Chapter 81
Chapter 81
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 081
Chapter Title: Malphas's Nightmare (1)
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*
"So, what exactly happened?"
In the suite room of the hotel.
Councilman Reinhardt Koster, who had casually brewed some coffee, placed a cup on the tray he'd brought over himself and asked.
His gaze was fixed on Councilman Rockton, who was stroking his own face from the high-end sofa.
"I've known you for quite a while now, Councilman Rockton, but I've never seen you looking so pale."
"......"
Rockton simply stared at Councilman Koster in silence.
'Councilman Reinhardt Koster.'
Long ago, during the era when vampires were highly active.
He was a legendary figure known for sponsoring the organization 'Dawn's Shield' to hunt them down, fighting alongside the famed hunter 'Venerator' across countless battlefields.
At the same time, as a former Director of Investigations, he had led the resolution of not just vampire incidents but all manner of cases involving non-humans.
In truth, the current Koster family couldn't be called a powerhouse in politics or finance despite being a prestigious house.
But because it was the house of Reinhardt, who had devoted his life to battling non-humans out of hatred for the 'demonic' that betrayed human decency, the councilors still respected and honored them.
'In other words...'
The situation was already entangled with demons.
If the man before him, Councilman Reinhardt Koster, was also on their side in this mess...
Councilman Rockton's face hardened.
'There'd be no one left in this council I could trust.'
No one would be more ruthless or stubborn toward demons than the old man before him.
If even he had turned traitor, which councilor hadn't?
That's why Rockton had to confirm it.
'Can I trust Councilman Koster?'
As a former Director of Investigations, he still wielded significant influence there.
If Koster wasn't on their side, he could provide major help in uncovering internal affairs at the Investigation Bureau.
'Above all, Koster has ties to the military too.'
If Kyle failed, Koster as an ally would surely be a great asset.
'That's why I called the councilman here too.'
Councilman Koster approached and set the coffee cup down in front of him.
There wasn't much time left until dawn, but it was a day when no one could easily fall asleep.
"I hurried over when I heard you'd called the councilors together today, but..."
"...I didn't think you'd come, Councilman."
"I was a bit late, but you—always so cautious—called me. It had to be something serious..."
Besides, he'd been planning to meet with Councilman Rockton soon anyway, to discuss supporting Venerator's successor.
Sitting down across from him, Councilman Koster said,
"So I figured it was right to attend, even if belatedly."
"That's..."
Councilman Rockton trailed off for a moment.
"Thank you for thinking that way. But the meeting..."
"Hm, something went wrong, I take it?"
He stroked his mouth without a word.
Seeing his poor complexion, Reinhardt let out a small groan.
"Doesn't look like it's just from the Mage Tower incident. Something from the council, perhaps?"
He recalled how Rockton had pressed Marshall with a kind of interrogation.
"You mentioned the Investigation Bureau's special forces tried to assassinate the Mage Tower survivors."
That suspicion seemed to have been smoothed over when Marshall summoned witnesses, but the man before him was Martin Rockton.
His gut told him it wasn't just baseless suspicion.
After a brief hesitation, Rockton spoke up.
"Councilman Koster."
"Hm."
"Would it be alright if I was rude for a moment?"
"Rude?"
"Yes."
Having steeled himself, Martin Rockton looked him straight in the eye and said,
"I'd like to use my 'eye' on you, Councilman."
"......"
Suddenly, the air grew heavy.
Councilman Koster, staring intently at Rockton before him, twitched an eyebrow.
"Use your eye, you say."
It was probably Martin Rockton's prosthetic eye, 'Eye of Truth.'
Normally, using a lie detector implant on key figures like councilors was treated as a serious crime.
Councilors in particular had sensors implanted to detect such implant activations, making covert use impossible.
That's why Rockton was asking permission now.
Can I use a lie detector on you right now?
It wasn't something to say to a fellow councilor—let alone the head of a prestigious family—and was a grave rudeness.
Councilman Koster felt the same way.
He took a sip of his coffee and said,
"That's quite a rude proposal."
"My apologies."
But Rockton couldn't back down here.
"It's absolutely necessary, though."
