Chapter 280
Chapter 280. The Noose Tightens (3)
Step, step.
Watching Yulian walk, followed by Pintel, Lazlot held his breath.
Even without looking around, the atmosphere felt as though the air had stopped, and the tension was palpable.
Even the "Twilight" who had brutally demonstrated their power in the ceremony were now looking at the approaching Yulian with visible fear.
"Yu... Yulian."
Naturally, Hugo, who had been captured, felt the same. Shivering as if he had seen the Reaper, Hugo whispered Yulian's name with trembling lips.
Creak.
In the tense atmosphere, the only distinct sound was Yulian dragging a chair across the floor.
Crunch, crunch.
Hugo started grinding his teeth through his trembling, his face alternating between flushed red with anger and ghostly pale with terror, as if his mind were breaking down from the mix of fear and rage.
"It seems the Donatien school prefers such gloomy settings."
Yulian's demeanor suggested he didn't know Hugo well. More precisely, Yulian seemed to recognize Hugo's "name" but showed no signs of a deeper connection.
However, mentioning "Donatien school" implied he had realized Hugo's connection to Aiden.
"Anyway, to the members of Twilight here."
Placing the chair in front of Hugo, Yulian glanced around and spoke.
"Well done. Sir Pintel's excellent discernment is evident here as well."
"Thank you, Sir Yulian."
The Twilights from the Rahman tribe expressed their gratitude with voices full of reverence as they looked at Yulian.
Creak.
Yulian pushed the chair a little closer, then sat down and crossed his legs.
"Sir Aiden was the same. Come to think of it, I recently found Sir Aiden below here. Did you see him?"
Yulian spoke with a slight smile.
Most of those present knew Aiden was dead. It wasn't difficult to guess the meaning behind his words.
"You, you... you!"
Hugo, filled with rage, glared up at Yulian with bloodshot eyes.
"Please don't look at me with such eyes. Doesn't it make you feel sorry?"
"My master sacrificed everything for the development of magic! He would never die at the hands of someone like you!"
Caught in a whirlwind of emotions, Hugo spat out his anger. Yulian merely shrugged at Hugo's outburst.
"That's nonsense."
"... What?"
"He did things worthy of death, so he died. What more reason is there than that?"
Though a blunt statement, Lazlot found Yulian's words agreeable.
Aiden committed atrocities enough to make one frown, so saying "he did things worthy of death" was quite fitting.
"However, I hope Sir Hugo doesn't make the same mistakes as Sir Aiden."
Yulian spoke again.
"Where are the remaining horns of the Demon God?"
He had left someone alive during the destruction of the Gu Poison Hall Eulsis managed because he thought that even if the "horns of the Demon God" weren't there, someone involved might know.
"I may not intend to pledge loyalty to his highness Eulsis, but do you think I would tell someone like you?"
"I just said I hope you don't make the same mistakes as Sir Aiden, didn't I?"
Step.
Yulian unfastened the scabbard from his waist and showed it to Hugo.
It was a sign that if an unsatisfactory answer returned, he would draw his sword.
"... Ugh."
Seeing this, Hugo's lips trembled. His face, overcome with fear, turned pale, and his gaze gradually lowered away from Yulian.
"S-save me."
The strong resolve Hugo initially showed was no longer visible on his face.
"Haa."
But as Hugo's will broke, Yulian's face only darkened.
"You don't know."
From his demeanor, it seemed Yulian figured out that Hugo didn't know where the "horns of the Demon God" were.
Though Yulian wore a smiling face, his tone unmistakably conveyed disappointment.
Hugo's eyes began to flicker with a dangerous light.
They were the eyes of someone cornered and desperate enough to do something rash.
Having experienced such expressions countless times, Lazlot noticed it instantly.
"You, damn it...!"
As expected, Hugo began preparing something as his body twitched. Mana started to stir within him.
Whoosh──!
Sensing it, one of the members of Twilight swiftly rushed in and stabbed Hugo in the left chest.
Hugo flinched once before he quickly perished.
"Hmm?"
However, "something" had already started to happen.
The "resonance stones" used to weaken the Demons locked behind bars began to lose their light one by one.
"A rat, when cornered, will bite a cat. That seems to be what this means."
Yulian chuckled awkwardly as the resonance stones crumbled, and Demons began pouring out.
"Ugh."
As the Demons erupted forth, scattered bones and scraps of clothing within the cage caught Lazlot's eye.
"It seems that anyone involved with Sir Aiden is like this."
As if he were familiar with horrendous situations, Yulian unsheathed his sword. That was the cue for the other "Twilight" members and Pintel to assume combat positions to prevent the rampaging Demons.
Amid this, something strange happened.
"What is this...?"
The member of Twilight, preparing to swing his scimitar, was bewildered and murmured.
Lazlot was equally startled.
― Grrr...
The Demons, who had been frantically charging towards them, suddenly halted in place, emitting low growls.
"... The hornless Demons have stopped?"
Pintel was equally confused. "Hornless" meant the Demons were considered the lowest rank.
At the same time, it implied that they were so governed by the Demon God's "residual thought" that they retained nothing but instinct.
Barring other Demons, they kill everything they see and consume it. That was their behavior principle.
