Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 343

The Grand Duke stepped out of the carriage and entered the detached palace alone, as usual. He took off his coat and hung it up, then headed straight for the study. He always read a book first when he came to the detached palace, so this part was no different from usual. However, the moment I tried to follow him inside, I felt a strange sense of déjà vu.

It was the sensation of passing through an opaque energy. The same kind of air barrier I felt when I was separated from my true form was felt here as well. The first time could be chalked up to coincidence, but the repetition of the same sensation twice was not normal.

‘Could this be… a barrier?’

As soon as the thought occurred to me, I hurriedly looked around. I couldn’t see the Nias [nature spirits] anywhere. Come to think of it, I hadn’t seen them at the banquet hall either. Since when had they been missing?

Normally, natural spirits are not affected by barriers. But I had already experienced barriers that defied common sense several times. When Lapis summoned me, and when Kanos set a trap. Both were barriers close to or stronger than my power, and natural spirits couldn’t enter such places. Barriers that strong could also disguise the outside. It was probably possible to create intentional scenes. For example, his own image reading a book elegantly in the study.

“……”

Just in case, I used the eyes of a spirit and saw a completely different scene from what I was seeing. The Grand Duke in front of me hadn’t done anything yet, but the Nias perceived him as choosing a book from the bookshelf. He wasn’t even inside the barrier in reality, but they were seeing such a vivid illusion that they mistook him for being inside.

Completely different scenes unfolded simultaneously in the same place. While I stood there dumbfounded, the Grand Duke pointed to somewhere on the bookshelf. Then, with a rumbling sound, the bookshelf began to slide open to both sides as if it were being pushed away. A staircase leading downwards continued through the space that had opened like a door. However, the Nias saw him picking out a book he liked and sitting on the sofa.

……Damn it.

My eyes burned. Now everything was clear. I hadn’t watched him all day, but I had checked on him whenever I had the chance. No, I had instructed the spirits to immediately report any suspicious signs, so it was as good as monitoring him all day. Yet, I hadn’t noticed anything until Rei was in a dangerous situation. I couldn’t understand how he had avoided surveillance all this time, but the answer was surprisingly simple. I never imagined that a human could create such a strong barrier.

Even though he was a contractor of the Demon King, I didn’t think I needed to be wary of him because he was human. Like spirit contracts, contracts with demons were ultimately relationships where the supplier and the consumer were determined. To some extent, the consumer’s abilities might develop under the influence, but at most, they would only be at the level of a young demon. But the Grand Duke was completely outside that category. It seemed the Demon King had done something.

I was really played for a fool.

It wasn’t a barrier that lasted long. I hadn’t felt anything when I first entered the banquet hall or when I escorted Lady Schutel. I remembered seeing the Nias wandering around as well. He probably deployed it right before he started working in earnest, when he brought the Heavenly Fragrance Wine.

Since when, and for how long, had he been concealing the scene with this method? If I hadn’t been here, I wouldn’t have known about this situation today. And thus, I would have had to face the awakening of the Evil God without any preparation.

I clenched my fist tightly, feeling a churning sensation inside. In my confused consciousness, I could feel the Nias were afraid. Since they were beings who shared my emotions even though they weren’t here, they seemed to know what I was angry about.

‘It’s okay. It’s not your fault. I’m not angry with you.’

The Nias had conveyed what they saw as it was. The mistake was that I had overlooked the possibility that the scene they were seeing might be an illusion. Even though I was anxious about the unpredictable battlefield, I should have taken the time to check it out myself, even if it meant leaving my post for a moment. While I was reassuring myself that everything was fine, innocent children were being thrown into miserable deaths. The corpses piled up like trash in that cave on the cliff came to mind. We couldn’t find their hometowns or provide them with proper graves, so all we could do was cremate them together. The thought that I might have been able to save some of them kept swirling in my head.

In the meantime, the Grand Duke’s figure completely disappeared from view as he descended the stairs. Before the door closed again (though it didn’t matter if it did), I followed him. Inside the secret door, a circular tunnel spiraled continuously downwards. It was underground, but lamps were lit at regular intervals on both walls, so it wasn’t too dark. At first, it was a rough dirt path, but at some point, a brick-paved road began to appear. Soon, an entrance with a huge iron gate lowered in front of it appeared.

