Chapter 1021 – 1021. The Plum Blossom Swordsman Reincarnated Into The Baek Family
Hefel spewed out a plague from his mouth to break the chains. The plague didn’t spread but stuck to Hefel’s body. Hefel’s body swelled more and more.
Squeak, squeak!
The shadow chains screamed. They were stretched taut, reaching their limit.
“I am the plague! Death itself, capable of taking tens of thousands of lives in an instant!”
Hefel roared. Cracks appeared on the chains. I broke out in a cold sweat. A dangerous atmosphere permeated the air. And many people were shocked by the demon’s aura. Elves and humans alike fell to the ground. Those with weak mental fortitude fainted, wet themselves, or vomited.
“Yes. I understand that your status is high.”
Yuria didn’t even raise an eyebrow. She calmly stared at the supreme demon.
“But this isn’t the demon realm, your world. And I am stronger than you are right now.”
Clang!
The shadow chains holding Hefel were torn apart. Hefel unfolded his body, which had been forced to crouch. His massive form grew as if wings were spreading. A tremendous size reaching 5 meters. A part that was hard to distinguish as a wing or a hand aimed at Yuria.
Yuria’s dagger moved. From top to bottom. With that simple action, space was cut, and half of Hefel’s body fell off with a thud.
“Gyaaaaaaaak!”
Hefel screamed. The plague that had been inside his body disappeared, and his size shrank again. Surprisingly, the severed half of his body regenerated quickly enough to be seen.
Swish, swish, swish.
Shadow chains reappeared and bound Hefel’s body. Hefel struggled, but he couldn’t break free like before.
Hefel had been careless. From the moment he faced Yuria, he should have fought with all his might. If he had, the outcome might have been different. But as a supreme demon, it was strange to be wary of a mere human.
“Elena.”
“…Yes, I know. Is this the demon of this world? It’s the first time I’ve seen one, but it’s disgustingly ugly. Just looking at it makes me nauseous and gives me a headache.”
“That’s because the supreme demon’s status is high. Just being able to look at it without collapsing means your mental fortitude is outstanding.”
“That’s not very comforting. …How are you okay?”
“It’s a secret.”
Yuria said with a relaxed smile.
I know the answer. The trait I shared with Yuria is ‘Absolute Mind’. No mental attacks work on her. For reference, the skill I shared with Elena is ‘Complete Recovery’. Even if mental attacks work, she will be fine immediately by using ‘Complete Recovery’.
“What… are you planning to do?”
Hefel, bound, asked.
“I don’t plan to kill you right away. There are a few things I need to find out through you, and you are valuable just by being a supreme demon.”
“But if we leave you as you are, there are many unstable factors. Even if you’re rotten, you’re still a supreme demon. It’s a safety measure. I’m not sure if it will succeed, but…”
Blue butterflies appeared around Elena. More than ten butterflies fluttered in the air before gently landing on Hefel’s body.
“…How dare you! How dare you! You humans are meddling with my mind…! It’s disgusting! Get out!”
Seven butterflies shattered and disappeared in an instant.
Elena frowned and spat out the blood that had welled up in her mouth onto the ground.
“Are you alright? You don’t have to push yourself.”
“…Let me tell you in advance. It’s impossible to completely brainwash and enslave him.”
“Then, it means it’s possible to brainwash him incompletely.”
“Yes. It’s possible to change his perception to some extent. But this is also temporary. It probably won’t last even five days.”
“That’s more than enough.”
“……”
The blue butterflies seeped into Hefel’s struggling body. Hefel’s eyes momentarily glazed over before returning to normal. Hefel no longer struggled.
Elena’s eyes lost their light and she collapsed to the side. Yuria quickly grabbed her shoulder. Elena’s eyes returned to normal. She stood up straight with a refreshed expression. I knew that Elena had died once and come back to life with Complete Recovery.
“I used up all my remaining lifespan. Let’s see if it worked. Kneel.”
Hefel knelt on the ground and bowed his head. The puppet demon next to him was shocked. Elena raised the corners of her mouth.
“It worked. This demon will recognize me, Yujin, and you as superior beings for the time being. It’s an order, demon. Take away the plague from the elves.”
“Yes. I understand. But please loosen these chains. The restraints are too strong, making it difficult to use my powers.”
Is this a trick?
That’s what I thought right away, and there was no way Yuria wouldn’t know that. Perhaps she wasn’t affected by Elena’s illusion but was pretending to be.
Yuria hesitated for a few seconds before loosening the shadow chains that bound Hefel. The demon’s power surged. I glared at Hefel before turning my head to the side. The complexions of the elves, who had been standing like zombies, gradually improved. The black spots that had appeared on their skin also disappeared quickly.
Their emaciated state from suffering from the plague hadn’t changed, but that was a problem that could be solved with a comfortable rest.
‘For now, he’s properly caught in Elena’s illusion. Even if it’s temporary, if Elena keeps casting illusions while she’s summoned… No, before that, Yuria will do everything she needs to do, so… I don’t need to worry about that guy.’
I turned my head to Bella. I was curious how she would react since the plague demon she had been relying on had ended up like that.
Bella was gaping in shock. Her gaze didn’t leave Hefel as if she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Her face was full of despair. Her eyes were constantly shaking. Demitera was watching Bella with shining eyes.
