Due to the cramped space, the magic energy flowing from the sealed cabin was intensely nerve-wracking. Behind Julian, a grotesquely twisted demon was visible.
Linne had seen many creatures, but this was her first encounter with a demon so vile and repulsive. Moreover, the demon had two horns on its head.
“It’s a two-horned demon.”
This meant that the demon was powerful enough to tear apart an ordinary person in an instant.
However, Linne was not particularly frightened. Although her ‘aura’ was not yet fully developed and held her back somewhat, she had strong allies right by her side.
“It’s just a ‘two-horned’ demon,” Julian remarked, his gently curved eyes sharpening further.
Was he pleased to encounter the demon, or was it confidence that this level of threat was not enough to challenge him?
Ssshh.
With a short chuckle, Julian drew his sword made from ‘moonstone,’ and Linne’s sense of relief became even more pronounced.
The master of demon slaying, an expert’s hands promised that the situation would somehow be resolved, and a small trust blossomed in her.
“A two-horned demon has stronger regenerative and physical capabilities than ordinary demons, making it a very dangerous foe,” Julian casually murmured as if scared of the ‘two-horned,’ but Linne knew.
She knew that this situation was not difficult for him at all.
“Crazy, it’s a two-horned demon.”
***
Facing the demon before me, I inwardly cursed. Though I had used some tricks, I had experience capturing a ‘three-horned’ class demon. Based on that experience, defeating a two-horned demon should not feel difficult.
Considering the location…
We are inside a moving train. It was an emergency situation that required an abrupt stop, but this train can only decelerate when it enters a station, unless interfered with ‘externally.’
And that ‘external’ interference would be if this demon caused havoc leading to a derailment.
Grrr!
The demon groaned lowly, lifted its head, and began surveying its surroundings before its eyes met mine.
Its body was swollen, with pieces of the staff uniform of the Resonance Train terribly torn and hanging from it. It seems it used fake horns.
‘One of the staff was a member of the Dawn Society.’
Quickly identifying the demon’s true nature, I surveyed the cabin, which was relatively spacious compared to others.
One whole carriage was dedicated to VVIPs. In a corner, Ulysses, covered in blood, was trembling.
Seeing him, a wave of negative thoughts flashed through my mind.
Ugh.
Though I am only temporarily in charge…
-‘As the captain of the royal guard, what have you actually done?’
The chief of staff, Seden, would likely berate me and hold me accountable. A special disciplinary committee would be formed, and the council, already eager to rid themselves of a thorn in their side, would eagerly seize this opportunity to oust me.
‘I’m screwed.’
But still, it’s not too late.
Isn’t the prince still alive?
In order to overcome this situation even now, I infused mana into the Moonblade, and took a step forward.
‘I need to draw his attention to me.’
As the sword began to glow faintly, the demon’s gaze focused on me.
‘Good!’
Crack.
Once more, as the creature groaned and cocked its head in confusion, I quickly pushed off the ground to close the distance with the demon.
“Sir Julian! The demon’s blood and saliva contain poison!”
Damn! You should have told me that earlier.
Despite Ulysses’s urgent shout, I, resolved to act swiftly, couldn’t afford to stop.
I immediately slashed at the demon’s left leg, closing the distance.
The demon, larger than a whole Felkor, made it easy for the blade to reach.
Squeak!
Blood spurted from the demon’s skin where the Moonlight Sword had cut.
One might think, ‘It’s just some blood,’ but the problem was that the demon’s viscous blood scattered into the air and turned into steam.
‘This must be what Ulysses was talking about.’
It seems to be the type that oxidizes upon contact with air, a reaction that happens.
If that’s the case, being near that steam is dangerous.
Stepping back from where the air had turned purplish, I began to devise a plan.
‘This is the worst kind of demon in an enclosed space.’
I’m not panicked since this isn’t my first time seeing such a creature.
Although many strategies come to mind, it’s still difficult to deal with.
Typically, it’s advantageous to fight with the wind at one’s back, but here, not a breeze stirs.
“The demon’s blood seems to turn into a poisonous mist when it contacts the air.”
“That appears to be the case.”
I know.
“What should we do? If we kill it like this, the corpse will continue to emit toxic mist.”
As Linne said, even if we kill this demon, the toxic gas from its corpse will completely fill this carriage.
We could first handle it and then move Ulysses, but.
Leaving the gas unattended could lead to an explosion if there’s even a small flame, so we can’t just leave it be.
Is there a good solution? While pondering, something crossed my mind.
A scene I once saw on TV.
