Before him stood five Demon Knights, clad head-to-toe in black heavy armor and wielding long spears. A bloodthirsty red light pulsed in their eyes as their sharp lances sliced through the air, whistling as they approached.
"Heh… Am I that popular?"
Watching the charging Demon Knights, a cold smile touched Natsuki Subaru's lips.
The first spear was already at his chest.
"Too slow!"
The disdainful thought flashed through Natsuki Subaru's mind.
The instant the spear tip was about to touch his clothes, his body slid half a step to the side in a weightless manner that defied the laws of physics.
"Swish!"
The spear let out a sharp whistle as it grazed past his ribs, finding only air.
And in that moment, Natsuki Subaru moved.
He didn't retreat. Instead, he flowed into the opening the opponent had exposed with their full-powered thrust.
The Kasaka's Venom Fang in his hand was like a fatal bolt of lightning flashing in the dark.
"Hiss!"
The dagger plunged into the knight's neck with absolute precision. The Demon Knight's forward momentum came to a screeching halt.
The red light in its eyes instantly dimmed, its massive body stiffened for a moment, and then it crashed heavily to the ground.
A single, fatal blow!
The remaining four Demon Knights clearly hadn't expected their target to be so troublesome, but their reaction was swift. They immediately demonstrated their masterful spear formation.
As if of one mind, the four Demon Knights instantly changed tactics, launching a near-perfect synchronized strike from four completely different directions! Four spears wove a net of death, targeting Natsuki Subaru's throat, heart, abdomen, and back, sealing off every possible escape route.
Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!
Four deadly glints of cold light shot forth at once.
This combined spear formation attack was deviously angled, perfectly timed, and flawlessly coordinated. It sealed off every conventional path of evasion, creating a guaranteed kill zone.
"Such petty tricks, and they dare to show off before an expert."
Natsuki Subaru sneered internally at the display.
The moment before the four spears reached him, he tapped his foot sharply on the ground, and his body rose into the air as if it had lost all weight.
It wasn't a simple vertical jump. He executed a dazzling, inertia-defying maneuver in mid-air.
His body spun like a whirlwind, narrowly allowing the spears aimed at his throat and heart to scrape past him.
At the same time, his feet landed precisely on the shafts of the spears aimed at his abdomen and back!
Tap! Tap!
With two light sounds, Natsuki Subaru used the momentum to push himself even higher. Not only did he evade the entire fatal combination, but as he reached the apex of his spin, his right leg lashed out like a whip that had been coiled for ages.
"BOOM!!!"
A dull, thunderous crack echoed as his foot slammed viciously into the faceplate of the Demon Knight directly below him. The refined steel faceplate instantly caved in, leaving a clear footprint. The immense force not only shattered the visor but directly pulverized the skull within.
The Demon Knight couldn't even let out a scream. It was launched like a projectile from a catapult, becoming a black meteor that crashed through a crumbling ruined wall hundreds of meters away, buried beneath the rubble, and moved no more.
"Speed, strength, technique… we're on completely different levels," Natsuki Subaru thought to himself as he used the recoil to land lightly in a backflip.
And now, his attack truly began.
"Swish!"
His figure vanished, leaving only a fading black afterimage in its place.
In the next second, Natsuki Subaru appeared beside a Demon Knight that was trying to retract its spear for another thrust.
The Demon Knight reacted quickly enough, roaring as it switched from a thrust to a sweep, the spear shaft whistling menacingly as it came for his waist.
But Natsuki Subaru simply ducked slightly, his dagger precisely striking the weak point in the joint of its armpit armor.
The Demon Knight's movements froze instantly, its immense strength dissipating in a flash.
"Swish!"
Another afterimage flickered past another Demon Knight.
That Demon Knight frantically shook its wrist, the spear tip creating a blur of cold stars, attempting to block the ghostly enemy with a dense flurry of thrusts.
However, as if he could see the future, Natsuki Subaru always found a gap in the spear's shadow at the last possible second. He closed the distance like a butterfly flitting through flowers, his dagger tracing a cold arc of light.
"Schlick!"
He directly sliced open the joint at the back of its knee.
The Demon Knight howled in pain and fell to its knees, only for a flash of blade light to pass across its throat.
The last Demon Knight finally showed fear in its eyes. Gripping its spear with both hands, it kept the tip aimed at Natsuki Subaru and backed away, trying to maintain distance.
"Heh… Demons can feel fear?"
