Chapter 286
Chapter 286
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 286
Chapter Title: Secret (1)
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After that, Demian focused on rescuing people alongside Agnes.
Unfortunately, there weren't many living survivors.
From this massive fortress, the two of them had saved only a dozen or so. And most of those were dying from fatal wounds anyway.
Demian used the Authority of Jealousy to convert his mana into holy power. Then, he used that holy power to heal the wounded.
"Lord Demian, you handle holy power with remarkable skill?"
Agnes asked in wonder while treating someone else.
Mana and holy power were entirely different forces. So their methods of use had to differ as well.
Yet Demian wielded holy power with perfect efficiency, without a shred of waste.
"It's thanks to the Authority of Dawn."
Demian brushed it off like that and focused on the healing.
After half a day of nonstop effort, the two finally succeeded in saving all the wounded.
That didn't mean they were fully cured, of course. They'd barely escaped critical condition. They'd need full-time care for the next few months.
Next, Demian opened his subspace and distributed blankets and food to everyone.
"Thank you! Thank you so much!"
"Tch, not only did you heal us, but food too..."
"I'll never forget this kindness for the rest of my life!"
The survivors were beside themselves with gratitude.
Among them was the mother and daughter Demian had saved earlier.
"Rita, say hello. This is the man who saved us."
"Th-th-thank... thank you!"
The mother and daughter had been in charge of transporting food to the fortress.
They had come today with a donkey and cart, only to run into disaster.
They had nearly become Iota's prey, but survived thanks to Demian.
Demian said it was fine and sent them off. They looked like they needed rest.
Afterward, Demian and Agnes continued tending to the wounded and searching for any other possible survivors.
About two days later, the rescue team from the royal family arrived.
"Lord Demian! It's been too long!"
Surprisingly, the one leading the rescue team was Oliver Apple, crown prince of Apple Kingdom.
"Your Highness, it's been a while."
"Speak freely. No need to be so formal between us."
Oliver Apple grinned as he spoke.
Demian had once served as Oliver's tutor.
That time, when Demian personally beat Oliver with a stick and reformed him—that incident had forged their lasting friendship.
"But what in the world happened here? Monsters attacked the fortress?"
Oliver Apple gazed at the ruined fortress with a heavy expression.
"This fortress had two mid-class knights stationed here. For them to die without putting up a fight..."
"The enemy was a monster that surpassed master-class."
"...As I feared. Do you know anything about the enemy's goal?"
Demian shook his head.
He himself was dying of curiosity, but he had no guesses yet.
"This is a headache... Do you know? Apple Kingdom isn't the only one hit. Every other kingdom was attacked by undead too."
Demian wasn't greatly surprised.
He had already surmised as much from his conversation with the Four Great Demon Kings.
"Unknown undead attacked, they say. Just a single undead destroyed a fortress. In the worst cases, entire kingdoms were turned to wastelands."
Just a single one.
But if that one was one of the Four Great Demon Kings, it was a different story. They were the strongest undead Dorgo had ever created.
"The Empire and Holy Order are already tracking their traces."
The other kingdoms lacked the power to pursue or subjugate those undead. It was only natural for the Empire and Holy Order to step in.
'Why attack the kingdoms, of all things?'
Demian couldn't help but wonder.
In his previous life, Dorgo could destroy humanity because of Demian.
In other words, without Demian now, he couldn't stand against humanity—even if he'd completed the Four Great Demon Kings ahead of schedule.
'Dorgo is a crafty bastard, but not an idiot. There must be something he's after.'
Demian reviewed what he knew about Dorgo.
'Dorgo's specialty is sowing chaos to achieve his goals.'
When Demian had first become a Death Knight, his power was only mid-class level.
After that, through battle after battle, his strength rose sharply until he could slay the Empire's Greatest Swordsman.
The one who bought him that time was Dorgo.
Dorgo stirred up incidents to divert the Empire and Holy Alliance's attention elsewhere. That gave Demian the space to grow stably.
So Demian was certain.
The kingdom raids were a smokescreen. Dorgo was after something else.
'Dorgo plans to do something in Elfheim.'
Elfheim was far more secretive than the dwarven cities.
So secretive that some dismissed it as myth. Elfheim doesn't exist; the elves went extinct long ago.
But Demian knew. Elfheim was real, and the elves thrived.
