Evan D. Sherden, Punishment. (3)

Raihan looked up at the sky and suddenly recalled his childhood.

Back when he didn’t even know how to fight, he had said that he would blindly protect people, but then he had to run away from the monsters that were coming at him.

It was traumatic for him.

Raihan was ashamed of himself that day, when he could not combat the monster properly and ended up running away pitifully. Even though there were many other ways, it was because of that that he became obsessed with handling weapons and persisted in training himself.

However, Master Evan covered that up with the word ‘courage’ and made a hero of a child who had only done foolish things with a flawed determination.

On the day he met Evan, Raihan’s trauma melted down without leaving a trace. If there was a time when Raihan was clearly aware of his desire to protect someone, it was at that moment.

Raihan could never forget the conversation that day with Evan; it was the eye-opener that made his resolution firm.

One day, for his sake, he would surely be a knight worthy of the hero he spoke of; so, Raihan made a firm determination.

“Everyone, look over here—!”

Therefore, he still carried a shield.

“I’ll deal with you! Only after you trample on my dead carcass will I allow you to go!”

[Kiiiaaaaaaa!]

[What? What is that sound?]

Almost all the monsters and Demons who invaded the Marquis’ home heard Raihan’s voice. And if one were to hear his voice, then it was all over for them.

“Is that all you’ve got?! Screaming that it’s the end of humanity… Is that all!? All it took was one person to stop all that ruckus—me!”

[Ahhhhhh! You human, I will tear you apart!]

[Kill him… Kill that guy!]

Raihan’s voice was everywhere. All ‘evils’ that attacked the Marquis’ servants, nobles, soldiers, knights, magicians and new officials were forced to try and murder him.

No, the correct expression was that all of them were now hellbent on killing Raihan.

[Human, dirty human!]

[Kill him! Kill him! Kill him!]

How many monsters were there? Hundreds of thousands?

They were different from the monsters he usually faced in the dungeon. These were the most horrifying and ugliest monsters that the dungeon housed—the true nightmares that kept explorers awake.

The last time Evan went into the dungeon before leaving Sherden, it seemed like he was confronted by them…

“This strength and power have only become possible because of Master Evan’s efforts.”

What would have happened today if he hadn’t raised his Dungeon level? As expected, Raihan felt amazed at his Master, saying that Evan’s foresight was excellent.

Of course, he wished he were here.

[Kaaaaaaah!]

[Goddamn bug!]

“You’re late, Shine. I guess it’s a tough Demon, damn it…”

Shine and Raihan were the only ones who came here. The rest of the children went out to stop the backflow of the Dungeon under Serena’s guidance.

Of course, he didn’t think that there was any problem with the selection, but Raihan felt like crying a little bit when he was the only one being attacked by so many high-ranking monsters and Demons.

“I wish I could have aggroed the Four Heavenly Kings as well.”

However, Raihan had his limits. Despite all the protections given to Raihan, there was only so much he could endure.

Evan asserted that if Raihan carried it out for a few more years, even the Demon King would not be able to take his eyes off of him; Raihan still had a long way to go.

Perhaps he had to face his aptitude more seriously as Evan did, and Raihan regretted not training harder. Except for Evan, he would train harder than anyone else among the Knights.

[He can’t attack us properly!]

[All he can do is delay us! Break the shield; just break it!]

[Break it down, come on!]

He had heard that Shine successfully destroyed the gate, but the damn monsters and Demons still seemed to be increasing.

Raihan pulled up his magic and healed himself, desperately avoiding their attacks.

Although the magic was overflowing due to the patient shield’s activation and drain shield, the problem was the poison and curse that had accumulated while he was taking damage.

“Ugh, so persistent.”

Most of the healing magic did its job, but the remaining things that did not wholly disappear were accumulating, making his body feel tired. He should have given more attention to curse resistance training. Raihan regretted it again. He sure did have a lot of regrets today.

“These damn things, they’re really coming in like cockroaches!”

[Is he really a human? Even the Demon King would have been hurt by now……!]

[Don’t be afraid. We won’t die against him anyway!]

Small monsters, large monsters, ugly monsters, and a damned Demon tribe. Their attacks drove Raihan mad.

