I Became an Illegal Cheat User

138 – Demon Slayer (2)

The fallen elf.

The dark space sorcerer.

And the Demon Lord’s Four Heavenly Kings, Jalmunt.

He was in a good mood today.

Under the Demon Lord’s orders, he had been waiting in the mist, unable to step outside.

In the long, monotonous days filled only with magical research and tormenting trivial monsters, a new command from the Demon Lord had finally arrived.

How could he not be pleased?

Moreover, this latest command from the Demon Lord was not just enjoyable; it was exhilarating.

It was to eliminate the newly formed party of heroes that had intruded into this misty realm.

Thus, it had been a long time since Jalmunt felt such intense emotions.

Not a mere diversion, a monster that posed no challenge, but the appearance of a true rival with whom he could test his strength.

Each other’s lives, each other’s worlds.

A cataclysmic battle fought with everything on the line.

In other words, a clash of light and darkness!

Of course, the hero party wouldn’t necessarily be strong.

Just as the last hero and his companions he had dealt with long ago were weaklings, this hero party might also be feeble.

Still, Jalmunt did not abandon his hopes.

The heroes and their companions were chosen ones, selected by the laws of this world.

As such, they would at least be stronger than the monsters he had toyed with.

Yes, that would be enough.

It would be even better if they were stronger than that.

So please.

Hero party.

May they meet his expectations.

May they alleviate his deep, deep boredom.

Jalmunt prayed earnestly.

With a thread of hope and desire in his heart, Jalmunt used his ultimate technique, spatial magic, to meet the hero party before the other Four Heavenly Kings.

And the first member of the hero party he found was…

A woman who wore a faded armor, worn from arduous adventures.

She bore a golden sword that looked quite luxurious, giving off an unusual aura.

With sharp prayers that suggested she had trained in martial arts for a long time.

…She appeared to be a paladin.

‘Ah, a paladin!’

It had truly been a long time since he had seen one.

Jalmunt felt a sense of joy, even knowing that the paladin, the blonde woman, was an enemy he must confront.

It was only natural, for her profession, paladin, was a remnant of a cherished past that existed before his lord the Demon King fell from grace.

In ancient times.

An era when everything was prosperous and brilliant under the protection and management of the gods.

Yet, for reasons unknown, the world was torn apart in many directions, scattered across various dimensions, leading to the disappearance of the glory of the past.

And the sacred kingdom, once belonging to the glory of the past, now not even a line written in history.

The Paladin is the embodiment of that forgotten sacred kingdom, a force.

A blade that specializes in exterminating monsters and demonkind, punishing evil without question.

Yet now, that blade is turned against them.

Once, they were the ones protecting the world from monsters and demonkind.

Now, the glory of the past, which once stood as a guardian, has become their adversary.

In that realization, Jalmunt felt a long-lost emotion, a bitterness he thought had vanished long ago.

But that feeling did not linger; it quickly faded away.

Honestly, reflecting on the past now is not just futile but utterly grotesque.

Now, he is not a descendant of the World Tree, but one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon Lord. No, even more so, a servant of ‘that one.’

And by embracing death’s aura, he has betrayed the light and chosen darkness.

Literally, a consequence of his own making.

The result of his own choices.

There is no reason to regret, nor any qualification to do so.

He must simply accept.

The consequences of his, their choices.

Whether it leads to progress or demise. Whatever it may be.

With those thoughts and emotions sorted, Jalmunt quietly observed the Paladin from the shadows.

To gauge the enemy’s strength.

While suppressing the immediate desire to extinguish the light.

‘I am a sorcerer.’

Though he has fallen to the aura of death.

Unlike his reckless companions who would charge into battle without thought, he is a cold and calculating sorcerer. Thus, controlling such desires is not difficult.

Reiterating this, Jalmunt provoked the peculiarities of the mist that ensnared the Paladin, stirring the monsters outside the veil of darkness.

He released the pure and intense scent of mana, which could never be sensed within the mist, but only by the humans outside, to incite the Paladin to attack.

And as he watched the monsters rush toward the veil, Jalmunt observed the Paladin.

Now, Paladin.

What level of power do you possess?

Jalmunt felt a flicker of anticipation for the Paladin’s strength, soon to be revealed.

Of course, it was merely anticipation; the extent of it was not particularly great.