They even had a defense pact with the Empire. An ancient contract known only to the emperor and his closest aides.
'Now I get it. He attacked the other kingdoms to divert attention so the Empire can't aid Elfheim.'
That left Demian with one course of action.
Head to Elfheim as fast as possible. Thwart Dorgo's plan there.
And finally, slay the Four Great Demon Kings, Pandemonium's leader, Dorgo.
Demian's eyes filled with killing intent.
* * *
Thanks to the rescue team's arrival, Demian and Agnes were freed from caregiving duties.
Demian handed the wounded over to the prince and prepared to return to his territory with Agnes.
"Lord Demian, could you stay at the palace for a while?"
Oliver said cautiously.
With a monster surpassing master-class on the loose, the palace had to be anxious.
But Demian shook his head.
"My family is waiting for me."
"If that's your will, I can't argue..."
"And my guess is, they won't attack Apple Kingdom again."
It was less a guess and more a certainty.
In his previous life, Dorgo focused solely on toppling the Empire and Holy Order.
The other kingdoms, minus those two powers, were too weak.
Once the Empire and Holy Order fell, those scraps would submit naturally.
No need to waste troops subjugating them separately.
"Your Highness, we'll be off then."
Demian headed to the Haksen Viscountcy with Agnes.
On the way, they stopped by the Holy Order branch near his territory.
"Lord Demian, I'll visit again soon."
After parting with Agnes, Demian went straight to the viscountcy.
"Father, I'm ho—"
The moment he entered the drawing room, his father burst out. He spread his arms and hugged Demian tight.
His father just stood there silently.
As Demian started feeling awkward, the rest of the family appeared belatedly.
"Demian! You're safe!"
"Brother! Thank goodness!"
His mother, sister, and Abel all rushed over and hugged him.
Demian felt a tickle in his chest. It was embarrassing, but not a bad feeling.
Only after a good while could Demian escape their embrace.
"Demian! I heard everything! The demon summoned to Tart Kingdom was a duke-class one! If I'd known it was that dangerous, I never would've let you go!"
Only then did his father start scolding him. Demian grinned confidently and replied.
"What do you take me for? Those demons are no match for me."
"You brat, all that bravado..."
Tears welled up in his father's eyes again.
Demian found his father's demeanor a bit unfamiliar.
Back in his delinquent days, he'd always seemed boring and stern. Now he saw the man was a crybaby.
"Father, really, it's fine. No injuries, and it wasn't that tough."
As Demian comforted his father...
"What? You're still alive."
An unwelcome voice rang out.
He looked up to see Veronica Sanchez munching on pumpkin pie as she passed by.
"...You're still here?"
"Whether others are or not."
Demian's blood pressure spiked at that.
Her snide mouth was getting worse; looked like it was time for another "reform" session soon.
As Demian quietly swallowed his anger, his mother rushed at Veronica and scolded her.
"Veronica, I told you to eat inside!"
"The pumpkin pie you made is so good, Mother, I couldn't help it."
With that, Veronica popped another piece into her mouth.
She chewed with utter bliss on her face. Viscountess Haksen chuckled at the sight.
"Still, mind your dignity. It's for your own good."
"Yes, Mother. I'll do that from now on."
Demian watched his mother and Veronica, tongue-tied.
In the time apart, they'd grown closer. No, closer than close—they meshed like real parent and child.
"Veronica."
"What?"
Veronica Sanchez turned to Demian, still chewing pumpkin pie.
"You planning to stick around here from now on?"
"So what?"
"I see."
Demian's eyes took on a meaningful glint. Veronica looked at him with goosebumps.
"...What are you thinking?"
"Nothing."
"Don't lie! Every time you make that face, you dump work on me!"
"I said it's nothing."
"You think I'll fall for that? Spill it ri—"
Demian pulled a stick from his subspace. Veronica Sanchez hurriedly hid behind Viscountess Haksen.
* * *
That night, Demian slipped out to the back garden alone. He infused his voice with dark mana and spoke.
"Kilo, come out."
Black smoke gathered in the air. Soon, countless dwarves appeared before him.
—Demian Haksen! Welcome back! We were dying waiting for you!
The moment he appeared, Kilo said excitedly.
—If you see how we've remodeled Spring Castle, you'll fall over in shock! I guarantee it'll be the greatest fortress in Rivet Hammer dwarf history!
"Yeah."
