“His location disappeared here.”
It was the dark hour before dawn.
Two hooded figures entered Prochi’s laboratory.
The larger of the two knelt on one knee beside the large hole in the floor and examined it.
The more slender figure, a woman, slowly circled the Summoning Circle.
“Nain, how does it look over there?”
The man kneeling on the floor wrapped his hand in Demonic Energy and pressed it against the ground as he asked.
“The summoning is already over. Like you said, Zed, it was probably Samigina.... What about your side?”
The man called Zed twitched an eyebrow before answering.
“Someone used Necromancy here.”
“...What? Necromancy?”
Nain, who had been examining the Summoning Circle, walked over to Zed.
“Necromancy immediately after forming the contract? Wasn’t he being a little too impatient?”
Unlike Nain, who treated it lightly, Zed sighed before continuing.
“...It looks like he resurrected a fairly powerful corpse. There’s a considerable amount of residual Demonic Energy.”
Zed rose to his feet as he muttered,
“The contract alone should have been difficult enough to handle. Why would he resurrect a corpse immediately afterward? Did a battle break out?”
Zed clicked his tongue and slowly removed his hood.
Black hair, bronzed skin, and a rugged face were revealed.
A large scar ran vertically across Zed’s left eye.
The eye itself was already gone, the socket covered over with healed flesh.
“Nain, clean this place up.”
“You’re going after Prochi?”
“I’m going to Chak.”
“What?”
Nain’s voice rose in surprise.
“Half-Demon Chak?”
“I could handle someone contracted with a Devil on my own.... But this is Samigina. A Demon is beyond what I can deal with alone. And judging by the fact that a corpse was resurrected, Prochi may already have a Lich or a Death Knight with him.”
“Can you even find someone who has already fled?”
“Fled?”
Zed laughed quietly.
“There’s no reason for him to run. There’s nowhere safer than this.”
Zed was not wrong.
There was hardly any place more difficult for a Black Mage to operate than Zeleta.
And Prochi was already a famous mage, allowing him to move about freely without attracting suspicion.
The nearby Blue Mage Tower was packed with mages and was practically an impregnable fortress.
As long as Prochi did not openly use Demonic Energy, there was no way to tell whether he was a Black Mage.
For him, Zeleta could practically be called the perfect hiding place.
“That’s true.”
Nain nodded, understanding his reasoning.
If they wanted to capture Prochi after he had contracted with a Demon, their own strength would not be enough.
“Chak should definitely be able to deal with him.”
Nain nodded again.
“Fine. I’ll clean this place up.”
“Good. I’ll see you at the rendezvous point.”
Zed added,
“Ah, you already know this, but be careful.”
“Because of the Paladin?”
“Yes.”
Zed’s expression twisted unpleasantly.
“I don’t know why a Paladin was assigned to Aeria, but it isn’t something we can dismiss lightly.”
“Got it. I’ll be careful.”
With nothing more to say, Zed turned and headed toward the entrance.
CLUNK.
The full-length mirror floating in the air came to a stop in the middle of my room.
I stood in front of it.
I pressed the index finger and thumb of my right hand together and snapped them.
The wicks of the candles on the floor instantly ignited.
“Stop coming out whenever you feel like it.”
The moment I spoke, black mist rose behind my reflection in the mirror.
CLOP.
Then came the sound of hooves.
You... What have you done to me?
Violet flames flickered within the darkness beyond the mist.
“You’re the one who agreed to the contract.”
It was an unfair contract!
FWOOSH!
The light in his eyes flared like fire.
‘Looks like I need to establish the hierarchy before we can have a conversation.’
I raised my right index finger and sharply drew it downward.
Kgh...!
A quiet groan escaped Samigina.
* Are you truly a child...?
‘A child?’
I chuckled at the question.
Even if I possessed the memories of my previous life, I had still lived in this body for thirteen years.
That meant I could no longer call myself an old man.
But I could not say I was merely a child either.
I existed somewhere between the two.
Even I was sometimes startled by how unfamiliar my body and thoughts could feel.
‘Whichever one I am, it doesn’t matter.’
I was no longer Diark.
My name was Kano Seikri.
Now that I had been reborn, I had to live with this new body.
“That’s none of your concern.”
I dismissed his question with a single sentence.
Then I slowly moved the finger I had lowered from right to left.
“Manifest.”
The mist inside the mirror dispersed.
At the same time, the mirror swelled as though air were being pumped into it, and a black mass burst out from within.
It dropped limply onto the floor, bounced once, then shot into the air.
You bastard! How long do you think you can continue controlling me as you please?!
I heard the rapid fluttering of tiny wings.
A large head.
Four short legs.
And even a pair of tiny, adorable wings protruding from its back.
A creature resembling a well-made stuffed toy hovered in front of me, glaring furiously.
“...Samigina?”
I tilted my head as I asked.
Flames erupted from the donkey doll’s eyes.
I ended up like this because of you!
‘So it really is Samigina.’
I had never imagined the donkey was the actual body.
I had naturally assumed the skeleton was Samigina himself.
“Ahem.”
I covered my mouth with a fist and coughed to suppress my laughter.
Well, whatever he looked like, that was not what mattered right now.
“I have something to ask.”
Samigina let out an indignant whinny and sharply turned his head away.
