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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Clara]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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Chapter 28: The Sunset that Doesn’t Set (2)
Callios arrived at the grand ballroom for final inspections, preparing for the banquet that would begin tomorrow.
There was no time to rest.
Meeting each guest, exchanging greetings, keeping the nobles in check, and managing the overall event—it all demanded more hands than he had.
Thankfully, Erilda was by his side, helping.
"The progress on this side is…"
She reported, and Callios nodded as he listened.
But his gaze drifted to the window. H
is expression darkened.
‘The sunset feels unusually long. By now, the sun should have set,’
He thought to himself.
For some reason, it put him in a foul mood.
Though the extended red sky posed no real harm, he couldn’t shake off an odd unease.
And just then…
Tap-tap-tap!
"Brother!"
A voice called out urgently.
"…Aria?"
From afar, Aria was running toward him, her face pale with worry.
"What are you doing here at this hour?"
He had heard she’d be dining with Yuren and wouldn’t be back until late.
Even if plans had changed, he had instructed her to return straight to the palace.
Yet here she was, in the grand ballroom in the midst of preparations.
As Aria knelt before him, Callios asked,
"What’s wrong? Is there trouble?"
Could something have happened to Yuren?
He wondered, feeling a pang of concern.
Catching her breath, Aria shouted as if in desperation,
"The Tower Warrior, make him… my brother!"
"???"
"Uh… no… make the prince… the Tower’s warrior…?"
Aria blinked in confusion, tilting her head as if questioning her own words.
"Is that right? Is that what he said…?"
Though her confused expression was somewhat adorable, Callios couldn’t bring himself to laugh.
One of Callios’s skills was piecing together information.
Based on Aria’s usual language patterns, he began to parse the words.
“Brother. Warrior. Tower.”
He was her brother.
The warrior reference was also meant for him.
And then, the Tower.
"So, you’re telling me I need to go to the Tower?"
"Yes!"
Aria’s face brightened.
But Callios didn’t smile.
"Is Yuren in trouble?"
"Yes! Pharos said… it’s urgent!"
Yuren cared deeply for Aria, perhaps even more than Callios did.
He was not one to send her here over something trivial, especially on a day like this.
Callios knew this well.
“Has something happened at the Tower? Serious enough that I have to go myself?”
"Yes! That’s what Pharos said!"
Aria stomped her feet impatiently.
Callios hesitated.
"This doesn’t seem to be a trivial matter…."
But with his current schedule, directly investigating seemed impossible.
"Erilda,"
He called out.
"Yes?"
"Could you send Lord Drenor to the Tower?"
"You think Aria’s not just playing around?"
"It doesn’t seem like a joke."
If it were a prank, Yuren would never have asked for Callios.
Aria, too, knew the importance of his responsibilities, especially since he was stabilizing his position as the Crown Prince.
"Please, Erilda."
"…Alright."
Erilda disappeared to carry out his request.
Callios gathered himself.
‘I’ll have to reschedule other matters.’
Deciding priorities was a crucial skill for a leader, and Callios excelled at it.
Diplomatic niceties were important, but if Yuren and the Tower were involved, the potential danger couldn’t be dismissed.
Tomorrow was Founding Day, and the Tower was notorious for its magical experiments, which often led to accidents.
Yuren might have sensed a prelude to disaster.
‘Most of all…’
Callios’s gaze drifted back out the window.
The sunset that refused to set continued to fill him with a sense of foreboding.
* * *
Beatrice felt her mind go blank with pain.
Crack!
"Ahh…!"
From the moment the demonic aura invaded her body, her bones and muscles twisted unnaturally.
She was losing control of her flesh.
But she hadn’t lost it completely yet.
A voice echoed in her mind.
[Hm, you resist quite strongly. It seems I’ve acquired a rather remarkable body.]
Beatrice fought back with all her might.
Glancing around, she saw the fallen magicians of the Tower scattered on the floor.
Her gaze wavered.
Grit—
She clenched her teeth, her face contorting as she turned to leave the lecture hall.
[Where are you going? Not that it matters. I can savor them later, once I’ve fully taken over your body.]
She tried not to listen.
She was still in control.
‘Ah, demons…’
[Yes, without a physical vessel, we cannot exert any power in this realm. That’s why contracts are necessary. We find the weakest points of those contracts and use them to take possession of your flesh.]
"…!"
Beatrice gasped.
[I can see your thoughts. We’re becoming one, after all.]
A chilling numbness overtook her mind.
Every movement felt excruciatingly difficult.
Step by step, she climbed the stairs.
Crack—
A horn burst through the right side of her temple.
Crack—
Her right arm extended, adding another joint.
Her skin turned black as it burned away.
Crack—
Something sprouted from her shoulder blades.
"Gah…!"
