Children of the Holy Emperor

With a thunderous roar, the cavern was filled with the sound of a massive beast.

Gone was its initial awkward appearance, and the menacing aura it now exuded could easily rival that of a Glacer Troll hiding deep within the demon realm.

Orden, with a pale face, stepped back cautiously, keeping his eyes on the enormous Lycanthrope.

He had already slashed at the beast several times with his sword. However, whether it was due to the creature’s thick hide or not, it seemed completely unscathed, without a single visible wound.

Despite the clear feeling of his blade cutting through, he couldn’t understand why there was no apparent damage.

“……!”

With a resounding crash!

Without a moment’s respite to think, a gigantic blade once again aimed for him, crashing down into the ground. Stone shattered, sending fragments flying in every direction.

Orden narrowly dodged the attack, maneuvering to the side of the Lycanthrope. Seizing the moment when the beast was momentarily distracted by its embedded blade, Orden quickly thrust his aura-imbued sword into the creature’s leg.

Thunk!

Yet, the beast, without even flinching, swung its fist towards him.

“…It doesn’t react at all?”

Ducking swiftly, Orden’s eyes widened in shock.

Was it not feeling any pain? Despite his sword deeply piercing its thigh, why did it seem as if not a scratch was left on the beast!

While he pondered, Prince Morres, who had leaped into the fray, used the deeply embedded blade as a step and ran up the thick forearm of the beast. With a light jump, he drew his blade downwards in a long arc.

Swoosh!

The long gray blade deeply sliced through the creature’s carotid artery.

‘This has to be a fatal blow!’

Orden thought so, but astonishingly, the beast turned towards the prince, seemingly unharmed, with not even a mark on its neck where the blade had touched.

The Lycanthrope then swung the blade it held in its other hand violently towards the prince.

“…Your Highness!”

Despite the unexpected counterattack, the prince, as if anticipating it, kicked off the beast’s shoulder and leaped away.

Landing safely next to Orden, he commented, “It seems there’s no recognition of vital points? It looks like only the damage is being reflected quite straightforwardly.”

At that dry assessment, Orden was dumbfounded.

“Your Highness, this is strange! This Lycanthrope seems to be regenerating like a Troll. We can’t even tell where its vitals are, so I’m not sure how we’re supposed to fight it…”

But the prince simply tilted his head at him, seemingly unbothered.

“Hm? No, your last attack was quite good. It took off a significant amount of HP.”

“…What?”

“Look above the creature’s head. There’s an HP bar showing its life force. Don’t you see it?”

Above its head?

Only then did Orden notice a glowing bar above the beast’s head, which had slightly decreased from its original length.

He had ignored it, not knowing what it was.

“…That represents its life?”

“Yes. Given the lack of visible wounds or bleeding, it seems we’re in a world with rules akin to those of an old game.”

“Old games… what are you talking about?”

“Or is it because we’re minors, and some kind of minor protection mode is activated?”

Orden couldn’t grasp the meaning of the prince’s words.

But more importantly,

“You’re the only one here who’s not of age!”

Orden exclaimed, unable to hold back his frustration, to which the prince looked at him as if the remark was absurd.

“Is that really what’s important right now?”

“…No, I mean…”

“…Here it comes!”

Before Orden could finish, the prince whispered a warning.

The massive body was swiftly approaching them.

Its red eyes left a long trail as it swung its blade horizontally with a whoosh! Orden narrowly ducked to avoid it, but the wind pressure alone from the blade passing overhead was enough to send tingles throughout his body.

As Orden rolled on the ground to gain some distance, the prince had already retreated far away.

The way he maintained a safe distance and engaged in minor skirmishes didn’t seem like it was his first time dealing with such a colossal beast.

‘…How can he do that?’

Orden thought to himself as he quickly regained his posture.

He had been a prodigious swordsman since his youth, accustomed to facing the demons of the demon realm, but this strange battle was particularly draining for him.

