Whispers of a Scheming Demon - Chapter 121

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Whispers of a Scheming Demon ◈

Chapter 121: Archmage

──────

Roderic was stunned.

He tumbled from his throne.

Had the carpet covering the great hall’s floor not been soft, he might have been seriously hurt.

“Urgh, ngh...”

Roderic clutched his lower back and groaned.

Mapheltan snickered.

He slowly descended the throne’s steps.

“Roderic, I’ll ask again. What did you find so amusing?”

There was no trace of laughter left on Roderic’s face.

Frozen in place, he dragged himself backward across the floor.

“A demon! A demon has appeared! Is anyone out there?!”

Mapheltan clicked his tongue. Thick Demonic Energy rose from his hand and wrapped around Roderic.

Black smoke clogged Roderic’s airways.

Roderic could no longer speak.

He could only gasp as though on the verge of suffocation.

Mapheltan walked over to him.

“Mortal, if you try anything foolish one more time, I’ll cut off your breath for good.”

The Royal Capital was full of high-ranking clergy, Holy Knights, and skilled knights.

The moment they discovered him, Mapheltan would face serious trouble.

To avoid danger, he first needed to silence the king.

Roderic began convulsing as he clawed at his throat.

His eyes were bloodshot.

He was dying from lack of air.

Just as his breath was about to give out, Mapheltan withdrew the Demonic Energy.

Black smoke poured from Roderic’s mouth.

“Cough, haaack!”

Face down on the floor, he vomited up the rest.

He appeared to be in terrible pain.

Mapheltan spoke in a chilling voice.

“Remember my warning.”

Roderic glared at Mapheltan through bloodshot eyes.

“...Demon, who are you? Are you one of Muel’s Thralls?”

The moment he heard the name Muel, Mapheltan’s expression twisted.

‘The king definitely mentioned Muel earlier, too.’

It was still too early for Muel to appear.

Muel was a being summoned only around the middle to latter half of the original story.

Yet the king had spoken Muel’s name twice.

――――Hahahahahaha! You acted so high and mighty, and look at you now! You will be offered as a Sacrificial Offering to Muel!

Roderic had certainly said that to Ilea.

And just now, he had asked Mapheltan whether he was Muel’s Thrall.

Mapheltan could not make sense of the situation.

He furrowed his brow.

“Muel. Where did you hear that name?”

Lying on the floor, Roderic wore a sickly smile.

“I made a contract with Muel. Whatever you are, you must not dare treat me so carelessly.”

Muel was an Archdemon ranked in the single digits of the Lower Realm.

No demon on earth could harm Muel’s Contractor.

The authority of an Archdemon with a numbered rank held great influence over demons.

Of course, there were exceptions.

An Apostle of the End had no reason to worry about an Archdemon.

Mapheltan let out a dry laugh.

“Roderic, it seems you still have no idea what I am.”

The appearance of Mapheltan, the Thirteenth Apostle of the End, had already been fully revealed to the public.

Naturally, reports had reached the royal family as well, but Roderic had failed to connect what he had heard with the being before him.

It was difficult for him to imagine that an Apostle would be standing in the middle of the royal palace.

Roderic spoke with a slightly tense expression.

“...What are you?”

Looking a little awkward, Mapheltan answered.

“Hmm, it feels strange to say it myself, but I am the Thirteenth Apostle of the End. I am not a being who can be compared to the likes of Muel.”

Roderic narrowed his eyes.

Only then did Mapheltan’s appearance truly register.

The black carapace covering his entire body, the massive wings, the two snow-white horns rising from his forehead, and eyes as red as blood. They perfectly matched the demon described in reports he had heard several times.

Roderic was greatly shaken.

His mouth fell open, and his eyes trembled.

The demon before him was an Apostle.

“H-How is an Apostle in the royal palace...?”

Countless anti-demon defense systems had been installed along every route to the royal palace.

The denser a demon’s Demonic Energy or the higher its rank, the more strongly those defenses should react.

There was no way the defense systems could overlook an Apostle’s overwhelming presence.

Mapheltan should not have been here.

He gave a short laugh.

“Did you truly believe that flimsy human constructions could stop me? If so, your arrogance is truly boundless.”

With the Authority Nightfall Immersion, defenses like that could have no effect on Mapheltan.

Roderic’s eyes began darting around.

It seemed he was trying to communicate with someone again.

Perhaps his attempt had failed, for he let out a groan.

“D-Damn it!”

Mapheltan clicked his tongue.

“If you intend to seek help from the one backing you, give up. They’ll be too busy dealing with the Witch.”

Ilea had allowed herself to be kidnapped.

By now, she was probably interrogating her kidnapper instead.

Roderic bit down on his lip.

“W-What Witch? What the hell do you want from me?!”

Mapheltan grabbed the king by the throat and lifted him.

Roderic struggled in the air.

Ignoring him, Mapheltan spoke.

“You only need to provide me with information. Tell me everything you know about Muel.”

Now that Muel’s name had surfaced, the order of priorities had changed.

Mapheltan had to hear everything about Muel.

The arrival of the Archdemon Muel was a variable capable of changing the entire course of events.

Mapheltan tightened his grip around Roderic’s throat.

