Chapter 1

The Swordsmanship Genius Possessed by a God — Chapter 1

Whooooosh.

Allen opened his eyes amid the pouring rain.

Hundreds of corpses.

Allen looked over the horribly mutilated bodies, one by one.

“Ah...”

A faint sigh escaped his lips.

Was he the only survivor?

The moment he realized that, something like a scream surged up from deep within him.

But before he could let it out, he saw demons swarming toward him in the distance like a pack of wild dogs.

At the sight, the words came out on their own.

“Those damned demons. I'm sick of them.”

Allen hated demons.

That was also how he had answered when someone asked why he had joined the Suicide Squad.

Of course, that wasn't a particularly unusual reason here.

“Who here doesn't hate demons?”

“Then why do you hate them?”

In this place, hating demons was a given. What they wanted to know was the underlying reason.

“I lost my family and my master to those bastards.”

“Revenge for your family and loved ones?”

“Same reason as everyone else.”

There had never been any real screening process to begin with. The Suicide Squad desperately needed every able hand, and anyone with sufficient skill was accepted.

Demons.

They had appeared on the continent twenty-two years ago and begun slaughtering humans without any apparent purpose.

They possessed strength far surpassing that of the average human, and above all, they were pure evil, utterly devoid of humanity.

The Empire, the kingdoms, and countless renowned noble houses.

All had fallen at their hands.

It had taken a mere ten years for four continents to become part of the Demon Realm.

The surviving humans were divided into two groups.

Those who fought the demons and died, and those who submitted to them and became demonic humans.

The Suicide Squad belonged to the former.

‘Even so...’

Allen rose to his feet.

There was no longer any hope of victory. Nevertheless, Allen refused to give up.

After all, revenge didn't necessarily mean driving a sword into someone.

The demons came swarming in a black mass.

Even after surrounding Allen, they did not attack immediately.

As though they were waiting for something.

“Is this what you're looking for?”

Allen opened his hand, revealing what lay inside.

A fingernail-sized black bead glowed ominously in his palm.

The moment the demons saw it, an eerie blue light flashed in their eyes.

Just as several of them were about to move—

“Don't come any closer.”

Allen growled, closing his outstretched hand into a fist again.

“If even one of you comes closer, I'll smash this thing.”

At once, the demons that had been rushing forward stopped dead in their tracks.

They obeyed so readily that some froze in the very posture they had been running in.

Not only had they stopped moving their feet, they didn't so much as twitch a finger.

‘It worked.’

For the first time, a threat had worked against the demons.

These creatures, who had never responded to any hostage or offer, had reacted decisively to this bead alone.

He had no idea what this object was or why they wanted it.

Allen and his comrades in the Suicide Squad had discovered only one thing.

The demons were desperately searching for something in this place.

The Suicide Squad had risked their lives to obtain this mysterious bead. In other words, it represented the price of their lives. He could never use it carelessly.

Allen opened his hand again and grinned.

“Never thought I'd live to see you bat-faced bastards obey orders so well. Looks like this thing really is important to you.”

“You are correct.”

Allen looked toward the demon who had answered him.

It was a familiar face.

A demon that no member of the Suicide Squad could possibly fail to recognize.

‘Valtein.’

He was a high-ranking demon who held the title of Grand Duke. One of the Ten Great Demons, whose rank was second only to the Demon King.

To think even such an important figure was here.

“That is something we have been desperately searching for. Something we have sought for a long, very long time. Would you return it to us?”

“Just because you're desperate to find it, why should I give it back?”

“Because it is of absolutely no use to you humans. That is why I am asking.”

“...Asking?”

Allen's expression twisted slightly.

The fact that a demon was behaving so obediently, and that a high-ranking demon was actually making a request, were both beyond anything Allen could comprehend.

“The more you act like this, the more curious I get. Just what the hell is this thing that makes you go so far?”

“I cannot tell you that. But if you have any other requests, you need only ask.”

“A request? Sure, a request sounds good.”

A mocking smile formed on Allen's lips.

He looked around at the bodies of his fallen comrades.

“Bring these people back to life.”

Valtein could not bring himself to agree.

“Not just these people. My father, my older brother, my master. Everyone you bastards killed.”

“That is impossible.”

“Why?! After slaughtering so many people, you should at least be able to bring one of them back!”

Allen roared, clenching the bead as though he were about to crush it. Valtein flinched in alarm and hurriedly spoke.

“Wait! Just calm down for a moment. All right, how about this?”

“How about what?”

Valtein let out a deep breath before speaking.

“If you hand that over, we will withdraw.”

