Chapter 253: Without Any Cost (17)

I’d never thought of snakes as beautiful creatures. Their scales, intricately woven and shimmering in dazzling colors, could be visually striking, but when I imagined their prey being swallowed whole, dissolving slowly inside their guts, it left me feeling uneasy... disturbed, even. The snake tattoo that crept up Ridbaren’s neck went beyond that vague discomfort. It was downright revolting.

The snake had horns and two long fangs. He was clearly a member of the Necron Society. In other words, he was a servant of the 16th Demon King, Botis. This so-called inquisitor was a Demon King's puppet. As far as jokes went, that was about as stale as it could get.

Could that mage beside me earlier have been part of Necron’s inner circle?

The massive tattoo didn’t strangle his neck this time. Instead, it spread rapidly, almost seeping into his skin.

"

Ah! H-Haaack!

"

Screams erupted from deep within his gut, as though every single nerve was being ripped apart.

"

KuaaAAAAHHH

!!"

The screams sounded grotesque. The inquisitor trembled violently, as if he needed to vomit something out of his very being.

"

Hiik...

grk!

"

Crunch!

The middle-aged man I thought was just a powerless puppet suddenly opened up in a horrific way.

Splurt!

A

fountain of crimson blood burst out from his elbow, but that was only a distraction. Twisted bones and sinew from his opened arms transformed into hundreds of pitch-black snakes, launching straight at me.

"Hissss!"

They moved so fast that even sound couldn’t keep up.

Blaze. Wind Blast.

With the now-familiar double incantation, I swung my sword. Dark Sword Energy, strengthened by flame and wind, burned through the swarm of snakes bursting from the inquisitor’s body. The reddish-black energy flung him backward. There wasn’t a single intact part left of the human body he once had.

He let out a voiceless scream. His vocal cords had been incinerated, so only a reverberating sound came out. That was the end of it. Whatever was left of himself had been utterly destroyed. His eyeballs, nearly melted in the fire, had turned pitch black as they glared at me. A twisted smile remained on his disfigured lips.

Slowly dragging himself along the ground with the black scales that had sprouted along his belly, the thing started circling me. The first snake attack hadn’t been very effective, but he clearly did not see that as a failure or feel discouraged. It was just a greeting.

Skrrk... skrkkk...

With his arms now reduced to snakes, the inquisitor slithered on the ground in a grotesque contortion, almost playfully. He crumpled with each movement, scattering flesh and bone in all directions. From within, black snakes spilled out in waves.

Acid.

Shhhhhh!

Thunder Strike.

I added a surge of electricity to my blade and struck again.

"

Hee...

hiiiek...

"

The spreading horror froze everyone in place.

Wasteful is the only way to describe this.

Whoever was orchestrating this had sacrificed a loyal slave just for entertainment.

The other humans, both in the allied army and the Empire, were stunned into stillness. Even the frenzy of tearing through their fellow humans and bathing in hot blood came to a stop. With its arms and legs broken down to raw material, only the torso was left. Covered in scales across its back and belly, the thing slithered toward me.

"The... resonance of the crow... haha... crawling here... it’s all over..."

His vocal cords should’ve been long destroyed, but a hissing voice echoed directly in my skull.

A shard of Botis, perhaps? Crow? Could it be... he senses Malphas' power in me?

"What an... intriguing scent... I shall offer you the chance to become... my servant..."

He said scent.

"I have already won, but I’ll let you share in the glory. Accept me."

Already won?

I stayed still, waiting to hear the rest of his nonsense.

"Yes... good..."

Whoosh!

A formless black aura stretched out from Ridbaren to wrap around me. He collapsed completely.

[Crow’s Eye has activated.]

I stepped back and slashed into the black mist.

Frost. Darkness.

I instinctively combined frost magic with Demon King Malphas' power. I didn’t know what this new skill was, but it felt right.

Crack!

The effect was immediate. The mist in the shape of a serpent slowed from the freezing cold, then shattered under the distinct force of darkness.

"How dare you... trick me!"

A trick? Did he really think silence meant I was accepting him?

The frozen smoke lingered in the air, then faded.

"To resist my invitation... Hmph... as foolish as that one..."

What are you even trying to do?

When the last of the dark smoke vanished from sight, a system message popped up.

Ding!

[You have forcefully rejected Botis’ offer.]

[You have inflicted slight damage upon a shard of Botis.]

