Chapter 274
Chapter 274
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 274
Chapter Title: Devil Worshipper (3)
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Gwangmyeong tortured the apostle in various ways.
Even Demian, who had watched black mages torture people every day during his Death Knight days, was impressed by the sheer creativity of the methods.
“Whew, as expected of a dog that’s eaten with the devil. Your mouth sure is heavy.”
Gwangmyeong wiped the black blood splattered on his face as he spoke.
In that short time, the apostle had been reduced to something no better than a rag.
“Unfortunately, we couldn’t uncover the devil’s identity.”
It seemed the devil had gotten there first—the information had been completely erased.
That didn’t mean there was no harvest at all, though.
“According to them, the summoning circle is structured like this.”
Gwangmyeong drew a diagram on the ground with a tree branch.
At the center was the main summoning circle, surrounded by four auxiliary summoning circles.
“The auxiliary circles aren’t just pillars maintaining the main one—they’re also gateways for offering sacrifices.”
The followers offered captured humans as sacrifices through the auxiliary circles.
The souls of those sacrificed humans flowed into the main circle.
“Demian, I think we should destroy the auxiliary circles first.”
“To weaken the devil?”
The devil summoned this time was no ordinary being. It had endured Gwangmyeong’s divine power simply through the fusion of a few devil followers.
Even with two of the Five Saints and Demian present, they couldn’t afford to be careless.
“That’s part of it, but… I also want to save the people.”
The auxiliary circles held citizens of the Tart Kingdom, all captured by the devil followers to be used as sacrifices.
They were all trembling in fear, waiting their turn to be offered.
Demian looked at Gwangmyeong with a face that said it was all too novel.
The Gwangmyeong in Demian’s memory was a fanatic who had burned his entire body just to kill a black mage.
It felt a bit strange hearing such a man say he wanted to save people.
“You seem to be thinking something rude.”
“Absolutely not.”
Demian pulled a poker face. Gwangmyeong eyed him suspiciously.
“I agree with Lord Gwangmyeong’s opinion, but if we’re not careful, we might just buy time for the devil.”
“That’s why we split up.”
Gwangmyeong pointed to the farthest auxiliary circle.
“Green Wind has the best mobility—have them handle two spots. The rest, Sir Demian and I will split and raid them.”
“Isn’t it dangerous to split our forces with the devil already summoned?”
“A freshly summoned devil can’t leave the summoning circle. We won’t get picked off one by one.”
“They might send reinforcements from Pandemonium.”
“Let them. What’s there to fear?”
Gwangmyeong said it like it was nothing.
It was a confidence that went without saying. After all, two of the Five Saints and Demian Haksen were here.
“Then what should I do?”
Agnes asked Gwangmyeong.
Thanks to her efforts since parting with Demian, she had reached the high-class realm.
But high-class level wouldn’t be enough to stop devils.
“You assist Sir Demian. If it gets dangerous, evacuate ahead of time.”
“Understood.”
“Sir Demian, any other opinions?”
Demian shook his head at Gwangmyeong’s question. It meant no.
“Good. Then let’s move. Let’s go judge these filthy heretics.”
* * *
“Hoh, to take down the fusion body and the apostle this quickly.”
A man atop the magic tower spoke in admiration.
“No matter what else, their vitality was near-immortal… and they couldn’t even buy proper time. Truly impressive. Don’t you think so, Dorgo?”
The man turned to ask. There, a skull wore a displeased expression.
“Of course. They’ve got two of the Five Saints gathered there. Trash like followers can’t even tie their feet.”
“Five Saints? They were Five Saints? Impressive indeed. But the other one wasn’t using holy power. That guy is…”
“Instead of wasting time on that, focus on the work.”
Dorgo said, pointing to the sky.
Above the man’s head floated a black sphere.
The black sphere was absorbing surrounding mana in real time. It was a sight that screamed danger to anyone watching.
“Don’t rush me. Do you think generating a formation from the ground is easy? And not just any formation, but one infused with demonic power.”
Demonic power was the force devils wielded.
…Or so it was known, but in truth, it was something far greater. Demonic power was the very substance that constituted devils.
Infuse demonic power with authority, and anyone could consume it to wield that authority.
That wasn’t all. Depending on how it was processed, the authority could be used in various ways.
It could be made into a potion for consumption or reforged into a weapon.
In other words, what Dorgo wanted wasn’t just demonic power—he wanted freely usable demonic authority.
“That’s why you should’ve kept the Weapon Master safe. If he were here, we wouldn’t need to go the long way around.”
“Shut up with the useless talk.”
“Oh, you’re angry. Then I’ll quietly shut my mouth.”
The man shrugged. Dorgo’s expression crumpled in annoyance.
“Hm?”
Suddenly, the man’s expression changed.
He lowered both hands. The darkness stopped growing and halted.
“Why stop the work?”
“Intruders are heading for the auxiliary circles.”
Dorgo’s expression turned grave at the man’s words.
“Damn, they’re targeting those first, as expected.”
