CHAPTER 71: PUNISHED

A couple of months ago, while Arthur was training his water magic in the front yard, something came to his mind.

Manipulating water in his surroundings, producing water from thin air, and forming spells based on his command over the mana lent by the Spirits was something he has achieved through training and experimenting.

He could confidently change the course of water a few months ago when the flood hit the town, and regularly, during the dry season, he waters the crops to save the farmers from doing extra labor by bringing water from the well.

So, one of those days, he asked himself the question: can I really manipulate water from everywhere in my surroundings? Like, wherever it was stationed? Does it truly have no limits?

To satisfy his curiosity, he tried manipulating the underground water, to replenish a dry well. His motive was to see if the distance from the source, or any other factor could influence his manipulative capabilities.

It did. He couldn’t control the water as fluently as he usually does. But he was able to bring some water into the well, so the results were—with great concentration and some time in hand, he could surpass the limitations created by distance and barriers.

He could manipulate water, regardless of where it flows, or where it is caged.

....

"Princess!" the soldiers shouted as they rushed in, weapons drawn, forming a line around the demon and the beasts.

They had seen the chaos from afar—sparked by the appearance of a massive, thirty-foot ape tearing through the forest like a storm.

The beast’s heavy foot slammed into the ground, sending a tremor through the soil. It turned its eyes toward the soldiers—hungry, wild. Its bloodlust weighed on their chests, pressing down like a crushing force.

"Fireball!" one soldier yelled, flinging a shot of flame toward the bird that held the Princess in its beak.

The bird shrieked and veered to escape, but before it could rise, a sharp lance of ice pierced through its skull from behind.

Elowen gasped as the creature collapsed, its wings twitching as it hit the ground.

More soldiers poured in—over two hundred now—but the forest wasn’t quieting. It was getting worse. From every side, more demonic beasts emerged, surrounding them like a tide with no end.

Vowen stood still. His pulse had steadied. This was familiar ground. He summoned his creatures—shields, fangs, claws. Anything to keep him alive.

These soldiers could take him down if he made a mistake. He knew that. Which is why he needed to act fast. Kill the Apostle. And vanish.

There was something else too. A memory. A warning. The anomaly he met today—the one who shouldn’t exist.

Even if he died here, that knowledge had to reach the upper ranks. Someone from a thousand years ago had returned. And they had no idea who else also could.

"C-Captain..." a soldier leaned in close to Collen, voice shaking. "Their numbers are growing."

Collen didn’t answer. He was already counting the shifting shadows, the glowing eyes, the claws scraping against bark.

They were surrounded.

It felt like the demon had an endless well of mana—power that never ran dry.

Collen gritted his teeth, his grip on the blade locking tighter.

With beasts like these, in these numbers, they could storm the capital. And if that happened, it would be a massacre.

The capital wasn’t prepared. Not for this. Not from such a close distance. The death toll would be unimaginable.

"This is your fate, humans," the demon said, floating in the air with his arms behind his back. His voice was calm—but cruel. "Your pitiful existence ends today. There’ll be no farewell, no hero’s end. You’ll be crushed under the feet of my servants. Your families will never find your bodies. Your names will vanish. Only regret will remain."

The moment he spoke, it was like a hook caught in every soldier’s mind. Their eyes locked on him. Their thoughts froze.

"Nothing can save you. Stop thinking about your comrades. Ask yourself—is this the death you want? Throwing your life away for one person? For what? That’s not noble. That’s just stupid."

Weapons began to lower. Doubt crept in. The flame of courage flickered.

Elowen looked around in disbelief. She had never seen so many brave men look so lost. Their mission, their duty—forgotten. The Princess they came to rescue no longer seemed to matter. The demon’s voice had taken hold.

She turned quickly to Collen, her voice shaking. "W-What do we do?"

He didn’t answer at once. He stood in front of her, a shield between her and the world, eyes locked on every movement around them.

Collen was the only one still standing with purpose.

The only one who hadn’t given in.

Despite being surrounded by her own soldiers... standing on the very land ruled by her father... Elowen had never felt more unsafe.

But just as the demon opened his mouth to give the command—to bring him the Apostle—something changed.

KRIK

A sharp, sickening crack tore through the forest.

Muscles twitched. Bones snapped. Flesh writhed.

The sound came from the largest demon in the clearing—the towering ape that had crushed the anomaly beneath its foot.

Vowen’s brow twitched as he turned.

The ape let out a guttural roar—but it didn’t sound like anger. It sounded like panic.

Its other leg buckled. Skin clung tighter to its bones. Muscles caved in, losing shape, as if they were being drained from the inside. Its thick arms thrashed wildly, but they no longer looked powerful—just long, limp, and brittle.

