WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B
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◈ Whispers of a Scheming Demon ◈
Chapter 37: Scribe of the Evil Book (2)
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After leaving the lord’s castle, Johan rode all day. After sunset, he flew until he was on the verge of collapse.
After great effort, he achieved his goal.
He had completely left Myatro territory.
‘This should be far enough.’
He had no strength left to move.
He needed rest.
Somewhere in the southwest, Johan settled among the ruins of an old castle.
Leaning against a half-destroyed stone pillar, he unfolded a map.
‘I’ve come a long way.’
He was already more than several hundred kilometers from the lord’s castle.
He tried to pinpoint his exact location, then gave up.
There was something ridiculous about a pitch-black demon carefully studying a scrap of paper.
Johan let out a long sigh and looked up at the night sky.
“Only the view is nice.”
Stars were scattered across the vast curtain of night. They looked like jewels strewn across black paper.
It was an incomparably beautiful sight, but Johan felt nothing.
He preferred the hazy sky without a single star. He missed the days when he mistook artificial objects drifting through space for stars.
He wanted to go home.
A bitter smile escaped him.
He did not have enough time to prepare for Kaiaje, yet here he was indulging in weak thoughts. He seemed to be mentally exhausted.
It was only natural. Since possessing this body, he had not slept properly even once.
Once this matter was over, Johan decided to rest for about a day.
It happened during that brief moment when he let his guard down.
The ground shook several times.
The stars in the night sky began to tremble as well.
Heaven and earth quivered as though they were struggling to contain an unbearable existence.
Johan abruptly raised his upper body.
His red eyes fixed on the edge of the horizon.
A small dot entered his sight.
“Already...?”
By the time he noticed it, it was too late.
The overwhelming presence was already right before him.
The blast of wind arrived a moment later.
The remaining pillars and rubble of the ruined castle scattered in every direction.
Johan was swept away as well and crashed into a castle wall.
Black blood burst from his mouth.
Cough, gasp.
His body slid down the wall and fell to the ground.
At the same time, a magnificent voice, like the roar of a wild beast, rang out.
“I have come to see the Thirteenth End. Guide me.”
A gigantic magical beast stood before Johan.
Its massive body covered the night sky and was as large as a fortress. Its pair of wings stretched across the horizon.
Its pitch-black mane fluttered as if alive.
Dark crimson eyes glinted with a vicious light.
It was Kaiaje, the Archdemon Scribe of the Ominous Book, with the body of a black lion and the wings of an eagle.
Its overwhelming majesty crushed heaven and earth.
Johan groaned under the pressure.
‘...It’s even more terrifying than Beris.’
An Apostle divided into ten pieces could not compare to the Archdemon before him.
According to the original work, demons ranked in the double digits of the lower realm possessed an entirely different presence.
That description had not been wrong at all.
As Johan grimaced under the pressure, Kaiaje stamped one foot.
The ground shook as if it would shatter.
“Imp, can you not hear me?”
Johan did not protest that he was not an Imp.
To Kaiaje, an Imp and a juvenile demon would probably seem much the same.
Perhaps irritated by Johan’s silence, Kaiaje let out a thunderous roar.
It felt as though Johan’s eardrums would burst.
He steadied his breathing.
‘If it looks down on me, it’s over.’
Kaiaje was a demon that valued strength and violence above all else. The moment Johan was branded as weak, even an Apostle would become prey.
He had to act and show that he was not someone to be taken lightly.
There was a perfect example to imitate.
Apostle Beris.
The way Beris had spoken and acted toward lesser beings passed through Johan’s mind.
‘As arrogant as possible. With confidence that pierces the heavens.’
Beris had ultimately fallen because of that arrogance, but this was a moment that required such an attitude.
Johan met Kaiaje’s eyes directly.
Suppressing the pressure, he barely managed to open his mouth.
“...How irreverent. Whose feet do you think you stand beneath, to open that stinking maw?”
Silence fell at once.