“What to do? The demon you believe in has become my loyal dog.”
“……”
I sneered as much as I could, but there was no reaction. It seemed that the mental shock was preventing her from hearing my voice. I decided to understand. It seemed that Bella had trusted the demon more than her own younger brother.
Elena approached this way.
“The elves’ plague is resolved. What’s left is the Bitrase army. What are you going to do?”
I looked at the Bitrase army. The soldiers had already lost their will to fight. Most of them had contracted the plague and would die if the day passed.
“I need achievements and fame.”
“Is it the achievement of capturing a demon? I don’t know much about this world, but… the achievement of capturing a supreme demon must be great.”
“No. I’m going to bury that. If such rumors spread, the demons hiding in this world might invade my territory. Defeating the Bitrase army and saving the elves. That level of achievement is enough.”
The soldiers in front of me were the last army of the Bitrase Kingdom. Destroying this army meant that I had inflicted fatal damage on the Bitrase Kingdom. Since there was evidence of the elves, no one would be able to deny my achievements.
“Since it’s already known… that means I have to manipulate their memories.”
“How many are possible? It doesn’t have to be to the point of risking your life.”
“…It’s simple memory manipulation. It hasn’t even been 30 minutes since the demon appeared, so it’s not an old memory… I can do about 3,000.”
I narrowed my eyes and gauged the Bitrase army. The ground was torn, and soldiers were rapidly dying from the plague even now. There were about 5,000 soldiers alive.
‘If Elena uses Complete Recovery tomorrow, it’s possible to manipulate the memories of all 5,000, but… it’s time-inefficient. And it would be more helpful to my achievements if about 3,000 survive.’
If I kill them all, there will be people who doubt my achievements. The 3,000 were witnesses.
“Elena, let’s kill 2,000 more.”
“…Have you made a decision? You can use the power of the plague demon.”
I raised my hand to Yuria. Yuria, who had already been listening to the conversation, nodded. Soon, the plague demon used his power. The plague that was wandering among the soldiers became even stronger. The soldiers died quickly.
“Save me, please save me!”
“Aaaah! My stomach hurts! My stomach…!!”
“I, I have to go back. I can’t die in a place like this… Uwaaaah!”
The soldiers died at a rapid pace. Hefel’s words that he could take tens of thousands of lives at once were true. It didn’t even take 3 minutes for 2,000 to die. However, in return, Hefel was lying on the ground, panting.
“……”
I felt fearful gazes from behind. It was the elves’ gazes. It wasn’t bad. If I instilled fear, they wouldn’t rebel.
Elena manipulated the memories of 3,000 people. The 3,000 soldiers knelt on the ground. The plague disappeared from their bodies. Yuria took the demons into a house. After interrogating one of the soldiers, the illusion was working perfectly. The soldiers didn’t know about the demon.
“I have won this war. I will show mercy to you 3,000 soldiers. However, the general is an exception.”
I dragged the general from the back and beheaded him in front of the soldiers. I threw his head to a man who seemed to be his adjutant, and the adjutant trembled in fear.
“Get out of the forest.”
“Th, thank you for your mercy!”
The surviving soldiers retreated without looking back. Some even abandoned their weapons and armor. I had the elves collect the equipment. Adding the ones from the corpses, my pockets became full.
‘The price of steel is constantly rising as the war continues. This is a complete win.’
It felt like I had gotten a little bonus.
“Yujin. Is it okay to leave the elves’ memories as they are?”
“It’s okay.”
I will take the elves to my territory and manage them thoroughly. Since they are afraid of me, they won’t do anything foolish.
“The rest of the cleanup will be done by the elves… This ends this matter here. About 4,000 elves survived, so Elnoa will be happy too. Elena too…”
“I’m sorry, but I’m not feeling well. I need to rest. It’s a pain since I can’t use Complete Recovery.”
Elena spat out phlegm without dignity. It was red phlegm. I gave up on trying to hold her back.
I glanced at the house Yuria had entered. She had taken the demons with her. I could hear the demons’ screams carried by the wind.
“Yuria is busy too. Give up.”
“Hoo. I guess I have to. The urgent thing is to get information from the demons.”
Well, the information will be easily extracted thanks to Elena’s illusion. The demons’ screams were likely from Yuria testing them in various ways.
“It can’t be helped. Today… shall I play with the elves?”
I grinned and turned around. Beautiful elves came into view. And they were all my slaves.
Elena sighed deeply. She seemed annoyed and pressed down on my head for no reason. It didn’t hurt. It didn’t feel bad either. It felt more like a caress.
“I won’t stop you. I know I don’t have the right to. But my heart doesn’t feel good about just letting it go. …Do it moderately. Moderately.”
Elena then left for the lodging where we were staying to rest. Elnoa was running around like crazy, managing the elves.
Demitera would take care of training Bella.
“You, and you. And the women over there. All of you, follow me.”
I took 10 beautiful elf women into a reasonably large house.
•••
I took 4,000 elves to my territory through the mirror tunnel. If someone asks later how I brought the elves, I can just claim that I secretly escorted them without anyone knowing. It’s difficult to verify during wartime anyway. Above all, my authority is now greater than that of most nobles.
