Grey’s appearance was dismal.
Blood flowed from the holes in his body where he had been shot.
His left hand had become a rag, pouring blood uncontrollably.
A duel trial concludes when one party is dead or when further combat is impossible.
From the perspective of the referee, Grey’s condition had already surpassed the boundaries of combat and was at risk of death.
The referee seemed ready to declare my victory.
“The verdict is in. The result of the duel trial is Yuren’s victory…”
“Hold on a minute.”
But I stopped the referee, who was about to declare my victory.
The referee demanded an explanation with his eyes, and I looked at Grey and spoke.
“She still wants to fight.”
Only then did the referee finally look into Grey’s eyes instead of her wounds.
Despite struggling to breathe, her eyes gleamed with venom, leading the referee to withhold his judgment and step down.
“Haah, haah… Why… do you think I still want to fight…?”
“I told you I’ve dealt with many like you. When push comes to shove, you all flail and refuse to die alone, with eyes just like yours.”
I had met many malicious team leaders who believed they could toy with others without ever facing ruin.
And they all ended similarly.
Trapped by their own schemes, they fell into despair, thrashing about until their final moments before disappearing.
Grey wore the same expression as them.
That was all.
“Really… you understand well… this… makes me a little happy…”
“Don’t be happy; it’s not a human emotion.”
“Payback” and “Revenge,” those were my mantras in this other world.
I would help those who had aided me, and those who caused me harm would pay the price.
To me, Grey was a perfect target for revenge.
“You insulted my Master and put my family in peril. You even squandered the final chance I gave you.”
I loaded my shotgun for the next battle.
The mechanical action of loading produced no feelings of anger or intense emotion.
Naturally.
To me now, Grey was just a boss I had to take down for the sake of a well-deserved revenge.
She was merely that, and nothing more.
“The feeling I have for you right now is nothing more or less than that of a boss monster in a game.”
Personally, I didn’t dislike villains with backstories.
I liked those whose beliefs were strong, who had valid reasons, and who died while steadfastly adhering to their principles until the end.
But Grey was not that kind of villain.
She was a remnant of the era of war, longing for conflict without having properly experienced it.
That was “Grey.”
Click!
“Now, whether you transform or self-destruct, let’s see your last resort.”
I was fully prepared to respond to whatever Grey would do next.
But suddenly, Grey began to laugh maniacally as she looked at me.
Is she just laughing because she’s already gone mad?
Either way, she laughed like a villain ready to unleash her final trump card.
“Hehe… cough! cough!”
“Why are you laughing?”
“Did you think I was someone who would explain that?… I’ve already used it, Yuren.”
Wooow…
As Grey’s words ended, blood began to glow as it flowed from her.
More precisely, the blood started to move on its own, tracing out a magical circle.
What is this?
“Do you know what that is, Irene?”
The first to notice Grey’s actions was Irene, who was watching the duel trial.
She recognized in an instant that the magic Grey was using was dangerous.
“That is… one of the black magics, ‘Memento (Demon Possession Magic)’. ”
“Memento! Isn’t that a forbidden spell?!”
“That’s right. Sora’s apprentice…”
“Memento (Demon Possession Magic)” allows the caster to temporarily gain immense power by possessing a demon from hell.
But as time passes, the possessed demon gradually erodes the caster’s body and soul, eventually leading to a loss of consciousness, resulting in endless destruction—effectively a self-destruct spell.
During the war era, this magic was forcibly taught to death row inmates, who were then sent to commit acts of terror against enemy nations, which is why it is now explicitly banned by the Cathedral.
Crash! Crack! Crackle!!!
Grey’s body was undergoing a drastic transformation.
Black skin and muscles swelled up all over, wounds closed, and her physique doubled in size.
A sharp tail emerged, and black horns sprouted from her head.
In a word, she was a [demon].
“GRAAAAHHHH…”
“I expected it, but I didn’t think it would actually come to this. You’ve really crossed the final line, Grey.”
“If I can’t win in the duel trial, everything I’ve achieved is already over. So I might as well enjoy it this way—proper war, after all.”
From the demon head that barely retained Grey’s form, I could strangely hear her voice echoing.
“AAAAAAHHHHH!!!!”
“Oh… a demon!! A real demon has appeared!!!!”
The audience in the duel trial went wild.
People began to scream and flee.
And I locked eyes with my master in the audience.
My Master seemed ready to intervene with her magic, but I shook my head.
There was no need for my Master to step in for demon hunting.
“LET US BEGIN!! Little Yuren!!! WAR!!!!”
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Demonified Grey charged at me like a tank with her enormous body.
I used flight magic to narrowly evade Grey’s attack and flew up.