‘If leaving it is dangerous, then removing it is the answer.’
It’s fortunate that this carriage is at the very back.
“Miss Linne.”
“Yes?”
“Could you please move Prince Ulysses to the front carriage?”
“…Wouldn’t it be better to work together to take down the demon instead?”
“Is that the extent of your abilities?”
Smirk.
My smiling face, obviously clear without seeing.
“I’ll handle it myself, so please just follow my instructions.”
But Linne, usually different, was just staring at me blankly.
Is this not enough to convince?
Just as I was about to think of other persuasive words,
“Okay.”
Surprisingly, Linne readily agreed.
As she ran toward Ulysses, the demon’s eyes darted around and then focused on her.
Feeling this, I quickly extended my sword toward the core of the demon and swung it.
Of course, I didn’t think this would be enough to handle it, but the demon simply raised both hands and defended itself.
Thud!
Though it blocked the attack, it seems it couldn’t avoid getting injured.
Sizzle!
When the blood from the deep gash touched the Moonblade, it transformed into mist through a chemical reaction.
Originally, such a reaction could have damaged the blade, but the aura of the ‘Moonlight Sword’ prevented this.
‘That smell, really noxious.’
If I increase the wounds further, I’ll have to inhale plenty of that poisonous gas.
“Sir Julian, that’s enough!”
Just then, I heard Linne’s cry.
‘Good! From here…’
Concentrating mana in my right foot, I kicked the demon as if pushing it away.
An incredible combination of strength and aura.
Boom!
Thanks to that, the demon was pushed to the very back of the train.
“Grunt, growl.”
Naturally, the demon didn’t fall just from a kick, but that was enough.
“Move, Miss Linne.”
“Yes, yes!?”
“Move to the next car!”
Initially puzzled, Linne quickly followed me, supporting the prince as I dashed out.
“Scream!”
Then, the pushed demon roared loudly and started running toward us.
Thud thud thud.
It looked quite ferocious as it clumsily charged, knocking everything aside.
Seeing Prince Ulysses and Linne pass through the connection between the train cars, I swung my sword at the demon once again.
Thump!
The creature blocked again with its arm and retreated, but this attack was not meant to inflict a wound.
It was merely to buy time.
I then took a step back and jumped over to the next car.
The fierce face of the demon rushing as if to break down the door was getting closer.
“What are you planning to do, Sir Julian!”
Ignoring Linne’s urgent cry, I plunged my drawn sword into the train’s coupling.
Thunk.
The sword, enveloped in aura, penetrated easily, surpassing ordinary strength.
Now, I just need to cut this off.
“What are you trying to do now?!”
“It seems we need to do some sorting.”
“Are you thinking of detaching this car?
“It’s impossible! The coupling is made of magically treated steel……….”
<Remarkable Intuition>
<Insight>
Clang!
Contrary to Linne’s words, the steel coupling easily cracked.
Even if it was magically treated, Julian’s keen eyesight and traits allowed him to easily spot its weaknesses.
“Ugh.”
However, despite the clear crack, it was impossible to completely sever the connector.
“Look at that! As expected, it’s tough to cut through the connector with a sword… Huh?”
I began to channel ‘Sombra’ into the Moonblade.
‘If it’s lacking, I’ll have to fill it up.’
The insufficient power could be compensated by using the recoil between ‘Sombra’ and the Moonblade.
Crack!
Once again, with the sound of breaking, the connector was completely severed.
‘Farewell,’ I thought as I looked at the demon, which then ran to the end of the train and leaped towards us.
‘What a long jump!’
Thump!
With one kick, the demon that was tumbling on the ground soon roared at us.
“Scream!”
It tried to jump but, being just a demon, it couldn’t keep up with the speed of the train and soon disappeared into a dot.
Watching this series of actions, Linne stared at me blankly, then looked at the receding VIP car.
“But what about the detached carriage? The Mage Tower could hold us responsible.”
The head of the Resonance Train is the notoriously fastidious Mage Tower. Because of this, Linne looked worried.
“That will be handled by the all-powerful Little Sun of the Empire, Prince Ulysses.”
What will the Mage Tower do? We have the royal family behind us now.
***
Upon arriving at our destination, the border city of Berniden, the busy appearance of the station caught my eye.
Apparently, the visit by the Fourth Prince, along with the loss of a carriage, had brought the officials running.
“Prince Ulysses, are you all right!?”
“Look at this wound! What was the captain of the guard doing?”
Officials, angry about the prince’s injury, began to attack me using his royal presence as a shield.
