Inside the dense forest, five demons were running while cursing someone, who was chasing after them.
"What've we done to you?! Kreee!"
A demon shouted while running from the predator's clutches. However, his words went to deaf ears.
Slash! Spurt!
Thud!
"Kree! Leave us alone!" Since these greater demons were newly evolved, they had 'Kree' like a tail in their every sentence.
Spurt! Thud!
"K-kreee! P-please, spare us!"
Thud! Thud!
No matter how they pleaded, their predator did not budge and killed them ruthlessly.
"I-I surrender! Oh, great viscount!" A smart demon said while raising his hands in the air.
Swoosh!
The predator chased and closed the distance immediately.
"Hahahaha! Now that's what you should do in front of a superior, you little baron." Logan said while pointing the baron to the cold edge of his sword.
"H-how shall I serve you, sir viscount!" The baron demon was a smart one, so he decided to negotiate.
Swoosh! Logan moved his sword gently and cut the left cheek of the baron.
Realizing his mistake of talking at the same height as the viscount, the baron immediately knelt, while his hands were still in the air.
"..."
Surrounded by the dead bodies of his four subordinates, the greater demons, the baron demon who was the head of this group knelt in front of Logan.
His body shivered from time to time, and only one thought was inside his mind
'How the hell did we end up like this!'
He could only curse his luck since his group was the one to investigate the dungeon near Selva village.
...
Earlier, Logan noticed the presence of five demons in the vicinity and confronted them while his aura was sealed.
The group of greater demons and the baron sent to investigate the sudden disappearance of their stronghold became wary of Logan and attacked him, only to realize their mistake.
When they sensed the dreadful pressure from Logan, they got alarmed and when they saw a Viscount demon, they got on their knees.
However, four out of five were killed mercilessly by Logan, and the only one that survived was a baron, who was now telling Logan the reason for his arrival.
"This is my territory and you've trespassed it, so before I torment and then destroy your core, tell me everything you know."
Given this threat, the baron did not waste a second and told him everything.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"We work for the great P-pride clan! We were sent to investigate the incident regarding the sudden disappearance of multiple strongholds and if nothing was found, then to collect the remains of the matriarch's death!"
Stuttering here and there, the baron answered everything.
'Pride clan?' Logan's eyes widened.
Since it was the stronghold of the Lust clan he expected the group to be sent by the Lust clan, so he was going to leave after killing this pest.
However, now that the pride clan was involved, the matters were serious. He cannot offend the pride clan.
"Why the pride clan? And why not the Lust clan?" Because of the jumbled thoughts, Logan blurted out something unnecessary.
To this question, the baron, who was profusely sweating, perked his ears.
"Y-you are a viscount and you don't know?!" The baron felt that something was off.
In the demon society, the bloodline hierarchy held great meaning and so did the rankings.
If a baron demon knows certain information, then a viscount, who is a rank above should know more about it.
This made the baron check something out.
Although he was disrespecting a Viscount, he was ready to take the risk for his clan. He had to be cautious, otherwise, he would be punished severely by his clan, which was worse than death.
The demon's eyes and the world around him turned red as he released his demonic energy, and immediately some black threads appeared next to him.
It was a method for demons to follow the traces of their brethren.
Four black threads were connected to his subordinates, while the one connecting Logan was...
"E-exiled!"
While pointing at Logan, the baron flew backward the moment he saw the thread connected to Logan.
It was a red thread!
At the time when Logan fought the demons for the first time, he was a low-level demon, meaning, he was negligible, so he was ignored.
However, things turned different when he became a Viscount.
And now, he wasn't "only" a Viscount, he was an "Exiled" Viscount.
"Tch." Logan facepalmed.
Because of the normal lifestyle, he had completely forgotten that he was still in exile from hell.
Given his status, it was natural that the baron became cautious.
"Looks like I don't have any choice left."
Logan said and pounced at the baron, who had an offensive stance, not giving him any chance to react.
Spurt!
Logan shoved his hand inside the baron's chest and grabbed his core in his hands.