Without saying a word, Kaiaje stared at Johan.
An uncomfortable exchange of gazes followed.
The urge to twist his entire body seized Johan.
But he did not move a muscle.
The first to speak or move would lose.
At least, that was how Johan saw it.
The silence continued for quite some time.
Kaiaje moved first.
It began scraping the ground with its forepaw.
It was an incomprehensible act.
‘Is it drawing a Corruptive Formation?’
It might have been preparing a curse.
Johan was tense, but he did not move. He merely looked at Kaiaje with an expression of utmost ease.
A moment later, Kaiaje took several steps back.
Letters had been carved into the ground.
The moment Johan read them, a hollow laugh escaped him.
─ Grant me permission to speak.
The act had worked.
Kaiaje no longer carelessly opened its stinking maw.
It was showing a certain degree of respect toward an Apostle.
But it was not satisfactory.
‘Permission? That sounds strangely like an order.’
Depending on how one heard it, the tone was coercive.
Johan frowned.
“Insolent. First, lower yourself to my eye level.”
Kaiaje was looking down at Johan. It could not be helped because of its size, but Johan could not allow it.
He was acting as an arrogant Apostle.
‘Beris would find this situation offensive.’
Kaiaje growled low. It sounded like boiling lava.
It was deeply displeased.
Johan spoke.
“Even with intelligence, you are no more than a beast. Disappointing.”
Crunch. Crunch.
The sound of grinding teeth echoed out.
Johan clicked his tongue and turned away.
At the same time, Kaiaje’s body slowly lowered.
Its enormous wings drooped to the ground, and its belly touched the earth.
A beast as large as a fortress lay before Johan.
Their eye levels still differed because of its massive size, but this was acceptable.
Johan opened his mouth.
“Everything about you is a mess. I do not even feel inclined to correct you. My time is precious, so state your business briefly and leave.”
Kaiaje’s dark crimson eyes flickered with competitiveness. It could not acknowledge a young Apostle who did not even possess proper dignity.
It did not want to bow its head.
As an Archdemon that had existed for a thousand years, it wanted to show the Imp before it the gulf in their status.
Despite that desire, Kaiaje could not act rashly.
It was because of Johan’s attitude.
Confidence bordering on arrogance, unexplainable composure, and eyes that looked upon lesser beings. Every word and action of the young Apostle carried an atmosphere similar to that of the other twelve Apostles.
Kaiaje’s gaze traveled over Johan’s entire body.
It was an extremely irreverent gaze.
Johan fell into thought.
‘Should I point it out?’
Based on his attitude until now, it would be right to become angry.
No Apostle would tolerate Kaiaje’s behavior.
But Johan was not an Apostle. More precisely, he lacked the self-awareness of one.
He was only an actor, so he had no choice but to judge even the smallest action carefully.
‘If I provoke it any further, it may resort to brute force.’
The moment that thought crossed his mind, Johan clicked his tongue.
If an actor could not immerse himself in a role, the audience would inevitably realize that everything was an act.
The most important premise for Johan was that no one discover his true nature.
Just as he had acted as a demon since possessing this body, now he only had to imitate an Apostle.
Had he not done better than anyone until now? Hiding his weakness, concealing his identity, and acting like a real demon.
From now on, he would act like an Apostle.
“Rude.”
Johan swung his arm. His long red claws raked across Kaiaje’s eyes.
They did not leave even a scratch.
Kaiaje growled low and lowered its gaze.
“If you have no business, disappear.”
As soon as Johan finished speaking, Kaiaje slowly raised its upper body.
The beast standing on two feet was large enough to block out the night sky.
‘Is it going to attack?’
Johan was somewhat tense. He had no means of opposing it.
Even if he used the relics he had taken from the Forbidden Archive, he would only be able to buy himself a chance to escape.
‘I did not have enough time to prepare for it.’
This was an unexpected development, so Johan had to overcome the crisis with nothing but quick thinking and instinct.
