Having secretly infiltrated the temple to spy on it, I was deeply moved. The temple was empty. Everyone except the absolutely necessary personnel had evacuated to a safe place.
As expected, the lovely followers of Goddess Repinal were intelligent. They did not fall for the suspicious provocation of a demon Legion Commander. How admirable and rational they were.
I was happy all day because the plan had worked so well. The weather was quite mild for winter, and taking Theo for a walk around the village made me feel even better. A cheerful whistle naturally escaped my lips. Theo, who had been walking while holding tightly onto my hand, stared up at me.
“Rihen, did something good happen?”
“Yeah. Coming outside with Theo makes me really excited.”
I smiled brightly and lifted Theo high into the air.
“I’m hungry. Let’s go eat a delicious dinner.”
“Okay!”
He smiled bashfully and wrapped his arms around my neck.
After feeding Theo until he was full, bathing together, and just as I was about to read him a fairy tale before bed, Theo suddenly made this request.
“Instead of a fairy tale, I want to hear a story about Rihen.”
“You want to hear the rest of the Snow White story?”
“No. Not a fairy tale Rihen made, but a story about Rihen.”
“I already told you my age and occupation last time.”
I tried to refuse indirectly, but Theo did not back down.
“That isn’t enough. I want to know more. That’s what living together means, isn’t it? Learning about each other….”
It did not seem like he was questioning me so persistently because he suspected my identity. It was closer to pure curiosity based on affection. I scratched my head awkwardly.
“I’m not anyone special. So there isn’t really anything to talk about.”
“It doesn’t matter if it’s nothing special. Anything about Rihen is fine.”
The child’s innocent eyes shook me. I simply could not refuse. After thinking for a while, I opened my mouth.
“Um… I really like games.”
“Games like chess? Or sports like horseback riding and ball games?”
“Yeah. I like both games that use your head and games that use your body. Anyway, I used to play games whenever I had the chance.”
After all, it was entirely because of that game that I had come to this world.
“Also… I originally used to sleep late in the mornings, but that has disappeared these days.”
After possessing Shane’s body, I was perfectly fine even if I slept only three hours a day. As expected, a demon’s body was sturdy.
“When I was young, my health was a little poor, so I had to undergo treatment for a long time. Fortunately, I’m completely better now.”
Theo listened to my story with sparkling eyes. His gaze was so warm that it made me want to keep talking for no reason.
…No, I could not do this. Children had to go to bed early. More importantly, I had to put him to sleep so I could set fire to the temple.
“That’s enough for today. Let’s sleep now.”
I gently stroked down over Theo’s eyelids and closed his eyes for him. Theo pouted as though disappointed, then reluctantly nodded.
“Good night, Theo.”
“Good night, Rihen.”
“…Yeah.”
Rihen. The name of the dead Saint.
That name, which could never truly become mine, bothered me anew.
Fortunately, Theo soon fell asleep. I looked down at his sleeping face for a long while, then carefully rose from my seat.
This was also the last time I would see twelve-year-old Theo. Once I completed today’s quest and received the points, I would meet fifteen-year-old Theo.
Twelve-year-old Theo was trusting and innocent, so living with him was easy. Would he become sharper once he grew older? Would he start looking at me suspiciously? To prevent that from happening, I had to continue building our relationship of trust.
I put on a black robe that looked exactly like the night sky and kicked off from the roof. As I increased my speed, the wind fiercely brushed past my ears. I leaped as though nearly taking flight and landed on the roof across from me. Dark clouds covered the stars and moon, leaving the entire world pitch-black. It was a good night for committing evil deeds.
I concealed myself in a tree near the temple and observed the situation. With sight and hearing far superior to a human’s, I roughly estimated the number of people inside the temple. About one hundred knights and one High Priest. The knights were heavily armed with helmets and armor capable of withstanding flames, and the High Priest possessed strong divine power befitting a position with ‘High’ in its title. He would be able to endure inside the fire to some extent. There was no problem.
‘Good. Then shall I set it on fire?’
As practice, I floated a small flame above my fingertips. Shane’s Innate Skill, Flame. Even though it was still only LV. 1 magic, it was extremely powerful. More than anything, perhaps because its color was black, it made me feel like a real villain.
The reaction had been quite good when I used this fire at the altar just before destroying the sacred statue. However, because its level was still low, there was the problem that fine control was difficult. If the fire spread too widely, I could not extinguish it as I pleased. That was why I had made all the priests leave.
Vowing to commit a successful act of arson, I climbed down from the tree and hid myself among the bushes.
***
“Fire!”
A piercing shout split the air. The knights on patrol all rushed toward the direction of the sound at once. It was near the temple entrance. The sound of armor colliding rang out loudly. However, there was no fire there, no smoke, not even the slightest trace of an ember.
The floor was cold, and the air was still. As though the scream from a moment ago had been a lie.
“There’s nothing wrong!”
“There’s no one who shouted either!”
Just as agitation began spreading among the knights, black flames rose from the deepest part of the temple, in the exact opposite direction from the entrance. Flames that were neither red nor orange, but darker than the night.