The paladin that he is currently observing is a profession bestowed by the laws of this world.

‘No matter how long one has trained in martial arts, the divine power felt is exceedingly minimal.’

From the perspective of Jalmunt, who had directly seen and fought alongside the paladins of the Holy Kingdom, blessed with strong conviction and divine power, the paladin before him now is nothing short of a fake.

A mere shadow of a title, devoid of any trace of divine essence.

In simpler terms, a soup that only smells of meat.

He is an ordinary knight with more mana than divine power.

But that thought vanished the moment the blonde woman drew her sword.

Whoosh─!

The blade emerged from its sheath.

A brilliant light erupted, befitting the golden sword.

And the monsters exposed to that light vanished without a trace.

At the same time.

“Graaah─!”

Beyond the veil of darkness.

Hiding at the boundary between the outside and the inside, Jalmunt, who had been observing the blonde woman, screamed in agony as if his body were burning.

In that pain, Jalmunt rolled his eyes in confusion over the current situation and fear of the pain spreading throughout his body.

No, how?

How could it harm someone like him, standing at the boundary of the dark veil?

And what is that light?

Could it be that the golden sword is a holy sword?

If so, then the blonde woman is not a paladin, but a hero?

‘…No, that can’t be.’

According to the information I received, the color of the holy sword is not golden, but white. And the hero was said to be merely a seven-year-old girl.

In contrast, the blonde woman in his sight is at least in her twenties. She cannot be called a young girl.

Questions whirl in his mind.

Jalmunt was deeply confused by the chaos of questions giving rise to new questions.

But that confusion was brief.

‘I, I must get out of here first.’

The pain is gradually intensifying.

No, it is beyond intensifying; his body is turning to ash and disappearing.

It is being purified by divine power.

‘That paladin… I’ll leave it to the other Four Heavenly Kings.’

It’s not that I absolutely… absolutely think I can’t win.

It’s simply because he is an opponent that doesn’t match me.

It’s not due to a difference in strength or skill.

I am a wizard.

A wizard who explores truth and knowledge, specializing in long-range combat.

In contrast, the paladin is a warrior who worships divinity and conviction, specializing in close combat.

Our concepts of battle do not align.

‘In battle, the excitement arises when our concepts harmonize.’

… I thought, as if brainwashing myself.

Yes, in truth, it’s absurd.

Just because I specialize in long-range, and he in close-range.

Does that mean we can’t fight because our concepts of battle don’t match?

What kind of nonsense is that?

What is there to argue about in battle?

Jalmund ground his teeth in despair at the bleakness he felt for the first time and his own foolishness, reciting the formulas of spatial magic. As he did, he looked at the paladin, radiating a golden glow, annihilating monsters just by walking.

‘How am I supposed to contend with that?’

The place I am in now is a fog of death, a gathering of deceit.

In such a place, the paladin emits divine power comparable to that of the Pope of the Holy Kingdom, no, even greater.

At this level, it should be the Demon Lord himself, not the Four Heavenly Kings, who steps in.

But the Demon Lord cannot leave the World Tree unless it is by ‘His’ direct command.

So what can I do?

I must flee.

‘Leaving that guy I didn’t like behind.’

The Four Heavenly King, Death Knight King, who usually mocked me as a mere magic user.

I will transfer him to that paladin, that monster.

‘He’s a madman obsessed with battle, so he won’t complain if I suddenly move him.’

Or can he even do that?

In my thoughts…, I will definitely die at the hands of that monster.

Jalmunt chuckled to himself, thinking this way.

And he completed the incantation he had memorized, unfolding the spatial magic.

To a place where other hero party members were.

“Hmm? What is this…?”

The Death Knight King stood before the monster.

‘Ah.’

It truly could not be a more splendid method.

Jalmunt felt a delightful sensation for the first time in a long while as he escaped from the monster’s presence.

However.

As if to say there is no paradise where he fled.

‘What is that…?’

The despair he felt from the monster cloaked in the title of Paladin continued to linger.

Jalmunt could not close his mouth at the sight of the black-haired woman, the swordmaster’s apprentice, visible within the boundary of the dark veil.

Swoosh—!

A storm was raging.

A sharp storm made of slashes.

And the monsters caught within that storm were instantly reduced to dust.

