Chapter 109
Chapter: 109
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>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 109
>Chapter Title: Monster Task Force (2)
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>Aura was a power close to the source of life itself.
For any creature living in this Delcross main dimension, it was a natural energy that their bodies produced in small quantities simply by virtue of being alive.
Thus, its fundamental nature was extremely preservative of the body. In contrast to the external energy that manifested violently outside the body, aura users found it instinctively impossible to wield aura destructively within their own bodies.
So, Seongjin, who perceived aura merely as some alien power like monster energy and wielded it freely, was fundamentally different from the people of the main dimension in some way.
“There may be only one way to solve this problem.”
Logan said calmly. Perhaps because he was a former Sword Master, his face inspired an odd sense of trust.
“What’s that?”
“From now on, just get strong enough that you won’t need to push yourself like that.”
“…….”
Uh, how clear-cut. So why do I feel tricked?
Unaware of the faint sense of betrayal on Seongjin’s face, Logan subtly tried to promote the aura training method proudly hailed by his homeland.
“Why not learn the Henessis training method while you’re at it? Banahas was a once-in-a-generation genius, sure, but his method has this overly intuitive and simplistic side to it. Nothing matches the Henessis method in depth of operation and subtlety.”
Hadn’t he just said until recently that he’d thoroughly hidden anything related to Ortona?
It seemed that now that the Holy Emperor had discovered his identity, he no longer had any reservations.
Seongjin snorted.
Who’s peddling what now? Didn’t Marquis Masain say Banahas’s method was the strongest on the continent?
Of course, there was one pitiful soul who took the bait at his words.
“That training method is that strong? Stronger than Wirose?”
“Of course, Lady Amelia. Unlike Wirose, it’s not overly complex, and it encompasses both spear and sword arts excellently.”
“If I coat a spear with it and throw it, could I smash a castle wall?”
No, but why is this lady always so eager to smash perfectly fine castle walls?
“What’s a castle wall? Reach the right realm, and you could shatter an entire fortress.”
“Wow…….”
Amelia’s gray eyes sparkled more brightly than ever. Logan, wearing a kind smile that inspired trust, drove in the final nail.
“Why not learn it yourself while you’re at it, Lady? You’ll be receiving a Henessis greatsword from His Majesty anyway.”
Henessis greatsword!
No sooner had the words left his mouth than Amelia fell completely for it, nodding enthusiastically.
Seongjin watched her for a moment with eyes full of pity.
She was already struggling with just Wirose, and now this lady wanted to dig two wells at once. Her future hardships were plain as day, but what could he do? The one who dug her own grave would have to crawl out herself.
He drew his walnut cracker and focused his mind.
Having heard Logan’s advice, he decided that for the time being, he should forget his habit of moving monster essence and thoroughly ingrain Banahas’s training method into his body.
Speaking of monster energy, though.
‘…The monsters I killed before feel a bit wasteful now. There was something I really wanted to try once I caught one…….’
[What did you want to try?]
For a while now, Seongjin had wanted to test one thing against monsters.
In this world too, could he use monster essence?
He hadn’t tried at Digger Manor or the Heresy Tribunal because he’d lost consciousness right after killing them both times, but maybe he could absorb essence from monster corpses like before and strengthen his body?
But the Demon King freaked out when he heard the question.
[Hey, hey! You’re a Delcross human now. You have a body with aura! You know what effect monster energy might have on you and still wanna do that?]
‘Why? It’s just energy. What could go wrong?’
Seongjin thought little of it, but surprisingly, the Demon King’s worry had solid grounds.
[Hey, think about it. That egg implanted in the knight named Haven died in a day. But the others lived for days in the others, right?]
‘…Come to think of it?’
The only difference he could think of offhand was that Haven was an aura user.
[Why do you think the gray plague mainly spreads among the sick and elderly loners? Probably because their aura is weak. And if there’s even a chance the egg died quickly because of aura, then the opposite could totally happen too, right?]
Monsters might be vulnerable to aura exposure.
Conversely, absorbed monster essence might act as poison in the body of Moraes, who had aura?
‘It’s certainly possible…….’
Even if something went wrong with his body, his father would fix it, right? It might be worth trying once.
The Demon King grumbled in complaint.
[You wanna rot the Holy Emperor’s insides even more and cause another incident? Of course your dad would save you. But you gotta be alive first to get killed, right?]
Uh, that might be a bit scary.
Seongjin shuddered involuntarily as the Holy Emperor’s cold eyes flashed in his mind.
Better just train.
* * *
That evening, Logan left the Pearl Palace and visited the administrative building for the first time in a while. As was customary after sea beast subjugations, he had stopped by the Saint Aurelion Knights’ office.
Separate from his affiliation with the Saint Bastian Knights, Logan had been separately tasked by the Saint Aurelion Knights.
Namely, compiling and reporting any sightings of Demonkin during subjugations.
It was late, with most people off work, but Adjutant Francis, guarding the office, looked quite pleased.
He was the type to happily accept overtime if it lightened his captain’s load, though he’d file for leave sharp the next day.
“This subjugation took unusually long. You went as far as near the Zigsmunt Margrave’s territory in the north, I hear.”
