Demon Lords
Back when Simon was a hero, there were certain demons who were like walking catastrophes to humans.
Demon Lords
Demon Lords were demons who were a step below Demon Kings, and a Demon Lord was a demon who had the power to destroy half a continent if he so desired.
Before reaching a certain level of power, Simon was extremely wary of facing a Demon Lord.
They were a step below Demi-Gods, and even some talented Demon Lords could kill a Demi-God.
Demon Lords could completely destroy countries with their powers, and if not for the gods and the weak bridges which prevented the Demon Lords from entering Earth, every single human would have died or would currently be slaves to the demons.
Lesser Demons, Fiends, Archfiends, Greater Demons, Demon Lords, and Demon Kings.
These were the six ranks of demons, and although there was just a single gap between a Greater Demon and a Demon Lord, this gap was an unfathomable chasm.
Unless a demon had a bloodline, an ability, an item, or innate talent that could bridge this chasm, a Demon Lord could kill more than a dozen Greater Demons.
And Simon?
What could Simon do or where could he run to in front of a terrifying being like this?
Simon dared not to move as he stared at the Velari which was a Demon Lord.
The Demon Lord's eyes were closed, and the atmosphere was extremely heavy and tense. Only the sound of the slowly closing spatial crack could be heard, and Zaglur could not help but curse.
"Damn-"
Clang
Puchi!
Drip
Three successive sounds resounded in the surroundings in the span of two seconds, and Simon barely registered what happened.
He saw a flash pass by his face, then he heard the sound of metal hitting against metal, then he heard the sound of metal hitting against metal, then he heard the sound of blood dripping on the ground along with the sound of the wind being sliced dangerously close to his right ear.
Then he saw a metal object in the hand of the Demon Lord.
'Is that... a shuriken?'
Simon stared at the shuriken in confusion, but then he heard a cough behind him.
He looked back, and his eyes widened slightly when he saw Zaglur clutching his chest and coughing out copious amount of blood.
Golden light cloud be seen flowing throughout his body, and his body began cracking apart.
'Damn it.' Simon's expression became deathly grave.
Meanwhile, Zaglur was cursing the Demon Lord of the Velaris with immense hatred and anger as his body and heart was being torn into pieces.
Unlike Simon who could could not see what had happened, Zaglur saw everything but he couldn't react.
The Demon Lord had thrown his shuriken into the divine dagger in his heart.
The shuriken's impact pushed the dagger deeper into his heart, and unfortunately for Zaglur, that was not all the Demon Lord did.
At the point of contact, the Demon Lord's demonic energy also came in contact with the divinity on the dagger, and the result was like pouring water into hot oil.
He had been trying to slow down the movement of the divinity in him, but after the Demon Lord's demonic energy came in contact with the dagger, he could no longer do such a thing.
The divinity in him was now violent and chaotic, and Zaglur knew that he was mere moments from meeting death.
"Damn you... Velaris."
A few moments later, Zaglur fell face flat into the ground with wide open eyes that were filled with regret, hatred, and anger.
The lantern which had been suppressing the shadows and the two Velaris fell to the ground because it no longer had an owner.
Zaglur was dead, and Simon could not help but stare at the dead Daegrin in a daze.
Although Zaglur was the reason his tribe was no more, the reason his mother betrayed him, and the reason he was currently in this predicament, the demon had wanted to save him.
Although it was purely out of Zaglur's selfish interest, the core of the matter remained that Zaglur wanted to save him.
Simon also had a feeling that if both of them had been able to survive this situation, he would have gotten himself a sponsor if Zaglur was true to his words that Daegrins only wanted wealth, not power.
To have a Daegrin as a sponsor would drastically increase the pace at which he advanced on the path of power, but that was no longer possible.
Zaglur was dead, and he knew that his situation was about to become a whole lot worse.
The Demon Lord definitely heard their conversation, so he knew that he was with the Devourer's blood essence.
He would not be killed on the spot right now, but he would definitely be killed in the near future.
'I don't know if I should be glad and relieved that I didn't directly absorb the blood essence, or if I should be worried because of what they'd do once they realize I don't have the bloodline of the Devourers.'
'I can't believe I'm wishing for the demon who ended my tribe and made my mother betray me, to still be alive.'
The sound of footsteps drifted into Simon's ears, then he looked to the side.
The Greater Demon Velari approached the Demon Lord and knelt on one knee. The Velari he had been fighting also got one knee and bowed before the Demon Lord.
"Grave Lord." They both addressed at the same time, and the Demon Lord finally opened his eyes and looked at them emotionlessly.
"Disappointing."
The Demon Lord only said one word with a cold and emotionless tone, and both Velaris trembled in fear.
Simon could guess why the Grave Lord was disappointed, and it was because two Greater Demons had died facing a single Daegrin who was a merchant, not a warrior.
It was surely disappointing when one thought about it.
The two kneeling Velaris said nothing, then after a tense moment of silence, the Grave Lord spoke.
"We'll wait for this spatial crack to close. Unfortunately, only the master has the power to deal with space. I don't."
The Grave Lord then shifted his gaze toward Simon, and Simon felt the hair on his back rise at the Velari 's gaze.
"Then we'll take this kid with us and get what is ours."
The two Velaris said nothing and remained kneeling, then the Grave Lord closed his eyes and continued meditating in front of the spatial crack.
As for Simon, his gaze and expression was still calm despite his situation. A part of him was worried, but not truly afraid.
Fearless ensured that he knew no fear.
However, he knew that his future was extremely grim and he could also feel the blade of death's scythe grazing his neck.