Chapter 37 - The Scribe of the Book of Doom (2)

After leaving the lord's castle, Yohan rode all day. Once the sun set, he flew until he was on the verge of collapse. His grueling efforts finally paid off: he had made it clear of the Miyatro domain.

'This should be far enough.'

He had no strength left to move. He needed rest. Somewhere in the southwest, he settled among the ruins of a castle and unfolded his map, leaning against a half-demolished stone pillar.

'I've come a long way.'

He was now hundreds of kilometers from the lord's castle. He started trying to pinpoint his location, then gave up. There was something ridiculous about a pitch-black Demon poring over a scrap of paper.

He let out a long sigh and looked up at the night sky.

"At least the view is nice."

Stars studded the vast expanse of night, like jewels scattered across ink-black paper. It was a breathtaking sight, but Yohan felt little at the spectacle.

He preferred that hazy sky without a single star. He missed the days when he mistook man-made objects drifting through space for stars.

He wanted to go home.

A bitter smile escaped him. Even devoting every moment to preparing for Kaiaze would hardly be enough, yet here he was, wallowing in weakness. He must have been a little mentally exhausted. Perhaps that was only natural, considering he had not had a single decent night's sleep since possessing this body. Once this was over, he decided, he would take a day off.

It happened during that brief lapse in vigilance. The earth shook several times. The stars in the night sky began to shudder too. Heaven and earth trembled as though struggling to contain a being beyond their capacity.

Yohan jerked upright, his red eyes fixed on the far horizon. A tiny speck entered his field of vision.

"Already..."

By the time he noticed, he was already too late. The overwhelming presence was right before him. A blast of wind followed a moment later, sending the pillars and debris strewn about the ruins flying in every direction. Yohan was hurled into a castle wall, black blood bursting from his mouth.

"Gah, haugh!"

His body slid down the wall and dropped to the ground. At the same moment, a mighty voice rang out like the roar of a wild beast.

"I have come to see the thirteenth end. Take me to him."

An enormous demonic beast stood before Yohan. Its body blotted out the night sky, as immense as a fortress, and a pair of wings spanned the horizon. Its black mane rippled as though alive, and its dark-red eyes rolled with a savage gleam.

An Archdemon with the body of a black lion and the wings of an eagle. Kaiaze, the Scribe of the Book of Doom.

His overwhelming might bore down on heaven and earth. Yohan groaned beneath its weight.

'... He's even more terrifying than Beris.'

An Apostle divided into ten parts could not compare to the Archdemon before him. The original novel said that Demons with double-digit ranks in the underworld possessed a presence on an entirely different level. That description had been entirely accurate.

As Yohan grimaced under the pressure, Kaiaze stamped a paw. The earth heaved as though about to shatter.

"Imp, did you not hear me?"

Yohan did not protest that he was not an imp. To Kaiaze, there would be little difference between an imp and a subadult Demon. Apparently irritated by his silence, Kaiaze let out a deafening roar. Yohan felt as though his eardrums were bursting.

He steadied his breathing.

'If he looks down on me, it's over.'

Kaiaze was a Demon who valued strength and violence above all else. The moment he deemed someone weak, even an Apostle would become prey. Yohan had to show he was not to be trifled with, even if it meant putting on an act.

He had an excellent model to imitate: the Apostle Beris. The way he had spoken and behaved toward lesser beings flashed through Yohan's mind.

'As arrogant as possible. With sky-high confidence.'

That arrogance had ultimately brought Beris down, but right now, Yohan needed precisely that attitude. He looked Kaiaze straight in the eyes and, forcing down the oppressive sensation, barely managed to speak.

"... Such insolence. Before whose throne do you dare open that stinking maw?"

Silence fell. Kaiaze stared at Yohan without a word. Their gazes remained locked in an uncomfortable exchange. The urge to squirm seized Yohan, but he did not so much as twitch. Whoever spoke or moved first would lose.

At least, that was how it felt to him.

The silence stretched on. Kaiaze was the first to move. He began scraping at the ground with a forepaw. It was a bizarre, incomprehensible act.

'Is he drawing an Unhallowed Array?'

He might be preparing a curse. Tense as he was, Yohan remained still, merely watching Kaiaze with an utterly composed expression.

A little later, the beast took several steps back. Words had been carved into the ground. The moment Yohan read them, he let out a disbelieving laugh.

─ Grant me permission to speak.

The act had worked. Kaiaze no longer opened his stinking maw without leave. He was showing some measure of respect for an Apostle. But it was not enough to satisfy Yohan.

'Grant him permission? That sounds oddly like an order.'

Depending on how one read it, the wording was rather coercive. Yohan scowled.

"Impertinent. First, lower those eyes."

Kaiaze was looking down at him. Given his size, it was unavoidable, but Yohan could not permit it. He was playing an arrogant Apostle, after all.

'Beris would find this offensive.'

Kaiaze let out a low growl, a sound like bubbling lava. He was clearly far from pleased.

Yohan spoke.

"So despite possessing intelligence, you remain a mere beast. How disappointing."

GRIND. GRIND.

The sound of grinding teeth reached him. Yohan clicked his tongue and turned to leave.

At that, Kaiaze slowly lowered his body. His enormous wings drooped to the ground, and his belly touched the earth. A fortress-sized beast lay prostrate before Yohan. His sheer size still kept their eyes at different heights, but this much was tolerable.

Yohan spoke.

"Your manners are atrocious from beginning to end. I have no desire even to correct them. My time is precious. State your business briefly and leave."

A desire to challenge him stirred in Kaiaze's dark-red eyes. He could not acknowledge a young Apostle who had yet to attain even the proper stature. He did not want to bow his head. As an Archdemon who had existed for a thousand years, he wanted to show the imp before him the gulf between them.

