WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Whispers of a Scheming Demon ◈
Chapter 46: Welcome Reunion (2)
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Ilea could not take her eyes off Johan. More precisely, she was staring into the air above his head.
She looked utterly mesmerized.
“Ilea?”
A puzzled look crossed Johan’s face.
“Johan, what in the world is that?”
“If you mean...”
“The crack above your head.”
Johan looked up into the empty air.
There was nothing there.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Ilea shifted her gaze to the red-furred Imp.
“What about you?”
“There’s nothing there. You’re seeing things!”
Ilea slowly nodded.
“It seems I’m the only one who can see it.”
There was clearly a grotesque crack hanging in the air.
Space itself looked crumpled and crushed, as though some unknown force had torn through the very dimension.
After falling silent in thought, Johan muttered,
“...Could it be?”
Could the aftermath of that strange phenomenon still remain? If so, perhaps Ilea could see its remnants.
“Johan, what exactly happened to you?”
The sun had not even risen yet, but Johan was in his human form. A strange crack hovered above his head, and his young body looked utterly exhausted.
Everything about Johan’s situation was abnormal.
“Let’s move somewhere else first. This is going to be a long story, and this place is inconvenient.”
He wanted to escape the barrier as soon as possible.
The longer they delayed, the more variables and dangers they would face.
“Then shall we go to a nearby village first? In your current condition, it would be hard to make it all the way back to the territory.”
His frail, exhausted body could not endure a forced march of several hundred kilometers.
That fact made Johan keenly aware of his own weakness.
‘I can’t neglect investing in my human side either.’
As soon as he returned to the territory, he intended to make a training plan. He would have to get Gaf’s help.
With that resolve in mind, Johan said,
“You’re right. Let’s stay somewhere for the night.”
He began walking.
The anxiety he had felt while moving alone had long disappeared.
With Ilea beside him, he would be safe from most threats.
Her arrival had come at an excellent time.
Hiding his satisfaction, Johan quickened his pace.
“Wait a moment, Johan. There’s something I still need to take care of.”
Ilea looked at the Imp. She held out her palm.
The surrounding air grew cold.
The Imp remembered that dreadful chill all too clearly. Trembling in fear, it shouted,
“W-what are you doing all of a sudden?!”
“You know the Apostle’s identity. We can’t leave you ali...”
Johan cut in.
“We’re taking it with us.”
The chill in the air vanished at once.
“Are you serious?”
“Yes. I promised. I should keep my word.”
The fear on the Imp’s face turned into a triumphant grin.
“I’ve overcome a great trial! Witch, no matter how extraordinary you may be, you must no longer look down on me! I am the right hand of the End!”
Ilea glanced at Johan.
He was quietly snickering.
“I think I understand.”
Ilea nodded as though she understood everything.
“As expected of a Witch! You understand quickly! From now on, show me proper respect!”
“So it’s basically Johan’s little pastime.”
Johan did not bother answering. He only shrugged.
The Imp’s already red face alternated between red and blue.
“A-a little pastime?! How dare you say that to the Hellfire of Narak!”
Ilea lightly flicked her index finger. Freezing air surrounded them.
“It’s rather noisy. May I seal its mouth for a while?”
“Do as you like.”
As Johan nodded, the Imp’s mouth gradually began to freeze over.
No more words escaped it.
Mmph, mmph. Only muffled groans echoed out.
“Much quieter now.”
The mountains fell silent again. Mountain birds chirped from time to time, but almost all artificial noise had faded away.
“I could fall asleep.”
Johan’s tension suddenly melted away. Sleepiness washed over his exhausted body.
“Would you like me to carry you? Get some sleep.”
Ilea smiled playfully.
“I’d rather collapse.”
“You don’t need to be embarrassed. We share a heart, after all.”
“Why don’t you seal your mouth too?”
“That hurts my feelings.”
Ilea made a tearful face. It was obviously an act.
“That’s good to hear. At least it’ll be quiet for a while.”
“You’ll have a harder time than I will. We still have at least five hours of walking ahead of us.”
Even the nearest village was quite far away.
“It’s that far?”
“Yes, so prepare yourself. I really won’t say a word.”
Pretending to sulk, Ilea took the lead.
Silence lingered for a while, but it did not last long.
Before either of them realized it, they had begun talking again.
As they spoke of everything that had happened over the past two days, they arrived at the edge of the Holy Power Sealing Formation.
* * *
The curtain surrounding an area with a radius of several dozen kilometers would never permit demons to pass through.
If Johan had been a demon, he would have lost consciousness the instant he touched the barrier and been caught by the Great Saint Church’s surveillance network.
But he was human.
He could pass through the barrier without paying any price.
The same was true for Ilea. A hastily made barrier could not distinguish between a Witch and a human.
The problem was the Imp. As one of the lowest-ranking Lesser Evil Spirits among demons, it could never cross the curtain on its own.
The Imp stared helplessly beyond the barrier.
Johan and Ilea had already passed through it.
Separated by ripples of golden light, their fates had diverged.
“Great End...!”
The Imp looked at Johan with desperate eyes.
There was nothing Johan could do for it.
“That’s unfortunate.”
“You’re abandoning me!”
Johan briefly glanced at Ilea. A Witch surely had a way, but she merely looked away and would not even meet his eyes.
‘It can’t be helped.’
