Chapter 168 : Chapter 168

Chapter 168 - Sacrifice (3)

“...This is unexpected, even for me. I’m quite surprised.”

The Master of the Magic Tower spoke calmly amidst the chaotic office.

Of course, the problem was that his voice didn’t sound like it at all, but if there was anyone who could carefully examine this scene, they would probably understand why such a story came out.

“...Hmm.”

Cornelius tilted his neck back with a crack and let out a groan.

The blood drenching his entire body was proof of the level of fierce battle that had just taken place, but anyone who knew him would probably faint from that fact alone.

At the fact that there was an opponent strong enough to drench the ‘Ironclad’ Cornelius in blood.

“She’s useful, indeed. If she weren’t contaminated by a filthy demon, I would have wanted to raise her myself.”

Cornelius said with a grin.

All of her attacks and movements were insanely sharp. As if she were reading his ‘mind’.

Her own body's performance was clearly pitifully weak, and the output of the battle itself seemed to rely entirely on the weapon, but in the first place, the one holding and controlling it was undoubtedly her own skill.

‘A good combination.’

I wondered what kind of person would have thought of giving such a weapon to such a woman.

Their compatibility with each other was so terrifyingly good that I felt like giving them a round of applause.

As he was thinking that, Darien, who was panting heavily and supporting herself with her sword, glared at him with eyes colored with a gloomy light.

Unlike Cornelius, this one didn't have many injuries, but still, unlike Cornelius who looked fine in terms of stamina, a strong sense of exhaustion emanated from her.

“Ah, did you say filthy demon?”

But, nevertheless, the venom in her voice hadn’t subsided in the slightest.

“If you insult this weapon one more time, we won’t be fighting playfully like now, but we’ll be rushing at each other to kill for real?”

“...”

Putting aside the fact that she dismissed this mess as a mere prelude to a battle.

“Is it wrong for a demon hunter to hate demons?”

“It’s a weapon I received from the Avatar of the Savior. That’s reason enough for me to try to kill you, isn’t it? I’m just holding back because he specifically told me not to kill you.”

If it was the Avatar of the Savior, it must be that Kim Gyu-sik fellow.

A terrifying woman who was on par with himself, the strongest demon hunter in history, was following him with such devotion, offering everything.

That’s quite something.

“...I expected it, but. He’s a truly dangerous person. Should I say sinister?”

At the Master of the Magic Tower's words, Darien immediately snorted.

“You use such words in a place that forcibly kidnaps orphans without a place to lean on and uses them as ‘test subjects’? That’s quite surprising.”

“That was the sole decision of the previous Master of the Magic Tower. At least in the Magic Tower I protect, I do not condone such things.”

“How convenient. Then does that mean everything that happened to me never happened?”

The Magic Tower was certainly famous for its sinister deeds from long ago, but the deeds of the previous Master of the Magic Tower were this deep. Thanks to that, it was that much easier for him to pull down that bastard and sit in this position.

“In the first place, you’re not so clean yourself, are you?”

“...”

The Master of the Magic Tower sighed slightly at Darien’s sarcastic voice.

The image of a girl with pink hair flashed through his mind.

Right. He knew what she was talking about.

He would have to pay the price for that someday.

Just as all the previous Masters of the Magic Tower had.

“That’s right. And that time is not far off. In the first place, the reason I came here was to deliver his message.”

Darien sighed and sheathed her sword.

“As you’ve been informed in advance, the King of Flies will soon be resurrected. The Avatar of the Savior plans to achieve a glorious feat in such a situation. You are to cooperate with that plan.”

“...What do you mean by a glorious feat?”

“Hunting the Demon King. Isn’t that obvious?”

“...You don’t seem to understand the seriousness of the situation.”

The Master of the Magic Tower spoke with a rare expression of a throbbing headache.

“Even when the King of Flies was summoned before, it was not the main body but merely a ‘fragment of the body’. Even with just that, the entire world had to rush to clean up the mess that had occurred on a national scale.”

Even now, mages of a certain age would vividly remember the nightmare of that time.

A huge dimensional rift that was created just by a ‘part’ of the King of Flies’ body, which was beyond the dimension, crossing over to the present world.

The demon army that rained down from the sky through it.

In the land shrouded in the thick fog of the King of Flies, the demons kept reviving no matter how many times they died, continuously creating rivers of blood.

He had no intention of making excuses, but he could even understand the previous Master of the Magic Tower's inhumane experiments.

If one had to face such things, it was not unreasonable to think that morality and ethics should be pushed aside for the time being.

“...A great many died. Of course, I agree that Climber Kim Gyu-sik is an extraordinary person and perhaps someone who will leave his name in history. But to personally hunt a being superior to a disaster that the entire world struggled to stop is a bit... nonsensical.”

The Master of the Magic Tower declared with a slightly tense state.

The reason he was tense was perhaps because he thought there was a possibility that she would rush at him again just by mentioning Climber Kim Gyu-sik in a slightly demeaning way in front of this woman.

Fortunately, there seemed to be no sign of that happening.

“Ah, hello! Avatar of the Savior! Avatar of the Savior! What’s the matter! I-I don’t want to be contacted in such an unsightly state...”

The other party seemed busy answering a call, taking out a bundle of phones tied with a string from her bosom.

‘…A bundle?’

Why on earth would one need a bundle of phones?

And it seemed Kim Gyu-sik, who was visible beyond the screen, had the same thought.

[...First of all, why on earth is my voice echoing everywhere?]

