Chapter 46 - A Welcome Reunion (2)

Ilea could not take her eyes off Yohan. More precisely, she was staring at the empty air above his head. She seemed utterly transfixed.

“Ilea?”

Puzzlement flickered across Yohan's face.

“Yohan, what on earth is that?”

“What do you mean...?”

“The rift above your head.”

Yohan looked up. There was nothing there.

“I don't know what you're talking about.”

Ilea turned her gaze to the red ball of fur that was the imp.

“What about you?”

“There's nothing there. You're seeing things!”

Ilea nodded slowly.

“It seems I'm the only one who can see it.”

There was unmistakably a misshapen rift in the air. Space lay crumpled and crushed, as though some unknown force had torn through the very dimension.

Lost in thought, Yohan murmured,

“... Could it be?”

Were the aftereffects of that strange phenomenon still lingering? If so, Ilea might be able to see the remnants.

“Yohan, what on earth happened to you?”

The sun had yet to rise, but Yohan was in human form. A bizarre rift hung above his head, and his young body looked utterly exhausted. Everything about his situation was abnormal.

“Let's go somewhere else first. This looks like a long story, and I'm not comfortable here.”

He wanted to escape the barrier as soon as possible. The longer he delayed, the more uncertainties and dangers he would face.

“Shall we head to a nearby village, then? In your current condition, making it all the way to the domain will be difficult.”

His frail, exhausted body could not endure a forced march of hundreds of kilometers. That fact drove home his own weakness.

'I can't skimp on investing in my human side, either.'

He would draw up a training plan as soon as he returned to the domain. He would need Gaf's help.

Making that vow to himself, Yohan said,

“You're right. Let's find somewhere suitable and stay for a day.”

He started walking. The anxiety he had felt while traveling alone was long gone. With Ilea at his side, he would be safe from most threats. Her timing could not have been better.

Hiding his pleasure, Yohan quickened his pace.

“One moment, Yohan. There's something I still need to deal with.”

Ilea looked at the imp and extended an open palm toward him. A chill settled over the surrounding air.

The imp remembered that dreadful cold all too well. He cried out in terror.

“Wh-what are you doing all of a sudden?!”

“You've learned the Apostle's true identity. I can't let you—”

Yohan's voice cut in.

“He's coming with us.”

The chill vanished from the air in an instant.

“Are you serious?”

“Yes. I promised him. I have to keep my word.”

The imp's terrified expression gave way to a triumphant grin.

“I have overcome the great trial! Witch, however exceptional you may be, you must no longer look down on me! I am the End's right hand!”

Ilea glanced at Yohan. He was chuckling.

“I think I understand.”

She nodded in comprehension.

“Just what I'd expect of a witch! Quick to understand! Show me proper respect from now on!”

“He's a little diversion for you, as they say. That imp.”

Yohan did not bother answering. He merely shrugged.

The imp's already scarlet face flushed and darkened with rage.

“A-a little diversion?! How dare you speak so of the Hellfire of the Abyss!”

Ilea flicked her index finger. Icy air closed in around them.

“He's a little noisy. May I seal his mouth shut?”

“Do as you please.”

As Yohan nodded, the imp's mouth began to freeze shut. No more words escaped him. Only muffled moans of “Mmph, mmph” echoed around them.

“It's nice and quiet now.”

Silence settled over the mountains again. Apart from the occasional chirping of mountain birds, almost all the noise they had been making had faded.

“Enough to make me sleepy.”

The tension drained from Yohan all at once. Exhausted as he was, drowsiness swept over him.

“Shall I carry you on my back so you can get some sleep?”

Ilea's eyes curved in a teasing smile.

“I'd sooner collapse.”

“No need to be embarrassed. Not with how close we are. We've even shared a heart.”

“Why don't you seal your own mouth, too?”

“How cruel. I'm hurt.”

Ilea put on a wounded expression. It was an obvious act.

“Glad to hear it. I'll have some peace for a while.”

“You'll have a much harder time than I will. We have at least five hours of walking ahead of us.”

Even the nearest village was quite far away.

“It's that far?”

“Yes, so brace yourself. I really won't say a word.”

Feigning a sulk, Ilea took the lead. Silence followed for a time, but it did not last long. Neither could have said who started it, but soon they were talking again.

As they recounted what had happened over the past two days, they reached the edge of the holy sealing array before they knew it.

* * *

The veil enclosing an area tens of kilometers in radius allowed no Demon to pass. Had Yohan been a Demon, he would have lost consciousness the moment he touched the barrier and been detected by the Church's surveillance network.

But he was human. He could pass through without suffering any consequences.

The same went for Ilea. A hastily erected barrier like this could not distinguish a witch from a human.

The imp was the problem. A petty spirit of the lowest order even among Demons, he had no hope of crossing the veil on his own.

The imp gazed helplessly beyond the barrier. Yohan and Ilea had already crossed it. With a shimmering golden ripple between them, their fates had diverged.

“O great End...!”

The imp looked pleadingly at Yohan, but there was nothing Yohan could do for him.

“What a shame.”

“Are you abandoning me?!”

Yohan stole a glance at Ilea. Surely the witch had a way, but she only feigned indifference, refusing even to meet his eyes.

