Chapter 43

In the past, there was a single demon who faced the human army alone.

His name was Nebiross-a Demon Sovereign who commanded legions by controlling corpses and summoning magic beasts. His specialty was using believers to perform rituals on living humans, turning them into undead.

"No matter how strong you are, you can't defeat a legion."

Dominic giggled mockingly at Henrik.

Unfazed, Henrik continued swinging his hammer with calm precision.

-Boom! Boom!

Striking the body would have been easy, but since Dominic was currently possessing Oliver, Henrik had to target and destroy only the necklace.

Dominic moved far more nimbly and annoyingly than Bena had when protecting her necklace, dodging Henrik's attacks with ease.

"Listen when someone's talking to you!"

"Someone? You're an evil spirit."

"How insolent!"

-Swish!

Black mana formed into the shape of a sword. Gripping it, Dominic attacked Henrik.

Henrik twisted his body to evade Dominic's strike and created distance by stepping back.

'Since the body is Oliver's, this is troublesome.'

Oliver's body was certainly that of a properly trained knight compared to Bena's. Unlike when he'd destroyed Bena's necklace with a single blow, targeting and destroying the necklace with Oliver's body as the opponent looked difficult.

There was only one answer. He'd already experienced this with Professor Bena.

'I have to destroy the necklace.'

-Slash!

Dominic's sword moved. It was unmistakably Mandolin Family swordsmanship-proof that he had complete control over Oliver's body.

Even while dodging the sword, Henrik carefully observed his movements.

Rapid exchanges flew back and forth.

-Swoosh!

Just as Dominic grinned wickedly and prepared to exchange blows again, a shape rippling in the darkness caught his eye.

'Hm?'

But by the time Dominic noticed, it was already too late. A veteran assassin and butler of the MacClane Clan, William had perfectly erased his presence and hidden in the shadows, waiting for his moment.

-Whirrr!

Finally, the instant Dominic showed an opening, William's wire shot out and wrapped around his left arm.

"...!"

Simultaneously, William appeared from the opposite side and shot wire from his right arm, temporarily neutralizing both of Dominic's arms.

"Professor Henrik! Now!"

At William's shout, Henrik didn't miss the opportunity and immediately rushed in, swinging his hammer-head toward the necklace.

William's eyes narrowed as he watched the scene.

'Exquisite. He's aiming precisely at the necklace alone. He has no intention to kill. He's using exactly that degree of force and precision.'

Just as he murmured his admiration-

Dominic grinned wickedly. His mouth stretched so wide it looked grotesque.

"Did you think I'd fall for the same trick twice, Henrik? This time I'll claim your body!"

With those words, black mana burst from the necklace, spreading in all directions and engulfing both William and Henrik.

"Wh-what is this...!"

William's movements froze for a moment.

He was swept up in the black mana.

'Damn.'

Henrik clicked his tongue internally. That mana seemed to have the property of dominating anyone it touched. It was proof that a powerful demon's power dwelled within it.

Someone of William's caliber wouldn't be easily eroded, but it was clear he'd temporarily entered a neutralized state.

The problem was-

'It's been a while since I've felt power like this.'

The black mana was extending its claws toward Henrik as well. Just as Henrik tried to urgently pull away, Dominic's hands flew at him. The creature gripped both of Henrik's arms tightly and smiled coldly.

"Now, worship Lord Nebiross!"

-Sizzle!

The black mana met the silver of the warhammer and spewed acrid smoke, but soon it overcame that and began eroding Henrik, turning his arms red as it advanced.

"Kugh!"

Along with the pain of blood flowing backward, black mana climbed up Henrik's arms along his veins.

"Did you think you could overcome the divine power Lord Nebiross granted with a mere human body?"

"..."

Just as Dominic's black mana climbed to his shoulders and aimed for his neck-

-Bang!

As if an invisible force had separated them, Henrik and Dominic were flung apart from each other.

"Wh-what just happened...?"

Dominic muttered in confusion.

Over there-

Wooooong-!

Henrik's body was glowing strangely.

Unknown characters were shining and blazing brightly across his body. Moreover, the skin that had turned red from the necklace's influence was smoothly returning to its original pale color.

"What is that... Huk!"

Dominic watched the characters and was horrified. His entire body stiffened as if frozen, and he asked with chattering teeth:

"Wh-wh-why do you have that?!"

His expression was filled with astonishment and fear.

Henrik also glanced over his own body once before looking at Dominic.

'Those characters.'

Last time, Velperia had shown the same reaction upon seeing these characters.

"Hi, hi, hiiiek!"

Dominic screamed and turned to flee. Henrik didn't hesitate and closed in on him.

-Whoooosh!

The characters inscribed on Henrik's body emitted more brilliant light the closer he got to Dominic.

"Kyaaaah!"

The more the light touched him, the louder Dominic's screams became.

He seemed to show an extreme rejection reaction to the light flowing from the emblem.

-Crack!

Henrik's warhammer smashed down on Dominic's back.

Dominic collapsed right there on the spot. Just as Henrik urgently moved to destroy the necklace-

As if synchronized with the light emanating from the characters, the red aura of the necklace gradually cleared, and Dominic's eyes cleared as well.

The moment Henrik saw those eyes, he hesitated.

"......."

