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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Yuziro
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“What did you…”
The aide whispering into Maligos’s ear wore a grim expression, and it wasn’t long before Maligos’s face contorted into a similar scowl.
‘Caligos has fallen?’
That was the news that had just reached Maligos’s ears.
He had anticipated Jekkiel’s eventual move, but hadn’t expected him to act so swiftly and boldly, even surpassing Maligos’s own expectations.
“How grave are Caligos’s wounds?”
“His life is not in danger, apparently.”
Then that meant Caligos had been ‘subdued’.
Dragons, more than any other race, reveled in battle.
Being subdued was a humiliation worse than death.
“How did it happen?”
“He just… flew in and… struck him, repeatedly… that’s… that’s all…”
Maligos let out a deep sigh.
“That’s not what I’m asking. Tell me what kind of power he used! I need useful information to formulate a counter-strategy!”
“Uh… that’s… we didn’t see it.”
Useless fools.
Maligos rubbed his temples, a wave of frustration washing over him.
He turned his gaze to his other aides, but they avoided his eyes, their heads bowed in shame.
They hadn’t seen it either.
‘Which means his powers are still intact…’
If only one hadn’t seen it, it would have been understandable, but for all of them to have missed it… it meant Jekkiel was far more skilled than they had anticipated.
Originally, he had planned to raze Peltir Hill.
That had been the plan, but… Maligos had also received word that the map was now in Jekkiel’s possession.
His sharp mind quickly calculated the best course of action.
“We’re going to Bala Hill.”
The best course of action?
In truth, there were no other options.
He was already playing into Jekkiel’s hands.
The thought infuriated Maligos, and he ground his teeth in frustration.
“You mean… we’re leaving Peltir Hill?”
“It’s pointless. Jekkiel has the map.”
“But Maligos…”
One of the aides spoke hesitantly.
“Why hasn’t Lady Regita intervened? If she knew Jekkiel was here, she would surely deal with him personally…”
Maligos’s eyebrow twitched, ever so slightly.
The movement was so subtle that the aide didn’t notice.
“There’s a reason for that. Just follow my orders.”
“Ah… Yes, of course.”
Maligos bit his lip, his thoughts racing.
‘Regita cannot intervene directly.’
Lepista’s Wand was an artifact comparable to the legendary magic swords often spoken of in tales.
It served its wielder without question, without hesitation, granting unimaginable power in exchange for their very soul.
He couldn’t simply hand it over to Regita.
It was too risky.
At least, that’s how Maligos saw it.
The Throne of Greed would belong to the Black Dragons again.
He would make sure of it…
“Let’s move out.”
Maligos unfurled his dark wings, and they took to the sky.
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They reached Bala Hill quickly.
As Maligos and his dragon followers landed, they surveyed their surroundings with tense eyes.
Except for one building, the information center, which was missing its roof, everything seemed surprisingly intact.
What was truly unsettling was the chilling aura of vampiric energy that permeated the air.
‘For a single individual to emit such power…’
It was reminiscent of his visit to the Vampire’s Castle.
Or perhaps… Jekkiel wasn’t alone.
Maligos reminded himself not to let his guard down.
Their first destination was the information center with the collapsed roof.
“Let’s go.”
Maligos snapped his fingers.
The doors burst open, blown off their hinges.
The information center was now missing a roof and its front doors.
As dust filled the air, Maligos and his followers rushed inside.
Another snap of his fingers, and the dust cleared, revealing the scene within.
It had been a swift and precise entry, flawless in its execution.
However.
“…?”
There was nothing to be found that could alarm Maligos.
Jekkiel was nowhere to be seen.
Instead… he saw…
Blue Dragons.
Blue Dragons, seated at their desks, meticulously organizing documents, their workspace filled with stacks of papers.
In fact, they seemed even more engrossed in their work than the last time he had supervised them.
What was this?
Did Blue Dragons work more efficiently when their roofs were missing?
But that wasn’t all.
He could have sworn that was the last report he received, yet the piles of paper on their desks seemed to have grown even larger.
He approached the closest Blue Dragon and picked up a document.
