Chapter 3

That Damn Half-Breed

Published on Sep 13, 2026

Chapter 3. That Damn Half-Breed

“Ugh, uugh, mmph!”

A breathy, wheezing sound escaped the village chief’s mouth.

“Are you going to confess?”

The moment Yohan asked, Gaf released the old man’s face.

“You—you bastard, Gaf! What the hell are you doing?!”

Freed from the gag, the old man was still full of bluster.

“Answer him!”

“It’s sowing discord! Gaf, don’t let yourself be played by a demon!”

Yohan clicked his tongue.

“He’s getting angry because he feels guilty.”

Then he looked at Gaf.

“Isn’t that uglier than a demon?”

Gaf frowned.

“I’ll hear it directly from you. Talk.”

“I suppose that’s better. The chief has no intention of admitting anything.”

The village chief shouted as if having a fit.

“Cover your ears! It’s a harmful whisper!”

Yohan’s smile disappeared. A low voice flowed from his lips.

“Ilea is in the lord’s castle.”

At the same time, the village chief slowly stiffened. Cold sweat beaded across his forehead.

“This concerns everyone. Listen carefully.”

Every gaze turned toward the bloody little demon.

“The missing maidens were presented to the lord as tribute. Under the village chief’s authority.”

It was a calm revelation.

The flustered chief could not open his mouth. For that bloody little creature to uncover his shame—how? It was utterly incomprehensible.

“Ch-Chief, is that true?”

“Please, say something!”

“Chief!”

No answer came.

Gaf took a large step forward.

“.......Explain yourself.”

The enormous man looked down at the old man. The difference of nearly two head-lengths in height gave him an overwhelming presence.

“Trickery….”

The old man’s voice trembled.

“It’s the demon’s trickery.”

Yohan shrugged.

“Search the chief’s house. You’ll find something.”

Then he added,

“You might as well interrogate the men who usually associate with the chief.”

Finding evidence would be easy. The chief wasn’t particularly meticulous. In the original story, the truth was eventually discovered anyway.

Yohan had merely brought that point forward.

“I’ll ask one last time! Did you take my daughter away?!”

Gaf’s roar echoed thunderously. He sounded like a wild beast.

“I—I.......”

Overwhelmed, the village chief could not continue.

“Why can’t you answer?! Hurry up and speak!”

The chief clenched his lips tightly. Then he shouted,

“There was no other way!”

Gaf reached for his waist.

“I took in that damned beggar, and this is what I get?! Cale! Tonya! Zod! Get in here, quickly—”

Before the chief could finish, a transparent arc swept through the air.

A chilling sound of something being severed followed.

The old man’s head slid helplessly from his body.

The headless body slowly crumpled to the ground.

Gaf had cut him down with his sword.

The gathered farmers were horrified. Amid their screams, the hurried sound of footsteps could be heard before quickly fading away.

Those must have been the men guarding the main gate. Cale, Tonya, and Zod, was it? Whatever the case, they were the chief’s lackeys.

Yohan pointed toward the main gate.

“Gaf, chase them down and kill them.”

They were a risk factor. If they fled to a neighboring village and spread rumors about a demon, it would cause Yohan considerable trouble.

He would have to nip the problem in the bud.

Yes, it was clearly rational thinking…

Yet Yohan felt a strange sense of dissonance that was difficult to explain.

He felt absolutely no aversion to killing. Even the beheading he had witnessed moments ago had hardly bothered him.

It must have been the backlash from transmigrating into a half-demon.

Gaf looked down at Yohan.

“Damn it. Just because they know your true identity?”

It was an act devoid of humanity. Even Yohan himself was taken aback by what he had said, but his brain was still thinking logically.

“If the Church discovers me, I’ll die. You’ll die too. We’re in this together, Gaf.”

Gaf turned his head. His gaze fell upon the trembling farmers.

“Then are you planning to kill them too?”

Several of them desperately cried out.

“G-Gaf, please spare me. My old mother will be left all alone.”

“Please! Didn’t my son always look up to you?”

“Don’t forget who built your house!”

Yohan spoke expressionlessly.

“Other than those gathered here, are there any other villagers who know my true identity?”

Gaf shook his head.

“These are all of them. The rest know nothing.”

Roughly ten people had gathered in the granary. They were either people involved in deciding important matters for the village or villagers who had happened to witness the birth of the half-breed.

It would be better to kill them all. If he thought about it coldly, that was the answer. The probability of this becoming a crisis later was high.

Yet Yohan did not want to do it.

My essence is human. I can't let malice consume me and lose ‘Kim Yohan.’ He repeatedly reminded himself of his identity.

At the very least, he would not harm innocent people.

Yohan took in the villagers with a single glance.

“Taharan is a village that has given birth to a half-breed. If the Church discovers you, you’ll lose the land where you live. Some of you will probably be burned at the stake under collective punishment.”

Any region where a demon was born would usually be wiped out in the name of purification. The relatives of a half-breed were, needless to say, put on the execution block.

“Do you want to go through such a tragedy?”

It was horrifying even to imagine. Several people swallowed groans.

Yohan nodded.

“I suppose not. You’re not foolish enough to dig your own graves.”

He paused for a moment and observed their reactions. Worry was etched across every face.

“Don’t make such faces. We just need to cut today out of your lives, don’t we? It’s quite simple.”

The demon began to whisper.

“Now, once we leave, set fire to the granary. It’s the chief’s funeral, so just leave the corpse there. The evidence will disappear, right? Even the memories that remain will scatter with the smoke.”

The fire from last night would consume the events of today.

“When the sun rises, begin your daily routines as usual. Plow the fields, sow the seeds, and then, suddenly…”

The demon formed a gentle smile.