But Natsuki Subaru just watched him dispassionately, as if looking at a corpse.
He moved, faster than before.
He no longer left afterimages; it was as if he instantly crossed the distance between them.
"—Clang! Thump!"
The sharp sound of a parry and the dull thud of a blade sinking into flesh exploded almost at the same instant.
The Demon Knight had raised its spear with all its might to block, only to see Natsuki Subaru twist his wrist. The dagger slid rapidly down the spear shaft like a nimble viper, precisely slipping into the gap between its tightly gripped hands.
The blade flashed suddenly.
In the next second, blood splattered. Several severed fingers, along with a fragment of the spear shaft, flew through the air and clattered onto the black, glassy floor.
"Urk—!"
The Demon Knight let out a piercing scream as the intense pain made it instinctively release its spear.
Its eyes filled with unwillingness and disbelief, its body swayed and then collapsed heavily to the ground, silent once more.
From the moment the five Demon Knights launched their attack to the moment Natsuki Subaru finished them all off, the entire process took no more than a brief five seconds.
These powerful beings that had rampaged across battlefields were now nothing more than cooling corpses on the ground.
A series of system notifications chimed in Natsuki Subaru's mind:
[Notification: You have eliminated a Demon Knight]
[Notification: You have eliminated a Demon Knight]
[Notification: You have eliminated a Demon Knight]
[Notification: You have eliminated a Demon Knight]
"Their spear formation was decent, and their individual strength is about equivalent to a level 70 elite mob… but that's it," Natsuki Subaru assessed coolly, glancing at the demon corpses on the ground.
"In the end, they're just common mobs that rely on tactics and numbers. They mean nothing in the face of an absolute difference in power."
These demons' armor could withstand the attacks of ordinary Shadow Soldiers, and the force of their spear thrusts was enough to pierce heavy plate. Even their close-quarters combat techniques showed discipline. They were indeed much stronger than the low-level demons on the lower floors that could only scream and charge.
But even so, compared to him, a level 94 Shadow Monarch, the gap was still far too vast.
It was like a firefly before the bright moon; the light the former gives off with all its might cannot stir even the slightest ripple in the latter's presence.
However, the coordination of these Demon Knights was quite skilled, clearly the result of strict training, which was very unusual among high-level demons.
Just as Natsuki Subaru was deep in thought, the figure of a demon clad in crimson heavy armor suddenly materialized in the center of the battlefield.
This suit of armor was far more exquisite than the previous ones, its surface engraved with intricate demonic runes that flowed with a dark luster.
The demon held a three-meter-long greatspear, its tip gleaming with an ominous cold light.
"Another one's here."
Natsuki Subaru narrowed his eyes, clearly perceiving the level of this red-armored demon's strength.
Although it was somewhat stronger than the previous Demon Knights, roughly on par with an ordinary floor guardian, it still posed no substantial threat to him, a level 94 Shadow Monarch.
However, the dignified aura it exuded clearly marked it as a commander-level entity.
Surprisingly, the red-armored demon didn't attack immediately after appearing. Instead, it slowly surveyed the scattered corpses, and the hand gripping its spear actually trembled slightly.
This subtle movement did not escape Natsuki Subaru's keen observation.
"I've been curious for a while now."
Natsuki Subaru stared at the pair of red, glowing eyes beneath the demon's helmet and calmly voiced the question that had been on his mind,
"Do demons feel fear?"
Honestly, ever since he had stepped into the Demon Castle, the demons he encountered either attacked him madly on sight or hid to launch surprise attacks. None had ever shown such a human-like reaction.
"..."
The red-armored demon's figure visibly stiffened. Although it quickly regained its composure, its crimson eyes refocusing on Natsuki Subaru, that momentary rigidity had clearly exposed its inner shock.
It understood. And the question had hit a nerve.
"Now I finally have my answer."
Saying this, Natsuki Subaru advanced on the red-armored demon step by step.
The demon's fearful reaction, in stark contrast to its imposing appearance, further convinced Natsuki Subaru.
These demons were by no means ordinary monsters; they possessed emotions and intelligence far exceeding those of low-level demons. They might even be like humans, capable of understanding sorrow, fear, and… the will to survive.
"Hoo—"
Just as Natsuki Subaru was only five meters away from the red-armored demon, it seemed to have suddenly made up its mind, raising its spear and charging forward.
