Gonna Be a Demon King!
Chapter 63: Hunter in the Fog

Chapter 63: Hunter in the Fog

"I said... EAT."

He repeated himself, this time manipulating gravity to create the illusion of an oppressive weight pressing down on the monsters. The pressure sent shudders through their bodies and instinct took over as they obeyed, rushing toward Ralguth’s battered body and sinking their fangs into his flesh.

Ralguth let out a tortured scream, thrashing around in an attempt to fend them off. But Xaren didn’t let him.

He seized Ralguth’s arm, and with his gravity manipulation boosting his strength, twisted it in the opposite direction until the joint gave way with a sickening pop. He stomped down on it, shattering his elbow, then did the same to his knee, ensuring Ralguth could do nothing but writhe in agony.

The monsters tore into him with a frenzy ripping chunks of flesh from his body and snapping bones between their powerful jaws. Blood spattered across the ground as their tusks dug deeper, reducing him to a mass of tattered muscle and exposed bone.

And just before the last traces of Ralguth’s life force faded, Xaren finished the job himself.

He raised his sword and stabbed it clean through Ralguth’s skull, watching as the demon’s dimming vision locked onto him in a final moment of clarity.

"Don’t mess with me in your next life."

With those parting words, Xaren pulled his sword out.

Then, faster than the monsters could react, Xaren’s sword flashed through the air, cleanly severing one’s head from its body. The second barely had time to flinch before he drove his blade straight into its skull.

He used Gravity Crush on the third monster, but since it was not as weak as the soldier he had crushed earlier, Xaren could not reduce it to a mangled mass of flesh. Instead, he took advantage of the skill’s immobilizing effect and swiftly stabbed it in the head, ending its life.

With the battle over, Xaren took a deep breath to calm himself, the glow in his eyes fading as he clicked his tongue in irritation.

"Tsk... I wasted demonic energy."

Truly, he had expended more power than necessary in beating Ralguth to a pulp, especially considering the situation he was in.

’I shouldn’t expect any kind of rescue operation from the demons. If anything, I should be preparing for the humans to send soldiers down here to wipe out any surviving demons.’

With that thought in mind, he checked inside his uniform, relieved to find that his magic pouch was still securely tied to his belt inside his clothes. Taking out both a magic potion and a vitality potion, he downed them one after the other before sighing heavily.

’I can’t remember the last time I was this pissed off.’

Anger was an emotion that rarely surfaced in Xaren, but when it did, the intensity was overwhelming.

’Probably because it builds up...’

Shaking off those thoughts, Xaren scanned the foggy surroundings and started planning his next move.

’I don’t know if there are any lookouts on Zlego’s walls right now, so trying to fly back up could just get me shot down. I’ll wait until nightfall before I make my move.’

Just as he had that thought, Xaren recalled something that made him frown.

’Wait... it’s still morning.’

The attack had begun early, which meant he had at least twelve hours before darkness fully set in—far too long.

Too many things could happen in that time.

Zlego’s higher-ups could send stronger soldiers to wipe out any demons in the ravine. There was even the possibility that Level 300s could show up in person.

’I don’t want that.’

He recalled his initial decision to head eastward along the river and decided to follow through with it.

Thinking about how much he had moved since he fell, Xaren estimated that his current position was parallel to Zlego’s Central District—If he were to head directly south, he’d reach the city’s Central District.

With the city spanning a bit over 400 square kilometres, that meant he had about 180 to 200 kilometres ahead of him.

’Alright. I’ll head eastward, taking out any elves or humans I come across. If I reach the end of the fog or hit my estimated distance, I’ll climb up from there.’

Thanks to the maps he studied while preparing with Ilya for the Zlego mission, he had a solid grasp of the area’s layout.

But there was one problem.

’I don’t have anything to measure distance... so how the hell am I supposed to know when I’ve gone 200 kilometres?’

He clicked his tongue.

’You know what? Fuck it. I’ll just move as far as I can, rest when I need to, and then try to ascend.

I shouldn’t linger too long. If level 200s or 300s start showing up, it’s going to be a pain.’

