The Judgment of Scarl

Scarl, hardened by his gaming memories, acted swiftly the moment he judged that he had missed Samigina.

First, he released the mana in his entire body to its maximum in order to track him down.

The enormous mana, suppressed until now, spread out from Scarl in concentric circles like a tidal wave.

The intangible barrier of mana, spread wide enough to cover the entirety of Haimon Castle, swept over every being on the castle.

The immense pressure was felt even by soldiers who knew nothing of mana, and everyone in the castle turned their gaze towards the detached residence where Scarl was located. Fortunately, more people simply tilted their heads, feeling a strange sensation from the brief pressure.

Ronard, who was guarding the western watchtower of Haimon Castle, scratched his arms at the sudden eerie feeling.

“Damn it. Why is it so cold all of a sudden?”

Heril, who was next to him, also had a flushed face.

Heril stroked his face with his hand, as if agreeing.

“You’re telling me. Ronard. Cold then hot. It felt weird just now.”

“You felt it too?”

“Yes.”

No sooner had he spoken than Ronard, who had been constantly looking outside, spotted two people approaching the castle gate.

“Hey. Hey. Isn’t that Io? Who’s next to her, a knight?”

Currently, Io is a protected person with a higher priority than Count Krintos.

The fact that she was trying to leave the castle without any contact from the main castle made Ronard realize that something had gone wrong, and he quickly ordered Heril to urgently change the signal flag on the watchtower so that the main castle could recognize it.

In the meantime, the two people who approached were clearly Io and Scarl Bernatore, a guest from the capital.

Ronard, being a low-ranking soldier, didn’t know much, but he didn’t like the man who came to the castle in the unsettling atmosphere.

In particular, the fact that Scarl had driven the carriage Shen had driven when he first arrived, and that there were bloodstains and knife marks, was widely known to the soldiers.

And now that man was carrying the unconscious Io on his back?

Ronard, not wanting to get involved and die, lowered his head from the window so he couldn’t be seen from the outside.

“This isn’t something we can handle…!”

Heril, who had sent the flag signal and returned, gave him a puzzled look as Ronard muttered in a small voice.

“Ronard. What are you doing? Aren’t you on guard?”

Ronard put his index finger to his mouth, gesturing for him to please be quiet.

However, Heril, whose thought process was optimized for a watchman, leaned out of the window instead of Ronard and waved vigorously at Io.

“Eh, yes? Huh? Is that Io? Where are you going! Huh? Why is the kni— Ugh!”

Ronard pulled on Heril’s pants and covered his mouth.

“Hey! Hey! Why are you calling out! Stay still! Shut up, damn it!”

Heril looked confused, not understanding why Ronard was angry at him.

“Ah. Why. Didn’t the Count tell us last time to make sure to check where Io goes? And a suspicious guest is with her—”

Ronard jumped up as if he had been thrown and grabbed Heril by the collar, slamming him against the wall next to the window.

“Forget about that, you bastard! You still remembered?!”

“Yes, yes, yes. S-sorry…”

“You useless bastard!”

Black mana swirled in Ronard’s eyes as he spat.

He let go of the collar, his head dropped down, and he took a bent posture with his arms down to his knees.

“Yes? Ronard? S-suddenly?! Are you okay!”

Unlike his words, Heril moved away from Ronard.

“…”

The way Ronard, still in his awkward posture, approached was not the human Heril knew.

Ronard, whose head was bent almost 180 degrees and looked up at him, had eyes that were blurred as if he was drunk on something, not the face he had been joking with until just now, and he rushed at Heril.

“Ugh! Why, why! Why are you doing this! Kkeuaaek—!!”

Heril’s space to escape was limited in the narrow watchtower, and Ronard easily grabbed Heril’s neck and began to strangle him. Heril tried to push Ronard away with all his might to survive, but Ronard didn’t budge.

No matter how much he struggled or hit his face, it was useless.

In the end, Heril’s face turned white, and he trembled like a frog before suffocating to death, and Ronard pulled out a small dagger from Heril’s waist and slit his own throat.

While Ronard and Heril were in the middle of their scuffle, Scarl detected Samigina’s mana rising from the west of the castle.

Following the traces of the demon’s unique black mana, Scarl arrived at the western outer gate and tried to climb over the castle walls without even suspecting that there were no soldiers to be seen. But soldiers who suddenly popped out from somewhere violently swung their swords, preventing Scarl from climbing the walls.

“S-stop!”

“Stop right there!”

Scarl briefly explained the situation to the soldiers who were suddenly blocking him.

