Chapter 73
The Count’s Domain (3)
『Kill one another from this moment onward.
(Z’thar Vek’tor Mhaal.)』
The Commandment pierced everyone’s minds.
The thugs who had been panicking in fear suddenly froze where they stood.
Their eyes became bloodshot.
The command repeated endlessly inside their heads.
『Killoneanotherkilloneanotherkilloneanotherkilloneanotherkilloneanotherkilloneanotherkilloneanotherkilloneanotherkilloneanother.』
They could not resist it.
Someone drew a kitchen knife from inside his clothes.
“W-Wait!”
The blade pierced his companion’s stomach.
Red blood erupted from the wound.
That was the beginning.
They began attacking one another.
Clubs smashed skulls apart, scattering brain matter through the air.
They savagely stabbed one another with long skewers.
Blood flowed everywhere.
Screams echoed throughout the alleyways.
It was a night of madness.
The gang leader sitting alone in his chair struggled and shouted,
“What the hell are you doing?! Stop this instant! I said stop!”
When he tried to stand, an unfathomable force pressed him back down.
“This performance is for you. Make sure you enjoy it.”
The man jerked his head around and looked behind him.
His gaze met a pair of red eyes.
An unspeakably sinister being stood directly before him.
“A-A demon...”
Fear seeped into his very bones. He could barely breathe.
His open mouth refused to close.
It was the most horrifying despair he had ever experienced.
The corners of Mapheltan’s mouth stretched into a wide smile. The man’s fear was transforming into an exquisite delicacy.
Mapheltan grabbed the large man’s face and turned it forward again.
The madness was still unfolding before them.
Mapheltan spoke in an eerie voice.
“How many screams have you created while sitting in this chair? This is no different from before. All you have to do is smile and enjoy it as you always have.”
His subordinates hacked and stabbed one another.
Blood and pieces of flesh scattered everywhere. Fearful screams rang out without end.
Mapheltan’s mind became saturated with pleasure. He wanted to surrender himself to that ecstasy and exhilaration.
He resisted as he normally did, but then a thought suddenly occurred to him.
...If this pleasure comes from killing evildoers, wouldn’t it be acceptable to enjoy it?
The thought had come to him out of nowhere.
Was he merely rationalizing it?
Perhaps he wanted to surrender to his desires and was desperately searching for a justification.
No.
Even paladins and priests occasionally took pleasure in the screams of the wicked.
Surely it wouldn’t become a problem merely because he was a demon.
That’s right. These men are so evil that even beating them to death wouldn’t be enough. I’m merely experiencing satisfaction from cleaning up garbage.
A deranged light blazed in his eyes.
He was gradually being consumed by pleasure.
It was difficult for a demon to resist this sense of fulfillment.
It belonged to the realm of instinct.
In truth, the fact that he had resisted it until now was what defied common sense.
Mapheltan burst into maniacal laughter.
Just as he spread his arms to revel in the ecstasy, a piercing chill poured cold water over him.
Everything before his eyes froze a deep blue.
The rampaging thugs turned into statues of ice.
Ilea approached Mapheltan and gently stroked his arm.
“That’s enough.”
She snapped her fingers.
At that moment, all the statues shattered.
Powdered ice scattered through the air.
The frigid air gradually cooled Mapheltan’s madness.
He closed his eyes and murmured,
“I made a disgraceful spectacle of myself.”
Ilea shook her head.
“Just as witches are obsessed with the unknown, demons experience ecstasy from the suffering of others. It’s an instinct that cannot be defied. The fact that you’ve resisted it until now is remarkable in itself.”
Mapheltan let out a low groan.
“All the effort I’ve made until now has gone to waste today.”
He had undeniably surrendered himself to the pleasure.
If things had gone even slightly further, something irreversible might have happened.
Ilea said,
“No. Everyone makes mistakes. Even renowned ascetics occasionally stray from their paths. What matters is having the courage to regain control of your will. I’ll help you from your side, so please don’t let this break you, Mapheltan.”
Her words were deeply reassuring, but they also raised a question in his mind.
...Is she trying to preserve my humanity?
From Ilea’s perspective, it would be better if Mapheltan became a completely merciless being.
At least, that was what Mapheltan thought.
Setting aside his confusion, he spoke.
“Thank you. Whatever your reasons, you saved me from a difficult situation.”
“If you’re that grateful, please grant me one request.”
She seemed likely to demand a rather steep price.
Mapheltan nodded.
“Fine. Let’s hear it first.”
“Once this matter is over, don’t do anything for about a week. In my opinion, you need rest, Mapheltan.”
She believed Mapheltan’s loss of control had resulted from mental exhaustion.
That assessment wasn’t entirely wrong.
Johan had been pushing himself relentlessly without any rest. It was inevitable that he would be mentally exhausted.
Mapheltan looked puzzled.
“That’s the price you want for this?”
“Yes. You must keep your promise, no matter what.”
Her expression was completely resolute.
“...Fine. I understand.”
“I’m serious.”
“Would you like to make a contract over it?”
“Shall we?”
Mapheltan waved his hand dismissively.
“Forget it. I promise I’ll keep my word, so don’t worry.”
The two naturally resumed walking.
“If you’re so confident, let’s make a contract.”
“I don’t want to make a contract over something so trivial. It would be a waste of demonic energy.”
“You were the one who suggested it first, Mapheltan.”
“That was...”
Their voices gradually faded into the distance.
The gang leader, who had been left alone in his chair, cautiously looked behind him.
The demon and the girl had already moved far into the distance.
The thug exhaled raggedly.
“I-I survived!”
An overwhelming sense of relief welled up within him.
All his subordinates were dead, but he had survived yet again.
He had always been lucky.
God was watching over him.
A broad smile spread across his face.
