The reason seven Trappycches appeared all at once. The reason the seven bodies moved in perfect coordination. At the center of it was that monster, Setian, who controlled the [Hive Mind].
'That thing... it’s a monster that’s existed from the start for the sole purpose of destroying Hiaka.'
After realizing that Setian was within the royal court, I dug up every scrap of information on him.
As Chairman of the Council of Elders, Setian had been the king’s closest friend and a driving force behind Hiaka’s revival, but his record was riddled with suspicious incidents.
'Even if you’re a demon, you can’t hide everything.'
Take, for example, the king’s “Mountain Bandit Subjugation” achievent. Under the command of Hiaka III, the bandits of the eastern mountains were successfully eradicated. Half of them had been destitute commoners driven to banditry, who were later given work to prevent recurrence.
But then strange rumors began circulating about the other half. That in so underground warehouse near the royal palace, they were all found with their eyes gouged out and their Achilles tendons severed—like offerings waiting to be sacrificed.
Grueso stories like this about Setian were not uncommon.
It was why, eventually, Setian ca to be called the king’s executioner—the sword that dealt with those the king deed unfit to live for the sake of leading the nation.
'Even so, many citizens believed such things were necessary for the country’s prosperity.'
Thus, he was also seen as a man symbolizing national revival.
But...
'He must die.'
Not just him. By any ans necessary, the entire Council of Elders must be exposed.
I looked up at him. Far away, in the middle of the battlefield, Setian floated like a parasite bursting from the corpse of so dead monster. But that was [Illusion]. He wasn’t truly here.
《 Show yourself, you worm of a human! I know you are here! 》
Aside from the two horns, his face looked quite different from that of an old man. He was shouting for , so I decided to answer with an [Illusion] of my own.
Still within Rebecca’s ntal world—its dark, oppressive sky and land holding steady—I placed an illusion of myself brimming with presence before him.
《 Finally crawled out, you worthless thing. 》
《 How does it feel, the sense of impending death for one who’s spent his life ddling everywhere? 》
《 The countless Trappycches gathered here will one day grind your flesh to a pulp. You’ve stirred too much. Without the power to back it up, you’ve acted far too arrogantly. Did you think you could go on living forever like that? 》
I wondered if a two-horned demon was capable of having a personality. His face overflowed with sothing beyond confidence—vile arrogance.
Then, using Trappycche’s sli tendrils, he lifted several soldiers into the air and burst the spikes, killing them all.
“Guhhk!”
“Gk—!!”
It wasn’t for my benefit. Nor was it out of joy in killing. He simply existed to kill humans. It was the work he was ant to do.
《 Answer . Have you anything to say before ? 》
The Trappycches paused briefly, and this conversation carried across the entire battlefield. I could feel thousands of eyes fixed on .
From this mont on, I would drag him and the Council of Elders out of this nation.
“The premise is wrong, Chairman Setian.”
My voice spread deep and resonant along waves of mana, utterly free of tension or excitent.
“You cannot kill .”
I was calm. Strangely so—calm to a degree that even surprised .
“The monsters you’ve brought here will be slain by and those with .”
“And in doing so, I will receive blessings from the Stars worth at least three or four tis their number. Those blessings will beco the blade that severs your life.”
At the ntion of the Star Fragnts, a crack appeared in Setian’s expression.
《 Will you still speak so boldly once your limbs are torn apart? 》
“What is there I would not do?”
《 Arrogant... In the end, you are nothing but a pitiful human. Many who stood before in arrogance knelt in humiliation before death, kissing the tips of my feet. Do you think you’ll be any different? 》
“Chairman of the Council of Elders, Setian. You have quite the tongue.”
“You...”
“Are you afraid of ?”
His arrogant mask crumpled. To have a personality ant emotions shone through, and his were on full display.
《 Silence, before I tear you apart right now. 》
Fortunately, his personality was crude. That worked in my favor. The soldiers had been shocked ever since hearing his na, “Setian.” If I could draw him out further, exposing his ugliness, it would be the perfect ammunition to turn against the Council.
...Or so I thought.
Bwoooong—
He suddenly cast a spell, trapping us in the sa space.
『Veil of Isolation』.
A way to prevent sound from escaping.
《 Do you know why I’ve let you live until now? 》
And from here, words I had never expected began to spill out.
“You spared ?”
《 You must know it. You still live only by my permission. 》
He eased so of his nace, even smiling.
