Chapter 159
Chapter 159
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 159
Chapter Title: Shadows of the Great Mountain Range (8)
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"…Don’t make me laugh!"
The unpleasant sensation burrowed into her mind the moment it struck, jolting Siren—who hadn’t fully shaken off her drowsiness—wide awake. She bellowed, shoving the insidious magic power out with her own.
How dare a half-breed mock the precious authority bestowed upon her by her master? It was enough to make her blood boil already, but to think it was trying to violate her in turn?
When it had disrupted her control over the demonic beasts, indirect contact had been one thing.
But now, feeling that magic power—identical in nature to her own—trying to ravage her from the inside? Her rage doubled.
"How dare a mere human—"
Siren, half out of her mind with fury, sprang up from the floor like a coiled spring.
Her innate power wasn’t all that formidable since all her abilities were focused on manipulating demonic beasts like limbs. Still, she could toy with an ordinary human. And without his magic, this half-breed was just that—an ordinary human. A surprise attack would be more than enough—
Thwack!
Siren hit the ground again, twice as fast as she’d risen. Not of her own will, of course.
"Guhk!"
"Where do you get off?"
It was a casual swing, but a flail was a deadly weapon no matter how lightly wielded. A guttural scream escaped Siren’s lips as the iron head slammed into her torso.
If Lilia hadn’t held back, she wouldn’t have just been laid low—she’d never have opened her eyes again.
That might have been a happier end for Siren, come to think of it.
"Your mouth’s foul, but your body’s honest enough. You’re reacting just fine."
Galen smirked down at Siren as she groaned in agony.
"What was it you said? Beings born of demons can’t resist this? And evil spirits are born straight from demons, aren’t they? So that includes you lot, naturally."
"You… filthy… mutt…"
"Of course, it’s not absolute. By that logic, even your demon master would fall under your spell. Like with mages, it probably depends on the level of mastery."
Galen ignored whatever retort Siren tried to muster.
The words themselves didn’t matter—what did was the seductive demonic timbre woven into his voice, relentlessly gnawing at her eardrums.
She seemed to resist at first, but as the waves of magic pulsed from his endless chatter, cracks began forming in her defenses.
"Even a demon can’t turn every single evil spirit into a gem. If it could, the world would’ve ended long ago. So if you’re not a gem? That just means you’re weaker than me."
"Shut… up…!"
"Hmm, still got breath to talk back? Lilia, one more light tap—nothing too hard, just enough to keep her from passing out."
"Like this?"
"Kuhk!"
Siren’s body flopped like a fish from her prone position as the flail struck. Her vision blurred.
As her focus shattered, Galen’s magic surged forward.
Siren had never needed to use her powers on another of her kind. Her demon master would never demand it.
So she had no experience countering it. She’d never realized that a thorough beating could rattle her mental barriers too.
"No… stop…"
"Yes."
When identical magics clashed, it came down to raw output—and the thief, Galen, held the edge over the original owner, Siren.
Objectively speaking, his grasp of the Demonic Allure was a bit crude, but his magic power outclassed hers in both quantity and quality.
His existing Spirit Creation had reached the pinnacle of Gold rank, and that prowess had transferred over intact.
In the end, Galen was the victor.
"…"
Siren’s writhing resistance came to an abrupt halt. The look of utter revulsion drained from her twisted face, leaving her limp.
"Did it work?"
Lilia peered at Siren with keen interest.
"Her body’s twitching pretty badly."
"Her original personality hasn’t been erased entirely. It’s just suppressed by my magic for now. She’s still fighting back inside—that’s what’s causing it. Controlling them definitely takes way more effort than fiends."
"Because fiends are dumb?"
"Could be. Think of it like taming a beast versus taming a person. Though technically, I haven’t fully ‘tamed’ her yet…"
Temporary and imperfect, but success was success.
Now, how much could this subdued Siren reveal?
Galen weighed his questions mentally and spoke.
"What were you doing here?"
"Blocking… the paths… with demonic beasts…"
Her voice trembled as violently as her body. Answering seemed excruciating. Not that Galen cared.
"What are demonic beasts? Is that what you call fiends?"
"Yes…"
"Come to think of it, you called me a minion too. And my brother called you half-breeds…"
"Half-breed’s fine. Doesn’t matter what evil spirits call themselves—they look like half-breeds to me. Anyway… why block the paths?"
"To encircle… the humans… keep them from escaping…"
"Are there other Sirens in this area besides you?"
"My sisters… seven of us… You killed… the youngest…!"
Siren’s voice sharpened. Her trembling intensified.
"Should I hit her again?"
"No need. Looks like her original personality’s influence lingers. Getting answers to provocative questions will be tough."
The fix was simple: pour in more magic power.
Galen forced her calm and asked again.
"Where are the other Sirens?"
"Six directions… around the basin…"
"So fiends are swarming from all sides, raising hell?"
"Yes… Soon… they’ll herd the humans… this way…"
"Herd them?"
Galen’s brow furrowed.
"Don’t tell me this basin is the noose."
"Yes…"
"You rotten bastards!"
Lilia clenched her fists. Her sharp mind grasped Siren’s meaning easily.
The first village in the frontier zone sat at the basin’s entrance, linked by regular flights to Abaka—more a small city than a village, complete with walls.
