East Road Quest

Chapter 88: The Dark Sword

“Can it be healed?”

Ruby looked down at Saph, who lay fallen, and asked.

“The light of healing does not work on oneself. But it’s okay. Sage will heal me.”

Saph replied.

“That old woman needs to come quickly.”

“You’ve been unconscious all this time, do you know Sage?”

“I was only unconscious, I heard everything.”

Ruby said while continuously checking on Buffalord.

Buffalord, supporting his head, got up. His mind was blank.

‘Did that guy survive the poison of Ducuboia?’

Fortunately for Buffalord, his sword was not far from where he had fallen.

Staggering, he walked over and picked up the dark sword that had fallen to the ground.

Ruby glanced at him and said,

“Don’t go anywhere, stay here. I’ll handle this quickly and come back.”

Saph, with one bleeding eye, pressed by his palm, responded.

“Do you need to come quickly?”

“I said I got it.”

Saph’s words seemed to sting Buffalord’s pride more than Ruby’s leisurely actions.

‘That wench! What’s going on?’

Ruby, pulling out an IV needle from his forearm, walked out to the backyard. He was unarmed.

‘She didn’t bring that chain? Coming out barehanded to face me? She’s being careless. Let’s pretend to stagger a bit more. If a big attack comes, I can counter it in one shot.’

Buffalord calculated quickly.

‘I just woke up from the poison, so I’m not fully recovered. If I play this right, I can cut him down and kidnap her before the guards arrive.’

Buffalord pretended to struggle until the moment Ruby entered the range of the sword, then he struck down with the dark sword.

Ruby blocked the sword with his bare hands.

And then, with a punch, he hit Buffalord’s chin, lifting him up.

For a moment, Buffalord’s vision went dark, and his body floated in the air.

‘What? Was there an attack just now?’

Suddenly, Ruby appeared above his floating body. It was as if there were two Rubys.

Ruby punched down on Buffalord’s face. His hefty body fell to the ground.

The sound of a spine breaking was heard.

Without pausing, Ruby kicked the fallen Buffalord again. As he kicked, ribs broke, and after spinning around for a while, breaking a few trees, he finally stopped. It seemed like a soft landing, but when he stopped, his neck was broken, and his arm was bent behind his shoulder.

‘What? How did this happen?’

Ruby was known to be quite fast from their last fight. And he was well-prepared. Yet, he didn’t see the recent attack coming.

Buffalord couldn’t remember when, how, or where he had dropped the dark sword.

‘There’s still a chance!’

Buffalord sprang up from where he had fallen and climbed onto a large tree branch. As he landed on the branch, his head dangled down, and his vision shook wildly.

‘Why is my vision shaking? Did I get hit too much and lose my balance?’

He reached up to touch his head, but instead, his cheek was there. His neck was broken, and his head was dangling.

‘A humiliating injury. But it’s okay. At least I’ve managed to hide in the shadow of the tree.’

Buffalord shouted loudly on purpose.

“Foolish boy! You just blocked the dark sword with your bare hands twice? You’re finished!”

Buffalord’s voice echoed, scattering in all directions.

The fake echoes mixed with the real ones, misleading his location.

He had been able to evade the guards for the past three years by hiding behind trees and using magic to completely conceal his presence and echo magic simultaneously.

“It’s over? What is?”

As expected, Ruby spoke to the wrong place.

“As for my dark sword, the hellish blacksmith reforged it with hellfire, infusing it with a demon’s poison that kills any living creature it merely grazes. No matter how physically strong you are, in the face of the demon’s poison and the magic of hellfire that negates life itself, you’re useless! It’s incomparable to the poison of Ducuboia. So even if you survived that poison, it’s no use against this dark sword.”

Buffalord continued, lowering his presence even more with the triple echoes.

“My job is just to wait for you to suffer and become paralyzed by the hellfire. Then, while you watch, I’ll leisurely take Saph away. And this time, I’ll make sure to torture her for days on end.”

“What’s so special about this sword?”

Ruby’s voice came from right behind him.

“What?”

Buffalord turned around in surprise.

Ruby stood there with the dark sword, three steps in front of Buffalord.

“How, how did you… find me…?”

Buffalord asked, his back against the tree. Now that his location was revealed, he didn’t dare to run from this swift opponent.

With his neck broken, he couldn’t even sprint between the trees.
Ruby said, “Your breathing made no sound.”

Buffalord asked in confusion, “Breathing?”

“Your voice echoed all around, making it impossible to pinpoint your location. But your breathing was silent, coming precisely from this direction. Had you not been injured, I would have been completely fooled. Hahaha,” Ruby laughed heartily but then touched his jaw, wincing, “Ouch, seems the poison hasn’t worn off yet? My jaw is numb, and I just bit my tongue while talking.”

“See! The demon’s poison is gradually spreading through your body. Surrender now, and I might give you the antidote.”

“The numbness is due to the poison of Ducuboia. It certainly paralyzed me. It’s the first time I’ve fainted in my life. I’ll be more careful in the future. But this…”

Ruby grasped Buffalord’s dark sword with both hands.

“…needs no caution. Do you think a demon’s weapon would work against an angel?”

In front of Buffalord’s horrified gaze, Ruby snapped the blade in two.

“Why are you so surprised by my strength? Let me explain. First, when we met yesterday, I was infected with poison, and I could barely move. Second, I’m not shackled now. I can move at least ten times faster than when I was.”

Ruby dropped the broken blade beneath the tree and continued, “In other words, I’m a hundred times stronger than when you first met me. It’s natural for you to be shocked.”

Ruby tilted his head and asked, “Anything to say?”

Buffalord quickly replied, “I will take you to Cowking. A being as strong as you could easily become Cowking’s second-in-command…”

“No need. Have you already forgotten what I said earlier?”

