Chapter 253
“Carpheios.”
The low call instantly cut off the chatter and made Carpheios tense.
What followed was a topic as serious as the grave voice.
“The Holy Scythe is gone.”
“……!”
Demonic energy flared up from Carpheios’s entire body.
This rage was of a completely different quality from when he saw the broken, dark purple Deadly Bloom. It was deeper, subtle, and sinister.
“You mean there’s a demon who dared to infiltrate Sanarak’s treasury and lay hands on the King’s treasure…… and a weapon personally inscribed with ‘Sorcery’ by the Chaos Evil God …….”
“Not a demon, but a human.”
In his bewilderment, Carpheios’s oppressive aura somewhat subsided.
“My Chaos Evil God, I apologize, but there are no traces of human infiltration from outside.”
“Are you sure there were none?”
“……Please enlighten my foolish self.”
Reed gradually released information.
“The Deadly Bloom pot wasn’t a succubus. It was a human disguised as a succubus.”
“……!”
Only then did his judgment, which had been paralyzed by greed, return.
“Hah! Inferinos, that bastard……!”
Again, Carpheios’s demonic energy blazed like a raging fire.
While he endured, unable to make a spectacle of himself in front of Reed, a question flashed through his mind.
Carpheios, whose attitude had instantly become docile again, asked.
“You mean a human laid hands on the Holy Scythe……. Was that human not corrupted?”
“That’s right.”
Regrettably.
Reed’s gaze, swallowing the unspoken words, fell to the floor.
Meanwhile, his mind was sinking deeper. The air around him grew heavy accordingly.
At that moment, a faint scoff brushed past his ear from the side.
The rude sound, of course, came from Carpheios’s mouth.
Carpheios, receiving Reed’s gaze, quickly bowed his head, realizing his mistake.
“My apologies. Another human who grasped the Holy-Demonic Sword without being corrupted came to mind.”
“……Who was that?”
The voice, devoid of intonation, was unusually cold.
However, regrettably, Carpheios was so pleased at being questioned by Reed that he didn’t pay attention to that.
The great Chaos Evil God was taking an interest in his story. This was a rare opportunity. If he detailed his demon-like evil deeds now, he might gain the Chaos Evil God’s favor!
“He was a human who was fun to play with.”
Carpheios deliberately smiled more despicable and cruel.
“He was my toy even before he grasped the Holy-Demonic Sword. Breaking the convictions of a good and devout human, and throwing their humanity to the bottom. Isn’t there any hobby as refined as this?”
“…….”
“There was even this one time. It was before he grasped the Holy-Demonic Sword, but he walked into the ‘Valley of Heretics’ on his own two feet. To the very place where humans offered live sacrifices for me.”
“…….”
“‘Behold, the corpses of the heretics. All your work.’ The only way to stop the ritual was to kill the humans before they were offered as sacrifices to me. After much hesitation, he eventually began to slaughter the defenseless humans one by one.”
“…….”
“‘Your first murder is a massacre, how excellent. Don’t you agree, favored child of Strict Order and Goodness?’ But when it came time to kill a child offered by heretic parents, he wailed and cried out in agony. That sight was truly…….”
Carpheios’s eyes glazed over as if savoring the memory. He continued.
“So entertaining.”
“…….”
“It was truly hilarious.”
“…….”
“I remember laughing heartily for the first time in a long while then.”
“…….”
Reed remained expressionless, despite the scorn directed at his past self.
“After that, I saw him in the 5 Great Holy-Demonic Sword Dungeon. He had become quite an excellent butcher, readily slicing off the necks of demon sword hosts without hesitation. ‘Was it manageable this time? Better than when you ended the life of a child offered by their parents, perhaps?’ Isn’t that all thanks to my personal guidance? Although I lost the Holy-Demonic Sword, I was truly proud.”
“…….”
“Of course, it was regrettable that I couldn’t offer the demon sword to Lord Reed…… Ah, speaking of which.”
Carpheios pondered.
“The Chaos Evil God already possesses a demon sword……? It doesn’t seem to be the Holy-Demonic Sword from past eras, how did you obtain it…….”
He subtly questioned, but Reed’s tightly sealed lips showed no sign of opening.
Only then did Carpheios see the Chaos Evil God’s cold eyes, devoid of even a hint of interest.
It seemed his evil deeds hadn’t pleased the Chaos Evil God, and his attempt to gain favor had failed.
He decided to change the subject.
“Anyway, for an intruder to take the Holy Scythe with a clear mind, they must be no ordinary human. Born looking like they’d scatter lust everywhere, did they by any chance become a saint…… Hmm?”
It was only after speaking that Carpheios realized.
Pink hair is uncommon among humans.
A pink-haired saint.
The one humans call the Holy Saint.
“Ah.”
The realization struck his golden crown like lightning.
