Chapter 188
Chapter 188
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Birth of the Demon King? (2)
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People sometimes imagine things that will never happen, drawing a sense of peace from them.
If this building collapsed, I'd probably die, right?
Thank goodness it's sturdy enough not to collapse.
If that plague spreading through other villages hit ours, so many people would die.
Thank goodness it hasn't spread here.
Their line of thinking stemmed from that very psychology.
Rishir.
They would look at that man and think.
What if he had gone down the wrong path?
At any rate, thank goodness he was born with an upright heart that wouldn't betray us.
A sense of security.
It was something they could only enjoy once the possibility of anxiety was blocked off.
And so—
When that sense of security crumbled, humans felt unparalleled anxiety and fear.
That was how the power of the nightmare worked.
It had seen their steadfast faith in one man.
It had seen the security derived from that, and the anxiety denied by it.
The power of the nightmare twisted it—
And presented them with one image.
Very kindly, at that.
"...What is this?"
That was why Chender felt a sense of wrongness.
The moment he came to his senses, he immediately realized he was inside a nightmare.
He looked around.
It was a familiar place.
The guest room in the mansion where Drei and the others trapped in the nightmare had been lying.
Now, Chender was the one lying there.
And—
"Chender, are you awake?"
"...Lord Palrag?"
Chender hurriedly sat up.
When he looked toward the source of the voice, Palrag was standing there.
And he wasn't alone.
"You're... Iron Sword Dwain? And the Hero of Valor, the Hero of Insight too... And—"
Chender trailed off as he looked at the next person.
Palrag spoke up.
"Ah. Allow me to introduce them. These are Rishir's companions, Fienne and Rona."
The two women gathered there bowed awkwardly yet politely.
After the introductions—
One thought rose in Chender's mind.
"Lord Palrag... You're really Lord Palrag?"
Palrag immediately understood the intent behind the odd question and nodded.
It was a topic they'd already discussed once.
"Yes. Not just me—all of us here. It seems we've all been pulled into this nightmare together."
Several people could dream the same nightmare.
But several people dreaming the same nightmare at the same time?
"Is that even possible...?"
"I was skeptical at first myself. I thought the nightmare was trying to deceive me. But after talking with them, I changed my mind."
Chender's gaze followed Palrag's to the woman in pure white, Fienne.
"I heard. Rishir caught another new demon and absorbed its power, right?"
"...?"
Chender doubted his ears for a moment.
Treating a high-ranking demon like some wild beast—
"From what I heard, that demon had the power to plunge people into nightmares. That's probably why."
Ah.
So that's it.
At Fienne's explanation, everyone gave a wry, meaningful smile.
All but one.
Chender alone seemed not to grasp the situation.
"That's why...? What do you mean?"
"What else? Rishir absorbed the demon's power."
"...Did I hear that right?"
This time, Chender seriously doubted his ears.
A high-ranking demon.
'Absorbing' the power of such a transcendent being.
'It's not like he's hunting wild animals and eating them...'
It was a story utterly detached from Chender's understanding of the world.
So Chender thought.
Maybe all this was an illusion crafted by the nightmare to deceive him?
"Ah. How do I explain this..."
Fienne frowned elegantly, seemingly frustrated by Chender's reaction.
"You. Do you know nothing about that man?"
It was as if she was convinced it was impossible to convince someone who hadn't experienced the 'phenomenon' firsthand.
Then Palrag spoke to Chender.
"Chender. Remember the fire spirit and sand spirit we saw back then?"
"...Of course I do. Spirits with incredibly mysterious powers. I'd never even heard of spirits like that in my life."
"Yes. That makes sense. Because those spirits were originally demons."
"...Demons are demons, spirits are spirits. What are you talking about?"
Palrag and the others looked at the bewildered Chender with warm gazes.
Those gazes only confused Chender more.
Then the woman in white spoke.
"Think about it. Devouring relics infused with demonic energy. Could an ordinary spirit do that?"
