Chapter 62. < 27. It's Really Big (2) >
Succubi and incubi are demon races with similar characteristics.
Both are humanoid, and both are beautiful. This is to seduce humans and absorb their essence. However, they have a fatal weakness: their specialty, the charm skill, doesn't work on the same sex.
'But incubi... charm skills aren't the only dangerous thing about them.'
Watching Rumian rush forward, Morgan wore a serious expression.
Unlike succubi, who only have strong mental attacks, incubi also possess excellent physical strength.
Strong enough to easily toy with typical Experts.
Moreover, the incubus in this hideout appeared stronger than normal specimens.
It seemed to have absorbed the succubi's magi and entered a temporarily doped state.
'Of course, big brother isn't exactly a typical Expert either...'
While his aura reserves might not differ from other Experts, Rumian had tremendous experience.
He had swordsmanship skills that could surpass even a Swordmaster, and aura manipulation abilities.
Of course, that didn't change the fact that Morgan was worried.
Morgan nodded with a grim face.
'Big brother said not to interfere, but...'
If a dangerous situation arose, he would step in without hesitation.
He couldn't let Rumian die a virgin again.
"That bastard! Coming at me alone!"
The thought was long, but the time passed was short.
The incubus, who had shouted loudly, also shot toward Rumian.
It was to shatter this smooth-faced brat with a single punch.
The creature leaped high and brought down a powerful fist with its full weight behind it.
KWAA-A-AANG!
Kkeujik, kkeujeojeojik-!
Tremendous power!
A massive crack formed where Rumian had dodged.
But if it didn't hit, it was useless. Rumian quickly positioned himself behind the incubus and launched a sword strike.
KWANG!
But it was blocked. The incubus demonstrated monstrous strength by blocking the aura sword with just his left hand.
Not stopping there, he tried to grip the blade to break it.
At that moment, Rumian's aura sword shone even more intensely.
"Krrugh!"
Unable to withstand the heat, the incubus threw the sword away as if tossing it.
Rumian didn't resist the force but spun once. A fierce attack using centrifugal force landed on the opposite side of the incubus.
KWANG!
"Krrugh!"
This time even the incubus took damage.
Seeing blood burst from his shin, the creature staggered backward.
From his mouth came a sound like an angry beast.
"KHEU-AA-AAH!"
"Hmm."
Morgan furrowed his brow.
It wasn't a simple roar. The incubus's voice was mixed with an evil energy that could break down a person's mind.
However, Rumian had protected his eardrums with aura just before the creature opened its mouth.
With an expressionless face, he kicked the incubus's chin.
And just before it could fly away, he unleashed two more attacks.
KWAA-A-AANG!
Urrrrr-
"EUAA-A-A-AH!"
Watching the incubus emerge from the pile of rocks, Rumian smirked.
Then he immediately closed in and delivered a merciless combination of strikes.
KWANG! KWANG!
KANG! KANG! KANG! KAANG!
The incubus couldn't regain its bearings.
It was definitely stronger. More powerful, tougher body, and faster too.
Yet it couldn't gain the upper hand. Every time it tried to do something, its momentum was broken. Wherever it tried to advance, the brat's sword was always there.
That fact made the incubus incredibly angry.
It felt like it would go crazy from frustration!
'Is it because he hasn't fought in a long time? He's terrible.'
In contrast, Rumian was calm.
Compared to his previous life, he was much weaker. The amount of aura, and the internal pathways through which aura flowed were incomparably worse than before.
But he had experience. He had the expertise built through decades of combat.
And one more thing.
Recalling the Mountain's aura, he slightly raised the corner of his mouth.
'If not for this, it might have been difficult.'
Mind, body, and aura are not separate things.
When aura runs out, the body's strength fades, and when the body starts to creak, the mind crumbles.
From that point, it becomes difficult to read the incubus's psychology and follow-up movements. Cases occur where one fights well but loses due to lack of stamina. But right now, there was no such worry.
The components that make up the Mountain's aura.
The energy of vegetation, the energy of earth, the energy of water—he drew upon them alternately. The warm sunlight beating down also helped with endurance.
The mysterious power that had allowed him to follow Morgan, a Swordmaster, for days on end was showing its true worth.
Rumian was certain of victory.
If things continued like this, it would be fine.
He could eliminate this filthy male demon!
That was what he thought.
Morgan, who was standing behind, informed Rumian of one fact.
"Big brother! The magi inside the dungeon keeps flowing into him!"
'Damn! He's continuously absorbing the succubi's magi!'
His thinking had been short.
Remembering a fact he had temporarily forgotten due to anger, Rumian ground his teeth.
He had planned to drag it out into a prolonged battle and whittle down the creature bit by bit, but in this situation, that strategy became useless. If the creature's power grew stronger, it would become difficult to maintain the upper hand.
So what should be done?
Should he hand over the fight to his sworn brother like this?
'Absolutely not!'
Light flowed from Rumian's eyes.
He hadn't forgotten.
He couldn't forget.
What that creature had said. That statement driving a spike into his chest without any hesitation.
'How could he do that? Was it because I'm a virgin? Was it because I'm an inexperienced boy that he could so cruelly slaughter those cute children?'
'How dare he!'
To mock me as a virgin!
Unbearable anger surged up.
It might be true, but sometimes there are things that shouldn't be mentioned.
Yet this creature did so. It trampled on his wounded heart, tore it apart, and rubbed salt in the wound.
A passionate battle cry burst from Rumian's mouth like it was burning.
"KRAA-A-A-AP!"
ZII-II-IING-!
"No, that's...!"
Morgan, who was watching the battle, dropped his jaw.
