Chapter 75: While Everyone Was Asleep (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 75: While Everyone Was Asleep (5)
Taylor, who took great pride in Rias, could not tolerate filthy beings treading upon his homeland.
Thus, the moment he discovered the cultists, the dark mages, and their followers, he fought with everything he had.
However, he didn't quite know how to describe the scene before him.
Beyond dark mages and cultists who worshiped evil gods...
A demon, a creature he had only heard of in legends, was right there in front of him.
‘Why do I feel sorry for the demon?’
Something utterly incomprehensible had happened.
“……”
He watched the scene unfolding before his eyes.
“Aaaaagh!”
Pierced by divine light, the demon screamed, looking like an insect pinned to a specimen board.
Well, that part was fine.
Demons had been recorded as the enemies of humanity since the Mythological Era.
Recalling the words of those filthy cultists and dark mages, the existence of that demon was bound to be a massive threat.
And since the one who neutralized such a being was the incarnation of the Goddess—the very one said to have sealed the demon’s god—it made sense.
The problem was...
“Lord Bellon!”
“Uh-uh. Don't move. If you move, I don't know what'll happen to Melon or Bellon or whatever his name is.”
Why on earth was Adam using that demon to threaten the cultists?
“You despicable bastard!”
“Stop being a coward and taking hostages! Fight us fair and square!”
Taylor never imagined he would hear words like "despicable" or "fight fair and square" coming from the mouths of cultists and dark mages.
But what was even more absurd was that, logically, he actually understood where the cultists and dark mages were coming from.
“Aaaaagh!”
“A cultist talking back? Does our friend Bellon need to become a sliced melon before you snap out of it?”
“Urgh!”
“Don’t stab him before you even finish talking!”
“What does it matter? Our demon friend here is sturdy, isn't he?”
Seeing a method of intimidation where the demon was stabbed without a moment's hesitation—not just with words, but with actions—Taylor couldn't help but empathize with the cultists.
It couldn't be helped.
In these kinds of situations, Taylor was usually the one on the side of the cultists and dark mages, so he was emotionally predisposed to sympathize with them!
“W-what is it you want?!”
Instead of the cultists and dark mages threatening the agents, the agent was threatening them.
Consequently, the cultists and dark mages were the ones asking for terms.
“First, drop the barrier.”
“The barrier?”
At Adam’s condition, Daisy, who was standing beside him, blinked.
“There’s a barrier centered around the demon that prevents anything from leaving a certain area.”
When Adam informed her that the barrier existed with the demon as its focal point...
“Is that so? Then wouldn't it be faster to just purify him?”
“Shall we?”
As Daisy gathered divine power in both hands without a shred of hesitation, screams erupted from the cultists' side.
“A-alright! We accept the terms!”
“……”
Watching the enemies frantically dismantling the barrier, Taylor thought to himself.
‘She’s definitely... acting as a Saintess should.’
The image of a Saintess attempting to execute an evil demon was certainly fitting for her role.
However, the sight of Adam beside her...
And adding the fact that the two were—at least for now—a couple, a strange, indescribable emotion began to well up inside him.
But the crowning touch was yet to come.
“Taylor. I’ve finished talking with Adam.”
“When did you do that?”
“The moment everyone’s attention was on him stabbing the demon, he secretly tossed a piece of paper.”
Aeryun approached and handed Taylor a crumpled sheet of paper.
On it was written:
- There seems to be a barrier around here. Once it’s down, let’s kill them all.
“……”
It was exactly what he had intended to do, and it was certainly the right thing from the continent's perspective, but...
“Why does it feel like we’re the villains?”
When he asked Aeryun, feeling a lingering sense of guilt as if he had somehow become the bad guy, Aeryun replied.
“Being the villain... we’re used to that, aren't we?”
Fortunately, it seemed he wasn't the only one thinking that way, as Aeryun also muttered while staring off into the distance.
*
“Cowardly bastards.”
As soon as we felt the barrier break, we immediately took care of the cultists and dark mages.
Perhaps because it wasn't an ordinary barrier, the cultists and dark mages, who had been focusing all their nerves on it, couldn't properly respond to the sudden ambush and fell much more easily than expected.
“Urgh! Lord Bellon!”
“Ah... ah...”
Watching the last cultist groan as he reached out toward the demon while dying, Bellon let out a moan.
“Useless humans! You should have saved me before you died!”
“Talk about a demonic personality.”
As expected of a demon. There wasn't a shred of humanity to be found in his words.
“Be quiet.”
“Aaaaagh!”
Daisy must have felt it too, as she seemed to roast Bellon with divine power even more relentlessly than before.
Her ability to inflict pain while stopping just before he died showed a level of control that would put most agents to shame.
Dammit, Daisy. Are you even a fast learner at stuff like this?
At this point, I was starting to wonder if the root of all evil wasn't Boradori, but Daisy’s own talent.
...Of course, that didn't mean Boradori’s status as the root of all evil would ever change.
“Rias can handle this, right?”
“Naturally.”
“Don't let your guard down; someone might suddenly resurrect or try some bullshit using their soul as a sacrifice.”
“Rias is... well. No. I’ll be careful.”
Taylor had been about to insist as usual that Rias was different from the Academy, but since they had already been breached several times, he simply nodded quietly.
“The problem is that demon.”
At my words, everyone’s gaze turned toward Bellon, who was being roasted by Daisy every time he tried to speak.
