Chapter 180: The Devil's Seed (3)

I didn't have to go far.

The former deputy commander lived in Dunhill, a village just a short distance down from Yuhageu City, which was located right next to Icata.

I took a carriage to Yuhageu City, and from there, I took another carriage.

While heading to Dunhill like that, I kept racking my brain.

For a way to free Rachel from the demon's grasp.

But...

‘It's difficult.’

The only method I could think of was to forcibly raise Rachel's mental strength to make her suppress the demon, Lilith's, mind on her own.

But to increase mental strength to that extent, one would need to use an elixir of the highest grade, or an artifact belonging to the 'Ring of Light' among the legendary-grade artifacts.

But even with these, there was no hundred percent certainty.

It was uncertain if the method would even work, and even if her mental strength was forcibly raised, I didn't know if Rachel's body could withstand the strain.

Nevertheless, as I was contemplating various methods, I arrived in Dunhill.

Dunhill was a village located in the mountains, a fairly large village with about 100 households.

The former deputy commander's house was on the outskirts of the village.

Although people from the Magic Corps occasionally visited, aside from that, he was a man who had completely abandoned the eventful life of an imperial mage.

Only he would know why he abandoned wealth and fame to live in a village like this.

Because 'Heroes of Frey' only deals with his death.

Night had fallen before I knew it.

Perhaps because it was in the mountains, the sun set quickly and the surroundings were swallowed by deep darkness and silence.

I hid myself in the bushes, activated [Night Vision], and raised my senses.

Faint laughter could be heard from the cozy brick house.

Also, a faint smell of food reached the tip of my nose.

It seemed they were having a late dinner.

Before long, the door creaked open and someone came out from inside the house.

It was a middle-aged man with a rather sturdy build.

‘The former deputy commander.’

Soon, a red dot blinked from his mouth.

The scent of a cigarette carried on the wind.

"You're smoking right after eating?"

A woman who followed him out asked.

"Ah, yeah. Why did you come out? Stay inside. I'm coming right back in."

"I like being next to you."

"Haha. Still, it's not good for the baby in your belly. The night air, and the cigarette smoke."

"Actually, that's why I came out."

"You're really something."

The two of them went back inside.

I felt like I understood why he had abandoned the life of a noble and settled here.

The sound of cheerful laughter, ha-ha, ho-ho, could be heard.

Since it hadn't been long since they ate dinner, it seemed the family was enjoying some refreshments together.

I thought it was about time, so I began to prepare as well.

I changed my clothes and equipped the Thief Gadgets.

After putting on the skull mask, I held Raven.

And one more thing.

Vwooong-

I hung a small, slender stick on my ear and secured it.

It wasn't a cigarette.

It was a magitech tool called a Record, made using a memory storage formula and a communication sphere.

I would capture her image with this.

In that state, I headed to the house.

I came to carry out the request and to see Rachel with my own two eyes, but I didn't have the slightest intention of witnessing another's death.

Even less did I have the twisted hobby of recording a murder scene.

I thought it was an ordinary brick house, but an alarm array was installed all around the house.

I easily disabled it, entered, and climbed onto the roof.

Through the walls, their conversation was transmitted.

And the demon arrived.

"..."

Something touched my senses, and I lifted my head.

Straight ahead.

It was a silhouette, hidden in the deep shadows and only faintly visible, but I could see it.

It was Rachel.

She was walking straight toward the house.

Thud, thud-

As if she had no intention of hiding herself at all.

At the same time, the laughter that had been coming from inside the house also stopped.

The former deputy commander had also sensed her presence.

I heard a small whisper from inside the house.

[What is it? An animal?]

[No. A young woman.]

[Really? Is she from the village?]

[No. First time seeing her. And she's alone.]

[Oh my! She must be lost! Let's help her.]

The woman, who appeared to be his wife, seemed to have no idea of the seriousness of the situation yet.

But the former deputy commander was different.

[The alarm magic didn't go off.]

[...]

[Something's strange. Stay here, Helin.]

With a creak, the door opened and the former deputy commander came out.

Unlike before, he was wearing a robe.

"Who are you?"

He asked with a smile, but I could feel his mana field trembling as if it would explode at any moment.

He had already turned on his mana circuit and was fully prepared for any unforeseen situation.

‘Good thing I disabled the alarm array.’

It seemed to have raised his vigilance.

"That's far enough. Do not come any closer."

But Rachel didn't stop.

"Hello?"

Instead, she smiled with an innocent expression and greeted him, and at that moment, her pupils were dyed red.

"...Keuk."

The former deputy commander staggered, clutching his head.

His mind had been infiltrated by Lilith's seduction.

However.

"It doesn't work, just like Father said?"

No matter how much he had retired from active duty, he was a man who had been the deputy commander of the Magic Corps, one of the empire's top military groups.

He was a 6th Circle mage, and a mage's mental barrier was sturdy enough not to be easily broken by a demon's seduction.

‘More importantly, Father?’

There was only one person Rachel would call Father.

Bishop Lutus.

But Rachel regarded Bishop Lutus as an enemy.

‘Why is she talking like that?’

