Ch.184Chapter 184 – Where Did the Idea Come From That I Would Cooperate Willingly?

The words “Heavenly Demon Sect” from the red-haired beauty’s mouth instantly drove away any sleepiness I was feeling.

Because, if my memory served me correctly, the Heavenly Demon Sect wasn’t supposed to appear yet.

‘Wait, why is the Heavenly Demon Sect suddenly showing up here?’

In the Erasto Chronicle, the Heavenly Demon Sect didn’t appear until the ninth chapter, which could be considered the latter part of the main episode.

When the heroines investigate incidents occurring in the Gelebrio Empire and Glesius Academy, they discover that traces of the Demon Cult lead to the Eastern Continent.

To thoroughly investigate the Demon Cult, they organize an expedition to the Eastern Continent, during which a heroine from the East who was a Lesser Heavenly Demon of the Heavenly Demon Sect appears and asks for their help.

After landing on the Eastern Continent, the heroines end up fighting against members of the Heavenly Demon Sect who have lost their minds due to the Demon Cult’s curse. During this conflict, Yeoul-ryeong, the Brain Demon of the Heavenly Demon Sect, appears.

‘How dare you attack our sect’s disciples! You must be the ones who placed the curse on our people!’

‘No! We were just…’

‘Silence! You shall pay for attacking the disciples of the Heavenly Demon Sect! Celestial Wolf Squad! Attack!’

The heroines fight against Brain Demon Yeoul-ryeong, who appears leading the Celestial Wolf Squad, one of the Heavenly Demon Sect’s combat units. Just before they defeat the Brain Demon, the Heavenly Demon appears to resolve the situation, and the heroines begin investigating the Demon Cult’s traces with the help of the Heavenly Demon Sect. That was the episode of Chapter 9.

Therefore, Brain Demon Yeoul-ryeong was the final boss of Chapter 9.

‘And Brain Demon Yeoul-ryeong was the only woman in the Heavenly Demon Sect with red hair.’

The woman standing before me with her arms spread had red hair, and she mentioned the Heavenly Demon Sect…

‘So this person is Yeoul-ryeong.’

Yeoul-ryeong had mastered the Heavenly Demon Blood Divine Technique, a martial art created by the Heavenly Demon himself, which turned her hair red as a side effect.

Though one might think she’d be weak as the strategist of the Heavenly Demon Sect, Yeoul-ryeong was actually the second strongest warrior in the sect after the Heavenly Demon.

The problem was that the Heavenly Demon’s martial arts were so overwhelmingly powerful that everyone else combined couldn’t defeat him alone.

Anyway, that’s not the important thing right now…

‘Why did the Heavenly Demon Sect kidnap me?’

I’ve experienced flying somewhere by my own will before, but this was the first time I’d been kidnapped against my intentions.

‘At least it doesn’t seem like they kidnapped me to harm me.’

Looking around, I could be certain that the Heavenly Demon Sect hadn’t brought me here to hurt me.

If they wanted to kill me, I should probably be having a one-on-one meeting with Epitrina by now.

But instead, they kidnapped me and placed me in this luxurious room.

There’s absolutely no reason to torture and kill me in such a lavish room.

Unless the Brain Demon was insane and had a hobby of torturing and killing people in luxurious rooms.

Rather, the Brain Demon was someone who enjoyed reading, taking walks, and brewing tea. This was based on an episode that appeared during Chapter 10 of the Erasto Chronicle.

In that episode, the Brain Demon served tea to the heroines and apologized for her previous rudeness.

At the time, the community erupted with arguments like “What kind of Heavenly Demon Sect Brain Demon is this?! Character assassination!”

‘I need to figure out why they kidnapped me.’

I need to understand what they want from me so I can buy as much time as possible.

If people learn that I’ve been kidnapped, the sixteen great houses will quickly assemble a search party to find me.

They wouldn’t want to be labeled as incompetent houses that did nothing when an important guest of the country was kidnapped.

The great houses absolutely wouldn’t want to do the imperial family any favors.

If by chance the imperial family found me first, the prestige of the great houses would plummet…

‘So it all comes down to whether the imperial family or the great houses find me first.’

For me, it was urgent to prevent the Heavenly Demon Sect from harming me.

“What do you want from me?”

I asked the Brain Demon what they wanted.

“I’m asking why you kidnapped me and brought me here.”

“Before I answer, there’s something I’d like to ask…”

Oh? Instead of answering my question, she’s asking me one?

