LIGHTNOVELWORLD The long battle was coming to an end.
The elite soldiers of the Demon Army, who resisted until the very last, were ultimately silenced by Wip’s Void Monsters. Not a single one was left standing.
In the process, four Void Monsters sustained serious injuries, but it was nothing to worry about.
I didn’t even need to step in, as Wip was planning to inject Void Power later to heal them.
Meanwhile, Yao’s fierce battle with the Giant Demon General also reached its conclusion.
“Guuuh…”
A massive blue spear was lodged in the giant’s enormous head.
That was the final strike thrown with Yao’s desperate strength.
Had it missed, our top Holy Knight might have been flattened under the giant’s foot. It was a real close call.
Kuwuuuuung!
Finally, the General toppled forward, causing a tremendous earthquake accompanied by a loud noise.
Feeling completely drained, Yao hurriedly jumped away towards me.
“Uaaah…”
“Oh dear. Are you alright?”
Kim Ji-yeon, who had been standing around blankly, supported the fallen rookie Holy Knight to help him up.
Barely surviving, Yao glanced back at the downed giant for a moment before turning to me and shouting.
“I did it!!”
A shout more thunderous than ever before.
Having defeated an opponent far beyond her level, she was in a state of great excitement. She even danced around, hugging Kim Ji-yeon joyfully.
Seeing her so blissfully happy, I refrained from mentioning the red truth that she would have been utterly defeated long ago had it not been for Kim Ji-yeon’s abilities.
Anyway.
With Yao having taken down the Giant Demon General, there was only one battle left.
A match between Reeve, who could now exert her full power, and General Ko something, who had stepped into the realm of Demigods.
It was easy to predict who would win. The tides of battle had already fully turned.
“Let’s see you try to be pitiful again!”
Reeve continuously hammered the muscle-bound body of the demon with her pure white battle hammer.
With each strike, the General’s momentum was chopped away chunk by chunk.
He was getting beaten without even managing a small counterattack.
Though he barely held on as a Demigod, it seemed like that wouldn’t last much longer. His whole body was in tatters, and he struggled to stand properly now.
– Although the data is insufficient to be certain, it is estimated that the candidate Saint can fight at least Level 22.
Listening intently to Witness’s analysis, I nodded along.
‘So it really was a Demigod.’
Reeve had surpassed the barrier of a superhuman.
It wasn’t shocking. She was a superhuman at the level of Kelaout, even in the disconnected state.
She had displayed incredible prowess with just her own body, and now, reunited with divine powers, she was showing truly transcendent martial strength.
The General Ko whatever was indeed a formidable opponent, but he was no match for Reeve. He felt like an adult up against a child.
“It’s over now.”
Confident of our candidate Saint’s victory, I took a moment to survey the battlefield.
The battlefield was littered with piles of bones and the corpses of the Demon Army, creating puddles of blood. It was a scene reminiscent of hell itself.
My face naturally contorted.
I had gotten used to such sights through the adventures of the Hero Party, so it didn’t make me nauseous.
However, the repulsion crawled up my throat and formed a bitter smile on my lips. After all, it had resulted in a large-scale massacre.
Though they were enemies and demons, it was hard to consider slaughter a just and righteous means.
Given the circumstances, we had resorted to such violent methods this time, but next time, I would resolve matters in a more humane way.
For someone like me, especially the Pope, I certainly had to.
‘Oh warm Sun, guide the souls of those poor beings who had no choice but to live overtaken by evil into the next life through your gentle sunlight.’
While I silently prayed for their rest, I spoke otherwise.
“What a splendid sight. What do you think?”
I threw a question in line with the concept of the demons being wicked enough to frighten even their own kind, to which various responses came back.
More precisely, a variety of expressions based on the emotion of ‘dismay’ poured in.
[King of Slaughter]: What do you mean? Of course, it’s terrifying…
[Daughter of the Queen]: Truly, it is the Demon Lord!!!
[Infernal Siege Master]: The vision has vanished.
[Evil God Hater]: A more wretched being than an Evil God.
[Betrayal Enthusiast]: I did want to see the Great Demon fall…
[Despair Addict]: Is he really the Demon Lord?
[Shattered Glass Field]: I never thought I would feel sorry for the Great Demon.
The chat was filled with comments that all felt quite satisfying. Their visceral disdain meant that my performance was quite commendable.
“You all are truly pitiful in such a diverse manner.”
As I strolled while putting on a method performance devoid of sincerity, it was about time to enter the final stage of the demon realm expedition.