But the other villages weren’t so fortified. Reclaimers spread thin to maximize land meant lower population density.
If Siren showed up with a fiend legion at one of those?
No village, however large, could house hundreds of mercenaries. It’d be overwhelmed.
Even if it could, sheer numbers favored the fiends. They’d have to abandon fields and homes, fleeing in tears.
But Siren wasn’t alone. If this happened across the entire frontier?
Refugees would flee south, south—straight into the first village.
Whether it could shelter them was secondary; the sole path to Abaka was sealed tight by fiends.
Then the pursuing Sirens would launch their all-out assault… and the frontier would be annihilated.
"Why do this?"
"I don’t know… I just… follow my master’s orders…"
"Figures. That’s what makes it a demon."
Galen figured the church had named them right: demons, evil spirits, fiends.
The "evil" wasn’t tacked on lightly. With or without reason, to them, thousands or millions of lives meant nothing.
"Lucky you became archbishop."
Lilia glared at Siren with contempt.
"If we hadn’t come to see Bishop Myra right now, we wouldn’t even know this was happening."
"Good thing we do now. We can stop it before it escalates."
Galen soothed Lilia, then turned back to Siren.
"Any other evil spirits here besides you Sirens?"
"No… not yet… just us sisters… dispatched…"
"Then."
Galen paused, gathering his magic, then asked slowly.
"Where’s your master, the demon?"
"…"
No immediate answer this time.
Instead, her trembling doubled from when he’d mentioned killing the youngest.
"Answer me."
Galen slammed more Demonic Allure magic into her.
"M-Master… Master… My master…"
The squeezed-out words looped endlessly.
Her face twisted like when resisting his spell. She clawed at her head; her legs knotted. Blood trickled from eyes and nose.
Lilia could tell from the outside it was bad. Galen, pumping magic in directly, knew the internal backlash was severe.
But they just watched. No mercy for Siren.
"Sou… Southeast… Guhk! Guhk!"
The moment the new word escaped, she vomited blood.
Cough after violent cough painted her gray skin dark red—a full pint at least.
The writhing evil spirit finally stilled.
"She’s dead."
Lilia, sensing Siren’s heartbeat from afar, pronounced it. Galen clicked his tongue.
"Figures we couldn’t pry demon info out of her. Maybe it’ll be different once she’s a gem later."
"I’m almost worried about your conscience today."
Lilia shot him a playful glare.
"Interrogating an evil spirit successfully? Doesn’t make sense. That’s why Bishop Myra said captures are pointless."
Evil spirits bound absolutely to demons chose suicide over spilling even trivia.
The church’s famed torture failed too. Holy healing kept them alive for agony, but contact with holy power eroded their flesh.
"People might get the wrong idea. Think you’re demon-tied."
"Just have you sprinkle some holy power nearby, and that nonsense stops."
"Lucky I’m a cleric. Anyway, she said southeast before dying, right?"
Lilia glanced southeast. Just mountains.
Galen turned too, struck by a memory.
"Huh? Southeast from here… that’s Elta, isn’t it?"
South from the frontier led to Abaka; east from there was Elta.
Home of the demon’s cradle.
"No way?"
"Nah."
Lilia dismissed it flat.
"Observed ruins are watched till fully gone. Bishop Myra wouldn’t slack, and she’d have mentioned anything off."
"True. We’ll check later just in case… If not, maybe the Southeast Diocese?"
"Too broad… The great range spans that far, so maybe hiding in its shadows somewhere?"
"Could be. More fiends mean safer for the demon."
Just speculation, but better than nothing.
East and Southeast bordered logically. More plausible than some random western spot.
"Eh, later!"
Lilia wrapped it up neatly.
"We can’t chase demons now anyway. Solve this first!"
"Agreed."
Galen flicked his hand. Phantom Flame Burst magic ignited Siren’s corpse.
"Let’s scout the situation."
"Yes!"
They mounted up again.
They’d cleared enough area to interrogate her, but thousands of fiends still blocked ahead.
No worries, though.
Siren had ringed them with elite fiends to crush them.
Those were wiped out in the process.
What remained were rabble—numerous, but worthless.
Above all, without Siren, they weren’t a "legion" anymore.
What happens when diverse species huddle together and their controller vanishes?
"Grrrrowl!"
"Yap! Yap!"
"Kee-eeeek!"
Fiends were beasts at heart. They hunted, ate, bred in packs—but didn’t see others as kin despite the label.
Chaos erupted. Clashes and bites everywhere.
Kaboom!
A massive blast tore through the center. Dozens shredded airborne.
Kraka-boom-boom-boom!
Explosions targeted clusters next, turning hundreds into meat chunks instantly.
"Kyaaak!"
"Pweeek!"
As they fought, Galen split them like Solomon—fiends scattered in panic.
Blind flight led to trampling deaths; pileups exploded next; some brainlessly charged Galen and Lilia, bursting mid-leap.
They rode leisurely, unleashing Phantom Flame Burst till mana ran dry.
Finally, clear sightlines.
The first village came into Galen’s view.
No major visible damage, thankfully. Walls intact, at least.
"No one on the walls, though. No guards?"
"Maybe… hiding from you? You vaporized hundreds of fiends."
"Oh."
Had he overdone it?