Chapter 8 - The Baronial House’s Forbidden Library

Terrified, Raguel clung to the edge of the round table. Though the goldmirror stone descended smoothly, the blind boy felt anything but secure. The sheer terror of this unexpected turn was overwhelming. Unable to see, he had no way of knowing what was happening.

Yohan was equally anxious, though for a different reason. Holy power had the Demon on edge. The vast hall unfolding before his eyes poured out an immense amount of it. To a Demon, it would be a deadly poison.

'... Damn it.'

His skin stung. The farther they descended, the worse the pain became. Now he could barely even look at the radiance. Every light shining below him was the holy power of a relic.

From anti-Demon artifacts to original scriptures and holy water of the highest quality, every kind of sacred object that could make a Demon shudder was gathered here.

Seated on the table, Yohan steadied himself with deep breaths. One wrong move and he might pass out before even setting foot in the gallery.

"A-are you all right?"

The boy must have heard him groan. He had tried to suppress it, without much success.

"A human worrying about a Demon?"

"I'm not worried. If something happens to you, I won't be able to get back either. Th-that's what I meant..."

Yohan forced a laugh.

"The longer you go on, the more it sounds like an excuse."

The boy bristled.

"Why else would I care about you?"

"You're overreacting to a joke."

Raguel glared resentfully at Yohan. His eyes were closed, of course. Teasing him was quite entertaining.

"I'll get you back, so don't worry."

The boy gave no answer. Instead, he jolted in fright as a thunderous noise assaulted his ears. A heavy vibration traveled through his ribs. The round table had reached the ground.

A vast space reminiscent of a grand temple's gallery greeted them.

"... Wh-where on earth are we?"

Even after hundreds of visits to the library, the boy had never experienced anything like this. To think there was another underground chamber even farther below it.

Yohan spoke.

"The forbidden library of the Abyss."

"This must be the place you mentioned at the beginning."

"Yes."

He had asked Raguel to take him here.

"But how could a place like this..."

"Your ancestors arranged it. You've heard of the Watchers of the Abyss, I assume?"

The boy nodded.

"I've read our family history. It said the heads of House Miyatro had watched over the Abyss for generations. I'm sure that's what it said."

"That was only true until two hundred years ago. The Miyatro of today have abandoned their duty. Look at your father. What could he possibly watch over with that hulking body?"

It was not wrong, and the boy agreed wholeheartedly, but he felt awkward voicing his agreement. Like him or not, the Baron was his father.

"Well..."

"In any case, this is the legacy of your family's early heads. If you weren't blind, your eyes would be wide with wonder. A pity."

Books of every kind, including demonic tomes, scriptures, and forbidden texts, lined the walls of the hall, while holy relics filled the floor.

Busts of past heads of the house stood in rows to either side. Naturally, only those who had remembered their duty were honored here. Not a single bust had been added in the last two hundred years.

The sacred armor draped over each statue shed brilliant holy light. There would be no need for candles. The interior was already bright. And Yohan suffered for it.

"Let's take what we need and get out for now."

"What about your promise?"

"I'll read to you in the library or your room."

If he stayed in the forbidden library any longer, he felt he really might melt.

"Follow me."

With that, Yohan pulled Raguel a few steps forward.

'It should be somewhere around here.'

He stopped before a long display stand. Rings and necklaces lay in rows on blue silk. They would all be ancient treasures. He examined the tag attached to each item.

'Found it.'

The ring of Kazan, the Holy Hero. An artifact that protected against demonic energy.

It might seem useless to Yohan, a Demon, but in fact it was what he needed most. Once corrupted, a holy relic acquired an ability opposite to its original nature. A relic that warded off demonic energy would become one that warded off holy power.

The moment he corrupted it and put it on, he would be able to come and go from the forbidden library as freely as his own home. And it had countless other uses.

Evading an inquisition, fighting the Church's holy knights, breaking through an exorcist priest's barrier... In short, Kazan's ring was first on his list of things to defile.

Yohan reached for the relic. At that instant, the ring shuddered.

CRACKLE!

Holy power erupted from it, coursing through Yohan's body like an electric current. Agonizing pain swept through him. Swallowing a groan, the Demon stumbled back a few steps.

"As expected."

He could not even touch the holy relic.

"I'll need your help."

Yohan drew the boy's arm over to the display stand.

"Take it."

Raguel picked up the ring. He felt it with his fingers, then murmured,

"Theft."

"From whom?"

"W-well..."

Yohan chuckled.

"From you. Robbery would be more accurate."

Every relic in the forbidden library belonged to House Miyatro, and Raguel was its only son.

The boy spoke with an incredulous expression.

"How can you be so shameless?"

"Demons take what belongs to humans. I'm acting in accordance with my nature. Why should I feel ashamed?"

Raguel was left speechless by the Demon's audacity. He put the ring back down.

"Wh-what if I don't want to help?"

"All of this is part of restoring your sight. Stop arguing and do as I say."

"You can't just make up some flimsy excuse..."

Yohan cut him off.

"Then don't, if you don't want to. I'll simply read to you as promised. But you'll remain blind."

His promise to the boy was simple. Be my legs, and I will be your eyes.

