Chapter 240

This wasn’t the strongest enemy he had ever faced.

The corrupt magic was so dense it nearly suffocated him, but compared to that of a demon, it clearly fell short.

However, Aint had never fought demons alone. This time was different.

Of all the rivals he had fought solo, this was the strongest.

And not only that.

He wasn’t just a powerful adversary—he might be someone from the surviving bloodline of Colomo.

Perhaps even the root of why the corrupt had started to move again.

There was too much to gain by defeating him.

— Could this guy be the count Fernan mentioned?

‘We’ll find out when I beat him.’

That’s why Aint’s resolve was different.

He had to win. No—he must win.

While he gathered his resolve, the giant moved first.

His shadow fell over him. The fist came down.

— Dodge! A frontal clash puts you at a disadvantage!

‘Yes!’

He had already felt it during the first exchange—he barely managed to stop the blow, but his body paid the price.

Even so, he reacted a moment too late. The giant’s punch was too fast, and Aint lost an instant in thought.

Clang—

The sword clashed with the fist. A moment later, the blade slashed diagonally, deflecting it.

The fist hit the ground, throwing the colossus off balance.

Aint seized that opening: a radiant light sliced through the air.

Slash!

Even when piercing exposed flesh, it was like stabbing a mountain range. The recoil surged through him. It left a wound—but it was small. And it regenerated immediately.

The light of Armian did hurt him, but not enough to stop him from fighting.

— At this stage, you can’t consider him human anymore. He’s a demon in every way, wielding their power and authority.

— But unlike demons, he has more resistance to Armian’s light. Deep down, he’s still human.

This was one of many methods devised by the Great King Colomo and his bloodline to oppose the First Emperor.

“You’re tickling me!”

The giant straightened like an inflatable doll. Suddenly, he headbutted Aint.

Boom—

Though he raised his sword to block, his entire body went numb. The shockwave bounced off the corrupt magic barrier that surrounded the mansion.

Boom, boom, boom! The colossus didn’t let up—he charged again. His fists, bloated with corruption, filled Aint’s entire field of vision.

He deflected them one after another. And the ones he couldn’t, he dodged.

He remembered training against Wooden. It wasn’t the same, but both had that raw, overwhelming strength beyond human limits.

Still, this was easier than with Wooden. The giant’s confident punches were far clumsier than the swordsmanship Wooden had learned at Altrierc.

Like grass beneath a typhoon, Aint bent, swayed, but didn’t break or uproot.

Amidst it all, Aint gathered energy.

He couldn’t just rely on Armian’s light or regular attacks.

He needed a single, heavy, decisive strike—one that could pierce that thick skin and the dense corrupt magic.

He drew a breath and dove between the fists.

Wind gusts brushed his cheeks, shattered earth struck his face.

He dashed into the colossus’s shadow. The massive leg intercepted him, but he launched himself and dodged. He fell, rolled, and pressed forward, closing the distance.

He raised his sword. The aura condensed and extended.

『Sacred Bird』

One of the secret techniques of Armian swordsmanship.

A single slash that split into two pairs of wings, soaring through the air like a bird in flight.

Aint hurled himself straight at his enemy.

─────!

The giant’s roar was drowned by the explosion that followed.

His colossal body was hurled backward. Skin tore, corruption ripped off in shreds, and blood gushed out.

But it wasn’t enough.

It was a large wound, but not fatal.

Aint steadied his breathing again.

Before, one attack like that would have left him exhausted. His body would have crumbled like scrap metal, and his aura would have been depleted.

But not now.

His training and experience from following Fernan.

The potions Fernan had given him, boosting his aura reserves.

The itarium that had toughened his body like steel.

He knew he could fire another.

And he did.

Again.

The bird soared into the sky.

─────!

The giant’s body was cleaved in two.

The first demon contractor he had faced was powerful.

But Aint, strengthened by Fernan’s complete support, was even stronger.

Stronger than he knew.

Stronger than the prophecy had foretold for this point in his life.

Stronger than the original Aint.

***

“…Wow. That’s insane.”

The Black Turtle man had watched the whole fight up close.

He couldn’t help but let out a sigh of admiration.

That monster he thought could only be taken down at great cost… And even more shockingly, Aint had managed it.

“Now I see why the young master supports Aint Armian so much.”

It was unbelievable to think that monster had just been beaten by a second-year Academy student.

If he hadn’t seen it himself, he never would’ve believed it.

Yes, the power of Armian’s light played a role—but the Black Turtle man believed the real weight lay in Aint himself.

It was simply his own ability as a person.

“Ah, almost forgot.”

“When the fight’s over, give him a potion no matter what. Even if he says he doesn’t need it, give it anyway. The little things pile up into something big.”

“Good work.”

He approached Aint, who had collapsed on the ground, with a towel and a potion in hand.

“Thanks.”

“You’re incredible. Now I understand why everyone keeps repeating the name Armian. If not for you, we’d all be dead today.”

“You overestimate me.”

“No one here thinks that. Right, Your Highness?”

“That’s right!”

