395. Dawn (4)
395. Dawn (4)
- 1 -
- Pray. My little lamb.
'Today too...'
That voice burrowed into his mind once more.
Anselm's closed eyelids trembled weakly.
"Our Lord, who dwells in the heavens... may Your will be done on earth as it is there..."
He was offering a prayer right now.
In this windowless, cold stone chamber, from morning till all day long, on his knees.
The chill penetrating his skin rose up through his knees, but he did not move at all.
"And lead us not into temptation..."
The last day of December.
One of the few dates universally designated as a holiday in all nations.
If he just opened the door and stepped out, the excited voices of the holy citizens bidding farewell to the old year and welcoming the new would surely be heard.
Yet he did not take a single step out of this place.
It was a body that could not go outside anyway. All that was permitted to him was strict devotion alone.
The Central Archbishop who had been in charge of the domain near the Holy See.
The man who had been considered the most likely successor in the Holy Kingdom.
But now, he was on the verge of losing all of it.
The only fortunate thing was that the fact he had secretly used drugs and sorcery on the Holy Emperor had not yet been revealed.
The Holy Emperor was merely known to have taken to his bed due to poor health.
It felt as though he could hear the sound of the future that had once been his shattering into pieces.
'It doesn't matter.'
Anselm pulled himself together.
The path to becoming Holy Emperor was blocked forever. Stepping down from the position of Archbishop would also be a natural procedure.
What remained for him now was to preserve what he had as much as possible and quietly distance himself from the center of power.
If he thought of a comfortable retirement, he had to let go of many things now.
- Why should you have to do that.
But this voice was the problem.
An exceedingly holy and beautiful voice.
Yet at the same time, an infinitely seductive and kindly tone.
A voice that seemed to affirm his existence, his downfall, his anger—his everything.
The voice of God.
He could tell.
That the owner of this voice was the 'Lord' he had served all his life.
The One who dwells in the heavens, the great Goddess was finally watching over him personally.
'That can't be.'
He had denied it for days on end.
That this voice could not possibly be God's voice.
- Do you truly think so, my beloved little lamb?
But that voice kept coming to him.
Still vividly.
Sweet and sticky like chocolate.
Soft and gentle like a bed.
No matter how much he tried to deny it, it was useless.
The more he prayed, the more all his senses affirmed that voice.
He could no longer turn away from it.
"What... is it that You want from me?"
He could not know.
Philia Elskopf was going from strength to strength.
He was rotting away.
A new religion worshipping the sun was spreading across the continent like wildfire.
Everything of his, even what he had already lost, was being taken by that woman.
Just what did his Lord want?
What could his wretched self possibly do now?
This self of his that had nothing.
"What... what must I do, O Lord...?"
When he finally asked in a broken voice, a low laugh filled the prayer chamber.
- Act for Me. Then, you shall dwell in My kingdom.
In that instant, a holy light burst forth before his eyes.
Upon his altar, a familiar tome lay shining brilliantly.
Anselm's eyes flew wide open.
The light reflected in his eyeballs, making it seem as if his very pupils were holding the light.
"Th-this is... no way."
The book he had sealed in the deepest part of the monastery the moment he heard the Holy Kingdom's allied forces were winning the battle.
The forbidden tome containing the seals of ancient demon beasts.
It had somehow appeared here before him.
- I tell you once more.
The laughing voice was still low and clear.
- Act for Me. My most faithful little lamb.
"... Yes. My Lord."
Anselm rose from his seat as if possessed.
With staggering steps, he approached the altar and reached his hand out over the shining tome.
The transparent light that had lingered in his eyes.
It was, before he knew it, tinged with an ominous crimson red.
- 2 -
On the day marking exactly 600 days since I had come to this world.
And simultaneously, the afternoon of the day the year 215 was ending.
In a room at the deepest part of my dungeon, I was waiting for someone who would cross over from beyond the gate.
Dalkak.
I set down my teacup.
It was because I had begun to sense the presence I had been waiting for.
I raised my head.
Huuuuk —— !
The gate, which had been quietly swirling with a blue glow, distorted in an instant.
As if a drop of ink had fallen into a tranquil lake, a dense darkness rapidly spread from the center.
And from within that darkness, a mana far heavier and thicker than that of the surface world flowed out.
It was the mana of the Demon World.
Ttak-gak. Ttak-gak.
Jeo-beok. Jeo-beok.
The sound of wooden slippers and heavy boots.
The footsteps of two people were heard from within the darkness.
"Master."
"Thank you, Eve."
I rose from my seat, receiving Evangeline's escort, and walked forward myself as well.
And toward the one standing on the left among the two figures fully revealed from the gate, I bowed my head respectfully.
"Welcome, Lord Asmodeus."
"Oh my, you were waiting. Good afternoon, Hecate."
A lady in a splendid Western Continental-style dress.
Asmodeus, the Demon World's Duke of Lust, responded with a bewitching smile.
I had been thinking she might come.
Since she was the one who maintained the most favorable stance toward me among the Seven Great Dukes of the Demon World.
Of course, if the most favorable one had come...
"And... it has been a while. Duke of Envy."
...then naturally, the most hostile one must also come along.
"Yes, Duke of Paradox. I shall not say it is good to see you."
Over a black suit splendidly adorned with green and gold tassels, a venomous presence wafted out.
The silver-haired man tilted his chin slightly toward me.
A stylishly kept black beard and eyes as sharp as a blade.
A man from whose entire body aristocratic arrogance poured out.
Schadenfreude Haden Leviathan Invidia.