Its eyes bulged. Not with fury—but with terror. They were sinking into their sockets, drying out like fruit left in the sun.

Veins rose across its chest and face, dark and swollen, wriggling under the skin like worms. The creature clawed at its own throat, trying to breathe—but its mouth opened to a cracked, hollow gasp.

Chunks of fur fell off. Its body bent backward unnaturally as its spine showed through the stretched skin. Each movement made a new sound—more cracks, more snaps—as if the beast was breaking from the inside out.

Its roar had become a croak. A pitiful, broken wheeze.

And then—it fell.

Dust rose as its knees hit the ground. Its massive body was now nothing more than a collapsing skeleton wrapped in loose skin.

The forest went silent.

From the spot where its foot was, someone climbed out of the hole.

Dusting his clothes, Arthur looked at the demon he had slaughtered just now...by taking away all the water content from its body.

’Didn’t expect this would work.’ Thanks to the fact that the demon remained standing at one spot, under the assumption that it had gotten Arthur under its feet, the teenager had enough time to connect with the bodily fluids of the ape.

Looking up at the Vowen, who was snarling and trembling all over, Arthur scoffed, "You’re nearing your limit. That’s why you brainwashed those humans, huh?" He knew how prideful demons like him were. For one to rely on humans—it screamed desperation.

The demon’s lips curled back in fury. "You think you’ve won because you tricked me? This isn’t the end, Anomaly!"

Arthur shook his head slowly, a calm but chilling look in his eyes. "No... this is the end."

The demon’s expression twisted. That voice. That certainty. It felt wrong. It felt terrifying.

Before he could bark an order to his remaining beasts—

WHISHK

Something flashed past his face—a flat, silvery disk, spinning through the air like a blade. The demon’s eyes tracked it in alarm as it paused midair above him.

Then—

CLANG

It split. Six disks now hovered around him, glimmering like quiet threats.

The demon’s heart dropped. He tried to leap back, run, fly—anything—but his wounded body dragged like dead weight. He wasn’t fast enough.

TING

A faint hiss. Then—

CRACK

His left arm jerked violently as something tore right through it—a hair-thin stream of water, fired with such force that it punched through skin and bone like a drill. Blood sprayed.

"Agh—!" The demon staggered, his eyes wide with pain.

SHUNK

Another stream stabbed into his right shoulder from the opposite side, twisting his body as it forced him to his knees.

"DAMN YOU!!" the demon howled, voice breaking.

His beasts finally reacted to his cry, charging forward—but it was too late.

Two more disks clicked—

BOOM

Both let out piercing jets that crashed into the demon’s thighs, tearing flesh and ripping open tendons.

Two more disks shot—one slammed into his shoulder, the other pierced just below his collarbone.

They locked him in place, drilling deeper every second, dragging out thick blood that spilled like broken faucets.

Arthur, untouched, stood within a swirling orb of water, the Princess cradled in his arms. The barrier shimmered under pressure from the demon horde outside, but it held firm—his will was stronger.

His cold eyes didn’t blink.

He watched as the water jets burrowed in slowly, steadily—like silent executioners with no mercy.

Elowen, still coughing and gasping for air, struggled weakly in his arms. Arthur pulled her close, shielding her face from the horror.

’Die, you bastard...’

There was no hope for the demon now.

The disks didn’t stop. They never paused. The water jets churned through meat and bone, pushing deeper and deeper, cutting through whatever stood in their path.

"AGHHHH!! RELEASE ME!!" the demon screamed, his voice shrill and cracking.

Beneath him, the summoned beasts—linked to his life—began to falter.

Their bodies twitched, shapes flickering, muscles shrinking.

Their master was dying. And it was no clean death.

Arthur didn’t flinch.

He snapped his fingers—

SNAP

The disks obeyed.

They began to rotate.

Not just drill deeper—but twist.

Every point of entry turned violently—shifting in opposite directions.

The demon’s body contorted, bones snapping one after the other.

His left arm twisted to the right. His chest wrenched to the left. His waist spun backward while his neck stayed still.

Muscles tore.

Sinews snapped.

Blood sprayed in all directions like a rain of crimson needles.

It was no longer a fight—it was a merciless execution.

His limbs twisted in ways nobody should ever move.

His screams turned hoarse. Then wet. Then silent.

By the end, the only thing the demon could do was twitch—and beg for death with a look in his shattered eyes.

Arthur finally got out of the water orb and brought the demon to the ground.

Looking into his near-lifeless eyes, he said, "You deserve a death far worse than this for the sins you have committed in the past...but again, I am not the one to bestow the punishment."

He launched a water needle which pierced the demon’s head, and finally brought his existence to rest.

The danger was subdued.

*******

A/N:- Thanks for reading. Please leave a comment.