episode_0022

Suppressing the recoil surging through my body, I surveyed my surroundings.

Belltan’s death caused the space he created to vanish, revealing a scene that was the location of a portal leading into the demon’s lair with Ilren.

It seemed like I had returned here because Belltan had died.

I spread my senses to detect anyone nearby.

There was only one presence around me.

It was the aura of the giant of the Dark Vale, the one who created the Dark Church.

Attempting to move my body for the final confrontation, it didn’t respond well, almost as if it had malfunctioned.

“Perhaps I pushed too far.”

Undoubtedly, the technique Belltan used last was somewhat risky.

Forcibly elevating the realm of the Sword Master to a level only they could access resulted in significant recoil.

Nevertheless, I still had enough strength to handle a weakling, so I suppressed the recoil and began moving towards where I sensed the presence.

“Lord Cariel.”

Ilren, who had also left that place, called out to me.

Whether due to her poor physical condition or just having come out, I couldn’t sense her presence, so her voice caught me off guard momentarily before I regained composure and asked, “Ilren. What about the children?”

“I sent them away without suffering. And the Queen of Nightmares intervened halfway.”

“The Queen of Nightmares?”

“Yes.”

Ilren’s words left me somewhat bewildered.

If it was the Queen of Nightmares, she would be the Succubus Queen.

Just like Belltan who fought against me, I hadn’t even considered the possibility of another high-ranking officer of the Demon Army with formidable power.

“What happened?”

“I killed her.”

Initially unaware, upon closer inspection, she seemed slightly fatigued.

Even after killing a high-ranking officer of the Demon Army, seeing her only slightly tired indicated that she had grown significantly stronger than three years ago.

“Thank you for your efforts. Sorry, but help the others and search for any remaining demons. I have something to take care of.”

“Then I’ll go help the others first.”

Ilren nodded at me and quickly departed.

She had indeed changed a lot compared to before.

Of course, it was a positive change, making it quite a favorable transformation.

“I’ve gained an extra card to play.”

Originally, I had sworn not to call upon it this time and in the future.

Because such a situation might arise again.

However, seeing the transformed Ilren, my thoughts shifted.

Now, looking at Ilren, who had changed to the point where she could easily pass as a respectable Paladin, I couldn’t help but feel proud.

“First, I need to deal with the remaining one.”

Having entrusted the task to Ilren, I had to finish my own work.

I moved towards where the entity was located.

It seemed to have sensed my presence and was desperately trying to flee, but I paid it no mind.

After all, it wouldn’t last much longer.

As expected, it soon stopped moving altogether.

“Predictable.”

When one makes a pact with demons, they essentially swear something akin to an oath.

However, when the demon they made the deal with dies, they experience a severe backlash.

It wasn’t just any backlash that would end once the recoil subsided; it was an inevitable backlash leading to death.

It took a very long time, filled with excruciating and dreadful despair, before succumbing to death.

The entity was likely struggling in agonizing pain right now, unable to move, so I slowly closed the distance between us.

As the distance between us shortened to the point where he was visible to the naked eye, the fellow twisted and writhed in agony just as I had anticipated.

The sight of the guy, who was known as a giant in the dark guild, squirming so pitifully, was quite heart-wrenching.

Approaching him closely, I grabbed his head and lifted it up.

“Hrk…?”

“Well… Seeing you like this makes me so happy.”

Although I should have been imitating Cariel’s tone, not having eyes to see and looking at his face made me have all sorts of arrogant thoughts, so I didn’t feel like acting.

I chuckled while still watching the guy struggle in pain.

“Do you realize how much trouble you’ve caused because of your damn antics? Ugh… Just thinking about it makes my blood boil.”

Thanks to that, we managed to achieve the feat of taking down two officers of the Demon King’s army, but personally, it wasn’t particularly satisfying news for me.

Leaving Beltran aside, the Queen of Monma was originally the key to the protagonist party’s growth.

“Actually, I have a question for you. If you answer nicely, I’ll kill you cleanly. If you don’t answer properly, you better not expect a gentle death.”

While saying this, I couldn’t help but wonder what I would do if the threat didn’t work.

Fortunately, it seemed my threat worked as the guy spoke with a trembling voice.

“Y-Yes.”

“Good. The headquarters of your secret society. How is the situation there?”

“W-Well, a party has entered. So, we sent out the strongest weapon created through experiments…”

“I see.”

Even if they claimed it was the strongest weapon, I wasn’t sure of its actual power.

There was a high chance that it possessed a considerable amount of strength that could pose a challenge to the current hero party.

“Alright.”

“T-Then…”

Is it time to end this suffering?

Looking into the eyes filled with such anticipation, I gave a sly smile.

“Why would I? There’s no reason for that.”

“B-But!”

“I made a promise. Did you really believe I would gift a peaceable end to trash like you? You should die as miserably and wretchedly as possible. That’s only fair.”

I released the guy’s head.

Feeling unjust about dying like this, he shouted in frustration.

“Do you think you’re any different! You, holding the position of a hero, yet doing things no different from us! Do you really think you can hide behind that despicable mask and still meet a peaceful end?”

His words held no significance.

From his perspective, it was merely cursing out of frustration at his unjust dying state, not conveying any deeper meaning. However, I couldn’t help but think that deep down, his words were true.

Because, as he said, I am fated to die by the hands of Arien, the true hero.

From the moment I possessed the being known as Cariel.

Until now.

Not once.

I glanced indifferently at him before turning around and leaving.

***

Viscount Trinium.

Honestly, I don’t remember much about him, but I knew they were a rather insignificant family.

Being a viscount meant they were a recognized family, but the problem was that they were practically declining, so I lived without paying them any mind.

“But who knew they would go this far.”

It seems like they made a deal with demons in an attempt to rise from their decline.

They wouldn’t know.

What lies at the end.

How despicable their actions were just to avoid the immediate crisis in front of them.

So, I can only inform them myself.

Upon returning, I immediately instructed Lena to prepare the troops.

Preparation was made to go out in a fake identity.

“Seems like a fake status can be quite advantageous, just like a duke.”

In the empire, there are five noble families.

Each of them holds significant power.

Ironically, one of these five families, under my fake identity, was quite a useful status as the Emperor himself had made it easier for me to maneuver.

Therefore, even with a fake identity, I held considerable power.

However, I couldn’t simply eliminate a viscount without any justification.

Externally, the fact that they had dealings with demons was not yet known.

“Come to think of it, since they also had dealings with demons, could they have been killed?”

Such thoughts briefly crossed my mind, but I immediately shook my head.

After all, only those bound by contracts would die.

If they were involved in simple transactions, the likelihood of them not dying was high.

“Well, then, I’ll need evidence to prove this crime.”

Sadly, I currently have no evidence.

But there was a witness.

If the witness were just an ordinary person, they wouldn’t be of much help, but this witness was a Paladin.

And not just any Paladin, but the strongest one?

At that level, her words could be considered as good as evidence.

Even without that, with the power of a duke, I could fabricate crimes and evidence against the declining viscount, but there was no need for that.

Evidence will surface as we dig into the viscount.

“Lena. Are the troops ready?”

“Everything is prepared. We can move at your command.”

“Irene. Are you ready too?”

“I am always prepared.”

“Good.”

Putting on the mask in my hand, I said,

“Let’s go. To punish them.”