Chapter 98
Randolph’s outward appearance was exactly as I had seen before.
However, the intelligence that had once dwelled in his eyes had vanished without a trace, and pitch-black darkness had filled that emptiness.
“Ahh…….”
The Count of Sheffield let out a bitter groan as he realized that his son’s body had been stolen by a demon.
Seeing that, I felt a slight sense of concern.
Demons could not be defeated by ordinary ans.
Moreover, this situation clearly ant that Randolph was being held hostage.
As his father, the Count of Sheffield would not be able to attack rashly.
However, that worry proved to be nothing more than groundless fear, as blue flas soon flared to life over his eyes.
“How dare you take my son…….”
A mana storm on an entirely different level from before began to swirl around his entire body.
Yet the demon that had taken over Randolph’s body rely narrowed her eyes, smacking her lips as though a delicious prey had appeared right before her.
“A Sword Master and a mage. They’re perfect sacrifices to quench this body’s thirst.”
A Sword Master and a mage.
Each of them possessed power enough to face hundreds—no, thousands—on their own, yet she was looking down on us as though it were only natural.
But that was not strange.
If that demon’s true body were to manifest here, the reality was that the two of us alone would struggle to block even a single finger.
However, this was not the descent of her true body.
It was nothing more than possession of a re sacrifice.
“…Count, can Randolph’s ego be recovered?”
That was why I asked him.
Even if we won the fight, that thing could simply abandon the body it was using and flee.
But the flesh and mind that had housed a demon were bound to be devastated.
Mishandling it could even destroy the original self.
“…I will recover it. Even if I have to stake my life.”
“Is that so.”
The Count of Sheffield quietly steeled himself with desperate resolve.
I calmly nodded at that and tightened my grip on my sword.
I, too, did not want to see Leysias, who loved her younger brother, grieving over losing Randolph.
‘If only I had Excalibur, this would be easier.’
Excalibur was a holy sword that drove out and purified all that was impure.
If so, there was a chance it could expel that demon dwelling within Randolph’s body as well.
But since it had remained silent until now, I could not afford to rely on it indefinitely.
“…….”
The Count of Sheffield signaled to
with his eyes.
To reclaim Randolph’s body, he would need special magic.
Understanding his intent to buy ti, I stepped forward and drew her attention.
“I am the Third Imperial Prince of the Ribera Empire, Leios von Ribera.”
“Is it suddenly ti for introductions? Well, it’s not bad as a bit of entertainnt.”
The demon spoke with a playful smile, her cloak fluttering.
“I am [Frost That Cos with Calamity]. My na is Gregory, a lofty duke of the Demon Realm.”
“…Gremory?”
At that familiar na, I furrowed my brow.
It was not a na that appeared in the original work.
Still, with just the four letters of Gremory, it was possible to infer who she was—a demon with considerable standing.
Gremory, like the Hell Archduke Aloken who had appeared before, was a being derived from Solomon’s seventy-two demons.
That ant she, too, was a powerhouse on the sa level.
Perhaps because the possession was unstable, I did not feel the sa pressure I had when facing Aloken, but I raised my guard against Gregory to the highest level in my mind.
“…….”
While conversing with her, I glanced behind .
The Count of Sheffield was watching this way while quietly murmuring sothing under his breath.
Seeing mana subtly gathering around him, it was clear he was casting a spell capable of defeating Gremory.
But it looked like he still needed a bit more ti.
So I tossed out bait that would likely pique her interest.
“How is Aloken doing? After he took a severe beating from
last ti, he was chased out of the Middle Realm.”
“…Aloken? Chased out?”
The Demon Realm was, quite literally, a world where the law of the jungle had beco reality, and demons were the ones who practiced it most fervently.
They were grouped under the sa category, but take even a single step further and it was no different from an age of warring states.
Stabbing each other in the back and constantly seeking openings to devour the weak was considered natural.
That did not change just because they were high-ranking demons.
Especially among the nad ones who ford their own factions, hostility toward one another was the norm.
At tis, they even placed more importance on ambushing and devouring each other than on invading the Middle Realm.
“…So it was you.”
After falling briefly into thought, Gremory let out a low sigh.
Then she stared at
with widened eyes.
“Leios von Ribera. So it was said that he took a hit from an imperial prince.”
Given her position, she would naturally be well inford about her archenemy’s affairs.
Gremory soon burst into loud laughter, bending at the waist.
“To think I’d et you like this here. Aloken is my archenemy. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say I was helped by you. In recognition of that rit, I’d like to spare your life, but…….”
She made the suggestion with a faint smile, but I shook my head, telling her not to say sothing so absurd.
“I have no intention of leaving until you return that body.”
“Of course. You are one with firm convictions. I know it well, having watched for countless years. Those of your kind have never bent the path they chose until the mont of death. In that case, I’ll make you the core of my chira instead and dote on you for another thousand years.”
She spoke those chilling words as casually as breathing.
However, the one who responded was not .
“There will be no future in which Your Highness becos a chira, nor one in which you leave this place alive.”
Thud.
The Count of Sheffield stepped up beside , his eyes blazing with righteous light as blue sacred flas flared up in both of his hands.
“Sorry to have kept you waiting.”
“Then it’s fine for
to expect as much as I waited.”
“You won’t be disappointed.”
He wore a ferocious expression with a triumphant smile.
Certainly, the montum I felt from the flas wrapped around his hand was no ordinary thing.
In response, Gremory also spoke while still looking down at us.
“Needing ti wasn’t sothing exclusive to you.”
Snap.
When she lightly flicked her finger, the ground beneath us began to surge upward.
Earth, rock, and trees rged together to take shape, soon forming a golem as large as a fortress.
