Chapter 146
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 146
Chapter Title: Eastern Region
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Ever since learning about the Eastern 'Empress,' Erzsebet had been solely focused on gathering information about her. That shift was so obvious that not only I, but nearly everyone in the ruins, could tell her attention was fixated somewhere.
I'd even taken her to the auction house myself and brought back intel on the Empress through dungeon merchants... but apparently, that still wasn't enough.
"....Sorry, Master. Somehow.... I just feel like I have to check out that 'Empress' myself. Directly."
When I asked Erzsebet, who kept zoning out lost in thought, she gave me this incredibly serious, shadowed expression and said she had to meet the Empress in person.
'.....Is she someone Erzsebet knew before losing her memories?'
Erzsebet, who always came off so detached, had never fixated on any one thing like this before. So I couldn't just brush off her unusual behavior.
Honestly, if I had my way, I'd send her straight to the East right now—for everything she'd done for me, and to help uncover clues about her lost memories.
But trekking to the continent's eastern region, let alone meeting the Empress, would eat up a ton of time and come with massive risks. That's why I'd kept putting it off...
"I can send you to the East now."
By repeatedly using Lilith's Charm on the demons visiting the ruins, the areas available for [Staff Dispatch] had expanded far beyond before—and the continent's East was now included.
'With [Staff Dispatch], the time issue's solved.'
"Really, Master?"
Erzsebet, who had been lying there listlessly, perked up visibly at my words. I was still torn on whether sending her was the right call... but seeing her this desperate for the first time made me want to grant her request.
"Huff.... It's really okay?"
"Master, have you forgotten how I fought that arrogant hero bearing the title 'Radiance'?"
From what was publicly known, the power of ruin masters and 5-star heroes was roughly equal.
Of course, this came from the Saintess herself, so it wasn't 100% reliable—but judging from the continent's politics and history, they at least seemed pretty evenly matched.
And Erzsebet had demonstrated power on par with a 5-star hero, assuming she had enough blood. Even if things went south in the East and a crisis hit—worst case, even if she ended up clashing with that 'Empress' she was so eager to meet—she could probably hold out for a while.
And if she could just endure until the [Staff Dispatch] duration ended... she'd be forcibly recalled here.
'...That said.'
Real situations could throw all sorts of variables at her. So... she'd need more preparation.
"Take these. You said your blood pool could store other items, right?"
"Hm? Yeah, but the space isn't that big..."
"Just take them. You know how to use them?"
".....These are."
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"Huh. Master really is such a worrier."
The continent's largest mountain range, stretching across vast ridges. Into the serene eastern region of the continent stepped a woman with white hair and red eyes. A faint smile played on her lips.
'Not a bad feeling.'
Despite his power, her master's overly cautious, fearful demeanor might seem frustrating at a glance—but it had this cute vibe, like a skittish herbivore. Or like an insanely strong elephant that's still scared of everything.
His repeated warnings, making the new unicorn join her, even dragging Lilith along and force-feeding her blood...
'Huff. Get it together.'
Erzsebet reined in her momentarily lax mind. She knew full well—in her contracted state, where she had to obey her master's every command—how much consideration he was showing her.
She was only here in the East thanks to his mercy. She couldn't waste this chance; she had to make the most of it.
'Time limit... about 3 hours, right?'
Her master had said roughly 3 hours. Sure, if she didn't achieve her goal in time, he'd send her back after 24 hours—but she needed to rack up as many results as possible in those 3 hours.
With that thought, Erzsebet took in the rugged eastern mountains and tilted her head.
"....Something...."
That terrain. It felt... familiar somehow...
-Rustle.
"Hm?"
Captured by an inexplicable sense of déjà vu, her reverie was broken by faint footsteps. Erzsebet inhaled deeply, catching the very faint blood scent carried on the gentle breeze, and identified the approaching figure.
'A demon. Perfect timing.'
Something felt familiar, sure... but the East was unfamiliar territory, so a guide would be handy. With a light smile, Erzsebet headed toward the sound of footsteps.
And it wasn't some run-of-the-mill demon, but one radiating considerable strength—patrolling the cliff where she'd just arrived, fully armed. It sensed someone approaching from her direction.
"Hm? Intruder...? Show yourself!"
She had no intention of hiding anyway. Erzsebet slowly emerged from between the rocks.
"What bastard dares waltz into Dawan Tribe territory.....Huuuh!!! "
The moment she appeared, the demon's fierce aura vanished. Its face drained of color, it began trembling and stammering, instantly losing all will to fight.
"There. I have some questions....."
"E-Empress! What brings you to Dawan Tribe territory....!!"
"....Empress?"
And just like that, it dropped to its knees on the spot, calling her 'Empress' and bowing its head.
