Chapter 60

Chapter 60: Deal with the Devil

— It seems humans and dragons are starting to notice.

A dimly lit meeting room.

Inside, where not even the identity of those present could be distinguished, a secret gathering was taking place.

— Notice?

— Is it because they proposed linking the proliferation of monsters across the continent to the resurrection of demons?

— Which bastard harbors such suspicions?

— It’s the Escolea faction.

— Escolea? Isn’t that the embodiment of the continent’s intellect, the beacon of knowledge?

There were voices of concern, but at the same time, there were those who took it as something inconsequential.

— With all sorts of brilliant minds gathered there, it’s also a place full of eccentric types. The continent’s high echelons won’t believe it so easily.

— In reality, there weren’t many indications that they agreed either. Even if both facts were connected, they couldn’t convince the noble naeuri.

— Even so, the fact that they linked both things is concerning.

— And what was the conclusion?

— That is why the White Dragon Blancaros personally put it on pause.

— Then we bought time.

— Humans might not, but dragons will start investigating immediately. If we are discovered, they will suppress us before the war erupts.

Everyone lowered their heads and let out muffled groans.

The more effort they invested, the greater the frustration.

— What will you do? In my opinion, even now, deception would be…

— That won’t work.

A man who had maintained a long silence spoke.

He subdued the heated atmosphere in an instant.

He was the captain of the place.

— Why not?

— The White Dragon is probably waiting for that.

— Waiting for that?

— If we act upon hearing those words, the Grand Council will realize that an enemy still remains within them.

— Then what do you intend to do?

— We will continue as planned. It’s better that way. If we make it look like something that broke out over the passage of years, that will be enough.

— C-can it really look like that?

— The only variable I have is your mouths.

It was an insulting remark, but they merely exchanged glances.

No one voiced their discontent.

— If that is your opinion…

— Aside from that, is there any other special matter?

— If there is anything else, it’s…

There was no need to strain to recall further.

A certain human had left a strong impression on him.

— There is a man named Ferda Valdrova.

They were startled by the figure he pointed out.

— Are you referring to Valdrova’s novice fiancé?

— What can be said about the idiot who walked into the dragon’s jaws of his own free will?

— When I heard the rumors, I thought that too. But seeing him directly, he’s quite different.

The middle-aged man was a noble and a feudal lord before being a follower of demons.

— One way or another, it seems we must be wary of that individual.

— Alert level?

— We should assign him a level similar to the Walking Fortress, Alberto.

— That’s far too hasty a judgment.

— Alberto, that damn butcher, took five years to become a threat. Yet, a kid who has barely been around…

— That’s precisely why he’s so dangerous.

— For you to get so worked up over that damn novice… You’ve aged poorly.

He looked at them with pitiful eyes, and that man likewise glared at them as if they were pathetic.

Since neither side knew what the other was thinking, confrontation was inevitable.

At that moment, a masked man entered the meeting room and whispered something to a seated noble.

The man who listened took on a complex, subtle expression.

— A messenger just brought unfortunate news.

Embarrassment over the failure.

— It seems the Escolea Superimposition has failed.

Superimposition was an operation code name.

A mission to place Dopplers from among the demons into high noble positions.

Among them were those who had already infiltrated via Superimposition.

— They say it was none other than Ferda Valdrova who stopped it.

Those who had been mocking him until just a moment ago stood with their mouths agape.

As if by mutual agreement, everyone’s gaze turned toward the captain at the same time.

The man’s complex face shifted into a smile, only to twist bitterly afterward.

Their captain was also irritated by the unexpected situation.

— Do you think the Doppler’s existence has been exposed?

A question devoid of even a shred of calmness.

The fact that demons capable of shapeshifting into humans existed was on a completely different dimension from a simple conspiracy being uncovered.

It was equivalent to realizing that decisive bomb detonators had been planted everywhere.

He stated the conclusion cold reason had arrived at without a single trace of hope.

— It seems it will be exposed.

— Hmm…

The captain tapped his face with his fingers.

— Who is in overall charge of the Escolea Superimposition?

— …..

— I asked who it is.

Then, a man cautiously raised his hand.

— I, I am in charge this time—.

Before he could finish, the hand-raising man’s head went flying.

His body collapsed to the floor just like that.

— Heok…

— Heup…

Where the dense scent of blood lingered, silence and terror settled in.

— Messenger.

— Yes.

The man who had arrived to deliver the grim news stepped forward.

The captain threw something to that man.

A syringe filled with a black liquid.

— Starting today, you are Viscount Battlehorn.

— I thank you for your grace.

The masked messenger jabbed the syringe into his neck.

The man, who instantly turned into a black mannequin, greedily absorbed the blood spurting from the severed head.

Viscount Battlehorn died, and a new Viscount Battlehorn took his place.

Those seated around the newly created void swallowed hard.

It was a warning that, no matter who died, their seats could be replaced at any moment.

— Wrap up the Doppler research. The time for leisurely research is over.

— Understood.

— Dispose of the entire remaining batch and everyone involved in the disposal data.

