Chapter 185: Stalling for Time
As Kurtz spoke, the deathly silence was broken. Grausam shifted his gaze from Serie to him.
The black-haired man before him lacked Serie's terrifying, sharp magical fluctuations. He appeared exceptionally calm.
Yet when his eyes swept over Grausam, something shifted. Every disguise felt exposed. Even the deepest demonic essence of his soul lay bare.
A tremendous sense of crisis arose, born from pure instinct.
Who exactly is this man?
Although Grausam had heard from Schlacht two hundred years ago, Serie had an incredibly powerful human swordsman at her side. But like Schlacht, he'd assumed: two centuries was an eternity. Even powerful humans turned to bone dust. Besides, he'd never met this man before. There was no reason to connect them.
Yet the icy killing intent in Serie's eyes, coupled with the terrifying aura from the stranger, made one thing clear: if they moved against him, he would be reduced to ash in the next second.
No. Absolutely not.
The corruption had reached its final stage. He could feel the core of El's Light being devoured by divine power.
Just a little more time.
Between fleeing and stalling, Grausam chose the latter. He suppressed his demonic energy with desperate effort and forced a smile onto his face, a mask of goodwill. "Lady Serie, I have long admired your name. I never expected to meet you here. My name is Grausam."
His gaze swept between them, but instinctive reverence for Serie's thousand-year reputation made him address her first.
"I think there might be some misunderstanding—"
"Misunderstanding?"
The black-haired man's voice held subtle amusement. He gestured toward El's Light, its surface writhing with twisted vines. Then his eyes found Grausam's carefully composed face. "To dare lay hands on the holy sword's power? This misunderstanding is indeed quite significant."
Kurtz studied the corrupted blade, his expression calm. He wondered what these demons were thinking. How dare they target El's Light, a creation designed to absorb the power of faith. That power belonged to gods. Ordinary magic should have no effect whatsoever.
The holy sword still resisted, still fought back. Kurtz trusted his work absolutely. Unless confronted with power of equal strength, El's Light would never fall.
Yet something about that twisted dark matter clinging to the blade felt familiar. He couldn't quite place it.
"Tell me what magic you used," he said, his tone almost casual. "If I'm in a good mood, I might leave you a complete corpse."
"Your Excellency is joking. Demons dissipate directly upon death. How could there be a complete corpse?"
"That's right." Kurtz's words were calm, but something deeper ran beneath them. "After all, you lost the favor of the gods long ago. You are the only life form in this world without the favor of the gods. Upon death, even your bodies turn directly to ash and dissipate."
Grausam's heart trembled violently.
Who exactly is this man?
That demons had lost the gods' favor was no secret. In the mythical era, demons still left corpses when they died, until the God Slayer killed their demon god. Only then did demons become formless upon death.
But why did he detect nostalgia in this man's tone?
As if he had personally witnessed these events?
Grausam was skilled in mental magic, which made him naturally sensitive to emotion. He could read feelings the way others read faces. And the emotions contained in this man's words rang entirely true.
Not performed. Not calculated. Genuine.
And that calm gaze, it pressed down on Grausam with more weight than even Serie's presence. Her power was destructive sharpness, a blade ready to cut. But beneath this man's composure lurked something far more ancient and terrifying.
There was no time to unravel his identity.
Grausam saw Kurtz's finger twitch slightly upward. That single motion sent every hair on his body rigid.
He's moving.
"Wait!" The word burst out. "I have information regarding Lord Schlacht and His Majesty the Demon King, our newly ascended Demon King. I believe this will definitely interest you."
A gamble. Pure desperation.
He was betting that this powerful, mysterious man would react to that single phrase: Demon King.
For a thousand years after the First Demon King's death, the demon race had fractured. The emergence of a new Demon King meant everything was changing. The entire continent would tremble at such news.
Kurtz's raised finger paused.
"Demon King?" He frowned. "Your race has birthed a new Demon King?"
Kurtz did not know when the Demon King would emerge. He couldn't verify this claim. But if it was true, it warranted investigation. Either way, letting this demon speak a bit longer costs nothing.
Grausam felt the killing aura lock onto him shift, loosening slightly.
His heart soared with triumph. He'd gambled correctly.
Serie exchanged a glance with Kurtz, her surprise evident. A new Demon King. This was no minor matter.
"That's right!" Grausam seized the opening, speaking quickly to stall. "Lord Schlacht discovered a trace of the original essence left behind when His Majesty the First Demon King fell at the old site of the Demon King's City. Using this fragment, we found the perfect successor—an adult with unparalleled talent and power. All demons have revered him as the New Demon King."
Every word was true. Lies would not help him now; only authenticity could buy him time. Besides, it didn't matter if they learned this. The rise of the Demon King was irreversible.
As he spoke of this news, information that would shock any faction leader, his peripheral vision remained locked on El's Light.
Just a little more.
Unseen within the blade, the light at its core was being replaced by purplish-black at visible speed. The anguished wails from the sword weakened with each passing second, replaced by increasingly frantic black tentacles writhing across its surface.
Kurtz observed all of this. Yet for reasons he didn't examine, he did not intervene.
He simply listened to Grausam's narration, his expression unchanged, as if hearing an irrelevant story.
And that silence was exactly what Grausam needed.
Time. Time was everything now.
"So, Lord Serie, and this powerful Excellency, the situation on the continent is about to change..."
His words cut off mid-sentence.
A tremendous roar erupted from within Holy Sword El's Light.
Hiss!!!
All the twisted black matter entwined around the sword's body and base suddenly contracted, then surged into the holy blade like a tidal wave.
And then, Holy Sword El's Light changed.
[End of Chapter]
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