Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 519

519

“Oh, it’s as effective as I expected.”

Startled, Ain Idris looked up, a confused expression on his face. Seeing his reaction, Karian smiled gently, as if he understood everything.

“You’re wondering why you can’t summon spirits, right? It’s okay. It’s not that something’s wrong with you. It’s because of the barrier.”

“…Barrier?”

“An intangible energy surrounds this entire mansion. Inside, you can’t communicate with other dimensions. I can’t have the Spirit King showing up, you know. Did you think I’d come without any countermeasures?”

‘That’s impossible.’ Before I knew it, the rebuttal surfaced in my mind. But it was true that spirits weren’t being summoned. The natural spirits were nowhere to be found either. It was the same phenomenon I consistently experienced whenever I was trapped in a barrier. There were no signs of it even when I was summoning the downpour, so he must have erected it just a little while ago. No matter how high-ranking a demon he is, he couldn’t simply create a barrier like this. Especially not Karian in his current, barely-out-of-childhood state. This was the realm of the gods.

‘Kanos.’

Even knowing he couldn’t possibly be here, I reflexively looked around. While I was focusing all my attention on that meaningless act, Karian approached Ain Idris, who was standing there dumbfounded. He even made eye contact and gently stroked his cheek, while the people who were already out of their minds couldn’t even think of stopping him.

“The contractor of the Spirit King. Of course, he’s very strong. And rare, too. But binding a spiritist is easier than you think. You just have to prevent the summoning. No matter how great your spirit is, you’re still just a human, right?”

Ain Idris’s eyelids fluttered as he stood still, holding his breath. “If you didn’t want this, you should have stuck close to Minerva,” he whispered, his face contorting as if he were about to cry.

“I, I…”

“If you understand, don’t act rashly. If you stay quiet, I won’t touch you. I don’t want to incur Minerva’s wrath either. Well, even if I did, I could just escape to my world. You’ll just be remembered as a dog’s death [an ignominious and meaningless death]. You wouldn’t want that, would you?”

“I…”

Finally, a sigh of despair escaped from his gaping mouth. The moment of despair that surfaced in his clouded eyes was clearly visible. Karian’s red eyes sparkled as if electrified as he watched it. As if he weren’t the final boss, he was rotten to the core.

“Now, you continue.”

The Crown Prince began to move again as instructed. The moment the terrified people screamed, Ain Idris, who had suddenly come to his senses, rushed forward and grabbed the Crown Prince’s leg. He was trying to stop him from moving forward with his body. Thanks to this, the Crown Prince’s body faltered, and several people around him rushed to cling to his legs as well.

“Puhahaha! Is this your last struggle? Well, fine. Go ahead and try.”

Karian’s face showed that he was enjoying this situation to death. Everyone was in agony, but his laughter grew louder and louder. He alone was reveling in the desperate scene. It even felt like they were trapped in a horror game he was hosting. It was a truly disgusting feeling.

‘I shouldn’t have come back here.’

Whether I was suspected, or whether things got more complicated because of it. Even if it was full of problems, I shouldn’t have come. But it was already too late for regrets.

After taking a long sigh, I turned my gaze around. I saw something suitable nearby. Thud! Crash! I approached the window and forcibly tore off the curtain, and the startled people turned around at the loud noise. Karian’s expression, which had been relaxed all along, frowned for the first time. Ignoring the watching eyes, I took the rod separated from the curtain and went to the Crown Prince. As I pushed energy into the rod, a weak tremor occurred along with a blue light. Karian clicked his tongue.

“…Didn’t I tell you not to interfere? You really don’t listen.”

“If what you were doing wasn’t so excessive, I might have considered it.”

“Excessive? What is? Ah, you mean telling my brother to kill his sister with his own hands? Why? Isn’t it fun?”

“You think this is fun?”

“Yes, it’s fun. I really like this kind of thing. Making someone kill their precious person with their own hands—that’s the best punishment and curse, isn’t it?”

How did this kid end up with a personality like this? I heard he was once an angel? I don’t know all the circumstances of that time, but no matter how I look at it, I can’t believe he was a member of the divine race. As, who is a demon king in both his past and future lives, is so kind and gentle. Is this showing so blatantly that personality isn’t a matter of species? Thinking of Kanos, who gave this kind of guy a chance and is still helping him, made me feel even more suffocated.

“But will that be okay? That’s just an ordinary wooden stick. Can it even withstand the sword energy?”

No sooner had I spoken than the rod began to crumble. Watching the dust-like powder scatter, I clicked my tongue inwardly. Should it have been at least some kind of metal? I thought it would at least hold up for a while, but it was breaking down faster than I thought.

“See?”

