The Bastard Swordsman Of The Imperial Guard [EN]: Chapter 17

Magi

Raelle walked through the quiet streets, shrouded in the darkness of the night.

She left Bennett’s disposal to a beggar.

The stray dogs beyond the 5th district’s walls could chew on anything.

Living on the streets teaches you how to handle corpses, whether you want to know it or not.

“The more I think about it, the stranger it gets···.”

Step- Step-

The cool night air ruffled Raelle’s hair.

After dealing with Bennett, she had been talking to Reina and hadn’t had a chance to think about something.

‘Why would a guy who works alone say he’ll die if he fails?’

In his last moments, Bennett unleashed a curse, burning his own life force.

And one phrase she heard then was grating on Raelle’s nerves.

[I’m going to die anyway if I fail…! I’ll take you with me!]

Die anyway if he failed?

That meant he was carrying out someone’s orders and would be punished if he failed.

That was completely contrary to Bennett’s claim that he worked alone.

Raelle moved to ease the unease in her heart.

Whatever she did, she had to clean up properly.

‘I hope they don’t know I got fired from the guard yet···.’

She headed to the Central Guard for the first time in a while. Though it was late at night, the guardhouse was still brightly lit.

Raelle approached the guard watching over the guardhouse building.

“It’s been a while, James.”

“Oh! Captain Raelle, isn’t it!?”

“Yeah. Who’s on duty today?”

“Captain Curran is on duty.”

That’s a relief.

It seemed Curran, who she was friendly with, was on duty.

If it had been someone else, she might have had to raise her fist to persuade them, but Curran would be easy to get past.

“I’m just going to pop in for a bit, so don’t record it in the access log. Got it?”

“Yes! Understood!”

As expected, security in medieval fantasy was a mess.

Raelle familiarly found her way to the duty room inside the guardhouse.

Creak-

As she opened the door as if she was used to it, the 1st Guard Captain Curran was seen doing paperwork with a straight posture.

He still seemed to love the Empire, even if he couldn’t tell his left from his right.

“It’s been a while, Curran.”

“Raelle? What brings you here?”

“Curran, spare an hour for your beloved junior.”

Raelle entered the duty room as if it were natural.

It was to use the magic tool that only those on duty could use.

“Can’t you see I’m on duty?”

“I’ve been on duty too, you know? You don’t have anything to do at this hour anyway.”

“Nothing to do? You have to be on edge so you can respond immediately no matter what happens, whenever, wherever.”

“···.”

What’s the difference between that and having nothing to do?

Raelle sighed and sat next to Curran.

“Check if this is fake.”

She placed the ID and believer’s badge that came from Bennett’s possession on the table.

“Where did you get these?”

“They’re from a criminal I dealt with.”

“Raelle. If you find a criminal, the principle is to capture them and bring them to the Central Guard.”

Raelle stared intently at Curran.

He was obsessed with following the rules, but it wasn’t like there was no way to persuade him.

You just had to appeal to his emotions.

“Haa. Curran. Actually, this guy visited our orphanage. He’s suspected of being a child molester. I dealt with him on the spot, but there might be something strange in his house.”

“······ Hmm.”

The 1st Guard Captain Curran fell into thought after hearing Raelle’s words.

‘If it’s Raelle, and not someone else···.’

Curran thought very highly of Raelle.

He hadn’t been discouraged even after being demoted to the Special Guard, which was known as the Empire Guard’s hell.

He was still helping the orphanage he grew up in and taking the initiative in maintaining public order, even though he didn’t have to.

Raelle’s actions were a model not only for the commoner guards but for all the other guards as well.

‘Once should be okay.’

According to the Imperial Law, you can’t check an Imperial citizen’s ID for personal reasons, but he could let this one slide.

Curran looked at Raelle and then nodded.

“Okay. Since it’s your request, I’ll get the magic tool. But if an emergency occurs, I’ll prioritize the situation.”

