Whispers of a Scheming Demon - Chapter 36

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B

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◈ Whispers of a Scheming Demon ◈

Chapter 36: Scribe of the Evil Book (1)

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Johan hurried out of his room.

He was going to meet his birth mother.

‘There’s a mountain of things I need to ask.’

Questions filled his mind, but his priorities were clear.

First, he had to learn about the demon who had lain with her.

That demon had to be Johan’s biological father. Depending on what kind of being it was, Johan’s future course would change considerably.

Tension rose within him for no apparent reason.

What he was about to hear would have a profound effect on his future.

Johan took a deep breath. He had already arrived before a room at the far end of the third floor of the lord’s castle.

His birth mother had secluded herself there, in one of the least frequented areas of the castle.

Johan knocked on the door.

At the same time, it slowly opened.

A small, frail woman with reddened eyes looked at Johan.

The moment he met her gaze, Johan became a little dazed. He had so many questions, yet none came to mind.

He stood frozen with his lips tightly shut.

Amid the strange silence, his birth mother spoke first.

“...You’ve grown so much.”

Her voice was sorrowfully subdued, yet remarkably clear. Though she looked ready to cry, life had returned to her expression.

She was different from before.

She had regained her senses.

The widow who had wandered in a daze was gone. All that remained was a mother worried for her child.

She gently stroked Johan’s cheek.

“I’m sorry. Please forgive this wretched mother of yours.”

Johan had no idea how to respond. As someone raised in an orphanage, the very existence of a mother felt unfamiliar to him. There was no manual for a situation like this.

That affectionate gaze felt far too foreign as well.

Without realizing it, Johan took a step back.

The hand resting against his cheek withdrew awkwardly.

“...I was thinking only of myself again. I’m truly sorry.”

The woman’s voice trembled with guilt.

What was he supposed to say to her? He had no idea.

He simply wanted to escape these unfamiliar emotions and this situation.

Johan blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

“A-are you feeling all right?”

Perhaps she had not expected the question. The woman looked at Johan in slight surprise, then offered a faint smile.

“My child, you needn’t worry about this mother. There’s something else you truly wish to know, but I can only tell you that it is not yet time.”

“...I only want to know who my biological father is.”

“A Prohibition has been placed upon his name. Please understand.”

A Prohibition was a promise engraved upon the world, an unwritten law.

If a being was bound by a Prohibition, merely uttering that name would cost the speaker their life.

For now, there was no way to learn his biological father’s identity.

Disappointment crossed Johan’s face.

The woman spoke with a sorrowful expression.

“There is only one thing I can tell you now. Beware the Scribe of the Ominous Book. Kaiaje will soon come to find you and put you to the test.”

Kaiaje, the Scribe of the Ominous Book. Anyone who had read Inmarok knew of the Archdemon.

Kaiaje was the scribe who created and oversaw the original Ominous Book, recording the evil deeds of the entire world. The first chapter of the Ominous Book kept in the Forbidden Archive was also Kaiaje’s work.

Johan could not hide his bewilderment at Kaiaje’s name.

“Why would Kaiaje come looking for me?”

“Kaiaje is keeping your Ominous Book.”

“Don’t tell me Kaiaje intends to give it to me...”

“That’s right. You are the master of Chapter Thirteen of the Ominous Book. The moment you came into contact with its original, your existence must have become known throughout the Lower Realm.”

In other words, Johan was truly the Thirteenth Apostle of the End.

He looked directly at his birth mother.

“How much do you know?”

He could not bring himself to call her Mother.

“A little more than the tip of the iceberg. But that is all the advice I can give you. I’ll say it again, take care of yourself. Kaiaje is a far crueler and fiercer demon than you think. If you cannot convince Kaiaje, you will be in serious trouble.”

Johan also knew Kaiaje’s true nature well.

Kaiaje was so vicious that the Archdemon was known as a beast of hell.

The moment Kaiaje looked down on him, Apostle or not, Johan would become prey.

“Can you tell me when Kaiaje will come?”

“It could be today, or it could be tomorrow. But one thing is certain. You do not have much time.”

Johan felt as though he had been struck by a hammer.

‘Today or tomorrow?’

The moment that Archdemon manifested in the lord’s castle, every plan Johan had made would be ruined.

The Kingdom, the Empire, and the Holy Kingdom alike, every power in the world would turn its attention toward Myatro territory.

Johan had no way to handle that much attention yet.

He hurriedly turned around.

‘I need to leave the territory as quickly as possible.’

Kaiaje must never manifest in Myatro territory.

Just as Johan began to move, he suddenly looked back at the woman.

“One last thing...”

He could not finish.

Her eyes had already clouded over.

Her mind was gone again.

“Ha.”

A bitter laugh and a sigh escaped him at once.

It was frustrating, yet his chest felt heavy.

These were unnecessary emotions when something so important lay ahead, but Johan could not easily cast them aside.

