NOVEL WEB Ch. 110
“Damn it! When will these things stop coming?!”
The streets burned around them. Chitinous creatures swarmed through the smoke while massive shadows wheeled overhead, blotting out the stars.
Lancelot’s voice cracked—not with fear, but with the raw exhaustion of a man pushed beyond his limits.
“Kai! Save the woman!”
He pointed toward a cowering figure pressed against a collapsed storefront. Above her, a Trophalga dove with its serrated beak split wide, ready to tear flesh from bone.
Death balanced on a razor’s edge.
Kai moved through the chaos like a shadow given purpose.
Two strides carried him to the creature’s path. He gripped his dagger and met the monster’s multifaceted gaze without flinching.
“Die, monster.”
The words escaped like a whispered prayer. Crimson Aura wrapped around his blade, transforming steel into something far more lethal.
Slash—!
His dagger found the Trophalga’s throat as it passed, opening arteries in a spray of fluid.
“Kweeeeee!”
The creature’s death shriek pierced the night, but Kai had already moved beyond emotion, beyond hesitation.
A flurry of strikes reduced the Trophalga to twitching meat. It crashed to the cobblestones and lay still.
Thud—
Kai studied the corpse with empty eyes before turning away, already seeking the next threat.
“Nice!” Lancelot exclaimed.
Roxen carved through a cluster of mantis-creatures while Hans danced between their claws.
“Help me!” Hans’s plea echoed off the burning buildings.
Lancelot nodded, noting how their training at the Death Veil had transformed them all. Even he could now—
BANG!
—sense attacks from his blind spots.
“Attacking while someone’s talking? How rude.”
He addressed the mantis-thing that had tried to remove his head with a scythe-arm.
The creature couldn’t understand him, naturally, but manners mattered even in hell.
How dare some mindless beast attempt such discourtesy?
“Oh, you’re dead now.”
Whoooosh—!
Aura gathered around his spear as winds began to spiral. The air itself became his weapon, a hurricane contained within steel and flesh.
He leveled his spear at the mantis-creature’s center mass.
The technique he learned from the House of Berg erupted forth.
BOOM!
Thunder split the night.
The mantis-thing staggered, a gaping wound where its torso had been.
“Kek... kerrrr...”
It toppled backward, already dead.
Lancelot wiped gore from his face and spat.
Ptuh—
“Rude little monster shit.”
He straightened his spear and caught his breath, worry gnawing at him.
“The captain should be handling his part... right?”
* * *
At that very moment, Maon savored the sight of broken minds.
Every human in the tavern twitched and stared at horrors only they could see—the Grand Master woman, that peculiar archer, all of them helpless within his web of terror.
“This is why humans are called inferior creatures.”
His mocking laughter filled the room as he raised one fuzzy, segmented hand toward Enoxia’s cheek.
But the moment his insectoid flesh touched her skin—
CRACKLE!
Divine fire erupted, consuming his hand in brilliant agony.
“Tch.”
He regarded the flames with mild annoyance, then simply severed the limb.
Thud.
The burning appendage hit the floor. Lesser insects swarmed over it, weaving a replacement from chitin and malice.
Even with his hand restored, frustration twisted his features.
“Damned Goddess! Such an irritating curse!”
Helena, the goddess who stood opposed to the Demon God, had placed restrictions upon his kind.
His particular burden was this: he could not make physical contact with human flesh while his nightmare ability was active.
A maddening limitation. He could shatter minds but not bodies—though this alone had earned him a place among the Twelve Nobles, the restriction still galled him.
Maon ground his mandibles before forcing calm back into his posture.
“Hah… Patience. A noble must maintain proper dignity.”
Still, the question remained.
“Who is the traitor, really?”
He considered his fellow Nobles—beings who rarely communicated with one another. Recently, he’d heard that one of them had razed some minor territory.
Could it be that fool?
Perhaps the idiot had leaked information during his rampage. Carelessness rather than betrayal, most likely.
After all, why would any of them side with humans?
“Tch. Sloppy work.”
Maon shook his head in disgust.
Such crude methods—simple slaughter instead of the artistry of psychological torment. Where was the elegance in mere destruction?
“It’s better to appreciate beautiful things like this.”
He turned his compound eyes toward Enoxia and her expression of absolute terror.
Though she probably wasn’t reacting to him specifically, human suffering never lost its appeal.
“I’d like to savor this a bit longer.”
Greedy hunger filled his gaze as he studied her face. A Grand Master reduced to this by such a simple mental assault—all because he’d captured her beloved.
Like something from a crude comedy.
“Don’t you agree?” He addressed Martel, who hung suspended in demonic chains.
