Ch.323323. Before the Meal

“Oh-“

Elia exclaimed softly as she poked the cheek of the dazed Mobius who stood frozen in place.

Considering this man’s original personality, such an action would normally result in him immediately trying to sever her wrist, but the stiffly frozen Mobius showed no reaction whatsoever.

This must be the aftermath of whatever Darwood had done to him earlier.

“Is this thing alive?”

In response to Elia’s question, Astrid, who had been quietly examining him from the side, let out a heavy sigh.

Unlike the steel machine she normally used as a “substitute” for her body, this time it was a proper flesh and blood body.

Stroking her long black hair that reached down to her waist, Astrid slowly looked Mobius up and down.

“…Fascinating. The original personality is still alive. But the body is completely rigid.”

After saying this, Astrid slowly moved something resembling a scanner around Professor Mobius.

“The personality is alive?”

“The mind is alive. But it has no control over the body.”

Mental alteration, personality modification—it was difficult to categorize exactly what had happened.

It seemed like an overwhelming amount of information had been forced in to disrupt his ‘senses,’ causing a complete ‘functional breakdown.’

“This is ridiculous. How did he do it?”

Mobius was capable of precisely controlling the numerous facilities of this massive installation with just his brain.

To use such a straightforward method of overloading someone like that with an impossible amount of information to paralyze them?

“I don’t know how he managed to combine different types of demonic energy… but it’s certainly impressive. When it comes to ‘handling’ demons, there’s never been anything like this throughout history. It’s strange no matter how I look at it.”

“What do you mean? Why is it strange?”

“There’s no being in any dimension that can ‘force’ demons to do such things. Not even the angels in the Otherworld can do that.”

So.

It’s as if the demons have been voluntarily lending their power to this man from the beginning.

To put it more bluntly, it’s as if they’re freely giving him power with an attitude of ‘it’s okay if it’s you.’

Tracing back to the origins of demons that exist beyond the time axis, it converges to the very strange conclusion that all of them seemed to have ‘liked’ this man from long ago.

“—It’s like these demons, who have fallen in love with my son across time, are giving him everything they have—liver, gallbladder, everything.”

The Yellow Demon that appeared just recently gave off that impression.

Good heavens. To give up its own powers and cross over to the past to reveal itself directly? That’s dedication like no other.

‘—Then, you know. The true origin of demons is actually—’

As Astrid was about to continue that thought, Elia, who had been standing beside her with arms crossed and a frown, cut in with a blunt statement.

“You seem displeased about something.”

“…Hmm? It’s not that I’m displeased, it’s just that there are some points I don’t quite understand—”

“You’re more beautiful than I expected.”

“Setting aside why that comment came out of nowhere, why are you giving compliments so curtly?”

“No, I just felt like you were being somewhat competitive.”

“…That’s just your imagination.”

“…”

There seemed to be a brief silence before the response.

With that thought, Elia continued to look Astrid up and down with a furrowed expression.

No, really.

She truly was beautiful.

Obsidian-black hair, a beauty mark beside her eye, and a figure with devastatingly perfect curves.

Compared to the women around Darwood, her “mature” aura was truly distinctive…

“…”

Elia suddenly looked down at her own chest, then raised her head to look at Astrid’s bust.

“Damn it.”

“What…? Why are you suddenly…?”

“Damn it all, men always prefer bigger ones anyway…!”

“…”

Astrid sighed and quietly brushed back her hair.

Meanwhile, the bouncing of those two large objects with just that motion raised blood vessels in Elia’s eyes, but the next statement was something she couldn’t help but pay attention to.

“The fact that they didn’t kill Mobius but left him like this… suggests they still find him useful.”

“Useful?”

“More precisely, not the man himself, but this facility, the Demonic Spire.”

Rendering Mobius—who had complete control over the facility—into this state means they’ve taken over control of the Demonic Spire.

“Come to think of it, he’s done similar things multiple times, hasn’t he?”

“…”

That’s true.

With the Tribal Union, he secured the right to call upon them once when needed by placing a burden on them.

And although it hasn’t been formally stated yet, he’s also placed the Emperor of the Empire in his debt by preventing a civil war before it could even begin.

Essentially, he can receive support from both the Empire and the Tribal Union simultaneously.

“…What are you stockpiling all this power for?”

He’s gathered the protection of all the most powerful forces in the Empire. And now the Demonic Spire too?

Who could possibly be the enemy he needs to face?

“By process of elimination, there’s only one place left. Right?”

At Astrid’s words, Elia sighed and answered.

“The Holy Empire.”

“That’s right.”

The only ‘enemy’ that hasn’t revealed its intentions yet is that place.

More precisely, it would be the Pope sitting at the very top.

“Is it necessary to be so cautious? Considering the enemies the teacher has overcome so far, this one doesn’t seem particularly special.”

That’s true.

But even so.

“…I don’t have a good feeling about this.”

Astrid spoke in a somber voice.

It wasn’t just intuition; considering the influence the Pope could wield, there were indeed questions about his actions.

The most concerning thing was how terribly quiet he had been until now.

He must know that Serath and Yuria, who were like his keycards, and even the Saint herself, had joined Darwood’s side.

Yet there hadn’t been a single interference, obstruction, or proper ‘attack.’

As if he didn’t care about such things.

“Is that so?”

“…Why such a lukewarm response?”

“I’m not trying to dismiss it, it’s just…”

Elia’s gaze swiftly turned around.

There was Darwood, desperately making excuses with gestures and words to Elnore, who was looking at him with a cold gaze.

From what could be heard, it was clear she was furiously angry because he had experienced something for the ‘first time’ with someone else without telling her.

‘He’s always been like that.’

In truth, Elnore’s control over Darwood was quite lenient. She had a strong tendency to accept things as long as he gave his ‘firsts’ to her.

She was angry because he had directly violated that part.

“…Do you think he’ll survive?”

“…If it doesn’t look like he will, I suppose we should intervene.”

It was obvious even at a glance how savagely she was berating him, to the point where Elia and Astrid were exchanging such words.

‘…Come to think of it, it’s strange.’

And watching this naturally brings up one thought.

Why hasn’t she gotten angry about the fact that he had his ‘first experience’ taken by someone else?

Considering Elnore’s usual temperament, she wouldn’t have forgotten about that, nor would she have let it slide easily.

Unless someone had deliberately diverted her attention from that part—

“Professor Astrid.”

Elia, who had been thinking about this, snapped back to reality at the sound of Darwood’s voice right in front of her.

The effects of the recent scolding were evident—his body was drenched in cold sweat and he looked completely exhausted.

“…”

Somehow, he looked much more worn out from Elnore’s scolding than from his fight with Mobius earlier.

Amid these observations, Astrid’s disappointed voice chimed in.

“…Can’t you call me mother?”

“I’ll call you that once I get used to it. Besides, it seems like I’ll have to call you that soon anyway.”

“…What does that mean?”

As soon as Astrid spoke, a serene expression crossed Darwood’s face.

It was the face of someone who had thoroughly prepared their mind and spirit for the chaos that was about to unfold.

“Well, we’ve reached an agreement.”

“About what?”

“Setting a date for the ceremony.”

The heads of others scattered around, each attending to their own business, snapped toward them as if breaking.

Astrid and Elia’s mouths fell open.

“…”

“…Well, we should first arrange a meeting between both sets of parents, shouldn’t we?”

They say that when a bombshell statement drops, the air trembles.

It was happening now.

The air began to tremble.

The difference was:

It wasn’t in a figurative sense—the air was literally being torn apart.