"Before I break this, tell me everything you know." Logan threatened him, however, he knew...
"Kreeee! I-I only know that the great pride clan is on the move! Kree! I am just a lowly baron! I was sent for supervision only! Kree! Please spare me! Otherwise, the whole clan will hunt you!" The baron had long accepted his death, so instead of giving away the information, he chose to threaten Logan.
Swoosh!
Logan knew that the demon is not useful anymore, but killing someone from the pride clan might bite his ass in the future.
Gulp!
But there was something more important for him right now.
"Blood." As Logan needed blood to satiate his bloodthirst, he killed the demon without any second thought.
He took out the baron's core and ate it.
"Kreeeee!" With a loud pained cry, the baron's lifeless body fell to the ground and turned into meat paste.
Unlike the core of the matriarch, the baron's core was tasteless and it only increased his stats by a single level.
...
After burning the remnants of all the demons, Logan looked at the sky and sighed.
He knew... what he did was dangerous. Too dangerous.
"Now that I've killed their brethren, the pride clan will come again. This time, they will come for revenge."
What was done was done and it could not be undone.
So instead of overthinking, he decided to enjoy himself.
He also wanted to celebrate his success with his women and earn some Evil Points.
...
[Hell]
Hell...
A realm of demons, devils, and their kins.
It was a realm where the day was red and the night was black.
The air reeked of blood, flesh, filth, and sins.
However, such things were different when it came to the seven Legacy bloodlines.
The overall representation of hell completely changed for these families.
As for the Pride clan, it was a completely different story.
The great Pride clan... Where even the air was filled with arrogance and pride.
The demons from this clan were recognized for their past deeds as well as their loyalty towards the clan and the demon race.
....
[Pride Clan Territory]
In front of an enormous entrance gate of the Pride clan's mansion, a demon identified himself and entered.
Even inside a dreadful place like hell, this beautiful mansion stood high and tall, without any stain.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm...
Walking through the hallway of the mansion in a hurry and appreciating its inner beauty at the same time, the demon continued.
He stopped twenty-two steps behind another enormous gate that was embedded with gold and precious jewels.
"Your Majesty, we have a report."
The demon knelt on the floor while speaking to the door.
"..."
However, on his call, there was no response.
"In a recent event, where we sent our soldiers to investigate the matriarch, who was supposed to be holding the ground in the human realm for the Lust clan and disappeared suddenly..."
The demon continued his report.
Unlike the other clans, which did not care about their brethren, much less about such a small incident, the Pride clan was a different case.
After getting notified about the human invasion and the caused destruction, all the clans were surprised.
But the army that died in the human realm was not that important to the other clans, so these clans only shrugged and prepared to set up another stronghold with a new army.
On the other hand, the Pride clan took this matter seriously.
After all, who could clear so many demon strongholds, filled with merciless and dreadful demons, like a speedrun? Those Kids of Royal Academy? Bullshit! They did not believe it.
So the Pride clan decided to investigate this matter and sent a team that had to make a report of whatever they witnessed in the human realm.
"So we've considered them dead since there isn't any report... and so-"
When the kneeling demon was about to say something,
"...?" He heard a disappointing sigh from the other side. However, his job was to report and so he did.
"Our team was killed... once again."
"..." An eerie silence engulfed the hall.
"Someone killed our brethren... again?"
After a full minute, a voice, as deep as the sea and as calm as a river, echoed in the hallway.
The voice contained extreme killing intent.
"Yes, your Majesty."
The demon did not dare to say anything and patiently waited for the voice to continue.
"Send another force... but this time, bring that bastard here... alive."
After some time, the voice ordered.
"I swear upon the name of the great Pride Clan, we will bring this bastard to hell alive and torment him forever for his deeds! Glory to the Pride!"
The demon said in high spirits and left.
His blood was boiling and his hands were itching to take action on his lord's order.
"Glory to the Pride." And the voice behind the doors approved of his actions.
This was the pride clan.
A landmine that one with a sane mind should never put foot on. However, unbeknownst to himself, Logan had stepped on this landmine.