Chapter 114: The Elusive Demon

Wade chased after it, his white armor already donned.

He hadn’t been the White Knight for days. The recent peace had lulled him into a false sense of security, making him believe that ‘the world would be at peace after I married the Demon Lord’.

Alas, a delusion remained just that—a delusion. Even if Lamia seemed intent on more peaceful methods, monsters still roamed.

They continued to appear in human settlements, disrupting ordinary lives. Incidents of demons harming humans were once common, which was why Wade grew tense at their resurgence.

While such occurrences had indeed lessened since Lamia’s arrival, Wade still had to ensure proper security and cleanup.

Following the trail of demonic energy, Wade arrived near a small alley within the royal city.

Being a residential area, it was riddled with various alleys. Demons favored these hidden spaces, preferring to ambush others from the shadows, with moonlight being one of the light sources they had to avoid.

Wade recalled encountering Lamia during his previous ‘demon-slaying’ excursions. He wondered if he would meet her again this time.

If so, what should he do? Should he let Lamia take this demon away as well, or should he simply kill the creature?

The first time they met, according to her inner thoughts, Lamia herself hadn’t known why that demon appeared there. The second time, it was linked to the Great General.

‘What a mess.’

Wade was somewhat bewildered by the true state of affairs within the demon race. He subjectively believed that Lamia might have been sidelined, becoming a powerful ‘tool’.

However, this was merely his personal conjecture. After all, Lamia’s purpose in coming here was to corrupt his mind. He wasn’t sure if he could still make sound judgments.

Yet, despite his uncertainty, he genuinely felt that Lamia was being sidelined, even subjected to erroneous education. It was as if the demons on their side had convinced Lamia she was nothing more than a tool; she had never even considered whether this arrangement was right or wrong.

‘How foolish.’

Thinking this, Wade couldn’t help but inwardly grumble, a hint of fondness in his tone that he himself didn’t detect.

– Ah, you seem very happy?

– ?!

Suddenly, a chilling gust of wind swept across Wade’s face. He whirled around, but saw nothing in the alley. His recent thoughts had distracted him, and in those few seconds, he failed to notice something silently approaching.

‘Damn it.’

‘Indeed, being in love sometimes affects the speed at which one draws their sword.’

– Why stop thinking? Your emotions just now were truly blissful.

“What is that?”

Wade rarely spoke while wearing his white armor. His voice, muffled by the suit, was distorted to conceal his true identity.

– Thoughts, imagination, emotions—your dreams.

He turned sideways, searching for the source of the voice, as another gust of wind blew past.

It wasn’t a normal wind. It was the air displaced by something moving at high speed.

– Aren’t these things all so beautiful—*grunt*?!

Just as that ethereal and chaotic voice swept past his ears again, Wade first shifted his body left, then sharply veered right. It was a simple feint, yet it genuinely fooled the demon for half a second.

Without hesitation, Wade reached out and grabbed forcefully, his hand clamping onto the floating entity’s—neck? It must have been its neck, or something akin to it.

Wade couldn’t discern what he had seized, not due to lack of light, but because the thing simply lacked a normal form.

Wade wasted no words. In battle, unless encountering an acquaintance for pleasantries or to buy time, idle chatter was most taboo. The longsword in his hand had already coalesced from light.

Without a moment’s delay, he slashed directly at the thing he had gripped.

*Pfft*—

It was still the sound of wind, but this time, it was the sound of striking empty air. His hand, having lost its grip on the vanished entity, clenched into a fist.

The longsword was briefly enveloped by black demonic energy, then there was nothing. The demon had escaped too quickly.

[How violent. With such sweet dreams, shouldn’t you be a little gentler?]

The voice echoed in his ear once more. Wade, without thinking, spun around and swung his sword again. He struck, but it was still just ‘air’.

Had it escaped too quickly?

No, that wasn’t right. It wasn’t because he missed; it was because the creature’s true body wasn’t here.

Wade had encountered such demons before—ones that liked to send out clones while their true form remained hidden in some unknown corner.

Where was it hiding? Where did it go?

These types of demons were the most aggravating. Before enjoying the thrill of battle, one had to endure a tedious game of hide-and-seek.

[Hehe.]

And then there was this irritating verbal taunt.

[Do you want to find me?]

Wade paid no heed. He focused all his attention on locating the source of the demonic energy. It had to be nearby, yet… it was too scattered.

No, it wasn’t the creature’s voice that was scattered, but its demonic energy. This demon had fragmented its power into numerous pieces, dispersing them throughout the area, making it incredibly chaotic, like countless decoys.

He had to find a way to kill it. If it could split into five today, it could split into ten tomorrow, and twenty the day after. When would it end?

[Then have some sweet dreams, delicious dreams, happy dreams—you’re so fierce, I don’t like you—*hmph hmph*~]

*Snap*.

It vanished.

Like a lighter with its lid snapped shut, all points of demonic energy within Wade’s perception disappeared in an instant. He likely knew that Wade became single-minded and clumsy when fighting to kill, so it fled incredibly fast.

It didn’t hesitate at all, appearing as if it had only come here to utter a few taunts before running off without a backward glance.

“…”

Wade continued forward for a considerable distance, circling the rooftops for a long time. However, the demonic energy had indeed vanished, fleeing completely.

“…Damn it.”

He looked at the now quiet residential area, instinctively cursing under his breath.

It had gotten away…

Indeed, these creatures whose true bodies hid, who were incredibly vigilant, and who fled at a moment’s notice, were the most annoying.

These cowards knew themselves well enough to retreat when the going was good. Such demons were the hardest to find.

‘Should I just go find Lamia? Tell her, “Your husband was mocked with insults by a demon yesterday.” Could she, as the Demon Lord, step in to communicate?’

‘…Forget it.’

Thinking this, Wade shook his hand, and the light sword in his grasp disintegrated into particles, vanishing. The sun had yet to rise, but a faint glow already graced the horizon. At this hour, the demon was unlikely to reappear.

“…Disgusting.”

Under the cover of night, Wade could only hurry across the rooftops, returning to his residence. Though he had encountered situations before where he had to hunt a demon for days, he felt inexplicably… perhaps it was because he had been mocked, but he felt a certain vexation.