinding against unyielding obsidian, sending sparks scattering as the sheer force of the impact compelled Yunajin to take a reluctant step backward.

‘It appears Lord Edesbond has brought gargoyles of significantly superior quality this time,’ she mused, ‘at least they won’t shatter upon mere contact, unlike their predecessors…’

Hiss—

The emaciated gargoyles emitted horrifying shrieks, their movements swift and utterly ruthless. These emotionless killing machines were programmed to obey their master’s commands without fail, relentlessly fighting until their targets were annihilated—or until they themselves were torn limb from limb and reduced to cinders.

Whoosh—

With a merciless sweep of her blade, Yunajin severed the gargoyle’s vocal organ.

‘You’re the loudest, aren’t you? Any objections?’

As if sensing her derision, the gargoyles, despite their lack of true emotion, adopted an enraged appearance and charged at Yunajin.

Her slender form deftly wove through the gargoyles’ onslaught, even as their attacks merely left superficial scratches upon her skin.

‘Of course, it’s not because my skin is particularly thick,’ she mused. ‘I merely dodge because a maiden’s delicate skin is far too fragile to endure such abuse.’

After sending one gargoyle sprawling with a sweep of her blade, Yunajin pivoted gracefully on the ball of her foot, her free hand effortlessly punching through the chest of another.

Yunajin detected a peculiar fragrance within the blood. Unable to resist, she licked a drop that had trickled onto her wrist.

‘To think these unsightly creatures, never exposed to light, would possess blood that doesn’t taste half bad,’ she thought, a hint of surprise in her tone. ‘Still, I am no Vampire, so its life energy holds no use for me.’

A flicker of seductive crimson danced in her eyes as Yunajin purposefully leaped into the midst of the gargoyles. Her serene black gown billowed and swayed, transforming her into a blooming night rose, gracefully unfurling its enchanting form upon the bloody stage of slaughter.

‘—I remember now…’

With a nonchalant swing, Yunajin lopped off a gargoyle’s limb.

‘—The question Qiaolun posed before his departure: ‘Do I know how to dance?’

A colossal figure descended before Yunajin, whose distant gaze still betrayed a lingering distraction.

“Is it truly necessary to deploy your personal guard-level gargoyles for what amounts to merely a routine training exercise for the Demon Lord?” A white Slime materialized in the dim candlelight, its simulated expression clearly conveying a profound sense of displeasure.

This was Ando Slime, guardian and administrator of the Demon Lord’s altar, and one of the Eight Demon Generals, rumored to be the most ancient Slime within the entire demon race.

“I merely wished to observe the extent to which ‘Twilight’ could suppress the Demon Lord’s true power,” Edesbond stated, his gaze fixed upon the Demon Lord’s brutal combat. He knew that the creation of each gargoyle necessitated the sacrifice of a Vampire’s body, and the more potent the Vampire, the greater the strength it would wield upon its transformation into a gargoyle.

Even as seven or eight formidable gargoyles were swiftly cut down by the Demon Lord’s mighty blade, Edesbond’s cold, blood-red eyes remained utterly devoid of any ripple of emotion.

“Ah, so that’s the Demon Lord’s Armament, then? A rather ordinary-looking weapon, yet the Demon Lord wields it with such remarkable proficiency.”

“Hm?”

Razor-sharp claws tore through the air, followed by a series of explosive cracks. Yunajin found herself unable to react in time.

Blood erupted, yet this time, it was the Demon Lord’s own.

With her sword plunged into the earth, Yunajin’s half-kneeling form skidded across the ground. A warm sensation bloomed across her face.

“This… this is blood? My… my face?”

The scattered stones on the ground began to tremble erratically. A terrifying aura, emanating from Yunajin, swelled with nascent power, poised to erupt.

‘Twilight’s Elegy,’ the artifact designed to shackle Yunajin’s immense power, hummed ominously, as if desperately striving to suppress the Demon Lord’s impending eruption.

