Chapter 91
Among the low-level demons who have served demon nobles since ancient times, there were those who swore allegiance to the nobles with all their heart, rather than submit by force.
They were referred to as ‘demon’s servants’.
“Servant? What do you mean?”
“A demon I’ve always ridden. He’s a shapeshifting demon with the ability to transform into a horse like that if he wants.”
Esil’s eyes shone sharply.
“No way… Did he keep pretending to be a horse for fear of being enslaved like the other demons?”
“But because of that, it seems like he’s being shackled to the same fate.”
“At least he won’t die after being used as a consumable.”
Just at a distance, a slave demon was whipped by the overseer and eventually died.
On the other hand, the number of mage beasts pulling the cart seemed to be less than the number of demons.
Certainly, if he had turned into a horse, he wouldn’t be able to kill him as easily as Esil had said.
Suho, who was looking around while listening to Esil’s explanation, nodded and said.
“Then, let’s get closer to that horse. Can he speak?”
“Of course. I need to ask what the hell is going on here.”
Suho and Esil secretly approached the place where Esil’s horse was.
Fortunately, there weren’t many overseers, so it wasn’t too difficult.
“Nukira.”
“…?!”
When Esil approached the horse and whispered in a low voice, the horse recognized Esil and widened its eyes.
He hurriedly looked around and opened his mouth.
“Ms. Esil! You are alive! I heard that you passed away a long time ago…!”
Suddenly, tears welled up in Nukira’s eyes, and he looked like he was about to burst into tears at any moment.
However, fearing that if he stopped pulling the cart, he would attract the attention of the overseer, he continued to pull the cart at the same speed as before and had a conversation with Esil.
It was a situation where they had to talk urgently.
“Ms. Esil! It’s dangerous to stay here! Why did you come back here again?!”
“Nukira, what the hell is going on here?”
“The thing is…”
Nukira took another look around and answered quickly.
“After all the nobles died, another demon ruled this place shortly after.”
“Another demon? A non-noble demon?”
“Yes. Rumor has it that it is a demon that has grown in power by devouring demons who died in the War of Outer Gods.”
“He ate the demons who died in the war… Was it a defeated soldier who fled during the War of Outer Gods?”
“Perhaps, most likely.”
Rattle!
Just then, the cart Nukira was pulling stopped.
“Ms. Esil, please hide somewhere for now. The overseer will come soon.”
At those words, Suho and Esil quickly hid themselves in a dark place.
Then the huge demon overseer came over, glanced at the ores Nukira had brought, and nodded.
“Empty the cart and go back.”
A horse neigh escaped from Nukira’s mouth.
He tilted the cart with his hind feet, dumped the ore on the floor, and started going back.
As the overseer moved away again, Nukira’s gaze returned to Esil, who was hiding in the distance.
“… Ms. Esil, you have to get away from here. If the tyrant hears that there are surviving demon nobles, something really dangerous will happen.”
“Right. Where is that tyrant?”
At Suho’s question, Nukira’s eyes turned to Suho.
As if he hadn’t cared at all about what Nukira said up until now, this man was ready to go find the tyrant.
“Who are you…?”
Esil urged Nukira to answer her question instead.
“Another overseer is coming. Please answer quickly.”
“M-Ms. Esil. He does not come into this workhouse. Other demons may betray him at any time, so he usually stays in his own place and only occasionally appears at the Colosseum.”
Since ancient times, the Colosseum has been a playground for demons who enjoy blood and battles.
But now it has become a place for public execution of demons who disobey the tyrant’s orders.
“The tyrant continues to grow stronger by eating the dead in the Colosseum. He only shows up when there is food in the Colosseum.”
Colosseum.
Suho’s eyes flashed.
Again the overseer was approaching their way.
“Nukira, keep working for now. Let’s talk again later.”
“Ms. Esil…”
Nukira’s eyes were full of anxiety looking at Esil’s back as she disappeared into the darkness.
* * *
Esil looked into the situation and spoke to Suho.
“It’s not just the overseer we should consider. There will be a big uproar if you get caught by the slave demons.”
Esil was a demon, so it was okay.
The problem was Suho.
“If the fact that humans are hiding in the Demon Realm is discovered, all the demons in sight could attack us at once. Suho, you should pretend to be a demon as much as possible… Okay?”
Looking around, Suho was already taking off his top like the other slaves.
His strong muscles were revealed.
In particular, because of Ammut’s harsh training, Suho’s body was developed to the limit by repeatedly tearing and destroying countless muscles.
After saving the clothes he took off in his inventory, Suho put on a nearby rag.
Among the demons, there are quite a few races that resemble humans like Esil, so at that point, their external appearance was somewhat similar.
However, an important problem remained.
“Weak demons won’t notice, but the problem is mage beasts. Those with good senses will quickly notice that you don’t have demonic energy.”
“How about this?”
Suho raised ‘Vulcan’s Horn’.
Thanks to hunting a lot of demons prior, more than 40 demon souls were now absorbed into the horn.
The horn itself was that of a demon. Even within it, demon energy was overflowing.
Realizing what Suho wanted, Esil couldn’t help but hesitate.
“You’re asking me to go in again?”
“Isn’t it for the same purpose that you shouldn’t stand out anyway?”
“That’s… right.”
If Esil transformed into a spirit and nestled in Vulcan’s Horn, she could change the size of the sword as much as she wanted.
The fact that it can be made large means that it can be made small as well.
“If you make it small and I hide it properly in my body, don’t you think they would feel demon energy?”
“… Yeah, well. That would be the best way.”
Esil finally let out a sigh and nodded.
In fact, it was quite embarrassing for Esil, a demon noble, to go into the horns of a lower level demon than herself.
But it was not just once or twice, so it has come too far to talk about pride.
After Esil finally nodded, Suho suddenly asked one more question.
“Oh. Can you perhaps change the form besides size?”
“Form? What do you mean…?”
“For example…”
Suho gave a meaningful smile.
Beru mentioned before that the demon named Vulcan was incredibly enormous.
Similarly, his horns are also huge.
The bodies of demons capable of spiritualization can freely change their size or shape. While being refined into weapons, Vulcan’s Horn could be compressed to match the desired size as needed.
With that said…
‘Maybe something like this would be possible?’