《 I have a proposal. 》
A proposal?
《 Frankly, I’ve wasted decades unable to find you. 》
《 Now, even I am pressed for ti. The Heaven-ordained end of the world draws near, and I have yet to find my master—the Lord of Eternal Return. 》
...What?
The words were unfamiliar, but I had heard them before—from the Eternal Constellation∞, Song Chien.
At the edge of the world, there is a power that returns all things to nothing, forcing them to begin again. In context, it referred to the Demon King.
'...Why is a two-horned demon discussing the Demon King’s absence with a re professor?'
It sounded... deeply suspicious.
“What are you trying to say?”
《 Why ask when you already know? 》
《 Tell where the Lord of Eternal Return is. 》
...What?
'You’re asking for the Demon King’s location?'
A two-horned demon? Why?
'You should be the one who knows, you lunatic.'
I’d been at a loss recently, unable to guess the Demon King’s location or identity—finding no clues even after the Pink Drug’s spread.
'I was planning to wring it out of you, Setian...'
Now, he was asking .
I instinctively knew I couldn’t let him find out that I didn’t know.
“Then what will you offer in return?”
《 Your life. 》
《 If you give information on the Lord of Eternal Return, I will let you live here and now. 》
《 If you find him, I will ensure that you and a handful of those you choose survive into the future. 》
Setian smiled.
《 I swear it before that cursed star in the sky, Transcendent Star✯. 》
He’d lived so long in a human guise that he now thought himself human. I wanted nothing more than to smash his skull in right there.
However...
“So gathering seven Trappycches was not to kill , but rely a grand hostage play. A sound decision. With this many lives as collateral, even I might consider compromising with you demons I despise.”
“...But, Setian. I have no idea what you’re talking about. How could I possibly know where the Lord of Eternal Return is?”
《 ... 》
His face began to tremble, the shudder starting at his eyes and climbing his horns, the killing intent so thick it made my skin sting.
Soon his eyes bulged and drifted apart, pupils darting erratically.
From just one question, the two-horned demon’s rage nearly stopped his breath.
《 So you an to feign ignorance? 》
“What of it?”
《 You hid it. Exactly fifteen years ago. 》
A ripple spread across the lake in my mind. This wasn’t about —Dante Hiakapo.
《 I know everything. 》
《 You were the one who stopped from killing that cursed girl, Rebecca. 》
《 And you were the one who hid the Lord of Eternal Return. 》
《 You, built on nothing but lies. You, who were never of Hiaka but rely an Imperial citizen. You, master of the Black Blades, who deceived the Empire and served as its Chief of Public Safety. 》
《 You, who abandoned the Stars without fear! Abandoned the discipline you created! Abandoned your nation and your people! 》
《 Or did you think I wouldn’t know? That even I could fail to see through you? Even if the Constellations were blinded, I am not! 》
Random fragnts spilled from his mouth—Rebecca. Black Blades. Imperial citizen. Public /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ Safety Chief. And his fury...
This was about hiding the Demon King.
Or rather—
About sothing before hiding the Demon King.
《 For a re human, you’ve gained far too much power! You deceived the world, acting as if you were its savior, but you could never have killed the Lord of Eternal Return! You cannot deceive ! Such a thing is beyond human ability! All you could do with that vaunted power of yours... was hide! 》
《 You liar! Cursed thing! A being that deserves to be torn apart a thousand, ten thousand tis over! 》
《 Where is the Lord of Eternal Return? Answer ! 》
And at the very end—when he spoke my na—a chill ran down my spine.
《 ―― 》
***
This was before the Soltia Conference began.
In the [Forest of Illusions].
It was about the being who had created the entire forest in which the hero Eve once wandered.
After taking shelter from the rain together and stepping outside, Eve moved her hands to ask the man:
'Who?'
'Who are you?'
'Na, what?'
Until now, communication had been impossible, though there had been so shared understanding. Both knew they were parting ways soon. Standing before him, Eve asked a question she herself didn’t understand. The false human seed to realize sothing, smiling slyly.
“Are you curious about my na?”
Eve nodded. The man grinned wider and answered.
She couldn’t hear the sound, but she rembered the shape of his mouth, the movent of his jaw, the trembling of his throat.
“My na is spoken thus.”
And in the silent Forest of Illusions, the man spoke softly.
“Abraxas.”
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