Chapter 376: The Most Demonic Demon (3)

The demon race was a mad species that fought almost every single day. The reason they fought so fiercely was because it aligned with their own desires. Demons were one-dimensional beings that moved exactly as their desires commanded, and among those desires was something called lust.

Because of that, male and female demons engaged in breeding almost every day. Of course, only a rare few demons felt emotions like love as humans did. Most simply overpowered their partners or satisfied their lust through mutual agreement. Naturally, the demons born from those unions were seen as burdens and abandoned immediately.

The same was true for Archduke Kinessa. His first memory in life was of chewing on randomly grown weeds of the Demon Realm. He ate to survive. Grass, stones, dirt—he stuffed anything he could grab into his mouth to stay alive. He suffered stomach aches and fevers, and there were days he vomited all day long. However, that process made Kinessa stronger.

I became strong.

Kinessa, who was once nothing but the lowest trash, had no choice but to become cunning. He had an unusually strong attachment to life, and luckily enough, he was smart. He approached demons with warmth, won their trust, and in the end devoured every last one.

His power grew steadily stronger through that process, and the place he reached by walking that brutal path was the glorious title of Archduke.

“How insulting,” Kinessa muttered after thinking for a while. “So... so insulting.”

Upbringing? Parents? He had never received such things, nor possessed them.

A demon who loves? What a joke.

Kinessa had lived over four hundred years and seen countless demons. Among them were definitely some who loved each other like humans did.

Very convenient creatures.

To love someone was to have a weakness. If he grabbed hold of that weakness and shook it, he could easily devour their hearts.

“I was so perfect from the beginning that I had no need for such inferior beings. How offensive.”

Kinessa began drawing out his demonic magic. A violent purple aura that made everyone around scream stained the air. But then a golden wave gently pushed it back, like a shield protecting the demons.

Kinessa’s brow twitched at that sight. It was the force that had completely blocked the dark magic aimed at Dex.

“This power again...”

It certainly wasn’t demonic energy. Of course, demonic energy came in many forms, but its essence was always the same. Its base was destructive and violent. However, the energy emitted by this demon was a bit different.

“There’s a weak emotion in it.”

It was an energy filled with the desire to protect someone, a feeling that was quite unsettling from a demon’s perspective. Kinessa had never once in his life felt the emotion called kindness that was within that energy.

“What unpleasant energy. Remove it at once.”

“I can’t do that,” Kai motioned with his chin toward the vibrating demonic energy in the air.

It meant he wanted Kinessa to withdraw his power first.

“How impudent... Are you seriously telling me, an Archduke, to back down first?”

“Impudent? Do you even know who I am?”

Kinessa hesitated at those words.

Come to think of it, what is this guy?

The energy he was giving off definitely wasn’t demonic, but it wasn’t weak enough to ignore either. In fact, it was strong enough to cause tension.

“You... Are you really even a demon?”

“No,” Kai slowly shook his head, as if he had finally heard the answer he was waiting for. “I’m human.”

“Human...”

Kinessa suddenly recalled the report he had heard a few days ago. No—he had even heard the rumor from Dex inside the mine.

They said he was strong... I thought it was all nonsense.

There was no way a human could be strong. That belief was deeply rooted in Kinessa’s mind, which was why he hadn’t even considered the one before him to be human.

“Well, this actually works out nicely,” Kinessa nodded.

He was only caught off guard because it was the first time he had seen a human with such power.

“I’ll show you just how high the price is for mocking an Archduke of the Demon Realm.”

Kinessa slowly drew a greater amount of demonic energy than before. The entire mine shook as if an earthquake had struck.

Kai looked back at the demons and said, “Why don’t you stop showing off in front of the kids and we move somewhere else first.”

Even Kai couldn’t guarantee he would stay composed in a fight against an Archduke. He was certain he wouldn’t be able to watch out for others during the battle, so he wanted to change locations. However, that was only his wish.

Kinessa shook his head with a smirk, “As if I’d give up such a perfect setting.”

He could tell that, for some reason, that human was trying to protect the demons.

In that case, I’ll just use it.

Kinessa spread his rising demonic energy across a wide range. Not to pressure only the human in front of him, but to torment every demon in the mine.

“

Kugh

...”

“

Argh!

”

The reactions came instantly.

Kai furrowed his brows as he watched the demons writhing in pain. “So this is the great Archduke of the Demon Realm? What you're doing couldn't be more despicable.”

“That’s the greatest compliment for a demon,” Kinessa smiled as if he were genuinely thankful.

I guess there’s no other choice.

This wasn’t someone who could be reasoned with.

Kai turned his head and looked at Kazura. “I’ll take him elsewhere. Get the miners out of here while we’re gone.”

Kazura lifted his head to look at Kai, even though he still suffered from Kinessa’s magic. His eyes were filled with confusion on how that was even possible?

And Kinessa felt the same way.

“Take me elsewhere? Sorry, but I have no intention of doing so—”

“Don’t worry. I do.”

Kai snapped, and a powerful gravity field appeared and hurled Kinessa high into the sky at the same time.

“

Huff, huff!

”

“

Cough!

”

Looking at the demons who were finally breathing again, Kai said, “Clear the area first.”

