Chapter 53

Choice and Resolve

The once-noisy basement had fallen silent.

Instead of screams and shrieks, only intermittent, ragged breathing could be heard.

Gaf wiped the sweat from his brow as he caught his breath.

“That bastard fought back until the very end. He only made me waste more strength.”

At his feet, the young man lay sprawled on the floor, foam spilling from his mouth.

His limbs twitched occasionally, and his eyes had completely lost focus.

The imp shouted loudly,

“That only made it better! I enjoyed it properly thanks to him!”

The imp had grown slightly larger than before. His arms and legs had become considerably longer as well. The human’s screams and suffering had helped him grow.

Gaf’s gaze shifted toward the imp. Murderous intent began rising in his eyes.

“Shut your filthy mouth. I didn’t do that for your enjoyment.”

He hated demons more than anyone. He still remembered the demons who had taken the lives of his wife and comrades.

“How dare you speak that way to the End’s right-hand—!”

Before the imp could finish, Gaf lunged forward and kicked him away.

Wham!

The little ball of fur flew through the air and crashed into a pile of books. A cloud of dust rose around him.

Gaf strode toward the imp.

Johan clicked his tongue.

“Stop wasting your strength on pointless things and finish putting the collar on him.”

Gaf abruptly stopped. After glaring at the imp, he released a long sigh.

“Do we really have to do this?”

Johan frowned.

“Didn’t I explain it already? That piece of vermin needs to wear the collar before I can bring him inside the rift.”

Anyone other than Johan needed to wear a collar to enter the rift.

Gaf shook his head.

“That wasn’t my question. I’m asking whether you truly need to recover your demonic body.”

Johan currently had a choice.

He could continue living as a human, or he could return to being a half-demon.

He could choose either one.

What was the right decision? He had considered it countless times, but no definite answer existed.

The Chronicle of Demons and Men granted cruel endings to demons and humans alike. Regardless of what kind of being he chose to live as, his destination would ultimately be destruction.

To survive, he would have to rewrite the ending itself.

And in the process of creating a new ending, he needed to choose whichever form—human or half-demon—would give him the greater advantage.

Johan spoke.

“I need the White Horn. I cannot abandon it.”

He had already made his decision.

He would live as a half-demon.

He did not know whether it was the correct answer. He could only trust his own judgment.

Gaf’s voice sank low.

“I’d like to hear your reasoning.”

“I have no way to explain it, nor am I confident I could convince you.”

“…I see.”

Gaf began fastening the collar around the young man’s neck. His expression appeared calm, yet somehow bitter.

Ilea, who had been watching, spoke.

“Father, Johan is always striving for the best possible outcome. I’m sure this choice is part of that.”

Gaf did not answer.

Raguel cautiously added,

“I-I don’t understand it very well, but Johan isn’t an ordinary demon… I’m sure he has circumstances he can’t discuss or reasons that are difficult to explain. Th-That’s what I think.”

Gaf sighed softly.

“It must be nice to have so many people speaking on your behalf. You’ve trained them well.”

Johan shrugged.

“I suppose I have talent—as a demon.”

“Yes. What creature could possibly be more suited to being a demon than you? Now all that remains is for you to retrieve your true body.”

The collar had been fastened around the young man’s neck.

All preparations for the living sacrifice were complete.

Johan only needed to enter the rift and activate the profane formation.

When he put on the familiar gold-rimmed monocle, the concealed rift appeared.

Johan looked at Gaf.

“Don’t be so hostile. Do you think I enjoy living as a half-demon? As Raguel said, there are circumstances I cannot speak about.”

“I’m sure there are.”

“One day, you’ll understand. I’ll be back.”

Johan grabbed the young man’s collar and reached toward the rift.

His figure vanished instantly.

『 First: Do not open your eyes. 』

『 Second: Do not remove the monocle. 』

『 Third: Do not ask any questions. 』

The rules were hammered into Johan’s mind.

This still feels revolting.

The Words of Power burrowing into his mind compelled his behavior like a form of brainwashing.

The oppressive sensation was so unpleasant that it made Johan shudder. The fact that he had no choice but to submit to the Words of Power left him feeling powerless.

The next time they met, he would never tolerate such treatment again.

“It is good to see you. It has been a week. Have you been well?”

The moment Johan heard Ganish’s voice, he was overwhelmed by the urge to bombard him with questions. There was so much he wanted to know, yet the rules prevented him from asking anything.

He would have to be clever about it.

Johan spoke.

“Don’t bother asking. You’ve been watching everything anyway.”

During their previous encounter, Ganish had spoken as though he had been observing Johan’s daily life.

If that were true, it was an extremely disturbing situation for Johan.

He had to confirm it.

A cackling laugh rang out.

“A leading statement, I see. Very well. I will play along just this once. I can observe you only while the rift is open, as it is now.”

The rift was usually closed. It had been temporarily opened by Gawain, the Third Prince.

Johan said,

“Then you have been watching me for the past week.”

“Watching you? I would call it taking an interest. You are quite diligent. You have kept up with your training admirably.”

“If your interest extends that far, then you must also know what questions I have.”

“As I said, I agreed to play along only once. Do not attempt to approach the unknown through such tricks. There is also pleasure to be found in discovering things for yourself.”

Pleasure, his ass. Johan felt as though the frustration might drive him insane.

“I’m growing tired of these cryptic exchanges. I’ll finish what I came here to do and leave. Activate the profane formation.”

