Chapter 65
Chapter 65
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: Unexpected (6)
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“Phew.”
Karin let out a sigh of relief as she returned to her dormitory. She’d been a bit startled when her friends, who’d seen her jotting things down, asked to take a look.
The notepad she’d scribbled on listed the brands of snacks Ermina had brought, paired with drinks like coffee or black tea that seemed like they’d go well with them.
She hadn’t been able to show her face at the cafe for a while because of Justina, so she’d planned to pick up some snacks the next time she had a chance to visit.
Of course, she couldn’t show them the notes about all the coffees she’d tried so far. If they saw the brewing methods and names of all sorts of coffees, they’d obviously ask what the heck that was all about.
She’d hurriedly jotted down the snack brands since she couldn’t memorize them one by one, but it felt like it might have sparked some odd misunderstanding.
Lately, more and more people at the academy who knew the cafe manager had been acting on edge, so she’d been wary that Senior Ermina might start thinking strange thoughts too.
Well, Ermina didn’t really know what she’d been up to or how she was connected to the cafe manager, so even if she suspected something, it probably wouldn’t amount to much.
With their thoughts crossing paths in misunderstanding, the weekday afternoon slipped away with the setting sun.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Four days earlier. After news spread of Karsys’s death and reports came in that the land he’d conquered was being purified, only two executives from the Demon God Cult gathered for the meeting.
Even as executives, they generally handled their own tasks without interfering with each other, so they didn’t interact much. But the female demon leading the meeting sighed in exasperation at their powder-keg solidarity—even in emergencies, the demonkin refused to assemble.
The man beside her, with half his face melted away, pressed her.
“Hey. The appointed time has passed. If there’s nothing to discuss, I’d like to head out.”
“What do you mean nothing to discuss? It’s not that there’s nothing—it’s that the ones who should be here aren’t.”
“So, what were you planning to talk about?”
“Karsys that bastard croaked. We’ve squeezed every bit of info we could out of him, so now we need to discuss post-mortem measures.”
“Have someone else take over the ritual Karsys was handling. And repay life with life. What else is there? Start by killing the human in charge of that purification effort.”
“Who’s gonna do that?”
“We’ve got two here, so split it between us. You prep to continue the ritual. I’ll handle the revenge.”
Half-Face sure knows how to talk big. The female demon, Svetlana, flung the mummy in her hand at Danil with a sneer.
Danil glanced at the shattered corpse that had flown from her hand, then spoke in a scolding tone.
“Even without Karsys, go easy on devouring his underlings whole.”
“Hah. I absorbed his memories too, from that sniveling wreck too terrified to speak properly. Thanks to that, I’ve got a clear picture of how Karsys bit the dust.”
“That’s worth one life, at least.”
“Yeah. And don’t lecture just me—you’re no slouch at gobbling them up yourself.”
“I only eat when necessary.”
Svetlana flipped him the bird. It was true he only ate when “necessary,” but the sheer volume was overwhelming.
This time too, he’d probably chow down on humans and demons alike, claiming he needed the power.
“Hey. If you’re heading out to strike, ease up on the human snacking. And leave our kin in the region facing off against the Lebedevs alone. Ruins the element of surprise.”
“Good advice. I’ll keep it in mind.”
With that, Danil left the meeting room without so much as a goodbye.
Svetlana glared at the closed door for a moment, then crossed her arms and shut her eyes. One idiot after another. That’s why they got picked off one by one.
And among the intel she’d uncovered, there was something she deliberately hadn’t shared.
The one who killed Karsys was a Lebedev scion—a thorn in every demon’s side. Julius, they called him.
She’d devoured the entire memory of that now-withered, pulverized demon corpse tossed aside, and the scene was crystal clear, as if she’d witnessed it herself.
“God, really. Eat or be eaten—that’s the thrill.”
The Lebedev heirs were the object of fascination for any hot-blooded demon from childhood. If conflict erupted with the Imir Kingdom, they’d be the first to clash—and if they didn’t die young, they’d be a fixture for at least half a century.
