Chapter 300: The Demon Who Terrified Vezrath

The stranger extended one hand toward Yuuta, slowly spreading his fingers as his smile widened across his youthful face.

"My prey..."

The moment those words left his mouth, Raven felt the atmosphere around the street change.

A tremendous demonic aura began rising from the stranger’s body, spreading across the ruined road with such density that Raven’s instincts immediately screamed at her to attack. She had encountered countless demons throughout her service in the Agency, enough to understand the difference between an ordinary soldier and something that deserved genuine caution, and the creature standing before them was unquestionably the latter.

This aura...

Raven narrowed her eyes beneath her crow mask. She couldn’t tell exactly how powerful he was yet, but the sheer amount of demonic energy surrounding him was enough to make one thing painfully obvious.

He’s no ordinary demon.

The Shadow Corps appeared to reach the same conclusion without needing an order. Every soldier tightened their formation around Yuuta and Elena, swords pointing toward the stranger while dark energy continued flowing through the defensive barrier surrounding them. Nobody rushed forward recklessly, but every member remained prepared to intercept him the instant he moved.

Yuuta watched everything from behind the formation with Elena held tightly against his chest. He knew almost nothing about measuring demonic power, and after tonight, he had learned better than to judge these creatures by their appearances. Still, even he couldn’t ignore the uncomfortable sensation spreading through his body whenever he looked at the stranger.

The strangest part was how young he appeared.

If Yuuta had encountered him somewhere peaceful, he might have assumed the boy was seventeen or perhaps slightly older. His face carried none of the grotesque features Yuuta had begun associating with demons tonight, and his relaxed posture made him look almost harmless from a distance. However, the moment Yuuta looked into those unnaturally black eyes, that illusion disappeared.

There was something deeply unsettling hidden inside them.

The stranger was smiling pleasantly, almost as though he had finally found someone he had been searching for, but his eyes carried an entirely different emotion. Yuuta couldn’t explain why, yet looking into them gave him the disturbing impression that this young man enjoyed blood far more than anyone should.

"Papa..."

Yuuta immediately lowered his gaze when he felt Elena trembling against him. Her little fingers had curled tightly into his shirt, and she had pressed herself so close against his chest that Yuuta could feel the frightened rhythm of her breathing.

"Elena...?"

"Papa, Elena is scared..." she whispered, refusing to take her crimson eyes away from the stranger.

Yuuta felt his chest tighten. He was frightened too, although he would never allow Elena to see it.

He adjusted Elena securely in his arms before gently placing one hand against the back of her head.

"Don’t worry. Papa is right here," Yuuta said, forcing a reassuring smile despite the exhaustion still weighing heavily on his body. "Your papa will protect you, okay?"

Elena looked at him for several seconds before giving a small nod.

She then buried her face against his chest, her hands refusing to release his shirt while Yuuta held her a little tighter.

Raven heard their conversation from ahead, but she didn’t dare turn around.

Her attention remained completely focused on the stranger as she slowly adjusted her stance, searching for even the slightest movement that might reveal what he intended to do.

"Shadow Corps, remain in formation," Raven ordered. "Whatever happens, nobody allows him to reach the Supreme Commander’s family."

"Yes, Captain!"

The stranger still didn’t react.

His extended hand slowly lowered to his side, but instead of preparing to attack, something unexpected happened. The interest that had filled his expression moments earlier appeared to disappear as his black eyes casually drifted away from Yuuta.

Raven noticed the change immediately.

At first, she assumed he was studying their formation and searching for an opening. Yet his gaze passed directly over the Shadow Corps, moved beyond Yuuta and Elena, and continued toward something farther behind them.

What is he looking at?

Raven tightened her grip on her sword.

Every instinct warned her not to follow his gaze and risk taking her attention away from him, especially when she still had no idea what kind of ability he possessed.

The stranger’s smile suddenly returned.

Then he disappeared.

Raven’s eyes widened beneath her mask as the place where he had been standing became completely empty.

There had been no burst of demonic energy, no distortion in the air and not even the smallest movement she could follow.

"What...?"

The Shadow Corps fell silent for only an instant before their training immediately took over. Several soldiers turned toward the surrounding rooftops while others searched the alleys and ruined buildings, maintaining their defensive formation around Yuuta and Elena rather than recklessly scattering across the street.

"Where did he go?"

"I didn’t see him move!"

"Check the rooftops!"

Yuuta stared at the empty road with disbelief.

His crimson eyes had been watching the stranger carefully, yet he hadn’t seen anything either. Even when Raven had moved earlier, Yuuta had at least understood that she had crossed the distance incredibly quickly, but this had been different.

The stranger had simply vanished.

