Chapter 30
Chapter 30
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: The Familiar Codex
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"Hmm...."
What I held in my hand right now was a book the size of a yearbook.
However, it had no texture at all, floating in the air like a hologram or an illusion.
And where had this come from...?
[The Familiar Codex has been unlocked.]
......
It was one of the byproducts I'd obtained after defeating Carl Kurso. It was a common mechanic in mobile games and other games like them—unlocking new features as you progressed through stages. It was easy to think of it like espionage activities.
The reason this demon codex resembled a yearbook was because it wasn't much different from one.
Flip...
When I opened the Familiar Codex, it revealed images of the demons I'd collected, along with footnotes.
'It's completely empty.'
Of course, it wasn't a proper codex by any means.
The familiars I'd collected amounted to only a few forest-attribute ones and Phenex.
Naturally, the inside was empty.
However, even for familiars I didn't have, the Familiar Codex showed black silhouettes that hinted at their identities.
Flip...
Turning to a page near the end, ornate and antique, revealed the 72 Demons. It was sparse, but Phenex occupied one corner of that page.
'...She's a loner here too.'
The codex had a feature that showed which faction each demon belonged to, and they were usually grouped together—except for Phenex, who was alone.
- Heretic.
She was a girl even annotated like that.
Flip...
I turned past her page and examined the others. I had my own memories tied to this codex, so the shapes beyond the silhouettes faintly came to mind.
This demon was Leraje... this one was Gaph. It wasn't hard to recall.
And on the final page, silhouettes appeared that looked extraordinary at a glance.
'The Seven Great Demons.'
To a Lemegaton player, they were names dreamed of in sleep. Without pickups, it was hard to get even one without pouring in overwhelming amounts of money.
'...Names far beyond my reach right now.'
The magic stones Faust had weren't nearly enough to claim their names. They were clearly the kind of 'jackpot' prizes.
In contrast, my current situation was one where I had to settle for just avoiding total duds.
Snap...
I closed the codex.
'Seeing them stirs desire. It just breeds greed.'
Who wouldn't want to claim them? I had to let it go before the regret grew.
Step...
Step...
Lucifer approached, deliberately making her presence known.
"Faust."
"What is it?"
Had a new adventurer arrived?
Or...
"News from Bill has arrived."
"Bill? ...News, huh."
I'd ordered Bill to control Doppelganger Mori and make contact with the fence.
"It seems to be about Mori."
"...Looks like there's some progress."
* * *
Doppelganger Mori.
After parting ways with Faust, he'd been granted freedom.
Whether he could call it freedom was another matter.
'Bill again, that guy.'
This relentlessly diligent dark elf excelled at surveillance. The moment he slacked off even a little or showed signs of rebellion, she'd appear and issue a warning.
- Don't waste the chance Faust gave you. Before that chance vanishes entirely.
'Tch, if it weren't for Bill...'
And then?
Would he run away?
From her.
From Faust.
Just recalling that pressure from back then made him shrink.
Remembering it wasn't good for his health.
'If I ran... I'd probably die.'
He was equally terrified of what punishment he'd face if he failed the mission Faust had assigned.
'No choice. It's not even that hard.'
Taking over a human organization—and a small one at that—wasn't difficult.
"Humans crumble to fear, after all."
Knock knock-
Mori knocked on the door of a rundown tavern in a back alley of Liudira. Naturally, he wore the exact form of the adventurer he'd already killed.
Creak...
From the small peephole in the door, a booze-soaked breath huffed out.
"Get lost."
The conversation went south from the start, but Mori replied calmly.
"You'd better sober up now."
"...What?"
"The next words out of your mouth will decide whether you live or die."
It was a menacing statement, but to a hardened back-alley thug, it just drew a scoff.
They usually bandied about far harsher words.
"What a clown."
"...That your last words?"
"......"
The man didn't answer, a chill running down his spine for some reason.
The intruder's expression as he asked if that was his last testament didn't seem provocative or mocking.
It was just the face of someone posing a simple question.
"Let me in. That's the only way you survive."
"You're out of your mind if you think..."
Crack-!
"Guh... Gaaack...."
The doorman couldn't believe his eyes. An arm had pierced through the thick wooden door and grabbed his throat.
"Open it."
The doorman frantically unlocked the door. In that time, his comrades rushed to the commotion at the entrance.
Creeeak...
Thud...
"Gahk... Gaahaaack...."
Mori released his grip, and the doorman collapsed, drooling. Ignoring him, Mori stepped inside the tavern.
Step...
Step...
He sat at a nearby table, ignoring the menacing faces around him.
"Five? That's too few."
Five was the headcount of the ruffians in the place, including the doorman.
A man with a long knife scar across his face asked,
"Who the hell are you?"
"Your name... what was it again... uh... something rotten? Rotting..."
"Rotten Boot. If you know us, you know the mess you're in, right?"
Thud...
A keen dagger stabbed indifferently into the table. Mori's face reflected briefly on the blade, but no one noticed it wasn't human.
"Yeah! Right, Rotten Boot. I think it's a fun name."
Mori grinned.
"From now on, you'll do as I say."
"...Not worth hearing. Lock the door, boys."
"Yeah."
Grumbling about having to clean up another body today, they headed to the door.
Slash-!
And when they turned at the sound...
The boss's head was rolling on the floor.
"Wha... what the?"
They could only gape stupidly.
A murder had happened casually.
