Story of The Ancient Demon King!

Chapter 98 – Death Pours Down [Part-2]

The ice that covered the ground, made and filled with Yang’s overflowing mana, was shattered into pieces.

Even the wall of ice that Yang had built to catch the three beastmen shattered in the aftermath.

If it had not been for the solid walls that were said to be impregnable, the impact of the stomp would have shaken the surrounding area.

“…is worth mentioning.”

Yang was also amazed that the ice, which was filled with a great deal of mana, was broken so easily.

The three beastmen also reacted slightly, perhaps out of surprise.

“I was also an instructor of military martial arts. Though, I was naive and was not aware of true strength.”

His disappointment made his remarks sound condescending and harsh, and his eyes lit up with a cold light of murderous intent while his mana began rising.

“You thought the whip was all I was good at, didn’t you? I am quite good at hand to hand combat too. There’s no hope for you there. Though, I don’t blame you for being naive.“

He took another military martial arts stance…

“I am now the best knight in the world. I could kill thousands of men as it is.”

“You keep boasting. It’s becoming very boring to listen to it.”

Kelly’s mana swirled around him like a tornado, and he replied without a care in the world,

“…Too bad. It seems you don’t intend to join us. Then at least give me the strongest… strike you can!“

He leapt forward with extraordinary force and thrust out a fist filled with extraordinarily powerful mana.

“I don’t know what you mean anymore.”

“Gheebbuh!“

He gently held out his sword’s sheath, and used his sword to cut into Kelly’s abdomen.

Kelly’s fist was unable to hit Glass before Glass’s sword pierced into Kelly because of the difference in reach. It pierced quite deeply, partly because of the unnecessarily excessive mana and force Kelly charged in with.

“You ask me to follow you… and then try to hit me…”

“Hagaf!“

He pulled his sword back a little, and then pushed it back into Kelly.

“Gah, gah! …Noo, my stomach….!”

“….how ugly.”

Kelly rolled on the ground, clutching his stomach and writhing in agony.

Yang’s eyes were filled with disgust as he looked at the elderly man who was enduring a stomachache (1).

“You said you wanted to see me, but then you made fun of me for a long time and boasted that you’d grown wings. Since you don’t seem to have any particular aim… let’s move on to… Oh, yes, I know. I’d like you to stay with me for a little while before I tell you my story.“

The servant lightly held the sword at his waist and gripped the hilt.

“–”

There is a small, eerie and crisp sound.

“……”

A red line formed on Kelly’s neck, and blood seeped out.

The hot sensation made him reach for his neck as quickly as he could.

But the sword was drawn and swung again.

“The potency of one’s skills and techniques will not be destroyed by a slight increase in the opponent’s mana. In the end, any battle can be ended by cutting off the enemy’s neck. Put in a little more mana or force, and blood will spurt out and the enemy will be dead before you know it.“

A new line of blood formed on the back of Kelly’s hand.

“You can do stuff like this easily, even with just a small amount of mana. I do admit it doesn’t work on truly strong people, though.“

It could be seen with a sidelong glance that the three beastmen and Yang were also thinly scratched.

A thin, dark, shadowlike stroke was sent flying from the sword wielded by the servant, grazing the body parts which Kelly and the others were trying to put strength into.

(…This is a happy miscalculation. I didn’t know the situation would be this severe. Then I’m ready to….) (2)

Prepared to die, the excited Kelly regained his determination to challenge the servant with everything he had, with all of his burning fighting spirit.

“Well, now that things have quieted down…. let’s move on to my story.”

However, the servant, whose mood had changed drastically, started to walk slowly.

As soon as his tone changed, he felt a chill, almost as if the temperature had suddenly dropped.

“Many of the kingdom’s knights have fallen, before I could get here.“

“…what are you talking about?”

The destination he was heading for was not Kelly and the others, who were pinned down, but rather the….

“Wounds from rapier-like weapons, claw marks, and corpses beaten to death with brute force.“

The three beastmen froze, not even daring to breathe…

“Some of them were killed by the usage of magic. But… what bothered me the most was that some of them were still breathing.”

“…why does it matter? It happens all the time on the battlefield.”

The servant looked up at the imposing, impregnable defensive walls, and said, “Many of the knights were dead by the time I came here. But, I recognized those who were alive since the people in the vicinity were trying their best to save them.“

It was a precious and noble sight, but one that he couldn’t witness for long because Erika had to be prioritized.

