Chapter 4
An Interspecies Journey
Their destination was the lord’s castle.
They had to ride from Taharan Village to the directly administered territory of Myatro.
If they rode without stopping day or night, they could cover the distance in a single day. Realistically, however, that was impossible.
The horse needed rest as well. Overworking it would invite divine punishment.
Such were the teachings of Great Saint Margiel.
Although Gaf was not especially devout, he still lived by certain tenets of the faith.
He tied the horse to a tree.
The massive warhorse breathed heavily, looking as though it might collapse at any moment.
Gaf was equally exhausted. He intended to spend the night in the mountains.
He dragged a rock over and placed it before the campfire.
They were on a mountainside surrounded by towering trees, so there was little risk of anyone discovering his companion’s true identity.
Gaf stared across the campfire.
“It seems you’re awake.”
The demon’s silhouette appeared between the flickering flames.
“I was awake the entire time.”
Communication had simply been impossible. The tongue of a human newborn was incapable of producing proper speech.
“You certainly looked asleep while your head kept nodding.”
Johan had genuinely been overwhelmed by drowsiness earlier. There was apparently a reason infants spent nearly the entire day sleeping.
“There’s nothing I can do about it for now.”
He would probably live as a human during the day and a demon at night.
His demonic form appeared far more inconvenient, but the more immediate problem was actually his human form during the day.
An undeveloped human body was utterly helpless.
He needed someone to care for him.
Gaf let out a hollow laugh.
“I never expected that I’d have to become your nursemaid too.”
“Consider it part of our pact.”
“...How long will it last?”
“Are you asking about the pact?”
Gaf nodded.
“It will never end.”
It was a lifelong pact.
A shadow passed over Gaf’s face.
“You should have examined the conditions more carefully.”
At the time, Gaf had been entirely focused on learning his daughter’s whereabouts. He had not possessed the composure to scrutinize every condition.
“...Just what I would expect from a damned demon. But I don’t regret it.”
Even if he returned to the past, he would make the same pact again.
Johan did not immediately respond. After sinking into thought for some time, he spoke.
“Well, I’ll release you when the appropriate time comes.”
Gaf scoffed.
“The appropriate time? That couldn’t be any more vague.”
“I keep my word. But it would be meaningless if you died before then.”
If events followed the original story, Gaf would soon die.
He would meet his end while attempting to rescue his daughter.
Ilea would eventually resurrect him through necromancy, but that could hardly be called a proper life.
He would be nothing more than a lingering corpse unable to abandon its attachments.
That event was close at hand, and Johan intended to change the future.
Gaf spoke calmly.
“I won’t die before rescuing Ilea.”
“And afterward?”
Gaf could not answer readily.
‘Just look at him. He hasn’t given the future a single thought.’
Johan sighed.
“Do you have a plan?”
Gaf stared intently at Johan. Their gazes met across the air.
“Speak, Gaf.”
After hesitating, Gaf finally answered.
“I intend to infiltrate the castle and bring her out.”
“Be specific.”
“I’ll use the cover of night to—”
Johan waved his hand dismissively.
“That’s enough. Your plan is painfully crude.”
How could a former mercenary captain possess so little capacity for careful planning?
Had his determination to rescue his daughter paralyzed his reason?
Whatever the cause, Johan rejected the plan.
“I have a plan of my own.”
Doubt crossed Gaf’s face.
“Do I really need your opinion? You seem to be meddling where you aren’t wanted.”
Johan shook his head as if Gaf were pathetic.
“You fool. As I told you before, our fates are bound together. If you get yourself killed doing something stupid, who will protect me?”
That was his ostensible reason for helping Gaf.
But Johan had another objective.
Ilea, the Great Witch.
He intended to recruit that monster.
He could not guarantee that he would succeed. She was an extremely difficult person to deal with—a woman twisted in ways he could not fully understand.
If he failed to bring her over to his side, removing her early would be more advantageous to his survival.
He would either help her sprout or tear her out by the roots.
He would have to choose one or the other.
Naturally, he could not explain that to Gaf.
“...That damned talk of our fates being bound together. It makes me sick every time I hear it.”
“What can you do? It’s the truth.”
Gaf bit his lip.
“No matter what you say, I will rely on a demon no further. Now that I know where she is, I’ll rescue her myself.”