“Thank you, Curran.”

Curran took out the ID check magic tool from behind the duty room with a satisfied expression.

It was an ID check magic tool that only those on duty that day could use.

When he put the ID into the magic tool, a red light leaked out.

“The ID is a forgery. The person died 10 years ago.”

“Tsk. Of course, it would be?”

No matter how stupid Bennett was, he wouldn’t carry his own ID.

But the next moment, a blue light came out of the magic tool.

“Raelle. The cult’s believer’s badge is real. The address is also listed.”

“Really? Khee, as expected of the cult. They never betray your faith.”

Raelle clenched her fist and smiled.

Those idiots didn’t even investigate criminals and were handing out believer’s badges.

She had never been so grateful to the cult as she was today.

“Tell me the location of that guy’s house that’s on the believer’s badge.”

“Even if he’s a criminal, I can’t just give out an Imperial citizen’s information, but··· if it’s you, a member of the Special Guard, some information sharing is necessary for immediate response.”

“Yes. I’m grateful, but···.”

Why are his eyes like that?

Curran was looking at Raelle with the eyes of a father who was proud of his child who had grown up at some point.

“I hope you always stay the same, Raelle.”

“···Ah, yes. Have a good one. I’m leaving.”

She felt strange for some reason, but Raelle easily found out Bennett’s address.

*

A slum deeper than the orphanage in the 4th district.

Raelle frowned at the stench that stung her nose and moved her feet.

It was a good decision that she had put on a mask just in case.

It was still disgusting, but at least the smell was less.

“This is··· Reina’s house is enviable.”

At the address Curran had told her, there was a house that was falling apart.

It would be more accurate to call this a collection of rocks than a house.

Creak-

Raelle slightly pushed the open door to look inside.

After confirming that no one was there, Raelle carefully went inside.

Tsszzz-

And, she took a step back in surprise.

A curse that attacked intruders was laid throughout the house.

If it hadn’t been Raelle, her body would have been shaken up by the curse as soon as she stepped into the house.

“Geez. You surprised me.”

The curse covered the door and buzzed, guarding against intruders.

Raelle put her hand on the curse for a moment, then went inside without paying attention to it.

“The inside of the house is a mess too.”

Whether it was for the purpose of living there for a while and running away, the house was full of all kinds of garbage.

In particular, there were many ominous occult supplies.

“Huh?”

Among the occult supplies, she saw a familiar branch.

It was the World Tree branch that Bennett had obtained from the black market.

“He embezzled money from the academy, he said···. Just how much did he rip off?”

Raelle picked up the four World Tree branches that were lying there and put them in her arms.

She didn’t know the price range because she got them for free from Uncle Eric.

How expensive would four be?

‘I should sell them to Reina at the black market price.’

She felt sorry for Reina, but she couldn’t give them away for free.

Originally, monetary transactions had to be clean.

Raelle smiled with satisfaction and looked around.

The World Tree branches were a good harvest, but the reason she bothered to search Bennett’s house was because of what that bastard had said at the end.

She had to check if there were any remnants left.

“What’s that again?”

Raelle frowned at the unidentified magic circle on the table.

It looked suspicious at first glance, and she didn’t want to touch it, but she remembered the pattern drawn on it.

It was a demon’s seal.

Why was a demon’s seal, which should have been stuck in the forbidden land of Alheim after the Great War, visible here?

“Was Bennett connected to a demon?”

Raelle sighed as she saw the truth she didn’t want to know.

She felt even worse because of the smell of dust from the mask that came in with her breath.

“··· Magi [a type of demonic energy] is said to eat away at the soul.”

Raelle lightly put her hand on the magic circle from which the magi was flowing.

Srrr-

The magi, which was said to eat away at human souls, disappeared like steam as soon as it touched Raelle’s hand.

Raelle clenched and unfolded her fist, remembering the sensation she had just felt.

