Chapter 170

“Is Patel not participating today either?”

“I heard he entered the Council, though.”

“Hmph. We cannot afford to wait for a single person forever, so it cannot be helped. Let us proceed with the demon rites according to the itinerary…”

“I apologize for being late!”

More than a thousand pairs of eyes gazed upon me as I hurriedly opened the door and entered.

For the record, the number of demons who had crossed over to Earth was a mere few hundred. The reason there were more eyes was simply because some bastards wore ten eyes each as a fashion statement.

In the center of the Council, where normally only a podium existed, a crucifix-shaped torture rack had been erected.

Catching sight of the white bones faintly visible beneath the ash, I eventually snapped out of it and bowed my head toward Kravec, the vice-chairman.

“My mask broke, so I was delayed while repairing it.”

It was a sentimental item that connected me to Patel, a name I could no longer separate myself from.

If my senior black mage were alive, the four of us—including Alexei and Mala-nim—would have enjoyed a snack party every single night.

However, that gentle soul had fallen for an evil temptation and burned himself completely, much like the witches who stepped onto the burning pyre to summon the Hooves of the Statue.

It was all the fault of those demons, probably.

“There are countless masks sold by witches out there. Did you truly have to go that far?”

“It is a rather precious mask to me… I apologize.”

“Enough, take your seat. Since we were just about to begin, I will not hold your transgression against you.”

“Thank you.”

Taking advantage of the moment I was being scolded, Velada slipped in subtly as well.

During that process, her gaze locked with Flauros’s, but neither opened their mouth.

I knew from hearing it from Sebas that the two had been staying in separate rooms even at the relief center due to a recent difference of opinion regarding me.

Amidst such a chilly atmosphere, the meeting commenced.

“The atmosphere is heavy. Of course, this office understands that it cannot be helped. As everyone is aware, the current situation of us demons is far from easy.”

The era when an Archduke was humanity’s sole source of terror had long since passed.

The Outer Gods that had fallen from the heavens, the Special-Class monsters that had begun to roar across each continent, the corrupt Awakened, and the Apostle of the Outer God who still reigned as a terror within the void.

“It is also tragic news that the military strength of the human side has been incredibly reinforced. To think that even renowned demons cannot bring themselves to wander near the White Tower out of fear of the Saint of Salvation.”

“If necessary, our side can operate an assassination squad.”

“Hic…!”

“Your mettle is commendable, but refrain from acting like a moth throwing itself into a hellfire. She is precisely humanity’s last bastion, the sole object that even the Apostle of the Outer God finds awkward to deal with.”

At Norkel’s words, Moon Ah-rin, who had been trembling, let out a hiccup.

How absurd.

The reason they had walked the path of decline was nothing special.

The Apostle of the Outer God, who made even the Archdukes of the Demon Realm tremble, had infiltrated their ranks.

Standing on humanity’s side, he had actively plundered their Star Scars.

Although he had temporarily ceased activities due to being separated from Mala-nim right now, they would meet again soon.

Kravec raised his voice as if to refresh the atmosphere.

“As you have been informed through Witch Mail, tonight is a special day! It is also the final opportunity for us demons, who are increasingly being pushed to the brink of a cliff, to fire a signal flare for a counterattack!”

Walpurgis Night.

It was a day when a ritual could be conducted to summon the high-ranking entities of the Demon Realm by using a demon, rather than a human, as a sacrifice.

As the chairwoman, Trishy, raised her arms, flames began to surge from beneath the crucifix.

Simultaneously, light burst forth from the pillars supporting the walls of each seating area, erected like a colosseum.

The three streams of light converged to float a violet hole in the sky, resembling a Gate.

Inside, a familiar panoramic view of the Demon Realm unfolded.

“Not all Archdukes can be summoned here. After all, there is no one who does not know that this place is now more dangerous than our homeland.”

“A pack of cowards, they are.”

“…But nevertheless, if we offer blood to slake the thirst of those who visit this night, eternal glory shall be bestowed upon them.”

Ignoring Flauros’s ridicule, Kravec summoned the first Archduke.

Manipulating the staff in his hand like a joystick, the massive hole illuminating the sky began to move.

‘Are they tracking down an Archduke with that?’

The principle was similar to the Circumpolar Mirror of the Magic Tower used to observe the Outer Gods.

The witch’s mirror, which had scanned the entire Demon Realm in an instant, ground to a halt.

Immediately after, winds raged, and a bizarre melody echoed alongside drumbeats resembling thunder.

The flames of the burning pyre danced to the sound, and the witches cackled among themselves as if something were highly amusing.

Applause poured out from the Chair of Silence.

The Archduke of Symphony, Furcas.

He was the 20th-ranked Archduke whom Karzos and his faction had wished to summon, and an entity who had long yearned to descend upon the surface.

A situation where they had to frame one another to cast them into the pit of fire.

Even if I were wearing the mask of an evil black mage, framing and slandering others could not possibly be handled by someone as soft-hearted as me.

Even if the target happened to be a demon…

“Is there anyone ready to drape themselves in the blood of the lowly witches stained upon the crucifix?”

“I heard Karzos wishes to do it.”

“What?!”

“He told me every evening while having coffee with me that his lifelong wish was to sacrifice his own soul to summon the deep blue hand of the Archduke of Symphony.”

“W-When did I ever…!”

“Is that true, Karzos?”

Okay, that’s one successfully framed.

I immediately raised my hand high and spoke up.

In a situation like this, an Opener is more important than anything else.

Of course, just as Velada had worried, hyenas wishing to devour me were seated evenly across all seats when my turn came, but it seemed that time hadn’t arrived just yet, so I needed to initiate activities on my end first.

