Chapter 40
Comrade, or Friend (1)
Exactly two days after the incident in the catacombs, Luciella had become an overnight star at the academy.
“Lady Luciella! We heard you’ll receive a medal from His Majesty the Emperor for this incident!”
“They say there was even a Death Knight in the underground tomb! Did you defeat it, Your Grace?”
“KYAAAHHH! Your Grace!”
Not only academy students but even reporters from capital newspapers swarmed around Luciella. Had it not been for the Delphione Knights glaring around her, she wouldn’t have been able to take a single step.
“…She’s popular.”
“Well, we can’t show ourselves anyway.”
Elvin and Rudian forced bitter smiles as they watched the crowd flooding the academy entrance.
No matter how much the Delphione Duchy’s influence was mobilized, the situation in the catacombs couldn’t be perfectly erased. If Baphomet’s barrier had remained intact, cleaning up afterward would’ve been easier. But since the caster was dead, the barrier’s collapse was inevitable.
The problem was that even while trying to clean up the site, the remnants of undead numbered in the hundreds due to Luciella and Maria’s rampage.
“Lady Luciella coincidentally noticed the situation and eliminated the undead with the Delphione Knights. That’s a decent cover story, isn’t it?”
The Delphione Duchy didn’t hinder the boost to their family’s prestige. Now that information about Baphomet and the demon forces had reached Duke Vincent, they’d likely cooperate more proactively in the future.
Rudian teased Elvin playfully:
“If your name had been included in the official report, Senior, you’d have gained great fame as a knight.”
Had that happened, he’d have gained at least as much popularity as Calline.
“And then get assassinated by demons? What’s the use of honor if my head rolls?”
Elvin shrugged as if the mere thought made him shudder. Luciella monopolized the glory, but this also meant she’d become the sole target of the demons’ aggro—acting as a tank.
“The results will come soon.”
“The identities of the magicians contacting Viscount Belstad’s daughter?”
“Yes.”
Luciella wanted to capture the Tower of Magic’s pawns involved in this incident. The demon-aligned pawns from the Tower operated as scattered cells. Since even members didn’t know each other, tracking them down one by one was impossible.
Using Diablo might work, but those chosen as the demons’ underlings likely held high positions in the Tower. The chance of such individuals meeting a mere knight academy student—not even a noble—was extremely low.
But there was a shortcut even without that method:
‘Sitri Belstad.’
The sole surviving Demon King from Chapter 1 and the true mastermind of <The. Chro. Seven.> Chapter 2. Originally, Rudian hadn’t planned to involve her. But Sitri Belstad was currently attached to the Third Prince to corrode the Empire. Since Rudian didn’t want Luciella to fall, he decided to crush Sitri quickly.
Rudian asked Elvin about the ongoing plan:
“Is the underworld merger proceeding well?”
“Ugh, it’s slow-going since it’s so vast. But with the head gone, we’re steadily expanding our influence.”
With the death of Viscount Gude Belstad, head of the Seoris Union Trading Company, the Union plunged into chaos over succession. Similarly, the capital’s underworld, under their influence, entered a phase of reckless territorial disputes.
“Do your best. There are likely many subordinate organizations created by their underlings in such places.”
“The ‘family’ is working hard.”
Elvin’s “family” referred to the psychics affiliated with the Psychic Luminous.
“Having the Delphione Duchy’s backing certainly helps. Once we suppress them by force, there’s no need to worry about repercussions.”
The Psychic Luminous—or rather, the Kepler Trading Company they fronted—was rapidly consolidating the capital’s underworld. Even in the underworld, factions of a certain scale always had noble backers. Thanks to the Delphione name, no one dared interfere.
“Some troublemakers pop up occasionally, but we handle them without issue.”
“They’re probably secret forces planted by demons or their followers.”
The Luminous Empire wasn’t weak enough to be defeated by such pests.
“The operation is smooth. We’ll perfectly achieve our goal in about two months.”
“Good.”
Start by cutting off their limbs one by one. In the original <The. Chro. Seven.>, it was too late to excise the rot, but now it’s different. The demons were replicating their method of devouring the Kingdom of Rohans:
‘From below to above, the shadows to the light, the lower class to the nobility.’
Knowing their tactics made it easy to dismantle them.
‘One question remains.’
Rudian stared at the crowd surrounding Luciella, lost in thought.
‘How did they open the Demon Gate?’
In the original work, the story began with the gate already open, so there were no details on how the demons opened it.
‘Human sacrifices alone can’t open a gate.’
Though the demon forces first seized the Kingdom of Rohans, the Demon Gate actually opened in the Morian Empire. The mythic gate spell, which nullifies dimensional pressure, wasn’t something that could be cast simply with abundant energy.