“You’ll discover a baby girl nestled in your arms.”

The farmers were visibly bewildered.

“A-a daughter?”

“You mean you’re going to return her to us?!”

It would have been safer to bind them with a contract, but that was impossible. The deal with Gaf had exhausted all of his demonic energy.

“I—I heard that too.”

“How could you… return my daughter…?”

Ignoring their lingering attachment, Yohan looked at Gaf.

“Then let’s go take care of the rest.”

Suspicion flickered in Gaf’s eyes.

What was a demon doing pretending to be merciful? That was probably what his expression meant.

Yohan frowned slightly.

“Do you have time to stand around? The fugitives must have gotten quite far by now.”

As Gaf sheathed his sword again, he said,

“None of the three knows how to ride a horse.”

“In this era, humans capable of horseback riding are extremely rare.”

“You’re different, though. The Kandeya Mercenary Corps must have been cavalry.”

Just how much did this bloody little demon know? Gaf simply could not understand.

“......Are you reading my past?”

“I used to. Not anymore.”

“Not very pleasant.”

“Don’t complain. Thanks to that, you’re able to find your daughter.”

Gaf narrowed his eyes.

“Ilea still isn’t in front of me.”

Yohan let out a quiet chuckle.

“And yet you’re trying to make small talk. Why are you so relaxed?”

Gaf glared at Yohan before letting out a short sigh.

Whatever happened, his daughter came first.

Just as they were about to leave the granary, Yohan spoke.

“I almost forgot.”

He pointed toward one side of the pile of straw.

“Take that woman with us too.”

A dazed woman was crouching in a corner.

Gaf snorted.

“Does even a demon have filial compassion?”

The hem of her skirt was stained black. Anyone could tell she was the half-breed’s biological mother.

“Think whatever you want. Hurry.”

“That wasn’t part of our contract.”

Yohan frowned.

“Don’t argue. It’s directly connected to my survival.”

In a broader sense, it was. The information he could obtain through this woman would serve as a foundation for preparing for the future. If events unfolded as they did in the novel, Yohan would inevitably die.

He had to change the course of events somehow.

First, he needed to find out which demon had slept with the woman. Through him, Yohan would be able to determine the bloodline of this body.

“.....That’s a convenient excuse to use.”

Gaf muttered in resignation. He then walked over and hoisted the mother onto his back. She had lost all vitality and showed no reaction whatsoever.

“Let’s go.”

Without answering, Gaf started walking. Holding the demon in one arm and carrying the mother over his shoulder with the other, he left the granary.

***

Dawn was beginning to break. The rising light from beyond the hills scattered warm sunlight across the land.

It was time to begin the day’s work.

The farmers would sow seeds in the fields, while the blacksmith would hammer away at iron plates. The hunters would check the traps they had set the previous night.

Yohan was different from them. He was overwhelmed by such extreme exhaustion that even going about his daily routine was impossible. It had begun the moment he saw the sun.

Now, he could barely even move his lips.

Clip-clop, clip-clop.

The uncomfortable ride even induced dizziness.

What an insensitive bastard. He should have tied me down more securely.

The bundle hanging around Gaf’s neck was swaying wildly. It was terribly inadequate for protecting such a fragile baby.

Yohan looked up at Gaf.

“...........”

Stop and tie me up again! He wanted to shout, but no words came out.

They merely lingered in his mouth like baby babbling.

Why is this happening? The moment he felt something strange, Gaf’s eyes changed.

“You little schemers. Like rats.”

He kicked the horse in the flank.

The enormous warhorse began racing through the reeds.

“Don’t hide! Come out and face me!”

He was searching for the three who had fled—the village chief’s lackeys. Expecting to be pursued, they had hidden themselves in the reeds, but they could not evade the mercenary’s tracking skills.

They had left traces where the reeds had been trampled.

Gaf shouted,

“Come out and die fighting like men!”

At the same time, the reeds ahead began collapsing.

“Pathetic bastards. You’re running away to the very end.”

They had been running together before splitting apart in a fan-shaped formation.

If they scattered, at least one of them might survive. That was probably the extent of their plan.

Gaf turned his horse’s head to the right.

He intended to deal with that one first.

“Hyah!”

He charged forward and caught up in an instant.

“Cale! You piece of trash!”

The first fugitive looked back.

His eyes met Gaf’s as the mercenary rode toward him. His already massive frame looked even more enormous on horseback.

“G-Gaf! W-wait—”

Slash.

The man’s head flew into the air. Drops of blood splattered across Gaf’s face.

Gaf did not stop and immediately went after his next target.

The one who had run toward the center. Gaf quickly caught up with him and cut him down in the same manner.

Finally, Gaf encountered the man fleeing to the left and dismounted.

He walked toward him step by step and asked,

“Tonya, why did you do it?”

The third fugitive had already given up on escaping.

Raising his sword, he said,

“I needed the money. I won’t make excuses.”

“Yeah. That sounds like you.”

Tonya let out a battle cry. He charged at Gaf and brought his sword down vertically.

The attack had plenty of force behind it, but it failed to cut even the skin.

It was merely deflected helplessly by Gaf’s sword.

“Goodbye.”

Gaf thrust his sword straight forward.

The massive blade pierced Tonya’s throat.

Blood gushed out in a violent burst.

Tonya’s body convulsed. Gaf kicked him away and pulled his sword free.

The corpse collapsed limply to the ground.

Gaf wiped the blood from his sword before looking down at Yohan.

“There. I’ve silenced every mouth.”

There was no reply.

“Is that enough now?”

The demon remained silent.

Gaf frowned and examined Yohan closely.

Something was strange.

The reddish tattoos were nowhere to be seen. His white horn were gone as well. Even the demonic energy surrounding him had disappeared.