"Now it's four. I don't want it dropping further."
Only then did they realize Mori had struck.
Whoosh-!
Rustle!
They reached for their weapons but hesitated to draw. Mori didn't like that indecision.
"You're all just posturing. Sigh... If you meant to kill, you'd have drawn already. No one useful here?"
"Why are you doing this? Who sent you? Revenge?"
"Revenge? No, I'm offering a chance."
"A chance?"
Heehee...
"...A chance to serve the great one."
The great one here was, of course, Faust.
"Th-that's... troublesome."
"...What?"
"Rotten Boot is just a branch. We can't move independently..."
Mori actually seemed pleased by that.
"Kekeke... So you have backing?"
"Y-yeah. So..."
"Tell me."
"......What?"
Shimmer...
In an instant, Mori's face shifted to that of the boss he'd just killed.
"Where they are."
"Th-that's a lie..."
......
Rotten Boot's thugs completely submitted to Mori. To something not human, gripped by deep fear.
With things as they were, they had only one way to survive: letting Mori fully subjugate Rotten Boot's backers, the mountain bandit stronghold.
They'd told him the location for that reason. Not telling him probably would have led Mori to recount their numbers again.
Exactly three days after the stronghold's info reached Mori, strange events began there.
"Speak straight, what?"
"Maron stabbed Daven..."
"...And Daven?"
"...He's dead."
"Bring Maron."
The stronghold was large enough for at least twenty men. They based here, spreading their influence over nearby villages with various shady businesses.
Few knew their true nature, and even if they did, in this remote area, there was little they could do.
Anyway, infighting broke out among them.
"Maron, explain yourself convincingly."
"I-it wasn't me! I didn't stab him!"
"Don't bullshit us! Ten guys saw you stab Daven!"
"Th-that wasn't me. I didn't know anyth—"
Splash-!
Maron's head rolled away.
The leader said,
"If you hated stronghold life, you should've just said so. I'd have put you out of your misery sooner."
"......"
That seemed to wrap up the incident—for now. Until the next morning.
"......"
"Two... this time two."
They'd stabbed each other in the chest and collapsed.
"...Clear it away."
An ominous air hung over the stronghold.
Who was it?
Whose doing?
An inexplicable anxiety crawled up their throats.
"Leader! Here... there's something here..."
A message written in blood on the stronghold fence.
- One is enough.
The phrase was baffling at first, but after two incidents, the stronghold folk understood.
The writer wanted just one person's head.
"...I'll kill 'em."
The leader returned to the stronghold in a foul mood. Silence fell.
Conversations vanished.
Both prior incidents had been among the stronghold brothers.
No one...
could be trusted.
To end this terror, one person's head was needed. Otherwise, more victims would fall.
The next morning, the stronghold gate swung wide.
Creeeeeeeeeeak...
Mori stepped through. He could tell without checking: the stronghold was already devoured by fear.
Inside, in the yard, the leader's corpse lay pierced by over ten swords, abandoned.
"Please... please stop."
"We did as you said! Please..."
Fear.
Doppelganger Mori's efficient tool for handling humans.
Heehee...
"I need to report to the great one."
- Mission. Take this place by any means necessary.
"...Mission complete. Alright! Let's count heads again."
* * *
'Faster than expected.'
As an espionage mission, it had been quite tricky.
Unlike games, where you assign a mission and forget it until it's done.
'This is reality.'
Even assuming Mori's strength, I'd expected it to take time, but it finished sooner. Enough to re-evaluate his capabilities.
Now, I could use the humans he'd acquired for more tasks.
'Of course, I'll need to test them personally.'
So far, all green lights.
If they didn't satisfy, I'd just discard them.
'Well then... time for me to do what I need to.'
Swoosh...
As I stood abruptly, Lucifer seemed to read my intent and waited with a box full of magic stones. Excluding leftovers from the last gacha, it was exactly two boxes' worth for 20 pulls.
It was too heavy for two boxes, so Phenex followed, taking one.
Step...
Step...
Aje Rup of the Hell Gate grinned as if waiting.
'Gloomy bastard.'
Heh heh heh...
"Feeling good today?"
"Hope so."
"Pray my blessing reaches even to hell! Kehihihihi!"
The guy who always pulled duds had peak confidence every time.
Thump...
My heart started pounding.
'Whew...'
I calmed the boiling blood.
Like a prayer, I dredged up a trite phrase.
Dreams are just dreams; live in reality.
Rationally, efficiently.
I emptied my mind.
Not a fight for survival.
But the start of a fight to live on.
Rumble rumble rumble...
Yes... rationally... efficiently...
Calmly...
"RAAAAAAGH-!"
Crack... craaaackle crackle...
Calm...
"Faust, step back."
"Ughhhh... It's coming... coming... it's coming!"
Phenex clutched her head and hid in the corner.
Rat... effi... cal...
What was it? Calm...
Kaaaaaaa-!
A bizarre light beyond rainbow hues burst from Aje Rup's eyes.
Whoooooom...
This was like a lotus blooming from mud. A blooming that meant the path ahead wouldn't be entirely dark.
Aje Rup, limp as if possessed, spoke.
"From the first evil..."
First evil...
The moment those words emerged, a shiver ran through my body.
Great demon.
Crossing this gate now was...
Thud...
One of only seven among the 72 Demons.
"There were seven demons."
Unmistakably... a Great Demon.