Chapter 139 - Do You Like a Little Tingle Too?

The Sage of Water, Hellus Phobidas.

He was a sage famous for possessing outstanding ability, yet belonging nowhere and living in a small village.

The reason was said to be so he could maintain his humility, but in truth, it had been born from greed and survival instinct.

The source of the knowledge that allowed him to be called a sage was a little blond girl.

Without the wisdom of that girl, now called Mori, Hellus was nothing more than a potbellied middle-aged man.

The source of his knowledge had been stolen from him, and he had tried to take it back.

But the result had been miserable.

Instead, he had been abducted by Ferda, and a witch's brand had been stamped on the back of his hand, leaving him with a secret he could not speak even if he died.

What had happened after that?

Nothing.

Nothing had happened to an almost astonishing degree.

After replacing the maid he had killed with someone else, he received the same support as before, and with that support he enjoyed delicious food, alcohol, and women.

"Ugh... This is giving me one hell of a headache."

Even so, Hellus suffered from thirst.

He was living as a sage by borrowing Mori's wisdom, but the fact that he only had three questions in total irritated him.

If all three were wasted on useless questions, and a question that actually seemed important came in, he had to wait until tomorrow.

Was that all?

As he waited like that, more questions piled up again, carried over in that fashion, until he had three months' worth of questions backed up.

He only had to select the necessary questions among them, but Hellus had no eye for discerning such things, nor did he try to learn.

That was why he had no choice but to handle them stupidly, one by one in order.

'This is all because of that damned Regent bastard.'

Hellus resented Ferda.

As if stealing what was originally his was not enough, he had said he would let him use it as he pleased, then put a limit on the number of questions.

Irritation welled up in him.

Hellus reflexively picked up a cookie from the plate and put it in his mouth.

He had been relieving his stress through eating, and in the meantime he had put on a great deal of weight.

Thanks to the sticky sugar flowing through his veins, he felt much better.

'Still, he doesn't know I tried to take it back, does he...?'

Since he had made a terrifying contract with a witch, he would never do something so reckless.

Using that idea in reverse was the wisdom Hellus had created.

'Because there's no way that madman Regent would have let me off.'

He believed he had created it with his own wisdom, and that he was growing.

Busy praising himself, he ate until he was full.

'Still, I can't just stay like this.'

He had to bring Mori back.

His life itself was no different from before, but he could not tolerate the anxiety of not knowing what might happen getting on his nerves.

How could he steal that girl back?

'Should I think about it tomorrow?'

Once he had eaten his fill, drowsiness washed over him.

He thought he would consider it after a nap, and tried to lie down on the bed.

It was then.

CREEEAK...

The door opened without warning.

"What? Who opens the door without even knocking?"

When he snapped in irritation, someone appeared.

Blond hair and blue eyes.

When Hellus saw that face, his expression brightened.

"Olivia. What are you doing here?"

It was not the real Olivia.

She was a prostitute who had taken the Princess's name.

If a woman had blond hair and was a little pretty, every other woman used Olivia as a stage name.

That prostitute was looking at him expressionlessly, only her head poking out from beyond the door.

Hellus felt something was strange, but before that, his lower half reacted first.

"What's wrong? Do you want to have some filthy fun with me today? Today, I'll definitely satisfy you!"

"..."

"Baby? Are you really okay? Why aren't you saying anything?"

The door opened a little wider.

At the same time, Olivia's head dropped to the floor.

It literally fell like a ball.

THUD.

ROLL...

The smooth, severed cross-section entered Hellus's view.

"Uh?"

Hellus, who had been lying on the bed, let out a foolish sound, then belatedly grasped the situation.

"U-Uwaaaagh!"

He pulled up the blanket and let out an unsightly scream.

While he was recoiling in horror, someone entered.

"What's wrong, baby? Making a face like that. I like filthy fun too, you know."

He spoke seductively, but he could not hide his gravelly male voice.

Black skin, black sclera, and red pupils.

What showed in his mocking mouth were sharp teeth.

He grinned.

He smeared the blood on his hand over his lips.

"G-guards! Guuuards!"

He tried screaming at the top of his lungs.

There was no sign of the servants who normally came scurrying at the sound of his voice.

It was only natural.

