Chapter 47: Contract with the Demon
“Hey, you old bastards. You can’t talk your way out of this one.”
“Damn it…! Damn it…!”
While the other men paled and fell to their knees, Morgan was different.
He only glared at the black-haired boy with eyes boiling with hatred.
Looking into those eyes, she unconsciously stepped back. The hatred in them was like murky, burning magma, something the young Nenel couldn’t possibly understand or handle.
“……”
Her feet instinctively moved backward. Cold sweat poured out, unstoppable.
Scary.
Nenel was terrified of becoming like them.
“It’s okay.”
Pat, a hand rested on her head.
It was the hand of the black-haired third prince. His gaze remained fixed on the enemy. But the hand on Nenel’s head was warm, strangely reassuring. It felt like the clumsy kindness of this boy was reaching her.
(…Different… from Uncle…)
Morgan had taken in Nenel, who had no relatives after her parents were killed by the “land god.” His eyes, which had taken in Nenel, were filled with hatred from the moment he took her in.
It was clear that he saw Nenel only as a tool to fulfill his revenge because she had magical talent.
Morgan only touched Nenel when he was hitting her, kicking her, or using her as a tool.
But this black-haired boy was different. The third prince was different.
(Warm…)
For some reason, she remembered when her parents used to stroke her head.
(…Why…)
Confusion and perplexity swirled in her chest at his warmth.
“Sorry, but you’re coming with us. You’ll spill everything.”
While the other men stood frozen with pale faces, Morgan was different.
He continued to glare at the black-haired third prince.
—Crunch. Crunch.
“……?”
Strange footsteps. As she turned her consciousness in the direction of the sound, a dark miasma floated on the wind.
“Ah…”
Round like the moon, red like blood, and fierce eyes. The dripping saliva melted the ground, and the sharp fur stood on end like needles. But those features were nothing compared to the jet-black miasma covering its entire body. Just looking at it was nauseating, with a sensation as if crawling hands were touching the skin.
“——Aaaagh!!!”
The wolf roared. Howled. Barked.
It wasn’t just one or two. A pack of fierce wolves covered in jet-black miasma surrounded the humans who had been in this place without their knowledge.
Countless eyeballs squirmed, fixing their gaze on their prey.
“Yeeek!”
Both Morgan and his companions screamed pitifully and fell on their backsides.
Nenel was the same. No, she felt the terrifying magic more acutely than the others, literally feeling the fear on her skin.
“Grrraaagh!”
With an ear-splitting roar, one of the wolves leaped.
Its target was the man who fell awkwardly on his backside. Its ferocious fangs aimed to tear through flesh—
“—[Alvida]!”
A shining humanoid light mowed down the wolf. Soon, that light circled around, restraining the surrounding beasts, and enveloped the boy’s body.
“You brat. Don’t move from there.”
“Huh…?”
The prince with black hair, clad in magical armor, raised his right arm high and aimed the tip of his gun towards the sky.
“[Flame Diffusion Bullet]”
A massive fireball was released, piercing the sky. Soon after, it stopped in mid-air, then burst with a deafening roar. It was like a crimson firework painted on the blue canvas of the sky.
Countless fireballs flew towards the writhing beasts on the ground, rushing, piercing, and burning them.
(Wha…! Amazing…! He’s flawlessly controlling that difficult magic!)
With impeccable precision, every fireball incinerated the beasts.
Nenel was fixated on the overwhelming accuracy beyond her current capabilities.
Unseen magic. The figure of the prince with black hair mastering it. Naturally, the fear in Nenel’s heart began to fade away.
“Gaaaah!!”
Miasma gushed out from the earth one after another. Simultaneously, slimy creatures emerged. Their appearance was akin to incarnations of evil dwelling in the tainted land.
“There’s no end to them. But with my magic, purification is maybe… possible…”
As the prince with black hair prepared to shoot another [Flame Diffusion Bullet],
“You’re in the way, Third Prince.”
A voice as chilling as frozen hearts.
“…!? Oh no!”
The prince with black hair quickly lifted Nenel and leaped away.
As a torrent of chilling air swept the ground— the world turned into a glacier.
In the blink of an eye. The forest, filled with miasma, was engulfed in ice. The men who had used Nenel as a tool must have failed to escape. Along with the wolves, they were all frozen.
Though their faces were barely visible, their bodies below the neck were frozen… It seemed they hadn’t lost their lives.
“Hey, that was close!”
“I told you. I’ll defeat all the [Fragments].”
“That kid almost got frozen too!”
As the prince with black hair landed on the frozen ground, he directed his condemnation towards the boy who had caused the ice— a boy with eyes as cold as ice.
“That kid is a criminal who attacked the royal carriage. It’s only natural to apprehend her.”
The icy voice of the boy made Nenel’s heart skip a beat. Being labeled a [criminal] for her actions made her feel like a bucket of cold water had been poured over her.
Delayed fear resurfaced, and her body trembled slightly. She thought it might be from the cold, but it wasn’t just that.
