You Dare Touch My Subordinate? (1)

About fifty years ago, the continent had been thrown into absolute chaos.

Why, you ask?

Because the Holy Empire had actually managed to capture a 9th-tier demon!

Do you understand what a 9th-tier demon even is? Those were the infamous True Demons.

The True Demons were purebloods who had existed since the dawn of creation. Even a Cardinal couldn't hope to survive a serious clash with one, and even a careless brush against one meant losing at least a limb—or an entire body part, at minimum.

If that was true for a Cardinal, what hope would anyone else have?

The moment you so much as set foot in a True Demon's territory, you were as good as dead—even from dozens of kilometers away.

And then there was the power of the Skeleton Demon King, the being who had crushed beings like that underfoot. Frankly, there's no point even trying to put it into words.

In any case, the Holy Empire had captured one of the fourteen 9th-tier demons who served as the Skeleton Demon King's direct subordinates—one of the Fourteen Six Demons, no less.

It was a demon who had stormed in alone to reclaim the remains of the Skeleton Demon King that the Holy Empire had seized.

The appearance of a 9th-tier demon reportedly threw the Holy Empire into an uproar unlike anything in living memory.

Every single Cardinal took the field, and the Pope himself—rarely seen—made an appearance. That says it all, really.

At any rate, when one of the Fourteen Six Demons appeared, the entire priesthood nearly faced annihilation. In the end, it was the Pope who subdued the demon, and he declared:

So… the Fourteen Six Demons made themselves the priests' lapdogs to protect their master's body. Still, capturing a 9th-tier demon—that was a miracle for the human side. A miracle, damn it all. Fine. A miracle it was.

But these people's way of thinking? That's the real miracle here.

"Hey! You eyeball-shitting bastards! You call this a visitation?!!"

Isaac, upon encountering the Fourteen Six Demon's prison, was absolutely livid.

Sure, showing him the Fourteen Six Demon was nice and all, you filthy cockroaches, but seriously—

"Why is it so FAR away!!! A bean-sprout head would be bigger than that!!!"

Isaac jabbed a finger at the tower that looked like a speck in the distance.

The Holy See's prison resembled a fortress prison, and the cell in question sat atop the tallest of the block-like towers rising into the sky.

And sure, something was technically visible through the tower's window, but…

"Is that the Fourteen Six Demon, or a pimple on your ass, huh? HUH? You think this is funny?!"

Furious at the pathetic conditions of the so-called visitation, Isaac looked ready to breathe fire.

Yet the Red Faith priests, far from apologetic, looked downright proud of themselves.

"You should be grateful we're showing you this much at all."

I'm sorry, what? Grateful? GRAT-EE-FUL?

Did these bastards just expect me to kneel down and bang my forehead on the floor in gratitude? Huh??

God, kids these days have zero manners. Zero!

Why did he think he'd come to this godforsaken place in the first place? Because he had things to hand over to his subordinate, that's why!

Well, I do need ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to be careful about getting caught.

But this wasn't even a question of getting caught. He literally couldn't hand anything over like this!!!

Finally, his patience snapped, and Isaac pulled something out from inside his clothes.

Ah, you bastards. I was trying to be nice, and you keep forcing me to flex the power of authority.

"Hey. Who among you still feels like flapping those lips after seeing this?"

What Isaac held out was none other than the red metal token of the Cardinal of Red.

The crest of the Red Faith—the Hunt Heart Rose—emblazoned upon it. The Red priests gritted their teeth.

But Isaac grinned wickedly, savoring their expressions as he needled them.

"This token works exactly the same as the Cardinal himself standing here, doesn't it? And the Cardinal told me himself—while I hold this, you have to grant my every request."

This little brat dares to call His Eminence 'that guy'?!

"Very well then! If the Cardinal says so, you'd best kneel!"

Why, you—!

In the end, the Red priests took a step back.

"Then we'll need to conduct a body search first."

…Come again?

"The Fourteen Six Demons are our most critically important prisoners. You could be carrying any manner of hidden agenda. Whether for an assassination, a crime, or anything else—we will search you thoroughly before escorting you."

Isaac's eyebrows twitched.

You sons of bitches, a body search is NOT allowed!

His subordinate had brought tools to weaken the restraints binding him! And the thing he needed to deliver was those escape tools!

Granted, he'd hidden them for now, but a casual pat-down and a thorough inspection were two entirely different animals.

And above all, if Baby Skeleton got discovered right now, it was instant annihilation!!!

Sure enough, the little skeleton clinging to Isaac's back was trembling like a leaf.

