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The Villainous Noble Who Kept Rewinding After Death: The Story Somehow Changed When I Committed Suicide

Chapter 167: High-Ranked Demon

As the magicians started their incantations in unison, a massive magic circle appeared in mid-air, gathering purple magical power.

That purple magical power absorbed the corpses of the thieves and the nearby magicians, increasing in strength, and then gradually settled down. When it completely vanished, a man with red-black skin stood there.

“Hehe, it’s been a while since I’ve been summoned.”

The man shook with laughter, flapping the large wings that sprouted from his back, and slowly descended to the ground.

“A high-ranked demon, huh?”

That man, with red-black skin and gigantic bat-like wings, along with two horns protruding from his head, was an entity classified as a high-ranking demon.

“Correct. I am Albus, a high-ranked demon. I would like to say, ‘it’s a pleasure to meet you,’ but unfortunately, you all will be dying here, so that’s a bit impossible. Hehe.”

Demons exist in a different dimension from this world, living in a realm known as the Demon World.

Normally, they cannot come to this world, but through a summoning spell used by humans, they can be brought here.

There are lower-ranked demons classified as A Rank, high-ranked demons as S Rank, demon kings as SS Rank, and demon kings who have mastered all elemental magic as SSS Rank.

Moreover, demons possess intelligence far superior to that of other monsters of the same rank, and their aggressive and brutal nature makes them exceptionally strong within their ranks.

“Wh-what… a high-ranked demon, huh…”

“Guhuhuhu!! This is a complete turnaround!”

The adventurers, who thought they could win moments ago, were now trembling in fear at Albus’s eerie presence, and the leader of the thieves, who was about to lose, let out a triumphant laugh.

“Alright! Albus! Go kill them! We’ve been pushed this far! No more selling them as slaves!!”

“……”

“Albus! Are you even listening! Quickly, kill those guys!”

“Sigh. Understood.”

“Yes! And then… guh!?”

“I’ve killed them. Is that satisfactory?”

“N-no! Why are you…?!”

In an instant, Albus circled behind the thieves’ leader, thrusting his arm into the man’s chest while gripping his heart, piercing through his torso.

“Why, you ask? Because I am a demon. There’s no way I would follow the orders of a lowly human. Please… refrain from giving me commands? It’s quite unpleasant.”

“Gah…”

The leader of the thieves, with his heart crushed by Albus, collapsed lifelessly to the ground, pooling blood around him.

“Wh-what…”

“The leader of those thieves was killed in an instant…”

“I didn’t even see his movements…”

The adventurers, realizing the gap in power between them and Albus, lost their earlier bravado and began to retreat slowly to escape.

“Everyone, please escape! I’ll buy some time!”

Amidst the other adventurers consumed by thoughts of fleeing, a young man stood ready, sword drawn, prepared to confront Albus.

(I knew you’d show up.)

That person was none other than the protagonist, Shudo, and the potential hero, presently showcasing a glimpse of his future prowess.

“As a hero, I suppose you could say you fit the bill, but… you’re in the way.”

“El, what should we do?”

“Hmm. Fiera, do you think you can handle it on your own?”

“No problem.”

“Okay then! You take on that demon. Shuvina and I will guard the other adventurers.”

“Understood.”

“If anything happens, I’ll rush to Fiera’s aid, so go have fun.”

“Got it.”

I could have fought Albus, but that would end the battle too soon, so I decided to let Fiera take the lead to gain some experience.

“Oh, and use this gauntlet for this time.”

“What’s this?”

“It’s imbued with light magic. Demons are weak to light magic, so you should be able to deal more damage.”

“Thanks! I’ll go now.”

“Right.”

Donning the gauntlet, Fiera enhanced her physical abilities and vanished from sight, appearing right in front of Albus, who was deliciously licking the blood off his hands.

“That’s gross.”

“Guhah!”

Albus, completely off-guard, took the full brunt of Fiera’s strike, soaring back violently and crashing against the wall.

“Well done!”

“C-could you explain what you are? Attacking while I was enjoying my meal is pretty rude, you know. And is this light magic? That kinda hurt.”

“You weren’t paying attention, that’s your fault.”

“You’re quite cheeky… Oh? Upon closer inspection, you’re a beast person, huh?”

“What of it?”

“Oh dear. I thought I caught a beastly scent, but you really are a mongrel. No wonder you’re so smelly.”

“I’ll kill you.”

Fiera, perhaps angered by being called a dog and being told she reeked, charged at Albus without hiding her murderous intent.

“Hehehe! Beast people really are simple-minded, huh? Just a little ridicule and you’re all riled up; so foolish!”

