CH 58

In a deserted wasteland, far away from the city of Ulaine Donagh, the Demon King’s army, which had been defeated in its eponymous battle and driven away, was still on a losing streak.

Having lost their commander, every single one of those soldiers were wounded, and about to return to the Demon King’s castle in their territory.

They were dragging their own bodies with grim and gloomy looks on their faces, and avoiding places where Wendigos were expected to appear, including the Wendigo Forest.

Some of them started collapsing halfway down the road, and eventually, there were only a handful of them left.

In the midst of all this, Sebek was humming and sporting a faint smile while walking beside Goburoku, who was covered in wounds.

Although it was only half of him, he had still partially become a demon, so his self-healing ability worked fast.

Furthermore, he did not sustain that much damage, so he had trouble recovering instantly.

[You really look like you’re enjoying yourself. When we get back, the first thing His Majesty will do is the military purge, you know? Look around you. They all look like criminals about to face their own execution. …Although in your case, you’re sort of getting special treatment despite being a grunt. So I don’t think you’ll have to worry about being purged…] (Goburoku)

At that moment, Goburoku was feeling a bit envious of Sebek.

Unlike the goblin, who was only following him as a supervisor, Sebek possessed the kind of strength even the Demon King was afraid of, and although he was supposed to be at the bottom of the hierarchy, there was a certain air to him that did not give you that impression at all.

Goburoku, who could only follow behind him, felt miserable when comparing himself to him.

Of course, even though he knew in theory that this was an ugly feeling, his heart told him otherwise.

However, even though he was clearly sulking about it, Sebek showed no concern about it at all.

He laughed eerily while talking about unrelated matters.

[Hey Goburoku~! About Setocchi, I wonder if he has a favorite (rival) or something.] (Sebek)

[HUH!?] (Goburoku)

[Well, I was just thinking that I’d be happy… if it were me.] (Sebek)

He was rolling his eyes with a wide grin on his face, and indulging in his warped fantasy.

Perhaps he was unable to forget that time he met that boy Seto and crossed swords with him on the battlefield, but his body would quiver with excitement sometimes.

[This feeling… Hmm!! Yes! It’s the one! I’ve finally found him… My very own arch-enemy, just like me and just for me…!! And I’m sure he wants to kill me too! He must be hungry for another fight with me right now, just like me. That means we’re meant for each other! …Phew.] (Sebek)

Goburoku was speechless as Sebek stared blankly into the void with a look of ecstasy on his face.

Just for this moment, being so close to Sebek was sending a shiver down his spine.

[Heehee… Heeheeheehee… Se~to~cchi~. Play~with~me~. Heeheeheehee…] (Sebek)

What did fighting mean to Sebek?

The question of finding out which one of them was stronger was a given, but even more importantly, the main point for him was to see how “hungry” each of them was for a fight with the other.

It was only then that Sebek could feel the fire of life.

Hence, he kept himself in a constant state of hunger, and he did not omit to improve himself for this purpose.

Although it was hard to tell from his expressions, attitude, conduct and speech, when confronted with a strong enemy, Sebek would rapidly become hungry.

In other words, he would insatiably crave for a fight.

Sebek sincerely loved those moments.

As long as he could experience that feeling, he did not even care if he lost.

It was precisely because he knew the taste of a battle between “hungry” people that Sebek harbored a deep craving for it.

He joined the Demon King’s army so that he would have no shortage of reasons to fight, and he never had an ounce of loyalty to the Demon King from the beginning.

And even though he had discarded his humanity and acquired a strong body, he kept seeking such battles.

[You really… never think of anything but fighting, huh.] (Goburoku)

[Damn right. …But y’know, I’m a little disillusioned with the Demon King’s army. I just… thought it’d be a gathering of nothing but monsters thirsty for blood and carnage, but there’s a surprising number of intellectuals and conservative folks in it. Feels a bit too constrained to rise up in it by force alone. Oh well, I guess it’s not my problem anymore…] (Sebek)

Licking his lips, Sebek was on his way to the Demon King’s territory.

However, the monsters in front of him screamed in terror and stopped.

An army of humans appeared up ahead.

They were courageously marching toward the Demon King’s army while playing epic music, intending to eliminate every last one of the remaining monsters.

[Eeeeek! Humans!] (Monster A)

[How are we gonna get past this many of them…?!] (Monster B)

[D-Don’t falter! We are the soldiers of the great Demon King! Muster your strength! We will break through them!] (Monster C)

For the Demon King’s army, this was adding insult to their injuries.

It was obvious that they had no chance of winning.

Yet, even in this situation, Sebek’s face contorted into a gleeful expression.

His body, burning with excitement, was urging him to fight.

[Heh Heh Heh…! I like that. They look like a bunch of small fry, but… It’s just what I need to cool down this fire in my chest!] (Sebek)

He drew his magic sword out of its dimensional pocket with the same vigor as a samurai.

Sebek was sensitive to the bundle of mania that came from the humans along with the rumbling of the earth.

Then, he charged at the humans faster than any of the monsters, while overflowing with joy.

He had a smile that even Goburoku, who had been by his side from the beginning, had never seen before.

[Just you wait, Setocchiiiiiiiiii…!! Next time we meet, I’ll be stronger! You can count on iiiiiiit!] (Sebek)

Sebek dispatched the lives of countless soldiers in the blink of an eye with his swordsmanship.

In spite of his frenzied fighting spirit, he was able to easily handle a large number of opponents with a single sword strike that did not leave any space for wasteful movements.

From those soldiers’ perspective, his swordsmanship was so monstrous it was as if they were witnessing magic or something.

Even with the long range provided by their spears, he managed to sneak past them to reach their torso in a flash, and chop their heads off.

[HAHAHAHAHA! HAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!] (Sebek)

As the monsters were taken down one after another, Sebek laughed over his own pile of corpses and pool of blood.

Everybody around him was horrified by the astounding battle prowess he took pride in without even unleashing the power of Apopis.

Unlike ordinary humans, magic swordsmen tended to possess great fighting abilities from the start.

However, this man’s combat skills were in the realm of far surpassing that common knowledge.

[…He’s a devil. He’s nothing if not the “devil” from the historical tales spun by humans and monsters.] (Goburoku)

Goburoku muttered to himself.

He was unconsciously mesmerized by Sebek’s swordsmanship, which was now more precise than ever.

One large bird in the sky screeched, as if mocking the sorry state of the battlefield.

It was a scavenging bird.

Who was impatiently waiting for Sebek to finish turning the humans into corpses.

And just as it had anticipated, the wasteland turned battlefield was now transformed into the best feeding ground for it.

The human army lost most of its troops to Sebek alone and retreated.

As for the Demon King’s army, only two soldiers remained.

Sebek, and the one who struggled to keep up with him, Goburoku.