Rise of the Rejected Deity from Chaos-Chapter 131 - 130: The Seventh Demon

As commanded, Kaeliyus called got the villagers lined up in front of Seiya.

"Are these all of them?" Seiya asked softly to Kaeliyus who turned to them and posed the same question.

The villagers gestured toward the intact houses nestled deeper within the village, explaining that some remained locked inside, unwilling to come out amidst the turmoil.

Seiya, who had been hearing their heartbeats, didn't say much. He had only wanted to confirm from their mouth.

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"I'll get them right away, my Lord," Kaeliyus said but Seiya shook his head. "I think the life force will locate its owner no matter where they are."

As they stood lined up in front of Seiya, who they now considered their Lord, the villagers trembled slightly, shaken by the weight of their situation and unable to even meet Seiya's eyes—clueless how to act toward him.

Seiya's gaze lingered on them for serval moments, silent and unmoving like he was studying them. He seemed like he wanted to ask them something but he hesitated, for whatever reason known only to him.

Casting aside whatever it might have been, Seiya turned over, casting his gaze up at his staff. With his hand stretched upward, Seiya called softly. "Come."

As if abruptly released from an unseen grasp, the staff plummeted with forceful speed, slicing through the air in a rigid descent—falling in a perfect line toward Seiya.

The moment it fell within range, Seiya wrapped his hand tight around it, catching it in a firm grip. Even in Seiya's grasp, the staff's chain neither swayed nor fell—it stood rigid as if frozen in place.

Clinging to it like a second skin were Seiya's heart and the villagers' life force. First, Seiya took back his heart. He turned over to Kaeliyus who stood a step behind and without a word, extended it toward him.

Kaeliyus bowed, stretching forth his open palms on which Seiya placed his steadily pulsating heart.

The villagers all looked on with shock and a bit of horror, having never encountered such a thing. Though neither of them had it in them to voice out the bizarre occurrence unfolding in front of them.

Kaeliyus cradled Seiya's heart with uttermost care and respect, bringing it close to his chest for better supervision.

Seiya shifted his focus back to his staff, lifting it as he spoke in a steady, commanding tone. "Disperse and return to your rightful place."

At once, the mist-like smoke began to unravel, scattering in all directions. Wisps of it drifted toward the lined-up villagers, while others shot toward the farthest reaches of the village.

Only when the last traces of life force had left the chain did it finally loosen, falling limply to the side, resting against the staff to which it was bound. Seiya lowered it with a controlled motion, swinging it sharply to his side with a crisp swoosh to readjust his grip.

Having received their life force, the villagers broke from their line, turning to one another in wonder. They touched their bodies, murmurs rising as the warmth of their restored life essence surged through them, joy spreading like a rippling tide.

"Thank you, my Lord, thank you."

"Thank you."

"Thank you master."

They bowed to Seiya, their faces lit with joy, a big smile on their faces as they showed their gratitude.

From the distance, Seiya could hear the rapid heart pulsations of joy from the villagers locked away in their houses. Though they still refused to come out—not that their presence would aid or change anything.

"You should have them all gathered in one place and set up a protective barrier." Seiya turned to Kaeliyus, meeting his gaze glued intently to his palms—staring with wide-eyed wonder.

Ibyu had transformed into its petite doll-like form and Kaeliyus had never seen anything like it. Dude just even found out his young Lord was capable of something like this.

It was both Ibyu's and Kaeliyus' first time meeting each other. They both stared at each other, unblinking like it was a staring contest. Though Kaeliyus' gaze was of wonder, Ibyu's was blank—simply staring into Kaeliyus' soul with no expression whatsoever.

Seiya watched them blankly in silence, especially Kaeliyus whose eyes were lit with sparkles like he held before him, a work of art. Kaeliyus regarded Seiya's heart as sacred, and joy bubbled within him that Seiya had handed such an important part of him to a mere servant like himself.

His eyes sparkled with admiration and respect toward Ibyu, overjoyed.

It was the first time Kaeliyus had paid no mind to Seiya's words, so even Seiya couldn't deny the pure excitement on Kaeliyus' face.

Seiya opened his mouth to speak, intending to draw Kaeliyus' attention, but the words faltered in his throat the instant a distinct heartbeat—one he had never heard before—brushed past his ears. Its rhythm was unlike any he had known, its beat so foreign it felt almost otherworldly.

Behind his blindfold, Seiya's eyes widened in quiet surprise as he listened to Kaeliyus' heartbeat for the first time. It was steady and heavy, pulsing with a joy that lasted but a fleeting moment before fading into silence.

Seiya's gaze lingered on Kaeliyus, his mind racing to understand what had stirred him so deeply that his heartbeat, one he had never sensed in all their time together, had slipped free.

