Chapter 58

Raul and the Dragon Queen began exchanging punches.

Even as blood spurted out from their exchanged blows, the Dragon Queen burst into laughter. As if she was feeling pleasure.

The pain he gave, the pain only he could give, was so ecstatic.

“More… more… fight with all your might… to the point where it touches my life… so I can feel even a little more that I’m alive…!”

“I want to ask. Why do you obey the Demon King?”

“I don’t want to die meaninglessly at the hands of a mad king. Isn’t it natural to want to die with some meaning?”

The reason all demons followed the Demon King was extremely simple. Overwhelming power. With that alone, he controlled everyone like slaves.

Those who didn’t listen were kicked and had their flesh cut off repeatedly until they obeyed. He wielded violence without hesitation until all demons submitted.

“So, the Demon King can kill you too.”

“But the one who brought me pain… the one who made me feel something for the first time… was only you, Raul… No need to be jealous…!”

“Considering that strength, it’s inevitable, but considering your obsession with me, it means there’s something unique about my fighting style.”

“Please give me even more pain, Raul… caress my skin with your painful hands…!”

“I can’t understand what you desire, but for now, I’ll just do my best to kill you.”

“Now, let’s enjoy… this sensation… the ecstasy of pain that reaches the heavens….!!!”

It was truly a bizarre conversation.

The two, not listening to each other, simultaneously struck each other’s faces.

A blow that could easily destroy a building, but at that moment, the two only had a slight nosebleed, unable to deal any real damage.

So, both thought at the same time. To deal damage to that or a beloved lover, a slightly bigger attack was needed.

“This feels disgusting. It seems you thought the same.”

“What a delightful feeling. Our thoughts aligned. This must be proof that we’re destined for each other.”

“To kill and erase you…”

“To draw out more of your power…”

The Dragon Queen filled her mouth with frost that could freeze everything.

Raul began to twist the air with his fiercely vibrating hand.

“This much should do.”

“I should show you this much skill.”

The Dragon Queen unleashed a freezing cold that could even freeze the Demon King, and Raul grabbed the air and shook it, devastating the surrounding area.

Due to the shaken air, the frost spread in all directions, and the innocent dragon race froze and fell.

“Your frost killed your subordinates, so you must feel quite miserable.”

“The weak are at fault, so why should I feel miserable…?”

“Now I have one more reason to dislike you.”

“What a pity. The reasons for me to love you are already overflowing.”

Raul truly couldn’t understand her.

And like anyone, Raul hated her, an incomprehensible being.

To Raul, she was just a simple monster.

“Hurry up and die. I need to kill you and return to Layla’s side.”

“…If you can indeed do that, my companion.”

—

At that time.

Layla was alone, slaughtering numerous succubi and other demons, revealing her power unfiltered.

Her strength was enough to pull five large ships, her speed faster than an arrow, and her defense as solid as a rock.

The succubi, merely indulging in soul and curse magic, were no match for her.

Nearly 5000 succubi died without landing a single effective hit on Layla.

“…May you live a life far from the battlefield in your next life.”

After briefly praying for the succubi’s souls, she finally faced their queen alone.

“Surrender, and I’ll spare your life.”

“Ha… spare my life… Do you think that mad king would leave us alone?”

“Don’t worry about that. We’ll win.”

“You guys…? That’s not a living being, that’s a natural disaster.”

“Enough chatter. You’re not surrendering, right? Then all I can offer is death.”

The Succubus Queen’s face was filled with terror.

The Demon King she remembered was cruel. He skinned her son alive for opposing the war and personally chopped up those who sided with him.

Anyone would become a prisoner of fear after seeing over ten thousand corpses rotting.

“Accept your death.”

The Succubus Queen was an excellent sorceress. As she used her magic, giant snake heads rose from the ground and attacked Layla.

Of course, Layla easily dodged them, reducing their numbers one by one. Every time she swung her versatile sword, blood spurted, and when she swung her chain scythe, the giant snake heads were sliced off like pudding.

“Unfortunately, I have a younger sister at home. Me and the raccoon too. Humans with younger sisters can’t die easily.”

She transformed her chain scythe into an axe and chopped off the last snake’s head.

“So, is the show over…?”

“What have you done to your bodies… you’re not even human…”

“Just a few surgeries and some strange drugs injected into my body?”

They were beings beyond common sense.

Their bodies far surpassed human levels, yet they harbored no selfish desires, coming to the battlefield.

For the country, for the people they had to protect, for each other, they were the kind of humans who could give their lives countless times.

What the Succubus Queen felt from them was not patriotism or the sublimity of heroes, but pure madness.

“Caught up in a fight with lunatics…”

“Speak properly. It’s because of the war your mad king started that we’re suffering like this.”

“If you trace the cause, wasn’t it your disgusting emperor? Why did you stir a quiet beehive?”

“Wow… you really leave me speechless.”

Layla kicked the Succubus Queen down, transformed her weapon into a rapier, and pointed it at her neck.

“…Honestly, I don’t know about others.”

She spoke her honest mind.

“I also feel sorry.”

That’s why she always stopped other heroes from wiping out the demon races after defeating them.

Even though they harmed humans, the real culprits were the Demon King and the Emperor, so the blame shouldn’t be shifted to them.

She often clashed with First Prince Asel, who believed demons should be slaughtered, but even he respected her opinion enough to always stop short.

Even Penelope respected Layla’s opinion, executing only the vampire army and showing mercy to the innocent.

“Then now…”

Meanwhile, Layla, with her sharp senses, could detect it. An arrow piercing through sound and perception, reversing cause and effect, targeting not her but Raul.

If it had been aimed at her, she could have dodged it, but an arrow aimed at Raul was different.

Raul was currently fighting the Dragon Queen. Focused on her, he couldn’t detect the arrow.

“Damn it…!”

She quickly transformed her weapon into a bow and arrow, swiftly drawing the string and shooting down the arrow.

She demonstrated the miraculous feat of shooting an arrow with an arrow, but the moment she drew the string, she left an opening.

The Succubus Queen placed her hand on Layla’s chest and activated her magic.

“…!”

“Call me cowardly if you want. We actually think so too.”

The medium for the magic was the souls of the soldiers Layla killed and the queen’s own life. All those soldiers and the queen willingly chose death just to activate this magic.

“But we’re scared too… that mad king…”

The Demon King had said.

If they didn’t obey, he would slaughter not only the queen and her army but also the innocent civilians.

So, the queen, gripped by fear, had no choice but to resort to such measures.

“Curse of hatred… consume this body. Go mad with thirst for the blood of your kin… until you fall and die, quench that thirst.”

The magic activated with countless souls and one massive life as its medium was absolute.

An absolute curse that no one could undo.

With a bright light, the magic instantly began consuming her soul, and she knelt, trying to end her life, but even that was denied.

She had to quench that thirst until she fell and died, so even taking her own life was forbidden.

“Ra… ul…”

Even as the curse consumed Layla’s soul, she worried about Raul until the end.

Knowing the request she had to make to Raul and its consequences, she couldn’t help but grieve.

“God… my final prayer… while my soul is still… even a little mine, I offer this final prayer…”