Chapter 39
Chapter 39
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: Daemon
-----------------------------------------------------------------
1st Prince Raunel crossed the mountains and arrived in the north.
Following Emperor Deus's command to move in secret, he had set out on the long journey with only the bare minimum of personnel.
'His Majesty has great expectations. I'must make this a success.'
This was the first time Deus had entrusted him with such a heavy responsibility.
There was no reason to send his princes into the heart of the battlefield, where tempests raged like typhoons.
—Investigate the matters arising in the north discreetly.
It meant gathering information without anyone knowing.
This was normally a job for the shadows, but even they couldn't manage it.
It was unprecedented for Deus to send a prince to the battlefield.
It was proof of how much faith he had in him.
'Reinhardt and Croft headed north.'
The reason Emperor Deus had sent him north.
He hadn't given any detailed explanation, but Raunel already knew.
It was to track their whereabouts and monitor Carlos Grand Duke's movements.
Raunel moved as cautiously as possible, patrolling the north.
He gathered information while passing through neutral cities.
By the time he reached Prelude Forest, Raunel was certain.
'Both of them came here. They executed Marquis Brizton and burned the Devil's Death.'
Devil's Death!
The death drug that sentenced anyone who handled it to execution.
Hearing that name, Raunel clenched his fist.
There was no way Marquis Brizton had done it alone.
Carlos Grand Duke was surely behind it.
However, this was information that hadn't been reported to the imperial family.
'Arrogant bastard. I'll make sure he pays for his crimes.'
Others might not be able to do anything about it, but Raunel was different.
Once he returned to the empire, he would definitely hold Carlos Grand Duke accountable.
No matter how powerful he was, the solemn laws of the empire stood above all imperial citizens.
If he hadn't known, it would have been one thing, but now that he did, he couldn't just let it slide.
"Was executing Marquis Brizton the end of it? He didn't do anything foolish?"
"He was a kind man. A great guide of souls."
"That can't be right. Are you sure you didn't see wrong?"
When he asked about Reinhardt, the people of Prelude Forest gave the same response without fail.
It was all praise.
But Raunel still couldn't understand it.
'Reinhardt is kind?'
They were brothers, but Raunel had never once thought of Reinhardt as family.
Using madness as an excuse, he had taken everything.
The position of crown prince, even their father's attention.
Naturally, Reinhardt was the type whose personality was far from gentle.
His eyes when he rampaged were like those of a demon.
Even normally, he was like a live volcano.
How could he acknowledge such a man as a brother?
He was far too different from himself.
No, he was a monster whose humanity was even in question.
And yet, they said he was gentle?
He heard another story too.
"He saved Amora and Apir. The children miss him so much... Where did he go? Will we see him again?"
Their faces were filled with deep regret.
The more he heard, the less it sounded like Reinhardt.
He shook his head.
It must be some mistake. Probably just someone else.
Raunel's goal was to escort Reinhardt back to the empire before he caused any trouble in the north.
He began tracking along the expected route.
"A god has been born in the holy land!"
"Everyone, to the holy land!"
Before long, Raunel witnessed a massive procession.
A pilgrimage.
All the northerners were heading to the holy land.
The endless line was truly a majestic sight.
'A great lord who appears once every millennium is a god, they say. I need to check it out.'
Raunel quietly slipped into the procession.
*
Through the great lord council, they selected the afflicted to treat.
Then, they began removing the radioactive material from those whose lives hung by a thread, in order.
Of course, not everyone survived 100%.
The average survival rate was around 50%. It only removed the cause of the mutations, without adding [Nano Machine]'s regenerative abilities.
If they died, it was easy enough to blame it on 'insufficient faith.'
But even that half survival rate was miracle enough.
"Congratulations, though it's late. You've devoured the holy land's mystery and become the north's god."
Late evening.
Kaichel entered the room.
She had been steadily living as Edis's granddaughter all this time, but inwardly, she was Baal dwelling in the Philosopher's Stone.
And now, she was facing me not as Kaichel, but as Baal.
Kaichel drew close enough to hear her breathing and spoke.
"Here, a gift."
Her hand brushed his chin, then slid down to his chest.
Her soft fingers toyed with him teasingly.
It'seemed like seduction, but it was mere play.
She wanted to see if the human Reinhardt would react to her.
Seeing no particular response from me, she pulled her hand away boredly and handed over a small vial.
This was the real gift.
"Looks like it succeeded."
"I'mixed in Devil's Death at 99% purity. The previous ones were barely 70% at best."
The vial was filled with a thick blue solution.
Devil's Death concentrated to high purity. One wrong sip could kill.
"Good work."
"Is that all? After nights of no sleep, the efforts of me and Grandpa?"
Despite appearances, I was quite surprised.
They had raised the purity almost to the limit in such a short time.
It was advanced alchemy even the palace alchemists couldn't achieve.
"When we return, I'll give you as much gold as you want."