“Now you're offering to spare my life? Forget it. I came here to die anyway.”

“You misunderstand. That is not what I meant.”

“Then what?”

“I mean that we demons will take that object and return to the Demon Realm.”

“...?”

What had he just heard?

They would go back? Just like that?

Seeing the question written across Allen's face, Valtein spoke again.

“Don't overcomplicate things. It's exactly as you understood. We will take that object and return to the Demon Realm.”

“Why... Why on earth...?”

“Why? Because that is the very reason we came here in the first place. Did you think we came all this way because we wanted this filthy land?”

Allen did not believe him.

He knew very well how cunningly demons could lie. They had a talent for mixing truth and falsehood like sweet wine.

Truth and lies.

There was no way their promise to leave once they received the bead could be true.

If there was any truth in those two claims, it had to be that the demons had crossed over because of this bead.

“Cut the bullshit.”

Allen clenched the bead in his hand as though he would crush it.

At that, Valtein and the other demons recoiled in shock once again.

Seeing their reaction, Allen let out a hollow laugh.

“Just... because of this little thing? Really? Just this?”

Judging by their reactions, it seemed true that the demons had crossed over to find the bead. That was how important it was to them.

Just what on earth was it?

He had thought the lives of the Suicide Squad were contained in this tiny bead, but he had been wrong.

This bead held the destruction of the continents.

Perhaps Valtein feared what Allen might do after such a shocking revelation.

His voice grew urgent.

“It is the truth. Once we have that, we will leave without any trouble. Believe me.”

“...I'll consider it if you meet another condition.”

“Another condition?”

“Kill yourself. Right now.”

Allen made a throat-slitting gesture toward Valtein.

“If this thing is more precious than your life, you can do that much, can't you?”

“Listen, that is...”

“Why? You slaughtered everyone else without hesitation, but your own life is too precious? Are you scared now that it's your turn to die?”

“I will grant any other condition. Just think about it a little more—”

Thud.

It happened then.

An immense presence suddenly made itself felt.

As it approached, the demons parted to either side.

They dropped to their knees and bowed their heads, as though worshipping someone.

Allen's eyes widened.

The handsome man approaching was more striking than any demon he had encountered before.

Even Valtein, one of the Ten Great Demons, who seemed like someone who would never kneel before anyone, dropped to his knees and bowed his head.

“We greet the Demon King.”

The Demon King.

The supreme ruler of demons, the being who reigned above all devils.

And.

The enemy who had destroyed his family and killed his master.

Countless Transcendents had lost their lives because they could not overcome this being. Perhaps the reason humanity had been defeated was that no one had existed who could surpass the Demon King.

This was the first time Allen had faced the Demon King in person.

After all, he rarely took action himself.

Swoosh.

The Demon King placed his hand on Valtein's head.

In the next instant, something astonishing happened.

Crunch!

Valtein's head was crushed like a watermelon.

Who could have imagined that the head of one of the Ten Great Demons would burst so easily?

Allen watched in disbelief.

The Demon King held out his bloodstained hand. It was as though he were asking whether that was enough.

Their obedient behavior had made Allen forget for a moment.

Just how insane demons truly were.

And the being before him was the devil who stood at the very pinnacle of those demons.

Overwhelmed by tension, Allen bit the inside of his cheek and spoke.

“No. That's not enough. What I demanded was that bastard's suicide, not his life.”

“...”

“Or perhaps you'd like to kill yourself in his place? I don't know what this thing is, but if I could trade it for the Demon King's life, I'd gladly—”

“Allen Vishken.”

Allen's mockery came to an abrupt halt.

Because the Demon King had spoken his name.

No, not just his name.

“The youngest son of Axion Vishken and disciple of Sairon. An unfortunate soul born with the ‘Curse of Mana Deprivation,’ unable to possess mana. And yet, through physical training alone, you have reached such heights.”

“You... know me?”

The Demon King took a step forward.

He paid no heed to Allen's warning that no one should move.

“Yes. I know you. Your father and master as well. They were both strong. If not for the Curse of Mana Deprivation, you too might have reached their level. But neither your curse nor time was on your side.”

The Demon King, whose very existence had seemed like a natural disaster, knew who he was.

As the Demon King said, Allen was an insignificant existence. A swordsman who was only half-complete, possessing a body incapable of sensing or holding mana.

A human someone as mighty as the Demon King should never have known about.

And yet there was only one reason why he knew about Allen.

‘It wasn't a natural disaster.’

The appearance of the demons twenty-two years ago had been far too sudden.

They had appeared out of nowhere and swallowed the continents in an instant.

