Chapter 436

Chapter 59 The Madman Demon Part 2

“You’re all going to die here, and it’s going to be miserable.”

Mr. J wore a smile of excitement as he spoke, stepping into the crowd with his knife in hand. His head tilted slightly, and the eerie aura that emanated from him made the villagers tremble with fear, causing them to scatter and create a wide path for him.

Some were so terrified they lost their minds, thinking they were about to die. They pushed through the crowd, shouting and fleeing in panic. However, they didn’t get far before being caught, dragged back, and thrown down.

“I plan to kill you all… one cut at a time, I’ll peel off your flesh and boil it in hot water… I’ve told you already, the madmen have been starving for a long time. They want to eat, after all, they just killed quite a few of your heroes, which was hard work… Can you understand that?”

“Great… Great Lord…”

“Please spare us!”

The villagers were paralyzed with fear. Men, elders, and women all knelt on the ground, not knowing what to do to beg for mercy from the devil. Especially with such a death, their souls would not even be accepted by the sea god. Extreme fear shattered their spirits, and they prayed to the devil as they would to a deity. Cries and pleas echoed across the open space.

“We are innocent! We are innocent—”

“It’s those knights who are against us, not me! Not me!”

“I’m willing to do anything for you! Please—”

“You are a great person, full of compassion. Please let me go. I have children at home…”

At this moment, the villagers had exhausted every effort.

They begged desperately, placing all their hope in the devil’s mercy.

But no one dared to rise up in resistance.

“But…”

Mr. J ignored the cries around him and walked straight past them, stopping in front of the village chief and the little girl.

“I am indeed merciful, or perhaps a sympathetic madman. I like giving others chances, but there’s only one chance…”

He reached out and touched the girl’s head.

The blonde girl shuddered, her body recoiling sharply, clutching the old man’s pants tightly. Her eyes glared fiercely at him, but the fear, cowardice, helplessness, and trembling hands could not be hidden.

“Grandpa… I’m scared…”

She was still just a child.

“Don’t be afraid, kid… Don’t be afraid… Close your eyes…”

The old man hugged his granddaughter tightly, his face filled with despair, his eyes reddening.

Mr. J laughed without restraint.

“Your grandpa is right. Don’t be afraid… I said, I like giving others chances. Little girl, I like you. I’m giving you this chance now. There’s only one chance.”

As he spoke, he turned the knife around, offering the handle to the little girl.

“Come… take the knife.”

Then he looked up at the old man’s sorrowful face, smiling wildly and silently, whispering softly, “Kill this old man.”

The old man trembled, suddenly stiffening, then his eyes widened.

“What… What did you say…”

He hadn’t clearly heard the devil’s words.

But he could see the extreme malice hidden in the other’s smile.

“You… You devil…”

Mr. J sighed lightly upon hearing this.

“It takes several times to understand. I’m not a devil… Forget it, your brains can’t comprehend these things anyway. Think whatever you want. In any case, let the girl take the knife first. If she stabs you, I’ll spare her. How about it? She’s your granddaughter, so young. Do you want her to die here? You don’t want that, and neither do I. So… understand?”

Mr. J raised a finger and wiggled it slightly.

“There’s only one chance. I gave this little girl a chance, and I’m giving you one too… Or do you want to give the chance to someone else, so they can kill you, while they live and you die?”

“What… What did you say? You… I can’t hear clearly…”

“Now I’m counting down.”

“Grandpa…”

The little girl started crying.

“Three.”

“Can you speak louder!”

“Two.”

“Grandpa… Wah—”

“What do you want me to do? I don’t understand… What do you want us to do…”

“One. Time’s up.”

Mr. J retracted the knife.

“What a pity… You actually rejected my kindness? I really liked you all.”

He seemed genuinely regretful, his face showing disappointment.

“Hahahaha—”

The surrounding heretics burst into laughter, as if witnessing the most absurd stage play in the world.

Immediately afterward, amidst the mingling of laughter and cries, Mr. J abruptly turned around.

