The Demon's Ill-Fated Release
Elena stared in disbelief at the scene unfolding before her eyes. “What on earth…?”
On one side of the room, a mountain of gold coins she had never seen before was piled high. It was a truly breathtaking sight. The first thought that crossed her mind was, ‘With this, I could finally pay everyone’s overdue wages. I could hire people to clean up the grounds. I could even repay all the debts we’ve accumulated… and maybe splurge on new bed sheets.’
It was the mindset of a lord in the truest sense—hardly what one would expect from a woman. Years of living as a lord had ingrained this unfortunate way of thinking into her. Even when faced with a mountain of gold, her thoughts went no further than replacing bed sheets. Perhaps that was simply how her mind worked after living in poverty for so long.
And beside it…
“My god… How on earth…?”
Just as gold gleamed brilliantly under the lights, the people standing next to it were shrouded in darkness. The unfathomable despair and emptiness in their eyes were suffocating to behold. What horrors had they endured? What trials had they faced? What kind of suffering had the gods inflicted upon them to leave them with such gazes?
And then—
“Brother… what exactly did you do?”
Albert stood beside her, wearing a pleased smile as if waiting for praise. Elena couldn’t begin to imagine what he had done to obtain all this.
“Hm? Ah, I just gave them a little talking-to.”
“A talking-to? What… what did you do to them?”
“Why? Do you want to know? Should I tell you?”
“……”
Why did she feel this way? She wanted to know, yet at the same time she didn’t. A part of her suspected that hearing the details would give her a headache for days. It was her instincts warning her of danger.
“You said you were only going to talk.”
“We talked. That’s why I came back with all this gold. It’s alimony.”
“Alimony……”
Elena looked at the pile of gold. Given what those people had done, receiving this much as compensation seemed only fair. But still—
‘Would they really have handed it over so willingly?’
She knew the Carnival family well. They were vicious and cruel, willing to do anything to get what they wanted. They were the kind of nobles who brought shame to the very title. They never upheld the principle of noblesse oblige; instead of giving back, they clung desperately to what they had. The Carnival family’s greed was particularly strong. And yet they had offered alimony?
Elena narrowed her eyes.
“Did you really just talk? You didn’t get hurt, did you?”
“Of course not. It was just a conversation. A physical one. And I’m fine.”
The opponent was injured, though.
“Hmm. You’re not hiding any injuries, are you?”
“Of course not. There’s no one in this world who can hurt me.”
“Then they really gave you the alimony? Just from talking?”
“It was just a physical conversation, but they gave it anyway. I talked so well that they cried—while their arms were being cut off—and repented their sins, offering this as alimony.”
“I see.”
Many questions and doubts swirled in her mind, but Elena decided to believe Albert’s words. For some reason, she didn’t feel like digging deeper.
“I’ll trust you, Brother.”
“Good~ I only told the truth.”
He did tell the truth.
But he didn’t tell the whole truth, did he?
Is that okay with his little sister?
‘Sometimes, not knowing is a blessing.’
“Then what about them?”
“Ah, they were locked up in the underground prison over there. So I brought them along while I was at it.”
“The underground prison? What crime did they commit…?”
“Well, not everyone in prison is guilty of a crime.”
“……”
“Hans.”
“Yes, my lord!”
Hans answered with unusual vigor and energy. His tone was far more enthusiastic than usual. Having seen the mountain of gold, he had clearly realized he would finally receive his overdue wages. His face was that of a happy laborer.
“Could you prepare baths for them? And give them some of the clothes and food we purchased through the Flower Merchant Group.”
“Understood. This way, please.”
The people followed Hans without resistance or rebellion.
“They look like they’re just barely surviving.”
Elena spoke with sorrow and deep sympathy. The moment she saw their eyes, it felt as if she were looking at herself from years ago. She must have had the same look back then.
“Now then~ This isn’t the end~”
Sensing the mood, Albert deliberately made an exaggerated gesture to change the atmosphere.
“There’s one more piece of good news~”
“Good news?”
“It’s a bit awkward here, so let’s head to the training grounds.”
Elena was puzzled by the sudden suggestion, but she soon nodded and followed him. Naturally, Albert stored the gold away in his extradimensional space.
