Chapter 19: Attack!

The noise of footsteps echoed in his surroundings, deluding Lucas as a victim of another slaughter. Panicking, Lucas quickly stood up and his eyes darted everywhere, looking for a place to hide. But… All he saw was a grim bookshelf, containing books that appeared to be made by a living skin, a door where the footsteps echoed, and… there was nothing else.

It appeared he was inside a room, a small room, and if Lucas wasn't wrong, then its only sole purpose must be fixated on the teleportation magic array.

Lucas didn't despair when he had already scrutinized all the places to hide but to no avail. The wall was solid and there was no crack, the bookshelves were tightly glued into the wall, leaving no space to hide in between. The cluttered papers had no use to hide him either.

Therefore…

'There is only one way.'

Lucas dashed towards the bookshelf but tried his best to be silent. He lightened his steps, causing the only noise to perceive was the creepy slow-paced footsteps from the other side of the door.

By Lucas's speculation, the owner's footsteps must be nearing the door since the noise was getting louder.

After grabbing one book, he felt it was heavier for its size, although it was a bit larger, still the weight was too heavy. He grasped with another hand, trying to support the weight.

The footsteps were getting louder, and the slow-paced was bringing him trepidation. The rhythm of the footsteps had already been overshadowed by the beatings of his heart.

Gulping and then taking a deep breath to calm his nerves and shivering body, he quickly walked towards the door.

His plan? Simple, to knock out the owner of the footsteps and apprehend him to obtain information about the world.

Of course, he was aware it was the Realm of the Devil, but still, he wanted to acquire a clear picture of his current predicament.

As much as Lucas wanted to deny the chance of an owner of the footsteps being a devil, the discouraged could not force him to back down without making an attempt. And if he wasn't wrong, then the Devil might not be comparable to the Devil inside him.

Therefore, he was a bit confident he could knock it out. After all, he had the element of surprise in his advantage.

Lucas leaned his back against the wall, his hands clutched the book and waited beside the door. The door appeared to be the same in the modern world. A doorknob was present, the door was made of wooden materials yet solid, and the opening was a single-way.

Lucas stood to the sides without a doorknob. Once the devil, he presumed, opened the door, he wouldn't hesitate to smack his head with a book.

A single footstep resounded and was then replaced by a tense silence. The doorknob twisted, resonated with a subtle noise, and Lucas took a deep breath and held it.

The door opened, reverberating a creaking noise. The door moved towards him slowly, and Lucas's whole attention was locked entirely on the empty space before the open door. Once the devil's head peaked out, he wouldn't hesitate to smash it.

Lucas took a step back lightly and slightly, preventing the door from nudging him, causing his presence to be known, and preparing himself to utilize a hundred and twenty percent of his strength to smack the devil.

A pointed thingy peaked out, startling Lucas. Yet, Lucas quickly linked it to the horn of the devil and finally managed to recollect himself.

'After that horn, then it should be his head.'

At first, Lucas thought of smacking the devil's head atop, but since a horn protruded upward, it would be futile to execute his previous plan. So currently, he aimed to smash the back of the devil's head, which was also the fragile part of the head, according to the human anatomy.

The reason he intended to smack on top of the devil's head was that he needed an excellent attacking position. Attacking sideways appeared not convenient as it might fail him to utilize his whole strength.

But he was left with no choice.

Lucas readied himself when another horn appeared beside the existing one. It appeared that the left side horn obscured the other, and when it moved slightly, it finally unveiled itself. Lucas didn't know what this horn represents as his gaze moved slightly and examined the devil's appearance.

He had reddish skin and was bald but had two existing horns protruding from his forehead, a ghoulish face, a pointy ear, and two sharp canine pairs of teeth. After that single moment of scrutinization, the backhead finally appeared, and without hesitation…

Lucas kicked the door, and when his step landed on the ground, he swung the book from left to right, heading towards the backhead of the devil.

The devil appeared unaware of his assault, and a smirk formed uncontrollably.

The book collided with the back of the devil's head, and… Lucas felt the recoil and was shocked to perceive the head didn't even flinch. It received the direct contact without a slight ripple, and it appeared he received his blunt attack instead.

Flabbergasted painted on Lucas's face, and he dropped the book in a daze. One could discern his hands reddened from the collision.

The Devil's head slowly turned, and Lucas was petrified on the spot. He couldn't force himself to run despite being the only way for him to survive. After all, only now it occurred to him why the Devil did not attempt to stop him, letting him be assaulted with a futile attempt.

Lucas could only laugh bitterly and accepted his fate. He had no choice but to rely on what the Devil had said to him, even though he also stated he didn't mind dying if he couldn't help him.

"Well, well, well…" The Devil's ghoulish face rotated upside down despite his body, still facing the opposite. Lucas felt a chill run down his spine, making him shiver uncontrollably.

"What do we have here? A lost low-life actually teleported into this world. Where did you find the guts to appear here?"

'I wanted to ask the same thing!'

The Devil's long tongue slithered from his mouth towards Lucas. The latter struck petrified in fear, allowing the long tongue to enter his closed mouth forcibly, and it was the horrendous scene his memory recorded before he fainted.