The Imperial Supreme Commander Has Returned - Chapter 49

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Imperial Commander Returns — Episode 49

Delam brought the Three Swords down in a vertical slash.
In the same breath, Aura and storm were unleashed together.

Crack-crack-crack-crack!

Spirit Power formed a torrent, tearing through the web strands.
Cursed as it was, even the spider’s instant defense could not hold.

—Shriek!?

Shock flashed across all eight of the creature’s eyes.
It had been a trap of an attack, designed since the fight began.
Yet to break through it so easily?

But the surprise was short-lived.
Quick to replace the shock was a deep, seething malice.

Every defense carries a flaw in its wake.
If he blocked that, then it was the Demon’s turn again.
This time, I’ll pour out all my Demonic Energy in an attack that’ll tear him apart!

Of course, that was only the Demon’s thinking.
The moment Delam recovered the Three Swords, he called out:

“Buung, slice!”
—Screee!

Whissshhhhh!

Empty air dyed itself in sickly green.
What came next was a volley of invisible blades.
They shot toward the Demon’s head in a sweeping arc.

The Demon scrambled into a defensive stance.
Four legs held firm behind it, anchoring balance.
Two legs in front shielded its eyes; the remaining two braced its torso below, wary of any sudden rush from Delam.

“Ha! A clever one, aren’t you?”

Delam laughed at the sight, his tone almost cheerful.
Most Demons didn’t bother with defense at all.
Nothing but relentless offense!
They came at you with the same reckless fury, willing to drag you down together.
Another Demon would’ve abandoned the wind blades entirely, thrown its body at the assault, and lunged straight for Delam.

That’s why he praised it.
This creature had overcome that primal instinct and chosen defense instead.

“But your form’s a bit rough, isn’t it?”

Yet there remained a problem in the method itself.
If it blocked its eyes, yes—safety assured.
But how would Delam see?
If left free, what would answer the aftermath?

The answer came at once.
Standing before the Demon, Delam drew the Three Swords back.

Crunch-crunch-crunch……

His left hand aimed at the Demon, while his right was driven back to its limit.
Every muscle fiber that had been taut suddenly released in unison.
In contrast, his lower body grew even more rigid.

Once the body was complete, the next was Mana.
The Flux that had flowed freely through the Mana roads transformed entirely.

The gentleness that embraced all things, and the resilience that never broke.
Those were transmuted into a single attribute.
Namely, the edge of extremity.
This was the perfection that the Aranta Royal Family had always pursued―

[Aranta Royal Family Secret Art: Meteorose de Ubia]
[Countless meteors rain down!]

Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom!

* * *

It was a meteor shower.
The Aura flowing through the Three Swords stretched out like the long tail of a meteor, slipped through the currents of air, and shot forth at tremendous speed.
The strikes came dozens of times in a single instant!

What was truly terrifying was the wind contained within the Three Swords.
The moment the Aura pierced the Demon, the wind struck in a second wave.
It was a two-fold attack using Spirit Magic.

-Shreeeeeek!

The Three Swords targeted the Demon’s front limbs, which protected its body.
The Demon cried out as if refusing to yield, but―

-Shreeeek……

Regrettably, the sound grew steadily weaker.
As a meteor shower is to rain, so Delam’s Three Swords were to thrusting.
Not once or twice, not even a dozen times.
They poured down without number against the sky.

In proportion, sharp trajectories carved themselves across the carapace.
Even for a Demon, it was unbearable.

Crack.
-Chirp?

As expected, a sound of rupture rang out.
It was a very small noise, yet such was the way of the world—even the mightiest dam crumbles from a tiny hole.

And this was no single hole.
Dozens of small tears opened every second.
The Demon’s front limbs could not hold even for an instant.

Splurt-splurt-splurt-splurt-splurt!

From that point on, the sound changed.
It was the sound of the carapace being torn away entirely, meat being flayed.
Of course, even that was tattered away in a heartbeat.

Shhhhk…….

In the end, the Demon’s front leg betrayed its master’s will and stretched outward.
Both the carapace and the nerves had been severed completely.
The technical term for it was “sheared clean through.”

