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[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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Chapter 245: Identity (2)
Grab—!
The moment I gripped 〈White Heron〉's mask tightly, the facial muscles beneath squirmed grotesquely.
A chilling intuition flashed through my mind.
It was just like that time.
Just like when I encountered Vassago.
"This bastard... he was a fake."
Not the real 〈White Heron〉.
The moment I released the mask, his form sagged limply and vanished.
I immediately scanned my surroundings.
The space all around was cracking and fissuring, as if trapped inside shattering glass.
It wasn’t that 〈White Heron〉 hadn't been here from the start.
The Ten Thousand Swordmaster who lured me here.
He was definitely 〈White Heron〉.
He must have hidden somewhere within this space in that fleeting moment.
Looking around, there was nothing to be seen.
Neither 〈White Heron〉 nor the 〈Phantom Thief〉 were visible.
But I knew.
The real 〈White Heron〉—he had to be watching me from somewhere within this space.
Shaaa—!
Suddenly, a thick fog began to rise.
I immediately looked to my right.
Wheeeing—.
Mana from the Yin dimension.
7th Circle, Greater Transmutation Spell.
Transfer.
The moment I extended a finger, a minute pressure, the size of a fingernail, began to concentrate at the tip of my index finger.
A small, ball-like shape formed, pushing back the surrounding darkness.
Swish—.
The sphere vanished instantly, transferred to a point on the right, and exploded.
A short scream echoed as 〈White Heron〉's presence manifested.
"Kuhk!"
Without hesitation, I activated Blink, intending to blast his heart apart, but...
Suddenly, the space before me fractured like a broken mirror, splitting my reflection.
Crack-crack-crack—!
Just as the fissures spreading in all directions engulfed the entire space.
A colossal presence revealed itself through the gaps, emanating immense demonic energy.
A high-ranking demon.
It was incomparable to the demon that had appeared when I killed 〈Asura〉.
[Devour.]
Craaaash—!
The fissures shattered completely.
As if returning to the beginning, pitch-black darkness once again enveloped everything.
Then, as if being sucked into the darkness of an abyss, my entire body began an endless fall downwards.
It was only then that I realized the identity of the demon that had just revealed itself.
This pitch-black darkness was a space created by the demon, completely separate from the outside world.
To be precise, I was inside its maw.
"Anuhar."
The one my comrades used to call 'Pure Greed'.
Demon Duke Anuhar.
It was him.
The moment I spoke his true name, the surrounding demonic energy thinned as if he were startled, but...
Soon, a voice reverberated throughout the entire space.
[You certainly are...]
"..."
[An obstructive existence.]
Just as I thought. Like Vassago, this one didn't remember me either.
Anuhar.
But I knew his specialty.
The Domain of Greed.
A perfect, inviolable domain, completed the moment the opponent is trapped within it.
Even mastered Spatial Arts struggled to be effective against the domain Anuhar manifested.
Because even if you cut space, the severed space itself was still part of his domain.
Moreover, this place was essentially the deepest core of the domain he manifested, which explained his confidence.
Wheeeing—!
But the difference between now and the encounter with Vassago...
...was that I had already reached the level of my past self.
The Crazy Mage.
That title referred to the strongest one in the entire expedition force.
Wheeeeiiing—!
7th Circle, Greater Transmutation Spell.
Black Spot Expansion.
A black spot appeared in the void and expanded.
[That is useless.]
His confident voice lasted only a moment.
The moment the expanding black spot swelled enough to fill the entire domain.
[This bastard...!]
Anuhar's voice began to tremble.
Was it because he sensed something wrong?
Just as the pressure threatening to crush my body intensified from all directions.
I slowly raised my hand.
The magic I was most familiar with using when manifesting mana from the Yin dimension in the past.
The magic I favored most for blowing demons' heads off.
If cutting a part of the domain is useless...
...then I just need to eliminate the domain itself.
[Y-You... surely you don't intend to...?]
Supreme Transmutation Spell.
Spatial Explosion.
Kwa-kwakwakwakwakwang—!
Everything collapsed in an instant.
With an indescribable, bizarre scream, everything constituting the space exploded outwards.
All the surrounding pitch-black darkness receded, as if it had been a virtual space from the beginning.
In that moment, what appeared before me were the faintly vanishing figures of 〈White Heron〉 and 〈Phantom Thief〉.
〈White Heron〉, his half-mask cracked, was trembling uncontrollably as if he'd lost his mind.
Even in this moment, the 〈Phantom Thief〉 was puffing smoke from a long cigarette.
I instinctively looked at the 〈Phantom Thief〉.
Just before he vanished completely, the space where he stood exploded...
...and the 〈Phantom Thief〉 collapsed limply like a scarecrow, his body precisely split in two.
"Are you kidding me?"
I immediately activated Blink, targeting the suspected location of the real 〈Phantom Thief〉, but...
"Kekeke."
Suddenly, 〈Wolf〉 appeared to my right, obstructing my view.
"So these bastards are serious."
Like a mere passing breeze.
I intended to blow 〈Wolf〉's face off and pursue the 〈Phantom Thief〉, but I abruptly had to stop my movement.
"Please wait a moment, Young Master Ruin. Kekeke."
* * *
As if time had stopped.
I stared blankly ahead for a moment.
It wasn't because the head of the man bowing to me, after removing the 〈Wolf〉 mask, was shining without a single strand of hair.
I had already anticipated that Wolf was a bald man with a screw loose.
Rather, it was the man slowly approaching from behind the bald one.
