Chapter 68: The Devil of One Wing (3)

The two streams of 「Lightning Bolt」, 'Empowered Cast' to 3rd Circle, dealt critical damage to Ethesia, who was in a ‘wet’ state.

Chiiiik──

Amidst the faintly rising smoke, Ethesia propped herself up with her rapier.

“I am… not yet……!”

She tried to get up again somehow, but in the end, she collapsed and fell face down.

Ethesia was still breathing, but it seemed impossible for her to continue fighting.

In other words, it was time to collect her soul.

Sure enough, as soon as the wall of 「Hellfire」 that had been blocking me and my companions subsided──

“Indeed.”

──Fwoosh!

Black flames once again erupted next to Ethesia.

Clap, clap, clap.

Along with the sound of a leisurely applause.

“Impressive.”

Corps Commander Luce, once again, appeared before us.

“…Tsk.”

As soon as she saw that smiling face, Ibi immediately clicked her tongue loudly.

“It's that bastard again.”

“It’s a great pleasure to meet all of you again as well.”

At that, Luce replied nonchalantly, as if to an old friend.

He then glanced at the companions who were showing even more caution, and then, seeing Lily who hadn't been there last time, he chuckled.

“You’ve made a very interesting person your companion this time as well.”

As if he had already seen through the ‘proof’ of her kind hidden beneath the veil.

His smiling eyes opened slightly, revealing the eyes of a devil.

“…!”

At that gaze, Lily, who flinched, immediately placed a hand on her prayer book.

“I won’t eat you, Sister.”

Seeing Lily, Luce said with a giggle.

“Succubi aren't really to my taste.”

Lily gasped again as if creeped out.

Although she had heard about him a few times, it was her first time seeing him in person, and he had immediately figured out her identity, so it was natural for her to feel some fear.

“Are you a f*cking stalker?”

On the other hand, Ibi shot back in a sharp tone, but the hand hiding a dagger behind her back was trembling.

“Don’t you have anything better to do? Why do you keep following us?”

Although she was bluffing to hide it, Ibi was also feeling fear.

It would be strange if she wasn't.

He was a corps commander of the Demon King's army.

“Isn’t it the other way around?”

At that, Luce, as if he already knew everything, looked not at Ibi’s face but at her stomach where she was hiding the dagger and said.

“Have you ever considered that you’re the ones following me wherever I go?”

And, I’ve already done my job, Luce added.

“Isn’t that right, Malevolent Star?”

He then turned his head towards me and raised the corners of his mouth in a grin.

“If you aren’t finding me by knowing where I am in advance…”

Step by step, he began to approach me.

“We might be fatefully drawn to each other.”

Then, just like last time, he tried to grab my chin, but I immediately raised my hand and slapped it away.

Even as he rubbed his slapped hand, that smiling expression did not leave Luce's face.

“It seems the cat has learned to scratch in the meantime?”

“Stop hitting on me and just get to the point of why you’re showing your face.”

“Of course, I came to express my gratitude.”

Saying this, Luce pointed a finger at Ethesia who was lying at his feet.

“Ms. Ethesia here, although she has received a lot of help from me, she refused to make a ‘deal’ until the very end.”

He then raised both arms in a gesture as if to pass the ball to us.

“But thanks to you all pushing her to the limit, she finally offered her soul to me. So isn’t it only right to express my gratitude?”

“…So it was your doing, that stopped the wind of Daian?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

At Lily's question, Luce nodded his head and answered immediately.

“I am a devil, the kind your gods so detest. A mere touch is enough to easily corrupt something like a god's blessing.”

Well, I don’t think I need to explain it to you, Sister, you probably already know.

Seeing Luce add this, Lily trembled slightly again.

“Are you getting pissed? After all your hard work, we ended up stopping you?”

Seeing Lily's reaction, Ibi, who seemed slightly annoyed, taunted.

“Stopped me?”

Luce quickly covered his mouth and began to stifle his laughter.

“Do you really think so?”

Of course, from his perspective, he would think he had gone easy on us.

And in fact, that was true.

“Of course, it would have been quite fun to hold her leash and toy with Daian.”

If he had intended to properly support Ethesia, it would have been us lying on the ground now, not Ethesia.

“But, I thought it would be much more fun to continue watching your journey.”

“…Annoying stalker bastard.”

The reason Ibi muttered in a displeased tone was probably because she had instinctively understood this fact.

“If it’s so fun, why don’t you throw a coin and watch?”

“Ah, of course I should.”

At my words, Luce immediately snapped his fingers, and at the same time, with a small flame that erupted between his fingers, a gold coin appeared, which he flicked to me.

On the bottom of the gold coin I received, the name of the city where this coin was minted was written.

‘Tiaria’.

As if to foreshadow our next destination.

And it didn't stop there.

“──Go beyond the Wall, cause chaos, and break the enemy from within. This is the mission I received from the Demon King.”

As if he were talking about what he had for breakfast, Luce revealed his secret without any hesitation.

“To put it simply, it’s to cause something like a coup, just like this time.”

So, he was made to act as a sort of agent.

And thanks to that mission, he was able to go in and out of the Wall without any suspicion from the Demon King or other corps commanders and plot his ‘own plan’.