However, Raihan couldn’t afford to lose out. If his aggro-baiting stopped, others would die.

It wasn’t just the Marquis’ family. If the terrible monsters gathered here were released into the city, then the disaster would become out of control. In other words, it would become impossible to stop their power from spreading into the city if their attention was diverted from him.

It was up to him to stop it. Raihan readied his shield, cultivating himself not to succumb to the physical force, magic, poison, and curse which were leeching his vitality slowly.

“Master, I’ll keep this place safe. So you have to come before I fall!”

[He’s getting weaker.]

[The curses must be working well. Magic is mysteriously ineffective on him, but curses weaken him.]

[Curse him. His healing powers can’t completely resolve the curse.]

[Hahaha, I’ll turn you into a lifeless statue……]

Bang! The head of the Demon who was cursing Raihan exploded.

That was not the end of the attack. What followed was a bomb that blocked everyone’s eyes with a tremendous amount of light, and a series of explosions, destroying monsters and Demons!

“Raihan, you’re such a fool! Why did you take them on all alone without an offense with you?”

“Hannah?”

Raihan breathed a sigh of relief under the ever-increasing burden and shouted fitfully. Why was she here in the first place?

“I’m here, too, Raihan. I can’t believe it. Why are you doing this alone?”

His tired body was getting rejuvenated.

Compared to the divine power of the whole body, which was focused on attacking and defeating the enemy, the earth mother’s sacred power, which had an influence in all areas, helped a lot in curing curses and poisons.

“Even you, Serpina… It’s dangerous here. Stay back!”

“What danger? You’re holding it all alone.”

Serpina snorted as she launched a group debuff against the Demons and monsters by chanting sacred magic.

Standing next to him, Hannah took out all kinds of bombs and threw them everywhere.

“I guess you were expecting this to happen because you left all the auxiliary armaments you had made.”

“Master Evan made it because it was more destructive than the average ones.”

“Raihan, you’re doing great! Hold them off a little bit more, and I’ll wipe them all out, so hang in there a little more! I don’t know about anything else, but I’ve learned how to properly shoot from Grandpa Bernard!”

“Hannah, I’ll bless that bomb, so don’t throw just yet.”

“Please hurry.”

Hannah and Serpina worked in perfect harmony as only the two used to explore the dungeons together. Raihan was filled with admiration for them. When did the two become this strong?

“The Master provoked me, so I clenched my teeth and made it to the 40th floor. We’re a big help now, aren’t we?”

“If Raihan hadn’t stopped them, we would have died in a flash, so stop bluffing.”

But now, there was Raihan. The existence of tankers, who compel all the enemies to focus their attacks on them, had the effect of turning a battle into a firing practice for a shooter like Hannah. The high-end equipment that was a result of Bernard and Evan’s genius made it all the easier for them to deal with the Demons and monsters.

Serpina, who had the gift of an archbishop, cast her powers by completing the bullets and bombs which were fatal to monsters and people alike.

[Let’s deal with those women first!]

[Damn, you insolent things!]

As the area was suddenly swept away by a torrent of bullets, bombs, and sacred magic, the mad Demons and monsters tried to change their targets, but of course, Raihan did not let them.

‘Good for you. When I see the people I need to protect, my desire to protect gets stronger.’

…They weren’t just random people either; all of them were like a family.

“Bring it on!”

[That’s it…!]

[You damn human……!]

The more powerfully activated protection forced all the movements of the monsters and the Demons of the area to pull themselves towards Raihan. He didn’t care whether it was physical or magic.

“Kkkh…! Hannah, Serpina. Please.”

“You can leave it to me, Raihan.”

“Please, I hope this is the end…”

Seeing Hannah speeding up her shooting as she was filled with joy at Raihan’s appearance, Serpina repeatedly performed divine magic to treat Raihan and murmured anxiously.

Suddenly, besides the sinister magic of the Demons before her, Serpina sensed another magical presence in the near distance.

It was clear: people were going to die tonight.

Serpina prayed earnestly to the Mother of Earth and raised both hands. However, her anxiety did not go away… The magical presence materialized and struck the witches first.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

“What is this? The Rune is being nullified! Devil Rune? No way, it’s the Devil Rune!?”

[Ahh, this should be interesting!]