He had come here carrying Olivia's severed head, so how could anyone in the mansion still be unharmed?

Hellus's complexion turned pale.

"Y-you are... What in the world..."

"My, my. You see me like this and still ask, as if you have no clue."

The Demon man smiled with his eyes like a woman.

His sharp nails gleamed chillingly.

"I absolutely hate men who pretend they can't take a hint."

"P-please spare me, my lord!"

Hellus shouted, submitting by instinct.

"I-I will give you anything you want! If you want treasure, you can go to the basement, and if you want this land, I will give you this house too! So please, just my life...!"

At that, the Demon man's face crumpled.

"Hmm... Something feels strange..."

The man tilted his head as he looked at Hellus with eyes that were only black.

"There is no way the man called the Sage of Water would be this boring... Even Lord Gokma said you were threatening enough to make it into at least the second army..."

The man realized that something was going strangely.

He grabbed Hellus by the collar and hauled him up.

"Tell me, baby, who are you?"

"H-Hellus Phobidas..."

"The Sage of Water, the ultimate wisdom who created a breakthrough, cannot possibly be someone as pathetic as you, can he? You don't look like you have wisdom or anything else. Hmm... In that case, you are..."

The Demon grinned as though he had realized something.

"Hm, that must be it. You're Phobidas's stand-in, aren't you?"

"N-no, that's not..."

"It's fine. So what if you're a stand-in? Tell me, where is the real one? If I find him, I'll spare you. How about it?"

Hellus could not open his mouth easily.

All he had to do was say the real one was somewhere far away, then escape.

That would be the best improvisation he could manage right now.

But Hellus did not say it.

His survival instinct was warning him as though it had read the future.

He felt a strong certainty that the moment he denied it, the man would kill him.

"I-I am Hellus. P-please spare me..."

He stated his identity once more, but the man did not believe him.

"Ah, this is no fun when you keep shamelessly insisting. Then..."

Hellus's hair fluttered.

A passing gust made his ear feel cold.

Pain throbbed up.

Then liquid ran down his cheek.

Hellus realized it.

The man had just attacked, and his ear had been blown off.

"U-Uwaaaaagh!"

Hellus screamed in terror.

"Tell me. You are a stand-in, aren't you? Right? If you admit it now, I'll kill you cleanly. Just tell me the location, just a little."

"Aaaagh! I really am Hellus Phobidas! I am! Please believe me!"

The man tried to threaten the truth out of him, and Hellus spat out the truth with all his might.

In that absurdity, where even sincerity could not reach him, Hellus shed tears.

"S-save me! If anyone is there, please save meee!"

Naturally, there was no one who could come save him.

Boredom settled over the Demon man's face.

Hellus Phobidas was not here.

The moment he judged that and was about to end the stand-in's life,

CRUNCH!

With the sound of the wall being pierced, a streak of light cut across between Hellus and him.

As if aimed precisely, it pierced the hand holding Hellus, and Hellus, who had been lifted up, was thrown to the floor.

"Uwaaaagh!"

Hellus did not miss that moment and backed away.

Instead of ending his life, the Demon man let out a breath as he looked at the mark that had pierced the wall.

"Hmm, I wonder which little rat interrupted my happy time?"

BANG!

Young men kicked the door open and entered.

They had drawn their swords and were aiming them at the Demon.

"Put the Sage down, you filthy thing!"

Five decent-looking faces.

They were full of the spirit of green youngsters, but that was all.

Not one of them knew how to use magic.

Then who was it?

The owner of that magic appeared belatedly.

Gray hair and blue eyes.

A calm impression that was hard to believe belonged to a hot-blooded young man.

The man knew who he was.

"And here I was wondering who it was. So it was the handsome Regent oppa who fired that?"

The Demon man spoke with smiling eyes, and Ferda revealed his disgust.

"A grown-ass man talking like a little girl. Aren't you ashamed?"

"Aw, don't say that. You should at least know how to respect a taste like this."

"Right. I suppose having a taste like that is why you became a Demon."

Ferda continued mocking him and needling the Demon.

The Demon man only smiled as though amused.

"What a shame, such a shame. That sharp tongue is exactly the personality I want. If only your body were a little fatter..."