The fire, as though shadows themselves were burning, spread across the walls and pillars in an instant. Even though no firewood or oil could be seen, the flames continued to swell in size. They seemed ready to swallow everything around them without leaving anything behind.
“Damn it, find him!”
The Knight Commander’s shout scattered into the smoke.
“The smoke is too thick! We can’t see ahead!”
“Follow the demonic energy. There must be a trace!”
However, no matter how sharply the knights focused their senses, they could not feel the familiar presence. There was clearly an ominous energy in the air, but there was none of the demonic energy they knew.
“This is strange. He is a demon, yet I cannot sense any demonic energy at all. This is the first time I have encountered such a case.”
At those words, everyone’s faces stiffened.
Until now, the method of finding a demon had been simple. If they followed the demonic energy, the enemy was always at the end of it. But this opponent was different. His demonic energy was so faint that it could not be detected. The existence of an enemy who defied common knowledge was more than enough to shock the knights.
At that moment, the silhouette of a tall man appeared atop a half-collapsed pillar engulfed in flames. His face could not be perceived, and a uniform as dark as the night covered his entire body. However, the red pendant on his left shoulder shone clearly.
Commander of the 13th Legion of the demons.
He bowed elegantly, like an actor greeting an audience. Then he burst into exaggerated laughter as if deliberately putting on a show, fluttered his black cloak, and vanished into the smoke.
“There!”
By the time the delayed shout burst out, it was already too late. Only pitch-black flames remained where he had stood, persistently licking the temple walls.
Perhaps by the grace of the god, fortunately there were no deaths. However, the fact that the temple had burned down completely could not be denied.
The blackened pillars spewed smoke, and ash scattered through the air. The temple that had honored Repinal, the Goddess of Dawn, was no longer a sacred place. Cloth torn apart by fire and books reduced to handfuls of ash. The only thing left there was helplessness.
The priests stood while holding onto one another. Their faces were pale, and their eyes, still unable to escape the fear, shook from side to side. Some knelt and quietly offered prayers before the altar that had turned to ash, while others lowered their heads without being able to say a single word.
Meanwhile, the knights had gathered together and were talking.
“Isn’t it strange? He was definitely a demon Legion Commander. He was wearing a Legion Commander’s insignia. But… he had no subordinates. There was no ambush and no support.”
“That’s right. It was only one man. Setting the fire, causing the confusion…. It was all a precisely calculated solo operation.”
The atmosphere sank heavily. The knights continued their conversation in a confused state.
“Normally, a Legion Commander would bring at least several elite soldiers. Even if they did not reveal themselves, they would hide them somewhere. But why did that bastard….”
“Doesn’t it mean he has that much confidence in his abilities? If he is strong enough to perform the work of an entire legion alone, then he would have no need for subordinates.”
The knights asked and answered one another’s questions, struggling to estimate the Legion Commander’s wicked intentions.
“He could have killed us. But he didn’t. Why do you think that was?”
“It’s simple. He wants to plant fear in us and wear down our mental strength… then offer our souls to the Demon King when the time comes. Because once our mental strength weakens, our souls can be extracted.”
Hearing his comrade’s speculation sent a sudden chill down his spine. He felt like livestock being raised to be eaten.
Subjugation without killing. Controlled destruction. A disaster without a presence, one that might even now be hiding in the shadows and watching them.
The knights unconsciously looked around. Deep fear dominated them all.
***
Following a ㅇㅇ team without ㅇㅇ, a Legion Commander without a legion…. That was me.
It was not easy having to do everything alone from beginning to end. It was even more difficult because I had sent them a warning in advance and raised the priests’ vigilance to the extreme. I also worried about things like, what if they looked down on me as a Legion Commander without any subordinates?
But I did it! I completed the arson mission without sacrificing any innocent citizens.
<Quest Complete>
Infamy Points +700p
How should I distribute these precious 700 points? I fell into a happy dilemma.
First, I would definitely spend 500p on Theo. That had already been decided. Once I made that decision, it did not take long to decide how to use the remaining 200p either.
I used 100p to raise Flame to LV. 2, and spent the remaining 100p to raise my Magic Power from 3 to 4. Perhaps because I was a hybrid mixed with human blood, my Magic Power was rather weak.
Even so, thanks to having diligently practiced by using Flame and Magic Power all this time, I was able to raise each Stat by 1 with only 100p. Had I tried to force them higher without any practice, even a thousand points, let alone a hundred, would not have been enough. The fact that the points required to level up changed depending on the amount of effort was one of the charms of this game.
Holding my breath, I approached Theo’s side. His deeply sleeping face looked even younger than usual. After taking in twelve-year-old Theo for a long time, I opened the window and used the points.
Three years passed in the span of several minutes. The body that had belonged to a child rapidly went through secondary sexual development and grew into that of an adolescent. He grew taller, and the round lines of his face became more defined. Even so, his sleeping expression remained gentle and innocent.
I tried patting his slightly broader shoulders. In a voice quiet enough not to wake Theo, I whispered.
‘Hello, fifteen-year-old Theo. Please take good care of me from now on too,’
The boy who had become fifteen years old gave no answer and merely continued sleeping soundly.