Previously, Ganish had promised to prepare the profane formation for him.

“…Hmm. Wait a moment. Since you have come all this way, I will give you one small piece of information. As you suspected, this is indeed the deepest region of the Abyss. Once you have become qualified, descend to this place in the future. Then I will answer your questions.”

Just as Johan and Ilea had suspected, the rift was connected to the furthest depths of the Abyss.

The deepest region of the Abyss—also known as the Abyssal Deep.

It was the graveyard of ten thousand demons and a bottomless pit that devoured all reason and common sense.

Even the heroes of old had been unable to enter the Abyssal Deep freely.

To meet Ganish, Johan would need strength and status comparable to theirs.

As a human, he needed power equal to the heroes of old.

As a demon, he needed the stature befitting a true Apostle.

Only after obtaining both would Johan be able to enter the Abyssal Deep.

It felt like something from the distant future.

Johan let out a hollow laugh.

“You make it sound remarkably easy.”

“Oh dear. It appears that my attempt to help has only placed more pressure on you. Saying something like, ‘I’m sure someone like you will manage just fine,’ would probably be rather meaningless, wouldn’t it?”

Naturally, it would not help him in the slightest.

“Enough nonsense. Activate the profane formation. Continuing this conversation is a waste of time.”

“Very well. I shall finish it quickly.”

At that moment, a horrific cry erupted from somewhere nearby.

“Uuuaaargh! H-Hiek! Aaargh!”

It was a scream devoid of all meaning, containing nothing but primal terror.

Ganish cackled.

“It seems the sacrifice has awakened. We should begin the ritual quickly. If he completely loses his mind, his value as a sacrifice will diminish.”

The screams belonged to the young man Johan had brought.

A mere mortal was facing the Apostle Ganish within the Abyssal Deep.

It was inevitable that he would lose his sanity.

“Uuaargh! Hieeeek! Ugh!”

The sound of something being violently scratched accompanied the screams. Heavy thuds echoed as though the man were repeatedly smashing his head against the floor.

Johan’s eyes remained closed, but he could deduce the young man’s condition through sound alone.

It could not have been a pleasant sight.

『 The human vessel shall crawl into the darkness, ascend the altar of its own accord, and become black fuel. 』

The ritual began.

The moment the brainwashing incantation flowed forth, every sound coming from the young man abruptly ceased.

『 Its name shall sink into oblivion, and its existence shall dissolve into the turbid current, until at last it is assembled into the shell of flourishing. 』

Immediately afterward, ghostly wails rang out.

Countless malicious beings roared in a cacophony of monstrous cries. Amid the horrific frenzy, the young man’s shrieks could clearly be heard.

Johan wanted to cover his ears, but he forced himself to endure it.

He could not show weakness.

With a calm expression, he waited for the ritual to end.

Fortunately, the commotion did not last as long as expected.

“It is finished.”

Silence had returned before he knew it.

“I can leave now.”

“Before that, allow me to give you one warning. For approximately ten days, you will remain a demon regardless of whether it is day or night. Think of it as balancing the scales of equivalence. You have spent the recent past continuously living as a human, so you must now spend an equivalent amount of time living as a demon.”

The time he spent living as a human and as a demon had to be kept in balance.

This was the first Johan had heard of it.

He felt there might be a way to make use of that fact.

“I understand.”

“Good. Until the day we meet again, I shall send you back.”

“Before I leave, allow me to give you a warning as well.”

A cackling laugh sounded.

“Oh? A warning? Let us hear it, then.”

Johan slowly raised his eyelids.

『 First: Do not open your eyes. 』

The Word of Power was hammered into his mind, but Johan paid it no heed.

『 DONOTOPENYOUREYESDONOTOPENYOUREYESDONOTOPENYOUREYESDONOTOPENYOUREYES— 』

He had already shed his frail human body.

The moment Ganish’s ritual ended, Johan had become a demon once more.

He could feel it instinctively.

Dense demonic energy circulated throughout his body, while power seethed within every limb. Countless authorities filled his vision in lines of crimson text.

With only slight exaggeration, what Johan felt was close to omnipotence.

At the very least, he possessed more than enough power to ignore a mere Word of Power.

Johan’s eyes opened completely.

Eyes redder than blood gleamed within the Abyssal Deep.

A colossal eye stared back at him.

Nothing was visible except a pupil as enormous as a house. It was so utterly black that Johan could not fathom its depth. The gaze of an archdemon who had existed for a thousand years bore down upon both his body and soul.

That horrific pressure crashed over him once again, but Johan did not close his eyes.

He could not avert his gaze.

If he had chosen to live as an Apostle, then he had to act like one.

This was the manifestation of his resolve.

Johan spread his enormous wings wide.

Black demonic energy spilled from his mouth alongside a chilling voice.

“Never use a Word of Power on me again.”

His words began transforming into the language of ancient demons.

『 Ganish, Second Apostle of the End, shall not dare employ a Word of Power against me.
(Shathuin’tol Nar’eth, Ganis vel—zhar’tak ni’vorel kha’reth. Dom’ar shelk.) 』

He was engraving a Word of Power upon Ganish.

Demonic energy drained from Johan’s entire body in enormous quantities.

Ganish murmured in a sinister voice,

“…Fascinating. You truly are a fascinating individual. I will remember your warning.”

At that moment, Johan’s vision went black.