NOVEL WEB Ch. 5
Chapter 5
Henrik had no intention of stopping.
He shattered Velperia’s kneecap and stomped her head.
Maybe seeing Baal’s illusion had given him the idea.
Just as Baal had once done to him, Henrik began to replay the scene in reverse.
This isn’t enough.
He raised the hammer high.
-CRACK!
A shadow whip lashed out like a dying scream and snagged his ankle, but he ignored it, staring down at Velperia.
“Why aren’t you falling for the illusion...?! That’s impossible-”
-THUD!
The hammer slammed into the crown of her skull.
-CRUNCH!
“Argh!”
He felt the thick, wet give of bone giving way, yet he kept pounding her head.
Unless the core stone was destroyed, the vessel wouldn’t vanish.
Deeper, harder-he wound up for the final blow-
“Uwaaaah-!”
A roar burst out as people rushed him.
Their pupils were blown, drool strung from slack mouths-traces of brainwashing, probably the ones the shadow whip had snared moments ago.
Dozens tackled him at once; his stride faltered.
In that opening, Velperia crawled between their legs, widening the gap, muttering in a voice shaking with terror.
“A-a mere human, how dare he wield those characters...! How...!”
Trailing her crawling form, Henrik advanced, hammer dragging behind him.
Light streamed from the characters etched across his body.
The sight of it terrified her; she shrieked and scrabbled away.
‘What are those things?’
What could frighten a Demon King?
He shoved the question aside and lifted the hammer.
“W-wait-!”
“Shut it.”
Her eyes flared wide-then the hammer landed dead-center on her skull.
-THUD! CRACK! GRIND-
The instant he felt something give, he put every ounce of strength into one more strike.
-SHATTER!
The hammer exploded into shards.
-CRACK!
Her core stone split and crumbled.
“N-no way... this can’t be... so pointless...”
Her gouged eyes rolled back; she collapsed.
-THUMP!
Silence.
Henrik looked down at the woman whose core had been pulverized.
The glowing characters on his skin faded.
He summoned the memory of those characters.
Without their power, the Sovereign of Sloth would never have fallen so easily.
‘I need to learn what these are.’
His previous life’s knowledge held no record of them. Whoever sent him back and carved the symbols remained a mystery.
Yet one thing was clear.
‘With this strength, maybe...’
A hush settled over the square; then people trickled in.
“Huh? Where am-what happened-”
“L-look there...!”
With Velperia’s vessel gone, her illusions broke; the hypnotized came to their senses.
“A demon? That’s a demon!”
“...Dead?”
When they saw the corpse, their shocked stares swung to Henrik.
He knew the word that would release the frozen moment.
“The demon hunt is over.”
At his declaration, the crowd-still glancing between him and the body-sighed in relief.
Then cheers and applause erupted.
“D-damn...!”
“The Baron Vendal’s own daughter was a demon...!”
“Could the baron himself have been one too?”
Amid the murmurs, new figures appeared: Church paladins in silver armor.
Someone must have alerted the Church during the fight.
“What is the meaning of this?”
A Hunter standing over a demon corpse.
The paladins took in the scene and eyed Henrik warily.
“You’re Hunter Henrik. Causing needless damage to the town again?”
“A demon showed up; I hunted it.”
Hunters and the Church.
Even a ten-year-old knew they mixed like oil and water.
To the Church, a Hunter who hunted on his own was little better than an outlaw.
To Hunters, the Church’s red-tape righteousness was suffocating.
Opposite approaches, constant friction.
A paladin surveyed the collateral damage and pressed Henrik harder.
“There’s still a procedure for disposal.”
“Procedure’s no use to a corpse. Throw it to the dogs.”
The snarling exchange made the onlookers shuffle back.
“You’re certain it’s a demon?”
“If you don’t trust me, haul it to the Church and analyze it.”
Henrik gathered the demon-stone shards from Velperia’s body and tossed them at the Paladins’ feet. Seeing the size of the fragments, the knights gasped.
“This is demon-stone?”
Normal stones were no bigger than a marble. But Velperia, Sovereign of Sloth, was a Demon King; even inside a vessel, her essence couldn’t hide. Her stone was fist-sized-no comparison.
‘Shame it’s smashed to bits.’
A whole stone would have been priceless, but Velperia had been too strong to take alive.
A paladin inspected the shards, then stared at Henrik with open suspicion.
“You took this demon down alone?”
“Strange?”
“Downright impossible.”
A stone that size meant no solo kill-until witnesses stepped forward.
“I’ll vouch,” someone called. “He fought start to finish by himself.”
The crowd parted for a golden-haired young man who looked as if he’d walked straight off a stage: Ted Craft, regal and unruffled. The illusion that had cloaked him during the fight must have finally broken.
Ted cleared his throat.