[Vulcan’s Horn devours the demon’s soul.]
Swook…
As Esil seeped into Vulcan’s Horn like a spirit, its gradually began to change.
“I knew it was possible.”
Vulcan’s Horn had changed and attached to Suho’s head, like a ‘real demon horn’.
[You’ve been so persistent here and there, and now you were even thinking about putting the demon’s horns on your head.]
Esil’s voice mixed with sighs came into Suho’s head.
“If I’m going to imitate a demon anyway, might as well do it properly.”
Suho smirks and touches his own horn.
Seeing that, Beru stuck out his face and gave Suho a thumbs up.
[It’s really great! As expected of Young Master…!]
[Okay, work and pickaxe like everyone else now. Don’t get whipped by the overseer for fooling around.]
* * *
‘I suddenly became a slave in the mines.’
Suho bought a pickaxe from the shop window, and naturally mixed with the slaves to pickaxe.
Because he had high strength stats and experience as a miner, pickaxing wasn’t difficult at all.
‘Rather, the daily quests are much more difficult.’
However, an unexpected problem arose.
Because Suho was so good with the pickaxe, other slave demons began to glance at him.
“Who is that one-horned demon? He is so strong.”
“Such a brutal use of pickaxe.”
From Suho’s point of view, he was just moving, but in the eyes of the other slaves, even his speed was extraordinary.
While the demons were whispering, Beru secretly appeared and spoke to Suho.
[Young Master, it’s good that you’re camouflaged, but shouldn’t you find the Colosseum first?]
“Wait. I am thinking about it now.”
[It seems like you’re picking too hard for what you’re worried about…]
Suho was so good with pickaxe that the slaves ended up filling their daily quota much quicker than usual.
“Wow…!”
“Damn, it’s over!”
“Now I can finally rest!”
“This is all thanks to you!”
Thanks to Suho’s great success (?), the slave demons who were freed from endless labor burst into cheers around him.
The overseer, who was far away from the noisy commotion, strode over there threateningly.
“These slaves again! Not working and being lazy… Hmm? What is this?”
“Sir, we’ve reached our quota!”
“Can we get some rest now?”
The slave demons proudly showed the ore that Suho had dug up to the overseer.
But maybe he didn’t like that arrogant behavior, the overseer’s expression was rather stern.
“How dare these insolent bastards! Are you going to take a break from work already? This was nothing but normal, you’ve just been lazy all this time! From now on, dig up this much more!”
“S-Sir…!”
“What kind of nonsense…!”
“Did you just say nonsense?!”
Bang!
“Ack!”
One slave, who protested unfairly, was kicked by the overseer and hit the wall.
The slave demons were terrified and scattered again with pickaxes and shovels.
Suho also moved quietly among them, trying to get out of the overseer’s sight.
But then.
“That one horned guy right there. Stop.”
Suddenly, the overseer called Suho and made him stop.
He was glaring at Suho, the main culprit of that situation, with a disapproving gaze.
‘Could it be that he was discovered to be human?’
[No. It’s just that you’re the one who made the slaves dare to ask for a break. Originally, demons like him are more authoritative. Also…]
Before Esil finished speaking, the overseer looked up and down at Suho.
“Looking at it, it seems like you have used quite a bit of energy. I will specially send you to the Colosseum.”
It wasn’t Suho who was shocked by the overseer’s words, but the slaves nearby.
“That was so harsh…!”
After all, the overseer’s words are the law.
“Follow me.”
After pointing out Suho, the overseer immediately turned around and strode off somewhere.
Suho started to follow him without saying a word.
At that time, Beru made a fuss in a voice that only Suho could hear.
[Oh my god! Could it be that you were drawing such a big picture from the beginning? Indeed, since you were young, you have had a great talent for drawing!]
“…”
Chapter 92
After a while, a large and majestic building appeared in front of Suho.
It was a colosseum surrounded by high walls of bizarre shapes, demons or skeletons.
“Go in.”
The supervisor handed Suho over to the guards at the Colosseum and immediately went back to the workhouse.
Clank!
The solid iron door closed, and Suho looked up at the new demons he had met.
[Demon Jailer]
‘Demon jailer…’
As soon as Suho saw the new demons he met, he measured their attack power.
Judging by the orange color of their name tags, they were quite strong, but they weren’t ones with no chance of winning in a fight.
The demon guards who took over Suho were the same in assessing Suho.
They started talking to each other while scanning Suho up and down.
“It’s been a while since a useful guy came in.”
“Such a shame that you have a small body.”
“That’s why it’s better. Don’t you know gladiators have concepts or identifiers these days?”
“Well, he has only one horn, which is unique, so it’s nice.”
“Let’s call this guy One Horn from now on.”
Regardless of Suho’s will, a nickname was created on the spot.
[Pft. One Horn…]
Suho heard the sound of Esil suppressing her laughter.
[Congratulations. You got a new name. Originally, among demons, nicknames are rare.]
Clank!
“Keep quiet.”
“If you cause trouble, we’ll get killed or something right away.”
The demon guards put Suho in a solitary cell surrounded by dark iron bars.
The moment they moved away, Beru’s face popped out and he gritted his teeth with bloody eyes.
[Eck! How dare those cheeky bastards! If you give me an order, I will cut their bodies into five parts immediately…!]
[Don’t show yourself, stupid.]
[What?! How dare a mere bee call me stupid?!]
[I’m trying to understand the situation here. Master must have plans for everything. Also, I’m not a bee…]
Squeeze.
[Krrrk…]
Suho trampled on Beru and Quay, who were showing their faces at each other, and looked out of the prison bar.
The demons who were trapped there first were watching their side with interest in the dark.
“Is he new?”
“He’s a very ugly bastard. He has one horn.”
“How long will this guy last?”
Eerie voices were whispering about Suho.
In fact, Suho was looking closely at the dark iron bars that were imprisoning him.
When he tapped it with his finger, he felt a strange counterattack.
‘It doesn’t seem like an ordinary iron.’
[It’s a prison made of hell iron. It’s a hard metal stained with demonic energy, so it’s mainly used to confine demon prisoners.]
‘Demonic energy?’
At Esil’s explanation, Suho smiled strangely.
‘Then, could something like this happen?’
Suho gripped the barbed wire made of hell iron with his hand and his eyes lit up.