“Evil’s Bane Executor……!”
Kwa-ga-ga-gang!
Suddenly, the explosive aura erupting from the enraged Demon King’s body caved in the surrounding ground.
The shattered earth fragmented and floated into the air.
In the rough and turbulent air, Carpheios, like a true Demon King, burst into maniacal laughter.
“Ha, hahahaha! Hahahaha! That flowerpot……! That flowerpot was the Evil’s Bane Executor……!”
His bloodshot eyes glinted grotesquely.
“No wonder it stimulated my sadism and excited me! If it’s the Evil’s Bane Executor, it’s fine to treat her roughly. I must never let her escape……. I’ll modify the flowerpot’s form so she can’t even attempt to escape……. Oh, that’s right! While I’m at it, I can make her a singing flowerpot!”
In the Demon Realm, ‘singing’ is a metaphor for human screams and wails.
“Then, when I get tired of her…… I’ll just cut off her head and use that.”
It was then, as Carpheios’s chilling laughter, as eerie as his plan, flowed out.
Thud-thud-thud.
The fragments that had been flying wildly in the air plummeted simultaneously.
This was because the rough aura, which had resonated with Carpheios’s excitement, had suddenly quieted down as if a lie.
The air began to sense the presence of a stronger being. The moment he realized this, Carpheios met a pair of icy eyes.
Bloody light gleamed in the darkness.
“Guh.”
The Chaos Evil God’s gaze pressed down on Carpheios’s lungs and choked his breath.
Several unsightly groans, accompanied by spittle, spurted from the Demon King’s mouth.
‘Th-this is…… this is the Chaos Evil God’s power…….’
The imprinted instinct of his race made him gladly accept anything given by the Chaos Evil God.
Seeing his ecstasy even while his breath was controlled, Reed released his aura.
Carpheios, kneeling on both knees, apologized.
“Haaack……. S-S-Sorry, my Chaos Evil God. Foolishly, I dared to reveal my status impertinently before the Chaos Evil God…….”
Reed didn’t answer and asked in a dry voice.
“How much longer until the Tomb of Chaos Gods is complete?”
“It will be completed in a few days.”
“Hurry.”
Reed walked past Carpheios. The Demon King hastily raised his head and asked, as if to hold him back.
“Are you leaving already?”
“Yes.”
“My busy Chaos Evil God, may I humbly ask where you are going?”
A low voice replied from over his shoulder, without turning back.
“Litniel Plain.”
“Isn’t that a lowly human land? Why would a noble person go to such a shabby place…….”
Carpheios truly had many questions.
Reed opened his mouth, annoyed, but it was less an answer to Carpheios than a murmur to himself.
“I have to keep my promise to save them.”
✠
At the bottom of a pit where a red mist made of blood and jet-black darkness intertwined.
“Haa…… haa…….”
In the silent space, rough breaths precariously shook the stagnant air.
Where there was sound, there was also light.
Holy marks, obtained by preying on countless entities, were fully etched on Tesillid’s right forearm, pushing back the darkness.
However, at some point, the white light of the holy marks flickered as if about to extinguish.
Also, the intervals of his labored breaths gradually lengthened.
Finally, at the moment his breathing calmly subsided.
“…….”
All sound died in the Pit of Solitude.
Tesillid, eyes tightly shut, endured this horrifying abyss, devoid of light and sound.
However, for a long time, nothing happened, as if time had stopped here.
“Why…….”
It was different from the promise.
Long-learned despair enveloped him. His mind, vulnerable to darkness, began to crumble rapidly.
Chapter 41: The Meaning of Salvation
It seemed the entrance to the Final Judgment Site was always fixed.
Just as when I was first dragged here, caught in a Dungeon Sink, my two feet landed in the culprit waiting area.
Of course, unlike the first time, I was the only one in the spacious clearing now.
I walked the precarious single path that traversed the cliff.
The two pits on either side, the labor camp and the execution ground, were empty, unlike before. Thanks to that, only my footsteps echoed through the air.
I didn’t stop walking even after arriving at the deserted courtroom, which was closed. I continued to walk towards the Pit of Solitude.
A leisurely voice came from not too far away.
“Your Majesty the Demon King, does the flower tea suit your taste?”
“The salty and fishy taste is excellent.”
At the edge of the cliff where sacrifices were pushed into the Pit of Solitude.
There, Inferinos was enjoying refreshments, complete with a tea table, as if it were a balcony for appreciating a scenic view.
“You too, sit, Evil’s Bane Executor.”
Inferinos, moistening his lips with a red liquid, offered me a seat. I sat down without a word in the chair pulled out by Marquis Levant.
The table was filled with bizarre desserts that looked more like props than food.
After a brief staring contest with an eyeball-shaped macaron, I looked up.
Privilege for the Possessor