Settling on his plan, Xaren did a few light stretches before gripping his sword.

It was then that his nose caught a sweet scent, and when he turned to the source, he saw four balls of light hovering above the bodies of both Ralguth and the monsters he had just killed.

"Ah, that’s right. I can see souls..."

It had been over two months since he had last participated in a battle like this attack on Zlego, and he had nearly forgotten about this characteristic of the demon race. He also had not gotten any during the earlier battle since he always left right after killing, and souls usually did not manifest immediately.

The sight of Ralguth’s soul before him brought a question to mind.

’Do the devoured souls reincarnate?’

It was something Xaren had never considered before.

He knew that souls were essentially energy, and beings with Soul Devouring abilities absorbed that energy when they consumed a soul.

But if devoured souls did not reincarnate, that would mean a shortage in the reincarnation system. Did that mean new souls were being created to compensate for the loss? Or was there some mechanism that preserved a part of the soul, allowing it to replenish its energy and be reborn even after being devoured?

’Wait, now’s not the time to ponder this!’

Snapping out of his thoughts, Xaren grabbed Ralguth’s soul and devoured it whole before doing the same to the monsters. That familiar surge of exhilaration hit him as the energy coursed through his body, enhancing him.

Then, recalling the wounded elves he had sensed earlier, a grin slowly spread across his lips.

’Let’s grind some levels on the way.’

◇　◇　◇

Xaren dashed through the fog like a shadow, heading straight towards his first targets. As he closed in, he began to perceive the scent of crushed herbs, allowing him to guess they were tending to their wounds.

Thanks to his time in Zlego, Xaren was very proficient in demonic energy concealment, making it so the elves didn’t realize he wasn’t human until he was already close.

In fact, they hadn’t even noticed his presence at all until he was close enough to strike.

By the time they realized something was wrong, it was far too late.

With his sword already drawn, he simply generated a repulsion force beneath his feet, propelling himself forward and driving his blade into the first elf’s chest. He twisted the sword, rupturing their heart before they could make a sound.

The second elf barely had time to widen their eyes before Xaren lifted a hand and clenched his fingers.

’Gravity Crush.’

A sickening crunch echoed through the fog as their skull caved in under the immense pressure, silencing them before they could even let out a cry. Blood spattered onto the dirt, soaking into the ground.

’Hmm... even if I reduce the AOE, the energy cost doesn’t go down much.’

He analysed the efficiency of his skill even as he leapt over their corpses, his gaze already fixed on his next targets.

As he dashed forward, he expanded his magic power in a 25-metre radius around him, staying alert for any attacks from other directions.

’Everyone’s got their ’Gravity’. Try to sense that ’Gravity’...’

He repeated the mantra to himself, sharpening his detection in the dense fog.

Upon arriving at his next targets, he discovered that they had already succumbed to their wounds and died.

After confirming they were truly dead from a safe distance, Xaren closed in, frisked their bodies for any useful potions, and stuffed them into his magic pouch before continuing his hunt.

Before long, another group entered his detection field, prompting him to slow down and crouch behind a heap of broken rocks to assess the situation.

A large, wounded tiger-like monster was battling a trio of equally injured demons. Though its striped fur was soaked in blood, the beast fought viciously, and Xaren remained still, watching until he found an opening.

The instant it lunged for a killing blow on one of the demons, he moved.

Dashing forward, he drove his sword deep into the monster’s side. At the same time, he grabbed hold of its fur and vaulted over its back, landing atop it with his fist crashing down on its skull.

With 4x gravity, of course.

The impact reverberated through the beast’s frame, shaking its bones, but Xaren didn’t stop there. He struck it a second time, yanked his sword free, and, before it could throw him off, engulfed the blade in black flames and plunged it through its spine, piercing its heart.

The monster collapsed, lifeless.

Xaren hopped off its back, barely sparing it a glance as he pulled out the potions he had scavenged earlier. Without a word, he tossed three toward the demons.

Then, before they could react or question him, he was already gone, dashing toward his next target.