WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B
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◈ Whispers of a Scheming Demon ◈
Chapter 53: Choice and Resolve
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The once-noisy basement fell silent.
Instead of screams and cries, only ragged breathing could be heard now and then.
Gaf wiped away beads of sweat as he caught his breath.
“That bastard fought back to the very end. Made me waste more strength than necessary.”
The young man lay foaming at the mouth at Gaf’s feet.
His limbs twitched in spasms from time to time, and his eyes had completely lost focus.
The Imp shouted loudly.
“Even better! Thanks to that, I enjoyed myself properly!”
The Imp had grown a little larger than before. Its arms and legs were much longer too. It had grown thanks to human screams and cries.
Gaf’s gaze shifted toward the Imp. Murderous intent began to fill his eyes.
“Shut your filthy mouth. We didn’t do this for your pleasure.”
More than anyone, he despised demons. He still remembered the demon that had taken the lives of his wife and comrades.
“How dare you speak to End’s right hand!”
Before the Imp could finish, Gaf rushed forward and kicked it away.
Smack!
The small ball of fur flew into a pile of books. A cloud of dust rose.
Gaf strode toward it.
Johan clicked his tongue.
“Stop wasting your strength on pointless things and finish fastening the collar around the young man.”
Gaf stopped short. He glared at the Imp, then let out a long sigh.
“Do we really have to do this?”
Johan frowned.
“Didn’t I tell you? We need the collar to bring that maggot into the crack.”
Anyone other than Johan needed to wear the collar to enter the crack.
Gaf shook his head.
“That’s not what I’m asking. I’m asking whether you really need to reclaim your demon body.”
Johan currently had a choice. He could continue living as a human, as he was now, or return to being a Half-Demon.
Which was the right choice?
He had considered it countless times, but there was no clear answer.
Inmarok dealt cruel endings to both demons and humans. No matter what he chose to be, destruction awaited him at the end.
To survive, he had to rewrite that ending itself.
As he designed a new ending, he had to choose the more advantageous path between human and Half-Demon.
Johan opened his mouth.
“I need White Horn. I can’t throw it away.”
He had already made his decision.
He would live as a Half-Demon.
He did not know if it was the right answer, but he could only trust his own judgment.
Gaf’s voice lowered.
“I’d like to hear your reason.”
“There’s no way I can explain it, and I’m not confident I could convince you.”
“...Is that so?”
Gaf began fastening the collar around the young man. He looked calm, but there was bitterness in his expression.
Ilea, who had been watching, spoke.
“Father, Johan is always trying to do what is best. This choice must be part of that too.”
Gaf gave no answer.
Raguel spoke carefully.
“I-I don’t know much, but Johan isn’t an ordinary demon, so... wouldn’t there be circumstances he can’t explain, or reasons that are difficult to put into words? I-I think so.”
Gaf let out a quiet sigh.
“You’ve gathered quite a few spokespeople. You’ve thoroughly bewitched them.”
Johan shrugged.
“I suppose I’m talented. As a demon.”
“Yes, what could possibly suit you better than being a demon? Now all that remains is for you to reclaim your true body.”
The collar had been fastened around the young man.
Everything was ready for the living Sacrificial Offering.
All that remained was to enter the crack and activate the Corruptive Formation.
When Johan put on the familiar gold-rimmed monocle, the hidden crack appeared.
Johan looked at Gaf.
“Don’t be so prickly. Do you think I want to live as a Half-Demon? As Raguel said, there are circumstances I can’t explain.”
“I’m sure there are.”
“The day will come when you understand. I’ll be back.”
Johan grabbed the young man’s collar and reached toward the crack.
In an instant, his figure vanished.
* * *
『 First, do not open your eyes. 』
『 Second, do not remove the monocle. 』
『 Third, do not ask any questions. 』
The rules were hammered into Johan’s mind.
‘It still feels disgusting.’
The Word of Authority that burrowed into his mind forced his actions like a form of brainwashing.
The unpleasant pressure made Johan’s teeth grind. Being forced to accept the Word of Authority left him feeling powerless.
When they met again in the future, he would never tolerate that again.
“It’s good to see you. It has been a week. Have you been well?”
The moment Johan heard Garnish’s voice, he was seized by the urge to pour out questions. There was too much he wanted to know.
But because of the rules, he could ask nothing.
He had to think a little more cleverly.
Johan spoke.
“Don’t ask. You’ve been watching everything anyway.”
Earlier, Garnish had spoken as though they had been observing Johan’s daily life.
If that was true, it was an extremely unsettling situation for Johan.
He had to confirm it.
A snickering laugh echoed out.
“Leading questions. Very well. I will indulge you this once. I can only observe you while the crack is open, as it is now.”
Normally, the crack remained closed. It was temporarily open now because of the Third Prince, Gawain.
Johan said, “So you’ve been watching me for the past week.”
“Spying? I was merely taking an interest. You are quite diligent, after all. You train consistently as well.”
“If that is the extent of your interest, then you must know what questions I have.”
“As I said, I am indulging you only once. Do not try to approach the unknown through loopholes. There is pleasure in discovering things for yourself.”