“You’re exchanging your daughter’s life for your petty pride. Ilea is truly unfortunate to have a father like you.”
Gaf slowly rose to his feet.
“Pride? What could something like you possibly know about it?”
“Then is it your faith? But Gaf, you aren’t particularly devout. You’ve already made a pact with a demon, so stop pretending otherwise.”
Gaf’s face twisted into a fierce scowl.
“Even your breath disgusts me. Asking me to work alongside you is impossible. That is my reason.”
“What a tired excuse. It’s enough to make me yawn.”
“Think whatever you like. Even this conversation is a waste of time. I’m going to sleep.”
With that, Gaf turned and walked away.
Johan murmured quietly,
“If it’s neither pride nor faith... I see. Is it vengeance, then? Or perhaps resentment?”
Gaf’s footsteps abruptly stopped.
He turned back toward Johan.
“What did you just say?”
“You heard me. Vengeance.”
Gaf’s eyebrow twitched.
“You’re overlapping my image with that of the demon who took everything from you.”
The moment Johan finished, Gaf’s expression hardened.
“Was that a sore spot? My apologies.”
Gaf was a man who had lost everything to a demon.
He had lost the subordinates who had fought beside him, and even his beloved wife had been murdered.
His life was steeped in hatred for demons.
Had it not been for Ilea, Gaf would have taken his own life long ago.
“H-How could you possibly know...?”
“How I know isn’t important. Do you still not understand? The information I possess far surpasses anything you can imagine, and you can make full use of it.”
Johan added with an exasperated expression.
“And yet you’re allowing yourself to be consumed by such petty sentiment. Tsk. Do you intend to lose your daughter as well?”
Gaf’s face immediately twisted. He drew his sword.
“You conniving demon bastard! How dare you try to manipulate me!”
His suppressed fury crashed over Johan like a wave.
It was an intensely negative emotion—to a demon, it was both a narcotic and nourishment for growth.
A surge of ecstasy rose within Johan. He felt as though he would lose himself if he surrendered to the pleasure for even a moment.
Biting hard into his tongue, Johan spoke.
“...Do not cross the line. Have you forgotten our pact? The moment you swing that sword, the demonic energy will crush your heart.”
The pact obligated Gaf to protect Johan.
He could not attack the person he was bound to defend with his life.
“Put down your sword. We need a productive discussion, not this pointless display.”
Gaf’s body trembled.
He wanted nothing more than to cut down the half-breed before him, yet he could not bring himself to lower his arm.
The thought of his daughter, all alone, continued to haunt him.
“I guarantee that without my help, you won’t even get the chance to see Ilea.”
Gaf spoke as though every word were a blade he had been forced to swallow.
“...What exactly are you plotting?”
The demon kept insisting that cooperation would benefit them both, but Gaf could not simply trust him.
The newborn before him was an enigma in every sense.
He had learned to speak the moment he was born, and he knew things he should not possibly know. Gaf had never heard of such a demon before.
Was survival truly a concern for this strange half-breed?
For some reason, Gaf doubted it.
The creature undoubtedly had some other motive.
“Plotting?”
“Why are you trying to tempt me?”
Johan did not immediately understand the meaning behind the question.
Still, he asked himself the same thing.
What did he intend to gain by using Gaf?
Back in the village, he had chosen the man merely as an improvised means of survival.
Was this nothing more than an extension of that decision?
If survival were his only objective, perhaps there was another way.
Johan inwardly shook his head.
No.
The novel was heading toward a cruel ending for demons and humans alike.
He could not simply remain hidden. If he did not involve himself in the story, he would eventually meet a horrific death.
He needed influence.
He needed power.
Johan’s crimson eyes gleamed.
“I will acquire a territory.”
“What?”
“The Barony of Myatro. That is my short-term objective. Does that answer your question?”
“What are you...?”
The corners of Johan’s mouth rose.
“Our interests continue to align. If the man you’re contracted to becomes the lord, Ilea’s safety will also be guaranteed.”
A lord?
Gaf’s face filled with bewilderment.
“Y-You...”
He imagined the demon transforming the entire region into his farm and reducing its inhabitants to livestock.
Gaf would be helping to bring about a terrible tragedy.
He felt as though he had become entangled with something far worse than he had realized.
Baron Grian Myatro had recently found himself unable to sleep.
His dreams were the problem.