“When we first met, you two were dying to devour each other. I didn’t know you had become that close during the time I haven’t seen you.”

“We are even friends on Witch Mail. Though I suppose I will have to delete him soon.”

“N-No, that is not true! I have absolutely no intention of climbing up there…!”

No matter how loyal a demon might be, they wouldn’t want to sacrifice their life to summon their master.

Even if their soul were to be reborn in a different form.

Perhaps an instinctive revulsion toward being bound to a crucifix stained with the foul blood of witches also played a part, as Karzos shook his head in denial.

At that, the companions beside him began to whisper.

“It’s not true…?”

“No way?”

“Could the first Herald be intending to betray the Archduke of Symphony?”

A desperate crisis.

However, the bastard who had abandoned his own comrades to preserve his life the moment Flauros was summoned in the Sea of Decay wouldn’t be taken down that easily.

“Ahem. Of course, if I can bring our master to this place by sacrificing this body of mine, I would step inside even if I had to die a hundred times over. However, if I, who currently manage the Chair of Silence that is barely maintaining a foothold on the continent, suddenly vanish, who will fill that void?”

“I will…”

“You shut your mouth, you filthy black mage bastard!”

“Hmm… and so?”

“Instead, I recommend that woman.”

Karzos’s finger pointed at Moon Ah-rin, who was seated two spots away from me.

As she flinched at the sudden nomination, he wore a despicable smile and spoke.

“Karzos, by the looks of it, she seems to have entered the Council for the first time today. Even so, isn’t it difficult to place your soul on the same level as that girl?”

“You mustn’t judge by appearances, Lord Vice-Chairman. That woman is no ordinary black mage.”

“Then what is she?”

Could her identity have been exposed?

However, contrary to expectations, Karzos seemed to be mistaking Moon Ah-rin, who was draped in her mask, for some other entity entirely.

“I smell it. A scent similar to when we faced the legacy left behind by the Archduke of Tempests in the Sea of Decay.”

The Archduke who had been in the Sea of Decay was the 30th-ranked Forneus.

The legacy of the Archduke remaining where he was annihilated was the massive scale I had pocketed.

‘Could he have caught the scent of the Star Scar?’

That was the only common denominator between the two.

“Look at the posture with which she holds that sinister sword. It looks so unstable, as if she’s about to stab someone to death at any moment.”

“Could it simply be because she has no strength in her arms?”

“Do you not see it? The power that wench harbors is of a kind that no one in this place can comprehend!”

“If the anxiety you feel is all there is, personally, I cannot support it…”

I casually glanced at the sword Moon Ah-rin was holding.

As our eyes met, she immediately shot a message through the Channel.

『P-Please save me, Mr. Hayan!!』

“You bastard, Patel! What on earth did you bring here…!”

“Hmm, I’m not too sure either.”

“What?”

“We merely happened to meet by chance while taking a stroll. If you’re curious, why don’t you rip her belly open and check for yourself?”

『Aaargh! Demon! A man more evil than an Archduke!!!』

“Instead, if you’re wrong… you know what happens, right?”

“…”

In the end, a vote was conducted, but Moon Ah-rin preserved her life.

With it being verified that the master of the Black Magic Tower—who had been reborn as the Overlord of Undeath—had been completely annihilated, a black mage remaining on the surface was precious beyond imagination.

Because I shouldn’t show a weakness to these beastly bastards, and because I had already foreseen that fact, I had ignored it, but it seemed Moon Ah-rin’s distrust and rage toward me had evolved to the next level.

“Once this night passes, the Archduke of Symphony shall descend upon the continent. Be sure to escort him to the next Council meeting.”

“I shall do as you command.”

At any rate, since they couldn’t afford to let Walpurgis Night, which arrived once every few decades, slip away without any results.

In place of Karzos, about twenty of his subordinates climbed onto the pyre, bringing the first summoning to a close.

And then, the next ritual proceeded.

The Archduke of Necromancy, whom the Seat of Flame had been anxiously awaiting.

It was time for a powerful Archduke corresponding to the 4th rank to reveal their presence.

However…

“Nothing is happening?”

“You’re right.”

“What’s going on? Could he have been annihilated?”

“No way. Although the Tomb of Eternity was conquered by those Special Unit bastards, his other graves are still perfectly intact.”

No matter how much Kravec moved his staff, Gamigin could not be found.

Instead, what was visible was his domain, which was no different from a desolate ruin.

Most of it had been destroyed by me during the time I was active in the Demon Realm, causing the demons who observed that devastation to tremble.

Beholding that sight, Ha Yeri muttered involuntarily.

“Is it broken?”

“No way, the witch’s mirror doesn’t operate in that manner.”

“…?!”

“Putting that aside, you actually knew how to speak? The Incarnation form is quite fascinating.”

If the Archduke’s form wasn’t visible and the witch’s mirror wasn’t broken, there was only one correct answer.

Gamigin did not exist within the Demon Realm.

In other words, it meant the probability of him having already crossed over to Earth was highly likely.

“Let let us take a brief recess.”

Since the number of Archdukes to be summoned had decreased by one, Kravec checked the time and declared a recess.

Ha Yeri, whose cheek was being poked repeatedly by Norkel since she had found a fascinating toy, took advantage of the gap to show movements to coordinate with me.

Since I had stated that I had no intention of simply watching the demons’ banquet unfold during Walpurgis Night, she was likely trying to initiate action.

However, stepping ahead of her, a guest arrived at the place where I was seated.

“Follow me.”

“Lady Flauros?”

“Let us have a brief chat.”