Gonna Be a Demon King!
Chapter 66: Return to Camp

Chapter 66: Return to Camp

Feeling the lightning coursing through him, Xaren gritted his teeth and activated a skill.

’Gravity Crush!’

"Stone Pillar!"

The instant the sphere formed around the mage’s leg, he conjured an earth pillar that launched him into the air, escaping the field’s crushing force just in time.

’Fas—!’

Xaren couldn’t even finish thinking the word ’Fast’ when a fireball descended from above, forcing him to roll away to avoid being scorched.

’Flaming Lance Barrage!’

Xaren conjured a two-ringed magic circle and unleashed half a dozen black flame spears at his airborne opponent. However, the mage spun his staff as he landed, generating a rotating barrier of lightning that dispersed the attack.

"Lightning Cyclone—Burst!"

The mage converted that defensive lightning into an offensive strike, forcing Xaren to lighten his body and dash aside to evade it.

He unfurled his wings and leapt up, using a powerful flap to propel himself forward with a burst of momentum.

"Lightni-!"

"Flame Geyser!"

The mage quickly activated a lightning spell, but Xaren, having channelled magic into his wings the moment he spread them, was faster in casting his own spell.

The ground beneath the mage glowed red-hot, and he barely managed to leap away before it split apart, erupting in a geyser of fire.

Xaren used Gravitation Attraction to pull the man back toward the flames, but at the last moment, he coated their body in rock skin to mitigate the damage.

’Stone Skin!’

Still, this brief moment was all Xaren needed to close the distance and swing his sword toward their neck. However, the mage’s uncanny reaction speed surfaced once again—as though he was pulled off balance by gravity, he still managed to raise his staff just in time to parry.

Forcing himself upright, he launched a counterattack like a seasoned melee fighter, but Xaren simply folded his wings as he ducked and drove a punch straight toward his torso. His fist shattered the weakened rock skin and struck the mage’s stomach, yet instead of a cry of pain, what escaped his lips was a spell incantation.

"Earth Lance!"

Xaren’s sword arm descended instantly, slashing through the forming spell circle before it could release its magic. Without pause, he activated Attraction, pulling their staff toward his empty left hand.

The mage struggled to yank it back, but his strength was no match for Xaren’s grip.

"Thunder Pulse!"

He tried surging lightning up the staff in an attempt to force Xaren to release it, but having expected this, Xaren responded by channelling black fire down the weapon.

The two opposing forces clashed at the centre, triggering a violent explosion that obliterated the staff, its shockwave blasting the mage backwards.

Xaren, however, remained grounded, his body shielded by Gravity Shield. He burst through the smoke, sword slashing toward the recovering mage, who conjured a rotating barrier of lightning to block the attack.

"—Burst!"

They unleashed the lightning in a powerful outward surge, but Xaren, having also expected this, leapt into the air to evade. He unfurled his wings once more, channelling magic through them to hasten his spellcasting.

’Flame Lance Barrage.’

Spears of black fire erupted from the ground behind the mage, but just as he moved to block, Xaren activated Attraction, yanking the man’s body upward.

He descended simultaneously, his sword carving across their chest before they could form a shield, leaving behind a burning trail of black flames.

Reversing the gravity that had pulled them skyward, he made it drag the mage back down, and the moment the man’s body fell, he unleashed a diagonal, upward-arcing slash that met him mid-descent, carving another deep wound and severing an arm.

"Guh! Lig-tugf?!"

Xaren’s left hand clamped around the man’s throat, crushing it to silence any further chants. Then, his sword cleaved downward, splitting the mage’s head in two.

[Level Up]

’I’d be pissed if I didn’t level up after all that.’

Clicking his tongue internally, Xaren let the corpse drop, exhaling before rummaging through it for any potions or supplies.

To his surprise, he found more than just potions—inside a fanny pack strapped to their back was a map of the area, detailing Zlego, the surrounding forests, and even the locations of the Angel and Elf cities.

