Demon Mark

Isolde was born in a *Nameless Small Village*, like many children of this era.

And, as with any other Manifestor, a mark appeared on her tenth birthday, revealing her to the people.

“Heavens!”

“Ah, it's a Demon Mark!”

Naturally, everyone was surprised at first. The Priest in charge of the inspection shouted that she should be handed over to the Knights immediately, and the Villagers looked at her with fear for a moment.

But that was all... Gray-haired Isolde was neither dragged away by the Knight Order nor ostracized by the Villagers.

Wait, she can teleport? What is this? Are all these demon-kin like this?

It wasn't simply out of affection. Honestly, even as a child, she could tell the Village's hospitality wasn't particularly warm.

It was simply because her ability was too convenient. With long-distance communication and even Teleportation, the Villagers made a third choice: neither handing her over to the Knights nor embracing her.

Wait... doesn't that mean they can steal things and escape without getting caught, just like before?

Working together, they immediately stoned the Priest who had been dispatched to the Village to death and imprisoned Isolde. Since Isolde was an orphan in the Village to begin with, they didn't even have to bother eliminating her parents.

It turned out the Villagers were a reclusive Bandit Group, a large one, at that, which had pulled off a big score a few years prior.

As the Country began to pursue them, they left the Country and disguised themselves as ordinary villagers.

And Isolde was a child kidnapped as a baby to maintain the facade of such a Village.

After all, it was a village, and it would have been strange for there to be no kids.

Anyway, after that, Isolde's limbs were bound to prevent her escape, and she began to be used for the crimes of the Villagers... no, the Bandit Group.

She would be dragged along like a bundle when they stole something, then be Teleported away to escape after the theft was complete. Or she would provide *swift transport* of stolen high-end goods to the Black Market via Teleportation...

Sometimes she tried to resist because she hated such tasks, but then violence would inevitably follow. A Manifestor was just an unpleasant tool to the Bandit Group, no longer a Villager. Since she wasn't considered a person, they felt no compunction about how they treated her.

Naturally, her treatment was poor, and she grew up experiencing the pure malice of people for a long time.

She thought about escaping, but her limbs were almost always bound, so even if she Teleported, she would quickly be caught, and each time she would be starved for about three days.

But there was something the Villagers didn't know: that her abilities also grew with time.

The range gradually increased, and her difficult-to-control ability eventually became proficient enough to move only the handcuffs bound to her body separately.

After two years... She killed all the Bandit Group members who were once Villagers and escaped.

And after a few more years, she drifted into Lemegeton.

All she had experienced outside was the pure malice of people...

*Clang-!* Sword and spear clashed.

Isolde, who had been recounting her story as if pleading, was now swept up in emotion and began swinging her sword at me.

Tch.

Unlike before, I frowned at the sword she wielded. Had her Physical Ability increased as her Demon-person transformation progressed? That toothpick-like sword felt incredibly heavy.

It was as if she were burning the last of her life, with all her stats greatly enhanced.

As we clashed weapons, Isolde spoke again.

Do you know why I joined this group?

I saw her eyes gradually turning black.

It's the same for me. I can't stand those Demons. Why would I serve those who completely overturned my life? she growled.

I simply hate people even more than that. The fact that they unconditionally ostracize us just because we're considered ominous, and then live happily ever after, laughing and smiling, is utterly disgusting.

That's why I joined Lemegeton, so that the Kingdom they built would crumble and they would be left weeping on the streets. If I can just see those bastards suffer, I can die laughing.

Perhaps due to the Demon-person transformation, hatred overflowed in her inverted eyes. Her emotions had intensified with the transformation. As such, her words were fierce and aggressive... and equally sincere.

I felt a slight pang of pity even as I clashed weapons with her.

Of course, it was only a slight pity; I had no intention of leaving someone who had already crossed the line alone.

Clang-! Clang-clang-clang-! Weapons clashed, sparks flying. With every collision, my muscles screamed in fatigue.

Have the risks associated with her ability disappeared now? The randomly appearing Warp Gates were terrifying.

