Chapter 190
Whoosh!
The Blood Mass flew towards Paimon.
*I wish it would just pierce his head.*
“Rise!”
CRASH! Unfortunately, my Attack was blocked by just a single word from him. With a single command from him, a stone wall appeared before my eyes.
Was it a wall enhanced with demonic energy? Only a slight scratch appeared on the wall.
Hmm... Of course, a demon like him wouldn't just fall to a single blow. Still, it wasn't entirely useless.
This was perhaps because my attack bought some time. After a short while, people started to move.
“Hmph... Thanks for buying us time.” The first to rise were, naturally, the Knight Commanders. Accustomed to physical exertion, they quickly sensed the pressure on their bodies and immediately reacted.
Having regained control of their bodies, they told those still kneeling how to break free.
However, only a few were able to resist the Demon's command even after hearing the method.
The method itself was crude: circulating mana through one's body to forcibly push back against the physical pressure. If one couldn't wield mana beyond a certain level, even resistance was difficult.
Thanks to that, about 70% of the remaining Extermination Squad Members were still prostrate on the ground. A single word had bound 70% of the Troops.
Could someone truly be called a King with that level of power? Moreover, unlike with Amon, this was a fully Resurrected King.
Although he had forced his way out through the shattered Altar, he was by no means to be underestimated.
Amon, with only half his body manifested and unable to move, had repelled two Extermination Squads entirely. I remember the fight to send Amon back was quite arduous. And now, all of us are exhausted.
In the absolute worst-case scenario... we had to consider the possibility that everyone here could die.
“You wield strange abilities. Just like *that one*...” As we stood in a brief standoff, Paimon spoke. He was still looking at me. It seemed he had sensed something from the ability I had just used.
“You appear to be a Manifestor, don't you?”
“Yeah, one of the People whose lives were ruined because of bastards like you.”
“...Indeed.”
Paimon's brow furrowed slightly at my words.
“I heard you Humans ostracize Manifestors, so it's quite surprising you've lived to this age.” “I'm a bit of a special case.” “I've already heard tales of you in the Demon Realm. Se-e-re, Dantalion, and others, the children who suffered at your hands, came to me and added their comments.”
When I heard names I wasn't particularly fond of, my eyes glinted slightly. Come to think of it, Demons return to the Demon Realm after being defeated, often losing a part of their body. It seemed he was their King.
Up to this point, I had just listened casually, thinking, *'Oh, I guess that's how it is.'*
However, I couldn't just let the next words slide.
“They said to be careful, as there's a Man with Asmodeus's blood.”
“...What?”
A seemingly crucial clue was hidden in that casual remark.
Asmodeus...? Is that another Demon's name? And I have his blood?
Numerous questions popped into my head at this sudden, important piece of information. My pupils trembled slightly for a moment. I asked him in a slightly hurried voice.
“Wait, Asmodeus? Who's that? Is he a demon under your command?”
At my words, his eyes narrowed slightly.
“Well, I don't need to tell you that. Choose. Will you become a Demon-person and survive here, or will you die here and now?”
I was quite desperate, but he seemed to have no intention of telling me.
I frowned at his demeanor. *These Demon bastards never give out proper information.*
Annoyed, I hurled some swearing at him.
“You son of a bitch.”
What was I thinking, trying to have a conversation with a Demon? The correct answer is to just hunt down and exterminate every Demon that appears in the Mortal Realm. Anyway, unless we dealt with him, we wouldn't be able to leave This Place easily.
Thump!
With that, I stomped the ground with all my might and charged towards him.
Perhaps because I had been continuously circulating mana through my body, I had almost entirely overcome the command he had issued.
It still took a bit more effort to move, but it was enough to attempt Hand-to-Hand Combat.
Whoosh! My dark spear, propelled by momentum, surged towards Paimon.
“Wall.”
But this attack was also quickly blocked. This time, unlike before, a wall was created directly in the Void.
It was a Barrier made of demonic energy, similar to the one Dantalion used. However, this one appeared much thicker than Dantalion's. *To think a Barrier of this magnitude could be created with just a single word.*
But I wasn't the only one here. One of the Knight Commanders had rushed out, following me.
