WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Whispers of a Scheming Demon ◈
Chapter 75: The Count's Domain (5)
──────
A great uproar spread through the Cult of the Evil God branch on the Shadow Realm’s second level.
“What is going on?!”
“I-it seems something went wrong during a summoning ritual!”
Thick Demonic Energy covered the entire cavern. An unfathomable presence pressed down on the space like gravity.
Everyone in the Cult of the Evil God was shaken.
The cultists hurried toward the summoning chamber, while the Lesser Evil Spirits swayed and danced in excitement.
“What in the world was summoned?!”
“Assess the situation first! Quickly!”
Countless cultists gathered in the summoning chamber.
The moment they entered, they froze stiff.
Everyone was rooted to the spot in horror.
They had come face-to-face with something far too vicious.
Eyes darker than blood gazed down from the air.
Enormous wings spread to either side, covering the summoning chamber.
Black mist flowed out without pause.
A chilling voice spoke in a low rumble.
“Your heads are held high, mortals.”
Black smoke clawed through the chamber.
Most immediately fell to their knees.
The heads of a few who failed to react were sent flying in an instant.
Fountains of blood erupted.
Even as their comrades’ heads fell at their feet, the Cult of the Evil God’s followers paid them no mind.
One of them cried out in a trembling voice.
“W-we greet the Great One!”
The rest repeated after them.
“““We greet the Great One!”””
The demon opened his mouth.
“Did you summon me?”
Everyone turned their eyes toward one place.
A newcomer in a black hood stood there.
It was Ilea.
She spoke.
“I called for you, O great End.”
The summoner instinctively knew the name and identity of the summoned demon.
The newcomer had called the demon before her the End.
In other words, an Apostle had descended upon the Shadow Realm.
The Cult of the Evil God’s followers shuddered.
The moment they had awaited for so long had come.
A high-ranking demon had been summoned.
And an Apostle stood before them.
For the Cult of the Evil God, their long-held wish had been fulfilled.
They prostrated themselves on the floor.
“Mapheltan, Master of All Evil! Cast down the hypocrites, and grant us freedom and prosperity!”
“We offer our souls and flesh to serve you!”
The Thirteenth End was the only Apostle remaining in this era.
If the being before them truly was an Apostle, he could only be Mapheltan, the Seat of Deception and Chaos.
Mapheltan spoke.
“This is deeply unpleasant. Did you think you could win my favor with nothing but a single scrap?”
The offering used for the summoning was a mysterious fragment of bone.
No matter which high-ranking demon had been summoned, they would have found it insulting.
Had a hot-tempered demon like Kaiaje manifested, the Cult of the Evil God would have been slaughtered on the spot.
As Mapheltan showed his displeasure, the air grew heavy.
One cultist spoke in a trembling voice.
“A-a satisfying tribute will soon be prepared! Please calm your anger!”
Mapheltan looked at him expressionlessly.
“I will hear it, then decide your fate.”
Confidence flashed across the cultist’s face.
“The Third Holy Grail. Before long, that supreme Holy Relic will fall into our hands.”
The Third Holy Grail was one of the First-Class Holy Relics. If the Grail were used as an offering, a demon from the single-digit ranks of the Lower Realm might be summoned.
The Cult of the Evil God had originally planned to conduct a proper ritual after obtaining the Grail, but events had unfolded quite differently from what they expected.
A high-ranking demon had suddenly been summoned.
The Cult was delighted, but also deeply flustered.
Mapheltan’s red eyes flickered.
“The Third Holy Grail is a treasure guarded with their lives by the Watcher’s bloodline. You believe you can take it from them?”
The Third Holy Grail was kept within House Myatro’s Forbidden Archive.
A cultist spoke.
“The master of House Myatro will soon change. The new lord has promised to provide our Cult with the Grail.”
The new lord referred to the Count of Staviana.
The Count had made some sort of contract with the Cult of the Evil God, and in exchange for that deal, he was required to hand over the Third Holy Grail.
Naturally, Mapheltan already knew all this.
Mapheltan fell silent for a moment. He was pretending to consider it.
Heavy tension filled the room.
After a while, he spoke.
“It does not move me. My heart is not stirred in the slightest.”
Anxiety crossed the cultist’s face. If they failed to satisfy Mapheltan, the entire Cult of the Evil God might disappear.
“T-the Grail is a First-Class Holy Relic containing Marziel’s Holy Blood! It will surely be of great help to the End!”
Mapheltan shook his head.
“The Holy Grails only fulfill their true purpose when all seven are gathered. One alone is nothing but a useless ornament.”
In short, it was a worthless prize.
The cultist swallowed dryly.
“B-but...”
There was a way to use it by corrupting it into an Abomination.
Mapheltan had no intention of considering that.
“The Grail has no value to me. Do not mention it again.”
His heavy voice struck like lightning.
As though it were a Word of Authority, it forced a Prohibition upon them.
The cultists trembled as they bowed their heads.
“We will offer other Holy Relics, or even tens of thousands of human sacrifices!”
“Please spare us!”
“We will somehow find a tribute that satisfies you!”
Mapheltan raised the corner of his mouth.
“What for? You already have it.”
Several cultists raised their heads to look at Mapheltan.