"Empress? You mean me right now?"
She'd come to the East on her master's mercy specifically to meet the Empress—and the very first demon she encountered was calling her 'Empress.'
A mix of bewilderment and intrigue in her eyes, Erzsebet questioned the lightly bowing demon. Trembling with its head down, it cautiously lifted its gaze and scrutinized her face intently.
"Not... the Empress?"
"Do you know the Empress? Perfect. That's exactly what I wanted to—"
Her attitude suggested she had no idea who the Empress even was. Her outfit didn't match the well-known descriptions. And upon closer inspection, there were subtle differences from the Empress she'd glimpsed from afar in the past.
Putting it all together, the demon realized the woman before it merely bore an uncanny resemblance—not the Empress herself—and stood back up.
"You.... crazy bitch. Who the hell are you, prancing around the East looking like that?"
There were a few actions considered 'taboo' in the East.
Don't raise your voice before the Empress. Don't set foot in the massive fortress nestled between the most treacherous canyons. Don't leave a clown's performance the moment it starts...
Famous taboos any demon living in the East would know. And while not quite a taboo, there was also an unspoken rule that held sway.
"Outsider? From the South? No, judging by your looks, North? Doesn't matter. Looking like that in the East is forbidden."
White hair, red eyes. The signature traits of the Empress. In the past, some demons—out of admiration or to leech off her fame—had dyed their hair white and used magic or artifacts to turn their eyes red, imitating her.
And every single one of them had been killed by the East's demons.
Demons living under the Empress's absolute dominance harbored intense fear and stress, hunting down those mimic-lookalikes to vent it. Others, who revered her like a god, saw it as blasphemy against the divine and hunted them too.
Idiots who'd confronted the Empress herself believing she'd react to their dyed hair had their heads lopped off... Anyway, it had reached the point where mimicking her appearance became an unspoken taboo passed down in the East.
"Always those damn types. Among the trash flowing in from outside, the ones mimicking the Empress's look..."
Shame from having been tricked into kneeling. And fury at an outsider daring to infringe on the Empress's deeply ingrained image among Eastern demons.
The Dawan Tribe demon stopped trembling, thrusting its spear blade toward the insolent mimic before it.
"First, I'll rip out every strand of that hair, gouge out those eyes, then interrogate you on why you set foot in our Dungeon Master's territory."
"Hmm. So this is Dungeon territory?"
"Gonna pretend you didn't know? Doesn't matter. You stepped in here—that's fact!!"
Fueled by rage at the intruder violating dungeon territory and breaking the East's unspoken taboo, the Dawan Tribe demon lunged, swinging four weapons with its two pairs of arms in a single breath to attack Erzsebet.
"Perfect."
Erzsebet watched the demon babble on alone, a deep smile curling her lips.
"A Dungeon Master should know plenty."
-Slash!!
".....Wha...?"
The spear blade thrust by the Dawan Tribe demon pierced Erzsebet's skin without resistance. But a bizarre, watery sensation transmitted back through the tip—and blood oozed from the hole, crawling up the blade to reach the demon's hand.
-Spurt!!
"Gaaahhhh!!?!"
The blood shot out, sharpening into thorns that burrowed into the demon's hand and shredded its insides. It could only drop its weapons and scream.
"Now.... guide me."
Manipulating the blood now inside its body, Erzsebet forced the demon to stand, then whispered into its fear-filled eyes.
"To your master. I have lots of questions."
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"Ohoho?"
In the East's canyons—an incongruous 'stage' amid cliffs and barren trees, utterly out of place—a clown mid-performance sensed something and turned around.
"This.... one of my regular patrons!"
"Hic.... ugh...."
Before the cheerfully laughing clown sat demons in crudely made seats, forcing back tears and plastering on smiles as they watched his 'performance.'
"Dear audience? Sorry, but I think the show's ending here. Thanks to all who came to see my performance today..."
With gentlemanly manners, like a real actor addressing paying guests, the clown bowed exaggeratedly to the demons, then lifted his cape and vanished.
-Drip!!
The moment the clown disappeared, the stage setup in the canyon's midst vanished, along with the seating that had forcibly held the demons.
"Hah...! Hah...! S-survived...."
"Guh.... J-Jacob...."
Some demons sighed in relief at surviving the colossal disaster. Others stared at the gruesome corpse of their comrade, dragged into the 'performance' moments ago.
Their fellow, forced to volunteer for the 'body separation magic' trick. Alive and intact even separated during the show—but the instant the clown left, blood sprayed from the cuts.
"Fuck... fuck...."
Closing their comrade's lifeless eyes, the demons shuddered violently and prayed.
For someone—anyone—to stop that mad clown's shows.