Pleasure, my ass. Johan was so frustrated he could have gone mad.
“I’m getting tired of these riddles. I’ll finish what I came to do, so activate the Corruptive Formation.”
Garnish had previously promised to draw the Corruptive Formation.
“...Hmm, wait a moment. Since you have come all this way, I will give you one small piece of information. As you suspected, this is indeed the deepest part of Narak. Come down here after you have gained the proper qualifications. Then I will answer your questions.”
Just as Johan and Ilea had expected, the crack connected to the farthest reaches of Narak.
The deepest part of Narak, also called the Abyss of Narak. It was the grave of countless demons, a bottomless abyss that devoured all reason and common sense.
Even the Holy Heroes of old could not come and go freely from the Abyss of Narak.
To meet Garnish, Johan needed strength and stature equal to theirs.
As a human, strength that could stand shoulder to shoulder with the Holy Heroes of old.
As a demon, stature worthy of a true Apostle.
Only after acquiring both could Johan visit the abyss.
It sounded like something from a very distant future.
Johan gave a bitter laugh.
“You make it sound easy enough.”
“My attempt to help seems to have burdened you instead. Saying something like, ‘You can do it,’ would probably be meaningless, wouldn’t it?”
Of course, it would not help at all.
“Stop talking nonsense and activate the Corruptive Formation. This is becoming a waste of time.”
“Very well. I will finish it quickly.”
At the same time, a horrible cry burst out from somewhere.
“Uaaah! Hic! Aaargh!”
It was a scream containing nothing but primal terror, impossible to understand.
Garnish snickered.
“It seems the Sacrificial Offering has awakened. We should begin the ritual quickly. If he goes completely mad, his value as a Sacrificial Offering will decline.”
The one screaming was the young man Johan had brought.
A mere mortal was facing Apostle Garnish.
In the Abyss of Narak, no less.
There was no way he could keep his sanity.
“Uaaah! Aieeeek! Ugh!”
Frantic scratching could be heard, accompanied by heavy thuds, as though someone were smashing their head against the floor.
Johan’s eyes were closed, but he could infer the young man’s condition through sound alone.
It probably was not a pleasant sight.
『 A human body shall crawl into the darkness, ascend the altar of its own accord, and become black fuel. 』
The ritual began. As the brainwashing-like incantation flowed out, every sound the young man had made stopped at once.
『 Its name shall sink into oblivion, its existence shall dissolve into the muddy current, and at last it shall be assembled into the shell of an Ominous Star. 』
Immediately afterward, ghostly wails rang out. All forms of malice began howling as monstrous cries. The young man’s screams were clearly mixed into that terrible frenzy.
Johan wanted to cover his ears, but he endured it.
He could not show weakness.
He waited for the ritual to end with a calm expression.
Fortunately, the commotion did not last as long as he expected.
“It is finished.”
Silence had returned before he knew it.
“I can leave now.”
“Before that, let me offer one word of advice. For about ten days, you will act as a demon both day and night. Think of it as balancing the scales of equivalence. You have continued living as a human recently, so you must spend an equal amount of time living as a demon.”
The time spent living as a human and as a demon had to be balanced.
It was something Johan had learned for the first time.
It seemed there might be a way to make use of it.
“I understand.”
“Good. Let us meet again in the future. I will send you out now.”
“Before I leave, I have a warning of my own.”
A snickering laugh echoed out.
“Oh? A warning? Let us hear it.”
Johan slowly lifted his eyelids.
『 First, do not open your eyes. 』
The Word of Authority hammered into his mind, but Johan paid it no heed.
『 Donotopenyoureyesdonotopenyoureyesdonotopenyoureyesdonotopenyoureyesdonotopenyoureyes 』
He had shed his weak human body. The moment Garnish’s ritual ended, Johan had become a demon.
He could feel it instinctively.
Dense Demonic Energy circulated through his body, and power surged from every part of him. Countless Authorities filled his vision with red letters.
With a little exaggeration, Johan felt close to omnipotent.
At the very least, he could ignore a Word of Authority.
Johan’s eyelids opened completely.
Crimson eyes darker than blood gleamed in the Abyss of Narak.
A gigantic eye faced Johan.
Nothing was visible except for a pupil as large as a house. It was so black that its depth could not be measured. The gaze of an Archdemon that had existed for a thousand years pressed down on Johan’s body and soul.
The terrible pressure returned, but Johan did not close his eyes.
He could not avert his gaze.
If he had chosen to live as an Apostle, he had to act like one.
It was the expression of his resolve.
Johan spread his enormous wings to either side. Black Demonic Energy flowed from his mouth along with a chilling voice.
“Never use the Word of Authority on me again.”
His words began transforming into ancient demonic language.
『 The Second Apostle of the End, Garnish, shall not dare use the Word of Authority on me. (Shathûn’tol Nar’eth, Ganis vel, zhar’tak ni’vorel kha’reth. Dom’ar shelk.) 』
He was engraving a Word of Authority upon Garnish.
Great masses of Demonic Energy drained from Johan’s entire body.
Garnish murmured in a sickly voice.
“...Interesting. You are a very interesting person. I will remember your warning.”
At the same time, Johan’s vision went dark.
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