Chapter 372: Subjugation of the Demon King (2)
The Clown Devil was strong.
This was a fact that couldn’t be denied either subjectively or objectively. If all the devils lined up according to them invading the human world in order of power, then the Clown Devil would be ranked in the top ten.
Of course, it had suffered a huge blow around a thousand years ago and had suffered no light damage in the previous life as well…
‘80… No, 90% has been recovered.’
Originally, recovering would have been impossible. However, G.o.dara, the worst city in the human world that was filled with chaos, made it possible. The Clown savored the darkness that was present there deeper than ever and sometimes even ate demons as snacks so that it could recover.
There was no need to be wary of anyone.
There was no need to worry.
He would be given the rank of Grand Duke in the human world when it was changed into Devildom.
Those were his thoughts just before things got weird.
Kwakwakw.a.n.g!
Its expression behind the mask was distorted. The destructive power it had just faced far exceeded its expectations. The Clown covered its face in a cloak of darkness as it tried to offset the destructive force of the blue aura that came cras.h.i.+ng in. It was just a single layer at first, but after a while, he decided to use up to eight layers of darkness as a s.h.i.+eld.
Pupupupung!
A large number of the s.h.i.+elds got torn down. As the darkness began to die down, the waves also subsided. But the Devil still couldn’t catch its breath.
Each drop of water that bounced towards it looked like a sharp needle, and the puddles of water everywhere looked like a trap for ankles.
And it wasn’t just that. The worst was the dew-like water that had silently moved into the cracks… those which couldn’t be seen or touched. So if he tried to ignore all this, at some point, the water would turn into a sword or a spear and stab him.
And now…
Pung!
…Bratt Lloyd rushed forwards, swinging his sword.
The Devil’s body was just a dummy that pretended to be the main body. It had actually been hiding in the fog, preparing for a surprise attack.
Of course, the Clown wasn’t a small Devil.
Hehe
Hehehe
Hehehehehehehehehehehe
The darkness was fading again. The dummy body of the Clown Devil exploded due to the bright blue aura, and its fragments scattered in all directions giving rise to a disgusting stench. However, there were no fireworks for the people to see. Mouths, tongues, and eyes appeared on the surface of the flesh. They all looked at the human swordsman. And they kept giving out a strange laugh. It was a mental attack.
But Bratt didn’t panic.
Crunch.
He put his sword into the ground.
“Ah!”
He concentrated and calmed his mind as he released the energy within him.
Poof!
A circular shockwave drove away the darkness that surrounded him.
The Clown, which had already restored its body, laughed.
“Ha, this is absurd, but…”
“Can you handle this? My coolness…”
“From where did this human come?
“I am a newborn. I just broke through my limits… my sh.e.l.l, and have finally appeared in this world.”
“…”
‘I remember this guy.’
The Devil nodded, recalling the past.
‘This guy, he was Airn Pareira’s close friend.’
However, the Clown had never felt interested in him. He was strong for a human, but not strong enough to catch its eye. The other ones, like Ignet and Karen Winker, along with the silver-haired kid, were good for him. Apart from them, no other young human had caught his eye.
So, he didn’t understand this situation.
If it was 30 years later, no, maybe 10 years would’ve been enough. These kids had always grown up quite fast, so he could understand them growing up to this extent in a good amount of time.
‘But… in just one year.’
For a devil that lived for thousands of years, one year was like the blink of an eye.
This was absurd…
Swis.h.!.+
“Huh!”
Taking advantage of his thoughts, the attacks kept pouring in. The Clown took a breath and stepped back. However, its worries didn’t stop. This man was sharp and quick, but this wasn’t the human world.
Apart from that, he had colored this place with his own taste over the past year. In other words, the Clown Devil was strong here. If he had to give a rough estimate, he would be 4 to 6 times stronger in this place.
Kwaang!
“Kuak!”
‘No, I just have a 45% chance to win?’
He couldn’t tolerate it.
He couldn’t accept this.
The Clown hated this. The Clown felt like its effort had been nullified, and the thought of chewing down on its opponent and spitting him up surged through the Clown.
“…”
However, he didn’t bring out the malice just yet.
It wasn’t time for that yet.
It was also because there was another emotion greater than anger that rose within him…
Fear.
The opponent’s sword felt like a threat… he felt the possibility of dying here!
‘Never!’
Right.
Safety was the most important thing. That was the greatest desire and instinct that had made the Clown a Devil.
Then what should it do?
It couldn’t run. The rift wasn’t as wide as the human world, and it was dangerous, even for a great evil like him, to freely move here. He didn’t want to leave this place and end up somewhere else. This had to end here.
Then how could it increase its chances of winning?
