WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ Reformation of the Deadbeat Noble

Chapter 64

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Sword That Severs Demons (2)

A demonoid was human. And yet not human.

The moment one accepted a demon's terrible power, the mind corrupted, and the body underwent changes to match.

They were reborn as something new, something that could no longer be called human.

And yet the demonoid standing before them hadn't followed that path.

Aside from her eyes, glowing an eerie red, she looked, by any measure, like a person.

That meant her sense of self was unusually strong.

To have pawned something precious to a demon and still barely lose herself. Even Hill Burnett, who had taken part in more than five Demonoid Subjugation Campaigns, had never seen anything like it.

Of course, there was no way they'd lose here.

He swept his eyes quickly across the cavern.

The skeleton soldiers standing around the demonoid weren't real combat power. They looked like nothing more than instrument-playing props, useless for anything else.

There was a good chance she had something else hidden away, something outlandish they hadn't accounted for. But at least visually, the only enemy in sight was the demonoid herself.

The holy relic showed no particular reaction, and Airen Farreira gave no warning either.

They would win.

No, even just the two of them, himself and Airen Farreira, would be more than enough to bring her down.

That was exactly what puzzled the vice commander.

Why hadn't she run?

She had to know. The gap in strength between the two sides was overwhelming.

However strong she was, a demonoid alone couldn't win against an entire subjugation force. Only a true demon could pull off something like that.

And there didn't seem to be anything precious hidden in her stronghold either. As they'd already seen, there was nothing here. Nothing but skeleton soldiers and a piano.

He was still turning it over in his mind when the demonoid smiled and spoke.

"Would you like to hear another piece?"

"Silence, foul demonoid!"

Baron Russell snapped, his voice sharp at her shameless composure.

Alone, he never would have dared say such a thing, but surrounded by knights, courage came easily.

The demonoid, naturally, paid it no mind.

Her smile only deepened as she answered him.

"But my playing really was wonderful, wasn't it?"

"You wretch, don't spout such nonsen..."

"That piece just now was only the appetizer. Let me give you a taste of the real thing. Sweet, rich, like a bed wrapping around a body worn thin with exhaustion..."

"Uh, uhh..."

"It'll feel as good as a dream, probably."

"Th, then, just one more song..."

Baron Russell's eyes had gone glassy before anyone noticed, and he nodded.

His feet edged forward, little by little, and no one around him moved to stop him.

"Get a hold of yourself!"

"Hah!"

It was the Twilight Knights' vice commander who snapped the baron back to his senses.

Baron Russell's dazed expression cracked a beat later into a startled flinch, and he stumbled backward.

Watching him, the demonoid spoke.

"Such a shame. What I said was nothing but the truth, you know."

"We've watched long enough! Let's end this before the demonoid tries anything else! Twilight Knights! All of..."

Hill Burnett made his decision.

He couldn't be sure what she had prepared in her stronghold, but striking now seemed better than giving her more time.

The knights at his order set their feet, and the six houses' forces naturally moved to shield the mages, priests, and lords.

It was the standard formation they'd agreed on before the campaign began.

But the Twilight Knights never got the chance to charge.

The demonoid's power activated a beat before they could move.

Whoosh!

"Gah!"

A hand shot up out of the shadow beneath one of the subjugation force's members, seized his foot, and dragged him down into the darkness.

A moment later, a knight emerged from the demonoid's shadow, and Viscount Gairon shouted his name.

"Sir Jack Steward!"

"Ah, so that was his name? Nice to meet you, Jack?"

Her long hair, once trailing loose, whipped up and coiled around Jack Steward's throat.

Lifted into the air, he thrashed, struggling to breathe.

The mood turned icy in an instant.

Amid it, the black-haired demonoid spoke.

"Now, don't worry too much. I'm not so grand a demonoid that I'd use a power like this over and over."

"You wretch...!"

"And I have no intention of killing Jack. I'm a pacifist, you see."

"What kind of non..."

"Let's make a deal."

Whoosh.

The hair wound around Jack Steward's neck lifted him higher still.

"This handsome, splendid knight's life..."

The demonoid pointed a finger at herself.

"...for my own beautiful, gifted life. Let's trade the two."

"...."

"How does that sound, not bad, is it? If you all clear a path, I'll leave this place, and once I'm somewhere I judge safe, I'll release him."

"Don't lie to us!"

"A lie, me? I swear on the name of Lastro, the one I serve. Guarantee me certain safety, and I'll repay you with certain safety in return."

"Grr..."

"Viscount Gairon!"

Hill Burnett called out Phil Gairon's name.

Much was left unsaid, but everyone understood his meaning.

Don't fall for the demonoid's words.

Under no circumstances negotiate with a demonoid.

It was the Holy Kingdom's standing directive.

No, directive or not, she had to be cut down regardless! Think of the damage that demonoid could do to the continent if she got away...

Of course, that meant Jack Steward's sacrifice was unavoidable.

But it had to be accepted. Even if House Gairon objected, Hill Burnett meant to push the attack through regardless.

Still, if he gave the order unilaterally, it might split the force apart. Better if Viscount Gairon made the right call first.

The vice commander's eyes grew steadily more desperate.

As though he'd sensed that desperation.

Face twisted in a deep scowl, Viscount Phil Gairon forced the words out.

"...House Gairon does not negotiate with filthy demonoids!"

Sighs of relief slipped out across the knights. The eyes turned toward Viscount Gairon carried both respect and guilt.

To sacrifice his house's finest knight for the continent's peace.