Albert, Gaster, Elena, and the nanny gathered at the training grounds. In front of everyone, Albert took out the golden key.
“What is that?”
“It’s the key that can break your curse.”
“……”
Elena’s eyes widened into perfect circles. The sight was so adorable that Albert unconsciously reached out and gently stroked her hair.
‘Her hair feels a bit dry… but it’s naturally soft.’
There’s shampoo and conditioner in your extradimensional space.
Why not give it to her?
‘Oh, right. I had that.’
You stocked up on daily necessities.
They probably don’t exist in this world.
Shampoo, conditioner, body wash, skin lotion… lip balm… and so on.
You stuffed everything into your extradimensional space while traveling around.
Enough to last a lifetime.
“Ah, right.”
Now that he thought about it, he had. He’d been too busy lately to pay attention. He’d been feeling grimy from not washing properly these days—he should take a proper bath today.
‘There are things similar to shampoo, conditioner, and toothpaste here, but the quality is different.’
He should give some to Elena later too. But first—
“Alright, let’s unlock it.”
“Yes……”
Elena’s face was flushed with tension. Her amethyst eyes looked like those of a frightened fawn. Albert smiled faintly.
‘Even if something happens, don’t worry. I’ll make up for all the suffering you’ve endured.’
He used the key. A brilliant golden light burst from it, and soon a small lock-like object appeared over Elena’s chest.
It’s a visual manifestation of the curse.
Click. The sound of something turning and unlocking echoed loudly enough for everyone in the training grounds to hear clearly.
And then—
Kyeeeeek! It felt as if an unpleasant, horrifying scream rang out. The curse that had been suppressing Elena let out one final act of resistance as it was lifted.
‘How dare you.’
Albert used his mana to forcibly tear away the remnants of the curse that were desperately trying to cling to Elena. Since the curse’s lock had been opened, there was no longer any issue with intervening.
‘Get away from my sister.’
Albert’s mana rapidly enveloped Elena, completely removing the curse’s remnants.
“Ah……”
Elena let out a small groan. Mana that had been blocked and she couldn’t even sense before now poured out like a waterfall, racing fiercely through her body. The force was so strong that her body trembled violently. The enraged mana, like an angry bull, ran wildly through her mana circuits. If left alone, her circuits would surely suffer severe damage.
‘Normally, this would be something Elena has to control herself, but…’
“Big brother will take care of everything.”
Fortunately, standing before her was an EX-rank hunter once called the strongest.
‘System, assist.’
Understood.
Since we need to use your power, please place your hand on Lady Elena’s body.
Albert was unskilled at such delicate work, so he had no choice but to rely on the System’s help. Their areas of expertise were different. If Albert specialized in destruction, the System specialized in assisting with delicate tasks.
“Aaah……”
With the System’s intervention, the mana that had been raging like an angry bull calmed down.
“……That’s……”
Gaster was startled by what he saw. The nanny was an ordinary human and couldn’t see mana, so she didn’t understand. But as a dragon, Gaster possessed the eyes to see mana and knew exactly what was happening.
‘He’s controlling that enormous amount of mana in an instant?’
He had called it enormous, but that was only relative to Elena as an individual. When the curse had broken and the mana burst forth, it had been far beyond what Elena could possibly handle. If left alone, her body would have been unable to withstand her own mana and she would have exploded and died. Even with someone else’s help, perfectly controlling mana that wasn’t one’s own was an extremely difficult feat. Even he, a dragon, couldn’t easily make that judgment.
Yet—
‘He subdued someone else’s mana in an instant and calmed it under his control. What incredible mana control and dominance.’
It was a technique still impossible for him as a hatchling. Perhaps after becoming an adult dragon and more time had passed, but right now, if asked to do it, he absolutely couldn’t. And yet a mere human had accomplished it.
“……What a monster.”
Elena quietly closed her eyes. She was currently cleaning her mana circuits. Because she hadn’t been able to use mana due to the curse, dust had accumulated heavily. Now she was circulating mana through them again, reorganizing everything. She swept away the dust and began repairs, making the pathways even sturdier—from ordinary roads to paved highways.
She’ll become stronger.
‘She needs to become stronger.’
It was over. When he removed his hand, Elena, who had been receiving Albert’s help, was now controlling her mana on her own.
