The Failure Marquis Is A Genius [EN]: Chapter 55

7. Summon: Purified Scoundrel

The night of the new moon.

Rosalyn paced back and forth in her room.

The shocking events at the cabin kept replaying in her mind.

‘Should I call it off now?’

The curse itself isn’t the problem.

If it could kill Henon, she was willing to do something even more heinous than a curse.

The problem was that the curse felt like it would somehow come back to harm her.

In addition, the strategist from the Hilton family who suggested the method was also suspicious.

‘Probably a Twilight follower.’

As far as she knew, the only group of black magic users in the Arnia continent who could cast curses capable of killing people was Twilight.

She, the wife of a Seven Star [a powerful, influential figure], was borrowing the hands of Twilight.

A hollow laugh escaped her lips.

‘But I have no choice. This is the only way to kill Henon.’

Rosalyn was already out of her mind.

She was ready to sell her soul to the devil if it meant Philip could become the Marquis [a noble title, like a Duke].

Just as she finished sorting out her thoughts.

Thud!

The window opened.

“It’s not easy to get in while avoiding surveillance. Especially the old butler’s gaze is so sharp; it was quite a struggle.”

The man in the bowler hat entered.

Rosalyn maintained a deliberately haughty expression and responded coldly.

“Since I’ve gone to the trouble of emptying the room, finish quickly. I told the maids not to come near here, but my husband might come.”

“It’s alright. Marquis Lloyd and the head butler will be away soon. Ogres are expected to appear in the nearby territory.”

Rosalyn felt a chill down her spine at the masked man’s words.

To release high-level monsters like ogres into the territory just to successfully cast a curse.

The very idea was insane.

“So you are Twilight after all.”

“I guess you can’t help but know at this point. Yes, I am a follower of Baal.”

“······”

“If you don’t like that I’m Twilight, I’ll leave now.”

Rosalyn knew.

She had come too far to turn back.

The bowler-hatted man, taking her silence as tacit agreement, began to draw a bizarre magic circle in the room, humming a tune.

Rosalyn, feeling awkward just standing there, spoke to him.

“Are you helping me to cause chaos in the Lloyd family? If so, you’ve misjudged. The Lloyd family isn’t so weak that it would collapse just because one bastard dies.”

The magic circle made of blood began to take shape. Greed, who had been engrossed in his drawing like an artist, shrugged his shoulders at Rosalyn’s words.

“As I said before, it’s to catch Henon.”

“Henon of all people? But you’re really after my husband, the Seven Star, aren’t you?”

“Hehehe, what’s so scary about a retired Sword Master who’s past his prime? We’re just preparing for the rising sun.”

“In that sense, you should keep Philip in check too.”

Greed’s hand, which was drawing the magic circle, stopped for a moment. He turned his head to look at Rosalyn and grinned.

“I understand how you feel as Philip’s mother, but we don’t think Philip is much of a threat. Now, I need to concentrate, so please don’t talk to me.”

In other words, Philip was far below Henon, so he wasn’t even worth touching.

Rosalyn, understanding the implied meaning, felt a surge of anger but exercised patience.

There was no point in getting angry at the man now.

The Twilight could be dealt with after killing Henon first and establishing Philip as the definite successor of the Lloyd family.

For a while, the room was filled only with the sound of Greed setting up the magic circle.

It was taking longer than expected.

She fidgeted and grew impatient, finally unable to hold back and opened her mouth.

“Why is it taking so long? You didn’t say it would take this long.”

“I was preparing in advance back then, but today I have to draw it from scratch. Besides, I’m doing it all alone without any help.”

The magic circle was also a bit strange.

It was much larger and more bizarre in shape than when she saw it in the cabin.

A sense of foreboding washed over her, but she couldn’t stop now, so she urged Greed with a nervous heart.

“Hurry up. I think I’m going to get caught.”

“It’s all done.”

The magic circle was complete.

Rosalyn handed Greed the hair she had prepared in advance.

Then Greed waved his hand.

“I don’t need it.”

“What? You don’t need the hair of the person to be cursed to cast a curse? What kind of curse is that?”

“The situation is different from then.”

No matter how she looked at it, something felt off.

Rosalyn took a few steps back.

But Greed had already noticed her psychology.

“And isn’t there a sacrifice prepared here?”

He grabbed Rosalyn’s wrist and threw her into the magic circle.

Surprised, Rosalyn tried to escape from the magic circle, but an invisible wall blocked her escape.

“Aren’t you going to open this?”

“Hehehehe, it’s already too late.”

“You tricked me! Open it now!”