“That demon was the Sovereign of Sloth.”
“Sovereign of Sloth...?”
Murmurs rippled outward.
“One of the Demon Kings? Here, in Baron Vendal’s mansion?”
“Dear gods...”
The ranking paladin snapped into damage-control mode. Demon Kings were political dynamite.
“My lord, such a claim is treason if false. Identify yourself.”
“Ah, forgot the introductions.”
Ted flicked out his insignia. The paladin recoiled as if burned.
Ted Craft-duke’s heir, academy dean, a man whose name even reached the imperial palace. Would he lie in public?
Between the witness’s rank, the oversized stone, and the corpse at their feet, the knights were out of their depth. The Church would have to take over.
The paladin bowed stiffly.
“May we collect these fragments for the Church?”
“Ownership belongs to Henrik.”
Ted glanced at Henrik, who nodded toward the body.
“Take the corpse too. Spread the word-the sooner the better.”
News of a Demon King’s appearance could only widen the hunting ground. If the Church carried the rumor, so much the better.
Soon Church agents arrived and carted away Velperia’s remains. The show was over.
Ted approached and slung an arm across Henrik’s shoulders.
“Henrik.”
“Finally come back to earth?”
“It’s been a long, ugly day. Next time, give me a heads-up. I need mental prep.”
Henrik gave a tired laugh.
Come to think of it, he hadn’t really talked to Ted since returning to the past. He’d been too wrapped up in his own chaos. Guilt and gratitude twinged in equal measure.
Ted shuddered.
“That illusion was brutal.”
“Yeah? What’d you see?”
“Marriage is off the table. Forever.”
“...Marriage?”
Henrik raised an eyebrow. Ted sighed.
“Just... don’t get married.”
“What exactly did you see?”
“Don’t ask. Don’t do it.”
Henrik snorted. Whatever nightmare Ted had endured, it clearly ended with a ring and a leash.
* * *
After the Velperia incident, Henrik’s exploits blazed through the neighboring fiefs.
SLUMS-BORN HUNTER BECOMES HERO OF NORTHERN CITY!
Headlines like that greeted him at every corner. Walking the market, he’d find apples, bread, and trinkets pressed into his hands.
“Hey, Henrik! Thanks for keeping the streets safe. Take this-it’s from me.”
From apples to dried jerky and sausages, the gifts came in every form.
People kept pressing one more thing into his hands, desperate to show their thanks.
Being famous wasn’t bad, but the whole mess had started with him, and the weight of that sat heavy. One worry, in particular, refused to leave him alone: the orphanage Velperia had planned-a “breeding ground” where gifted children would be raised, only to be fed to demons.
It wasn’t just one orphanage.
As soon as the case closed, Henrik visited every home that bore Baron Vendal’s seal.
Fortunately, the scheme had never progressed beyond blueprints; the kids were unharmed.
“Feel a little better now?” Ted asked, watching the children file onto a wagon bound for a new shelter.
“Yeah. Plenty of talent in that bunch-they’ll matter someday.”
He was right. The orphanage had been full of bright, able kids. In the last timeline they’d been nothing but Velperia’s pantry. This time, things were different. By taking her down, he’d given them a future. Some of those children might even become the heroes of the war against the demons that was still to come.
“Kinda surprising,” Ted murmured.
“What?”
“Didn’t peg you for someone who likes kids.”
Ted lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “A few days ago you were bent so far out of shape I thought you’d snap. Now... I dunno, you look-” He scrunched his face, hunting for the word. “Ah, yeah. More human.”
“So before, I wasn’t?”
“Nope. You only ever had eyes for demons, never people around you.”
He said it plainly. “From the outside, you always looked ready to implode-like a guy who’d throw himself on the pyre of revenge. You still give off that vibe, but it’s... different.”
“......”
Maybe he was right. The Henrik Ted remembered was the one from ten years ago-same face, different man. Yet his eyes were sharp enough to spot the shift.
“I had a nightmare,” Henrik said.
“Nightmare?”
“Demons poured in, everyone died, and I couldn’t lift a finger.”
“......”
“That might be what changed me.”
“Some kind of divine revelation?”
Divine revelation.
A woman’s voice, black wings, characters etched into his skin-they all flashed through his mind.
“Could be.”
With new power came a new chance. Change was coming, and Ted would be part of it. Henrik studied his friend.
In the last life, he’d thought of Ted as just the buddy who watched his back. He hadn’t realized how much the man actually saw. Gratitude welled up.
“Let’s talk business,” Henrik said.
“Our business?”
“Yeah. The academy professorship.”
Once, he wouldn’t have glanced at such an offer. Not now. He carried knowledge of the future, and Ted’s Sefira Academy held every resource he needed-tools, allies, opportunities he’d wasted before and couldn’t afford to miss again.