"Damn it...."
Crash! Cra-a-ash! Boom!
"Why do I have to do this kind of unpaid overtime?"
Patrick was fighting alone against a monster summoned from the Demonic Realm. At first, he thought it was nothing. The creature was radiating a demonic energy far more intense than any black mage, but...
‘Victory goes to the first to strike.’
No matter how strong the enemy, all he had to do was slice its head clean off. Patrick's sword shot out like a ray of light and struck the enemy's neck. The head fell to the floor, and it was so ridiculously easy...
"Krrr...."
"Huh?"
This isn't right. That thought struck him the moment the enemy's head, lying on the ground, glared up at him. Then, the enemy picked up its fallen head with its left hand and, in its right, gathered black demonic energy to summon a pitch-black sword.
'Wow, so there are things in this world that can fight even after their heads are cut off.
How strange.
Ah... wait a minute? I think I know this thing.' What came to Patrick's mind then was an old tale his mother used to tell him when he was a child.
A demon mothers often used to scare children, telling them it would take away naughty kids. A cursed being, a knight who had abandoned honor, fallen, and turned into a demon in hell. The name of that demon, which fought with its own head in one hand and a sword in the other, was surely...
"Dullahan."
"Kraaaaaaaah!"
The Dullahan let out a bloodcurdling scream and attacked Patrick.
Cra-a-ash!
A terrifying strike. As the black demonic energy exploded, a fearsome destructive power erupted from the tip of the Dullahan's sword. In knight terms, it was an attack with destructive power easily surpassing the six-star level.
Patrick dodged it smoothly and unleashed dozens of sword strikes on the enemy's body. Patrick's sword strikes flew forth and pierced the Dullahan's body sharply, but...
"Damn..."
That was all. Black smoke seeped out from the Dullahan's severed body parts, and then they sealed themselves back together. As Patrick was flustered by a regenerative power that would put a Troll to shame, the Dullahan's attack began again.
Crash! Cra-a-ash! Boom!
The attacks were simple but held terrifying destructive power. Moreover, it wasn't just the random swinging of a monster; there was a certain discipline to its movements. 'A monster that knows swordsmanship.
Now this is something new.' Patrick continued the battle, receiving the Dullahan's attacks. The Dullahan's attacks were powerful, but not enough to threaten Patrick.
As they exchanged blows, all the successful hits were from Patrick's swords, yet the Dullahan did not falter in the slightest. With its fearsome regeneration and immunity to pain, the deathly warrior was attacking Patrick with ever-increasing intensity.
‘He's pretty strong. Sanson couldn't win. As for April... Hmm, she can't win, and it's normal that she can't... but somehow, I feel like she'd win anyway.’
In any case, it was fortunate that he had come to this place alone. If he had brought the others, it would have been quite cumbersome. He would win, of course, but it was certainly a tricky opponent to fight while protecting the youngsters.
Just then, the Dullahan, which had been fighting Patrick for some time, pointed its head, still held in one hand, at him.
And then...
"Kraaaaaaaaaaah!"
A sinister blue flame shot out from the creature's eyes and flew toward Patrick.
"It can use magic too? What a talented fellow."
The blue flames flying from all directions were less powerful and more dangerous. Realizing that it would not be good to be touched by them, Patrick responded swiftly.
Twin Dragon Eight Sword Forms Fifth Form Dragon Scale Cyclone As Patrick's body spun, his movements caused sword energy to whirl and rise from the ground to the sky, forming a cyclone of sword energy. Dragon Scale Cyclone, the only defensive form of the Twin Dragon Eight Sword Forms.
Though a defensive form, it was also a technique that possessed an offensive nature, blending attack and defense into one.
Pop-pop-pop-pop-pop-pop!
The blue flames emitted by the Dullahan failed to penetrate the wall of the cyclone and fell away. And when the cyclone of sword energy stopped...
"Krrrh?"
The Dullahan flinched. The enemy that should have been before its eyes was gone. The whirlwind of sword energy was vanishing, and the enemy was not where it should have been.
At that moment, the Dullahan felt it. The shadow of something was blocking the sun. It instinctively looked up at the sky, and there...
"This is the end."
Patrick, who had soared into the sky on the cyclone, was now falling toward the ground, crossing his two swords behind his back. Twin Dragon Eight Sword Forms Second Form Soaring Dragon Cross Slash It was the same attack he had used to defeat the King Ogre in the past.
He had pushed himself to execute it back then, but things were different now. He could now freely use an attack far more powerful than before without worrying about suffering internal injuries. A distinct aura formed on Patrick's twin swords.
On Patrick's swords formed the blade of light that people on the Pangemonia Continent called an Aura Blade, something one could only use after reaching the seven-star level, the so-called supreme realm.
"Haaaaap!"
Once horizontally. Once vertically.
The power at the intersection of the cross (+) was more than ten times that of a normal sword strike. And the Dullahan, standing precisely at that intersection, had to face judgment from the great cross of light falling from the sky.
"Kraaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
Crunch! Squeeeal!
As long as demonic energy exists, the Dullahan is a monster that can regenerate infinitely. It has no vital points and no weaknesses.
However....
"I just had to leave not a single piece of flesh or bone behind."
Patrick landed on the ground and spoke dispassionately. The Dullahan, which had taken the full force of his intentionally unleashed Soaring Dragon Cross Slash, had vanished without a trace. All that remained was the earth, scarred with a massive cross so clear it could be seen from the sky.
Patrick sheathed his swords with a satisfied expression and said.
"It's been a while since I had a good workout."