…Should I answer this or not?

“…Do you think it’s right to kidnap someone and then ask them questions?”

“I apologize for that.”

“If you’re sorry, shouldn’t you have not done it in the first place?”

“…”

At my question, the Brain Demon’s face reddened as if she had nothing to say.

“…I apologize for the kidnapping. However, we had no other choice.”

“Haa… If you promise not to harm me in any way, I’ll answer your question.”

“I promise. I, Yeoul-ryeong, Brain Demon of the Heavenly Demon Sect, swear on my name that I will absolutely not harm you.”

Only after receiving her promise not to harm me did I consider answering her question.

But… wait a minute. How am I able to converse with the Brain Demon?

“Can you speak the common language of the Western Continent?”

“As the strategist of the Heavenly Demon Sect, I should at least know that much.”

…Well, she’s not wrong.

“Anyway, I’ll ask you one question.”

I waited for the Brain Demon to speak.

What could she possibly want from me? What was she trying to find out that made her kidnap me?

“I heard that you possess the ability to fix everything. Is that true?”

Surprisingly, the Brain Demon’s question was mundane.

A question about my ability. Well, I should answer truthfully.

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Is that so? If what you say is true, that’s fortunate indeed. We won’t have to go through the trouble twice.”

The Brain Demon sighed with relief upon hearing my answer.

What could possibly make her react like that?

“Officially, this should be kept secret, but I need your cooperation, so I must tell you. If you promise not to reveal this information to the outside world, I promise you a substantial reward.”

“Hmm.”

A reward. I should also get an apology for the kidnapping, right?

“I accept, but I’d also like an official apology for the kidnapping.”

“Very well. I will publicly apologize for your kidnapping.”

Oh? The Brain Demon accepted my proposal positively.

At this point, I’m starting to get scared about what’s actually happening…

“Recently, our Heavenly Demon Sect has been under attack by mysterious forces. They are extremely vicious individuals who use techniques that make people lose their minds.”

Make people lose their minds…? Wait, that sounds similar to the description of the Demon Cult.

“Could this force possibly be the Demon Cult?”

“Oh! You know their identity? That makes things faster.”

The Brain Demon was pleased that I knew their identity.

“Due to their attack, the Heavenly Demon, who was in the midst of martial arts training, has fallen into critical condition.”

Ah, I see. The Heavenly Demon is in critical condition.

Wait.

Hold on.

What did she say?

“The, the Heavenly Demon is in critical condition? The same Heavenly Demon I know?”

“Yes. The leader of our sect, the reincarnation of the Heavenly Demon who subdues all demons, our Heavenly Demon.”

Holy shit. I’m seriously getting goosebumps.

A powerhouse who could block attacks from the heroines and the Brain Demon with one hand was defeated by the Demon Cult?

What the hell is this? The Heavenly Demon was defeated?

“I’m not sure if I heard correctly, but isn’t the Heavenly Demon… the person with the greatest martial prowess in the Heavenly Demon Sect?”

“You know a lot about the Heavenly Demon despite being from the Western Continent. Yes, that’s correct. Those villains cowardly attacked while he was exhausted from training to break through to a new realm.”

Judging by how they attacked an exhausted opponent, the Demon Cult seems to have some smart people.

But how do they plan to deal with the aftermath?

“Since the Heavenly Demon collapsed, those presumed to be from the Demon Cult have been continuously attacking our Heavenly Demon Sect. Their goal is simple: to erase all traces of the Heavenly Demon Sect from this continent and establish their Demon Cult as the new demonic sect.”

I found this puzzling.

Wait, what happened to the Celestial Wolf Squad that fought alongside the Brain Demon? How are they losing to these people?

“Why are you losing to them?”

“Those villains are wickedly making our disciples’ minds confused and turning them against us. Given that, it’s been difficult for us to fight back. All the disciples of our sect are brothers, sisters, and family.”

So the Demon Cult is using a “friend shield” to fight unfairly.

“If only the Heavenly Demon would wake up, all these problems would be solved at once… but despite using every means and method available in this land, the Heavenly Demon still hasn’t awakened.”

The Brain Demon looked at me.

“That’s why we kidnapped you. With your ability, you should be able to heal the Heavenly Demon, right? So… could you please cooperate in awakening him?”

In response to the Brain Demon’s words, I expressed my thoughts honestly.

“I don’t want to cooperate.”