It was hidden beneath his cloak, mostly out of sight, but the shaking came through against his skin.

Even a lowest-grade monster apparently understood that if the priests found it, it would be erased from existence.

Like I'd ever let Baby Skeleton get destroyed!

Isaac snorted.

"And if I refuse?"

The Red priests curled their lips upward, caught red-handed and loving it.

"Oh, but you will comply. For the record, you have no right of refusal."

Excuse me, you bastards?

"To be honest, we have our suspicions about you, my lord. 'Why, of all things, does he wish to meet the Fourteen Six Demon?'"

"!"

"And there has been testimony. When you first arrived at the Academy as an infant, an escaped demon appeared in the dining hall, did it not? Right in front of you, no less."

"And at this year's Blue Pentagon, the skeletons swarmed to you and you alone, we hear."

The eyes of the Red priests—every one of them a Heresy Inquisitor—glinted bloodred.

"Could it be that you summon demonic beasts, my lord?"

"Whether you have fallen, or whether you are being used by the demons, we cannot say—but for the security of the Empire, it must be verified."

The Red priests were in the middle of hunting down traitors and collaborators of the Skeleton Demon King.

And above all, hadn't their superiors ordered it?

"Oh, and for the record—if you refuse, we won't let it slide. For instance…"

The Red priests snapped their fingers.

In that instant, Isaac nearly lost his eardrums.

BOOM!!

An explosion had torn through the cell right next to them. It was powerful enough to blow out a wall. The demonic beast inside had naturally been caught in the blast and killed.

"That is what will happen."

The skeleton had almost certainly felt its kin's death keenly. The proof was in the way the little skull clinging to Isaac's back shook harder than ever. It might even have been crying.

No wonder Isaac's eyes turned murderous.

You goddamn bastards!! Scaring OUR baby half to death because you want to die??

Can't you SEE the poor thing trembling in fear?!! Huh? CAN'T you?!

Now that he looked at them, these Red Faith bastards were total thugs. Dogs, the lot of them—he'd never even stooped to this level of intimidation back in the day!!!

Oh, you want to die?!?

Isaac's eyes went wild.

So the priests were the muggers all along!

Soon the arrogant Red priests stepped forward and reached out their hands. But in that moment—

'!'

At the eerily glinting light in Isaac's eyes, the priests flinched before they could stop themselves.

"Hey."

"…!"

The Red priests froze solid at that icy voice.

"Touch me, and you die."

"…!"

The priests obeyed Isaac's command before they even realized it.

The proof: their hands instinctively pulled back, and their heads bowed—wait, their heads bowed?!

The Red priests couldn't help but doubt their own minds.

No way… did we just get steamrolled by that brat's eyes and presence? Us, the masters of interrogation—cowed by a mere child?

But that abyssal glint they'd glimpsed for an instant was like the deep sea—something that struck terror into any living human. A survival instinct that no human being could possibly suppress…

Survival instinct?!

'What in the—this is insane!'

The Red priests' pupils wavered, but Isaac carried on brattily, as if nothing had happened.

"Understood? Lay a single finger on me, and I'll take it as a declaration of war against House Eshua."

…Come again?

'This little runt.'

The Red priests surged forward in fury, but—

"Huh? Whoa whoa—back off. What are you planning to do to a child's body?! I'll bite my tongue and die right here, I swear?!"

Wha—what is happening?!

"N-now, hold on, my lord. If you say things so easily misunderstood—"

"Got it? I'll bite it, I'll BITE it! This is Red territory, isn't it? Do you know what happens if a direct descendant of Eshua dies here? You're all dead! Dead! Your heads roll, you hear me?!"

The flustered Red priests began trembling with pupil earthquakes.

He wasn't wrong. If Isaac actually died here, Blue would take it as a signal for war… why, you—?!

"If you touch me, my grandpa… honestly, probably won't lift a finger. But you think my uncle's just going to stand there?! He's my personal slave! You don't know Rilai Eshua?!"

"…"

Oh, we know. Believe me.

The Silver Killer Whale that entire foreign nations feared. We know him far, far too well—that's the problem, damn it!

Above all, they knew perfectly well that the man was a complete lunatic who, upon any meeting, would shove his nephew's portrait in your face and brag about the kid for hours on end.

"…"

The Red priests, Rilai's own former comrades, spun on their heels at once. If Isaac actually attempted suicide here, there was no telling whether that lunatic would chase them all the way down to Hell.

And so the men who had been gritting their teeth and muttering we'll see about this escorted Isaac toward the innermost tower at the heart of the prison.