“The time will come.”

As the Grand Duke muttered in a low voice, the iron gate silently rose upwards. After passing through the entrance and walking a little further, a wide-open space unfolded.

“Your Highness, welcome.”

A group wearing black hoods greeted him as he entered. They were all wearing black robes with red emblems. The attire was familiar, so I couldn’t mistake their identities. They were the remaining priests of the Evil God. Of course, they were fake priests who hadn’t even received the god’s mark.

It was a scene I had already expected, so I wasn’t that surprised. What caught my eye more than that was the scene beyond them. In the center of the space, a stone altar was placed. It was large enough for a giant to lie down on. Moonlight, from where I couldn’t tell, was shining down on it.

I walked towards it as if I were being drawn. The altar, seen up close, was so covered in dark red thoughts, like blood clots, that I couldn’t tell its original color. Normally, I wouldn’t even want to touch it, but I felt a strange energy inside. Enduring the revulsion, I gently brushed the surface, and the horrified thoughts retreated in droves to avoid touching me. The original appearance that was revealed then wasn’t exactly clean either, as it was full of bloodstains. Still, what I was trying to confirm was visible.

A circular magic circle was engraved on the surface of the altar. I didn’t read all the densely packed characters, but roughly translated, it was about cursing living beings to extract and convert their energy. The magic circle of the spell that Lapis had mentioned must have been this.

“Is the preparation complete?”

“Yes, we have prepared plenty of Ramun leaves and holy water as you instructed. Even if we haven’t performed the purification ritual, it will be fine now.”

“Good, let’s start quickly since we don’t have much time.”

As the Grand Duke spread his arms, those who were waiting soon put a white gown on him. Meanwhile, others brought in carts one after another. As expected, they contained nobles who had been chosen as sacrifices. Two priests of the Evil God picked one of them and laid him on the altar. The noble who was laid down rolled his eyes anxiously and made strange noises. I felt like his face was familiar, and it turned out he was one of the men who had bothered Lady Schutel.

While the priests of the Evil God put a piece of wood in his mouth and sprinkled holy water, I looked around for Lapis. Fortunately, his appearance was so striking that I could easily find him among the many people. He had just been taken off the cart and was lying quietly on the floor. I went next to him and tapped him on the shoulder, and he, who had been lying still, made a surprised expression. Hearing him mutter, “You came?” I clicked my tongue. To recognize me right away, he really had an amazing sense.

—What do we do now?

As I made the letters appear with water, he made a thoughtful expression for a moment and whispered in a small voice.

“Wait for now.”

—Until when?

“Until that guy is about to get hurt.”

—……Is that okay?

“The spell needs to be fully activated to trace it back.”

At his attitude of what can you do, I was at a loss for words. It seemed I would have to ask the person on the altar for some temporary cooperation. At least I felt less guilty because he was an unpleasant guy. It wasn’t my intention, but I felt relieved because it felt like I was getting proper revenge.

After completing the simple ritual, the priests of the Evil God stepped back only after taking off the sacrifice’s upper garment. Soon, the Grand Duke approached him, panting in fear. In his hand, he held a dagger made of a pure white material that I couldn’t tell whether it was platinum or silver. The pouring moonlight was reflected on the blade, making it seem as if it contained its own light. As he made eye contact with the person lying down, the Grand Duke smiled gently. It was a terribly unfitting expression for someone about to die by his hand, but that made it even more eerie.

“Rest assured. The pain will be brief. Your heart will be used very preciously. For something far more valuable than being attached to your body.”

“Keuheue!”

To say that he was going to tear out his heart from now on in such an elegant way. The man who understood the meaning took a deep breath. His body, filled with survival instincts, struggled desperately. The Grand Duke, looking down at the sight with emotionless eyes, slowly raised his sword.

“The door opens.”

He opened his mouth as if savoring the pouring moonlight for a while. Then, as if reacting to those words, a blue light began to swirl in the magic circle of the altar.