Logan nodded at Francis’s words.
“The request to investigate inside the territory was denied. The margrave was quite adamant. Still, it wasn’t entirely fruitless.”
“You mean…….”
“As the exorcists reported, we spotted Demonkin in the Black Forest near Zigsmunt territory.”
Logan, with the strongest divine power in the Lilium detachment and thus most sensitive to Demonkin presence, had slipped into the forest alone while the detachment camped and slain the demon. He calmly explained the details to his adjutant.
Francis clicked his tongue.
“You did something that dangerous? Then why drag the detachment around? If His Majesty finds out the Third Prince is doing that, he won’t stay quiet.”
“It was a solitary demon called the Witch of the Forest. No real danger. Besides, Lilium are grateful knights who banded together willingly to aid the people in crisis, not some private army I own.”
“What? Those guys had such noble intentions? I thought they were just the prince’s fan club.”
“…….”
Logan stared at his impudent adjutant, who couldn’t watch his mouth, with a dumbfounded look for a moment before pulling something from his bosom and handing it to Francis. It was a small medal rusted red.
So worn that only close inspection revealed the faint spider emblem on the surface.
“This is?”
“After slaying the demon, I found traces of a summoning ritual nearby. It was buried in the summoning circle. The demon worshippers had already fled.”
Francis adjusted his glasses and examined the medal, scraping off some rust from the surface.
After a while, he set it on the desk and said to Logan.
“It’s the Dark Church. Looks like the emblem of the [Penance] sect among them. But given the poor condition and crude emblem, we’ll need more investigation to confirm authenticity.”
Logan nodded.
Over years leading the detachment across the continent, he’d realized this land harbored more covert demon worshipper factions than he’d thought. Prime examples were the Dark Church remnants who’d fled purges.
During a sea beast subjugation in the eastern territories once Ortona’s, every village they visited had traces of such cults.
A fact he, as Sword Master Gael, had never noticed.
Given the abundance of Dark Church traces in the east, perhaps Ortona’s dissolution hid deeper machinations beyond Delcross’s schemes. Lately, Logan suspected as much.
“What about the eastern investigation?”
“Recently, Captain Silas took part of the Imperial Guard 3rd Knights east. Saint Terbakia exorcists joined, making a sizable investigation team.”
The Imperial Guard 3rd Knights again.
Logan’s expression turned subtle.
Why was the 3rd Knights, mainly elite spear knights, repeatedly tapped for such mismatched minor probes?
Especially Captain Silas Agen, now of respectable age, wasn’t suited for long dispatches ahead of major events like the birthday celebration.
“The 3rd Knights seem dispatched often.”
Francis sighed.
“Who says otherwise? His Majesty goes too far. But when he specifically names the 3rd, what choice does the captain have?”
With the captain away long-term, new spear knights’ training suffered, so Sir Dimros of the 1st Knights’ adjutants was stepping in.
Amelia’s lessons had fallen behind as a result.
“Aunt complains that Captain Silas hasn’t spent a leisurely birthday celebration in Delcross in years.”
The Imperial Guard 3rd Knights’ captain was still Silas Agen, Francis Agen’s relative and someone Logan knew well.
The tall knight captain who, a decade ago in Ortona, had taken Gael’s life.
“No way…….”
Logan furrowed his brow, pondering a new possibility.
He might not have suspected without his recent talk with Seongjin.
Come to think of it, how many times had Logan encountered Captain Silas in the palace?
Especially during birthday celebrations when he returned to the capital—wasn’t he always on dispatch?
Unlikely as it seemed, what if the Holy Emperor always chased the 3rd Knights out before Logan returned…?
…No, surely not?
“Is that all you have to tell me?”
Logan snapped out of his thoughts at Francis’s question.
“Ah, actually, besides the Demonkin, I saw something odd in that forest.”
“Something odd?”
“How to put it—not demonic miasma, but something subtly ominous.”
Logan recounted his encounter with the Demonkin in the Black Forest.
The demon wandering the snow-covered woods, dragging its long, trailing robes, cradling a single blue butterfly preciously.
“The Witch of the Forest cherished one butterfly. It vanished just before I struck the demon, but that impure aura, different from Demonkin… I still don’t know what it was.”
“…….”
Francis blinked for a moment, then adjusted his glasses with a meaningful smile.
“Somehow, I think I know where to find the answer.”
* * *
The next day, after morning training, Seongjin visited the Monster Task Force office for the first time in days.
“Your Highness! You’re here!”
The red-haired inquisitor, Sir Valery, greeted him warmly as always.
Dodging Gibril’s spritz from her rose perfume sprayer, Seongjin lightly waved to the gloomy-looking Sir Sharon, who nodded from a corner.
Then he froze mid-step, startled. A familiar face sat ramrod straight inside the office, book open.
Why is he here?
“Hm? You’re late.”
Logan, impeccably neat as ever, looked up from turning the pages of the Otherworld Apocalypse.
“I’ll help with Monster Task Force duties while in the capital. So, how far’s the gray plague investigation? What can I do?”
“…….”
Having failed to dodge Gibril’s welcome spray, the overpowering rose scent wafted from him.
No help needed, so go deal with that perfume first.