Emperor of Steel [EN]: Chapter 68

Assassin Master

Assassin Master

1

A black sun rose in the sky, stained with the light of twilight.

On the blood-red earth, humans and fairies engaged in a desperate slaughter.

“Kill them!”

“Descendants of Avalon, wipe out the humans!”

“How dare you, slaves!”

“Hold the line! For the glory of mankind, do not retreat a single step!”

At the peak of the shouts of anger and pain from both sides, a gray mist surged from beyond the horizon.

From within that mist, beings who were neither alive nor dead emerged. And the blood-stained earth and the twilight sky were gradually dyed gray.

Just as everything was about to be consumed by the silence and light of death, a silver giant appeared, cutting through the gray clouds.

The giant, holding light in one hand and darkness in the other, clashed his hands together.

Kwarurururung!

With a tremendous roar, a brilliant rainbow of light emanated from the giant’s hands, and the gray mist vanished.

‘A dream?’

Erewin opened her eyes to the crowing of a rooster announcing the morning.

Then, realizing she was in an unfamiliar place, she jumped up from her bed.

‘A village? I was definitely collapsed in the field…’

Erewin recalled seeing a human knight just before she lost consciousness.

‘Could he have saved me?’

Knock knock.

At the sudden knock, Erewin straightened her clothes.

Her wounds were completely healed, and she was lying on a small, simple but comfortable bed. She didn’t know who the visitor was, but they didn’t seem like they would harm her.

“Come in.”

As soon as she gave permission, the door opened, and a middle-aged knight with frost on parts of his hair entered.

His unkempt beard and hair, and his worn armor, made him look like a mercenary who had wandered the world for a long time.

The mana fluctuations emanating from his body were the same as what she had sensed before losing consciousness, confirming that he was the same person.

“Are you feeling alright?”

“Yes, I owe you my life.”

As Erewin gave a polite thank you, the knight gave an awkward smile.

“I am Erewin Lesa. May I ask for my savior’s name…?”

“My name? Just call me Rick. There’s no need to thank me so much. It’s only natural to help someone in trouble.”

Erewin smiled faintly at Rick’s words.

It reminded her of the similar words she had heard from Luke when they first met.

Anyway, she was fortunate to have met a kind person.

There were quite a few humans who didn’t see elves as people and tried to enslave or sell them.

“But Erewin? That’s a name I’ve heard somewhere before…”

Erewin took Rick’s reaction for granted.

About a hundred years ago, she had developed the technology to artificially create magic stones [Crystals that store and amplify magical energy].

The artificial magic stones brought about a revolution in magical artifacts, and she became a very famous figure in the magic world of the continent.

Even those who looked down on fairies would bow to her.

Having achieved such a feat, many people had heard of Erewin’s name, even if they were not magicians.

However, Rick’s reaction to Erewin’s name was not because of the artificial magic stones.

“Right, the elf who saved me has a similar name. Her name was…”

“Could it be Erenes?”

Erewin asked, just in case.

Then Rick smacked his fist into his palm and nodded.

“That’s right. It was Erenes. She saved me when I was dying about 20 years ago and gave me a very precious medicine. Is she perhaps your father, Miss Erewin?”

“No. She was my teacher.”

“Is that so? Haha, what a strange coincidence. I, who was saved by her teacher, end up saving her disciple.”

Erewin’s eyes turned red.

The connection Rick spoke of was not a simple coincidence. Erenes had the ability to see the future.

‘Teacher, my survival was thanks to your arrangement.’

Erewin wiped away the tears that had welled up in her eyes.

Noticing something in her expression, Rick remained silent and then turned his gaze out the window.

A man cleaning a chimney on the roof across the street was glancing this way.

He was disguised as a chimney sweep, but his movements suggested he was a dark elf. He was probably part of the same group as the ones she had seen yesterday.

In fact, Rick had a rather bad history with the fairies. They had helped his enemies destroy his family.

However, it was also a fairy who had saved his life.

He had tried to forget everything for the past 20 years, but the resentment in his heart had not completely disappeared.

That was why he had tried to avoid going to the Volga Republic, but seeing fairies from the Republic here made a murderous intent rise up.

‘My training is still lacking.’

