Chapter 294
Chapter 294
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 294
Chapter Title: Heavenly Demon Uses Magic (3)
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Something was off.
I'd gone through my usual morning routine and eaten early, but the atmosphere was frigid.
-Clink.
The sound of utensils clinking. Aside from that, there was no other noise around.
Cornus scooped up a big bite of pristine white rice and rolled it around in her mouth while staring at me.
Next to her, Maronie fidgeted restlessly, poking at her food.
On a normal day, it would have been Cornus peppering her with eager questions or shows of affection, and Maronie awkwardly accepting it.
But today, Cornus was focused solely on her meal.
Maronie didn't seem to have much of an appetite either.
"Maronie."
"Uh, yeah?"
"Not a fan of rice? If it's unfamiliar, I can get something else."
"No! No, it's fine."
She shook her head vigorously, then bit down on her chopsticks and glanced sideways.
Cornus kept her gaze fixed on me.
She seemed to have something to say, but it was probably one of those vague worries she couldn't quite put into words.
Her attitude had flipped overnight, and right after whatever happened with Maronie, which made me feel a bit guilty.
"I-I should go. I've got class."
In the end, Maronie fled the kitchen first.
Cornus rolled a bite of rice mixed with a piece of spam around in her mouth and shot a glance at Maronie's back.
"Something going on?"
"Not really."
"You clearly have something. Tell me. Did you two fight?"
"……."
She looked at me again with those meaningful eyes.
The cute puppy-like image I associated with Cornus shifted to the face of some coin-worthy breed dog turning its head sideways to glare at me.
I could see the resolve in her eyes: once she bit down, she wouldn't let go.
Ah, this feels related to me again.
Maybe because she was so furious, the rice I was chewing wouldn't go down easily.
"It has nothing to do with Siheon."
She was surprisingly cool about it.
"Like hell it doesn't."
"I'm serious."
"You think we're not close? I can tell just by looking. I told you to come to me if something's wrong."
"Gaslighting me?"
"Pfft."
Where'd she pick that up from?
"Tree Inside."
"I told you to stop watching that."
Why can't she quit that place?
I knew it was where she connected with Champee, but there were plenty of good people outside. Why go there?
I understood it was because Cornus was extremely introverted when it came to relationships.
Up until now, I was pretty much the only one she opened up to like that.
"…Siheon doesn't need to know. I'm just feeling a bit uneasy."
"Got it. But I'm not gaslighting you."
"I was joking."
Her sudden joke startled my heart.
If she really thought that way, I'd have to seriously reconsider my actions.
Cornus often used words without fully grasping their meaning, so it was probably just a joke.
I picked up my bowl and cleared the dishes.
I didn't forget to infuse her with the healing power I'd gathered that morning.
*****
The sage bowed her head demurely, her pure white dress fluttering.
The pristine outfit she always wore was so ornate that no one else could pull it off—it could even be called winged garb.
After the three-day assignment, our new task was magic development.
In a secluded corner of the library, we opened a loft door and descended into a basement training ground where the entire space was an artifact.
"Magic development, huh."
"Are you having difficulties?"
"No, not really."
I'd already created magic several times through experience.
Back then, I'd acted like I was possessed, but as the Little Heavenly Demon facing hunters, I'd altered spells on the fly.
During the first trial, hadn't I developed Wind Lotus, blending wind mana into a spell?
Of course, calling it purely my own magic was inaccurate.
What I'd made were modifications of existing spells tailored to my aptitude.
Anyone knowledgeable in magic could do that.
It was like redefining existing martial forms to fit one's body.
But this time was different.
The task was to create a spell that didn't exist in the world.
"If Siheon truly understood my teachings over those three days, it should be possible."
The sage, whose relationship with Flower had been ambiguous, was earnest about magic and spared no instruction.
Though, like most studies, it was mostly about solidifying the fundamentals.
Maybe I saw it that way because I was relatively clueless. Maronie looked deeply impressed.
"Any more questions?"
"Nothing about the lesson."
"Then something else?"
Maronie had been holed up in the lab for ages.
Where Cornus wasn't around, she'd unleashed all her aegyo, but after getting the assignment, she'd bolted like an arrow.
