Chapter 112: Omen (3)

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In this world, there existed foolish tribes who worshiped demons.

The black magicians who studied black magic were such, and so were the devotees of demon cults.

The worst among them were those who sold their souls and bodies as the price for gaining power.

They were beings who abandoned their humanity in pursuit of strength alone.

They were called Demon Humans and were defined as enemies of mankind who must be exterminated.

There was no way Gallon, once a priest, could fail to recognize the demonic energy of such Demon Humans.

He might struggle to distinguish the divine power of other religions, but demonic energy could be sensed even from a distance, just from a fragment of it.

After all, he had fought countless of them before entering NOX.

‘They were all monsters with strength beyond the ordinary.’

But the cost had been harsh.

Demon Humans were nothing more than toys for the demons.

If the demons lost interest or grew tired, they ended the contract and took away both soul and body.

To Gallon, who knew all of this, the ones before him looked unbearably foolish.

“Do you even know what you’ve done?”

“……”

At Gallon’s words, the man whose fist was locked with his gave a sly grin.

It was an attitude showing he cared nothing for such things.

‘Right, they were never worth pity in the first place.’

Gallon exhaled a short breath and opened his eyes fiercely.

If they had any sense, they would never have joined hands with demons.

They did not look to the future.

They fixed their gaze only on the shallow present before their eyes and burned everything they had.

They could not even imagine the dreadful torment that awaited them after death.

There was no way to undo a contract with a demon.

That would be nothing short of a miracle from God.

The only thing Gallon could do was swiftly erase these heretics from the world.

‘Shall I get a bit serious?’

Gallon’s lips moved.

No sound came out.

For the first time in ages, he recited the prayer of silence, awakening the divinity buried deep within his chest.

Tzuzuzuzuz.

Smoke began to rise from their clashing fists.

The Demon Human at the front widened his eyes at the pain searing from his knuckles and tried to retreat, but Gallon grinned and seized his wrist.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Whoosh!

In an instant, pure white flames swelled up and swallowed the Demon Human.

The skin and flesh tainted with demonic energy rotted and melted as if decaying, the bones dissolving until his very existence was erased.

This was the merciless price of selling one’s body to a demon.

It was judgment upon the foolishness of seeking a crooked power against the natural order.

“Oh.”

Six, who was watching Gallon’s fight while protecting Dirsen, let out a low exclamation.

He had just heard from Gallon himself that he had once been a priest.

He had not realized it when it was just words, but seeing him wield divine power with his own eyes made it sink in that he truly was a priest.

Flutter.

The body of the Demon Human Gallon had seized vanished completely.

Only his clothes remained neatly, while even the bones burned away until his existence was erased.

Gallon wore a chilling smile as he let the fallen clothes scatter to the ground.

“Who wants a taste of divine power?”

“……”

The Demon Humans, who had been calm all along, lowered their stance.

Two remained.

Thick demonic energy surged up from their bodies, wrapping around them like armor.

Gallon steadied his breath as he looked at them.

‘Have demon worshippers infiltrated Turgar? NOX’s investigation found no sign of it.’

Seeing that they had reached all the way to the Western Third Commercial District outside the capital, he thought their claws might be digging deeper than expected.

Black magicians and demon worshippers were, by their very nature, outcasts from society.

Through official routes, they would never dare step foot into the Imperial Capital.

But shadows like these were the perfect breeding ground for such filth.

All the more so because of Flick’s nature—no matter what happened, information was unlikely to leak outside.

Even if a demon or demonic beast hid its identity and coiled itself up here, it would not be easily noticed.

‘It seems the darkness of the Empire runs deeper than I thought.’

Gallon clenched his fist.

At that moment, the two remaining Demon Humans charged in from either side.

Swiish!

The weapons they swung were infused with writhing demonic energy.

A repulsive reaction surged, making his skin prickle.

Gallon moved, fueled by that revulsion and anger.

Thunk.

He struck away a descending blade with the back of his hand, then slammed a straight punch into the enemy’s chest.

He evaded the spear thrusting at his side by stepping forward and spinning his body on his axis.

Tak.

He grabbed the spear shaft and yanked it forward with force, then drove his fist into the opponent’s face.

Crunch.

The facial bones collapsed, and black blood sprayed out.

But because his body had been shielded with demonic energy, he did not burn to death instantly like the first one.

‘In terms of skill, I hold the advantage.’

Gallon shook his hand.

There was no need for Six to step in.

Even if they had gained power by joining hands with demons, Gallon had been building his strength purely since the past.

All the more so since he had received advice from his Master and honed his martial arts.

Clench.

Gallon thrust out his fist, assuming his fighting stance.

The raging flames of divinity gathered over his fist, burning proudly and illuminating the darkness.

‘There is no need to let either of them live.’

Those who joined hands with demons could never betray their will.

Even if captured, nothing could be extracted from them.

Therefore, the one he needed to target was the leader called Droon.

“……Kuh.”

Perhaps sensing the shift in the situation, Droon hesitated and glanced around nervously.

If necessary, he looked ready to abandon everything and run.

Meanwhile, the remaining subordinates began to conceal their presence and circle around.

It seemed clear they intended to strike directly at Dirsen once Gallon was distracted.

‘In a way, they were helping him.’

Since there was no chance Six would be defeated by such fools, Gallon could focus on pounding the Demon Humans without worry.