"..."
Then, could a demon become a spirit?
Chender swallowed that question.
"Well, I get it. It's not easy to accept right away. For now, just know this: Rishir's 'spirits' absorbed the 'demon's' power, making it Rishir's in the end."
"...So Rishir used that nightmare power on us?"
"Not intentionally."
Pilgrim Chender.
The holy knight who had wandered the continent, building countless shrines, knew how easily humans could be tainted by corruption.
From Chender's experience—
A man like Rishir was in a position ripe for corruption at any moment.
Young nobles his age caused trouble left and right, intoxicated by trivial powers.
Yet Rishir wielded power incomparably vast.
Losing control would be entirely natural.
"..."
But why?
Chender couldn't picture that man losing control and falling to corruption.
"If not intentionally?"
As Chender asked in a calmer tone, Fienne shrugged.
"Probably just a temporary issue. Happens all the time, right? Sudden power slips out of control—"
"A high-ranking demon's power slips control...? Isn't that more serious than we think?"
"Don't worry about that. It's not exactly like that."
"What do you mean—"
"Would you look here, please?"
An intervening stern voice.
Iron Sword Dwain spoke up.
She had already drawn her sword and pressed it to her palm.
Dwain slowly moved the sword.
Everyone could clearly see it.
A wound carving into her palm.
And it healing immediately after.
"Hmm..."
A groan escaped Chender's lips.
Fienne seized the moment to continue.
"Whether it was always like this or Rishir's subconscious shaped it, this power doesn't seem intent on harming us."
"...Probably his subconscious at work."
"Oh? How can you be so sure?"
The woman in white looked at Chender with intrigued eyes.
As if she didn't like him speaking like he knew 'that man' better than she did—
Her haughty gaze seemed somewhat displeased.
"When this power belonged to the demon, it wasn't this kind. It was viciously malevolent. Isn't that right, Lord Palrag?"
"From what I heard from Drei, yes. This power originally aims to thoroughly destroy and subjugate its targets. Rishir must have subconsciously tamed that nature."
"..."
Fienne fell into thought.
Soon, her lips curved into a small smile.
"Well, that's just like that man."
"...Miss Fienne, was it? May I ask something?"
"Sure. Ask away. I don't like blabbing about that man to others, but... who else would tell you about him if not me?"
Me?
Rona pointed to herself with a playful grin from the side.
Fienne glared at her once before listening to Chender's question.
"You said this power has no intent to harm us. Then—"
Chender looked around and said,
"How do we escape this place?"
"We were just discussing that—before you woke up."
"Any conclusions?"
"Conclusions... maybe."
Clink.
The sound of Dwain sheathing her sword.
Once finished, she said,
"He'll grasp the situation soon and take measures. He might have already done so and left arrangements."
"...Meaning we search for clues outside?"
"Yes. If you have another idea, speak freely."
"..."
Chender shook his head and checked his condition.
"For now, let's check that man's room."
Led by Fienne, the exploration party left the room.
"You..."
When the exploration party arrived at Rishir's room, someone was already there to greet them.
"..."
Blue Lotus Klana.
The killer sat up on the bed and looked around.
"You got pulled here too?"
Even to Palrag's question, she remained lost in thought with her usual aloof air.
What the heck is that?
Another woman.
Fienne and Rona's whispers were ignored as expected.
Finally, she nodded slightly.
"I have a rough idea of the situation."
Klana looked around the room.
After picking up the blue lotus she'd come for, she tried to leave alone.
"Wait, Klana. In a situation like this, we should—"
Palrag was about to persuade her.
-Aaaargh!!!
Everyone's gazes snapped toward the window.
A scream had come from outside the building.
"...My god."
Someone muttered in dismay.
Bondales was burning.
In black flames.
They immediately headed toward the scream.
"Lord Palrag!? Oh, heavens—thank you!"
Gus, whom Fienne's group encountered, let out a deep sigh of relief.
