“Applause? The hell’s that about?”
“I’m giving you praise,” he said, his eyes narrowing with a gleam that was part admiration, part intrigue. “For being such a rare specimen. A human who’s climbed to the absolute pinnacle of martial arts. Someone whose talent and effort deserve recognition.”
Great. He’s got me all wrong. Not that I cared enough to correct him.
“But seriously, who are you?” he asked, tilting his head slightly, as if genuinely puzzled. “I’ve never heard of anyone with your kind of power living in this area.”
“Just a random Villager passing through,” I muttered with a self-deprecating shrug.
The Demon God snorted, amused by my reply.
“And what’s your take on this?” he asked suddenly.
“Take on what?”
“We’re both power types. Both built like tanks. If we keep pounding away like this, a double knockout seems like the most likely outcome. Unless…”
“Unless?”
A slow, entertained grin spread across his face as he fixed me with a mocking stare.
“Unless we account for one small detail: the regeneration ability possessed by high-ranking demons. With that in play, your chances of winning drop to zero.”
Yeah. I knew that going in. Still chose to stick around for the brawl.
And honestly? I was surprised.
I hadn’t expected anyone in the human realm to go blow-for-blow with me in a straight-up slugfest. Yet here he was, holding his ground.
“Fair enough,” I said, brushing the dust off my shoulder. “I’ll admit it, you’re tougher than I thought.”
“Did you not hear me before?” he chuckled, voice laced with condescension. “It’s not just toughness. My regeneration makes me leagues beyond even the Demon Emperor. You’ve got no path to victory left.”
“That so? I guess we won’t know until we try.”
The Demon God laughed with deep, rumbling entertainment, apparently thinking I was joking.
“Ah, yes. That was a good fight. It’s been ages since I got to go all out,” the Demon God said with a languid roll of his shoulders, satisfaction dripping from his voice. “Unfortunate for you, of course, given my regeneration and all that, but I still enjoyed myself. And because of that, I have a proposal.”
I narrowed my eyes. “A proposal?”
“You drew my blood,” he continued, his grin curling wider. “That’s not something I take lightly. Your genetics are exceptional. Ideal for breeding a hybrid between demon and human.”
I stared at him, blank. “Come again?”
He puffed out his chest with pride, as though announcing a royal decree. “Why don’t you join me in the Demon King’s domain? I’ll give you a harem.”
A chill scraped down my spine as I turned, only to immediately regret it. Behind me loomed a horde of demons whose grotesque forms barely clung to humanoid shape, their twisted flesh and monstrous eyes making it impossible to tell male from female.
He wants me to make children with… that?
“This has to be a joke,” I muttered under my breath before meeting his gaze with a flat glare. “Yeah, no. That’s gonna be a hard pass.”
The Demon God let out a dramatic sigh and shrugged, as though genuinely let down. “Pity. I thought it’d be the easiest way to bring you in alive, but I suppose if you won’t cooperate, then killing you here might be the only option left.”
He smiled with a casual calm, utterly devoid of empathy. “Naturally, you’ve forfeited any claim to hospitality by turning down the offer.”
I raised an eyebrow, incredulous. “Wait, you were actually planning to treat me as a guest?”
To my surprise, he nodded without hesitation. “With genes like yours? Of course, I was. From the perspective of demonkind, you’re a once-in-a-generation prize. This era of glory won’t last forever, and I intend to claim my successor while I still draw breath.”
I crossed my arms, voice dry. “Considering this whole incident is on the level of a catastrophic mutation outbreak, I guess I can’t say your reasoning is completely out there.”
“Exactly,” he said, gesturing grandly with one clawed hand. “That’s why I was willing to grant you special treatment, but you cast that fortune aside.”
His tone darkened as he glanced toward the two motionless figures lying in the dirt, his voice dipping into something far colder.
“And like those two, you’ll be dragged back in chains. Not as a guest or even a prisoner, but as livestock.”
Come to think of it, Cordelia and Lilith were still unconscious and looked like they were about to be taken.
“Livestock, huh?” I muttered, eyes narrowing. “And what exactly were you planning to do to them?”
The Demon God tilted his head, a casual smile playing on his lips.
“Hmm, good question. I suppose it’s only fair to give you the same experience they’re about to receive.” He clapped his hands together lightly, like he was reading off a dinner menu. “First, we’ll shatter the bones in both your arms and legs. Then, hang you upside down.”
I stared in silence, but he wasn’t finished.
“For the next month, your only sustenance will be administered rectally, with water, liquid nutrients, or perhaps yogurt pumped in straight through your anus to bypass the stomach. Direct absorption through the small intestine. Efficient, right?”
My voice came out low and cold. “And after a month of that?”
He grinned wider, like a butcher admiring his work. “In their case? They’ll serve as breeding stock, kept alive and productive, day and night. As for you, well, it’ll be something similar since the lower-tier oni don’t exactly understand species differences when they’re in heat. I imagine it’ll be quite the ordeal, but I do hope you’ll endure. Hahaha! Hahaha!”
The Demon God burst into manic laughter, his body shaking with the force of it.
I raised my head slowly. My voice came out like a blade drawn in the dark.
“What did you just say?”
“Hm?” He cocked an ear, still grinning. “Didn’t quite catch that.”
“I asked…” I stepped forward, voice rising with quiet fury, “What the hell did you just say you were going to do to Cordelia and Lilith?”
In an instant, Excalibur flashed into existence from the void, and with a single fluid motion, I struck before he could react.
“A sword?” the Demon God gasped, eyes wide. “Where did—”
He stopped as blood erupted from his right arm like a geyser.