The Demon man glanced at Hellus and smiled.

Ferda looked at that gaze and spoke as if revolted.

"I've seen plenty of sodomites, but that's one foul taste."

"Foul? This is a matter of gastronomy, you know? There are flavors you don't know about, baby. That rich smell of fat is a delicacy only fat men can produce, you know?"

Hellus's face looked as though all the blood had drained from his body.

"Don't be too disappointed, babies. It's not that I don't want to kill anyone besides fat men. Killing itself is still enjoyable."

"You filthy Demon bastard! Do you think we will allow that!?"

One young lord, whose arrogant noble nature had surfaced, rushed in.

"Your atrocities will disappear as dew upon this blade!"

Ferda did not even have time to stop him.

The Demon raised a finger, and a streak of light flashed.

"Huh?"

There was no sensation below his neck.

What he saw in his vision was his own body.

His body was rushing forward bravely, while his field of vision fell lower and lower.

He realized it.

He had paid the price for his arrogance.

ROLL.

THUD!

"S-Sir Dmitri!"

"H-his neck...!"

The expressions of the spirited young lords were instantly dyed with despair.

Unable to follow it with the naked eye, they looked back and forth between the two with expressions that said they had no idea what had happened.

"I hate impatient men."

That pouting behavior made him even more horrifying.

The young lords raised their swords firmly.

A Demon they were facing for the first time.

Overwhelming strength they were facing for the first time.

They once again felt in their bones that this war was not play, but a place where slaughter passed back and forth.

"As expected, our dear Regent is no ordinary man. When people see something like this, they usually tremble like those kids."

"I've seen plenty of such parlor tricks, so it isn't surprising."

Though he said that, Ferda was just as flustered as the young lords.

'This has become troublesome.'

He had never underestimated a Demon's abilities, so there was nothing to be surprised about there.

The problem was the young lord's attitude.

Who could have known he would ride the momentum and kill himself like that?

If it came down to responsibility, it would become an annoying problem.

"By the way, I didn't think you would come so quickly. I thought you would arrive after I had enjoyed myself a bit more."

"You speak as if you knew I would come."

"Demons have quite good intelligence too. We have many ears, you know?"

The Demon tapped his own ear.

Ferda knew there were Demon Followers among the nobles.

Was he saying there was someone like that even among those who had participated in this Start of Spring Festival?

'And they say there's not a single person in the world you can trust.'

As he thought that, he snorted.

When had he ever trusted humans so easily?

Ferda decided to use that intention.

"Hey, repulsive bastard."

"Why are you calling me, baby?"

"Don't bother with a cheap hostage play. How about you and I have a proper fight?"

One of the Demon man's eyebrows shot up.

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

"Aren't I the one you are after? Then I will give you a chance."

"What chance?"

"A chance to kill me."

Hearing that, the Demon man laughed.

"I don't know why you're so cute, baby. You've heard people say you've made more than a few women cry, haven't you?"

"I've seen them cry. I didn't like it."

"My, that wasn't what I meant. Sigh, this is why stiff-necked men are such a problem."

He clicked his tongue, yet still smiled with his eyes.

"Fine. I'll let the small fry go. Killing them would be more fun, but if you're walking into your grave yourself, that's all the better for me."

While chatting, Ferda looked at the young lords.

After seeing Dmitri's death, they had already lost the will to fight.

They seemed to want nothing more than to leave this place immediately.

Those who had lost the will to fight were not only useless, but would only get in the way.

"You lot."

"Y-yes, sir!"

"Take the Sage and get out."

"But are we not at a numerical disadvantage...?"

"You don't understand what I'm saying. I'm telling you to disappear because you're in the way."

Ferda gave them the order with killing intent in his voice.

Crushed by that pressure, the young lords chose to withdraw as he said.

These were not the sorts of people he would entrust with his back.

Hellus, who was closest to the Demon, was in a state of agonizing over how to escape.

"You go too, baby. I don't need a stand-in."

"Y-yes, sir!"

Hellus rolled his heavy body toward the young lords and left the room with them.

The sound of them going down the stairs could be heard.

Only this man and himself remained.

"Are you the sort of man who speaks harshly but is warm inside? A man with that kind of gap makes my heart flutter too."

