Chapter 59: Plague Rider

From that conversation, it became clear.  

Their expected plan.  

It was to constantly face the charging demons, then pull back at the right moment.  

Their intention was to pressure and threaten me, forcing me to climb the tower.  

But that was a clear miscalculation.  

Normally, one would grow weary from relentless attacks and retreat, but I was different.  

Because the enemy was demon-kind, and I was a Half-Demon capable of absorbing their demonic energy, I pushed through without fatigue.  

No, more precisely, I gained momentum.  

The more demons I killed, the stronger I became by absorbing their demonic energy.  

Of course, if I had used the Chaos Power that combined aura and demonic energy, I might have grown tired as they expected.  

But by exercising my swordsmanship, honed over nearly a thousand years, and wielding my peak technique while conserving energy, I advanced with results far surpassing their expectations.  

“Ke, kehek! How…?” Chairman Zhang Zhao struggled in pain.  

No, not him—the vampire wearing his face.  

One of the higher demons who absorb life’s blood to gain power.  

Although not the progenitor vampire, he was a vampire commanding many followers, a worthy leader among his kind.  

Yet, in the face of my power—having recovered 35% of my demonic energy—he was nothing more than a lamb.  

“Deceiving your kind’s attention is easier than eating cold porridge.”  

It might have been difficult a moment ago.  

But from Jilin Province to Beijing, I absorbed the demonic energy of the demons camped out along the way and recovered one of my former powers.  

[Veil of Darkness]  

A power allowing movement anywhere there is darkness, transcending dimensions and space.  

When I first joined Demon King Ingram’s Legion, I was not a commander but a low-ranking subordinate.  

Despite suspicion and jealousy from others, I rose to command thanks to this power, Veil of Darkness.  

Back then, as an assassin, I covertly eliminated key figures in kingdoms, Law Countries, and Empires—skills honed during my time in the Imperial Intelligence Agency of the Galas Empire.  

Veil of Darkness played a vital role in these assassinations.  

Until now, lack of demonic energy prevented me from using this power, but killing demons replenished it, finally enabling its use. 

“Grrrgh!” The toad demon Tetsukan writhed in my grasp, furious.  

It was no ordinary struggle.  

With a faint vibration, a thin mist began to spread.  

Ordinary eyes wouldn’t see it, but with my awakened spiritual sight, I saw his trick.  

And the price for that trick was—  

“Die.”   

I channeled freezing cold through the hand touching him, instantly turning him into a frozen corpse.  

Simple and immediate.

I released my grip.  

His body fell, shattering into pieces that scattered across the ground.  

The vampire said nothing in response to that death.  

People often say demons obey orders without question, fearless warriors immune to death.  

But that is not true.  

They too value their lives, especially intelligent, long-lived vampires who treasure life as much as humans do.  

Knowing this, I threatened him.  

It was a strategy to approach the truth.  

“I will ask.”  

Of course, this wasn’t just passing on words.  

“Zjeojjeok!”  

“Hiiiiik!”  

His throat froze solid.  

If I applied just a bit more pressure, he would freeze like the toad demon and vanish.  

“Is the one behind you the Plague Legion Commander…?”  

“Flash!”  

A blue aura filled with intimidation shone even colder.  

“…Salmora?”  

I had covertly infiltrated Zhongnanhai to eavesdrop on their conversation.  

The most notable points were the royal guards and the Order of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.  

Commanders have the authority to form personal guards.  

Among them, only Salmora can create and command the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.  

“T-that’s…”  He hesitated to answer.  

It was only natural.  

For demons, betraying information to the enemy is tantamount to treason.  

Demons detest betrayal above all else.  

Everyone knows the ultimate consequence of betrayal.  

But violence in the face of immediate danger always scares more than future consequences.  

“I will count to three.”  

No need to mention what happens afterward.  

“One, two…”  

“Th-that’s…!”  

Just as he tried to speak, unable to overcome his fear of annihilation, time seemed to freeze.  

No, he didn’t freeze—he died.  

Standing upright as if suddenly struck by cardiac arrest.  

And moments later something began wriggling out of his nose.  

“Squirm, squirm.”  

White maggots.  

Not just one.  

Hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands poured from his nose, mouth, eyes, and ears.  

Like mealworms devouring their prey, they swiftly consumed the vampire.  

A rare phenomenon.  

Yet, it was all too familiar to me.  

I tore my gaze away from the vampire that vanished without a trace and looked behind me.  

“Creak!” 

I saw someone entering with unnerving calmness.  

“Hmm.” He kept shaking his head as if displeased.  

Around middle-aged the man wearing a white suit matching his snowy white hair— 

A tremendous swarm of flies gathered.  

“I don’t like this. It’s like watching a pawn stir up trouble without knowing its place.”  

Not just flies.  

“Ssshhhhh.”  

A green aura rippled around him.  

And the flowers in a nearby vase withered instantly, as if melting away.  

‘Plague Rider.’  

He didn’t know me, but I knew him.  