Her breath grew ragged, her vision blurred.
Everything felt like a nightmare.
But amid the pain, what troubled Beatrice most was something else.
‘Rewrite it?’
She had failed even though she fulfilled the terms of the contract—because the conditions stated “rewrite,” not simply “write.”
She didn’t want to understand what it meant, didn’t want to even think about it.
She felt strongly compelled to avoid it, but Beatrice was too clever to ignore it completely.
It wasn’t complicated.
In fact, it was all too simple.
This wasn’t just about someone being in Rebecca’s heart.
The demon’s “compulsion” required that it be “rewritten.”
‘She was already connected with the demon… Rebecca…’
Or maybe, it went beyond a mere connection.
She realized it with a bitter laugh.
‘No, was it simply involvement?’
Only with suspicion did she retrace her thoughts.
Looking back, Rebecca’s actions were always assertive.
Her words and actions had always resulted in spurring herself and those men onward.
‘So… that’s how it is.’
[Mmm, you do indeed wish for a crack to form on this land. Fascinating. Humans lead such diverse lives, even in such a short history.]
She was not a summoner.
Rebecca had no knowledge of any magical arts.
But there were ways to command a demon without directly summoning one.
‘…There’s no need for her to perform the summoning herself.’
In Rebecca’s scheme, there were others aligned with her purpose.
Beatrice realized this and laughed in hollow despair.
“Ha, haha…”
She’d been played.
As despair filled her, the demon laughed too, as though pleased.
As despair crept in, the demon chuckled with satisfaction.
[Ah, you’re wavering.]
“No….”
[There’s no need to hide it. We are becoming a single mind.]
“No…”
[It’s unfortunate. You were quite prepared—one of the most capable among those who’ve summoned me. But what can you do? We have a certain respect for our kin. And for our own dignity, we must demand greater compensation for obscuring a contract. That it was that child… well, it’s unfortunate. I pity you.]
Beatrice couldn’t refute her words.
Even if she wanted to believe it was manipulation, everything pointed to the truth of her statement.
An unsettling thought emerged.
‘Where did it start?’
[Who knows. I don’t know when our kin got involved either.]
‘For what reason?’
[One thing’s clear, right? It was necessary for someone.]
She was confused.
Her head throbbed with pain, and she moved her steps in a daze.
Suddenly—
Beatrice’s body halted.
She was now on the rooftop, the celestial garden reserved only for the tower master.
She stood beneath a sky tinged red.
She had been here only once.
Yet, the memory from that time was too blurry.
‘Was it summer? Winter?’
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Clara]
[Proofreader - Gun]
Join our Discord for release updates!w
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[My, even up to that point, it’s broken for you, huh? This took the cooperation of several demons. Now, who could it have been? Raemdal? Kreutz? Hmm, there are far too many kin capable of this. Really...they all went on without me, enjoying themselves. How sad.]
‘I was here…’
[Oh dear, it’s hard to remember, isn’t it?]
Tears slid down Beatrice’s cheeks.
Even though everything was uncertain, one thing was clear.
—It’s okay. It’s fine if you can’t do it. I’m here beside you. It’s okay to cry now.
She could faintly sense it now.
That person who comforted her that day… the one big enough to hold her in their arms wasn’t Rebecca.
Rebecca had never worn a pointed hat.
But she couldn’t quite remember who it was.
So,
‘Oh…’
It was all fabricated.
Her emotions, her memories.
Without her realizing, at some point, everything had been broken.
Speculation, judgment—
Beatrice could no longer trust it if it was something she made herself.
Everything became clear.
Amidst it, a thought suddenly crossed her mind.
‘What have I done?’
She had summoned a demon.
She felt as though she had no choice.
She was convinced that only by summoning a demon could she achieve what she desired.
‘Why?’
Even though the price was steep, she didn’t think of it as such at all.
Except for Rebecca, she hated everything else.
She hated them for no reason.
Beatrice looked at her hands.
The left hand remained unchanged, but the right hand was twisted beyond recognition, no longer looking human.
There was no turning back.
The fact that she had done it herself hadn’t changed for whatever reason.
Beatrice’s gaze filled with malice.
Her teeth clenched.
‘If it can’t be changed…’
[So you’re trying to end it. Will that work?]
She had to do it.
Even if it meant her life, maybe it would give her some peace.
She no longer had the courage to continue breathing and living.
She was too ashamed, too consumed with self-loathing to do so.
Beatrice placed her hand on her own neck, intending to end it.
But her darkened hand stopped her.
[I won’t allow it. Not yet. I still want to enjoy this.]
At that moment—
“Damn, this place is absurdly high.”
Snap!
Beatrice’s head turned.
It wasn’t her intention; the demon had seized control of her body to make it happen.