"......."

After a brief exchange of glances,

"He, Henrik......."

A clear voice flowed out, not the murky tone from before.

He had hunted countless demons and witnessed their honeyed words and acting countless times.

Something had changed in Dominic.

"What have I been doing all this time....... No, this isn't the time for that, Henrik."

"Oliver?"

"I'm Dominic, Dominic Lindbergh."

It didn't seem to be Oliver.

As if he had much to say, Dominic continued speaking.

Henrik kept his warhammer aimed while opening his ears to listen.

"Those ancient characters seem to have temporarily helped me regain my sanity....... Ha, but that's only temporary. Krrgh...... My consciousness will disappear again soon."

"Weren't you already dead?"

"......Right. I was eroded by demons and lost my life, and the demons stuffed my fragmented soul into this necklace, turning me into an artifact. In that process, both a demon personality and a human personality were created."

Dual personality.

Hearing this, Henrik nodded again.

The last passage Dominic had written in his book was clearly a statement that demons and humans could never coexist. It had been difficult to understand why someone with such thoughts would come to serve demons.

But if it was the work of a corrupted demon personality, it made sense.

"Nebiross plans to use a ritual to sacrifice everyone in the Academy and turn them into an undead legion. Right now, up above, Carlo Mandolin, that lunatic, has finished all the ritual preparations."

"Carlo......?"

Carlo-he had thought him sufficiently suspicious, but he never imagined he would have already committed something of this magnitude.

That was because the Academy's downfall was supposed to happen much later.

"Originally, the plan wasn't to accelerate it like this, but as soon as Nebiross noticed the Sephirum was missing, he immediately put the plan into action. Carlo, following Nebiross's orders, installed massive magic circles throughout the Academy...... Professor Bena noticed it, but......."

"Magic circles......?"

At Henrik's question, he nodded.

It seemed Professor Bena had noticed some kind of plan from Carlo. Having been raised properly, there was no way she would have overlooked it.

That's why they used the necklace to erode her.

"Right. It can't exert its full power yet, but the magic circles prepared now are more than enough to turn the entire school grounds into hell."

Nebiross, having noticed the missing Sephirum, must have been incredibly anxious. Moreover, since Velperia, the Sovereign of Sloth and one of the Demon Kings, had been defeated, it seemed he had accelerated the plan quite rapidly.

Dominic's urgent voice flowed out.

"So run away quickly, the ritual will start soon! If you go now, it's not too late. Henrik, at least you need to escape and survive. That emblem is...... Urk-!"

Dominic trembled violently, groaning in pain. He clutched his head and staggered.

Then his necklace began turning red again.

Oliver's pupils became murky once more.

"Shut up! You fucking idiot! Blabbering about the Sovereign's plan in every detail, you goddamn trash!"

Dominic shouting in a contrasting voice.

It seemed the second personality had emerged. He glared at Henrik with murderous eyes and shouted.

"Kekeke! You bastards won't be able to escape this place anyway. The plan has already been executed! Just become sacrifices for Lord Nebiross's resurrection!"

-Krrrrumble!

"......!"

At that moment.

An earthquake resonated.

It was an earthquake that started from beyond the underground, deeper than the maze.

'Deeper down.......'

Henrik thought of the Academy's even deeper underground.

Various artifacts slumbered in the underground of Sefira Academy, and there were set times when they could be acquired. Since it wasn't yet time to acquire them, Henrik had only been monitoring them, and it seemed Nebiross's situation was the same.

The important thing was that this earthquake, which started from those depths.

-Kugugung!

The ceiling began collapsing, and massive chunks of stone started falling with heavy thuds!

Without a word, Henrik tore off the necklace, threw it into the air, and mercilessly smashed it down with his warhammer.

The necklace shattered into pieces!

"Kekekeke! Farewell, you fucking Henrik!"

Dominic hurled curses at Henrik with a maniacal laugh. At the same time, Oliver rolled his eyes back and fainted.

"This is...... what kind of power is this......."

Soon William regained consciousness and gathered himself.

"William. We must escape this place immediately!"

Henrik shouted coldly.

"......!"

William quickly assessed the situation, then hoisted Oliver over his shoulder and began running.

-Kwarrumble!

At that moment.

A large chunk of stone fell and blocked the entrance.

-Thud!

He ran at a speed that made it hard to believe he was carrying a sturdy man. He stepped on the falling stones and moved as if performing acrobatics.

Henrik chased after him and shouted.

"William! Run in that direction! I know the way!"

When Henrik pointed in one direction with his finger, William quickly moved across the stone chunks. Moving in the shortest distance as if cutting across, dodging stones and traps, William soon found the path.

"You know the way well. As if you've been here many times."

When William asked, Henrik smiled bitterly.

"One thing led to another."

Henrik glanced at the collapsing maze.

One of the paths to the deeper underground had collapsed.

Of course, there were still countless hidden underground spaces remaining in the Academy underground besides the maze, so it wasn't a major problem.

'Dominic seemed to know precisely about the characters. It seems there are more necklaces, so I'll need to find them and interrogate him.'

-Krrrrumble!

As William and Henrik climbed up along the passage, a tremendous noise erupted and dust swirled into the passage.

The two who had barely survived began hurrying up toward the Academy.