Hoooooong-!
The golem, so massive that I had to tilt my head all the way back just to see its face, swung its grotesque arm down toward us.
In response, I sharply honed my blade.
“A golem that’s nothing but big and stupid.”
An aura blade blazing as if wrapped in pure white light pierced through the darkness.
It cleanly severed the golem’s arm and carved cracks into its body as well.
Kugugugung-!
The trajectory of the severed arm twisted before it crashed down beside us.
I thought it had been brought down, but beyond the thick dust, the golem’s damaged parts regenerated at a speed even faster than they had been cut.
“It’d be troubleso if you treated sothing made by , Gremory, like an ordinary one.”
As Gremory flicked her finger once more, a single corpse rose from the center of the golem’s body.
It was the Dark Elf’s flesh she had been possessing just monts ago.
The golem imdiately began compressing itself around it.
Kkadeuk, kkadeudeuk.
A bizarre sound of bones and flesh twisting, rocks and trees crumbling echoed in all directions.
It seed the fortress had witnessed this as well, as chaos broke out there.
Lights flared up here and there, the gates opened, and what looked like a group of reinforcents began moving toward us.
“You think I’ll just let you do as you please?!”
When the Count of Sheffield swung his hand, blue sacred flas descended, burning through the darkness.
They soon began to consu the demonic energy coating the golem’s surface, and upon seeing that sight, Gremory spoke with a slightly surprised expression.
“The Flas of Protheus… To think there’s still a mage who can handle that.”
“Then you should also know well that this is your kind’s natural enemy.”
The Flas of Protheus.
In the distant ancient past.
When the ruler of this continent had yet to be decided, it was a sacred fla bestowed by a demigod who pitied humanity, the weakest of all races.
‘I probably can’t use that myself.’
Only those who had reached the realm of a true mage could wield these flas, borrowed from the legends of Greek mythology.
For soone like , still in Fourth Class, it would be beyond my capabilities.
“Rain of Sacred Fla.”
At the Count of Sheffield’s gesture as he finished chanting, blue flas poured down upon the golem like a torrential downpour.
“How long do you think you can keep using those flas?”
The golem, now reduced to about two ters in size, protected its master while sneering at the Count of Sheffield.
Its body burned fiercely, engulfed in the inferno, yet perhaps empowered by a high-ranking demon, its regeneration speed was just as abnormal.
Tadadadat-!
While the two were locked in a fierce struggle, I surged forward with aura wrapped around my entire body, and blazing light erupted once more between the blue flas.
Thud.
“Ts.”
My sword cleaved into the golem’s shoulder and bit into its body, but perhaps due to the imnse mass compressed within, cutting as far as its chest was my limit.
As I clicked my tongue and tried to pull my sword free, the golem—still burning—extended its hand and grabbed my right shoulder.
“Ugh?!”
The Flas of Protheus were a magic effective only against demons, so they didn’t affect , but the trendous grip strength and weight crushed my shoulder with pain, forcing a groan from my lips.
Swaeaeik-!
Then, beneath it, a black hand seemingly ford of demonic energy stabbed toward my heart.
I hurriedly twisted my body to deflect it, but with the golem’s hand firmly gripping my shoulder, the black hand carved a shallow yet long wound across my chest.
“…This is why demons are.”
Now that I had achieved my first awakening, there were only a handful of foes in the Middle Realm who could stand against .
Of course, the gap between
and absolute powerhouses like Sword Saint Yohanel or the Archmage Chris was still vast, but I was confident I could defeat most skilled opponents.
Yet demons were monsters that even protagonists ard with every stroke of fortune, talent, and effort had struggled against.
Even I, by demonic standards, was still no more than mid-to-low tier, and despite being a high-ranking demon, this was only a possessed body, not a proper manifestation—yet it still overwheld .
‘The fact that there’s still room for
to grow makes
happy.’
But I no longer felt the despair I once had.
Instead, my competitive spirit surged, filling
with the desire to give it a real try.
“Hah!”
With my free left hand, I struck the golem’s torso with all my might.
A throbbing pain shot up my wrist, but the recoil was enough to shake off the hand gripping my shoulder.
Whirik.
I lightly flipped my body and retreated near the Count of Sheffield, who was still struggling against Gremory, then placed my hand on my shattered shoulder and began chanting.
“[O Saint of Earth, bestow upon
your grace, Healing].”
A pale green light settled over my shoulder, nding the wound.
One of my traits, Super Recovery, was highly effective against cuts and bleeding wounds, but it was slower when it ca to broken bones or torn muscles.
From experience, I had learned that healing magic worked better in cases like this.
“…You can use magic as well?”
The Count of Sheffield, who had been harassing Gremory with the Flas of Protheus, stared at
with widened eyes.
In response, I gave a bitter smile and repeated an answer I had once given soone before.
“With a face like mine, life’s been pretty rough. I needed plenty of insurance.”
“Then that ans…….”
His eyes glead sharply.
It wasn’t hard to guess what he was thinking.
The bloodline of the Ribera imperial family was special even in this world.
They showed talent in every field they pursued and achieved mastery far faster than others.
Having reached Sword Master and learned magic as well, he must have assud my level was extraordinary—but I shook my head.
“Even so, magic like the Flas of Protheus is still beyond …….”
Magic like the Flas of Protheus, which could harm a high-ranking demon, was not only difficult to learn, but even now I had only managed to activate it by relying on system assist.
However, when the ssage from the status window rang out imdiately after, I couldn’t help but gape.
[SYSTEM: Interpretation of the ancient magic ‘Flas of Protheus’ has been completed.]
[SYSTEM: Would you like to learn the ancient magic ‘Flas of Protheus’? Y / N]
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