Chapter 90
Chapter 90
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 090
Chapter Title: His Roots
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This was a bit of a shock.
'Honestly, I thought it was kinda cool.'
He recalled that exquisite swordsmanship once more—the way it unleashed invisible strikes simultaneously, blurring the line between illusion and reality.
Whatever else, the swordplay had seemed like that of a master who'd reached a profound realm, leaving Kyle just a touch impressed.
'But it was all gear.'
His overall expectations for demon knights plummeted in that instant.
"Mr. Clark?"
"Ah, yes."
George called out to him with a puzzled look, snapping Kyle back to attention. He quickly asked,
"You just said the ruler of the demons, right?"
"Yes. Demons were created by the Demon King from the start."
Kyle let out a small groan at that.
There were just too many suspicious parts for that to ring true.
'If that Demon King was really their ruler, why did it look so agonized?'
What the Prophecy Stone had shown him couldn't have been some mere hallucination.
Meanwhile, George continued.
"Actually, the original term 'Demon King' referred to the king who led the demonkin."
"Demonkin?"
"Yes. They're the natives who've lived for ages beyond the great mountain range to the east... now called the Demon Realm."
But after some incident transformed their homeland into the current Demon Realm,
they couldn't endure the decline. They wandered, fleeing the monsters, and eventually settled in the lower layers, or so he said.
"Just when they thought they'd finally claimed their own land... the princess at the time—now the Demon King."
George took a sip of his coffee.
"Tebesa Amariel wasn't originally the Demon King."
The true Demon King should have been her older sister, Selmira Amariel.
But one day, Tebesa obtained a strange darkness and used its power to brutally murder her own sister.
"And crowned herself."
The demons were the new beings she created.
"Afterward, Demon King Tebesa Amariel suppressed the rebelling demonkin and built a kingdom for the demons."
That was the demons' land, the lower layers of District 23.
'I see.'
Kyle narrowed his eyes as he listened.
'So that's why she's called the Betrayer Demon King.'
But why had such a being uttered his sister's name?
That was what puzzled Kyle.
"Whatever the case, Demon King Tebesa and her darkness are inseparably linked. It's because of that darkness that demons exist, and demon knights possess their undying power."
With that, George gauged Kyle's expression.
'But the Butcher killed even that demon knight.'
There were only two ways to kill a demon knight:
sever their connection to the Demon King somehow, or destroy their soul. Nothing else.
'The Butcher managed one of those.'
A human acquiring the power to destroy souls was probably impossible.
'So likely some unknown force that severs mana flow, or a special magic artifact.'
Either way, George couldn't even begin to fathom the depths of the Butcher's power.
'What a bizarre guy.'
There were plenty of powerhouses in the 8th Special District, but they were all masters of at most two or three techniques honed to perfection.
The Butcher was different.
'How does a person keep unveiling entirely new things every time?'
And he wielded those powers with innate genius, linking them seamlessly where it mattered.
At this point, George was genuinely curious about the limits of what he kept hidden.
"Since you brought it up, are you interested in District 23's Demon King too?"
"Less interested and more..."
Kyle let out a small groan.
The only concrete lead he had right now was the Demon King.
Reading his mood, George said,
"...Whatever. You're planning to head to the lower layers, aren't you?"
"Yes. I think I have to."
And his destination would be the lower layers of District 23.
George nodded and smirked.
"In that case, perfect timing."
"?"
As Kyle shot him a questioning look, George lightly tapped the table.
"I'm meeting a contact tomorrow at the interlayer boundary to District 19's lower layers."
"A contact?"
"Yes. And this one's got a side gig."
He shrugged.
"Puts it simply, pay the cash, and he'll smuggle anyone into the lower layers. Of course, there's the official interlayer checkpoint route too, but..."
George eyed Kyle as he continued.
"I figure you wouldn't want to draw attention. What do you say?"
"......"
He was right on the money.
A demon knight had already ambushed him out of nowhere.
'And it's obvious who sent him.'
Unless something else was at play, the odds were high it was the Marshall Family.