That is, the Demon World's Duke of Envy.
'... Yes, they must have balanced it out like this.'
Their business was 'evaluation' and 'inspection'.
Regarding whether I was suitable to ascend to the position of 'Demon Realm Archduke'.
It was a task that required strict neutrality.
Meeting his eyes, I inwardly tightened the reins of my tension.
Because it was I who had brought to light the conspiracy he had once hatched with the former First Demon Queen, Semiramiel Ishtar, and caused his downfall in the past.
By now, it would not be strange if he had fully grasped the whole circumstances surrounding that event.
Standing before me, Leviathan straightened his index finger and continued.
"I shall correct one thing. As of now, I cannot yet be called the Duke of Envy. Address me as Schadenfreude."
"...I see. I have been rude, Your Highness, Archduke Schadenfreude."
His voice was calm, but suppressed anger was coiled within it.
At least on the surface, he maintained his composure, but inside, he must have been like an active volcano ready to erupt at any moment.
Maintaining an impassive expression, I extended one hand inward.
"Then please come this way, both of you. I have prepared a modest dinner."
"Oh my, I look forward to it."
"..."
Asmodeus, consistently full of vitality from beginning to end.
Leviathan, who stared at me almost oppressively while maintaining his silence.
I led the two magnates behind me and headed deeper into the dungeon.
"Though I have only come to the surface a few times, this seems to be a more beautiful place than any dungeon I have ever seen."
"You flatter me. Thank you. Now, this way."
The place we arrived at was a small banquet hall prepared on the 4th floor of the dungeon, the same floor as the gate.
Right now, there was no one to enjoy a banquet, and only a single dining table for three people sat there somewhat out of place.
But that alone was enough.
Upon the massive table made of ebony, all manner of rare delicacies encompassing both the human world and the Demon World sat steaming.
"How have you been these days, Lord Asmodeus?"
As soon as I took my seat, I started the conversation naturally.
"Fufu. I added one more concubine recently, and am quite satisfied as she is very cute."
"Again, in that short time...?"
"You would understand if you saw her. She was a woman whose soul's beauty had reached its zenith."
"That does make me curious."
While Asmodeus and I exchanged light small talk, Leviathan silently continued his meal while being attended to by a servant.
No emotion surfaced on his face.
Without any fuss or irritation, he simply moved his knife mechanically.
It was a perfect etiquette that did not even produce a single scraping sound from the knife.
Noticing my gaze, Asmodeus leaned toward me and whispered.
"I'm sorry, Hecate. You have no idea how much I insisted that at least Satan or Lucifer should come."
The corners of her eyes drooped slightly, and an apologetic smile hung on her lips.
It was a somewhat weak-looking appearance, unbefitting a Great Duke of the Demon World.
But that was only an act.
Because there was no reason at all for her to read my mood.
Even if I was receiving the protection of the First Demon Queen, I was still not on equal standing with the Great Dukes.
Yes, 'for now'.
"Thank you for your concern, Lord Asmodeus. But it's alright."
I answered quietly with a gentle smile, slightly lowering my eyes.
At that sight, Asmodeus smiled softly.
It was an attitude where the air of flattery had vanished, replaced by a smile tinged with satisfaction.
"Even so, it will be fine. Because His Majesty ordered us to handle this matter 'properly'."
"What do you mean by that?"
"It means He will only permit up to 'criticism'. It seems He intends to restore the minimum right of activity to Leviathan once this matter is properly concluded."
It was a plausible story.
Leviathan was currently maintaining the title of Duke of Envy but had lost all other powers.
A 'powerless patriarch' who had lost all sources of income except the taxes collected from his domain and was even deprived of the authority to intervene in the affairs of other demonic beings or even his own family members.
For him, who had sought to elevate his own daughter to the position of Queen, this must have been a fatal loss.
"...As that story says."
A voice abruptly cut in.
But without being surprised, I looked at him.
He too seemed to guess that I would know everything, glaring at me with rather displeased eyes.
"If it were up to my feelings, I would want to wring your neck right now."
Muttering as he wiped the corner of his mouth with a napkin, he tossed it carelessly onto the plate and continued.
A complex emotion flickered over his clear green eyes.
Most of it was suppressed bitterness and virulent rage.
"Unfortunately, I cannot do that. Because you are the Lord upon whom His Majesty bestows the greatest attention."
'However,' he broke off his words, and crossed his legs, drumming on the armrest with his fingertips.
Between the folds of his clothes, his true form briefly revealed itself like a heat haze before vanishing.
"That is the extent of my restraint. You will have to prove your qualifications properly."
A natural dignity flowed out of him.
Even in his confined position, an arrogant demeanor that was not the least bit intimidated.
Even while sitting on a chair of the same height, an atmosphere that suggested wherever he was, that place was naturally the head seat.
Living authority.
It was a presence proving that the seat of a Demon World Great Duke was by no means obtained in vain.
"Of course."
Facing that presence head-on, I smiled a relaxed smile.
"You may watch as much as you please."
With my legs together, I lifted the wine glass placed beside me.
Leviathan and Asmodeus likewise raised their glasses, assuming a mutual toast posture.
"I am confident, you see."
"About what?"
"That I am suited for the seat of a Great Duke."
Leviathan's lips twisted unpleasantly, and Asmodeus unfolded her fan while narrowing the corners of her eyes.
"Very well. Let us see about that."
"Fufu, I look forward to it."
The clear sound of the glasses clinking resonated through the banquet hall.
To me, it sounded like the striking of heels climbing the final stair.