The sound of the spear cutting through the air was sharp and piercing, far swifter than the attacks of any previous Demon Knight.
The airflow from the spear tip even rustled the black bangs on Natsuki Subaru's forehead, the cold glint almost piercing his pupils.
The speed and power of this thrust were indeed far superior to that of an ordinary Demon Knight. If it were the level 70 Natsuki Subaru, he probably wouldn't even have had time to react before being run through.
"Too slow."
Natsuki Subaru easily sidestepped the charging spear and tapped its shaft precisely with his dagger.
"—Clang!"
The red-armored demon's assault faltered slightly.
After a clean and decisive exchange, accompanied by the crisp sound of metal hitting the ground, its spear was sent flying, landing diagonally in the ground ten meters away, its tail still quivering slightly.
Natsuki Subaru lunged forward in a single step and grabbed the red-armored demon's breastplate.
To his surprise, the helmet, which looked heavy, was much lighter than he had imagined.
Natsuki Subaru easily lifted the demon up. Its feet left the ground, and it struggled powerlessly in the air.
A single light thrust of his dagger would end this fight.
Natsuki Subaru's gaze was cold. After all, in the Demon Castle, mercy for the enemy was cruelty to oneself.
Just as he raised his dagger to deliver the final blow—
"I… I surrender!"
A clear female voice, laced with distinct trembling and fear, came from within the armor.
"Huh?"
Natsuki Subaru was abruptly taken aback. His hand involuntarily stopped, and his grip on the armor loosened slightly, causing the red-armored demon's body to sway.
This was the first time he had ever heard a demon speak in the Demon Castle, and a female voice at that!
Before this, every demon he had met either let out meaningless roars or fought in silence. There had never been any precedent for communication, let alone someone clearly saying the words 'I surrender'.
This completely subverted his understanding of demons, causing him to forget to continue his attack for a moment.
"Hey, what did you just say?"
Natsuki Subaru's gaze was locked onto the red-armored demon before him, his expression one of disbelief.
A demon can talk?
Did I just hear things?
After clearing seventy-nine floors of the Demon Castle, from the low-level monsters on the bottom floors that only knew how to roar, to the high-level guardians with overwhelming power, he had never encountered a demon that spoke, let alone one that clearly uttered the words 'I surrender'.
This sudden development caused the sharp killing intent around Natsuki Subaru to recede instantly, replaced by intense curiosity.
The red-armored demon seemed to have keenly sensed the softening of Natsuki Subaru's attitude. The oppressive shadow pressure that had been about to consume her had noticeably weakened, and she hurriedly repeated in a tearful voice:
"I surrender! I really surrender! Please… please don't kill me! I'll never dare to oppose you again!"
This time, the voice completely dispelled Natsuki Subaru's doubts.
Demons really can talk.
And it was the sweet tone unique to a young woman, though it was wrapped in fear and pleading, the end of her words still trembling slightly, like a frightened little animal whimpering incessantly.
Speaking of which, ever since arriving at the Demon Castle, he had seen tens of thousands of demons. But whether they were the roaring demons of the lower floors or the high-level guardians, none had ever made a human sound.
"So, what's the deal with this voice?"
Natsuki Subaru frowned slightly. After hesitating for two seconds, he finally reached out and grasped the edge of the red-armored demon's helmet.
He had to see just what kind of demon could produce such a sound.
As his fingertips touched the armor, he could feel the demon's body trembling slightly from nervousness.
As the helmet was gently lifted, a lock of purple long hair first slipped out from the gap, falling like silk onto the shoulder plate.
Immediately after, a beautiful girlish face was completely exposed to the air.
Her fair cheeks were smudged with a bit of dust, but it couldn't hide her delicate features.
The tears welling in her red eyes finally fell, trickling down her cheeks and leaving a faint, wet stain on her armor. Even the pair of pointed demon ears on her head were still trembling slightly with fear.
"How is this in any way the ferocious look a demon should have? This is clearly just a frightened girl!"
Natsuki Subaru was completely stunned. The helmet nearly slipped from his hand as he couldn't help but curse wildly in his mind.
_____
🔥 Check out the new story releases! 🔥
🪦 A 25% discount is active on my P... support page!
✅ Unlock a 40-chapter backlog for ALL my series.
✅ Receive exclusive content and regular updates!
Help us reach these goals:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 universal bonus chapter
🚀 80 MEMBERS = +5 extra chapters for ALL STORIES!
👻 P - Walnutchan