However, Seiya was not one to dwell over a matter or let a moment stretch than it needed to. He cast his puzzled thoughts aside and spoke.

"Kael," he called, his voice a little louder this time, yet still soft, to get Kaeliyus' distracted attention.

Kaeliyus' head snapped up, turning to Seiya with haste. "Y-yes, my Lord," he answered, trying to keep his composure.

"I said, gather up the villagers in one place and put up a protective barrier."

"Yes, yes, my Lord. Of course," Kaeliyus replied, his composure a bit off. He stepped forward only to take a step back, pacing in disarray—he was unsure of how to proceed.

"Then this, what about this, my Lord?" He asked, extending Ibyu toward Seiya.

"Hand it over," Seiya said and collected Ibyu from Kaeliyus' grasp.

"Transform," Seiya told Ibyu who met Seiya's command with silence.

After a moment, it replied. {To what? Blood?}

Having no time for Ibyu's tantrums, Seiya responded immediately. "Transform back into the shape of my heart."

Kaeliyus and the villagers watched in astonishment, bewildered as their full focus was drawn by the interaction between Ibyu and Seiya.

Kaeliyus was beyond amazed, eyes filled with so much adoration as he watched them.

Without any protest, Ibyu transformed into Seiya's heart, and Seiya pushed it back into place through the craved, gaping wound on his chest—from where Ibyu had made its way out.

As Seiya pushed it back in, veins from the heart and Seiya's chest stretched and wriggled forward like worms, snatching the heart and connecting it back in place.

This left the villagers, including Kaeliyus himself, astonished. Seiya lifted his gaze at Kaeliyus who immediately recomposed himself.

"Heal," Seiya requested. Without a word and only a respectful bow, Kaeliyus materialized a healing phial. He stepped forward, emptied the content over Seiya's gaping wound and watched it mend before stepping back.

"Do as I've asked of you," Seiya said.

Kaeliyus bowed before turning to the villagers who held their tongues tightly like mutes—afraid to even make a sound.

"It's advisable you all join the others in the house, for your own safety," Kaeliyus informed. "Follow me."

The villagers, Seiya included, followed behind Kaeliyus as he led them deeper into the village, toward the houses that still stood. He had the villagers knock on the doors and call out the other villagers who were at first, reluctant to come out but eventually did after the villagers outside, reassured them of their safety.

Among those who emerged were two teenagers, a boy and a girl, who carried an unmistakable presence about them. While they weren't the only young ones in the village, there was something distinctly different about them. Kaeliyus, however, paid little attention to it, focused solely on fulfilling his young Lord's orders.

He gathered them all into two of the largest houses, instructing them to lock the doors from the inside. Once they were secured, Kaeliyus set about erecting a barrier—a blue, square-shaped wall that enveloped the houses on all sides, protecting them from any external threat.

"It is done, my Lord," Kaeliyus reported, turning and bowing to Seiya with a hand to his chest like he had always done.

"Let's set off to the demons then," Seiya said. "I trust you'll be able to sense them the moment you get within range."

"Yes," said Kaeliyus, in the usual gentle tone he used with Seiya.

As they ventured further into the village, Kaeliyus took the road leading west, while Seiya turned down the one that veered east.

"Then, my Lord, safe victory," Kaeliyus said, bowing in reverence once more before turning to depart.

Seiya continued on his path, but before he could make any progress, a figure appeared, standing squarely in his way.

Seiya sighed, exasperated at the demon who stood firm with a stern face, blocking his path.

"You all really lack patience, don't you?" Seiya chided. "I was already on my way to you. What need was there to ambush me on the road?"

The demon stood tall and gaunt, his form so slender it resembled that of a skeleton—thin as a broomstick. His body was almost entirely exposed, clad only in a ragged, filthy grey short. His stomach was drawn in, as if severely malnourished, and his ribcage was so gaunt that each rib was painfully visible. His chest was hollow, the bones stark against the thin, almost translucent skin that barely clung to them.

His long, spindly hands hung at his sides, each bony joint and line clearly defined. His neck was unnaturally long, his collarbones jutting sharply out, giving his appearance an almost alien quality. His silky black hair cascaded over his shoulders, obscuring his face to the point where only his mouth could be seen.

The demon's skin was dull and caked with dirt, a greyish hue that made him appear as if he was made of mud.

"I'm sorry, but," the demon rasped, his voice a harsh, broken sound, like someone with a deep lung affliction unable to speak clearly. "I couldn't bear to wait. I had to see the human who not only killed five of my kind, but also made three others run with their tails between their legs."

Before Seiya could even respond, the demon clapped his hands together with a sharp crack, and in an instant, thick woven rattan strands, as rigid as sticks, shot from every direction, crashing into Seiya's neck, and converging to clamp around it in a tight trap—lopping off his head.