—Let me start with the key facility: the mana storage vault underground! Circuits extend from there, supplying mana to every facility...
Demian looked at Kilo with annoyance. Kilo kept babbling, oblivious.
—Master-class attacks can't be withstood anyway! So we changed approach! Destroy and rebuild! Offense over defense! I guarantee even a master-class won't survive once inside the cas—
"More importantly, I have separate orders."
—Orders?
Demian pulled a travel bag from his subspace. He summoned all the undead inside.
—My lord, what is it?
Domenico asked in a solemn voice. Demian gathered the undead and spoke.
"Domenico, Kilo. From now on, you two cooperate to defend the castle."
The sudden order left them both baffled.
"Pandemonium's movements are suspicious. No telling how things will play out."
He'd had Kilo remodel the castle for contingencies, but it wasn't enough to ease his worries.
So Demian planned to leave his undead here too.
—My lord, if it's Pandemonium... we might not be enough.
Demian's undead were formidable.
Domenico was master-class, and Mong was far stronger.
Miya was plenty threatening, and the skeletons were all mid-class.
But the foe was Pandemonium. Even this force wasn't reassuring.
"I've got something in mind for that."
—What is it?
At Domenico's question, Demian smirked meaningfully.
"You'll find out soon enough."
Just then, footsteps approached the garden entrance. Demian waved his hand through the air.
"Hide for now. Come out when I say."
The undead vanished, confused.
Moments later, Veronica Sanchez appeared before him.
"If you had something to say, say it during the day. Why call me out this late? I'm dying of sleepiness."
Veronica yawned as she spoke.
"Veronica Sanchez, I have something to tell you."
"What? Spit it out quick. I'm going to the city with Mother tomorrow."
"The Haksen Viscountcy might be in danger."
Veronica froze at that.
"You heard too, right? Undead attacked the border fortress this time. A terrifying monster. Even a master-class couldn't guarantee victory."
"So?"
"It's probably from Pandemonium. As you know, I'm their enemy. No way they'd leave me be."
That was why Demian made his proposal.
"Veronica Sanchez, I need your help. Protect my family while I'm gone."
Veronica pondered briefly before replying.
"I'm still high-class. Dragging in someone like me won't help much?"
While Demian was away, Veronica had reached high-class.
But high-class couldn't fight Pandemonium.
Pandemonium was full of grand dark mages and master-classes.
"Don't worry about that. I'm going to train you."
"Train me?"
Demian had no intention of training her himself. He was leaving for Elfheim soon.
So he planned to have Domenico do it.
Domenico had already trained the skeletons and Miya, making him perfect for this.
The issue was, this required revealing his secret to Veronica Sanchez.
Could he trust her?
He'd already decided yes. The Veronica Sanchez from his previous life cared nothing for dark magic or heresy labels.
She was purely selfish, chasing only her own gain. That made her trustworthy.
"Veronica Sanchez, I can use dark magic."
Veronica shut her mouth at that.
"Starting today, I'm ordering my undead underlings to train you. With your talent, you should be able to..."
"Puhahaha!"
Then Veronica burst into laughter.
"Wh-what? H-haha, dark magic? Kyahahaha! What nonsense is this?"
She laughed like a madwoman.
"You think I'd fall for such a lame lie? You take me for an idiot?"
"Can't trust, huh. Guess I'll show proof right aw—"
"Still funny on second thought. If you'd just said you could use dark magic, maybe. But undead? You command undead? Kyahahaha!"
But Veronica wouldn't calm down.
"No wonder you're so shady and nasty-tempered. It all makes sense now? You were a dark mage."
"No, wait—is it that dark magic makes you nasty? Or dragging undead around? Yeah, anyone hanging with corpses would turn sour."
"Was it a joke? Nah, probably not. Who'd make such a lame joke? Even for a weirdo like you, I trust you wouldn't go that far."
She laughed so hard tears welled in her eyes.
"Just in case, don't say this crap in front of others. You'll get reported on the spot. Got it... What are you doing?"
Veronica's face stiffened in horror and tension.
A hexagonal stick had appeared in Demian's hand.
"Why do you always earn yourself a beating?"
"D-don't come closer! Don't you dare come at me with that!"
"Saw it earlier today—it's been itching lately. Lively as a fresh fish, flopping around."
Demian tapped the stick against his palm.
"Let's start with ten lashes."