Chapter 157
Chapter 157
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 157
Chapter Title: Duel (1)
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One branch of black magic, the Myriad Poisons School, specialized in manufacturing poisons and wielding them.
Just as the saying goes that the difference between poison and medicine is a single sheet of paper, the Myriad Poisons School also excelled at creating spirit elixirs.
The problem lay in the fact that all the elixirs they produced were anything but normal.
That was the case with the Emotion-Seizing Pill that Clea Fowler offered.
The effects of the Emotion-Seizing Pill were exactly as Clea Fowler had described: simply consuming it boosted one's mana and increased muscle mass.
Even an ordinary person who had never exercised in their life could instantly obtain a perfectly sculpted physique.
The issue came afterward.
Anyone who ingested the Emotion-Seizing Pill became emotionally volatile over the slightest things, as if their patience had vanished entirely.
Then, at some point, when emotions crossed the line, a violent mania would manifest.
From that moment on, they could no longer suppress their emotions through willpower. They wouldn't stop even when their stamina bottomed out or their body broke down—continuing until death claimed them.
The only way to halt the mania induced by the Emotion-Seizing Pill was death itself.
'She plans to use me as a sacrifice to kill Athena.'
The intent behind Clea Fowler giving this item to Demian Haksen was plain to see.
She hoped the mania would erupt during his battle with Athena.
'Emotion-Seizing Pills aren't something you can obtain casually.'
Not only did they require rare ingredients, but the manufacturing process was also extremely finicky. Even the highest-ranking black mages of the Myriad Poisons School had low success rates.
The mere possession of such an item meant Clea Fowler had close ties to black mages.
"Thank you for the help, but..."
Demian Haksen pushed the elixir back toward Clea Fowler as he spoke.
"I have no need for it."
At Demian's refusal, Clea Fowler's expression hardened in an instant.
Not only that—her pupils trembled wildly. Her reaction seemed overly excessive somehow.
'Is there some reason she absolutely must make me take the Emotion-Seizing Pill?'
That was when Demian thought as much. Clea Fowler, having shaken off her agitation, spoke to him.
"Perhaps you don't trust this elixir? I assure you, its effects are genuine. Someone of your caliber, Sir Demian, couldn't possibly fail to sense it."
He could feel it. The pure mana contained within the elixir.
In fact, creating an Emotion-Seizing Pill used the same ingredients as the highest-grade spirit elixirs.
But all of that was merely a disguise to make one swallow the poison.
'I could absorb just the mana separately, if I wanted.'
Even so, he had no desire to ingest this elixir.
He knew all too well the horrific processes black mages used to create their elixirs.
"I can defeat Athena without the aid of any elixir."
"Of course, I know that. But in this world, there's always that one-in-ten-thousand chance, isn't there? So..."
"Worry not. I will win without a single exception."
Demian spoke firmly. Clea Fowler stared at him with a look of utter disbelief.
"Then I'll be on my way."
It was just as Demian rose from his seat. Someone pushed aside the tent flap and entered.
"Lady Clea, I've come to visit~."
She was an extraordinarily beautiful woman. The tent seemed to brighten for a moment at her appearance.
Without a doubt, she was more stunning than any beauty Demian had ever seen.
The moment he laid eyes on her, Demian couldn't help but be shocked.
Because of her beauty? No, that wasn't it.
'...Why is the disciple of the Seductress here?'
The disciple of one of Pandemonium's Great Evils stood before him.
* * *
Pandemonium was the largest and greatest black magic organization in history.
Given its massive size and long history, it included numerous powerful black mages. And among them were particularly dangerous figures.
The Great Evils.
Black mages so perilous that the Empire and the Church marked them as top-priority extermination targets.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the humans they had killed in rising to their current positions numbered in the hundreds of thousands.
The Seductress Slla was one such Great Evil.
A beauty who drove men and women alike mad without distinction.
Her allure was so intense it could only be described as brainwashing.
'This woman's name is definitely... Rubia.'
Rubia was the disciple of the Seductress Slla and held the rank of Grand Black Mage herself.
Not quite on her master's level, but Rubia was still a dangerous woman. Enough so that even Demian remembered her.
'I never expected to find her here.'
In his previous life, the Seductress Slla had never once mentioned the Fafnir Mercenary Corps. So Demian hadn't anticipated encountering Rubia here.
"Oh my... Th-there's another gentleman here."
The moment Rubia saw Demian, she feigned surprise and stepped back outside. Then she peeked her head in to glance at him.
'How revolting, acting like that despite her worn-out ways.'
The disciples of the Seductress Slla all roamed the world sowing chaos with their looks and bodies. Such behaviors were nothing but theater.
As Demian regarded Rubia with a grimace, Clea Fowler spoke.
"Sir Demian, no matter how beautiful Rubia is, you shouldn't stare so intently. That girl is the Mercenary King's most favored."
Hearing that, Demian inwardly sighed.
The Mercenary King was a man who lost his mind over any woman, so he must have fallen for Rubia.
'He might already be her puppet by now.'
The thought already gave him a headache.
"Rubia, say something to Sir Demian. I tried to give him a gift, but he refused it."
