45 Chapter(43)

Episode(43): Demon Sullivan, Where's the hero? 

SOVEREIGN OF DEATH~(43)

A ray of moonlight shone down into the huge hall and within the silver radiance dazzling the night sky, a figure floated in the air looking down at the humans below with cold eyes.

The night breeze wasn't cold, but as it blew in it caused a chill in the soul of everyone present at the scene.

It was as if the winds were bells tolling the commencement of a disaster that would soon ensue.

All eyes were fixed solely on the figure floating in the sky.

No one knew what was happening and they were all confused. Who wouldn't be? The glass ceiling above their heads had suddenly shattered without notice.

None of them even expected it to be an enemy since this was literally the heart of the empire. 

[What? Is this a performance or something?]

A hero suddenly asked. 

To him, the party was boring and whatever this was would definitely spice things up!

He also didn't believe someone was stupid enough to charge into the empire capital alone so his brain only told him that this was some sort of performance.

However the moment the nobles and heroes that read books in the archives saw this mans appearance they were all terrified. 

All their faces were drained of color in an instant.

The man was extremely handsome. So handsome you could practically say you would only see such a person 10 times in your lifetime.

His purple long hair cascading down his back barely passing his shoulders and he was dressed neatly in a suit. He looked every bit the part of a gentleman. 

However, the black wing on the mans back and his crimson red eyes reflected back in the eyes of everyone present, they knew in an instant that this wasn't a human.

The man curled his lips into a smile screaming cruelty the moment he saw the fear on the faces of those below himself.

It was to him, a normal and natural reaction which he absolutely enjoyed.

Akane was also in confusion at first when the ceiling had first shattered.

She had expected a bunch of clowns juggling and performing tricks to suddenly glide down from the roof, however after seeing this person and sensing his aura she felt a rising chill surfacing in her heart.

She felt terrified.

'Why?'

She didn't know why. Wasn't that just a person with wings on his back? 

Having come to this world and seen numerous skills she just thought it was a human with a skill related to flying, but a scream echoed in the hall soon contradicting her thoughts.

[Kyaaak! I-It's a demon!!]

The woman was a resident of this world so it was easy for her to recognize this fact.

At that moment, it was like a tsunami had washed over the hearts of everyone and they all reacted with trembling and shaking bodies.

Subconsciously, Akane took a stance.

Having been training every single waking day since she came to this world, her body had been toned and would instinctively act the moment she felt danger.

It was one of the perks that helped her to react quickly when fighting monsters.

She wasn't the only one.

Mavis who was at her side also took a stance even faster than she did.

Her movements were as fast as a gunslinger performing a quick draw and she already had no gaps the moment she acted.

Looking at her from the side, Akane was amazed. Even in heels Mavis's stance was near perfect.

'As expected of a female knight commander!'

She couldn't help but praise in her mind. 

'Serious Mavis is cute too!'

Akane silently decided she had to go more on the offensive later.

For now, it wasn't the time neither was it the place for such thoughts to exist. 

Just from the reaction of everyone and the terrifying chill this demon was emanating she could tell he was no easy foe to defeat.

She hurriedly reached behind her intending to draw her daggers.

Her hand moved quickly through the air just as she had practiced many times before, but she caught nothing but air.

'??'

For a moment Akane opened and closed her hand with a confused expression on her face. But as if she had recalled something she slapped her head.

'Shoot! I forgot that weapons were prohibited!'

It was a rule of noble society not to carry a weapon when going to parties.

It was because bringing a weapon to a social event was like declaring you were going to fight and it was rude to the party hosting the event.

Especially in this case where the one hosting the event was the royal family. Who would dare bring a sword?

She hadn't even thought someone would be as daring to crash a party for the 'heroes'.

It sounded pretty much template for such an event, but that was only in manga and novels! Was she supposed to believe that it would jump out of the fantasy? 

Hey, this was real life you know.

Akane swore in her mind and spat curses at her past self for not bringing a weapon.

'At times like this I wish I was more paranoid and strapped a dagger to my thigh!'

Akane lamented.

But there was nothing she could do. She could only sigh and use this as inspiration for the future.

On the other side, Mavis took a melee stance obviously ready for hand to hand combat.

She also had never thought a demon would so shamelessly barge into the royal capital during this banquet.

Before leaving she had even thought of bringing a sword just in case she had to go on duty, but she left it since she didn't know something like this would happen.

Thinking back, she felt like she had failed in her job as a knight.

It wasn't her job to know the future, but it was her job to protect the empire.

As a knight she should have been well prepared. Even if she couldn't bring it inside she could have left it in her vehicle so at the least she would have a weapon.

In the end something like this happened on her watch.

'What a failure'

She shook her head. It was already to late for regrets now that it had happened.

Now she could only thank the gods that she had learned hand to hand combat along with the sword.

She never thought she would put it to use in a real battle but it seemed like she had done the right thing.

Now it was time to put this practice into use.

Akane also decided that she had to make hand to hand combat a part of her practice regimen after this battle as well.

In the sky above the hall, the demon continued to look down on the people with a cruel smile hanging on his lips.

After he had glanced over the hall once and was satisfied, he began his descent slowly.

Everyone closest to where he was going to land backed away as if a plague were about to spread. They were all horrified.

Very soon, the demon had landed with a tap of his toes against the ground.

He looked around with a cold smile before opening his mouth with a grin.

[Greeting oh miserable and pitiful inferior humans!]

His voice was soft and without an ounce of mana. But in the silence of the terrified crowd it felt like someone had blasted the volume to its absolute limits.

The demons voice contained a power and confidence that shook the souls of everyone in the hall.

