Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 250

250.

As if she had guessed the correct answer, Serpis—or rather, the being wearing her shell—widened her eyes into crescents. “Damn it,” Dezak cursed inwardly.

“So you’ve taken over Serpis’s consciousness. You’re resorting to all sorts of tricks now.”

“She is my loyal servant. She should be honored to be used for my sake.”

“The way you say that makes it sound like you can’t use your real body. There’s no reason to put Serpis forward otherwise… Could it be you’re sealed?”

For the first time, the smile vanished from the face that had been constantly smirking. Dezak chuckled and nodded. Unlike his face, which was trying to suppress his emotions, his mind was seething with excitement. Karian was sealed. The probability of Lukarim being safe had increased as well.

“I should have known. Even in that situation, you managed to create an opening and pop out. I must say, your persistence is remarkable.”

“…Ah, it was quite close. I almost got swallowed whole without even being able to do anything. I don’t know how fortunate it was that Serpis was by my side.”

The composure returned to the face of Serpis, or rather, Karian, which had momentarily stiffened. He wasn’t ashamed to admit it frankly. It couldn’t be helped that he had almost been defeated. At that time, he was clearly careless and hadn’t anticipated what would happen next. After all, who could have imagined it? That Lukarim, whom he had only regarded as a pawn of the Demon God, was actually the Demon God himself!

Yes, he was a Demon God. That overwhelmingly ferocious energy, that powerful presence as if he had the entire world under his feet! There was no way someone with such power could merely be a demon. The moment his authority was unleashed before his eyes, even as he struggled against the suffocating pressure, it felt like fireworks were exploding in his head. He felt a thrilling ecstasy as his limbs trembled. Ah, Lukarim was a Demon God! I made him reveal his true identity! Me, and no one else!

Unable to hide his excitement, Karian twitched his facial muscles. Seal? Who cared about that. What mattered was that he had survived. It wasn’t that he hadn’t been killed. It was that he couldn’t be killed even with his power. He felt like he had to teach the man before him just how significant that difference was. Karian smiled languidly. Sensing an ominous feeling, Dezak watched him warily.

“I don’t know what you’re planning, but if Lukarim sealed it, you won’t be able to undo it with Serpis’s power. There’s nothing you can do through her.”

“Well, is that really so?”

With a meaningful smile, Dezak felt a chilling energy engulf him. He hurriedly dodged, but the speed at which the power chased him was even faster. A fingernail dug into his neck, and he crashed violently to the floor with a loud noise.

“……!”

A terrible pain surged from the point where he was grabbed. No matter how hard he resisted, the hand holding him down wouldn’t budge. Dezak’s eyes shook with shock. This was not the power of Serpis that he knew.

Was it not just the possession of her consciousness? Even as he gasped for breath, Dezak calmly assessed the situation. The woman pressing him down with one hand smiled at the sight.

“Surprised? After I gained authority from him, Serpis became my devoted follower. I implanted a portion of my power into her. It’s a power on a different level from the meager power allowed by the Demon God. Enough to subdue someone like you, at least.”

“Kugh! You… fiend!”

“That guy must have recognized it too. Yet, he didn’t kill her and just left her alone. Yes, for once, you’re right, Dezak. No matter how hard you try with Serpis’s power, you won’t be able to undo the seal. It seems the seal on me can only be undone with the power of a Demon God.”

“That’s… good, then. Should I say serves you right?”

Even as he panted, Dezak sneered lowly. At that moment, the fingernail embedded in his neck dug in deeper, and he groaned.

“You should listen to the end of the story, Dezak. If it can only be undone with the power of a Demon God, that means it can be undone if you have the power of a Demon God, wouldn’t you say?”

“……! You…….”

His wide eyes trembled. He sensed what he was about to say. Karian drew an even more languid smile on his face. Dezak stared with a fixed gaze as the white hand caressing his cheek gradually moved down, hovering near his heart.

“And there is a very special being in this Demon Realm. A being who can create the essence of a Demon God on their own, a being with the most concentrated magical power of a Demon God.”

“…….”

