Chapter 341: The Useless Epaulets

Deon decided the epaulets on his shoulders were useless and ripped them off, tossing them aside. He wasn’t affiliated with the Demon King’s castle anymore, or anything at all. If even charms were worthless, there was no reason to keep wearing these.

The Hero started walking.

Glass shards crunched and crackled under his relentless steps. When he felt the distance close enough, the Demon King, whose demeanor had shifted at some point, smiled at him. It was a smile completely different from any he’d seen before, more businesslike.

As if performing in a play, he began theatrically.

“Welcome, Hero, welcome with all my heart. I’m eager to answer your challenge at once, but before that, allow me to ask one thing. What is your name?”

‘Asking all sorts of nonsense now,’ Deon thought, looking at him with an absurd expression, as if being asked something obvious. Then, he remembered the Demon King’s lack of magic and answered.

“Deon Hart.”

“…Yes, Deon Hart.”

Hearing the familiar name, the Demon King’s expression softened slightly. Centering around his gently curving eyes, a smile as soft as spring sunlight bloomed across his face.

“You probably don’t realize how special you are.”

“…?”

“You’re the only Hero who has come to me remembering their own name. The previous Heroes were so consumed by their purpose of killing the Demon King that they forgot their own names, but you, hell-bent on killing me, haven’t forgotten yourself.”

That’s why I have expectations for you.

The Demon King swallowed the unspoken words and chuckled silently. Deon quietly watched his smile for a moment, then opened his mouth.

“…What’s your name?”

“My name is Kaber.”

Had he thought he would always be called ‘Demon King’ and forget his name?

To avoid being just another disposable tool wielded by the world, to distinguish myself from the previous Demon Kings, this is the name I gave myself. Demon King, Kaber, effortlessly spoke the name he had repeated to himself countless times in the darkness, so as not to forget himself.

A voice filled with amusement followed, as if finding the bold question both pleasing and endearing.

“Your former superior and boss, and your nemesis.”

The Hero lowered his stance. His muscles tensed, and the Demon King leisurely tightened his grip on the greatsword.

As the words continued, the laughter gradually faded from his voice. Finally, he whispered quietly.

“The strongest Demon King of all time, the one you must avenge yourself against.”

KWA-BANG!

Spear and greatsword collided.

***

The glass shards scattered on the floor were swept away by the shockwave. Pretty flowers were knocked flat or uprooted, and even trees tilted, exposing their roots.

The shockwave’s reach was wider than expected, and Ed, despite being far away, had to raise both arms to shield his face and struggle to stand his ground. Then, startled, he widened his eyes and nervously yanked the scruff of Hien’s neck, who was standing only three or four steps ahead of him.

THWACK! A wooden pillar embedded itself where Hien had been standing.

“What are you doing here!?”

“…!”

This damn incubus almost died right before his eyes. Startled, his voice naturally rose.

The person who had almost died was surprisingly calm. Hien glanced at Ed once, then turned his head back to watch the Hero and Demon King clashing fiercely.

“…The battle between the Hero and the Demon King is a tradition that all demons in the Demon King’s castle must witness.”

Almost all demons had gone to the battlefield, and this battle had begun without any formal procedures or even properly informing the demons within the Demon King’s castle. There were no demons watching, but originally, that was the tradition.

Besides…

“Especially since this Hero is a special existence, it’s only right to watch.”

Because it was the battle between Deon Hart and the Lord Demon King, no less.

He couldn’t pinpoint who he was rooting for. Even he didn’t know who he was supporting, so Hien chose to watch, prepared to accept whatever outcome.

Perhaps Ed-nim was the same.

“Isn’t that why Ed-nim is here too?”

“…It’s also because I kept a safe distance…!”

“I just didn’t expect the range to reach this far. Did Ed-nim foresee it?”

“…”

Ed didn’t answer and, still holding Hien by the scruff of his neck, turned his head to look at Ben, who had approached sometime ago. The incubus was suddenly thrust in front of the physician, who had been anxiously watching the clash between the Hero and the Demon King.

“Hey, you, you shielded this guy before, right? Check if he’s hurt anywhere and take care of him.”

“What nonsense are you spouting now… Don’t you know I’m a valuable asset?”

“If you saved him once, you have to take responsibility.”

Once, Ed had tried to kill Hien, and Ben had stopped him. It was because Deon-nim valued him in his own way, but in any case, Ben was the one who saved him.

So, he had to take responsibility. Ed wore a brazen expression.

Ben, who had been glaring at him as if about to explode in anger, paused—glancing back and forth between the battlefield and Ed, then sighed deeply.

“Bring him here.”

It must be unsettling enough to watch the battle between his former superior and the Lord Demon King. There was no need to add more to his worries.

I’ll let it slide this time. Ben spun Hien, who was standing before him, around with a disgruntled look.

“For now, it doesn’t seem like he’s hurt anywhere…”

“Y-Yes… Yes, I’m fine.”

“Then let’s go over there and watch. Ed, don’t stand there blankly and get caught up in it for no reason.”

“…Who’s blankly staring and foolish.”

Ed grumbled but moved to the spot Ben pointed to. Ben glanced at Hien, signaling him to follow, and started walking.

The place they arrived at was a high ground suitable for watching the two beings’ battle without any obstructions in their view.

Hien, discreetly and quietly sitting down in his spot, watched the intense battle between the two beings and mumbled to himself.

“It’s a fight between the strongest in the world…”

“…That’s not wrong.”

Why does it feel somewhat off?