Whenever he closed his eyes, a pair of blood-red eyes stared back at him.
Waking with a start had become a nightly occurrence. A priest had suggested that he was overworked, but in truth, the baron hardly worked at all.
There was no reason for him to suffer from nightmares.
He irritably struck the bed.
“You insolent wench! Your master cannot sleep, yet you don’t even care?”
The bed shook.
The young girl lying beside him jolted awake.
“I-I’m sorry!”
“Silence! Go and bring me some water!”
The baron struck the girl hard across the cheek.
A dull smack followed.
Her frail body could not withstand the force produced by his massive frame.
She tumbled from the bed.
Perhaps she had lost consciousness, for her small body did not move in the slightest.
“Useless wench!”
The baron spat thick phlegm at her.
“There isn’t a single thing about you that pleases me!”
Most of the girls offered as tribute this time had been the same.
They had fallen far short of the baron’s expectations.
With one exception.
Ilea.
That child was a flower concealed beneath the mud.
His waning vitality had prevented him from sampling even her fragrance, but the instant his strength returned, he would pluck her petals.
For the sake of that endeavor, he needed the restorative benefits of sleep.
The baron lay down again and closed his eyes.
Just as he began slipping into a shallow sleep, he screamed and kicked away the covers.
A demon was sitting atop his stomach, staring down at him.
Its crimson eyes glowed ominously.
The creature’s lips curled into a sinister smile as a pitch-black hand seized the baron’s throat.
“G-Get away from me!”
The moment the baron sprang upright in panic, his surroundings abruptly changed.
The room was quiet.
The demon had vanished without a trace.
He clutched his head.
“...Damn it. Does it not know who it’s dealing with? I am the Watcher of the Abyss.”
Baron Myatro wanted nothing more than to be freed from these horrific nightmares.
***
Darkness had settled over the mountainside.
The campfire, reduced to ashes, was scattered by the bitter wind. Moonlight could not penetrate the dense forest.
The only illumination came from a crimson glow that flickered intermittently.
It was Johan’s gaze.
While everyone else slept, the demon remained awake.
Smoke darker than the night rose from his hand.
The black haze began taking shape into a figure no larger than a fingernail.
When it was complete, it resembled a tiny fairy.
‘This is somewhat difficult.’
Johan was experimenting with his innate powers.
The ability he was currently using was the Dream Demon—a supernatural entity that induced nightmares.
It was a power granted to only a select few demons.
As befitted such an unusual ability, it was extremely difficult to control.
Its method of use had been engraved into his mind just like the process of forming a demonic pact, but the Dream Demon demanded far greater proficiency.
Only after practicing for several hours had Johan finally succeeded in creating one.
The black fairy flying around him was the result of his efforts.
He gave the Dream Demon a suggestion.
‘Circle around Baron Grian Myatro.’
To inflict nightmares, he needed information about the target.
That presented no difficulty for Johan.
Having read the novel thoroughly, he knew even the Myatro family’s deepest secrets.
The fairy took flight after receiving its mission. It soared through the dense forest and vanished from sight.
It was undoubtedly heading toward the baron.
Johan closed his eyes again.
Crimson words appeared in rows against the darkness of his vision.
Most were written in some malformed language he could not understand.
He could interpret only two terms.
Demonic Pact and Dream Demon.
All his other powers remained inaccessible.
‘I have no information.’
He did not know which demon’s body he had possessed, what lineage it belonged to, or what kinds of abilities it possessed.
Nothing was clear.
Johan looked at his mother, who was sleeping soundly.
What sort of demon had this woman lain with?
There was little point in asking her.
She was not in her right mind. She could hardly speak, much less provide a coherent answer.
Johan released a deep sigh.
‘For now, I need to survive. I can uncover everything else afterward.’
Survival was his highest priority.
He would need a concrete plan to succeed.
A single mistake would be enough for this world to swallow him whole.
Complicated thoughts filled his mind.
As time passed, those thoughts gradually began to fall into order.
The darkness of the night retreated, carrying his contemplations away with it.
The sun began to rise.
Johan picked up a small stone.
“The sun is up. Wake up.”
He threw it at the sleeping Gaf.
Clutching his forehead, Gaf opened his eyes and stared at Johan in disbelief.
“...Damned demon. You’re going to drive me insane.”
Where the demon had been moments earlier, a fair-skinned infant now slept peacefully.