In that scene, Jalmunt looked at the black-haired woman, the swordmaster’s apprentice, with eyes full of fear.

Dressed in light clothing with no means of defense.

A crimson sword exuding an aura that rivaled the ominous power of a cheat.

A sharp prayer, as if she had trained in martial arts for a long time like a Paladin.

In some ways, she seemed weaker than a Paladin clad in worn armor, but… well, who knows.

Even though she swung her sword at a speed completely invisible to the eye, her breathing remained calm.

Moreover, despite the deathly aura preventing any recovery of mana, she wielded it effortlessly.

That woman was undoubtedly a monster, no different from a Paladin.

‘…Is this hero party filled only with monsters?’

No, it couldn’t be.

Surely there must be weaker members.

Jalmunt thought this and used spatial magic once more.

And this time, he transported the Slime Queen, a Four Heavenly King with very extreme defensive and regenerative abilities but not much offensive power, in front of the swordmaster’s apprentice.

“Suddenly, a scream pierced the air… Kyaaah─!”

…As my vision shifted, I heard the Slime Queen’s cry.

It seemed that the blade storm unleashed by the Sword Saint’s apprentice was tearing through her body.

But still, it should be fine.

Unlike myself, made of blood and flesh, or the Death Knight King, whose soul was bound to his armor, the Slime Queen’s form was liquid, so she should be able to withstand the Sword Saint’s apprentice to some extent.

Surely, someone as resilient as her wouldn’t be defeated so easily.

As I thought this, Jalmunt’s perspective changed.

And this time.

“Hurry, to the next, the next one!”

Without a moment’s hesitation, I activated spatial magic.

After all, the member of the hero party I had just seen was.

“Immanuel. May all evil be vanquished.”

A saint who needed to be taken seriously, right after the hero.

And not just any saint, but one radiating an overwhelming divine power, as if a god had descended.

Thus, Jalmunt hurriedly moved to another location before being consumed by that divine energy.

And this time… he did not transport another of the Four Heavenly Kings.

‘There is no Heavenly King who can face that one…’

No matter how strong they believed themselves to be, exposure to such divine power would not only purify them but lead to their utter annihilation.

Only the Demon Lord and ‘that person’ could contend with such a force.

So, the saint was… left to her own devices.

After all, due to the shroud of darkness, visibility was limited, making proper movement impossible.

Instead, I would use the monsters to continue exhausting her strength.

Thus, Jalmunt executed a strategic retreat, which was nothing more than a flight.

The member of the hero party I had just seen wore armor of a form I had never encountered before.

‘Is this person not a monster?’

Unlike the three monsters I had just witnessed, there was a distinct lack of power emanating from them. Aside from the armor, there was nothing particularly special about them.

‘By the way, what is this person’s profession?’

A thief, perhaps?

Or a hunter?

Of course, the report I had received did mention something about being the last descendant of a family that had been wiped out.

But surely that can’t be a profession.

Jalmunt observed the man, recalling the reports sent by the spies of the human world beyond the fog.

Wearing strange armor that clung tightly to his body.

Boom—Crash—!

Using a bizarre weapon that echoed with thunder.

And though he was far weaker than the paladin and the saint he had just seen, he still wielded divine power.

Everything about him was peculiar, a member of the hero’s party.

‘What on earth are you?’

He thought this just as—

Whoosh!

The man’s head snapped up. He felt the gaze directed at him from within the helmet that concealed his face.

…No, how?

‘How did he find my position?’

His concealment had gone unnoticed by the paladin, the swordmaster’s apprentice, and the saint. Those three monsters hadn’t sensed him at all.

As soon as Jalmunt thought this, he immediately recited the incantation for spatial magic.

‘That guy is a monster too!’

He hadn’t felt any strength from him, so he assumed he was the weakest among the hero’s party.

But now, it seemed that the most dangerous one was this man.

‘It would be better to fight the hero instead.’

Damn the rules.

Is this how balance is maintained just because the hero is young and weak?

No, that’s not right.

At this point, it’s not balance; it’s destruction.

Jalmunt cursed the remnants of the rules left behind after the god’s disappearance and completed the incantation.

And just as the spell was about to be completed—

Flash!

His vision, the world, was dyed in shades of blue and white.

