WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Whispers of a Scheming Demon ◈
Chapter 195: Clearing the Slate
──────
Even after becoming a Duke-King, Johan had no time to rest.
Unfinished business was piled up like a mountain.
As soon as his meeting with the Count ended, he headed straight for the underground library of Myatro Lord's Castle.
He was there to meet Ilea.
“Just as I thought. You were here.”
As usual, she was leaning against a bookshelf, reading a Forbidden Book.
“It has been a while, Johan. Did you enjoy your carriage trip with Shaperia?”
She was smiling, but there was an inexplicable barb in her words.
Johan did not particularly react to it.
“What enjoyment? I merely did what needed to be done.”
“I see. That is such a Johan-like answer.”
She lowered her eyes again and continued reading the Forbidden Book.
Johan watched her for a moment before speaking.
“When everything is over, let us take a carriage trip or something together. I think I’ll finally be able to relax then.”
Ilea looked up. A faint smile touched her face.
“Good. It’s a promise.”
She held out her pinky.
“Do we really need to do this...?”
“Hurry.”
Johan shrugged once and hooked pinkies with Ilea.
“Is that enough now?”
Ilea smiled like a child.
“It’s enough. Make sure you keep your promise.”
“Yes. I hope that day comes soon too.”
Johan wanted to settle everything as quickly as possible and enjoy a peaceful life.
“I’ll help by your side. As you know, I’m quite capable.”
He could not deny that.
Johan gave a quiet laugh.
“Our capable Witch seems to have been occupied with Beris’s matter for quite some time. When will there be a result?”
Ilea had been tasked with turning Apostle Beris’s soul into a Demon Core.
Johan had yet to receive a report on it.
“I actually finished it already.”
Ilea wore a proud expression.
“You didn’t say anything, so I thought there had been a problem.”
“You’ve been so busy. I was planning to tell you once matters involving the Emperor had been settled.”
Johan slowly nodded.
“True. Until recently, it would’ve been hard to spare any attention for it.”
“What do you think? A woman who’s capable and considerate is right in front of you. My overwhelming beauty is simply a bonus.”
“Yes, I acknowledge all of it. Ilea, you are perfect.”
“Hehe. Doesn’t that make me too precious to give away?”
“I never intended to give you away in the first place.”
She was one of his greatest sources of strength.
Johan needed to borrow her strength until he stopped the apocalypse.
“Then will you keep me by your side forever?”
“Well, if you agree to it, that’s what I intend to do.”
“I’ll remember what you just said.”
Johan shrugged.
“At the very least, I’ll never abandon you.”
“You would be a fool if you did. I’m a golden goose. Look at this.”
She took a small jewel box from her bosom.
A strange anticipation filled Johan's face.
“Could it be...?”
“That’s right. A Demon Core. The essence of Apostle Beris.”
A pitch-black bead rested inside the jewel box.
Ominous smoke slowly seeped from it.
Johan frowned and took a step back.
“This body will have trouble handling it.”
The Demonic Energy emitted by the Demon Core was too powerful.
A weak human body could not endure its presence.
“Please wait just a little longer. The sun will set soon.”
At sunset, Johan would transform into a Demon.
Mapheltan could naturally handle the Demon Core.
He could do more than handle it. He could absorb it.
‘What kind of Authority will awaken this time?’
When Mapheltan had consumed the Demon Core made from the World Tree before, he gained an Authority called Nightfall Immersion.
Nightfall Immersion was the power to become one with darkness.
Just as the World Tree was verdant nature itself, Mapheltan had been reborn as a being who completely embraced darkness, another part of nature.
By the same logic, Apostle Beris’s Demon Core would likely have a similar effect.
‘Beris is the Apostle who governs Contracts.’
The moment he consumed it, an Authority related to Contracts might awaken.
It was not certain, but the odds were high.
Anticipation swelled within him.
An Authority related to Contracts would be extremely useful.
“...I’m getting impatient for no reason.”
Ilea smiled with her eyes.
“You’ll know the result soon. The sun is setting now.”
At the same time, Johan’s figure scattered.
Amid ominous mist, a vicious being emerged.
A chilling voice echoed through the underground library.
“Now, let us see.”
A pitch-black demonic hand stretched toward the Demon Core.
The Demon Core immediately turned into Demonic Energy and was absorbed into Mapheltan’s body.
His immense body began to convulse. His crimson eyes flashed with wild light. Another white horn rose from his forehead.
Ilea murmured in admiration.
“...A Horned Demon with three horns.”
His presence weighed down the underground library.
The space containing Mapheltan trembled.
All darkness in the surroundings convulsed.
Mapheltan let out a sinister chuckle.
“Polar night. An unexpected windfall.”
The Authority of polar night had awakened.
Its use was immediately imprinted into his instincts.
The moment Mapheltan activated polar night, every light in the area vanished.
Myatro Lord's Castle sank into absolute darkness.
Not even the faintest candlelight or lamplight remained.
Ilea felt a suffocating pressure.
She could not see even an inch ahead.
It felt as though she had been imprisoned in darkness.
She immediately raised her Mana.
The cluster of blue light was swallowed by the darkness and scattered.
No light could exist within polar night.
The only source of light was Mapheltan’s red eyes.
A sense of danger washed over Ilea.