“Get out of the way. I have to get Io back.”

He thought they would understand and move aside, so he tried to run up again…

“Io told us to stop you! Even if it costs us our lives! We will protect the last of Haimon!”

“Y-yeah! You demon! Do you think we’ll fall for that? Baron Scarl told us everything! That the guy who was after Io has transformed into his own form and is stirring things up here!”

‘Damn it. I’m in a hurry.’

These guys weren’t normal either.

Whether they were fooled by the fake Samigina had transformed into, or whether they were affected by the demon’s mana, Scarl frowned at the soldiers blocking him and simply stepped back to run up again instead of answering.

‘I was going to deal with him in Io’s detached residence until the 8th one! Where did it go wrong?’

He missed him in the 8th form, the most powerful of the disguises.

Moreover, Io, who was the target, was in his grasp, and he didn’t know when the traces of Samigina, which he had barely caught, would disappear.

“I don’t talk.”

“I knew you’d come out like this! Since he’s appeared! Call for reinforcements immediately! Blow the trumpet! Hans!”

“Yes! Charintos!”

Boo-uuuu-uuuu-uuu!!

The low-pitched sound of the horn echoed around.

“I don’t have time to deal with you! Can’t you just get out of the way!”

This is why Samigina is annoying.

He thought he could easily deal with him by trapping him inside a building.

‘I don’t want to waste my energy here.’

With no other choice, Scarl put all his mana into his legs and ran up.

The soldiers, who had been blocking the castle walls with a desperate resistance, ran to the sides as if the Red Sea was parting at his approaching figure, and Scarl leaped into the air as if he was flying.

The soldiers, who were horrified by the sight of a person flying in the sky, screamed in great confusion at the fact that the human in front of them was actually a demon.

“Ugh! It’s a real monster!”

“A monster has appeared! A monster! A flying human is a monster! Kill him!”

“It’s a demon! It’s a demon! Kill him!”

“Throw! Throw it!”

The soldiers threw everything they had in their hands into the sky, but Scarl had already disappeared.

Io opened her eyes in a place she didn’t know.

The first thing she saw was a green-tinted view.

She felt nauseous from the brown waves that followed and the shaking as if there was an earthquake on the ground.

“Ugh, ugh- I’m dizzy.”

The accelerating scenery stopped with Io’s voice.

Only then did Io realize that she was being carried on someone’s back, and that it was Scarl.

“…Scarl? Where is this?”

She was flustered and spoke informally, but the answer she received was more concerned than reproachful.

“Are you okay? Io?”

The kind tone felt unfamiliar.

‘Wait. I clearly…’

Io, who had been jolted awake by Scarl’s cheesiness, staggered and got off his back.

Scarl pulled Io, who was about to sit down because her sense of balance wasn’t working properly yet, and leaned her against his chest.

‘Gasp! Embarrassing.’

The regular beating sound soothed her tired mind and body.

Scarl’s face, which she looked up at, was uncharacteristically gentle and full of worry.

“…I. I. I met him. A demon took my form and appeared right in front of me! Where, where did he go?”

Scarl looked down at her with a face that said everything was resolved and not to worry, and patted her back lightly.

“Don’t worry. I took care of him. There’s only one left.”

‘One.’

That’s right. We decided to deal with them all inside the building. But now…

“Th, then. Why are we being chased? You were going to finish it there!”

“The situation has changed. He was stronger than I expected. Let’s take shelter for a while, Io.”

Io, who didn’t notice anything strange in Scarl’s answers, was flustered when Scarl hugged her without warning.

“…Really? Ugh! D, don’t.”

“Don’t worry. Everyone is safe. I just wanted to lure him out and deal with him because I didn’t want you to get hurt.”

The stress of death she had been receiving for over a week disappeared with his words.

How could the words of a man she had only known for two days sound so sweet?

Was she crazy? Or did it mean she was that mentally cornered?

“Io.”

Listening to the pleasant bass voice that softly called her name and the peaceful heartbeat in his arms, Io was convinced that Scarl would fend off any threat to her.

Then Io subtly clung to Scarl’s arms.

When she started doing the things that couples did, which used to seem disgusting, Io thought she had finally gone crazy.

But he’s the fiancé her grandfather introduced, right? This much is…

“W, why?”

Scarl gently stroked her hair and patted her back at Io’s shy, blushing face.

“It’s okay. Let’s live together when everything is over.”

“O, okay.”

Io had a sweet dream of marrying him, having three children, and even seeing grandchildren with those words.