Chapter 139
Chapter 139
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 139
Chapter Title: Demon and Archmage (1)
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In a ruined city of the alliance, laid waste by demonic invasion, inside a large tent bathed in serene sunlight.
A man was dreaming.
In his dream, the man was a demon. The lowliest kind of demon, one without horns. Among the hornless demons, he was a young one treated with utter contempt. Like an abandoned pup separated from its mother, he wandered endlessly through the pale purple ruins where the great demon's influence had faded.
- Ahh... Ahh... Ahhh...
Finding any trace of life there was impossible anymore. Not monsters or humans—not even most demons remained.
His mouth was parched, his guts twisting in agony. He needed pain and despair, fresh pain and despair. There had never been a time when he resented the fact that he couldn't feed on his own bitter emotions as sustenance.
Then, the demon caught a scent.
A flavor thicker and more mature than premium roasted meat, densely concentrated pain and despair.
- Ahhhhaaa! Ahhhhaaaa!
There was no time to think. The demon blindly chased the trail. He had no idea the scent was so intoxicating because it belonged to a being far above his station.
Soon, he found the source: a red-haired woman draped in a robe. She looked young, but her face bore shadows deeper than those of any elder in the world.
Kwachik—!
She effortlessly pinned the charging demon with magic and asked,
"Have you perhaps seen a 'fierce-looking, burly Atalain' around here?"
- Ahh... Ahhhhaaa!! Ahhhhaaaa!!
"...You can't speak yet, huh."
Judging there was no reason to keep it alive, she raised a sun-like flame at her fingertip.
――――――Fwooooosh—!!!
- Ahhhhaaaa!! Ahhhhaaaa!!
The demon shed tears, screamed, and thrashed. But restraints strong enough to bind a golem wouldn't budge from such struggles.
Yet the woman, who had aimed the flames, stood still for a long moment before suddenly twisting her expression and releasing the bindings.
Then she slowly turned her finger toward herself.
"I don't know... how much longer I have to keep this up... I'm tired now. I want to stop..."
- Ahhhhaaaa!!
The reason the demon extended its thoughts to stop the magic just before it fired was simple: if she died, the pain and despair would vanish, and he'd starve to death.
But she seemed to interpret the action differently. She extinguished the flames, widened her eyes in surprise, gave a wry smile, and muttered,
"...One of my old comrades once said something like that. That demons weren't originally such evil beings."
- Ahhhhaaa... Ahhhhaaa...
"I wonder if that's true... Guess I'll have to test it on you."
As the woman lifted the skin on her back, the man awoke from the dream.
It was a dream he'd had countless times, and as always, heart demons assailed him the moment he woke.
Humans sleep and dream. Demons neither sleep nor dream. So was he human or demon, dreaming of his past as a demon during light sleep?
It was a question without an answer. One without any answer to begin with. The woman who had burdened him with that lifelong riddle had long since left his side, leaving only inescapable duties and shackles like chains.
"Um... Lord Tower Master? Did you cough?"
He opened his eyes to see a wrinkled face.
It was the chief of staff assisting with this external inspection schedule. The man shook off stray thoughts, donned his white robe.
"Yes... Any progress on the search in the meantime?"
"Yes, Lord Tower Master. We've recovered the bodies of all subjugation squads except Battle Mage Uldren. Every corpse had puncture wounds from metal thorns without exception. As you suspected before, it seems certain that Elder Delpharus was possessed by a demon and massacred our allies."
"And who killed the demon-possessed Delpharus? The whereabouts of the 'Pillar of Steel' are still unknown?"
"Yes... We're doing our utmost to investigate, but the area was heavily contaminated with powerful demonic energy, so detection and tracking spells still aren't working properly. For the same reason, identifying who felled the 'central demon' is progressing slowly..."
"...I see. Go back and continue."
The chief of staff bowed politely and withdrew. The man, the Magic Tower Lord, steepled his fingers and sank into thought alone.
No matter how he thought about it, it didn't seem like Agon's Furious Horn had felled the central demon. Whatever it was had cracked "Callisto's Eye" just by being observed—it wasn't some ordinary high demon. Probably a monster even he couldn't guarantee victory against...
