WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Whispers of a Scheming Demon ◈
Chapter 163: Usman
──────
A sharp scream erupted from the gourd flask amid a cloud of pitch-black smoke.
“Red wench! How dare a mere insect defy this body!”
A pitch-black spirit body writhed as it shrieked.
It was Beris. More precisely, a fragment of Beris’s soul. The twelfth apocalypse had completely lost its form, remaining only as a shred of Lingering Will.
For all practical purposes, Beris was dead.
Before long, time would wear Beris away completely.
Mapheltan had something to do before that happened.
The corner of his mouth lifted.
“Beris, admit Shaperia’s abilities already. You have lost to her twice.”
Beris’s spirit body convulsed.
It let out a scream-like roar.
“Nonsense! I have not lost! This body is still very much alive! Where is that red wench now?! Bring that bitch to me at once! I shall personally tear her lowly body to pieces!”
Mapheltan snickered.
“Fool. You still do not grasp reality. Look at yourself. Your body has vanished, and only your soul remains. You are no more than a ghost wandering the afterlife. If Shaperia so much as breathed on you, your pathetic Lingering Will would scatter into nothingness.”
Beris was crippled. No matter what Beris did, there was no way to regain that original power.
There was no longer any chance of taking revenge on Shaperia.
“N-No. I, this body, am still...”
Mapheltan clicked his tongue and cut Beris off.
“You need more time to accept reality. Go back into the bottle and reflect on yourself. We can talk again later.”
He aimed the gourd flask at Beris’s spirit body.
Beris writhed in midair.
“Stop! Stop this!”
It was no more than a helpless struggle.
Beris was dragged helplessly back into the glass bottle.
Ilea, who had watched the whole scene, let out a faint sigh.
“...What a shame, in many ways.”
Her eyes were full of disappointment.
Mapheltan lightly patted her shoulder.
“Try to understand. Beris’s spirit has not broken yet. We cannot turn Beris into a Demon Core like this.”
A Witch could turn a Familiar into a Demon Core, but Beris was not yet ready to submit to Ilea.
Beris was still full of defiance.
That spirit had to be broken first.
Just as with the World Tree in the past, Beris had to be completely broken before the conversion into a Demon Core could proceed.
Ilea nodded.
“You are right. I was getting ahead of myself. I will speak with Beris again in a day or two. Mapheltan, leave that flask with me.”
Mapheltan had much to do from now on.
First, he needed to go to the banquet venue and receive the Subjugation Force.
For the time being, he could not afford to worry about Beris.
Mapheltan held out the gourd flask to Ilea.
Ilea looked at him with a slightly surprised expression.
“This feels a little strange.”
“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“It’s just... I suppose it doesn’t feel like something Mapheltan would do.”
Mapheltan frowned.
“That is out of nowhere. Explain yourself properly.”
Ilea pondered for a moment, then gave him a soft smile.
“It’s nothing. Please forget I said anything.”
She looked rather pleased.
Mapheltan stared at Ilea for a moment.
Then he clicked his tongue.
“What a letdown. If we are done talking, let us get ready. We need to arrive at Viscount Usman’s estate before they do.”
The Subjugation Force would soon set foot in the city of Usman.
Mapheltan needed to arrive ahead of them and prepare to receive the guests.
Ilea approached Mapheltan and slipped her arm through his.
“It has been a long time since the two of us traveled alone. Let’s go on horseback.”
Mapheltan gently pushed her forehead away with his fingertip.
“We are not going on an outing. Ilea, you must make connections with many people this time as the young lady of Count Staviana’s house. There will be quite a few people in the Subjugation Force worth knowing.”
The Subjugation Force consisted of some of the continent’s finest elite.
Some of them were influential figures within the Empire.
Since Mapheltan would soon need to extend his reach across the continent, he had to establish connections with Imperial nobles.
He intended to share that role with Ilea.
Ilea smiled.
“I should dress beautifully, then. Beautiful enough to captivate them.”
Mapheltan nodded.
“Well, no one dislikes beautiful things.”
Ilea spun around.
“Please wait two hours. I’ll get ready and come out.”
She walked away with light steps.
Mapheltan silently watched her retreating figure.
‘She seems quite excited.’
Ilea was indeed in a good mood.
A soft curve rested on her lips.
A moment ago, Mapheltan had handed her the gourd flask containing Beris’s soul without the slightest wariness.
In the past, Mapheltan would never have done such a thing.
He had always doubted Ilea.
Even when he joined hands with a Witch, he never lowered his guard.
He was not someone who would entrust the soul of an Apostle who governed Contracts to a Witch.
The moment Ilea harbored ill intent, Mapheltan would find himself in serious trouble.
As a Witch, Ilea could surely use Beris to damage the Contract of Protection she had made with Johan. Mapheltan knew that well.
Unless he trusted Ilea completely, he would never have entrusted Beris to her.
Yet Mapheltan had handed over the flask without hesitation.
He now trusted Ilea completely.
Satisfaction spread through Ilea’s heart.
The trust Mapheltan showed made her happy.
Humming softly, Ilea walked on.