He was demanding that Roderic reveal what he knew.

Roderic’s mouth opened with difficulty.

* * *

A strange space surrounded Johan (Ilea).

Tens of thousands of books filled the shelves, and countless experimental instruments stood in view.

This place seemed to be both a library and a laboratory.

The Witch herself was interested in the space.

Johan looked around with shining eyes.

His gaze settled on a massive bookshelf.

One black book had caught his attention.

Johan immediately pulled it free.

It was difficult to inspect its contents.

The black book was tightly bound in chains. It was probably a forbidden book.

The Witch could not contain her curiosity. She was about to break the seal at once.

Just as she was about to use magic, an unfamiliar voice came from somewhere nearby.

“Hey! What terrible manners. How dare you touch someone else’s things without permission?”

Johan turned toward the voice.

A woman in a white gown was slowly walking toward him.

She was white from head to toe.

Her eyes, hair, skin, and clothing were all as pure white as snow.

Johan gave an awkward smile.

“I’m sorry. I was so curious that I did it without thinking.”

The woman stared at Johan, then tilted her head.

“But who are you? I definitely summoned the Watcher of Narak, but instead I got some Mage... No, what? You aren’t a Mage either. Sorry, but would you take off that mask?”

The woman had seen through part of Johan’s identity.

Johan let out an impressed sound.

“That’s amazing. I can’t believe you saw through this.”

He immediately released the magic.

Ilea’s true appearance was revealed.

The white woman slowly looked Ilea over from head to toe.

“...You’re a strange little girl. You clearly possess unfathomable skill, yet there are no signs of Shedding. What exactly are you?”

Shedding referred to a state that overcame lifespan and aging.

Unless she was an Archmage who had undergone Shedding, a young girl like Ilea could not possess such magical prowess.

The white woman could roughly gauge Ilea’s magical attainment.

Ilea clearly possessed power comparable to an Archmage.

Ilea smiled with her eyes.

“It’s a mystery. Why don’t you take a guess, old lady?”

The woman’s face immediately twisted.

She was clearly a young and beautiful woman.

Yet Ilea had called her an old lady. The white woman did not appreciate it.

“Old lady? Are you mocking me?”

“I’m sorry. I could see that you’re an elder... No, I mean, I can see a little of your essence as well.”

The white woman was an Archmage.

A being who had undergone Shedding. One of the few Transcendents in this world.

She was strong enough to stand alongside Wolfgang von Eisenfeldt, the guardian of the North.

The white woman snorted with an indifferent expression.

“Hmph. A little girl like you thinks she can treat me as an equal? Anyway, from now on, call me Lady Lumina. Make sure you include the ‘Lady.’ Call me old lady or Grandma one more time, and I won’t let it slide.”

She seemed to hate being seen as old.

Ilea nodded with a smile.

“Understood, Lady Lumina. Would you like to try guessing what I am now?”

Lumina began closely examining Ilea.

She circled Ilea, observing her from every angle.

Before long, Lumina cried out.

“Could you be... a Witch?!”

Ilea clapped her hands.

“Wow, that’s amazing. Correct.”

Lumina clicked her tongue.

“I thought you had an aura similar to Rahel’s.”

Rahel was known as the last Witch.

It had been well over fifty years since her death.

Interest flickered in Ilea’s eyes.

“Do you know Rahel?”

Lumina replied calmly.

“Of course I do. Rahel was quite fond of me. She said I was a genius among humans who might appear only once in a thousand years, or something like that. Anyway, you must be Rahel’s daughter?”

Ilea answered with a thoughtful expression.

“...Calling her my mother would be a little ambiguous, but let’s say it’s close enough.”

“Well, the physiology of you Witches is rather unusual.”

“You seem to know a great deal about Witches.”

“Perhaps I know more than you do. Which is why I still do not understand. Why would a Witch associate with a human? Especially the Watcher of Narak.”

Ilea fell silent for a moment.

She was calculating how much information she could disclose.

It did not seem time to speak of Johan or Mapheltan yet.

Instead, she asked a question.

“Then why are you with the human king, Lady Lumina? Roderic is only an ordinary person.”

There was nothing about King Roderic that could interest an Archmage.

To an Archmage, Roderic was no more than a weed.

Lumina spoke.

“I received a prophecy from the venerable Muel. At the full moon, the Royal Capital’s barrier would fall. If I took that opportunity to establish myself in the Royal Capital, I would be able to meet the Sovereign of All Demons.”

Around two or three months ago, the Royal Capital’s barrier had broken.

At the same time as the full moon, countless Elves had invaded the Royal Capital through the gap in the barrier.

Lumina had established herself in the Royal Capital that day as well.

She had known in advance, through Muel’s prophecy, what would happen.

Ilea’s expression stiffened slightly.

“If the Sovereign of All Demons mentioned in that prophecy is...”

Lumina cut her off.

With an ecstatic expression, she cried out.

“Of course, the Apostle of the End! The moment I meet him, I’ll be able to surpass my current realm once again!”

Countless conditions were needed to ascend to a rank higher than Archmage.

One of them was making a contract with an Apostle.

Lumina had fulfilled most of the other conditions for advancement, but she had yet to make a contract with an Apostle.