A chill ran up Daniel’s spine. This time, it wasn’t just fear, his entire existence was screaming.
Something inside him, deeper than instinct, deeper than terror itself, kept warning him that if he made even a single wrong move, there would be nothing left to come back from.
His gaze was locked on that old demon. There was no visible aura. No burst of power. But the space around him... was heavy.
It felt like reality didn’t dare breathe. In fact, the entire space bent just from his presence alone. It wouldn’t be wrong to say this old demon might be the most powerful being Daniel had ever seen up close.
’No chance at all.’ The thought formed instantly, without any resistance.
He didn’t need to think about it. Against this old demon, he had absolutely no chance of winning. In fact, the moment he made the slightest movement, he would be killed.
And the funniest part was that he was literally frozen in place and couldn’t move at all.
This old demon was definitely beyond Rank S, definitely a Rank-less being.
But whatever he was... this entity stood on a level where even looking directly at him mocked the very concept of survival.
Maybe even a Heavenly King. He had only seen Heavenly Kings from afar before, but this old demon gave exactly the same feeling.
But the more important question was:
Why would a being like this even be here?
There was no time to think. The old demon turned his gaze toward Azrael.
"Your Highness, Crown Prince..." His voice sounded indifferent and filled with a dry rasp.
"I didn’t expect you to lose to a human."
Azrael’s face darkened. The worst-case scenario he imagined had actually happened. One of the high-ranking figures of the Demon Continent had witnessed his defeat at the hands of a human.
And not just anyone, one of the strongest individuals in the entire Demon Continent, someone known for his traditional and stubborn mindset toward humans.
"This human used special methods. The fight wasn’t fair." Azrael gritted his teeth and said.
Even he knew he was talking nonsense. But he had no choice.
Their mindsets were somewhat similar, and that was one of the reasons this old demon supported him as the Crown Prince until now. But now he might change his mind.
The old demon shook his head. He neither agreed nor disagreed, simply remaining indifferent, or at least choosing to ignore it for now, because he clearly had more important matters to handle.
However, it was obvious he didn’t believe any of it. Then his gaze calmly landed on Daniel.
"Human..." He paused for a moment.
"Do you know the punishment for killing the children of the king?"
"Death?" Daniel answered without hesitation.
A faint smile appeared on the old demon’s lips.
"Correct. And even knowing that, you still killed them."
He took a small step forward.
"If you hadn’t done that, maybe you could have lived a little longer. But it’s obvious..."
His gaze sharpened. The fact that those trash were killed by a human showed they were nothing but useless garbage and deserved to die.
However, he couldn’t ignore their deaths either. They were the Demon King’s children, and their killer must be punished and turned into an example.
But there was another reason too. From the corner of his eyes, he glanced at the thousands of dead demons. The fact that a human could slaughter so many so easily showed the unimaginable level of his power.
And the more interesting part was that this human was very young. Such a potential disaster needed to be erased.
"...that even the gods want you dead."
In that instant, Daniel understood. From the moment this being arrived, he had become a target.
"Gods? Maybe," Daniel muttered.
And right then a massive hand appeared out of thin air.
Daniel didn’t even get a chance to react. The hand grabbed him and then closed.
And explosion.
Flesh and blood scattered through the air. There was no scream, not even resistance.
The hand vanished.
"Humans truly are lucky that such a prodigy was born among them... and even more unlucky that they don’t know he exists." the old demon said calmly.
His gaze turned cold.
"In fact, even if they knew... they would destroy him themselves."
"Someone like this breaks the balance of power. And humans... with their rotten mentality... would never allow that."
It was one of the reasons he always looked down on humans.
Then he turned toward Azrael. The Crown Prince slowly rose from the ground.
He didn’t dare look the old demon in the eyes.
This demon was one of the highest-ranking officials and ministers of the Demon Continent; someone who was respected even before the king.
Fortunately... he belonged to Azrael’s supporting faction. Otherwise, the situation could’ve been far worse.
"Thank you for your assistance." Azrael bowed his head.
The old demon nodded once.
"This disaster needs to be reported to the king immediately. There is no reason for you to stay here any longer."
Azrael sighed.
"My father will be angry." Inside him, rage was boiling.
All his plans, all his ambitions, destroyed.
But wait... if the king learns humans killed his children... wouldn’t he want to take revenge?
Maybe there was still a chance...
"Then let’s—" he began.
The old demon didn’t move.
His gaze was fixed ahead.
"You intend to drag this out further?"
Azrael stiffened.
Who was he talking to?
And then the space trembled. Flesh, blood, and bone reassembled themselves. A human emerged from nothingness.
The same human, Daniel.
"It’s been a while since I died. I forgot what dying felt like." His eyes were cold, but he took a deep breath and said.
Then he frowned at the old demon. He knew he had no chance, even if he used everything he had.
Self-Transcendent... maybe only for resisting. Fallen Will...
No. Not for a situation like this. That skill was for even more extreme danger.
So the best option? Run.
But even running had a price.
It seemed he had no other choice.