Chapter 254 : Chapter 254
Chapter 254 : Lust Demon, Raziel (2)
***
Time flowed, and the two people who had been master and disciple at Aleos Academy were now facing each other as the head and member of the Imperial Magic Corps.
A modest office where the smell of old paper lingered like a mere scholar's study.
The one who broke the silence first was Gunt.
"Raven."
"Yes, Commander."
"That impudent thesis you wrote back then. 『The Irreversible Consumption of Mana and the Forced Reduction Theory』."
Gunt asked in an indifferent tone without taking his eyes off the documents.
Raven, sitting opposite him, smiled faintly. He still remembered that quite well.
"Has there been any progress?"
Only then did Gunt raise his head.
Conversely, Raven lowered his eyes as if avoiding that blatant gaze.
TAP, TAP.
Instead of opening his mouth right away, he lightly tapped the armrest of his chair with his finger.
His old memories are dotted with his own arrogant and vicious desires.......
He looks them up for the first time in a while.
'The Phantom Demon's assimilation ability.'
It was the source of inspiration that led him to come up with that bold thesis.
'The way we Eight Demons enjoy eternal life is simple.'
We just have to insert our Remnant Orb, our essence and the aggregate of our soul, into a physical body, and that's it.
In that process, the original host's soul is erased, and the physical body is relegated to literally being an empty shell.
'But the Phantom Demon is different.'
Her assimilation wasn't a simple 'overwriting', but a 'fusion'. A truly divine authority that encroaches on the target's soul and body to ultimately become one and conceive a completely new result.
What Raven coveted was the very principle of that authority.
Outer Ones. The fragments that fell off from the great primordial 'One'.
Among them, even the Eight Demons who perform their respective providence without forgetting their mission like higher-tier entities—
'Are ultimately nothing but imperfect, finely chopped pieces.'
What if, by applying the Phantom Demon's fusion method, he could absorb all the other Outer Ones?
What if he didn't simply steal shells, but added and mixed fragment and fragment to mold a massive lump again?
Furthermore, if he could even harvest all this damn mana that ruins the balance of the universe.
'I can return to the first One again.'
The path where he himself becomes the sole head of the Outer Ones, and the providence of the world itself.
That 'impudent' thesis Gunt mentioned was actually no different from a kind of blueprint hastily scribbled out half-jokingly, outlining the framework of that sweet desire.
'......Keuk.'
However, Raven soon swallowed a self-deprecating chuckle.
'The theory was quite plausible, but the wall of reality was high.'
Possessing a brilliant brain, his objective self-evaluation was also quick and thorough.
In the end, he too was nothing but one of numerous fragments. If he blindly shoved pieces harboring different providences into one body, there was a high possibility that not only would the physical body be unable to endure it, but even the Remnant Orbs containing their souls would be destroyed. The limits of his vessel were far too clear to realize his arrogant ambition.
Setting aside the physical problem of maintaining form, there was absolutely no way to completely control the inner rampage that numerous heterodox egos would cause.
'Even though I at least gained a sliver of a clue from the ritual where that Blood Demon bastard squeezed out the life force of living sacrifices, even that bastard died so vainly, tsk.'
Ultimately, it was an impossible delusion unless he became an 'endless abyss' capable of accepting everything.
Raven, who had clicked his tongue, quietly looked down at his own palm.
'Still, it's not like there was no harvest at all.'
The long, long years of pretending to be a mage while deceiving the eyes of his siblings under the pretext of needing to know the enemy.
He successfully combined the peak of magic with sorcery, which was originally his specialty.
As a result, he reached the point of artificially twisting the Phantom Demon's assimilation ability to mimic a form of 'absorption' that steals and fuses the supernatural abilities of others.
Of course, due to the limits of his vessel, swallowing barely one fragment would be the best he could do, but—
'......Well, this much is a huge accomplishment.'
Raven, having organized his thoughts—
Lightly shrugged his shoulders.
