161 Chapter 161: One-sided massacre

The demon let out a derisive scoff. He stretched out his pointy dark fingers and gave Alarick's body a flick as if he was brushing off the dust.

"Puny insect," his voice dripped in disgust.

Alarick's body was instantly crushed by the force of the demon's light flick. His bones were shattered and pieces of human flesh splattered on the floor like blobs of mush from bowels and other innards. Meanwhile, blood splashed all around, hitting some of their faces. The stench of corpses immediately assaulted their nostrils and their stomachs churned rigorously.

"Ugh…" Stella retched to the ground. Her whole body trembled in trepidation.

Zelal, General Kim, and Julian did not fare well either. Their faces contorted with impending fury and sorrow, especially General Kim. He felt as if his heart had been ripped as he watched his comrade fall and his body abolished without honor. 

But, there was no time for mourning as Usui shifted his attention towards the king. He squinted his eyes inquisitively. At that moment, a vague image ebbed into his real subconscious mind. The side of his humanity awakened for a brief few seconds.

"Your eyes…" he spoke incoherently as his focus was pulled into a daze. "Why do your eyes look so familiar?"

Julian flinched when he heard Usui's words. He immediately thought of that one person and his instinctive reaction was to glare menacingly at Usui. His face darkened considerably, however, he soon realized his mistake.

'No… this person isn't Usui. He's a devil...' he thought to himself. He clenched his jaw. 'That boy is lost…'

While Julian was engrossed in his thoughts, Usui took an unconscious step towards his direction. The dark menacing spirit hovering above him receded at that moment and the sky gradually returned to its original state.

A beautiful curve of her lips flashed through Usui's mind. Slightly casual but with a hint of cordiality.

'Usui…'

Her clear voice lingered in his head, echoing ceaselessly, severing the connection between the demon's power and Usui's soul for a moment. He continued to stagger unconsciously towards the king and this alarmed General Kim.

General Kim widened his eyes in panic. His heart was pumping fiercely at the dire situation. Clutching his shoulder, the general tried to get up. But, his feet were immediately locked by the dark aura that had emerged out of nowhere.

"What…?" General Kim was stupefied by its presence which had missed his detection.

General Kim struggled to free himself but it bound him strongly to the ground. This little farce had successfully knocked Usui out of his humane conscience and the demon once again regained control of his soul. The dark mist swirled around Usui, engulfing him in its veil of protection.

Usui turned to General Kim who was the reason that he could return. The demon curled his lips dauntingly.

"I have to thank you for your interference. Unfortunately, my little friend here seems to disapprove of your worthless existence," Usui spoke indifferently as he let the dark mist coil around his hand. Afterward, he lifted his arm in General Kim's direction.

In that very second, General Kim felt the blood coursing through his body chill. His gaze froze at Usui's mirthless smirk.

"Don't kill him," he chuckled. "That shall be my gratitude."

After that, the dark mist gripping on the general's legs expanded to the air and transformed into dozens of spears. They immediately rained down upon General Kim, pinning the man onto the ground. It nailed his limbs and even pierced through his back.

General Kim cried out with immense pain as the dark mist dissolved within him and turned into minuscule insects gnawing at his bone little by little.

"ARRRRGGHHH!!!"

"Oh dear…" he let out a burst of merry laughter. His eyes beamed with pleasure. "Such a sweet voice."

Meanwhile, the rest of the people on the site shuddered upon General Kim's horrifying scream, especially Stella. Her complexion was now as white as a ghost. Julian felt his legs giving up on him and the hair on his body stood up as General Kim continued to shriek. 

However, amidst the merciless torment, General Kim took a grip of himself and fought back the pain. He cried out. Blood spilled with every word he uttered.

"Your Majesty, run!!" He choked on his blood.

By this point, Julian was already struggling to keep himself together. Hence, General Kim's words fell on deaf ears. Beads of cold sweat drenched Julian's back. Under Usui's homicidal gaze, Julian's entire being trembled in great trepidation and he couldn't seem to make a single move. He watched as Usui advanced towards him.

Extending his hand to the side, the black mist snaked down the demon's arm and an accursed sword condensed out of the darkness. It dragged on the ground creating a disconcerting screech as it left behind a deathly trail of miasma.

Eventually, Usui arrived before the king. He grinned and a murderous aura radiated from his voice. "It's your turn now, My King."

Julian felt his heart jump. He began to snap out of it and struggled with his power to break free from the darkness' grip. However, his effort was destined to be fruitless. Then, in the next second, he felt a touch of coldness at the back of his neck as though he was being caressed by a reaper. 

"I shall bestow upon you a painless death."

Julian lifted his head to meet Usui's sword coming down at him. His heart dropped and his eyes inexplicably shut tight. Yet, a loud clang echoed instead. Julian didn't feel anything for a while, so he slowly opened his eyes.

He gasped at the huge wall surrounding him. The defensive barrier separated the king from Usui. Julian couldn't help but breathed out a sigh of relief upon this sight. He then lifted his hand to touch the wall. The cold sensation against his palm made him tremble.

"Who conjured this barrier?" He murmured.

On the other side, Usui raised his eyebrows in surprise when he saw his sword couldn't break through the metal surface. He let out a soft hum before he turned his attention to the caster.

Zelal's hand was outstretched. His breathing was ragged but his eyes were blatantly glaring at Usui. He asked uncourtly, "Who the hell are you?"

Usui tilted his head. "Your brother?" His tone sounded like he was asking Zelal back. The expression on his face was full of mischief.

Seeing his playful eyes, Zelal was not amused. He glowered, "You are no brother of mine!"

Zelal's hands emitted a gold shine. The force lifted a block of metal from the pile of rubble on the ground and it shot directly to Usui.

The demon lazily raised his hand and blocked Zelal's attack with little to no effort. He yawned. "Boy, it'll take you thousands of years before you're able to hurt even the tip of my hair."

After that, he teleported to Zelal's side and struck his back with his bare hand. However, Zelal turned around at the exact moment before his attack landed and raised his sword to block it. Still, the demon's explosive strength knocked him several steps back.

Zelal coughed out a mouthful of blood. He wiped it off without a care. "Brother, get back to your senses. We have won the battle."

Usui chuckled. "But, I haven't gotten my fill of fun yet."

With that, Usui once again raised his sword and shot at Zelal. He launched several attacks in a row. Zelal had no choice but to raise his arm against his own brother. However, his arm was severely injured so he could only play a defensive role in Usui's advance. 

A loud clang of metal drove both parties away. Zelal's body swayed from the impact and Stella reflexively called out to him.

"Zel!"

Usui knitted his brows at the pathetic voice disturbing the rhyme of his battle. He turned to look at the weak girl lying on the ground. Stella's heart leaped when she met Usui's menacing gaze. He was clearly irked by this annoying fly.

He suddenly appeared in front of Stella and the woman instinctively struggled to escape. However, the demon's aggressive aura weighed down on her powerless body and she was pummeled to the ground.

Usui stretched out his hand but was soon stopped by a sudden earthquake. Zelal had used his power to struck the ground, splitting it apart in order to separate Usui from Stella.

"Don't you dare touch her!!" Zelal's angry voice cut through the air.

Usui's eyebrows twitched in annoyance at these two flies. His gaze tinged with bloodthirstiness. Glaring at him derisively, Usui scoffed, "A weak creature like you dare to challenge me?"