Then I shot a slug into her leg.
Click… KABOOM!!!
“GRAAHH!!!!”
Grey’s knee exploded like black jelly.
But at the same time, recovery began.
Sluuurp!
“Hehe… If I could die from just that, I wouldn’t be called a demon, Little Yuren.”
“Then how about this?”
I flew directly towards Grey’s head.
And…
Click… KABOOM!!! Click… KABOOM!!!
“GYYAAAAAHHHH!!!!!!”
I blew Grey’s head off with slug rounds.
Her head burst open like a watermelon.
No matter how much of a demon she was, having her head blown off was certainly painful, as her ear-splitting screams resonated throughout the duel arena.
Sluuurp!
“I… I won’t die from something like this!!! Yuren!!!”
“I know, I shot that to buy time.”
Flesh burst from Grey’s head as she began to reassemble it.
In the meantime, I discarded the shotgun and began to chant a spell.
SDVIMVFoanVzY1YwSVhjamMzUkt1VW1SdjRQemJLeHBxVlUyVlR0ME5QLzZzZE5IL0ZtYjc2eTc2dVlrOHovLw
“Is that chant…?!”
Realizing what spell I was about to use, Grey charged at me.
But it was already too late.
“[Nubenchains (Holy Chain Magic)]”
Wrrrrrrrr!!!!
As soon as I completed the chant, golden chains sprang from the ground, binding Grey.
This holy magic, “Nubenchains,” was one I learned from Father Raul while getting advice on creating Dune.
A landmark holy magic of the Cathedral, it boasts absolute power when binding demons.
If used by a true believer, that is.
Crack! Crack!!!
“Do you think you can hold me with this?!”
Grey’s immense strength began to crack the Nubenchains I summoned.
Grey screamed as if she were about to break free and rip me apart.
In response, I calmly replied.
“I know. I’m just buying time with this.”
“What!?”
I had long been informed by Mineva from the Minister’s Office that Grey might resort to demon transformation as a last resort.
She warned me to be careful since it seemed Grey had dabbled in black magic.
And I expected this worst-case scenario during today’s duel.
So, what should I do?
“I’m just an ordinary ‘game developer.’ Demon hunting is not my specialty.”
I’m no hero. I’m just a ‘game developer’ used to managing countless projects.
If the enemy is a demon, it’s nothing to get anxious about; I can just give the job of demon hunting to the specialists.
Boom!!!
At that moment, the door burst open, and they emerged.
“Rejoice, Grey. The experts have arrived.”
As the door opened, there were Father Raul and a dozen members of the Cathedral’s “13th Division” who stepped in.
The “13th Division” within the Cathedral specializes in demon hunting. Their job is exorcism, meaning demon hunting.
“Our Father in heaven, may Your name shine upon the earth and illuminate the skies as You bless our sacred hunt…”
Fearing something like this might happen, I had asked Father Raul for help.
Upon hearing that there might be heretics selling their souls to demons, Father Raul came rushing to my aid.
Along with the newly introduced armaments.
Click! Click! Click! Click!
Father Raul and the accompanying priests were all armed with shotguns.
Those bullets were infused with holy magic, making them highly effective for demon hunting.
And Father Raul…
Vvvvrrroooom!!!!!
“AAAAMEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
Came in wielding a chainsaw made of holy magic that was designed for priests.
With enormous muscles and the chainsaw emitting a sharp noise, he looked like a serial killer from some movie.
Of course, he was the most righteous one on our side.
“Who are you? Don’t interfere in my war with Yuren!”
“Shut up, demon!”
Father Raul dismissed Grey’s words with a single statement.
Then, raising his chainsaw, he shouted.
“Did you think you would cast demon transformation in a duel blessed by our Cathedral and be safe?!”
The blade of Father Raul’s chainsaw began to spin even faster, and the other priests from the 13th Division began to surround Grey.
Vvvvrrroooom!!!!!
“You will die not trembling in fear, but like mayflies—fleetingly. AAAAMEN!!!!!!!”
“DIE!!!!!!”
After that, it was a one-sided massacre.
Grey’s attacks as a demon were all warded off by the holy magic shotguns, and her limbs were dismembered by Father Raul’s chainsaw, one by one.
The wounds inflicted by holy magic slowed her recovery, and even when she did recover, Father Raul would laugh maniacally as he continued to chop her apart with his holy chainsaw.
At that moment, I…
“Apprentice, are you okay being here?”
“The experts are taking care of things, so it’s all right.”
I quickly withdrew and watched the scene of Grey’s demise along with my Master and Sora.
I’ll give you this, Grey,
You truly went out artistically.
