episode_0064

“I thought you were a nobody, but seeing you in person, you’re quite impressive for a human.”

“It’s not very pleasant for a demon wretch to dare evaluate me.”

Deurosa, an assassin quite renowned even in Azulda, the kingdom of demons, looked at the human woman before her with interest.

The human empire, where she had come to carry out a mission under the command of her master Kardmos, was too soft.

She had thought this country, where she couldn’t even properly smell the lingering scent of blood that was common in Azulda, was like a big, cowardly giant.

However, the woman emitting fierce aura before her had a very different feeling from the atmosphere she had sensed in Sephiroth.

Since Kardmos’s territory was quite far from the border regions with Sephiroth or Kashmir, she had never seen a ‘fighting’ human like this.

The humans she had seen in Azulda were either weak prisoners of war or a small number of civilians captured for amusement.

The raw aura violently emanating from the woman was surprisingly refined and as sharp and keen as a blade.

“There’s no need for us to scout each other, so let’s fight to the death.”

Faster than sound, Deurosa was already rushing towards Isera.

Dozens of daggers imbued with an unpleasant purple magic flew around Isera, surrounding her, while Deurosa’s figure vanished simultaneously.

Isera enhanced her wild dynamic vision and sense of smell, dodging the chaotic dance of daggers and spotting Deurosa as she moved in, but her reaction was slightly delayed.

*Thwack!*

A kukri imbued with purple magic swung, quickly and cleanly slicing Isera’s shoulder blade, causing considerable bleeding.

“Professor-nim…!”

The two assistants, unable to even glimpse Deurosa’s movements, screamed upon seeing the splattering blood.

*Grin—*

Isera, grinning fiercely like a beast, accelerated her body, burrowed inward, and then struck Deurosa’s abdomen with her elbow.

“….!!!!”

*Thud!* Deurosa’s body flew up with a crashing sound, and Isera’s continuous attacks relentlessly pursued her.

Isera’s unique hard and sharp mana infused the Iron Horse engraving embedded in the gloves Ras had given her, dramatically increasing their hardness.

Abdomen, collarbone, chest, flank, ribs.

Solid punches rapidly and flexibly aimed for Deurosa’s torso, striking her, but…

“Ugh… this…!”

Instead of being helplessly beaten like a scarecrow, Deurosa fully utilized the demons’ unique durability and regeneration, successfully escaping the barrage of attacks immediately.

Deurosa, who had successfully interrupted Isera’s combo by actively attempting parries with her kukri-wielding right hand and her free feet, unleashed a magical wave from her palm, causing an explosion.

With thick smoke and a roar, the brief exchange between the two women entered a temporary lull.

Both women retreated from each other and began to quickly catch their breath.

‘Phew… tough. This level, judging by the high-ranking demons I met on the battlefield… it’s a skill I’ve never managed to defeat alone.’

Isera smiled bitterly, feeling overwhelmed by her opponent’s strength.

She wanted to collapse and catch her breath immediately, but showing exhaustion or fatigue to an enemy on the battlefield was directly linked to death, so she desperately held back.

‘Moreover… this unpleasant sensation flowing into the wound. A strong opponent carries poisons or whatever… truly thorough preparation.’

One or two daggers she allowed during the exchange, and a swift strike with the kukri that could be considered a significant hit.

All weapons Deurosa used were coated with an irritating poison.

‘It’s a poison that hinders blood clotting and prevents mana from concentrating in one point. I won’t melt away from it, but my combat ability will rapidly decrease the more I’m affected.’

Indeed, both the destructive power and speed of her consecutive attacks had dropped compared to usual, preventing her from gaining momentum in a situation where she needed to press hard.

“Professor-nim, it’s poison, isn’t it? We… we need to detoxify it….”

Babetti Bergen, an assistant from the infirmary, hastily tried to put a hand on Isera’s shoulder, but Isera stopped her.

“Don’t waste your energy, you two. Find a chance and run. I’ll hold her off, so run out of the forest no matter what. Once you’re out, immediately contact Professor Rosalie with a communication device. Tell her that ‘demons’ have entered Delphi.”

“Oh… you already knew there were others besides me? Truly amazing, aren’t you?”

As if she had heard Isera’s words with her exceptional hearing, Deurosa chuckled.

She pretended to be at ease, but she was still clutching her insides, which had been thoroughly shaken by Isera’s consecutive attacks.

The mission leader had left her in the rear, thinking the pursuer might be annoying, and though it was bad luck, she realized it had been the right choice.

“Go. You two will only get in the way if you stay here anyway.”

“Who says you can send them?”

Deurosa scoffed with an incredulous voice as she watched Isera speak to her assistants, but she soon had to wipe that smile from her face.

“I have no choice but to. From now on, I intend to show Isera Bernstein’s full power.”

As Isera spoke, her eyes were engulfed in a pale blue ghostly fire, and her aura, which had been like a sharp blade, began to emanate a much denser, heavier feeling… like a mace.