The First Prince of Linelt exclaimed brightly, as if he hadn’t just been on the brink of death.

“He really was a corrupt! I wasn’t crazy—they were manipulating me!”

The joy on his face made perfect sense. Seeing it with his own eyes was worth a hundred explanations.

Now the First Prince had no more doubts—and had regained hope.

“Aint Armian, thank you! I’ll repay this debt for the rest of my life!”

He had become their firmest ally.

Everything was going just as Fernan had planned.

Though sometimes, he wondered if it was really worth pushing Aint so hard.

‘He said Aint would be the hero, that Armian would get all the glory on the outside… while we collect the money and the benefits.’

With those words from Fernan in mind, there was no other choice but to obey.

After all, he had never seen anyone live without losing even once like young master Fernan.

This, too, must be part of his grand plan.

“Then, may I take care of that matter?”

The giant, even split in two, was still alive. As he said, the vitality granted by demonic power was terrifying.

“Interrogation?”

“Yes.”

The man from the Black Turtle whispered.

“The young master told me about the seal. That thing on his wrist, it was that, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then, that’s not Count Pirandello.”

Which meant there wasn’t just one contractor—but several.

“This might be far more serious than we thought.”

The arrival of a demon alone was already the worst-case scenario—but if there were survivors of Colomo’s bloodline, that was falling into a pit below the pit.

“U-Unbelievable… Me, losing? Me…!”

The Black Turtle man and Aint approached the face of the giant, who was coughing blood and denying reality.

“I was born with the destiny to revive the great legend…!”

“Did you really think you’d win? Got a screw loose or what?”

The Black Turtle man mocked him.

“Don’t you know Aint Armian is the natural enemy of demons, a hero who even defeated one?”

“Shut up! Who would call someone from a cursed bloodline a hero?!”

“A bigger hero than the Colomo trash, who sold not just their souls, but all of humanity to demons.”

“Damn you, how dare you…!”

“The real scum was Kalinos Armian, the worm who stopped this world from reaching its true ideal—!”

Crack—

Aint’s sword pierced the giant’s chest and tore through it.

The scream of pain was gut-wrenching.

“…Huh?”

But Aint hadn’t moved it. The sword had acted on its own.

Or rather, Gardner had moved by his own will.

— …Sorry. I couldn’t bear that damn corrupt insulting the founding Emperor.

‘That’s not the point! How did you do that?’

— What?

‘You moved by yourself!’

— Me? I’m a sword, how could I… Wait… yeah, I did.

Though his grip never loosened, Aint knew that movement hadn’t come from him.

— How did I do that…?

‘Let’s save it for later. That’s not the most important thing right now.’

And well done.

If Gardner hadn’t done it, Aint would’ve done it himself.

The Great Emperor never deserved to be insulted by a corrupt.

“Good job, Aint. Tell me, did he really think he could beat you?”

That Aint had slain demons was already known to almost everyone.

A corrupt from Colomo’s bloodline, of all people—didn’t he know?

Then why was he so confident?

“There’s something more behind this…”

But the giant twisted his mouth into a warped grin. And with that, the Black Turtle man understood everything.

“There’s nothing. Just an idiot who overestimated his strength.”

“…What? Don’t talk nonsense…!”

“It’s possible. After all, even though Aint defeated a demon, everyone knows he didn’t do it alone. Maybe he thought in a one-on-one, he could win.”

“How did you…?”

The giant stiffened, as if struck dead-on.

“Is he really of Colomo’s bloodline? He seems too stupid.”

— They’re still human. Some are brilliant, others are idiots.

Gardner said it, recalling experiences from a thousand years ago.

“How dare you deny my lineage!”

The giant roared in fury.

“Many use their bodies well, but not their heads. They’re never put in command and end up wandering around.”

This one seemed like that.

“That’s why you ended up a guard in a place like this.”

“Yes, now I get it.”

“I hold a higher rank than anyone!”

“Then you failed it—and that makes you incompetent.”

“Ghh…!”

The Black Turtle man kept provoking him, pulling out information with insults and mockery. He got a lot—but not the key parts.

“Idiots! You think I’ll tell you anything?”

About how many Colomo survivors remained, or how powerful they were—he didn’t say a word.

And that was his end.

Even with demonic power, a human body split in two couldn’t last long.

“The fall of the Empire is near! The world of demons and the Baertz is coming!”

“So there are still Baertz alive.”

“…Then everything happening with the corrupt and demons stems from that?”

“I can’t say for sure, but it’s definitely connected. It’s not normal for so many to appear all at once after a thousand years.”

Until the end, he left them a poisoned gift.

“We’ll take care of the cleanup.”

“You’re going to make it look like an attack by the second prince?”

“That’s right. We’ll erase our tracks and leave behind swords, armor, and gear from Linelt’s royal knights. Nothing forced—everything natural.”

“They’ll believe that?”

“Not under normal circumstances. But now, with Garrett Schreiner destroying corrupt hideouts at the second prince’s request, it’ll be enough.”

And even if the second prince had schemes of his own—at this point, that was secondary.