“That happens all the time. Although I don’t commend it. There are some knights that slow the group down, and its not possible to help them all the time. The overall strength of the force is reduced-”

“All of them had painful scars on their bodies, inflicted by some kind of whip. Wounds that were fatal, but just barely enough to keep them alive.“

“……”

The atmosphere visibly changed.

Although there was no particular change compared to before.

Sweat dripped on Kelly’s brow as he felt a sense of anxiety and danger, as if something mysterious was crawling unto him.

Kelly had restrained the strength of his whip to prevent the knights from dying immediately, since he wanted to witness their final struggle, their final whimpers as they headed for death.

He felt their final cries before death were the most artful.

“I don’t want you to answer. I don’t want to hear any of your reasons. If you tell me that you played around with them seeking entertainment, as a hobby… I really won’t be able to stand it.”

He tried to speak flatly, exuding a strong yet unusual atmosphere.

“They must have suffered. They must have felt disappointment. Above all the impending death must have been terrifying. That’s why…”

The servant turned around.

Deep dark eyes that seemed to pull one in caught the attention of Kelly and the others.

At the same time—-

A fist filled with fury slammed into the wall.

With a roar reminiscent of a lightning strike… the wall cracked.

The defensive wall, the wall that had been blocking invasions, screamed as it met with supernatural, unprecedented power.

A web of cracks carved themselves into the unbreachable barrier that was the pride of the kingdom.

The destructive force that was being transmitted knew no bounds, and it pierced through the topmost part of the wall like a branching thunderbolt.

“…You should experience it, too. You should experience an inescapable, impending death….”

Despair began.

“I don’t ask you to be sorry. Just stay right there.”

The servant announced inorganically, without looking away from them.

Taking his words as cue, the collapse began.

Shaking the ground itself, the walls slowly crumbled…..

“……”

“……”

Kelly and Yang’s eyes widened to their limit as they fell to their knees, facing this tremendous release of power.

Something like this was unimaginable for any being still living in the mortal realm.

How much force must be applied to this tall, thick structure before it crumbles like a piece of thin ice, without any resistance at all?

There was no trace of the mortality they had seen before. He displayed a callous, merciless temperament, like he was a king of demons who was in front of some winged insects.

On the other side, the three beastmen, who were supposed to be emotionless, were crumpled up on their sides, writhing desperately.

All they wanted was to escape. Their desire to escape was the only thing that filled their mind.

But they could not.

The servant’s mockery of worldly limits, and his pitch black gaze made them cower in fear, their body refusing to listen to them.

“I told you. Don’t cause trouble for others.”

“……”

Kelly, who now looked old and pale, nearly fainted at each step of the approaching incarnation of destruction.

Kelly’s mind, which was gripped by fear, couldn’t process what he was saying.

“……”

Even Mob, who had been watching from a distance, was horrified by the power of the Demon King, who was superior… to anything he had ever heard of before.

The gentle facade he usually had on was blown away, and what his face was filled with now was shock at the sheer power that this being possessed.

He felt as if his body was being drained of all heat.

This must be true fear.

“’This doesn’t belong to you. I’ll return it to its rightful owner.’ … I had told you that, hadn’t I?“

He gently took the ice sword from Yang’s unmoving hand.

“What…?”

He didn’t expect a servant he had never met before to say something like that.

Yang’s expression was strained, and his voice was understandably slurred.

“I guess you forgot. –I told you to tell me your name first the next time you meet me.“

His heart beat so fast that it ached.

Something in a servant’s disguise had uttered ‘the sentence’.

‘The sentence’ that brought back Yang’s worst memories.

His mind became completely empty due to sheer fear.

“My apprentice has taken care of you, hasn’t she?“

The ruthless demon king turned his back on the crumbling walls and walked away.

“I’m sorry to her, but she’ll have to give up on her revenge. You are done here. This time, you won’t have a ‘next time’.”

A huge mass of death poured from the collapsing wall.

An overwhelming mass loomed overhead.

In the strangely slowed time, he could not take his eyes off the scene until the last moment.

The three beastmen drowned in fear, and the sinful sank into despair.

(1) This was used for comedic effect, I guess? Or maybe I just misunderstood and ended up using the word ‘stomachache’ instead of ‘pain in the stomach.’

(2) This was something Kelly thought in his mind. I’ll be using () for the character’s internal thoughts.