It was Vivian. The 4th Knight Commander was currently trying to forcibly raise the kneeling Troops, and the 1st Knight Commander was still busy recovering her stamina. So, the relatively unharmed Vivian was the first to join the fray.
She swung her sword towards Paimon with her characteristic light footwork. But this too was blocked, because he once again issued an absurd command.
“Stop.” With that single word, Vivian's body froze as if turned to stone.She twitched her body once or twice, as if trying to resist.But the command issued this time seemed quite potent, as even she couldn't easily shake it off.
Even amidst that, his command continued.
“Slit your throat and die.” Clack. Vivian's sword turned back on her. The sword that had been moving forward now pointed back at her. Holding the sword reversed, she tried to slit her own throat, just as Paimon commanded.
“Uh, uhh...”
Her trembling blue eyes stared, the blade drawing closer.
“You fucking bastard.” Clang! Startled, I immediately rushed forward and knocked Vivian's sword away. A heavy impact traveled up my spear, indicating she had put quite a bit of force into it. Vivian offered me her gratitude in a slightly trembling voice.
“Th-thank you...”
“Watch your front. You never know what might come flying.”
“Y-yes, sir...”
This wasn't easy. It truly didn't seem easy.
I often felt Neria's abilities were overpowered, but now something far stronger was right before my eyes.
To be able to subdue someone and make them kill themselves with just a few words? And a Knight Commander, no less.
Despite his delicate appearance, the way he used his abilities was utterly chilling.
The Barrier created with just a few words was another example.
*How on earth were we supposed to break through that? A slight sense of frustration welled up.*
Of course, we couldn't retreat like this. We charged at him once more.
Along with the other Extermination Squad Members who had joined us, we continued our relentless Attack against the frustrating Opponent. Various weapons assailed Paimon, but each time, Paimon simply subdued the Extermination Squad with a simple command.
“Stop.”
“Fall.”
“Fly far away.”
Nothing physical was flying at us, so we couldn't dodge. It was an incomprehensible power, but it wasn't entirely impossible to counter, since people assisted each other every time someone was stopped.
When his power was concentrated on one person, others found it relatively easier to resist.
In my case, I didn't even need anyone else's help.
“Stab your belly with your spear.”
“Lord Yor!”
A heavy pressure suddenly bore down on me, and my body moved on its own, like a puppet on strings.
Thwack! Indeed, the spear quickly pierced my belly slightly. The surprised Knights even tried to rush towards This Place because of it.
But that was all; Before it could, My Blood Force Art had spread a hard Blood Mass over my abdomen.
Wriggle, wriggle. The fluidly moving Blood Mass smoothly pulled out the spear. *Strangely, my blood seemed to have a much higher Resistance to Commands.*
Whether it was due to the demonic energy within my blood or not, my blood itself was almost completely unaffected. Thanks to that, I was arguably the most comfortable fighting among all the Personnel here.
As the unresponsive battle continued, he eventually spoke.
“...You truly are troublesome creatures.” His voice was devoid of inflection but carried an undeniable majesty. Yet, a faint hint of annoyance was mixed within it.
“Indeed, my children weren't defeated for nothing. But to stand in the way of a King like this, it's utterly vexing.”
With that, Paimon suddenly looked up at the sky, as if preparing something.
Immense demonic energy surged from his body.
“Open.”
Immediately after, CRACK, CRUMBLE! The ceiling began to tear apart. The massive stone ceiling that formed the Temple was ripped away entirely, like a piece of paper. From above, *thud-thud*, stone fragments rained down like raindrops.
“...Crazy.”
“What is that?”
Everyone stared blankly upwards, as if in a dream. I was no different. The sight of the enormous ceiling being torn away completely evoked a momentary sense of awe. *No, seriously, even if he's a King, how the hell is something like that possible?*
I wanted to deny reality a bit, but he was steadily tearing away the ceiling even amidst that.
Sunlight streamed through the gap in the torn ceiling. The gradually increasing sunlight soon began to illuminate us brightly.
A boulder the size of a parade ground floated in the air.
“Now, try to block this.”
WHOOSH!
Immediately after, he hurled it at us.