“Nothing underneath?”

Delam, who had been graciously informing him, swept through the Subspace.
The Three Swords in his right hand vanished, and the next weapon snapped into place.

It was, incongruously, a Shield.
Did he mean to crack the Demon’s skull with it?

Crack!

Of course not.
Delam threw the Shield to the ground and vaulted onto it.
It was an absurd acrobatic feat, but for Delam in his current state, it was possible.
The green vaporous mist pouring from his body—
It was proof that his union with the Spirit had not yet ended.

“……!”

The Demon tried to block too late, but there was no way to do it.
Both its hind legs had long since been severed, and deploying another limb meant being one beat too slow positionally.
Because of that, Delam was able to slide through cleanly.
Underneath the Demon’s bulging belly, that is.

Crack!―

Of course, he didn’t simply pass through.
Delam was now gripping a Tarbing.
The most powerful weapon he possessed!

The blade, pregnant with bitter cold, was reinforced by Aura.
As a result, the Tarbing cut through as easily as slicing butter.
The Silence Enforcer’s belly split vertically in a long gash, and the vital contents within spilled out onto the ground.

-Kieeeeeek!

How could it not hurt when everything below was shredded?
Naturally, the Demon began to glow with frenzied brilliance.
It tried to roll itself sideways since its legs wouldn’t reach—

“Here?”

Regrettably, Delam was one step faster.
He suddenly thrust the Tarbing upward through its head.

At last, a solid sensation traveled through his fingertips.
After slight resistance, it cracked—and gave way.
It was the Silence Enforcer’s Demon Heart.

-……!

Surprisingly, that was the end of it.
The Silence Enforcer simply crumbled where it stood.

Thump!

A four-meter giant that had thrashed so violently moments before — it felt like a dream now.
Not a single death rattle.
As if silence had been forced upon it.

* * *

Writhe, writhe.

The Demon, the Silence Enforcer’s corpse, convulsed.
Its breath was surely gone — so why did it seem something was trying to crawl out from within?

But what emerged was far more grotesque.
Delam, the Returner.

“Ptui! What a mess.”

Delam’s soaked body trembled violently.
It wasn’t sweat or blood, but the Demon’s body fluids and tissue.
The reek was so overwhelming it made the Underground Sewers’ stench seem clean by comparison.
He’d driven his upper half into its chest to pierce the heart — what did he expect?

Still, the effort had its reward.
He’d banished the Demon that appeared so inexplicably in the Royal Capital back to Hell.
What he held in his hand was something black.

Wipe, wipe.

Rubbed clean against relatively unspoiled fabric, its true form emerged.
A gemstone — a piece of rock that bore an uncanny resemblance to black spinel.
Demons had no refined taste for swallowing jewels, so this was an organ that formed naturally — the Demon Heart.

“It’s grade seven, but why’s it so small?”

Delam held the gem up to the torchlight, muttering.
A grade-seven specimen should normally be the size of a fist.
This one was barely the size of his index finger.

Hum.

The Heart scattered the torchlight with a dangerous allure.
Or rather, it was dangerous in a literal sense.
It was formed from concentrated Demonic Energy.

Demonic Energy was a type of force, much like Mana or Aura.
Except it was far more potent and destructive.

By the sound of it alone, it seemed useful for many things.
There was even a saying: fight poison with poison, evil with evil.
Absorbing Demonic Energy to slay Demons — that was profit.

But the problem was the minor side effects that came along with it.
Humans went mad.
Or their bodies warped grotesquely.

“Still, the explosive force is worth using, so.”

So there were two purposes.
Display it as a curiosity, or use it as a bomb.

The latter, in particular, proved remarkably effective.
Inscribe the Runaway Enchantment on something and hurl it, and a tremendous explosion erupted.
Whether thrown at people or beasts, it could send dozens tumbling to their graves in a heartbeat—but against Demons, the effect was nothing short of extraordinary.