There was a huge black hole in the sky. A Demon with the body of a large man was hovering in the middle. There were dozens and hundreds of red tracks on the black muscular skin, and the wise witches realized who, or what, it was.

“Devil Rune.”

“It’s a real Devil Rune. Oh, my God, that’s crazy!”

“I didn’t know he’d even show up like that! I’m sorry! I’m so sorry.”

Ctheasil’s past came back to haunt her.

That was understandable.

The Demon who just appeared emitted powerful magic even without the Devil Rune, but it had the power of Devil Rune, and so the witches had no means to fight back!

“Oh, what should we do? We have to keep our promise to Master Evan.”

“We have to fight till death.”

[Ha… Are they the witches who created my formidable power? I must thank you.]

The Demon smiled at the frightened witches, stood in the air, and bowed politely toward them.

[Let me introduce myself properly this time. My name is Gefrel. I am one of the closest to the Demon King. And the humans… Yeah, they call me the number one among the Four Heavenly Kings.]

Only one of its eyes glowed red. He looked at the witch’s Rune and was getting his appetite back.

[You guys gave me new energy and even prepared a dinner like this. What a good race you are.]

“Wow, I can’t believe us witches are being treated like this when we were born to kill Demons.”

“I’m really going to curse you, Ctheasil.”

“I’ll tell Master Evan everything. That is, if I can survive.”

“Uhhh, I still haven’t had my first night with Master Evan…”

“You always tell every man that it’s your first time, Selune!”

At the height of the Demon’s concentrated magic, the witches gulped, and each took a step back. If they didn’t stop this creature, the city would be ruined. But if they did stop him, their Runes will almost certainly be taken away and killed. They were caught in a deadlock.

“Wow, this is bad.”

[Hmm!?]

Suddenly, a voice called out. It turned everyone towards its direction. A girl was sitting on the head of a Wyvern, one of the flying monsters who had invaded the city. Despite this situation, her sparkling beauty stole everyone’s eyes.

[You…?]

“Witch sisters, don’t give up your life, we shall fight them together.”

“You don’t have a good relationship with that one, do you?”

The colorful pink twin-tail jumped without knowing the situation. Mesmerizing pink hair, hypnotizing pink eyes, and dazzling beauty—it was Serena; and she was charging right at Gefrel!

“I’ll try to stop that. I wonder if we will be able to hold it off until Evan gets here.”

Serena, the Princess of the Silk Line and one of the Dungeon Knights’ current members, sighed and waved. An entourage of aerial and land monsters were glaring at Gefrel.

They were definitely part of the monsters that invaded the dungeon city. So why were they acting like this now?

[Unless she is a Monster Tamer…]

[…I see. The most important target was in a place like this.]

[I can’t believe there is this kind of talent in the human world. Be happy, human. You will be with our Demon tribe in the future.]

“Oh, I got it. You guys were the reason why Evan was nervous about me.”

Serena nodded as if she had realized something about the Demon, and then she touched her necklace. At that moment, the bodies of all the monsters surrounding Gefrel flashed.

“Then, after I get rid of you, Evan’s worries will be a little less. He might kiss my lips this time. No, maybe more than that…”

[Such a funny girl.]

Gefrel opened his hands. The magic that came out of him immediately attacked the nearest monster in turn, and in a flash, all the life and magic the monster contained were immediately drained.

[But only two beneath heaven can destroy me: His Majesty the Demon King, and the Devil himself!]

“…Oh, this will be hard.”

The Devil Rune, which was in Gefrel’s whole body, shone. Until then, the witches, who were watching it in a daze, all started going around in a panic.

It wasn’t that they weren’t worried about Serena, but she was against that Demon!

“Then you take care of this place! We’ll clean up the rest of the area!”

“I’m so sorry, please!”

“Ahhhhhhhhhhh! Master Evan, please come quickly.”

[I’ll declare it again.]

However, Gefrel opened his mouth without even looking at the escaping witches. He didn’t bother since after everything was over, he could feast on the witches.

[From this moment forth, you belong to the army that serves the great Demon King.]

“I’m sorry,” Serena’s eyes became sharp. All the monsters rushed at Gefrel in unison!

“I only serve Evan, my future husband!”