Chapter 49. Don’t Tell Anyone You’re Good at Naming Things
“Is that demonic energy inside the cylinder? He doesn’t look like a demon worshipper.”
A tiny amount of demonic energy, too faint for Sia to notice, had leaked from the gas cylinder the man was carrying.
Michael initially assumed the man was a demon worshipper and followed him.
However, he could sense no special energy from the man himself.
“I’ll find out once I go down.”
Step, step.
Resting the sheath against his shoulder, Michael followed the demonic energy down the stairs.
“Here?”
The demonic energy abruptly disappeared.
There were no hallways or other passages.
Only a locked door.
That meant the man must have gone through it.
“Would you look at this?”
No light leaked through the gap beneath the door.
Michael placed an ear against it.
He heard nothing.
He lightly tapped the door.
There was no response.
Someone had clearly entered, yet everything inside was unnaturally silent.
Considering the connection to demonic energy, there was only one answer.
“A barrier. A very cheap one too.”
A barrier that only blocked noise and demonic energy without even providing proper security was clearly low grade.
Now that Michael understood what it was, there was no need to hesitate.
He drew out his aura.
White Flame ignited around his right arm.
“Let’s see what kind of faces are hiding inside. ignícŭlus [Igniculus].”
* * *
FLASH!
Bright lighting illuminated the entire sealed underground chamber, making it difficult to believe they were underground.
Around thirty people were gathered together.
Among them, a sharply dressed man climbed onto a small platform while surrounded by bodyguards.
“Ah! Everyone, fellow demons! Thank you for answering my call. My name is Park Sangtae, a loyal worshipper of our master.”
Clap, clap!
Applause followed Sangtae’s introduction.
At first glance, it might have looked like a strange cult gathering.
In reality, calling it a demon den would have been more accurate.
They had already placed a barrier around the room so demonic energy would not leak outside.
“For the sake of our master, several of our people have installed distributors filled with demonic energy throughout the Korean department store!”
“Hehehehe.”
“So it’s finally beginning? Kuhahaha.”
According to Sangtae, demonic energy would soon be released throughout the department store, throwing everything into chaos.
The demons grinned sinisterly while imagining the destruction they would cause afterward.
Unlike the excited demons, Sangtae frowned slightly.
Did something go wrong?
The demons installing the distributors were supposed to return after finishing their work.
Their seats were still empty.
Sangtae could not tell everyone that.
So he quickly attracted their attention with another topic.
“Ah, that reminds me. Come in!”
Clunk!
At his signal, the man carrying the gas cylinder opened the door and climbed onto the platform.
“And this gentleman here! He delivered another cylinder because he wishes to join us. Let us greet him with warm applause while we wait for the signal…!”
BOOOOM!
“AAAAAGH!”
A stream of White Flame smashed through the door and swept across the platform.
Sangtae, the demon worshipper, and the man carrying the gas cylinder were unharmed.
Instead, the bodyguards beside them screamed once and turned into ash.
Apparently, they had been demons.
“No wonder there were way more demons than usual today. You even put up a barrier and hid together like a swarm of insects.”
Michael looked around the chamber.
Other than the two humans standing on the platform, everyone had already completed demonization.
Shing.
Michael drew his new sword and pointed it at the demons.
When he poured aura into the weapon, a faint aura flowed across the blade.
“All right. I don’t know what plan you prepared for your precious master, but it failed. Throw everything away.”
The demons were confused by Michael’s sudden attack.
However, after seeing their bodyguards turned to ash and feeling the aura coming from Michael, they immediately recognized him as an enemy.
“Who brought him here?!”
“Idiot, he’s an intruder!”
“No, this might actually be good. We’ve never put a demon inside a priest before, have we?”
One part of their conversation caught Michael’s attention.
Put a demon inside someone? Forced possession?
It seemed these demons were trying to crudely imitate the abilities of Great Demons that could forcibly implant demons inside humans.
“Exactly! Sometimes we need someone who struggles!”
“Right! Big guy, deal with him!”
At one demon’s shout, a shadow covered Michael.
Apparently, another demon had been outside the room earlier.
The horned demon stood at least a head taller than Michael.
“GRAAAAAH!”
The demon clasped both hands together and swung them down like a hammer.
SLASH!
Michael instantly turned.
His sword drew a horizontal line.
“Nameless low-class trash like you really think you’re impressive just because you finished demonizing?”
BOOM!
The aura-filled blade glowed pale white as it sliced the demon called Big Guy completely in half.
“AAAAAAAGH!! It hurts! It hurts!!”
Aura remained on the severed wound.
Even without Michael actively controlling it, the aura began penetrating the demon’s body.
“…Guuuh.”
The demon slowly dried out while writhing in pain.
“What?”
Aura was a power that purified demons.
It did not normally drain their strength like this.
Michael focused his senses.
Among the aura purifying the demon’s body, he felt a small amount of demonic energy being pulled out and flowing into the sword.
What is this, some kind of demonic sword? Is it because I used the claw?
Michael had asked Heesong to make a weapon that conducted aura well.
Instead, she had somehow created a ridiculous sword that also absorbed demonic energy.
Most people might have wanted to seal such a weapon immediately.
Michael was different.
“This is pretty good. I should give it a name.”
Normally, demonic energy and holy power reacted violently against each other.
However, the aura flowing through the sword seemed to dominate and tame the demonic energy.
That created the bizarre possibility of using demonic energy to kill demons.
Michael was already excited by the idea.
Step, step.
While Michael thought about names, the demons quietly approached from behind.
“Hmm. It’s made from a claw, and it causes constant pain. Good. Your name is Claw Peeler.”
Michael gave the sword yet another terrible name.
While he proudly admired his naming sense, the demons behind him attached a sprayer to one of the gas cylinders and aimed it toward Michael.
“Spray him!”
PSSSSSSSH!!
The concentration of demonic energy was so thick that an ordinary person would have become paralyzed and collapsed.
Apparently expecting the demonic energy to weaken Michael, another demon with particularly strong demonic energy spread both hands.
WHOOOOSH!
Demonic energy lifted nearby chairs, whiteboards, desks, and other objects into the air.
Then they shot toward Michael.
“Who the hell do you think you’re messing with?!”
The demonic energy covering the objects increased their acceleration.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOOOM!
The accelerated objects crashed into Michael.
A cloud of dust filled the room.
Anyone unaware of who they were facing would have assumed Michael had suffered critical injuries.
WHOOOM!