The giant beast seemed to shift its center of gravity unpredictably, displaying bizarre movements that were difficult for Orden to comprehend. Even the range of motion in its joints appeared slightly off from what was visible.

Moreover, every time it swung its weapon, the length of its reach seemed oddly different, as if its shoulder joint was dislocating and then popping back into place. Given the size of the beast, these differences resulted in significant changes in distance.

These uncomfortable gaps constantly wore on Orden’s nerves.

“Sigh…”

There was another problem.

Every time he swung his sword, the aura he expended seemed to slip away hopelessly.

Whatever trick Scarchapino had used, the aura spent here was not easily replenished.

“No need to rush. Even small attacks are steadily accumulating damage.”

Prince Morres approached the heavily breathing Orden, offering a gentle reminder.

“So, don’t push yourself too hard and conserve your aura. The aura is extremely scarce in this environment, making it difficult to recover normally.”

Orden looked at him with a somewhat incredulous expression.

What in the world? Those overly calm eyes.

He had thought of him as a pampered prince, hardly ever leaving the palace, yet now the prince seemed as seasoned as a veteran from the Siegmund territory, who had spent his life subduing demons.

That’s when it happened.

With a deep rumble, as the Lycanthrope took a step towards them, its aura grew even more intense.

Then, a sharp warning sound pierced their ears.

〚The Lyc□□thrope Lord is greatly enraged!〛

With a thunderous roar, the staggering beast suddenly arched its body backward and let out a terrifying howl.

* * *

The vast cavern was already in shambles.

The beast, wielding the blades in its hands, had rampaged through the cavern with the intent to bring it down. The rounded walls and stone floors were almost entirely destroyed.

Amidst the chaos, it was miraculous how the torches lighting the interior remained unscathed, still burning in their places.

“…Huff, huff.”

Seongjin gasped for breath as he watched Orden trying to regain his composure.

He had to admit, facing an unfamiliar boss mob and holding his ground proved the man was indeed formidable. However, due to several hits from the Lycanthrope during the ongoing battle, his clothes were torn, and blood flowed from various parts of his body.

And that wasn’t all. He seemed to stagger occasionally, likely having expended most of his aura.

‘It looks like we can’t drag this out for much longer…’

On the other hand, Seongjin was relatively at ease. His habit of keeping a wide distance from giant demons, dodging, and looking for opportunities to strike deep had served him well.

The demons of Gehenna were known for their unpredictable movements, after all.

Take, for instance, the larvae of the Bantra Moss. The range from which their tentacles extended from their highly adaptable exoskeletons was incredibly diverse.

‘The more I think about it, the more it resembles the movements of the Blatta Mantis…’

Ah, excluding its appearance, of course.

At least this ‘cute’ dog didn’t have more than four legs.

Most of the demons of Gehenna, except for some cephalopods, had the form of arthropods, typically having more than six legs.

The Blatta Mantis, too, was a giant insect-like demon, wielding two powerful forelegs like a praying mantis. But its streamlined form covered in dark chitin was more reminiscent of a cockroa…

‘…Ah, I need to stop thinking about it. It’s making me lose my appetite again.’

After facing that creature, the entire superhero squad suffered from a lack of appetite for days.

[Are you sure you can handle this? I know you keep comparing it to the Blatta Mantis, which was a fairly strong demon.]

‘As long as they don’t swarm, I can handle one.’

Although Seongjin’s stats had significantly decreased from his prime, strangely, he didn’t feel any sense of danger facing this creature.

Feeling a baseless confidence as if, somehow, he could manage even if things went awry.

‘I’ve really become quite laid-back…’

Considering Seongjin’s personality during his hunter days, this was indeed baffling. Back then, he was meticulously thorough in approaching battles.

He would accurately assess the enemy’s strength, organize combat personnel, and plan operations based on objective data.

He had a disdain for those who rushed in thoughtlessly.

