Chapter 27
Chapter 27
Chapter 27
Alliance (1)
Rudian's contemplation about how to persuade Maria was suddenly interrupted by Elvin's remark.
"What, if you're looking for sympathy, that's beyond my authority."
"That wasn't my intention."
A magical incantation that can bring back even an enemy that's been disintegrated to atoms.
In reality, if you were to utter such lines and then the enemy actually revived, it would only dampen the morale of your allies.
And that incantation, as if by magic, came true.
"Look over there."
The distant spot Rudian pointed to was a small hill that had now transformed into a graveyard for demonic creatures.
"...What are you saying?"
"I'm asking whether Viscount Belstad is really dead or alive."
"Isn't that obvious? No human could survive being crushed by something like that!"
Certainly, whether he's a great magician or whatever, the chance of a human surviving such a physically powerful attack is nonexistent.
"Yes, if he were human."
"What?"
GRRRRRUMBLE!
"W-what?"
Suddenly, from the cracks of the collapsed debris, a black liquid resembling sewage began to seep out stealthily.
"...Hmm."
Only Maria seemed to have somewhat anticipated this situation, swallowing a small sigh.
The black liquid that was trickling out from the gaps between the rocks began to gather in one place, forming a quivering mass like a slime.
And in less than a minute, it transformed into the shape of a naked human male.
"H-he's revived?"
"KHEHEEE!"
The revived Gude’s shot a venomous glare at Maria, who was looking down at him from the sky.
"Well, well? I acknowledge that your power is stronger than mine, but you will never be able to kill me."
"Perhaps..."
Maria simply affirmed the Viscount's words.
"Indeed, in the current situation, I can't kill you. I should have prepared more meticulously knowing this would happen..."
"KEKEKE, are you admitting it?"
"But just because I can't kill your body doesn't mean there's no other way."
CRUNCH!
"KUGH!"
In an instant, Gude's body twisted like a pretzel.
Maria, who had firmly clenched her right hand, smiled ominously.
"If it's not a human body, I don't have to treat it like a human, right?"
"Y-you wench...!"
"I'll pulverize your body until your mind dies, then take you back to the family to finish the job."
Maria's methods were so cold and cruel that it was hard to believe she was a young lady who had just reached adulthood.
To the extent that a chill ran down Rudian's spine as he watched.
CRACK! CRUNCH!
"KKKK, GAAAH!"
Arms and legs twisted grotesquely, and the bones that had just been restored were pulverized once again like powder.
'Dying would actually be better.'
Rudian shuddered slightly at the creeping sensation up his spine.
If persuading her goes wrong, he might also suffer the same fate.
"NGHH! KEKE! KEKE!"
But for some reason, despite being in agony that engulfed his entire body, Gude was still wearing a twisted smile.
"It's... Useless. That artifact... If my prediction is correct, it's almost out of operation time... isn't it?"
"...!"
Maria's eye twitched slightly.
Seeing that reaction, Gude was convinced his prediction was correct.
"Freely manipulating space is... Solely the domain of gods; with a tool's power, there are limits. From now on... At most, you've got 10 minutes left. KEKEKE!"
"...NGH!"
Gude's words weren't wrong.
The artifact Maria had activated looked like an hourglass.
The hourglass, which had turned red when first activated, was gradually becoming discolored to white.
Gude accurately assessed this and was confident that the advantage was his.
"Enduring for 10 minutes is nothing to me. Since anomalies have occurred with me, my master will intervene soon. Then... You'll all be in a very difficult situation. KEKE!"
For the first time, a small sense of setback appeared on Maria's expression. Indeed, looking at Gude's condition, it seemed quite challenging to kill his consciousness with physical force.
Also, if his contractor were to appear, it was clear that the current Maria would not be able to handle it easily.
'What should I do?'
It's not like there's absolutely no method.
But that method would consume a lot of power, and it would also be a bit difficult to deal with the aftermath.
'Should I use that? Even if succession gets delayed a bit...'
While Maria was hesitating due to her severe internal conflict,
"Is it now my turn to step in?"
