WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B
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◈ Whispers of a Scheming Demon ◈
Chapter 26: Assault (3)
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Having lost himself, Kryll slowly mounted his horse. Following Johan's orders, he would head straight for his base.
The moment he returned, he would kill himself.
Once Kryll's subordinates witnessed that scene, House Myatro would be free of all responsibility, and Johan would inevitably become the sole heir in both name and reality.
The plan had nearly succeeded.
Gaf watched Kryll ride away and spoke to Johan.
“Everything went exactly as you intended. Are you satisfied?”
Johan showed no reaction. There was not even a hint of joy. His expression was as sunken as the abyss.
Gaf looked at him strangely.
“I thought you'd be dancing with joy.”
“Stop talking nonsense and help clean up the bodies.”
The limp corpses lay scattered carelessly across the ground. They had to be cleared away before anyone saw them. Not even the smallest piece of evidence could remain.
Johan began gathering the bodies in one place.
Most of the dead had their eyes wide open.
‘This is awful.’
Whenever he met their gazes, nausea rose in his throat. It was painful, but Johan did not show it. He simply closed the dead soldiers' eyes.
Watching him, Gaf murmured quietly.
“...I don't understand.”
Actions like that sometimes confused Gaf.
Johan had kept the Baron, Raguel's father, alive for Raguel's sake. He had sent the Tribute Maidens home. And now, he was showing something close to compassion for dead soldiers.
At times, a humanlike demon. It was an utterly unfamiliar existence.
Gaf muttered as he looked at Johan's back.
“So this is what a Half-Demon is?”
Johan dusted off his hands after moving the bodies.
“Don't just stand there. If you're done, set them alight.”
A little over ten bodies had formed a small hill.
They all had to burn.
Gaf set fire to the wooden frame enclosing the bodies.
The flames spread in an instant. The bodies began to burn fiercely.
By the time the smoke rose high enough to touch the sky, the surroundings had slowly begun to brighten.
The sun was rising.
Johan's form scattered like smoke. In the place where the demon had stood was a small boy.
His black eyes stared blankly at the ashes.
Gaf spoke.
“There's something I'm curious about.”
“Ask.”
“Do you feel guilty?”
“Would that be strange?”
“A little.”
Johan gave a short laugh.
“I am a demon, after all.”
Gaf shook his head.
“More precisely, you're a Half-Demon.”
Johan looked at Gaf with surprise.
“I thought you said all those with black blood were the same.”
“I haven't changed my mind. Even a single drop of black blood is enough to steep a human in evil.”
Johan shrugged.
“Well, that isn't wrong.”
“So what evil deed are you preparing now?”
The first goal, killing Kryll, was complete.
It was time to move on to the next.
“We need to deal with Shaperia and steal the Great Saint's corpse fragment. Shaperia comes first.”
Shaperia was the greatest variable in this world and a troublesome enemy in the future.
He had to deal with her somehow before she could grow stronger.
The corpse fragment being transported by the Pilgrimage Party was a sacred relic Johan desperately needed, but there were ways to obtain it later.
That was why he had set his priorities.
Gaf spoke.
“It sounds like you're saying we'll attack the Pilgrimage Party.”
“Exactly.”
Gaf's expression crumpled.
“It's recklessly foolish beyond words. There are only two of us, while they have nearly a hundred people in total. And that's not all. There are Holy Knights among the Pilgrimage Party. They're monsters beyond human limits. The moment we face one, we're dead.”
The Holy Knights in the novel Inmarok were truly overwhelming beings. The Holy Power they released burned demons down to their souls, leaving not even ash behind.
Their physical combat ability was also unmatched.
Where their holy swords swept through, demon corpses piled up like mountains, and black blood flowed like rivers.
The current Johan and Gaf could never defeat them.
Johan unpacked his bag as he spoke.
“I only fight battles I can win.”
His bag was full of items whose purposes were difficult to guess.
There was a black jar covered in grotesque talismans, a green lump of solid matter nearly as fluid as liquid, an ornate box decorated with jewels, and many other small sacred relics and grotesque objects.
“What are all these?”
“Our weapons and our army. If we use them well, we can achieve our goal against the Pilgrimage Party and survive.”
Johan's eyes were full of certainty.
Gaf was used to seeing Johan like that.
That confidence. Whenever Johan promised something, it always became reality.
Gaf nodded as though he had given up.
“I hope your confidence has a basis. Always remember this. Your life isn't yours alone.”
The moment Johan died, Ilea would die too.
Gaf intended to help Johan however he could and protect Ilea.
“Don't worry. Let's go. I'll explain the rest of the plan on the way.”
Johan's expression stiffened slightly as he mounted his horse. A trace of unease stirred on the face that had been filled with certainty.
Gaf did not notice that subtle change.
Johan fell into thought.
‘Depending on the situation, I may have to give up the Great Saint's corpse fragment.’
It was because Ilea was absent.