Even the guy who'd screamed about shedding his National Tree status was serious about magic.
I wanted to cheer her on even more.
I set down the pen I'd been using to sketch the magic formula.
These formulas would all be erased later anyway.
Ingenious magic wouldn't pop out immediately.
"Will you answer if I ask?"
I tilted my head up to look at the sage.
She was gazing down at me.
Her massive breasts were right in my line of sight.
"You don't need to know right now."
She smirked.
Seeing my serious face, the sage laughed.
"Saying that probably makes you doubt me more, right?"
"……."
The sage pulled up a chair and sat beside me.
"A cliché from the classics, then. I'll answer three questions to the best of my knowledge. After you finish the assignment, of course."
"It could be lies."
"Hmm. Shall I swear on the Sacred Tree?"
In this world, swearing on a Sacred Tree wasn't done lightly.
I'd rarely heard it even after setting foot here.
"Sephirot doesn't interfere with the world. Not because someone decreed it, but by her own choice. That's why I can't indulge in excessive greed either. However…."
"There are exceptions."
-The World Tree of Knowledge does not interfere with the world at all, except to fulfill her purpose of knowledge!
Sephirot's words. In other words, she could interfere anywhere for the sake of knowledge.
A common wordplay.
The sage nodded and held up one hand.
"She's rarely shown this much interest before."
"……."
"She's not one to carelessly antagonize anyone. She prefers to bestow knowledge. That's why she entrusted this to me."
"Is that so."
The sage's voice was soft and soothing, lulling me toward sleep like my mother's embrace in childhood.
-Clap.
The sage clapped and stood.
"Anyway, whether you believe me is up to you, Siheon."
As she turned to leave,
I stopped her.
"You said three questions."
"Yes."
"…This Forest Keeper selection. Do you know who's in Flower?"
I had many questions.
Which World Tree cursed Cheondo?
What happened to the Peach Blossom Paradise after I left?
Is there a way to heal Cornus?
How to change the future I saw before?
And why are you so friendly toward me?
Despite her non-interference policy, why did she summon not just me, but Cornus and Maronie too?
Among them, what I needed to watch out for right now was the impending raid.
"Of course."
The sage answered.
Flower and the World Tree.
Sephirot was a World Tree but could be seen as a neutral force between them.
The sage was nominally a hunter, but not really.
"Understood."
With my reply, the sage left.
I resumed crafting the magic.
One short month.
The next trial might really see Flower make a move.
Was it okay for me not to investigate?
'No.'
Wasn't there a way?
The slums, Flower's territory. If I searched there, I'd step on something.
Lately, my morning routines were solo more often.
…Maybe I should poke around.
Why had the sage sent me on morning routines alone?
Even knowing I was hostile to Flower.
'For now.'
Focus on the present.
I examined my magic sketch, then gathered mana in one hand, kneading it like dough.
A sphere of pure mana.
Smoke-like mana flowed from my five fingers into the sphere, expanding it.
Confirming no one around, I slowly transformed the mana.
Mana into demonic energy.
-Krrrack!
The blue mana orb suddenly turned ashen, swelling uncontrollably as if about to burst.
I couldn't cancel the spell.
I whipped my head around and fired it at the training ground's center.
-Boom!
A deafening ring in my ears.
Wind from the enclosed space whipped my hair.
A mana storm swallowing half the stadium-sized area.
Anyone caught in it wouldn't emerge unscathed.
That's demonic energy for you.
A power that rampages if not strictly controlled.
In the Demonic Path, converting all mana to demonic energy risked exploding my dantian—not to mention my body.
'Still not enough.'
This wasn't it.
Even rat-shit-sized demonic energy had torn my body apart before.
If this massive spell only had that power, it meant inefficiency from forming it as magic.
'Can't use demonic energy outside carelessly.'
Had to experiment here.
If I could wield magic with demonic energy, my combat options would expand.
A spell nonexistent in the world.
Even the Orthodox Path or the sage couldn't use it due to demonic energy.
I had to create magic only I could wield.
*****
A space of prolonged silence.
"Complications have arisen."
On the eve of the grand undertaking.