“You damned thing! You wretched thing! You idiotic thing!”

‘My face, my beautiful face! I need a mirror, something clear to see… Ah, right, their blood seems quite translucent.’

Yunajin delicately caressed her wounded face, oblivious to the fact that a personal guard-level gargoyle, its bulk three times that of its common brethren, had materialized behind her with imperceptible speed.

The Demon Lord’s hand had already abandoned her sword hilt.

A faint, almost imperceptible curve graced Edesbond’s lips.

Boom—

The gargoyle’s fist landed squarely on Yunajin’s head, the sheer concussive force radiating outwards enough to shatter the very air around them.

“Hm? That sound… Did your gargoyle just strike a steel plate?” Ando inquired, a bewildered tone in his voice.

“Given it’s a construct born purely for combat, any damage inflicted upon the Demon Lord’s delicate features was entirely unintentional,” Edesbond replied smoothly. “It seems I am destined to lose a rather exceptional gargoyle.”

Yunajin’s gaze flickered to the gargoyle, her expression not one of cold indifference, but rather a chilling blend of murderous intent and unbridled fury.

The gargoyle’s massive frame stumbled a single step backward. It flexed its three-clawed fist, as if disbelieving the sensation it had just encountered.

“Hmph, do creatures such as yourselves even possess the capacity for fear?”

Whoosh—

No sooner had the words left her lips than the gargoyle vaulted into the air, vanishing as if into thin air, its speed so astonishing it seemed to leave a phantom of itself lingering in its wake.

“Hmph…” Yunajin scoffed, a cold sound. With a light step, she moved with several times the gargoyle’s speed, abruptly appearing directly in its path. Her blood-stained fist mercilessly detonated the gargoyle’s upper torso.

“Oh, it’s been handled,” Ando remarked, observing the scene and turning to Edesbond.

“So ‘Twilight’ truly restricts over seventy percent of the Demon Lord’s power?” Edesbond mused aloud, a note of genuine awe in his voice. “Remarkable. It truly is the most potent Demon Lord’s Armament in terms of suppression among all generations.”

The gargoyle’s blood pooled and flowed around Yunajin’s feet. She bent, using the blood’s mirror-like surface to meticulously inspect her face for any lingering injury.

Meredith materialized beside Yunajin, thoughtfully extending a handkerchief to her.

“Lord Meredith, couldn’t you have simply used magic to cleanse it?” Yunajin grumbled, dabbing at the bloodstains on her face with the offered handkerchief.

“I believe the Demon Lord has merely forgotten that no magic, regardless of its potency, can exert any effect upon your esteemed person,” Meredith replied gently.

“Ah, that’s right, isn’t it?”

‘—All clean now!’

The wound on her cheek, however, healed with astonishing rapidity. By the time Yunajin fully registered it, her skin had already returned to its pristine, delicate pink.

“Forgive me, Demon Lord,” Edesbond murmured, drifting gracefully to the ground and bowing deeply before Yunajin.

“I don’t blame you. It was My own carelessness; I failed to dodge.”

‘I must admit, punching through gargoyles of this considerable size offers a far more satisfying sensation than those soft, tofu-like pieces of garbage,’ she mused, a hint of dark pleasure in her voice.

“Lord Edesbond, you have certainly provided this King with a most substantial surprise.”

“These are the kind of gargoyles I wish to use for all future combat training,” Yunajin declared, punctuating her demand with a dismissive kick to the shattered remains.

‘—Do you truly believe my personal guard-level gargoyles are mass-produced?’

Edesbond attempted to mask his internal discomfiture with a strained smile, but Meredith, ever perceptive, saw right through it.

“I regret to inform you, Demon Lord,” Meredith interjected smoothly, attempting to soften the blow, “that only the bodies of pure-blooded Vampires can be transmuted into gargoyles of such caliber. Their value is, regrettably, immeasurable.”

“Is that truly the case? How remarkably rare, indeed. Lord Edesbond, how could you possibly bring yourself to harm your own kind?”