They had killed every human they saw, without exception. Whether they were low-ranking demons or high-ranking demons like Valtein, it had been the same. Naturally, he had assumed the Demon King was no different.

But he was wrong.

They knew everything about humanity.

It had not been a natural disaster that swept through like a storm, but an invasion meticulously prepared and planned.

“Just how long have you been—”

He had been about to ask how long they had been planning this.

“...?”

Only then did Allen notice the strange emptiness where his arm should have been.

An arm rolled across the ground toward the Demon King.

The moment he realized it was his own arm, blood erupted from the severed stump.

Splaaaaash!

“Aaaaaaargh!”

“You are remarkable. No other human burdened with the Curse of Mana Deprivation could ever reach the level you have.”

He hadn't even seen it.

Was it because he was exhausted? No. Even if his body had been in perfect condition, nothing would have changed.

Rather than marveling at the Demon King's power, Allen blamed himself for their mistake.

‘We were completely wrong.’

Perhaps their defeat had not been due to the difference in strength after all. From the very beginning, it had been humanity that underestimated the demons.

The Demon King picked up the fallen arm.

Allen could see his previously calm eyes trembling.

Apparently, it was the Demon King himself who wanted the bead.

Heh, hehehheheh.

At that moment, Allen, who had been clutching his severed arm, began laughing like a madman.

“Does that make you so happy?”

At Allen's question, the Demon King's expression turned icy. His instincts warned him of a strange sense of foreboding.

And in the next instant, his gaze wavered like the surface of a lake struck by a falling stone.

Grin.

“Ta-da.”

Allen raised his head and grinned, revealing the bead wedged between his molars.

The Demon King hurriedly examined the bead in his hand.

The bead Allen had been holding was a decoy.

“That's a coffee candy the Hilton Kingdom is so proud of. It's my gift to you, so enjoy the hell out of it.”

Crunch!

Gulp.

He bit down on the bead and swallowed it in one go.

“Thanks for the meal.”

Stab, stab, stab!

At the same moment, excruciating pain tore through his entire body.

Countless demons lunged at him simultaneously, hacking his body to pieces. His lungs and throat had apparently been pierced as well, for he could not even scream.

In his final moments, Allen smiled. Reflected in his eyes was the Demon King's contorted face.

To make that face contort even once.

That was the most he could achieve by sacrificing his life.

‘If we meet again...’

His consciousness slowly faded.

As he reached the moment of death, the entire world turned white.

‘Next time, I'll definitely...’

__________________

Smack!

His cheek stung. It felt as though someone was rudely waking him from a deep sleep.

Allen thought.

Had he survived and been taken prisoner to be tortured by the demons?

Well, after mocking them like that, there was no way they would have killed him so easily.

Then a voice reached his ears.

“Wake up, you bastard!”

Snap!

At the deafening shout, Allen's eyes flew open.

His darkened vision returned in an instant.

Before him stood a man with a bushy beard, chuckling as he looked down at him.

The man's raised hand told him everything.

The lingering sting in his cheek was clearly the work of that palm, as large as a pot lid.

“Finally awake, are you?”

“You slept half the damn day just from taking a few hits?”

“At least he's not dead. The vice-chief hit him pretty damn hard.”

“Judging by his clothes, he looks like some noble lord. Are we going to make a killing today?”

Dozens of men sat around drinking alcohol and smoking tobacco. Their snickering laughter was filled with delight.

Allen quickly surveyed his surroundings.

Inside an enclosed building.

Apparently, he had been captured by these men, who looked like mountain bandits, and both his arms were bound with rope.

‘This is...’

As Allen tried to make sense of the situation by searching through memories from long ago, his eyes lit up.

‘The day of my first mission?’

The Swordsmanship Genius Possessed by a God

Written by │

Heuk Ain

Publisher │

Choi Won-young

Editorial Director │

Lee Ho-jun

Editor │

Choi Jong-geon

E-book │

Kim Ji-su

Published by │

D&C Media Co., Ltd.

Registration │

April 25, 2012, No. 20-260

Address │

Room 1301-8, Kolon Digital Tower Villant 1, 30 Digital-ro 32-gil, Guro-gu, Seoul

Main Telephone │

(02)333-2513 Fax (02)333-2514

Email │

papy_dnc@dncmedia.co.kr

Website │

blog.naver.com/gnpdl7

UCI G720:N+A092-20261014028

*This book is published by D&C Media Co., Ltd. (Papyrus) under a contract with the copyright holder. No part of this book may be used in any form or by any means without the permission of the publisher and the author.