“So this is what it feels like? The magi that the Demon King emits and the demon’s magi are a little different.”

The reason why it was difficult for humans to fight demons was because of the magi.

Demons ate away at the soul of the person who came into contact with the magi and stole their life force.

Ordinary humans writhed in pain just by touching the magi.

But Raelle was different.

The magi that touched her scattered like smoke.

‘The feeling of a demon··· I remembered it for sure.’

It was a new sensation that she hadn’t been able to feel because she had never met a demon before.

It was a strange feeling, like when she first felt magic.

“···!”

At the same time, Raelle’s senses caught something.

Swish-

Raelle, who had drawn her sword in an instant, cut down something that was attached to the ceiling.

The bizarre creature that fell to the floor looked like a bat, but it was a cyclops with one eye.

“··· A demon?”

– Krreureureureureuk.

The bat’s huge eye met Raelle’s eyes.

The eye wiggled up and down as if trying to capture as much of Raelle’s appearance as possible.

“This is bullshit.”

Crack-

Raelle, who had goosebumps on her back, instinctively stomped on the eye.

Seeing it crumble sloppily with one kick, it seemed to be a familiar spirit rather than a demon.

The purpose of that huge eye was probably to convey what it saw to the main body.

Tak-

Raelle raised her hand and stroked her face.

There had never been a time when the touch of cheap cloth was so welcome as it was now.

“··· Wow, if I hadn’t worn a mask, I would have been screwed.”

Even if it was a demon, it wouldn’t be able to harm Raelle in the Imperial capital, but there was no reason to have her face exposed.

‘Should I say it’s a relief···. Still, if that guy’s backer is a demon, there won’t be a threat to the orphanage.’

There were still 10 years left until the demons attacked the Empire.

She had killed the familiar spirit, but such weak familiar spirits died from stray attacks on a daily basis.

Even in the original story, the protagonist killed the demon’s henchmen several times, but the demon didn’t appear.

Perhaps Bennett was one of the demon’s many disposable pawns.

Raelle shuddered and came out of Bennett’s house.

*

The Empire’s forbidden land, Alheim.

At the end of the area full of magi, evil and chaos were intertwined.

“··· Hmm.”

The demon sitting on the obsidian throne, Maledrakh, let out a groan as if he was annoyed.

His head had twisted horns, and huge wings wrapped around his body.

Soon, when Maledrakh’s wings were fully spread, countless eyes covering his entire body were revealed.

Trickle-

Tears of blood flowed from two of those eyes.

It was attached to one human.

“Did he die to a human even after using magi?”

Recently, more and more humans had been flowing into Alheim.

He had injected magi into some of them as a test, but in the end, none of them produced proper results.

‘Humans are still weak.’

If he died even with his magi, it was a life that was trash anyway.

However, the fact that the magi had disappeared from the magic circle containing Maledrakh’s magi was a bit of a concern.

The magi he had bestowed upon the human was a very small amount, but it had not returned to him.

‘Was it purified? No, it doesn’t feel like that. It’s like it was absorbed···.’

Maledrakh was lost in thought for a moment at the first phenomenon.

Sss-

While Maledrakh was lost in thought, one of the lower demons rose from the darkness.

The demon took a polite posture and paid his respects to his master before opening his mouth.

“Maledrakh-nim [a respectful title], I have found the flow of ghostly energy.”

“Ghostly energy? You found something that even my eyes couldn’t find?”

“Yes. It is the capital of the Kamen Empire. The flow there has changed.”

“The Kamen Empire, huh···.”

Only then did Maledrakh rise from his throne.

It was not the time to think about trivial matters like familiar spirits.

Now was the time to discuss the grand scheme.

“Listen. Demons of Alheim. I command you in the name of Maledrakh.”

Maledrakh’s countless eyes emitted an ominous light.

The painful screams of cursed souls echoed, and an evil shadow spread throughout Alheim as if dancing.

