Whispers of a Scheming Demon - Chapter 65

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Whispers of a Scheming Demon ◈

Chapter 65: The Moonshadow Mausoleum (7)

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“Let’s make a deal. What will you give me?”

Mapheltan smiled coldly, and a deep shadow fell across the Dark Elf’s face.

Their already dark complexion seemed to sink into pitch-black darkness.

Hostility and killing intent poured from their entire body.

The Dark Elf muttered in a low voice.

“...You are arrogant.”

Without warning, black radiance began to gather in their hand.

‘Dangerous.’

Mapheltan quickly raised his upper body from the ground.

He immediately widened the distance between them.

At the same time, a beam of black light shot from the Dark Elf’s hand.

Its pitch-black path scraped across the ground before surging toward Mapheltan’s horn.

Mapheltan twisted his head. A sharp whistle of air passed by his ear, and heat grazed his cheek.

He had barely avoided it.

The gouged earth was burning black.

‘That nearly cut off my horn.’

Mapheltan was deeply startled, but he did not show it.

He simply spoke with a relaxed expression.

“If I die, you will lose quite a lot. Do I really need to explain each thing to you?”

First, Raguel would die.

The only Elf remaining in this world would disappear.

Furthermore, the Dark Elf would never learn the details of the contract between the World Tree and the Witch.

Any rational being would be unable to kill Mapheltan.

The Dark Elf stared silently at Mapheltan. They were likely considering what to do with him.

It was meaningless deliberation.

The best choice had already been decided.

The Dark Elf opened their mouth.

“I suppose I will have to play along with your bullshit.”

Mapheltan let out a short laugh.

“So you can understand what you are told.”

“What do you want from me?”

The Dark Elf would have to pay Mapheltan something in return.

Mapheltan pretended to think before speaking.

“Fine. For the sake of our amicable relationship, I’ll give you this much for free.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean I’ll tell you without asking for payment. I would also like you to let some of your resentment toward me go with this.”

The Dark Elf could not help harboring a grudge against Mapheltan.

No matter what, because of Mapheltan, they had lost the seed they had cherished for five hundred years.

“Impossible.”

Mapheltan shrugged.

“I thought so.”

“Just tell me the terms of the contract.”

Mapheltan nodded.

“The destruction of the mausoleum. That is what the Witch promised the World Tree.”

The Dark Elf’s eyes narrowed.

“...What?”

“It means exactly what it says. The World Tree wants this graveyard to disappear completely, even if it means becoming the Witch’s Familiar.”

The World Tree was utterly exhausted. It wanted to put an end to its empty hope and five hundred years of suffering.

It no longer wished to hear its children crying.

It thought it would be better for everyone to enter eternal rest together.

After giving its children eternal peace in advance, the World Tree intended to close its eyes as well once its contract with the Witch ended.

The Dark Elf’s eyes trembled.

“...Why would Mother do that?”

“Well, Mother has felt the futility of life. Honestly, do you not feel the same?”

Demons could originally live on hatred for humanity alone.

The demons trapped in Narak were somewhat different.

They wished to soar.

They wished to reclaim their former glory.

That was impossible for the Elves.

They lacked the ability to germinate the World Tree Seed.

Every Elf, including the World Tree, knew that well, and their will only weakened as time passed.

Now, only hatred for humanity remained.

Yet the emptiness left behind by the ideals they had once cherished was too vast to fill with anger alone.

A suffocating void would inevitably return from time to time.

The Dark Elf had lived while feeling that same emotion every moment.

They closed both eyes. Once the jade glow vanished, the Dark Elf looked like nothing more than a black silhouette.

Silence passed.

After remaining lost in thought for a long time, the Dark Elf opened their eyes again.

“So this truly was our tomb.”

The Moonshadow Mausoleum. As its name implied, Narak’s First Zone was the Elves’ graveyard.

“I think differently. Why must you be buried here?”

“Mother wishes for an end. We cannot disobey.”

Mapheltan shook his head.

“That is not what I mean. Even if you are going to die, choose where you will be buried yourselves.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“Leave the mausoleum. Go out there, take revenge on the humans who made you this way, and then die.”

The Dark Elf sneered.

“Mother has let go of everything. Even Mother has lost all hatred, so we have no reason to move.”

More than revenge against humanity, suffocating emptiness had consumed the Dark Elf.

Their helplessness was deepening by the moment.

Mapheltan spoke.

“I will give you a reason. If you attack a certain place, I will surely fulfill your long-cherished wish.”

“Our long-cherished wish?”

Mapheltan’s expression darkened.

“I will bring down Marziel, the moon. I will also bury his spirit and flesh in your graveyard.”

Trample upon the greatest divine throne in this world? It was absurd, yet the Dark Elf found it difficult to simply laugh it off.

Mapheltan was far too serious.

“...You are an interesting one.”

