Chapter 39
Chapter 39
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: Devil's Cradle (8)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The fog of the endless labyrinth, tainted by the devil's touch, induces temporary spatial distortions. One might say the inherent property of getting lost is amplified to its extreme.
It's not just thick fog where you could pick a direction and grope your way forward blindly. Within this labyrinth's fog, slyly twisted as it is, you end up circling the same spot endlessly or watch someone right beside you vanish into thin air—bizarre phenomena like that occur.
But the terror of this fog is merely a "temporary" effect that only manifests when the devil exerts its power.
Especially in front of a priest who purifies the very devilish power infused in the fog, it was nothing more than an annoying obstacle that could be breached given enough time.
"Damn it, so fast already...!"
Moritz gritted his teeth, eyeing the approaching lights drawing ever closer.
The devil, which should have been constantly manipulating the fog to buy as much time as possible, was losing its focus, allowing the breach far quicker than anticipated.
"I should have just killed him from the start, no negotiations or anything!"
"Anyone hearing that would think it was easy to kill him back then."
Galen smirked at Moritz's outburst of frustration.
"But isn't this devil a bit underwhelming? I thought Lord Moritz was originally Gold rank. Did it hold back before the sacrifice, or is this really all it gave?"
"You... you little brat!"
Moritz's blood pressure spiked, but what could he do? Even mid-conversation, Galen's magic showed no signs of stopping, forcing Moritz to follow its lead.
In the end, unable to act or retreat, the subjugation team broke through the fog and emerged into the clearing.
Fwaaaah!
Leading the group at the forefront, Maira held a staff made of light. Its head glowed especially brilliantly, shoving the fog aside relentlessly.
It was the sixth miracle required for bishop ordination: the Miracle of Radiant Glory.
While holy power normally emitted a subtle glow, this was on another level altogether—a sort of materialized light. Galen had only heard of it before; this was his first time seeing it in person.
"Brother Galen!"
Lilia, standing beside Maira, started bounding toward him excitedly but halted abruptly after a couple of steps.
Even someone with her relentlessly positive mindset couldn't spin this disastrous scene in the clearing positively.
Since the subjugation team had arrived and Galen ceased his attacks, Moritz had naturally stopped his magic as well. But the explosive blasts right up until moments ago, the lingering heat and dampness—it was impossible not to guess what had transpired.
"You're not trapped in there, are you?"
"I trapped myself."
"What in the world... happened here?"
Maira's expression and voice, as she steadied Lilia with a hand on her shoulder, were rigidly stern in a way Galen had never seen.
"We rushed here as fast as we could after hearing two people had suddenly vanished. What is this situation?"
"...Lord Galen attacked me."
Moritz cut straight to it. What else was there to say?
The team included Kane, and over half were warriors from the Burtayn family, so he was scheming to sway their reactions somehow.
But anyone could see this wasn't normal. With no clue who the aggressor was, no one dared step forward rashly. Even Kane, who despised Galen, kept his mouth shut.
"Talk about the apple not falling far from the tree. Why conveniently omit that you started the fire?"
Galen snorted and turned to Maira.
"No need to overthink it, Your Excellency. Lord Moritz made a pact with a devil and tried to drag me in too. When that failed, he tried to silence me. His failure is the current situation."
"...Is that true, Lord Moritz?"
"The devil said earlier that once the pact is made, betrayal becomes impossible."
Galen reached out and tapped the wall of water. The spirit halted its attack.
"Kuhuhuhu..."
The devil, battered relentlessly by water blasts, barely regained its balance in the puddle. Glancing at it, Galen continued.
"I've been beating the devil senseless until now. I'll yield the turn, so why don't you light it up now, Lord Moritz?"
"..."
Moritz fell silent at Galen's demand, which pierced straight to the core: prove it with actions, no excuses needed.
Suspicion of a devil pact was the ultimate insult to an innocent person. Any normal reaction would be outrage and pulverizing the devil a hundred times over on the spot.
The longer his silence stretched, the heavier the atmosphere in the clearing grew.
"Father!"
Unable to bear it, Kane shouted.
"Speak clearly for once! Tell them that nonsense is nonsense!"
Even Kane, with his arrogant and selfish nature, couldn't accept the reality of his father pacting with a devil—precisely because his pride stemmed from boasting about his family and patriarch.
Kane had merely voiced what everyone else felt.
"..."
Yet Moritz never opened his mouth.
Maira let out a soft sigh and asked quietly.
"Lord Moritz, how could someone as intelligent as you join hands with a mere devil? You must have known how it would end."
"Kuhuhu... hahahaha!"
The one who burst into mad laughter wasn't Moritz—it was the devil. It had recovered somewhat now that the pressure was off.
"This is why God's minions are called outdated. Babbling without knowing a thing!"
"Shut your mouth, filthy devil."
Maira's gaze, which had held a trace of sympathy for Moritz, turned instantly murderous.
"You've become a worthless rag, yet your tongue still wags. Shall I rip out that treacherous thing right now?"
"I speak only facts, foolish minion. How could you parrots, mindlessly reciting prayers, empathize with the anguish of one ensnared by evil?"
The cackling devil soon fixed sharp eyes on Galen.
"My sole mistake was that the damned young wizard isn't mature enough for anguish. He was too foolish to grasp the true intent behind my words."
"Not smart enough, you say?"
Galen tilted his head at the devil's growl.
"Does every wizard fall for a devil's sweet talk? Then why bother bringing one to the cradle at all? Someone who succumbs might have circumstances, but calling the one who resisted foolish? That's rich."