Maledrakh, one of the demon kings representing Alheim.

He declared to the demons in his name.

“Find the ghost hidden by the Empire.”

The being who would bring back the glory of the demons.

A monster that turns human malice into ghostly energy and magi.

The Ghost King Yaksha.

He had to find her faster than anyone else.

*

Clatter- Clatter-

The sunlight in medieval fantasy is really hot.

It felt three times hotter than in her previous life.

In her previous life, there were people who deliberately tanned their skin to become prettier, but this world was a world where your skin tanned even if you didn’t want it to.

Slap- Slap-

‘If I’m here every day, my skin won’t get tanned.’

Raelle felt the cold air of the basement and ended her random thoughts.

Before her eyes sat the Ghost King with her eyes wide open.

A girl with horns on her head tied to dozens of chains was a sight that made her feel strange no matter how many times she saw it.

“Well, I bought everything on the stand by type, so eat whatever you like.”

Of course, Raelle’s appearance of throwing chocolate at the tied-up Ghost King was the strangest.

She even bought them by type in case she didn’t like them.

“···What is this? It’s a strange taste.”

“Hey. Hey! That’s paper!”

“There was such fancy paper. No wonder the texture was crumbly.”

Thoo.

The chewed paper that came out of the Ghost King’s mouth was engulfed in black flames and burned.

“···.”

What is this···. Scary.

What she did was the same as the children in the orphanage, but the result was too scary.

“What’s this again?”

“That’s mint chocolate, which is chocolate mixed with grass···.”

“Oh, the taste is not bad. Make sure to buy only this next time.”

“Kheeueueuk···.”

Raelle swallowed her frustration by force.

Of all things, she liked that.

Next time, she should buy pineapple pizza.

Let’s see who wins.

Slap- Slap-

The Ghost King was focused on eating chocolate whether she liked it or not.

That appearance was so similar to the children in the orphanage that Raelle bought snacks for that it was amazing.

“···.”

The difference was··· ghostly energy flowed out of the Ghost King before her eyes instead of cuteness, and she was a bomb that could destroy the Empire if she made a mistake.

“Haa···.”

Was it because of the ghostly energy and magi leaking from the Ghost King’s body?

Raelle’s head began to get complicated.

‘Is this right?’

Was it really the right thing to do to buy chocolate for the Ghost King, who was said to be made up of human malice?

Should she have pretended not to hear like the others?

‘No, then they should have told me from the beginning. I thought everyone was talking. You bastards···.’

She should have known when Reina made a fuss, saying that she couldn’t have seen the Ghost King’s face from the first day.

Her life was already twisted and twisted.

“Why? You have a troubled expression.”

“··· It’s nothing.”

“Thanks to you, the boring time has been reduced, so I will give you advice if you have any concerns. I know humans well.”

“Okay. I’ll be sure to tell you if I have any concerns.”

Humans are animals of adaptation.

It had become easier to speak informally to the Ghost King, and she could now withstand the ghostly energy and magi.

The scariest thing was that even this conversation was gradually becoming more fun.

‘Damn. How will it work out?’

If she thought positively, she could see the Ghost King going crazy right next to her.

If she saw signs of rampage, wouldn’t she be able to run away right away?

“Tell me more about the story you were telling me last time. The ghost story from your hometown.”

The Ghost King’s soft voice broke Raelle’s worries.

The Ghost King, who had eaten all the chocolate, sat upright and stared intently at Raelle.

“Um, what other ghost stories are there?”

“Anything is fine, so try it.”

“Ah, I remembered. This is a really scary story. If you walk alone on a dark night, a woman wearing a red mask will come up to you and···.”

Raelle focused on the story as she looked at the Ghost King’s sparkling eyes.

She liked the scary stories she told.

She didn’t know what the relationship between the Ghost King and ghosts was, but··· she was glad she had read a lot of scary stories when she was young.