Chapter 164

Episode 164

My ‘Demonic Energy Resistance’ skill activated.

Jericho also flinched, as if sensing something. His expression turned serious.

“It seems a demon has appeared. I think there’s a Dark Soul here too.”

“This might be more dangerous than we thought.”

Jericho stood up, brushing off his clothes. Selendis also rose, her hand resting on her frost sword as she scanned the surroundings.

“We’re four days away from the capital. For a demon to appear here means the Empire has lost control. It seems the church is also turning a blind eye.”

I suddenly remembered the Lady explaining why she created the Inspection Unit.

She had said, “The family and the territory are ailing. Many people are afraid, but they also wish for its swift downfall.”

In other words, it was a world that appeared stable but was actually in turmoil.

“Even children know that the church is corrupt.”

“Even so, they should do their job. Ugh, it’s frustrating every time something like this happens.”

I also stood up and extinguished the campfire with magic. I covered it with sand to completely eliminate any embers.

The investigators had passed through here, but none of them could sense demonic energy. They must have missed it.

“We need to check for the Dark Soul. If there is one, I’m going to retrieve it.”

“Retrieve it, not destroy it? Is there a special reason?”

I wasn’t sure why, but I felt like a ‘Dark Soul’ was needed to cure the Lady’s illness.

It wasn’t the right time to share my speculation, so I made up an excuse.

“You know Mr. Sommelier is researching Dark Souls, right? I had a chance to talk to him briefly, and he said he needs more because it’s such a volatile substance. It would be good to get one for him before he requests it.”

“What kind of research requires Dark Souls? Even the church can’t handle it easily.”

“Could Mr. Sommelier be a former priest?”

I shook my head at Selendis’s question.

“I don’t know his background. The Lady hasn’t told me yet. We can worry about that later. For now, we need to track the demonic energy. There’s a high chance of encountering a demon.”

“Wait a moment.”

Jericho rummaged through his large backpack and took out three small glass bottles.

It was too dark to see clearly, but the liquid inside the bottles seemed blacker than the darkness itself. It had a viscous texture, like melted asphalt.

“What’s this ominous potion?”

“It’s my special Demonic Energy Resistance Potion. I had a personal research project, you see. This is the result.”

“What kind of research?”

“We had a surplus of holy water, and enchanting equipment was too time-consuming, so I thought about ways to streamline the process. If we could concentrate holy water, we could make it more easily.”

“It seems you succeeded.”

Jericho grinned and shrugged.

“As I said before, not just anyone graduates top of their class from Kalisto Academy.”

“You didn’t just come up with this because you were lazy, did you?”

“There are so many nice things to say, why do you always have to say it like that? I’m so proud of you, Jericho! You could have just praised me like that. Concentrating holy water is a very difficult task.”

He was right.

This was an era where all sorts of experiments were conducted under the name of alchemy, let alone modern chemistry. Creating a high-purity concentrate would require a genius.

“Just out of curiosity, is this worse than the Magic Resistance Potion?”

“Ah, you mean the one you drank when we went to catch Arthur?”

Seeing Jericho’s sly smile, I already knew the answer.

“Taste is subjective, isn’t it? Personally, I found it quite palatable.”

“You mean it’s horrible.”

I snatched a bottle and downed it in one gulp.

It was a truly horrible taste that could only be described as “f*cking awful.” The Magic Resistance Potion suddenly seemed palatable in comparison.

Selendis also drank it, and even her knightly composure couldn’t hide her grimace.

“Jericho, try to make the enhancement potions more palatable in the future. Can’t you make them taste like fruit? If that’s too difficult, make them tasteless.”

“Mixing other ingredients could affect the efficacy due to interactions. It’s best to just drink it as it is.”

“You’re not just making it this way because you don’t like it, are you?”

“Hey, come on.”

But the effect was undeniable.

My mind felt clear, and the purity of my mana and aura improved. It felt as if I was bathed in holy water.

“Let’s move. Be on high alert, we don’t know what we might encounter.”

*Shing!*

I drew the Sword of Chaos, and Selendis drew her frost sword. Holy light gathered in Jericho’s hands.

We left the campsite and slowly walked towards the source of the demonic energy.

The undergrowth was dense. It wasn’t just that the path was gone; there were so many obstacles that it was difficult to even walk.

*Slash!*

Selendis and I cleared a path with our swords.

With each step, the demonic energy we felt intensified. Even though we hadn’t seen anything suspicious yet, it was already stronger than what we felt in the Milo Plain wasteland.

‘If a demon appears, it’ll be one or two ranks higher than that Baphomet-like demon.’

The Baphomet-like demon we caught before had two horns. That meant the being emitting this demonic energy was either a 3-star or 4-star demon.

“You know the saying, ‘Words have power’?”

“Of course. Ha, it can’t be a 4-star demon, right? It’s definitely not a 2-star, so hopefully, it’s a 3-star.”