"I have no idea what bullshit you're spouting. I merely need witnesses."

"Witnesses? Witnesses to what?"

"Five young lords entered, and one of them bravely committed suicide. Who would believe that?"

"Haha! That is true!"

The Demon burst into laughter.

The only ones who could testify to this ridiculous situation were those four and Hellus.

"Besides, I have no leisure to play with the likes of you."

"Oppa, you're overflowing with confidence, aren't you? Even though you're just a 4th Circle mage."

The opponent was a Knight-class Demon, a butcher type optimized for speed.

To stop an opponent like that, the orthodox method was to use binding or wide-area slowing magic.

To do that, he needed a front line to block him.

But since the four young lords who were supposed to be that front line had left, Ferda was effectively defenseless.

"I wonder how long that proud look will last."

"Well, I don't know."

He added,

"At the very least, after this, there won't be anything for you to know."

Ferda sneered and took something out from inside his robe.

It was different from what the man had thought would be a magic tool.

It was a magic circle.

'He stored a magic circle inside his robe?'

Impossible.

At least as far as he knew, no mage was capable of such a thing.

But unless that was what had happened, this was impossible.

It made no sense for a complex magic circle that should have required a long incantation to suddenly appear in Ferda's hand and activate.

"You cowardly trick...!"

He tried to say something in disgust, but even that left him speechless.

CRACKLE!

What formed in his hand was lightning.

But its color was not blue, nor was it a light that deserved to be called radiance, but red.

Even if he did not know it was heaven-defying lightning, he could tell that it was certainly not a color created by the natural order.

Magic that did not follow the natural order was strong without exception.

Ferda looked at the man whose complexion had changed and asked.

"Do you like a little tingle too?"

Meanwhile, outside the mansion, in front of the village.

"Demonic creatures are approaching!"

"Form a defensive formation! There are few enemies! We can do this ourselves even without the Regent!"

There were only ten beast-type demonic creatures, fewer than at the first point.

If their numbers were small, they should not have been a threat.

But strangely, it was difficult.

He tried to find what the difference was.

'Is it because five people are missing from the front line?'

He guessed as much, but dismissed it as a foolish thought.

'Those guys are nothing but dead weight.'

They were people born above others, who only ever looked down.

Their status was too high to use them as fighting strength, so they only got in the way instead.

'It must be because Regent Ferda is absent after all.'

He had used a strategy that was in a different class from other mages.

Instead of having the 3rd Circle mages draw magic circles, he had them create spheres of mana and throw them to him, and Ferda supported them by throwing those spheres.

In practice, only one mage had been moving, and that one person had controlled everything.

They had not felt like they were struggling even when facing twenty, yet now that they were floundering against ten, the contrast felt all too severe.

He could only hope that Ferda would settle things quickly and come out.

"The young masters are coming out!"

The rear line, which had been observing the situation, shouted.

When he turned his head, he saw the young lords coming out the door just as the man had said.

And one of them was Hellus, which meant they were effectively down two men.

"D-Dmitri is dead..."

"D-dead? Then what happened to the Regent?"

"The Regent is fighting a Demon. There was a Demon inside!"

A Demon!

It was understandable that they were so frightened.

In the current generation, were they not beings so hard to see that they were practically the same as animals from the imagination?

But that was not the problem.

"So you are saying the Regent is fighting him right now?"

"Y-yes..."

It was absurd.

As if it would not have been enough for them to join forces against that Demon, all four young lords had come out and left the Regent to fight alone.

'As for dealing with the demonic creatures... We can manage somehow.'

Should he run in even now and support Regent Ferda?

Political calculations and the situation made his head ache.

It was just as he was thinking that.

A red light flashed in the window of the mansion he was looking at.

That ominous light gradually grew smaller.

RUMBLE...!

The light was weakening, but the ground was shaking more and more violently.

It was not weakening.

Yes, that was being compressed.

In order to create an explosion too large to withstand.

BOOOOM!

A tremendous explosion struck their eardrums.

The released shock wave shook the formation, and the wolf demonic creatures that had been attacking also flinched.

The building at the epicenter of the explosion could not withstand the impact and collapsed as it was.

"My..."

Hellus screamed as he looked at the place swallowed by light.

"My house...!"