— Yes.

The disposal method was exceedingly simple.

Their research facility was under a mountain.

They only had to collapse the mountain.

— The Grand Council ended, aren’t you going back?

Ruri asked.

— Something came up.

— Valdrova-nim will be waiting.

— I know. Making her wait weighs on my conscience too.

— Even so, you won’t go?

— It’s an important task.

Important enough to make the appearance of monsters or similar things seem trivial.

A place that held a clue to eliminating what was causing Valdrova pain.

Ruri knew it too.

She spoke because she knew where he was headed.

— That place is Silverwind territory.

Ferda nodded.

— I know.

— Goz hates you, Ferda-nim.

— I know that too.

— Demons are a common enemy. But an enemy’s enemy cannot be called a friend. If you enter that territory… you will have to stain your hands with blood.

Silverwind hated demons.

Ferda also detested the demons tormenting Valdrova.

Yet they wouldn’t welcome Ferda.

— That’s why we will act in secret.

— …..

— It’s dangerous, but once finished, it will also be a task without aftereffects.

Ruri’s lips continued to move.

Don’t go.

Those words wouldn’t come out easily.

— …Will you go?

— I must.

— Understood. Then I will wait.

— No, you return.

— …..

— As long as I’m not there, protecting the prince consort is your duty.

Ruri bit her lip hard.

She disliked it and tried to refuse naturally.

Yet the words wouldn’t come.

Ruri had no right to defy his will.

— I hope you return safely.

Ruri withdrew just like that.

Ferda began calculating one thing after another as he prepared the secret expedition.

“Focusing on mobility, minimizing supplies; even with a medium-scale teleportation magic circle pushed to the limit, it will take a day.”

A day.

Fast to attack a country, but slow for a single research facility.

Furthermore, the other side wouldn’t sit idle with folded arms.

The failure to kidnap the Chancellor of Escolea would have reached their ears by now.

They will prepare for all situations swiftly.

“It would be nice if everyone could fly at Ruri’s speed, but…”

That place was Silverwind territory.

Ferda had already experienced what happened when Ruri clashed with Silverwind.

Ferda didn’t want to drag Ruri into this.

Nor should he.

“We have to wrap this up within our means as much as possible.”

The next key point was firepower.

“Was the research director a 5th Circle mage?”

The subordinates under his command were merely 1st and 2nd star assistants, and the director was said to be a powerful mage.

It would have been nice to find out what magic he used and how he fought, but even torture couldn’t extract nonexistent information.

“I’ll have to handle that mage myself.”

Of course, a head-on fight had to be avoided.

Ferda considered the hidden trump card he possessed.

“Shadows that I can manipulate without incantations.”

When manifested, they took the form of Shadow Hands, but octopus tentacles or flat parchment-like forms were also possible.

The less light there was, the stronger they became; intense light weakened them to the point of crumbling.

“It isn’t even a technique originally intended for that.”

It was Barbatos’s magic, centered on stealth and stratagems.

Used for mind games and striking blind spots rather than direct confrontations.

“According to Shadow Form, this is part of the body.”

Using shadows as body parts, recognized as such.

“Then casting magic through the Shadow Hands is also possible.”

Possible, but it demanded high magical comprehension.

Beyond simply resembling a real arm, he had to implement mana conduits and circuits through which magical power could flow.

Ferda concentrated mana into a manifested Shadow Hand.

The mana flowed through his soles, ran along the connected black shadow, and condensed in the dark hand.

It passed through the stages of drawing a magic circle.

Blue particles surged from the black hand, successfully tracing a white magic circle.

Now he could ambush his opponents anytime, anywhere.

However, Ferda frowned.

“The magic circle preparation time is about four times the average.”

Slow enough for an experienced mage to notice and counterattack.

Unless he perfectly understood the type of opponent and the battlefield location, it was a risky gamble.

“There isn’t even a need to dwell on that point.”

Wit over prediction.

Immediate reaction mattered more than countless hypotheses.

That was what Ferda did best.

So he merely noted that such an asset existed and lay down.

He tried to sleep.

It was better to prepare for tomorrow than harbor worries about an uncontrollable situation.

It was at that moment.

The moment he tried to close his eyes, Ferda’s mind went on high alert.

Ferda’s intuition detected an anomaly in the surroundings.

“Hmm…”

Something he had never felt even once in the castle.

Natural.

Valdrova’s castle was a place wrapped in layer upon layer of barrier magic surpassing even that of the Empire’s emperors.

No one’s intrusion could be easily tolerated.

But a count’s mansion? That was a different story.

Compared to Castle Valdrova, it was as loose as a net rotting in seawater.

“Who’s coming?”

Ferda heard and felt that mana fluctuation.

Shortly after, a sharp sulfur smell brushed the tip of his nose.

— Hello, darling.

A captivating voice he had heard once before.

The Demon of Lust, Sitri.

— Get lost.

— My, how cold. Did we have that kind of relationship?

Her snake-like tongue licked her lips as she approached.