Just as he was about to take out a relic from his backpack, Kaiaje spoke.
“I have something to offer you.”
Kaiaje grasped the empty air with both forepaws.
A strange sight followed.
Kaiaje was tearing apart the night sky as though it were a sheet of paper.
A blood-red crack settled in the air like a wound.
Johan sighed inwardly in relief.
‘That went well.’
A sheet of glass the size of a person fell from within the crack.
Kaiaje spoke.
“Chapter Thirteen of the Ominous Book, the Book of Deception and Chaos.”
The rectangular glass panel landed upright before Johan.
Black letters were inscribed across its transparent surface.
─ O All Evil, raise your head. Let us sing of the Thirteenth End.
Several other sentences were recorded as well, but Johan’s attention was drawn away from the writing.
‘A mirror?’
The glass reflected Johan’s appearance.
The demon was nowhere to be seen.
In its place stood the figure of a young boy.
‘...Why, when it’s night?’
At this hour, his demon form should have been reflected.
Johan considered it for a moment before speaking.
“Why does it take this form?”
His question contained two doubts.
First, why was the Ominous Book in the form of a mirror?
Second, why did the mirror reflect him in human form?
Kaiaje opened its mouth.
“The Ominous Book is made in a form that represents an Apostle’s identity. Consider the purpose of a mirror.”
Johan looked at the Ominous Book.
‘A tool that reflects oneself.’
That was the only purpose that came to mind.
Johan spoke with a subdued expression.
“Can you see my appearance in the mirror as well?”
If Kaiaje could see Johan in human form, it would cause considerable trouble.
“Only Apostles can touch the original Ominous Book. As its Scribe, I merely record evil deeds in the Ominous Book. I cannot interact with it directly.”
As Kaiaje spoke, it flapped its wings several times.
A single black feather fell and fluttered through the air, beginning to transform into a tiny fairy.
“A writer who will record your evil deeds in my place.”
It was a setting Johan already knew well.
A lesser demon that recorded an Apostle’s life. If it wrote in the Ominous Book, the same words would automatically appear in every copy of the Ominous Book.
In other words, every human possessing a copy would learn of an Apostle’s actions.
Johan clicked his tongue.
“My actions will be revealed to the whole world.”
“You will review every sentence, so no record you do not want will remain.”
“That is welcome news.”
“That concludes my business.”
Kaiaje spread its massive wings.
Both horizons were covered by pitch-black shadows.
As it slowly rose into the air, Kaiaje spoke.
“Remember one thing. Do not let them take the Ominous Book.”
“Them?”
Kaiaje looked toward the distant mountains.
“The insects have gathered.”
At the same time, it kicked off the ground and soared upward.
The blast of wind swept through like a typhoon.
The enormous magical beast occupied every corner of the night sky.
From far above, Kaiaje spoke.
“Commit evil deeds worthy of your status and gain power. All Evil has yet to acknowledge you.”
It roared and raced through the air. Space tore and split apart along its path.
Then a resounding shout rang out.
“Block its escape route first!”
“Surround it!”
A white glow spread out beneath Johan’s feet.
Brilliant white equations were being drawn.
A Holy Power Spell Formation.
An anti-demon binding spell.
The Great Saint Church had already arrived.
Clerics began appearing one after another.
All of them were surrounded by bright white light.
A priest, tense with fear, stared at Johan and muttered,
“That thing could not possibly be...”
“W-White Horn!”
A juvenile demon with a white horn. The subject of an unbelievable report claiming that it had treated Apostle Beris like a dog.
The Great Saint Church had provisionally designated him White Horn and even formed an investigation party.
“Do not approach it!”
“Buy time!”
Before the main force arrived, they had to keep White Horn bound.
Johan let out a long sigh.
‘One obstacle after another.’
He took the Ominous Book and flew up in an instant.
At the same time, countless chains rushed toward him.
They were Holy Power spells that rose from the formation.
“Catch it!”
“Do not let it escape!”
It seemed escaping would not be easy.
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