Rowan and D'andre abandoned the pile of corpses and blasted deeper into the demon lair that seemed to be completely endless. The crimson sun hung in the sky; its glow remained the same regardless of how much time had passed. It never once dimmed or grew brighter.
With the unchanging crimson illumination, both of them reached deeper, and soon they heard the sound of an intense battle.
Swiftly but cautiously, they made their way to the source of the noise, which was caused by the battle between a group of around two dozen ogramons struggling against a single man dressed like a madman in rags.
The two of them halted and observed the battle with confusion and surprise.
They witnessed the man's terrifying prowess as he wielded a dagger; the dark blades of the dagger had visible red veins.
Rowan paid more attention to the dagger, as he felt a slight spark within him when his eyes landed on them. He watched as it was swung at lethal angles, cutting and stabbing its targets, the red veins on its blade glowing brighter with each wound it dealt.
He also witnessed how the red veins on the blade glowed even brighter after each successful kill. It reminded him of his soul harvester.
'Hmm.' Rowan frowned.
He decided to check the character status of the man, doubtful if he was actually that strong or if his strength was being boosted by the strange dagger in his hands.
[ Human ]
[ Power: C-rank ]
[ Special skill: Sword master ]
[ Status: Berserk ]
And just as he had predicted, the man's prowess was indeed because of the dagger in his possession. There was no way a human with C-rank power would be able to hold his ground against these ogramons.
At the same time, D'andre's face twisted into a frown.
"This is the fellow that has been taking care of the demons?" D'andre muttered, confused. "How is that even possible? He is doing it by himself, and not only that, he is only doing it with a single flashy-looking dagger? I can't even perceive any sort of magic from him."
"Take a clearer look at the dagger," Rowan said.
D'andre did as he instructed. Although the man's movement was swift and almost untraceable, his current mental strength, thanks to his cultivation level, made it possible for him to observe keenly, as though the man was moving a bit slower.
He soon noticed what Rowan was trying to tell him.
"The dagger in his grasp is not ordinary at all!" He spoke.
Rowan simply nodded. "He is weaker than the two of us, but the dagger gives him some kind of supernatural strength, and judging from the ogramons' reactions, the dagger must have some pretty dangerous effect on them."
D'andre nodded; he paid more attention to the battle.
Even though the man in ragged clothes was up against plenty of ogramons, he didn't seem troubled. On the other hand, the ogramons themselves, demons who are known to show no reaction even in the face of death, reacted with fear.
The two of them stood and speculated about the battle until the last ogramon fell to the ground.
The ragged figure landed on the ground in the middle of the puddle he had created. A crazed grin appeared on his face as his eyes darted to the dagger in his hand that currently shone with bright crimson. The look on the man's face was that of pleasure and thrill.
As he reveled in these emotions, his eyes suddenly spotted the two humans observing him from afar.
Defensively, his figure flashed toward them; he thought they were humanoid demons, one of the worst kinds of demons.
"You demons!" He even cursed as he approached the two of them.
Rowan and D'andre, seeing the approaching figure, immediately moved out of his way while yelling at him that they were human.
"Chill out, brother, we are humans just like you," D'andre said.
Rowan simply clenched his soul harvester, ready to attack the ragged figure should he launch any attack on him. He would be glad to kill this fellow, especially due to the dagger in his possession.
Fortunately and unfortunately, the ragged figure was able to come to his senses on time after realizing they were humans.
"You guys? When did you enter?" He asked in a tone that was hard to figure out if it was friendly or not.
D'andre answered the questions of the ragged figure, who then followed with a chain of questions. Fortunately, it was D'andre who answered him; if it were Rowan, he would have grown impatient answering such boring questions.
D'andre also expertly followed his answers with a lot of questions concerning the guy's identity and his intentions.
Both of them discovered that Colt Harrington, the ragged figure, was the former City Lord of this place before it was taken over by the demon lair.
According to him, he had lost more than fifty percent of his people in the few days that the demon lair had appeared.
Although he had taken the precaution of taking his remaining people out of the city, most of them had already been inflicted with deadly diseases caused by inhaling demonic mana, and they died shortly after.
Presently, the number of people under him had fallen from tens of thousands to just a few hundred or so that now live in hamlets scattered across many locations.
"My wife, my kids, they all died due to this demon lair's appearance. I lost my glory, honor, people, and my entire bloodline. Even if I die, I would make sure the demon lair goes down with me!" Colt swore, eyes blazing with hatred and coldness.
D'andre sent Rowan a strange look after listening to Colt. How would Colt react if he found out Rowan and D'andre were here to clear the demon lair so they could take over his territory, or rather former territory, one that he had struggled to develop?
Sure enough, before the two of them settled, Colt asked, "What brought you two here? Surely you did not step into such a cursed place as the demon lair for fun; what is your motivation?"