Chapter 76
Chapter 76
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: EP. 20 – After He Fell Asleep (3)
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"-Retreat."
The decision was immediate, and the subordinate priest channeled his mana the moment he received the order.
Whoosh!
Foul mana reminiscent of muddy water surged forth.
It was the manifestation of a spell, and the subordinate priest was about to begin his incantation...
"Where do you think you're going."
Slash!
Sizzle...!
The mana was immediately sliced apart—no, devoured.
"You dare use magic in my presence? How laughable."
Mana absorption.
No, not just mana—it was a power that absorbed anything containing life force and made it his own.
It was the second mystery inherited from 's 'Mystery of Flame': the 'Mystery of Absorption'.
Mysteries had always been regarded as miracles bestowed by the gods upon those who overturned common sense, treading the paths of kings and heroes.
Thus, possessing even one mystery meant being chosen by the stars.
That made the demon sword beyond specifications.
The demon sword held a total of five mysteries.
Three more remained, comparable—no, perhaps even more powerful—than those of flame and absorption. This proved why the ancients had deemed it the sword that could destroy nations.
Roar!
Flames enveloped them, threatening to incinerate everything at any moment.
Their stamina dwindled, and even their life force was being drained away.
Anyone even slightly frail would have died on the spot.
The demon sword was monstrous enough, but the duke who wielded this mystery so freely was the true monster.
No matter how powerful the tool, if the wielder's capability was lacking, the demon sword would devour its user.
Just as it had done to all its previous owners, who met tragic ends.
"Hm, it seems simply letting you flee was a mistake. Time to get serious."
"We've already begun, heh heh."
If they were ordinary mages, they would have been terrified in this situation.
A mage's arrogance and pride stemmed from their mana, which was now effectively sealed.
Yet the mage-priest showed no fear—instead, he grinned broadly.
As if delighted at the chance to test this.
"[Come forth, thou who feasts on death, and grant wretched despair upon the foes blocking my path.]"
⟨ Summoning Incantation ⟩
...The priest's incantation differed from ordinary spells.
It was like a plea to someone.
No, more like a 'wish'.
And the moment his wish concluded...
Krunch!
Crunch!
Something utterly grotesque burst through the building's outer wall.
"Summoning magic?!"
"How can a summon appear with our lord present...!"
No matter how alien summoning magic was, for a summoned beast to manifest in a space under the demon sword's influence...
It was unbelievable.
Yet the duke did not panic. As the things gradually revealed themselves, his eyes widened like saucers.
"You... what have you contracted with?"
"Haha, so this power can't be absorbed by the demon sword after all? Good. I've gained valuable information."
The mage laughed endlessly.
Even as spiderweb-like burns spread across his face, even as excruciating pain surged through him...
He rejoiced solely at discovering a means to threaten the duke.
"You lot..."
For the first time, the duke deemed them a true threat.
Not the petty disdain a ruler might feel for those he disliked or plotted against the kingdom—but something far more viscous.
They had undoubtedly contracted with 'beings from hell'.
'To pledge even their souls? They're utterly mad.'
Madness-fueled grudge.
Duke Blake had to acknowledge that this man harbored a grudge just as profound.
Against the kingdom? Or the world itself?
He didn't know.
'I must kill him now.'
He couldn't let such dangerous entities roam free.
The duke decided not to dwell on their grudges.
Debating right and wrong would never end.
So he focused on the present.
"-Abandon capture. Kill them."
Whoosh!
The shadows charged without question at the duke's command.
And toward those elites...
"[Slaughter the enemy, Hungry Ghosts.]"
⟨ Command to the Chimera ⟩
Hungry Ghosts—chimeras made from monsters and humans as 'materials'—clashed with the shadows.
...By the time the kingdom's forces belatedly arrived, they beheld a scene where an entire city district lay half-destroyed.
Rumble...
"........."
Fortunately, there were no casualties, but no one dared call it fortunate.
All wore pale faces, gripped by terror.
And for good reason.
"Regrettably, one escaped. Duke Galahad will compensate for all property damage."
Seventeen buildings and an entire forest had burned to the ground. The fact that this insane destruction was wrought by a single duke and fifty knights was shocking.
Yet the duke who had achieved such a feat still wore a dissatisfied expression.
"No deaths, Lark?"
"I apologize."
"I asked if there were deaths, not for apologies. Tch."
"......"
...The shadows were devastated.
They couldn't even lift their faces before their caring lord.
"...Empty shells. They wouldn't pull off such amusing tricks otherwise."
"......"
The mage they'd captured after demolishing a city district had only a beating heart left—no spark in his eyes.
They'd seized the body, but its essence had vanished.
"Quite the bizarre bunch."
Duke Blake's low mutter carried not just anger, but a gloom born of the unknown—even as a duke, much remained mysterious.