[On this beautiful moonlit night, I grace you with this Sullivan's presence...delighted are you not? This is a chance you can only get once in your measly lowly lives as human worms]

Boom!

A heavy pressure exploded from his body. It held no mana nor did it contain any form of energy.

It was just the suppression of a stronger higher leveled existence.

The pressure was so heavy it forced some to the floor the moment it was released.

Even those sword master's in the crowd had extremely pale faces.

They looked like they were about to cough blood and collapse in a heap. This analysis wasn't too far from the truth. 

All the experts and masters were having a hard time on their feet. And this was even when the monster before them hadn't even released his actually aura!

Ahh, it was like they could feel the cold killing intent of a blade hung around their necks.

Sullivan smirked and spread his arms.

[Rejoice inferior cattle! To have the honor of witnessing my greatness before your impending death is something you should all cherish to your graves!]

He laughed wildly.

[Kehahaha! I am not usually one for slaughter, but tonight you have drawn the lottery! Your worthless, meaningless lives will finally be of use as I massacre you bugs and sacrifice you all to the demon king! Honored are you not? Hahahahahahaha!]

His laughter shook the sky.

After hearing his words the hearts of everyone in the hall clenched and trembled.

But Sullivan didn't care.

For all he cared, he could create a river of blood and these humans would still be naught but inferior cattle fated to die.

To him, these humans were already corpses that he allowed to stay alive just a bit longer.

Shouldn't they just accept their fate and be good little lambs waiting for slaughter?

If not for his mercy then how could they still be breathing now?

He laughed and laughed until finally, the fun in the joke had run dry.

Letting out a satisfied breath, his expression quickly turned stern and he gazed ferociously at the crowd.

[However] 

Sullivan raised a finger.

Although he had come to slaughter and kill. He had an objective for coming here today. 

Sullivan didn't want to go on a killing spree and forget his objective or else there would be serious repercussions.

He quickly stated his terms. 

[Before I commit myself to a meaningless massacre that will be of no use to me or you humans, does the hero mind stepping out?] 

The hero.

An enigma to the demons.

The hero was the natural enemy of all demons, including the demon king.

There were always various heroes ranging from wind, fire, water, earth, lightning, light, sword, spear and etc..

But no matter what branch of hero they were, as apostles of the God's they always wielded divine power capable of killing all demons and that also included the demon king.

Every demon was curious about such a hero that had just come into this world.

Sullivan was no different.

His goal was unknown to everyone else, but it seemed to them as if he had come to look at the enemy camp.

Seeing that no one made a move, Sullivan chuckled slightly then said.

[You all seem worried, but don't strain your feeble minds trying to understand my great plans]

[Alright, how about this]

Seeing that they all still hesitated he decided to make a deal.

Although he could just slaughter the humans one by one to find the hero sooner or later, if he had accidentally killed the still small fry hero things would be troublesome.

Certain restrictions prevented him and other individuals above a certain level from killing these weak heroes from another world.

If he wanted to kill the hero he would have to wait until they were at the least level 60.

It was a pain but, the laws of heaven prevented their action and they could only relent.

So instead, he decided to reassure them.

[I promise you, if your 'savior of all mankind' manages to land a single blow on me, then I shall leave without a fuss. Even if he kills me, I shall have no qualms as it would just mean I was weak]

Everyone was dumbfounded at his words.

Are you kidding?

Although no one could properly gauge this demons strength there was no doubt his level was extremely high.

The hero was just an amateur that wasn't even level 20 yet!

How in the world would he expect him to land a hit?

Even if you gave him all the plot armor of the world there was no way he would be so lucky.

Looking at the demon they could only think he was extremely shameless.

Still, no one dared to speak this out and in the end they all stayed silent.

[What do you say? A pretty good deal for lowly trash like you right?]

Sullivan ignored the weird looks and said confidently.

No one spoke and no one stepped forward.

They still didn't know what this guys purpose was but it seemed he wouldn't just kill everyone like he had previously claimed.

Although he might really go on a rampage and kill everyone, it seemed that wasn't his main goal.

Now then, the question was would they convince the hero to show himself or risk getting slaughtered altogether?

If they persuaded the hero and he went, he might die but if they didn't they would die.

On one hand was the person with the power to end the demon king once and for all while on the other was death.

It seemed like the first option was the best but they didn't even know if Renji had the capability to actually defeat the demon king.

If they were certain of this then no matter what they would give their lives to protect him but from what they had seen, they couldn't immediately come to a decision.

They all struggled internally not knowing what to do.

With as many experts as there were, surely they could protect the hero before he was killed. But should they really put his life in jeopardy?

They didn't know what to do at all.

At that moment, a middle aged man with average looks stepped out.

His body was slightly trembling with fear but he stood up with a straight posture as he faced the demon and shouted.

[S-Sir Sullivan...why did you, a demon appear here this evening?!]

Terror was written all over his face.

Just looking at his aura one could tell this guy had never been on the battlefield much less held a sword before.

The demon before him had an overpowering aura and it made him as white as a sheet.

Even so, what if he moved now and gained the hero's favor?

This fact alone caused him not to even think about the consequences as he spoke with more fervor!

[Surely you know the humans are preparing to go to war against demons and we should have several ways to put your stupidity to an end...so do excuse my rudeness and respond to my curiosity]

The noble had a smirk on his face.

He thought that by engaging in a war of words and debating that this demon would definitely back down.

However his thoughts were wrong.

Blood splattered painting the ground red with blood.

The smile on the man's face never changed, however his body now had no head.

It was smashed into particles of blood and flesh by a single swing of Sullivan's hand.

[Well, how weak]