“W-we will offer it at once!”
“Just tell us what it is!”
Mapheltan spoke.
“I can sense intense Sacred Power from below. Have you imprisoned an angel?”
The cultists began watching one another carefully.
“It-it is not an angel, but we have a cradle that can gestate one.”
“It is certainly a precious Holy Relic, but it would be insufficient as an offering to the End.”
“T-that is right. We can offer any number of other Holy Relics instead.”
Their determination to protect the cradle was evident.
Mapheltan opened his mouth.
“A cradle that can gestate an angel. Interesting. I will accept it as tribute.”
Trouble showed on the cultists’ faces.
One of them gathered the courage to speak.
“Great End, the Celestial Womb does not actually belong to the Cult of the Evil God.”
The Celestial Womb was the Count of Staviana’s property.
Mapheltan frowned.
“Then take it by force and bring it to me.”
Ownership meant nothing to a demon.
Demons were creatures that took by force.
“I-if I may speak frankly, that would be difficult. The powerful person backing the Cult has lived solely for the Celestial Womb. Forgive us, but we cannot break that obsession.”
The Celestial Womb was a Holy Relic that awakened a human into an angel.
With the Celestial Womb, even a corpse could be resurrected as an angel.
There was someone the Count wanted to bring back.
His dead wife.
Mapheltan showed his displeasure. Thick Demonic Energy spread in every direction.
“The person who intends to use the Celestial Womb associates with you? That does not add up. Are you speaking falsehoods to me?”
The Celestial Womb was a Holy Relic powered by Sacred Power.
To activate it, one needed ties to the Great Saint Church, not the Cult of the Evil God.
The cultist swallowed dryly before speaking.
“He intends to corrupt the Celestial Womb into an Abomination. If it remains a Holy Relic, it can never be activated.”
A Prohibition had been placed upon the Celestial Womb.
Its use for personal reasons was forbidden.
One could not gestate an angel out of mere longing for someone.
Once it was corrupted into an Abomination, however, things would change.
The Prohibition would disappear.
A demon would be born in place of an angel, but the Count did not care.
He loved his wife. He ached for his dead beloved to the marrow of his bones.
If he could see his wife again, the Count was willing to endure anything.
He would not even care if he reunited with a wife transformed into a demon.
The Count’s obsession was that fanatical.
Mapheltan spoke.
“I have no interest in that man’s circumstances. I want the Celestial Womb. Do you dare stand in my way?”
The Count’s relationship with the Cult of the Evil God was solid.
Throughout their countless dealings, trust had never been broken even once.
The cultist looked troubled.
“H-how could we interfere with the End’s actions? However, for everyone’s future, please reconsider just once more. The Count is a capable man. If you use him well, you will achieve what you desire much more easily.”
Mapheltan opened his mouth.
“Seeing how strongly you try to dissuade me, the Count’s obsession must be considerable.”
“T-that is correct. If the Celestial Womb disappears, the Count will go mad. The Cult of the Evil God is not yet capable of enduring the consequences.”
Mapheltan’s smile slowly widened.
“Listening to you makes me want it even more. I want to see that man break. When a lifelong wish crumbles, humans cry out most beautifully.”
Malice curled around him.
The Lesser Evil Spirits burst into cheers.
The cultists lowered their heads with resigned expressions.
One of them spoke.
“...We will not dare raise any further objections.”
Mapheltan nodded with satisfaction.
“Take me to the Celestial Womb.”
The Celestial Womb was located farther underground.
“There is a being guarding the Holy Relic. Please keep that in mind, End.”
It was something Mapheltan already knew.
He immediately headed toward the Celestial Womb.
* * *
Flags bearing an eagle emblem adorned the vast plain.
Countless cavalrymen and a lavish carriage advanced through the night.
It was the army of the Count of Staviana.
Inside the well-guarded carriage, an old gentleman opened his pendant with a click.
A portrait of a beautiful woman was revealed.
“...Yeriyan.”
A faint warmth emerged in the old gentleman’s cold expression.
“We will meet again soon.”
His gaze upon the portrait was gentle.
The Blue Demon was nowhere to be found.
Before his wife alone, even the Count of Staviana was human.
After gazing at his wife for some time, his expression suddenly hardened.
A black crow flew to the window and tapped lightly at it.
The Count opened the window.
The crow tossed a note into the carriage, then flew away again.
The Count began reading it.
His expression turned as cold as ice.
Something had happened in the Shadow Realm.
He had to return at once.
The Count extended his hand out the window.
A knight immediately approached.
“Your Excellency, did you call for me?”
The Count spoke expressionlessly.
“We are returning to the domain.”
Confusion crossed the knight’s face.
“The Council will begin shortly.”
An emergency meeting had been called because of the Capital Assault incident.
The Count was the chairman of that gathering.
He was required to attend.
If he refused, he would be defying the king’s command.
The Count did not care.
“Do you intend to make me repeat myself?”
The knight immediately composed himself.
“My apologies. I will obey your command.”
The troops changed direction.
The Count looked at the pendant again.
“Yeriyan, I will not lose you. Even if I must trade my life for yours.”
A chilling determination filled his eyes.
The Count intended to stop at nothing.
Even if his opponent was an Apostle of the End.
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