The boy had kept his word by bringing Yohan to the forbidden library. Once Yohan honored his side, their relationship would end. Honor was all it amounted to. A promise, not a contract. Neither of their souls was bound as collateral.

"B-but you said earlier that you'd give me my sight back."

"And didn't you refuse? Without the ring, there's nothing I can do."

The relic was both a stepping stone for Yohan's growth and a means to restore the boy's sight. There was little he could accomplish while stuck as a whelp.

"Just what is this ring...?"

"A relic that wards off demonic energy."

"That has nothing to do with eyesight."

"I can't be bothered to explain every detail. As I said, you can refuse if you wish."

With that, Yohan started walking.

"If we're done talking, let's leave. Any longer in here and I'll go mad."

The boy did not move. He stood with his face turned toward the floor and murmured,

"... How am I supposed to trust a Demon's word?"

The corners of Yohan's mouth lifted.

"Promises sway like reeds, but contracts are firmer than stone."

The boy turned his blind eyes toward Yohan.

"What did you just say...?"

"A contract. A bargain with souls as collateral."

Raguel knew at least that much about contracts. Yohan added,

"A chance to gain your sight for a single ring."

That was not true. This ring was the first step toward swallowing the entire forbidden library. The boy had no inkling of that. He was merely facing temptation.

The Demon spoke.

"Where else would you find such a profitable bargain? Am I not a merciful Demon? Even Marziel would be moved."

The boy fiddled with his trouser leg, gripping and releasing it over and over. Hesitant, it seemed, he did not reach for the ring.

Yohan chuckled.

"Bring it and follow me. We'll make the contract in the library."

If he released demonic energy here, who knew which holy relic might react to the malice and tear him to shreds? There could hardly be a more miserable ending.

"Playing hard to get so often grows tiresome. Just steel yourself and hurry over."

With that, Yohan tore a sheet of parchment from one wall. It was a map of the Abyss. He also collected a small jewel box, several journals about the gorge, and a demonic tome. Some of these would serve as a leash to keep the witch under control.

Finally, he plucked a leaf from a sprout growing in the center of the gallery. It would easily heal something as minor as the boy's dislocated shoulder.

"Would you hurry over and lend a hand?"

His tiny body could hardly carry it all.

* * *

Four days had already passed. It was hard to believe. For the boy, time had always moved more slowly than a snail, but lately it flew like an arrow. It had been that way ever since he met the Demon.

Spending every waking hour with him left no time to feel lonely. He no longer felt trapped in darkness, either. A life in which he looked forward to tomorrow. The idea had been utterly foreign to him, but now it was his reality.

'When will he get here?'

Lately, the Demon had been reading him the life story of Kazan, the Holy Hero. Yesterday, they had stopped right at an exciting part. He had not pestered him to read more. Raguel understood the Demon's circumstances.

He was a half-demon. A half-breed who turned human at sunrise. Raguel had never heard of such a trait. No half-demon recorded in history had suffered the same inconvenience as Yohan. Switching between human and Demon... He surely had plenty of troubles of his own.

Because of that trait, Raguel and the half-demon always left the library before sunrise and returned to his room. It was their fixed routine. Raguel would lie down in bed, and the half-demon would hide underneath it. At daybreak, someone invariably came to take Yohan away.

From then until the afternoon, Raguel slept soundly. Today was no different. He had woken about three hours ago, so the Demon would arrive soon.

Sure enough, the door slowly opened with an aged creak. The usual apologies would follow. Something about being sorry, or paying for it in hell. That sort of thing.

Raguel always pretended to be asleep. He felt a little awkward about facing the unidentified man. Even now, he was feigning deep sleep.

Time ticked by. Even after a long while, the voice he was waiting for did not come. Nor had he heard the door close.

This was different. Someone had clearly entered, yet they were doing nothing.

Was it the maid bringing his meal? Impossible. She had come and gone long ago. His father, then? Surely not. He had heard that the man's failing strength kept him bedridden. There was no one else likely to visit.

For no clear reason, his chest began to tighten. He could hardly bear the anxiety.

"Um..."

He broke the silence first.

"You were awake, young master."

A clear, pleasant voice. A familiar one, too. At once, Raguel pressed himself against the edge of the bed as if trying to flee.

"Young master?"

He knew this girl. She must be the one brought here as a tribute girl. Hers was a face hard to forget once seen.

SCRAPE.

The scraping broke his train of thought. She seemed to have pulled up a chair and sat down.

"There's something I'd like to ask, so I've taken the liberty of visiting you. Please forgive the intrusion."

Raguel did not answer.

"Do you know the mercenary who was hired recently?"

He did not. He had never been interested in the first place.

"I noticed a similar smell on you, young master."

What smell? He could not understand what she meant.

"So I was wondering, do the two of you happen to share a wicked friend?"

Her breath drew close to his face. She continued in a low voice.

"If so, please introduce me."

Raguel recalled a conversation with the Demon.

["Ilea may come to see you before long."]

["Me? Why?"]

["Don't ask why. Just remember one thing."]

["... Well, all right."]

["Shout this. Repeat after me."]

"... Begone, witch!"

Contrary to Yohan's instructions, his voice was barely a whisper. No response came. Only silence. The air grew cold.

Raguel hiccupped.

"How amusing."