The Regressed Son of a Duke is an Assassin

Episode 267: The Devil’s Foe (1)

“Ugh!”

Veshti clasped her forehead as her eyes flickered open.

She was experiencing a peculiar headache unlike any she’d ever felt before.

It was as though an unknown, mysterious force was relentlessly pressing down on her brain.

Struggling to regain her composure, Veshti attempted to rise when suddenly,

“……!”

She recoiled in shock.

An unfamiliar demon, no, a human woman she had never seen before, sat squarely before her in the familiar surroundings of the Demon King’s castle.

“You sure slept for quite a long time.”

Lunav murmured breathlessly as if complaining.

“Veshti!”

Roger’s familiar face hurried toward her in alarm.

“Are you alright? Do you feel unwell anywhere?”

“My head hurts and I feel a bit dazed, but other than that, I’m fine. But what exactly happened?”

Before Rogers could finish explaining, his gaze shifted towards Veshti’s neck.

Veshti instinctively followed his gaze.

The pendant she had received from Belkaryon was firmly clutched in her hand.

“Why is this here?”

She was puzzled by the sight, beyond her understanding.

However, for some reason, she could not let go of the pendant.

It was as though her body, not her mind, was rejecting the release.

Lunav, having caught her breath for a moment, abruptly seized her hand.

“There’s no time, so I’ll get straight to the point. I’ve heard that you’re the only demon who can stop the Demon King, is that correct?”

The moment the Demon King was mentioned, Veshti instinctively felt it.

Something unpleasant was happening to him.

“Where is Belkaryon now?”

She didn’t know why, but the outside sounded incredibly chaotic.

* * *

Humans, when faced with unfamiliar sights they’ve never encountered, often reveal their true emotions.

Demons were no different.

With hands covering their mouths, legs giving out beneath them, or eyes trembling like shaking leaves—despite standing firm as a rooted oak.

The demons of the castle were confronting the spectacle before them each in their own way.

“Is this truly the Demon King’s actual form?”

“Not just the Demon King, but who is that human woman?”

“It seems we need to reassess our perception of humans.”

The moment the Demon King unleashed his power, the castle’s demons were at a loss about how to cope with the aftermath.

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Given his nature to rampage, destroying everything in his wake without discrimination, no one considered that a mere human could quell his fury.

It was a natural assumption.

He was the strongest entity in the demonic realm, an existence even the gods, known as supreme beings, would shun.

To restrain the Demon King with strength?

It was near an impossible task.

But,

– Bang!

Sian was doing exactly that.

Not content with blocking a punch powerful enough to split the earth, he was even taking on the Demon King’s aura—a force so terrifying and suffocating it threatened to draw out one’s soul—head-on.

And was that all?

When the thrill-seeking Demon King unfurled his wings and soared into the sky, Sian took flight to meet him, and both launched relentless, rapid assaults that even the keen-eyed demons could scarcely follow.

The sight was beyond astonishing, inducing a sense of awe.

However, no matter how wondrous the human restraining the Demon King’s rampage appeared, the severity of the situation had not changed.

“The Demon King’s mana is still rising!”

The battle may have commenced to soothe his anger and mana, but as it dragged on, the latter showed no signs of subsiding.

On the contrary, it rose ever higher.

The real problem was that the human facing him was also becoming increasingly powerful as time went on.

If both powers continued scaling upwards, one could only guess how far they might reach and what catastrophic damage might occur if things went awry.

The onlookers could predict neither outcome.

“Kihahaha! How long has it been since I’ve felt this sensation? It’s truly exhilarating!”

Belkaryon, caught up in the ongoing battle, let out loud, unrestrained laughter.

“I admit it, Sian! Among all those I’ve fought, you’re the best! No, you’re even beyond that! You think so too, don’t you?”

For Sian, this belief dated back to his past life.

Despite this or that, indeed, he was the strongest in the demonic realm.

He had thought he amassed greater power in this life than before, but the Demon King was still an overwhelmingly formidable foe, one that could even contort his visage.

The Demon King in his past life felt as if he had lost his nature and couldn’t control his power, rampaging unchecked.

But now, there seemed to be no limit to how far he could ascend.

The present Demon King was meticulously controlling his nature, seemingly capable of reaching the pinnacle of his power.

In other words, it’s entirely possible he could manifest a force far more absolute and overwhelming than before.

Perhaps this confrontation was even more challenging than in the past life.

But,

“There won’t be a second time.”

Sian had resolved again and again.

Regardless of who the sovereign was, he would not lose anyone else to sheer power.

If the Demon King aimed to display the utmost limit of his might, then Sian merely needed to draw an even higher level from himself.

Reminded of this determination, just as he was about to unleash more of Keram’s power,

“Belkaryon!”

Suddenly, a firm woman’s cry from below called out to the Demon King.

“……!”

Upon hearing the outcry, Belkaryon’s face transformed in an instant.

“Veshti?!”

It was an expression of utter concern, one that seemed to lose all fighting spirit.

“Come down right now!”