From her tone, she was speaking as if she were receiving orders from her father.

‘Or is it Lilith's father?’

That was highly probable.

Right now, that wasn't Rachel, but Lilith who had stolen her body.

According to the lore of 'Heroes of Frey', Lilith's father doesn't appear.

But just because it wasn't depicted doesn't mean Lilith couldn't have a father.

And the most likely candidate was.

‘The Great Demon, Angmar, I guess.’

The Great Demon was sealed long ago.

Of course, this was all my speculation.

‘For now, let's focus on solving the problem at hand.’

At that moment, Rachel was extending her fingernails long and lunging at the former deputy commander.

So I quickly stopped my thoughts and jumped down from the roof.

Chwaang!

Raven, revealing its hazy blade through the darkness, collided with her fingernails, making a chilling sound.

Rachel's eyes widened, as if she hadn't expected my appearance at all.

"An intruder?"

Her glass-like eyes glinted in the darkness.

I didn't answer.

"Well, die."

From then on, it was a melee.

Rachel swung both her arms wildly as if to slice me to pieces.

That beast-like attack was not learned but faithful to instinct.

I was certain that the person in front of me was not Rachel.

The demon in her shell, Lilith.

An opponent I could never win against by fighting moderately.

I used the special ability of the Star's Blessing, [Starlight].

Flash!

A cluster of light that burst from my finger momentarily enveloped my body.

It felt as if all the stars in the night sky were watching only me.

With an uplifting sense of elation, my body's movements suddenly became faster.

It didn't end there.

I drew all the daggers from the dagger sheath and threw them into the sky.

By [Telekinesis], the five daggers spun around my body as if they had a will of their own, aiming for Rachel's vitals.

Pabababak!

Her movements were certainly fast, but my agility, with all stats increased by 50% due to [Starlight], was no less.

When I mixed in [Dagger Shift], it was Rachel's eyes that became dizzy.

To make matters worse.

[Thunderbolt]

A single streak of lightning fell from the sky.

Kwa-reung!

Carlos of Lightning, the former deputy commander who had overcome the seduction at some point, joined the battle.

"..."

His eyes sparkled when he saw my skull-masked appearance, but he said nothing.

He simply nodded his head and then used a single magic.

[Heart of Lightning].

A round ball of electric current emitted from his hand entered my body.

A tingling pain stimulated my nerves.

It wasn't an attack skill.

An agility-increasing buff.

Afterward.

"Do not look into her eyes."

He warned me.

Thanks, but I'm fine.

Because I have the 'Star's Blessing'.

Thus, the tide of the battle turned in our favor.

Rachel's atmosphere grew gradually rougher.

She seemed quite displeased with the current situation.

It was understandable.

She wanted to quickly get rid of her prey, Carlos, but I had appeared out of nowhere and was getting in the way.

So she tried to get rid of me, but that wasn't easy either.

From her perspective, it was a situation where she could neither do this nor that.

It was then.

That her red eyes flashed.

I followed her gaze and turned my head. And my heart sank.

She was looking at the deputy commander's house.

To be precise, at a single woman who was watching this battlefield anxiously through the window.

'Goddammit.'

I quickly twisted my waist, but Rachel was faster.

Kiyaaaa──

Letting out a scream-like shriek, she leaped right over me. I immediately launched all the remaining daggers, but she deflected them just by rotating at high speed in mid-air.

And.

Jjaeng-geu-rang!

She broke the window and infiltrated the house.

I too followed her into the house.

Gulp, gulp!

The person spewing blood from their pierced chest was none other than the former deputy commander.

"Ah... Ahhh...!"

His wife, unable to even speak properly from the shock, tries to stop the bleeding by covering the hole in the deputy commander's chest with her small hands. Behind her, a small child shivered in fear.

Lilith had already disappeared.

'...You son of a bitch.'

I squeezed my eyes shut.

***

I returned to the Lunatic.

Did the former deputy commander die?

...I don't know.

I took all the measures I could.

I emptied out all the potions I had on him and ran, carrying him on my back, to the hospital in the village.

That was all I could do, and the rest was up to him.

'To think he would save his wife with [Spatial Leap].'

Carlos of Lightning.

He chose to save his wife and take the attack himself instead.

That was a choice a human could make.

One who cherishes love and sacrifice.

And.

The vile demons who have fought in secret with humans for a long time since ancient times understood this human nature well.

In other words, Lilith used that fact.

To kill her target, Carlos.

...It was now time to make a choice.

And this incident made me resolve my heart.

The crystal sphere placed before my eyes.

Inside it was the combat footage just extracted from the Record.

Dayle, Luis, and I were watching that footage.

The video ended with me frantically pouring potions on his wound.

Luis asked.

"What will you do?"

It was a question of whether I would hand this video over to the Royal Dream.

Dayle was also staring at me intently.

Rachel had been in an implicit cooperative relationship with us until now.

Seeing her commit such an act must have been quite a shock to him.

Luis too, though he wore such a bland expression on the outside, must have a complicated heart on the inside.

I looked at Rachel's face in the video projected by the crystal sphere one last time before opening my mouth.