"The Hunter Association moved faster than expected."
Flower.
Eight executives gathered in one place—a rare occurrence.
They had histories of fierce clashes akin to wars; alliances like this were scarce.
"…How do you plan to take responsibility?"
Fifth Petal: Honeysuckle.
A white mid-length-haired giant of a man pressed the woman before him.
The gazes of the six executives excluding Freesia fixed on one woman.
"Proceed as planned."
Second Petal: Canna.
Central figure in Flower's founding.
Excluding the non-participating First Petal, she held the nominal top position.
"As planned? We'll gain nothing at this rate."
Sisythus cut in.
The venomous tone from her childlike frame furrowed brows.
"The plan's practically exposed, and you're saying reduce sacrifices by one? Forgotten the greater good? Ha, Flower's lost its mind."
"Sisythus."
"What? Am I wrong? Daddy."
Honeysuckle's brow furrowed at the aggression.
Sisythus smacked her lips.
Fighting would benefit no one.
All here were at or near the pinnacle.
Missing this first united chance could waste decades.
Nations bound by ideology numbered over ten.
Miss it, and companies and nations aligned with Flower might turn.
Without ending the standoff, Flower had no future.
"Detonate now."
Sixth Petal: Pienhua spoke.
"Reducing sacrifices? Nonsense. Start the war, and those 'saved' kids become enemy soldiers. Still don't get it, Canna?"
"……."
"Don't think of staying clean alone."
It was heading for collapse.
Whenever they argued, Canna and Sisythus were at the center.
"…I never wanted this."
"Bullshit."
Sisythus sneered at Canna.
"Head full of flowers, that one."
Saint or world's sole prophet— to Sisythus, just a hypocrite.
All Wood People deserved death.
Wouldn't stop till none remained.
Not one spared.
World Trees or Wood People—root and all.
"If you won't change it, I'll do it myself."
"…Sisythus!"
"What?"
Tension rippled at Sisythus's words.
Canna shouted, but Sisythus sneered instantly.
"Think about what you've done!"
"What, using the Cornerus Family? Or livestock-izing Wood People? All good deeds, no? Ha, or gonna scold me without a word again? This a daycare?"
"……."
"I lost Tuberose too."
Sisythus bellowed murderously.
Canna fell silent, downcast.
"Quiet."
A heavy voice echoed.
First Petal, Tarragon, glared at Sisythus.
"…Ha."
Her body stiffened instantly.
Hands trembling, Sisythus forced a casual sneer at Canna.
"Again, always this crap when cornered."
"Restrain yourself."
"Y-Yeah, got it. I said I do."
Tarragon scanned the room.
Three who hadn't spoken: Lotus, Freesia, and Hongyeon.
They stayed neutral in debates.
Hongyeon was more proxy than executive.
But her brilliance made her no less than any.
"Freesia."
"Peep?"
"Your thoughts?"
All eyes turned to her.
Lime-green hair, cute face. She blinked, then chuckled.
"…Dunno. Doesn't matter to me."
"Lotus."
"I think pulling back a bit would be good."
"Hongyeon."
Finally, Tarragon looked at her.
Crimson hair, eyes burning red.
She stared long at Tarragon, then gently closed her eyelids.
"…If the goal is minimizing innocent civilian sacrifices, proceeding as is suffices."
"And how?"
"That sage won't sit idle. We've cut enough already."
"She won't step in."
"Sephirot's contract has loopholes. Her personality—she'd help."
Cadet numbers were drastically reduced.
Enough figures to save civilians.
Flower's goal from the start: kill World Trees and trees. Enough as is.
"I see. Then proceed."
"…You."
"Ha."
Canna's eyes widened in shock; Sisythus laughed heartily.
Tarragon had sided with neither, yet both.
Unlike emotional executives, Hongyeon was different.
The deeper her desires, the colder she grew.
Born strategist.
Others had scheming talent too, but used it for personal power.
Outsider Hongyeon showed little attachment to her faction.
Just vengeance.
Eradicating World Trees.
That made her useful.
Give power, watch—she revealed her leanings.
"The raid begins during the third trial. Prepare."
Conclusion reached.