We moved closer, bringing the targets within range of my auditory sensors.
"My Lord, the village is just ahead," a rough, human voice pleaded. "You promised us a share of the loot if we guided you."
"..."
"Hey, boss," another human whispered, fear trembling in his voice. "Can we really trust a demon? They lie."
"Shut up," the first hissed back. "Of course we can't trust him. But we don't have a choice. We need to eat."
"By the way," the demon spoke, its voice like grinding stones. "Have you seen a human girl with violet-blue hair?"
"Eh? Violet hair? No... never seen anyone like that."
"Is that so? Then you are useless."
Zzzzt!
"Lord, what are you do…AAAAH!"
"Boss! You damn monster, I'll ki…GAAH!"
The screaming stopped abruptly, replaced by the crackle of burning flesh.
"..."
Flamme, monitoring the area with her detection magic, frowned. "Neechan, two of the life signs just vanished. Did they cloak themselves?"
"Negative," I replied, a golden portal already swirling open in front of me. "Prepare for combat."
I stepped through the gate without waiting for a response.
Takson and Flamme exchanged a glance, shrugged, and followed. The open portal was an invitation.
When they stepped out onto the road a split second later, the battle was already over.
I was hovering a few feet off the ground, my small hand clamped firmly around the throat of a massive figure. It was a demon, its towering frame and twisted horns marking it as a powerful warrior. But in my grip, it was helpless.
On the ground nearby lay two charred, smoking lumps of meat that used to be human bandits.
"You..." the demon choked out, staring at me with wide, terrified eyes. "You are the one... Schlacht predicted..."
It didn't care about its own life. Its only concern was confirming my identity.
I didn't let it finish.
"True Endo: Mind Hack"
I forced my way into its mind, ripping the information I needed from its neural pathways. Once the data transfer was complete, I wasted no time.
Golden light flared in my palm.
BOOM.
The demon's head vanished, vaporized by a point-blank blast of energy. I dropped the headless corpse and landed softly in front of my apprentices.
"Well, Teacher?" Takson asked, eyeing the carnage. "Find anything useful?"
"Query: Nothing substantial," I replied. "This unit was merely another pawn sent by Schlacht to intercept us."
"Just another pawn?"
"Addendum: The only relevant data is Schlacht's location. He is no longer at the Demon King's castle."
According to the demon's memories, Schlacht the Omniscient had moved. He was hiding in the far eastern reaches of the demon lands. But the memory was fifteen days old. Without a current coordinate, I couldn't teleport directly to him.
It felt... deliberate.
He was moving away from the castle, drawing us east. It was a lure.
But without more data, I couldn't determine his endgame. I needed more pieces of the puzzle.
….
Fifteen Days Later:-
Schlick!
Takson yanked his battle-axe from the chest of a fallen demon. He flicked the black blood from the blade and looked up at the sky.
"Another one," he sighed.
The demon dissolved into ash at his feet.
Over the past two weeks, the frequency of attacks had increased dramatically. It wasn't just random encounters anymore. We were being hunted. Squad after squad of demons threw themselves at us, fighting with a desperate, suicidal ferocity.
Every time we cleared a group, I would harvest their memories. And every time, the result was the same.
Schlacht was guiding us.
Each encounter provided just enough information to point us to the next location, leading us further and further east, toward a specific point on the map.
He was leaving a trail of breadcrumbs made of his own soldiers' lives.
He wants me to go there, I concluded. He has prepared a battlefield, a trap specifically designed to kill me.
It was a bold move. But curiosity overrode caution. If the "Omniscient" demon thought he had found a way to defeat me, I wanted to see it.
"Teacher, is it just me, or are there way too many ambushes lately?" Takson leaned on his axe, breathing heavily. "That's the twelfth squad in two weeks."
Even with his monstrous stamina and my support, the constant combat was taking a toll. He wasn't physically injured, but the mental fatigue of constant vigilance was wearing him down.
"I feel it too," Flamme added, dusting off her skirt. Her magical prowess had grown exponentially under my tutelage, and she now fought with the grace and power of a true mage. But even she looked tired. "These demons aren't trying to win. They're trying to herd us."
"Agreement," I stated. "The pattern is undeniable."
Schlacht was desperate. The constant stream of sacrificial pawns was a delaying tactic, a way to buy time while positioning me exactly where he wanted me.
But his time was up.
"Confirmation: Coordinates analyzed. Target location locked."
The memories of the last demon squad had provided the final piece of the puzzle. I knew exactly where he was.
But even if I hadn't found the coordinates, the outcome would have been the same. My Pseudo-Rasiel was nearing 100% analysis of this world. In a matter of days, I would have been able to locate him simply by querying the planet's information network. Schlacht, with his foresight, likely knew this. He knew he couldn't run forever.
I raised my hand, and the golden light of the Dimensional Engine tore open a portal in the air. Beyond the shimmering veil lay the final destination.
But before I stepped through, I made a decision.
"Notice: Takson, Flamme. You will remain here."
"Eh?" They blinked in unison.
"Wait, Teacher…"
I didn't give them time to argue. I didn't offer an explanation. Efficiency demanded speed, and sentimentality would only slow us down.
I stepped into the portal and closed it behind me instantly.
"..."
Takson and Flamme stood alone in the forest, staring at the empty space where the gate had been.
"Well," Flamme said, looking at Takson. "What do we do now?"
"Don't look at me," Takson shrugged, shouldering his axe. "I have no idea."
He looked at the spot where I had vanished, his expression shifting from confusion to resignation. "We just have to trust her. That's all we can do."
"I suppose so." Flamme tapped the bracelet on her wrist, trying to track my signal.
Connection Lost.
She frowned. "She cut the link. She really means to do this alone."
They realized then that whatever lay on the other side of that gate was dangerous enough that even Stell, the invincible "Angel," didn't want them anywhere near it.
….
The Far East:-
I stepped out of the portal and onto a cold, stone floor.
The air here was thick and heavy, saturated with a dense, malicious mana that tasted of old blood and dark rituals. It was a vast, underground chamber, lit by the eerie glow of magical crystals.
The moment my foot touched the ground, the trap sprung.
Hummmm…
Countless magic circles flared to life on the floor, walls, and ceiling. Layer upon layer of high-level sealing magic, designed to bind movement, suppress mana, and crush the soul. It was a masterpiece of entrapment, a cage built to hold a god.
But I was not a god of this world.
Crack.
The sound was sharp, like breaking glass.
As my foot settled onto the stone, the complex web of magic shattered. The runes flickered and died. The oppressive weight of the seals vanished instantly.
My "Mana Breaker" field was active. Against my negation, their magic was as fragile as a spiderweb in a hurricane.
I looked up.
Standing in the center of the room was a male demon. He was tall and slender, dressed in robes that seemed to be woven from shadows. He had multiple eyes, all of them focused on me.
Schlacht the Omniscient.
He didn't move. He didn't attack. He simply stood there, watching me with a calm, resigned expression, as if he had been waiting for this moment for years.
….
If you want to read 20+ chapters ahead and unpublished fanfics you can check out my patreon or just take a visit.
[P].[A].[T].[R].[E].[O].[N]
http://patreon.com/Kazuma_trash
&
you can join my discord server: https://discord.gg/5Y7uZ2kN2Y
Or in short just click in join via invite link in your discord and enter this code: 5Y7uZ2kN2Y