What could it do to increase its power?
Would it be able to cut down its opponent’s power?
Naturally, the Clown chose the latter.
Its entire life had been this way… taking pleasure in fooling, deceiving, and playing tricks on people. It didn’t stop planning even as it dodged Bratt’s sword and counterattacked.
‘Mental attacks won’t work.’
It was upsetting, but that was the truth. It wasn’t just the swordsmans.h.i.+p that had changed. The guy in front of him had become much more mentally stronger. The Clown’s curses were having a hard time attacking the human’s mind. The Clown felt like Bratt’s defenses were perfect both on the inside and outside.
But that wasn’t the only way to win.
‘The outside can still be shaken.’
The Clown smiled behind its mask.
Right. There was no need to pound on the hard door. All it had to do was to make the opponent come out of the door. And that was enough to latch onto him. It was no easy task because the opponent was really good.
Wooong!
“H-How dare you dodge the attacks of Bratt Lloyd. If you weren’t a devil, I would have praised you.”
“….”
“Of course, you should be satisfied without my compliments too. If you could end up on the other side of such beautiful and n.o.ble swordsmans.h.i.+p, even if you die, there can be no re…”
“Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up… please!”
…just by looking at how it spoke, it felt like something had gone wrong.
This human was so amazing! To the extent that even the Clown didn’t want to fight him! To the point where he wanted to somehow trip him over his own feet!
So, it had to be careful.
It couldn’t rush.
The Clown mumbled and changed its att.i.tude.
It had to be more pa.s.sive.
It had to be more defensive.
It was almost invisible, but a quick-witted guy would notice it.
And then five minutes pa.s.sed.
The first opportunity came.
“…”
It wasn’t an easy-to-understand opportunity, however.
Between each attack, there was a slight pause in the middle. Maybe the human was just picking up his breathing, but the Clown was sure that the other person was starting to feel exhausted.
Of course, it wasn’t happy yet. The Clown needed more a.s.surance.
Just like before, little by little, the Clown began to focus on defense more and more.
“…”
Another 5 minutes pa.s.sed.
The situation was fierce. The human would attack while the Devil would defend. Of course, it wasn’t one-sided. Sometimes there were counterattacks that made Bratt speak up again.
But Bratt couldn’t reach it.
And he could understand…
…why the Clown was defending.
The reason why he wasn’t active in the fight. The reason he seemed to have a smile despite the battle happening and not even taking a small risk.
“…is someone coming?”
“Uh? You have the time to think of the situation of the opponent?”
The Clown didn’t respond kindly.
But the intention had been conveyed. No, the darkness from the Clown’s body was proof of it. Disgust, ridicule, and even more negative emotions flowed from the clenched fist of the Clown.
As if trying to hide something…
But the malice was coming out, and it could no longer hide it.
‘Good. Not bad!’
The Clown smiled.
He was unaware of other things. He didn’t have the concentration or time for it. For now, all the Clown knew was that its opponent wasn’t happy. The Clown had, after all, devoted a lot of energy to create this atmosphere of caution.
And he had deliberately delayed the battle flow.
And this must have stimulated Bratt’s thoughts into thinking someone was coming.
What if his friends were in a tough situation?
Beyond that, what if the situation was bad?
What if the Devils who had taken down his friends were coming here?
Sure, not all of these thoughts would be running through his mind, but even a single one was enough to make him falter.
And the malice that had been timely flowing out was effective. At least, that was what the Clown thought.
‘The situation I am directing is a lie…’
The Clown’s feelings of hate towards its opponent were true. As long as Bratt felt it, the Clown’s illusions would turn out to be true in his mind.
The Clown mumbled and took a defensive stance.
And the flow changed.
Kw.a.n.g!
An explosive leap and an intense attack came in!
It was much more intense than before, and the smile on the Clown’s face grew as he saw that.
Finally, the composure of the young hero was broken.
The Clown had finally managed to mess with the human’s emotions. This would create holes in his swordsmans.h.i.+p, and it could aim for them.
The Clown could surely do that!
But…
“….!”
This was different from what the Clown had thought.
Bratt did seem agitated.
And there were clear holes in his movement as well. Even his weak points were shown right away. There were four weak points in his form. And the man could die right away if any of them were exposed.
But the Clown couldn’t attack!
It definitely couldn’t.
‘T-this crazy b.a.s.t.a.r.d!’
‘Is out to kill!’
To take the life of his opponent…
That was Bratt’s goal at the moment.
He didn’t care even if a sword pierced his own chest and only aimed to take down his enemy with his sword.
This was madness.
Obsession.
Anger.
Seeing Bratt Lloyd looking a lot different from before, the Clown Devil finally realized that something was wrong.