What truly caught his attention, however, was a marked section on the ravine in front of Zlego.

Digging further through the bag, he examined its contents and concluded that this last guy was likely a Squad or Platoon leader, judging by the quality of the items inside.

’That marked area was probably the section he was assigned to cover. At least now I have a better idea of where I am.

As for his badge...what rank of mage was It again?’

Scratching his head, Xaren tried to recall, but his gaze soon drifted over the other fallen mages.

After a brief moment of thought, he decided to search them all, collecting their badges and any identification they carried.

Stuffing his magic pouch with everything he gathered, he devoured the souls of his victims and resumed his eastward journey.

This time, he encountered no further resistance—only corpses littering his path for the next hour.

He reduced his speed to conserve as much energy as possible in case of an impromptu fight, but by the time the fog began to clear, he still hadn’t run into another fight.

’I should be at the edge of the magic fog’s range now. Looks like it’s time to climb.’

Well, climbing was what he would do if he wasn’t a demon with wings.

But he was.

Xaren unfurled his wings and flapped them, shooting up the ravine as fast as he could. Though the danger was low, he still glanced back in case any random elves or mages happened to spot him and tried to shoot him down, but none did.

Fifteen seconds later, he reached the top and landed with his sword drawn.

What met him were not patrolling elves or humans, but thick bushes and towering trees. Without hesitation, Xaren dove into the forest and pulled out the map he’d taken from the Squad Leader he killed, checking his location before charting his way back to the demon camp.

’There’s a chance the camp isn’t there anymore. But I’ll figure out what to do in that scenario on the way.’

With that, he began navigating through the forest, running at half his maximum speed. Even so, the journey took him more than two hours.

Thankfully, the camp was exactly where it had been—though security was noticeably tighter, and the place was far busier than before.

As soon as Xaren reached the area where the forest had been cleared and flattened by the demons to create an open perimeter around their camp, he was immediately spotted by lookouts.

"Freeze! Identify yourself!"

Raising both hands in a display of compliance, he stepped out of the tree line, and upon seeing him more clearly, one of the demons raised an eyebrow before muttering.

"Huh? A demon?"

Xaren let out a scoff.

"Ever seen an angel with grey skin before?"

The demon frowned at his retort, but before they could snap back a response, the second lookout spoke cut in.

"Enough. Identify yourself properly."

Xaren cast a glance at the insignia on this one’s uniform, noting her rank as he responded.

"Private Xaren of the 39th Company. Feel free to confirm with Captain Vollm."

He raised his own Demon Army identification badge as he spoke and the higher-ranking lookout studied it in silence before nodding.

"Follow me."

Without waiting for a response, the demoness began walking and Xaren followed silently. She led him not toward the camp’s main entrance, but toward a side extension built just beyond the main camp boundary.

As they approached, she gestured toward the structure and explained concisely.

"Go inside. You’ll be searched."

"Search?"

Xaren raised an eyebrow in light confusion, and hearing him, one of the guards in front of the checkpoint scoffed a reply.

"Of course. You’re one of the ones who fell into the ravine earlier, aren’t you? We need to check if you’ve got bombs strapped to you or something."

Xaren blinked at that, then nodded in understanding.

"That’s... actually a good idea."

With that, he casually walked inside, unbothered. He had nothing to hide, after all.

As he entered, he noticed that there was a Captain present, overseeing the process to ensure no one tampered with the belongings of those being searched.

There were several others also undergoing inspection, most of them covered in wounds. Xaren barely spared them a glance as a nearby Corporal began searching him.

They didn’t frisk him but used magical equipment to scan him from head to toe, then rifled through his magic pouch to inspect its contents.

While they did this, others in the checkpoint couldn’t help but notice that, unlike the majority of the other returning demons who were either nursing deep gashes, broken bones or scorched flesh, Xaren was rather unscathed—save for a few tears on his clothes and the burn mark on his shoulder.

That fact alone drew unwanted attention.