Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 109

109.

Isana shook his head, looking confused. He had lived in the Imperial Palace as Emperor until very recently. He seemed utterly stunned by the horrific events that had been unfolding without his knowledge. Perhaps amused by our bewildered expressions, Lapis grinned mischievously and said,

“Since we’re on the topic, shall I tell you how the ritual is performed?”

“How?”

“The children chosen as sacrifices are ritually cleansed with something known as holy water for a week. Then, they’re grouped into sets of seven, and one is offered to the altar in the temple each day. The Grand Duke himself presides over the ceremony, and with a raised dagger, he pierces their heart in one swift motion. Then, he squeezes the blood into a vessel…”

“Ugh! Stop, stop! Where do you even hear these things?”

I shrieked, covering my ears in horror, and Lapis simply shrugged.

“Where else? I heard it at the altar.”

“What?”

“Didn’t I mention it? I was in the Imperial Palace’s basement until recently, as a sacrifice to be offered at the altar.”

“What?”

I wasn’t the only one horrified by that gruesome revelation. However, Lapis remained nonchalant despite the stunned looks from the others. He even went so far as to say that it was a game he enjoyed before meeting me. Seriously, why would he consider something like that a game? At that moment, I genuinely wanted to dissect his brain.

“I wonder if there are psychiatrists on this continent? I’d seriously recommend him to therapy.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but are you saying there’s something wrong with my mind? Too bad, but it’s not like I did it on purpose. I was just walking around the streets in my child form when soldiers suddenly rushed in and dragged me away. I thought I’d just watch to see what they were up to, and they took me to the Imperial Palace? It seemed fun, so I played along for a while.”

“Are you crazy? What if you had really died!”

“Hey, I’m a dragon. If things got out of hand, I could have transformed and turned the tables at any time, and I also have teleportation, so did you think I’d be easily defeated? I’m perfectly fine right now, as proof.”

Lapis puffed out his chest and said proudly. His smug attitude annoyed me, and I grumbled.

“If you were so capable, you should have overturned the altar and stopped the ritual altogether.”

“That would only be a temporary fix. Do you think those guys would stop the ritual just because the altar was destroyed? I don’t like wasting my energy on pointless tasks.”

“So, you just ran away on your own? You heartless bastard.”

“Seriously, one moment you’re worried about me doing dangerous things, and now you’re calling me heartless?”

“That’s one thing, and this is another.”

Ignoring his bewildered expression, I turned my gaze to Isana and Kaitain. They still looked pale, but they seemed to have recovered from the initial shock. Isana stared at Lapis with a more composed expression.

“Is there really no chance that my sister could have been a sacrifice?”

“I told you, the age range for sacrifices is up to mid-teens. I spent about a month there, and there were never any exceptions. Based on that, I doubt it was any different before. It seemed like they had their own criteria for selecting sacrifices.”

“Selection criteria?”

“First, they must be young. Second, they must be beautiful or have a clean appearance. Third, they must not have any disabilities or chronic illnesses. Something like that?”

It matched the descriptions people had given of those being dragged away by soldiers. Isana looked relieved, but his expression quickly hardened. He was relieved that his sister April hadn’t been taken as a sacrifice, but he couldn’t express it freely because of the thought of the children who had been sacrificed.

Come to think of it, I almost got dragged away once. If I had just obediently followed them, I would have become a sacrifice, right? Thinking about it now, I felt a surge of anger even though it was in the past. It happened in the middle of the village, in a place where everyone was gathered. The fact that such a thing could happen so casually in everyday life was even more horrifying. I managed to escape somehow, but ordinary children wouldn’t have been able to resist and would have been dragged away.

“Something is a bit strange, though.”

“What is it, Mr. Kai?”

“The Demon Worshippers do tend to revere death, but even among them, using people as sacrifices is rare. Moreover, I’ve never heard of them performing regular rituals for such a long period. What is the Grand Duke hoping to gain from offering these children to the Demon God? It seems excessive just to become Emperor.”

“Maybe the Demon God demanded it.”

The one who answered was Lapis. When everyone’s attention turned to him, he shrugged and said,

“Sometimes, gods demand sacrifices first. The more difficult the conditions and the more incomprehensible the form, the more likely that is the case. If that’s the case, it’s not hard to understand, right? It’s been a well-known fact for a long time that the Demon God enjoys blood.”

“……”

At those words, I recalled a theory I had buried. The ominous thought that the Demon God might be involved in this. Judging by the way Isana’s face rapidly paled, he must have had the same thought as me.

“Then… are you saying the Demon God is orchestrating all of this?”

“I don’t know for sure. If you’re really curious, why don’t you ask? It seems like there’s a suitable person to interrogate.”

“Interrogate who?”

While they were still bewildered, I frowned, sensing a strange feeling. It was that again. The gaze I occasionally felt was following us again.

I forcibly resisted the urge to look around. We were in a quiet, deserted area where people rarely came, not a bustling street. If I felt a strange gaze in a place like this, there could only be one reason.

“…Just asking, but are we being watched right now?”

“Oh, so you’re not completely clueless after all.”

Lapis grinned as if he were impressed. It was clear that he had noticed it a long time ago. Damn it, he should have said something sooner! I frowned, feeling the urge to smack him on the back of the head.

“Is that person you want to interrogate even human?”

“Why?”

“The energy feels a bit strange. It’s more murky and damp…”

“Really? Does it seem very dangerous?”

“Well, not really to that extent…”

It bothered me a bit that there seemed to be more than one, but I didn’t feel particularly threatened. When I told him my honest thoughts, Lapis laughed as if it were amusing.

“Is that so? Shouldn’t you come out now? It’s already been discovered, you guys.”