I briefly calculated how much gold I could access.
I had no personal wealth, but there was a separate vault managed by the imperial family for maintaining dignity.
Having been confined to the palace against my will with no expenses, quite a bit must have accumulated.
Probably equivalent to a decent kingdom's annual budget.
When I glanced over, Kaichel wore a look like she'd seen something she shouldn't.
"No friends, huh?"
"I have some."
"A dog? A cat? Anyway, not people."
"Isabella. She's a person."
"Oh my god. Now imaginary friends too..."
"Cut the nonsense."
"I don't need gold. Instead, maybe I should be your friend."
Kaichel flashed a grin.
This smile was calculated too.
'To think he'd actually win and return.'
What was inside the holy land wasn't some ordinary epic.
It was an incredibly powerful tyrant epic, worthy of being called an ancient one.
Yet Reinhardt had broken through head-on and returned.
He'd even devoured it.
'What is his true nature?'
The Philosopher's Stone.
As its name implied, she could access the 'Library of Truth' containing all the world's knowledge.
But no such epic existed anywhere in the library.
It was an epic packed with functions too versatile to describe in one word. The term 'omnipotent' came to mind naturally.
Where was its limit, or did it have none?
She was curious.
'And interesting too.'
Beyond the epic, the man himself was deeply intriguing.
Reinhardt.
Just as unpredictable a human.
Offering gold to an epic was beyond common sense.
He was twisted and warped somewhere, but wherever he stepped became the path.
"By the way, what do you plan to use that for? I'made it, but in my opinion, it's no different from poison."
It was a solution mixing high-purity Devil's Death with certain ingredients.
Kaichel didn't know what effect the combination would have.
She had mixed it on the crown prince's orders.
One thing was clear: misuse it, and you'd drop dead.
Its effects were definitely twice as potent as when taken as powder.
"I'll use it myself."
"...Pardon?"
This was another completely unexpected answer.
She had thought he'd use it to solidify their faith, as Edis worried.
To dominate the north with high-purity Devil's Death.
"I reduced the physical addictiveness, but it could still cause mental dependence. Once hooked, even the strongest-willed human eventually crumbles..."
"I know."
I knew better than anyone.
In the past, tormented by the worms in my head.
To ease that pain, there was no drug I hadn't tried, including narcotics.
What I held now was close to the raw material of what was called Devil's Death. Remnants of the Devil Church, now impossible to obtain.
Addiction to this drug skyrocketed all bodily functions, numbed pain, and filled one with pure pleasure.
That was why soldiers turned into berserkers fearless of death.
The empire had eradicated the church, making high-purity stuff unobtainable.
Even Carlos Grand Duke's version was low-purity Devil's Death mixed with extras to mimic the effects.
'Devil's Death becomes the main ingredient of potions.'
But I knew.
Later, Devil's Death became the key ingredient in what was called 'potion.'
Sprayed on wounds, it healed them; high-purity versions revived the half-dead.
The Sacred Church's prestige plummeted with potion's emergence.
In that sense, war wasn't entirely bad from humanity's historical view.
War drastically advanced human technology.
Items like potions were developed in droves.
'High-purity Devil's Death activates internal mana.'
Internal mana.
In other words, it activated the Nano Machines inside the body.
The activated Nano Machines promoted bodily regeneration.
Similar to how Zero boosted my cell regeneration by 30 times.
And if potions could even repair damaged Nano Machines, the afflicted's survival chances would skyrocket.
It wasn't just for the afflicted; I needed it too.
'Maybe it can replenish worn [Nano Machine] energy?'
[Nano Machine Zero]'s functions were excellent, but energy was the issue.
As felt in the holy land, I needed a way to resupply depleted energy.
I'd survived by luck thanks to Gaph, but I couldn't repeat such situations.
Dragon Armor consumed massive energy, and increasing internal Nano Machines had limits.
So I was making potion now.
With the greatest alchemist's formulation, its efficacy was guaranteed.
Of course, it wasn't commercialized or even tested. Drink and die? No big deal for this dangerous stuff.
"Wait a sec!"
Whoosh!
Ignoring Kaichel's shock, I took a sip of the potion.
Bitter.
The potions I'd drunk in the past tasted like sweet honey.
"Mm."
The effect was immediate.
My heartbeat thundered in my ears, and the world began to warp.
But the phenomenon didn't last long.
[Toxic substances have entered the body.]
[Decomposing harmful components.]
[Blocked psychoactive substances rapidly affecting brain nerves.]
[Detected microorganisms 'Nanobio' that serve as food for Nano Machines.]
Nanobio?
I'd thought Nano Machines fed on light and electricity.
Zero had said they lived on bioelectricity synthesized in the body.
To recover energy from external shocks, it needed at least 100,000 volts.
Like waking Zero with lightning or Malfiel's strikes; no lesser shock would charge it.
Yet now it found unfamiliar 'food' called Nanobio.
[Nano Machine functions temporarily enhanced.]
