Chapter 86
In the Demon World, Nahun received a report from Eri and Dein that their mission had been completed. He smiled with satisfaction and spoke.
“So, Seere, as I said, you did well, didn’t you?”
“…Yes, I suppose so.”
Seere pouted her lips at Nahun’s attitude, which seemed like he was proudly boasting. Nahun had anticipated Seere’s reaction but said it deliberately, wanting to tease his cute disciple a bit.
As Seere reacted cutely as expected, Nahun chuckled with a fatherly smile, feeling fulfilled by the joys of mentoring a student.
Using Dein and Eri as examples, he advised her.
“Humans are not always a race to be underestimated.”
“I know that. The human we saw last time was surprisingly strong.”
“I was just worried that you might have defeated that hero too easily.”
“That was only possible because it was me.”
Nahun chuckled lightly at her somewhat arrogant tone. However, Seere was not being arrogant.
“I learned from my teacher, so how could I lose?”
“…!”
Nahun was honestly surprised by her unexpected statement. He was filled with such joy that he nearly burst into tears from the overwhelming wave of emotion.
‘What a remarkable child.’
Seeing Nahun’s overly obvious happiness, Seere secretly smiled. While Nahun might think Seere had responded innocently, that wasn’t entirely the case.
‘I need to build this rapport…’
Seere’s comments had been intentional. Of course, everything she said wasn’t insincere. They were genuine feelings without a hint of falsehood, but she acted a bit arrogant on purpose to divert the credit all onto Nahun.
‘If I build up enough goodwill like this, when I grow physically stronger, my teacher will…’
As Seere envisioned a rosy future, she unknowingly smiled brightly. Seeing that smile, Nahun was completely misinterpreting her thoughts.
At that moment, while both were thinking completely different things, Seere, regaining her composure first, asked Nahun.
“Teacher, what were you spreading in the human world?”
“Oh, did I not tell you?”
“No.”
Instead of answering Seere’s question, Nahun pulled out a pouch he had with him and showed it to her. Upon seeing the numerous magical artifacts inside, Seere narrowed her eyes.
“Teacher, this….”
“These are magical artifacts.”
“That’s not what I meant… Why is your magic inside them?”
Seere could confirm it without a doubt. As Nahun’s student, she was sensitive to his magical energy, so she noticed that his magic was mixed among the powerful magical energy within those artifacts.
“You have great perception, Seere.”
“I know because I’ve been with you all this time. What are you planning to do by spreading these in the human world?”
“While Dein and Eri are distributing these in the Empire, I went to the Holy Kingdom.”
“…The Holy Kingdom?”
Seere contemplated Nahun’s intentions deeply. After a moment, her eyes widened as if she had realized something.
“Are you trying to deliberately start a war in the human world?”
“I don’t know if it will lead to war, but… it will certainly create chaos.”
Nahun decided to share his true thoughts with Seere. He revealed that the purpose of this operation was to delay the Heavenly Demon War.
“Do you think the Heavenly Demon War will happen, Teacher?”
“Yes.”
“Well, considering that they sent such things to humans, the likelihood is high.”
“You are right. The Heavenly God seems to have a strong motive for triggering the Heavenly Demon War.”
And perhaps the reason behind that was precisely because Nahun had left his position in Hell. According to Ersha Scarlet, the progenitor of the vampire clan, Nahun himself was the strongest force in Hell.
Since Nahun was currently absent from Hell, the Heavens would certainly see it as an opportunity. Reflecting on the original game, the Heavenly Demon War wouldn’t happen until one or two more heroes emerged…
‘But that’s too fast for their actions.’
Just looking at the fact that they directly dispatched an angel to the Demon World showed that something had clearly changed from the original narrative since Nahun started to intervene.
“If the Heavenly Demon War occurs now, it will be a war that we cannot handle. It should not happen until our rank rises to at least the mid-tier before the next Demon World Assembly.”
“So that’s why you are shaking the human world.”
“That’s right. The Heavenly God is concerned about them.”
When the Pope of the Holy Kingdom said, “The Heavenly God has not communicated at all,” Nahun thought perhaps the Heavenly God had withdrawn their interest from the human world. But seeing that heroes were still appearing, it was evident that the Heavenly God had not lost interest in the human world.
“Surely, if the human world falls into chaos, even the Heavenly God will find it burdensome to instigate the Heavenly Demon War.”
“And to do that, you’re trying to create conflict between the two strongest factions in the human world.”
“You catch on quickly.”
Seere tilted her head.
“But, Teacher, will such intense conflict really arise just from distributing magical artifacts from the Demon World?”
“That’s why I infused my magic into them.”
“…What does that have to do with it?”
Seere’s head tilted in confusion. This was a point she couldn’t possibly know. She still didn’t realize that Nahun was a ‘Great Demon.’
The Great Demon existed on a much higher level than humans, so encountering their power would instill fear and cause people to lose their sanity, as if faced with an incomprehensible being. Especially for those sensitive to magical energy, the response would be even stronger.
That was why Nahun had infused a bit of his pure magic into the artifacts. Unlike when he had inscribed spells on human slaves, he did not use any external magic, only his pure magical energy.
