Chapter 53: The Hunt for the Hidden Demon

Guided by his acute senses, Wade located the converging magical energy.

Compared to the faint scent of ‘low-level demon’ magic he’d encountered before, this new demon seemed far more potent. However, its magical influence spread over a much larger area, preventing him from pinpointing its exact location as easily as before. He would have to search within this vast expanse of magic to uncover where the creature lay hidden.

****

This was clearly an unfriendly game of hide-and-seek.

Friendly? Wade, for his part, categorized all demons as inherently unfriendly. It was a fixed impression he held of the demonic race.

Upon encountering a demon, one should first ascertain its intentions, remaining fully vigilant. If it could be killed, do so without hesitation to prevent future trouble. If not, like Lamia, then one might engage for a time to understand their true motives.

Thus, in Wade’s eyes, all demons were beings that needed to be eradicated.

Lamia was an exception… and a particularly unique one at that, capable of making him utter words like ‘accompanying her for a lifetime.’

****

Although Wade had to admit these words were spoken primarily to comfort Lamia, seeing her so dejected, it was still remarkable that he, a staunch ‘demon-hater,’ could voice such sentiments leaning towards a demon.

‘Could I truly be corrupted by the demons’ schemes?’

A sudden thought flickered through Wade’s mind: ‘But she… she’s different!’ He quickly shook his head, casting it away.

‘What am I thinking…’

‘Different, different — Phew, alright, perhaps it truly depends on the individual, doesn’t it?’

Lamia’s words today, both those spoken to herself and to him, must have been sincere.

‘So — why, then?’

‘The Demon King… their appearance seems different from what I remember.’

‘We’ve clashed so many times, each nearly a fight to the death. We should be mortal enemies, yet she, who knows my identity, still —?!’

A heavy clang interrupted Wade’s thoughts. Though he appeared to be lost in contemplation over some internal matter, his body’s incredibly swift reactions allowed him to instantly perceive the flanking attack. Gripping his sword tighter, he parried the blow while simultaneously counterattacking.

Clang!

It seemed this demon’s reaction speed was no less than his own. His swift block parried the demon’s assault. As the demon seized Wade’s hands, a subtle, almost imperceptible curve touched Wade’s lips.

His hands were easily clamped, sharp claws scraping against Wade’s longsword with a harsh, grating sound. The ear-splitting noise made Wade instinctively clench his jaw.

‘…So it actively sought me out. Interesting.’

Wade had been deliberately moving towards sources of light to better observe his surroundings and the enemy. The demon, however, remained hidden in the shadows, using the darkness as camouflage for its lightning-fast sneak attacks.

‘Even if you’re fast, my previous enemies were far quicker than you!’

‘I’ve fought the Demon King to a standstill; how could I be entangled by a mere junior like you?’

This particular demon, however, looked remarkably human-like.

Generally, to enhance their power, demons would mold their bodies into forms optimized for combat.

While human physiology wasn’t inherently unsuitable for battle, it did possess certain limitations. For instance, being short, having limited arm strength, possessing only one head, or only two hands.

‘What if my body were taller than a windmill?’

‘What if my arms were thicker than tree trunks?’

‘If I had multiple heads, wouldn’t I be able to perceive all directions, hearing every whisper?’

‘And with six arms, wouldn’t I be able to deliver six times the punching power?’

To grow stronger, these demons constantly sacrificed their appearance, undergoing ‘unfettered’ self-optimization. They discarded all semblance of conventional aesthetics, retaining only more, and more convenient, combat-oriented bodily structures.

This was why, when Wade first encountered the Demon King clad in black armor, he couldn’t help but inwardly marvel. The demons under the Demon King’s command were grotesquely formed, their appearances defying human imagination, yet the Demon King himself looked surprisingly human-like.

Though he couldn’t see the Demon King’s true flesh—only a suit of jet-black armor—if one were to judge him by human aesthetic standards… the Demon King might even be considered handsome. After all, it was armor, wasn’t it? A full-face helmet, too. Even Wade himself favored full-body armor, which only showed how much he appreciated that style of attire.

Clang! Clang-clang-clang!

Although this demon appeared swifter than the previous ones, it still fell short when compared to Wade — but I mustn’t get ahead of myself.

No matter how powerful, it couldn’t reach the Demon King’s level. As long as its strength couldn’t surpass the Demon King’s, it was merely child’s play for him!