One of Salmora the Plague Legion Commander’s royal guards, and one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, also called the Four Horsemen of Doom.  

In the past, white horses symbolized them, but nowadays they seem to have switched to white suits to avoid standing out.  

“I will give you a special chance.”  

Arrogant.  

But rightly so.  

He was a top-tier demon bestowed with extraordinary power, particularly plague abilities that caused mass destruction.  

Just moments ago, a high-ranking vampire died without even realizing it.  

That alone showed how far beyond normal powers plague abilities were.  

The power to kill thousands or tens of thousands with a mere flick of a finger.  

“Leave.” Surprisingly, he said something that defied the demon rule of killing any perceived enemy.  

“I could overlook your antics up to this point, but no longer. Cross the line and…”  

“Wiiiiing!”  

The swarm of flies around him grew more furious.  

Even Maggots slipped out from between his suit’s folds, decorating the floor.  

“Tap, tap, tap!”  

A phenomenon caused by the power of plague.  

“…This will be your grave.”  

“Kwaaah!” 

Flies and maggots roared madly, and the green aura flared wildly.  

All living things nearby withered under the plague’s influence.  

Even the ground and walls, lifeless objects, couldn’t withstand the vile energy and began to rot.  

The Plague Rider, who could bring death to all living beings, was undeniably powerful.  

He belonged to the highest ranks of demons.  

And he was warning me.  

To leave.  

Most likely related to the “plan” the vampire and Tetsukan spoke of earlier.  

I still didn’t know the exact details of that plan.  

But I had learned one more thing.  

‘He doesn’t know me.’  

The Plague Rider.  

We had crossed paths often in the Demon King’s Legion, where he held a significant position.  

He might not recognize Knight Kim Si-won.  

But now I was in the form of the former Immortal Legion Commander, Valdevron Brocia.  

Yet he didn’t remember me.  

Despite the obvious demonic energy radiating from me, the stature of a commander, he was oblivious.  

It was as if someone deliberately erased part of his memory.  

‘Tower. Dimensional shift. And demons.’  

An inexplicable tangle of phenomena that complicated my thoughts.  

But—  

‘No need to overthink.’  

I quickly sorted my thoughts.  

If I meddled with the tangled thread trying to reach the answer, I would only complicate things further.  

There was only one thing to do.  

Find the knot that could be untied first, the tangled thread I could unravel.  

The only clue I had now was one step away.  

The Plague Rider before me.  

An arrogant demon who could kill me at any moment.  

From him, I would obtain the information I had failed to gather earlier.  

All of it.  

By piecing together these clues, I would eventually approach the answer.  

“…I will ask.”  

No different from what I asked the vampire earlier.  

“Is Salmora the Plague Legion Commander behind you, the one orchestrating all this?”  

Salmora.  

Just that name—  

“How dare you!”  

“Kwak kwak kwak kwak!” 

The aura I had unleashed moments ago as a threat was child’s play compared to now.  

The true plague energy swirled like a maelstrom, filling the hall.  

“Do not speak his name lightly, human!”  

For the royal guards, Salmora was a god.  

Especially his guard was known for their loyalty to Salmora above even the Demon King.  

Because of this, some commanders voiced concerns.  

‘Why? Isn’t it fun to look at a tree you can never climb?’  

Ingram paid Salmora no mind.  

In fact, he looked down on all demons and humans except himself and his chosen warrior.  

He took me under his wing simply for his amusement, no greater purpose.  

The moment I uttered Salmora’s name, I broke a taboo.  

The Plague Rider, who worshipped Salmora as a god, lost all sense of reason.  

“Wiiiiing!” 

He sent an immense swarm of flies at me.  

Some might say, just flies?  

But these were no ordinary flies.  

‘Plague flies.’  

Born of his power, each carried a tremendous plague within.  

And that plague was—  

‘Stronger than ever before.’  

Probably because it absorbed various modern plagues.  

Unlike the Gritia Continent, powerful viruses arose from wars and such, naturally making his power stronger.  

“Wiiiiing—”  

An unavoidable swarm of flies engulfed the area.  

But I walked forward, indifferent to his overwhelming power.

“Tap… Tap.”  

Of course a fly that landed on me exploded, spraying green liquid.  

“Puk!”  

That liquid contained plague capable of massacring hundreds of thousands with a single drop.  

“Step.” 

Yet, it did not stop my advance.  

“Puk, puk-puk-puk!” 

Despite the relentless plague flies attacking, no disease could hold me back.  

“Y-you…”  

The Plague Rider looked horrified, as if sensing something.  

But it was too late.  

“I will count to three.”  

He was already trapped in my grip, subdued by the demonic energy I injected through my hand.  

Still too stunned to notice, he blurted out what he was thinking.  

“Mandokbuchim?”  

Immunity to all diseases and poisons.  

That was right.  

Just as he expected, I was Mandokbuchim.  

My body, hardened by a thousand years of exposure to countless diseases and poisons, had become an absolute fortress, impenetrable to any toxin or illness.