Chapter 52
Chapter 52
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 052
Chapter Title: Thorn Legion Confrontation
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052
Contra, the territory of another family.
No matter how confident Sein was, he wouldn't plunge into the heart of enemy territory without any insurance.
"You've made quite a mess."
She was his insurance.
"Long time no see, partner."
Arin Segmore.
He'd heard she was in a nearby city.
Before departing Borfeo, he'd contacted her.
"Come before Contra blows up."
"Why? Isn't it nice and clean?"
Arin shook her head at Sein's words.
"It's actually in the process of blowing up."
Boiling demonic energy and flames.
Contra had turned into a hellscape in an instant.
"You done with the job?"
It was Arin's impression upon seeing the corpse with a pierced heart.
"For this place, yeah."
"Then we should leave before things get messy."
Arin took the lead and started walking.
The silver lining was the rampant demonic energy from the rampaging demons.
Thanks to that, the humans of Contra wouldn't dare imagine a witch was here, even with Arin's faint demonic aura.
"You're not bringing that slave trader?"
"Didn't expect you to care that much."
Arin didn't respond to Sein's remark.
"So that's part of the plan too, huh."
Varus.
The owner of Tarian and Sein's collaborator—leaving him behind in this chaos was also part of Sein's scheme.
"He's a merchant, right? Plenty of pickings in wartime."
"Lots of deaths mean a need for slaves."
"Wouldn't it be great if our people infiltrated the Immortal territory?"
Arin paused and looked at Sein.
"......"
"What, surprised?"
Even trivial actions have reasons.
A single goal pursues multiple profits.
"You're really starting to feel like the Harbinger of Ruin."
It was just that the path ahead held only destruction.
"Anything left?"
"Who knows."
Sein's inscrutable expression.
"There is."
Arin slowly turned to look behind them.
"Did you think you'd walk away alive after causing this ruckus in Contra?"
Just outside Contra.
There stood a blond young man.
With dozens of robed figures.
But unlike the powerless ones they'd seen underground, these were different.
Grooooar!
The quality of their mana was on another level.
And unlike the robes without emblems, theirs bore distinct markings.
"...The Thorn Legion."
No room for doubt if Arin said it.
"The Immortal's direct strike force."
All of them master-level, the black mage legion said to be just a step below.
And leading them was.
"Thorn King, Pellero Immortal."
Pellero.
"You know me?"
"First time seeing you in person."
"Doesn't matter."
Unlike how he'd appeared underground, the blond Pellero showed no rage-fueled loss of composure or emotional blind spots.
"You sure you're okay?"
"If you're counting on that demon, you're wrong. It's already turned to dust."
"I thought he'd hold out longer. Didn't expect my son to be so hasty. Ungrateful brat."
Pellero's forehead creased at Sein's teasing words.
He swung his hand to unleash Dark Nail.
"But really, you sure you're okay?"
Sein's voice.
Crack.
A hand gripped Pellero.
Time seemed to freeze abruptly.
"...Lord Pellero."
A subordinate-like figure spoke cautiously.
"It's a witch."
"...A witch?"
"The Legion Witch. Arin Segmore."
"......!"
Sein smirked at the sight.
"Good anger management."
*
*
*
"......"
The atmosphere, ready to explode on contact, calmed as if it were a lie.
"...Are you truly the Legion Witch?"
Pellero Immortal.
He addressed Arin cautiously.
"......"
Arin glanced at Sein, seeming to ponder.
This was Contra's territory.
They were.
"Demorus."
She knew full well what was coming next, but Sein's gaze gave her certainty.
This was part of his plan too.
"...Then why are you here."
Pellero ground his teeth as he spoke.
One shouldn't take a witch lightly.
The Legion Witch was on par with the great names.
"Has Demorus broken the pact and declared war on Contra?"
"......"
"If not!"
Pellero shouted.
"Step aside."
His boiling rage had cooled into a steady burn.
The key was that the anger itself hadn't vanished.
"I don't know who that guy under your protection is, but he's the one who turned Contra upside down. Hand him over, and Immortal won't protest to Demorus."
Pellero showed political savvy indeed.
"But if you don't step aside."
Whoooosh.
Thorns sprouted from beneath Pellero's feet.
Dark Nail—no, something denser and harder: Dark Rose.
Darkness shaped like roses.
