Chapter 72
Chapter 72
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 72
Chapter Title: Unexpected (13)
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Svetlana had disguised herself as a human in a way that didn't quite suit her and crossed the border into the Imir Kingdom. She had sneaked out to meet Julius before, putting on a show by transforming into a frail demon and pretending to have a sprained ankle, but this was the first time she had crossed the border so openly.
Of course, it wasn't for some trivial reason. Danil had died a clean death, convinced that even if the Academy's forces failed to assassinate the Saintess of Light, they could still make it back alive.
He had always rated his own abilities a bit highly, but that didn't mean he let his guard down. On the contrary, he preferred to settle things decisively with overwhelming force.
His main fighting style was to trap opponents in a snare where they couldn't move, then crush them one-on-one without any variables.
"For a guy like that to die in a single blow without even a chance to run..."
She needed to know what had happened to him and who had done it. The only way was to open the body and devour the memories up to the moment of death from the remnants of the soul, or check the short post-mortem memories from the soul's residue.
Processing souls or energy into a form she could use couldn't be delegated to her subordinates, so she had no choice but to move herself.
First, the target body: commoner. Absolutely a commoner. Digging up a properly blessed and buried priest's grave was filthy difficult. So she targeted bodies with simplified procedures, hastily buried in the hills or just dumped. Naturally, those of commoners.
Second, she aimed for places far from the Academy.
Long trips cost money. With the same budget, skimping on escorts to send it farther made sense. Weak escorts were easy to dispatch, and word of the looting took longer to spread.
That's why she chose the body of a girl from a not-so-wealthy family within Pallan Empire territory.
Her parents were adventurers living in Labyrinth City Astraea, or so it was said.
There were rumors that the labyrinth was connected to the Demon God's corpse, but nothing confirmed yet. It would be nice to check it out this time if possible.
With that thought, she swapped the head of the guard whose throat she'd just torn out with the neck she'd severed earlier and reattached them.
"Alright, all the escorts are dead. Now, shall we take a look at our poor student's body?"
She jabbed her right index finger into the center of the forehead, then pulled it out. A brain and a translucent mass stretched out long behind it.
Svetlana pondered for a moment.
"I can patch up the wounds, but if the head's too light, that'll be a problem, right?"
She slurped down the extracted brain and soul, then quickly gathered nearby rocks and sand, stuffing them into the skull and patching it up.
Perfect.
"Now then, shall we take a look at the memories~?"
Humming a tune, she extracted the memories from the devoured brain and soul, sat on a rock by the carriage, jabbed her fingers into her temples, and stirred her brain around.
A tingling sensation hit, saliva drooling from her mouth, and the dead girl's memories appeared.
Herself crushed by something falling from the sky.
Those things mutating into magic beasts right there.
Unable to move, she did her best with magic to defend, but in the end, dog-like magic beasts tore off her limbs from all sides, killing her.
She screamed until her voice gave out, but no one came to help, and she died alone.
And the soul's memory. Slowly slipping from her body, it felt a powerful pull toward a certain point—the emanation of the force guiding the dead to heaven.
Leaving behind a tiny remnant, her soul headed toward the center of a battle exploding with immense light.
Witnessing it all, Svetlana convulsed from the brain-twisting shock, fluids spurting from every orifice, collapsing without even wiping the drool as she smacked her lips.
That guy. It was him. Julius. Julius had executed Danil in one shot.
How? Did someone have a way to contact Julius? Even if so, how to bring him? And how did the humans handle the aftermath?
Her mind, respected as one of the brains among the executives despite her personality quirks, started turning.
Suspiciously little news circulating.
Then he's somewhere information doesn't leak out easily.
But if teleportation's possible, he could reach the Academy in an instant.
So not a place like a prison that's hard to leave.
Julius retains his past, disaster-like capabilities.
At least maintaining minimum skills, not undergoing treatment for injuries.
Can leave but doesn't, no degradation from harsh labor, a closed society.
Her eyes turned to Astraea, the city the body was headed for.
Not the only candidate, but a pretty close one.
Might as well check it out while she's here.
"Hmm. This human disguise is almost perfect."
She cleaned up the bloodstains from poking holes in the body and her own temples, tidied her clothes into a subdued style that wasn't her taste.
She checked her reflection in the glass from the carriage, confirmed no issues, then headed straight into the city from the opposite side of where the body carriage would enter, relative to Astraea.
Ignoring everything else, she asked for the Adventurer Guild's location, went there, and got directions to the labyrinth entrance.
Incredibly cold yet soft feeling. The certainty of growing stronger just by being inside. And most importantly, a power flowing in the opposite direction from the Goddess's blessing.
Svetlana's mouth split into a grin.
This was the Demon God's legacy. Luring humans in with treasures and sources of power, then drawing the strengthened humans deeper to devour them in reverse—the Demon God's legacy.
If the Demon God were whole, he'd have rolled dice even for a single human, imposing trials.
Without that power now, just pulling them to the depths would secure plenty of prey.
Grinning like that as she felt the Demon God's power, a human brat was staring at her intently from the side.
"...What is it?"
"Huh?! Oh, no, nothing. Just thought your hair color's like mine. Hehe."
"I see."
White hair was fairly common among demons. Blonde, chosen by the World Tree's incarnation, was rare. And blonde demons often betrayed their kin.
"Are you a new adventurer, sis?"
"No. Just here to check something out this time."
"I've been going in and out for about a year now. I can handle simple stuff no problem!"
"Impressive for someone so young."
This was sincere. There were demons driven mad by hatred for humans, but they were a minority. Most demons had no desire to fight, and even Demon God followers opposed humans as part of serving the Demon God, not out of true hatred.
Otherwise, Svetlana wouldn't fantasize about mingling bodies with Julius.
She'd seen what she needed, planning to wander the streets, checking spots where Julius might be.
The girl from earlier stopped her.
"You leaving?"
"Thinking of checking out the streets now."
"Oh! I know a great place to recommend."
"Uh... Sure."
Her goal was finding Julius, so she considered refusing, but walking with someone who knew the area to ask about various things didn't sound bad.
She accepted, introduced herself as Lana to the girl who called herself Riza, and they set off together.
Market locations, major merchant guild spots, nearby dangerous slums—after gathering quite varied and useful info, they arrived at a place called a cafe, a name she'd never even heard in demon society.
She didn't think the kid was trying to poison her, but the black drink she glimpsed inside looked suspicious.
Who sells something that shady? As she glanced in, words slipped out unbidden.
"Ah..."
"The owner's super handsome, right?"
"Y-Yeah."
If only he'd serve the Demon God. The very object of her nightly fantasies was smiling as he served that drink to his customers.
Drawn in like a moth through the door Riza held open, a kind, sweet voice—rare for a demon to hear—greeted her.
"Welcome. First time?"
"I brought her!"
"Thanks. Have a seat here?"
"...Yes."
Seated on the sofa bed, hands on the table, Julius asked a few questions before bringing a black drink like the others had.
Since it was from Julius, she sipped the mysterious brew. Surprisingly diverse and complex flavors and aromas hit her, leaving her stunned.
Demon lands were mostly barren, making luxuries scarce. This tasted good in a different way from the black tea she'd had while disguised as human.
When asked if it was good, she nodded, and Julius smiled.
She stored his kind voice and smile in her mind, deciding not to publicize it among the executives for a while.
This wasn't betrayal. Just biding her time. Biding her time.
Sipping the coffee leisurely, she apologized to Danil in her heart.
Sorry. I'll put off revenge for now.