episode_0017

Unleashing all the hidden energy and strength I’ve been concealing.

The children turned experimental subjects show signs of life, but they weren’t my target.

It’s the demons not far from here.

Without hesitation, I struck the ground.

Thud!

With a shock resembling a cannon blast, my body pierced through the darkness in an instant.

The surroundings are imbued with magic, making it typically impenetrable, but it was futile against overwhelming power.

Beyond the darkness, I advanced to a plain where shadows settled.

Though the moon hung in the sky, I quickly realized this place was artificially created.

Otherwise, there wouldn’t be artificial movements of darkness around.

As if trying to prevent me from reaching the demons, the darkness distorted senses, but it quickly vanished under the force I exerted.

“It’s the first time I’ve wielded such power.”

Surprisingly, control was excellent.

I didn’t know why, but considering the current situation, it seemed advantageous, so I set it aside for now.

There were more important matters at hand.

“Did you think you could escape?”

Drawing my sword from its sheath, I swung it.

The blade cutting through the darkness revealed a figure that seemed demonic.

I didn’t doubt that it was a demon.

The demon’s appearance was unscathed.

As if nothing could harm it.

Stepping back for a moment, I saw vivid crimson eyes shining in the sunken darkness.

Those bright crimson eyes were filled with delight.

“Welcome, warrior. I’ve wanted to see you.”

“I have no desire to see that damn face of yours.”

To think a wretched-looking creature like that wanted to see me.

It felt disgustingly degrading, almost plunging into despair.

“Don’t be like that. We’re allies, aren’t we?”

“Who said you could call me an ally?”

A faceless demon.

Moreover, a demon calling me an ally was truly bewildering.

I never imagined hearing such words from a demon.

The creature, seemingly amused by my reaction, smiled and said, “My name is Belthan. As you know, a demon.”

It was a name unfamiliar to me.

That meant he was closer to being an insignificant demon.

I responded indifferently to Belthan’s words, “I’m not interested.”

“You might become interested soon. I’ve recently taken an interest in the human realm. Because of a certain human party that keeps bothering us. Anyway, I heard such news during that process. They say the hero is the world’s trash.”

Belthan chuckled as if finding something amusing.

He laughed until tears welled up before finally stopping.

“And what do you want?”

“Well, here’s the thing. How about joining us? If you’re going to commit such atrocities anyway, you might as well join our side. When our Demon King appears, the human realm will perish. Even if you try to stop it as a hero, it’s a certainty that you’ll die. It would be better to join us, live a life of wealth and women for the rest of your days. If you want any woman, you can have them all. How does my offer sound?”

The demon who introduced himself as Belthan seemed genuinely convinced that I would accept this proposal.

Even if I spread rumors, it’s unlikely that someone would blindly believe them.

I wondered what led him to think that way.

“This is ridiculous. Do you really believe those rumors?”

“I don’t believe it. And it’s not just rumors; I’ve already made contact with nobles, and they’ve heard all about you. The high-ranking nobles couldn’t make it, unfortunately, but I did manage to meet some reputable ones.”

If he’s a reputable noble, he should at least be a viscount.

It seemed like I would have to deal with the current issues first and then handle this promptly.

“I’m not interested. My goal is to capture and kill all of you.”

“Calm down, my friend. Think a little more. How long will you keep wearing that mask?”

I was about to tell him to stop beating around the bush when suddenly a good idea came to mind.

The guy in front of me thinks I’m wearing a false mask and pretending to be a hero, no matter what I say.

In that case, could I use this situation to my advantage?

‘There’s quite a bit of risk involved.’

But the returns could be significant as well.

It was a challenge worth trying.

‘Of course, if I accept this too easily now, it might raise suspicion.’

I’ll pretend to ponder deeply and set forth several conditions.

“Is what you said true?”

“What?”

“What you just said.”

Beltan recalled what he had just said and burst into laughter.

“Of course. After all, the Demon King isn’t interested in human women. So, if you desire a woman, you can embrace her and experience pleasure and true power, right? Of course, there may be those who resist, but you can just crush them with force, can’t you? How about it? Do you trust my proposal? If you can’t believe me, how about swearing a solemn oath?”