He'd expected the grim procession to drag on for ages, but they reached their destination surprisingly quickly.

Even from where it looked smaller than a bean-sprout head, the mana had been palpable. The further he followed the Red priests, the heavier the pressure grew—a demonic force that pressed down through his skin and into his very veins.

"Ngh, and it's already this bad from here?"

Even the Red priests approaching alongside him were furrowing their brows, struggling bit by bit.

Coming from men who had interrogated every notorious criminal and high-tier demon in existence, that said everything. It gave him a rough sense of just how formidable the demon ahead truly was.

"…And this is with the seal suppressed to its absolute floor, no less."

"If one of the Skeleton Demon King's subordinates is this strong, then what in the world is the Skeleton Demon King himself…?"

"Shh."

As the Red priests suffered their way forward, the corners of Isaac's mouth curled into a smirk.

They walked a while longer.

"Open this door, and you stand before the Fourteen Six Demon's solitary cell."

"!"

Before Isaac rose a thick iron door the size of a fortress wall. Even a casual glance revealed sacred relics and high-tier divine arts engraved around it in dozens of layers, dozens of seals deep.

Not that it mattered—no matter how elaborate, Isaac could have unraveled the whole thing in seconds.

Either way, it told him exactly what kind of demon was locked inside. The proof: the Red priests, rare for them, drew deep breaths before attempting to open the door.

"You understand, of course? We did warn you clearly. The demonic force alone could stop your heart."

"Shut up and open it."

They swallowed hard and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠began unwinding the seals.

Clank. Clank. Clank.

Dozens of seals released one by one as the massive door began to grind open.

As demonic force poured through the widening gap—thick enough to choke the breath from their lungs—the Red priests bit down hard on their lips.

'Ngh.'

But the moment the door swung open, something bizarre happened.

RAAAGH!!!

"!!!"

"GYAAH!"

The instant the door parted, an enormous demonic force erupted outward. Alongside a raw, beast-like roar, a feral killing intent bore down on Isaac and the priests alike.

KUWOONG! KUNG!

Under the crushing pressure, the priests couldn't draw a single breath.

The dense demonic haze made it hard to see, but between curtains of black aura stood a single demon in humanoid form.

At a glance, it resembled a man in a butler's uniform. Where a head should have been, hundreds of faces flickered past like shadow phantoms, and its torso—bound so that not even one arm could emerge—thrashed in violent struggle.

Chained, it roared savagely, clawing to break free of its cell. It would smash through the bars and tear the priests apart right now, this very second—its every movement screamed it.

Even the priests had never witnessed such an aggressive reaction. They could only be bewildered.

"Wh-why is it acting like this?"

"It's always been so docile before…!!"

If anything, it belonged to the remarkably refined end of the demon spectrum—however vicious its inner nature might be.

"Then why has it suddenly gone berserk—?!"

Could it be… because of Isaac?

The priests, already suffering under the demonic force, felt a chill of realization.

Come to think of it, Isaac was of Eshua blood—the bloodline the Skeleton Demon King had tried to exterminate. Was the demon trying to kill Isaac because it served the Skeleton Demon King?

But they were wrong.

Yeah, that's about the size of it.

His ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠subordinate had recognized him instantly. Well, of course it had—avatar body or not, Isaac had personally carved that face himself ten years ago.

And when those priests had the audacity to drag a king here in chains—when they dared lay hands on its master—it had flown into a rage, hell-bent on killing every last one of his captors.

Not that it mattered to Isaac who ended up dying. It was the priests.

BANG!!!

"GRAAAGH!"

"…Those maniacs! It's sealed to the absolute floor—where is it getting this strength?!"

Under the crushing weight of its power, they couldn't even remain standing.

Soon, they turned their gaze toward Isaac—who was, they assumed, quaking in terror.

"There!! You've seen it with your own eyes, so surely you grasp the situation now? The very thought of executing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a Fourteen Six Demon—something you could never possibly—"

But the sight of Isaac forced them into open horror.

And why wouldn't it…

'Is he… smiling?'

'Is he smiling RIGHT NOW??'

He was basking in the demonic force like a man enjoying a breeze from a folding fan.

That wasn't all.

Who in their right mind flaunted raw, unfiltered mana in front of others? As if answering a challenge, a brilliant light of holy power surged up and struck back against the demonic force.

TING!

Isaac was grinning—pheheh—with that signature crescent-moon smile that only appeared when he was in a genuinely good mood.

'I figured you'd have gotten weak, getting captured by a bunch of lowly priests like that.'

Guess not. Still alive and kicking, aren't you, my subordinate?