after all."
‘I'm just born with incredible luck.’ Felix smiled faintly, recalling Irene's words, and Larry looked surprised for a mont before grinning mischievously.
"It seems like you've finally beco tainted."
・・・・・
The Night of Heroes. As I was organising my potions before the day of the decisive battle, I froze, suddenly halting.
"...Huh?"
I knew it was probably aningless, but the potion I had tirelessly worked on and created was gone. It was the soul-separating potion. I jumped up from my seat, my face pale and horrified.
The laboratory was a space only permitted to Claudia and Felix. I had never considered the possibility that soone would secretly take the potion, so I had been negligent in managing it.
"Fe-Felix."
When did he take it? I desperately racked my mory. And I rembered the last conversation I had with Felix just before he left for the Emperor’s side.
At that ti, Felix, who had never been seen sleeping before, was leaning against the window, breathing steadily. And the first thing he said upon waking was...
"Now, may I do it my way?"
Could this be what that ant? In fact, the potion was the only solution we had to separate Felix and Larry. However, despite having a thod, we had never dared to try it because it was too dangerous.
As Felix himself knew, there was no thod in the world to separate the soul of a devil from that of a human. Of course, the potion, perfected after nurous trials and failures, was theoretically flawless. But...
‘You said it yourself — that if we're lucky, they might cancel each other out, but if not, they'll collide and destroy both! You know full well how dangerous it is!’
Only now did I realise the unsettling feeling behind Felix’s words about 'my way.' Back then, I thought it ant he might beco like Walter and ruthlessly crush and slaughter others. But in the end, it was just ‘Felix’s way’ again.
"Change, my ass."
I told him not to bear everything alone and not to sacrifice himself. I told him to be selfish.
"I've never t soone so uncooperative in my life."
Sohow, that day, when I looked into his blue eyes that mirrored the sky outside the window, a deep, inexplicable sadness washed over . I felt as if I might cry. Out of all the countless people in the world, how did I end up receiving such undeserved love from a man like him — and loving him in return? Every day felt full, overflowing with happiness beyond asure… and yet, my heart ached as if it were being torn apart as if blood were flowing from it. Pressing down on my aching heart, I desperately began rummaging through the drawer again.
"Then I won't listen either."
I was going to chase after him, even if I got swept away by the waves and broke my legs.
・・・・・
The city of chaos, Carlisle. Commonly known as the underworld, this place was Benjamin's stronghold. In this lawless land, the ruler's word was law, and he was no different from an emperor here. Cedric, walking through the alleys with Benjamin, tightened his hood.
‘It feels as though all the world's corruption is on display here.’
Cedric recalled the story of a city destroyed by fire and sulphur due to the wrath of the gods. But such useless thoughts needed to be shaken off quickly. The longer the silence, the more Benjamin's suspicions would grow, so Cedric had to throw out nonsense occasionally to distract him.
"...There seems to be a dragon flying in the sky right now, but I suppose it's only visible to ."
Cedric rubbed his dark, lifeless eyes with the back of his hand, as though seeing hallucinations, and let out an empty laugh, as if he had abandoned everything.
"Hmm, a dragon..."
Then, Benjamin, who was walking alongside, looked up at the sky, a shade so blue and clear it was almost blinding.
"Certainly, as you said, it would be nice if a dragon suddenly appeared. That way, we could avoid unnecessary trouble."
He casually responded to the remark while exhaling thick smoke, creating a faint, hazy cloud in the clear sky.
"Unnecessary trouble?"
"Because we will need Sir Constantine."
Indeed, if a legendary creature like a dragon appeared, it would be a national crisis, and they would have no choice but to release Constantine from prison.
'What on earth are you planning?’
Benjamin seed to be planning sothing crazy, but Cedric couldn't guess where he was going with it.
He hadn't heard anything other than the order to obey and follow. Narrowing his eyes, Cedric scrutinised Benjamin, but when their gazes t, he quickly flashed a servile smile, as if nothing had happened. Benjamin smiled back and spoke.
"You look quite good right now."
“...”
"You look like you want to kill …"
"Haha, that can't be true."
Cedric knew why Benjamin had said sothing so provocative. He wanted to see if Cedric would react the sa way as last ti and go into a frenzy. Cedric furrowed his brow and played along with Benjamin’s mood.
"I thought I'd live and die under my foolish brother, always having to watch my step, but thanks to you, I've risen to a position I never even dared to dream of.”
He was pretending that his addiction had stabilised. The fact that the addiction had stabilised didn’t an that using drugs would make him see heaven, but rather that outwardly, he appeared much the sa as before using. However, if he stopped using drugs, withdrawal symptoms would drag him into hell. He didn’t use drugs for pleasure but for survival. The word ‘stabilised’ also referred to a period of quietly dying away.
'If it weren't for Irene, I would have slowly withered away like this for the rest of my life.'
Cedric realised how recklessly he had risked his life and discreetly rubbed his arms, which were covered in goosebumps. If he was given the proper drugs, he could maintain his sanity and obey well, so Benjamin would likely be quite satisfied with his current state. As expected, Benjamin appeared quite pleased. Seizing the mont, Cedric asked impatiently.