“Professor-nim… you absolutely must not turn back…!”

The assistants, tearful, still obeyed their superior’s words like true cadets.

They knew well that if they lingered here, they would only hinder Isera, who would be concerned about them.

“Are you trying for a mutual kill…? You seem to be pushing yourself too hard.”

Deurosa asked with a displeased, yet mocking tone.

Among demons, who are sensitive to mana flow, she had intensely honed the assassin’s fighting style, making her particularly sensitive to even subtle changes.

She could clearly feel that the extraordinary aura Isera was currently displaying was undoubtedly the result of some method that gnawed at her flesh and carved out her bones.

‘I’m fast anyway. If I divert the mana for attacks to durability and regeneration and just endure a few turns of her attacks, she’ll exhaust herself and die.’

Her opponent was a close-quarters fighter.

She was a swift assassin, but thanks to the power Kardmos had bestowed upon her beforehand, she also possessed surprising regenerative abilities.

“A mutual kill… that won’t do. When this fight is over, I have to confess to him.”

“Confess…?”

And faster than Deurosa’s question, this time Isera took the first turn and initiated an attack.

However, Isera, with her solemn resolve, had no intention of dying sprawling in this cursed forest.

*

Outside Maugenberg Forest, two individuals, a man and a woman, were heading somewhere after leaving the woods.

The man was a giant, while the woman had the appearance of a tiny child, significantly smaller than the man.

Both were handsome and beautiful, but the stark contrast in their appearances made them look a bit comical together.

“Antikrea, do you think Deurosa has killed those who were pursuing her by now?”

The large man asked the small girl in a flat voice.

“The pursuer was strong. Deurosa will most likely lose. But it’s fine. She’s just bait. I’m the core of this operation anyway. You just need to escort me, Haimon.”

The small girl named Antikrea recited cruelly in a nonchalant voice.

“Both you and Deurosa are merely components to buy ‘my time’ in this operation. As soon as I entered that forest, I understood Master’s intentions.”

What followed were even more heartless words, but both Antikrea, who spoke them, and Haimon, who listened, remained indifferent.

“I’ve never seen a spirit vein of this magnitude even in Azulda. The power held by this forest is immense.”

A spirit vein.

This is a special spot that forms with very low probability.

The primary entity governed by this special area, meaning ‘governing vein’, is mana.

A vast mana ground, accumulating, twisting, condensing, and swirling for unknown reasons.

However, though not well-known in Sephiroth, spirit veins are not spots that form randomly or by chance.

“It seems to have been the site of a tremendous massacre or war. Just in that forest, how many lives perished at once?”

A distant ancient history that Antikrea and Haimon, being foreigners and not Sephirothians, could never know.

The Maugenberg Forest area was the battlefield of a great massacre a thousand years ago, where Richard, the founding emperor of Sephiroth, fought day and night for a week.

This was the hellish pandemonium that, after an intense battle violent enough to completely alter the terrain, resulted in over 100,000 casualties.

Thus, after Richard ascended to the throne, he spent a long time consecrating the area itself as one giant tombstone for the repose of souls, creating Maugenberg Forest.

Thanks to this, the lingering death energy and evil energy were gradually purified over a long period, but in their place, this became a spirit vein imbued with enormous mana throughout.

Azulda is a nation with active civil wars, and demons, as a race, possess superior detection and control over mana, so the concept of spirit veins is quite well-established, and although rare, a few spirit veins do exist.

Azulda is the only nation where substantial research has progressed regarding why spirit veins form and how to extract and utilize the mana from them.

Even just knowing how to extract and utilize mana from such special zones like spirit veins indicates a very high level of understanding and control over mana.

In the past, Sephiroth also conducted several research attempts to utilize mana-rich spirit veins, but the inherent nature of spirit vein mana was so stubborn and difficult that they only tasted bitter defeat.

There was a reason why Maugenberg Forest and a few other spirit veins couldn’t be effectively used as resources.

However, the pure mana is not the only thing that a spirit vein site governs.

There’s another reason why the mana of a spirit vein is so stubborn and virulent, ruining and maddening the body of anyone who tries to use it.

Deep within that virulent mana, residual spirits that could not properly ascend and remained tied to the earth—what people commonly call ghosts—were deeply infused.

“Deurosa and you are merely buying me time so that I can safely and completely extract the power of the spirit vein. At any rate, this should be enough to complete Master’s command.”

There are many novices and intermediates in the world, but few masters.

And Antikrea, who appeared like a young girl, was a specialist in this field, a Spirit Master counted among the best across the entire continent, not just Azulda.

Spirit Masters, including Antikrea, directly subjugate, command, and control spirits, utilizing the memories and pure mana of ghosts in combat.

However, compared to ordinary mages or warriors, their methods of increasing their own power are elusive.

They are essentially no different from others, except for their ability to see and control ghosts, and finding a spirit vein where ghosts are densely concentrated is extremely difficult.

