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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Chaos
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The dawn arrived, with the chill of the night air still lingering.
Having obtained all the information about the territory, I decided on my first priority.
It was to wipe out the demonic cult.
Revitalizing the people’s livelihood, establishing a new order—it would all be useless if the demonic cult existed.
Only by removing them, who spread like cancer, could this place finally function properly as my territory.
“The one with the red mask.”
And to root out the demonic cult, I had to eliminate its leader.
The one currently presumed to be the cult leader here was ‘the one with the red mask.’
In other words, the one who had been presiding over the ‘sacrificial ritual’ for the past month.
To have started offering sacrifices was proof that they were completely immersed in the demonic cult and that their demonization was progressing.
I had to find and eliminate them.
“Did they say it was around here?”
So, I came to the location presumed to be the bandits’ den.
I had heard information that these bandits used strange powers.
I needed to check if they were followers of the demonic cult.
“Hey, you there.”
Just then.
Three men carrying weapons approached me.
This meant I had come to the right place.
“A noble? What you’re wearing looks pretty valuable. Spit out everything you have and we’ll spare your life, so hand it over while we’re asking nicely.”
The men threatened me, their longswords slung over their shoulders.
For a commoner who didn’t even know how to handle mana to be threatening a noble, it meant they definitely had something to rely on.
Surely they weren’t just acting up relying on those crude weapons, so perhaps…
‘I’ll know if I test them.’
I would find out if we fought.
What kind of insurance those guys were relying on.
So, I acted the part of a typical, arrogant noble.
“You must be out of your minds. You wastes of space, worse than insects. An ignorant lower-class citizen who hasn’t even awakened mana, who do you dare threaten?”
“……”
At that, the men’s expressions began to turn grim.
A raw hatred for the nobility was captured in their eyes.
“So this is how all you noble bastards are. I wonder how many nobles have died without grasping the situation, just like you? You’ll become one of them.”
The men bared their teeth at me, showing their hostility.
Soon, the body of the one who appeared to be the leader began to swell up with red and blue blotches.
The whites of his eyes turned black, and the color of his skin changed to a pale purple.
It was proof that he was using the power of a demon.
“You think only nobles get to use special powers? Not anymore. We, the ones you looked down on, can use special powers too.”
The man said so and raised the corners of his mouth.
The sight of the man, triumphant, despite only emitting the miasma of a low-grade demon.
However, that alone would be threatening enough for a low-ranking noble.
To be able to emit that much miasma, he would be at least at the level of a mid-rank Sword User.
“Should I tear off an arm first?”
Soon, the man twisted the corner of his mouth and rushed at me.
A swift movement that closed the distance of several meters in an instant.
Kii-iiing!
But the bracelet was already fastened on my wrist.
The bracelet instantly became a gauntlet, and I landed a counter punch right on the man rushing at me.
Crack-!
The sound of a bone fracturing.
Simultaneously, the man’s body flew in the opposite direction.
The man’s body, floating in the air for a moment, scraped against the ground, kicking up sand and dust.
His companions, flustered at the sight of their leader being knocked out in one blow, took a step back and glared at me.
A laugh escaped me at their dumbfounded appearance.
“You dare use that filthy power in front of me. I can’t just let this go.”
Territory residents who had been reduced to bandits, unable to withstand the tyranny of the previous lord.
However, laying a hand on demonic power was an unforgivable act.
I simultaneously took out the components of my suit from my inventory and spoke.
“Actually, I use a special power too. Have you ever heard of a Repulsor Beam?”
Kii-iiing!
The palm of the gauntlet preheated brightly.
I raised my right hand as it was and aimed at the men.
Their eyes began to fill with terror.
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Gregory, who had been knocked unconscious for a moment after being hit in the lower jaw by Ed, was able to regain consciousness again.
As long as he had the demonic power that granted him monstrous regeneration and life force, he could recover quickly from a blow like this.
Gregory vowed revenge, grit his teeth, and got up.
Shwaaaaaaaat!
However, the target of his revenge was not in sight.
The area was now filled with black vapor.
Gregory looked around, searching for Ed.
To get revenge on the insignificant noble who had gotten lucky and landed a hit on him.
“Wh-What on earth…”
However, his companions’ conditions were strange.
They were dazedly and slowly backing away.
Why did they have such frightened expressions?
Come to think of it, he could also hear a strange sound.
The sound of machinery engaging, heard from within the black vapor.
And the true form of Ed, was seen as the black vapor slowly lifted.
“……”
Soon, Gregory, who witnessed the sight, felt an instinctual fear.
Because the red light glowing from within the black mist,
And the form reminiscent of a demon, reminded him of ‘Him.’
The Leader, who dyed his whole body in jet-black.
‘N-No… more so than Him…’
No, this being before his eyes was something of a higher dimension.
It felt as if he had evolved into a being of a higher order than the Leader.
Even the Leader did not possess such smooth, jet-black skin.
It was a form more fundamentally close to the ‘God’ that the Leader spoke of.
The ‘Archdemon of Hell’ who would one day descend upon this land and rule over all worlds!
