Chapter 37
At the last moment, I fed the monsters rubber whips as treats, and their loyalty skyrocketed.
Still, that didn’t guarantee they would obey me instead of Izmir.
I didn’t know the details, but Izmir must have cared for these monsters for a long time. I had only just begun to earn their affection and loyalty.
The monsters would follow the real demon, Izmir, out of fear alone.
“Still, maybe a few of them might listen to me. Even just a fraction of a fraction.”
I pinned my hopes on that possibility. I prayed it would happen.
“Attack!”
Clang!
With Izmir’s roar, Ruben’s blade shot toward him. Izmir’s eyes nearly popped out of his head.
“Why are those idiots just standing there?!”
Even while defending against Ruben’s attack, his gaze never left the monsters.
I swallowed hard.
The monsters didn’t move at all, even under Izmir’s orders. They just growled threateningly, assessing the situation.
Their sharp eyes flicked between me and Izmir, as if trying to decide whose orders to follow.
I felt a small sense of relief.
“Ah… my words had some effect.”
At least they weren’t attacking me and the knights at that moment.
A few more knights joined Ruben. Izmir no longer had time to worry about the monsters.
Attacks came from all directions.
The knights wrapped their swords with whips to restrain him. Izmir’s eyes wavered slightly.
In that instant, a blinding flash erupted from Ruben’s blade, and the cave trembled with the shockwave. Izmir’s body was pushed back against the cave wall.
The blade pressed heavily against his neck, and he barely resisted with both hands.
“You’re finished now.”
“Move! I said attack, you idiots!”
Izmir’s roar seemed to reach the sky itself. The monsters flinched at that sound. If they joined Izmir now, we’d all be dead.
I shouted desperately at the monsters.
“Kids! Your master is finished! If just five of you join me, Count Izmir will be dead! Don’t you want to break free from Izmir and be free? Don’t you want revenge? You aren’t livestock—you’re living creatures! Free beasts of the demon realm!”
“Kraaaah!”
“Kyahk!”
The monsters roared from all directions. Izmir’s jaw dropped as if disbelieving what he saw.
“What… are you doing? Ugh…”
He didn’t even have the presence of mind to speak properly while pushing back Ruben’s sword. Ruben held firm.
I pleaded even more earnestly with the monsters.
“If Izmir dies, you won’t have to wait here for food anymore. You can roam freely across the demon realm and hunt as beautiful beasts should! This is your only chance. The Cardinal has already killed almost all of them! There won’t be another opportunity!”
“Useless… my children only… listen to me… you old fool…”
Ruben’s sword sank further into him.
I laughed mockingly at Izmir.
“You’re so overconfident for no reason. Thanks to you, we’ve become very close with these cuties here.”
“Soon… I’ll eat…”
Kraaaah!
Kyahk!
The monsters’ cries intensified from all sides. They were confused.
Then, one paladin shouted my name in shock.
“Crescent!”
At the same time, my neck was tightly wrapped. Something coiled around me with immense force. I couldn’t see it, but I realized it was Izmir’s whip.
“Ugh.”
My breathing was cut off. Blood rushed to my face. My body lifted, my feet leaving the ground.
Stars appeared before my eyes.
“Kyahk!”
No… this can’t happen!
Lorelline—the monster whose trauma I had healed—leapt at me. She sharpened her claws and slashed right in front of my face.
Hah…
At the same time, I could breathe again. The knights rushed toward me as I fell like I’d been thrown.
“Crescent! Are you okay?!”
“Hah… y-yes… I’m… okay…”
I couldn’t finish speaking. The sight before me was overwhelming.
Lorelline, as if signaling the others, charged at Izmir.
Behind her, countless monsters lined up, uncountable in number. The knights scrambled to avoid being trampled.
Then, a system notification appeared:
<Congratulations!>
<‘Demonic Beast (Rank A)’ saved your life!>
<Level significantly increased for achieving an S-rank quest!>
<Additional Class Change: ‘Animal Management Expert’—now level 218!>
<The attack power of animals protecting you has tripled!>
…My level rose from 128 by 90 stages.
Even the attack power of the animals protecting me was boosted? What an incredible buff!
I was stunned.
I never imagined the final “farming” would be so spectacular.
That meant the monsters’ strength was now three times what it had been.
Ruben, who had been facing Izmir, assessed the situation and quickly jumped back. With him retreating, nothing stood between Izmir and the monsters.
Izmir’s pink eyes widened to the maximum.
“Why… why… why… why…”
He couldn’t believe what he saw.
“Kill them! You idiots!”
Even with Izmir’s screams, the monsters kept closing in. Sharp teeth gleamed, and their eyes burned fiercer than any predator.
I gestured at Izmir to motivate the monsters.
“Bite him! Don’t just pull hair, rip his head off!”
“Kill that demon!”
“Bite him, kids!”
The paladins raised their fists and joined in.
Now realizing the situation, Izmir tried to turn and flee. But in that instant, the monsters’ claws snatched him.
His body fluttered like paper—or like a kite in the wind. Countless claws targeted him, too many to count.
“Ahhhhh!”
His scream sounded almost like a twisted musical instrument.
“These… these bastards are too strong! I can’t escape—!”
Crack. Snap.
The cave echoed with terrifying sounds. Izmir’s voice disappeared entirely.
I couldn’t see what happened next because a massive hand blocked my view.
“You don’t need to see this yet.”
“…Your Eminence, Cardinal?”
I looked up at the person standing behind me.
Well-kept silver hair, blue eyes.
Ruben’s unwavering gaze was fixed on Izmir.
I looked ahead again, speaking.
“Thank you. But I’m a paladin now, too.”
“…What? Haha. Yes… I see. You are indeed a paladin.”
“….”
What? That felt unexpectedly heartwarming.
Finally, he withdrew the hand that had shielded my view. For a moment, it felt like warm protection hovered over my eyes.
The monsters had surrounded Izmir so completely that I couldn’t see his form at all.
…Are they eating him?
Then:
Ding!
<Congratulations!>
<Demon Realm Rank 147—Count Dosion Izmir has been annihilated!>
<Exiting Demon Realm Dungeon—‘Count Izmir’s Monster Kindergarten.’>
“!”
He’s dead! We really killed a demon!
At that moment, Evan approached Ruben.
“The demon is dead. Ugh… even dying, that bastard was disgusting—I’m afraid I might dream of it.”
“Good.”
Ruben replied with just a single word.
Then, a dark circle appeared in one corner of the cave, shimmering like an entrance. Everyone realized this was the exit leading back to the human world.