“To turn a past hero who protected the city from a coup into a traitor who staged a coup herself.”

It was quite an enjoyable task, Luce added with a chuckle.

“Even without the Demon King’s orders, I would gladly do such an interesting thing anytime.”

“So, you’re going to do that fun thing in Tiaria next?”

“Correct.”

The moment Tiaria was mentioned, Ibi and Miki reacted at the same time.

And Luce, as if he already knew the reason for their reaction, looked at the two alternately with a smiling expression.

“What are you planning to do, in Tiaria…?!

“Wouldn’t it be no fun if I told you already? Prince of Steel?”

“……!”

Seeing Luce casually reveal his identity, Miki froze with a slightly frightened expression on his face.

Of course, it was a statement that meant he knew his identity, and at the same time.

“Come to think of it, it’s been a while since I’ve been to see my family in Tiaria.”

It was practically a threat.

“Don’t you worry a little, about whether they’re still the same?”

The Irons family was a perfect target for the act of ‘corrupting a hero’.

“Y-You bastard…!”

Miki’s clenched fist could be seen trembling.

“…….”

On the other hand, Ibi, who had reacted with Miki just now, was just quietly glaring at Luce without saying a word.

“Well, it might be better than someone who has to worry about dying as soon as they return home.”

Luce, who chuckled again as if he knew the reason for her silence.

“Well then, let’s meet in Tiaria next time. I’ll be very disappointed if you don’t come on purpose.”

Was about to leave with a farewell, when.

“──Ah.”

He raised his index finger as if he had just remembered something.

“About Ms. Ethesia, she’s still alive.”

He then raised the corners of his mouth in a grin and said.

“If you plan to end her life here yourselves, that’s not a bad idea, but if you plan to keep her alive and put her on trial… could you relay this message for me? ──I will come to collect your soul, when it is most deliciously ripe.”

Fwoosh!

After that, the flames of hell erupted, and he disappeared as whimsically as he had appeared.

And before long, Ibi clicked her tongue and muttered in annoyance.

“……What a f*cking bastard.”

I wholeheartedly agreed with her.

* * *

After Luce disappeared, I used the ‘Dandelion’ to announce to the entire city that we had successfully suppressed and captured the rebel leader, Ethesia.

At that, the soldiers who had been in a standoff in front of the council looked at each other, and then, without anyone having to go first, they threw down their weapons and surrendered to the citizens.

As most of the soldiers surrendered, the commanders who had instantly lost both their leader and their subordinates also lost their will to fight and meekly surrendered.

Thus, the praetorian coup by Ethesia and the military came to an end.

However, unfortunately, the chaos in Daian did not end there.

With the arrested Ethesia imprisoned and awaiting trial for treason, some of her supporters who could not believe that their past hero had fallen began to gather in front of the prison every day, protesting for her release.

Among them were those who denied Ethesia's act of treason, for which there was clear evidence, claiming that the whole coup incident was a frame-up by the corrupt priests and the councilman who sided with them.

Or, there were those who defended the act of treason itself, saying that if the hero Ethesia had made such a decision, it must have been with a heart of patriotic loyalty, just like in the past.

…Maybe this is why that devil bastard didn't collect her soul right away.

Ibi, who seemed to have thought that everything would be resolved cleanly once Ethesia was defeated, clicked her tongue in disbelief at the unexpected development.

─ I should have just killed her.

I couldn't say I didn't understand her feelings, but as someone who had seen both the world line where Ethesia lived and the one where she died, I had to say that this was the better of the two.

If Ethesia had been executed summarily without a fair trial, those who made her a martyr would have brought about even more chaos than now.

That being said, I couldn't clearly reveal to the citizens the truth that only I had told Khamsin and Mistral, that ‘there was a devil behind Ethesia, and on top of that, she had even made a contract with a devil’.

The two of them were greatly shocked as soon as they heard this story and had earnestly requested that no one other than us present should know about it.

News from beyond the Wall had not even been officially announced yet, and yet, the 7th Corps Commander of the Demon King’s army had crossed the Wall and corrupted a past hero, making her stage a coup in one of the 12 cities?

This was on a different level from the news that the movements of the demon race beyond the Wall were unusual.

It meant that the demon race had already crossed the Wall and infiltrated our daily lives.

So, the chaos in Daian would continue for a while.

“But we must overcome it.”

Khamsin said with a bitter smile, looking back at me.

“As you said, if the windmill is broken, it’s my job to fix it.”

In fact, they would overcome it well.

Khamsin and Mistral, who had gained enlightenment from this incident, would join forces to bring balance to the windmill.

And the two expressed their gratitude to us for providing them with that opportunity.

“Please accept this.”

What Mistral, who said this, offered us was an insignia.

“You are the heroes who protected this city.”

The 「Insignia of Alliance (Daian)」, engraved with the symbol of the Church of Dairus.

“No matter what happens in the future, we, Daian, will be your allies.”

“When you need our help, we will fly to you like the wind at any time.”

Khamsin added with a grin.

“Especially for you, my angel, I will fly anywhere.”

Although it was a light tone, like when he was hitting on women, I knew well that a heavy promise was hidden in that tone.

“Thank you.”

So I replied with a smile.

“Then there’s something I’d like to ask you right away, is that okay?”