75

Kang!

A sharp metallic clang rang out.

Sound piled on sound, making it seem like a single person playing music.

Kagagagagak kang kang!

Amid the billowing blue Azure Flame, spurts of red blood occasionally splashed up.

The dark-red sword aura, like a comet of crimson, remained noble even in the unending clash.

A flawless red aura cleaved through the sea of blue flames.

Who would watch this fight and think it the duel of mere swordmen?

The blue and red lights swallowed each other and stained the world.

The colors flung by the sword’s arc looked like brushstrokes painting the void.

“Waa….”

A child attendant, clutching Raikard’s hand tightly, gaped.

The adults were no different.

But the battle did not remain level forever.

The aura spraying red light grew larger, as if to devour the world.

Meanwhile, the blue Azure Flame lost its glow, like a sputtering will-o’-the-wisp.

Kwang

In the end, Hamel staggered back as if bounced by Rupert’s swinging blade.

“…Pht.”

He spat the blood pooled in his mouth.

A tooth in the cheek that had been struck by a fist wobbled.

Hamel grit his teeth and cauterized them with Azure Flame.

With a sizzling sound, the tooth was set.

How many times had he been cut?

The number of times his fingers had been severed was hard to count.

Arms and legs.

The waist and belly, even the chest.

He had taken wounds that would have killed any ordinary person, without pause.

He focused only on avoiding having entire arms or legs cut off.

He barely held on by concentrating on avoiding mortal blows to vitals like the heart or neck.

‘The gap is larger than I thought.’

Hamel was taken aback by the unexpected difference in skill.

Not only was he overwhelmed in swordsmanship and technique, but the enemy’s sword-aura nullified all of Hamel’s moves.

Because Rupert was a possessed vessel inhabited by a demon, Azure Flame was effective.

But the Azure Flame did not touch Rupert.

The talisman control technique, Shadow Bind, fared the same.

Both techniques were easily broken before the sword-aura.

Meanwhile, the second control rite required preparation time, so it was unusable.

And the dragon-speech is…

“Katico daeorasya.”

“yatimu mahwuha”

The ground that had wavered calmed as if nothing had happened.

Incredibly, Rupert was using a word-inscription spell.

A very powerful one.

It was familiar, if one knew it.

For it was a magic used by demons.

A possessing demon must have granted Rupert those powers.

‘…There is no answer.’

He was superior in every way.

The being contracted with Rupert was a monster far beyond expectation.

That he had held on until now was solely thanks to Hamel’s regenerative ability.

And now he felt that even that was reaching its limit.

The regeneration rate of the Azure Flame had slowed.

It was at that moment, when Hamel was in trouble.

“…It’s taking longer than I thought.”

Rupert said, frowning.

At a glance it looked like mere irritation, but there was surprise within it.

Thanks to many conditions, Rupert had pushed even the sword master Raikard to the brink of death.

He did not seem to have expected to take this long against Hamel.

“I’m a bit tenacious.”

Hamel answered calmly.

Hearing this, Rupert shrugged his shoulders.

“Yes. But it seems that’s coming to an end now.”

“……”

Hamel quietly shut his mouth.

Naturally, Rupert also knew Hamel had been cornered.

With the next combination, Hamel would likely never rise again.

He was not the only one.

“…Huk. Huk.”

Glancing back, the wounded Daniel was gasping harshly.

He had fought and felled two knights, but anything more was impossible for him.

Rena, drained of mana, was wringing out what little remained with a pale face, and Daniel could not move as fast as before.

‘Is this the end?’

Had Ehuurshika ceased to expect anything from him?

Hamel lifted his head in a hollowed state.

And at that moment.

Kwaddddddeuk

The ceiling trembled, and a huge vine burst through and tore apart the ruined hall’s roof.

A gigantic vine, like the beanstalk in an old fairy tale said to reach the sky.

And on that stem was a familiar face.

“These things are a mess.”

A priest clicked his tongue, tsking.

It was the first time that irritating face felt so welcome.

“Is this timely enough for my arrival?”

“We’ve waited. Mr. Ono.”