It was the answer he had anticipated. Dezak closed his eyes in a miserable state of mind. If he had known this would happen, he wouldn’t have bothered rescuing Serpis from the pile of rubble. When Lukarim told him not to follow, he should have realized the true meaning of his words. The price for ignoring the warning was coming back in this way. He was more disgusted with his own stupidity than the imminent threat of death. It was his fault. He had ruined everything with his paltry loyalty.

“That magical power is a hereditary power. Anyone can obtain it just by killing you. Even if the target is a heretic who has escaped the authority of the Demon God.”

The breath scattering near his ear was disgusting. Dezak glared at the woman pressing down on his body with fierce eyes. Karian, who watched that gaze with a face that said even that was lovely, scattered an even thicker smile.

“You’ll have to die for me, Dezak Rune.”

* * *

Before the departure ceremony, Alisa was assigned a position equivalent to a high-ranking executive, along with a direct unit. She had been granted formal command authority, going beyond just being able to participate in operational meetings. Prior to this, Isana bestowed upon her the surname ‘Aldref,’ along with the title ‘De’ [a marker of nobility], signifying nobility, and the rank of Baroness. The paperwork could only be completed after the war, but since the Emperor had bestowed it in an official setting, it already had practical effect.

A seal for her was also bestowed. It was a design featuring two crescent moons with a bluish tint against a black background, facing away from each other.

I later learned that the crescent moon was also a symbol representing Sphere, the goddess of victory. In other words, it was a seal that deliberately revealed her nickname, ‘Daughter of Sphere.’ The choice of blue instead of silver for the moon seemed to reflect the ‘Legend of the Blue Moon’ underlying Alisa’s birth. It was a detail that highlighted Isana’s meticulousness.

It is not uncommon for those who have made great contributions on the battlefield to receive rewards. However, it was a very unconventional move in the conservative Swalt Empire for a young woman to receive a title and command authority. Because of this, there were those who did not look favorably on Alisa’s actions. The majority of them were either nobles or had strong male-chauvinistic tendencies. Fortunately, no major conflicts had arisen yet, perhaps because they had no intention of openly opposing the Emperor’s will.

My companions and I decided to participate as Alisa’s escort warriors. The reason I used the term ‘companions’ was because Rapis and Deron had also joined us. I thought it would be good to have at least one person by Isana’s side, but Isana’s aides strongly refused. In fact, in Rapis’s case, they even asked us to please take him with us.

“What have you been doing all this time?”

When the number of people who came to us with the same request exceeded ten, I sat Rapis down and asked him seriously. Rapis stared at me intently before smirking.

“Do you want to know?”

“……No, never mind. Just don’t tell me. I have a feeling that hearing it would only make me sick.”

“Good call.”

Looking at his brazenly smiling face as if he were proud of himself, I felt a surge of wanting to punch him. Still, I suppose I should be grateful that he behaves himself as long as he’s within my sight. It would have been truly distressing if a guy with such fraudulent abilities and a terrible personality couldn’t be controlled. Of course, this relationship was also lighter than paper, ready to break at any moment if Rapis changed his mind, but since he was staying of his own volition, he would follow my opinions for the time being. So, I said even more firmly.

“I’m telling you in advance, don’t cause any unnecessary trouble on our journey.”

“What do I do?”

“Don’t pick fights with Sibel or Deron.”

“They’re the ones who pick fights with me, though?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Do you think I don’t know you? It’s because you don’t react kindly in the first place that everyone gets angry. Ignoring and embarrassing them is the same as picking a fight.”

“Hmph, it wouldn’t even happen if those guys didn’t talk to me in the first place.”

“Anyway, don’t fight. And just to be safe, no sparring either. It’s forbidden to accept any requests from others.”

“What, isn’t sparring healthy?”

“Your abilities aren’t healthy. Keep in mind how weak ordinary humans’ bodies are when you act. Do you have to see a major disaster happen to understand the impact?”

“Tch.”

“I’ve made it clear. Don’t do anything that harms ordinary people. If you ignore this and act as you please……”

“You said you wouldn’t break the contract, didn’t you?”

He said with a look that implied, ‘Are you, a Spirit King, going to go back on your word?’ Of course, I found such a guy to be quite ridiculous as well. I nodded to indicate that I knew, and continued.