Rick shook his head inwardly and looked at Erewin, asking,

“Miss Erewin, have you perhaps committed any crimes against the Republic or the fairies?”

“No, rather, it is those who are chasing me who are trying to commit a crime. They are…”

“Let’s talk about the details later. It would be best to leave this inn for now. Before more annoying fellows come.”

“…I understand.”

Rick covered the window with a curtain.

Meanwhile, Erewin packed her things, and together with Rick, they quietly slipped out the back door of the inn.

Soon after leaving the village, they diligently rode their horses southeast towards the Holy Artenia Empire.

“I’m sorry for getting you involved in this because of me.”

“It’s alright. It’s just helping the disciple of my savior.”

Rick waved his hand as if to say not to worry, and then looked at Erewin and continued.

“But we can’t keep running away, is there anyone you can ask for help?”

“Rather than asking for help, there is someone I need to tell an important fact to. They should be in the capital, Bless, by now…”

“Bless? That’s where I was headed anyway, so that’s good.”

“Were you on your way to Bless?”

“Yes. I heard from a merchant that my son had made a great contribution in the last civil war.”

Rick said proudly, then muttered to himself with a mix of loneliness and bewilderment.

“My son, who shouldn’t be alive, made a contribution…”

‘Who shouldn’t be alive? What kind of story is that?’

She was curious, but she couldn’t ask Rick any more questions as his expression had turned heavy.

2

Perhaps the name Henri is one of the most common names on the Rodisia continent.

A common name, common looks, unremarkable behavior.

Henri, who had such an ordinary appearance that you would forget him as soon as you passed him on the street, surprisingly had the profession of an assassin.

And not just any ordinary assassin.

He was the leader of Hydra, an assassination organization created by the Baroque Imperial Family that gathered only the top-tier assassins, and the Assassin Master.

He was such a dangerous figure that the members of Hydra did not hesitate to revere him as the Assassin Lord.

Such a Henri had recently received an imperial order.

“Eliminate Duke Luke de Rakan. Make it look like the work of the noble faction, without leaving any trace that we were involved.”

Henri, who had come down to the Rakan territory, had been circling around his target for fifteen days.

Sometimes he disguised himself as a servant working in the lord’s castle, and other times as a merchant who had come to trade with the Rakan Duchy.

There was a reason why he didn’t immediately start the assassination operation.

‘Information is bound to be embellished and distorted when it passes through the eyes of one or two people.’

Henri always took some time to observe his target before assassinating them.

Even if time was tight, he always went through a verification period of at least a week.

He would see with his own eyes and confirm whether the information collected by the organization was correct.

Some assassins, trusting only the reports and their own skills, would fail in their missions or suffer great setbacks.

Unlike these amateurs, Henri had been extremely cautious, and thanks to that, he had been able to continue his success story without ever failing an assassination.

‘Most of the information matches, but what’s with that frivolous behavior and way of speaking?’

After a period of reconnaissance, Henri had noticed a few strange things.

Duke Rakan was known to the world as a Rune Knight [A knight who uses magic runes to enhance their abilities].

He had begun to make a name for himself in the territory war with Count Monarch, and then rose to the ranks of a hero by leading the war against the Volga Republic to victory during his military service.

Not only that.

He had also shown his abilities as a lord by raising a small, failing border territory into a duchy and placing it on a solid foundation.

However, the man who had achieved such great feats often engaged in frivolous words and actions that did not match his reputation and skills.

Because of that, he was often seen being scolded by his retainers.

‘Was the rumor exaggerated? Or is he hiding his true self usually?’

If it was the former, then perhaps it was his retainers who had achieved the feats, not Duke Rakan.

But if it was the latter, then he couldn’t be careless.

There is a saying that a capable hawk hides its claws.

There was no way that a cold-blooded man who hid his true self would show his real skills in front of others.

‘He’s definitely much more skilled than what’s known to the world. So, there’s no harm in being careful.’

Even the saber tiger, known as the king of the forest, does its best when catching a rabbit.

How could he easily take down a Rune Knight who was so skilled that even the emperor was wary of him?

‘Never be careless! As always, give it your all.’

Henri inwardly resolved himself.

In the deep darkness of dawn, when even the moon was not visible.

Henri, wearing a cloak of concealment darker than the darkness, crossed the wall of the lord’s residence.

