Demon Slayer

As Scarface questioned the demon, "Naberius, where is he?" Li Feng quietly nudged the somewhat dazed Mordo and asked, "Should we help kill the demon?"

Mordo narrowed his eyes at Scarface and shook his head slightly. "That man isn't right. He has no soul, only an Astral Body."

Li Feng froze. Wasn't an Astral Body a projection of the soul? If the soul was gone, where had the Astral Body come from? It was like having no physical form—no matter how light shone on it, it could not cast a shadow.

What kind of bizarre world is this? Aren't people without souls the legendary Living Corpses?

Mordo seemed to guess what Li Feng was thinking and shook his head. "His Astral Body shows that he possesses intelligence, so he isn't a ghoul or zombie. He's some kind of creature I don't know."

Just then, a police officer suddenly entered the alley to relieve himself. Seeing Scarface preparing to murder the Mediterranean demon, the officer naturally could not tell that the Mediterranean man was a demon. Out of duty, he immediately drew his gun and aimed it at Scarface. "Police! Drop your weapon!"

The officer's voice made Scarface turn toward him, while pulling the demon in front of himself to prevent the officer from suddenly opening fire.

The demon thought this was an opportunity. He immediately broke free from Scarface with all his strength and lunged at the officer. The officer was rather bewildered. What the hell is going on?

Before the officer could figure out what was happening, the demon had already snapped his neck and fled into the distance.

Li Feng narrowed his eyes at Scarface chasing after the demon, then at the symbols on the metal Short Staff in Scarface's hand. He recognized the insignia. It was the weapon of the Gargoyles.

So this is the world of Demon Slayer. If I'm not mistaken, that demon hunter was Adam, a "man" revived by a human scientist using scraps of internal organs.

Seeing that Adam had already gone far away, Li Feng stepped out from his hiding place and asked curiously, "You said he had no soul. How could you tell?"

Still puzzling over what strange new species Adam was, Mordo shot Li Feng a sidelong look of disdain. "I'm guessing you haven't properly studied Astral Body spells."

I'd love to study them. Why don't you get that stuck-up librarian to lend me the spellbooks on Astral Bodies?

Shrugging helplessly, Li Feng said, "Just tell me. How did you tell?"

Mordo actually regretted what he had said the moment he finished. He had forgotten that Li Feng was not a Mage from Kamar-Taj. With a hint of apology, he explained, "Humans have souls and matching physical bodies, but creatures like demons are different. Or rather, they have no physical bodies. If they want to survive in the human world, they must possess one. That creates a mismatch between a demon and its host body, so their Astral Bodies differ from those of normal humans."

Just as a seven-colored rainbow was actually a projection of sunlight, an Astral Body, being a projection of the soul, also had many colors.

Mordo pointed at Li Feng's hair and skin. "For example, when you use Astral Projection, I can see your black hair, yellow skin, and white sclera. But demons, ghouls, and similar creatures are beings of death. Their Astral Bodies contain only black and white."

Mordo looked in the direction Adam had gone. "But that man's Astral Body was also seven-colored, except there were huge gaps between each color. Can you imagine a rainbow whose seven colors were separated by a distance?"

Rubbing his chin, Mordo guessed gloomily, "The soul and physical body are intimately connected and influence each other. And considering he was covered in scars, could that guy be a Flesh Golem? His body might be so full of vitality that its black-and-white Astral Body is merging into seven colors."

Li Feng scratched between his brows. You're impressive. You actually guessed that he really was born a Flesh Golem, though he developed a soul later on.

Wait. Since the soul and body influence each other, and Adam's Astral Body has already become seven-colored, doesn't that mean his body is about to produce a soul?

Patting Li Feng on the shoulder, Mordo said, "Let's go. We'll follow that Scarface. In my impression, Flesh Golems are inhuman creatures. If he starts slaughtering people in the streets, we can stop him."

Li Feng thought for a moment, then nodded and followed Adam. There were actually quite a few things in this world that interested him. First was the experimental journal Victor Frankenstein had left behind when reviving Adam. If Li Feng could get that journal, he felt he could experiment with cats or dogs and raise an immortal pet for fun.

And to obtain that journal, all he had to do was follow the plot and keep an eye on Adam.

Then there were the Gargoyles. Li Feng was also curious about what species they were. Had Archangel Michael really created them?

The two had not followed for long before they saw Adam swiftly and cleanly kill a demon that had been helping the Mediterranean demon.

Beside him, Mordo frowned and muttered, "He sent a demon's soul back to Hell as easily as eating or drinking. His strength and speed far surpass those of humans, and most importantly, he still has reason. He definitely isn't just a Living Corpse."

Then, the Mediterranean demon seemed to realize that he was no match for Adam and hurriedly climbed onto a rooftop to flee.