“Aplik. Odim.”

“Altis. Zlova.”

“Mesti.”

“Kolia.”

The longer the incantation, the more the blue light that was emitted grew, surging like waves. The man, whose pupils had dilated to the limit, struggled even more, but all of it was meaningless resistance. Patterns like tattoos began to be engraved on his body, which was completely covered in light.

“Tirio.”

At that moment, the blue light instantly turned red. Even if Lapis hadn’t said anything, I instinctively felt that now was the time to act. The Grand Duke’s dagger was already completely touching the chest area. Soon, the tip of the blade would pierce the skin.

‘Now……!’

I quickly reached out to grab his wrist and stop him. But there was a hand that grabbed him before I did.

“?!”

Surprised, I turned around and found the identity even more unexpected. One of the priests of the Evil God, who had stepped back a little while ago, had already approached. The Grand Duke was also taken aback, his eyes widened.

“What are you doing?”

The forcibly interrupted spell quickly lost its light. The Grand Duke gritted his teeth and snapped, but the priest of the Evil God who had ruined his work did not answer. Instead, he took off the hood he was wearing. Under the cloth that was pushed back, disheveled blonde hair was scattered. Underneath, the face of a man familiar to me was revealed.

“……You!”

“It’s been a while, Your Highness.”

The man responded in a calm voice to the Grand Duke, whose expression was hardening. I was just as embarrassed, so I stared blankly at the sight, forgetting the situation. I never expected to meet him at this point, and it was an unwelcome unexpected situation for me. Originally, Lapis was supposed to take over the spell at the moment I stopped the Grand Duke. But the optimal time had already passed, and as I waited to start again, it didn’t seem like the situation in front of me would end with a light farce. When I turned around, Lapis was also frowning, having awkwardly gotten up and stopped. The signs were very bad.

“This is an unexpected reunion.”

The Grand Duke, who had been frozen for a while, soon relaxed his expression. Meanwhile, the priests of the Evil God, who had rushed over in an instant, drew their swords and surrounded Caribdis. The Grand Duke, who raised his hand towards them, slowly scanned Caribdis.

“The last one was quite impressive. Now that I see you back to normal, has that strange ability disappeared? It would have been better for you to leave and go far away while you were running away. To come to die by my hand, you are truly loyal.”

“……I have thought a lot.”

“About what?”

“About what I should do for Your Highness.”

“Hoh?”

A strange light flashed in the Grand Duke’s eyes.

“Have you decided to follow me again?”

Judging from the flow of the conversation, that was the easiest interpretation. I also accepted it in a similar sense. But Caribdis shook his head.

“I have never betrayed Your Highness. But even if it became a form of betrayal to Your Highness, it may have been necessary.”

“What do you mean?”

The corners of his mouth, which had been raised in satisfaction, slowly hardened. Caribdis looked at the Grand Duke, who revealed his unpleasant mood, with a gloomy gaze.

“It is largely my fault that Your Highness has become like this. I did not serve Your Highness well. So, now, I will stop Your Highness.”

“Stop me, you say…….”

“I will save Your Highness from that darkness.”

At that moment, a deep blue light formed on the sword he was holding. It was the final form of Aura and the symbol of a Sword Master, Sword Qi [a powerful energy technique]. It didn’t contain killing intent, but it was threatening enough, and therefore it was easy to grasp the meaning.

“You’re going to kill me?”

“I will follow you soon.”

“Hahaha!”

The Grand Duke burst into a cheerful laugh that didn’t fit the situation. But the look in his eyes as he glared at him was as savage as a beast.

“This is really……. The chick that used to follow me around has grown up a lot in the meantime. You surprise me in many ways.”

“I’m sorry.”

“No, no. I don’t dislike your determination. But you are mistaken about one thing, Pylon. Save me? Isn’t that just a futile delusion? If so, you shouldn’t have bothered me even more.”

“…….”

“This is the way to save me!”

It was at that moment that Caribdis’s eyes widened. An intangible energy seemed to emanate from the Grand Duke, and Caribdis’s body flew away. Kwajik! The sight of him breaking through the wall and crashing into it was vividly displayed.