“Haah—haah—” Martel’s labored breathing was the only response.
The sight made Maon chuckle.
“Why are you staring like that? It’s quite unsettling.”
“...Go to hell.”
“Unfortunately, hell doesn’t exist. That’s just another illusion crafted by that Goddess bitch.”
Mockery dripped from every word. “Do you know what dream your lover is experiencing? It’s about you. Oh, now she’s begging for your salvation. Pleading that you, at least, should be spared.”
“Shut up.”
“Oh my! Now she’s eating insects with her bare hands. Look how desperately she devours them! She must think she’s livestock.”
Maon’s cackling laughter filled the room.
Blood trickled from Martel’s lips as rage and helplessness warred within him.
Why was he so weak? His granddaughter, his daughter, and now Enoxia, who had loved him—he couldn’t protect anyone.
Bloodshot eyes burned with impotent fury.
“I’ll kill you... I swear...!”
“I look forward to it.” Maon’s sneer held no warmth. “If you manage to survive, that is.”
Crack!
Segmented fingers gripped Martel’s face, forcing eye contact.
“Enough entertainment. Time for you to join my embrace as well.”
“I’ll never submit to something like you...!”
“That’s hardly your choice to make.”
WHOOSH!
Demonic energy erupted from his form. The ruby embedded in his staff pulsed with malevolent light.
“Fall into terror. Your screams will be an offering to the Demon God.”
Raw nightmare-force lanced toward Martel.
“Urrrgh!”
His pupils began darkening as the curse took hold, just as it had with Louis and Enoxia—
“...What?”
Maon’s head snapped around, compound eyes widening. A chill raced down his segmented spine.
“What is this presence...?”
The killing intent behind him was palpable—dense, unforgiving bloodlust that rivaled most Demonkin.
“Impossible...”
The worst-case scenario crystallized in his mind.
If his power had been broken—if someone had conquered that fear and transcended into a new realm—it would spell his doom.
Maon swallowed hard as he turned toward the source of that terrible intent.
Louis Berg. His body stirred, then slowly rose to his feet.
“...Ha.”
A long sigh escaped the archer’s lips.
Shock paralyzed Maon as he witnessed the impossible.
No one had ever broken free from his power alone—not heroes, not Grand Masters, not in all his countless hunts.
Yet here stood living proof of his fallibility.
Maon held his breath as Louis approached, eyes gleaming with cold fire. He found himself retreating, pupils trembling with an emotion he’d never known.
“That was a revolting experience.”
Louis’s voice carried the promise of violence.
That murderous tone sent tremors through Maon’s extremities—the first time he had ever felt genuine terror.
* * *
I exhaled slowly, running fingers through my hair as irritation burned in my chest.
Because of that filthy nightmare, unwelcome memories still clawed at my consciousness.
“Thanks to you, I now understand exactly what I must do. I’m grateful.”
Killing Hera. Destroying House Artezia completely. That venomous determination had settled in my heart once again.
Not that I planned to sacrifice everyone for revenge, but I could certainly throw away my own life without hesitation.
“I should return the favor.”
I studied Maon with calculating eyes. Since he’d given me such a gift, courtesy demanded reciprocation.
“Receive this graciously.”
I nocked several arrows, layering Aura over each shaft.
Medium-sized serpent-dragons materialized and began circling around me. I regarded them with satisfaction, then snapped my fingers.
All the serpent-dragons launched toward Maon simultaneously.
“Damn it!”
Panic twisted his features as he scrambled backward. But the serpent-dragons pursued with relentless precision, guided by inexorable purpose.
Desperation drove him to unleash his power again.
WHOOSH!
The familiar darkness struck me, but this time it was useless.
I’d already crushed the demonic energy seeking my mind with Willbreaker.
“Did you really think I’d fall for the same trick twice?”
I drew my bow and stomped the ground.
The distance between us vanished.
“What? This can’t be… some sort of homing device?!”
With his power proven useless, confusion replaced Maon’s earlier confidence.
I ignored his babbling and nocked an arrow to my bowstring.
I stepped on his knee and vaulted above his head, pressing my bow against his skull.
“No returns for gifts.”
The bowstring sang. My arrow found its mark instantly.
BOOM!
Maon’s head exploded in a shower of chitin and fluid.
I landed gracefully as pieces of his skull scattered across the floor.
With a steadying breath, I said, “Get up. I know you’re still alive.”
Silence answered me.
“Well then, I’ll finish you properly. I just have to kill the flow of demonic energy to your brain. Isn’t that right?”
“!”
Maon’s eyes snapped open at my words.
This was knowledge gleaned from my master—information I intended to use to wreak havoc on these so-called Nobles.