Rosalyn screamed, trapped in the magic circle. Greed ignored her and began to chant.

“!^%[email protected]@”

The magic circle filled with red light.

Rosalyn’s caked makeup melted like ice cream from the tears streaming down her face.

“Open it right now!!”

“Dantalion, descend.”

The crimson light that had filled the room throughout the chanting suddenly gathered into one point and disappeared without a trace.

What followed was a tremendous vibration that seemed to shake the heavens and the earth.

Kugugung!!!

The flowerpot on the table shattered with a loud noise, and the hanging masterpiece tilted and then fell to the floor with a thud.

A whirlwind swept out from the center of the magic circle, and the window could not withstand it and burst open.

Finally… the space was torn.

Fundamental fear.

Vast chaos.

Endless abyss.

The boundary of dimensions writhed like animal entrails. And then, a terrifying intelligence broke through the gap and revealed itself.

-Khehehehe… it’s been a while since I’ve been to the Middle Earth [the mortal realm]…

It was a giant of 2m 50cm [approximately 8 feet 2 inches].

The demon with sharp teeth was all black.

There were sharp horns on his forehead.

The aura emanating from him alone was filled with a suffocating revulsion.

Rosalyn couldn’t even breathe at the grotesque sight she was seeing for the first time.

Greed took off his bowler hat in front of him and bowed.

“I greet Dantalion.”

-You… are in my memory. The masked guy who was by Baal’s side 20 years ago.

“It is an honor to be remembered.”

-Is Baal still asleep?

“Yes, he is.”

-Incompetent humans. 20 years is short for us, but it must be a long time for you. What have you been doing all this time?

Greed bowed his head deeply at Dantalion’s rebuke.

“I’m sorry.”

-Well… it doesn’t matter. I just have to enjoy myself and return to the Demon World.

Dantalion, drooling and laughing, narrowed his eyes as he looked at Greed.

-Originally, I devour the guy who summoned me. But since you are someone I remember, I will give you special mercy.

“Thank you. Instead, I have prepared another sacrifice.”

The demon’s gaze turned to Rosalyn.

“Hiiiik!!”

Rosalyn’s legs gave way and she collapsed.

A sour smell wafted from somewhere.

The brain, consumed by extreme fear, eventually caused incontinence.

-She doesn’t look tasty.

“Even so, she is a well-known and high-ranking woman here.”

-Krrr… Well, whatever.

Dantalion lifted Rosalyn.

She flailed desperately in the air.

“Please save me! Please save me!”

“Hehehe, seeing you thrashing around like that makes me realize I’ve come to the middle world [a common term for the human world in fantasy settings].”

“Aaaaaaack!!!”

Crunch! Crud! Crud!

Her head was crushed inside his mouth.

The skull was brittle.

The brain and eyeballs were juicy.

That was Rosalyn’s end.

“I will now take my leave. I hope you enjoy your games.”

Greed bowed and disappeared.

Only Dantalion remained.

He was extremely excited at the thought of tearing apart the flesh and blood of the continent’s people.

Uwoooooooo!!!!

The shockwave spread in all directions.

The demon’s rampage had begun.

* * *

I ran to the eastern district of the inner castle.

Especially Rosalyn’s residence, which was covered in dark clouds, looked like anyone who approached it would experience unwanted chemical warfare.

The servants and maids, realizing that something serious had happened, all came out of the residence and milled around in confusion before rushing towards me when they saw me.

“Young Master!”

“Do you know what’s going on?”

“Everyone, get out of the castle! Go to the outer castle!”

I filled my voice with mana [magical energy] and struck their eardrums with a sonorous sound, and the servants, barely regaining their senses, staggered towards the inner castle gate.

“But what about the madam…”

“I’ll save the madam, so hurry up and go!”

It was clear at a glance that going there would mean certain death. The hesitant servants and maids soon ran towards the inner castle gate.

Next, I met the soldiers in charge of guarding the inner castle and the knights who had been snoring and rushed out in a panic.

“Young Master, what on earth is going on…”

“I don’t have time, so I’ll explain it quickly just once. Listen carefully. The Marchioness was tricked by a black magician and summoned a demon.”

The knights jumped at the word demon.

“That can’t be! A demon!”

I threw the black magician I had caught at Heinz Lake to the knights.

“This guy knows all the details of the incident. Interrogate him to find out what happened. And immediately lead all the inner castle personnel out.”

Still, they were knights directly under the prestigious Elden Kingdom’s great noble family.

At first, they were confused, but soon they came to their senses and carried out my orders in an orderly manner.

The most experienced knight among them asked me.