Yet despite that urge, Kaiaze could not act rashly. It was Yohan's demeanor that held him back. Confidence bordering on arrogance, composure with no discernible basis, a gaze that regarded him as an insignificant creature—everything the young Apostle said and did carried an air much like that of the other twelve Apostles.

Kaiaze's gaze swept over Yohan's entire body. It was profoundly disrespectful. Yohan hesitated.

'Should I call him out on it?'

To remain consistent with his stance so far, he ought to fly into a rage. No Apostle would tolerate such behavior from Kaiaze. But Yohan was not an Apostle. More precisely, he lacked a sense of himself as one. He was only an actor, so even the smallest action had to be preceded by careful judgment.

'If I antagonize him any further, he might throw caution to the wind.'

The moment that thought occurred to him, Yohan clicked his tongue. If an actor failed to immerse himself in his role, the audience was bound to realize it was all an act.

Yohan's most important guiding principle was to never let his true nature be discovered. Just as he had played a Demon ever since possessing this body, now he simply had to imitate an Apostle. Had he not done that better than anyone so far? Hiding his weakness, concealing his identity, like a true Demon.

From now on, like an Apostle.

"Mind your manners."

Yohan swung his arm. His long red nails raked across both of Kaiaze's eyes. They did not leave so much as a scratch. Kaiaze growled low and lowered his gaze.

"If you have no business here, begone."

As soon as Yohan finished speaking, Kaiaze slowly raised his upper body. Standing on two legs, the beast was large enough to blot out the night sky.

'Is he going to attack?'

Yohan felt a little tense. He had no means whatsoever of fighting back. Even the relics he had brought from the forbidden library would buy him no more than a chance to escape.

'I didn't have enough time to prepare for him.'

This was an unplanned development. Yohan had to navigate the crisis on quick thinking and instinct alone. Just as he was about to pull a relic from his backpack, Kaiaze spoke.

"I have something to give you."

He gripped empty space with both forepaws. A bizarre sight followed. Kaiaze tore open the night sky as though ripping a sheet of paper. A blood-red rift hung in the air like a wound.

Yohan inwardly sighed with relief.

'I got through that.'

A pane of glass as large as a person was falling through the rift. Kaiaze spoke.

"Chapter 13 of the Book of Doom, The Book of Deception and Chaos."

The rectangular pane settled upright before Yohan with a soft thud. Black lettering was engraved on its transparent surface.

─ Raise your heads, all evils; let us sing of the thirteenth end.

Several other sentences had already been recorded, but something other than the words had caught Yohan's eye.

'A mirror?'

The glass reflected Yohan. The Demon was nowhere to be seen. In its place stood the image of a young boy.

'... But it's night. Why?'

At this hour, it should have reflected his Demon form. After a moment's thought, Yohan spoke.

"Why does it take this form?"

The question contained two separate uncertainties. First, why was the Book of Doom shaped like a mirror? Second, why did the reflection in that mirror appear human?

Kaiaze replied.

"Each Book of Doom is made in a form that represents its Apostle's identity. Consider carefully what a mirror is used for."

Yohan looked at the Book of Doom.

'A tool for reflecting oneself.'

That was the only purpose that immediately came to mind.

His expression grew sober.

"Can you see my reflection in the mirror as well?"

If Kaiaze saw Yohan's human form, things would become very troublesome.

"Only Apostles can come into contact with an original Book of Doom. As its Scribe, I merely record evil deeds within it. I cannot interact with the Book of Doom directly."

With that, Kaiaze flapped his wings several times. A single black feather came loose and fluttered down, beginning to take the form of a tiny fairy.

"This is a chronicler who will record your evil deeds in my stead."

Yohan was already well acquainted with this aspect of the setting. A lesser Demon that chronicled an Apostle's life. Whenever it wrote in the Book of Doom, the same words were automatically inscribed in every copy. In other words, every human who possessed a copy of the Book of Doom would be able to learn of the Apostle's deeds.

Yohan clicked his tongue.

"My every move will be revealed to the world."

"Every sentence will be subject to your review. No record you do not wish to preserve will remain."

"Now that is welcome news."

"That concludes my business here."

Kaiaze spread his enormous wings. Black shadows blanketed the horizon on either side. Slowly rising, he spoke.

"Keep one thing in mind. You must not let them take the Book of Doom."

"Them?"

Kaiaze looked toward a distant mountain.

"Vermin have gathered."

With that, he kicked off the ground and took flight. The blast of wind raged like a typhoon. The enormous demonic beast filled the entire night sky. From far overhead, Kaiaze spoke.

"Accumulate evil deeds befitting your station, and gain strength. The evils of this world do not yet acknowledge you."

He roared and raced through the air, space tearing and splitting along his path. Immediately afterward, thunderous shouts rang out.

"Cut off his escape routes first!"

"Surround him!"

White light spread beneath Yohan's feet. Brilliant white formulas were taking shape. A holy magic array—a binding spell array designed for use against Demons.

The Church had already arrived.

Clergy began appearing one by one, all wreathed in pure white light. One visibly tense priest looked at Yohan and murmured,

"Could that be..."

"Wh-White Horn!"

A subadult Demon with a white horn. The subject of an incredible report claiming that he had treated the Apostle Beris like a dog. The Church had provisionally designated him White Horn and even assembled a team to investigate him.

"Don't get close!"

"Buy time!"

They had to keep White Horn pinned down until the main force arrived.

Yohan let out a long sigh.

'One mountain after another.'

He grabbed the Book of Doom and shot into the air. At once, countless chains hurtled toward him—holy magic erupting from the spell array.

"Catch him!"

"Don't let him escape!"

It seemed getting away would not be easy.