Swoosh.
[The ‘Title: Demon Slayer’ buff effect is activated.]
Suho was able to forcibly bend the iron bars.
The demon slayer buff, which increases all stats against demons by 40%, was applied even in such a hellish place.
“Oh my!”
The eyes of the other demon prisoners who witnessed the scene widened in astonishment.
They were taken aback seeing a small one-horned demon do that.
“How can he touch and move the hell iron effortlessly?!”
“This means he can run away whenever he wants!”
“Hey! If you’re going to escape, open my cell as well!”
Suddenly, the demons who were watching Suho screamed noisily.
But not everyone was so surprised.
“Tsk. These pathetic bastards. It’s no doubt you are the ones imprisoned here like this. Even if you escape from here, you will only be eaten by the guards outside.”
The demons nearby glared at the sound of someone clicking his tongue in the corner.
“What? Who are you calling pathetic?”
“Oh well, a dying old man has nothing but bluff!”
“Do you think anyone can do such a thing? Then, let me bend your neck like that!”
The prison suddenly became noisy with profanity.
“Pray that you don’t see me at the next match!”
“Someday I will chew and eat that old man who’s all talk.”
However, the old demon brushed away all swearing towards him, and then laid back and lay down leisurely.
Suho looked at him with strange eyes.
‘… Could it be that he was giving me advice?’
Suho put the bent barbed wire back to its original state.
He was just experimenting out of curiosity anyway, and he had no intention of running away.
[Were you originally this strong? I didn’t think it was this far when we were fighting the mid-level demon earlier…]
At Esil’s startled voice, Suho only laughed.
‘I just confirmed the title effect.’
Was it because of that?
Even though Suho had been captured in a den full of demons alone, he did not look nervous at all.
On the contrary, it was regrettable that he passed from the workhouse to the prison without any problems.
‘If I killed all the demons in the workhouse, I’d get some experience.’
He needed to be patient.
If he had made a fuss, he wouldn’t have come that far comfortably.
The level of the slaves at the workhouse was at a grievous level even among the low-level demons, so it seemed that even if Suho hunted hard, he wouldn’t get much experience.
‘But it’s different here.’
From the moment Suho set foot in the prison, his sensory stats were alerting him.
It wasn’t because of the guys talking only with their mouths nearby.
The real thing was far away.
‘It’s better to catch one big one than hundreds of small fish.’
A faint smile crept across Suho’s lips.
It’s the Colosseum he’s looking forward to.
But why?
Throb.
His heart has been beating ever since he got there.
‘No, let’s not get confused.’
To be precise, he had been feeling that from the ‘Vulcan’s Horn’ attached to his forehead.
Like it was a living creature.
‘What is this?’
It was an interesting place in many ways.
* * *
“One Horn, come out.”
Guards came for Suho again.
The iron bars opened, and Suho meekly followed the guards.
The moment he passed by the solitary cell of the old demon who warned him earlier…
[… If you want to live long, don’t eat the food the guards give you.]
‘Huh?’
When Suho suddenly turned his head to the side at the sudden voice in his ear, the old demon just turned his back and lay down.
Suho pondered on the old demon’s words.
‘Don’t eat the food?’
After a while, just as mentioned, the guards put grilled beast meat in front of Suho.
“Eat. It is a special treat given only to newcomers to the Colosseum.”
“It could be your last supper, so don’t leave anything behind.”
The guards were giggling meaningfully.
Suho stared down at the beast meat, steam rising up.
It didn’t look like much, but it smelled good.
If he had been an ordinary slave in the workhouse, as soon as he smelled it, his eyes would roll back and he would devour it.
But then.
Someone who had slumbered in the distant World of Rest quietly opened its eyes.
[The Queen of Insects, Plague Monarch, licks her lips while looking at the light-blood poison mixed in the food.]
‘Light-blood poison?’
A strangeness appeared in Suho’s eyes.
Querehsha, the Plague Monarch, woke up after discovering a hidden poison.
An information window popped up in front of Suho, who ate countless of Querhesha’s poisonous insects and obtained her protection.
Ring.
[Poison: Light-Blood Poison]
A poison that causes the blood to boil when ingested, temporarily amplifying one’s strength.
However, there is a fatal side effect that each time you use mana power, it is accompanied by extreme pain, and your lifespan gradually decreases as blood is consumed.
‘Light-blood poison… Was this what the old demon warned me about?’
As Suho just stared at the monster meat without touching it, the guards started urging him.
“What are you doing?”
“Was it because you are small that you don’t have much appetite?”
“You should eat now to gain strength.”
Suho’s hand moved gently and grabbed a piece of the demon meat.
The guards’ eyes flashed insidiously.
Suho started chewing on the beast meat without hesitation.
‘It’s quite edible.’
To Suho, who had also eaten Querehsha’s poisonous insects, this level of depravity was nothing.
Ring.
[‘Poison: Light-Blood Poison’ was ingested.]
[Starts decrypting.]
[Detoxifying…]
The blood in Suho’s body suddenly became hot and then disappeared in an instant.
[Detoxification has been completed.]
[You have acquired ‘Poison: Light-Blood Poison’.]
Suho didn’t care and continued to eat the beast meat.
It was obvious why the Colosseum newcomers were being fed that light-blood poison.
‘Regardless if the lifespan of the slaves is shortened, the guards must be trying to make the slaves fight more fiercely by squeezing off their strength as much as possible.’
The problem, however, was that the characteristics of light-blood poison were quite similar to something Suho was familiar with.
‘It’s similar to stardust. This… is not a coincidence.’
The stardust the demons developed at the factory was also a medicine that temporarily amplified their strength.
Suho asked a question to Querehsha, who was watching him.
‘Querehsha, do you know about stardust?’
After a while, the answer came.
[The Queen of Insects, Plague Monarch, snorts that it is a crude poison developed by demons.]
A new information window popped up.
[Poison: Stardust]
An incomplete poison that compensates for the disadvantages of light-blood poison.
By sacrificing human suffering and death, they succeeded in removing all side effects of light-blood poison.
Temporary amplification of mana power during ingestion is the same as light-blood poison, but it has the disadvantage of short retention.
‘These crazy guys.’
After checking the information window, Suho’s expression hardened terribly.
