Demon

The feeling of dimensional travel was, in general, no different from the first time.

In what seemed like a tunnel where even time lost its meaning, Riezel flew like a ghost, continuously heading toward the other end of the seemingly endless tunnel of light, flying for a long, long time.

It wasn't until he felt like he was passing through an invisible barrier that his vision brightened and his ethereal body began to feel a heaviness, giving substance to his otherwise weightless consciousness.

Before long, the feeling of being dropped came over him, and Riezel sensed that he had landed safely on solid ground.

'Arrived?' Riezel thought in wonder before opening his eyes.

However, even though he had opened his eyes, his visible range was strangely very limited, which startled him slightly. He soon discovered that he was in pitch-black darkness.

He heard the wind all around, accompanied by the rustling of trees. He smelled the air, carrying a thick scent of soil, while the ground beneath his feet felt somewhat soft. He saw the sky, but it was dark and overcast, with neither the moon nor a single star visible.

Needless to say, it was now nighttime.

Eventually, Riezel found himself deep in the mountains and forests under the cover of darkness.

'How did I end up in the mountains?'

Riezel frowned before raising his hand.

*Bsttt—*

A burst of light immediately rose from his palm, forming a flame that illuminated all around.

This was a simple magic personally taught by Yuri, an ignition magic within the transformation system. It seemed insignificant, but as she had said, it could come in handy when necessary.

After lighting this small flame, Riezel confirmed that he had indeed landed in the deep mountains, surrounded by trees and bushes. In such a night devoid of moonlight and starlight, being in the depths of the mountains and experiencing pitch darkness was quite normal.

'Not even sounds of birds or insects?'

Riezel felt the terrifying silence around him.

It was a far cry from his first-dimensional travel when he arrived directly in Orario's urban district, bustling with crowds.

Such a silent night in the deep mountains, staying here for too long would feel quite horrifying.

"I hope no demons are lurking around..." Riezel muttered.

The demons he referred to were not the typical evil demons in some legend or folklore but the man-eating monsters of this world.

In this world, some demons looked indistinguishable from humans, some had obvious differences in appearance, and some were outright heteromorphs. They had nothing to do with the fictional existence of 'demons' and could not be considered the same kind of creature.

Demons of this world generally had stronger bodies and greater strength than humans, possessing what could be termed immortal. Even if injured, they would immediately recover.

Some powerful demons could even regenerate if cut in half, making them seemingly undying in the eyes of ordinary people.

Such a group of demons had only one weakness—they couldn't stand sunlight.

Once exposed to sunlight, they would immediately turn to ashes. Because of this, demons only became active after the sun had set, and during the daytime, they were nowhere to be seen.

'Immortal monster, huh...?'

Riezel's eyes flickered, allowing the firelight to dance around his body.

After discerning the direction, he began to move.

'Anyway, let's go down the mountains first...'

However, even after walking for a long time in the pitch-black mountains, Riezel still hadn't heard any sounds of birds or insects, which was quite unusual.

'Let's go up the tree and take a look.'

Riezel didn't continue walking aimlessly; instead, he leaped up like an arrow shot from a bow onto a tall tree, gazing out from the treetops.

Gazing from this great height, he finally spotted a glimmer of light in the pitch-black mountains.

It was the light emanating from a small house halfway up the mountains.

'Someone actually lives in these remote mountains?'

After thinking that, Riezel didn't hesitate any longer. With a swift movement, he flew out like a bird in flight, rapidly heading toward the house.

*Tap*

In less than a minute, he descended from the sky and landed in front of the house.

"Who's there?"

Seemingly startled by the slight noise Riezel made upon landing, a cautious voice resounded from inside the house, reaching his ears.

"..."

Riezel squinted his eyes at the small house ahead of him, silent for a moment before responding.

"Just a lost traveler in the mountains. I spotted this house and figured I'd seek some help."

Upon hearing his response, the person inside seemed to fall silent and didn't speak again. After a while, the door of the house suddenly opened, and someone stepped out.

Surprisingly, it was a beautiful woman in a kimono with fair skin, which immediately caught his eye.

"Come in."

Upon seeing Riezel standing at the door, the woman's eyes flickered slightly before she spoke with some coldness.