Rudian's words penetrated her ears.
"...What?"
Elvin and his companions, who had been observing Maria and Gude's situation, couldn't stop Rudian in time as he suddenly stepped forward.
She slowly turned her gaze towards Rudian.
"What's going on?"
GRIN!
"It seems like a dialogue can now be established between us again."
"......"
"I told you, didn't I? That you wouldn't be able to kill him."
'Come to think of it...'
Maria remembered.
It was indeed the man in front of her who first mentioned the keyword of Gude Belstad's 'immortality'.
Initially, she deliberately ignored him because he was so suspicious, but now the positions had been reversed.
Maria deliberately lowered her voice to sound cold.
"I'll say it again, but I reject the alliance proposal. And it's not like there are absolutely no methods."
"Then how about this?"
"How about what?"
"I'll withdraw my request for an alliance. Instead, could you at least listen to the conditions for an alliance?"
"Just hear the conditions?"
"Yes, just listening to the conditions shouldn't cause you any harm, right? Also, given how intimidating this is, let's add that you won't harm me."
"......"
"I'm sure you have methods, senior, but they're probably not very elegant methods, are they?"
Rudian's words, which demonstrated a deep understanding of the source of Maria's abilities, were not just probing; they were filled with certainty.
Evidence of this was how she now tightly closed her mouth and remained silent.
But her silence didn't last long.
"Alright, I'll allow you to at least tell me your story."
"You make quick decisions."
Befitting the leader of a group, Maria was quick to calculate advantages and disadvantages.
There was no harm to them in merely listening to the conditions.
"Don't get cocky."
"You should also be prepared if you fail."
The fierce determination in her blazing eyes conveyed a firm resolve not to let things slide if he failed.
Rudian chuckled and drew the sword from his waist.
'Diablo.'
-Hmph! I know well what you're about to say. Do you think I, the great one, couldn't handle a mere remnant trick of an Asmo brat?
'No, I was just checking.'
Normally, immortality abilities granted through demon contracts cannot be broken.
However, in , there's a setting that demon powers are easily nullified by higher-ranking demons.
What's more, Diablo was once one of the "Seven Thrones," the apex supreme demon kings from the divine era.
STAB!
After drawing Diablo, Rudian plunged the tip of the blade straight into Gude's heart, which was bound and restrained.
The blade effortlessly pierced through the chest without any sensation of hitting bone.
"KUGH! What are you doing?"
A sneer spread across Gude's face.
"By now, you should know that I won't succumb to pain? Pointless actions are now..."
His previously self-assured expression suddenly contorted with pain.
It was only natural, as the blood from his heart was flowing back, causing his breathing to be blocked.
"W-Why!"
"As a magician, you probably know methods to alleviate pain."
This, combined with the excellent regenerative abilities granted by his immortality power, had allowed him to maintain his composure even in the face of Maria's torture, which was squeezing his body.
But now...
"KUGH, KUGH!"
"Not regenerating, are you?"
"H-How...?"
While Gude was wearing an expression of disbelief, and with Maria also looking on in disbelief, Rudian continued with an eerie tone.
"Naturally, if the immortality ability is blocked, regeneration will also be blocked."
Ordinarily, he should have been able to ignore a wound to the heart and still breathe.
The essence of the immortality ability obtained through a contract with a demon is the spiritualization of the body.
That was why his body could transform like a slime.
To be precise, it should be called a demon body, but setting aside the details.
"N-No!"
"Yes."
As Rudian pushed in Diablo's blade, Gude's magic circle, which had been protected by his immortality ability, began to disintegrate.
The magic accumulated over a lifetime went berserk, hitting Gude's entire body with a wave of pain tens of times more intense than the torture he had received from Maria.
"AAAAARGH!"
In the end, Gude couldn't withstand the pain and screamed out.
***
Viscount Gude Belstad lost his life and the magic circle he had built over a lifetime, losing everything.
'My magic has increased.'
Diablo, having absorbed all of the Viscount's magic and demonic energy, transferred a portion of the absorbed magic to Rudian according to Adi's coordination.
