Trickery

A few moments prior to Regis's predicament…

Tap~ Tap~ Tap~

Footsteps resounded in a dark hall as a figure slowly walked among the corpses that littered the ground.

The figure looked around in a carefree pace, as if he had all the time in the world.

His sight then landed at the center of the hall where a throne that was filled with splashes of blood could be seen.

Grinning, the figure spoke to the man sitting on the throne.

"I really didn't expect you to go this far, General Mordt."

The man sitting on the throne flinched.

General Mordt turned his head to the figure that was slowly approaching him.

His full-body armor was covered in blood as the emptiness in his eyes seemed like it was about to swallow everything.

"Easy, easy~ Please don't kill me like what you did to all the guards." 

The figure said, feigning a scared expression.

General Mordt finally spoke, "You remember our deal, right?"

The figure smirked, "Yes~ Yes~ Of course! That I will help you revive your son in exchange for Toran City."

"However…" The figure continued, "I hope that you're not forgetting something…"

General Mordt sighed as he took out something from his pocket, "Here it is."

In his hands was a miniature sculpture of an extremely beautiful woman with angelic wings which exudes divinity.

It emitted a radiance that seemed to purify the world of any impurity.

A glow that exemplifies its holiness.

"Excellent! Toss it to me." The figure's eyes sparkled as he looked at the sculpture.

General Mordt frowned, "How can I be sure that you'll uphold your end of the deal?"

"Hahahaha!!!"

"After killing the guards! After sacrificing the very city you were tasked to protect! After letting go of your humanity itself! You're really asking me that now!?"

The figure laughed loudly.

General Mordt's expression slightly faltered at the figure's words.

He then tossed the sculpture and said, "I want my son back. Now."

"Your wish is my command~" The figure said animatedly.

The figure removed his hood, revealing a face that was slowly rotting as it emitted pitch-black energy.

He was the demonic human leader.

Upon seeing his face, General Mordt's eyes widened, "Wait! You're not hi—"

Woosh—

Before he could complete his words, the demonic human leader suddenly rushed towards him.

Everything happened too fast even for someone like him who was a Master Swordsman.

"Y-You…" General Mordt tried to talk as he felt the demonic claws gripping his neck.

Mustering his remaining strength, he said.

"H-How could a de..mon.. like you…"

The demonic human leader laughed, his voice alternating from a human and demonic one.

"The barrier that Ligera has helped you erect was certainly impressive, but it wasn't perfect!!"

General Mordt gritted his teeth, "W…e… h-had a c-contract…!"

"You seemed to be mistaken. You made a contract with the past owner of this body and not me. Thus, the contract you made with this demonic human doesn't affect me!!" 

The demonic human leader teasingly smiled.

Despair gradually crept up in General Mordt's eyes as his mind finally blanked out.

He remembered his desperate act of making a deal with a demonic human in order to bring his son back to life.

He was determined.

His determination caused him to sacrifice everything.

Now, he couldn't even make up for what he did as he saw the two pitch-black stars shining on the chest of his opponent.

It was common sense that demonic power had more raw power than mana and aura.

An Early Stage Master Swordsman like him could, at most, deal with a Baron Demon alone.

However, a demon in the Early Stage of Two Star Realm…

Either multiple Master Ranked Professionals or a single Grand Rank Professional was needed.

This was the disparity in power between a mortal and a higher being.

"Are you really crying?" The demonic human leader laughed.

His voice finally retained its demonic sound.

There was not a single hint of humanity left as crimson pupils lit up in the middle of his pitch-black eyes.

Crack—!

Ruthlessness suddenly flashed in his eyes as he exerted pressure on his claws.

All that could be heard was a crack as General Mordt's head limped to the side without any sign of life.

"Finally!!!"

The demonic human leader's demonic voice echoed loudly.

"Just a little more."

He said as he put his hand up in the air and chanted, [Demon Crest Activation]

Swirls of runic patterns formed by the pitch-black demonic power erupted from his hands.

In response to this, the demonic humans and demonic children that had finished massacring the entire population of Toran City suddenly felt something on their right hand.

The tattoo that had been engraved on it glowed as it quickly spread throughout their bodies.

A massive amount of demonic power suddenly erupted from their hearts as they felt a huge boost in power.

"Shit." 

The demonic human leader- or rather, the demon cursed as he saw his body rapidly withering.

"If this goes on any longer, I'm afraid this body will break."

He had said earlier that the contract doesn't affect him, but it was only half the truth.

It was true that he was not affected.

However, the same couldn't be said to the body that he was possessing.

The consequences of breaking the contract, coupled with the excessive use of demonic power and evil crafts, the demon found his body visibly disintegrating.

After all, the mortal body of a human wasn't meant to wield demonic power.

"Luckily I prepared for this! I still won!! Hahahaha–"

The demon's laughter stopped abruptly.

His eyes widened to a terrifying degree as he seemed to have sensed something.

"Impossible!"

***

Corelli Fortress…

Anna sat at the head of the table as she tapped her fingers non-stop.

On her side was Commander Piers.

"Something's wrong." Anna spoke.

The officials inside the room looked at each other, puzzled as to what she could possibly mean.

Commander Piers's expression was dark as he seemed to be thinking of something.

Wung—

A noise could be heard as Anna's necklace began glowing.

She stood up and exited the room.

Tapping on her necklace and said, "Raven, is that you?"

"Your Eminence, we have an emergency!"

"Speak!"

"We have detected a huge amount of demonic power signatures in Toran City! Based on the readings, we assume that it's at least a Peak Stage Baron Demo—"

Tuttt—

The necklace stopped glowing as it couldn't withstand the pressure brought upon by Anna's flight.

In the instance that she heard the words "Toran City", wings of golden energy instantly sprouted from her back as she flew at high speeds.

'Fucking demons.'

Anna thought as she used everything in her power to get to Toran City as soon as possible.

In the moonless night sky, a golden streak of light seemed to divide the darkness.