Detection magic was laid out everywhere, and guard dogs and sentries were on duty, but no one noticed Henri’s intrusion, who had risen to the rank of Assassin Master.

When he moved, he was as fast as the wind, and when he stopped, he was like a rock. There was no sound of footsteps, not even a breath, and no odor emanated from his body.

But more surprising than anything was his stealth technique.

When Henri passed through the garden, he was a tree, and inside the mansion, he was completely assimilated with the walls or furniture, so even a knight passing nearby did not notice him at all.

All of this was thanks to an artifact from the ancient magic era that he had received from the emperor.

This artifact, called the ‘Chameleon Brooch,’ gave him an assimilation ability that was on a different level from ordinary invisibility magic.

In addition, it also had the function of neutralizing detection magic, which doubled Henri’s infiltration ability.

‘The lord’s bedroom is in the middle room on the third floor of the mansion. There are always two escort knights guarding the entrance, but…’

Henri, who had come close to the bedroom, took out a small box from his pocket.

When he opened the box, a small green moth fluttered and flew towards the escort knights standing at the entrance of the bedroom.

“Haaam. I’m suddenly feeling sleepy.”

“Me too. We shouldn’t fall asleep…”

The escort knights fell asleep one after another from the sleep powder that the moth had scattered.

Henri snorted at the fallen knights and quietly opened the door and entered the bedroom.

‘As far as the world knows, Duke Rakan is a Rune Knight with expert-level swordsmanship and 6th circle magic [A high level of magic proficiency]. His overall combat power surpasses that of a decent Sword Master, right?’

Considering that he was hiding his skills, he must be even more powerful.

But Henri was not afraid at all, even while being cautious. He was an Assassin Master who devoured Sword Masters.

Ssssk.

As if sliding on an icy road, Henri approached the bed silently and took out a thin, long needle from his pocket.

If he pierced the heart with this needle made by grinding high-purity magic stones, a tingling current would flow and cause a heart attack.

In other words, he could disguise it as a natural death without leaving any trace.

Henri carefully pulled back the curtains of the bed and raised the needle.

But just then, a cold and eerie voice came from behind him.

3

“Hey, cat. Stop pretending to sleep and get up now, will you?”

Flustered.

Startled, Henri quickly turned his head.

A sharp-looking man in a black uniform, who had appeared out of nowhere, was standing with his back against the wall, arms crossed.

But the man’s gaze was not directed at Henri.

His gaze was directed at the bed.

It was Duke Rakan, who was stretching and getting up from his bed.

“Tsk tsk, a guy who doesn’t know romance! I was just about to get to the fun part, but you suddenly appeared and interrupted.”

Henri, surprised by the sight of Duke Rakan getting up while clicking his tongue, jumped back to create some distance.

Just a moment ago, he had confirmed that he was sound asleep.

But was he not asleep? Did he know about my assassination attempt?

Ignoring the flustered Henri, Duke Rakan and the man began to converse.

“If you seek romance like that again, you’ll get killed by an assassin.”

“Hmph, do you think I wouldn’t notice a guy like that approaching?”

“Well, with your cat-like abilities, you’d certainly notice.”

At Belpar’s words, Sebastian’s fur stood on end.

“Kyak! I told you not to call me a cat!”

“What’s wrong with calling a cat a cat?”

“If you call me that one more time, I’ll start calling you a bat!”

As befitting an Assassin Master, Henri’s infiltration and stealth skills were exceptional.

Especially, the Chameleon Brooch allowed him to perfectly blend into his surroundings.

However, his opponent was none other than Sebastian, known as the greatest phantom thief of the Demon Realm. He prided himself on his ability to hide his presence and infiltrate, surpassing even the highest-ranking demons in the Demon Realm.

Therefore, he had long since detected Henri’s presence lurking around him. He was merely curious about how the assassin would make his move, so he had been pretending not to notice. But then, the audacious assassin infiltrated the mansion and attempted to assassinate him, disguised as his master.

He was about to teach him a lesson when Belpar appeared.

“More importantly, what brings you here?”

“My master sent me on an errand.”

“An errand?”

“To deliver a letter to old man Hans…”

Just as Sebastian and Belpar’s conversation was about to deepen, Henri pulled out two scythe-like weapons. They were Harpes, foreign weapons [a type of curved sword or sickle].