“Th-thank you.”

By the time Kazura finished his thanks and raised his head, Kai had already vanished from that spot.

***

“

Huh?!

”

Kinessa was momentarily bewildered as he was thrown into the air by an overwhelming force. It was a strange power he had never experienced before. However, he quickly regained his posture and slowed himself down, befitting his status as an Archduke.

“

Whew

. What a ridiculous...”

Just as he prepared to return to the mine in rage, a golden light shined below.

Gold?

Gold was rare in the Demon Realm, and no object would shine golden from that far away.

The human!

Having reached his conclusion, Kinessa swept his hand toward the ground below. His overflowing demonic energy turned into hundreds of sharp spears and rained downward.

“Item switch, Clown’s Shoes.”

Just before the spears pierced Kai, he switched gears in an instant, and jumped across space. He reappeared right in front of Kinessa’s face, and his big hand forcefully grabbed the Archduke’s face.

H-how does he move like that?!

Before Kinessa could process what was happening, Kai reversed gravity’s direction and headed downward toward the vast ground.

Kai wasn’t someone who would waste such a rare opportunity. Just before hitting the ground, he descended while shattering the stone towers scattered across the barren land of the Demon Realm. Of course, what struck those rocks was none other than the back of Kinessa’s head.

Coming to his senses too late, Kinessa twisted and turned in humiliation and raged furiously, “

Gaaaah!

”

His fury was so fierce that even Kai couldn’t ignore it and eventually let Kinessa go. Of course, he didn’t let him go gently.

“Solar Photon Cannon!”

Kinessa saw four holy magic circles spinning right in front of him and instinctively enveloped his body in demonic energy.

Boooom!

Four beams of sunlight roared out like thunder and slammed Kinessa straight into the wasteland. However, the damage was less than expected.

He endured that?

The Solar Photon Cannon was a skill strong enough to break through several layers of the Church of Muldine temple’s floor. Yet, it only shaved off 7% of his health even though he took four of them head on.

“

Graaaagh!

”

Of course, that alone seemed to cause considerable agony to him.

“How dare you... How dare a mere human...!”

Kinessa’s appearance as he lay embedded in the ground was miserable. His once-lustrous white hair was now filthy with mud and dust, and his elegant robes had split at the seams in several places.

“A worthless bug dares defy the king of the South!”

His red eyes gleamed with murderous intent, growing even darker.

Facing the storm of demonic energy and murderous will directly, Kai found himself momentarily breathless, but only for a moment.

After calming his breath, he slowly said, “You really are strong. The strongest I’ve ever faced.”

If he had to compare, perhaps Atroc, who once shocked him, would come close. But now, he might even be stronger than Atroc since it had been a while since their encounter during the Northern Reclamation War, and Kai had grown immensely since then.

I’m even stronger here with the Discoverer of the Demon Realm title.

Even after taking so many of his attacks, Kinessa still had over 90% of his health left. That alone was the clearest proof of how powerful he was. The demonic energy he released was so intense that even brushing against it made Kai’s skin sting.

A radiant wave of holy energy burst out from Kai.

“Sorry, but that pitiful strength won’t be enough to stop me. I’m really pissed off right now.”

The holy power that easily pushed back demonic magic in the mines now met resistance like it hit a wall.

Kai briefly stared at it, then nodded. “

Yeah

. This won’t work here.”

“No matter what you try, the result will be the same.”

“Hmm... I’m not so sure about that.”

The soft, golden holy power that could be considered the Church of Solaris’ mascot, and had gently wrapped around the miners, began to change. What had been round and gentle like bubbles became sharp and pointed. Not like something meant to protect, but more like a deadly spear that could stab enemies at any moment.

“To be honest, I’m pretty strong too.”

Most of the Demon Realm was hot, so Kinessa assumed the rising heat around him was from getting worked up, but the source of that heat was Kai.

Holy Frenzy. The holy power within Kai’s body had begun to rampage uncontrollably. It was a completely different feeling from his previous Supernova. Supernova always made him feel like he was stepping into a sauna every time he used it.

Ding!

[You have used the Holy Frenzy skill.]

[All stats increase by 10%.]

[Strength +506, Stamina +391, Intelligence +467, Agility +275, Holiness +634]

[Consumes 3,000 Holy Power per second.]

But right now, he felt like a living human power plant.

The scorching heat spread in an instant and enveloped Kinessa’s body.

𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

“

Hmm

.” Kai looked at Kinessa, who was slightly taken aback, and calmly said, “It’s not time to be surprised yet, so wait.”

The four magic circles rising behind him steadily infused him with immense power.

Ding!

[Solaris Blessing has been used. All forms of attack increase by 20%.]

[Solaris Armor has been used. All forms of defense increase by 20%.]

[Haste has been used. All speeds increase by 30%.]

[Bless has been used. +100 to all stats.]

[You are battling an opponent higher in level than yourself.]

[Special title Courageous Knight effect has been activated.]

[+10 to all stats.]

[Due to the relic effects, damage dealt to demons increases by 100%.]

By the time Kai finished all his preparations, Kinessa’s demonic energy could no longer suppress him. What now dominated the space where the two stood was the radiant energy of the Solarian Church shining brilliantly—holy power.