[Accumulating overcharged excess energy in cells.]
[Brain simultaneous activation area expanded.]
[26%]
[27%]
...
[30%]
30%.
My simultaneous activation area, stuck at 25%, expanded to 30%, unfolding an entirely new world before my eyes.
*
'He freed the afflicted from their curse. How did he do it?'
An eagle circled the skies, observing the holy land.
Controlling that eagle was Daemon.
Carlos Grand Duke's hidden ally, the lich who had lived for centuries, could implant his mind into other vessels and control them.
He had joined this battlefield at the grand duke's call, after setting his conditions.
Originally, he planned not to step in until the holy land was conquered, but the 'Stand-in Holy Lord' who appeared there ruined all plans.
'Indeed, it's worth Carlos delaying.'
The afflicted and all the lords had gathered at the holy land.
Their number was roughly 80,000.
The imperial army was larger, but the holy land's terrain favored defense.
80,000 could hold off 200,000.
He figured he'd need to lend a hand.
'What is that?'
After circling for a while, he saw the afflicted drinking a blue potion.
Upon drinking, wounds healed, and fresh flesh rapidly grew.
"Ooh, my god! Thank you!"
"Ah..."
Crying and shouting erupted.
They knelt humbly, sipping the blue potion.
'Did that potion heal the afflicted?'
The afflicted were a headache. Short-lived yet brutally strong.
But once afflicted, they were incurable.
Daemon, with centuries of biological experiments, had never touched the afflicted's mutations.
Someone had succeeded where he failed.
That potion restored the afflicted's lost regeneration.
Not just extending lifespan.
Bodily abilities enhanced, senses sharpened.
Regeneration alone doubled combat prowess.
Carlos Grand Duke had reason to bide his time.
But with Daemon in the fray, defeat was impossible.
'That one's the Stand-in Holy Lord.'
He'd found him at last.
The being who became a god distributing that potion.
The one wearing the dragon helm was surely the Stand-in Holy Lord.
'I'll dominate him.'
This actually made things easier.
Seize that one's mind, take his body, and the entire north was his.
That was Daemon's secret to eternal life.
Upon becoming a lich, he awakened his epic.
He himself became the epic.
The authority engraved in the epic was soul domination.
Activate the authority, and he could dominate that Stand-in Holy Lord.
The condition to activate was simple.
Just make eye contact.
Eye contact, and that body was his.
But.
'Hm?'
The moment he descended from the sky, the signal from the eagle cut off.
The world went black.
Something had killed the eagle in the blink of an eye.
'Not bad defenses. But not impenetrable.'
Next was a cockroach.
It'slipped through tiny crevices into his room.
But the signal cut off the instant it entered.
'An archmage's mana barrier?'
This was a 8-circle archmage's personal mana barrier.
To maintain it 24 hours would consume immense mana, yet they were doing it.
Dozens of attempts on other targets all failed.
The Stand-in Holy Lord's swordmaster and archmage escorts.
Especially the swordmaster's senses were extraordinarily sharp.
'Finally, alone!'
It was the day he dominated a human in the holy land and infiltrated.
For once, the Stand-in Holy Lord was alone.
No mana barrier.
He stood in the back garden, hands behind his back, gazing at the night sky.
A once-in-a-lifetime chance.
"I've heard there've been suspicious movements lately. Guess that's you."
The Stand-in Holy Lord, Reinhardt, spoke upon spotting Daemon.
Fool.
He knew yet came out alone so defenselessly?
'Eye contact.'
Their eyes met instantly.
Daemon smiled.
At the same time, his authority, soul domination, activated.
Daemon's body went limp, and he thrust his mind into Reinhardt's body.
"Heh heh. Lucky you're even dumber than I thought."
Having taken Reinhardt's body, Daemon grinned.
Now to annihilate the north.
Uncover the potion's secret, sow discord among the lords, pave the way for Carlos to enter the holy land, and his job was done.
"Hm...?"
But he soon realized something was wrong.
His mind was being erased.
No, not erased.
'It's burrowing in?'
It was trying to take over his mind in reverse.
He hurriedly relinquished control of the body.
Yet it clung tenaciously, refusing to let go.
'You dare steal from me?'
Absurd. Trying to rob him instead.
Daemon cut everything off and returned to his original body.
A moment later, and he'd have lost his mind or been wiped out.
Grind!
'I don't know what he is, but he definitely possesses an epic.'
If he had an epic, he likely had a similar authority.
One of domination, like his own.
It had been ages since he met another epic possessor.
Thinking that eased his mood a bit.
This hunt might even be fun.
'Next time, I'll definitely take it.'
That body, and the epic too.
Daemon shook his head and left the dank room for the underground prison.
If the opponent was an epic possessor, he needed more thorough preparation.
Suddenly, Daemon's right eye spun wildly.
But Daemon was unaware.
He had no idea his vision was being shared with Zero.
Daemon End