The Demon Who Plays with Hearts
"Sirmiia, I'm sorry. That was a lie... I was just bluffing. In truth, I used about seventy percent of my total mana on that teleport."
"What?"
"After that, when I fought you, I had less than three percent left after casting high-level spells and incantations. If you'd held out even a little longer, I would've been the one crawling on the floor in disgrace."
"No way..."
"I'm sorry for deceiving you. At the time, I said it because I wanted to drive you into despair."
"...Anyway, you've recovered by now, right? So it doesn't matter."
"No. You know my mana reserves are enormous, don't you?"
"I do. When I was young, I thought your total mana exceeded even that of a high dragon who'd lived twelve hundred years."
"Yes. Among dragonkin, my mana capacity is probably the greatest—excluding the Lords."
"Then that's fine. Hurry up and prepare the teleport. We need to leave right away if we're going to save Captain Julius."
"Please hear me out to the end. Two hundred years ago, I betrayed the dragons and was sealed away in my polymorphed state. In other words, I can never return to my dragon form."
"Sealed?"
"There were circumstances. Since I can't revert to my original form, the Dragon's Heart doesn't function properly. That's why, despite my massive mana reserves, my recovery rate is painfully slow."
"What? Then how long do we have to wait for the teleport? A week?"
"If it were only that long, I wouldn't have said anything. To recover twenty percent of my total mana, I need roughly a month. And the eight percent I'd managed to regain has already dropped to two percent after fighting the Hero."
"What magic can you use right now?"
"I could manage several dozen mid-tier spells. High-tier spells? Maybe four."
"Useless."
The moment she realized she was no longer useful, my tone shifted with startling speed.
"...That hurts, Sirmiia. Don't you think that's too harsh?"
While Angelica hung her head in dejection, the Hero beside her hesitantly called out to me.
"Um, Sirmiia."
"What? What is it now? What do you want to ask?"
"I can use magic too..."
"What? Last time, when the Pope was interrogating me, you clearly said you couldn't use magic and that you needed me."
"That's true... I was originally supposed to keep my magic hidden, so I can't use it normally. That's why I needed you, Sirmiia."
"So? What we need right now is a teleport spell that only a dragon could cast—not your pathetic mid-tier magic."
"I can use teleport. And my mana reserves are more than sufficient. My total mana has been officially recognized by the Tower Master as Transcendent level. After calculating the teleport, I can say with certainty that—even with some margin of error—we can reach a city near Erebore."
"...Liar."
"I swear it on the Hero's name."
'Huh?'
This was bad. I'd assumed he was just some guy who was good with a sword and treated him like a background character, but he turned out to be a perfect overachiever who could use magic too. I immediately switched to full bootlicking mode and groveled before the Hero.
"Um... sorry, Hero. You must've been pretty upset, right? I tend to speak harshly. I apologize."
"No, it's fine. Honestly, no matter what you say to me, Sirmiia, I never feel offended. So there's no need to apologize."
At a glance, it might have seemed like he was putting me in my place, but I wasn't that twisted of a demon. Taking his words at face value, it simply meant the Hero was extremely well-disposed toward me.
'Why, though?'
Was he just a pushover? I didn't know the exact reason, but if the Hero was being favorable, that was all the better for me.
"Really? Then let's depart right—"
"Stop! Sirmiia, wait. Let's pack our clothes and finish the other preparations first before we leave."
"What? The useless dragon can shut up. Angelica has no say in this. When Julius is in danger, why would my clothes matter?"
"U-useless dragon...? Sirmiia, that's really too much... I'm hurt."
I had no idea where this courage was coming from, but right now, nothing else mattered. If anything stood in the way of saving Julius, I could say whatever I wanted—even if it was to that insane dragon who'd been punishing and tormenting me until last night.
If Angelica had still been able to use teleport, I would've kept groveling to her. But she couldn't anymore. A dragon who couldn't teleport and had only two percent of her mana left was no longer someone I needed to fear.
"No, Sirmiia. I agree with the evil dragon on this. We can't just charge in to face a demon without any preparation. Even if she's in a spiritual state, if she's a demon ranked thirtieth or higher, our lives could be in danger. We need proper countermeasures."
If the one who could use teleport was saying this, I had nothing left to argue. How was I supposed to change the Hero's mind? I let Angelica take my hand and was quietly dragged into her room.