That alone suggested they had ties with some lower-layer rulers.
'Trying to pass through the checkpoint openly? Who knows what interference they'd pull.'
Kyle nodded.
"Got it. I'll get back to you on this by tonight."
"Sounds good. If you accept, that guy over there'll handle the contact meet and escort you all the way to the lower layers of neutral District 20. Minus today's slip-up, he's solid at his job."
George glanced past Kyle's shoulder.
"Right, Mickey?"
Mickey Rose, who had just wrung out a towel, blinked in surprise.
"Huh?"
*
One hour later.
Detention block's deputy commander's office.
Gordon, Rockton, Joseph, and the others were gathered.
Joseph, briefed in advance by the Intelligence Agency support team, let out a small groan.
"I get the situation."
He groaned again.
"So, Iris was formed in the lower layers from the start, and there's a high chance it's tied to District 23's Demon King?"
Kyle gave a wry smile.
'George never actually said that...'
Explaining the vision—not quite a vision—he'd seen while slaying the demon knight wasn't easy.
But it was definitely connected to the Demon King.
His eyes narrowed.
'And to my sister.'
"If the intel holder's right... since we're this deep in, best to head straight to the lower layers tomorrow. What do you think, Councilor?"
Rockton Councilor nodded.
"I agree. No point dragging this out—it's a fight we gain nothing from delaying."
Who knew what plans Marshall would cook up after failing to sway the Magic Tower?
Meanwhile, they didn't even know the real enemy behind Marshall.
Or if their goal was truly just a simple coup.
'Speculation won't solve this.'
Unveiling what was really happening in this city—pulling back that invisible curtain—had to be priority one.
"The issue is the pretext for sending Kyle here to the lower layers..."
He was still officially part of the 141 Security Stabilization Unit.
Up to now, there'd been the public safety pretext.
And the Magic Tower incident had blown over quick enough as a one-night event.
But this was different. They couldn't snag Iris's tail overnight.
Joseph turned to Rockton.
"Councilor. What about that special pardon from before?"
"Pardon???"
Kyle tilted his head at the unfamiliar term.
"Special pardon?"
Rockton let out a small groan.
"It came up once before. Prisoner's status has too many restrictions, so why not pardon him specially and sign a separate mercenary contract?"
"Ah..."
Kyle mulled it over.
'Doesn't matter to me as long as I get citizenship and pay.'
He hadn't saved enough cash yet anyway.
"But as I said then, a pardon requires a separate mayoral decree."
Rockton stroked his chin.
"Conveniently, the regular council meeting's soon..."
If Mayor Luther was fine, he'd surely show at the meeting.
"If I get a chance to see the mayor then, I'll bring it up."
'Of course.'
The councilor's eyes narrowed.
'...that assumes he's unscathed.'
Honestly, they couldn't even guess what had happened to Luther or if the mayor was okay.
"Until then, we'll frame it as a long-term dispatch with another tactical team."
"Got it. I'll handle Inspector Yenitz myself."
Joseph nodded at Rockton's words.
"If the inspector's cooperating, we should be fine for a while, but..."
Cashy clicked his tongue briefly.
"The Audit Bureau could latch onto any administrative slip and meddle with the 141st as they please."
The Marshall side had taken a hit losing the Magic Tower.
No telling how they'd react now.
Especially with all the Marshall loyalists in the Audit Bureau—they needed to stay extra vigilant.
"Actually, that's not the only issue."
Gordon nodded at Joseph's words.
"The Al Kimia Alliance, right?"
"Yes."
The public safety stabilization project had to continue regardless.
Failure meant mana stone shortages soon enough.
And that would spell another crisis for Dun City.
"Those bastards won't stir for now, but if they catch wind Kyle's gone..."
"...they might see it as their chance to cross the line."
The Al Kimia Alliance feared the Butcher Kyle—not the police.
If Kyle stayed in the lower layers too long, they'd notice his absence soon enough.
Rockton massaged his brow.
"That's the biggest problem, really."