“White Tiger.”
I quietly called out its name as I approached a small hill near the battlefield, and a baby tiger that had hidden inside a pile of skulls popped out.
It then came up to me and sat down obediently, looking at me with bright, shining eyes.
As if it knew what I was about to say, White Tiger was already fidgeting excitedly.
Too cute. I gave the little Void Monster a gentle pat on the head, then spoke.
“You may eat.”
As soon as the command was given, White Tiger darted off and bit into the body of a demon, sucking away its essence and poison.
Gulp gulp.
The joyous sound of drinking a delicious beverage began to echo through the now quiet battlefield.
Was it shocked by the sight? The demon viewers showed yet another wave of intense rejection.
[One Crummy Ore from the Red Flesh Point]
– Ugh, damn it.
[One Hundred Useful Ones from Abduction Lover]
– Please, stop showing me that… it’s making me sick…
[One Crummy Ore from King of Slaughter]
– Uweeeeck.
It seemed like the scene of White Tiger absorbing a dead demon’s essence and poison was quite grotesque to them.
Indeed, I would have felt nauseous too if I had witnessed a Void Monster sucking the blood and flesh of a human.
“You all are so weak. Are you really demons? Or are you goblins in disguise?”
Mocking them so politely, I watched White Tiger as it feasted.
Thanks to that, the chatroom descended into a maelstrom of chaos and fear, but I paid no mind as I captured the small Void Monster scurrying about on the broadcast screen.
“Look, the next meal is a giant.”
After cheerfully running around, White Tiger approached the little finger of the giant General that had just been struck down by Yao’s spear.
The size difference was like a speck of white dust caught in a fingernail.
However, for a Void Monster with an insatiable desire to grow, the remains of the giant were merely a mouth-watering meal.
Grrr…
Then, with a strange sound, the body of the Giant General slowly shrank. The corpse that had seemed as massive as a mountain was gradually crumbling into a frail form.
On the other hand, White Tiger, which was devouring an immense amount of energy, showed no noticeable change in its small body.
Was it being digested in real-time? The speed was astounding.
“Having feasted so much, it should grow by now.”
Just as anticipated, White Tiger’s body was surrounded by Void Power. And unlike before, the transformation took a considerably long time to complete.
Exuding an unusual majesty, it underwent extended growth.
Meanwhile, Reeve dragged in General Ko something, whose limbs were all twisted.
“I kept him alive as you ordered.”
Reeve spoke in line with the setting of “a human brainwashed by a cruel demon,” bowing low.
I smiled contentedly and placed a hand on the Priestess’s head.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
After praising her efforts, I sat down near the General’s head and asked.
“Where is the Great Demon?”
“……”
No answer. Just as expected.
If he had answered readily, I would have been disappointed. He was the most loyal demon among his kin after all.
“If you won’t speak, then I have no choice.”
It was time for ‘demon realm style interrogation.’
“Reeve. Begin.”
“I will obey your command.”
Reeve, who answered politely, approached the General and stomped down with her heavy foot.
Then she gathered Sacred Power in her hand.
This was a far cry from the calm and pure energy I had witnessed when the bond of souls had been formed.
Instead, it was a purple Sacred Power that could not be clearly defined in nature.
It definitely felt like Heavenly Level energy, but it carried a light and loose atmosphere rather than a holy nobility.
Perhaps because of that.
While Reeve seemed like a noble Holy Knight as she swung the hammer earlier, now she appeared more like a mischievous trickster.
Soon, the purple energy coalescing in her palm took on a definite shape.
A sharp awl.
It wasn’t particularly difficult to obtain; a common tool.
However, it was sacred.
Just a simple awl, yet it contained an unsettlingly high class of dignity.
“Hey, General. Do you know what this is?”
Reeve pretended to throw the awl into the air and caught it, flashing a feigned malevolent smile.
“It’s the power of chaos, the ‘Gender-Bending Awl.’”
“……?”
The General, tensed and listening, blinked in confusion, as if asking what this was.
At the same time, a wave of question marks flooded the chat.
Regardless, Reeve, with her cunning eyes shining, continued.
“Curious about what it does? If you get stabbed by this awl, your gender changes. To whatever form the wielder desires.”
“…….”
Only then did I realize the candidate Saint’s intentions.
“If you don’t immediately disclose the location of the Great Demon, I will remove those splendid muscles of yours and turn you into a delicate girl.”
It was a terrifying threat.