[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]
Chapter 62: Demon Hunting (3)
Once again, a chilling silence fell over the crowd.
And the one who broke this silence was none other than Lord Edmuir.
"A demon?! What nonsense is this!"
The enraged lord jumped to his feet.
His face flushed red as he roared,
"Knight Commander! Seize this madman at once!"
Galahad, receiving the lord's command, hesitated for a mont and looked at Hal.
Sensing his gaze, Hal gave a slight nod.
The ti wasn't ripe yet.
He needed to wait a little longer.
Understanding his intent, Galahad raised his hand and ordered,
"Guards! Detain Baron Gilmore imdiately."
"Yes!"
Dozens of soldiers on duty instantly leveled their spears at Hal.
As so of the soldiers slowly advanced towards Hal...
Whoosh!
The subsided azure flas flickered back to life.
"These flas are my unique ability, called azure fla."
Hal declared, displaying his blazing blue hand.
The people hesitated, listening to Hal's words.
"And this Azure Fla..."
Hal flicked the flas from his hand towards the approaching soldiers.
The soldiers, suddenly engulfed in fire, scread in terror.
"U-uwaaaah...?"
But their screams quickly died down, and silence enveloped the surroundings.
"This isn't it hot?"
One of the soldiers touched by the azure fla tilted his head in confusion.
As he said, the soldiers engulfed in the flas were completely unhard.
Looking at them, Hal explained,
"As you can see, it doesn't harm humans or ordinary objects."
"...Then why did the grapes burn earlier? What does it burn?"
Rupert, seated with a tense expression, inquired.
Hal crushed the burnt remains of the grapes with his foot and replied,
"Demons. And only things tainted by demonic power. Azure Fla burns only those."
"..."
A chilling silence fell over the crowd.
People's gazes shifted towards the lord, as if demanding an explanation.
Driving the point ho, Hal declared,
"In the na of the Holy Gods, I hereby comnce the demon hunt."
The azure flas flickered like a serpent's tongue.
The lord, after a mont of silent observation, slamd his fist on the table.
"What gives you the audacity to act so presumptuously in my domain? By what right?"
"This is my duty. Authorized by the order and His Imperial Majesty,"
Hal retorted calmly, refusing to back down.
Edmuir's veins bulged as he shouted,
"You...!"
Trembling with fury, Edmuir stord off the platform.
"Fine. Do as you please. Who will you investigate first? ?"
Edmuir flung off his ornants and cloak, drawing his sword.
His well-trained physique, typical of a northern warrior, was revealed under the light.
At his nacing appearance, Hal calmly nodded.
"You are the host of this tournant, and the one who offered the demon-tainted fruit as a reward. Naturally, you are a suspect."
Moreover, he was the one who distributed the pendants to the residents and healed his wife from her incurable illness.
All the evidence pointed to Edmuir being the demon.
"Then prove it. If, and only if, I am not a demon, you will pay the price."
Edmuir plunged his sword into the ground.
He slowly extended his hand, seemingly expecting Hal to proceed with the azure Fla test.
But at that mont...
"No."
Hal shook his head resolutely.
The onlookers, watching with bated breath, gasped.
Even Edmuir seed taken aback by Hal's response.
"You are not the demon. There's only one demon in this territory."
As he spoke, Hal kicked over the black container Lena had brought.
The container toppled over, its lid flung open.
With a fluttering sound, sothing poured out from within.
"Wh-what's that?"
While the people were bewildered, 'they' flocked towards the azure Fla, revealing their true form.
Brown wings, resembling tree bark, fluttered gracefully in the air.
But unlike butterflies, they flapped their wings long and fast like birds... a swarm of insects.
The insects sward around the azure fla for a mont, then began to fly towards a specific direction.
That direction was...
"Kyaaa!"
...towards the baroness.
"What is the aning of this!"
Edmuir exclaid, turning towards his wife in horror.
As others jumped from their seats to help the baroness, Hal stopped them.
"Everyone, stop! These insects are not harmful to humans."
"...?"
"Their na is Grapevine Moth. They are pests, natural enemies of grapevines."
Carnosa Vinea.
The na 'Vinea' ant 'grapevine.'
"They are also sothing that the higher demon Vinea, whose true form is a grapevine, extrely dislikes."
The larvae of Grapevine Moths feed on the fruit and also act as vectors for fungal infections.
They were pests even to farrs, but never as much as now.
"Kyaaa! Stop it!"
The baroness scread and flailed her arms, but then...
Splat!
A sudden crushing sound echoed in the air.
The moths, drawn by the sweet scent emanating from Carnosa Vinea, were being smashed to pieces.
"That's..."
Rupert gasped, trailing off.
"Found you, Carnosa Vinea."
Hal's eyes were cold as he stared at her.
Dozens of vines sprouted from her hand, writhing in the air like living whips.
The baroness, no, Carnosa Vinea, slowly turned her head towards Hal and gave a slight smile.
"Oh dear... I've been found out."
***
"Don't move."
"Grr, you!"