Suddenly, someone came to mind.
A being he'd momentarily forgotten amid the high demon's emergence. The master of mind control magic who slew Ymir Demil, then massacred mages indiscriminately in the forest between the 6th and 7th gates. An unidentified madman.
"Maybe that one killed Delpharus and the central demon... and is still out there slaughtering mages..."
Coincidentally, the man had left the place in the world with the most mages.
Vague unease soaked his heart. He pulled out a translucent crystal orb. The magic tool that let him survey the world from his seat, "Callisto's Eye." He placed his hand on it and projected the scene near the Magic Tower.
Woooong—
And at last, the man witnessed it.
"...!!!"
Dark skies, raging winds and rain, mages' corpses staining the pristine white streets blood-red, the gruesomely slain Oklamud and Coltran Spellasion, and... the intruder entering the lowest level.
He'd acted faster than expected. The man immediately expelled all thoughts from his body. Then he searched for the nearest vessel to the scene he'd just seen and extended his thoughts there like a soulfire.
"Ah, Lord Tower Master! There was something I forgot to report earlier... Eh? L-Lord Tower Master?"
Returning to the tent once more, the chief of staff came face-to-face with it.
The Magic Tower Lord's body, slumped lifelessly, nothing but an empty shell.
*
Upon closer inspection, the lowest level was a space honoring the founder with utmost reverence.
An arched gateway engraved with the six elemental runes, beyond which lay a grand hall in a solemn atmosphere. Majestic columns lined up, walls embossed with mystical runes in ornate script, and the dome ceiling aglow with artificial lanterns. The spotless slate floors gleamed as if laid just yesterday.
And at its far end, a cozy crypt with a stele and coffin buried in red glows and floral heaps.
Kadim wanted to rush there, pry open the coffin, and check if Melissa was inside—but he couldn't.
First, because of the suffocating, acrid aura choking his senses.
Then, because of the unidentified intruder blocking his path.
"...What are you?"
The intruder asked Kadim.
Clad in a white robe with long hems, hood pulled low—only sharp eyes visible. His voice carried a bone-chilling killing intent, honed to a razor's edge.
No answer. The intruder asked again.
"What are you? What gives you the gall to slaughter the seekers of mysteries in my absence and profane the inviolable founder's tomb?"
"...And who the hell are you?"
"I didn't permit questions."
A sinister aura like stagnant water coiled around his ankles. Kadim shook it off with a sharp kick's wind pressure. A sharp glint flashed in the eyes beneath the hood.
Kadim shot back an even keener gaze.
"Could you be that Magic Tower Lord bastard? Weren't you out on inspection? How are you here?"
"That's what I want to ask. How did you get in here? This is an area no one can access without my permission... Are you a demon with the power of unauthorized intrusion?"
"...Demon? That's you, not me."
This time, the agitation was intense.
Rippling black afterimages. Seeing his identity pierced, the Magic Tower Lord's eerie thoughts extended overhead. Witnessing it, Kadim pieced together myriad details in an instant, like interlocking puzzle pieces.
"You're a 'Possessor-type,' huh. You shifted your thoughts from the body out on inspection to the one left here... That explains how you've lived for centuries. You must swap bodies whenever your lifespan runs out..."
- Shut your mouth!!
As his roar turned beastly, the gaseous demonic energy gained sticky viscosity. Dozens of tendrils shot up like vines, wrapping the enemy's limbs.
But it wasn't enough. The demonic strands snapped just from Kadim advancing a few steps. He brushed off the sticky remnants and furrowed his brow.
"What I don't get is this: you could've just left one possessed body here. Why didn't you? And why bother masquerading as human for so long, hunting demons? Got a hobby for kin-slaying or something?"
- Shut up... Don't lump me with lowly demons! I'll seal that filthy snout so you never wag your tongue again!
Scattered thoughts converged. The Magic Tower Lord's body, swollen with purple bruises, deflated like a punctured balloon as thoughts burst forth. Instead, condensed thoughts surged like a tidal wave toward Kadim.