“Because I want to hear the Avatar of the Savior's voice in surround sound! And if I spread them out in a bundle like this, it feels like I’m surrounded by the Avatar of the Savior, and, um...”

The following sentence was cut off, buried in Darien’s panting voice.

Her eyes were bloodshot. A blush was rising on her face, and it looked like she would be drooling soon.

[...]

“...”

“...”

As soon as they saw that, the three men involved in the scene fell silent simultaneously.

It must have been because they all shared a common impression.

“...Mr. Kim Gyu-sik?”

[Ah, Master of the Magic Tower.]

“You must be having a hard time.”

[...]

Silence was affirmation.

Amidst the heavy silence that fell in the Master of the Magic Tower's office, only Darien’s panting sound echoed like thunder.

***

“...This is unsettling.”

I muttered that and looked down at the phone where the call with Darien had just ended.

Well, it was a relief that the message and the ‘plan’ were delivered for sure.

I had told her to please just deliver the message peacefully and return without unnecessarily scratching and provoking, but.

I didn't know if that went well because this one was a powder keg that you never knew what kind of trouble she would cause.

She didn't get into a fight with Cornelius, did she?

I didn’t want to create such a mess.

“Um, you know, you.”

“What.”

“Why is a person who worries about such a mess even here...?”

“...?”

“Don't give me that ‘I don't know what you're talking about’ look. Do you want to die, really?”

“...”

Ms. Seo Ah-in.

Why have you been like this to me lately?

“No, all the Lancester Guild members went missing at once during the event. So an emergency response committee was formed, but you’re not even worried?”

“...”

As I said that in a deliberately serious voice, Seo Ah-in glared at me with an expression that said she didn’t even know how to save this demonic bastard.

“...What are you planning now?”

“No, well.”

It was nothing special.

People should always work smart.

Once you’ve done a job, you have to milk the reward to the bone.

Thinking that, I kicked open the door of the hall.

As soon as I did, the gazes of the guys who were racking their brains and eagerly discussing something among themselves all turned to me at once.

“...”

“...”

Originally, entry was forbidden unless you were a related party, but everyone was just watching and no one was stepping up to say anything to me.

Most of these guys were pro-Lancester, so even in the midst of the uproar over the demon incident, Altair’s well-being was more important to them, but seeing this reaction made it even more certain.

With Lancester absent, my position was literally that of a gangster.

It meant that there was no one among them who could check or stop me.

So, it meant that something like this was also possible.

I cleared my throat and spoke gently to the crowd looking back at me.

“Everyone, how has the meeting been progressing so far?”

“...Uh, we were just discussing the expansion of the investigation scope...”

“Stop it immediately. We need to prepare for the demon attack. So we will loot all the supplies of the Lancester Guild in this building and nearby.”

“...”

“...”

The gazes of everyone, including Seo Ah-in, evolved to include a look of ‘what is this crazy bastard talking about’.

Meanwhile, seeing that no one was saying anything out loud, I could tell how solid my reputation was. Hmm, good.

“Is that something to be happy about...?”

I ignored Seo Ah-in who was making such a retort and threw what I had brought onto the table in the center of the hall.

“Th-this is...!”

“Umm...!”

And everyone who saw it was greatly shocked and gave their own reactions.

Well, it was one of the pieces of Altair’s body that was used in the ‘ritual’ I had ripped off from Raven.

It was horribly shriveled from being greatly influenced by the demon.

“This is evidence that Altair Lancester is related to the large-scale demon summoning ritual that is currently taking place!”

“...Pardon?”

“Therefore, I believe that instead of searching for that abominable demon summoner, we should focus on looting their base and pulling them out by the roots!”

“...”

“...”

The expression of ‘why does it become like that’ appeared on everyone’s faces again.

No, I could understand that it would be hard to understand if I suddenly threw a body part contaminated by a demon and told them to accept that this was how it was.

But I had evidence that would make that story very plausible.

“No, wait a minute. Climber Kim Gyu-sik. Of course, it’s not that there’s no possibility of it being connected like that, but that’s too much of a leap...”

[Double Pulse]

One of the people who was about to say something was hit by my attack and slammed into the wall.

“...”

“...”

Everyone looked at the person slammed into the wall with a dumbfounded expression, and then back at me.

“...This is, you attacked us...”

“My, it seems a divine punishment has come down as soon as you spouted bullshit siding with a demon worshipper! I didn't do anything!”

“...”

“...”

Why.

What.

If I say so, then it is so.

If you have a problem, then come at me.

If you have the guts to challenge me while the Lancester Guild is away, that is.

“More importantly, are you guys siding with them just because you’re close to the Lancester Guild?”

“...No, that’s, Climber Kim Gyu-sik. Please calm down for now...”

[Double Pulse]

The one who tried to make an excuse was also slammed into the wall.

“It is truly deplorable! To see you siding with a demon worshipper even in such an emergency situation! I cannot possibly overlook this!”

“Isn't this too much! In the first place, the evidence is insufficient, but you’re unconditionally calling them demon worshippers...!”

[Double Pulse]

[Shadow Secret Arts: Forceful Blow]

The one who got angry was slammed into the wall even more severely.

“...”

“...”

I shouted again to the silent crowd.

“Good! It seems no one has any objections! We will proceed as planned!”

“...”

“...”

“From now on, those who side with demon worshippers will receive a fitting divine punishment!”

“...”

Hmm.

Good.

It seemed everyone was being moved by my passionate persuasion.

“...Hoo.”

I decided to ignore Seo Ah-in, who was showing a reaction of being too tired to even make a retort anymore.

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