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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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Gazing at the reed field shrouded in darkness, Aria was deep in thought.
“Lev Denec…”
Her thoughts, as always, were about him.
‘I killed him.’
‘Because I killed him, I inherited his abilities.’
Even now, with her emotions somewhat calmed, it was difficult to accept. Aria had cast a surveillance spell on Lev.
She knew it was a bit underhanded, but she was suspicious and worried about his disappearance the previous evening.
Fortunately, even though he had gone quite far from their base, she sensed neither dark magic nor any signs of combat.
“…But still.”
There was something else bothering Aria. Last night, troubled, she’d barely managed to fall asleep at dawn. And in her half-asleep state, she’d heard Lev and Yeriel talking.
It was supposed to be her turn for watch duty after Yeriel, but Yeriel hadn’t woken her. Unfortunately, she couldn’t make out what they were saying. The crackling campfire and Edwin’s snoring were too loud. Just as Aria was about to go outside, she saw…
“…”
Two figures, their shadows overlapping. And that made her even angrier. So, Lev and Yeriel liked each other after all. And Lev had said those things to push her away. But…
‘Get Aria’s forgiveness first.’
‘…And properly answer her confession…! Then I’ll think about it…!’
Yeriel’s words bothered her. What did they mean? Was there something she didn’t know? Could she trust that his words and actions weren’t just a deception?
-Fwhoosh!!!!
Suddenly,
“!”
A wind laced with dense magic swept through the reed field.
-Rustle!! Rustle!
And then, a scream.
“R-Run!!!!”
-■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■!!
-!!!!!!
The sudden roar caused a commotion. The Cerberus, which had been dormant until moments ago, began to move.
As Aria cautiously made her way back to her party to inform them, she found Nikolseta Heisman standing there, grinning.
“H-Hello?”
His eyes were half-lidded.
“Y-You. You’re in the same group as Yeriel, right?”
“…Yes?”
“If you don’t want to die… c-call Yeriel… Lev Denec… N-Now! Immediately!!”
Nikolseta’s plan was simple.
‘Hehehe. Messing with me? I’ll kill that bastard!’
He would cast a ‘Haste’ enchantment scroll on himself, lure the hellhound, and let it trample Yeriel and Lev Denec. Of course, he was the one who initiated this, so he was also in danger, but he had an escape plan.
‘In case of danger~ drink this~.’
The demonification potion Crow Fey had provided…
‘T-They said I can turn b-back into a human…!’
-■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■!
The Cerberus was rapidly closing in on Nikolseta.
“Look over there!”
Ignoring Aria’s shout, he grinned and gulped down the demonification potion.
-Gulp, gulp.
“!”
-Thud.
The empty bottle fell.
“Keuh! Ahahahaha…?”
-Sizzle. Crackle.
An ominous sound accompanied the change in Nikolseta’s complexion, turning reddish-purple.
“Aria Bluebell. Lowborn bitch. I-I know. You were adopted into nobility, weren’t you?”
“…”
Nikolseta grabbed Aria’s wrist roughly and pressed the potion on her.
“Drink it. Drink it, bitch!”
“…Let go…!”
“Are you m-mocking me? Do you w-want to die?!”
While not particularly intelligent for a three-headed dog, the Cerberus wouldn’t recognize fellow demons as enemies. So, it would switch targets to Aria, the closest person to Nikolseta.
But Aria resolutely shook him off.
‘Why is she so strong…?!’
Nikolseta, unfazed, simply laughed.
“Hehehe! You’re going to die!”
He felt like he could even defeat that annoying Lev Denec now.
“Let… go…!”
“Damn it! Just drink it! I’ll take good care of you if you do!”
Demons instinctively loathed holy power. But corrupting the holy was a shared hobby among demons. A sense of euphoria consumed Nikolseta. As he reached out to pry open Aria’s mouth,
-Whoosh!
A streak of sharp, clean, crimson light pierced his head.
“Hmm?”
That was it. His glasses shattered, and his left eye went dark.
“I-I can’t see… I can’t see!”
And then, an unimaginable pain washed over him.
“Wh-What is this?!?”
The man, known for exaggerating even minor injuries, let out a final scream.
-Thud.
Aria finally managed to break free. A red mark, soon to bruise, was imprinted on her wrist.
‘Ugh. Uh… Huh?’
Nikolseta needed to think. He had to find the attacker… but he couldn’t. His mind was blank. All he could do was hope for the attacks to stop…
-Whoosh!