“Does that sound like an empty boast or a joke?”

“It certainly does.”

Demonic Energy crept up from Mapheltan’s entire body.

He spoke in a chilling voice.

“The Thirteenth Apostle of the End will surely uphold the contract with the Dark Elf.”

At the same time, his low voice began to change into an ancient demonic language.

『The Thirteenth Apostle of the End will surely uphold the contract with the Dark Elf. (Vel'thaz un'kareth Draz’thul ven’kora Nyth’el un’zarak vol tharyn.)』

It was a Word of Authority engraved upon himself.

When a Word of Authority was used in this manner, the intent engraved within it tended to exert a stronger effect.

The Dark Elf was visibly shaken.

“...What are you?”

Mapheltan spoke expressionlessly.

“Now that I think about it, I never introduced myself. I am the Thirteenth End, Mapheltan, Seat of Deception and Chaos.”

The Dark Elf was overcome by a profound sense of dissonance.

The Horned Demon before them gave off an unusual scent, but he was still only a juvenile demon.

He seemed to be of no great rank and lacked the overwhelming presence of other Apostles.

A young demon with an odd atmosphere. That had been the Dark Elf’s assessment of Mapheltan.

Yet Mapheltan had used a Word of Authority.

That was decisive proof that he was an Apostle.

A Word of Authority was an Authority granted only to Apostles and gods.

If he could use a Word of Authority, he was an Apostle.

The Dark Elf’s pupils trembled faintly.

“I do not know how to take this.”

There could only be twelve Apostles from the beginning.

Yet a Thirteenth Apostle? With that unquestioned rule broken, their mind was overwhelmed.

Mapheltan shrugged.

“Interpret it however you wish. My identity is completely unimportant to our conversation.”

After considering it for a long time, the Dark Elf spoke.

“I cannot acknowledge you.”

“Fine. I don't much care. I only want to offer you a deal.”

“...The part about bringing down the moon?”

“To be precise, you must attack a specific place I choose.”

“Where?”

“The capital city.”

The heart of the kingdom. He planned to strike it directly and divert at least some of the countless eyes focused on the south.

The Dark Elf let out a hollow laugh.

“I do not know what the capital is like now, but if I am correct, you are telling us to walk straight into our deaths.”

“Exactly. You can run wild there and die together.”

“Ha!”

“You were planning to be buried in this mausoleum anyway, were you not? If you are going to die, at least get a taste of blood first. You will also fulfill your long-cherished wish.”

The Dark Elf found his shameless words somewhat absurd.

“Just what are you...”

“If that is not enough, I will promise one more thing. The reconstruction of Elven civilization. Someday, your brethren will live on the surface again. Those are my terms.”

“That would be difficult with only one High Elf.”

Elves were not hermaphrodites. They needed a mate to reproduce.

Unfortunately, Raguel was the only Elf in this world.

“Difficult does not mean impossible. You know that as well.”

This world held countless miracles.

For example, one could gather every Holy Grail and use a wish to create a single female Elf.

The Dark Elf spoke.

“Young demon, do you understand the weight of a Demon Pact?”

A Demon Pact placed one’s life itself as collateral from the start.

If they truly made a contract, its conditions had to be fulfilled without exception.

Slaying Marziel and restoring Elven civilization. Mapheltan would have to achieve two impossible tasks.

From the Dark Elf’s perspective, it was essentially impossible.

Mapheltan opened his mouth.

“You're stating the obvious. I'm not foolish enough to be unaware of a contract's weight.”

Quiet confidence rested on his face.

He looked too calm for it to be mere recklessness.

As though he had already calculated everything.

The Dark Elf was slightly flustered.

They muttered softly.

“You are strange in many ways.”

“Now answer me. Will you make a contract with me and turn the capital into a sea of fire, or will you be buried alive in this mausoleum?”

The Dark Elf needed time to judge the matter rationally.

* * *

There was a city that remained brightly lit even in the depths of night.

Orbs of light made from Holy Power floated leisurely above the city, while a pentagram atop the church cast a soft moonlight over the ground.

This was Arterium, the capital of the Artelga Kingdom.

It was a fortress city that completely barred demons. An Anti-Demon Surveillance System and a Demon Exclusion Barrier were maintained here around the clock.

No demon dared approach Arterium.

The moment one set foot here, its black blood would evaporate in an instant.

Even if a demon survived, it would eventually be slaughtered by Holy Knights and high-ranking priests.

Over the past two hundred years, Arterium had not permitted even a single demon to invade.

The capital's residents knew nothing of the fear of demons.

Even when a strange Magic Formation unfolded above the city, they merely found it fascinating and chatted cheerfully.

“Mom, what is that?”

“What? Where?”

“Over there, that web-like thing in the sky.”

“Didn't the church say they were holding some sort of ceremony today? I don't know.”

“Whatever it is, it is so pretty!”

“It is, ha ha!”