Still, she was manageable. The Gates weren't impossible to react to, and while her strength was a bit heavy, it wasn't enough to push me back.

If I were to unleash my Blood Force Art now, I might even seize victory completely.

But Isolde, now a Demon-person, wouldn't just stand there and take it. After a few more exchanges of blows, Isolde retreated with a frustrated expression.

You really are troublesome to deal with. No matter how much I try to stab you, there's no satisfaction... She laughed savagely and continued.

Right, then why not stab the *other* bitches?

What?

There was no time to stop her. As soon as she said that, she immediately moved towards the Extermination Squad. In terms of mobility, her Space Movement truly showed the strongest potential.

The same went for surprise attacks. She would stab people who had Teleported, killing them before they even realized, or use Warp to displace members of the Extermination Squad outside the Battlefield.

“Kiiirik!” “Kyaaaak!”

In between, she even opened a Passage to summon Imps that were lurking on the ground.

Thanks to this, the battlefield quickly turned into chaos. With just one additional person, the tide of battle was rapidly turning unfavorable.

Screams echoed regardless of formation, and as Imps charged, sacrificing their lives, the Extermination Squad gradually recoiled.

Damn it.

I urgently grabbed my weapon and threw myself down from the Altar. If I went down, the Mages would once again infuse mana into the Altar, but that wasn't the urgent matter then.

If things continued like this, the battle situation seemed likely to be overturned. Moreover, people dying at the hands of a Demon-person were a problem in itself.

A Manifestor who sold their soul was essentially a Demon Priest, a moving Altar. Dying by their hand directly empowered the Demons.

*Judging by the abilities she's using, the original Demon she's connected to must be quite formidable...*

Therefore, I decided not to hold back on using my abilities this time. Now that she was a Demon-person, there was no reason to go easy on her.

Whoosh-I coated my spear with blood, and kept some of it suspended in the air, ready for use at any moment.Then I immediately began to pursue her.

It didn't take long before I caught up to her. She was just about to attack my Companion, Im Haneul.

Mages were easy prey to Isolde, with her Teleportation ability. I immediately launched a Blood Mass behind Haneul.

The sharply formed blood deflected her Rapier.

*Clang!* It seemed Haneul only then realized she had been attacked. Startled, she looked at me. Perhaps because she flinched so much, Haneul's two large breasts swayed heavily.

“Yor?!”

“Give me some support.”

Instead of explaining, I briefly asked her. She then immediately began to apply a buff to me without a word.

Having built trust with each other was good in situations like this. We could achieve our goals immediately without much conversation. Isolde, who had already become a Demon-person, probably wouldn't understand this feeling.

You...

She glared at me and hid herself within a Gate. She had chosen to flee and disrupt the Battlefield instead of fighting me head-on. In that case, my job would naturally be to pursue her.

I amplified my Sense to its maximum and looked around. After all, the places she could emerge were limited to this battlefield.

Although the surroundings were quite noisy due to the battle, I had already hunted even a cunning jaguar cub in The Depths once. Even if it was a bit difficult, I should be able to detect Isolde's presence.

Many presences could be felt around me: the subtle flow of air, the heated warmth of the surroundings, and the undeniable killing intent hidden within.

*Whoosh-!* I immediately ran towards the place where I felt the strongest killing intent. I saw her thrusting her Rapier, as expected.

I launched an attack at her without hesitation. This attack was a Javelin Throw, a technique I had always used when hunting fleeing prey since childhood. It was equally skillful and efficient.

Thwack-!* A sound like a Ballista firing echoed, and the Ink-black Spear flew fiercely. Perhaps she hadn't expected me to find her so quickly, but this time her reaction was inevitably slow. The sharp spearhead embedded itself deeply in her side.

Ugh!

Seeing that, I quietly cheered inwardly.

Got her.

It was clearly a fatal wound. This wound would make it much easier to capture her.

The end was drawing near, not just for Isolde, but for this entire Battlefield.

The tide of battle had momentarily turned due to Isolde, but it wouldn't be long before we regained the upper hand.

I gradually became certain that the end of this battle would be our victory.