I’m definitely Mo Ke, so how did I become an imposter!? I wanted to explain myself, but it was too late.
“Impossible…how could he have been eaten by a devil…wasn’t he kidnapped by slave traders…he was only 8 years old when he left the village…no wonder you used Mo Ke’s words then, I even wondered why you were so familiar with that language…so it’s because you were still trapped within his memories, that’s why you thought you were him…”
Hearing the news of my untimely “death” from the demon hunter team leader, the previously silent Zarah suddenly roared at me without even giving me a chance to explain myself: “ You lowly imposter, bring back Little Ke!” Having seen me grown up, the sudden news of my death was in no way a small shock to him.
But…I’m the real Mo Ke…not an imposter…I don’t have an ability to consume myself…
Yet there was no way Uncle Zarah could hear my internal lamentations, even if he could he probably wouldn’t believe it either.
With a swift backstep, I avoided the incoming greatsword which crashed into the ground in a violent explosion having missed its target. However, this wasn’t the end of his attacks as he immediately pulled out the giant sword and continued attacking; determined not to give me even a moment’s respite.
My eyes flickered as I stared at the oncoming greatsword. I truly wanted to tell him that I wasn’t an imposter; but how should I even do that? Should I say that I ran away from home and ended up sacrificing my life to save a fallen angel, and that very same angel helped me reincarnate?
No matter how you looked at it, that sounded like an excuse to avoid being hunted down…besides there was the matter of “Devils are liars”; this was the commonly held truth among every living creature.
Thankfully, Uncle Zarah was still at the level of a four-star and wasn’t an agility type warrior either. I was still able to evade his attacks, although barely. However, there was still the issue of those demon hunters. Without a doubt, they were all experts in fighting devils, and any one of them would prove to be a troublesome opponent in a one on one battle; let alone in a four on one with their levels being higher than mine.
No…I must escape…if I don’t do something quick, this will really be my last day alive…
Swerving to the side, I narrowly avoided his Fighter’s Aura as I felt the wind brush against me. Had I not reacted in time, that would’ve definitely resulted in a grave injury.
My mind immediately drifted to Shadowfang but I immediately banished the thought. The last thing I wanted now was for it to be recognized by these people. This was the Western Human Realms after all and not the Prison of the Dead. Humans, with their wealth of knowledge, were more likely to recognize famous weapons such as these.
If Shadowfang were to be recognized…they would definitely gang up on me in order to steal this epic-grade blade. At that time, escaping would be impossible.
As I retreated once more, I activated my Shadow Guardian and stirred up a dust storm in front of me. He had not expected me to use such a dirty trick; the man’s vision was obscured by the airborne particles causing his greatsword to miss its target.
Taking advantage of the smokescreen, I immediately tried to run away from the backyard as fast as I could.
“You’re aren’t going anywhere!”
Just as I took my first step, a lead morningstar flew out from my peripheral view and descended right in front of my planned escape route, cutting it off in an instant. The latest newcomer, the demon hunter team leader, rushed out from the dust cloud and stood right before me like a giant tower of steel that seemed to obscure all light as it cast a giant shadow over me.
Startled by the sudden appearance of this towering hulk, I backstepped immediately in order to avoid any potential strike. Yet the man didn’t attack me and instead restrained the rampaging Zarah and inexplicably smiled at me before picking up his morningstar.
“Tilith, this fight should be handled by you.” Turning around, he flashed the girl a toothy grin and said: “No matter what, you mustn’t show any mercy to a devil.”
“…” Having just guaranteed my safety, the noble girl was truly in a difficult position. Just looking at her wavering eyes and silence, I could imagine the turmoil in her heart right now.
“What’s the matter? You don’t want to attack her?”
“Team Leader, I don’t think she is as evil as you think, perhaps consuming the boy was simply a mistake…:”
“You can’t spell devil without evil.” With eyes that brooked no opposition, his smile disappeared as he tapped his kiteshield with the morningstar. “If you aren’t willing to attack him, then get out of my team.”
“…” Tilith slowly drew out her cross sword and with eyes staring right into my own, murmured: “I’m sorry…”
So it comes down to this huh…
My right hand reached for the enchanted straight blade at my waist and without showing any quarter, stared right back at her: “Can you tell me, why did that informant betray me?”
“If you know the reason, will…will you forgive her?”
“Depending on the situation.” Having determined that it was one of the girls I saved, there was no way I could forgive such an act of betrayal from such an ingrate. However…if she had some reason that made her do this, I could at least feel slightly better about it.
With that tiny bit of hope in my eyes, Tilith delivered the final nail into the coffin of my view of humanity.