“I don’t know how you knew I infiltrated, but your life ends today!”

Although his perfect crime was foiled, Henri did not think he would fail in his assassination attempt.

The ‘Assassination Arts’ he had mastered were passed down from the great nation of Bharat [an ancient name for India], which rivaled the Song Empire in the Southern Continent, and were so powerful that they could easily kill even a Sword Master.

In fact, two years ago, he had succeeded in killing a newly emerged Sword Master in the Volga Republic in a head-on fight.

As the scythes Henri swung flew mercilessly towards him, Luke, or rather Sebastian, made a terrified expression and quickly hid behind Belpar.

“Eek, I’m a bit busy, so you deal with him!”

“Hmph, as if I wouldn’t?”

Belpar took on Henri in place of Sebastian, who was useless without his disguise, poison skills, and stealth abilities.

Belpar easily blocked Henri’s descending Harpe with Blood Shock and gave a sly smile.

“That’s a pretty sharp attack. It’d be great against weaklings.”

Henri frowned and decided to deal with the nuisance first.

He began to circle around Belpar, wielding his Harpes in a dazzling manner.

The dozens of clones Henri created and the fierce trajectories of the Harpes confused Belpar.

Unable to tell which was real and which was a genuine attack, Belpar boldly stepped forward and deployed his Silver Sword.

Clang!

A powerful explosion occurred as the three weapons collided.

The shockwave shattered the furniture in the room, and Belpar and Henri were thrown back.

Belpar couldn’t hide his surprise at the unexpectedly powerful force.

‘For an assassin, he’s quite capable. But it’s nothing compared to my master’s strike.’

Unlike Belpar, who was smirking, Henri’s expression was serious.

The nuisance was stronger than he had expected, and the explosion just now would bring all the knights and soldiers in the manor.

He could kill the man if he used his trump card, but he wouldn’t have time to kill Duke Luke.

“Damn it, I have no choice.”

Deciding to postpone it, Henri threw himself out the window.

Clang-!

“What’s that noise?”

“Intruder! Catch the intruder!”

The knights of the manor, already on high alert due to the explosion, chased after Henri, who was flying across the sky like a flying squirrel.

Belpar clicked his tongue as he watched the scene.

“Tsk tsk, chasing after a fake without even knowing it.”

The one flying through the sky like a kite was not Henri.

Cunningly, the moment he jumped out of the window, he had taken out a scarecrow from behind his back and sent it flying upwards to draw attention, while he ran in the opposite direction.

“Hey, cat. You put the tracking scent on him, right?”

“Of course! This Sebastian didn’t just tuck his tail and run!”

Sebastian had secretly sprayed a tracking scent on Henri just before hiding behind Belpar.

Assassins were always prepared to make a quick escape, so he had taken precautions beforehand.

“Let’s go after him. We can’t let prey that came in on its own escape.”

The two demons grinned at each other and began to chase after Henri.

Having escaped the manor, Henri immediately ran into the forest.

His face was contorted with shame. It was the first time he had failed an assassination mission since becoming an assassin.

“I’ll retreat today because I don’t have time, but next time, I’ll definitely…”

Henri couldn’t finish his sentence and stopped in his tracks. Belpar and Sebastian were standing in front of him, blocking his path.

‘How did they catch up so quickly?’

“Hehehe. You’re just a flea, no matter how much you jump around.”

Sebastian puffed out his chest in front of the bewildered Henri.

However, he quickly stepped back, flinching at Henri’s sharp, cold gaze.

“Go, Belpar! Show that fool who dared to try to assassinate our master a taste of his own medicine.”

“Shut up. I’ll do it even if you don’t bark.”

‘Th-this guy was a decoy?’

From Sebastian’s words and actions, Henri realized that the target he had aimed for was a fake.

He had been feeling something was off since a while ago, but he never imagined that Duke Luke would be a fake.

‘Damn those intelligence bastards! They couldn’t even figure this out!’

Henri gritted his teeth at the Imperial Intelligence Department and composed himself.

It was regrettable that he had failed his mission against a fake, but what was important now was to escape from here.

As Belpar pulled out his Blood Shock and stepped forward, Henri gripped his Harpes again.