Albus deftly dodged Fiera’s punches, attempting to land a counterattack.

“Gahhhh!!!”

However, it was Albus who screamed, as Fiera seized his arm and forcefully bent it in a direction it should never go.

“Ughhh, why… I should’ve been furious…”

“Don’t underestimate me. Sure, your words pissed me off, but that’s different. I always keep my cool. That’s El’s lesson.”

Fiera prepared to punch again and closed the distance to attack Albus.

“Ugh, what speed!”

Albus, surprisingly startled by Fiera’s speed, barely managed to evade her strikes while searching for an opening, but with one arm injured, he couldn’t counter.

“Gah!!!”

Then, Albus was knocked rolling on the ground by a kick from Fiera, blue blood trickling from his mouth.

“I expected a lot from a high-ranked demon, but is this all? Disappointing.”

“Damn! Don’t look down on me, brat!!!”

Demons are creatures with overflowing pride, and perhaps due to his pride being hurt by the lowly being Fiera, a tremendous amount of magical power surged from Albus.

“What an outrageous amount of magical power! Fiera!”

“Shut up.”

“Ugh!”

As Shudo, perhaps worried for Fiera, tried to dash in with his sword in hand, he tripped and fell spectacularly.

“What are you doing?! At this rate, Fiera will—!!”

“Shut up. Stay quiet.”

“Ugh!!”

I stomped down on Shudo’s back, who was sprawled on the ground, silencing him, his pathetic voice reminiscent of a squished frog monster.

“Why aren’t you going to help!? They’re a high-ranking S Rank demon! If this continues, Fiera will—!!”

“Help? That guy is the same SS Rank as me. Besides, he’s been beside me all this time. There’s no way he’d lose. Rather, having a clumsy fool like you charge in would just get in the way and increase the risk to life.”

“Her… SS Rank…”

Finally understanding that he was a hindrance, Shudo quieted down, who had been noisy at my feet just moments before.

“Hehe! I’ve been holding back until now, but no more! I’ll kill you right away!”

“Fufu. You’ve been holding back after getting beaten up like that? You should’ve stopped sooner.”

“This!!!”

With tremendous magical power spilling out, Albus’s body grew larger. He certainly looked strong, but that was about all.

“I’ll show you the difference in rank!!”

Sure enough, Albus’s movements were fast and powerful now that he was serious, but the larger size made him clumsier, and he became more vulnerable with more openings.

There was no way Fiera would lose to such careless tactics; she skillfully dodged attacks and countered with strikes imbued with light magic from her gauntlet.

“Gah?! W-why!!”

“This wing looks annoying. I’ll remove it for you.”

“Ahhh!!”

In the end, Fiera, having noticed Albus losing sight of her due to her partial beastification, snuck up from behind and ripped the wings off his back.

“My wings! My wings…!”

“This much?”

“I’ll kill you! You’ll definitely regret this when I—”

“Too bad. It’s over now.”

As Fiera said that, wrapping her legs in fighting spirit, she delivered a full-force kick to Albus’s head, who was kneeling.

Then, only Albus’s head perfectly flew off, leaving a blue splatter against the wall.

“It’s done.”

Albus’s remaining body vanished like ash, and Fiera returned to me in high spirits.

“Good job.”

“Thanks, Fiera.”

“Mm.”

“Did you enjoy it at all?”

“Just a bit. Rai was stronger, so it wasn’t as exciting as I expected.”

“True. At that level, I could’ve taken him down myself.”

“Yeah. If there’s a next time, I might let Shuvina handle it.”

Fiera still had a slightly unsatisfied look, but as she and Shuvina said, Albus wasn’t that tough of an enemy.

“He’s probably freshly promoted as a high-ranked demon. An experienced one would have made it far more entertaining.”

“I see.”

“Anyway, you two. We’ve defeated the demon and wiped out the thieves, so shall we head back? And Eir, how long do you plan on stepping on that person?”

At Shuvina’s words, I looked down and noticed Shudo still being stepped on.

“Oh right. I forgot… Hurry up and get up already.”

“Y-yes.”

Finally released from my foot, Shudo stood up and brushed the dirt from his clothes, distancing himself a bit from us.

“Well then, adventurers. We’ve taken down the thieves in the cave, but there’s still work to do. Let’s head back to the village to finish up. We’re going.”

“Finish up?”

“What do you mean?”

The adventurers seemed confused by what I was saying, but since there was no need to stay here, they followed along behind me.

We walked back the way we came and exited the cave, returning to the village where Dona awaited us to wrap things up.

 

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