But Karian’s smile didn’t last long. I was also a little embarrassed and looked down at my hand. The sword energy, which I thought would disappear along with the broken rod, was still being maintained in my hand. It felt like I was holding a sword made of light.

“Sword Saint…”

It was only after hearing someone mutter that I seemed to understand what was going on. I had become a Sword Saint [a master swordsman], a Sword Master. I wasn’t too surprised because I knew I would become one someday, thanks to what Sibelius had told me. But it happened so easily? It was absurd, but anyway, I felt relieved that I didn’t need a weapon. I thought I would have to do it with my bare hands if things didn’t work out, but it didn’t have to come to that.

I walked straight up and struck the sword held by the Crown Prince strongly. Even though it was a surprise attack, he immediately defended against it. Seeing that the Crown Prince’s face was surprised as if he hadn’t expected it at all, it seemed to be the ability of the sword itself. Fortunately, my swordsmanship was better. After exchanging blows a few times, the Crown Prince finally dropped the sword he was holding. The sword that had fallen to the floor turned back into black magic and returned to Karian’s hand.

“…This is really, you surprise me in many ways.”

Muttering, Karian now had a face that had lost its composure.

“I know you know the answer, but just to be sure, you’re not a dragon, are you?”

“No.”

“But why are you so strong? When I look at you, I feel like the common sense of the human race is collapsing.”

I didn’t bother to answer, thinking it was none of my business. As I stood in his way, he bit his lip as if he was frustrated. I was dumbfounded by the resentful gaze that looked at me with a betrayed expression.

“I really don’t understand. You’re not on the side of these humans. Why are you stopping me? I already warned you. You shouldn’t interfere in my affairs. Do you want to regret it that much?”

“You’re not someone I particularly want to hear that from.”

“You really mean you’re going to stop me to the end?”

“Yes.”

Karian stared at me silently. Then, he raised both hands as if resigned.

“Okay, okay. Honestly, I don’t want to fight you. Since you won’t back down, I have no choice. I’ll give up as the best option.”

Did the best option mean there was also a second-best option? I was about to frown at the ominous feeling in his tone. Suddenly, Karian bit his finger, creating a wound, and flicked the droplets of blood that flowed out. I was about to defend, thinking it was a surprise attack, but to my embarrassment, the droplets of blood were directed not at me or the princess, but at a completely different direction.

“Cough!”

“Your Highness the Crown Prince!”

“Your Highness!”

The Crown Prince, clutching his neck, lost consciousness and collapsed. Everyone was stunned by the unexpected attack. They hurriedly checked on the Crown Prince and thankfully, he was still breathing. But his whole body was filled with dark magic.

“What on earth did you do?”

“Just a light curse.”

“Curse?”

“A curse that makes you fall into eternal sleep. The way to undo it is simple. If you kill that woman, it will be undone automatically.”

The woman Karian pointed to was Princess Anais, which was not surprising at this point. It could only be said that it was a consistently malicious goal. As everyone’s eyes turned to her, the princess opened her mouth with a trembling voice.

“Why… Why are you doing this…?”

“I don’t particularly have any grudges against you. I’m just trying to eliminate the source of the trouble. Humans easily forget the past.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. What does that mean?”

“If you don’t know, find out for yourself. Ah, of course, you have to survive before that, though.”

Tears finally streamed down the princess’s pale face. Karian watched the scene without any emotion. It was a completely different reaction from when he was reveling in Ain Idris’s despair a little while ago. As if her despair wasn’t even worth making him happy.

“Then goodbye, special spiritist. I hope you’ll change your mind when we meet next time.”

Karian turned to me and gave a playful greeting. Before I could say anything, his figure disappeared as if melting before my eyes. All that remained in the space where a heavy silence had settled was the fading sound of laughter.

The view seemed to flicker, and the sound of something breaking faintly echoed. The spirits that had not been visible until just now were appearing. It must have been a barrier that was maintained only when Karian was there. The Crown Prince, who had been released from control, slumped down as soon as it was clear that he was gone.

“Brother!”

“Anais…”

The two siblings, their expressions a mess, hugged each other urgently. The two of them had been threatened victims throughout this incident. But no one approached them to ask if they were okay.

Already, an uncomfortable atmosphere was flowing inside the hall. After watching the scene for a while, I let out a long breath. I knew it would be a fierce day since I had the strange dream, but this was too much.

It was truly the worst day.

* * *

The Crown Prince, who had been perfectly fine, became a vegetable overnight. Moreover, in order to undo the curse, they had to kill a young princess who had come to study abroad from another country. The rumors that spread uncontrollably could not be contained no matter how much the imperial family tried to control them. The empire was literally turned upside down.