Just before Belpar deployed his Silver Sword, he pressed the button on the handle of the Harpe.

Then, the blades of the Harpe began to spin at high speed.

‘What is he doing?’

Belpar, who was puzzled, saw a dark blue mist flowing out from the rapidly spinning scythe handle.

The grass and trees that touched the dark blue mist withered in an instant.

Before the startled Belpar could retreat, the dark blue mist enveloped his body.

Immediately, a groan escaped Belpar’s lips, and blood gushed out.

“Kuh, th-this is!”

“Hehehe. It’s Absolute Poison, made by mixing twelve kinds of poisons from the Demon Realm. No one who has ever touched this poison has survived!”

The Harpe Henri held was no ordinary weapon. Along with the Chameleon Brooch, it was an artifact used by a famous assassin from the ancient magic era, and a terrifying poison was hidden inside it.

When the Harpe was rotated, powdered poison flowed out from the scythe handle, and anyone poisoned by it, even an 8th Circle Archmage or a Sword Sage, could not survive.

This was the trump card he had been about to use earlier.

“D-Demon Realm poison?”

“Hahaha. That’s right! No one can detoxify it except for me, who has immunity to poison… Ah, no!”

Henri, who had been boasting loudly, widened his eyes. Belpar’s complexion, which had seemed to be dying, had returned to normal.

This was thanks to Sebastian, who had been standing back, sprinkling a white powder he had taken out from his sleeve on Belpar.

That white powder was the antidote to Absolute Poison.

Henri could not accept this situation.

How could his trump card, which he had never used before and had been saving, be so futile?

“N-no way! Even a high priest cannot detoxify Absolute Poison… !”

“Hmph, what’s so great about a poison with a fancy name?”

Sebastian scoffed.

To him, the greatest phantom thief of the Demon Realm and an expert in poisons, Absolute Poison was nothing more than an old relic that was already well-known.

“W-what the hell are you?”

“Hehehe. If I were to introduce myself, I am Sebastian, the greatest phantom thief of the Demon Realm.”

“What? A phantom thief of the Demon Realm? Is this guy making fun of me!”

Henri, enraged, charged at Sebastian.

However, Belpar blocked the Harpe he swung with his Blood Shock.

At the same time, Sebastian threw a small bead at Henri.

Thwack!

“Agh!”

Henri staggered back, having been hit in the eye.

It wasn’t just a hit to the eye; the bead had shattered, and the liquid inside had spilled out.

And that liquid was a poison that caused a pain as if his eye was being gouged out.

The pain was so severe that Henri even dropped his Harpe and clutched his eye, letting out a painful groan.

“Kuhhh! Wh-what is this?!”

Assassins are trained to endure pain and torture. As an Assassin Lord, Henri could even laugh even if his whole body was riddled with wounds.

But what was this terrible pain?

It was as if his eyeballs were being gouged out, and thousands of ants were gnawing at his brain.

“Hehehe. If you mix the fluid extracted from the red soldier ants that live in the deserts of the Demon Realm with the saliva of a Cockatrice [a mythical beast with a deadly gaze], it becomes a tremendous poison. The more you endure it, the more excruciating the pain will be.”

“Tsk tsk, you fool. How could you boast about poison in front of Sebastian…”

Belpar clicked his tongue.

There was a saying in the Southern Continent, ‘Writing characters in front of Confucius’ [a Chinese idiom meaning showing off one’s shallow skills in front of an expert]. It meant showing off one’s shallow skills in front of an expert, and in his eyes, this situation was exactly that.

“Aaaagh! I can’t die like this!”

Henri hurriedly took out a detoxification scroll and tore it.

But realizing that it was not working at all, he gritted his teeth and charged at Sebastian and Belpar.

“I can’t just die! I’ll take you bastards who mocked me to hell with me!”

“Not so fast!”

Belpar stepped in, swinging his Blood Shock.

Henri’s attack, disregarding death, shone for a moment, but his true colors were quickly revealed.

He couldn’t launch a proper attack because of the poison that was rapidly consuming his body.

“Kuh-uh-uh!”

In the end, Henri screamed and collapsed to the ground after being struck in the chest.

Just as Belpar was about to finish him off, Sebastian stopped him.

