Chapter 515: Soul Judgment
Outskirts of Orlai City, Ander Village.
"Roar—"
A demon with a terrifying face, resembling a collapsed-faced, long-fanged giant ape, pounded its chest and let out a furious roar.
It was a Bagura Demon!
It was the embodiment of savagery and ferocity from the Abyss, a chaotic beast that seized horrifying spoils from its enemies.
The Bagura Demon before them was adorned with chains of pale white bones wrapped around its wrists and neck, strung together with the skulls of countless humanoid creatures—humans, orcs, elves, dwarves.
"Weak insects, I will crush you!"
The Bagura Demon suddenly leaped, descending from mid-air, slamming its massive fist toward the nearby crowd.
"Boom!"
The ground cracked, rocks flew, and dust filled the air.
Shattered flesh exploded, staining the Bagura Demon's fur with blood, and its enormous fists were soaked in crimson.
A massive crater appeared on the ground, filled with mangled, unrecognizable players.
"This damn ape hits too hard!"
"Aim for its neck!"
Despite witnessing their comrades' tragic fate, the remaining players did not retreat. Instead, they circled the Bagura Demon, continuously raising their guns and firing.
"Bang!"
"Bang! Bang!"
A barrage of bullets poured out, striking the Bagura Demon's thick fur, blossoming into splashes of blood.
The Bagura Demon grimaced in pain, its expression twisted. Using its disproportionately thick arms as a shield, it roared in rage and charged at the crowd.
"Awooo—"
"Dodge! It's coming again!"
"Damn it, this ape is tough! It's eaten hundreds of bullets and still won't die!"
The ground trembled as the enraged Bagura Demon rampaged through the crowd, swinging its massive fists and turning several players into bloody pancakes.
"Keep firing! Don't back down!"
"This damn ape is almost dead!"
"Roar! Roar! Roar!"
The Bagura Demon howled in excitement, clutching a player in its massive hand.
Bulging veins surfaced on its thick arms, releasing an ancient, savage strength from the Abyss.
"Crack!"
Before the player could even cry for help, they were crushed into a bloody pulp, bones snapping alongside the grotesque sound of flesh being torn apart.
The Bagura Demon then stuffed the mangled remains—bones and all—into its gaping maw, chewing greedily.
"Humans… snacks… delicious!"
Yet, the players remained fearless, continuing to fire while curiously chatting amongst themselves.
"He ate another one."
"Is human flesh really that tasty? Damn, I almost want to cut off a piece of myself to try."
"Bang!"
Finally, a bullet grazed the Bagura Demon's fur and embedded itself into its neck.
"Got him!"
"Awooo—"
"Humans… die!"
The Bagura Demon's eyes instantly turned blood-red. It opened its massive jaws, exhaling a putrid breath before sprinting forward and leaping.
"Boom!"
The ground trembled once more. The location of the shooter was now nothing but a blood-soaked ruin.
The Bagura Demon turned its head in confusion, but the pain did not stop. Bullets continued to rain down, and the humans still showed no sign of fear or retreat.
Hadn't it already killed nearly a third of them?
Something was wrong. Were these still the weak, screaming humans it remembered?
The Bagura Demon lumbered forward like an ape, its enormous body making it a natural target.
Soon, its massive, monstrous frame was riddled with bullet holes, oozing corrosive, dark purple blood that bubbled with a rancid stench.
At this moment, the Bagura Demon staggered, struggling to move. The weight of bullets in its body nearly outweighed its flesh—an ordinary creature would have died long ago.
"Quick! Keep going!"
"That ape's head is mine!"
"Charge!"
The players' excited cheers filled the Bagura Demon's ears, igniting an uncontrollable fury.
Having evolved from a primal demon into a Bagura Demon, it had razed countless human settlements, feasting on them as its finest delicacy.
But now, it was being treated as prey by these weak creatures?
Unforgivable!
"Roar—"
The Bagura Demon let out a deafening roar, charging into the crowd, using the last of its strength to wreak havoc.
"Phase Two!"
"Guys, spread out!"
"Boom!"
"Destroy!"
The Bagura Demon's fists never stopped swinging. The ground collapsed around it, rocks shattered, trees snapped, and buildings crumbled into ruins.
It had completely lost its remaining intelligence, becoming the embodiment of Abyssal savagery and destruction. Its overwhelming aura of annihilation sent chills down one's spine—but not to the players.