In that sense, Julius stood out.
Generations produced geniuses who bloomed and faded, but few whipped themselves so mercilessly, preparing to face demons while pitying them at the same time.
Peace held on the surface, but they were foes who’d never exchange kind words or build amicable ties upon crossing paths.
Whenever skirmishes broke out, he’d grit his teeth and cut demons down without mercy—yet afterward, he never desecrated their bodies, always burying them with proper rites. That was Julius.
Once his power veered into the extraordinary, most demons started avoiding him. But others hoped his demeanor meant a chance at friendly relations.
Svetlana had once tested the waters, disguising herself as a powerless demon. His genuinely kind, gentlemanly response had shocked her in multiple ways.
If only he were a demon instead of human.
What a heartbreaking shame.
“Danil taking on Julius would be premature...”
In that light, Julius not returning to the kingdom was a stroke of luck. If that stubborn fool demon learned Julius had slain Karsys, he’d charge in headlong—and in a straight-up one-on-one, his odds of winning were slim.
Better to target the academy, where humans clustered but Julius was absent.
Sure, the demons on the frontier—who’d been minding their own business—would end up as Danil’s fodder, but they weren’t loyal to the Demon God Cult anyway, so no great loss.
What mattered was eliminating the long-term threat of the Sun Saintess while preserving their own forces.
“Damn fools. This cult wouldn’t spin without me.”
Svetlana swept back her bangs in irritation, thinking of her so-called comrades.
They hustled on their own tasks, judging by how things were progressing, but managing the rabid zealots who never reported in or showed their faces was a nonstop headache.
Times like this, she needed to revisit some tantalizing memories.
Parting her lips and running her tongue over her fingertip summoned a fragment of the devoured soul onto her index finger. She jammed it straight into her temple, and the scene of Karsys’s death, as witnessed by his subordinate, replayed vividly.
The twin blades and golden radiance any demon watching Lebedev heirs would recognize.
Karsys—one of their toughest in endurance—sliced apart in an instant, his fragments failing to regenerate under the elf’s signature mounted magic snipe.
Karsys disintegrating utterly under Julius’s holy light, scattering away.
Like a hero from antiquity slaying the Demon God in the goddess’s stead.
Svetlana’s duty was the Demon God’s resurrection.
After that? Nothing set in stone.
So once it was done, squaring off with Julius wouldn’t be a problem.
If she won, she could suck dry his sweet soul as he lay broken. If she lost, maybe she’d writhe on the bed, begging for mercy amid gasps.
The mere thought was so delicious she twirled the finger in her temple. Electric pleasure surged through her brain, nosebleed trickling down.
Svetlana’s happy brain-mixing time was short-lived. The meeting room door slammed open as Danil stormed back in.
“Hey. Save that for when you’re alone.”
“Huh? What? Weren’t you leaving?”
“Something to check. Just a sec.”
“What is it?”
“That academy with the Sun Saintess—Julius really isn’t there, right?”
“Yeah. Confirmed it multiple times myself—I couldn’t believe it either. No sign of him coming back.”
“Good. My mistake.”
Argh, right in the middle of the good part. Her brain flashing with external memories, Julius’s form glowing saintly...
Mood killed, Svetlana boredly sorted the bone shards and flesh from her head. Since embracing the Demon God’s power, she was practically immortal, letting her do stuff like this freely—but the only upside was getting high on these brain-mixing sensations.
Ahh, if only Julius would jam his hand into my temple and twirl it around.
She’d spasm before him like a shocked frog, drooling blood, tears, and spit until she passed out.
Exciting just thinking about it.
The ecstasy from him doing it would be worlds apart from self-stimulation. She itched to rush to Karsys’s death site, torture the elves, and track him down—but for the grand cause of the Demon God’s revival, she’d hold off.
“Bide our time. It’ll be a glorious encounter. Wait and wait and wait, and he’ll crush me... devour me.”