There would be no problem if things proceeded according to plan, even without her. But if something unexpected happened, it would be difficult for Johan to control it alone.
If anything seemed strange, he had to pull out.
Life was the most important thing of all.
‘Should I have dragged her along by force?’
Johan shook his head.
A forceful attitude would worsen his relationship with the Witch.
Threats only worked once or twice. There was no guarantee they would keep working.
This time, he would not enlist her help.
Johan steeled himself once more and spurred his horse onward.
First, they had to catch up with the Pilgrimage Party.
* * *
In the late-autumn dawn, a fairly large military camp stood on a barren plain where the harvest had ended.
Nearly three hundred soldiers were packed within its long palisade, while guards on patrol filled the outside.
Every one of them wore a bored expression.
Nothing had happened for months. The dull days dragged on.
Their once-strict discipline had now grown completely lax.
They needed a battlefield. Mercenaries were the sort who could not live without blood and money.
“My body's itching to get moving.”
“Right? If I'd known it would be like this, I would've gone east. I hear things are still in full swing there.”
“We'd have done several jobs already.”
“Damn it. What is there to pick clean in this southern backwater? Why did the captain bring us here?”
“Just wait a little longer. Lord Kryll will arrive soon. He'll bring us some news.”
“As long as it isn't some bullshit about resolving things through talk...”
Before the mercenary could finish, someone shouted.
“Lord Kryll has arrived!”
The soldiers standing watch rushed toward the main gate.
They all tilted their heads in confusion.
“Why is he alone?”
“Exactly. Where are his guards?”
A single horse crossed the barren plain and entered through the main gate.
A guard quickly saluted.
“All clear during my watch!”
The rider gave no response. He only stared ahead with empty eyes.
“Lord Kryll?”
“What happened to the soldiers who went with you...?”
As though possessed by something, Kryll continued forward.
He looked tired. Just as everyone thought that was all it was, Kryll dismounted.
In the very center of the camp, he suddenly drew his sword.
Was he about to launch an attack?
Several soldiers cheered.
At the same time, Kryll slit his own throat with the sword.
His body collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.
Everyone doubted their own eyes.
An eerie silence fell over the camp.
* * *
“Move the queen to d3.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
Ilea moved the queen across the chessboard to the square Raguel had called out.
“Then I'll place my knight on e4.”
“Ah! Wait a moment!”
“Yes, checkmate.”
Raguel's shoulders slumped.
Ilea smiled gently.
“It was an unfair match from the start. You had to remember the positions of every chess piece.”
Raguel was blind and could not see the board. He had no choice but to play from memory.
“I think I'd still lose to you even if I could see.”
“You never know. The result could change in an equal match. Honestly, your skill exceeded my expectations.”
He was quite skilled for someone blind. His short-term memory seemed remarkably good.
Raguel waved his hands.
“Don't flatter me. A match is a match, so ask whatever you want. I'll answer.”
Raguel had proposed a bet to Ilea.
The loser would answer any question the winner asked.
But Ilea had nothing in particular she wanted to know from Raguel.
She had only gone along with it.
Ilea spoke.
“Hmm... How about this? Since you had a penalty, we'll call the match a draw. Instead, we each get one question to ask the other. What do you think?”
“C-can we really do that?”
“Of course. You first, Young Master. What were you so curious about?”
Raguel hesitated before speaking.
“I want to know how you became close with Johan. From what I've heard, well...”
“Witches eat demons?”
“R-right.”
Ilea let out a small laugh.
“Don't worry. I won't eat Johan.”
“W-well, you did seem close.”
Ilea spoke with a thoughtful expression.
“Hmm, it was more that Johan held my father's life as collateral. He used our bond to completely bind my father and me.”
She spoke of a terrible story in a calm tone.
Cold sweat ran down Raguel's face.
“...I'm sorry. I had no idea.”
“No, it's fine. Johan did well, as a demon should, and I'm quite satisfied with how he handles himself.”
Raguel could not understand their way of thinking at all.
He immediately changed the subject.
“I-it's your turn now. I'll answer anything, so ask me whatever you want.”
After thinking for a moment, Ilea spoke.
“Then how did you become close with Johan, Young Master? No matter how I look at it, the two of you don't seem suited to each other.”
A shadow passed over Raguel's face. It was guilt.
“I made a contract with Johan out of greed. He said he would give my eyes back.”
“You mean your sight?”
“That's right.”
Ilea tilted her head. As far as she knew, there were almost no ways to restore a lost body part.
Even the highest-grade Holy Water could not do it.
Not unless a saint's body, a Holy Relic, was transplanted...
At that moment, her conversation with Johan flashed through Ilea's mind.
“I want the Great Saint's corpse fragment. Open the container holding the body. Your magic can do it.”
Deep in thought, Ilea suddenly gave a quiet laugh.
“He really is an impossible demon.”
“Hm?”
Raguel could not keep up with the sudden change in mood.
Ilea rose from her seat.
“Let's play chess again when I return. Next time, under equal conditions.”
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