The time of patience had finally ended.

Now it was time to counterattack.

---

There are many kinds of curses.

Among them, the curse left by Cornus became tangible when combined with the power of the demon he contracted with.

And it was almost certain that it had inhabited the ring Rupert had taken.

Hamel looked at the ring Rupert wore on his hand.

A ring engraved with a raven motif.

That was probably the root cause of all this.

‘The Lord of Black Wailing, and… the Prophet of Three-Inch Tongues, was it?’

An ancient being that had tempted Lunacornus.

The one who found a way to confront it was Ono.

‘I will find it.’

What exactly did he mean by finding a way to perform the exorcism ritual?

Hamel’s question was answered before long.

Ono’s arm burned brightly.

He, trembling and spitting blood, suddenly let out a laugh.

‘Root of All Wisdom.’

Using the power obtained from the dungeon, Ono found the exorcism ritual method and the creature’s weakness.

The ritual methods he revealed were broadly fourfold.

First, the caster who laid the curse cancels it.

Second, the possessed vessel who received the curse seals it with self-sacrifice.

Third, killing or destroying the curse caster or its medium.

And the final, fourth.

It was to pay a price commensurate with that cost.

Chwarrrrrruk

Hamel dragged Ono’s leather sack and poured it onto the floor.

Gems and gold coins poured out in a cascade.

Currency.

One might wonder what value mere human treasures could have to a demon.

But is that really so?

‘No.’

Currency has stoked human desire across ages.

A theologian of the order believed money to be the embodiment of demons.

And for good reason: humans might harm another for a few coins.

Each person’s valuation of money differs.

But no one considers money worthless.

Filial piety, love, friendship; money is a more universal value than any emotional worth.

Something humans crave more uniformly than anything else in this world.

Thus currency becomes a more certain offering than anything else.

Especially so for the creature that caused this incident.

“…What do you think you’re doing?”

Rupert asked, frowning.

He paused the battle for a moment to assess the situation at Ono’s unexpected intrusion.

Hamel answered that question calmly.

“A bargain. We will offer these goods; spare us.”

“……”

Rupert stared at the sack for a moment with a look of incredulity.

Then he suddenly sneered and replied.

“Isn’t that the treasure of our keep? You’d give that to me? Are you even of sane mind? It’s already all mine.”

“Hm. Is that so.”

Hamel shrugged and picked up a glinting gold coin.

Then suddenly he hurled it into the air.

At that moment.

Whoosh

A crow that had appeared out of nowhere snatched the coin in midair.

It then began to fly toward the now-ruined ceiling.

“Then whose is that now?”

“…!”

Rupert’s eyes watching that suddenly turned blood-red.

His face twisted in disbelief as he desperately reached out.

“That’s mine!”

A roaring cry burst from his throat, and the fortress’ halls seemed to buzz.

Rupert shouted with a cracked, elevated voice.

At the same time, black smoke spewed from the ring and was sucked into the crow’s body.

“Got it! Hooked it properly!”

As Ono shouted, he handed something to Hamel.

Kraak!

The crow’s eyes, engulfed in smoke, reddened like Rupert’s.

The stiffened crow flailed as it tried to regain balance.

Hamel quickly pulled at what Ono had handed him.

It was a transparent thread.

The translucent thread tied to the crow’s foot was pulled, and the crow plummeted.

Kraak! Kraak!

Only then did it realize it had been tricked and flapped in panic, but it was already too late.

‘It was as Ono said.’

Hamel let out a short, admiring breath.

Ancient beings in the shape of crows are naturally cunning and clever.

Yet even so, it had vulnerabilities, namely…

‘Greed and selfishness. And an arrogant temperament.’

Ono said that such a creature would never permit even a single coin to be taken from it.

When he first heard the plan, he thought the odds were low.

The opponent was Cornus, a demon old enough to be called an ancient being.

Hoping such a creature would err was tantamount to wishing for a miracle.

But perhaps because it underestimated Hamel.

It fell into the trap astonishingly easily.

‘No, that, too, is from a human perspective.’

