Chapter 45
My Reflector Is Invincible 45
45. I Will Tarnish Your Name
‘I finally met him.’
The enemy who had tormented Joo-Yeon for 18 years.
Count Sanderson, who had tortured him using the small intestine, was right before his eyes.
“Get out of my way.”
Caw!
At his words, the demon recoiled, tilting its head back.
It was the power held within the Demon King’s heart.
Thump-thump.
A heart covered in a black liquid pulsated atop Joo-in’s hand.
That heart was definitely trying to devour Joo-in.
Had Joo-in remained still, he would have been consumed by all intentions and become a puppet of the Demon King.
However, he had reflected the bastard’s ability with .
‘Thanks to that, I can now control the heart.’
He could now wield the abilities possessed by the Demon King’s heart.
, which allowed him to parasitize opponents with a black liquid and control them.
, which enabled him to forcibly dominate dark races, demons, black magic, and curses.
, which polluted and corrupted the surroundings.
, which transformed humans in the vicinity into dark races with its black blood.
There was no longer any need to block Count Sanderson’s curse with an achievement skill.
All he had to do was use the skill that exerted absolute power over those belonging to the darkness.
<[Demonic Domination]> is controlling the curse.
Poof!
The curse that had been enveloping his heart burst forth from Joo-in’s back.
It resembled a pair of wings made of darkness.
Of course, was not limited to dominating curses.
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<[Demonic Domination]> is controlling the demons.
Cawww!
Naturally, the demons followed Joo-in as well.
They attacked the knights and soldiers as he commanded.
What happened to the heart that had been forcibly deprived of its power?
Thump-thump.
Surprisingly, there was no resistance whatsoever.
It was obediently having its power extracted by Joo-in’s touch.
Was it like a wicked hoodlum turning into an innocent child?
In fact, the reason was different.
, which polluted and corrupted the surroundings.
When he reflected that ability with , this was the result.
The corrupted heart had become pure by being corrupted.
Of course, Joo-in was taken aback.
‘Shouldn’t a bad guy become an even worse guy when corrupted?’
In any case, that wasn’t important right now.
It was time to conclude his long-awaited revenge.
Joo-in approached Count Sanderson.
Thud, thud.
The man was sprawled out, having lost everything.
“A noble without knights or soldiers is powerless.”
Now, there was nothing to protect him.
“Count Sanderson, are you prepared to meet your end?”
The Count still seemed unable to fully grasp reality.
He was trembling, yet glaring at Joo-Yeon.
“……How dare you, a mere slave from a labor camp!”
His eyes were filled with disbelief at how this could be happening.
Joo-Yeon smirked involuntarily.
“Indeed, it must seem absurd to you.”
After all, he was nothing more than a plaything in the labor camp he himself ran.
The Count had simply tormented one of the slaves as he always did.
He had never expected that the slave he had grown tired of would end up on the guillotine.
He could not have known that the slave was the [One] the Knight King had been searching for, the hero who had defeated the Demon Tribe, and who had now become a monster capable of wiping out his entire force using the Demon King’s heart.
“Are you filled with despair?”
“Wha… what?”
“The emotion you’re feeling right now. Are you filled with despair?”
“…”
His body trembled.
Count Sanderson’s face turned red.
He could not bear the words of the slave he had ignored and trampled upon.
Yet, he could not charge at him.
Cawww!
As his body slightly twitched, the Demon Beast beside him moved.
It let out a murderous roar, as if warning him not to move any further.
The Count gnashed his teeth in fear.
‘How… how can I, Count Sanderson, cower before a slave?’
The words Joo-Yeon had just spoken were his own catchphrase for decades.
[Are you filled with despair? The emotion you’re feeling right now.]
[Don’t worry, this is just the beginning.]
Words he often uttered before torturing prisoners in his dungeon.
How dare he use such a tone with him.
Normally, he would have dragged such an insolent slave away and beheaded him on the spot.
However, the Count could not bring himself to charge.
Cawww.
The Demon Beast was ready to pounce if he showed even the slightest movement.
Yet, the Count’s eyes still held life.
‘Just once, just one chance is all I need.’
He had a vial of holy water hidden in his arms.
Holy water was a deadly poison to the Demon Tribe.
Even a fiend who has devoured the Demon King’s flesh would not be able to endure it.
Count Sanderson gritted his teeth as he said, “I will not despair over something like this! You are the one who should despair!”
“You still have some fight in you.”
“How dare you speak to me like that! Do you think I don’t know? I know that you have taken the Demon King’s flesh and become a fiend! It’s obvious why the demons follow you!”
“Oh?”
Count Sanderson’s lips curled into a smirk.
To him, Jooin becoming a fiend was an opportunity.
“Does the [Knight King] know that you have become a traitor to humanity?”
Jooin was speechless.
What nonsense was this?
Was he under the delusion that I had eaten the Demon King’s flesh and become a fiend?
He couldn’t speak because he was so dumbfounded.
Did he think that was an opportunity?
Count Sanderson pointed a finger at him and said, “Do you think the [Knight King] would spare you even after knowing the truth? Of course not! You will die by the hand of the one you trusted!”
The count burst into laughter.
His hand was pointing in the opposite direction of Jooin.
“Look! Isn’t your death approaching from over there!”
A group of soldiers were charging from the entrance of the mountain range.
They were the soldiers that Jooin had ordered Aiden to surround and eliminate Count Sanderson’s men.
Leading the soldiers at the forefront was the Knight King.
Jooin’s eyes wavered for a moment.
Perhaps it was because he saw the hero, but his heart wavered as memories of the past resurfaced at the Knight King’s appearance.
Unaware of this, Count Sanderson smiled triumphantly.
