Chapter 151
Chapter 151
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 151
Chapter Title: A Rocky Alliance
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I've met three Demon Kings and come to my own conclusion.
For now, I shouldn't see those bastards as enemies I need to take down.
‘There's no chance of winning head-on.’
I'll admit what needs admitting.
A Demon King isn't the type to challenge out of a warrior's pride—it's a calamity to avoid.
At least for now.
So it was only natural that my goal had shifted toward stopping the ritual...
“The Demon King has been summoned.”
“Yeah.”
I followed the gaze of Evan, who nodded nonchalantly.
“The eclipse hasn't even happened yet?”
Evan replied while still staring at the sunset sky.
“It's Hardenaihar.”
I paused for a moment, then recalled Hardenaihar's epithet.
“...Don't tell me Hardenaihar's precursor isn't a solar eclipse, but a lunar eclipse?”
“You got half of it right. Of course, you won't be able to see it with the naked eye. The corrosion happens in the other world.”
“The other world? What's that?”
“The shadow world, the realm beyond the lake's surface, or simply the world of dreams. Another name for Hardenaihar is the Demon King of the Other Side.”
Evan explained with a smiling face.
“Light and darkness, two sides of a coin, day and night, sun and moon... The Demon King of the Blood Moon is also the ruler of the false world.”
“......”
Just how much of what this guy says can I believe, and from where to where?
Of course, I can't believe everything he says.
I know how much cultists lie and deceive.
Especially since this guy is at the top of them as the Little Cult Leader—he could be spouting lies with that innocent expression.
But...
I have my own way of gauging truth from lies.
It's not as precise as reading biological reactions like my fourth senior brother, but more like intuition based on experience and a bit of gut feeling.
People generally can't lie well in life-or-death situations.
Not that they don't—it's just hard.
How many can keep a straight face while spinning lies with a blade at their throat?
In that sense, what Evan just said...
‘...Feels real?’
People on the brink of death don't always show intense reactions.
Some feel emptiness instead of anger, sorrow, despair, fear, or frustration—and Evan fits that right now.
He's not particularly afraid of death, but he seems already resigned?
Anyway, it's clear Evan has awakened as the Little Cult Leader, so it's suspicious why he'd act like this.
“If the Demon King has descended, isn't that good for you?”
The Cult Leader receives the Demon King's unconditional favor.
According to Huan, the Little Cult Leader gets similar treatment.
“If I had presided over the descent ritual, sure. But I barely escaped last night. Even after dying once and awakening as the Little Cult Leader, the Demon King still tried to kill me.”
That surprised me quite a bit.
I knew there were factions within the Dark Cult and that they didn't get along...
But Evan is the Little Cult Leader.
Even High Priest Huan seemed wary of him.
The Demon King of the Black Mire killed the presiding High Priest without hesitation, but Evan, awakening as Little Cult Leader at the time, escaped that death sentence.
It was obvious even to me that he received special treatment in the Dark Cult in many ways.
‘The Demon King tried to just kill him outright.’
Of course, this could be a lie too.
“Get it? At least the one who caused this mess has no discernment. It's ready to kill anyone who gets in its way, Little Cult Leader or not.”
Evan twirled his finger.
“Probably lost its mind a bit. No sane person would summon Hardenaihar in the first place.”
“......”
The sense of wrongness I felt from Evan.
That unease came from him acting in ways the 'Evan Helvin' I knew wouldn't, of course...
But that's not all.
‘This guy doesn't seem loyal to the cult.’
I'd vaguely sensed it, but now I was sure.
The Dark Cult is still a cult, so 'faith' might be more accurate than loyalty.
But I barely sensed any of that from Evan.
Is that why he's spilling cult info so easily?
‘At least one thing's confirmed.’
The Demon King has indeed descended.
It was the one part of what he said I least wanted to believe, but refusing to believe it just denies reality.
Life is like that sometimes—the things you want to deny are closest to the truth.
Of course, that doesn't erase all my doubts.
“To summon a Demon King, you need three conditions: sacrifices, land rich in mana, and a High Priest to chant the scriptures.”
The land where the Academy is built... It's a small island in the river, so calling it 'land' is a stretch, but it's brimming with mana anyway.
The Twilight River itself is practically a massive vein of mana.
I heard that's why they made this place the empire's heart, the capital.
“Even if we assume a High Priest is hiding somewhere in the Academy, what about the sacrifices?”
To summon even part of a Demon King, you need at least dozens, up to thousands of sacrifices.
In the capital, let alone the Academy, that many people can't just vanish without a trace.
Of course, I know a way to summon a Demon King without major conditions.
“Don't tell me there's another Little Cult Leader.”
“Who knows...”
Evan chuckled slyly.