Furthermore, since their constitution determines their aptitude entirely, their numbers are small, making proper education difficult. Thus, Spirit Masters are not actually considered highly valuable as combat personnel.

That’s why when Kardmos personally assigned Antikrea an important mission and appointed her as the leader of the operation, his close subordinates, while obeying, showed a slight sense of bewilderment.

Within Kardmos’s forces, Antikrea was a non-combatant responsible for espionage, intelligence warfare, or sniping through sorcery, and her low combat power meant her status wasn’t particularly high.

“To seize such immense power, only to attack a school filled with snot-nosed brats? Is that place really that significant?”

“Perhaps. Deurosa and you tend to underestimate humans, but their advantage isn’t just their large numbers.”

Anyway, Haimon was a little displeased that the insignificant Spirit Master brat, who had only recently been low in rank and discreetly keeping to herself, suddenly adopted the stance of a world-savvy strong individual.

However, for demons, their master’s command was far more important than their paltry beliefs or pride.

‘For this operation, follow Antikrea’s instructions completely. Think of it as my command, and perform it well, risking your life.’

Since the great master Kardmos had issued the command to him, the servant would merely faithfully carry it out.

Regardless, Haimon was dutifully escorting the Spirit Master brat, unlike his usual self, and desperately tried to open up a conversation to avoid playfully hitting her head as he usually would.

“Rosalie Berhart must be more formidable than I thought. Seeing that he commanded ‘you’ to bring her.”

“Well, I suppose so… There’s no one else but ‘me’ who couldn’t bring her… Anyway, I intend to consume the power now, so I hope you’ll escort me well… No, escort me with all your heart and soul.”

*When great power is gained, forgetting one’s tadpole days and somehow becoming conceited is truly an instinct common to all living beings…* Haimon sighed inwardly at the thought.

While sighing inwardly, they arrived at what appeared to be a plausible hideout, a black mage’s private residence. He had intended to quickly dispose of anyone inside and use it, but it was disappointingly empty.

As he blankly escorted Antikrea, who was making the unknown power her own, memories of their past together flashed through Haimon’s mind.

‘You call yourself a Spirit Master, so why is your intelligence so wrong? You phony quack. I’m angry, so let me hit you twice.’

‘Ow…!!! Stop hitting my head. My spiritual power will all break. I’ll really tell His Majesty everything… No, wait… I just meant it as a figure of speech, don’t take it seriously…’

Haimon somehow missed the days not long ago when he would often playfully hit this impudent-looking brat (who was, in fact, an adult) on the head and tease her relentlessly.

*

Inside a certain barracks.

“Does His Majesty believe Antikrea will succeed? I trust His Majesty’s foresight, but that child is not trustworthy…”

A calm and quiet, yet wise and loyal voice, spoke to the handsome young man.

“His Majesty? I am still far from becoming king… Isn’t your loyalty a bit too excessive, Seneca?”

“Impossible. Who else but Lord Kardmos could possibly ascend the throne of great Azulda?”

Kardmos chuckled with an air of satisfaction, loosening his shoulders and neck, which had become slightly stiff from ceaseless travel and intermittent battles.

“Well… she’s not a very reliable combatant. But there’s no demon who can utilize a spirit vein as well as she can. That’s a realm even I can’t properly touch yet.”

“Rosalie Berhart… I didn’t know there was a woman so remarkable that Your Majesty would personally take such an interest in her. Though her past deeds certainly garnered her some fame.”

“That woman is remarkable. She’ll become even more so in the future. So much so that her previous deeds won’t even be recorded in history… If Antikrea succeeds, it’s a good thing, but truthfully, I don’t particularly expect her to succeed.”

“Did you send her with failure in mind? Could you perhaps enlighten my foolish self as to the reason?”

Seneca’s polite words held no trace of doubt, but were instead filled with curiosity.

Kardmos replied to his loyal subordinate in a voice that suggested it was nothing special.

“It’s a gift for a worthy rival. Weakening the enemy is fundamental to strategy, but… I’m fundamentally a demon, so I also have a desire for that woman to grow deliciously strong.”

“I see. Thank you. I, your humble servant, will pay closer attention.”

“Enough. If you pay any more attention here, old man, all your hair and beard will fall out… In that time, go embrace a woman instead.”

Kardmos chuckled as he lay down on the bed.

The ‘oracle’ that must be glowing black in Azulda’s distant ancient ruins, meant for him, felt as close as if it were already in his grasp.

‘Just you wait. Whether you’re a Saintess or a Hero, I’ll make you pay dearly for daring to inflict defeat upon me.’

But Kardmos, being too arrogant and believing himself to be unique and special, did not yet know at this point.

The fact that he wasn’t the only one who had regressed with memories…

And that the other humans who had regressed were even stronger and more malevolent beings than himself, who had called himself the Demon King.

Thus, Demon King Kardmos’s time began to flow differently, without his knowledge.