“I feel that it would be better if you didn’t know…”
“What if I really wanted to know!?”
Seeing the resolve in my eyes, she relented, and with gritted teeth said: “For money.”
As those words left her mouth, she shut her eyes.
For money…didn’t I already give her a sum of money? As long as she wasn’t too extravagant, that amount would have been enough to last her for a lifetime, why did she betray me for money?!
Humans…truly a complex life form. Didn’t I save you from the depths of hell? I even gave you a huge sum of money, yet you still betrayed me for even more money. This greed, it’s worse than a devils!
If everyone was like this in the Western Human Realms then there’s truly no hope left for this world. Even devils were more innocent than these people!
“The Demon Hunter Division has a rule, if a lead results in the slaying of a darkness creature, that informant would receive a portion of the loot without any questions asked. While this portion wasn’t much, sometimes this sum is worth a fortune to some commoners.If they are lucky, they might even strike it rich in a night if the target was a rich one.”
The team leader explained in an orderly fashion, while his morningstar continued to tap the kiteshield as he did so, albeit at a faster pace; clearly, he was starting to become impatient. “Tilith, don’t tell me you sympathize with this fellow? If the other team leaders were to find out about this, it would put me in a bad spot, you hear!?”
“…” Tilith shut her eyes and inhaled deeply before letting forth a loud, drawn out sigh. The next time she opened her eyes, they had a cold sharpness to them. She glanced at the team leader before turning back to me: “I’m about to strike.”
A split second later, her sword appeared right before me, ready to end my life. With barely any time to react, I narrowly avoided being skewered, but my posture had been completely destroyed.
Being a four-star warrior with exceptional sword skills, her cross sword was anything but slow as it darted at me like a snake’s tongue. It wasn’t long before her cross sword made contact with me, tearing apart the cloth material covering my right shoulder, revealing the crimson skin beneath.
“Red skin, so you are a devil.” As he said that, the remaining demon hunters split up and formed a ring around us, sealing off any exit out of the backyard. Now, even if I was able to escape Tilith, I would still have to contend with the other demon hunters.
Just dealing with this girl alone was enough trouble….
Fighting a four-star like her was already a tall enough hurdle for a three-star like me without the other added obstacles. With the difference in level between us, my speed was inferior to hers. Under her withering attacks, I barely had time to counterattack before I had to evade her sword once more.
It wasn’t long before even my Shadow Guardian was defeated once more. Time after time, I activated it only for it to be defeated shortly after. All in all, I summoned it a total of three times in this fight alone. I had to admit, a fighter like Tilith countered me hard.
Not only was her speed superior to mine, her strength trumped mine as well. While her cross sword wasn’t a heavy weapon, I wasn’t a strength type warrior either. Just blocking her sword with my straight blade was enough to numb my arm!
And this wasn’t even her full strength…
Ferti’nier, is there anyway I can escape from this?
The moment I thought that, Ferti’nier’s mocking voice immediately resounded in my mind: “Yo Little Brother, it looks like you’ve stopped being willful.”
…I had to admit…whether it was her disposition or appearance, they were truly one of a kind.
Does it look like I have time to be willful now! Don’t give me that sass in such a situation! If I die, you will end up as a homeless soul as well!
“Oh my, Little Brother is angry.” She continued her teasing: “If you address this one as good sister, this one might just decide to help you.”
Is this really the time for you to be so disagreeable…good sister…there, is that enough? Now help me.
“There there, that’s a good younger brother, how about another round of that, this sister hasn’t had enough yet.”
I…good sister…don’t force your good younger brother to swear.
As I was busy communicating with Ferti’nier, my movements ended up becoming sluggish. In my emotionally charged state, I ended up missing her attack. While the slash didn’t end up injuring me, it sliced my mask apart…
The halves of my silver mask fell to the ground with a clang, revealing for all to see, my true face; a face tattooed with a snake scale-like pattern and a broken horn on my forehead.
“A lust demon, and that demonic symbol…an illusion demon!” Having seen my face for the first time, the team leader was first shocked into silence as he took in my bewitching contenance; however, that didn’t last long before he came back to his senses.
With a tense look on his face, he turned to the other surrounding demon hunters and shouted: “Damn it, it’s a dual-sin anointed apostle, what’s a character like that doing here…you people better do your job properly, no matter what, don’t let her escape!”
A dual-sin anointed apostle? Are they talking about me? Ferti’nier did mention that I was blessed by two original sins and was a kind of genius amongst devils. Looks like there’s no chance of that so-called trial now…they are probably planning to kill me right here and now.