The alliance's moves were a complete wildcard they couldn't control.
"Hmm..."
Kyle, who'd been groaning thoughtfully, held up two fingers.
"Two weeks."
"Two weeks?"
"Yes."
Kyle said,
"At longest, I'll be back within two weeks."
"!!"
The group looked stunned.
Joseph asked hurriedly,
"You sure?"
"Probably."
Using [Hyper Sense], he chuckled softly.
"Just a gut feeling, of course."
"Don't push yourself too hard."
Joseph exchanged glances with the intel folks before saying,
"Police forces are bolstered now. We'll run decoys and hold the fort as long as we can."
"Got it. That's the plan."
Kyle nodded.
*
That night.
Returning to the squad after what felt like ages, Kyle headed to the third floor and immediately sensed subtle stares.
"...What?"
Of them all, only one—Walter—sat calmly reading his book.
Meanwhile, a Gulag-born inmate approached hesitantly and offered him something.
"Big bro."
It was a freshly printed 8th Special District gossip rag.
Kyle's jaw dropped as he took it.
[Super Rookie Butcher... Duel with Demon Knight Footage Exclusive Release!]
'Already in the gossip sheets? Seriously?'
What kind of lightning speed was this?
The inmate asked cautiously,
"This you, big bro?"
"Uh, well..."
Suddenly, expectant gazes poured in.
Reading the room, Kyle answered awkwardly,
"Yeah, it's me. Why?"
"Ooooh!"
"See? Told you he's the Butcher! Fork over the credits, asshole!"
"No way the article's legit? Not doctored?"
"Dude, he bagged a dragon—think a demon knight's beyond him?"
"Big bro, you're the man!"
'Look at these punks.'
They'd apparently bet on whether the gossip was real.
"S-so, big bro... you really took down a demon knight?"
Kyle nodded to the inmate who asked incredulously.
"...Kinda happened that way."
"Whoa..."
"The infamous demon knight..."
Kyle didn't see the big fuss, though.
'Felt a bit lacking for a lower-layer powerhouse.'
The demon knight was skilled, sure.
But underwhelming compared to his lower-layer rep.
'Probably not that the knights themselves are insanely strong...'
They likely relied heavily on that "Rule" ability or whatever.
And the moment it failed against him, half the knight's mystique evaporated.
'Even that impressive swordplay was just gear.'
That part had truly disappointed Kyle.
And sure enough.
Lumia popped up out of nowhere, shoving her face in like always and unleashing her machine-gun chatter.
"As expected of Mr. Clark! Ahh! I always firmly believed that a great man like you could never be matched by worthless scum like demon knights—not even your toe! You're so cool, Mr. Claaark!"
Growing used to it, Kyle grabbed her face roughly and shoved her away without hesitation.
Undeterred, Lumia just beamed with sparkling eyes.
'Ah...! Even his indifferent agent vibe is so dignified...!'
'What?'
Kyle shuddered involuntarily and rubbed his arms.
'Sudden chills all over...'
The Gulag inmate asked him,
"So how'd you take down the demon knight? Heard they come back even after dying."
The others stared too, clearly curious.
Walter, reading his book, reined them in.
"Enough. Enough."
"Huh?"
"Even if you ask, it'll be some 'Just used magic and it died' bullshit."
"Whaaat?"
Kyle clicked his tongue briefly.
"C'mon, old man, no spoilers."
"Spoilers my ass—you're the one with macro responses every time, punk."
Walter's face turned nostalgic as he said,
"Demon knight, huh. Been a while."
"?? Been a while? You met one before?"
Walter waved it off.
"Nah, never met. But saw one once, from afar."
Another inmate asked,
"Ooh, when?"
"When? Before I got dragged to this shithole...?"
"?"
Kyle blinked.
"Old man, you've been to the lower layers?"
"... Duh."
Walter pointed at himself.
"I'm from the lower layers originally."
"......"
"......"
"......?"
The room reacted like he'd spouted nonsense.
"Eeeek..."
Walter's face crumpled.
"Fuck, what's with those reactions?"