“Your end is here.”
His eyes gleamed with madness.
Originally, he had planned to kill Jooin before he could obtain the holy sword.
However, there was always a chance.
‘No one knows what will happen in the Forbidden Grounds. The Demon King could suddenly revive, or fiends could appear.’
Therefore, before confronting Jooin, he had sent a messenger to the Edmer family outside.
To tell them that the hero was in danger.
It was a way to create an alibi for himself after killing Jooin.
Count Sanderson glared at Jooin and shouted, “hahahahaha! You will die by the hand of the Knight King who protected you!”
His victory was all but assured.
“To think that you have become a fiend. hahahaha! I should thank you instead. I have lost all my men, but this is a chance to become a benefactor to the ducal house.”
Jooin was a guest of the Edmer family.
Moreover, he was someone close enough to be called the successor to the Knight King.
But then, that bastard turned traitor and tried to kill him?
He had no choice but to appear favorable to him, even to preserve the dukedom’s dignity.
‘Even the former duke had no choice but to bow his head to me.’
It was a golden opportunity to rightfully become the ruler of the North.
But more good fortune awaited the count.
Caw!
The sight of the charging Knight King drew the demons’ attention. They must have sensed danger.
The demons instinctively moved to intercept him.
Count Sanderson did not miss his chance.
“Die, mongrel!”
The count took out the <Holy Water> in his arms and splashed it at Joo-yeon.
Splash!
It struck Joo-yeon’s body squarely.
The count laughed at the sight.
‘That’s it! If he gets hit at this close range… even a demon, not a demonkin, would have taken a big hit!’
And it wasn’t just any holy water.
It was the highest-grade holy water, blessed by the Saintess and consecrated by the Pope.
‘I’ll run away while that bastard is out of his mind from the pain. And once I leave this guy to the former duke, it’s over.’
The lowly should live as the lowly do.
That’s what Count Sanderson was thinking when—
“Holy water, was it? I thought you had a trick up your sleeve.”
Joo-yeon was completely fine.
The count was visibly flustered.
“W… why are you okay! You should have become a demonkin by now…!”
“Demonkin?”
A ridiculous notion.
He had no intention of becoming a demonkin.
The Demon King’s Heart was firmly suppressing the <Demonization> skill.
The count, unaware of this, had made a grave mistake.
A mistake he should never have made.
“I’m not a demonkin. Of course, I’m not affected by holy water. But… this might be a little different.”
“This?”
The holy water was drenching Joo-yeon’s body.
It ran down his face and onto his hands.
At that moment, a black light shot up from Joo-yeon’s hands.
Kwaaang!
It was the power gushing out from the Demon King’s Heart.
The heart was filled with fury.
Thump-thump!
The Demon King’s Heart, the embodiment of evil.
Of course, it won’t vanish since it’s not a saintess’s sacred power.
Just being touched by the holy water made it feel extremely unpleasant.
The fury in the heart spread to the entirety of the castle.
Kyaaak!
The demons screamed in fury.
It was as if they could personally feel the pain the heart was feeling.
The bewildered count gradually retreated, taking steps backward.
“No… What is this… Why the holy water!”
He probably doesn’t understand the situation at all.
He tried to kill the main character but ended up pulling the whiskers of someone he should never have messed with.
[It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! Die! Die! Die!]
The demons moved at the heart’s command.
They surrounded the count, intending to peck him to death with their beaks.
However, the main character stopped them.
“Wait.”
[No! No! No!]
The heart’s resistance was futile.
The main character had complete dominion over the heart with his <Reflection>.
At his command, all of the monsters stopped dead in their tracks.
The heart shouted in a furious voice.
[Why? Why? Why?]
It was asking why he was letting the count live.
However, the heart was making a huge mistake.
The main character had no intention of letting the count live.
“It’s for this.”
Black smoke billowed out of the heart.
The smoke soon enveloped Count Sanderson.
<Demonization>
It was the heart’s unique ability to turn humans into demons with its black blood.
“Kyaaak!”
Count Sanderson screamed as his entire body turned black.
The heart was still screaming as well.
[Why? Why? Why?]
It was curious about the main character.
It wondered why he was giving power to the one who had caused him pain.
The main character answered lightly.
“Do I look that merciful to you?”
[……!?]
What the main character had done was more cruel than anyone could have imagined.
The process of demonization is never simple.
By the laws of the demon world, survival of the fittest.
“Only those who can overcome pain can become mazoku. But most collapse before they can even gain power.”
How frustrating would that be?
To finally grasp power, only to die before you can even use it properly.
[Good! Good! Good!]
Only then was my heart satisfied.
The agony of the transformation due to demonification is unbearable, even for powerful mazoku.
If I can inflict such pain before killing them, I can wait as long as it takes.
However, Joo-Yeon smiled cruelly.
“It’s not just because of the pain.”
[……??]
It would be troublesome if Count Sanderson were to simply die here as a spectator.
What if he were to die here helping the勇者, and somehow gained honor?
‘He would be hailed as a hero, even after his death.’
He might even be buried in a cemetery reserved for those who have been loyal to the country.
As a noble family, they could receive a great honor along with compensation.
As Joo-Yeon, I could never allow that to happen.
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‘At the very least, if he had respected Ryu-Jin, who died to protect the continent… he wouldn’t have gone this far.’
But the Count had crossed the final line.
‘What? The ruler of the North? A hero who commands the continent?’
“I will defile the name of that great Count’s family, along with his miserable death.”
The knight king was already approaching.
He would notice the aura of demonification right away.
To die as a mazoku, not as a human.
Count Sanderson would be recorded in history not as a hero who died helping the勇者, but as a traitor who betrayed humanity.
Forever.
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