If this continued any longer, her very existence might be erased by the darkness.
The polar night Mapheltan had unfolded was a void that consumed everything nearby.
In an uncharacteristically trembling voice, Ilea spoke.
“...Mapheltan, please withdraw this darkness. Not only I, but everyone in the castle may lose their minds.”
All sentient beings within polar night’s range were letting out stifled screams.
Every servant in the castle was on the verge of madness.
Only Mapheltan could hear their cries of pain.
Mapheltan was overcome with intense pleasure.
Within polar night, he was a god.
Once trapped in this darkness, any being was nothing more than prey for Mapheltan.
Mapheltan strode toward Ilea.
Even when he arrived right before her, Ilea could not sense his presence at all.
Only his chilling voice reached her.
“Ilea, even you cannot escape this darkness?”
Ilea groaned.
“For now, I cannot find a way. My mind keeps becoming foggy...”
Her voice trailed off.
Her reason was gradually fading.
Mapheltan immediately dispelled polar night.
The darkness surrounding them retreated in an instant.
The candles illuminated the room again.
“Are you all right?”
Dizzy, Ilea leaned her back against the bookshelf.
“I don’t know. I’d like to rest for a while.”
For the first time in her life, she had encountered a fragment of helplessness.
It was an incredibly strange feeling.
Mapheltan felt needlessly sorry toward her.
“I went too far.”
Ilea shook her head.
“No. I’m happy instead. It feels as though Mapheltan has gained strength truly worthy of an Apostle.”
Each Apostle was originally an ancient divinity in their own right.
Compared to them, Mapheltan’s power had been far too insignificant.
Until now, at least.
Now, things were a little different.
“I did feel as if I could do anything.”
Ilea nodded.
“Just as Apostle Beris governs all Contracts, Mapheltan has likely become the sovereign of darkness itself.”
Within polar night, Mapheltan was nearly omnipotent.
“It’s all thanks to you.”
A faint smile crossed Ilea’s face.
“It was a valuable experience for me as well. If I had not been with Mapheltan, I would never have had a chance to touch a Demon Core. This strange feeling I experienced just now will surely become a stepping stone toward Transcendence.”
Everything was fuel for growth.
Even the helplessness she had just tasted was immensely valuable to Ilea.
She had found another reason to strive forward.
Mapheltan gave a quiet laugh.
“A genius who even has the drive to improve. I’m already worried. You may achieve Transcendence alone and leave without a backward glance.”
Ilea shook her head.
“I will not leave Mapheltan behind. I’ll wait until we can achieve Transcendence together.”
The moment she finished speaking, a shadow crossed Mapheltan’s face.
“Even if you ascend to the Higher Heavens, only a terrible fate awaits you.”
Ilea tilted her head.
“What? What do you mean...?”
“Exactly what I said.”
Mapheltan did not say meaningless things.
Everything he said always became reality.
Ilea could not help growing suspicious of the Higher Heavens.
“Please explain in more detail.”
“That is impossible for now. We will discuss it again someday.”
The original story of this world, Inmarok, had a terrible ending.
Every story was trampled underfoot, and in the end, only emptiness remained.
Those who had achieved Transcendence were the cause.
As their numbers grew one by one, the world was ruined.
Mapheltan had to stop that outcome.
Ilea’s eyes turned calm.
“Mapheltan, you keep planting doubts about this world within me. Is that deliberate?”
Mapheltan nodded.
“That is right. I want you to uncover that secret yourself.”
There was only so much Mapheltan could say.
The Prohibition continued to bind him.
“If I realize something, will that benefit Mapheltan?”
“We will be able to remain together. As companions with the same goal.”
Ilea pondered Mapheltan’s words for a moment.
Only after a considerable time passed did she speak.
“Good. I will somehow uncover whatever is looming over this world. That must also be why Mapheltan always acts as though he is being chased.”
Mapheltan answered evenly.
“There is no need to push yourself yet. Whatever the case, the matters before us are more important now.”
Ilea looked thoughtful.
“We should deal with the Emperor first, then?”
“Shaperia is working on that matter.”
“Then the Second Zone of Narak is about all that remains.”
The issue of the Subterraneans had not yet been resolved.
Mapheltan intended to bring them to the surface.
The Grand Duchy of Myatro would become a nation where intelligent beings other than humans could also live.
The Subterraneans’ migration would be the first step.
“As it happens, there is a full moon tonight.”
The Narak Gate was open.
Interest flickered in Ilea’s eyes.
“Am I coming with you as well?”
Mapheltan spread his enormous wings.
“I need your help. Through this trip to Narak, we must resolve every minor issue at once.”
There were several important goals.
The Subterraneans’ migration, giving reproductive ability to Arne, the World Tree subspecies, and Yeriyan’s resurrection.
Mapheltan intended to resolve all of it at once.
“Please wait a moment. I’ll quickly prepare.”
Mapheltan shook his head.
“I have already packed everything.”
“The Celestial Womb too?”
“Of course.”
The Celestial Womb was a Holy Relic meant to resurrect Yeriyan as an Angel.
Ilea leaped onto Mapheltan’s back.
Mapheltan had now grown large enough to carry her.
“Let us go at once.”
The magical beast-like Demon soared into the air. In his wake, pitch-black darkness descended.
Even flying openly, no one could make out his form.
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