"I'll take this as Demorus's will."
"Nah, can't have that."
Finally, Sein stepped forward in front of Arin.
"You guys started it, didn't you?"
"What...?"
"You know demon research is forbidden, right?"
"......"
It was true.
The reason Immortal had hidden the demon wasn't just its value as merchandise; demons weren't permitted in the current world.
A race of destruction, slaughter, and madness.
They were too dangerous—releasing them would bring only ruin.
"It's explicitly stated in the Three Families' pact. Overlooking it is one thing, but the problem is..."
Smirk.
"A problem only becomes one when someone calls it out."
From the powerless, it would be an empty cry.
Though Sein currently lacked the strength to face them all.
"I just came after hearing rumors. That Immortal was sleazily selling forbidden demons."
"......"
Pellero's face twisted.
But.
"So?"
Pellero didn't back down.
"You thought that alone would resolve the current crisis?"
Smirk.
A smile played on Pellero's lips.
"You don't think Immortal's stupid enough to go to war with Demorus over a mere demon issue."
Their reaction told him.
"Demorus has demons too?"
A question to Arin.
Silence was the answer.
"Sigh, figured as much."
"Then..."
"How about this?"
Sein took another step forward.
"In the Rasiel candidacy competition, a magic contract surfaced."
"And?"
"It's hilarious. Trying to bind candidates with some magic contract. But... what if there's a way to reinforce that contract?"
Pellero's face finally hardened.
They were black mages.
They'd researched demons.
They couldn't not know.
The way to reinforce a magic contract inevitably involved demons.
"And if the one behind it mentioned Contra?"
Forcing candidates with magic contracts was fair game in the competition.
But.
"What do you say? Wanna go to war?"
If another family was involved, it changed everything.
"You. What's your name? If the witch protects you, you must be Demorus blood. So why do you wield pure demonic energy and command demons?"
"That's..."
Sein walked even closer.
Right in front of the Thorn Legion.
Beside Pellero.
"You figure it out."
Come at me if you dare.
But in the end, Pellero bowed his head.
Immortal's defeat.
*
*
*
Sein, having escaped Contra with Arin, headed straight for Borfeo.
Fortunately, his vacation period still remained.
"I thought my heart would explode."
Remi, reunited, trembled at her fingertips as if in earnest.
"Just yesterday, a protest document came from Rasiel."
How often does a lord of a lower district receive a document stamped by Rasiel?
It was tantamount to a death sentence, so Remi's fear was natural.
"You're back safe."
"Looking at you..."
As said, Sein had gone straight to Borfeo.
With Arin's help, it hadn't even taken a full day.
"No need for a disguise."
The traces of the battle in Contra's underground remained intact.
Blood-soaked torn clothes, disheveled hair.
He looked like he'd been tortured in a dungeon.
"What now?"
Remi asked.
"What do you mean? Release me as innocent."
Sein said while picking his ear.
He picked up Remi's glass—perhaps what she'd been drinking moments ago—and downed it.
"That'll do it?"
"That'll do it."
Remi would get attention.
For resisting Demorus.
Demorus couldn't step in either.
Since Remi had ultimately submitted.
She'd get everything she wanted, so no worries about...
Bang!
The door burst open then.
"What do you think you're doing."
In a voice as firm as if the earlier trembling had been a lie, Remi spoke.
A knight opening his lord's door without permission warranted severe punishment.
"S-Sorry."
The knight bowed deeply.
"But...!"
"But? Speak quickly."
Remi urged the knight, sensing something amiss.
"...This."
Sein also rose, feeling something.
"Someone from Rasiel has arrived!"
Just yesterday, Rasiel's protest document had come.
And now, they were about to release Sein as innocent in response.
"From Rasiel? Who?"
"Didn't expect this."
Sein's voice.
Bang!
Outside, it felt like a storm raged.
A massive presence.
"It's Ballack Demorus!"
Ballack.
To think that guy would move this fast.
"Don't worry. He's not an enemy. Looks like he's here to rescue you. I'll explain the situation..."
As Sein spoke, his eyes darkened.
Mixed in Ballack's presence was something the strengthened Sein hadn't noticed.
That he hadn't sensed it meant.
"Remi, you should hide."
It was that strong.
"What?"
"Or you might die here."
Sein's hand reached for Bastion's hilt.