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“Well, what he’s saying is right…”
(…Ah)
A gentle hand stroked Nenel’s head.
“But it’s not like there was significant damage, and you were just used by some damn adults. It’s okay to show a little leniency.”
“…Too soft.”
Leaving only those words behind, the boy with eyes as icy as the ice departed. After watching him leave, the prince with black hair turned his gaze to Nenel.
“…Well, sorry, but you’ll have to come with us, you damn kid. We need you to explain a few things.”
☆
“Damn it, damn it! If that kid hadn’t pulled such a stupid prank…!”
Morgan ran alone through the forest.
In the midst of the chaos of the black-haired Third Prince appearing to fight the [Fragments], he had left his comrades behind and fled.
“Perhaps allies have been caught. They will likely be interrogated soon. No, they’re fine for now. They don’t have any significant information.
The problem lies with me.
If things continue like this, I’ll surely be disposed of. Before I accidentally spill any unnecessary information.
“Guha!”
Tripping over my own feet, my body slammed against the ground.
I felt utterly miserable, covered in dirt.
“The culprit is the [Land God]…! If only that thing didn’t exist, none of this would have happened…!”
The evil that stole my family. The Land God. Now nothing more than a grotesque monster tainted by miasma.
I hate it. I hate even those who try to save it. I hate. I hate. I hate. I hate. I hate.
“Having lost my family, the plan has failed, and now I’m just a fugitive… haha, pitiful, isn’t it?”
Mocking, as if playing with a toy.
I couldn’t help but look up at the voice that didn’t even try to hide its lack of pity.
Standing before Morgan was a young girl.
“What? Who are you…?”
“Who I am? Asking such a silly question. But, fine. Introductions are important.”
The girl chuckled and her form disappeared like mist.
Then, in an instant, she reappeared before Morgan’s eyes.
“Eek…!?”
“I am Lucille. That’s Lucille. …Don’t be frightened. It’s okay. I’m on your side.”
“A, a side…?”
“Yes. As proof… Look.”
The girl—Lucille—elegantly waved her hand like a conductor,
“[Fragments]…?”
From the raging miasma, the wolf pack that had surrounded Morgan and the others earlier appeared.
“With these children, I helped you, didn’t I?”
It was true that Morgan was able to escape earlier, partly thanks to these [Fragments]. Did she intentionally cause that, using these children?
“You… your family was killed by the [Land God], right? You want revenge on the [Land God], don’t you?”
“W-why do you…”
“I understand. I’ve been watching you for a long time. Oh, of course… I know who you’re getting help from too. If you continue like this, you’ll be silenced by that ally too.”
“……!”
There’s no certainty. No solid evidence. But Morgan intuitively understood.
This girl… she knows everything.
“To start, eliminate the royal family members who came to purify, report it to the capital as the work of the contaminated [Land God]. Then the capital will have to act. They’ll send forces to deal with the [Land God] who killed the royal family members… Is that the plan of you and your ally? That’s why you went through the trouble of using comrades in the same situation to drive people away… but it’s all ruined because of a child’s foolish conscience and mischief. Oh, how pitiful. Well, from my perspective? Using such a disposable pawn, even if it’s a child, is considered a failure. The fact that you didn’t have the resolve to dirty your own hands is confirmation of that failure.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“Because it’s pitiful— I’ll help you. With revenge.”
“……Huh?”
“What you lacked were pawns. Not just any children, nor comrades in the same unfortunate circumstances as you, but pawns to fight for you, to do your bidding to the utmost brutality… If you had overwhelming power, couldn’t you have just killed the [land god] directly, without all this convoluted planning?”
Lucille gently stroked the wolf she had summoned.
“Helping me with my revenge… what’s in it for you?”
“I also have my own job to do… If I had to say, it’s a hobby. I enjoy observing human hearts. Lately, the trend within me is a sense of revenge, so when I saw you, I thought, ‘Ah, this is just perfect.'”
She was joking.
This girl called Lucille didn’t think much of Morgan.
She likely had no interest in revenge either. She was just a demon driven solely by her own desires.
(…A demon, huh.)
That didn’t matter. Morgan didn’t care what happened to his own body.
he would cling to anything, even a demon, if it meant achieving revenge.
“Please… help me. Cooperate with me.”
“Of course.”
Lucille emitted miasma once again. From within the miasma, someone appeared.
Someone whose face was completely concealed by a helmet. Physically, they seemed like a girl. Slightly smaller and more delicate than Lucille, devoid of any discernible emotions.
“Who’s that? Is…?”
“My sister. She will assist me in helping with your revenge… And please take this.”
Lucille handed over a magic ring.
It emitted a dull glow, radiating a sinister and malevolent power.
“Is this… the [Forbidden Curse Magic Ring]!?”
“Yes. I’m sure it will be useful to you.”
Lucille smirked. At first glance, she seemed angelic, but her aura exuded pure malevolence.
What she wore was the smile of a demon.
“Now, show me your best heart. I pray from the bottom of my heart that it becomes a magnificent revenge.”
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