There was only one thing that Suho thought of about the manufacturing process of stardust.
Burning living humans in mana fuel called Mist Burn.
At that time, it was the “stardust” that solved the problems with extreme pain and boiling blood side effects of light-blood poison.
‘Extremely demonic.’
Passing all the pain on humans to build strength.
Silent anger began to boil inside Suho.
The body of the demon guards trembled when they felt an unusual aura.
“H-How is he taking it in so well?”
“He should start to feel weak when he uses his mana power.”
“Hmm. Anyway, when you’re done eating, get up.”
At those words, Suho quietly stood up from his seat.
[Use ‘Poison: Light-Blood Poison’.]
The light-blood poison that flowed from Suho secretly spread in all directions.
As the intangible poison slowly seeped into the bodies of the demon guards, Suho’s eyes grazed with a cold bloody feeling.
‘I’ll give it back to you as it is.’
‘And you, too, will die in pain with burning blood from within.’
Chapter 93
It was a large and majestic oval Colosseum.
Shouts like thunder were echoing everywhere.
Most of the stands were occupied by slave demons in the workhouse.
Apparently, the execution ceremony seemed to be an entertainment to relieve the stress of slave demons suffering from hard labor.
Ironically, this way was strangely no different from humans. Suho sneered at that.
Using provocative shows to make the public a target for venting their anger.
This behavior has been practiced countless times by humans in a surprisingly long history.
[… It wasn’t like this in the past.]
Esil’s voice seemed to suppress anger.
[The Colosseum was originally the exclusive property of demon nobles. It was used to measure each other’s strength by arranging gladiators from each family. It’s kind of like a rank war.]
However, now that all the demon nobles have disappeared, this seems to have turned into a hobby for those who wanted to imitate the nobles.
“The tyrant… What was his name? Everyone seems to call him a tyrant or a tyrant king.”
[It’s not enough that he dares to imitate a noble, and call himself a king! I couldn’t have imagined it was in the past…!]
“Esil is a boomer.”
[What?!]
At Esil’s bewildered reaction, Suho smiled and glanced over the crowd.
“Anyway, among all these demons… It seems like the tyrant isn’t here.”
[Earlier, Nukira also mentioned that the tyrant only showed his face occasionally in the Colosseum. It’s the first match, so it’s probably not worth watching.]
“I see.”
Just in time, the demon who hosted the execution ceremony shouted loudly at the audience.
“Attention everyone! The opponent who will execute our one-horned man is-!”
The door opened on the other side of Suho.
“The one-armed ruthless slayer!”
Swoosh!
An enormously muscular demon appeared with a tremendous shout.
[One-Armed Maniac]
As the name suggests, his one arm was cut off, but the remaining forearm was extremely intimidating.
Laughter erupted from the crowd.
“Puhaha! Are they sending out a one-armed person for the first game!”
“This is going to be over too soon!”
“A one-horned man and a one-armed man fighting!”
“This is worth seeing!”
Suho realized what the demon guards muttered about the word “concept” and smiled.
“They have good planning skills.”
It was a thoroughly planned show.
The contrast between one-horned Suho and the one-armed demon was actually creative.
However, given the clear difference in weight and appearance between the two, it was not very fair.
Anyone could tell why the show was called an ‘execution ceremony’.
“He must really find my looks ridiculous.”
[You shouldn’t be complacent still. That guy is a demon that has been saturated with light-blooded poison.]
As Esil had said, an ominous mana power emerged through the whole body of the light-blooded demon.
It was clear from the crowd’s reaction, that he had been famous for living in the Colosseum for a long time.
“Pft. Is it this guy this time? He looks delicious because he’s soft-looking.”
The light-blood demon looked at the small and tender Suho and licked his lips with a meaningful look.
Suho murmured.
“I think I know how he’s still alive after taking the light-blood poison.”
[As much as his blood boiled away, it must have been replenished by sucking the blood of other demons. With that, he could have powered up again.]
Esil’s words were correct.
However, there was one fact that even Esil overlooked.
Light-blood poisoning is accompanied by excruciating pain.
The light-blooded demon who had endured that pain for a long time was now a complete berserker who could no longer feel pain.
Swoosh!
“Kehehehe. Can you hear me? Everyone is waiting for a scream to come out of your mouth.”
The demon looked up at the cheering audience with a cruel smile.
“But, rejoice. They do not wish for your quick death. I want this show to last as long as possible. And I….”
Lick.
With a snake-like tongue, the demon approached Suho with a leisurely gait.
As those big muscles got closer and closer, a strong aura overflowed.
“I’m such a sweet demon, I can’t possibly fail the audience’s expectations. So be grateful. Saying that I will kill you as slowly as possible…”
But-
Slash.
Suddenly, the light-blooded demon’s vision flipped over, and Suho’s figure disappeared in front of him.
“…?”
Bewildered for a moment, the demon tried to turn his head to find Suho.
But it was impossible.
‘This…’
Something is strange.
No words came out of his mouth.
In front of Suho was a giant headless demon standing with its back turned?
That body part that was very strange yet familiar…
‘M-My….’
At that moment, the maniac realized.
His head was now in Suho’s hands.
That was his last memory.
[You have killed a one-armed light-blooded demon.]
[‘Vulcan’s Horn’ devours the demon’s soul.]
Thud!
The body of the huge mad-blooded demon fell to the ground.
Along with that, there was a heavy silence inside the Colosseum.
“…”
In that suffocating atmosphere, even the host was perplexed and at a loss for what to do.
Suho, who in an instant cut the demon’s neck off, just stood tall with a nonchalant expression on his face.
He turned his head and looked at the host.
“Is there anyone next in line?”
[‘Title: Demon Slayer’ buff…]
The host instantly felt a chill at that gaze.
As if he met his nemesis.
* * *
… Swoosh!
Then, a tremendous shout erupted as if the Colosseum was about to burst.
“One Horn! One Horn!”
“Hey! Did you see that?”
“I saw it!”
“What? How could someone like him…!”
“Kyaaaa! What’s next! Did you hear that? He wanted to fight the next one right away.”
“It’s been a while since a brave demon appeared!”
“Right! The time has come for even the one-armed demon to die!”
A number of reactions filled with admiration and astonishment poured in from the audience.
However, the most surprised among them were the demon guards who sent Suho without much expectation.
