Chapter 271
Chapter 271
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 271
Chapter Title: Nephew (3)
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“Agnes, what do you mean by this? A large-scale demon summoning ritual?”
Demian adjusted his posture and asked. Agnes bit her lip as she spoke.
“Even headquarters hasn’t fully grasped the truth of the incident yet. All we know for sure is that Pandemonium led it, and the scale is unprecedented in history.”
Even as she spoke, Agnes’s complexion refused to brighten.
“The ritual claimed the lives of more than a third of Tart Kingdom’s citizens. On top of that, the kingdom’s southern region has already fallen to the demon worshippers.”
Demian felt his blood boiling.
If what Agnes said was true, then Tart Kingdom’s south had become no different from hell by now.
Demons were monsters who reveled in human suffering as much as—no, even more than—black mages.
“Is it true that Elder Azure Flame has gone missing?”
“It’s not just my master. As soon as the incident occurred, headquarters dispatched him along with the highest-ranking Holy Knights. But contact was lost the moment they arrived on site.”
Azure Flame was no ordinary member of the Five Great Saints.
He was the highest-rated among them, a candidate for humanity’s strongest alongside the Empire’s First Sword.
For such a figure to lose contact immediately upon arrival meant only one thing.
“……A high-ranking demon has been summoned.”
Demons expressed their hierarchy with five ranks, just like humans.
There were theories that humans copied demons, or vice versa.
What was certain was that demons were strict classists, with danger levels sharply divided by rank.
“Yes, headquarters judges that at minimum, a marquis-class demon was summoned.”
Even a single earl-class demon could toy with two or three master-class fighters effortlessly.
And a marquis-class demon was incomparably more dangerous than an earl.
Once, a marquis-class demon had been summoned. Later historians all called it a continental crisis.
“Headquarters has decided to dispatch Lord Radiance and Lady Green Wind as reinforcements.”
“A marquis-class demon appears, and you’re only sending two?”
“It’s the rule that two of the Five Great Saints must always stand by at headquarters. If they all leave, Pandemonium might launch a counterattack……”
It wasn’t incomprehensible.
Though Sla and the Weapon Master had been slain by Demian, Pandemonium still teemed with monsters.
If the Five Great Saints were absent, an assault on headquarters would cause massive losses.
“However, headquarters deems that even those two alone leave too many uncertainties.”
“So that’s why you’ve come to me?”
“……I hate to admit it, but yes. Your participation, Lord Demian, would be a tremendous help.”
Demian had single-handedly slain Sla.
He was no longer just a promising newcomer in the master class.
He had become a heavyweight whom even a mighty force like the Holy Order would formally request for aid.
Demian fell into thought.
Not because the Holy Order’s request was burdensome. This demon summoning incident had no precedent in his previous life.
‘At this point, Dorgo should’ve been too weak to face the Empire head-on……’
At this time, Dorgo had been desperately hiding himself.
But pulling off something this big would inevitably expose his tail.
Nor was it just Dorgo. The entire Pandemonium had surfaced.
‘And yet they performed the demon summoning ritual. Why? What are they aiming for?’
With the future altered so drastically, inference had its limits.
Further deliberation was pointless. There was only one thing to do anyway.
“I’ll aid the Holy Order.”
“Lord Demian……! Thank you so much! Headquarters will never forget this grace……”
“No!”
At that moment, a shout erupted from one side of the drawing room.
Sometime during the exchange, the family had gathered at the drawing room door.
“A demon summoning? I can’t send you to a place that dangerous!”
Father strode into the room, his face flushed with anger.
Agnes hastily rose and bowed at the waist.
“My lord, allow me to introduce myself. I am Agnes, Holy Knight of headquarters.”
“No need for introductions! I can no longer entertain you as a guest, so please leave my territory at once!”
Agnes wore a troubled expression. Count Haksen’s face reddened further.
“Are my words not reaching you?”
“My lord, if Sir Demian aids us in this matter, headquarters will offer appropriate compensation……”
“Compensation? You’d push my son into the jaws of death for some reward?”
Count Haksen raised his voice.
“I may be an ignorant fool, but I know full well how dangerous those demon scum are! They wield powers beyond human comprehension without a second thought!”
Demons were dangerous not simply because they were stronger than humans.
It was because of the authorities they possessed.
Even an earl-class demon could influence the world with its authority.
A marquis-class demon could reshape the world itself.
“Leave at once! Or is the Holy Order so incompetent it can’t handle even this?”
Agnes dropped to her knees on the floor, as if declaring she absolutely could not retreat.
At her attitude, Count Haksen’s eyebrows shot up.
“Father, let me go.”
In that instant, Demian spoke to Count Haksen. The count shouted in bewilderment.
“Demian! What are you saying? Are you scared of pressure from the Holy Order? Don’t worry about that! I’m here!”
“No, it’s not that.”
“Then why on earth would you meddle in something this dangerous?!”
Demian paused at those words.