He no longer looked at the pitiful village chief and the little girl, ignoring the old man’s desperate shouts behind him, “What did you say!”, “I’m willing to do it!”, “Don’t hurt my child!” The voice was desolate and hopeless, yet it wiped away the devil’s disappointment, leaving only a twisted smile.

He presented himself as a sage opening his heart to the world, holding the sharp blade high above his head, bestowing mercy upon these humble, ugly villagers dominated by fear and terror.

“You all heard what I said! Who wants this chance, prove it to me with action—”

He threw the knife high into the sky.

“Grab the knife, kill! Anyone can do it! As long as you can plunge the blade into someone else’s chest, cut their throat! They die, and you live!”

Clang clang clang—

Countless sharp knives flashed with cold light, following the first one, thrown into the air by the heretics, arcing and landing at the feet of the villagers.

They hesitated for a moment.

But only a moment. Then the first person tried to pick up the knife.

It was a rugged, strong man.

After picking up the knife, he held it in his hand, looking down at the slightly curved blade, his eyes flickering for a moment before looking up at the many people around him, some fearful, some numb, some avoiding eye contact.

These were faces he had seen every day, familiar beyond measure. At this moment, they all looked at him, their eyes filled with uncertain fear, instinctively keeping their distance from him—as if the knife in his hand could fall on them at any moment.

…How could anyone do that?

The man thought, feeling an absurd sense of unreality.

He was originally an honest fisherman, spending more than thirty years of his life fishing, with almost nothing else to do. Those standing here were mostly like him, once like him, and the women of those like him.

He knew these people very well, seeing them every day. Although they had changed, they were still the same people from before, even elders and friends. Looking at them, their dirty, fearful faces, he felt as if he had returned to many days ago on May Day, when everyone was celebrating together that night.

How could anyone do that…

But then he thought: If I don’t do it, I will die.

…I cannot die.

But I don’t want to kill anyone.

I don’t want to kill…

The man’s gaze swept across the crowd as he was thinking, and suddenly he saw an ugly and despicable face.

He remembered that face.

It was Andrew, the most loathsome good-for-nothing in the village.

When the man saw that face, the other person also noticed him and became panicked, shrinking back behind the crowd—why would he hide?

Suddenly, he recalled that about half a year ago, this scoundrel had taken advantage of his absence at sea, under the influence of alcohol, to harass the most beautiful woman in the village, who even at over thirty years old still had charm, his beloved wife.

In this moment, images of his wife’s later cries and complaints flashed through his mind. She said he always had to go out to sea every few days and didn’t want to stay by her side… Now, after half a year, the terrible mood that night should have long been forgotten.

But for some reason, when he saw the scoundrel’s face and saw him hiding from him, anger suddenly welled up in his heart.

This damned scoundrel…

Had the nerve to show himself in front of him!

The man’s expression turned vicious.

He raised his knife and walked towards the scoundrel, not knowing what he really wanted to do, just walking forward, one step, two steps… The scoundrel screamed in terror, pushing through the crowd and trying to retreat, but the man quickened his pace to chase him, though he didn’t really intend to kill him. But if he had to kill someone to survive and reunite with his wife, who had gone missing in the fire…

Pfft!

Suddenly, the man’s body froze, his eyes widening.

He looked down and saw the large knife deeply embedded in his waist. He couldn’t believe it as he sucked in a breath, following the hand that held the blade, then saw a familiar, aged face.

“Village… chief…”

Blood gushed out.

Around them, the shouts were chaotic.

At some point, the villagers had already started fighting over the knife.

The elderly village chief stabbed himself in the abdomen. Tears filled his eyes, as if he was trying to say something, but the man couldn’t hear clearly. After the initial shock, he turned angry, grabbing the blade and roaring, kicking the old man away. Just as he was about to pursue further, his foot suddenly gave way, losing balance, and he fell into the chaos of people with a thud.

The man felt his breathing becoming difficult. He didn’t know where his knife had fallen. The unbearable pain in his waist and abdomen hit him hard, causing his head to ache and his vision to blur.