"Well. What progress could there be. It was just a sophistry I babbled out trying to draw the Commander's attention once."
At the brazen words—
"......Is that so."
A bitter smile spread across Gunt's mouth along with a short sigh.
"What a shame."
Even though he had caught a glimpse of a sliver of possibility to change the world in that flashing madness.
***
"W-What......?!"
The Lust Demon's eyes, filled with astonishment, looked ready to pop out at any moment.
I twisted the corners of my mouth and put more grip strength into the hand gripping the bastard's neck.
"Are you deaf. I'm asking you. Absorbing, how do you do that."
CRACK!
"Keu, heuk!"
The bastard's two feet struggled uglily in midair.
He glares at me with bloodshot eyes, but—
"What are you gonna do about it?"
CRASH—!
I threw him against the wall. I strode over again toward the bastard who had fallen flat on the floor and was vomiting, unable to snap to his senses.
"W-Wait!"
He hurriedly reaches out his hand, but—
I ignored it, and this time, I grabbed the bastard by the hair and shoved him straight into the ground.
THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD!
Around the time fine cracks appeared on the solid floor, I loosely relaxed the strength in my grip.
Through the rapidly rising dirt dust, the bastard's face, turned into pulp, was revealed.
Vwooom—
When I gave him a brief opening, he pulled some kind of trick with his fingertips.
Without delay, I drew Toxeed and drove it down into the back of his hand where energy was gathering.
"Kkeuaaaaaak—!"
"You're looking down on me."
When I lightly twisted the sword hilt embedded in the back of his hand, a scream that sounded like it would tear out echoed.
At that time, a flinching presence was felt from behind my back.
SWISH—
"......!"
When I turned my head, the Phantom Demon, whose eyes met mine, flinched and trembled her body.
After warning her with my eyes not to pull any foolish tricks, I stared at the Lust Demon bastard again.
"I also have some expertise in torture, but I don't have the luxury right now. If you have no thought of telling me, just die here—"
"Wait! Pant, pant! Bihen Benkou! You bastard! H-How dare you!"
The sound of air escaping from my nose came out. How absurd.
"Is the bridge of his nose still not broken enough?"
"Cough! D-Do you think I would have recklessly appeared in front of you?"
"......What?"
"I'm asking if you think I thought I could grab your leash with just the life of that one woman. Keuk, not a chance."
The Lust Demon bastard's appearance was a sight to see. Blood flowed profusely from torn wounds all over his pulp-like face. Despite that, the smile did not leave the bastard's mug.
"Now you won't be able to lay a single finger on my body, Bihen Benkou."
SNAP!
The bastard flicked his blood-covered fingers.
At the same time, the massive stone door blocking the top of the stairs collapsed as if exploding.
RUUUMBLE!
A pile of rocks tumbled down along with thick dust.
All sorts of screams and shouts poured in through the gaping space. It seemed a battle was in full swing.
But that wasn't the problem.
Squelch— Squelch—
Some giant myriapod insects began to fill the collapsed gap. Disgusting appearances densely packed with eyeballs all over their bodies.
They were those Demonic Beasts the bastard controlled when I first met the Lust Demon.
Gurgle—
The insect Demonic Beasts tangled among themselves and ultimately blocked the collapsed gap again.
And among that pack, one particularly large guy wriggled down and smoothly uncoiled its body in front of me.
'......!'
What came out from inside was an unconscious Roxy.
"As someone who cuts magic, perhaps you might be able to see it. It'd be great if you could see it."
The Lust Demon, reduced to bloody pulp, snickered from the side. A laughing sound boiling with bloody phlegm scratched at my ears.
Through the vision of the Ghost Eye I had wide open before I knew it.......
A single distinct thread crossing through the empty air creepily revealed itself.
My eyes rolled stiffly.
That repulsive thread started from Roxy's belly and connected to around the Lust Demon bastard's chest.