Hal held his sword to Lord Edmuir's throat and restrained him.
The baroness had been revealed as a demon.
Now it was Hal's ti.
"Sir Galahad! Now's the ti."
"Yes!"
Galahad nodded, drawing his sword and shouting,
"Now is the ti, brave warriors of Lonely Ridge! The mont has co!"
"Waaaaaaagh!"
The soldiers who had been pointing their spears at Hal instantly turned and aid them at the baroness.
This was the result of Galahad discreetly manipulating the guard duty roster for the banquet.
None of the soldiers guarding the banquet hall were under Vinea's control.
"Sir Rupert!"
Hal turned his head and called out Rupert's na.
As if waiting for this cue, Rupert jumped to his feet and drew his hidden weapon.
"The priest's words have been proven true. In the na of God, everyone, follow !"
"By your command!"
Dozens of knights following Rupert sprang up, drawing their swords.
In an instant, a dense wall of spears and swords was thrust towards the baroness.
Only the other participants, unaware of anything, were left bewildered.
Hal glared at the baroness and declared,
"It's over."
"This situation is certainly dangerous."
Vinea chuckled, feigning distress.
Hal frowned.
'Smiling?'
Even among demons, none were truly indifferent to death.
They feared what lay beyond.
Whatever awaited them...
Hal stared at her with a puzzled expression.
Vinea, noticing this, asked,
"You've made quite a few preparations. But if this is all, I'm disappointed."
"...?"
An unknown sense of dread made Hal flinch.
Before he could fully grasp the aning of her words...
Thud!
"Gah...!"
Screams that shouldn't have been heard erupted from behind him.
"What in the world...!"
"You... why?"
Knights, stabbed by their own comrades, stumbled and widened their eyes in disbelief.
Rupert's knights.
Half of them had turned on their fellow knights.
Their pupils were already dyed black.
"...When did she...?"
Hal murmured.
As if answering his question, Vinea replied,
"I offered wine at the banquet yesterday. A very special wine, mixed with my fruit."
"...!"
Rupert, despite his reservations, had heeded Hal's warning.
He had forbidden his knights from consuming any fruit offered by the lord.
But wine was an exception.
In the end, all but half of the knights on guard duty had drunk the wine provided by the lord.
"I've already wasted two of my fruits, which only bear a few each year"
"I trust you'll compensate well for that."
"..."
Instead of replying, Hal assessed the situation.
The surprise attack had dealt a heavy blow.
The remaining uninfected knights, caught off guard, were falling one after another.
anwhile, the soldiers of Lonely Ridge were faltering in the face of this sudden turn of events.
They were no match for the knights in the first place.
'As expected, it's never that easy.’
Just then...
"Waaaaaaagh!"
The residents, who had been spectators, began to move.
So had completely transford into puppet-like treants.
The problem was...
"The lord is under attack! It's a rebellion!"
"Heretics are attacking the lord! Seize the heretics!"
Even the seemingly normal residents were turning hostile towards Hal and his group.
'...They must be under the influence of an illusion.'
It probably wasn't as powerful as the pendant worn by the treant disguised as an old woman, but it was enough to deceive those wearing the pendants.
Vinea, looking at Hal, gave a sly smile.
"Now, who is it that's finished?"
The situation had reversed all too easily.
Hal reminded himself once again that his opponent was a higher demon, a being capable of single-handedly destroying an entire domain.
"My apologies. I was a bit careless."
He didn't think his preparations were lacking.
Hal had done his best since arriving in the domain.
However, it simply wasn't enough against Vinea, who had already taken root here.
Therefore, what Hal had to do was simple.
Click!
Hal pulled the stopper from a flask at his waist.
Then, he downed its contents in one gulp.
"What are you suddenly...?"
Vinea, watching him with a puzzled look, suddenly froze.
A revulsion that any demon would instinctively feel.
An eerie, dreadful aura emanated from Hal.
Clang!
At the sa ti, Hal plunged his sword into the ground and grabbed a nearby oak barrel.
He effortlessly lifted the barrel, which would normally require three grown n to carry.
With a swift twist of his waist and a turn of his upper body, he hurled the barrel into the air.
"Sir Daniel!"
"Leave it to !"
He sprang up like the wind and sliced the oak barrel in midair with his sword.
Saltwater poured down from the sky like a waterfall.
The knights who were splashed with the saltwater, or more precisely, the knights who had consud Vinea's fruit, abruptly stopped moving.
Then, they began to writhe violently, as if in agony.
"Aaaaagh!"
The way they convulsed, as if they had been splashed with hot oil, clearly showed that they were deeply corrupted by demonic energy.
Without hesitation, Hal struck off the head of one of them and declared,
"Sir Daniel, Sir Galahad, take down the infected ones. Ono and Sir Rupert, please block the approaching residents, but try not to harm them. Miss Lena, I entrust you with tending to the fallen."
The panicked square quickly began to calm down.
Hal's eyes glowed blue like flas as he growled,
"I will take care of the demon."
His nacing voice involuntarily made Vinea take a step back.
[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]
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