Following the King Ogre, now the Dullahan; each was a monster capable of causing a national emergency, yet Patrick had already dealt with two such creatures. The world did not yet know that such monsters existed in this eastern territory.
Not yet.
A short while later. All that remained in that spot was the cruelly butchered corpse of the black mage.
"The demonic energy is coming from here...."
Patrick spread his energy sense across the entirety of Mount Phils, searching for the demonic energy. The black mage was not a demonic cultivator, but his actions were similar to one. There were two reasons why a demonic cultivator would kill people and commit atrocities.
One was when the demonic energy had seeped into their very marrow, driving them mad, and the other was when they sought to augment their own power. The life force of common people, the innate qi of young boys and girls, the Yin energy of virgins, the Yang energy of virgin men.
Tastes varied, but in the end, they harmed people to draw power from them. There was once a demonic cultivator from the Blood Asura Cult who had wiped out five villages of common folk. His goal was to absorb people's life force to refine elixirs.
The black mage's actions were likely for a similar purpose.
"He didn't seem to have lost his mind, so he must have had a purpose. It's probably here, but..."
Patrick sighed at the sight before him. In front of him was nothing but a cliff. He could feel a faint demonic energy from within the cliff, but there was no visible entrance.
"A formation... no, is it magic?"
It seemed some measure had been taken for concealment. Usually, when one found something like this...
[Hahaha. It is my turn. Step aside, you ignorant swordsmen.]
[Says the ugly bastard.]
[Seriously, how can you look like that?]
[Guilty by face.]
Jegal Hyeon would excitedly step forward, and Patrick and his friends, while grumbling, would step back for him. In truth, there was no formation in the martial world that the Ugly Dragon Scholar could not solve. But that ugly, clever friend was not here now.
So, what should he do?
"Well, what choice do I have?"
Patrick raised the swords in both his hands and smiled sweetly.
"I'll just have to break it with force."
It was a moment when the belief that 'most of the world's problems can be solved by beating them up' shone once again.
Kwa-kwa-ang!
With a terrifying roar, a large sword scar appeared on the cliff. And what was revealed after the dust settled was...
"Oh, so you were hiding it after all."
It was a cave large enough for a big freight wagon to pass through. It seemed the black mage had used some trick to conceal the cave's existence, but as expected, it could be solved by beating it up.
"I should check what's inside and take care of it."
Once the barrier, or formation, or whatever it was, disappeared, he could feel the demonic energy flowing out from inside the cave more clearly. Leaving something like this alone would definitely cause problems.
A situation like a corpse puppet left behind by a crazed demonic cultivator long ago suddenly awakening and causing a massacre could occur, and wasn't it to prevent such a thing that he had personally come all this way?
"Krr... I think I'm too nice."
What is this madman saying? In any case, Patrick entered the cave. The cave was quite dark, but looking at the walls, he saw a few daily necessities, including lamps that could provide light.
"So he was living here."
The source of the demonic energy was deeper inside. Warily watching for any potential traps, Patrick cautiously moved forward, and what he saw was...
"A tree?"
It was a peculiar tree existing inside a cave. The very existence of a tree inside a cave was strange enough, but this tree was clearly odd at first glance. A grim energy could be felt from the tree, and its leaves and stem were also tinged with red.
This tree was the source of the demonic energy Patrick had been sensing.
"I've never seen this before. What is it?"
After being reborn in this world, he had at least learned the general common sense. But he had never heard of a tree as crimson as this.
"Should I take it and ask someone? No, but..."
If he took such a suspicious item...
[Seize that man. He is a subordinate of the black mage.]
He couldn't say that such a thing wouldn't happen.
"I have no choice. Better to clean up things like this neatly."
Patrick drew his swords. As mentioned before, most troublesome problems...
"Can be solved by beating them up."
And Patrick's twin swords drew a sharp flash of light. Horizontally, vertically, diagonally, dozens of sword glints crisscrossed the red tree before him. And then... -Kkieeeeeeeeeeeeeek!- "Ugh?
What's this?"
As it let out a roar like a banshee's wail, blood gushed out from the tree's severed trunk.
"What a disgusting tree. What is this?"
A tree that bleeds? He had truly never heard of or seen such a thing. The demonic energy gradually drained from the fallen tree.
Patrick intended to leave after confirming the tree was completely dead.
But then...
[Thank you.]
[We are grateful.]
[Thanks to you, we have been freed.]
"This is...?"
Faint voices reached Patrick's ears. They were the words of gratitude from the souls that this tree had held, now released. Patrick didn't know it, but this tree was a monster that grew by taking root and absorbing the blood and souls of dying people within a certain area.
The black mage's goal was to grow it, make it bloom, and harvest its fruit, but Patrick had arrived and cut the tree down before that could happen. As a result, the resentful spirits bound to the tree were released, their souls set free.
One by one, small orbs of light rose from the fallen tree, each one the resentful spirit of someone who had died unjustly. They endlessly conveyed their gratitude to Patrick as they faded away. Patrick saw them off with a calm gaze, comforting the souls of the unjustly deceased.
"Go to a good place. Suffer no more."
Patrick wasn't like his Master, who would break out in hives if he failed to do something righteous, nor was he like his father, who couldn't be satisfied unless he helped anyone he saw in misery.
But...
"This is just how I was taught..."
That was all there is to it. He didn't know about the value of good deeds or some grand cause. He was simply taught this way.
The one to whom he owed a debt he could never repay in a lifetime told him to do so. The parents who gave birth to this body and raised him told him to do so. So, he just does it.