›This document aims to educate the learner on the most efficient methods of mana manipulation.
›A mage’s mana reserves are not infinite, thus, they must learn to utilize this finite resource effectively during combat.
›Therefore, maximizing mana efficiency is crucial.
›Observe the following formula for a detailed explanation…
“?”
Maligos tilted his head, rereading the document.
He then narrowed his eyes at the Blue Dragon who had been working on it.
“What are you doing?”
“Uh… well…”
The Blue Dragon hesitated, his claws still shuffling through the documents.
“I’m asking you. This is information about human magic… There’s no reason for such data to be processed here, at the Demon Realm’s Ball Hill information center. Why are you organizing this information?”
Could it be… a traitor?
But this Blue Dragon wasn’t the only one acting strangely.
They were all acting strangely.
Every single one of them was meticulously organizing information completely unrelated to the Demon Realm.
Why?
‘Are we under some kind of illusion magic?’
But no matter how hard he looked, he couldn’t find any traces of illusion magic.
Besides, illusion magic required a significantly higher intelligence stat than the target.
Who in their right mind would attempt to cast an illusion or hypnosis on a Blue Dragon, a race renowned for their intellect?
“Don’t interfere with my research students.”
“?”
A voice.
Jekkiel, the former Sin of Pride, the one Maligos had to meet to obtain the other half of the map, finally made his appearance.
But what struck Maligos was how he referred to the Blue Dragons as “my research students.”
“What have you done to them?” Maligos demanded.
“I merely asked for their assistance. I assure you, no harm has come to them.”
“What?”
Maligos’s face flushed red.
What in the world had Jekkiel done to make the highly intelligent Blue Dragons willingly assist him?
And their faces… they seemed paler than usual…
No, they were Blue Dragons; they were always pale.
Still…
‘Don’t tell me…’
…they were listening to Jekkiel because of his intellect?
In other words… did these Blue Dragons, with their superior minds, recognize Jekkiel as the strongest being present and choose to obey him?
That was the only explanation that made sense.
“Ha.”
Maligos let out a humorless laugh, a mixture of disbelief and indignation.
His pride wouldn’t allow this.
His sharp, dragon teeth scraped against each other as he gritted them in frustration.
“Jekkiel, I heard you struck down Caligos.”
“Yes. He’s resting comfortably in bed, though not his final one.”
“You’ll regret acting so recklessly. We will use force, as promised.”
“My, my. To think I’d be scolded even after sparing his life.”
The other aides chimed in, eager to defend their master’s honor.
“Do you not fear Lady Regita?!”
Jekkiel merely nodded, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“A money-grubbing lizard? She’s more amusing than frightening.”
“What… what did you say?!”
The aides standing behind Maligos roared in anger.
Regita was their pride, the symbol of their strength.
To insult her was unforgivable.
There was no berserker more destructive, no warrior more fearsome in battle.
“Retract your statement!”
“Apologize, now!”
How noisy.
Jekkiel, ignoring their outburst, unfurled a piece of parchment before them.
It wasn’t difficult to recognize.
It was the missing half of the map.
“Enough talk. Here. Take it.”
‘This is my chance to impress Maligos!’
One of the aides, overcome by a moment of misguided bravery, lunged at Jekkiel.
Fast.
And yet, slow.
Graceful was perhaps the best way to describe it.
Jekkiel’s sickle, seemingly dancing in his hand, flashed, its tip blurring for a moment before slicing through the aide’s body.
Thud.
The aide’s body, severed into neat pieces, collapsed to the floor like discarded lizard meat.
“But only if you can defeat me.”
‘Idiots. It’s Charlotte, not Silot! I told them to be extra careful with her documents.’
Jekkiel sighed, pointing at the document with his index finger, scolding the nearby Blue Dragon as if nothing had happened.
“Huh…?”
Maligos’s eyebrow twitched violently.
He took a deep breath, then another.
“…Attack! All of you, now!”
He roared, his voice echoing through the chamber.
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[Jekkiel? I thought you meant “slave maker”]
Blue dragons? Don’t you mean teaching assistants?