"Oh, really?"
Rubia scurried back into the tent. She stared intently at the Emotion-Seizing Pill on the table before offering it to Demian.
"Lady Clea went to such trouble preparing this... Won't you accept it?"
In that instant, a sweet, cloying scent filled the entire tent.
The expressions of everyone inside turned dazed and dreamy. Even Clea Fowler was no exception.
Disciples of the Seductress all mastered black magic that exuded potent pheromones.
These pheromones ensnared anyone—regardless of gender—irresistibly to the Seductress's disciples.
Of course, Demian was the exception.
Ordinary black magic held no sway over him.
It was due to the authorities he possessed.
The seven authorities that Archlich Dorgo had implanted in Demian during his previous life.
One of them, the Authority of Gluttony, decomposed other abilities and absorbed their power. Even a Great Evil was no exception.
"No need."
Demian tossed the pouch Rubia offered back onto the table.
At his action, Rubia's eyes widened slightly. She was likely shocked that Demian wasn't ensnared by her black magic.
"I'll take my leave."
Demian bid Clea Fowler farewell and exited the tent.
He felt eyes on his back until he left.
'She's quite shocked.'
It was only natural. Her pheromones, which had even captivated the Mercenary King, had no effect on him.
'If my opponent is a Great Evil's disciple... it won't be easy to deal with her.'
It was just his guess, but Rubia probably wasn't alone.
No matter how much a disciple of the Seductress she was, she couldn't dismantle the Fafnir Mercenary Corps by herself.
'I'll have to give it some thought.'
With that, Demian returned to his tent.
* * *
And evening arrived.
Demian stepped out into the clearing for his duel with Athena Hopper.
"Woooaaah! Demian! Demian Haksen is here!"
"Demian! Demian!"
The clearing was packed with countless people. It seemed every mercenary in the corps had gathered.
Demian pushed through the mercenaries and advanced forward. The Mercenary King appeared before him.
"My final offer. Even now, you could..."
"Yes, yes. I'll do my best."
Demian brushed off the Mercenary King's words lightly and entered the clearing.
Athena had already arrived. Dressed in simple attire, she was warming up.
"You're a bit late?"
Athena, in the midst of stretching her arms fully, spoke to Demian.
"Deducting points."
Before he could ask what for, Athena yanked up the spear she had planted in the ground.
It was a spear entirely made of metal, from shaft to tip.
'Right, I remember now.'
At the sight, Demian recalled memories from the past.
In his previous life, even when she became the second Mercenary King, she had used that spear.
'It was forged from a dwarven alloy.'
A spear specially made for Athena by the Mercenary King. Perhaps because of it, her abilities multiplied several times when wielding that spear.
It had taken even Demian three full days to subdue her.
-You filthy bastards.
Even when seized by Demian and dragged before the black mages, her defiance never wavered.
-I should have killed more of you scum!
-If not for that Death Knight, all of you would have died by my hand!
-You worthless cowards hiding behind others, you trash!
Covered in wounds, Athena showed no sign of intimidation.
The black mage confronting Athena at the time was Rubia.
To break her spirit, she revealed something special.
An undead created from the corpse of Mercenary King Karl Hopper.
The moment she saw her father's body, Athena fell silent. With a face on the verge of tears, she barely muttered one phrase.
-You... aren't human...
She didn't die peacefully.
Rubia subjected her to every humiliation imaginable.
Her dignity as a woman was dragged to rock bottom. Her dignity as a human wallowed in filth.
Only after becoming worse than trash rolling in the dirt could she finally die.
Even in death, she found no rest. Her soul was captured by Rubia and exploited until it dissipated.
"......"
Recalling the past soured his stomach. Demian let out a deep sigh.
"What's wrong?"
Athena tilted her head curiously. Demian shook his head.
"Nothing."
"Alright then? Let's begin?"
Athena gathered her mana. The mana she drew forth erupted outward, transforming into white lightning.
White currents enveloped her body. It was a profoundly mystical and terrifying sight.
The blood flowing through the Mercenary King's veins was that of the White Dragon.
The dragon that summoned storms and bolts passed down its powers intact to its bloodline.
"Keep your wits about you. Or you'll get points deducted again."
"What points are you even deducting..."
Athena crouched slightly. Her body turned into lightning.
White currents raced across the ground. In an instant, Athena appeared behind Demian.
Without hesitation, she swung her spear down. The lightning power contained in the shaft exploded.
Lightning struck where Demian had stood.
* * *
Before swinging her spear, Athena couldn't help but feel disappointed.
'He didn't even notice that?'
Even though she had flanked him from behind, Demian Haksen was still facing forward.
'Was it just my imagination after all?'
Disappointment bred a flicker of anger. Athena brought her spear down with all her might.
At that moment, Demian spun around and simultaneously drew his sword, slashing upward.
Blade met shaft in collision. In that instant, the spear's trajectory shifted.
The lightning bolt veered away from Demian as well.
"...Huh?"
As Athena blinked in surprise, Demian Haksen moved. He slashed at the now-defenseless Athena's neck with his sword.