"Meaning you won't tell me what happened unless I submit to your verification?"
"More like, I can't know otherwise."
"Can't know?"
"Yes."
Councilman Rockton said,
"Whether you're the enemy, Councilman Koster."
His eyes sharpened.
"...or an ally."
"......"
A brief silence followed.
Sensing something gravely amiss, Koster spoke.
"So it's related to the descent incident at the Mage Tower after all?"
"Yes."
"I see..."
Koster looked at Rockton's prosthetic eye.
"Eye of Truth. I remember it. You got it as a rare gift from the Mage Tower during one of those exchanges, right?"
"...The Sage in his youth was very interested in implant magic engineering, from what I heard."
Apparently, he often snuck his creations out of the tower.
Rockton's eye dated back to when relations between Dun City and the Mage Tower were better—a rare product of the Sage's craft.
As such, its performance and accuracy far surpassed other implants.
Koster drained his coffee cup and said,
"Very well. Use that eye as much as you like."
"...Are you sure?"
"What's there to fear? I've lived honestly—that's my only pride. No secrets to hide, no reason to be afraid."
"......"
Rockton stared at him intently, then gave a wry smile.
"I just confirmed it for sure."
He hadn't even needed to use the eye.
"You're spotlessly white, Councilman—no room for doubt."
"No need to use it?"
"If you were black, you wouldn't have said that just now."
Besides, he knew about the eye yet gave that answer anyway.
It meant he truly had nothing to hide.
"...You still have connections in the Investigation Bureau, Councilman?"
"Having been Director, I know a lot of faces here and there..."
Rockton took a moment to steady his breath and said,
"Councilman."
"Hm?"
"If the Investigation Bureau... has deep ties to this ongoing crisis, what would you do then?"
"......"
At those words, Koster slowly set down his coffee cup and spoke.
"Rockton."
He looked up.
"Can you tell me the details?"
The old man's eyes were colder than ever.
*
Meanwhile, having returned to the room inscribed with the ritual alongside the Sage, Kyle checked the time.
'Only about 40 minutes left.'
Forty minutes was plenty; the descent would likely complete even sooner.
That way, there'd be time to halt the city council-approved 'incineration procedure.'
"This spot... this should do it."
At the Sage's words, Kyle carefully helped his frail body sit before the ritual circle.
"Hoo..."
The Sage, sweating profusely and taking a shallow breath, looked up at him and said,
"Once I start infusing mana into this ritual, use your healing magic immediately."
"Got it. I'll do that."
"If it succeeds, a door to Malphas's Nightmare will open."
It was a secret realm where fragments of all sorts of dreams were chaotically mixed.
"I'll aim to send you as close to the demon as possible, but the coordinates might shift a bit. If that happens..."
"It's fine."
Kyle recalled the power of his [Heavenly Eye] and said,
"I'll find the bastard somehow."
"...I see."
The Sage nodded.
He was a once-in-a-millennium genius.
He'd navigate the nightmare on his own without needing instructions.
'This is just my old-man worries.'
With that thought, he placed his hand over the ritual and said,
"Alright, let's begin."
Kyle gently placed his hand on the Sage's back.
"I'm ready."
"Hoo..."
After a shallow breath, he finally released the mana he'd been holding back inside him.
"Kuh?!"
At once, a pain like his insides twisting assaulted his mind.
But gritting his teeth and swallowing it, the Sage seized a portion of the rampaging mana and channeled it into the ritual before him.
A blue mana glow began swirling around the Sage at its center.
Seeing this, Kyle immediately cast his healing magic.
His internals began healing rapidly from the flood of light mana pouring into his back as if on cue.
Resistance to Kuveks' deadly poison was granted next, easing the mana rampage somewhat—but deadly poison was still deadly poison.
"Kuhak...!"
Blood surged up from the repeated tearing and healing, spilling from the Sage's mouth.
Startled, Kyle shouted,
"Are you okay?!"
"Cough! I'm fine!"
The Sage clenched his teeth and refocused on interpreting the ritual.
"Keep... going!"
'You don't look fine at all?'
Kyle poured mana endlessly into him without looking back.