Raven felt something cold crawl across the back of her neck.

Her body reacted before her thoughts could catch up. She spun around immediately, sword rising with her as her eyes searched behind their formation.

Then she froze.

The stranger was there.

He hadn’t appeared beside Yuuta.

He hadn’t attempted to take Elena, nor had he attacked any of the Shadow Corps protecting them.

Somehow, he had crossed their entire formation without a single soldier noticing and was now standing several meters behind them.

But he wasn’t looking at the Supreme Commander’s family anymore.

His attention was fixed entirely on someone else.

Poison Warden Vezrath remained slumped against the heavily dented car, his battered body still incapable of properly moving after Yuuta’s attack.

The wounded demon had already been trembling when the stranger first appeared, but now that the young man stood directly before him, whatever little composure remained on Vezrath’s face completely disappeared.

Raven slowly turned her sword toward them, but something about the scene stopped her from immediately giving the order to attack.

The same Poison Demon who had endured the destruction of his entire group and remained conscious while surrounded by Shadow Corps soldiers was now desperately pressing himself backward against the damaged car as though he wanted to crawl through the metal just to escape.

Vezrath’s breathing became increasingly uneven as his terrified eyes traveled upward.

The young man simply stood before him, smiling.

"Poison Bag."

The strangely casual nickname made Vezrath’s entire body stiffen. Whatever traces of poison had still been gathering around his trembling fingers vanished almost instantly, while the remaining color drained from his already pale face. He stared upward at the young demon as though the person standing before him frightened him far more than the entire Shadow Corps surrounding the street.

"L-Lord Zeri..."

Zeri tilted his head slightly. The playful smile on his face widened, almost as though he had just encountered an old acquaintance somewhere completely ordinary rather than finding a mutilated demon lying among corpses.

"Oh?" Zeri said with genuine amusement. "You remember me?"

Vezrath swallowed hard. His back remained pressed against the dented car, and although every instinct inside him seemed to be screaming for him to move away, his battered body refused to cooperate.

"H-How could I possibly forget you, my lord...?"

"Hmm..." Zeri stared at him for a moment before casually waving one hand. "Forget all those formalities. They’re boring."

Vezrath immediately nodded, but the relief he had hoped to feel never came. If anything, Zeri’s friendly behavior only made his fear worse.

Among demons, there were certain individuals whose anger could be understood. If they shouted, you knew they were furious. If they threatened you, you knew punishment was coming. There was at least something predictable about them.

Zeri wasn’t one of those demons.

That was exactly what terrified Vezrath.

Zeri lowered himself slightly and studied Vezrath’s ruined body with obvious curiosity. His eyes moved across the injuries left by Yuuta’s attacks, and rather than showing concern for another demon, his expression gradually became more excited.

"So tell me, Poison Bag..." Zeri asked. "Who did this to you?"

Vezrath hesitated.

"Who crippled you this badly?"

There was almost childish excitement in Zeri’s voice, as though he wasn’t asking about the person responsible for nearly killing one of his own kind but instead about someone who had done something genuinely impressive. That excitement only deepened the horror on Vezrath’s face.

He knew Lord Zeri.

Or, more accurately, he knew enough about him to understand that nobody could ever be certain what Zeri would do next. Among demons, his ruthlessness was frightening, but his unpredictability was worse. Something that amused him one moment could bore him the next, and Vezrath had absolutely no intention of gambling his life by giving him the wrong answer.

His trembling hand slowly rose.

Raven immediately noticed the movement and tightened her grip around her sword, but Vezrath wasn’t preparing an attack. His shaking finger passed beyond the Shadow Corps soldiers until it pointed directly toward the exhausted human standing inside their formation.

Yuuta.

"L-Lord Zeri..." Vezrath struggled to keep his voice steady. "That human did it."

For several seconds, Zeri said nothing.

Then his smile widened.

"Really?"

His head slowly turned toward Yuuta.

"Really...?"

The excitement in his voice became impossible to hide as his black eyes settled on Yuuta’s crimson ones. He looked Yuuta over from head to toe, taking in the damaged body, the exhausted expression and the little girl being held protectively against his chest.

"That red-eyed human can fight too..."

There was something disturbingly satisfied about the way Zeri said it.

Yuuta instinctively pulled Elena closer.

The Shadow Corps remained between them, but nobody moved to interrupt the conversation. Raven herself continued watching Zeri carefully, searching for an opportunity to understand what kind of demon they were facing before deciding whether attacking him would only make their situation worse.

Elena remained buried against Yuuta’s chest, and Yuuta gently kept one hand over the back of her head. He didn’t want her looking toward the demons anymore. His body was already exhausted beyond anything he had experienced before tonight, yet the strange pressure surrounding Zeri prevented him from relaxing even slightly.

