Chapter 157
Chapter 157
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 157
Chapter Title: Return
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Fortunately, the two women's hostility toward Mariang quickly faded. One of them didn't even seem to know who Mariang was in the first place, but in any case, the atmosphere that had felt like they might tear her to pieces at any moment had vanished.
That said, the fact that just showing her face had stirred up this much animosity suggested Mariang's notoriety was even greater than he'd imagined.
Or perhaps these women personally harbored ill feelings toward her.
There was no need to leave it as a mystery, so Ian left Mariang sitting on the bench and headed toward the city hall with the two women, opening his mouth as they walked.
"Your reactions are sharper than expected. Do you have some bad history with her?"
Whoosh.
The breeze carried the thick scent of hyacinths. The massive petals blanketing the city hall's exterior crumbled into tiny pieces, scattering pure white snowflakes in every direction. Eun-ha snatched a tickling leaf mid-air and replied promptly.
"Bad history... I suppose you could say that. Mariang killed someone I knew."
"...Someone you knew?"
For a shut-in like her, 'someone she knew'?
Ian guessed it might be an online friend, and his hunch was spot on.
"Yes. A friend I met online. French guy, we mostly debated magic... Why the face?"
"No, nothing. Please continue."
Ian rubbed his mouth with his hand. Yuna stood beside him, gaping at the flowers, while Eun-ha eyed him suspiciously and pressed on.
"Hmm... well, to continue."
Her gaze swept the city hall lobby. Reptilian scales littered everywhere, glinting like jewels.
"Honestly, we weren't that close. We'd message maybe once a month, if that, and even then, conversations lasted ten minutes tops. That was it. Not much affection there."
"Sounds exactly like acquaintances."
"Yeah, that fits."
Eun-ha picked up a scale with a blank expression. The emerald-like scale shimmered iridescently in the sunlight.
"Still, a friend is a friend. When I heard he'd been killed by Mariang out of nowhere, I was pretty shocked. No sorrow or anger, but I did feel a bit regretful deep down. After all, I'd lost my one conversation partner."
"W-Was he a total loner too, Grandma...?"
"Only as much as Han Yuna."
Eun-ha brushed off Yuna's jab and turned back to Ian.
"Anyway, no revenge motive, but since she killed an acquaintance, you could call it bad blood. Her actions are brutal enough to give plenty of reasons to oppose her from the start."
"...Her actions."
All Ian knew about 'Mariang' was that she was Eddie's lover and partner. He had no idea what she'd done in the past or what trials she'd overcome to get here.
Asking her now wouldn't help—her memories had been altered, so she'd give nothing reliable. Probably just worthless drivel.
Better to ask Eun-ha. With that thought, Ian slipped his hand into his coat pocket and spoke.
"Do you know anything about Mariang's past?"
"Pure-blood mage from France. Daughter of a fairly prominent family. They specialized in alchemy, but she alone excelled in anomaly-related magic. Got a lot of support for it."
Scritch, scritch.
Eun-ha drew a demon summoning circle on the empty floor.
The circle stamped with Amdusias's seal rippled blood-red like a living thing. The goat heart pulsed briefly in the center, and Lemegeton scattered faint light.
"She kept top grades after entering the Clock Tower. Even got on the good side of nobles and professors there."
"... ."
"But a year before graduation, she suddenly teamed up with Eddie, murdered her advisor professor, and fled the Clock Tower. Slaughtered dozens of students and staff single-handedly in the process."
"...Eddie only killed one professor, though..."
"Right. Eddie picked a super discreet escape route. Mariang didn't. She went straight through the front. Their different paths were to confuse pursuers—and it worked."
A virgin's thread and flowers rose onto the magic circle. Eun-ha sprinkled pre-ground beast horns over the demon seal like salt.
"Fugitive Mariang returned home and devoured every member of her family. Then she entered Laplace. That's all I know."
"...D-Devoured?"
Yuna, who'd been listening quietly, furrowed her brow slightly. Eun-ha nodded.
"Yes, devoured. Probably what you're thinking."
"...Eek."
"Mariang ate her family and relatives alive. Replaced her stomach with an anomaly one. Skyrocketed her growth and physical abilities far beyond human limits."
Not for nothing did the Clock Tower brand her a criminal, Eun-ha added, opening her grimoire and stepping back. Ian did the same.
"Cannibalizing her family... Even I, with no family, find that repulsive."
"...You have no family?"
"Ah, yeah. Orphan."
"Oh."
Caught off guard, confusion settled on Eun-ha's face.
"Uh, um... S-Sorry. Did I say something insensitive?"
"No. I don't mind."
Ian chuckled to ease her guilt, then turned his coldly cooled eyes toward Mariang on the bench outside city hall.
'...Cannibalism.'
Cannibal culture had existed since ancient times. Even now, South America teemed with ghouls inspired by Inca and Maya civilizations.
They were periodically culled, but the intact ruins made total extermination impossible—persistent anomalies. The difference with Mariang? Whether they knew cannibalism was a sin.
Intraspecies predation wasn't common even among beasts. Humans, less so. Outside extreme situations, intelligent humans rarely ate their own.
Mariang had crossed that line. And her own family, no less.