[What are you talking about, going berserk yourself when things get tough?]

‘That was a different story. I was always well-prepared.’

[Really? Maybe it’s because you believe that no matter what happens, your father can handle it.]

‘…Is that so?’

Seongjin blinked.

Thinking about it, it did make some sense, didn’t it?

‘Yeah, maybe you’re right.’

It was an interesting realization.

Is this how people with parents generally feel?

As he pondered this, a sharp warning beep echoed again.

〚The Lyc□□thrope Lord is greatly enraged!〛

Simultaneously, the dog-like creature started trembling violently as if electrocuted.

As its aura grew stronger, it suddenly let out a thunderous roar towards the sky.

With a deafening roar, the Lycanthrope’s blue fur began to turn purple, and its body started to swell dramatically.

It was too dramatic a change to be merely flexing its muscles. How could its volume increase so suddenly from thin air?

While Orden was shocked by the transformation, Seongjin’s observation remained simple.

‘Ah, looks like it’s phase 2 of the boss fight.’

[…It must be nice to be so laid-back.]

‘Well, take it positively. Considering its remaining health, it doesn’t seem like there’ll be a phase 3.’

Before their eyes, a purple dog, now about 1.5 times larger, slowly rose.

Its long, white fangs protruded more prominently, and white steam rose from its elongated, sharper snout.

The red glow in its eyes, fixated on Seongjin and his group, brightened ominously, as if its eyes were ablaze.

“…What in the world.”

As Orden opened his mouth to speak, the Lycanthrope’s ears twitched.

And then.

“Hey! Watch out…!”

Before any warning could be given, Orden was slammed against the stone wall. The purple beast had swung its blade at an incredible speed, sending him flying with the flat of the blade.

“Ugh…”

Impaled into the wall like a siege ram, Orden let out a faint groan.

Fortunately, he seemed to have wrapped himself in aura to protect his body, preventing him from losing consciousness, but the impact was so severe that it seemed impossible for him to get up immediately.

With a low growl and the creature slowly advancing towards him, Seongjin steeled his resolve.

‘…Can’t be helped.’

He had intended to take it slow this time, given the sharp eye of the higher-ups, even if it meant pushing himself a bit.

Sighing, Seongjin wrapped his legs with aura and, with a burst, kicked off the ground.

Before the startled Lycanthrope could react, Seongjin flew onto its back, swinging his blade in a wide arc.

Slicing through the beast’s back, he landed on the stone wall before the creature could turn, and launched himself again towards its legs.

With a deep slash, he targeted the bent knee joint, stirring it deeply with his blade.

The beast swiftly swung its blade diagonally, but Seongjin, keeping low to the ground, narrowly dodged and struck the ground, following up with a long slash across its belly.

The creature, unable to keep up with Seongjin’s movements, swung its blade irritably.

Then, using the handle of his blade as support, Seongjin spun around and deeply cut into one of the giant creature’s shoulders.

Orden, sitting slumped in front of the stone wall, watched the scene in a daze, the intense pain piercing his body momentarily forgotten.

It was like witnessing a dream.

What seemed like mere hit-and-run tactics were actually precise attacks by the prince, who didn’t waste a single movement escaping, constantly stabbing the beast with his sword.

As evidence, the Lycanthrope’s remaining health steadily decreased.

The prince’s spacing.

When Orden first faced him, he felt that the prince’s spacing was incredibly narrow compared to his sword strikes.

Now, however, Orden realized he had been greatly mistaken.

The prince’s spacing wasn’t just a domain that could be defined by distance. The bounced-off stone walls became his foothold, and the trench created by the beast’s strike immediately became a barrier protecting him.

Everything within the prince’s view became his domain.

The entire surroundings were within the prince’s spacing.

“Sigh…”

Finally, as the prince settled back to the ground, letting out a long breath he had been holding.

With a thud!

The massive beast that seemed impossible to defeat collapsed to the ground.