“Eh, does this make sense?”
“The one-armed man has eaten more than ten demons…!”
“What the hell did you do with One Horn?”
“Could it be that his speed is amplified when he eats light-blooded poison?”
“It doesn’t matter now! The game is over too soon!”
From the point of view of the demon guards, it didn’t matter which demon died at the execution ceremony.
Because no matter who dies, it just needs to be stimulating.
The problem was time.
What the demon jailers wanted is to show the audience the brutal and desperate look of the gladiators at the execution ceremony as slowly as possible.
In that way, they hoped that the slaves who were exhausted from hard work would be relieved of their stress, and that the tyrant king would personally stop by the Colosseum to deal with the malevolent energy that the slaves radiated.
“Granted that it was fast, it’s still too fast!”
“To think it ended before the tyrant king showed any interest!”
“If it was going to end this quickly, it would be a waste of time to bring the slaves here in the first place.”
“If I had known it would be like this, I would have told One Hord one in advance to fight as slowly as possible.”
Eventually, they turned their attention to the warden, who had a serious expression behind him.
“Uh, what should we do, Chief Warden?”
“The one-horned man wants to send the next one. This is what I’m talking about. If it ended like this, the atmosphere would be…”
“That’s right…”
The warden was gritting his teeth as he glared at Suho, who was still in the middle of the Colosseum.
The one-armed man had been a mad-blooded horse that had been raised with great care, but it was too futile to use.
However, he muttered with a sly smile as if he had come up with an idea.
“No. This was better. It’s been a long time since a useful guy appeared. Let’s see how far he can hold out.”
“What? That means-”
“Yes. Let One Horn do what he wants. Send the other guy out before the crowd cools off.”
Although the one-armed maniac had been popular among slaves for a while recently, it was only a passing fad anyway.
“It’s time for a new wind to blow. Hehe.”
When the order of the jailer was issued, the demon guards hurriedly ran to the prison.
Meanwhile, the host, who suddenly came to his senses, shouted at the audience.
“Incredible! A round of applause to the one-horned man who killed the one-armed man in one swoop! Especially today, we will continue the next execution ceremony!”
Swoosh-!
Just then, the guards brought another demon out of the prison.
“Hehe. One-armed was dead? Too bad. I was going to eat him.”
The newly brought out demon was licking his lips.
That smirk already gave the impression that it was such a bummer.
“Oh, wait. He hasn’t eaten one-armed yet, has he? Even if I wasn’t the one who killed him, can I eat one-armed instead?”
“Do whatever you want, but don’t put your guards down. Play with it as slowly as possible.”
“Hehe. There’s no way I would.”
Slide!
Just like that, the door on the other side of Suho opened and the second demon appeared.
[Mid-Level Mad-Blooded Horse]
“Mid-level? So, was the guy I just killed a lower level?”
[This is not the time to judge the ratings. Since he ate light-blooded poison, the power amplification rate varies depending on how much blood he has sucked.]
Esil warned Suho in a tense tone.
“Amplification rate…”
Suho’s eyes shone brightly as he pondered on those words.
“That’s the same for me anyway.”
[Item: Vulcan’s Horn]
Difficulty to obtain: ??
Type: Sword
Attack +40
A sword crafted from the horns of the greedy demon Vulcan.
Vulcan’s powers are imbued, dealing more damage.
-Effect ‘Destruction Desire’: Increases physical damage by [83%].
-Effect ‘Demon Devourer’: The power of Vulcan becomes stronger as it devours the demon’s soul.
[Devoured Demon Soul: 53]
Verification has already been done.
Even though Vulcan’s Horn was ‘mounted’ on Suho’s head, its performance was still intact.
“Besides, he just had 11 demon souls.”
[It must be the souls of the demons he has eaten. He would have swallowed every single drop of blood and even a single bone fragment from the executed corpse.]
“Great.”
After all, it would be much more efficient than the workhouse.
Suho’s eyes flashed and he looked up at the mid-level horse that had just appeared in front of him.
Without hesitation, he killed it again.
“Ack…”
Blag.
[You have killed the mid-level light-blood.]
[Vulcan’s Horn devours the demon’s soul.]
…?!
Again the shouting stopped and silence came.
But this silence was much longer than the first.
The demons were silently looking down at Suho with astonished eyes.
“Okay, next.”
The two executions were completed in less than a minute.
It was an unprecedented event since the beginning of the execution ceremony at the Colosseum.
However, the reaction of the crowd was already far from Suho’s interest.
Suho turned his head and looked into the eyes of the demon guards, no, the chief guard sitting behind them, and opened his mouth.
“Or you can come out yourself.”
“…”
At that provocative gaze, the demon-like eyes of the head of the demon shook.
Chapter 94
That night.
“… You killed three guys in a row?”
Through the stillness where everyone was asleep, an old voice reached Suho’s ears.
Suho, who was sitting in the prison, turned his head towards that voice.
It was an old man, no, a dirty old demon.
He was still lying with his back turned in the darkness far away.
Suho stared at him in silence, and after a while, a clicking voice flowed from him.
“Tsk. Occasionally, there are demons like you who are well suited to light-blooded poison. But you will regret it in the end for ignoring my warning and eating the food.”
Just as the old demon said, Suho killed three light-blooded demons sent by the demon guards in a row.
Audience was thrilled with the amazing sight.
The sight of a demon who seems weak as an oppressed slave yet executes demons who are much more powerful than himself is extremely cathartic.
However, such a situation was by no means the picture the demon jailers had hoped for.
The prison guards wanted a show where the strong kill the weak brutally and play with them before consuming them.
By doing so, the absolute truth of ‘obedience to the strong’ would clearly be imprinted in the minds of the slaves.
However, what Suho showed was the complete opposite.
“… Still, it’s a good thing you didn’t eat the mad-blooded demons.”
The old demon’s words to Suho continued.
At the execution site, Suho did not eat the corpses even after killing them.
After hunting the same demons, the demons become stronger by ingesting the mana that is dissolved in their blood.
However, since Suho was not a demon, there was no reason to suck their blood.
Besides, Vulcan’s Horn devoured their souls.
The demon guards, unable to understand the reason, stopped Suho’s execution ceremony after the situation did not go as they had hoped.