He turned to look at the empty air, saying that. Until then, Kaitain and Isana seemed unable to grasp the situation and wore bewildered expressions.

Swoosh—

At that moment, the branches of the trees shook violently even though there was no wind. I instinctively realized that it was a wave of mana [magical energy]. Someone’s explosive energy had spread throughout the space.

“Hmph, so that’s how you want to play it?”

Frowning, Lapis curled his lips into a belligerent expression. At the same time, a strong energy began to erupt from his body. Like a spreading wave, a rough surge was clearly felt emanating from him.

Shuuk! Kwaaaang!

The rough, powerful energies swirled together like a storm, colliding violently with each other. The trunks of the trees in the clearing bent like rubber from the impact.

No matter how intense the energy currents were, they didn’t have much of an effect on me. The problem was that Kaitain and Isana were ordinary humans. They staggered helplessly with each wave of mana. Seeing the two of them crouching, I hurriedly looked at Lapis.

“Lapis, stop it! Isana and Mr. Kai are struggling!”

However, he showed no reaction to my words. As a dragon with hearing dozens of times better than a human’s, there was no way he couldn’t hear me; he simply seemed determined to ignore my voice completely.

“Hey! Didn’t you hear me say stop it?”

Feeling the wind growing stronger, I shouted even louder. Nevertheless, Lapis remained unmoved. Then, with a loud cracking sound, one of the swaying trees uprooted and fell. It had broken under the pressure. And unfortunately, it was falling right towards Kaitain.

“Mr. Kai!”

At my shout, Kaitain seemed to realize the danger, but he couldn’t move. He was unable to move due to the waves of energy. I hurriedly reached out and created a large stream of water.

Splash! Thud!

The tree falling on Kaitain and the water gushing out happened almost simultaneously. The gushing water cushioned the tree just in the nick of time. Kaitain was frozen stiff right beneath it. I pushed the tree away and quickly approached Kaitain.

“Mr. Kai, are you okay?”

“Ah, thank you so much, Lady El. You saved me.”

Fortunately, he was unharmed. However, he looked very pale, probably from the shock. I sighed in relief for a moment, then turned back, grinding my teeth. Even in this situation, the battle of wills with the unknown opponent continued. I couldn’t hold back any longer and shouted,

“Everyone, stop it!”

Jjeo-eo-eok!

At that shout, the wildly swirling currents instantly dissipated. Along with that, all the surrounding scenery froze at once. The trees that had been swaying in the rough currents were now all frozen white. Small ice crystals scattered like snow among the frozen branches. It was as if this place had become a snowfield.

I was just as dumbfounded by the sudden phenomenon. Lapis was also looking at me with a surprised expression.

“…As expected of the Spirit King. You’re scary when you’re angry.”

“…Is that your last will?”

“Okay, okay. I won’t do it. Just stop it.”

He raised both hands as if surrendering. But even a fool could tell that he wasn’t stopping because he was scared. As proof, he still looked relaxed.

“See? Our scary Spirit King is very angry. Next time, she might freeze your windpipes. So, why don’t you just reveal yourselves?”

Whether I was dumbfounded or not, he didn’t stop provoking the opponent. But surprisingly, that absurd provocation seemed to work.

Thud.

After a moment, two people appeared among the frozen trees. A man in a black uniform that looked like a military uniform, with a long cloak, and a woman in an outfit that was barely covering her (I decided to ignore Lapis whistling lightly at the sight).

The man’s face was expressionless, making it impossible to know what he was thinking. On the other hand, the woman seemed anxious, unable to make eye contact and biting her lip. Both of them had hair as black as ink, and their eyes were the same shade of red.

Demons.

I don’t know how I knew. But just like when I first saw the Spirit Kings, I instinctively realized their identities. And I felt a slight shock at that fact.

Demons. Why were demons watching us?

If it wasn’t intentional, it was a truly remarkable coincidence. We were just trying to determine whether the Demon God was involved. It was a well-known fact that demons were the Demon God’s unique creations.

A divine revelation from the Demon God, a burnt offering for the Demon God, and his children created by the Demon God. Were all those things just coincidences? Every circumstance seemed to point to one thing. I tried not to be shaken and calmly stared at the two demons.

“You are demons. Why were you watching us?”

I could feel Isana and Kaitain flinch at the word “demon.” Seeing their clenched fists turn white, I anxiously waited for the demons’ answer. After a brief silence, the man spoke first.

“Greetings to the Water Spirit King. I am Deronebil, and the woman beside me is Serpianes. We were ordered to follow the Emperor of the Swalt Empire, Isana.”

“Ordered? Who gave that order?”

“The Demon King, Your Highness.”

“Demon King?”

I was momentarily taken aback by the unexpected entity, as well as their surprisingly compliant attitude. I had naturally assumed they would say it was the Demon God’s order. But when I thought about it, there was no way the Demon God would directly order an ordinary demon. If the chief was the Demon King and the orders were delivered through him, then it was possible.

“When did you realize my identity?”

“We didn’t know from the beginning. We realized it while we were watching you.”

“Why didn’t you attack and just followed us? You’ve had plenty of opportunities to ambush us so far.”

“Our orders were only to monitor the Emperor’s movements.”

“…So, you just watched? Without even reporting it?”

“Yes.”

I was momentarily dumbfounded by their straightforward answer. The demon named Deronebil seemed completely unfazed and looked quite confident. He seemed to have a rather unique personality.

“Excuse me, you said your name was Deronebil, right?”

“That’s my formal name, but I’m usually called Deron.”

“De, Deron?”

Isana was the first to react. He was staring with wide eyes, as if he couldn’t believe it.