Underneath the Mask

There was a change in Aldr's face as soon as he drank the root beer that Yuuta served. With mixed expression, he stood up and slammed on the table. "Y-you! What did you put in my drink?!" Aldr growled with his eyes turning bloodshot.

It was a rather scary sight that Fei, Mei, and Luxembourg trembled in fear as they watched their grandfather turn into someone completely different. The once calm and collected Village Elder has become the epitome of anger and rage.

"Kravia-san, please take all the children away," Yuuta muttered. Fortunately, he was able to muster the courage to speak up. Nevertheless, the pressure he felt was weighing down on him like a tsunami slamming its front towards the shore.

"Understood, sweet master." Kravia-san concernedly agreed as she picked up the three kids and headed outside the house.

"Let us go!"

"Uwahhhhh!!!"

"What are you doing to grandpa!"

"Leave grandpa alone!!!"

The screams of the children were enough to make Yuuta boil in anger but he held it in. With clenched fists and grinding teeth, Yuuta stared at Aldr with the same intensity as he did. "Augustus Favus, Lav Kravia, Deitrich, and Reygal. Are you familiar with those names?" I asked.

"What? Who are they? What are you talking about?" Aldr cluelessly asked. Moreover, he was wearing such an extremely good poker face that a normal person wouldn't be able to tell if he was lying or not. "It's poison, isn't it... what can you possibly obtain from poisoning the village elder of the village? A-are you... I knew it! You were in cohorts with the demon lord right from the start, right?!" He blindly accused.

As mentioned before, because of Aldr's poker face, it would've been so hard to tell whether he was lying or not... but Yuuta was not a normal person. As a blind person, he was able to hone his hearing and perception. Even though he was granted sight in the game, his enhanced senses remained intact in Lucid Dream Server. That's why, even though he couldn't tell by sight that Aldr was lying, the brief spike on his heartbeat was more than enough proof that he was lying about it.

"Let me ask you again, do you know their names?" Yuuta confirmed and just like that, another spike in Aldr's heartbeat was perceived. His normal heartbeat became rather erratic in a split second and then it would calm down again but that split second was more than enough for Yuuta.

"If you won't admit it... then let me tell you something." Yuuta twirled his fingers around as he wore the most mischievous smile he could ever muster. "You do know that I came from a different world, right? And let me tell you that we have this thing called the Pannacotta (Fugo) Poison, more commonly known as Purple Haze. Although the effects of it were different in our world... I realized that its effect here is somewhat different. Purple Haze is a type of poison that could be obtained from unnatural means but in this world, it can be made by mixing Stingflower Poison and the Purple Mist Herb."

"What are you on about, young hero. Cut to the chase before I end you." Aldr threatened, he was becoming more impatient than ever.

"In simple terms, this Purple Haze is not harmful to humans but when a demon drinks it... well, that's a different case. Seeing that you're affected by it... well, shouldn't you come clean right now before you die?"

"Young hero, can you state your name once again?" Aldr smirked. He wasn't trying to hide it anymore.

"Yuuta, Sakurai Yuuta."

"Very well, I will commend you for recognizing my greatness. However, do you think this mere poison can stop me? RAGHAHAHA!" He raucously laughed as his body exploded in size. "Think again, young hero! Don't misunderstand, I would've negotiated with you right until the end, why do you think I went as far as to kill the Village Elder of this village just so I could talk to you? And yet you dare poison me? It's your fault! You're the one who forced me to do this!"

RAAAARGHHHH!!!

Upon screaming, Aldr's body exploded in size. Red veins popped out of his constantly bulging muscles and his skin turned dark. As he increased in size, his body became more terrifying to look at. His screams grew louder as well and after a few seconds, the house couldn't accommodate his size anymore and it broke. And just like that, the demon lord presented himself in front of the whole village as it shouted an ear-piercing scream that tore through the skies.

"Yuuta, the Daredevil, the Dark Flame Master. Don't blame me for what I'm about to do." Aldr, or rather, the demon lord spoke. Its voice booming through the air as he released huge amounts of killing intent.

Yuuta could tell that he was out for blood and his bloodthirstiness couldn't be compared to anyone he had ever met in his life. And yet, there were no signs of fright nor cowardice in Yuuta's eyes. Just like how the demon lord released his killing intent towards Yuuta, he also released killing intent towards the demon lord.

"Hey, deer head." Yuuta pointed a finger towards the demon lord. "You said you're up for negotiations, right?"

"Ahaha, you finally saw me in my greatness and now you're trying to get to my good side? Sorry but not happening. I'll kill you right here, right now!"

ARGHHH!

Without further ado, the demon lord came towards Yuuta with his hands slicing the air. His hands were like blurs in the wind and even Kravia-san had a hard time keeping up with it. And yet, Yuuta dodged all of them.

And not only that, he had his eyes closed!

"Hoh hoh, you're not half-bad, hero." The demon lord complimented.

"Sorry but it's gross hearing that from the enemy." Yuuta back-handedly answered. "Now, these are my conditions. Why don't you prostrate yourself in front of those three kids right now and ask for their forgiveness? If they ever forgive you, then I might consider letting you leave this place after you promise that you won't bother with this village again. However, it's a different case if they didn't forgive you. I'll cut your head off myself." Yuuta threatened as he cracked his fingers. Mercilessness was written all over his eyes.

For a moment, the demon lord felt intense pressure coming from the young hero but he didn't hesitate. Instead, he continuously went on the offense. "Ahhaha, brat! You're talking nonsense. I'd rather kill them than apologize to them. And you know what? I will gladly do that after I killed you."

"I said, apologize to them." Yuuta calmly said.

This time, it wasn't just the demon lord who went on the offensive, Yuuta did so as well with great relentlessness. He never thought twice about backing down and charged at the demon lord like a raging bull who saw the color red for the first time of the day. With fists tightened and buttcheeks clenched, Yuuta threw one of the most powerful punches he had ever done.

"Detroi— wait, what am I saying?" Yuuta said as he unleashed his punch.

Thud!

"I should've said Detroit Smash completely. Who would've thought that stopping midway is even more embarrassing." Yuuta muttered, remembering a certain someone who ate a strand of hair just to get superpowers.

At the same time, the demon lord flew a couple of meters before landing on the ground with a thud. There was a small crater on the ground but the cracks were large enough to cover the whole plains. Fortunately, none of the village houses were ruined.

Even Yuuta was surprised that the demon lord flew like a fly being swatted!

"I-impossible! What... who are you?" The demon lord asked as Yuuta stood on his chest.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you. Purple Haze also eats away someone's energy. The more power you unleash, the faster and more potent the Purple Haze becomes. Unleashing all your energy in one go... well, that didn't end well, did it?" Yuuta further taunted the demon lord.

"Y-you! Curse you!" The demon lord let out another ear-piercing scream before finally falling into unconsciousness.