“At this rate, they’ll reach the auxiliary circles soon. What’s your plan?”
The man asked with a grin. Dorgo could only scowl.
“What’s so funny? If we leave them be, it’ll get reverse-summoned back to hell.”
“Well, can’t be helped.”
The man’s attitude was utterly carefree. There wasn’t a shred of responsibility toward the contract.
But the one who felt regret was Dorgo. He spoke into the air.
“Iota.”
—Mother, you called?
A monster with bat wings descended from the sky.
The man looked at Iota with immense interest.
“To split one’s own soul to create an artificial soul… Fascinating. Very interesting.”
“I don’t want praise from the likes of you.”
Dorgo curtly replied and ordered Iota.
“Iota, open the door.”
Iota grabbed the air with both hands and pulled them apart up and down. The space tore open with a rip.
The opened space shimmered with rainbow colors. From within, three men and women stepped out.
The moment they appeared, eerie black magic permeated everywhere.
It meant all three were tremendous powerhouses.
“Lord Dorgo, you called?”
The three knelt before Dorgo.
“The saints of the Holy Order are trying to ruin the ritual. Go block those hypocrites.”
“Understood.”
The three replied loudly and rose. At that moment, the man asked them.
“You think you can block those three with such pathetic trash?”
The three’s expressions twisted at his words.
Most black mages and dark knights didn’t particularly like devils.
Moreover, these were loyal servants to Dorgo alone. Being insulted outright didn’t sit well.
“I’m not sending you to block them. I’m sending you to buy time.”
“Even buying time seems tough.”
“You’ve got complaints about my choices?”
“Well, it’d be a lie to say no. So I’ll help out a bit.”
The man beckoned to the three.
“You three, come closer.”
The three approached the man. He clapped in satisfaction.
“Weak as they are, they’re perfect as materials.”
Question marks appeared on the three’s faces. The next moment, blood erupted from their chests.
“Huh?”
“Huh?”
The three looked down at their chests in bewilderment. The spots where their hearts should be were hollowed out.
The life faded from their eyes. They collapsed to the floor like dominoes.
“Now, shall we let our friends sightsee the surface?”
The man pulled a key from his pocket.
Uniquely, the key was split exactly in half.
He turned the key against the air. A small hole pierced open in the space.
Crimson-black energy began pouring from the hole. The crimson-black energy flowed into the three bodies.
The hollow heart spaces filled with flesh. Soon, life returned to their eyes.
“Waaah! The surface for real!”
“I’ve never been here before!”
“Your Excellency! Your Excellency! You really kept your promise!”
The three bounced around in joy.
“You… how exactly…”
Summoning or possessing a devil on the surface required sacrifices.
Yet this man was completely ignoring that law.
The secret lay in the half-key he possessed.
“How did you get that key…!”
“Restore it? Took some effort. A lot of hard work, really.”
The man grinned at the devils as he spoke.
“Go block them. Kill if you want. But bring the man there to me alive.”
* * *
“It looks like the auxiliary summoning circle is drawn inside there.”
Agnes pointed to the castle backed against the forest.
The castle, originally used by nobles, had been occupied by the devil worshippers.
“Mom! Mooom!”
“P-Please, at least spare my daughter! Please!”
Screams echoed from within.
Thanks to the half-destroyed walls, the horrific acts inside were fully visible.
At the center of the castle was a massive summoning circle. The devil worshippers kept throwing people into it nonstop.
“Sp-Spare… Aaaagh!”
Humans thrown into the circle were crushed alive.
The circle absorbed the humans, now like bugs stamped underfoot. Likely sending them to the main circle.
“…Horrible.”
Agnes murmured lowly. Demian nodded silently in agreement.
Just watching made disgust well up. Especially for Demian, it dredged up past memories.
“Lady Agnes, please stay here. I’ll go and…”
“What are you going to do alone?”
Demian snapped his head up at the sudden unfamiliar voice.
From the cracked space, a middle-aged man’s upper body protruded.
“Hoh… Just as he said, no pushover.”
Demian’s eyes widened upon seeing the man.
“A devil?”
The man’s lips tore into a grin at the side.
“Correct.”
The man burst from the spatial rift and swung his hand down.
With a shockwave, the entire forest blew away.
“Kyahahahaha!”
Amid the ruins, the man laughed loudly.
“The moment I hit the surface, I can destroy freely! Feels amazing! Haven’t had this much fun in centuries…”
“Strange.”
The devil’s laughter cut off abruptly at the sudden voice.
A short distance away, Demian Haksen stood unharmed.
“A human? How are you alive? I meant to kill you.”
The devil asked in wonder. But the one who should truly be wondering was Demian.
“How did a devil possess a human body so easily?”
He knew well from his knowledge of devils just how difficult possession was.
“A devil summoned by Dorgo… Doesn’t add up. No way he’d cause this ruckus just for a mere baron-class devil.”
Demian drew Dawn as he spoke.
“Looks like I’ve got a lot of questions for you.”