Chapter 55. Omen (3)
“Block him!”
The demons charged as well.
However, to Michael, who had recovered much of his strength, they looked almost laughable.
With the Divine Beasts amplifying his aura, the gap became even greater.
“Grrrrr. I’ll enjoy eating that sword!”
WHOOSH!
The first demon had transformed into a more beast-like form and growled.
Its arm had become sharp like a forged blade.
Apparently, consuming bladed weapons had strengthened its body.
BANG!
“You’re a hundred years too early if you think an attack like that can touch me.”
Michael lightly blocked the strike using Claw Peeler.
Then he kicked the demon away and stepped into the center of the group.
At the same time, he spun Claw Peeler into an icepick grip and swung it in a circular motion, cutting even the demon approaching from behind.
SLASH!
The moment the demons were cut, Claw Peeler greedily absorbed their demonic energy.
WHOOOSH!
“AAAAAGH!”
“KIEEEEEK!”
The demons collapsed helplessly.
One horned demon rushed forward and shouted,
“Everyone get away!”
It used demonic energy to lift nearby sofas, chairs, and other small objects into the air.
Then it launched everything toward Michael.
CRACK! CRACK!
Michael calmly cut each object apart while closing the distance.
“Try dodging this too!”
When its attacks failed, the enraged demon forcibly raised even more demonic energy.
It gathered several pieces of furniture into one massive object and threw it at Michael.
“Is this seriously all you can do?”
It was roughly the same level of power as the demons Michael had encountered at the department store.
Naturally, it did nothing to him.
Michael switched Claw Peeler back into a hammer grip and swung hard.
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
The furniture was cut into countless pieces.
Seeing the expensive objects destroyed, Valefor almost screamed.
“Squeak! Squeak! Those were expensive, squeeeeeak!!”
Just as Michael had warned, the bar was suffering damage.
Valefor’s desperate cries were nowhere near enough to stop him.
“libértas [Libertas].”
Michael lifted his left hand and transformed aura into White Flame.
Perhaps because of Samsik and Jeomrye’s amplification, the flames were denser and more violent than usual.
“Trash. You bring ranged attacks into a sweaty close-range fight? You’re ready to get hit too, right?”
Michael swung his arm toward the demon that had attacked from a distance.
Libertas shot forward violently.
BOOOOM!
“GRAAAH!”
The demon struck by Libertas turned into ash almost instantly.
Michael lowered his sword and looked around at the remaining demons.
Perhaps because of the overwhelming power he had just displayed, every demon flinched when his gaze reached them.
“No next challenger? You aren’t seriously ending things here, are you?”
With the sword hanging loosely in one hand and a wicked smile on his face, Michael curled one finger toward them.
“Guuuh….”
“Haa. Idiots. If you won’t come to me, I’ll come to you.”
Nobody moved.
Michael stepped forward.
What followed was repetitive.
Cut.
Absorb.
Cut.
Absorb.
No matter how much stronger these demons were than ordinary ones, frightened demons were no different from deer standing before a tiger.
“S, squeak! As expected of Michael!”
Valefor admired the battle, which looked more like a massacre.
Then his excitement disappeared.
“Haa. I really am insane, squeak. This isn’t the time to celebrate, squeak.”
Even after recovering the bar, Valefor still needed to pay Michael an enormous amount of money.
He could not simply be happy about the current situation.
Then he watched the final demon get cut by Claw Peeler.
“G, guh! L, Lord Raum…. Kek.”
Calling Raum’s name, the demon lost all its demonic energy and burned away into powder.
After around five minutes of Michael cutting everything with an aura-filled blade, only dark-gray piles of demon ash remained inside the bar.
“….”
Valefor carefully approached Michael, who continued standing silently.
Even after defeating so many demons, Michael was not breathing heavily.
He simply frowned.
“Y, you worked hard, squeak!”
“Huh? Ah. Yeah.”
Apparently he had been deeply concentrating.
Only when Valefor spoke did Michael react.
Ring, ring.
Before the heat of battle had even faded, Michael’s phone began ringing.
The caller was Sia.
Michael answered.
“Hello! Michael, we have a serious problem!”
“…Where are you?”
Hearing her urgent voice and the words serious problem, Michael immediately calmed down and asked for Sia’s location.
“It isn’t me! Bishop John has disappeared, that’s the serious problem!”
The moment Michael heard who the subject was, he snorted.
John disappearing was none of his concern.
“Did he finally die? Ah, wait. I still have a lot of things to ask that bastard….”
“This isn’t the time for jokes! We keep receiving reports from Exorcism Association priests stationed overseas about demons appearing everywhere!”
“What…?”
Before an Omen began, demons always prepared something.
Whatever that preparation was, it happened not just at the final destination but around the world.
Continuous demon appearances overseas meant one thing.
“No matter what happens, stay with Musclehead.”
They were drawing attention away because something was being prepared at the final destination.
And that target was probably here.
“Huh? Where are you right…!”
Beep.
Michael hung up before Sia could finish.
Then he touched his chest.
After cutting down so many demons, Michael had noticed demonic energy rising from somewhere inside himself.
He focused briefly, trying to identify the source.
However, even after enough time passed for him to lose track of it, he could not determine where it came from.
“Why does this have to happen now…?”
Michael was not a demon.
The fact that he could sense demonic energy inside himself bothered him.
Is it because of Claw Peeler?
Michael examined the sword.
Since it absorbed demonic energy, it would not be strange if it somehow affected its wielder.
Or maybe….
“Squeak! Michael, are you okay, squeak? That sword looks suspicious, squeak!”
Before Michael could consider another possibility, Valefor expressed suspicion toward the unfamiliar sword.
The mixture of Michael’s aura and demonic energy made the blade glow purple.
Even from Valefor’s perspective, it looked abnormal.
“Could it be… a demonic sword, squeak?”
Michael examined it from several angles.