The thoughts invaded his sturdy flesh, seeking gaps to reshape. Among all he'd faced, it was one of the most ferocious assaults. Even the steeliest mind couldn't resist such a lethal mental onslaught.
But it had no effect on Kadim.
- ...Hah!
Failing possession utterly, the Magic Tower Lord collapsed backward. His eyes trembled faintly, as if he'd seen something he shouldn't.
Used to it by now, Kadim remained composed. The savage whose inner garden overflowed bared his fangs menacingly and advanced.
"All that nonsense and you flop over, you disgusting demon spawn. Doing shit like this and claiming you're not a demon—has your thick skull rotted through?"
- What is it... What the hell have you planted in that body of yours...
"Melissa must've lost her judgment in her later years. Appointing a worthless wretch stuck in this sewer as successor. And a spare body at that—no blood to drain..."
- ...Don't... soil her name with that filthy mouth!!
Kuhooooo—!
Suddenly, the demon's thoughts shifted. Instead of seizing the enemy's body, it coalesced demonic energy beside its host, weaving twisted mysteries. A massive sorcery circle exuding profane pressure materialized behind the Magic Tower Lord.
Kadim grimaced slightly.
"That's a sorcery circle from the Mystery-type... Tch, not just a Possessor-type—a 'Hybrid,' huh."
"Hybrids," demons blending two or more traits.
Needless to say, far trickier than single-trait ones. This one seemed a mix of Possessor and Mystery-type traits.
Moreover, it was high-rank. The acrid demonic energy that numbed his senses wasn't something lesser demons could mimic. Its prior attacks had been lackluster, but at full power, even Kadim wouldn't take it lightly.
- Annihilate the intruder, claws that rend the abyss...!
――――――Kwaaaaaaaaand—!!!
No sooner had the thought ended than hundreds of black claws erupted from the sorcery circle. Tangled chaotically, they resembled thorny brambles more than claws. Taking that bare-handed would turn him to minced meat.
Yet Kadim showed no agitation.
He merely casually pulled out a small lantern, lit it swiftly.
Wung, wung, wung, wung—!!
Once more, a miracle descended.
The black claws bathed in pale radiance melted like a blizzard in spring sun. A few steps forward, and the sorcery circle behind the demon shattered miserably.
Pachachachacha—!
The "Lantern that Burns the Pitch Black" burned demonic energy. Canonically, it was more orthodox against demonic sorcery than dispelling magic.
- What in the...
Growing tired of watching it flop in shock, Kadim closed the distance without mercy and subdued it. The Magic Tower Lord was crushed like a bug underfoot, immobile.
- No, this... this is impossible, guhk, kuhuk...
Kadim exhaled a weary sigh.
"Hoo... What a hassle. Thought I'd just stroll into the Magic Tower and negotiate, but mages, elders, demons—how many more do I have to kill...?"
- You... What the hell are you...! Krgh, kuhuk, kuhuk...
"Never thought peeking at an old comrade's records would be this annoying. But looks like it's almost over now."
Not the "original" root of all thoughts, but this vessel held plenty. Destroying it all would deal a severe blow. Kadim shoved the lantern close to threaten the demon.
But the demon didn't panic or thrash.
It merely glared with gleaming eyes and asked in a faintly trembling human voice,
"...What did you just say?"
"...What?"
"What did you just say?"
"..."
"...You came to see an old comrade's records, right?"
"And if I did?"
Kadim thrust the lantern closer. But the Magic Tower Lord's gaze fixed solely on the "fierce-looking, burly Atalain," ignoring the flame that burned demonic energy and thoughts.
Soon, conviction dawned late, eyes quivering like struck gongs.
"Then... could you be that... the comrade who was with Melissa 300 years ago... 'Kadim'?"
After silence stretching like eons,
The stiff lips parted with an answer.
"...That's me."
"..."
The face buried under the hood twisted into a wreck.
"Why... why... why did you only come now...?"
Emotions unframeable even by centuries of words crumbled the heart of one straddling demon and man.