“I’ll summon five Cyquels [lesser spirits] with your mana and reverse-summon them.”

“……”

“Then ten.”

“……”

“It’ll hurt a lot, you know?”

“……”

Silence descended, and I could feel the lively energy instantly subside. Watching Rapis, who had become much more docile, I realized that he had properly understood my intentions. I should have done this from the start. I tried to persuade him with words for nothing. It seems the saying that fists are closer than words is true.

“Hmm, I thought as long as it was Elquines, personality didn’t matter.”

“But?”

“I think I prefer your old personality after all. Don’t you ever think about being reborn as a human again?”

“Wouldn’t it be faster for you to be born as Elquines instead?”

When I responded to his serious face with a hollow laugh, he made a very sullen expression. ‘You seem to be greatly mistaken, but I don’t want to become a Spirit King. Even without becoming one, I am very perfect and satisfied with myself as I am now. I just want to keep the Spirit King as an accessory in this state.’ I was listening to such nonsense with one ear and letting it out the other when—

“Kyaaak!”

“……!”

A woman’s scream faintly echoed from somewhere. At the same time as I was startled and stood up, Rapis also stopped talking and raised his head. It was clear that he had heard the sound as well.

“What was that? I definitely heard a scream just now, right?”

“It sounds like it’s upstairs.”

After confirming that Rapis was nodding, I immediately left the room. As I hurried up the stairs, I saw people gathered and buzzing. It seemed they had also heard the scream and rushed out.

As I got closer, the general situation came into view. One of the doors was open, and a woman in a maid’s uniform was sitting down with a pale face in front of it. She was probably the one who had screamed. The expressions of the people supporting her were also frozen stiff. They were all staring at the room as if they were possessed, so they must have discovered something strange inside.

The problem was that the owner of that room was someone I knew well. The demon Deron, it was the guest room assigned to him. Recognizing that, my face naturally hardened. Deron, of all people. I don’t know what happened. Since coming here, he had been extremely quiet. He had even sworn to stay out of sight not long ago. There was no way he would deliberately cause a commotion. If it’s a situation he can’t control…….

“Did the egg hatch?”

“……!”

The thought I had just had echoed vividly in my ear. It was the sound of Rapis muttering next to me, who had followed me before I knew it. Our eyes met for a moment, and we ran towards the room at the same time.

If a demon child really was born and people witnessed the scene, it would be a big problem. The fact that it was born from an egg would openly reveal that it was not human. Originally, the people here were friendly to demons thanks to the teachings of the Demon God’s Order, but the situation has changed a lot now. The anger might be directed at the innocent child.

“Excuse me, everyone, please move aside!”

As I pushed through the crowd, those who had been blankly frozen came to their senses and quickly stepped back. They seemed to recognize that I was a colleague of the owner of this room, and everyone’s faces lit up.

However, when I arrived in front of the room, an unexpected situation greeted me. The surrounding area was filled with a pungent smell of blood. The smell was clearly seeping out from inside the room. The open doorway was soaked with a dark red liquid. Blood, so red and clear that anyone could tell.

“What……”

It felt like my whole body was turning cold all at once.

The first thought that came to mind was the question of where so much blood had come from. I don’t know what happens when a demon’s egg hatches, but I hadn’t heard that blood would flow out. Even if it came from the egg, there was no way there would be this much. Come to think of it, it was strange that Deron was leaving the door wide open. Whether a child was born or not, if he was inside, he wouldn’t have allowed people to open the door.

……Could it be that he is unable to move right now? Perhaps the Demon King noticed the surviving egg and came to eliminate it. The moment I thought that far, a sinister scene unfolded in my mind. Deron lying in a pool of blood and the remains of the destroyed egg scattered around. It was just an imagination, but it was difficult to guarantee that the situation waiting for me inside the door would not be like that. In that very brief moment of carelessness, I might have failed to protect them.

‘No way.’

I quickly shook my head, feeling so terrible that my whole body trembled. It was a child that Kanos had entrusted to me, how could I lose it so futilely? I hated even more the thought of Deron, with whom I had spent time and built some affection, dying.