Raising A Hero – Chapter 72

Ch 72: Demon Genevy.

Whoosh , the axe brushed past Ji-hyuk’s lowered head. Simultaneously, Ji-hyuk twisted his body, dodging two spears that aimed for his side. Lastly, he deflected a sharp mace, presumably from the figure of Hero Reig, with his sword.

The demon’s onslaught continued. Everything from their bodies to their weapons was made of a viscous substance, so even allowing a single attack carried the risk of being hit by paralysis poison.

They relentlessly swung their weapons. Ji-hyuk dodged the attacks, looking for an opportunity to counterattack. Then, he quickly slashed the relatively slow axe-wielding demon’s torso with his holy sword.

—!!

Magical energy disappeared in clumps. However, it didn’t vanish entirely. Thanks to the immense magical energy accumulated until now, it seemed to have somehow maintained its form. But when Ji-hyuk swung the holy sword once more, the situation changed.

The axe-wielding demon’s body, split in two, crumbled and melted away. Of course, the demons weren’t just letting themselves get hit. A spear flew towards Ji-hyuk’s back, which looked like an opening, but the Hero, having anticipated the attack, spun his body halfway around, deflecting the spear sideways with his sword.

Demon Genevy was genuinely flustered by this. The demon wasn’t usually this strong. The demon, thinking that it could truly be defeated, gathered the viscous substance into a single mass again. And suddenly, it spread tentacles in all directions, dragging and swallowing monsters, one by one.

—!!!!

The monsters screamed. They were chewed and pulverized in the demon’s maw, turning into lumps of meat. And that made the demon even larger.

It changed its form again. …This time, it was a single being.

Ah—.

Ji-hyuk didn’t expect this demon to be able to embody that being.

It had the arms of a monkey, bat wings, the head of a lizard, and the torso of a lion.

Ji-hyuk immediately grasped its identity.

Demon King Kilkeroid—.

How dare a demon mimic the form of a Demon King without fear.

If the Demon King found out, it would be destroyed immediately, but since it was going to die anyway, it might as well struggle at the end.

━ Kuhahahaha

It laughed like a third-rate villain. It even mimicked the laughter perfectly.

Of course, it couldn’t exert the same power as the real Demon King. If that were possible, it wouldn’t be stuck in a remote area like this, but would have already occupied a district of the Demon Realm and become the real Demon King.

Still, to be honest, I was a little intimidated. No matter how skilled he was, it was impossible for him to go one-on-one with the Demon King in his current state. That was something that would only be possible in two or three years at the earliest.

The demon created giant axes in both hands. It was in the form of a Berserker. Ji-hyuk guessed that the owner of this demon might be Demon King Kilkeroid. Otherwise, it couldn’t have mimicked the form, the laughter, and the weapons so perfectly.

As soon as it held the axes, the demon began to slash at Ji-hyuk like a madman. It was indeed worthy of being called a Berserker.

However, through that attack, Ji-hyuk grasped the demon’s limitations. As he had guessed, it seemed to copy the form but not the power. The attack was too pathetic to be a Demon King’s attack. If the demon was the real Demon King, Ji-hyuk would have already sustained a major, critical injury somewhere.

Of course, that didn’t mean he could simply ignore it. It was weaker than the Demon King, but still, it was a demon. And getting hit by those axes meant receiving a critical injury.

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bangㅡ.

It was an overwhelming attack. Even the monsters were startled and retreated.

The team members were also shocked. Even if he was the Captain, there was no guarantee that they could survive such an attack.

The frantic Ya-el raised the brightness of the sphere with all her might.

ㅡ!!!

The demon, annoyed by it, threw one of the axes it was holding at the magician with force. Gid quickly blocked it with his shield. However, the shield was instantly shattered by the impact of the incoming axe, and his arm was also severed. He sustained a large wound on his face as well.

“Aaaahㅡ!!!”

Blood spurted out like a fountain. The monsters seized the opportunity and charged again. Grendal blocked them, swinging his iron club.

“Gid, Gidㅡ!!”

Ya-el called out to the fallen Gid in surprise. Kayak, seeing this, shouted at the top of his voice.

“Healer, quick, healㅡ!!”

Gid, screaming, soon began to sag due to the paralysis poison. Only his mouth was still intact.

“S*it, d*mn it, what, I can’t move my body, I can’t move my body, you shtㅡ!!”

“Give him the heal quickly, hurryㅡ!”

Grace, panting heavily, ran to Gid and gave him the Heal. Mahushu quickly held up his severed arm to the joint. Fortunately, the arm reattached. However, the paralysis poison didn’t recover quickly.

As Gid was unable to fight, a gap was created in their force. The pressure on the front lines increased.

Grace, looking at the blood on her hands, trembled. The nightmare of that time came to mind. She was about to have an attack. But she was no longer going to avoid it and fight back. After all, there was nowhere left to run.

…Yes, if I die fighting, I die.

Strangely, when she thought that, her heart became a little lighter. The attack subsided. The fear that had been consuming her disappeared.

Her beloved lover had died. Her comrades had died. It wouldn’t be strange if she died. …Yes, she could die at any time. She had to be prepared to die.

Grace suddenly became calm. It was truly amazing. A feeling of enlightenment, so to speak. The team members even worried if she had gone crazy because she had suddenly become so quiet.

Fortunately, to everyone’s relief, she gave the Heal to the team members again. The minor wounds that had appeared in the meantime were healed again.

Gid, lying flat, screamed that he was going to die. Mahushu, unable to listen to him, kicked his body.

“Hey, shut up, it’s noisyㅡ!”

“S*it, I can’t move my bodyㅡ!”

“That’s why we’re struggling right nowㅡ!”

While the team members were in a commotion from a single axe blow, Ji-hyuk sliced the demon’s body several times with the Holy Sword.

