Chapter 71
Chapter 71
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: Hatching (3)
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Riki was the first to notice.
While playing with Anna and reading a book, Riki suddenly jumped to his feet.
"Oppa?"
Riki walked to the window without responding to Anna's call.
Beyond the mountain ridge, barely visible from the Upton branch, a massive sense of malice loomed.
A warning bell rang in his mind about the danger.
"We're all gonna die."
"What did you say, Oppa?"
"If we stay put, we're all gonna end up dead."
What in the world was this horrific presence?
Riki had experienced the endless malice emanating from humans before, but this was the first time he'd felt such blind evil.
Goosebumps prickled across his entire body. His fingers trembled uncontrollably. Riki clenched his fists tight to stop the shaking.
"I just don't get it."
Anna, who hadn't yet awakened her adult strength, was still just an ordinary girl.
Riki was relieved about that. At least she didn't have to feel this blatant evil.
The floor below grew noisy.
A little late, but they had no choice but to sense this ominous presence too.
"Apostle! Saintess!"
A priest burst through the door in a panic.
"You must evacuate immediately."
"O-Oppa?"
"...Come on, Anna."
With the goddess yet to recover, staying here would only be a burden.
Riki took his sister's hand and followed the priest.
At the same time, the marquis's household was in chaos.
"How in the world?!"
Bell Marquis shot to his feet, eyes wide in disbelief.
Hadn't there been plenty of time left?
The [Demon] had never moved aggressively even once. Though tracking it had failed, there'd been no sign of imminent danger.
Was all of this part of a plan?
"Someone outside!"
"You called, Marquis?"
"Tell Sable to come."
The butler who received the order went to fetch Sable.
When he returned shortly after, he said,
"The advisor is missing."
"What?"
"They say he hasn't been seen since earlier. It seems he went out."
Vanishing without a word at a time like this.
It had never happened before.
He always asked for permission whenever he needed to go out.
Just then, the knight commander rushed in frantically.
"Marquis. From Mirene Forest..."
"I felt it too."
"What should we do?"
"...Assemble the troops. I'll command them myself."
"Understood."
This ominous sensation emanating from Mirene Forest.
It was definitely a demon tribe member.
Whether Sable was involved or not, what mattered now was that staying idle would put Upton in danger.
Bell Marquis stood up.
The waiting servants approached and began helping him don his armor.
That's when Sears arrived.
She entered the study cradling her half-asleep daughter.
"Father. What in the world is going on?"
"Don't worry."
"What exactly are you hiding from me?"
"Just relax. More importantly, where's Jamie?"
"Probably sleeping in his room."
"Stay with him."
After that, the marquis said nothing more as he donned his armor. He gripped his baton, ready to depart.
Then, a butler came rushing in breathless.
"What is it?"
"Y-Young Master Jamie...!"
"What about Jamie?!"
"Mommyyy! Waaah!"
At the mention of Jamie, Sears's eyes widened, and she grabbed the butler's collar.
Sara, beside her, clung to her leg and burst into tears.
The butler swallowed dryly and said cautiously,
"H-He's nowhere to be seen."
"What?!"
"Jamie!"
Sears bolted straight to Jamie's room.
The marquis followed, carrying Sara.
A crowd had already gathered in Jamie's room. They parted quickly upon seeing the marquis and Sears.
And there, lying on the bed, was Jamie. His sleeping face was unmistakably his.
They'd just said he was gone—what was going on?
At that moment,
"It's a dummy."
An elderly man standing by the bed spoke up.
He was the family's mage.
When he channeled mana into the body, it went pop—and turned into a log.
Sears's legs gave out, and she collapsed.
She recalled Jamie asking about Mirene Forest.
"Ah, Father..."
"What is it?"
"Jamie... Jamie. It seems he went to M-Mirene Forest."
"What?!"
Jamie had gone to Mirene Forest?
The marquis couldn't make sense of it.
How would that child even know about Mirene Forest?
And what did he think would happen going alone to such a dangerous place?
"It seems the advisor told Jamie about it. A-About Mirene Forest."
At the mention of Sable, the marquis's eyes bulged.
Coincidence or inevitability?
"What about my son? My son..."
"Don't worry. I'll bring him back myself."
The marquis embraced his sobbing daughter and patted her back.
The egg cracked.
No, "cracked" wasn't the right word.
It wasn't a shell, but something like flesh hide. "Tore its way out" fit better than "cracked."
Not that the phrasing mattered, but right now, even useless thoughts like this were necessary.
'It helps me forget the fear, even a little.'
He hadn't even emerged yet, but the vicious aura from within the torn egg made his body tremble.
Nebro, already dead, shouldn't feel fear—yet he was terrified.
[M-Master. That thing tramples even death itself. You must flee. As fast as possible...!]
His low realm was a regret in moments like this.
If he'd turned a higher-realm mage into a lich, his mind wouldn't break in a situation like this.