“What, what did you say?”

“Starting now, one minute.”

Ruby struck Buffalord’s head.

The branch they were standing on broke, and they fell together. Buffalord tried to land on his feet, but Ruby’s weight forced him to fall back first.

His broken spine pierced through his chest.

Ruby didn’t stop there; he struck Buffalord’s chest, shattering his ribs and crushing his heart.

His next punch was aimed straight at Buffalord’s face.

‘I never thought I’d use the escape technique I thought I’d never use.’

Buffalord tore his own neck with his arm.

Ruby’s punch hit only empty ground.

“Huh? What’s this?”

Buffalord threw his head over the bushes in that state. Ruby, glancing between the torso and the head, realized the head was the main body and turned direction.

“Is it that way?”

Buffalord’s headless torso tightly embraced Ruby.

Ruby shouted towards the head, “Hey, where are you going, you loaf! It hasn’t even been 10 seconds!”

Buffalord’s head flew high into the sky, crossing the forest.

‘That’s it. If I land somewhere, I’ll hide underground. He may fight well, but he can’t search.’

Buffalord had already planned his next move.

‘Actually, I don’t need to hide. If I roll like a stone without leaving a trace, I can return to Cowking. If I find a perfect space to hide along the way, I can hide there. It might be hard to return to my original form, but I can transform into a body that’s easier to move. No, I can call a few of my shape-shifter subordinates to carry me. Simple. I just need to get out of this situation. Once I’m out of here…

A single arrow struck Buffalord’s flying head, sending it flying in the opposite direction – back towards Ruby.

The arrow-pierced head of Buffalord fell beside Ruby. The arrow that went through his head was stuck in the ground, preventing it from rolling away.

Ruby, with a sly grin and demon blood on his hands, showed his palms. Buffalord’s torso, which had been holding Ruby, now had its arms torn off.

“Oh? You’ve returned?”

Buffalord’s head gasped for breath, eyes darting around.

“What, what is this… how did it…”

In the chaos, he had momentarily forgotten a fact that now came back to him.

The guardian of the Dark Forest descended from the tree. Standing on one foot on Buffalord’s head, he said, “Finally, you’ve shown yourself before me.”

Emerald, standing on Buffalord’s head, spoke, “You’ve awakened.”

“Why did you interfere?” Ruby asked.

“Interfere? I don’t understand your question. I caught someone trying to escape.”

“I could have handled it myself.”

“Then consider it making your job easier.”

“That’s true.”

Merald glanced briefly towards Sage’s cabin and asked, “Is Sapp safe?”

“He’s hurt. Badly.”

Ruby continued as she walked towards the cabin, “That’s why I need to go see him. You handle things here.”

“Will do.”

“And when is this woman, Sage, coming? Sapp mentioned she could heal his wounds.”

“She’s on her way now.”

“And Jade?”

“Coming with her.”

Ruby simply nodded and turned to leave.

Merald called out to Ruby’s retreating back, “But you seem quite tame, even after seeing me. By your standards when you fainted, I should still appear as an enemy, shouldn’t I?”

“I heard while I was asleep. You’re not an enemy.”

Ruby suddenly stopped and turned around, “…Or do you want to fight me now?”

“No. Why bother?”

“Then why ask? There’s no need to fight when it’s obvious I would win.”

Merald snorted, “Obvious? Strictly speaking, you’ve lost to me once.”

“Are we counting that?”

Ruby narrowed her eyes and glared.

Merald replied nonchalantly, “Just stating a fact.”

“It would be no trouble to kill you here, but I don’t want to complicate things further. Let’s wait until Jade arrives and sorts things out, then we can discuss this ‘count’ issue again.”

Ruby snorted and walked away.

Merald watched Ruby for a while before kneeling on one knee in front of the buffalo-headed Buffalord, pierced by arrows.

“Well, Buffalord, we have much to discuss, don’t we? There’s plenty of time before the mage arrives to obliterate you.”

Merald said with a cold smile.

The giant buffalo head, undaunted, retorted, “You seem to rely quite a bit on the Light Mage, Guardian. Proud of vanquishing a single Heldra, but it’s not over yet.”

“It’s done. The Heldra is burnt to ashes, and most of the Komoras are dealt with.”

“But you haven’t killed them all.”

“Indeed, there are too many. And the Light Mage is indeed weary.”

“That’s right. Even if you have the Light Mage… even if you obliterate many Komoras with his magic… more will be born than those you destroy. And as long as I live, my minions will not die. And as long as Lord Cauking lives, neither will I.”

Buffalord spat black blood as he spoke.

“Guardian, you cannot kill me.”

“Why not? I just need to burn you completely.”

Buffalord laughed, “How? With Sage’s magic? Or will you pour oil on my head and set it ablaze? Try it! Even if you burn me, I’ll just return to hell. I only need to borrow a new body and pass through the gates of hell. I’ll return in a different form, under a different name.”

“Is such a thing even possible? Stop lying.”

“Shall we bet? Guess how many days it will take for me to return?”

Merald shook his head.

“No, I won’t.”

“Why, are you not confident?”

“It means there’s no need to make such a worthless bet. Have you already forgotten about the wizard who can annihilate you?”

“That human said he could annihilate me too? He can’t.”

“Didn’t you see him obliterate Heldra?”

“So what if a lowly demon dies? Do you think I’d even blink an eye? To annihilate me, one more condition is necessary. But you’ll never figure out what it is.”

Buffalord, now fully mocking, laughed.

“One more condition?”

Merald tilted his head and asked.

“Are you talking about the demon’s true name needed for the annihilation clause, Antebas?”

Buffalord, or rather Antebas, widened his eyes, unable to hide his shock. Merald said with a cold smile,

“Yes, I already knew it. And you’ll never find out how I came to know it.”