"So, what's the plan? You have to tell if you want to cooperate. After all, I can’t live without the drugs the Duke provides. Is there really a need to keep it a secret from soone like ?"
“There’s no harm in being cautious.”
But no matter how much Cedric tried to persuade him, Benjamin wasn’t easily swayed.
"You’ve lived as if you could die at any mont without regret. In short, with your already ruined body, who knows if you might draw all the attention and blow yourself up, taking down with you?"
His caution was beyond imagination.
‘But I guess this is natural.’
Cedric briefly missed Lucas, who would follow him with just a little bit of sweet-talking. He swallowed a sigh and shrugged.
"You couldn't feel at ease while threatening . That’s why you dragged here, even though I’m more helpless than a straw, right?"
Benjamin let out a short exclamation and smiled.
"You’re really useful. Quick-witted and good at understanding."
"I'm just average."
"I've been looking at soone extraordinary for a long ti."
Benjamin muttered, "I should have replaced it a long ti ago instead of foolishly building up patience." With a light gesture, a group of ard n soon surrounded Cedric.
"I would like to apologise in advance for any rudeness. My subordinates are as worried as I am."
There was no ti to grumble that it was a bit late to say ‘in advance.’ They restrained Cedric from both sides and dragged him into a building, starting to search his pockets under the pretext of an inspection. Even his underwear and mouth were searched, and every possession was thoroughly rifled through.
Cedric, who had been debating until the end whether to bring a ans of contacting Irene, broke into a cold sweat. It was fortunate that he had left behind anything that might seem suspicious before heading to Carlisle. Otherwise, all their plans would have been ruined by now.
"You really ca empty-handed. You’re quick to resign yourself and have the right attitude. What to do? I'm starting to like you more and more."
"Though I may look like this, I am technically a Grand Duke, but you certainly know how to give a grand welco."
"Soone more powerless than straw should stay quietly in place. Otherwise, I'll personally weave you into a scarecrow."
Benjamin didn't even scoff, but responded calmly and selected only the drugs from Cedric's belongings, placing it back into his hand.
"I’ll return this. You’d be in trouble without it."
"Thank you very much..."
"Don't make that face. I plan to show you everything today. In-person, that is."
The mont Cedric heard those words, he instinctively realised that after seeing what Benjamin ant by 'everything,' it would be impossible to continue as a double agent, and his contact with Irene would also end today.
They descended into the deepest part of the basent of the most impressive building in Carlisle. Without understanding what was going on, Cedric was dragged along, his body stiffening as a chilling sensation pulled at the back of his neck. Even though he tried not to show it, his tension reached its peak.
‘You said you liked Irene.’
Cedric knew everything Benjamin had done to obtain Claudia, from start to finish. This ti, he had a strong intuition that sothing ominous was about to happen. No, judging by the signs, it seed like he had done sothing even crazier than before. And his intuition proved correct. The mont the heavy, black-painted iron door opened...
"What on earth is this…?"
‘Ugh.’
Cedric instinctively covered his mouth and swallowed back a gag. The enormous space was filled with intricate red patterns, covering every inch. The ones carving the symbol were dozens of sorcerers, all bound with restraints to prevent escape. A nauseating stench, so strong it numbed the sense of sll, assaulted his nose. On the six platforms arranged in a circle around the magic circle, there were layers of dried bloodstains, rotting flesh, and strands of hair in various colors.
Those were clearly the remnants of a body that had once been lying there.
"Oh my god, you...”
And the most bizarre sight of all was the plant that filled the space from ceiling to floor. It was greedily sucking up the blood that continually spilled onto the ground.
"Co-corpses..."
"Ah, a considerable amount of divine power was needed. Sir Constantine kindly killed a large number of high-ranking priests for , so I recycled them."
Benjamin clicked his tongue and added, "You shouldn't waste things. You need to use them wisely."
"What is that bizarre plant…?"
"It is a sacred tree imbued with a spirit. No matter what we did, it wouldn’t get corrupted. While I was struggling with that, I fed it the blood of a deceased spirit, and it beca tad."
“...”
‘Th-this madman. He's so crazy that it's beyond description.'
The corners of Cedric's mouth trembled as he was about to lose his composure. Benjamin, calmly smoking a cigarette next to him, asked.
"Four thousand years ago, I'm sure you've heard what happened to the passage between the mortal world and the demon realm, right? In order to prevent that from happening again, the only option is to align as much as possible with the other side's preferences."
Benjamin kindly explained that thorough preparation was the only way to prevent such a catastrophe.
"Eternal death, the corruption of purity, the desecration of the sacred... it's a simple formula that they love."
Four thousand years ago, that day symbolised only one thing.
"It was easy to attract the sorcerers. They were born as accessories to the nation from the very beginning."
'...I have to inform everyone.’
But how? Cedric was in a state no different from being imprisoned. Benjamin, as if reading his anxious expression, narrowed his eyes and smiled. Then, exhaling smoke slowly and licking his lips, he spoke the plan Cedric had already intuited.
"On the Night of Heroes, there must be a villain, right?"
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