The demon struggled. Bang, bang, bang, bangㅡ. The axes struck the ground like mad.

━ You rat, die, die, just dieㅡ!!!

It extended tentacles from its body to attack, but, truly, it didn’t get hit even once. The demon was about to go crazy now. How could he, a mere human, be manipulated so helplessly like this—!

It was impossible.

It was impossible.

He couldn’t believe it.

I am Demon Genevy. I am Genevy who can swallow everything in this worldㅡ!!

The demon struck down the axe with all its might. And at the perfect moment, it swung the tentacles as well. There was no escape for the demon, no matter how skilled it was.

…However,

A flashing flash drew a long trajectory. It split the tentacles and the demon’s torso.

━ Ah

Magical energy poured out like a leaky water pot.

━ Aaaaaaagh

The countless things it had devoured until now were instantly blown away.

The sword slashed down again.

━ Aaaaaagh

And slashed again.

━ Stop, stop, stooop!

The demon lost its fighting spirit at that moment. It was a being that only had a voracious appetite. There was no room for pride or tenacity.

It started to run away, turning its back. However, Ji-hyuk pursued it relentlessly, slashing and slashing.

As the demon lost its magical energy, the barrier began to disappear. The jet-black sky gradually turned blue. As the light appeared, the monsters began to writhe in agony.

Ji-hyuk momentarily sheathed his sword and looked up at the sky. The barrier soon disappeared completely.

…Ah…

The monsters began to flee, avoiding the light. The team members, who had been fighting frantically, were finally able to catch their breath.

Huff, huff, huff.

Their entire bodies were covered in blood and sweat. They collapsed to the floor, panting heavily. Mahushu simply lay on the floor. Even though her plump breasts were exposed through her torn clothes, she didn’t seem to care about being embarrassed.

Grace, too, lost strength in her legs and collapsed to the floor. Tears began to flow from her eyes without stopping.

Ah, aah—.

She sobbed. Grendal also sighed deeply and looked into the distance.

Of course, it wasn’t completely over yet. Ji-hyuk slowly moved to where the demon had fled. It was amusing that the demon had fled to a place like a ruined temple.

━ Stop, stop…!

It was huddled in a corner where the light didn’t reach, trembling.

Ji-hyuk felt nothing but displeasure, rather than pity.

He began to slash the demon with his Holy Sword.

—!!!!

The viscous substance gradually shrank. Soon, the sound disappeared. The demon soon completely vanished without a trace.

Huuu.

Ji-hyuk exhaled deeply and turned around, leaving the building and returning to his team members immediately.

He first checked the condition of Gid’s body, who was lying flat. He cried miserably, saying that his body wouldn’t move.

“Ca, Captain, am I going to live like this forever? Sht, am I not going to get an erection? Huh? Me, am I going to live as a eunuch for the rest of my life?”

“You.”

Ji-hyuk chuckled. Gid was really serious.

“Ah, Captain, I’m not kidding. What am I going to do? Huh? What am I going to do nowㅡ!”

“Don’t worry. It’s paralysis poison. You’ll be able to move in about half a day.”

The expression of the crying man brightened again. But there was more to come.

“But I wonder if I’ll be able to get an erection in the future.”

His face turned blue.

“Ca, Captain. Are you, are you scaring me? Right? Huh? I, is it really not going to work? Eh, eh, no way. Hehe, right? Tell me it’s not trueㅡ!!”

“Cut off your c*ck and live as a woman.”

“Captainㅡ!!”

“Just kidding, you bastard. …It’s okay. You’ll be fine.”

“That’s rightㅡ!” He exclaimed. Ya-el told Gid that she was grateful for him blocking the blow with his body.

“Hehe, Captain. Give me a generous allowance. Ah, I saved Ya-elㅡ!”

“Yes, well done. I’ll take good care of you.”

He grinned obscenely, not even knowing what kind of state he was in.

Ji-hyuk then approached Grace. She was sitting on the floor, her head bowed deeply. Her expression was like that of a lifeless doll. Tears were streaming down her eyes. It was a silent cry.

Ji-hyuk silently embraced Grace. There was nothing else he could do at the moment.

That was what revenge was originally about. It wasn’t as satisfying as one might think.

Then, Grendal slowly approached and bowed deeply towards Ji-hyuk.

“Thank you. Captain, you have fulfilled my lifelong wish. You are my benefactor.”

Ji-hyuk simply smiled and nodded lightly.

Ah, aahㅡ. Grace’s crying suddenly grew louder. She grabbed the Captain’s clothes tightly and wailed in his chest.

“Reig, Reig…!”

She called out the name of her dead former lover. As if she were about to let him go from her heart.

The team members approached them, one by one. Everyone was a mess. Ya-el was surprised to see Mahushu, who didn’t seem to be embarrassed at all, with her breasts hanging out, and quickly pulled up her top.

Soon, Grace stopped crying and apologized for showing a disgraceful appearance.

Ji-hyuk stood up. And, after looking over the exhausted team members, he nodded lightly.

“You all worked really hard. It was because you all firmly supported me from behind that I was able to kill the demon. …This is the work of all of you.”

Lizardman Kayak simply bowed his head deeply, as if he was sorry.

“Now, let’s pack up and leave. There’s no need to stay here any longer.”

The team members packed their luggage. Gid, who still couldn’t move, was carried on Grendal’s back.

“Sht, this feels a bit strange.”

“Why? Is your c*ck trembling?”

When Mahushu said that, everyone laughed.

They slowly left the city. Grace kept turning her head to look back. The city walls were gradually receding.

…Now, I’ll never come here again.

She took one last look at the place and turned her head, not looking back.

As the group passed over the ridge, the city disappeared from view forever.