— I have no intention of making a pact with you, Sitri.

— Neither do I with you, not the slightest bit. Your kind is exactly what I detest. Hard to handle, they don’t perform well even when controlled.

— Then why waste time? Get lost.

— Impatient. I came to do business.

Ferda’s face crumpled even further.

— Is there an idiot who does business with a demon?

— There is. Right here.

She pointed gently at Ferda with her index finger.

Ferda raised both hands to cover his ears.

— The research facility you’re about to raid will be completely destroyed in six hours.

His hand stopped.

Information he couldn’t help but feel intrigued by.

— Don’t make that ‘how do you know’ face. Wouldn’t a Great Demon know at least that much?

Sitri enjoyed Ferda’s reaction.

— So how do you know?

— Why so serious, darling? The things I control like dogs are mostly high nobles. Big babies dissatisfied with ordinary pleasure. Some of them shook hands with demons, you see?

A storyline he had deduced to a certain extent.

Because the kidnapping of Escolea’s Chancellor was proof.

— The kidnapping of the Chancellor failed, and the bastard who was supposed to become Chancellor was captured alive. If he ends up revealing the location under torture, it’s a situation ripe for exposure, right?

— So they’re destroying it.

— Even leaving right now is too late. All your means combined take one to two days.

— If we move fast, we can set out right now.

— Using that little spawn? Of course it’s possible. But do you think Silverwind will just stand by and watch?

No way would they sit idly by.

At the White House, from the moment Ferda arbitrarily set foot in Silverwind territory, they were already enemies.

If they obtained a pretext, they wouldn’t hesitate.

Troublesome.

Sitri had pierced through the current situation with precision.

That was why she had come to propose a deal.

— Looking at your face, I feel talks will go smoothly now. Could my intuition be right?

Sitri pressed for an answer.

Ferda’s blue eyes shifted calmly, concealing his intentions.

— What can you do for me?

At those words, Sitri reached into her chest as if she had been waiting.

She pulled out a thick scroll.

— A scroll inscribed with Binding Bridge magic. Do you know what kind of magic that is?

— Magic that connects two spaces within a dimension, teleportation-type.

— My, an intellectual man. That’s right. You know how great its reputation is.

It could move so stealthily as to make decent detection magic look ridiculous, and since it connected space to space, it possessed sustainability.

Magic perfectly suited for his situation, which demanded a stealthy approach.

— Is that all?

— If you need more, my minions will play with Silverwind’s trash. I’ll buy enough time for you to turn the place into a wasteland and plunder the research secrets.

A long-distance journey all at once, and even buying time: Sitri’s terms.

The conditions were far too good.

Far too good.

That was why, instead of biting the bait eagerly, he pondered the proposal deeply.

The other party was a demon.

Demons acted for their own benefit, never making disadvantageous contracts.

This unprecedented generosity signified a corresponding difficulty or price.

— What do you want?

— There’s a stupid demoness inside that facility.

— A stupid demoness?

— Yes. I told her to seduce a man, but the foolish girl fell head over heels in love with that man instead.

— Is that possible?

— That’s why I said a stupid demoness.

Sitri sighed.

— If she dies there, she won’t even be able to go to Hell. She will dissolve completely and fall into the Void. So get her out and kill her outside? So she can be summoned back to Hell?

— A rather affectionate proposal.

— What can I do? Fellow demonesses must look after each other. There is such a thing as affection, you know?

— A passing dog would laugh.

Sitri was the Demon of Lust.

The furthest removed from affection.

— Tsk, fine. I’ll tell the truth. She’s one of my daughters.

— I see.

— She’s of age now, so she must be independent… Haa, what can I do? Mama has to save her. I have to wrap her in the hem of my skirt, but the skirt is too thin… and short.

Sitri fluttered her skirt seductively.

— Your proposal means rescuing her and assisting us simultaneously.

— Good for everyone. How about it? Pretty good proposal, isn’t it?

Ferda thought about it again.

Only one phrase surfaced in his mind.

Do not make deals with demons.

— Can you swear on your name that you are not setting a trap for us?

— I swear on the name of the Great Demon of Hell, Sitri. No intention of setting a trap for you. Once you rescue that child, your mission ends there.

Sitri confirmed.

Ferda nodded.

— Fine. Let’s do that business.

— More rewarding than I thought? Good.

Sitri placed the scroll she had been holding in the air beside the bed.

— The time I can buy is two hours from now. Eight can enter at once, and only eight can leave. Make sure to remember that.

Leaving those words behind, Sitri silently dissolved into the darkness.

The moment her figure faded completely, simultaneously, Ferda’s door swung wide open.

Count Consillus and armed knights rushed inside.

— Regent-nim! Are you alright?

— I am fine.

— A demon’s intrusion was detected inside, we will conduct a quick search—.

— No need. That demon is gone.

— Did the demon say something…?

— And the expedition is canceled.

— What? What do you mean…?

Ferda lacked the time to give explanations right now.

So he merely ordered:

— Commencing operation within one hour. Assemble the elite soldiers.