Beatrice’s eyes widened.
“What’s up with that look on your face?”
Yuren Pharos.
He was standing there, drenched in sweat, wearing his characteristic annoyed expression as he looked at her.
* * *
The first thing I noticed upon entering the tower was how eerily silent it was.
So I went inside.
Scattering mana to locate any signs of life, I found some unconscious magicians lying there.
‘They were still breathing.’
No harm seemed to have come to them yet.
Thus, I had to locate the root of the problem first.
Following the traces, I arrived here.
“Yuren…”
The rooftop of the tower.
The closest place to the sky.
In front of me was Beatrice.
Beatrice was already halfway transformed into a demonic form.
Her right side was demonic.
A horn protruded from her temple, her sclera had turned black, her skin darkened with red veins bulging, and her arm had split into three distinct joints.
Her appearance was truly grotesque, but even more repulsive was the feeling it stirred within me.
I didn’t know why.
I just felt disgusted and nauseated.
Like an instinctual aversion, the kind one feels looking at an insect.
“Looks absolutely disgusting.”
“Aah…”
“Hey, snap out of it.”
I steadied my breathing and assessed the situation.
‘The victims.’
A few unconscious magicians.
No real harm.
‘Any witnesses.’
None.
Was this woman merging with a demon?
I wasn’t sure, but the magicians probably hadn’t seen that far into the process.
Damage control was still possible.
So, what should I do from now on?
The answer was clear.
‘I’ll just beat her down first.’
I considered my options.
A demon can’t possess a physical body in this world.
To inhabit one, it has to parasitize a creature from this realm.
So, the power of a freshly summoned demon is only as strong as its host.
To amplify that, it needs screams and despair.
But it seemed it hadn’t managed to extract that from the unconscious humans.
Conclusion: the demon’s power is equal to Beatrice’s.
In other words, it’s just a sheet of paper with only one spell.
[Who are you?]
The demon’s voice penetrated my mind.
I looked into its blackened eye.
Only one of its eyes curved into a crescent shape, giving it a disturbing look.
[Hmm, you’re not a magician. Just a child of this era. Strong body. If only you had summoned me, it would have been ideal.]
“What are you talking about?”
[You don’t run away. You’re not scared. Truly delightful. Someone like you yields far better despair.]
“Shut up.”
I pulled out my switch.
Mana pulsed through it.
Then, I spoke.
“Hey, magician brat.”
“…?”
“You seem to have your mind still. Just hang on tight.”
“I… I…”
“Enough. I’m not interested in your story, nor will knowing it change anything. Just hold on to your mind.”
That way, the demon’s actions would be slightly restricted.
I took my stance.
The demon laughed.
[Trying to overcome me? Sure, you might succeed, but what about after?]
Would I have come here without a plan?
Would I have come alone without confidence?
People like this are the problem.
Those who have never lost, so they don’t feel a sense of crisis.
Those drunk on their superiority, oblivious to danger.
Like the future crown prince.
“Did you know? The ones who feel threatened talk the most.”
[Amusing child.]
Rumble!
A sunset-colored aura wrapped around Beatrice.
Soon, a sunset-colored magic circle appeared in the air.
‘Ranked magic. Has the level increased?’
The Beatrice I know is a 4th rank.
But judging by the look of it, it seemed to be a higher rank.
The fusion with the demon forcibly expanded her vessel.
‘But still.’
No matter how I thought about it,
‘There’s no way I could lose.’
I was lucky to arrive just in time.
[Goodbye. No, I’ll see you again—in my stomach, that is.]
Bang!
The sunset-colored lightning surged toward me.
I focused mana into my eyes.
Sizzle—
My eyes felt like they were burning.
But I felt exhilarated, my vision shifting.
The world turned monochromatic, with only the strange currents remaining colored.
‘It’s been a while.’
But it didn’t feel unfamiliar.
Gripping the switch in both hands, I filled it with mana.
I pulled the switch toward me.
I felt the ‘flow’ coming closer.
I tightened my muscles.
I held my breath.
Perfectly aligned.
And then,
Slash—!
I cleaved through the magic.
Boom!
The split magic left ghastly marks on either side of me before dissipating.
I regulated my breathing.
My necklace glowed, absorbing the recoil from just moments before.
The demon’s eyes were filled with shock.
[…?!]
“What’s the surprise? Did you think magic couldn’t be cut?”
To be honest, normally it can’t.
No one can do this—except for me.
—If only I could pluck out just your eyes and keep them.
—Don’t talk nonsense, sir.
This skill, these ‘eyes’—
It was a talent unique to me, a gift even the future crown prince couldn’t obtain.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Clara]
[Proofreader - Gun]
Join our Discord for release updates!w
https://discord.com/invite/dbdMDhzWa2
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