'Nothing for it, then.'

He did not want to ask for Ilea's help over something so trivial. It was less a matter of pride than the risk of thoughtlessly running up a debt, only to be handed a bill he could hardly afford.

The witch in the original novel always exacted her price. Yohan needed to keep the interest to a minimum.

He shrugged.

“There's nothing to be done for now. I'll tell you where I live. Come find me once things settle down here.”

The holy sealing array would be dismantled eventually. The imp could leave then.

His arms and legs drooping, the imp said dejectedly,

“I shall undertake this great task. When that time comes, please bestow a name upon me.”

Yohan chuckled and turned away. Just as he was about to set off again, Ilea gave a short sigh.

“He's already proving to be a handful.”

She gave a light flick of her index finger. A small opening began to form in one section of the barrier.

Yohan looked at her, his expression blank.

“I thought you'd want to leave him behind.”

“I do. There's no reason to carry dead weight around.”

“Then why?”

“He may be dead weight, but he's also your toy. Everyone needs amusement. Since that imp provides entertainment, he's worth a little effort.”

“... A toy, you say.”

Yohan let out a dry chuckle at her blunt choice of words.

'She's not wrong.'

Yohan had taken the imp in purely out of interest.

“Yes, a toy. More and more entertaining creatures will gather around you in time. You can amuse yourself with that imp until then and discard him afterward.”

Yohan was now an Apostle. Countless Demons would surely come to him for all sorts of reasons. Ilea was treating every one of them as a toy.

“Spoken like a true witch.”

“Really? I'll take that as a compliment.”

Yohan glanced at the imp. As expected, the creature was burning with the desire to best Ilea. He glared at her, his thin limbs trembling.

Of course, he could not attack her. The gulf in their strength was too great.

He muttered furiously,

“... O great End, this wicked creature shall prove himself. I am no pitiful clown. I lack nothing befitting the End's right hand. I shall become the Hellfire of the Abyss and show that witch!”

Ilea answered him with an easy smile.

“Admirable resolve. I'll cheer you on, but I won't expect much.”

The imp glared at her, silently swallowing his indignation and resolve.

Yohan spoke.

“Stop tormenting him and let's go. I'd like to reach a village by noon, at least.”

“We'll make it if we hurry from here. I have somewhere in mind.”

“I hope we can get horses there, too.”

“Horses, of course. Depending on how things go, we may even find a way to turn our present situation around.”

A way to turn their situation around? Yohan could not tell what Ilea had in mind.

“What do you mean?”

“Let's discuss the details when we get there.”

She started walking ahead as though she had no intention of saying more. Yohan followed without pressing her. The imp trailed after them both.

* * *

Whitten village, in Count Varego's domain, was the southwest's largest grain-producing area. Its prodigious harvests kept it prosperous even in winter and supported a population of well over two thousand. In size alone, it was closer to a small city.

Even the baronial House of Miyatro, with its vast holdings, possessed no village of this scale. Yohan could only regret that. Had Grian and his forebears been a little more capable, the baronial House of Miyatro could easily have established a financial foundation like this. The soil of the Miyatro domain was that fertile.

Looking toward the entrance to Whitten village, Yohan said,

“We should have no trouble finding horses here.”

“And not just horses. This place is overflowing with life.”

“You're stating the obvious.”

“Doesn't seeing it bring anything to mind?”

Yohan furrowed his brow.

“You've been trying my patience for a while now. Just get to the point.”

A little earlier, Ilea had said there was a way to turn their situation around here. That must be what she was drawing out.

“I've considered your situation as a whole. There are plenty of complications, but it all comes down to one thing. The holy spear lodged in you. That's the root of it all.”

She was right. Being impaled by the holy spear had sent him plunging into the gorge. The wound it inflicted had cost him his Demon self, and Gawain's attempt to retrieve it had left the prince suspicious. In the end, the holy spear was the problem.

“So, what's your conclusion?”

Yohan's expression had grown somber.

“I imagine you've already guessed. There's a way to deal with the spear lodged in you and turn this crisis into an extraordinary opportunity, isn't there?”

Without answering, Yohan looked at his ring finger. On it sat an accursed object: Kazan's corrupted ring.

Ilea nodded.

“That's right. Corrupting the holy spear into an accursed object will solve most of your problems.”

The holy spear Espada left wounds on Demons that could never heal. Once corrupted into an accursed object with the opposite nature, Espada would no longer eat away at Yohan's Demon self. Instead, it would hunger for human flesh.

With its power to burn away demonic beings gone, the wounds left on his Demon self would naturally disappear. And as a bonus, Yohan would acquire a Class Four accursed object.

He gave a dry chuckle as he looked at the village.

“In short, all these people are living sacrifices?”

“Precisely. There's enough here to corrupt a Class Four holy relic.”

Creating an accursed object required living sacrifices. The moment Espada, a Class Four holy relic, was corrupted, roughly two thousand lives would be extinguished. This village would be utterly ruined.

“Considering all the circumstances, I see no reason not to proceed.”

“Shall I draw an Unhallowed Array? Like last time.”

The imp's eyes shone as he listened to their exchange.

“Here shall a great evil deed begin!”