Wade often seemed conflicted, helpless, and even too weary to struggle when around Lamia. So, he could only take advantage of battle to vent his frustrations.

After all, if there are problems between a couple, you can’t actually hit your wife, can you?

Wade relentlessly pressed his attack, cornering the arrogant demon step by step towards the alley entrance.

Forcing a demon that preferred covert operations to stand exposed in the light was quite satisfying. Every time Wade did this, he felt a deep sense of catharsis.

Demons, after all, often relied on their superior adaptation to darkness, especially their night vision.

Wade, being human, even with the enhancements of his magical armor, was still slightly at a disadvantage in environmental analysis when fighting in truly dark places compared to demons. Thus, they always preferred to hide in gloomy spots, carrying out their sneak attacks there.

Wade’s task was to block all their escape routes, forcing them out into the moonlight just as they revelled in their dark hiding places.

The light itself would not harm these demons; Wade simply enjoyed doing it.

The demon drew closer to the light, further from the darkness it relied upon. Next, just one more step and it would no longer be able to —

Thump.

“——?!”

The next second, an unbearable crushing pressure assailed him.

This wasn’t true gravity, but a chilling sensation brought about by immensely powerful magic.

Instantly, all of Wade’s hairs stood on end. Every cell in his body screamed a warning: ‘Dodge!’

Whirrr — Boom!!!

As Wade forcefully adjusted his posture, retreating backward to maintain a safe distance, a purple light shot towards them.

He and the demon were practically face-to-face, their weapons locked together. Sensing the surge of magic, Wade realized that defending was better than retreating. He thrust out his hand, activating a defensive spell formation, and braced himself for the residual impact of the blow.

Even the aftershock alone sent Wade staggering backward, cracks spiderwebbing across his defensive spell formation as his arm went numb.

Once the magical energy stabilized, Wade immediately rushed to where the dark light had originated. There, a long, purplish-black spear, composed of pure magic, was embedded in the ground. The demon he had just been fighting had already decayed into magical particles and dissipated by this spear.

‘…It’s demon power, no doubt.’

‘But why treat one’s own kind this way?’

‘Is it because I, the enemy, am here, so it’s willing to sacrifice its own to attack me?’

While infighting among demons wasn’t incomprehensible, and as their enemy, Wade would even wish for them to continue fighting amongst themselves, he couldn’t help but recall Lamia’s recent talk of seeking victory and peace. ‘Could that truly be achieved?’

As the Demon King, their ideas might be beautiful, but as a demon, evil and chaos are surely inevitable.

‘But — what about this demon?’

‘This demon, willing to harm its own kind just to attack me?’

It seemed the demon that had just died was not the one emitting such immense magical energy. Such vast power couldn’t have come from the demon he had been relentlessly suppressing. Moreover, now that it had dissipated into particles, this layer of powerful demonic energy had not vanished. The previous demon’s offensive had been so fierce that Wade had almost overlooked this issue.

Wade observed his surroundings, standing conspicuously in the moonlight, his silver-white longspear reflecting the moon’s glow.

He walked openly in the moonlight, seemingly unconcerned about a potential follow-up attack.

In reality, he was fully focused, acting as a ‘slow bait.’ The moment the demon couldn’t tolerate his actions and launched an attack, he would swiftly —

‘— Found you!’

He knew his popularity alone was more than enough to serve as bait.

As soon as the demon condensed its magic, he would sense the subtle fluctuations in the air, thereby pinpointing its location.

Boom!!!

The purplish-black spear slammed down once more. However, unlike the sudden surprise attack earlier, Wade was prepared this time. He deftly dodged the assault and, without hesitation, charged towards the direction where the magic had condensed.

Wade was also glad that his current location wasn’t the city center. While fighting the previous demon, he had continuously pushed it towards the outskirts to prevent their battle from disturbing ordinary citizens.

However, this new demon was clearly moving closer to the urban area. Regardless of what it intended to do in the city, or if it planned to hide among the populace, he had to pursue it quickly to prevent any further casualties.

Wade chased the powerful energy, watching as it rapidly merged into the city. Its intent to flee seemed set; he needed to find a way to stop it quickly —

‘— I’ve found you!’

Clang!

[…Hm?]

‘— Hm?!’

As Wade declared his victory in a low voice, the familiar internal voice emanating from the other side of the darkness startled him with a ‘Hm?’

‘— Lamia?!’

‘Are we truly destined to meet like this? Why is it you again?!’