“G-G-God!”
Gregory was certain.
That this being was the Archdemon of Hell that the Leader had spoken of!
Gregory knelt and began to pay his respects to the Archdemon of Hell.
“O-Oh, Archdemon of Hell! Have you finally descended upon this land! I have waited for you for a long time! Tear apart the hypocrites who are eating away at this land, and sprinkle us with their blood and flesh! Grant us freedom so that our desires may be realized!”
Gregory began to recite the scripture he had heard from the ‘ritual.’
The passage that said the Archdemon of Hell would one day descend upon this land, destroy all empires and kingdoms, and grant them freedom.
Clomp… Clomp…
At that, the Archdemon began to walk forward.
Each time the Archdemon’s form, obscured by the vapor, was revealed little by little, Gregory’s thoughts grew closer to certainty.
A smooth and hard outer shell that could not be considered human.
A red light that burned brightly like the sun.
A light like starlight, shining brightly from his chest.
No monster, no human, could take such a form.
This being was definitely the Archdemon of Hell.
In the midst of that, the Archdemon finally uttered his first words.
【You’re spouting fucking nonsense.】
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“Keoheok…!”
The last guy I beat up collapsed.
To dare compare me to the detestable Archdemon of Hell, if he hadn’t been my subject, I would have torn him to pieces.
‘Even if that weren’t the case, I should have killed them originally.’
However, I spared them even though they had accepted the power of a demon.
It was because only a very small amount of miasma had entered their bodies, and they could still return to being human.
Above all, these men were ones who had fallen into banditry because of the former lord’s tyranny.
As they were originally diligent workers of this land, there was still room for rehabilitation.
【From now on, answer my words faithfully.】
Therefore, I had to move quickly.
For even these grunts to be using demonic power meant that the influence of the demonic cult had already grown beyond control.
I had to execute the leadership before the cult’s influence could spread any further.
Shiiiiiik…
So, I activated the diffuser mixed with the hallucinogenic liquid.
The entire area filled with purple vapor, and the men’s expressions began to go blank.
Soon, I asked the first question.
【Where is your hideout?】
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“The Chief has returned!”
In the dense forest.
A man ran between the wooden houses, announcing the breaking news.
It was the news that the chief who led the ‘Black Bandits’ was returning here after five days.
“The Chief? This quickly?”
“The Chief has come!”
At this, people began to open their doors from house to house, welcoming the news of the chief’s return.
A child who had been on the verge of tears just moments ago was now smiling brightly as if nothing had happened, running through the fields.
“Chief!”
Soon.
A group centered around a robust, middle-aged man with slicked-back hair and a black beard entered the village.
The villagers all rushed out of their houses to welcome the black-bearded middle-aged man, and a child of about seven grabbed the hem of the middle-aged man’s trousers, looked up at him, and spoke.
“Chief! Did you bring a lot of food this time too? Mom and I were waiting just for you!”
The middle-aged man looked at the child with a pleased eye.
Soon, he knelt on one knee to meet the child’s eyes.
He stroked the child’s head and said.
“Of course! You’ll be able to eat until you burst, so look forward to it! Hahahaha!”
The middle-aged man laughed heartily and gestured with his chin to his subordinate.
At that, the subordinate dropped a large backpack on the ground with a thud! and untied the backpack to show its contents.
It was filled with dried jerky and all sorts of grains.
“Waaaaaaah!!”
The child cheered excitedly.
The women smiled with satisfaction as they watched the child, and the young men looked over the contents of the bundle with excited expressions.
In the midst of that, a woman with an anxious expression approached the chief and spoke.
“Um… Chief. Wh-Why don’t I see Kevin?”
“……”
The atmosphere, at the woman’s single phrase, instantly sank.
The chief silently placed a hand on the woman’s shoulder.
The woman, as soon as she saw the chief’s gaze, covered her mouth and swallowed her tears.
Soon, a man handed the woman an urn and the chief opened his mouth.
“Kevin… died fighting bravely against the nobles…. Thanks to Kevin… we were all able to escape safely.”
The woman hugged the urn and wailed.
The woman’s friends clung to her and stroked her back.
The chief looked at them with sad eyes, but soon collected his emotions and gave an order with a firm expression.
“Distribute the food and daily necessities. Classify the goods by type in the warehouse, and we will hold the ‘Succession Ceremony.’ We need a warrior to fill Kevin’s vacant spot. Are there any volunteers?”
The chief said so and looked around at the young men of the village.
A few young men stepped back with frightened expressions, and a few young men raised their hands high with determined eyes.
Soon, the chief nodded and said.
“In one hour, volunteers are to come to the Ritual Cave. One of you will become the new warrior.”
““Yes!””
The chief gave a nod and started walking to his quarters.
Every villager who saw him bowed their head, showing him respect.
In the midst of that, his steps came to an abrupt halt.
He looked around as if searching for someone, then grabbed a young man nearby and asked.
“I don’t see Gregory. Where is he?”
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[T/N: This chapter contains an illustration. Visit our Discord to view it.]
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