CHAPTER 136: AN ANGRY MAN

The silence of the strange landscape shattered with a sudden, wet thwack!

Something flew out from one of the shattered windows of the red-glowing building ahead. It spun violently in the air, spraying a fine arc of blackish blood with every rotation before crashing down into the dirt. The grotesque object rolled twice, then came to a stop right at Juer’lo’s feet.

It was the severed head of a demon.

A one-horned demon, its lifeless eyes wide and glassy, its mouth twisted open in what looked like an eternal scream.

Its single jagged horn was cracked in half, dripping with dark red blood. The rest of its face was mangled, as though smashed repeatedly before the final blow.

The smaller demon who had guided Juer’lo here froze instantly.

His entire body stiffened, claws tightening into trembling fists as his gaze dropped to the fallen head.

He flinched backward instinctively, a shiver of fear crawling up his pale spine.

Juer’lo, on the other hand, simply lowered his gaze.

His crimson eyes locked on the severed head. His expression didn’t falter, but his lips curled faintly in disdain.

He exhaled sharply, the sound closer to a snort than anything else.

Only then did Riley, watching through his perspective, feel a ripple of understanding slide through Juer’lo’s thoughts.

Now it made sense—why the one-horned demon had burst into his chambers in such a panic.

The humans hadn’t just rebelled. They had actually killed one of them.

Before Riley could process further, a booming voice thundered from within the glowing building.

"Demons!" the voice roared, deep and commanding. "Surrender, or die here like the rest of your kind!"

The sound echoed across the cracked wasteland, carrying a confidence Riley hadn’t expected.

It wasn’t a desperate plea. It was a declaration—an ultimatum hurled at monsters who should have been impossible to oppose.

Juer’lo’s face twisted at the words. His smirk vanished, replaced by a deep frown that cut across his sharp features.

His crimson eyes narrowed into dangerous slits as his lips moved, his voice a low murmur that only Riley could hear through the shared memory.

"...Surrender?" he muttered, his tone filled with venom, as though the very concept was offensive to him.

He lowered his gaze back to the severed head at his feet.

Slowly, deliberately, he raised one leg high over it. The smaller demon twitched at the motion but dared not say a word. Then—

CRUNCH!

Juer’lo’s clawed foot came crashing down, smashing the severed head into the dirt.

Blood and brain matter splattered outward, mixing into a dark red-black paste beneath his heel.

The casual brutality of the action made Riley pause.

He had seen violence before—committed more than enough himself—but there was something raw about this simple, disdainful act.

Even so, it didn’t shock him entirely. He already knew enough about demons from his past life to understand.

They were power-hungry freaks. Creatures who worshipped strength above all else.

Weakness was unacceptable, weakness was filth, weakness was purged. To them, only strength was worthy of survival, and only strength earned respect.

Juer’lo likely felt nothing for the one-horned demon whose head had been tossed out like garbage.

No sorrow. No grief. Not even anger at his death.

If anything, Riley could sense faint irritation humming in the demon’s chest—not for the loss itself, but for the embarrassment it represented.

True to Riley’s thoughts, Juer’lo tilted his head slightly, crimson eyes narrowing at the crushed pulp beneath his heel.

His lip curled upward, and with a sharp ptoo! he spat directly onto the remains.

"What a disgrace..." Juer’lo sneered, his voice thick with contempt. "...losing to... filthy humans."

The words slithered with venom, the air around him trembling faintly with his killing intent.

Riley could feel it seep into the memory itself, wrapping around him like a suffocating fog.

And he understood—this was only the beginning.

Juer’lo’s crimson eyes gleamed with malice as he ground his heel harder into the pulped head beneath him.

A sickening squelch echoed out, the already ruined flesh and bone being mashed further into a dark, sticky paste.

He spat once, then again, each glob of blackish saliva hissing faintly as it struck the remains.

His lips curled into a sneer, fangs flashing beneath them as though even death wasn’t enough of a punishment for weakness.

Beside him, the smaller one-horned demon trembled uncontrollably.

His claws twitched at his sides, his horn vibrating faintly as fear coursed through him.

In his mind, one thought rang relentlessly—what if Lord Juer’lo turned on him next?

To witness such disdain for his kin was terrifying, but to be caught in that gaze... he dared not even imagine.

Luckily for him, Juer’lo’s eyes were locked elsewhere.