The magic blazed even more intensely, and the Sage's eyes widened unwittingly.
'...Impossible.'
His internals were healing faster than the rampaging mana now, and he murmured in quiet admiration.
'I suspected, but this mana capacity is truly monstrous...!'
Proof was in how Kyle's healing output had risen far beyond before.
But this wasn't the time for admiration.
Refocusing on the ritual, the Sage thought,
'Yes, with this...!'
Enduring the infinite cycle of his guts tearing and mending, he successfully interpreted the governing ritual and opened his eyes wide.
'Found it.'
At that moment, blue mana surged fiercely around him.
"!!"
As it reached its peak.
The Sage shouted,
"Now!"
His gaze fixed on the ritual's center.
"Jump in there—you'll enter the 'Nightmare'!"
A black hole tore through space like ripping fabric.
Seeing it, Kyle called to the Sage.
"Sage."
The moment he pulled away, Kuveks' poison would rampage through the Sage's mana again.
It could be dangerous, but the Sage remained calm.
"I'll be fine."
He said,
"Go. Do what you must."
"......"
Kyle offered silent respect, then summoned draconic energy once more.
In an instant—BOOM!—his form rocketed toward the black hole.
As [Blessing of Light]'s effect faded, the Sage spewed dark red blood once more.
"Kuhak!"
But there was no stopping now.
He had to maintain this ritual until Kyle reached the nightmare safely.
"...I leave it to you."
The Sage murmured toward the figure vanishing into the black hole.
"Please... save this Sapientia..."
That was the end.
BOOM! The mana scattered violently, and the Sage collapsed, blood pouring from his mouth.
*
"Well then, time for the final stage..."
Looking down at Walter Reberk, now buried in the flesh mass and fused with it, Malphas curled his lips.
"Shall we?"
Grey hair, youthful male face.
The demon, now resembling Walter Reberk's younger self, thrust his long, sharp hand into Walter with a crunch!
"Become... the vessel for this world... for me and my children, Walter Reberk."
A sinister black energy flowed from his hand into Walter.
"Guh... ugh...! Uuugh!"
Walter writhed in agony, eyes bulging.
"Uuuuuh...!"
"Aaaah!"
"The mana...!"
Not only that—the mana absorbed from mages so far gathered above Walter's head.
"Ahahaha! Yes, yes! Perfect! Excellent!"
Amid the demon's mad laughter, Ridge realized the gathered mana formed a sort of 'egg' and her eyes trembled.
"N-No..."
If that completed.
"Then it's really...!"
Everything would be irreversible!
"Ah, aaah! Splendid."
Malphas, joyfully awaiting it, trembled with ecstasy.
"How long it's been... since a proper descent."
Using high-quality mage tower wizards as sacrifices, no less.
He was certain to obtain a body incredibly close to his true form.
"Bow before me, ye 72 demons."
An era of chaos would dawn once more on this land.
"I shall lead my kin back to it with glee."
As the demon reached lovingly for the massive 'egg'—
"...Hm?"
A sudden unease rang in his mind, and he looked up.
"!!"
A pure white flash from the sky struck down on Malphas's head.
BOOM!!
"?!"
The startled mages widened their eyes.
"W-What?"
"What the hell...?"
As all stared blankly, black-and-white holy flames whipped up as if waiting.
WHOOSH!
"T-That's...!"
The mages swallowed, forgetting even their pain at the sacred blaze.
Amid it, a man in black combat gear slowly rose.
That all-too-familiar back.
The familiar face—Ridge's lips trembled as she recognized him.
"Mr. Clark...?"
"Missed."
As Kyle swish! reversed his grip on the holy sword of Ludicium—
Ridge spotted something black surging from behind him and shouted,
"Mr. Clark!! Danger...!"
The sword's defense mechanism instantly countered the strike aimed at his heart.
CLANG!!
But it didn't end there—the holy flames and black mana clashed fiercely, grinding against each other.
Yet only for a moment.
BOOM!!
The explosion hurled both men apart simultaneously.
"......"
"......"
The nightmare's denizens couldn't find words for the astonishing scene.
Those on the brink of despairing servitude trembled helplessly.
