Chapter 62: The first Demon Servant

Erick stared at Han’s retreating figure, unable to comprehend what he meant by what he had just said. Still, Zephyr was indeed a newly awakened Esper who had yet to undergo proper training. Ultimately, he turned his attention toward Zephyr.

"How did you get here?"

Zephyr finally lifted his face reluctantly from Lucien’s shoulder, although his arms had secretly wrapped around his waist. He glanced in Erick’s direction indifferently.

"The same way you all did."

Erick felt uncomfortable under his indifferent gaze. He muttered angrily.

"The Awakened Association is becoming more lawless by the day. How could they send you here after I told them not to?"

Zephyr’s eyes turned cold.

He heard what Erick had just said.

"Erick, I’m not as helpless as you think. I never asked for your protection. How about you stop deciding what I can and can’t do?"

Erick felt powerless before him.

"I did it for your own good."

Zephyr let out a low chuckle. He was never much of a talker, but despite the headache and dizziness, he still chose to speak. His hoarse voice carried a faint edge of anger.

"For my own good? Don’t make decisions for me and then pretend you’re doing me a favor. I can decide what’s good for myself."

A sharp ache tugged at Erick’s heart when he saw Zephyr like that. They were about the same height, and as their eyes met, the tension between them made it seem as though they could clash at any moment.

Before Erick could say anything, Nana suddenly spoke up with a cold smile.

"You are nothing but a blind criminal. What can you possibly do? Coming here will only drag everyone down and put us all at risk!"

Erick’s expression immediately darkened, his voice rising with barely restrained fury.

"Shut up!"

Nana was momentarily stunned, but her shock quickly gave way to anger. Now that her carefully maintained facade had been exposed, she had no intention of holding back anymore! Before the argument could escalate, Jake stepped in between them.

"Guys, this city is in danger! We need to help the others deal with the monsters and contain the Dungeon they are pouring out of. Whatever this is, we can settle it later!"

Hearing this, Nana gritted her teeth, barely restraining the urge to scratch Jake’s face.

In the end, she turned and left the classroom with an ugly expression.

Lucien watched her retreating figure and couldn’t help but secretly roll his eyes.

Erick rubbed his temples with a frown.

Jake was right. This wasn’t the time to be arguing with each other. Although seeing Zephyr hugging Lucien—who was probably trying to get his attention—was irritating, Erick decided he could deal with it later.

Separating them would be easy enough once Zephyr saw Lucien’s petty schemes. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ

In his opinion, Zephyr had taken a liking to Lucien because he had given him guiding. It was nothing but a momentary attachment.

He also had to find a way to safely send Zephyr back to M City before they reached the Dungeon to put his mind at ease. Even if Zephyr was an Awakened and had killed a monster, Erick felt that Zephyr shouldn’t be in a place teeming with powerful monsters.

In the end... he was blind, after all.

Erick hadn’t noticed that the ant monster Zephyr had killed had been left with only half a body. Even if he had, Erick wouldn’t have thought much of it, unlike Jake. He knew Zephyr was only a B-rank Esper. Not to mention, Zephyr was also quite naive—so trusting that he could actually believe someone like Lucien was a good person.

Erick was just about to tell his team that they would keep clearing the monsters as they made their way toward the Dungeon when the entire building suddenly began to shake violently, followed by a loud rumble.

A horrified cry rang out from outside the classroom. The next second, Nana came rushing back, panic evident on her face.

She immediately threw herself at Erick.

"What’s going on?!"

A vein flared on Erick’s forehead. He wanted to shove her away. At that moment, an eerie voice suddenly echoed from behind them.

"I knew there are humans here. Kekeke..."

Everyone, except Zephyr, froze.

The voice was scratchy and filled with sinister malice, sending an unsettling chill through the classroom. The first to turn toward the source of the voice was Erick.

The moment his golden eyes fell on the shattered classroom window, his breath caught. A pair of blood-red eyes stared back at them from outside the building.

They were unnaturally bright, glowing like embers in the darkness, with dark, narrow, slit-like pupils at their centers. Their cold, predatory gaze seemed to pierce straight through them easily, while the creature’s mere presence made the air feel heavier.

It broke the glass window completely before stepping into the classroom.

Standing upright, its body structure and pale face were eerily similar to those of a human, but the horns protruding from its head and the bat-like wings behind it were enough to make Erick’s heart nearly stop.

What the hell was this thing?!

Erick even forgot to push away Nana.

"A demon!!"

Lucien’s shocked voice suddenly rang out, finally startling everyone out of their daze.

His blue eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the figure standing before them.

He couldn’t believe what he was seeing!

He recognized this tall, horned figure!

How could he not?

Lucien had cursed this very character countless times while reading the novel!

It was Slar—the first Demon Servant to appear in the original novel! But Slar was never, ever supposed to appear this early!

He was meant to show up only when the second Disaster-Level Dungeon appeared!

By then, Erick would have accumulated countless resources, acquired numerous powerful new skills, and gained invaluable experience from surviving many powerful and dangerous S-rank Dungeons—enough to stand a chance against Slar. Although he ultimately failed to kill Slar, Erick managed to force him back into the Fallen Realm!

And... that was supposed to happen six years from now! Yet that very same Slar was now standing right before Lucien!

How was this possible?!