If they continued, only the precious mad-blooded demons would die in vain.
“It is only natural for demons to eat demons. However, you must never have the blood of demons poisoned with light-blooded poison.”
“… Why?”
Finally, Suho’s mouth opened.
“It’s because the more you eat the light-blooded demons, the more the light-blooded poison continues to accumulate in your body. The stronger the power, the greater the pain.”
“I didn’t ask for that.”
What Suho was curious about was something else.
“Why are you saying these things to me?”
“… I’ve told all the other guys, too. It’s just that they didn’t even listen to me.”
That was expected.
Although light-blooded poison was painful, it amplified strength.
Not taking light-blooded poison before the execution ceremony was nothing more than telling him to die obediently.
That was why the other demons there mocked and blamed the old demon.
“If you become a mad-blooded person, your end will be a pitiful and painful death.”
“You mean, just like you right now?”
Cough.
The old demon vomited black blood instead of answering.
[The Queen of Insects, Plague Monarch, watches the blood of a demon completely poisoned by light-blooded poison.]
“… I ate whatever they gave me at first. I went to the execution ceremony and won countless fights, and became stronger by eating the blood of countless corpses. Then, I finally realized it by listening to the words of the mad-blooded demons who survived like me and got the blooded poison penetrate to their bone marrow.”
The old demon coughed for a while longer, then chuckled.
“The tyrant king waits for the moment when we ripen most deliciously before getting eaten by him. It is the most efficient.”
Realizing that fact, the old demon began to fast.
Even if he won the execution ceremony, he never ate the corpse of the loser.
The moment the concentration of light-blooded poison penetrates deep in one’s own body, the tyrant will eat them.
“This Colosseum is a breeding ground for the tyrant king and a food warehouse. Hehe.”
[Now I know why they’re so skinny.]
Esil murmured.
[Suho, I think the food you ate today is the last meal here. From now on, if you’re hungry, you have to kill and eat the other person at the execution ceremony yourself.]
“It’s really terribly demonic. I hate this.”
Suho shook his head and, while talking, asked the old demon what he was curious about.
“Mister, where is the tyrant king usually hiding?”
“Hiding? It’s such an accurate expression yet I’m afraid someone will hear. Certainly, young people these days have no fears.”
The old demon tossed and turned for the first time and turned to Suho.
Then, he looked straight into Suho’s eyes with his eyes wide open and whispered in a low tone.
“No one knows the whereabouts of the tyrant king. He’s a terrible coward.”
“Coward?”
“That’s right. The tyrant king is the absolute ruler of this place, but at the same time he is the most delicious prey. Anyone can become strong the moment one eats his corpse.”
As he spoke those words, the old demon’s eyes glistened with intense greed.
Lick.
No matter how unlikely the future was, the image of him licking his lips with a snake-like tongue was truly demonish, as if he was happy just imagining it.
[I’ll tell you in advance.]
Suddenly, Esil spoke to Suho.
[This kind of fighting between each other and being eaten only happens to weak demons. Don’t misunderstand that noble demons like me are like them.]
‘I didn’t say anything though.’
[Seriously. You also often saw me eating. We don’t vulgarly eat corpses ourselves. Absorbing bloodstone is much cleaner and more efficient.]
‘Bloodstone?’
Those words suddenly reminded Suho of the mid-level demon he had hunted before entering the demon realm.
‘Come to think of it, you said that he ate bloodstone and amplified his strength, right? What exactly is bloodstone?’
[It is a highly condensed crystal of the mana power of demon blood. Occasionally, nobles with vulgar tastes will eat the demon themselves, but nobles, like the Radiru Clan, have bloodstones instead.]
‘Isn’t that just the same?’
[No, it’s completely different! We can collect only a little bloodstone without killing the other person. Who would serve us if we became nobles that ate all the demons under our command?]
‘Ah, that’s right.’
Esil worked hard to defend herself, fearing that Suho would look at her in a bad light.
[So, right now, this guy who isn’t even a noble is cultivating and eating his own people, imitating a noble. Not only is this inefficient, it also only reduces the number of demons.]
Listening to Esil talking hard, Suho simply organized what he had to do in his head.
“So, in the end, to catch the tyrant, I have to look as delicious as possible.”
“W-What? Did you just say you would catch the tyrant king? Hahaha! Such a crazy person!”
Suho’s words must have been so absurd that the old demon bursted into a hearty laugh.
Other demons who were sleeping woke up one by one at the sound of loud laughter and began to lose their temper.
“Ah! Why is it so loud?”
“What kind of senility is this old man having at this late night!”
The quiet prison was suddenly filled with profanity.
But the old demon’s laughter wouldn’t stop.
Since the demons were each locked in a solitary cell for fear of harming each other, there was no way to shut his mouth.
In that noisy atmosphere, Suho looked straight into the eyes of the old demon who laughed at him from afar and opened his mouth.
“Mister, can I ask you one more question?”
“Hahaha! Oh, sure! What are you so curious about?”
“What can I do to look delicious to the tyrant king?”
“Puhahahahaha!”
At those words, not only the old man but also the other demons bursted into laughter.
“What is that madman talking about?!”
“What? You want to look delicious to the tyrant king?”
“This time, we really have a madman here! Hahaha!”
What Suho did at the execution ceremony today had already spread among the demons.
But most of them were locked up in prison, so they did not actually witness the sight.
It is said that Suho defeated three mad-blooded demons in one day, but all the demons confined there were prisoners who survived by consuming countless blooded demons.
In their eyes, Suho was still just a newbie.
“You’ve been lucky enough to survive today that you completely misunderstood things!”
“He really lost it!”
“You want to get the attention of the tyrant king? Do you want to get in his sight and become his subordinate!”
“That’s too simple!”
“Eat and eat! They will let you eat endlessly at the execution ceremony. Eventually your brains will be thoroughly stained with light-blooded poison!”
“The tyrant king will then appear in front of you!”
“Haha.”
Suho regretted it for a moment.
If he had known they would be so kind with information, he should have asked them sooner.
“… Had I known this, I should’ve just eaten today.”
There was a frightened being somewhere at the words Suho muttered.
[The Queen of Insects, Plague Monarch, is amazed at your ferocity.]
[The King of Beasts, Fang Monarch, giggles, saying that the world is a weakling.]