He did not want to rely on Ilea for something so trivial. It was not a matter of pride. Rather, if he carelessly accumulated debts, he might one day receive a bill he could not afford.
The Witch in the original work was someone who always collected what she was owed.
Johan needed to keep the interest as low as possible.
He shrugged.
“There’s nothing I can do right now. I’ll tell you where I live, so come find me once this situation is settled.”
The Holy Power Sealing Formation would be dismantled someday. The Imp could move then.
Letting its limbs droop, the Imp said with a dejected expression,
“I shall serve your great undertaking. Then, please grant me a name.”
Johan snickered and turned away. Just as he was about to start walking again, Ilea let out a short sigh and said,
“You’re already such a hassle.”
She lightly flicked her finger. A small gap began opening in one part of the barrier.
Johan looked at Ilea expressionlessly.
“I thought you wanted to get rid of it.”
“I do. There’s no reason to carry around useless baggage.”
“Then why?”
“It may be baggage, but it’s also Johan’s toy. Everyone needs some amusement. That Imp provides entertainment, so a little trouble is worth it.”
“...A toy.”
Johan let out a laugh at Ilea’s blunt choice of words.
‘She isn’t wrong.’
Johan had taken the Imp in purely because it interested him.
“Yes, a toy. More and more interesting creatures will gather around you, Johan. Until then, you can use that Imp and throw it away when you’re done.”
Johan had become an Apostle. Surely many demons would seek him out for all sorts of reasons.
Ilea regarded every one of them as toys.
“That really is how a Witch would think.”
“Is that so? I’ll take it as a compliment.”
Johan glanced at the Imp.
As expected, it showed fierce competitiveness toward Ilea. Its thin limbs trembled as it glared at her.
Of course, it could not resort to physical force.
The difference in power was far too great.
In a furious voice, it muttered,
“...Great End, this vile creature shall prove it. I am no pitiful clown, and I am not lacking in the slightest as the End’s right hand. I shall become the Hellfire of Narak and show that Witch exactly what I am!”
Ilea answered with a relaxed smile.
“Your resolve is admirable. I’ll cheer for you, though I won’t expect much.”
The Imp glared at her, silently swallowing its resentment and determination.
Johan said,
“Stop tormenting it and let’s go. I want to reach the village by noon at least.”
“If we hurry from now on, we’ll make it. I have a place in mind.”
“I hope we can get horses there.”
“Of course we can get horses. Depending on the circumstances, we may even find a way to turn this whole situation around.”
A way to turn the situation around? Johan had no idea what Ilea was thinking.
“What do you mean?”
“We’ll talk about it properly once we get there.”
As though she would say no more, she began walking ahead.
Johan did not press her further and followed.
The Imp followed them as well.
* * *
Whitten was the largest granary settlement in the southwest, located within Count Bariego’s territory. Its harvests were so abundant that it remained prosperous even in winter, and its population exceeded two thousand.
In terms of scale alone, it was closer to a small city.
Even House Myatro, with its vast territory, did not possess a village this large.
Johan could only feel disappointed. If Gryan and his ancestors had been just a little more competent, House Myatro would have had a financial foundation like this and then some.
The land in Myatro’s territory was just as fertile.
Looking at the entrance to Whitten, Johan said,
“We’ll have more than enough horses here.”
“That’s not all. This place is full of life.”
“You’re stating the obvious.”
“Doesn’t this place bring anything to mind?”
Johan frowned.
“You’ve been frustratingly vague since earlier. Just get to the point.”
A little while ago, Ilea had said there was a means here to turn the situation around.
She was clearly building up to that.
“I considered Johan’s situation. There are many side issues, but in the end, the main point is one thing. The Holy Spear lodged inside you. That’s the root of all this.”
She was right. He had fallen into the valley after being pierced by the Holy Spear. Because of the wound it had caused, he had lost ‘demon’ Johan, and Gawain, who had come to retrieve the Holy Spear, had been left suspicious of him.
In the end, the Holy Spear was the problem.
“So what is your conclusion?”
Johan’s expression had darkened considerably.
“You’ve probably already realized it. There’s a way to deal with the Holy Spear lodged in you while turning this crisis itself into a fortunate opportunity, isn’t there?”
Without answering, Johan looked down at his ring finger.
Kazan’s corrupted ring, an abomination, rested there.
Ilea nodded.
“That’s right. If we corrupt the Holy Spear into an abomination, most of our problems will be solved.”
Holy Spear Espada left wounds on a demon’s body that could not be healed. If it were corrupted and turned into the opposite kind of abomination, Espada would no longer eat away at ‘demon’ Johan.
Instead, it would crave a human body.
With its trait of burning demons gone, the wound remaining on ‘demon’ Johan would naturally vanish. As an added benefit, Johan would obtain a Grade 4 abomination.
Johan gave a hollow laugh as he looked at the village.
“So in short, every person here is a living Sacrificial Offering?”
“That’s right. There are enough of them to corrupt a Grade 4 sacred relic.”
Living lives were needed to create an abomination.
The moment Espada, a Grade 4 sacred relic, was corrupted, the lives of roughly two thousand people would be extinguished.
This village would fall completely into ruin.
“Considering everything, there’s no reason not to do it.”
“Shall we draw a Corruptive Formation? Like last time.”
The Imp, which had been listening to their conversation, its eyes lit up.
“A great evil deed shall begin here!”
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