“Wait!”

“Why?”

“Isn’t it a bit boring to just kill him?”

Sebastian grinned slyly. It was a cruel and despicable smile that was commonly seen in the Demon Realm.

“I happen to be researching something, and I want to use this guy as a test subject.”

Sebastian had been too busy carrying out Luke’s orders to enjoy his hobbies and specialties.

Now that he had plenty of time and a good test subject had come to him on his own, the desires he had buried deep inside were surging.

“Then, shall I make a subordinate demon for a change? There are some guys loitering around, so it’s perfect.”

“Hehehe, right?”

The two demons, in high spirits, giggled and left the scene.

Henri, who was so limp that he couldn’t even attempt suicide, felt himself being dragged away by Belpar and let go of the faint thread of consciousness he had been holding onto.

4

How much time had passed?

When Henri regained consciousness, he looked around.

His one remaining eye saw gray brick walls and iron bars as thick as an adult’s arm surrounding him.

It seemed like a prison. It was definitely the underground prison in the Rakan estate.

‘Why didn’t they kill me?’

The answer was soon clear.

It was to interrogate him and find out who was behind him.

‘Heh heh, you fools. Did you think I would talk just because I was captured?’

It was not uncommon for an assassin who had failed an assassination to become a prisoner.

To prepare for that moment, they each had a method of self-destruction ready.

Henri, their leader, was no different. He had a set of dentures with a hidden, extremely potent poison that could kill even a giant troll with just a single drop.

He tried to bite down on the dentures to release the poison.

But there was nothing to bite down on where the dentures should have been.

“Looking for this?”

A voice came from the front.

When Henri turned his gaze, he could see a figure sitting leisurely in the darkness.

It was Duke Luke. No, it was Sebastian disguised as Duke Luke.

Sebastian, who had been playing with the dentures like a pebble, accidentally dropped them.

The dentures, having fallen from his hand, rolled across the floor and fell into a drain.

“Oops, my hand slipped. Sorry about that?”

“Ughhh, stop mocking me and just kill me!”

Henri, bound tightly with ropes, struggled and shouted. Sebastian chuckled and shook his head.

“I don’t want to.”

“If you think I’ll break under torture, you’re mistaken.”

“Why bother with torture? It doesn’t take much to figure out that your backer is Emperor Rudolf.”

Henri looked flustered at Sebastian’s words.

“Th-then why did you keep me alive?”

“Hehehe. I just have one experiment I want to try on you.”

The moment Sebastian smiled wickedly, the door to the underground prison clanked open, and Belpar entered.

He was carrying a bunch of things in his hands, which he passed to Sebastian with a disgruntled look.

“Don’t make me do errands like this again.”

“Okay.”

Henri was more surprised by the people following Belpar than the items he brought.

‘Th-this can’t be!’

A young mercenary, a middle-aged merchant, a waitress-dressed girl, and a wandering mage, among others.

They were the informants sent by the Imperial Family and the Hydra members who had come to support him. They had been lying low, hiding their identities, but how did they get caught?

No, even if they were caught, that’s one thing.

Why were they following Belpar so obediently, as if they were his subordinates, even though they weren’t bound?

“What the hell did you do to them!”

“What did I do? I just made them my subordinate demons.”

Belpar grinned, revealing his sharp fangs.

Henri didn’t recognize it, but there were teeth marks on the necks of those who had become subordinate demons.

It was proof that they had fallen under the vampire’s charm.

Small animals could be easily subjugated with the Dominate Eye, but higher beings like humans couldn’t be controlled for long using that method.

So, they would enhance their control by sucking blood and infusing the vampire’s bodily fluids and magical energy into their bodies.

“S-subordinate demons? D-don’t tell me you guys aren’t human?”

“That’s right, we are the demons that you humans tremble before.”

Thump!

Thunder and lightning struck Henri’s mind.

Belpar smirked at Henri’s dazed expression.

He wasn’t a nightmare demon like Sebastian, who fed on the gloomy emotions of humans, but seeing Henri’s face turn pale made him feel good for some reason.

“D-d-demons! Why would demons help Duke Luke? Did Duke Luke summon you? Did the descendant of the hero sell his soul to demons for power?”