The unfortunate part was that he didn’t know the Runaway Enchantment.
Still, it wasn’t an overly difficult spell; if he showed the Demon Heart to the mages and told them to study it, they could probably manufacture one soon enough.

But he had no intention of doing so.
Those mages would never obey willingly.
They’d discover a third power beyond Mana and Holy Force, go mad with research, and if they were lucky, all they’d become was another Demon.

‘So—lock it away.’

Delam thrust the Demon Heart into his Subspace.
The emergency rations inside would be contaminated by Demonic Energy anyway; he’d have to discard them.

Still, that was better than walking through the Royal Capital carrying this thing.
The Royal Capital was where monsters like 6th Circle casters and Sword Masters dwelled.
If they sensed the Demonic Energy and came calling, that would be nothing but a headache.

“Brother! Heeey!”
“Huh?”

Just as he was organizing the situation, a youthful cry pierced the air.
Someone came splashing through the water near the entrance, feet floundering.
Surprisingly, it was Tas.

Tas limped forward on trembling legs, miraculously keeping his balance despite everything.
Then he hurled himself into Delam’s arms.

“Sorry, I smell rank.”
“Whhhh!”

But Tas paid no mind, weeping bitterly.
What came through in his voice was profound relief.

The boy who’d been forced to become a man overnight.
And now the kind brother had thrown himself into a life-or-death struggle with a Demon.
His emotions had every right to overflow.

“I told you to escape. Why didn’t you?”
“I… don’t want to run away alone anymore!”
“Now that’s impressive.”

Delam grinned and ruffled Tas’s hair.
Then he gripped the boy’s waist and lifted him high, turning him to face what lay before them—the corpse of the Silence Enforcer.
The four-meter colossus of a spider was now nothing but a ragged heap.

“Whhhh….”
“Are you crying because you’re happy, or sad?”
“Both!”
“You crazy kid.”

No words were needed.
Their eyes met, and Tas nodded, accepting it without hesitation.

It was a longsword—heavy and long, difficult even to lift.
It wobbled precariously, dangerous to behold, yet Tas approached the Silence Enforcer and drove the blade into its neck.

Crunch.

The body was drained of Demonic Energy.
Yet a Demon remained a Demon; the blade barely penetrated.
All the less when the one wielding it was but a child.

Still, Tas pushed through tears, applying what strength he could muster.
When it wouldn’t go deeper, he threw his weight behind it, pressing down with all he had.

Squelch.

Slowly, painfully, the longsword carved its way through.
Vengeance was complete.
Delam walked over and placed a hand on Tas’s shoulder.

“Tas, does it hurt?”
“Yes…”
“The creature that tormented you—we call such things Demons. And from now on, thousands of them will appear across this continent. For what it’s worth, this one is among the weakest of them.”
“…!”
“I’m going to eradicate them. Keep the world from falling.”
“I… I want to help too!”
“Then let’s do this together.”

Delam hoisted Tas and set him upon his shoulders.
His whole body ached and groaned now that his union with Buung had come undone.

But hadn’t he learned this not long ago, when he’d fired those arrows?
Exhaust all your Spirit Power and your body pays the price.
By holding back a fraction of his reserves, he could still move without strain.

“These wretched Underground Sewers are finally behind us.”

The children who’d sheltered with Tas had been gathered up; he felt no lingering attachment.
Delam turned toward the exit, eager to leave.
The children matched his mood, practically trembling with excitement.
Then a question suddenly struck him.

“By the way, why were you all living in the Underground Sewers?”
“Kashan told us not to say…”
“I’m your guardian now. Tell me.”

Tas, who’d been hesitating, reached up to his neck.
He unwound the scarf he’d worn all along.

Delam’s eyes widened at the sight.
One reason was that he sensed Mana emanating from the scarf—meaning the scarf Tas had worn in the Underground Sewers was an artifact—
but the other reason lay in Tas’s eyes themselves.

Tas’s eyes had changed.
They were slit vertically, narrow and sharp.
They looked like those of a goat rather than a human.

Delam’s expression hardened as he murmured under his breath.

“A Bloodline Inheritor.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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