'The increase rate is about 5, I guess?'
His magic stat, which had been 21, rose to 26.
In absolute terms, it was only about 1/4 of the level when he had dealt with Caslay Lichmond, but that was special because Casley was a 9th class grand magician.
Rudian looked down at the back of Viscount Belstad's head with solemn eyes.
'Even though the path of magic was blocked, I didn't think he'd take the path of heresy.'
The Viscount Belstad that Rudian remembered was the third son of a Count family from the upper realm, who entered the path of magic after being eliminated from the succession competition.
Unexpectedly, he seemed to have a talent for magic, as he pioneered the 6th class in his late thirties and grew to the point of aiming for the position of the next tower master in the Wind Magic Tower to which he belonged.
But at some point, his growth stagnated, and after failing to break through the wall of the 7th class for over a decade, he was eventually pushed out of the competition for the next tower master succession.
After becoming almost like a derelict due to despair and impatience for a long time, he finally succumbed to the temptation of a demon who came seeking him.
After contracting with a demon, Gude finally shattered the wall that had been blocking him, but his soul had already been handed over to the demon king.
Becoming a puppet of his master, the demon king, Gude annihilated the family that had been operating the merchant group and took the position of the guild leader himself.
After that, he steadily grew his power, dominated the Seoris Union Commerce Association, and had been active as a central figure in the Imperial demon forces until now.
'A major financial source for the Imperial demon forces and a key connection linking demons with the upper class.'
With this person's death, demons within the Empire will suffer a significant loss of influence.
"...I can't believe it."
While Rudian was organizing his complex feelings, Maria couldn't hide her bewilderment at the sight of Gude's death in such a straightforward manner.
'How on earth?'
Even if she had reduced his body to a puddle of blood, the opponent would have resurrected.
But how could he be killed so easily?
At that moment, Maria's eyes caught sight of the sword Rudian was holding.
"...That's a demon sword!"
Maria's transcendent sensing ability didn't miss the faint demonic energy emanating from Diablo's blade.
Rudian replied nonchalantly.
"Yes, it's a demon sword. Is there a problem?"
"A problem? Are you being serious right now?"
Not only Maria but also Elvin and the Luda siblings' expressions changed dramatically.
When Rudian first cut off Gude's breath, whom Maria couldn't deal with, they had been immersed in amazement and shock, but if the reason was a demon sword, that's a different story.
Rudian couldn't help but laugh at Maria's blatant hostility.
"Of course I'm serious. Do I look like someone who's lost his mind due to being intoxicated by demonic energy?"
"T-That's!"
"And have you ever seen someone who has fallen as a demon sword's host helping to kill a minion of the same demons?"
"......"
Maria became tongue-tied.
But her expression still showed distrust.
This was the common perception of demon swords in this world.
Initially, one becomes gradually addicted to the power given by the demon sword, and eventually becomes possessed by the demon sword's consciousness, turning into a berserker.
It was common for horns to sprout from their heads and their bodies to transform like Gude's, who was now a corpse.
But Rudian's current appearance was completely detached from such 'common' expectations.
"Have you ever seen someone killing a demon with a demon sword?"
-I have. There used to be quite a few such humans in the past.
'Don't break the mood, please...'
Rudian glared intently at Diablo's blade, which was ruining the atmosphere, and then exhaled a short sigh.
"I understand what you're worried about, but please don't ignore the situation in front of you based on common sense."
-The common sense of these days seems different from what I knew.
'Just shut up, please.'
"......"
While Rudian and Diablo were squabbling, Maria, who had been contemplating for a while, finally sighed and apologized.
"I'm sorry. I overreacted."
"I accept your apology. What's important is what happens from now on."
For her, in the current situation, where Rudian got a demon sword from and how he's handling it with a clear mind wasn't important.
What's important is that Rudian kept his promise, and she has to fulfill her obligation accordingly.
Maria looked at Rudian with troubled eyes.
"Very well, then let's seriously hear your proposal for an alliance."