“That is…”

Belpar’s expression turned bewildered as he tried to answer Henri’s question with gusto.

The truth was that the relationship between the superior and subordinate had been reversed, and it was not in the demon’s best interest to say that he was acting as Luke’s loyal servant.

“Hey! You’re a prisoner, stop talking so much! What are you doing, Sebastian! Hurry up and do your experiment or whatever!”

Regardless of Belpar’s urging, Sebastian was whistling merrily as he drew something that looked like a magic circle on the prison floor.

After a while, when the drawing was complete, he arranged the items Belpar had brought and finished the setup.

“It’s done. Now, bring him over.”

At Sebastian’s words, Belpar gestured to the subordinate demons.

The subordinate demons approached Henri and dragged him over.

“Let go! Have you forgotten your loyalty to His Majesty?”

Henri’s cries didn’t reach the subordinate demons’ hearts.

They clearly remembered their past, but the object of their loyalty had already changed from Emperor Rudolf to Belpar.

The subordinate demons tied the struggling Henri to a rack in the center of the magic circle.

Henri looked around.

The items arranged like a demon ritual—cow liver, pig intestines, a goat’s skull, and a snake’s shed skin—all had an eerie and evil aura.

He didn’t know what they were planning, but it didn’t seem like it would be used for anything good.

“You guys, are you really going to perform a demon ritual in the hero’s land? If you do, then…”

“The old retainers will find out? You don’t have to worry. This place was originally a demon king’s castle.”

The residual magic in the demon king’s castle would be enough to conceal the demon ritual.

No, even if it couldn’t be concealed, it didn’t matter.

The retainers who sensed the magic would just dismiss it as an anomaly in the demon king’s castle.

Sebastian, who had been sneering at Henri, began to chant a spell while burning incense he had made himself.

“Ahura De Madrakara, Wusel Re Wuz Boger…”

As Sebastian chanted the spell in the ancient demon language, Henri’s eyes changed. They became increasingly dull and hazy, like those of a drug-addled patient.

He felt dizzy and lightheaded, and a sense of thirst and lethargy washed over him.

Henri tried his best to resist being drawn into the ritual, but the more he did, the more his strength drained away.

‘What the hell are they trying to do?’

Henri glanced down and was shocked.

He could see his own body, tied to the rack and unconscious.

And he could see the top of his head, which he could never normally see!

‘Th-this is the legendary spirit separation!’

He had heard of it.

Demons usually obtained human souls through contracts with black mages, but they also used vile tricks to steal them by force.

It seemed that his soul had been separated from his body by the demons’ trickery.

No, it wasn’t completely separated yet; it was only halfway out of his body.

‘Are they trying to forcibly take my soul!’

A soul that became the property of a demon would never go to the afterlife and would suffer eternally.

It was a punishment worse than death.

“Hehehe. It’s my first time trying this, but it came out well.”

As Sebastian approached with a dagger made from a monster’s bone, Henri struggled to escape.

But because of the evil magic, his soul could neither flee nor return to his body.

He could only accept the blade that Sebastian was about to strike down.

5

“Aaaargh!”

Henri opened his eyes with a jolt, feeling a terrible pain as if his whole body was being torn apart.

He could see the two hateful demons in front of him, smiling wickedly as they talked.

‘My soul!’

Henri quickly checked his soul.

Fortunately, his soul had returned to his body.

He had thought he would be trapped in the demons’ grasp, neither living nor dying, and suffer eternally… but it wasn’t so.

‘Huh? The bindings are undone?’

The ropes that had been tightly binding his body were untied.

Thinking it was an opportunity, Henri got up to run away.

At that moment, Sebastian, who had glanced at him, poked a squishy black mass he was holding with his fingernail.

“Agh!”

Henri suddenly felt an intense pain and collapsed on the spot.

Regardless, Sebastian continued to poke the mass, and each time, Henri had to writhe in agony.

‘Wh-what is this pain…?’

It was a pain he had never felt before.

It felt like being burned with fire, like having his flesh torn off with pincers, like being stabbed with an awl, or like having salt rubbed into his wounds.

In short, it was a collection of all pains.

“Did it work?”

“Yeah, I think it worked. A normal human would have died instantly, but this guy is a bit tough…”

While Sebastian was answering Belpar’s question, Henri, who had barely regained his senses, opened his mouth with difficulty.