“Young Master, you should evacuate too.”

“No. Someone has to buy time against that demon here.”

“Are you saying you’re going to fight the demon!”

The knights were all surprised to hear my words.

“Then should I just leave the demon alone? If that guy escapes the inner castle and goes to the outer castle area, that’s when the real disaster will happen.”

There weren’t many people in the inner castle, so I could at least evacuate them, but the outer castle area, where more than 10,000 residents live, couldn’t be evacuated with just one word.

“It’s dangerous. How about evacuating first and waiting for the Marquis?”

“In the meantime, should I just watch that guy throw a festival with the blood and flesh of our territory’s people?”

The knight, at a loss for words, closed his mouth.

“I am the rightful heir to the Lloyd family. I have a duty to protect the people of the territory, and I have no intention of backing down, whether the opponent is a demon or a demon king.”

Admiration and respect arose in the eyes of the knights who faced my firm determination.

“As expected, Young Master! Then we too…”

“No. Listen to me. There is a role for each of you. You guys quickly get all the inner castle residents out and close the castle gates. Seal this place off.”

“Are you telling us to abandon you to the demon and escape from here?”

“The opponent is a demon. Numbers don’t matter. Me and my direct subordinates are enough, so lock the inner castle gate and wait for the Marquis.”

“We can’t do that.”

Seriously, these stubborn guys.

I understand that they’re trying to protect their honor, but it’s not helping at all in this urgent situation.

“If I fail, you’re next anyway. Until the Marquis returns, risk your lives to prevent him from going to the outer castle area. This is an order, and disobedience will be refused. Understood?”

When I even used the word order, the knight could no longer resist. He just held back something overwhelming and looked at me.

“Good luck…”

The knights all saluted me.

It seemed like a touching moment for them, but for me, it was just a moment I wanted to send them away quickly.

“I know, so move quickly! Run!”

I also sent the knights and soldiers away.

Now I was right in front of the eastern district.

The dark cloud, which had been small just a moment ago, had grown so large that it covered the entire district like a thin fog.

Sion, who was running alongside me, wore a worried expression.

“Young Master, are you really going to be okay? We have no experience dealing with demons. Taking shelter for a while is also an option.”

Sion’s words also made sense.

Basically, demons are stronger than humans.

But are they invincible?

That’s not true either.

If that were the case, there wouldn’t be a demon among the list of bosses that Sion had to defeat in .

There are levels to demons.

There are end-game bosses like Baal, and there are insignificant mid-to-low-level scrubs.

Of course, even those mid-to-low-level guys are stronger than most humans, but at least they’re not impossible to defeat.

In the first place, a demon king-level demon like Baal can’t be summoned this easily.

It’s questionable whether sacrificing an entire kingdom would be enough.

According to what I heard from the black magician, this demon was summoned by Greed alone in Rosalyn’s room, so it was clear that it wasn’t a very high-level demon.

Then, what I have to do is to get rid of my fear.

The first step is to abandon the fear of demons that humans have repeatedly learned since childhood and to look at them as objects.

Anyway, if Sion and Campbell follow me, they will eventually hunt several demons.

I will use this opportunity as nourishment and as a foundation for the next growth.

“Draw your swords. It’s too late to run away anyway. He’s aware of us over there.”

Kwaaaang!!

The spire was destroyed.

A black figure fell to the ground.

Perhaps because it fell from such a high place, a cloud of dust rose as soon as its feet touched the ground.

-Kekekeke… The fresh smell of humans.

The demon revealed itself.

The corners of its mouth were glistening with blood.

It was holding a human arm in its hand as if it were a chicken drumstick.

I didn’t even need to ask whose arm that plump arm belonged to.

It was a Rosalyn-like end.

-You guys look tastier than the bitch I ate earlier.

Paahhhh!!!

A circular magical energy spread from the center of the demon, and Sion and Campbell, who were directly hit by it, staggered.

A system window also appeared in front of me.

[A small amount of magical energy penetrates your body.]

[Fear effect occurs.]

[Stats are reduced.]

So this is why it was so difficult for humans to resist demons.

Even though they’re already physically inferior, they’re fighting with debuffs like this, so there’s no way they can be a match.

But I am an exception.

A warm natural energy surged up, enveloping my whole body and purifying the magical energy.

[Self-purification is activated.]

[The power of exorcism is working.]

[You are immune to status ailments.]

[You are completely free from the influence of magical energy.]

My body became light again.

I glared at him with clear eyes, and the demon tilted its head.

-Hmm?

I pointed my sword at that guy and said.

“It’s time to go home. Doggy.”