"Is there a possibility that a uni-horned or higher-rank Demon is commanding them?"
"There are no uni-horned or higher... nearby."
"Sir Yulian!?"
Surprised by the sudden behavior of the Demons, Lazlot looked at Yulian approaching them slowly with astonishment.
No matter how formidable Yulian was, being attacked by a swarm of Demons posed a danger.
Yet surprising developments unfolded.
The Demons parted to make way for Yulian as he walked.
"Hmm."
Yulian sighed lightly and waved his hand in the air.
"What on earth...!?"
Then the Demons began to lower their heads to the ground and growl, as if responding to his gesture.
'What is this?'
Faced with an impossible situation, Lazlot was startled and wondered internally.
It was the first time he had witnessed such a thing—a Demon kneeling before a "human" and surrendering.
Although, forcefully inducing "submission" was not outside the realm of possibilities as Lazlot had heard such rumors before.
But.
'Isn't this rather a complete loss of combat spirit!?'
This seemed different. The Demons before them appeared as if they were humans paying obeisance to an 'Emperor'.
"Azim ul Azim...!"
Watching Yulian, one of the "Twilight" members murmured and knelt.
"Azim, ul Azim."
Other members from the Rahman tribe also knelt before Yulian.
***
===
⇒ Trait, 〈Quasi-Demonic Nature〉's power has manifested.
⇒ Subdues hornless Demons.
===
So, it was this ability. Having noticed the system window pop up suddenly, I thought internally as I looked at the Demons kneeling.
This was the power obtained when 'Angelica' absorbed the shard of the Demon God's Chalice.
It was the ability to subdue the weak, hornless Demons.
'Hmm.'
Uttering strange cries, the Demons had their heads pressed to the ground. Even as I slowly approached them, they showed no signs of raising their heads.
'Shall I?'
Drawing my sword, I struck down on the head of the nearest Demon. Although blood splattered, the Demons still did not rise.
'The constraining power is quite strong.'
Having sheathed the sword, I shifted my gaze to the Twilight members. I intended to instruct them to handle the Demons.
'... What is this?'
My eyes fell upon the Twilight members, who were bowing their heads to me, just like the Demons.
'Are you all Demons too?'
The thought lingered, but I knew. They did not have demonic energy. They were merely kneeling of their own volition.
"Tw..."
A brief choke of my voice.
"Twilight members, could you take care of the Demons?"
"Azim, ul Azim."
Instead of replying, they chanted strange words and drew their scimitars.
'Isn't that Rahman language?'
It wasn't an unknown language. However, I didn't understand it so well as to grasp the meaning completely.
With a perplexed expression, I headed towards where Pintel and Lazlot stood.
"It seems the Demons are wiser than expected. To discern Sir Yulian's charisma."
Pintel commented with a refreshing laugh.
'Is it even possible to suppress Demons with charisma?'
I wondered, but returned Pintel's words with a faint smile.
"Lazlot."
I called Lazlot. Among them, Lazlot was still capable of rational thinking.
***
As Yulian called, Lazlot immediately came to him.
"Did you have a conversation with them?"
Yulian asked, glancing at the Twilight members.
"Why are they acting like this?"
"Pardon?"
Lazlot was surprised by his question.
He had assumed Yulian orchestrated this scene intentionally.
He believed Yulian had chosen this spectacle to leave a strong impression on the Rahman tribe and draw them into the New Dawn Society by dealing with the 'Eastern Demon' Gerard.
"Explaining it is somewhat complex..."
"Hmm."
At Lazlot's words, Yulian stroked his chin. Though he rarely showed emotion, a hint of annoyance briefly showed.
"Weren't you aware?"
Lazlot asked.
Wasn't it planned to utilize the "Demon of the East" as an entry point to completely subdue the Rahman tribe into the New Dawn Society?
Hadn't Pintel been urged to push them in this direction?
"It's just a sudden thought, but don't overestimate me too much, Lazlot."
What returned was a piece of advice from Yulian urging Lazlot not to overestimate him.
Lazlot was dumbfounded by Yulian's insistence on not overestimating his capabilities.
"My abilities aren't that vast. It's no exaggeration to say that I'm no different from any ordinary person around."
Why was he saying this all of a sudden?
Lazlot pondered internally.
"I mean to say, don't be discouraged if your thoughts don't align with mine."
Lazlot understood Yulian's effort in conveying the message.
Even a person indifferent to others' perceptions can get trapped by external judgments.
It seemed Yulian was wary of that. Therefore, he intentionally downplayed his evaluation and asked to be treated like an "ordinary person."
"I understand."
Lazlot nodded, signaling his comprehension.
"However, if his highness Eulsis reacts to this event, what will you do?"
"I'm quite timid. You could say I'm even timider than the average person."
A continuation of his earlier comments, perhaps.
"If his highness Eulsis makes a move before he reacts to this event, we must devour him. There's no other way."
Yulian spoke with a smile. Watching this, Lazlot shook his head in disbelief internally.
'... Claiming to be timider than the average person.'
Declaring that he will devour the Third Prince before he makes a move.
Lazlot thought amusedly that Yulian's definition of "normal" was surely different from what he perceived as the norm.
Clacky's Corner:
20 chapters left.