The title emblazoned largely on the front page of the newspaper was so clear that it hurt my eyes. Is it because I was born on Earth and learned the history of the Roman Empire for a thousand years? Putting aside the question of whether a history of just over 400 years is ancient. The Crown Prince hasn’t even died yet, but they’re already cutting off the imperial bloodline as a result of being obsessed with sensational expressions. Every newspaper that’s been published recently has been like this, so it’s not particularly new, but the person who’s controlling it seems to feel differently.

“Damn it! What’s with this newspaper company again? Have they all gone crazy! What the hell are you guys doing!”

The sound of him ranting for a long time could be heard. I quietly sipped my tea in the empty seat, using the exploding nagging as background music. After some time, I saw the dispirited people leaving one after another. Only then did the owner of the seat return.

“It’s really become a headache.”

Lamias, who let out a long sigh, complained. He, whom I was seeing for the first time in nearly ten days since the incident, looked very tired from the continuous all-nighters. He’s a dragon, so his body must be strong, but he can’t help the mental fatigue.

“You seem very busy.”

“Of course I’m busy. How can the intelligence agency be free when something like that happened? I’m just taking a short break now, so I have to go back in. The Emperor and my subordinates are all looking for me like newly hatched birds. Damn them! Are there only blockheads in this empire? Why can’t they do anything on their own? I’m going crazy, really!”

“…If possible, say baby birds.”

“Baby birds or baby birds.”

“The former sounds like a curse.”

“I know.”

Well, he knew and used it. Then I can’t help it. Well, the words that followed were all harsh. It wasn’t really something to point out the expression baby. Nodding my head, I quietly drank the tea I was drinking. In the meantime, Lamias, who had been huffing and puffing, calmed down on his own. As expected, it’s best to leave angry people alone without touching them. Instead, I could feel his displeased gaze.

“How can you not say a word of comfort when someone is having such a hard time?”

“Should I say it?”

“Never mind?”

“You were going to say you didn’t want it anyway.”

Lamias, who had closed his mouth, stared at me silently. He had an expression that he didn’t know what this was all about, as if he was looking at the most bizarre thing in the world. But even he didn’t have the energy to argue any further, so he shook his head and drank the cold tea in one gulp as if it were alcohol.

“No matter how I think about it, I shouldn’t have sent you to that banquet. You have a strange talent for getting caught up in big incidents.”

“Oh, it’s a pity you realized that now.”

“…It pisses me off a little that you take it so calmly?”

“I showed that I didn’t want to go. Lamias forced me to go.”

“Oh yeah, right. I shot myself in the foot. Who would have guessed that I would catch such a big fish when I sent you to check on the situation? Is it just a big fish? It’s a super-sized one that destroys fishing boats.”

Since the Crown Prince collapsed, it’s definitely at the level of destroying fishing boats. I didn’t particularly want to deny it, so I just shrugged my shoulders. Well, what can I do since things have already turned out this way. It’s not like I wanted to get caught up in such a thing.

Perhaps he didn’t like that subtly perfunctory attitude. Lamias looked at me with his brows furrowed.

“Were you that disappointed?”

But unlike my expectation that he would get angry, what followed was a different question. I only rolled my eyes and looked at him at the words he had given me calmly, and then I sighed. If he had just scolded me as usual and moved on, I wouldn’t have realized it. Lamias was definitely an adult at times like this.

“Yes.”

“Tsk tsk, you worked hard, so it’s understandable that you’re heartbroken. I’m also sorry that it wasn’t what you were looking for this time either.”

“…Yes.”

I lightly washed my face to hide the strange feeling that was rushing in. That’s right. The Soul Jewel I received in exchange for helping this time was not Lapis this time either. I thought I wasn’t expecting much, but I must have been expecting it without realizing it. My heart felt unpleasantly empty.

Why wasn’t it Lapis? No matter how I think about it, I don’t understand. Soul Jewels can’t be that common. Lamias had most of the few that existed, and he even brought the remaining one from the other dragon. But the fact that it’s not there means that Lapis isn’t here. At this point, I even wonder if Elüen sent me to the wrong place. If that’s the case, I feel dazed, wondering what my time spent here meant, but I heard Lamias’s voice clicking his tongue.

“Wait a little longer for now. It seems like there’s another guy who has it.”

“Oh? Really?”

“Yeah, but this time it’s not a dragon, it’s a human. He’s from another empire, and he seems to be a collector who collects unusual minerals. Anyway, since he’s human, it’s rather difficult to approach him. But I’m persuading him well, so there will be good results. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll steal it and bring it to you.”

“…Thank you.”

“Your face is getting better now.”

Relief was revealed on Lamias’s face as he chuckled. I felt a little embarrassed, wondering if I had been that gloomy.