“Wh-what the hell did you do to me?”

“Tsk, watch your mouth.”

“Aaaargh!”

When Sebastian poked the mass again, Henri rolled around on the floor, biting his own arm.

He tried to shake off the extreme pain that was tormenting him with new pain, but it was no use.

“This is a piece of your soul that I took from you. Anyone who has even a piece of their soul taken is bound to obey the one who possesses it.”

Sebastian explained as he stroked the black mass, or rather, the piece of soul.

Strangely, a smile appeared on Henri’s lips. It felt like the feeling he had when his teacher used to pat him on the head for doing a good job when he was a child.

But Henri’s smile soon crumpled.

He realized his situation from Sebastian’s words.

“Did you make me a slave?”

“You still haven’t come to your senses.”

The cruel master squeezed the piece of soul tightly.

Henri writhed without making a sound, feeling a pain 100 times more intense than what he had felt a moment ago.

The pain was so excruciating that he involuntarily soiled himself.

“Ughhh… please… kill me.”

At Henri’s request, which was much more polite than before, Sebastian shook his head.

“I went through all the trouble of taking a piece of your soul, and now you want me to kill you? Why? Do you think you’ll be free if you die? Not even close. As long as I have a piece of your soul, your soul is mine. I can shove that soul into a human body or a dog’s body, whatever I want.”

‘Gasp!’

Henri felt his vision darken at Sebastian’s sinister smile.

He knew exactly what situation he was in. And he knew what he had to do now.

“Give it to me!”

Henri jumped up from his spot and lunged at Sebastian.

The moment he pushed him away and touched the piece of soul, he had to writhe in terrible pain again.

“Kaaaargh! Wh-why…!”

“You fool. Only I can handle this piece I took. If anyone else touches it, they’ll only feel excruciating pain.”

‘Th-that’s!’

There was no way out.

Henri wore a crazed expression, weighed down by the heavy feeling of despair.

“But you don’t have to despair too much. I’m a generous demon. I don’t needlessly torment my subordinate demons.”

Sebastian spoke softly and picked up the piece of soul that had fallen on the ground and swallowed it.

With this, Henri had become Sebastian’s subordinate demon forever.

“Whether you live comfortably or painfully depends on what you do from now on. So, you’d better accept your fate quietly.”

With those words, Sebastian turned away, and Belpar, who had been watching with interest, also left, leading the subordinate demons.

“Aaaaargh! Aaaaargh!”

A sorrowful scream echoed from the underground prison, but the two demons didn’t even bat an eye.

“How long are you going to use that guy? 100 years? 200 years?”

“We should make him work hard while he’s working under Master, shouldn’t we? Both of us have a lot to do.”

Belpar nodded at Sebastian’s words.

In fact, it was easier to kill spies or assassins than to make them subordinate demons.

Nevertheless, they chose this method because they wanted to make the tasks Luke had entrusted to them easier and because of the pleasure they got from using and tormenting subordinate demons.

“But won’t Master say something if he finds out?”

“We’re just using guys who were going to die anyway. If he doesn’t like it, we can just get rid of them then.”

“I guess so…”

The two demons decided not to take it too seriously.

They didn’t realize that their small(?) trick today to make things easier would lead to them being given even more work later.

Emperor of Steel [EN]

Emperor of Steel [EN]

강철대제
Status: Completed Author: Native Language: Korean
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[English Translation] In the realm of dark magic, Shaymon stood unrivaled, mastering the deepest and most formidable arts. Yet, his unparalleled prowess became his undoing when he was wrongfully accused of being a Demon King and met a premature death. Defiant in his final moments, Shaymon's indomitable will propels him 500 years into the future, granting him a second chance at life. However, fate plays a cruel jest: he is reborn as the descendant of his former nemesis, the revered Sword Emperor. In this new era, where the legacies of magic and swordsmanship intertwine, Shaymon must navigate the intricate dynamics of his inherited lineage while confronting remnants of his past. Armed with ancient knowledge and a renewed purpose, he embarks on a journey to reclaim his destiny, challenging the very fabric of time and power. Dive into a tale of reincarnation, redemption, and the relentless pursuit of truth in "Emperor of Steel."

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