He was going to die…

Vaguely, he saw the village chief, who had been kicked away, unable to get up before being knocked down again. Several feet trampled on him, the old man struggling and dodging, but still ending up with a bloody head and broken hands, fainting from the pain.

The chatty little girl knelt beside him, crying loudly. Soon, someone noticed her, pulling her hair and pressing her to the ground, punching her head repeatedly, muttering “It’s not my fault, it’s not my fault…” The little girl cried desperately, but quickly lost her voice.

Everyone was dying…

The man saw the person dragging the motionless girl like a broken puppet, running frantically towards the edge of the crowd, shouting joyfully.

“I killed one! I killed one!”

That shout gradually faded from his ears. Then, a dark shadow flashed in his blurry vision, and next moment, the blade pierced his chest.

The man felt nothing as darkness rapidly enveloped his sight.

The last thing that flashed in his mind was his wife’s bright smile.

…………

Mr. J stepped out of the chaotic crowd and walked to one side. Before his smile had faded, he saw a tall, thin, messy-haired man approaching this side.

“Oh, Shadow Hider.” He greeted.

Then he saw the man raise his hand and throw something round and bloody towards Mr. J. It rolled slowly to his feet and stopped when he nudged it with his toe. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a human head.

“…Pope’s knight?” he asked the other.

“Pope’s knight.”

The other nodded, glanced at the chaotic villagers nearby, and then lost interest, quickly coming to Mr. J’s side. “A guy using Earth Order, named… I forgot to ask, but his physical strength is so formidable it’s a bit frightening. Took me quite a bit of effort.”

Mr. J twisted his neck, a smirk forming on his lips. “So, you had fun?”

The man called Shadow Hider shook his head slightly.

“Compared to that little girl we encountered at sea, this one is below the standard of a Pope’s knight.”

“Haha! You’re still hung up on the one at sea.”

“Mm, after all, it was a real hard fight… Haven’t felt that kind of life-or-death experience in many years.”

“But you still won.”

“No, I lost three times, won the fourth time.”

“Is that so? That’s quite a tough opponent… Did you kill her?”

“No, she escaped. But she was seriously injured and in the middle of the sea, so she probably didn’t make it.”

“What a pity…”

“Don’t worry, there will always be stronger ones coming.”

“By then… let’s play properly.”

The demons exchanged smiles.

They were looking forward to new prey arriving.

…………

Ten minutes later.

The villagers’ killing game came to an end.

The surviving villagers, covered in blood, stood blankly, dropping their long knives, looking at the corpses on the ground, and at each other, their expressions strange, faces pale. Some knelt on the ground, others laughed.

Mr. J approached them.

“Congratulations!”

He smiled exaggeratedly, walking to the nearest middle-aged man, holding the man’s blood-stained face in his hands, his fingers tracing the man’s cracked lips, gently stroking his head like comforting a child.

The man trembled continuously.

“Hush! Hush… Don’t be afraid… You did well, you surpassed yourself, worthy of praise… Don’t be afraid, don’t shake… What’s your name?”

“…Kubad, my lord…”

“Good, Kubad. Don’t be afraid… I won’t hurt you anymore.”

As he spoke, as if seeing an old friend after many years, he gave the man a warm hug.

“Breathe deeply, relax… Yes, exactly like that, don’t drop the knife, pick it up, hold it tight… Your mission isn’t over yet. Now, go and kill those knights for me.”

The cold whisper of the demon reached the man’s ears, causing his heartbeat to pause once more, freezing him to the core.

But…

He subconsciously looked at those tortured knights, completely devoid of any resistance.

Then he gripped the knife tightly in his hand.

There was no turning back…

“Hey, hey…呜呜…哈哈哈——”

The man cried and laughed, acting like a madman.

Mr. J watched him, his smile slowly spreading, half of his face hidden in the last rays of the sunset, the smile blooming on the illuminated half of his face.

“Welcome to the Gate of Truth.”