The Demon King's First General
Chapter 143: Are You With Me?

Chapter 143: Are You With Me?

"A demon, huh?" Zeno whispered as he analyzed the scene inside his mind.

’Did I just overlook it that night?’ He thought, curious about how he didn’t notice that the other woman he saved was a demon.

Then he looked straight at Sinclair, and after a few seconds of contemplation, he smiled and gently shook his head.

"Well, that’s none of my concern," he uttered.

Afterward, he diverted his gaze from the little kid and spoke. His lifeless stare sent chills down Leon’s spine.

"Your mother, no, the entire village is waiting for you; you must go home now," he said, then reverted his gaze to Sinclair once more.

"Staying here a little longer will put that village in danger; I hope you already think about it," he stated.

"I know." Sinclair nodded and replied.

"Going far away from humans is my best course of action right now, and after building my strength, I’ll tear that damn place into shreds," she added.

Upon hearing her statement, the demon chuckled, and after a while, he looked straight into the apostle’s eyes.

"The Gates of Hell will open; do not die until then," Zeno said, causing Sinclair’s eyes to widen in surprise.

"That’s a message from Sherise," he added, but as he turned around to leave, Sinclair yelled.

"Wait!" She said, trying to stop him from leaving, but upon seeing that he didn’t have any intention to halt his steps, she shouted again. "Where did you meet her? I want to ask something of her."

After hearing her statement, Zeno halted and looked up. He glanced at the direction of the sun before answering.

"You’ll meet her soon..." He paused and turned his head around.

Then, as soon as their eyes met, he continued. "But the two of you won’t have time for your little talks."

His words made Sinclair’s expression distort, but that had nothing to do with him, so he resumed his steps and went to where the dazed Kizeler was. He raised his left hand and snapped; however, the human was still lost in his thoughts, so he flicked him on the forehead. Kizeler was sent flying, tumbling into the ground afterwards.

"Damn it! What was that for?" Kizeler yelled while massaging the reddened part on his forehead.

"Now, you’re awake! Let’s continue going," Zeno replied, ignoring Kizeler’s rant.

"The kid? How about the kid?" Kizeler startled upon remembering their task at hand, but he soon calmed down after noticing the two people staring at him from a certain distance.

’I’m glad; he’s safe,’ he let out a sigh of relief.

He didn’t know what really happened, but the woman beside the kid gave him a sense of security, despite her smell.

Then he nodded at the little kid and smiled before turning around to leave; however, an explosion rang, which caused the entire forest to tremble. Birds flocked up, and smoke rose into the air the next second.

"It’s from the village’s direction," Zeno stated, and he propelled himself upward.

"Hey! How about me?" Kizeler cried, but the demon didn’t even look back.

He was about to run when a hand grabbed him on the side of his waist.

"Hold on," Sinclair whispered before levitating up into the sky.

She held the little child with her right hand and Kizeler with the other.

. . . . .

The village was engulfed with fire the moment Zeno and the others arrived. The nipa huts were already burned down to ashes, along with the dried stacks of wood.

Zeno’s eyes roamed the place, but all he could see was fire. His brows furrowed, the red dice dangling on his ear spun, and the surface was lit up with three white skulls.

’Eliana,’ he thought.

As soon as the circular white line scanned the area, Zeno stomped his right foot, sending a burst of energy that created a huge shockwave large enough to extinguish the fire.

The next second, he rushed towards an area where only embers were still burning. Kizeler and the others followed his lead in silence.

’Where’s everyone? The village is in a mess, but I can’t sense a single villager,’ Kizeler thought, examining the place.

Meanwhile, Sinclair looked at the little child at her side; his eyes were clouded with tears, and as they kept on walking and saw the damage to the village, his hand that was holding on her arm was getting tighter and tighter.

Then, after several steps, they arrived at the village’s food storage. The moisture of the vegetables and fruits prevented the fire from eating everything away in a glimpse.