"First, let's change into proper outdoor clothes!"
"We don't have time for this..."
As Angelica and I entered the room, the Hero tried to follow, which caused a small problem.
"For Sirmiia's safety, I'm coming in too."
"We're changing clothes in here. Are you planning to watch?"
The Hero's face turned bright red at Angelica's words. He lowered his head and quietly turned away.
'Was he embarrassed? He's got a cute side too.'
After that, my memory went blank. All I remembered was being dressed by Angelica. And having to listen to explanations about sanitary pads and other things I'd never used in my life.
'We don't have time for this...'
==========
"Haa... This is getting unbearable."
"What's wrong, Cliff?"
"Think about it, Coby. There are women crawling all over the place down there, yet I can't lay a finger on any of them. Does that make any sense?"
"Endure it. This isn't the time to indulge in your filthy hobbies."
"I know. I know that. But Coby, remember this—I can't guarantee how long I'll be able to hold back."
"Tsk. As expected of someone with such vulgar blood, you can't think of anything but disgusting thoughts."
"Yeah, yeah. Anyway, did you find the paladin?"
"Wait. I'm still spreading my mana. She has to be hiding somewhere in this city..."
"Find her as fast as possible. We have less than forty-six hours left. In her spiritual state, she's extremely unstable."
"Don't rush me. Oh? Found her. She's hiding in a tavern near the south gate."
"Contact the boss immediately. I'll head there first."
"Huh? Wait, Coby! I'm coming with you."
==========
"Not done yet, Jude?"
"It will take some time. I would appreciate it if you waited patiently."
"Hmm~ And what if I don't want to?"
Jude quietly looked at her. Jet-black hair, goat horns sprouting from her forehead, and in those black eyes lay an unfathomable darkness—like an abyss whose depths could never be known.
Yes. She was not human. She was a god that the primitive intellect of humans could never hope to judge.
"Our god. Please wait just a little longer."
"Ugh. Stop with the god nonsense. Being bound together with such disgusting things is revolting enough as it is."
Jude said nothing, merely smiling quietly.
"Well, anyway, I don't particularly like waiting. So hurry up. Shorten the time until my descent as much as possible. If it's not enough, you can use your own life to make up for it."
Got it?
The puppeteer who played with people's hearts—the 40th Demon, Raum—spoke with a spine-chilling smile.
==========
"Even the underground passage is blocked by a barrier. In the end, the only option is to kill the demon."
Julius's condition looked terrible at a glance. His body was covered in wounds, and his left wrist was bent at an unnatural angle, refusing to move properly. He sank to the floor without hiding his exhaustion.
"...I don't even know if I can kill her."
Julius had already fought once to kill a demon. He had launched a surprise attack alongside the inquisitors while the demon worshippers were in the middle of their ritual. His ambush had been perfect. He struck at the exact moment the shamans were absorbed in the ritual and their guards were off their guard. Three guards died to a single swing of his sword, and the rest of the guards and shamans were dealt with just as easily.
What he hadn't anticipated was the betrayal of the inquisitors.
There had been five inquisitors dispatched to Erebore with him. Two of them were Dussel and Ian—the ones who had tried to violate Sirmiia last time. Julius had planned to quietly dispose of Dussel and Ian afterward, disguising it as an accident. He had never intended to let those two live after putting Sirmiia through such a horrific experience.
But those two were far more deranged than he had thought. Inquisitors colluding with demon worshippers and betraying the Vatican. Of course, Julius was a Transcendent. A surprise attack from two mediocre inquisitors couldn't even scratch him.
The real problem was one of the demon worshippers. The one called Jude was dangerous. He was a Transcendent—and one who had lived for quite a long time, at that.
When Jude first used his shamanic arts, Julius hadn't thought much of it. After all, shamans were inherently a bad matchup for him. He was the captain of the Holy Knights. With the blessings of God layered upon him, even a Transcendent's shamanic arts posed no threat.
But Jude didn't only use shamanic arts. Despite being a shaman, he was also highly skilled in close combat. No—when it came to hand-to-hand fighting, "skilled" didn't even begin to describe it. His martial arts overwhelmed even most Transcendents.
In the end, while Julius was being held back by him, another shaman completed the ritual. And finally, the demon was summoned.