The moment magic-sensitive sorcerers used such artifacts…
“The humans who use artifacts infused with my magic will lose their sanity and go mad. They might even transform into horrifying forms.”
“Can magic do such things? What kind of magic is that?”
Seere tilted her head as she asked, but Nahun merely smiled faintly and patted her head. Watching Nahun’s demeanor made Seere feel a bit disappointed inside.
‘Another secret…’
Seeing Nahun creating more secrets, Seere thought that she still had not given him enough trust. She sincerely hoped that there would come a day when Nahun would reveal his secrets to her.
#
The artifacts that Eri and Dein distributed spread throughout the Bismarck Empire in no time. For sorcerers, such magical artifacts were nothing short of revolutionary.
They were small and portable, yet the magical power they contained was on par with or even superior to other artifacts, so they were bound to sell like hotcakes. Even though Dein and Eri distributed a significant quantity, they sold out almost immediately.
“Eri, you should return to the Demon World now. It’s dangerous to continue moving around in this identity.”
“Dein, aren’t you going?”
“I need to monitor how the situation unfolds.”
Eri stared at him for a moment before saying one thing.
“I want to stay with you.”
“You can’t. Your face is already known.”
“I can use a recognition-disabling spell.”
Dein was puzzled. Why was Eri being so stubborn? Logically, it didn’t make sense.
“Dein, let’s stay together.”
Yet, something was pulling at his heartstrings. With her adorable appearance, Eri’s earnest plea softened Dein’s resolve without him realizing it.
Then her next words struck a chord with him.
“Why are you acting like this?”
“It’s dangerous… I don’t want to lose any more friends who I can’t see anymore.”
“…….”
Dein let out a slight sigh. He had no choice. Nahun hadn’t explicitly said that Eri should return first, so it was fine to go along with her request. He had suggested she return only because there was a possibility that his movements might be restricted…
“Alright, let’s stay together.”
“Yes.”
Understanding Eri’s feelings, Dein decided to bring her along, even if it meant some inconvenience.
“But Eri.”
“Yes?”
“Since you’re slower than me, I might have to carry you.”
“Ah.”
Eri nodded, as if she understood, and then her face slightly reddened as she said.
“But what if I’m heavy? I’ve gained a bit of weight lately….”
Dein found it absurd. How heavy could Eri possibly be when she was already slender? It seemed she thought he would be strong because he was a thief.
Dein, as a man, had his pride. He narrowed his eyes slightly as he spoke.
“Don’t worry about it; it’s fine.”
“Ah, okay.”
Dein informed Eri of their upcoming plans.
“First, we will investigate the sorcerers who bought artifacts at the Ernanato Guild.”
“Huh? Why are we investigating the buyers?”
“Nahun said to check what kind of reactions they have.”
“…Reactions?”
“He said I would understand what he meant when we get there. The place that purchased the most artifacts from the Ernanato Guild is….”
Dein gazed at the center of the capital of the Bismarck Empire, Germanium.
“The Imperial Magic Association.”
“…Dein.”
“Yes?”
“Let’s hurry and go.”
Eri seemed to sense something odd. Dein didn’t know why Eri was acting this way, but he noticed that she felt something was off and nodded.
“I’ll just take a moment.”
“Okay, that’s fine.”
Dein wrapped his arms around Eri’s waist. He lifted her lightly and quickly concealed them within the shadows. The process took less than five seconds, and Eri was slightly startled.
“Dein… you’re strong.”
“You’re just light.”
In an instant, Dein moved to the central district where the Magic Association was located. Somehow, without Eri knowing when, they stood in the grimy back alleys of that central district and he set her down.
“We can enter from here.”
“A sewer?”
“Should we enter through the front door then?”
Eri looked at Dein with a slightly different expression. The gaze she had, which had been merely that of a friend, seemed to shift into one of empathy as if she realized he often did such things.
“It will smell quite bad. Use your robe to cover your nose.”
“Okay.”
Eri complied and pulled up the fabric of her robe to cover her nose. Then, following Dein’s lead, she descended into the sewer and entered the plumbing of the Magic Association.
‘It’s damp…’
The rancid odor and filthy water made it truly an unfit place for a human to traverse. However, considering that Dein traveled this path regularly, he could bear the dirt.
“Eri, from here on, be quiet.”
Eri nodded in response. They moved carefully and soon reached an empty warehouse.
Following Dein’s guidance, Eri moved quietly. Then they sensed something was off.
“Dein.”
“…Yeah.”
“Isn’t it too quiet?”
“I thought it was strange too.”
Naturally, the Magic Association was a place bustling with people. Yet, for some reason, they had not seen a single hair from any person while walking through the corridors.
Feeling something odd, Dein and Eri walked a bit more openly, but still, there was no response. It was truly strange. It meant that they were not detecting any signs of intrusion.
“……”
“What is going on…?”
Dein hurriedly opened and entered any door he could find. And what they witnessed was terrifying.
“Gg…eaaahhhh!!!”
“Hiiik!?”
“What is this…?”
Originally human, but now no longer human.