Along the way, he could also capture Droon, their leader.

Thud.

Gallon stomped the ground with force.

He had no intention of dragging the fight out.

The fact that Dirsen’s faction was under attack meant that Turgar had launched an all-out war.

NOX had already anticipated a situation like this, which was why they had mobilized.

With the possibility that other monstrous beings might appear, it was necessary to finish things quickly and rejoin the others.

Boom!

The clashing of a stabbing sword tip and Gallon’s fist unleashed a massive shockwave.

Gallon no longer held back his strength.

Determined to end the fight swiftly, he swung his fists with full force, overwhelming his opponent.

Crack.

The blade that collided with his fist cracked.

The Demon Human’s eyes widened at the surreal sight.

Gallon grinned and said.

“My fists are pretty tough. I trained hard just to crush bastards like you.”

Crash!

His fist slammed down again.

The already trembling blade shattered completely, and Gallon accelerated once more, closing into the Demon Human’s chest.

“Put more strength into it.”

“……!!”

Demonic energy gathered.

Like protective qi, it shielded the body, while the broken blade swung toward Gallon’s neck.

But before that, Gallon had already driven a straight punch into his chest.

Crunch.

With a heavy impact, divine power burst forth, tearing through the Demon Human’s body.

“Guaaaahhh!!!”

As the opposing force rampaged inside, his eyes rolled back and a tremendous scream burst out.

He soon vomited black blood and collapsed, lifeless.

A white flame surged and consumed the corpse completely.

“All that’s left……”

Swoosh!

Another Demon Human stomped the ground with force.

But this time, in the opposite direction from Gallon.

Seeing no chance in the fight, he was running away.

Gallon smirked and dashed after him.

“……!!”

The distance that had seemed wide closed in an instant, filling the Demon Human’s eyes with horror.

“Wa—wait…!”

“Shut up.”

Crunch.

The Demon Human’s head burst apart.

Before Gallon could even burn him with divine power, his contract with the demon was severed, and he reverted into nothing but a splash of blood.

Pat, pat.

Lightly brushing his hands off, Gallon lifted his head with a look of relief.

“Gallon, that one’s escaping.”

“Ah.”

In the meantime, Droon had slipped away, fleeing down an alley.

With Demon Humans stronger than himself having already fallen, there was no reason for him to stubbornly remain on the battlefield.

If he could capture Dirsen, he could use him as a hostage, but the slitted-eyed one standing next to him radiated a dangerous aura.

‘Damn it.’

Droon stomped the ground hard.

He had been promised a huge reward if he captured or killed Dirsen.

In fact, Turgar had tempted him with the promise of handing over this entire district along with Flick.

‘When that earlier ambush failed, I should have realized!’

The ones from NOX were monsters beyond imagination.

Where had such creatures suddenly appeared from?

The heart of the Empire’s underworld.

Could it be true that they had come from Pandemonium, as the rumors claimed?

‘First, I’ll get back to Flick.’

He would regroup with his subordinates and then buy time.

But that desperate wish did not come true.

Thud.

A heavy weight pressed down on the back of his head, slamming Droon face-first into the ground.

“Ku, ugh!”

He rolled across the floor, half-bouncing, before stopping and coughing up blood along with broken teeth.

From behind, Six, who had been butchering his subordinates, spoke calmly to Gallon.

“Gallon, if he loses teeth, his speech will sound strange and hard to understand.”

“It’s fine, I’ll heal him with divine power.”

“Ah, I see.”

Six was impressed.

Priests seemed convenient in many ways.

He could even say he had learned something from Gallon.

Early morning.

At Seolbaek’s arrival, Carl opened the window wide.

Unlike usual, the bird pecked noisily at the window with its beak, a sign that it carried urgent correspondence.

Chirp, chirp, chirp.

As expected, once Seolbaek entered the room, it gave the signal for a top-level letter and looked at Carl.

“Well done.”

Carl stroked Seolbaek’s head once, then checked the letter tied to its leg.

“Hm.”

Turgar, the second-in-command to Lahan who opposed Dirsen, had begun his full-scale movements.

In truth, considering their nature, it was remarkable they had restrained themselves this long.

In terms of overall balance, Turgar’s side held the advantage.

That was why, even though NOX had joined Dirsen, they had waited patiently.

If the tide of battle could shift simply because one group joined, the leadership would have already changed hands.

“……But they chose to take the gamble once the atmosphere shifted.”

Dirsen, led by NOX, had attempted an aggressive expansion of power.

When it looked like their strength was growing enough to rival Turgar’s, the latter moved to crush the sprout before it bloomed.

However, this situation too had been anticipated and prepared for by NOX.

The letter also reported their victory—that they had repelled Turgar’s attack without significant loss.

“So, Demon Humans, huh. Interesting.”

In the Central Plains, Demon Humans referred merely to the followers of the Heavenly Demon Cult.

They were those who worshiped the Heavenly Demon, the supreme being of the Demonic World.

But here, true demons and demon lords existed.

Those who made contracts with them and offered their souls for power were called Demon Humans.

It was even possible that Turgar himself had become their pawn.

Fwoosh.

Burning the letter to ashes with Sammae Fire, Carl stroked Seolbaek’s head again and murmured.

“……Things are going to get busy for a while.”

Of course, this was NOX’s opportunity.

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