“As a cultist, it's kinda hard to spill every little detail about the cult.”
I looked at Evan steadily and said,
“You know you're a defeated remnant right now, right?”
“Of course.”
“And you're still acting tough because you're sure Ruan Bednicker—your old roommate—won't touch you easily?”
“......”
I said it with a smile, but Evan didn't respond.
“Good job.”
“What?”
“If you'd chuckled and replied this time, I'd have cut off an arm.”
Fortunately, he's not clueless enough to miss that I meant it.
Less out of fear of my threat, more like he's minding his words a bit.
‘Anyway...’
If Evan Helvin is the Little Cult Leader, interrogation or torture won't extract info.
That's what cultists are.
They don't bend to pain, have no family outside the cult, and no real weaknesses.
So I need to draw it out through natural conversation and leading questions, which requires the skill of a heresy inquisitor who specializes in cultists.
The guy like Ainzbern that the Iron-Blooded Duke interrogated last time wasn't even a real cultist.
“Anyway, you're saying everyone in the Academy is doomed soon?”
“Yeah. Timing-wise, probably around this month's full moon.”
The second full moon.
It matches exactly what Seren said.
I nodded.
This is probably all the info I can get from Evan right now.
Time for me to get to the point.
“Evan.”
I called him Evan for the first time. Take it as my own way of acknowledging him.
He's awakened as Little Cult Leader and changed a lot, but he's still Evan to me.
“Yeah.”
Evan answered.
The way he tilted his head slightly looked just like the Evan Helvin I knew.
“How about teaming up with me for one thing?”
“Teaming up?”
“While we're in this Academy, how about cooperating just to drive out the Demon King?”
Evan stared at me in shock, then burst into hollow laughter.
“...You're asking a cultist—no, the Little Cult Leader—to join hands? A Bednicker?”
The Bednicker name is such a pain sometimes. It's always Bednicker this, Bednicker that.
Feels like preconceptions stick regardless of my will or actions.
“I'm a bit different from other Bednickers. You can feel that, right?”
“I could feel it, but I didn't expect you'd openly propose cooperation. Are you a cultist too, by any chance?”
“That joke's kinda unpleasant.”
“Sorry.”
“And if I'm the Bednicker black sheep, aren't you the cult's heretic?”
“Me?”
“In a way, I'm proposing treason to you right now.”
Evan snorted at my words.
“Not wrong, but... My view on the Demon King differs from the others.”
“Differs how?”
“I think human matters should be handled by humans.”
“......”
Evan muttered in a subtle tone, then smiled at me.
“I'll trust you. A normal Bednicker would've smashed my head the moment they learned I'm a cultist. But I have conditions.”
“Shoot.”
“First: Don't reveal my identity to anyone.”
“Fine.”
I nodded.
I'd expected that, and it benefits me too.
Dragging him in now means he'll eventually face the others, like Seren...
Revealing his identity then wouldn't be smart.
It'd just cause unnecessary chaos.
“Second: In this operation, fully trust and follow my words.”
“What's that mean?”
“Exactly what it sounds like. In this temporary alliance, I'll do my utmost to survive. I still don't want to die.”
Evan shrugged and continued.
“The evil memories that awakened with me—I'll use them all for survival.”
“Then isn't that good?”
“It is. But the cult's common sense is far from what you know. You seem flexible for a Bednicker, but following my orders without question will be tough.”
I chuckled and said,
“Unnecessary worry. I have way more experience than you think and a flexible mindset.”
My common sense was pretty much shattered during those ten years on Spirit Mountain.
“I won't follow blindly, but I promise not to dismiss it as bullshit.”
“That'll do.”
Evan nodded seriously.
“From what I've grasped, the most suspicious culprits are two: Glen Scarlett and Perist Scarlett.”
“The prince and princess.”
I was a bit surprised.
It's only been days since arriving at the Academy, and he's already narrowed it to them.
Just smart, or using some method I don't know, like Seren?
Anyway, pulling Evan in on impulse might've been a good call.
“Yeah.”
Evan nodded and said,
“Hard to be sure which of the two is the cultist. More precisely, impossible. As I said, we don't have much time left. Threats, torture, interrogation won't work. Whoever presided over Hardenaihar's descent is probably insane already. So I came up with a clever plan.”
“Let's hear it.”
“Kill them both. I'll kill the princess, you kill the prince. How's that?”
Evan looked at me expectantly for praise.
I thought it over, but found no hidden meaning, so I had to say,
“Bullshit, fuck.”
Evan looked baffled at my curse, then realized something and slapped his forehead with an “Ah!”
“Got it. Then I'll kill the prince. You kill the princess.”
He looked at me like, “There, fixed?”
I ended up slapping my own forehead for a different reason.
The alliance was creaking from the start.