[Malphas favors you.]

[Condition fulfilled...]

[Your perk has been upgraded.]

[Perk: Allure (Lv.1 → Lv.2)]

Whatever it’s thinking, Demon King Malphas seems to like me.

We’d never spoken directly, but these steady system messages left me with no doubts.

I checked the enhanced perk.

[Allure (Lv. 2)

— Inherits all effects of Lv. 1.

— Targets will feel

awe

toward you, beyond mere affection.

— Even without instructions, they instinctively seek to please you.

— When your commands align with their will, it unlocks their latent potential.]

So it boosted their performance. That was a good perk. Honestly, it wasn’t surprising. With how intensely I’d devoted offerings, and the fact I was basically consuming all the benefits alone, it was rare. Plus, the contract was brokered by Malphas’ high priest.

I looked at the ruined, charred corpse. Then I sliced off the half-burnt head and threw it to a soldier in the allied army who looked relatively composed.

Allure.

"That’s the head of the empire’s supreme commander. The battle is over," I said flatly.

The soldier trembled as he received my order, overwhelmed with emotion. "Y-Yes, sir!"

He impaled the head on his spear and marched out of formation without hesitation, shouting as if born for this moment. "The empire! Surrender! Your commander is dead! If you wish to live as free citizens, lay down your arms!"

Tears welled in his eyes, his voice thick with joy.

"Neigh!"

The soldier even hopped on a horse left behind by a fallen imperial cavalryman.

Had he known how to ride all along?

If that was the effect of the Allure skill, then it was pretty amazing.

He shouted again from atop the horse. "The battle is over! Look at this head! Drop your weapons and surrender!"

That should be enough.

I watched calmly as soldiers surrendered, while others refused and were crushed. Maybe they believed that, like in their own society, defeat meant a life of slavery. From a high vantage point, I surveyed the battlefield as it settled.

Suddenly, a familiar crow flapped toward me.

"Impressive."

"You think so?"

"From a humanitarian perspective, you should be proud. Without you, another thirty thousand would’ve died here."

"You’re using words that don’t suit you."

Maybe Isaac was right. If I hadn't killed the commander to quickly trigger a surrender, things might’ve dragged on much longer, just like up north where the allied army’s elites were grinding down the Empire like grain in a mortar.

Isaac brushed off my jab.

"Heh heh... You’ve come far. How does it feel?"

"All thanks to you."

I meant it. This situation was only possible because of Isaac. Even if it were possible without him, it would have taken far, far longer than this. To pull the front line of the allied forces right up to the imperial capital in an instant, it was a level of capability so absurd, it defied belief.

Suddenly, I recalled why Isaac's conquest had stopped at the southern regions of the empire three hundred years ago. It wasn't because he lost in battle.

If I remember correctly, he had been cursed by the Goddess of Light.

"Well... yeah, that."

Isaac turned his beak awkwardly, oddly bashful for once.

Then, looking out over the battlefield, he said,

"It’s a real shame. Since this area is under the influence of that goddess, I can’t erect a sanctuary barrier..."

"So it’s not out of some humanitarian concern, then. I did think it was strange that you weren’t drawing your altar."

Though with the imperial army stationed here, it would’ve been hard to set it up anyway.

"Exactly. If I could just draw the altar, I could offer them all up to Malphas. The blessing I’d gain would be far stronger than what I have now. It’s such a waste. If they’re going to die anyway, might as well offer them, right? Even the killing effect you provide is much weaker here."

I figured something was off when he suggested we just stand back and watch from the hill. Since I was the one doing the killing, he probably got a portion of the Demon King’s blessing from that.

"It’s Ilien’s barrier. She governs light, and she's a wicked woman. Once you enter the capital, order them to destroy all her temples first."

"You want me to tell the allied forces, who just captured the capital... to do that?"

"Of course. Misery loves company, and I’m not taking this curse alone. It feels too shitty."

"..."

There were armed groups in the capital, too. Clerical orders like the Ashen Church likely stayed behind, not participating in the war. However, if this kind of force attacked the temples, the priests, who weren’t exactly trained for human combat, wouldn’t stand a chance.

I had more questions, but there was no time to ask. The capital was now just ahead.

***

When I entered my tent, I found Karin, the allied forces’ councilor, waiting alone. She stared at me with a firm gaze.

"What is it? Shouldn’t you be busy with victory celebrations right now?"

"Please take this."