Rumble……
Hum……
Just as he thought everything had ended, a black cloud-like mass suddenly appeared in the air above the training grounds. Of course, it wasn’t a cloud. It only looked that way because it was a mixture of dark, murky, evil, and ominous energy.
“That’s—!”
Gaster was shocked. The chill running down his spine was something he knew all too well. Or rather, something imprinted in his dragon genes was telling him.
That was—
“A demon!?”
The worst enemy of dragons who protected the middle realm. A race that everyone in the middle realm had to reject without exception. Demons.
His face filled with horror.
“How can there be a demon here!?”
Demons had long been sealed away, unable to cross from the demon realm into the middle realm. For a being that shouldn’t exist in the middle realm to be here meant something had happened to the seal.
—Kuhahahahaha!
At that moment, a hand covered in black fur suddenly shot out from the black cloud! Accompanied by a wicked laugh that stirred deep fear in people’s hearts, the demon revealed itself. Its appearance resembled a werewolf, except it had black bat-like wings on its back and a single horn on its head. The horn was a symbol of a demon’s strength. The more horns, the greater their capacity to store magi, and thus the stronger they were.
‘Fortunately, it’s a lowest-rank demon.’
A lowest-rank demon was something he could easily kill. Demons and humans were complete opposites. Humans without holy power couldn’t fully exert their strength against demons because of the unique magi demons possessed. Human power exposed to magi dropped drastically, and their mana became corrupted, making it unusable. To put it mildly, even master-rank humans could die to a lowest-rank demon if they didn’t handle it properly.
‘Well, it can be overcome with holy blessings or items, but…’
Right now, there was no one here who could use holy power. In other words—
‘No matter how strong that human is, he could lose to a lowest-rank demon.’
Strong as he might be, he was still human. Against magi, he would be powerless.
—Finally, the seal of hundreds of years has been broken! At last! Hoo~ It’s been a while since I smelled the scent of the mortal realm! Good! I’ll dye this scent with the blood and death I love!!
Krrrrrraaah! The lowest-rank demon let out a mighty roar. It intended to spread death throughout this world, starting with the humans in the training grounds.
If the demon had been released somewhere else, it might have achieved some of its goals. Even a lowest-rank demon was still a demon. As a battle race, its power was something humans couldn’t possibly match. But unfortunately, this lowest-rank demon would never achieve its goals. The reason was simple.
“How noisy. What the hell is that thing?”
It appears to be the medium of the curse.
Unlike skills from that world, it seems the curse was cast using this lowest-rank demon as a medium.
The seal was probably set to break at the same time the curse was lifted.
“What a pain.”
The reason was that Albert was here. The demon had terrible luck. Of all people, it had possessed Elena. Of all times, the seal had broken right in front of Albert. And of all places, it had manifested right before him. Truly the worst possible fortune.
“Tsk, this magi is still as filthy as ever.”
Magi was like radiation—harmful to humans. The black cloud floating in the sky was a concentration of that magi.
“Denser than Chinese fine dust.”
“Cough.”
The nanny let out a light cough, perhaps affected by the magi. Elena was currently protected by mana and was fine, but the nanny was an ordinary person. Magi was dangerous.
“The nanny is struggling and it’ll interfere with Elena, so get rid of it.”
Summoning Gluttony.
A small, cute slime appeared on Albert’s palm. And then—
“Eat it all, Gluttony.”
Shwaaaaaak! The moment the command was given, Gluttony’s body expanded from a point into a plane and immediately enveloped the lowest-rank demon.
—Kyaak! W-what is this! How dare a mere slime—me!!!
The lowest-rank demon struggled desperately to escape Gluttony. But it couldn’t. It realized—
‘I’m going to die here. I can’t escape.’
The fear of death. Filled with resentment, it screamed.
—I broke the seal of hundreds of years! I finally got out!! I haven’t even revealed my name yet! Like this…… My name is!!!
Crunch.
The lowest-rank demon, unable to even reveal its name, was devoured by Gluttony in a manner so hollow it was almost pitiful.
Gaster, who had been preparing magic while wary of the demon, saw the scene and wore an expression of utter emptiness and disbelief.
“……This place is insane. I need to run away right now.”
He was experiencing a dizzying sense of chaos.