Just as he was about to burst into laughter, the retreating girl abruptly stopped.
The thug swallowed dryly.
The girl slowly glanced back.
Their eyes met.
She smiled brightly and pointed somewhere.
The thug looked up at the sky.
A long spike of ice was falling toward him.
“W-Wait...”
He never finished speaking.
The sharp icicle plunged into his open mouth.
Fresh blood spurted into the air, only to freeze instantly.
The thug died with his eyes wide open.
***
The Shadow of Death encircled the city in an underground spiral.
The farther one traveled, the deeper underground one descended and the closer one came to the city’s center.
Due to its structure, the lowest depths of the Shadow of Death were connected to the lord’s castle at the heart of the city.
That abyss was Mapheltan’s final destination.
They had not yet reached it.
They had only just passed through the entrance.
At some point, the alley came to an end.
A massive iron gate stood at the end of the passage.
A man who appeared to be its gatekeeper spoke.
“I haven’t seen your faces before.”
He sat on a battered wooden chair, puffing away at a long tobacco pipe. Smoke collected around his unkempt mustache before dispersing. There was no vitality in his languid gaze.
He seemed strangely detached from everything.
Ilea said,
“This is our first visit.”
“Entry passes?”
“We don’t have any.”
“Then you can’t enter, little mage.”
Ilea tilted her head.
“How did you know what I am?”
She was wearing the mask and hood she had prepared beforehand. She had even altered her voice.
Yet the gatekeeper had identified both her gender and the fact that she could use magic.
He replied,
“Most people who enter and leave the Shadow of Death dressed like you are mages. And your gender is obvious at a glance.”
Ilea’s loose-fitting hood and robes completely concealed the curves of her body.
There was nothing to indicate that she was a woman.
“You’re remarkably perceptive.”
“I appreciate the compliment, but would you mind leaving now?”
“That would be troublesome. I have business in the Shadow of Death.”
“Come back after you obtain an entry pass.”
The man waved his hand dismissively.
Despite his languid appearance, there was a peculiar firmness to his demeanor.
He didn’t seem willing to open the gate under any circumstances.
Ilea murmured as though speaking to herself,
“...What should we do?”
The gatekeeper looked puzzled.
“Are you asking me? Do you want to know how to obtain an entry pass?”
Ilea shook her head.
“No. Just wait a moment.”
She had been asking Mapheltan.
The demon was hidden within the darkness, his presence completely concealed by the Authority known as Sinking Night.
He clicked his tongue as he looked at the gatekeeper.
...Hakain the Sword Demon.
Of the Shadow of Death’s seven gatekeepers, they had encountered the most troublesome one of all.
Hakain was considered one of the strongest warriors in the kingdom.
He wasn’t a monster on the same level as Gawain or Azbal, but he nevertheless possessed martial strength that transcended ordinary humans.
If they fought him now, the entire surrounding area would be reduced to ruins.
Mapheltan did not want that kind of disturbance.
What rotten luck.
Of all places, they had ended up in his territory.
It was incredibly irritating.
Should they search for another entrance?
Just as Mapheltan was considering it, an unfamiliar voice rang out.
“It’s been a while, Mr. Hakain!”
A hooded figure approached while waving his hand.
He appeared to be riding a four-legged beast.
Hakain frowned and muttered,
“You still have such depraved tastes.”
Upon closer inspection, the hooded figure was sitting on a person’s back.
The nearly naked woman beneath him stared vacantly at the ground.
Her entire body was covered in wounds, evidence of whatever atrocities she had suffered.
“Giddyup! Giddyup!”
The hooded figure whipped the woman’s buttocks and rapidly approached.
He then spoke to Hakain.
“Were those people outside your handiwork, Mr. Hakain?”
“What are you talking about?”
“The thugs. They’d been completely wiped out. Not a single survivor.”
“I had nothing to do with it.”
The hooded figure looked at Ilea.
“Then was it you?”
Hakain also turned his gaze toward her.
Ilea opened her mouth.
“Is that a problem?”
The hooded figure replied,
“Not at all. More importantly, your work was a little amateurish. There wasn’t a single usable corpse left. Next time, don’t inflict more damage than necessary. Consider that some advice from a senior and remember it.”
To certain mages, corpses were valuable materials.
Hakain said,
“Stop meddling in other people’s affairs and go inside already.”
The hooded figure took a small wooden token from inside his clothes.
“Yes, yes. As you say.”
The moment she saw the entry pass, Ilea lightly clapped her hands.
She looked at Hakain and asked,
“An entry pass is all I need, correct?”
“Well, technically...”
At that moment, a piercing chill surged through the passage.
The hooded figure froze solid in his current position.
He had not even been given a chance to resist.
For the first time, emotion appeared in Hakain’s languid eyes.
Surprise and fascination.
Ilea approached the frozen statue and said,
“There are no wounds. I followed your advice.”
The woman who had been carrying him cried out in terror and tumbled aside.
“Eek!”
The ice statue fell to the ground and shattered with a tremendous crash.
Ilea spoke in a flat voice.
“Oh dear. It’s unusable again.”
She then picked up the entry pass from the ground.
Hakain said,
“...You look young, but you’re remarkably powerful. Are you perhaps an archmage who has undergone Shedding?”
Shedding referred to a realm in which one transcended the limits of one’s natural lifespan.
Those who had undergone Shedding could possess an outward appearance of any age.
Ilea opened her mouth.
“I appreciate the compliment, but could you open the gate now?”
She held out the entry pass.
“...I’ve never encountered a situation like this before.”
Hakain laughed helplessly before adding,
“Well, I suppose it doesn’t matter.”
He opened the iron gate.
Ilea smiled toward the empty air.
Mapheltan was extremely satisfied.