He understood his father’s heart. What parent wouldn’t try to stop their child from going somewhere perilous?
Truthfully, Demian didn’t want to go either.
Not because he feared demons. He had just been enjoying rare time with his family. He hated to abandon this happiness.
“Father, black mages are like a plague.”
Even so, Demian had to go.
“You can’t let your guard down just because they’re far away. Take your eyes off them for a moment, and they spread everywhere, eventually reaching us.”
A plague must be stopped early. Otherwise, it spreads in the blink of an eye, causing catastrophic damage.
“Moreover, this incident is far from ordinary. If we leave it be, who knows what might happen.”
Even in his previous life, no demon summoning ritual this massive had ever occurred.
Demian could not overlook this event. He had to uncover their goal and eliminate them.
“That’s why I’m going. I don’t know what the black mages are thinking, but dealing with them now ensures everyone’s safety.”
“Demian……!”
“So please, let me go.”
Count Haksen gazed at Demian with a face on the verge of tears. But Demian did not waver.
“……Do you remember the promise you made me yesterday?”
“Yes. I’ll return safely.”
“You fool.”
Count Haksen turned away as if he couldn’t bear to look. Demian gave a wry smile.
Then he stood before his family. He spoke to Mother first.
“Mother, I’ll be off.”
“Demian…….”
Tears already welled in Mother’s eyes.
Demian averted his gaze with effort and approached Abel.
“Abel, take care of the family.”
“Brother, do you really have to go? Stay with us……”
“I’m sorry.”
Demian approached Luise last.
“Sister, I’m sorry for only showing my face briefly before leaving.”
Luise merely gave a bitter smile at his words.
“Promise you won’t get hurt.”
“I promise.”
Having bid farewell to his family, Demian exited with Agnes.
Outside, familiar faces awaited them. Radiance and Green Wind had come to meet the pair.
“Sir Demian, it’s been a while.”
“…….”
Unlike Radiance’s warm greeting, Green Wind looked shocked.
“See, Green Wind? I told you. Sir Demian isn’t the type to ignore something like this.”
“……You were right, Sister. I was too narrow-minded.”
Green Wind approached Demian. She pressed one hand to her chest and spoke.
“Thank you for your help. The Bound Wind will never forget this.”
Demian couldn’t help but look surprised.
The last time he’d visited the Holy Order, Green Wind had picked at him incessantly.
“I’d love to talk more, but the situation is urgent. Are you ready to depart immediately?”
“If anything, that’s the request I’d like to make.”
“Oh my, did you hear that, Green Wind? This is why I like Sir Demian. He’s so straightforward.”
Radiance poked Green Wind’s shoulder with her elbow. Green Wind glared at her and rubbed the spot.
“……Sister, please watch your words, I beg you. I’m scared someone will misunderstand.”
With that, Green Wind invoked her holy power. A fierce wind blew from somewhere, enveloping the four.
Holy Knights of the Bound Wind could transform their bodies into wind for travel.
Green Wind could transform not just her own body, but others’ as well.
“Sister, if you please.”
“Got it.”
Radiance invoked her holy power. Dazzling light seeped into Green Wind’s body.
Radiance’s blinding authority of agony was ‘Enhancement.’
Cutting power, gravity, anything at all—she could strengthen it.
She was likely enhancing Green Wind’s ability to move even faster.
“Then we’re off.”
The gale around the four intensified. Soon, their bodies vanished.
In their place, a streak of storm soared high into the sky.
The moment the four disappeared, windows flew open in Spring Castle.
“……Demian.”
Count Haksen gazed at the sky worriedly and murmured.
* * *
Boom, kwang!
Beneath a clear sky, terrifying explosions reverberated.
The source was an old man. Each time he punched the translucent barrier, a massive sound echoed.
But no matter how much the old man punched, the translucent barrier refused to shatter.
“Lord Azure Flame, please rest now.”
The young men seated behind the old man said. All wore white armor.
Emblazoned on their breastplates was the sacred emblem symbolizing the Holy Order.
The old man—Azure Flame—halted mid-punch. He glared at the barrier with fierce eyes and spoke.
“……How can I stop? We need to escape this place as quickly as possible.”
This translucent barrier covered the ground like a pot lid.
Azure Flame and the Holy Knights were trapped, unable to exit.
“Damn it all, to think they’d hidden something like this.”
Azure Flame spat curses.
He and the Holy Knights had headed to Tart Kingdom to resolve the demon summoning crisis.
And the moment they arrived, they’d been sealed inside this barrier.
No matter how furiously Azure Flame attacked, he couldn’t fathom how it was made—the barrier didn’t budge an inch.
“I understand your frustration…… but for any eventualities, it might be wise to conserve your strength.”
Azure Flame merely shook his head at the Holy Knight’s advice.
“No, I can’t just sit idle. Somehow, I must break this and inform headquarters.”
He ground his teeth as he spoke.
“No one should come here. Whoever does will just meet a dog’s death!”