He understood.
Demons were such beings.
A race that endlessly despised the weak, ingrained so deeply in their genes that their mere presence overwhelmed inferiors.
The greater the gap, the more devastating the mental blow, forcing submission.
'The problem is Nebro's already lost it, and it hasn't even shown up yet.'
[M-Master... Please...]
Meanwhile, Jamie could still endure.
Of course, once it fully emerged, he'd need to borrow "Perfect Cell's" power.
It would consume a lot of mana, but unlike before, he was confident he could maintain it longer now.
This was why he hated demons.
They harmed all living things just by standing there.
"Return, Nebro."
[But Master! You might really die!]
"It's fine."
[Master...!]
With a flick of Jamie's hand, Nebro was reverse-summoned.
A terrified ally was just dead weight.
Nebro already devoured massive mana; if useless, sending him back helped more.
At that instant, an arm burst from the egg.
A bright red arm, steeped in blood.
"Think you can handle it alone?"
A voice emanated from the arm.
Precisely, from within the egg.
The hand gripped the egg's hide and tore it away.
Legs, head, torso emerged bit by bit.
Jamie swallowed dryly.
Cold sweat poured from his forehead nonstop. He gritted his teeth watching the demon stride out.
"Hoo—"
The demon shook off the sticky egg white.
"Coming to the surface world like this is always such a pain."
Then he turned to Jamie.
"What do you think?"
Black flames burned in place of eyes, no nose as if sliced off, pointed ears, a slender overall build.
Skin rough like armor forged from blades, vicious V-shaped horns curling from his head.
Jamie knew.
The more complex a demon's form, the higher its rank.
Like the one before him.
"...A noble?"
"Oho—a human who knows about demons?"
Despite the fearsome appearance, the demon had a sly personality.
Humans too, but demons especially couldn't be judged by looks.
But they shared one common trait.
"Shall we chat a bit, long time no human talk? Dinner after."
They saw humans only as prey.
The demon opened his mouth.
"My name is Rieta. Baron of the Great Demon Realm."
'Baron...!'
A noble demon, as expected.
He'd suspected from the form and horrific aura, but hoped otherwise.
Rieta smirked seeing Jamie's face harden further. Amused for him, but to Jamie, a savage grin.
"Don't look so scared. Now that I've descended to the middle realm, it's irreversible. Fear gains you nothing—relax."
"How awfully kind of you."
"Hm? Not scared after all?"
Jamie activated "Perfect Cell."
With a brilliant light, the mind-tainting dark energy lifted.
"Now I can breathe."
"Got a nice trick, huh?"
Rieta looked intrigued, mildly surprised.
"Mind handing it over?"
"Am I crazy? Give it to you?"
"Hmm. Can't be helped then."
BOOM!!!
Rieta's crimson demonic energy shot skyward.
Jamie swallowed at the immense power.
All forest life fled far from it.
A force denying all life, like mist, began to spread.
"Let's see how long you last."
The unwelcome voice rang out mockingly cheerful.
Jamie gathered mana, recalling a Demon Realm baron's power.
"At least... Master Class...!"
The lowest rank among the Demon Realm's five noble houses.
Sable frowned at the distant demon power.
Even sensing it was utterly repulsive.
"No idea how it came to this."
By schedule, it should've been on the verge tomorrow. Even if the marquis noticed, no way to stop it then.
Yet the demon hatched early.
"The heart the monster took should've made hatching impossible?"
Sable shook his head.
Pondering reasons would just confuse more.
The demon hatched; his task unchanged.
Just accelerated.
"Maybe for the best."
Bell Marquis was starting to suspect him as an insider.
Probably his last chance, and failing confirmed him the enemy.
Before that, the plan's final stage—the demon—hatched.
No one in Upton could stop a demon.
Then, a red pillar shot from Mirene Forest to the sky.
Sable's eyes gleamed at the massive aura.
'Master Class. A Demon Realm noble hatched?'
The monster had one misconception.
Demon eggs weren't for birthing young.
They summoned Demon Realm demons to the surface.
'Normally, a demon knight, not a noble.'
Sable compared the power to his own.
'Weaker than me.'
Definitely a baron, the lowest of the five houses.
With a Master Class demon, all in Upton would be weaklings.
He'd already neutralized all obstacles.
Sable drew his sword.
Time for his task.
"Apostle. And saintess."
Just kids, they said.
By now, trembling at the demon's power.
His eyes gleamed coldly.
Today, Pyro Church would lose much.
Its forces reduced, unable to stand tall; the goddess weakened.
"Balance crumbles."
One of twelve pillars gone today.
The world's flow tilting toward his master.
"Eternal Peace."
Sable removed his ring and tossed it to the ground.
Sealed divinity exploded out.
"Engrave on the Sword's Edge."
He was a knight of Zenith, the first sword of the "Seven Knights."