"Sorry for the trouble." Riezel made a gesture of respect and then followed the woman into the house.

The interior of the house was very simple, with no extra rooms. A quick glance revealed the four wooden walls that made up the entire house and minimal furniture. There was only a fire burning in the middle, cooking a pot of meat.

"..."

As Riezel gazed at the pot of meat, his expression turned cold.

"Fufufu, wanna have some?"

The woman's mocking laughter resounded, chilling as if a gust of icy wind, sent shivers down one's spine.

Yet, what sent shivers down the spine even more were her next words.

"I just cut off the neck of someone living in this house, ready for a feast, but then you suddenly showed up... Well, since it's an unexpected addition to the meal, I tossed him in the pot for a little reheating. Care for a taste?"

As she spoke, the woman's voice had changed. Once cold yet pleasant, it had now turned hoarse and sinister, akin to a demon's chuckle.

"So... this is what they call a man-eating demon, huh?"

Riezel didn't turn to the woman and simply remarked with a calm tone.

Knowing about demons was one thing but actually encountering one was another.

Before seeing them firsthand, Riezel regarded the existence of this world's demons merely as knowledge and imagination. But now, seeing this demon woman and her brutality with his own eyes, he couldn't help but feel disgusted.

"You bunch of scum really deserve to die..."

Before his voice could fade, however, the woman behind him already moved.

Approaching silently from behind like a large carnivorous beast, she lunged at Riezel with astonishing speed, aiming to bring him down for a feast.

Unfortunately, the lunge missed its mark.

"What?"

The woman raised her head and swiftly turned toward the direction of the firelight. With the firelight illuminating her body, her appearance had completely transformed.

Her once slightly beautiful face now sported fangs, her eyes fierce and terrifying. Her head elongated like that of a snake, and even her once fair skin was now wrinkled like snake scales, resembling a terrifying snake monster.

"Where?! Where is my prey?! Where's my food?!"

As the demon woman growled furiously, a cold response came from her left.

"Right here."

Unfortunately, she didn't have time to react.

*Pu-chi!*

With a flash of silver light, a dazzling slash sliced through her neck in the blink of an eye, severing her head.

Appearing from the side, Riezel brandished a bright silver short sword and swung it at the demon woman without giving her a chance to react.

His slash was merciless and swift, revealing his determination to kill her on the spot.

However—

"You bastard! Are you a Demon Slayer?!"

The demon woman, whose head had been chopped off, not only failed to die instantly but, even as her head rolled on the ground, she let out a furious roar at Riezel.

At the same time, her headless body didn't collapse but instead started moving again, continuing to lunge at him.

This was this world's 'Demon'.

Whether their heads were chopped off or their bodies dismembered, they wouldn't die. If her head were reattached to her body, she could quickly return to normal without any harm done.

For ordinary humans, except for Demon Slayers who knew how to kill demons, killing one could be nearly impossible unless they were brought into sunlight.

However, Riezel obviously wasn't ordinary.

Facing the headless demon woman's body lunging toward him, Riezel didn't dodge or swing his Hermit again. Instead, he extended a finger toward the body and swiftly tapped it.

*Bzzzt!*

There was a slight sound as Riezel's finger touched the demon woman's body.

"Decompose."

His ice-cold voice slowly spread.

In the next moment, a crimson light appeared at the tip of his finger before transforming into a wave and then into a vortex, spreading from his finger.

Before long, the entire body of the demon woman was instantly encased by the vortex, freezing in place.

*BOOM!*

In no time, the headless body suddenly burst without any warning, turning into countless fragments, and vanished completely.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHH—!!!"

As soon as her body vanished, the demon woman's head on the ground unleashed a hysterical scream.

She was horrified to find that her body was gone.

Not chopped into pieces, not burst like just seen, but disappeared to nothingness directly, as if it never existed in the first place.

"Yo-You monster!"

Seeing the incomprehensible scene and unfathomable power of this young man, the demon woman was terrified.

*Crash!*

Without hesitation, she crashed through the window, letting her head fly out.

Unfortunately, before she could fly far, a fluctuation of crimson waves surged out from the wooden house, resembling a beam of light, catching up with her head in an instant.

*Bzzzt!*

As the crimson beam hit her, it disintegrated her head into nothingness.