His attention burned into the building ahead, where the faint glow of rebellion still burned. He narrowed his gaze, the corners of his mouth twisting upward with something between anticipation and cruelty.

"You seem quite interesting..." he muttered, his voice low, dangerous, every syllable dripping with malice. Then he raised his voice, letting it carry. "Come out, human..."

The way he uttered human made Riley shiver even from within the memory.

It was coated with venom, with hate so pure it seemed to curdle the air itself. It wasn’t just a word. It was an insult, a slur, the sound of a predator mocking its prey.

And then—

Thud!

A figure leapt from one of the building’s shattered windows, landing heavily upon the cracked earth below.

Dust burst upward around him as he straightened to his full height.

He was tall—easily over six feet—with broad, corded shoulders and lean muscles that spoke of years of struggle rather than comfort.

His hair was a striking, vivid blue that hung loosely down his back, glowing faintly under the eerie twin moons above.

His eyes, sharp and glacial, mirrored the same piercing shade of blue.

His bare torso was marred with scars. Angry red whip marks crisscrossed his back and chest, their edges still raw.

Around his wrists, deep grooves marked where chains had once bitten into his flesh, the skin permanently deformed by years of bondage.

Every line of his body screamed of pain endured, but none of it broke him. Instead, it forged him into something harder.

The man’s lips curled in disdain as he spat on the ground, his eyes never leaving Juer’lo.

He raised an arm and pointed straight at the two-horned demon, his voice steady, firm, and filled with raw hatred.

"Demon," he spat, the word heavy with loathing.

"I gave you a choice..." he continued, his voice rising. "Surrender... or regret it."

Juer’lo stared for a long, silent moment. Then his lips parted into a mocking chuckle, deep and resonant, the kind that dripped with amusement at another’s folly.

"Surrender?" he echoed, tilting his head, his fangs glinting under the moonlight.

"Me?" His voice rose into a cruel laugh. "You’re in over your head, little human."

He cracked his knuckles, his long claws glinting, and then slammed his fists together with a thunderous boom. The sound reverberated in the air, like a drumbeat of battle. "I hope you can show me something exciting..."

The blue-haired man’s face twisted with rage. His fists trembled at his sides, his jaw tight. His eyes burned with fury hotter than fire as he spat back.

"Exciting?" he barked. "You think I want to excite you?"

His voice rose, each word trembling with fury as memories he had buried clawed to the surface.

His chest heaved as he stepped forward, every scar on his body seeming to burn anew as he continued.

"You came into our world," he growled. "You tore through our villages, our cities, our homes—forced us into chains, into slavery... for years."

His eyes glistened as his fury mixed with grief. "You treated us like animals, like nothing!"

His voice cracked, but he pressed on, louder, stronger.

"My parents..." he said, his breath trembling. "My parents were slaughtered in front of me. My children... starved in the camps. My friends, my family, butchered like cattle!"

The man’s voice roared into the night, echoing with such venom and grief that even Riley, who was merely a witness, felt it pierce his heart.

"You call us weak? You call us filth?" His body shook, veins bulging along his arms as power rippled faintly around him. "I’ll show you human filth that doesn’t bow to monsters like you anymore!"

Juer’lo listened to the human’s raging words without flinching, his expression unchanging.

Then, slowly, he scoffed, the sound dripping with disdain.

His lips curled into a wide, malicious grin, and his crimson eyes glowed brighter as if the human’s defiance was nothing but entertainment.

"And now that you’ve..." he paused, his voice mocking, "...awakened a little talent?"

His smirk widened, fangs glinting under the twin moons. "You think you can get your revenge?!"

A deep, guttural chuckle tore from his throat before exploding into a loud, resonant laugh.

It wasn’t the laugh of someone nervous or threatened, but the kind of laugh a predator made when it found its prey amusing.

He pointed a long, clawed finger at the man like he was nothing more than a pitiful joke.

The blue-haired man’s face twisted into pure rage. His teeth ground together, his eyes blazing as he screamed out:

"You bastard!"

In an instant, brilliant blue flames ignited around his entire body, surging upward like a raging inferno.

The heat rippled outward, the air warping under its intensity.

And yet, strangely, the trousers he wore were completely untouched, as though the flames themselves bent around them by will.

The sudden eruption of power was so intense that even Riley, peering through the stolen memory, felt his pulse quicken. His brows furrowed slightly—this man was faster than he expected. Much faster.