Around him were the caravan's guards, as well as guests staying at the mansion and their escorts.
Totaling around fifty.
Gathered together, it rivaled a knight order, surpassing most mercenary bands.
Yet Gus sighed in relief at meeting Palrag.
They were at the main gate of Gus's mansion.
There, they were holding off endless intruders.
"My god, Gus! You're real too!?"
Palrag said, looking at those gathered.
"Real? What do you mean!?"
"When you came to, did you feel no sense of wrongness?"
"I... don't know! I remember falling asleep in bed, but..."
Fienne spoke up.
"Probably because you're not as used to that man's aura as we are."
Rona added,
"That guy. How many people did he drag into this nightmare? Don't tell me the whole city?"
Hahaha.
Rona laughed her usual refreshing laugh at her own joke.
Her smile gradually froze.
"...No way, for real?"
Thinking about it, with that man, it seemed entirely possible.
"Eek, over there—more coming!!!"
Then.
Those guarding the gate with Gus shouted.
Fienne's group's gazes naturally turned to the main gate they pointed at.
"Gus! What's happening? Explain!"
"I don't know! They're ordinary humans, but for some reason, they're mindless and swarming the mansion!"
"Mindless!?"
"Yes! Mindless, muttering the same thing: 'For the master... For the master...'"
"...Mental interference—"
In that moment.
Fienne and Rona's expressions twisted sharply.
No way?
"They're here!"
Fienne and Rona instinctively stepped forward, scrutinizing the crowd approaching the mansion.
"...Damn."
Rona let out a deflated sound.
They both looked unsure what expression to make.
The humans swarming the mansion, bereft of self.
Because they realized the power controlling them was similar to their own.
"That can't be..."
At the same time.
The mages of the Gray Tower sighed as they looked up at the tower's main building roof.
Normally, it was a spot frequented by a half-spirit who disliked humans and loved contemplation.
Now, it was occupied by something else.
-Aaaaaaaaah!!!
It was a wolf.
An enormous wolf.
An upper-rank spirit—
Perhaps beyond that, the wolf spirit howled at the sky.
"Ah, aaah..."
The city councilor's face filled with despair as she looked down at her body.
It was turning black.
Just like the guards collapsing around her, rotting away moment by moment.
The curse was devouring the city.
"Miss Fienne!? Miss Rona!? Do you two have any idea what's going on!?"
The mindless humans swarming in.
Fienne and Rona's meaningful reactions.
Gus asked urgently.
"Well—"
"Eek, over there!!! Something's happening!!!"
As Fienne tried to speak.
The crowd swarming the mansion began to part in two.
Like soldiers escorting their lord.
Then, someone emerged from between the parted masses.
A knight of darkness, clad in black flames engulfing the city like armor.
"This is insane..."
Fienne's group immediately recognized who was inside that armor.
They realized.
Something that absolutely could not happen.
And so, the most horrific nightmare—was unfolding before their eyes.
Right now, the city was falling to a single man.
At the same time.
Rishir suddenly felt a sense of wrongness.
He turned his attention to the commotion from his inner world.
What was going on?
Rishir decided to respond to Ber's expectations first.
"Tch."
"..."
The knight of darkness emerged amid the mindless humans.
Black flames enveloped his body, flickering in everyone's eyes.
All were overwhelmed by his presence, unable to speak.
"How the hell do we..."
Someone's mutter spoke for them all.
Then—
The dark knight, standing motionless, took one step forward.
Just as true despair began to settle on their faces.
"Huh...?"
Someone looked up at the sky.
Bondales, wrapped in black flames, suddenly brightened.
A small crack appeared in the smoke-covered sky, and a beam of light descended from it.
The moment that beam touched the dark knight.
"...!"
The dark knight knelt on the ground, writhing in agony.
Watching the scene, someone muttered,
"A m-miracle...! It's a miracle!!! The g-gods are watching over us...!"