Adam turned to glance at Li Feng and Mordo, then hurried up onto the roof after him. Unfortunately, by the time he climbed up, he only caught a fleeting glimpse of the demon escaping into a castle-like building.

Realizing that he could not catch up, Adam gripped his Short Staff and turned a vicious glare on Mordo and Li Feng, who had also climbed onto the roof. "Who are you people? Demons, or humans?"

Neither Mordo nor Li Feng paid Adam any attention. Instead, they looked toward a towering monastery in the distance.

Li Feng scratched between his brows. He felt this world was insane. Such a massive castle stood inside the city, yet humans had never noticed that the statues on it were alive. How blind do they have to be?

Mordo pointed at Gargoyle Monastery and turned to Adam. "What is that place? I can sense a layer of holy energy protecting it."

Mordo's words made Adam clearly realize that the two before him were no ordinary humans. Ordinary humans could not see the energy barrier protecting the monastery.

A Gargoyle who had been monitoring Adam's hunt for demons in front of humans had also heard Mordo. After some thought, he decided to meet this human who gave him a sense of danger—especially Li Feng, within whom he sensed Dark Energy.

The Gargoyle landed silently before Mordo, transforming in an instant from an ugly monster resembling a gray-white stone statue into a human figure. "Who are you?"

Li Feng, standing nearby, felt insulted. You know Adam, so I can understand why you didn't greet him. But besides Adam, there are two other people here. You only asked who Mordo was. What about me? Is a rookie Mage not a Mage?

Before Li Feng could finish grumbling inwardly, the Gargoyle turned to stare at Li Feng's pocket and asked in confusion, "What is in your pocket?"

His pocket? Li Feng instinctively touched the pocket containing The Key of Solomon, then suddenly remembered that the legendary The Key of Solomon was a spellbook written by angels. The Gargoyle before him was likewise a servant of angels, so naturally he could sense The Key of Solomon.

Li Feng glanced at Mordo, who was secretly on guard against the Gargoyle. After thinking it over, he took The Key of Solomon from his pocket and said, "Hello. We are traveling Mages. My name is Austin, and this is my companion, Mordo."

Li Feng handed The Key of Solomon to the Gargoyle. "I obtained this spellbook during one of my travels, but I can't understand the principles behind the spells inside. Can you help me?"

The Gargoyle cautiously accepted The Key of Solomon. From the energy he sensed through touch alone, he knew it was a spellbook belonging to an angel. After casually flipping through it, he returned The Key of Solomon to Li Feng. "My name is Ophiel. My knowledge is insufficient to explain the principles of these spells. If you wish to understand them, you should go to Gargoyle Monastery and seek our Queen. As for now, I have other matters to attend to."

Then Ophiel addressed Adam harshly. "Our war with the demons should not be discovered by humans. And you? You acted in the human world and indirectly caused the death of a police officer."

Before Adam could argue, Ophiel returned to his Gargoyle form, grabbed Adam by the feet, and flew toward Gargoyle Monastery. Before leaving, Ophiel told Mordo and Li Feng, "I will await your arrival at Gargoyle Monastery."

Once Ophiel had flown away, Mordo, who had remained cautiously on guard the entire time, let out a long breath. "Don't be fooled by his ugly appearance. I sensed that he, too, lacks a complete soul. His shell is more like a combat puppet, while his soul is the driver."

"Li Feng, do you know what Gargoyles are?" Rubbing his chin, Mordo narrowed his eyes as he studied Li Feng. "I always feel that you know quite a lot."

How do you expect me to answer? Say that I learned about them from a movie?

Shrugging, Li Feng curled his lip. "I heard some legends about Gargoyles in another world. Legend says they are Archangel Michael's legion for fighting demons."

After a pause, Li Feng stroked The Key of Solomon and said, "I want to visit Gargoyle Monastery. What about you? Want to come along?"

Mordo silently walked to the edge of the roof and looked at the building the demon had entered earlier. "Sure. I have a feeling this world will be interesting, with Gargoyles and so many demons."

"Demons..." Li Feng glanced at the castle-like building and muttered inwardly, Is that Demon Prince Naberius's laboratory? He built a laboratory right under the Gargoyles' noses, and they still never noticed. Is it because they're creatures with incomplete souls, so their brains don't work properly?

Li Feng and Mordo had traveled here, and the rules of traveling between worlds only allowed them to carry items related to magic. Money was naturally on the list of forbidden items. Thus, Li Feng could only look speechlessly at the towering monastery in the distance and continue forward on his own two feet.

By the time Li Feng and Mordo arrived at Gargoyle Monastery, Ophiel was already standing behind the Gargoyle Queen, Leono, waiting at the entrance for the two Mages.

After a brief exchange of introductions, Leono invited Li Feng into the monastery. But Li Feng had not expected that the moment he and Mordo stepped inside, Leono waved her hand and shut the doors, then asked Li Feng in an unfriendly tone, "Who are you?"