Nikolseta’s body convulsed again and rolled on the ground. He couldn’t even speak.
-Cough… gurgle…
Blood, thin and dark, gushed from his mouth. Black blood. Proof of his unstable demonic transformation, and evidence that he couldn’t turn back.
Nikolseta, gathering his remaining strength, crawled on the ground.
-Drag… drag…
He thought of the servants at his mansion. They must have all hated him. But even that was fine. The pain was excruciating.
“Ugh… Ugh…”
Just a little further. There was a woman ahead, shining like a beacon. Aria Bluebell. She was a healer. She could heal him.
“H-Heal…”
But Aria had neither the will nor the means to heal him. Demons couldn’t receive holy power. Nikolseta was beyond salvation.
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‘He went and caused trouble despite being warned.’
My status window notifications popped up one after another.
-Whoosh!
I immediately fired another Shadowbolt at the Cerberus.
-■■■■■■■■!!
The bolt struck the Cerberus’s middle head, sending it into a momentary stun. It was the effect of the refined bolts Hazel had made.
While I could have sniped Nikolseta to prevent him from waking the Cerberus, killing him in his demonified state eliminated future problems and, more importantly, allowed me to collect the demon-slaying rewards.
Besides, I was in a hurry. Kaelan would have reached Area 4 by now, and I planned to defeat the Cerberus and head straight for the magic tower.
‘Just you wait.’
I slung my ash-gray crossbow over my shoulder and ran towards Aria.
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‘Frontline fighters, come out and help! We need to work together!’
“Just run! We can’t win!”
“It was a real monster?!”
“How are we supposed to kill that?!”
It was pure chaos. Some cadets tried to organize a raid, but it was futile. The demonic pressure emanating from the Cerberus was overwhelming.
“…!”
I spotted Aria sitting alone and approached her.
“Are you okay?”
“…”
She was pale and trembling. Unlike the other protagonists, who had already undergone some awakening, Aria hadn’t achieved Andras’s feat yet, so I needed to keep a close eye on her.
“Lev! What happened?!”
“Lev…? Aria…?”
Edwin and Yeriel rushed over, having likely guessed the situation from the sight of the Cerberus.
“Where’s Lily?”
“She’s sleeping. I’ll go wake her…!”
Yeriel left, and I instructed Edwin,
“Edwin, cover the front for a moment.”
“Got it.”
-Clang!
Edwin drew his sword with a grim expression and stepped forward. I whispered to Aria, who was clinging awkwardly to me,
“This might feel uncomfortable, but… stay right behind me. It’s dangerous.”
“…”
“Healing Revelation only on Edwin. The monster is sensitive to holy power, so be as discreet as possible. And when Yeriel and Lily arrive, give them Haste.”
“…Okay.”
-Boom!
-!
The cadets were attempting ranged attacks on the Cerberus, which had recovered from its stun.
-■■■■■■■■!!
“It worked!”
“No… When the left head slows down, the others regenerate…”
“I-I don’t know, I’m sorry…!”
“Damn it… Retreat!”
-■■■■■■■!
The Cerberus, which had been heading towards Aria, turned its attention to the other cadets. There was a specific order to defeating it.
Attacking its heads randomly triggered its infinite regeneration, but by following the correct sequence, you could steadily whittle down its health.
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A little while later,
“What’s going on… Gah?!”
Yeriel and Lily arrived, and I gave them their instructions.
“Listen up. I plan to kill that thing. Running will only cause more damage. Can you all help me?”
Thankfully, amidst the urgent situation, everyone nodded.
“Lily, use your summons to assist Edwin. Even a light golem will do. It has some canine instincts.”
“Okay!”
“Yeriel, whenever Edwin lands a hit, quickly use fire magic to prevent it from regenerating.”
“Got it!”
“And Edwin. This won’t be easy, but attack the heads in the order I tell you.”
“Alright!”
Everyone moved swiftly to their positions. I felt a subtle warmth behind me.
-Rustle.
Aria, her eyes filled with anxiety, was clutching the back of my sleeve.
“…”
Seeing her like that, I steeled my resolve. There was a saying,
“Might as well go all the way.”
Next was Kaelan, and then Marcosias… Final bosses always provided mid-bosses as stepping stones for growth.
“…I will kill them with my own hands.”
Repeating that cliché, I loaded my ash-gray crossbow.
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