The appearance of a 3-star or higher demon near the capital wasn’t a welcome situation. It could lead to the church intervening and a power struggle with the Imperial Family.

This was a time of regime change. There were even rumors that the Emperor would abdicate in favor of Prince Karma due to his illness.

‘I don’t know how long Karma will be on my side, but for now, I need to help him and use him as much as possible.’

We ventured deeper into the heart of the forest.

Just then, a soft melody reached our ears. It sounded like someone was playing an instrument in the middle of the forest.

“Do you hear that? The music.”

“Yes, it sounds like a harp. The player is quite skilled. The variations in the melody are very natural.”

I was momentarily confused.

The harp music was coming from the direction of the demonic energy. Did that mean a demon was playing the harp?

“It’s possible that a human has been corrupted, like Nielsen in Cliff. We need to be careful.”

Heeding Jericho’s warning, I sliced through a thick vine with my aura.

*Slash!*

Our view cleared.

There was a lake ahead. A completely frozen lake.

And beside it, a woman with long hair sat on a chair, playing a giant harp.

She wasn’t just sitting; it felt like she was guarding the place.

The lake wasn’t very big. It didn’t seem that old. But its frozen surface was pitch black.

‘The source of the demonic energy is the lake.’

We watched the woman play from a distance.

The melody, which started beautifully and refreshingly, became increasingly melancholic as time passed. It was like watching the tragic love story of a doomed couple.

The mournful and dark tune repeated endlessly.

Unlike other demons, the woman paid no attention to us.

“She doesn’t have horns, but that’s just a shell. She’s definitely a demon. Seeing her use an instrument, I think she’ll use mental attacks.”

“Is she a difficult opponent?”

“We’ll know when we see her true form. We can’t tell if she has three horns or five right now.”

“Demons are appearing too frequently.”

Selendis hit the nail on the head. It was exactly what I was thinking.

We had briefly discussed the appearance of demons before. When Lady Lucia gave us the mission to retrieve the Dark Soul.

Back then, Jericho said there was no confirmed information about the reason or frequency of demon appearances. He dismissed the possibility of a demonic invasion as a fantasy.

But now, we were experiencing it firsthand. Unlike monsters, demons were rare.

“This is ominous. Both the Lady and the Inspector said the same thing back then. Could something really be happening in the demon realm?”

“We need to investigate.”

“Us, not the church?”

Jericho asked worriedly. But I wanted to uncover the truth behind .

“Protecting the family and the people of the territory also means preventing a demonic invasion.”

“I’ll make sure to include that in my report to the Lady.”

“I’d appreciate that.”

Jericho, the descendant of demon hunters, chanted a spell. It seemed he was preparing to use a binding spell preemptively.

“Judging by her attire, she seems to be a noblewoman. Selendis, cover Jericho. I’ll try to talk to her.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to attack immediately?”

“I agree that a preemptive strike is a good conversation starter. But if possible, it’s better to gather information. We don’t know anything right now.”

I slowly walked towards the lakeshore, making no effort to conceal my presence.

Even when we were close enough to acknowledge each other’s presence, the woman’s mournful playing didn’t stop.

“This is a dangerous place. What are you doing here?”

“…”

The woman didn’t answer.

Her playing continued. But the tempo changed, the melody gradually accelerating as if approaching a climax.

I spoke again.

“I repeat, I am O’Brien von Walker of the Lucius Inspection Unit. This is a dangerous place. Please stop playing.”

There was still no response.

As I took another step forward, the music suddenly stopped.

“Three shall come…”

What?

I was confused by her sudden words. Was she talking about the three of us?

The woman murmured again, her eyes closed, “Three shall come…”

Wait. That phrase sounded familiar.

I remembered.

It was the phrase from the cinematic trailer of ‘Diablo 4.’ They actually used it here?

“By the three, the path shall be opened…”

Suddenly, the woman’s eyes snapped open.

*Whoosh!*

A powerful force, surpassing all the demonic energy we had felt so far, erupted.

『With their blood, the world shall be plunged into eternal darkness.』

All light vanished as a thick voice echoed.

Even in the darkness, the woman’s form was clearly visible. She slowly rose into the air and suddenly wore an expression of ecstasy.

『Right now.』

*Rumble…*

The entire space shook.

The woman’s body was engulfed in a spherical darkness. I immediately unleashed my aura and launched a sword energy.

*Boom!*

The sphere of darkness shook from the impact but didn’t shatter. Selendis also launched a sword energy from behind.

*Thud! Boom!*

The sphere disappeared.

It wasn’t because of our attacks. It was because the true form had been revealed.

The beautiful body vanished, replaced by a skeletal demon. It wore a tattered robe, clearly indicating it was a mage.

The sight of it holding a giant harp was truly grotesque.

The harp was a large and heavy instrument. The reason it could hold it so effortlessly with one hand was because the demon was at least three meters tall.

‘Appearance isn’t important.’

I checked the number of horns on its head.