It seems they hadn’t thought about the consequences.
I’m Julian.
“Stop, it was my own doing.”
“But Prince Ulysses…………”
“I wanted to sort out my thoughts alone, so I kept the captain of the guard in another car. That was my mistake.”
“Still, they should have anticipated this attack and prepared!”
Clomp clomp.
As I approached, the noble raising his voice couldn’t continue.
“Now, in front of whom are you raising your voice?”
“No, I was just….”
“That’s disrespectful. Your words and actions were against the will of Prince Ulysses… no, the royal family.”
Clatter!
Slowly, as I moved my hand towards the sheath at my waist, the air around us grew heavy.
The Smiling Executioner.
Even without a system, many know the name and what happens when he invokes the name of the ‘royal family.’
“How about we stop this, Sir Julian?”
Before anything could happen, Ulysses intervened to mediate.
Naturally, I had no intention of drawing my sword here. This was just a performance for my future self.
“Yes, I apologize, Prince Ulysses.”
After bowing politely, I glanced at the noble who had been raising his voice.
“The position of ‘Emperor’ in the Adratan Empire does not question gender but demands the nobility of blood. Hence, Ulysses, who has not only three brothers but also four sisters, is far from the line of succession to the throne. Nonetheless, the nobility of his blood does not fade. Under normal circumstances, the original ‘Julian’ would have been pleased to have a reason to celebrate. But I’m not a lunatic. Absolutely not.
Despite being wounded, Ulysses’s resolve to head to the Holy Nation did not waver; he refused to give up until the end, primarily for his own foundation. It was a matter of life and death, so he seemed unwilling to give up.
“Sir Julian, thank you for your hard work.”
“Yes.”
“We have arrested the attackers who raided the train.”
While looking around the station, members of the ‘Closed Eyes’ stationed in the border town approached. They had already apprehended members of the Dawn Society who had raided the train with the border guards.
“By any chance, was there one bald, large-built guy among the attackers?”
I specifically mentioned Felkor among them. A member of the Closed Eyes nodded first in response to my question.
“Yes, there is.”
“Then, please just release that person.”
“…What? Is there a reason?”
The member asked as if perplexed by my statement. Just do as I say. I have my reasons.
***
Felkor, a former member of the Azure Lion Knights, rubbed the wound he had previously received from Julian, which was throbbing painfully. He knew why this particular wound throbbed unusually; the person who had inflicted it was walking right in front of him.
“Ugh…”
Felkor looked at his arm. Handcuffs meant to restrain criminals bound his wrists. Having only ever used them, but never experienced them himself, Felkor felt a cold sweat running down his back due to the tension.
“How far do you plan to go!”
“Keep quiet.”
Despite his complaints, Julian did nothing but tell him to be quiet and gave no other response. There was no chance of escape. His hands were tied, and Julian was superior in both mana and physical abilities. He was still alive due to Julian’s whims, but upsetting him could really result in his head disappearing from his neck.
“Look, Julian. I don’t even know why Aidan gave such an order! After Alphas died, my position in the order became ambiguous……………”
“Is that so?”
Even as he confessed past events, Julian seemed uninterested.
How many minutes had passed? As they moved far enough from the border city of Berniden that its lights no longer illuminated the night, Julian muttered to himself.
“This should be good.”
Click.
Julian unlocked Felkor’s handcuffs.
“Huh?”
With a dumbfounded expression, he looked at Julian.
‘What’s his motive?’
Felkor, looking at him for a moment, tentatively poked at the idea.
“So, that’s it. You brought me all the way here to release me! After all, there would be too many prying eyes if you did it in the city!”
“Heh.”
Instead of a reply, Julian just showed a brief chuckle.
“Well, considering how much I know, it would be troublesome for you if I got caught! After all, you belong to the ‘Closed Eyes’ of the royal institution…. Huh?”
Click.
Interrupting Felkor’s rambling, Julian handed him a stick he was holding. It was a dark night with no visible light, so Felkor couldn’t make out its shape well, but upon closer inspection, he began to discern its contours.
Is this… a shovel?
“Julian! Why are you giving this to me?”
“Do you not know the purpose of a shovel?”
Though smiling as usual, there was something blatantly foolish in the tone that slightly angered Felkor.
“To dig up, or to bury something………….”
To bury something.
The ‘something’ that could be filled in was endless.
“You seem to know well. So, will you dig? Make it wide and large.”
Grinning.
Unlike Julian, who was smiling, Felkor’s face turned pale.
‘Am I to dig my own grave…?’
Cliche Novel 