‘There’s something here. Something in this Empire that they’re targeting.’
If sheer power could open the gate, chaos would’ve erupted already. The lack of signs meant the demons were biding their time, and those determining the timing were the demon forces lurking within the Morian Empire.
‘One thing’s certain: they can’t open it immediately.’
Regardless of the demons’ plans, their main scheme would begin five years later—when the original story starts.
‘I’ll end them before the demons in the Kingdom of Rohans intervene and before the hidden ones here run rampant.’
Fortunately, the Kingdom of Rohans and Morian demon factions were rivals in the Demon Realm. Exploiting that rift, Rudian would resolve both Chapters 2 and 3 preemptively!
As Rudian reaffirmed his goals—
“…Senior Maria?”
“……”
Rudian noticed Maria silently staring at him. Maria gazed at him with complicated emotions.
After a silence, Maria spoke:
“Could you spare some time?”
***
The familiar café where they’d previously conversed. Though Elvin had often joined them, this time it was just Rudian, Maria, and Yev.
“Yev, what’ll you have?”
“Dunno.”
Unsurprisingly, cafés were unfamiliar to Yev.
“Should I choose for you?”
“Sure.”
Yev acted leniently toward Rudian. Even when Rudian suggested using informal speech publicly, Yev didn’t mind.
“Hmm, this looks good.”
Rudian ordered a giant chocolate parfait for Yev.
“Parfait? What’s this?”
“It’s sweet and delicious.”
After ordering, Rudian turned back to Maria.
“……”
Maria side-eyed Yev, clearly displeased. But there was nothing they could do about Yev’s presence. The absolute rule of following Rudian couldn’t be altered.
Knowing this, Maria sighed and moved past it.
“First, I want to apologize.”
“Apologize?”
“For my harsh words in the catacombs. I was too reckless. I’m sorry.”
Maria bowed her head.
“…You’ve been holding onto that all this time?”
Rudian couldn’t hide his bewilderment. Did she arrange this meeting just to apologize for that? Sure, being called “this brat” and “that brat” stung a bit…
“And I promised to protect you but failed. Truly…”
Maria lowered her head, her expression clouded.
‘……’
In truth, Maria’s apology was slightly misplaced. Without her protection, Rudian couldn’t have easily approached Baphomet. But the root cause… Seemed to be Maria’s wounded pride from the battle.
“I should’ve resolved that situation myself.”
“No, that’s…”
“Had I gone all out from the start without holding back, it would’ve ended quickly. There’d have been no reason for… Variables to appear.”
Maria glanced at Yev when mentioning “variables.” The “variable” in question was now entranced by the giant parfait.
‘Didn’t expect her to be the type to dig into desserts.’
Rudian found Maria’s reaction refreshing. Honestly, she hadn’t done anything wrong. How could Rudian have predicted Baphomet would abandon reverse-summoning and choose self-destruction? The aftermath was simply beyond Maria’s capacity to handle alone.
“What does it matter between us?”
“…What exactly is our relationship?”
Rudian smirked at Maria’s narrowed eyes and uttered a single word:
“Comrades.”
“Comrades?”
“Yes. Or comrades-in-arms.”
Maria wore the expression of someone encountering something entirely new. Rudian understood—she’d always had subordinates to lead but never comrades walking beside her.
“……”
Maria fell silent, visibly flustered and unsure how to react.
Rudian sighed.
“With your power, Senior, you can handle most things alone.”
Even if Baphomet had fought at full strength, the damage would’ve been severe, but Maria could’ve defeated him solo.
Given her ability to overpower even Demon King-level foes, how could fellow humans compare? Even other Luminous Empire psychics paled in comparison.
“So it’s natural to develop a compulsion to resolve everything yourself.”
During the initial undead battle in the catacombs, it was fine—they were manageable without Maria. But Baphomet was different.
He was terrifyingly dangerous. Though he fought well as a support, once Rudian realized Baphomet’s true power wasn’t fully unleashed, he had to eliminate all future threats.
“…That’s what you’re thinking, right? Or not?”
“……”
Maria didn’t answer. It was a direct hit.
“That’s an arrogant mindset.”
“…Arrogant?”
“Absolutely.”
What kind of world is this? Even if she’s the final boss of one chapter, countless stronger beings emerge later. Just like how mid-tier androids in Dragon Ball surpassed the invincible Freeza, Maria, not even a Golden Freeza, had no right to such arrogance.
“You have no comrades to stand beside you. Frankly, you don’t even have friends, do you? Solving everything alone warped your thinking.”
Maria’s face flushed red, and her head drooped.
Schedule: Pending
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