Lost in subtle confusion for a moment, Ed’s expression hardened as he felt the faint shockwave reach him again and looked in one direction. It seemed the spear shaft had been cut by the greatsword; Deon Hart was wielding a shortened spear.

No, that was a moment ago. Now it was a bow.

…No, a dagger.

‘…The weapon changes without a break.’

Weapons changed every blink of an eye. Without any preamble, the Hero was holding a different weapon as soon as he came to his senses.

‘And the Lord Demon King, parrying and countering them, is also amazing.’

He had wondered if the Demon King could even be a match without magic, but that was a useless thought.

Looking back at the past, even when facing the previous Hero, he hadn’t particularly used magic.

The time he had lived was not something to be ignored. It was absurd to think that he hadn’t spent any of that time honing his weapon skills.

‘As a demon of the Demon King’s castle, I should be happy, but…’

He couldn’t bring himself to do so.

Ed watched the battle with a complicated expression, neither happy nor sad.

***

The situation remained balanced.

Deon Hart moved uninhibitedly, already accustomed to the blood hindering his movements. He carefully chose the timing for techniques that surpassed the limits of his physical body, needing a one-second gap for recovery after use, but he wasn’t exactly frugal with them.

Evading the swinging greatsword, he retreated and thrust the spear, gripping it as far back on the handle as possible, aiming for an opening. The Demon King evaded it, and before he could seize the weapon, Deon quickly retracted it… but the attempt to grab was a feint. In that moment, the Demon King changed the greatsword’s direction, cutting the spear shaft. As a result, the Hero threw the shaftless part like a javelin, then, using the Demon King’s parry as an opening, took a step forward, snatched the part with the spearhead before it hit the ground, and thrust upwards.

When the Demon King tilted his head to avoid the attack, the Hero, without hesitation, released the severed spear, already leaping backward, nocking an arrow on his bowstring and drawing it.

“…Ha.”

To a short laugh that was a mix of admiration and amusement, three arrows were simultaneously shot towards the Demon King.

The Demon King snatched the short spear the Hero had discarded in his left hand and swung it to deflect the arrows. Then, he drew back his left arm and hurled the useless weapon at the Hero. Despite having a physique no different from a human, the Demon King’s power and speed were truly destructive, befitting his title.

WHOOSH!

The spear pierced the spot where the Hero had been almost simultaneously as it was thrown, but the Hero was no longer there.

Four daggers flew in quick succession.

‘…This is really…’

The best.

KA-GANG! Even though it was just a simple throw and not a direct clash, the heavy weight of the greatsword deflecting them was palpable. The Demon King laughed wholeheartedly, gripping the still-vibrating weapon.

‘Spearmanship I taught, archery I taught.’

Someone who has reached the pinnacle of weapon skills was now using what he had taught to kill the one who taught him.

This fact was so absurd and delightful that laughter kept escaping him.

The Demon King moved a few steps, then planted the greatsword beside him, picked up the daggers scattered on the ground, and, without straightening his upper body, twisted his torso and threw them. The Hero, who had been rapidly closing the distance, instead of slowing down, pulled out a shield from behind his back and charged forward, blocking.

‘Shieldmanship is also something I taught.’

He retreated, dodging the sharp edge of the shield trying to strike him sideways. In the process, he didn’t forget to retrieve the greatsword he had planted in the ground.

To parry the shield or at least lower it, he aimed the greatsword at the shield, slashing down from the upper right to the lower left.

KWA-BANG!

The shield momentarily lost its position due to the considerable force. Instead of forcefully raising the shield that had been deflected downwards, the Hero cleanly released it and drew a long sword from his waist, slashing upwards.

Despite leaning back to evade, he seemed to be slightly late; a thin red line appeared on the Demon King’s chin.

‘This is… strangely mixed with Jaykar’s swordsmanship, it seems.’

It didn’t seem to be purely Jaykar’s. The core was occupied by a completely different kind of swordsmanship. It seemed he had learned Jaykar’s swordsmanship while sparring with him, on top of his existing skills.

…Well, it didn’t matter anyway.

‘Not being attached to weapons is good, but discarding them so easily is also troublesome.’

Did I not teach him this?

The Demon King seized the shield the Hero had dropped, pushed away the Hero’s sword as if parrying it, and immediately swung the greatsword. The opponent leaned back to evade, then braced his hand on the ground, using his leg to feint a kick at his chin as a diversion, creating some distance, and then pushing off with his crouched legs to jump back even further.

The greatsword slashed through the spot where he had been just a moment ago, and under the white moonlight, hair whiter than the moon itself scattered.

“…”

The severed hair tie fell with a soft thud.

The loose hair flew around wildly with the sudden movement, obscuring his vision. As he was in the middle of observing the situation, calculating, and responding, the Hero, momentarily unable to see the situation clearly, reflexively halted his movements.

The Demon King wouldn’t miss that brief opening.

Chasing after the Hero who was belatedly retreating, the Demon King swung his weapon. The Hero barely dodged the first attack, but a cut appeared on his cheek.

At least he saw this much.

The problem was the dagger the Demon King kicked up and sent flying during the attack.

‘See, you shouldn’t carelessly discard weapons on the ground.’

As if he hadn’t seen it, red pupils widened as he belatedly discovered the dagger right in front of his nose.

It was too late to block, so he quickly twisted his head to avoid it, but…

CHWAAK!

Deon hurriedly covered his neck. It seemed fine at first glance, but before long, blood started seeping out between his fingers.

“…Damn it.”

From his neck, past his chin, to his temple. A deeper wound than he expected was etched.