The players dodged from a distance, continuously firing, pulling aggro from all directions.
"Bang!"
With the final bullet piercing its thick hide and burrowing into its filthy, frenzied flesh—
"Awooo—"
The Bagura Demon let out one last wail before crashing to the ground, causing a tremor upon impact.
Demonic deaths often triggered eerie anomalies.
Before the players' eyes, its corpse exploded into countless miniature versions of itself, each only an inch tall.
"Roar! Roar!"
The tiny demons immediately fought each other, tearing at one another until only one remained. The final small Bagura Demon pounded its chest in defiance before vanishing into a puff of smoke.
This demon, born from war and slaughter, ultimately perished in combat, returning to the Abyssal Blood Pool.
The players watched the self-destructive scene, not with fear, but with fascination. "So cool! Where can I buy one as a pet?"
"What the hell? I got the final kill?"
"Damn it, lucky dog!"
"Forget the demon—kill him first!"
What happened in Leo Village and Ander Village was not an isolated case.
In the small city of Marl on the Empire's southwestern border—
"Minotaurs must die!"
"Long live the Pure Love Warriors!"
The players' cheers echoed through the streets.
Gunfire roared, smoke filled the air.
A nearly ten-meter-tall Giant Minotaur collapsed with a thunderous bellow, its enormous body crashing down and causing nearby buildings to crumble.
In a fortress in the Empire's south—
The Caz Demon vibrated its wings, emitting a terrifying buzz as its mosquito-like proboscis effortlessly pierced human chests.
"Kill the mosquito!"
"Catch it!"
However, the players threw out a massive capture net, imprisoning the Caz Demon within it while continuously dousing the demon with holy water.
The Caz Demon's buzzing grew weaker, and its wings gradually stopped vibrating.
On the vast Savvedra Plains in the southern Empire, facing the Abyssal Demons' vanguard, over two million players formed an unbroken "wall of flesh and blood" stretching for miles.
Compared to the more cautious veteran players, the new players who received the mission had no fear of death—after all, those with nothing to lose fear nothing.
Since they had no experience to lose, there was nothing to be afraid of. If they could trade their worthless lives for the death of a demon, wouldn't that be a great bargain?
Thus, strange scenes unfolded everywhere—groups of humans wielding crude firearms and dressed in tattered clothes chased after vicious Abyssal Demons.
Upon spotting a demon, these players swarmed in like rabid dogs, throwing themselves at it even at the cost of their lives, determined to drag the demon down with them.
Many demons even began to doubt their own existence.
Were these people truly human? They were more crazed and battle-hungry than Berserker Demons. When they surrounded their prey, drenched in blood with frenzied eyes, who was truly the spawn of the Abyss?
In Bain Town in the Empire's southeast, 1,541 players paid the tragic price of losing over 700 comrades to turn a powerful demon trying to infiltrate the Empire into a pincushion.
The Abyssal Demons' usual strategy of slipping demons into nations to massacre citizens and spread fear had utterly failed.
Most demons that infiltrated the southern Empire were slaughtered by players driven mad by the lure of gold and contribution points.
And what about the demons that infiltrated large cities like Isthalia and Northwind Fortress, attempting to incite even greater terror?
Their fate was even more miserable.
—Because waiting for them was the Empire's most elite force, the Emperor's close vassals.
"That's a demon!"
"Run!"
Amidst the panicked cries of the crowd, a cloaked figure suddenly expanded, transforming into a grotesque and twisted demon.
This demon was a monstrous hybrid of an ape and a wild boar. Its bloated, obese body bore a pair of comically small wings, and three pairs of jagged fangs jutted irregularly from its face. Its crimson eyes gleamed with cunning malice.
It was a Soul Judge Demon, an immensely powerful high-tier demon that fed on hatred and despair. It delighted in feasting on the fresh flesh of humanoids, always keeping its larder stocked with abducted victims from the Material Plane, consuming them alive piece by piece.
Ironically, despite considering themselves refined and elegant, these demons' dining utensils were always bloodstained and rusted, and their appearances were among the ugliest of all demons.
At this moment, the Soul Judge Demon looked down at its claws, its voice hoarse as it muttered:
"My shapeshifting magic… failed?"