"Well said indeed. Shut your stinking trap, you filthy devil, and crawl back to hell obediently. It's over."
Maira bellowed. The devil erupted in laughter again.
"Over? No, not yet. It won't be until all of you are dead!"
The devil raised its right hand high. Its claw-like fingers, sharply extended, plummeted swiftly.
Puk!
To everyone's shock, the devil's hand pierced its own chest.
While Galen stared blankly, wondering what insane act this was, Maira's face paled dramatically.
Shrieeeeeek!
The light staff in her hand pierced space at terrifying speed.
Thud!
The lance of light impaled the devil at the end of its path. The force sent its body flying, only halted by the chains.
Skewered like meat on a spit, it looked comical dangling there, but the devil paid no mind. From the wound, unlike before, ominous black flames billowed instead of blood.
Thuk! Thud thud!
More light spears flew in succession, embedding into the devil. Yet with each new wound, even more black flames poured out.
"Yes, interfere all you want. That's the limit of your power, isn't it?"
"Deli! Lilia!"
Ignoring the devil's mocking tone, Maira shouted urgently.
"Pull the subjugation team back!"
"Y-yes?!"
"Into the fog! Now!"
"U-understood!"
"Lord Galen, handle Lord Moritz! Full force!"
"As you wish."
Now even the Burtayn family members were convinced Moritz had lost his mind, so no need to worry about cleanup. Galen unleashed the water without restraint.
Moritz, who had been standing mutely until then, reacted to Galen's magic by igniting flames.
BoombombombOOM!
With even the spirits restraining the devil mobilized, Moritz was naturally at a disadvantage compared to before.
Yet Moritz, who had clearly been pushed back at first, was gradually shoving Galen aside.
Was he holding back on purpose and gradually revealing his hand? No, impossible. Playing games in this situation would make him insane.
Rather, it felt like the magic's output itself was steadily increasing.
"Be careful, Lord Galen!"
Maira shouted while hurling spears at the devil.
"The devil sacrificed itself as an offering!"
"Pardon?"
"It's renouncing the return of its clone's power to the main body to grant more to the contractor!"
"Why would a devil do that?"
Galen had never heard of such a selfless devil. Contracts were at best fifty-fifty, never favoring the contractor, right?
"Why, young wizard? It's a gift for you!"
Now the devil was a horrific sight, its body engulfed in black flames with stark white spears jutting out everywhere. Yet its bellowing vigor showed no sign of dying.
"This is the power you mocked and rejected! Face it! Realize how foolish your choice was!"
"Going that far to screw me over?"
"See you next time—if you survive! Kahahaha!"
With that madness-laced laugh, the black flames exploded outright.
The light spears, with nowhere left to embed, rained down harmlessly. The devil vanished without even a corpse.
That was the moment.
Fwoooooosh!
A massive blaze erupted from Moritz, surging like a tidal wave. So ferocious were the flames that the surrounding muddy ground dried up cleanly.
"What the—!"
Galen, still wielding water, gaped as his attacks literally evaporated. Had the firepower ramped up too much?
"Even after maximum purification, it's this strong!"
Maira bit her lip.
Devil or mere clone, it was still a devil. Especially its vitality was tenaciously tough—no bishop could one-shot it.
In fact, despite the barrage of light spears, it hadn't died. At least the Miracle of Purification had weakened it, even if not fully blocked.
Blaming her for not preventing it from the start was unfair; Moritz, the summoner, being the contractor was unimaginable, let alone a devil sacrificing itself for one.
Even for a disposable clone, forgoing power recovery wasn't a choice greedy devils made lightly. How much must Galen have enraged it? But blaming him wouldn't help.
"Any way to counter it?"
"That power's surge won't last long. If we hold out—"
Before she could finish, Maira urgently hurled herself aside.
Kwaaaaaang!
Embers flared where she'd stood, swelling into a massive explosion.
"Ugh!"
"Kuhk!"
Even dodging, the shockwave battered Maira, sending her tumbling through the air several times.
Galen took damage too. An explosion near the spirit blasted away nearly half the water barrier, affecting him inside. The spirit's body cushioned him like an airbag as he nearly toppled.
He'd thought the firepower insane before; now it was moreso. Galen groaned from the dull ache.
'Can we really endure this?'
As the spirit hastily repaired itself, Galen racked his brain rapidly. Fortunately, no immediate follow-up came. It couldn't spam that destructive power instantly, it seemed.
'Recalling the spirit would be riskier. It's acting as a buffer. I'm not agile enough to dodge anyway. But staying put makes me a sitting duck. Need to disrupt the magic somehow...'
An idea flashed through his accelerated thoughts.
No guarantee it'd work, but better than taking it head-on passively.
"Your Excellency!"
Galen shouted. Their eyes met as Maira regained her footing.
"Flank or rear! Just harass from afar, please!"
Maira nodded and leaped away.
Against this clearly empowered Moritz—far stronger than his usual self—closing in would mean burning before reaching him.
Thanks to the Miracle of Radiant Glory enabling ranged combat, Galen assigned her an archer role.
He then commanded the spirit.
'Aim at the ground!'
Spirits don't question their master's orders. The water cannons, previously aimed directly at Moritz, blasted the ground instead.
True to the ravine, stones abounded, but dirt wasn't absent. Mud splattered everywhere as soil erupted instantly.
"Virtual Flame Burst ignites shadows where the eye sees."
Muttering softly, Galen swung the near-trenching water stream with Water Flow Manipulation.
The turbid muddy water, mixed with debris, surged toward Moritz as a massive wave.
"Let's see if it can detonate with vision blocked."