〈Phantom Thief〉.
The aura he exuded felt incredibly familiar, as if he had become a different person in an instant.
The approaching 〈Phantom Thief〉 removed his mask and opened his mouth.
"I apologize, Young Master."
"...Kant."
"I apologize for not telling you sooner."
In an instant, my frozen brain cells jolted awake, and I immediately grabbed Kant's neck, squeezing tightly.
"So the rat was hiding here from the start."
Kant spoke, his voice strained as if he couldn't breathe.
"Kuhk, keuk! Young Master, the Demon King is about to descend! We must stop him! There's no time!"
"What?"
Even while gasping for breath, Kant stared intently at me.
The bald man with a screw loose chimed in.
"Young Master. There's no time to delay."
When I loosened my grip on Kant's neck, he began speaking rapidly, like a torrent.
"I apologize for only telling you now. I was under surveillance, so I had no choice."
"..."
"We can't delay any longer. The Demon King has already noticed. We must stop him before he fully descends."
A headache washed over me.
I quickly looked at the surrounding space.
Because I had annihilated Anuhar, the domain he had manifested was completely collapsing.
With this storm of new variables, I couldn't think straight.
"Who ordered you?"
Kant replied as if he understood my question immediately.
"He is the founder of the Myriad Demon Assembly, the one who sought to prevent the Demon King's descent. For hundreds of years, our ancestors followed his will, waiting for the right time within the Assembly. I know it's difficult to understand. Everything was done to avoid the Demon King's suspicion."
"..."
"The Demon King shall recover his strength and descend again! Having escaped annihilation, he will surely descend once more after a long period of dormancy!"
Kant uttered the words in a trembling voice.
"It's a revelation from hundreds of years ago. If we had told you beforehand, Young Master, we surely wouldn't have escaped the Demon King's suspicion. If that happened, the Demon King would have forced his descent, even in an incomplete state. Baltahar. Arihama. Seren. The three clans cannot handle him. He lies dormant at the highest point of the Realm, suspicious of everything."
"..."
"So who was the one who gave that revelation?"
"...We don't know either."
"Remember that I could take your head right now."
"It doesn't matter. But you must stop the Demon King."
The bald man with a screw loose added.
"Kekeke, the last time we received his instructions was 20 years ago. For a long time, since our ancestors' days until now, we have followed his will, waiting for Samael."
"Pathetic excuses."
Kant immediately retorted.
"The distortion of Samael's records was because of him!"
I gripped Kant's neck again and said.
"Right, the records were distorted. All records were thoroughly distorted, and Samael was driven to the brink of annihilation. Who is the one giving you orders?"
"Keuk! Young Master. Think carefully! Who suffered a loss because Samael's records disappeared? Humans? Or demons?"
"...What?"
"Because Samael's records were erased, the demons couldn't make any preparations against Samael! I ask you, Young Master. Who suffered the loss?!"
Kant looked straight at me.
"You must remember it. That necklace. 'Illusion'. I knew from the beginning."
"..."
"Don't you find it strange? The one who passed information about Bayern to you, Lord Ruin. The one who informed you about Urgon. The one who told you about the Keplan branch head. The one who revealed the existence of the Myriad Demon Assembly. Who was it?"
"..."
"Lord Ruin, you were the one we were waiting for. I was certain."
"..."
"Samael. When he stands tall alone from the lowest place, only then will the myriad demons hold no fear!"
I said nothing.
Putting Kant's words together, only one person flashed through my mind.
Pelleer Samael.
The Demon King who avoided annihilation clearly meant Verkes.
Pelleer made a contract with Verkes?
He organized the Myriad Demon Assembly to avoid Verkes's suspicion, while searching for a way to stop Verkes's descent from within?
It was all full of contradictions.
Everything.
The most nonsensical part was none other than...
'Pelleer knew I would reincarnate?'
If that premise isn't valid from the start, none of it makes sense.
Although the right decision might be to cut these two down right now...
...somehow, too many parts of Kant's story troubled my mind.
'Magnus's Illusion.'
When I first saw Kant's real face, he definitely asked me about an illusion magic artifact.
I thought it was strange back then too.
But if Kant had already known about Magnus's Illusion.
If he had asked the question to confirm his own suspicions.
Then his actions at that time made sense.
"..."
Everything proceeded step-by-step, matching the pace at which I grew stronger.
Passing information about Bayern. Informing about Urgon.
Leading me to deduce the Keplan branch head.
Revealing the Myriad Demon Assembly.
Even indirectly hinting at the Divine Clan Assembly and the Heavenly Fox's identity.
Could that have happened by coincidence?
Even if everything was a coincidence.
There was absolutely no reason for Kant and the bald man with a screw loose to be stuck in a rural backwater like Kaoto from the beginning.
"Young Master. There really is no time now."
Kant looked around, his face pale.
The pitch-black darkness was completely receding, and the surroundings were being dyed into a pure white space.
"You must stop him... I apologize once again. We didn't anticipate things reaching this point either."
Kant looked at me again.
"You mustn't... make the wrong judgment. The Sword Duke and the Guardian Star already know."
"What are you talking about?"
"You must not stop them. You must help the Sword Duke and the Guardian Star."
"What?"
"The Demon King will descend... There is only one target."
"..."
Just as Kant's complexion turned deathly white.
The bald man with a screw loose sighed and spoke.
"Kazen Samael. You must kill him."
Snap—
In that instant, I felt something snap inside my head.
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[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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