Just as humans are bound by norms, demons too have their own shackles.

Until now, there had simply been no way to learn the weaknesses of such a powerful demon.

‘The knowledge Ono obtained is… very useful and also dangerous.’

Ono had done well; now it was Hamel’s turn again.

“Burn it.”

Hamel reached out to the falling crow.

The blood that ran along his hand flared into a blue flame.

Kaaaak!

The crow was engulfed in the blue fire and writhed in apparent agony.

“Please keep it confined like this for a moment.”

At Hamel’s request, Ono quickly drew a circle around the crow and spoke.

“…Just a moment.”

Before long, the Azure Flame that had spread to the crow weakened.

The crow twisted its body and began pecking at the circle Hamel had drawn.

“This is maddening.”

Ono quickly began the exorcism rite.

He sprinkled salt around the circle, poured holy oil on the crow, and recited scripture.

The crow flinched and stepped back.

But it would not withstand for long.

Hamel left Ono and the crow behind and ran toward Rupert.

What had empowered him was the demon clinging to the crow’s body.

Now all that remained in the ring were Cornus’s lingering spirit and the curse.

A ring that had lost the power to give the curse substance was just an ominous trinket.

“Guh.”

The menacing sword-aura that rippled around Rupert’s blade vanished.

Hamel did not miss the opening.

‘Finish it in one strike.’

Hamel poured all his strength into swinging his blade.

Kaang!

Rupert’s grip that blocked Hamel’s attack was torn open, blood bursting out.

The sword, unable to withstand the impact, shattered.

Hamel’s blade did not stop there.

Searg

A dismembered hand floated up in the air.

“Kuaaaak!”

Rupert screamed, clutching the arm from which his hand had been severed.

For some reason, the severed hand had turned black and rotten.

The shriveled, putrefying hand wore the raven-motif ring.

Hamel snatched the hand quickly.

Then, with both hands together, he raised the Azure Flame with all his strength.

The rotten hand turned to ash in an instant and vanished.

All that remained was the ominous ring.

“Ehuurshika! Humbly I beseech thee, grant the power to wipe all demons from this land!”

In the next moment, the blue flame rising from his hands began to coalesce.

At one point it emitted a light close to white.

And then.

Pajik

With a sharp crack, a fissure ran through the ring.

To be exact, the seal where the motif had been engraved cracked.

At the same time, the crow that had been trying to force itself out of the circle let out a scream of agony.

It sounded like a human cry of pain or the death-throes of a pig.

The chilling scream abruptly stopped.

What followed was a silence like death.

“Is… it over?”

Someone murmured quietly.

It was the wish of everyone present.

But it was only a wish.

Hamel could feel it.

That it was not over yet.

Hamel glared at the crow that lay motionless on the floor.

Pung!

At last the crow’s body seemed to burst, scattering black feathers in all directions.

Then black smoke poured out, covering the sky.

Creeeak

An intangible gaze was felt.

As if someone way up in the heavens was looking down upon him.

“……”

Even Hamel was overwhelmed by that force and froze.

The surroundings were engulfed in black smoke.

The flapping of wings could be heard.

Red gleams within the smoke rose like a cluster of stars.

Those eyes were filled unmistakably with rage.

For the interference with its plans.

For being deceived and tricked.

For the fury of having its treasure stolen.

Strangely, Hamel found strength refusing to come to his fingertips.

His body began to tremble.

Hamel felt a sense of déjà vu.

He immediately recalled a similar memory.

The unknown being they had encountered in the Rengbaster estate.

That enormous eye from which maggots and yellow pus had flowed.

When Hamel met that gaze, he had briefly blacked out and fallen to his knees.

Perhaps because he had grown since then.

This time the shock was not as great, but the sensation was no different.

An ominous, overwhelming, and inescapable helplessness.

It began to gnaw at Hamel’s mind and will.

‘I did not expect this….’

As Hamel clenched his teeth, he saw a cluster of white light.

Dagaak dagaak

A cluster of light appeared with the sound of hoofbeats.

It was a white stag gleaming with resplendent antlers.