There, Rebecca Kemston's father, Colin Kemston, asked,
"Macclair, is that the man you mentioned?"
Ridge nodded.
"...Yes. That's him."
The man closest to the Founding Mage, as far as she knew.
"Kyle Clark."
Colin Kemston gulped.
"He really came...?"
The Founding Mage's successor, to save this tower?
"But... even if he's the successor...!"
Another mage shuddered.
"Once in this 'Nightmare,' all mana belongs to the demon!!"
It held true even if the Founding Mage himself came.
"It'll just aid the demon's descent...!"
"That's...!"
At that moment.
A chilling voice echoed among them.
"Impressive."
Malphas, brushing back his forehair, addressed Kyle who'd pursued him here.
"For trash like you to actually reach this place."
He glanced amusedly.
"Did you use the Sage?"
But the Sage could barely move, let alone cast magic, due to the deadly poison.
"How did you borrow his power?"
"Do I have to explain every detail?"
Kyle ignored him and aimed his sword; Malphas shook his head.
"I hope the Sage didn't die."
The demon had spared him as a sacrifice to open a gate straight to hell post-descent.
If dead, it'd be a hassle in many ways.
"Well, I can check after descending."
If dead, he'd find a way to use the corpse.
"Still... you made it here, so credit where due."
Malphas sneered.
"Do you know? Once you set foot here, all mana is essentially mine."
His slender finger pointed at Kyle.
"Even now, your mana flows straight to me."
No matter how holy fire mana or whatever—it was futile.
Montena's holy knights' sanctity corrupted the instant it became his, reduced to mere fuel to be devoured.
"In short."
He chuckled.
"You've come here to die on a silver platter. You moron... cough!"
Sudden blood spewed, and silence fell.
"......"
"......"
Malphas hastily covered his bleeding mouth.
Those looking up gaped unwittingly.
"Uh...?"
"What the...?"
"Cough! Cough...!!"
More black blood poured out.
Unable to hide his panic, Malphas stared at his blood-soaked hand and muttered,
"What... is this...?"
Then, the human he'd called moron whispered in his ear.
"Yeah. All my mana is flowing into you."
"!!"
The demon looked up with trembling eyes.
"That's the law and rule of this world."
Kyle smirked.
"But that means."
Step, step, he advanced on the demon.
"No matter what, you have to absorb my mana."
"You bastard...! What did you...!"
If the demon had fully descended, this wouldn't work.
A hit or two of mana absorption wouldn't deal much damage.
But in this 'Nightmare,' it was different.
All mana here was the demon's—that was the 'Nightmare's' law.
The immortal Kyle Clark could spam that mana endlessly—an absurd existence.
"Kuaaaagh!!"
Mana bearing the 'Demon Exorcism' trait flooded endlessly into Malphas.
At first, a minor shock, negligible damage.
"But when it piles up, and piles up, and piles up more."
Stopping before Malphas, Kyle said,
"It becomes a force you can't ignore."
"Uuueeek!!"
The demon vomited blood madly, eyes shaking helplessly.
"You... bastard, no way...?"
There was once a legend.
Montena Kingdom's first holy knight.
The legendary hero of Montena shone like a holy flame itself—not content to merely ignite it with his mana.
'He imbued the mana itself... with holy flame.'
His very blood and flesh forged solely to slay demons.
Realizing this, Malphas screamed at him.
"You bastard, don't tell meeee!!"
Weight on his forward foot.
Gripping the hilt tight, Kyle whirled his upper body in place.
"Hup...!"
In that instant, the holy sword's blade whipped fiercely.
As the centrifugal force slicing the air peaked high above—
The razor-sharp strike cleanly bisected the demon before him.
SLASH!
"Ugh...!?"
No mana in it—just a pure, clean blow.
But that simple strike was more than enough to fell the demon now.
In disbelief, the Nightmare's lord looked down at the holy sword that severed him.
His mouth moved laboriously.
"This... can't...!"
Then—splatter!
Black blood sprayed wildly along the blade.
"Nooo...!!"
As all watched with trembling eyes—
The mana freed from the demon exploded upward into the sky.
"Uwaaaaaah!!"
BOOM!!