Hidden behind the rack of fruits was a curled up body covered with grave wounds.

"Jeysen," Zeno uttered, calling out the name of the person, but he received no response.

It was the woman who was with him, plucking out apples early this morning. The next second, Zeno approached her and carried her outside upon seeing that she had lost consciousness.

As soon as he laid her down, Kizeler checked her pulse; her injuries made him gulp a few times. Her right arm was missing, as if it were torn apart from her body, while her left leg all the way up to her knee was crashed, and broken bones were sticking out of it. Her eyes had tears and traces of blood around them. Aside from these, she had cuts and burns on the other parts of her skin.

"She’s still alive," he said, and there was a hint of joy in his voice.

However, it was shattered by the demon’s reply.

"But she would soon die; none of us can heal her," Zeno answered.

"Take her soul out," Kizeler murmured while staring at the woman’s wounds.

His words made Zeno direct his gaze toward him.

"Why would I?" He asked with a cold expression.

Kizeler looked at him and replied. "We can still save her; take her soul out, and we just need to heal the wounds on her body, am I right?"

But Zeno shook his head upon hearing his suggestion.

"And how are you going to achieve that? Have you considered her injuries? It’s already a miracle that she’s still alive. These were beyond the repair of an ordinary healing. To achieve a full recovery, you need a greater one, a high-ranking siren at the least," Zeno answered, sharing his thoughts.

His tone was calm, but it was filled with authority.

"Sherise, the Deity of Kindness can save her," Kizeler insisted.

"She can’t," Zeno replied, gently shaking his head.

He was about to speak again when the woman’s sudden coughing caught their attention. This made them stop their discussion.

"D-Don’t... M-mother, F-father, I’m scared," the woman uttered with an interval between each word, then coughed up a mouthful of blood.

"It’s okay, we’re not here to harm you. W-what happened here?" Kizeler asked, stuttering.

"Men... m-monsters... b-black... captured everyone... then set... the village on fire." Jeysen did her best to answer even though her breathing was getting rougher with each second.

Sinclair’s brows twitched after hearing the woman’s words.

’There’s nothing to ponder; it was definitely them,’ she thought.

"P-Please s-save the others... I’m begging you," Jeysen stated.

Leon started crying while Kizeler looked at the demon, waiting for his judgment; however, Zeno’s answer was a little bit different from his expectations.

"How did you end up like this?" He asked.

Silence passed for a few seconds, and Jeysen’s lips grasped for air before she started answering.

"I-I... awakened my Legacy... tried to fight back..." She paused and coughed another mouthful of blood.

"But a beetle-" she continued, but Zeno put his finger on her lips, stopping her from talking.

"I’ve heard enough," Zeno said.

Then he tucked the woman’s misaligned hair behind her ear before speaking once again.

"Do you want to seek revenge?" He asked, then his hand caressed her cheeks, wiping off the stain of blood beneath her eyes.

"You want me to save them. I’ll do it for you, and I’ll even make that beetle pay the price for making you like this..." He paused for a second and placed his index finger at Jeysen’s forehead before continuing.

"And these will be done by your own power; are you with me?" He added, asking.

And as soon as Jeysen made a little nod, the demon pulled away his finger from the woman’s forehead. Then, a small particle of bluish white light flew out of her body and went to the red dice hanging in Zeno’s ear.

Silence enveloped the entire place; the slight movement of Jeysen’s body disappeared along with the hoarse sound of her breathing. Kizeler bit his lips and lowered his gaze, while Sinclair stared at Zeno with eyes full of curiosity.

Afterward, Zeno stood up and looked at the dusk sky before letting out a huge sigh.

"Sinclair..." He uttered as gently as he could, then he turned around to face the woman he called.

All the eyes present looked at him, waiting for his next line of words.

"Take me to that dire, rotting place, will you?" He said, smiling.

The smile on his face was enough to melt even a deity’s heart; however, the towering rage hidden behind that inverted arch foretold nothing but pure chaos.