Following the consecutive shouts, Belkaryon’s eyes flickered tumultuously.

Then, with a rueful smile, he looked at Sian and murmured quietly.

“Hey, Sian.”

“……?”

“How about we take a breather?”

Sian couldn’t help but scoff in response.

Soon, both men retracted their strengths and descended gracefully to the ground.

Belkaryon immediately rushed to Veshti upon landing.

Then, he silently stared at her face for a brief moment, pendant still hanging around her neck.

Perhaps noticing his gaze, Veshti spoke first.

“I heard everything, Belkaryon. It’s not your fault, so don’t blame yourself too much.”

“Eh?”

As Belkaryon wore a perplexed expression, she swiftly cradled his face.

“I’m sorry, Belkaryon. Because of me, you’ve had to endure all this…”

As a result, the mana that had surged during the battle began to subside.

“I’m sorry, Veshti. Because of my unworthiness, you’ve had to suffer…”

Belkaryon let out a lighthearted laugh and then tightly embraced her.

All the castle’s demons observing the scene thought the same thing.

Veshti, she was the only existence capable of calming the rage of Demon King Belkaryon.

Thus, she was an irreplaceable presence in the demonic realm.

Sian felt the same way.

“It looked like a close call, but it seems you’ve been enjoying yourself, senior.”

As he watched the two demons, Lunav approached Sian.

Turning around, Sian’s eyes widened in surprise at the sight of her drastically paler face in contrast to just moments before.

“The old demon told me if I wanted to return safely with my senior, I must find a way to remove this pendant as soon as possible.”

Lunav spoke with her usual calm demeanor.

“I decided that fussing over a concluded matter and worrying wouldn’t yield solutions, so I figured we should first wake Veshti up. And…”

“And you gave her all your life force, is that it?”

Sian exclaimed while seizing Lunav’s shoulders, voice raised.

Lunav looked back, bemused, as if there were no problem.

It didn’t take much to understand what had happened based on her emaciated appearance.

Veshti, deceived by the pendant, remained unconscious following her collapse. Even during her slumber, she continued to have her vitality drained by the pendant, risking eternal sleep if the situation persisted.

Therefore, Lunav used magic to convey her vital energy (生气) to Veshti, awakening her.

Without hesitation,

Determined to revive Veshti by giving everything she could.

Ultimately, Veshti awoke and promptly ran to the scene of a fierce battle to pacify the Demon King.

“You could’ve died to save me!”

“You fought that Demon King man to save me, right? Isn’t it the same thing?”

Sian couldn’t argue back.

Lunav chuckled and then leaned into Sian’s embrace.

“I’m tired, so no lectures, just accept it. It all worked out in the end, didn’t it?”

Sian tried to say more, but he sighed and looked away instead.

“Whether demon or human, it proves that, in the end, we’re all the same…”

Rogers muttered quietly as he observed from afar.

* * *

Once things had settled down, Veshti expressed her wish to have a private moment with Lunav.

Belkaryon permitted it, and they returned to the castle.

“I haven’t had the chance to properly thank you. For me, and for helping that man, Belkaryon, I want to extend my deepest gratitude for lending your precious strength.”

Veshti bowed personally to Lunav in thanks.

“How are you feeling?”

“I’m generally weak and still have a headache, but I’m not about to collapse. Nevertheless, I can’t be complacent. Even now, my vitality continues to slip away…”

Veshti clutched at the pendant once more.

“I’m feeling this way for the first time. I know that this pendant is malevolent, yet I just can’t bring myself to take it off.”

It was as if the pendant had her completely bound.

“It feels somewhat shameful to say this, but I must live. Not for myself, but for Belkaryon. He still lacks the strength to control his nature. Therefore, I must remain by his side…”

Veshti momentarily felt overwhelmed by rising emotions.

However, to conceal those feelings, she quickly composed herself.

“I envy you.”

“Sorry?”

“The only woman capable of controlling an invincible man of absolute strength. You see, that’s my wish.”

Taken aback, Veshti blinked in confusion.

To this, Lunav casually replied with a smile.

“You didn’t arrange to meet me just to say thanks, did you? What do you need to tell me?”

“Rogers told me everything. It seems the owner of this pendant intended to sow hatred and resentment towards humans in Belkaryon, to cause chaos in our realm.”

Lunav just silently nodded.

“So we need to find those responsible as soon as possible, to free me from this pendant… Have you located where they might be?”

“We’re looking into it from our world, but due to the lack of clues, it’s probably tricky.”

“Bring them all to the demonic realm!”

Lunav’s eyes sparkled at the unexpected suggestion.

“To the demonic realm?”

“Yes. Together, sharing information and power, we can surely be more effective. I’ll persuade Belkaryon.”

Though the remark made sense, it left Lunav puzzled.

Veshti’s proposal implied as if Eshelle and the remnants of Duke Berto were not in the human world but somewhere else, right?

As if confirming that thought, Veshti continued with conviction in her eyes.

“They must be in the demonic realm!”

(Continued in the next episode)