Rumian's aura sword rose to an enormous length. It seemed easily twice as long. The light and heat also became incomparably more intense than before.
Of course, it couldn't compare to a completed Swordmaster's aura sword.
But he thought it was at least strong enough to withstand a few exchanges with his own sword.
'How on earth did he do that?'
"HUA-A-A-A-AP!"
"Th-this!"
Whether Morgan was surprised or not, Rumian glared at the incubus and delivered a strike of bitter resentment.
The flustered incubus crossed both arms to block near the crown of his head. Black magi condensed on his forearms, becoming as hard as a metal surface. However, it wasn't enough to block Rumian's aura sword.
KWAJA-A-A-A-AJAK!
The expression "sliced" wasn't appropriate.
With a feeling of having shattered it, Rumian split the incubus in two.
From head to groin, that is, all the way down to his privates. The creature's massive member was no longer recognizable in shape.
If the creature had been human.
No, if it hadn't said hurtful things to him, he wouldn't have given it such a cruel end. But the current Rumian had no mercy.
Phew, he exhaled a hot breath.
Then knelt on one knee. He had overtaxed his body by drawing too heavily on his aura.
Morgan hurried over and asked about his condition.
"Big brother, are you alright?"
"No, I'm not."
"That last move, how did you do that?"
"Just... I'll explain later. I need to cultivate for a bit. Watch the surroundings."
Having finished speaking, Rumian took a position and began aura cultivation.
The strike he had just shown was an application of the Mountain's aura that maximized the fire attribute.
The heat sleeping beneath the mountain—in other words, lava—erupting all at once.
'Like a volcano exploding...'
He had thought of it during the race with Morgan, and it worked better than expected.
Of course, stability was low. His body was burning right now. The blue mountain was wrapped in flames, crying out in pain.
'Still, it's fine.'
If he drew upon the water flowing through the mountain, he would be able to somehow extinguish it.
With his eyes closed, Rumian sank into a state of trance.
***
"Phew. That was refreshing."
"Refreshing? You cultivated for half a day. I thought I'd die of boredom."
"Didn't we used to do this a lot? There were many times I stayed up for two or three days taking care of you."
"Khem. Well, that's..."
Morgan trailed off.
Because it was true. In his previous life, Rumian had saved him dozens of times, so he couldn't really complain about this much.
He said:
"Anyway, the subjugation is over. There don't seem to be any other demons, so once the purification ritual is performed, the territory will become safe."
"I see. It's over..."
Rumian muttered in a lonely voice.
In the end, the succubi, the original goal, came to nothing.
What remained in his head was the incubus's dangling member and the abusive words he had spoken.
It was a subjugation with nothing but losses and wounds.
"Oh right, and this came out of the incubus's body."
"What? Ah... a demon stone. He was strong indeed."
Rumian nodded as he spoke.
A demon stone is the essence of power that high-ranking demons carry.
Unlike other demons that turn to ash and scatter when they die, powerful demons leave behind their demon stones like this incubus did.
"If you take it to a priest, it'll fetch a good price."
"Probably? This size should be quite a bit."
And demon stones sold for quite a high price.
Not because they had value, but because ordinary holy water carried by adventurers or mercenaries couldn't purify them, so the religious order bought them for processing.
However, an interesting thought crossed Rumian's mind as he looked at the incubus's demon stone.
'If done well... couldn't this be used like an elixir?'
It wasn't impossible. At least in Rumian's judgment, that was the case.
Demons are strong thanks to magi. But that doesn't mean they don't use mana.
This was especially true for high-ranking demons.
Therefore, it was correct to assume that this demon stone left by the incubus contained large amounts of both magi and mana.
'Of course, if an ordinary person ate this, they'd immediately become corrupted and turn into a demon person...'
I'm different!
Rumian began to calmly assess his abilities.
'The vegetation covering the mountain... has purification functions.'
'The water flowing through the mountain... naturally has purification abilities.'
'The earth supporting everything... goes without saying.'
'Finally, the sunlight shining on all of this... sufficient to burn away even the last remaining magi.'
A smile spread across Rumian's lips.
It was definitely possible.
If it were the Rock aura from before, it would have been difficult. He could withstand the magi, but purifying and eliminating it was another matter.
But now...
'I can extract only the mana from the demon stone!'
"Big brother, why are you looking like that?"
"Morgan."
"Yes."
"I'm going to eat the demon stone now."
"What?"
Morgan looked at his sworn brother with an expression asking what nonsense he was spouting.
But Rumian was calm. He continued in a measured voice.
"There's no need to worry at all, so don't make a fuss and just watch over me for about one more day."
"What are you saying? That doesn't make any sense..."
"I found a way to eliminate the magi and absorb only the mana. So I'm asking you."
"W-wait."
Having finished speaking, Rumian immediately swallowed the demon stone.
Then a hot and tingling sensation spread throughout his body.
Of course, it was at a manageable level.
Rumian thought with a smile inside.
'What I lack most right now is aura capacity.'
That was it. That was the only thing lacking.
He knew very well the method to advance upward.
He also had the ability to execute that method, and the know-how—all of it.
Because he had already experienced it once.
Therefore...
'If the amount of aura is sufficient... I...'
Today, he could become a Swordmaster.
Rumian's expression became solemn.
"Hmm......."
Unable to even guess his sworn brother's thoughts, Morgan scratched the back of his head.
Honestly, he wasn't worried.
There had never been a time when his big brother said he was fine and then wasn't.
It was always himself who struggled and barely survived near-death crises.
Only...
"Staying another day is too boring..."
Morgan let out a deep sigh.
Of course, he had no choice. His sworn brother had done this often too.
Grumbling inwardly, he began standing guard.