Glancing at the panicked crowd, the demon's lips twisted into a sinister grin. "Fine. In that case, let the feast begin."
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The Tiefling guards of Northwind Fortress arrived swiftly, forming a scattered formation and opening fire on the Soul Judge Demon.
But the demon's murky little eyes glowed with a deep red light, and in an instant, every Tiefling was put under its control.
It was the power of the mind!
And not just any mind—this was the will of the Abyss, filled with malice and an insatiable hunger for destruction. Ordinary mortals had no means of resisting it.
"Die. Perish."
"Submit to the Abyss."
At that moment, every single Tiefling soldier turned their guns on themselves and pulled the trigger.
"Bang!"
Gunfire rang out in eerie unison.
Brain matter splattered, skulls shattered, and Tiefling soldiers crumpled to the ground.
"To witness one's own death, yet be powerless to resist…
Such exquisite pleasure."
The Soul Judge Demon narrowed its eyes and took a deep breath, as if savoring the aroma of despair.
Then, it hungrily turned its gaze toward the fleeing crowd, raising its claws.
[Aura of Fear]
Chaotic, eerie lights burst forth, rapidly expanding and engulfing hundreds of people, plunging them into soul-deep terror.
The Soul Judge Demon's lips curled into a smirk, its boar-like fangs quivering with excitement.
"Heh heh… what a feast this will be!"
Just as it was about to indulge in the despair and flesh of its prey, space distorted and a portal opened.
A figure clad in armor, wielding a sharp sword, stepped forth, standing between the Soul Judge Demon and its terrified victims.
Someone snapped out of their fear, clinging to a thread of hope as they cried out, "It's Duke Medrolash!"
Indeed, the newcomer was one of the three Grand Dukes of the Empire, the leader of the Tiefling race—Oathbreaker's Blade, Medrolash.
His gaze swept across the fallen Tiefling soldiers, his eyes turning cold.
"Defying the Empire's order, slaughtering its people…"
Medrolash raised his longsword and pointed it at the demon's head. In a deep voice, he declared, "In the name of His Majesty Cassius, I shall grant you—death."
"Oh? A half-breed born of devils and humans? Even your ancestors would become my meal if they saw this."
The Soul Judge Demon laughed arrogantly, its eyes once again glowing crimson.
But Medrolash lowered his visor and charged forward, completely unaffected by the demon's mental assault.
A dark glow surrounded him—this was the Oathbreaker's Malice Aura.
The Soul Judge Demon was momentarily stunned, but it quickly swung its claws again, attempting to unleash another massive fear wave.
However, Medrolash was faster. He raised his bloodstained longsword, and a dark light descended from the sky, striking the demon's head.
[Channeled Divinity: Manifest Fear]
Medrolash harnessed the darkest emotions, condensing them into a surge of magic-fueled intimidation.
Even the Soul Judge Demon momentarily succumbed, recalling the times it was dominated by stronger demons in the Abyss. The sheer terror of losing power overwhelmed it.
"Th-this…"
The grotesque demon stood frozen in place.
Medrolash seized the moment, swinging his sword again, unleashing a series of deadly Oathbreaker spells.
[Plague Hex]
A white light slashed across the demon's face, blinding its eyes.
—Blindness.
Pain wracked the demon's mind as its eyes turned milky white, losing vision.
"I can't see!"
The demon panicked.
But then, a crimson light streaked across its body, carving a searing wound that made it howl in agony.
—Blistering Fever.
A raging fever ravaged its body, weakening it to the point of near collapse.
A black light speared into its bloated abdomen, churning its insides.
—Festering Decay.
The demon's flesh began rotting, making its hideous form even more revolting.
"You… half-breed…"
The Soul Judge Demon wheezed heavily.
But before it could finish, a dark green light sliced through its legs.
—Putrid Malaise.
Its thick legs bled uncontrollably, muscles spasming as dark purple blood oozed.
Finally, unable to endure, the demon collapsed, its world fading into darkness and agony.
It thrashed and howled in despair.
"No… Impossible! My power…"
"Shriip—"
The demon's voice was abruptly cut off.
Medrolash drove his sword through its still-beating heart.
[Sanctified Execution]
A burst of crimson energy impaled the monstrous body.
Medrolash pulled his sword free, now slick with dark Abyssal blood.
He knelt beside the corpse and whispered:
"In the name of the Tiefling people."