“Let’s see…”
He slowly turned his wrists and gave a meaningful smile.
“Should I do an eating show?”
* * *
Suho’s mukbang (eating show) started the next day.
“Yesterday was the first day, so only the weak ones were sent up.”
“Today will be different.”
The demon guards sent Suho to the execution ceremony with vicious smiles.
“You will regret leaving yesterday without eating those corpses.”
“That’s right. I regretted it all night.”
“… What?”
“So, I’m going to eat today.”
Suho’s unexpected response made the guards look puzzled.
“One Horn said…”
“It’s a useless bluff.”
“That also ends today.”
The guards, who firmly believed that Suho had already been poisoned by light-blooded poison, thought that Suho would be weak today as much as he used his strength yesterday.
Light-blooded Poison burns the demon’s blood the more mana power is used.
That was the reason why Esil’s strength has become so much weaker these days than when she was a demon noble. Her blood was sucked by countless demons.
“… In that sense.”
Suho smirked as he looked up at the executioner who looked more savage than yesterday.
He attacked forward like a cannonball, and thrust his hand into the opposing demon’s body.
Blag!
The demon’s body was pinned to the ground by Suho’s tremendous power.
“Eat freely this time and gain strength, Esil.”
[Nice to hear that.]
At those words, the eyes of the demon noble nestled inside Vulcan’s Horn lit up.
Swoosh!
Black energy began to be sucked out of the demon’s body.
The energy then coalesced into a small bead and floated in the air.
“Hey, wait!”
“What is that?”
The spectators who witnessed the strange sight were in shock.
“No way! Is that…!”
“Bloodstone?!”
Even the demon guards were wide-eyed in astonishment… much more than yesterday.
It was natural for them to be surprised.
Extracting the bloodstone from the body of an opponent before killing them.
The only thing who could do that was…!
“Noble…?!”
“He’s a demon noble!”
“That’s crazy! Could there be a noble still alive?!”
The bloodstone floating in the air flowed into Vulcan’s Horn.
To be precise, into the mouth of the real demon noble hiding within.
“The one-horned man was a demon noble?!”
Chapter 95
Swoosh!
Numerous bloodstones clumped together in the air seep into the horns of the one-horned demon, Suho.
The sight came as a shock and horror to the demons who saw it.
“This is… nonsense.”
“Only demon nobles can make bloodstone, right?”
Even the demon guards were staring at Suho in amazement.
Bloodstone was the power of blood given only to demon nobles.
It was how they eat.
More important than that, it was because the bloodstone was the foundation on which the nobles could pass on their strength to their heirs and maintain the power of the family.
Bloodstone has the power to absorb and utilize demonic power most efficiently.
That was also why they were repeatedly conducting research to create bloodstone.
In the end, they developed things like light-blooded poison and stardust, but all of that was to mimic bloodstone, which was the exclusive property of nobles.
‘Though recently, they have been able to imitate bloodstone quite closely…’
That made them even more sure.
The fact that what that one-horned demon created was real bloodstone.
But it didn’t make sense.
“In the War of Outer Gods, the Demon Nobles have all been annihilated already, right?”
“Even the Radiru Clan, which was still alive, was destroyed!”
“Then what the hell is that guy?!”
Even in the midst of that, Suho was overwhelmingly hunting the opposing demons.
His demon slayer title boosted all his stats by 40%.
The Vulcan’s Horn devoured the demon’s soul.
It was not enough, but now that Esi”s ability continued to take away the power of the opponent’s in real time, the synergy was beyond imagination.
[Kehehe! You’re so cool, Young Master! You are truly the enemy of the demons!]
[Master! I feel so proud and honored to be your first knight!]
Beru and Quay were passionately cheering for Suho in the shadows.
Actually, if Suho brought out the Shadow Soldiers, he would be able to subdue his opponent faster, but the important thing now is not the outcome of the battle.
Suho’s goal is to bring out the tyrant king.
In order to bring out the coward, he had to get his attention as much as he could ‘diabolically’.
Blag!
[You have killed a mid-level mad-blooded demon.]
[Vulcan’s Horn devours the demon’s soul.]
The battle was over, but no one paid any attention to the match.
“I-Is he really a noble?”
“What are we going to do now?”
All the demons in the stands watched Suho’s every move with bewildered expressions, unable to do anything.
In that suffocating atmosphere, the host of the execution ceremony stepped forward.
“… One Horn wins!”
The demon guards gritted their teeth.
“That can’t be.”
“All nobles are dead.”
Above all, the demon guards were the ones who were right next to Suho prior to that.
Their senses were not so dull that they could not recognize the demon noble right in front of them.
“Then what is he?”
“What’s going on?”
The eyes of the demon guards suddenly turned to the chief guard behind them.
The warden glared at Suho standing in the middle of the Colosseum with an extremely cold gaze.
“Tsk. There’s no way that a guy like that could be a noble.”
In the first place, if he was a demon noble, there was no reason to be captured and be in an execution ceremony.
‘There is something.’
‘But I don’t know what it is…’
One thing was clear.
“We have to get rid of that sinister bastard.”
The warden’s eyes flashed as he gave a command to the guards.
“Prepare the Minotaur!”
“…!”
At those words, the eyes of the demon guards widened.
“Are you sure you want to kill that one-horned one right away?”
“He might be a demon noble…”
“So what if he’s a noble? It’s more than enough to kill him!”
“…!”
The demon guards were shocked by the jailer’s remarks.
It was because it was unimaginable for ordinary demons to dare point a weapon at a noble.
“We are no longer in the demon realm we used to be! So what if that one-horned man is a noble? Would you like me to run right now and kneel in front of him?”
Demon spirits burst out of the warden’s eyes.
“Don’t forget! We already have a tyrant king! That one is just a prisoner on execution! If he still survives, we can follow the rules and send out stronger opponents! Prepare the demons immediately!”
“Y-Yes, Sir!”
The guards hurriedly ran out with that unholy order.
* * *
The execution ceremony was temporarily suspended.
When the host said that he would bring the beasts used in the workhouse as the next one, the audience started to stir with confusion.
“That’s crazy! A Minotaur?”
“Is there a precedent for releasing a mage beast so quickly at an execution ceremony?”
“Aren’t the guards crazy? Is it okay to treat a demon who might be a demon noble like this?!”
