Chapter 383
Chapter 383
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 383
Chapter Title: Demonkin (1)
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Hubert furrowed his brow.
A young man with ordinary features—black hair, black eyes.
But the two sheep-like horns protruding from either side of his head and his skin, pale to the point of translucence with a faint purple sheen, made it clear he was anything but ordinary.
'A demon?'
Residents of the Demon Realm, a subordinate dimension adjacent to Outerica, much like the Spirit Realm or the Abyss.
Of course, he was already well aware of their existence.
After all, Siana the succubus—one of the Immortal Army's executives—was a demon from the Demon Realm herself.
'The question is, why has one of them suddenly come looking for me...'
⚙ ANALYSIS RESULT ⚙ ??? (Demonkin) Affiliation unknown. Extremely excited upon encountering artifacts thought impossible to find here. Key Trait: Vast magical power Trust Level: ??? He'd barely managed to use Analysis, but there wasn't much more to glean from it.
The opponent's tier was too high, and expecting to uncover everything from just a few words was wishful thinking.
Still, it wasn't nothing.
'Extremely excited upon encountering artifacts thought impossible to find here...'
That single line carried layers of meaning.
And considering his earlier behavior, the most likely explanation was—
"...What was that just now?"
As Hubert finished sorting his thoughts amid accelerated cognition, the still-invisible demon continued in an irritated tone.
'Tch, he noticed.'
Even using Limit Break for maximum stealth on Analysis wasn't enough to fully fool the senses of someone who had reached transcendence.
But Hubert, now grasping the intruder's identity, spoke first—casually, before the demon could react sharply.
"You seemed so confident, so I tried everything at my disposal. A mysterious guest shows up unannounced and uninvited. What's odd about checking?"
He shrugged, as if it were the most natural procedure in the world.
The demon betrayed a hint of bewilderment at the brazen response, but Hubert kept his face impassive, chin held high with unwavering boldness.
As if he'd done nothing but the obvious.
It was hardly the proper attitude before someone who could take his life at any moment, but Hubert had his reasons for such audacity.
'Besides, he doesn't seem likely to harm me now. Though it's not impossible he could get aggressive...'
If that happened, well, they'd see who regretted it in the end.
His frail little brother might take a hit outside, but his formidable older brothers—always ready to back him up—wouldn't stand idly by.
Just like they hadn't before.
"...Fine. You're right—we did barge in unannounced, so I'll let it slide this once. No more after that."
Fortunately, the demon didn't press further.
Perhaps out of confidence that no trick could fully pierce him.
"So, you still haven't answered my question."
"No point denying it when you already seem to know."
"Meaning?"
"Exactly."
Hubert admitted it cleanly to the demon's renewed probing.
"I'm from Earth."
He could have played dumb with endless excuses, but saw no need.
Because this was the way to—
"You seem to be from there too. How about we show our faces and introduce ourselves properly? Fellow Earthlings meeting like this—it's fate, right?"
—smooth the conversation ahead.
"Hoh? Aren't you afraid of dying? I don't know what gives you such composure. The moment I decide, your head rolls before you can even choose to return to Earth."
"Didn't you come here wanting something from me? You didn't seem keen on hiding it from the start."
Hubert rose slowly from his seat.
Addressing the still-cloaked Earthling-turned-demon with perfect calm.
And in the center of the office, on the large reception table, he began pulling out food from his subsace—one dish after another.
"...What's that?"
Colas, sodas, beers; chicken, pizza, sushi—takeout staples—and all sorts of sweet desserts.
The table was soon laden with a feast blurring the line between this world and Earth.
"Let's eat and chat casually. Someone like you wouldn't be fazed by poison anyway, right?"
He flaunted his ability deliberately in front of the demon.
Declaring his unique skill was precisely this.
Thanks to it, he'd succeeded in business—but he posed no physical threat.
Gulp—
As the aroma of freshly preserved food wafted out, Hubert sensed the demon swallow faintly.
Detecting such a reaction from someone who'd cloaked themselves so thoroughly was proof his guard had dropped sharply.
'No idea how long ago this guy was sent here...'
Yet he'd rushed straight to Hubert—the man overseeing Earth goods—the moment he learned of their circulation.
His longing for Earth must have been immense.
From Siana, he'd already learned demon taste buds weren't far from human ones.
They could survive on magic alone without eating, which only made them more obsessive about fine cuisine when they did.
Especially for an Earthling accustomed to MSG and spices.
"Dig in—no need to hold back. I can fetch as much as you want."
The ruthless businessman Hubert flashed a warm smile, gesturing to the banquet.
'...Demons, the Demon Realm, and Earth's Awakened. How can I spin this?'
His narrowed eyes hid the calculating whirl within.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ These days, war clouds thickened across the continent by the hour.
Like everyone else, the Immortal Army's executives were run ragged.
[With this... we've finished securing the Rohan Principality front... Good work, everyone...]
[Converting mountain monsters to undead and reorganizing them is going smoothly. All preparations are complete—we can invade the continent anytime at the king's command.]
[Kekeke— We can bypass through Kane Fortress in the fallen Sharoti Kingdom too. That'll scatter their forces nicely.]