The fake war hero handed me a small object in the shape of a bug.

"This is..."

The bug was a round, golden insect about the size of a fist. Though not made of pure gold, the thick gold plating over its wide shell made it appear valuable. Yet, the gold felt more like camouflage. There was a strange familiarity to it.

I ran my fingers over the fine, cold texture. It felt unnervingly precise.

Where have I felt this before?

I placed my hand on it and focused.

Creeeak.

I sensed a very faint vibration, so faint that I would've missed it without a detection skill, despite it being right in front of me. I immediately activated my skill to sense the inside.

Zzzt. Zzzzt. Zzz-zzzt. Zzzt-zzzt-zzzt.

Fast. Rhythmic. Non-repeating.

I couldn’t begin to comprehend the scale or complexity of the pattern. Something inside was shifting, interlocking, and rotating. As I focused, the sound of countless metallic noises echoed in my memory. I remembered walking through the imperial wilderness with Red Flake's Starlight Blue Fox.

Sector B-14. It looks like a barren plain, but we call it the Red Marsh. The mechanical debris floats around here. They’re smaller... and instead of exploding, they eat everything. Stone, bone, it doesn’t matter. You don’t want to run into one.

The resonance I felt now was similar to when I detected those machines from afar.

Could it just be one of those mechanical scraps from back then?

Still, that was only a hunch. There weren’t enough clues. I needed Starlight Blue Fox, but she was probably still fighting in Embermere. Or maybe she got caught up investigating Gith-Za-Rai’s death and died too.

Isaac called out to me.

"What are you thinking so hard about?"

"Do you know what this is?"

He immediately shook his head.

"Nope. Even I can’t recognize it. It looks like you received something incredible."

At least he admitted it honestly.

Seeing my reaction, Karin looked pleased. "This is said to be the key to an ancient legacy. I can’t say if it’s real, but it’s been passed down in our family for generations."

"That’s... probably true."

"My great-grandfather searched the entire allied continent his whole life, but never found the door. So when I joined this campaign, I thought that if it was not here, then it must be in the Empire."

"You’re giving this to me?"

Karin smiled. "When I first tried to recruit you, I thought I could offer anything. That’s how it always worked. Money, status, fabricated fame... even a beautiful woman."

"Wait, is she talking about herself?"

"Nothing seemed to interest you, so I thought maybe this might. Looks like I was right!"

A key to a legacy.

I recalled my conversation with the assassin known as Starlight Blue Fox.

It’s 10,000 times more powerful than any previously discovered artifact.

Compared to that rideable machine with incredible power, she had said it was 30,000 times stronger. That machine was faster than speech, capable of spreading its wings and gliding through the sky. If this was related to the legacy she spoke of, then I had obtained something truly astonishing from an unexpected place.

"I’ll accept it with gratitude."

Just then, the tent’s flap was yanked open.

Flap!

"Councilor!" a familiar voice called out.

A blue-haired bodyguard, also serving in intelligence, stepped in urgently.

Karin turned to her with concern. "Louis! You’re here. What’s wrong?"

"The Wizards of Azure are moving toward the capital."

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

"What?"

"We’ve received reports that dozens of them are descending from the northern tower."

Despite the few dozen, that was enough to warrant the term descent. They were dangerous, but I didn’t feel fear.

Finally, the threat to the capital had stirred the tower’s wizards. At last, our influence had reached them.

This was only the beginning. The problem was, I was still too weak.

I could maybe handle ordinary mages, but can I even kill a tower master with my sword skills?

No doubt, I was being hasty. However, I could no longer level up by killing common enemies.

Even if I slaughtered thousands more, it wouldn’t make a difference here. Malphas’ blessing had just evolved to the next stage. Hunting down other Demon King fragments was a hopeless and unrealistic path.

Above all, when else would the towers of Azure be this undefended? Five years from now? Ten?

I had to go. Even now, Rubia might be undergoing torture. I had no choice. Now was the perfect moment.

"I can’t accept this right now."

I returned the key to Karin. It was clearly meant as a gift in hopes that I would handle future matters. Regardless, I had no intention of joining the most dangerous battle against the wizards only to take this gift. That would be wrong.

"

Huh?

All of a sudden?" Karin asked.

"I’m leaving. There’s somewhere I need to be," I replied.

Karin’s face turned pale.

Isaac quickly shouted, "Hey! Wait a minute!"