Even the frightening guards who usually wield the whip were given the freedom to boo at moments when the slaves were sitting in the Colosseum like this.
Also, the fact that Suho might be a demon noble was a huge stimulus to them.
An execution ceremony for a demon noble.
They couldn’t believe they were witnessing a forbidden act.
That noisy atmosphere was exactly what the warden wanted.
‘Yes, sometimes we need to do this so that the slaves don’t rebel. As expected, the tyrant king’s strategy and ruling is perfect.’
No matter how strong the demon guards were, if the slaves gathered in the Colosseum decided and attacked all at once, it would only take an instant for the seemingly solid hierarchy to be overturned.
It was because the demons who did not have the authority of nobility were in a relationship of eating and being eaten by each other anyway.
Even light-blooded poison is widely used in the demon realm these days, so it was frequent for lower demons to suddenly run out of control and eat demons stronger than themselves and become stronger.
‘That’s why this execution ceremony is what I need.’
Whether Suho was a one-horned demon noble or not, it was fine if they could elicit such kind of excitement from the slave demons.
The more brutally you execute the demons that stand out among the slaves, the more the slaves will fear that they could end up like that at any time.
‘If he’s strong, I’ll just send out a stronger opponent!’
As long as he had already confirmed Suho’s fighting style, the warden judged that letting the Minotaur go was the right thing to do.
“The one-horned’s attacks were based on speed. In times like this, we have to send out a guy with a lot of toughness so that they can fight for a long time.”
“As expected of you, Chief Warden.”
“Still, it wouldn’t be fun if it wasn’t too fair. Take the one-horned one and go to the weapons room.”
“Oh. Right…!”
At the command of the jailer, the demon guards smiled sinisterly.
While the minotaur was being prepared, the demon guards dragged Suho to the weapon room.
“Choose the weapon you want.”
“…”
Suho silently looked at the various weapons that appeared in front of him.
The weapons room was full of all sorts of heinous weapons, including knives, swords, hammers, axes, and gauntlets.
If Suho needed a weapon, he could just take it out of his inventory right now.
But.
‘It’s free, so it would be rude if I declined.’
Suho smiled strangely and slowly began to look at the weapons.
Very slowly.
“Why? What’s taking you so long?”
“Is it hard to choose because it’s the first time I’ve seen such good weapons.”
The demon guards began to look frustrated.
But they didn’t rush him or force him to hold any weapon.
“Alright. It’s nice to see you being so careful.”
“If it is difficult to choose, you can choose several. You only have one horn, so it’s fair enough if you have many weapons. Hehe.”
Behind Suho, who was fiddling with weapons in silence, the demon guards mocked him.
“I am too tired of waiting. We’ll be outside, so come out when you’ve made your choice.”
After the demon guards giggled and went out of the warehouse.
Left alone in the weapons room, Suho squinted his eyes.
“These weapons here seem to be made of a material similar to the iron bars I was imprisoned in.”
[You got it right. These are all weapons made by smelting hell iron.]
Esil admired Suho’s keen eye.
Most of the weapons there were weapons made from ore mined at the workhouse.
[Infernal iron is not only hard, but also has the effect of amplifying mana power, so it is originally used to make weapons.]
Suho smiled and said.
“All the weapons here look terrible though.”
[No matter how much I look, there is not a single thing as a good weapon.]
Beru gritted his teeth and muttered.
Perhaps the weapons there weren’t properly maintained, and all of them were rusty and not sharp.
[I guess these just need to be refined.]
Suho nodded at Esil’s words
Just looking at those weapons made it clear what their purpose was.
[They want you to struggle for as long as possible before dying.]
He could already picture the crowd giggling at the ridiculous clown fighting hurriedly with a weapon that was just solid and had all its blades missing.
“No wonder they’re free.”
Suho smiled and looked at the weapons.
Miscellaneous items with poor attack power.
However, there were so many of them that it would certainly take a long time to go through them one by one.
‘Gotta pack everything first.’
“Gray, come out for a second.”
Swoosh.
A little wolf appeared from Suho’s shadow.
“Growl!”
As soon as Gray appeared, he looked around with ferocious eyes.
He had leveled up a bit these days, so he rushed in right away and was ready to bite off the enemy’s neck.
However…
“What are you doing? Pick up everything you see.”
“Hnngg?”
Gray tilted his head.
Like a petty thief, his owner made him pack all the weapons he could get into his own inventory.
Actually, without going through the inventory, they were just selling them straight to the shop window.
“Is this 130 gold? This one’s 100 gold? Well, it’s a great amount if summed.”
“Hnnng?”
Gray was confused, but quickly followed Suho and opened his small mouth to bite the weapons.
Ring! Ring!
[‘Item: Hell Iron Longsword’ found. Would you like to acquire it?]
[‘Item: Hell Iron Axe’ found. Would you like to acquire it?]
“Yeah, good job. Accept all and sell.”
The pet system allows Suho to acquire items from a distance even through Gray.
Thanks to Beru and Quay, Suho literally cleaned out the weapons room and smiled with satisfaction.
“Did it right this time.”
[Wait. What are you going to do if you get caught?]
Esil was taken aback and didn’t know what to do.
But Suho already had an idea.
“Then, it is what it is. If I don’t take care of it now, it would still appear in front of me later on in the hands of other demons.”
[Well.]
Since there was no way to get along with the demons in the future, it was better to make sure that the enemy’s power could be reduced.
Besides, the demon guards who would be the first to discover the place would already be poisoned with light-blood. Even if they get mad, they wouldn’t be able to do anything.
When Suho, who had handled everything perfectly (?), finally came out of the weapon room, the demon guards frowned.
“Would that be enough?”
“You pretended to be prudent, but you only got a gauntlet and two swords? Why are you so modest?”
“Too bad. I’m going to die in no time with this. I guess it’s a losing battle.”
“You know it’s against the law if you go back, right?”
The demon guards giggled at each other.
Despite such a reaction, Suho shrugged his shoulders and strode towards the arena.
“Why are you so urgent? Do you want to die so soon?”
Esil murmured at the words of the demon guards giggling behind Suho.
[Hey. You’re doing this because you don’t want to get caught, right?]
“…”
Suho walked quickly without saying a word.
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