Dark mages were practically regular guests these days.
And while the lunatics who worshiped the demon god despite being human weren't exactly common, there were plenty of historical records of them causing trouble.
But demons were different.
They were beings from myths and legends, not history.
Beings said to have been sealed in deep darkness by the Goddess along with the evil god.
The fact that such a thing had been resurrected and was roaming the human world would have been a massive shock to anyone who didn't know the original story.
“For now... let’s take him.”
“He doesn't seem... dangerous.”
Pierced by Daisy’s magic sword and screaming under the divine power massage, Bellon showed no signs of dignity or danger.
With reluctant expressions, Uncle Aeryun and Taylor chose to retrieve him for the time being.
*
#1 The Morning Everyone Woke Up.
The night that perhaps signaled the beginning of a great change in this world ended.
Except for a few, most ordinary people began a peaceful day.
However, a select few could not.
“...Hey. What’s up with Asran?”
“I don't know. Guess he got beaten again.”
“When? Training was banned last night because of the Night of Magi.”
“I heard from his roommate that he snuck out to meet his club friends.”
“Did he get wrecked in a game?”
“Or maybe he finally confessed and...”
“That... makes sense!”
They were speaking in low voices, but to Asran, a swordsman who had reached a high level, it sounded as if they were speaking right next to him unless they used mana-concealing tricks.
Normally, he would have snapped at that last comment.
“……”
Was it because he had stayed up all night, or was what he saw yesterday just that shocking?
Asran simply swung his sword mechanically with a vacant expression.
‘What was it... that I saw yesterday?’
Last night. While tailing Adam and Daisy on their date, he had seen it.
The sudden appearance of dark mages and the wicked cultists controlling them.
He had joined the fight and fought reasonably well.
But the moment he saw the demon, he felt it.
It was impossible to fight that thing.
It wasn't a matter of whether he could win or not.
It was a biological instinct. More than that, it felt as if his very soul refused to fight the demon.
When he was being dominated by an emotion that could be called something beyond mere terror...
Asran saw it.
The sight of someone inflicting that very emotion he felt onto the demon.
Adam Smith.
The display he put on yesterday was beyond impressive; it was terrifying.
But the problem was...
“Daisy... looked used to it.”
When everyone else’s brains had stalled at the sight of Adam, Daisy had naturally stabbed the demon and tortured... no, sealed it by Adam’s side!
“Tch.”
He hadn't been able to think of anything at the time, but after the incident was settled...
After undergoing a brief examination with the other club members to ensure they hadn't been infected by magi and returning...
Asran could only watch the sun rise blankly, brooding over his sense of defeat.
He couldn't win.
He knew they were a fake couple, but after seeing them yesterday, Asran could no longer imagine himself in Adam’s place by Daisy’s side.
That was why he had unconsciously picked up his sword and headed to the training grounds at dawn.
If he became stronger. Stronger than Adam. Stronger than Ellen. No, if he broke through the wall and became a Sword Master, truly inheriting his grandfather’s title instead of just being the Minor Sword Emperor!
“Then, can I win?”
Asran looked up and stared blankly at the sky, thinking.
If he became the Sword Emperor, could he take the place by Daisy’s side?
As if last night had been a dream, the sky was incredibly clear and blue, without a trace of magi. It was the moment Asran was sinking into despair.
“Asran.”
“Ellen?”
Asran shook his head as he saw Ellen, who wore a similar expression.
No, since Ellen was his closest friend, the shock must have been even greater for him.
“What is it?”
Seeing a bit of life return to Asran’s eyes, Ellen showed him his sword.
“I have too much on my mind.”
“I know the feeling.”
“Let’s clear our heads.”
“Sounds good.”
It was said that when swordsmen have worries, they speak with their blades.
“What’s with this pressure?”
“What is this? Static electricity? My whole body is tingling.”
“Hey, you crazy bastards! Don't shroud your blades in sword energy without warning! Where did the basic training ground rules go?!”
And so, as the duel—or training session—between the 1st and 3rd ranked students of the Swordsmanship Department turned the training grounds into a mess with full-power strikes from the start...
“Is it right that even five of us can't beat him?”
“Dammit, to use water magic of this level in a place without water!”
“Find more fire mages!”
In the Magic Department, where there were no rivals, several people had to struggle to stop the Prince of Dale.
“Aeryun. What happened last night?”
“We are still investigating.”
“Always investigating... You’re always like that.”
“No, Your Highness. This happened at dawn. This time, we really are investigating...”
“This time? Then the last time...”
“It’s a misunderstanding!”
The Prince, who lacked talent in martial arts, was summoning and berating the person in charge.
“Taylor.”
“Yes, Lord Gerard...”
“Taylor...”
“……”
The second son of Rias, Gerard, was similarly lamenting to his subordinate.
“Should we just destroy it?”
“Not yet, Saintess. Not until the Church confirms the demon’s existence...!”
The priests of Rias had to do their best to stop the Saintess, who wanted to just obliterate the demon before the personnel dispatched from the Holy Kingdom arrived.
“The sun’s been up for ages, male! Wake up!”
“Shut up. I’m off duty today.”
“Kyelp!”
Adam, who had subdued Bell with a pillow the moment he lay down, decided to get his reward for last night’s ordeal.
“Hey! I heard something happened last night! Daisy hasn't come back yet—Gwaakh!”
“Kyelp!”
He threw the dog at Boradori.