A solemn oath.

An oath that one’s soul cannot break.

It was described as an oath even the gods couldn’t break.

“A solemn oath. You boast that you can uphold an oath that not even the gods can break.”

“Oh? You know that much? But unfortunately, I can really do it. For humans, it might be a bit challenging, but for our demons, a simple word is enough to make an oath. With this, you could come over to us without any worries.”

“Hmm…”

Pretending to contemplate, I thought to myself.

‘I must not agree to the oath.’

If I did, I would truly become a demon, and that was something I had to prevent at all costs.

However, if I refused to take the oath, they would undoubtedly have doubts on their end.

If I were truly going to join the demons, there would be no reason for me to hesitate.

‘I need to transition naturally somehow.’

I furrowed my brow, indicating my displeasure.

Seeing me like that, Beltan looked puzzled and asked, “What’s the problem?”

“It seems like the risk is too great no matter how you look at it. Wealth, women, power—these are things I can still obtain if I want them. There’s no reason for me to cling to the demons and take on risks.”

“If the Demon King descends, the human realm will eventually perish. Yet you find the risk too great?”

“How can you be so sure of that? The Demon King didn’t even propose this directly, and for a mere demon like you to make such an oath, I doubt whether I would truly belong to the demons and enjoy such privileges.”

“I understand that sentiment.”

I thought he might get angry at my suspicions, but instead, Beltan nodded as if understanding my stance.

“It’s actually good to see you like this. It’s clear, isn’t it? Rather than accepting things blindly, isn’t it better to earn trust?”

Saying this, Beltan flicked his finger.

Suddenly, a paper that looked like a contract appeared in the air.

At first glance, I could tell it was no ordinary paper.

“This is what we call a blood contract. Once demons agree to this contract, they must absolutely fulfill it. If they fail to do so, their very souls will be extinguished. Moreover, the moment they entertain even the slightest thought of not fulfilling what is written in the contract, they die on the spot. Strictly speaking, while an oath of allegiance may be more potent and trustworthy, I suppose you prefer to trust what you can see in a contract. I consider this quite acceptable. Take a look at it once.”

Belthan flicked his finger once again.

Upon doing so, the contract that had been in the air flew towards me.

I received the contract and began to read through it.

“‘Belltan, a high-ranking officer of the Demon King’s army, promises to reward any hero who crosses over to the Demon King’s army with corresponding rewards (women, wealth, power, etc.). It is guaranteed that they will be treated at the highest level. Failure to comply will result in the destruction of Belltan’s soul.’”

I skimmed through it to check for any loopholes, but all I found were contents highly favorable to me.

Furthermore, a high-ranking officer of the Demon King.

These words instilled even more confidence in me.

“I thought he was just some nameless demon, but he’s become a high-ranking officer under the Demon King?”

Not just anyone can become a high-ranking officer under the Demon King.

Each high-ranking officer under the Demon King can be considered a commander with their own troops.

And there were only five such individuals.

“Come to think of it, in the original work, it mentioned five, but only four officers appeared.”

Recalling that one high-ranking officer fought against the protagonist while the other vacant position was said to have been filled early on.

“Considering that was in the latter part of the story.”

It wasn’t surprising that one was still alive.

Meeting someone who was only mentioned as deceased made the encounter all the more intriguing.

“What do you think?”

“It’s definitely good.”

“Isn’t it? I’ve made sure of it.”

His gesture of tilting his head as if to say he was impressive was truly amusing.

“But I’m curious about something.”

“What is it? Just ask.”

“Where are the kidnapped children?”

The children I had seen before had already met such a fate even before I became aware of the situation.

This meant that there was a possibility that the children recently abducted might still be alive.

After pondering my question, Baltan rubbed his chin as if recalling something and then exclaimed brightly.

“The children? We handed them over to those noble folks who were helping us and turned them into weapons. Honestly, they seemed useless at first glance, but when we infused magic into them, they became quite useful. Ah, although we did keep about half of them alive this time to use as a slight threat against the human party that was bothering us. Why do you ask?”

“Never mind. The decision has been made.”

“Is that so? Then about crossing over…”

“I’ll kill them.”

I lunged forward with a fierce gaze.