Sensing death in that phenomenon, Jalmunt immediately used spatial magic.

Of course, since he hadn’t written down where to move in the incantation, the spatial magic activated abnormally.

“Ughhh!”

Jalmunt let out a cry of pain as he felt the magic circuits within his body twist and contort.

The abnormal use of magic places a tremendous burden on the magic circuits.

And this immense burden on the magic circuits damages the wizard’s life force, their strength, the core of their magic.

With such a horrific sensation coursing through his entire being, Jalmunt could not help but scream.

But that scream soon transformed into rage.

“…How dare a mere human──!!”

Paladin, the swordmaster’s apprentice, the saint.

Whether stronger than those three monsters or not.

Jalmunt’s eyes turned wild at the thought that his magical life was in jeopardy.

“I will never, never let this go─!”

…he shouted boldly.

Yet, contrary to that cry, Jalmunt did not move his body.

No, to be precise, it would be correct to say that he wanted to move but could not.

Tremble, tremble, tremble.

“Uh, uh….”

His body shook like a aspen tree.

Under normal circumstances, he would have questioned such a reaction.

But now, there was no need for that at all.

“W-What….”

The anger that had surged to the top of his head dissipated.

In its place, fear and dread filled his mind and body.

Despair settled on Jalmunt’s face as he looked at the man.

Paladin, the swordmaster’s apprentice, the saint.

Even when he had witnessed the power of those three monsters, he had never felt this cornered.

Jalmunt’s teeth chattered in a fear he had never even felt before, not even in front of the Demon Lord.

‘It’s as if… I’m looking at that person.’

Of course, the appearance, the speech, the actions—everything was different.

But the sense of intimidation.

The overwhelming presence emanating from the man was the same.

Predator.

Under the presence of the predator, Jalmunt, reduced to prey, wanted nothing more than to escape this place immediately.

So, more than ever, he recited the magical incantations with all his might.

Crackle, crackle, crackle!

The incantations continued to shatter.

Fear and dread towards the man. And the failure caused by the overloaded magical circuits.

Still, he kept trying.

‘Please, please!’

Let it succeed!

I don’t want to die.

He had sent two of the Four Heavenly Kings to their doom, but he did not wish to die in a place like this.

‘He promised!’

To show the end of truth and knowledge.

The mysteries that only a great dragon could reveal! The powers!

‘I will seek it out! I must!’

So damn it, you monsters!

Don’t just stand there frozen; move!

But Jalmunt’s desperate wish could not be fulfilled.

“Kieeeek…!”

“Kuuaaak…!”

The monsters trembled and let out horrific cries.

Jalmunt, still managing to chant the magical incantations like a true Heavenly King, held on against the man’s presence to some extent.

Yet, being a mere monster, his mental fortitude was not particularly strong, and he was crushed under the man’s aura, unable to do anything.

‘Worthless things!’

He spat out such curses, but deep down, Jalmunt understood.

After all, he was in the same predicament.

A mere monster could not possibly move under that power.

“……!”

As Jalmunt thought this, his eyes widened in shock.

Thud.

The man… is moving.

Thud, thud.

The man, frozen like a statue, approaches with heavy footsteps.

And then—

Crack!

An obstruction blocking the way.

He began to clear the monsters away.

Crack, crackle!

Bang, bang, bang! Bang, bang, bang!

With a weighty grip enveloped in divine power, the man’s hand crushed the monster’s head.

The creature, kicked away, was sent flying, its lower half separated.

The monster, caught by the legs, was tossed back and forth, slammed into the ground.

One down, two down.

The numbers gradually dwindled.

The distance closed in.

With it, Jalmunt’s fear grew ever larger.

‘…Please! Please!’

Let it succeed, let it succeed!

Crack, failure.

Crack, failure.

Crack… success.

‘Got it!’

The formula was complete.

Jalmunt let out a silent cheer and immediately attempted to use spatial magic.

No, he was about to.

“Uh…?”

If only the white flash hadn’t struck him.

Whoosh!

&

&

&

– Kkhaaah─!!

Oh, what a brilliant method!

I marveled at the spear lodged in the elf’s abdomen, the ‘Spear that Sings of Courage.’

“So, the elf is likely to use magic, so you pierce them with a spear imbued with divine power to prevent them from casting spells?”