They hunted monsters to endlessly swell their ranks, secured the fallen Rohan front to ready invasion routes through the mountains to the Empire, and unleashed random waves to terrify humanity.
Casualties weren't negligible, but the Immortal Army no longer dawdled like in the Immortal King's revival days.
'Still don't get why he hesitated back then... but who am I to question the king's thoughts? He has his reasons.'
Succubus Siana was just as swamped.
As internal affairs head for the Immortal Fortress, she managed black mages and turncoats alongside the captive crown prince; as an imperial noble, she gathered intel and schemed behind the scenes.
Her basic intel couldn't match Olivia's, and humans wary of her ghost underlings made high-level info tough.
Still, Siana's noble access yielded unignorable gains.
"Phew, urgent stuff's mostly done. Time to harass Simon after so long...?"
📡 TELEPATHIC LINK Siana? Can you talk now? "Huh?"
After a dutiful day as Immortal Army executive, a message arrived from a long-forgotten place.
—"Sister Sera? What's up? So sudden."
A transmission from her Demon Realm homeland.
Dimensions apart, crossing them for communication was never easy.
They'd timed rituals with barriers to minimize penalties.
'Last contact was just months ago. Five years till the next scheduled one, yet she reaches out like this...'
It meant the urgency outweighed the cost.
—Hmm... things here aren't great. How's your side? You joined the Immortal Army for intel, right? Any progress?
Siana gave an awkward smile at her sister's hopeful tone.
How could she confess the truth?
She hadn't joined willingly—the current Immortal King had captured her.
No investigations—just daily labor. Her claims were embarrassed excuses.
—"Eh, no real breakthroughs yet. War prep has everyone busy here too..."
—Sigh. Well, slim odds from the start. Still, even a queen's essence instead of the king's remains would help a ton.
—"Yeah..."
That was her mission from the Demon Realm.
Search for the Demon King's remains from his ancient invasion of this land—or the essence of his high-ranking succubus queen consort.
That final invasion predated the first Immortal King's descent by a millennium; finding traces now was near impossible.
As a demon, she'd sense if nearby, but such dangers wouldn't lie exposed.
'Sealed in Church holy sites, imperial vaults, dragon lairs, probably.'
Her clan hadn't expected much when dispatching her.
A desperate straw-grasp, plus evacuating her amid fears of clan annihilation back home.
'Thought luck might play out.'
The second Immortal King rampaged, plunging the world into chaos; dragons—major obstacles—nearly went extinct.
Post-defeat, she'd operated covertly.
Sensing limits alone, she infiltrated as nobility in rising Azerion Empire, later climbing to executive in global crime syndicate Oath of Reverse Heaven.
'And now...'
Centuries since leaving the Demon Realm.
No real progress.
This was the first urgent contact.
—"That bad? You said at least a century before real trouble."
—Thought so too...
Her sister's voice trailed off across the link.
—The war's tipping; centuries-old balance shattered. Some variable emerged. Like, say...
No conviction in her tone.
That grave the situation.
—Another god intervening in the Demon Realm besides the Demon God...
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Hubert stroked his chin, watching the young man across from him savor and steadily devour the food.
"Ahh— This hits the spot. Cola after so long."
The settler from Japan, who'd named himself 'Miyamoto Ken,' gulped down cola before smacking his lips appreciatively.
Two hours since he'd sat.
Slow eater, yet the initial spread was long gone; fresh platters nearly empty too.
"Hmm... where was I?"
"Demon Realm politics lately. The centuries-long war suddenly tilting one way."
"Ah, right. Let me see..."
Earth food melting his reservations, he answered Hubert's probing questions amiably while eating.
Whether from desire to vent to a fellow Earthling or pay for the meal, unclear.
'Or just whimsy.'
Demons, powered by dark mana, rarely showed such peace.
Docile now, they could snap feral anytime.
Hubert, merchant incarnate, mined info without provoking.
Once an apex mercenary dubbed 'Gale Ken,' he'd taken a heretic purge job—only to fall into this state.
The commission was a demon cult trap to lure prime sacrifices.
'No return points saved; accepted demonization to survive, forced to Demon Realm.'
But something glitched: he awoke powerless as an Awakened, abandoned there.
An unwilling settler.
'...Like undead classification?'
Undead were treated as wholly new entities, stripping Awakened privileges.
Living memories mere data; reborn twisted anew.
'Odd.'
Too nagging to dismiss.
Earth had plenty fully demonized villains.
'Outerica demonization unique?'
Hubert consulted peak authority: Immortal King Hans.
Seconds later, Taboo Truth cross-verified with Impure Sage and Path of Demon Arts.
'No, rites identical. Power loss from something else, not demonization.'
Intuition prickled urgently.
Don't overlook this.
'Demon Realm, demons, demonization, Awakened, settlers...'
Accelerated thoughts spawned hypotheses—clues insufficient.
Need more threads...
Suddenly—
Hubert's head snapped up from his chair.
His lips curved upward.
'...Talk about perfect timing.'
Fate, perhaps.
✨ SKILL UNLOCKED! ✨ Unique Skill Reinforcement → Next Stage