Vezrath noticed Zeri’s attention had moved away from him and cautiously released the breath trapped inside his chest.

"Yes, Lord Zer—"

His words stopped.

Vezrath’s eyes widened.

For an instant, he couldn’t understand why his vision had suddenly changed. The ruined street appeared to tilt sideways, the damaged buildings spinning strangely across his sight as though the entire world had been overturned.

Then he saw his own body still sitting against the car.

His head was no longer attached to it.

"Huh...?"

Raven’s eyes widened beneath her mask.

Yuuta froze.

Nobody had seen Zeri move.

One moment, he had been looking toward Yuuta with that delighted expression. The next, Vezrath’s severed head was already resting casually in his hand, held by the hair as though it weighed absolutely nothing.

"Oops."

Zeri looked down at the head with mild surprise.

"Sorry."

Vezrath’s eyes were still moving. Confusion remained frozen across his face as his mouth opened weakly, his mind seemingly unable to understand that he had already been decapitated.

"Lor...d...?"

Zeri smiled.

Then his fingers tightened.

A sickening crack tore through the silent street as the demon’s head collapsed beneath Zeri’s grip. Yuuta’s eyes widened before he immediately turned Elena’s face completely against his chest, shielding her from the sight, while several Shadow Corps soldiers instinctively tightened their grip on their weapons.

Raven didn’t move.

For the first time since Zeri had appeared, she understood why Vezrath had been so terrified.

Zeri hadn’t killed him in anger.

There had been no accusation, no punishment and no argument between them. He had spoken to Vezrath almost playfully, asked his question, received the answer he wanted and then ended the demon’s life as casually as someone throwing away something they no longer needed.

What disturbed Raven most was that Zeri was still smiling.

Zeri casually shook the remains from his hand before slowly turning his black eyes back toward Yuuta.

The excitement from earlier had never disappeared.

Raven’s hesitation vanished the moment their eyes met.

"Shadow Corps! Combat formation!"

Her command thundered across the ruined street, and all forty members of the Shadow Corps reacted immediately. Whatever uneasiness Zeri’s casual murder had created was buried beneath years of training as the soldiers abandoned their previous defensive positions and rapidly reorganized themselves.

"Formation B!"

Dark figures scattered in every direction.

Several soldiers remained around Yuuta and Elena, forming the innermost defensive layer, while the others spread across the street and surrounding buildings. Boots struck broken pavement before disappearing into the darkness, and within seconds, Shadow Corps members occupied the rooftops, shattered windows, abandoned vehicles and every possible approach toward Yuuta.

Yuuta looked around in surprise.

He hadn’t realized there were forty of them.

Some had remained hidden throughout the entire confrontation, watching from rooftops and nearby structures without revealing themselves. Now all of them had emerged, and every weapon on the street was directed toward a single person.

Zeri.

Blades were raised from the ground while several specialized weapons took aim from the rooftops. Dark energy flowed between the soldiers closest to Yuuta, creating another protective layer around him and Elena, while Raven positioned herself at the front of the formation with her sword pointed directly toward Zeri.

Nobody intended to give him another opportunity to move unnoticed.

Yuuta instinctively stepped backward as the formation closed around him. Elena remained pressed tightly against his chest, her face hidden beneath his hand so she wouldn’t see what remained of Vezrath beside the damaged car.

"Papa..." Elena whispered.

"It’s okay," Yuuta answered quietly, although his eyes never left Zeri. "Stay close to me."

The reassurance sounded weaker than Yuuta wanted.

Zeri slowly looked around.

His black eyes moved toward the rooftops first, casually counting the Shadow Corps members aiming their weapons at him. Then he glanced toward those positioned along the street before finally looking at Raven standing between him and Yuuta.

Instead of becoming cautious, his smile widened.

"Oh, my..."

Raven narrowed her eyes.

Zeri gave a quiet chuckle as he spread his arms slightly, almost welcoming the sight surrounding him. Forty soldiers had positioned themselves to kill him, Raven’s sword was already aimed at his chest, and yet he looked less like someone trapped inside an enemy formation and more like a child who had unexpectedly discovered another game to play.

"This is getting interesting."

His gaze passed Raven.

It slipped through the soldiers protecting Yuuta until those impossibly black eyes found the crimson ones waiting behind them.

Yuuta felt his stomach tighten.

Zeri smiled directly at him.

"Oh, my, my..." he murmured, amusement filling every word. "This Is Going to Be So Much Fun".

Yuuta said nothing.

He simply held Elena tighter.

And around them, forty members of the Shadow Corps waited for Raven’s command to attack.

TO BE CONTINUED.