"Ah, it seems you saw it. What a relief. Heh heh."
"......You, what did you do?"
"Well, as you can see."
The bastard widely lifted both corners of his mouth. His blood-soaked teeth were revealed.
"It's the blessing of a great stud."
***
Meanwhile, Shadow Village was in a chaotic melee where the martial priests and the Lust Demon's myriapod insect Demonic Beasts were tangled together. It was a veritable pandemonium.
"You must not, Young Master!"
A thunderous shout flew in. Bolero roughly grabbed Isaac's shoulder while deflecting the tentacles of a surging insect Demonic Beast.
"Please calm down!"
"Let go of this! Let goooooo!"
Isaac had completely lost his reason. It was right after the Demonic Beast that snatched Roxy disappeared into the collapsed stone door of the Sanctuary. The gap that had opened was blocked again with the insect Demonic Beasts tangling together.
CLAAANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Isaac crazily hacked at the bodies of the Demonic Beasts filling the gap, not even realizing that the edge of his sword was completely chipped. He was blind with the desperation that he had to get his sister back.
"Uwaaaaaah!"
However, no matter how much he struck down, it was useless. The squishy, slime-like bodies were hardened as solid as steel. The repulsive force, like striking a boulder, rather only made Isaac's wrists and grip snap and break.
SWISH!
In the meantime, the surrounding Demonic Beasts swarmed pitch-black behind Isaac's back. They seemed intent on guarding the stone door.
"Young Master!"
He couldn't even finish his words. Bolero clenched his teeth tightly. He was barely deflecting the tentacles flying in from all directions, but at this rate, they were on the verge of being eaten alive by the swarming pack of insects.
"Young Master! Bihen is inside, so it will be fine! More importantly, these bastards first—"
SQUELCH—!
The sound of flesh tearing dug into Isaac's ears. It was heard particularly loudly even amidst the ongoing commotion.
"B-Bolero......!"
Only then did Isaac's arms come to a dead stop. A long tentacle had pierced through Bolero's shoulder and was sticking out.
"Keuheueup!"
Bolero tightly gripped the end of the tentacle protruding through his body and broke it as if it were no big deal.
Dumbfounded by that ignorant, eccentric act, Isaac only smacked his lips. Still, thanks to that shock, his half-gone reason returned.
"A-Are you okay? The wound is......!"
"I'm perfectly fine with this much. More importantly, the situation is bad. We're completely surrounded and about to be done without being able to budge."
Bolero spat out the bloody water pooled in his mouth. All directions were swarming with packs of insects. It was truly like being isolated right in the middle of enemy lines.
It was then.
SWIIISH—!
A strong wind suddenly swept over the two people. Above the ferocious afterimage drawn horizontally, the severed bodies of the Demonic Beasts soared up in unison.
"Phew—"
A low and heavy breathing sound flowed amidst the bodily fluids and flesh pouring down like rain.
Stanley, who swept the area with a single strike, approached the two people.
"Because it's been a long time, it is quite unfamiliar."
Isaac and Bolero just blinked their eyes, stiffened. The fierce murderous intent of a veteran wild beast that had crossed the line of death for decades was rising behind the back of the old and shabby knight.
"Heueup!"
CRASH!
As Stanley slashed his sword vertically, the tangled pack of Demonic Beasts blocking Isaac's front was cut in half. A path opened in a single breath.
"Leave this place to me and hurry down."
Stanley spoke with his back to the two people. Above the old and crude blade he gripped, a blurry halo of light like a heat haze creepily gathered.
"Knight Stanley!"
THUD!
Stanley powerfully stepped his planted foot forward. The dust that rose in an instant wrapped around the scrawny old man. A ferocious glint of the eyes flashed between his matted, grease-stained white hair and bushy beard.
"Today is not the day I die!"
The old knight's fierce Lion's Roar resoundingly echoed through Shadow Village.