And so he thought.
"If I truly become king, will I know all...? It's piqued my interest for now."
He recalled the arrogant whisper left by the young lion.
Drip, drip.
"Huff, huff...!"
Gasping for breath, the man clutched his arm.
During his escape, a strike from the knight named Lark had finally torn it off.
He'd managed to staunch the bleeding, but how long it would hold was uncertain.
The knight's blow wasn't the issue—the demon sword's flames were burrowing into his body.
Soon, those flames would reach his heart, and death would follow.
'As expected, they're strong. Even excluding the three superhumans, two such monsters. Horrifying.'
Thanks to his subordinate's sacrifice, the man pressed on amid surging pain.
Giving up wasn't in his dictionary.
And so...
"-No, it's over now. Step off the stage, Andrea Lorang."
...Fate's cruelty strikes unannounced, and the high priest—
Andrea Lorang glared at the black-haired man with bloodshot eyes.
"......"
"Forty years ago, the temple raised countless warriors against the kingdom. The previous king crushed their ambitions once, but the survivors lingered as parasites. Who could have guessed they'd now plot to overthrow the kingdom again?"
The man knew not just his name, but his affiliation and hidden past.
How did he know all this?
"Did you think only the duke was hunting you? Filthy vermin, did you think you could spread your 'plague' of faith in the north and evade our eyes? Was the north that easy a target...?!"
Rumble!
It felt like a massive beast's roar. As he growled in fury, the ground shook.
Andrea Lorang finally realized: those with weak faith in the north had spilled the information.
"...I shouldn't have used those with shallow faith."
"Their faith didn't waver. It took over five hundred days of torture to extract it. Vicious bunch—how deeply did you brainwash them? Damn."
The man trembled with rage.
The damage to the north from a mere handful of vermin was severe.
Not visible on the surface, but enough to sicken anyone.
Their doctrines—no, the ideologies, thoughts, and brainwashing methods they spread were that insidious.
Even now, remnants lingered uncleaned.
Thus, he stepped forward himself.
The moment he obtained the info, he moved to uproot them completely.
"Spit it out. Where's the [Blood Crusaders'] base? Speak, and I'll grant a merciful death."
"...You even know 'our name'. Impressive."
The moment their name emerged, exposure was confirmed.
Andrea Lorang wore a grim sneer.
What was he thinking?
Suddenly...
"...This world has too many powerless, sorrowful lambs. Thus, with blood shall we wash away all tragedies and purify them. Even if this soul plunges into the pit of hellfire for eons of torment, with our suffering shall we cleanse the world—."
⟨ Heretical Prayer ⟩
He clutched a cross—no, an inverted cross—and recited a chilling prayer.
One utterly alien to any scripture.
"Goddamn fanatic."
The man, Magnus Yulia de Lionel, shook his head in disgust.
He'd heard their doctrines countless times, and their extremism made his teeth grind.
Yet understanding their intent, he empathized somewhat.
And if that ideology spread and permeated the kingdom's citizens, the rule of law—no, the kingdom itself would collapse.
Thus, it had to be stopped.
Before it spread further.
"Maximus."
"No need to capture?"
"Pointless."
"Understood."
The massive knight, the north's great warrior Maximus, stepped forward.
The spot was too cramped for the Black King to rampage.
So the relatively smaller man would handle it.
"They say your rank in the Blood Crusaders is Thousand-Man Commander? Show me that power."
Maximus knew the man was unforgivable, yet granted him a fair duel.
To leave no regrets in his life.
However...
"-O [13th Angel], descend blood's purification upon these sinful unbelievers."
⟨ Invocation of Transformation ⟩
Drip...
Blood poured from his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. He discarded the 'chance' to die as a human that Maximus offered.
Drip, drip—.
Andrea Lorang's body began to melt.
Blood dissolved his flesh and bones, erasing him from the world—and in his place, an otherworldly power descended.
At this moment, Andrea Lorang wielded the strength to battle a great lord's knight order alone.
But...
"...What utter folly!"
Trading humanity for power, becoming a mindless monster—it was beyond foolish; it insulted life itself.
[Drip, drip...]
How could he evade struggle and choose to become such a bloody lump?!
Maximus raged.
Better to die human than meet such an end!
"If the world grieves you so, you should have resisted more fiercely."
Not like this.
[...Drip.]
"......"
Boom!!
Maximus shed his usual cheer, gripping his buwol—a massive battle axe—with ferocious aura.
Whoosh!
Wielding an axe larger than most battle axes like a club with effortless might, Maximus swung at the wretched blood monster lunging toward him.
"Hup!"
With full force.
...After the blood-soaked knight fell asleep, in the busy dawn of cleanup.
That night's echoes were said to be unusually long and thunderous.
For quite some time.