Why should I answer your questions?
‘He still hasn’t learned his lesson.’
I placed a hand over my chest.
I could feel Samigina’s soul hanging from the edge of my own.
……!
I poured mana into his soul.
The next instant, blue currents of electricity ran through the doll—
No, through Samigina’s body.
ZAP!
Samigina’s wings and all four legs shot rigidly outward as though he had been electrocuted, and he immediately plunged into the floor.
“How about now?”
Y-you....
Samigina growled quietly.
How am I....
“I’ll ask again.”
Flattened against the floor, Samigina raised only his eyes to glare at me.
Someday, I will devour your body and soul without leaving so much as a scrap behind.
“If you can.”
My realm was still too low for me to absorb him completely.
But it was only a matter of time.
Eventually, Samigina would have no choice but to be absorbed into me.
“How much of your power can I use right now?”
Samigina shook himself off, then began flapping his wings furiously until he floated again.
At your current spiritual stature, even controlling one-tenth of my power is beyond you. And the only reason you can manage even that much is because my soul is attached to yours.
‘And this is only one-tenth?’
Ridiculous appearance aside, Samigina was still a high-ranking Demon.
Even a tenth of his power would be stronger than that of most Evils and Devils.
“Then what do I need to do to use all of your power?”
Samigina whinnied again and lifted his head haughtily.
* Even a million years would not be enough. Neither drawing out all of my power nor absorbing my entire soul is something you could accomplish.
I narrowed my eyes.
‘So he knew.’
Naturally, Samigina was aware that I intended to absorb his soul completely.
‘Not that knowing will change anything.’
“That’s enough. Go back in.”
* Always remain vigilant. The instant you let your guard down will be the moment your life ends.
“Thanks for worrying about me.”
I snapped my fingers.
Samigina’s body slowly turned translucent before disappearing completely.
“Hmph.”
I snorted at the place where he had vanished.
‘Nothing but talk.’
“You lost Prochi?”
An underground chamber filled with an eerie chill.
Only the torches mounted along the walls burned fiercely.
CREEAK.
The joints of a chair gave a metallic groan as the man sitting in it leaned back.
He had the youthful face of someone who had only recently reached adulthood and white hair that fell all the way down his back.
This was Half-Demon Chak, a contractor of a Demon and someone known as a descendant of demons.
“Yes. There are traces left behind. It looks like he successfully completed the contract.”
Zed answered quietly.
Chak resumed moving the hand he had briefly stopped.
He held a small dagger whose tip bent at a right angle.
Old blood had dried black along the blade.
“All right. I’ll go take a look.”
Chak muttered as he grabbed the hair of a man kneeling before him.
The man’s entire body was bound, and his jaw trembled uncontrollably.
“P-please, just once! Have mercy just once...!”
STAB!
“Aaaaaagh!”
Chak drove the dagger deep into the man’s thigh.
“I told you.”
His sleepy, trailing voice sounded completely at odds with the cruelty of his actions.
Chak slowly brushed his hair behind his ear, then pulled hard on the dagger.
RIP!
The blade tore through the flesh of the man’s thigh.
Blood sprayed from the wound and splattered across Chak’s face.
“Aaaaaagh!”
The man screamed in agony.
Chak did not even blink.
He simply wiped away the blood and continued.
“Stay out of our territory.”
Then he roughly shoved away the man’s head.
The bound man collapsed helplessly and cried out again.
“Aagh!”
Chak rose from his chair and slipped on his coat.
He walked past Zed.
Zed turned and spoke quietly.
“I don’t know why, but there’s a Paladin in Aeria. Be careful.”
Chak abruptly stopped.
“Zed.”
He turned his head and crookedly raised one corner of his mouth.
“Did you forget?”
Chak opened the inside of his coat.
Countless Rosaries hung from the lining.
Most were rusted or filthy with grime.
“…….”
“These belonged to the Holy Knights who came after me.”
Chak pulled out one Rosary that still gleamed silver.
“And this one belonged to a Paladin.”
He gently stroked the Rosary with his thin, pale fingers and let out a quiet giggle.
“You should have seen what he looked like when the Kendrima came out of his body.”
“There’s a rumor that this Paladin is one of the Knights of the Round Table.”
“...One of the Knights of the Round Table.”
Chak’s cheeks flushed crimson.
“I wonder what kind of face he’ll make when I take his Rosary.”
He looked like a child eagerly anticipating a new toy.
“…….”
Zed swallowed without realizing it.
“...Understood.”
“Lead the way. I’ll deal with him immediately.”
The two turned and headed toward the exit without hesitation.
“W-wait! Please forgive me! J-just once...!”
The bound man trembled on the floor as he desperately pleaded with their retreating backs.
Then—
CRUNCH!
“...Huh?”
Something began writhing inside the long wound in his thigh.
“W-what is this...?”
Five enormous octopus tentacles.
The tentacles ripped through his thigh as they violently burst outward one after another.
“A-aagh...!”
Each tentacle was larger than the man himself.
His eyes rolled back as his teeth chattered uncontrollably.
The tentacles tore through his flesh and shattered his bones as they emerged, swelling larger and larger.
“…….”
At last, the five tentacles lashed toward the man.
He could no longer scream.