Imp to Demon King: A Journey of Conquest

Soon, the clinking noises of chitin legs reverberated, and the ground shook under his feet. Eyes narrowed, he saw the Satyr dash like a goat hunted by a swarm of giant ants, salivating at the idea of taking a bite out of his muscular flesh.

A gust of wind blew the acid stench into his nostrils and caused his dark, fiery hair to flutter as he raised his short sword.

"Hold the line, massacre them and protect Luna."

His voice thundered into raw commands as his fingers tightened around the hilt.

The satyr reached them a second later, his chest rising and lowering after the effort. With a pat on his shoulder, he gestured for him to recover at the back.

The time was not for discussion. It was for pure and mindless carnage.

Yet, he grinned at the thought. Each kill would bring him closer to reviving Shihan, and it fueled his tensed arms as the first insects collapsed on their formation.

Like a demonic grinder, his blade glinted, drawing transparent blood everywhere it shined.

His subject fought with the same ferocity, hacking and punching the creature's exoskeleton to smithereens in a cacophony of crunching noises.

From the back, Luna acted as a living artillery canon.

A threatening sizzle preceded the barrage of incandescent green snakes made of pure demonic essence she hurled to shatter the swarm's progression.

SHRIEK

The stench of melting flesh and rocks overwhelmed his nostrils as he gazed at the burning ants agonising a few meters in front of him.

Then, he noticed Ondine following his earlier demand. She sent a torrent of water to wash the carcasses out of the tunnel from the line's sides, only to let a fresh wave of enraged ants lunge at them.

'Focus.'

He reminded himself, his arms a blur of steel and sharp nails as he eviscerated anything that survived Luna's infernal bombardment.

As blood sprayed over his clothes and creatures died in droves, a surprising calmness washed over him, cooling the guilt that had seared his heart.

He had ignored it until now, but a deep frown creased his brows as he plunged his blade into an ant's mouth and through its brain.

'Is my species or demonic essence influencing me, or did I always have that in me?'

An icy shiver ran down his spine as the thought reverberated louder than the water washing the collapsing bodies out.

He punched an ant's mandibles, shattering them into chitinous fragments. Even in the heat of battle, his mind couldn't help but ponder the unsettling question.

On Earth, he did his utmost to spread joy and laughter when he played, a far cry from the emotionless killing he engaged in. Even as the realisation struck him, he felt nothing when his clawed foot burst another creature's abdomen open in a rain of organs.

'It's a double-edged sword. It helps in survival but blurs the line of morality.'

He understood that this trait, amplified by their violent culture, was the reason most hated demons. Fortunately, he didn't share it, making it an advantage as long as darkness didn't consume him.

'I must recruit morally upright humans and set a school to teach them right from wrong.'

With the problem identified, he thought about a solution before it grew out of control after his population increased too much.

Pushing those thoughts aside for now, he refocused on the battle, frowning at the tunnel as another wave of enemies approached.

'Ondine is struggling.'

More carcasses bloated the path. With the reduced influx, their killing efficiency lowered.

'It also grants us a moment to catch our breath.'

His eyes sparkled with an idea after he glimpsed at his tiring subjects.

"Leave the carcasses in the way. Asna, Garduck, and Puck step back and recover. Bart, satyr, and Ifrit continue fighting. We'll switch with them in five minutes. "

Relieved, they lept out of the tunnel and inhaled a ragged breath of fresh air.

Meanwhile, he continued the carnage until his arms felt heavier than lead and trembled in protest with each movement.

"Replace us!"

His dissonant voice echoed as the acidic stench's slow but insidious effect revealed itself.

Holding his throat with a grimace, he dashed to Luna the moment Garduck taped his shoulder and took his place.

"Can you heal me, please?"

Luna rolled her eyes in response and threw a surge of demonic essence to cleanse the eroding poison.

"Umph. Why do I have to help you with such basic things? You won't sleep today until you can use demonic energy."

His lips curled into a wry smile as her snort and twitching brows registered.

She sent a surge of green flames to envelop his trachea in soothing warmth the next second, then continued, a frown creeping over her brows.

"My essence is running thin. So, I'll keep it to heal you or if another powerful enemy appears."

He nodded, his trembling eyes glued to the dark mountain surrounding them.

"Even without counting, there is no way there are less than a thousand of them!"

They had obliterated so many enemies in half an hour without noticing it in the exhilaration of combat.

"They should have a few hundred left at most," Bart said, leaning on his broad battle ax as a cruel smile stretched his lips.

He understood his emotions. No, he shared the same, so he answered.

"We'll wipe this place out to avenge her."

As his icy words lingered, he focused on the crunching noises and his fighting subjects.

With each minute elapsing, he felt his arms recover and his exhaustion decrease under the influence of his imp body and high vitality.

Once he recovered, he returned to the fray, raining steel and claws on his enemies with his subject in a show of savagery and spraying blood until he frowned in confusion.

The resistance he grew accustomed to when he struck didn't register in his hand.

He stopped his swings and scanned the surroundings, noticing his grinning subjects, then the space from which the insects charged at them.

Finally, he realised it: no more were coming.