What a truly effective strategy.

By injecting external energy, it disrupts the energy the opponent possesses.

‘This would be fatal for a wizard or anyone who needs to concentrate on using their abilities, right?’

Of course, if the energies are the same—magic and magic, divine power and divine power—this method would be useless.

But for the elf right now, this method is extremely, no, very extremely lethal.

Since the elf, who uses death energy, has been infused with sacred divine power, they won’t be able to use magic unless they pull out the spear.

I wonder if the elf knows that.

– Kkhaaah! Kkhaaah!!

They strained with all their might to pull out the spear lodged in their abdomen.

Chiiik, chiiiiiik!

Only their hands caught fire from the divine power embedded in the spear, but they couldn’t pull it out at all.

‘It’s no wonder.’

It’s not just any spear; it’s an S-rank item, a sacred spear said to have been used by an angel.

What chance does a mere Four Heavenly King have to pull it out, let alone a Demon Lord?

I snickered at the Four Heavenly King, who was engaged in such a futile endeavor.

But that laughter was short-lived.

“Hah.”

I let out a deep sigh, filled with a sense of difficulty.

“…This is maddening.”

I grimaced at the headache I felt and stood up.

“Do I have to stay trapped here forever?”

Muttering that, I looked around.

A black world.

Right now, I find myself in a space where I can’t distinguish between sky and earth.

And within that space, I see ‘myself’ from a third-person perspective, as if watching a TV show. More precisely, I see the ‘me’ consumed by rage and murderous intent due to the talent ‘Demon Slayer.’

“This must be…, my mental world, right?”

It’s an uncertain guess, but instinctively, I already believe it to be true.

Otherwise, there’s no way I could observe myself and my actions from a third-party perspective.

“But if my mental world is this dark, does that mean my soul is just as gloomy? That’s a bit shocking.”

Of course, that’s just talk. I wasn’t really shocked.

I merely made a self-deprecating joke to alleviate my boredom.

“By the way.”

What on earth is that?

I pondered this as I looked ahead.

There stood a massive iron gate, white in color. A door adorned with five golden stars and three red stars.

And on either side, there were relatively smaller, yet still quite large doors for a person to use, one on each side.

“Hmm, I think I have a rough idea of what it is.”

The stars embedded in the iron gate. There were a total of eight.

“And the number of cheats I possess is also eight.”

Isn’t that just perfect?

I suspect that this enormous iron gate is the source of the cheats, a seal that contains the power of the external forces.

“That’s pretty obvious.”

I nodded thoughtfully and approached the massive iron gate. I placed my hand against it.

…….

Ironically, nothing happened.

“I guess I need to unlock all the cheats for it to open.”

I thought this as I stepped back from the door. Then, from a distance, I looked at the two doors flanking the enormous iron gate.

First, the left side.

The door on the left looked truly eerie.

“A door plastered with the faces of demons in agony….”

Ah, I can clearly tell what kind of door that is.

“That’s the door of the Demon Slayer.”

With the massive iron gate adorned with stars, the door of cheats is there.

Naturally, there should be a door of talent as well.

“Then the door on the right, with the swirling clouds, must represent indomitable will.”

A door that embodies cheats and talent.

“How interesting.”

It feels just like looking at the achievement screen of a game.

With that feeling, I let out a chuckle and approached the Door of Indomitable Will.

Clank.

As I got closer, the thick iron chains wrapped around the door seemed to whisper that it could not be opened.

Still, just in case, I grabbed the chains and exerted some force.

“Not budging.”

It wouldn’t come off the door like glue.

“I wonder what the Demon Slayer’s door is like.”

As I approached the door, unlike the Door of Indomitable Will, there were no chains wrapped around it.

And then.

Clack, screech…

As if waiting for me to come closer, the door opened on its own.

“…….”

Inside the open door.

It is filled with a sinister red light.

I can see nothing else.

“…It feels a bit uncomfortable to go in.”

It would be better if it were dark or at least bright.

Being filled with red light is just…, isn’t it?

I let out a short sigh. And as I steeled myself and took a step forward.

Crash!

“……!”

A thick hand wearing gloves similar to my Atlas Armor shot out from inside the door, grabbing me by the collar.

And without any mercy.

Whoosh!

It dragged me into the interior filled with red light.