‘Focus on Kaiaje first. The rest comes after.’

Steadying himself, he spoke.

“I’ll come back later. Until then, please take care of yourself too.”

With that, Johan left the room.

He planned to take only the bare necessities from the Forbidden Archive before leaving the territory.

* * *

Darkness fell. Once the curfew was announced, the lights illuminating the streets disappeared one by one.

Myatro territory was buried in darkness.

The only light came from the church, softly alight as it absorbed moonlight.

From a guest room in the lord’s castle, Shaperia looked down at the village church.

“Saint Marziel. Please grant me an answer.”

She traced a sacred sign with her fingertips.

Normally, the light of Holy Power would have embroidered a five-pointed star into the darkness, but not now.

Her sacred gesture could not take shape.

It held no Holy Power.

They said prayers without Holy Power could not reach the Great Saint.

‘Should I find a priest to pray on my behalf?’

Praying on behalf of ordinary people was one of the clergy’s primary duties.

That was why nobles always kept priests close at hand.

Shaperia herself had received such requests several times.

That no longer applied to her.

She traced the sacred sign once more.

‘There must be a reason for this. Even without Holy Power, I must not forget my duty.’

Even the lowliest people could love the Great Saint. They, too, had a role in the faith.

And had she not received the Great Saint’s Blessing? Her current hardship surely was a trial meant for some purpose.

If she focused on her duties, one day the Great Saint would call upon her again.

For now, it was time to focus on the task entrusted to her.

Shaperia let out a long sigh.

Investigating the knight Rail was her duty, but it was far too vague a task.

After the Ominous Book incident, the Great Saint Church’s investigation party had left the territory. Shaperia alone remained behind to search for clues about Rail.

Naturally, she had found nothing.

Only baseless speculation ran rampant.

‘There’s nothing concrete.’

Every recent event surrounding her was full of questions.

The appearance of Apostle Beris, her sudden angelic awakening, the subsequent loss of her Holy Power, the Ominous Book’s reactivation, and the strange appearance of the Horned Demon. Of all those events, the Horned Demon’s existence confused her the most.

‘What was that thing?’

A juvenile demon with a snow-white horn. She could still vividly remember it treating Apostle Beris like livestock.

Even a Horned Demon was just a demon. How could it treat an Apostle with such contempt? It was completely beyond reason.

That was not her only question.

It had spared Shaperia.

It could clearly have killed her, yet it simply left.

No demon would act as it had under the same circumstances.

They had only one purpose.

Humanity’s extinction. Demons were beings that killed humans whenever given the opportunity.

But it was different.

‘Did it say it didn’t want to dirty its hands?’

It had spared Shaperia for such a ridiculous reason.

She had reported it to the Great Saint Church, but received no meaningful answer.

All they said was that they would designate it White Horn and conduct an investigation.

‘...White Horn.’

If she met it again, she would ask for the reason directly.

It was then, while she was deep in thought, that thunder suddenly rolled through the air.

Startled, she looked out the window.

Then she was stunned.

The night sky was splitting apart.

A crimson afterimage raced through the tearing darkness.

A thunderous roar poured down upon the earth.

Space itself screamed as it was cut and raked apart.

Shaperia’s eyes widened.

“What is happening now...!”

Disasters had been occurring every other day.

This did not look ordinary either.

Had the end truly begun?

An overwhelming sense of danger began to consume her.

Her breathing became painfully rapid.

The occasional roars that reached her ears gripped her heart.

For a brief moment, she stood there in a daze.

Then pillars of Holy Power shot up in distant places.

Churches, dioceses, monasteries, and the like that had noticed the strange phenomenon had raised beacon fires.

They were calling for aid.

As if answering their summons, Holy Power made its presence known throughout the south.

Countless clerics began to move.

Large and small clusters of light pursued the crimson trail carved across the night sky.

Shaperia could not remain still either.

She quickly prepared herself.

Having lost her Holy Power, she intended to at least perform Consecration and fight.

Her faith and fighting spirit remained intact.

She might break, but she would never bend.

Shaperia immediately left her room.

* * *

Unlike gods, demons demand a specific price for wishes.

If someone wanted fertile land, red blood had to flow through the water veins. For that year’s abundant harvest, human flesh and entrails had to become fertilizer.

Assuming the conditions were met, the reward was certain.

Rich soil, crops that grew rapidly, and harvests far greater than usual. The sacrifice of a few people made everyone happy.

One deal with a demon was more effective than a hundred prayers.

Humans who experienced it could not help but worship demons.

Dafone Village, a small farming community, was one such example.

They had cultivated land flowing with milk and honey using human blood and flesh.

Today was the day they prayed for a good harvest.

They had prepared peddlers and slash-and-burn settlers as Sacrificial Offerings for the demon.

That had been the case only a few hours ago.

Now, most of the villagers lay sprawled across the cold ground, becoming fertilizer themselves.

The crops would grow, but there was no one left to harvest them.

“What a waste.”