Chapter 79

“So it’s true. When Ronos was training Riana on how to use demon power, he made her suffer from negative emotions and anger. That method works on you too.”

“Huff, huff……”

“Kairon? Kairon! Can you hear me? If you can, answer me!”

Rostia was shouting something urgently in front of me, but I couldn’t hear her well right now.

I had never felt this much anger in my life before.

My whole body was trembling so much that I couldn’t hear properly, but I managed to open my mouth and ask Rostia.

“……What is this?”

“Are you coming to your senses?”

“I’m asking what this is, aren’t I?!”

“Ah……”

I ended up shouting without realizing it.

“Kairon, do you know what your eyes look like right now?”

“What does it matter what my eyes look like? Answer my question first.”

“……Just look.”

Rostia cautiously stepped back, took a small mirror from the drawer, and brought it to me.

Then, as if to show me, she held the mirror right in front of my face.

“Look. Look and pull yourself together.”

“My eyes……?”

“They’re burning, fiercely so!”

My pupils were burning.

Not just a normal red, but a blood-red.

It was a color I knew.

Among demons, there were some that had a particularly red hue.

For example, Cerberus, who had pushed the Vanguard to the brink during the last wave.

And……

The Demon of Wrath.

Just like its name, the blood-red flames burning around my pupils were the same color as that Demon of Wrath.

As soon as I realized that, my head cooled down.

At the same time, I could feel the demonic power raging inside me slowly subsiding.

“Wh-what is this……?”

“Your voice sounds like you’re coming to your senses. Are you finally regaining your composure?”

“No. I’m still completely bewildered about what just happened to me.”

“What happened? I used illusion magic to create a situation that would make you angry enough, and it worked perfectly.”

“……That was too much. Showing me a situation where Riana was absorbed and eaten by Commander Balthazar? It was beyond creepy. I’m afraid it’ll haunt my dreams.”

“But I had no choice. If it wasn’t that extreme, you wouldn’t have gotten angry. Besides, what Ronos evoked in Riana was an intense rage and despair that made her lose her reason. So I had to draw out that level of emotion from you too.”

Even though the illusionary Commander Balthazar and Riana had disappeared without a trace, they still lingered in my mind.

Commander Balthazar’s mannerisms, habits, and that oppressive aura that seemed kind but also completely controlled the situation.

“Just in case, I have to ask.”

“What is it?”

“Were you ever close with Commander Balthazar?”

“……No. The only time I worked with your Balthazar was when we first established Cressnig. That was it. As you know, Balthazar entrusted Riana to Ronos, not me.”

“Hmm, I see. But then, what about all those detailed parts? The Commander Balthazar you showed me in the illusion was exactly the Commander Balthazar I know. And……”

At the last moment, when my fist connected.

Throughout the illusion, I never managed to touch Commander Balthazar, but at the very end, when the demonic power inside me exploded, my fist connected with him.

The sensation, the impact I felt on my fist at that moment.

Even that was an illusion.

“Ugh, ugh……”

“Be careful!”

Rostia, with her small body, clung to me as I staggered, grunting as she supported me.

Then, with great effort, she grabbed my arm and dragged me to a chair to sit me down.

“I need to rest, just for a moment.”

“Alright, rest well. It’s your first time properly using that power, and drawing out that much power comes with a price. Should I get you some water?”

“No, I’m fine. I think I just need to sit still and not think about anything for a while.”

“Go ahead. I won’t disturb you until you’ve calmed down.”

I settled into a comfortable position and closed my eyes.

I tried to let go of the thoughts rising in my head to cool down my throbbing mind.

No, I tried to let them go.

But they were thoughts I couldn’t let go of.

‘First, the color of the flames that burned around my pupils.’

It was a blood-red.

I had definitely absorbed the blood-red demonic aura from Cerberus, but what I absorbed from Ronos was a purple demonic aura.

I had absorbed more of the purple aura, but what manifested was the blood-red aura.

I had succeeded in manifesting the powerful demonic power, but I still hadn’t fully grasped even half of it.

And if I were to misuse this power while still not fully understanding it, it could lead to irreversible consequences, so I needed to be more cautious for the time being.

“Tsk tsk, this won’t do.”

When I opened my eyes, I saw Rostia shaking her head and clicking her tongue.

“What won’t do?”

“I’m saying you can go home early today. I’ll let you go early this time. There’s no point in forcing you to stay when you’ve already pushed yourself this much. So go back and spend some time with Abelin and Riana. Take a good rest. Especially, a mental rest. It’s my money anyway, so don’t forget to eat something delicious.”

“Sigh…… Thank you. Honestly, in this state, I don’t think I can do anything more. I need time to clear my head. Abelin was just saying she wanted to have a meal together because she was feeling lonely, so this works out well.”

“Abelin said that to you?”

“Yes. I guess people naturally become needy when they’re sick and in pain. In this big city, I’m the only one she knows, so I have to be her support while she can’t move properly. Even though Riana offered to help with nursing, I still feel the need to take care of her myself.”

“You’re going to nurse her with that trembling body of yours? By the way, Kairon.”

“Yes, Lady Rostia?”

“Do you know about Abelin……?”

“I know.”

“You know? You already know what I was going to say?”

“No, I don’t know that. But I know that Abelin has deep and many secrets, and she’s trying hard not to reveal them. So I won’t press her and will wait for the day she tells me herself.”

“……You’re perceptive. If you had succeeded in becoming a bad guy, many women would have cried.”

“It’s too late for that. I’m just a hopelessly good guy.”

“You brat…… Alright, go ahead. Be careful not to slip on the icy roads.”

“I can manage that much. Then I’ll see you tomorrow, Lady Rostia. Or would you like to have a meal together later?”

“Enough. I plan to dive into research based on the results I just got. Besides, with this small body, even if I order expensive food, I can’t eat much.”

“Understood. Then I’ll go ahead. Don’t overwork yourself.”

“Don’t overwork yourself either, Kairon. You did well, so go safely!”

As I closed the door to Rostia’s research lab, my body started to shake again.

I had been trying to act fine, but the aftereffects of using demonic power were still lingering in my body, making it ache and burn.

But what was hotter than my body was my head.

That illusion……

It was way too realistic.

***

“Are you satisfied now? Feeling better?”

“Very well done. You acted splendidly.”

After Kairon left, a shadow that had been hiding revealed itself.

“You could have been an actor instead of a magician.”

“Hmph, at this age, if I hadn’t turned this cunning, it would have been strange. Now go back.”

“Thank you. Thanks to you, the situation has become much more interesting.”

“What exactly are you scheming? Not that you’ll tell me even if I ask.”

“Fun. I want more fun. I can see you’re feeling passionate again thanks to Kairon.”

“But unlike your sinister and twisted fun, my research into magic and diversity is honorable.”

Rostia grumbled as she added.

“……Balthazar. How did you even know to come here?”

“Rostia, you saw it too, didn’t you? Ronos, in his true form, had the appearance of a crow. There are four gods interested in this world. One of them is the Crow God. And you already know how many crows live in this world, don’t you?”

“Are you saying all the crows in this world are that god’s servants?”

“Not all. But most living things submit to those stronger than themselves. To survive. Anyway, don’t worry. I have no intention of doing anything to this Magic Tower just because I got rid of Ronos. And thanks to you, I’ve realized something.”

Balthazar added with a satisfied smile.

“Indeed, Kairon still has a long way to go. There’s still much more potential for him to entertain me. Haha……”