With just a little more effort, she could take hold of Mapheltan’s heart.
Someday, he would come to rely on Ilea completely.
All she had to do was slowly consume Mapheltan, just as she had been doing.
Even if her actions and feelings stemmed from warped possessiveness, Ilea did not care.
Witches were beings who stopped at nothing to achieve their goals.
To make Mapheltan hers, she would simply follow her witch’s instincts.
Ilea’s humming softly filled the study.
Mapheltan folded his arms and fell into thought for a moment.
* * *
Johan left the territory as soon as the sun rose.
He intended to travel to Usman’s direct domain by ordinary means.
He could not use Mirror Magic or fly there.
If Johan, who had been in Myatro territory, suddenly appeared in Usman territory, someone would surely find it suspicious.
The two territories were quite far apart, and Johan, who had not learned Aura or supernatural abilities, could not cover that distance in one leap.
In short, he chose the inconvenient means of travel called a carriage to avoid arousing suspicion.
Ilea, seated across from him, looked out the window with a faint smile.
“It’s nice to do this again.”
The cold wind brushed the tips of her hair.
Her silver hair fluttered softly.
Johan watched her in silence.
‘She has grown more than I expected.’
A little over a year had passed since he first met Ilea. It was not long, but a year was enough for a growing girl to undergo physical changes.
Much of the baby fat had left her face.
The lines of her nose and eyes had become more defined, while her once-rounded jaw had grown slimmer.
She had also grown much taller, and her clothes suited her well.
Ilea was leaving girlhood behind and becoming a woman.
In another year or two, she would truly become a lady.
Johan was struck again by how quickly time passed.
Sensing his gaze, Ilea smiled at him with her eyes.
“Pretty, am I not?”
The moment her sweet voice reached him, Johan’s thoughts vanished.
He cleared his throat softly.
“Well, the scenery of the South is beautiful beyond question.”
Ilea chuckled.
“More beautiful than I am?”
She was teasing him.
Johan clicked his tongue.
“Enough nonsense. Focus on the task I gave you. What is Beris’s condition now?”
When he changed the subject, Ilea glanced at him with an odd smile.
“Shy.”
Johan sighed.
“If you intend to keep playing word games, I will take my leave.”
He stood and moved toward the driver’s seat.
Ilea immediately stopped him.
“All right, I’ll stop. Sit across from me like this.”
Johan watched her for a moment before sitting back down.
“...I’ll ask again. Has there been any progress with Beris?”
Ilea drew a small gourd flask from her robes.
Deep blue Mana wrapped around it.
There was no response.
Ilea spoke.
“Beris is completely sulking and won’t answer me at all. I could force an extraction, but then we wouldn’t get the result we want. Beris would likely refuse to serve as my Familiar.”
Beris needed to become Ilea’s Familiar before the conversion into a Demon Core could proceed.
To achieve what he wanted, Johan needed to placate Beris to some extent.
Johan nodded.
“Take your time. There’s no need to rush.”
Ilea turned toward the window.
“Fine. Let’s resolve the immediate matter first.”
By then, the carriage had entered Usman territory.
The surrounding scenery had changed greatly.
Stakes stood here and there across the vast plains.
Johan frowned and muttered.
“Barbaric.”
A scarecrow hung from every stake.
Their appearances were rather distinctive.
Their skin was blood-red, and their faces were twisted with despair.
Their limbs bent at grotesque angles, creating an unsettling sense of dread.
Ilea spoke calmly.
“They are human corpses.”
Just as she said, the scarecrows had once been human.
The Usman clan flayed abducted people alive and turned them into scarecrows.
That savage act was one of Usman’s long-standing traditions.
The number of scarecrows steadily increased.
The closer Johan’s carriage drew to the castle built along the coast, the stronger the smell of blood became.
Some of the scarecrows were still breathing, twitching from time to time.
It seemed a raid had taken place recently.
The Usman clan occasionally invaded nations across the sea.
Johan clicked his tongue.
“I will have to tell them to remove every last one.”
If such grotesque things hung around the banquet venue, who could eat and drink comfortably?
Any ordinary person would lose their appetite.
Ilea looked at the scarecrows with interest.
“Seeing this, I have a hypothesis. Demons are beings made by extracting only malice from humans. Johan, what do you think?”
Most of the world did not know the origin of demons.
The same was true even for Witches.
Only Johan knew what demons truly were.
Johan shrugged.
“Well, perhaps it’s something like that.”
Ilea looked slightly surprised.
“Could it be that Johan knows the origin of demons?”
Just as he was about to answer, the carriage came to an abrupt stop with a jolt.
The driver looked at Johan and spoke.
“B-Baron, we have a problem. I think you need to see it yourself...”
The driver’s face had gone pale.
Johan stepped out of the carriage.
A castle stood atop a cliff, its enormous gates greeting him.
Johan gave a hollow laugh.
Someone’s head had been displayed above the gates.
“Well, look at that.”
It was the head of Hakain, the Sword Demon.
Hakain, who had left ahead of them, had been beheaded and now adorned the castle gate.
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