It was the right choice. It was not an easy one.

"...Thank you. And Sir Jack Steward, I'm sorry."

The vice commander understood this well too.

He nodded in gratitude, then turned back toward the demonoid with eyes burning.

The mood shifted in an instant.

Amid it, the demonoid's face flickered with confusion.

A natural expression, a natural progression.

Once negotiations failed, there was no path left for the demonoid to survive.

Everyone thought so. The Twilight Knights advanced carefully, step by step.

That was when the demonoid's expression changed.

A shift chilling enough to look like she'd swapped masks.

A shiver crawled up Hill Burnett's spine, and her power activated again.

Whoosh!

"Aah, aaaah!"

A scene eerily similar to before.

The figure dragged into the shadow reappeared beside the demonoid.

Her hair, split into two black locks, coiled tight around the hostage's throat.

It was Laiyan Gairon, House Gairon's eldest son.

Seeing his son, Phil Gairon let out a scream far louder than before.

"Laiyan! No!"

"Some sacrifice must be accepted! Everyone, char..."

"Stop! Stop it, I said!"

His voice cracked, tearing like metal.

Every member of the Twilight Knights, Hill Burnett included, froze in place.

Something in Viscount Gairon's voice had stopped them cold.

It was nothing like when Jack Steward had been seized.

An ominous sense that pushing the subjugation through now would end in something unthinkable.

That feeling turned out to be right.

Face twisted with fury, Phil Gairon gave the order.

"Everyone, hold back the Twilight Knights."

"Viscount Gairon!"

"Baron Russell, Baron Lester. You'll stand with me on this, won't you?"

"...Hold back the Twilight Knights."

"Restrain them."

The forces of Baron Russell and Baron Lester shuffled forward, reluctant, joining ranks with Viscount Gairon's men.

There was nothing else they could do.

Both lords had weaknesses that Viscount Gairon held over them, and there was no way they could defy him.

The mood shifted once more.

Hill Burnett shouted, his face gone half mad.

"Viscount Gairon! Do you think I'll just stand by and let this happen!"

"That conversation can wait until today's over! It won't be too late!"

"What in the world won't be too late..."

"Silence! For now, do as she says! Hey! Is the deal still on the table?"

Phil Gairon said it in a rush.

He looked half-crazed, unraveling. The demonoid, wearing a satisfied smile, nodded.

"Of course. I told you already, didn't I? I swear on the name of Lastro, the one I serve. I'll keep my word."

"Good. We'll hold back the Twilight Knights, so..."

"Twilight Knights! Anyone who obstructs the Demonoid Subjugation Campaign, regardless of house or rank, will not be forgiven!"

"Hiiiiill Burrrrnettt!"

Watching Viscount Phil Gairon howl in a voice ragged enough to draw blood, every member of the subjugation force wore a look of confusion.

Baron Lester and Baron Russell feared standing against the Twilight Knights, yet the weaknesses Viscount Gairon held over them made it hard to refuse his orders.

Their own troops, too, couldn't keep pace with the sudden shift.

For the Twilight Knights, it was maddening in its own way.

However important the Demonoid Subjugation Campaign was, carrying out the operation while standing against multiple houses was an enormous burden.

The three remaining houses, apart from Russell, Lester, and Gairon, were equally lost, unsure which way to move.

Watching it all unfold, the demonoid glanced to her right and whispered.

Toward the direction where Jack Steward, her first hostage, still hung.

"How is it, Jack? There seems to be quite the temperature difference with this young man here. Tell me how you're feeling."

"Ugh... ghk..."

"Oh, right, I'm squeezing your throat rather hard, so answering must be difficult. It's fine, stay just as you are. I think I can guess how you feel anyway."

Despair, rage, sorrow.

Watching Jack Steward drowning in every dark emotion imaginable, the demonoid smiled.

Her smile deepened further at the sight of the subjugation force falling into chaos.

This was it.

This was exactly why she'd stayed instead of running.

She licked her lips, red as her own eyes, and etched each face into her memory, one by one, carefully.

She felt as though the ecstasy might drive her out of her mind.

The thought that she herself might die never crossed her mind.

It didn't matter if a portion of their forces moved on their own.

If they charged at her together, united, that would be one thing. But surviving in the cracks of their division, she was more than confident she could manage that.

So, let's enjoy this a little longer.

Let's burn their idiot faces into memory, savor them as a fine keepsake.

That was the thought passing through her mind.

Then her eyes caught on something out of place.

"Hm?"

Unlike everyone else, a blond young man stood with no change in expression at all, eyes quietly closed.

But his posture was strange.

As though he were holding a sword. Yet there was nothing in his hands.

Wait, had he been standing like that from the start?

The demonoid traced back through her memory.

Now that she thought about it, he really had. That odd one had been in that exact stance since the moment she'd finished her piece and greeted them.

Eyes closed, holding that strange posture.

Standing utterly still, as though rooted to the spot.

As though waiting for something.

No.

As though gathering power.

"...!"

Flash!

The demonoid activated her ability.

Not to abduct anyone else this time.

To escape this place.

She didn't ignore the alarm bell ringing belatedly in her head.

From the start... there was never a chance.

That one never once intended to let her go!

The demonoid, only now realizing the truth, was about to flee when it happened.

Flash!

Airen Farreira opened his eyes.

At the same moment, a massive sword took shape out of empty air, nothing there a moment before, and fell, fast.

Whoosh.

There was no dodging it.

There was no blocking it either.

Unable to react in any way, the demonoid's body was split, cleanly, into two.

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