Impossible without severe mental issues. Even magic-obsessed, humans have lines not to cross. Deciding to leap and doing so was, in a way, a talent.
Not one to envy.
'I planned to treat her decently if possible, but seeing this, I can't leave her be. Need to keep her suppressed.'
Ian clicked his tongue and stepped aside to avoid interfering with Eun-ha's magic.
The magic tampering with Mariang's mind was memory manipulation, not domination. Ian was etched in her head, but her nature hadn't changed. Left alone, she'd cause trouble somewhere.
Better to indoctrinate her thoroughly beforehand. No physical torture, but instill some fear.
"Starting now."
As he thought, Eun-ha stood before the circle and shouted. Ian nodded, and Yuna shuddered, recalling Gamygin's solitary figure in front of city hall.
"Ugh... Demon summoning is so creepy? Like screams and laughter mixing... Anyway, gives me the creeps."
"You've seen it before."
"Y-Yeah. Saw it when summoning the demon I rode in on."
"Ah."
Ian nodded and leaned against the wall. Yuna crouched and sat on the floor.
"B-But this demon's supposed to be relatively intact, so m-maybe it'll be fine?"
"Whatever, if the contract fails, we subdue it. Wonder if demons die from decapitation."
"N-No way the contract fails..."
Yuna hugged her staff and tilted her head.
"We have Lemegeton."
"Amdusias."
As Yuna's voice cut off, Eun-ha's mana-laden chant crushed the air. Ian marveled at the heavy Solomon ether weighing on his shoulders.
Ether from a long-ago mage-emperor favored by God, Catholic lineage.
Ironically, useless for directly commanding angels despite divine favor, but devil-slaying panacea mana filled vision like mist. Golden particles drifting beautifully—a spectacle.
And at its center.
Eun-ha, her irises and hair tips dyed gold, impassively poured horse blood into the circle's heart.
The horse blood poured on the circle seeped into the goat heart. As if gaining life, the briefly pulsing heart pumped wildly, splattering droplets everywhere. Some hit Eun-ha's cheek.
"In Father's name, I command thee: appear here."
⟨ Amdusias ⟩
Normally, summoning Amdusias required a full horse corpse. But like Solomon, Eun-ha skipped the orthodox method. She soaked the entire circle in horse blood, mimicking a real corpse.
Unsummoned demons lack eyes and ears. Simple trickery fooled their senses. Impossible without Solomon's overwhelming mana. Forced summoning with minimal conditions was Lemegeton's owner's privilege.
Similar to summoning outer sea creatures—both rituals with meager offerings.
Hard to say which was greater: outer sea beings or archdemons. No direct comparison.
'Probably outer sea superiors dominate, lowers comparable.'
As that thought crossed Ian's mind, Eun-ha closed Lemegeton, activating protective spells sans the summoning.
Roar!
Golden flames bloomed on Eun-ha, Ian, and Yuna's skin. The non-hot fire burned clinging dust and germs, spreading pleasant warmth.
Mental barriers against demon voices and temptations etched into their minds. Summoning area soundproofed from outside.
Then, Eun-ha gathered airborne golden dust, etching a constellation on the ceiling.
Pisces.
The fishes.
"Agares is with me. Chabuah and Rachel guard my back, Ibamiah and Haiaiel guide the lambs' path. Thus Mumiah repels the demon's evil. A mere archdemon dares not raise its head."
⟨ Protection of the Heavens ⟩
[RAAAAA...!]
The chant's end drew song from the constellation. White feathers fell like snowflakes, and Eun-ha coldly intoned at the convulsing Amdusias seal.
[AAAAAAA!!!]
[KYAHAHAHAHA!!!]
Eerie shrieks and laughter poured from above and below the Amdusias circle. But heavenly song blocked and canceled them.
...Rustle.
A feather lightly landed on the circle. Then, a pale white hand burst from the goat heart, grabbing and tearing it.
A mouth sprouted on the hand. It became a head, then a horse impaled with instruments. Fully formed in an instant, it gazed down at Eun-ha with red eyes, half-lidded.
...Pffft!
A black horn sprouted from the horse's forehead. It shot toward Eun-ha's eye like a spear, stopping just before her pupil. She didn't flinch. Instead, she sternly rebuked it.
"Show respect. Duke of Hell. God watches us."
Amdusias.
The archdemon duke ruling twenty-nine legions smirked sourly, playing keys embedded in his upper body. Dissonant notes amid heavenly song incinerated drifting feathers.
"... ."
Rumble...!
Amdusias lowered its body.
Their eye levels shifted. Now it looked up at her, she down at it. Eun-ha gripped Lemegeton and stepped forward.
"I desire contract. Submit to me."
Demanding tone. Amdusias played voice through trumpet in its throat.
"I know."
Swish.
Amdusias thrust its horn at her. Eun-ha didn't dodge. She pressed her fingertip to the sharp tip.
A prickling pain, blood flowed from the wound, sliding down the horn. Amdusias closed its eyes, smirking.
"... ."
"......Shut the fu—"
Amdusias cut Eun-ha off, slowly opening its eyes.
"......Sh-Shut u—"
Amdusias smirked sourly, one eye independently staring at Ian.
It chuckled.
"...?"
Ian, deaf to its voice by magic, tilted his head.
"...Why's that bastard staring at me like that."