Chapter 469

“…Got me.”

Belcus frowned as he felt the connection to Fritz’s consciousness severed.

The sensation of floating in the air before being slammed to the ground. It was a familiar feeling, but one that never got any more pleasant.

Though now wasn’t the time to dwell on such discomfort.

“Hmm, seems like you failed. You were so confident, but it didn’t go well, huh?”

“That woman… She’s no mere savage. She’s far more intelligent than I expected.”

“Intelligent?”

“Yes. She saw through the trap with just a simple leading question, realized the effect of my power with just a few jokes… It was absurd. The rumors about her savage behavior must have been a cover.”

Eljure, the former leader of the Dream Paradise Society, picked up a wine glass from the table as she looked at Belcus’s twisted expression.

It was interesting. This was the first time Eljure had seen Belcus make such a defeated face.

‘He said he’d use Staldorf’s subordinate, who was tailing us, to ambush that savage woman, but it seems he got caught before he could even try. Well… it was a spur-of-the-moment plan, so it’s not surprising it failed.’

Since she hadn’t expected it to succeed in the first place, Eljure remained calm even after hearing things had gone awry.

Of course, what Belcus said next blew that calmness away in an instant.

“…That’s not all. She even figured out my true identity. I can’t understand how… but she was absolutely certain of who I am and what I can do.”

The moment she mentioned his real name, he was inwardly shocked.

He couldn’t even manage his expression when he heard it.

“…What? No, how could she…?”

Eljure was equally shocked by his words.

The time when Belcus’s infamy was widespread was over a decade ago.

After becoming a demon, he had joined her forces and hidden himself, so he thought no one would recognize him unless he revealed himself outright.

“…I don’t know either. It’s unexplainable.”

Belcus furrowed his brows.

There was no way she could have deduced it from his power.

The number of people who knew the effect of his first power, 『Alpha Mail』, including himself, was less than five.

Powers were essentially a trump card.

The fewer people who knew about them, the better.

Especially since Belcus’s power had a fairly clear countermeasure, so he had never revealed his power to anyone properly.

Not even to his ally Eljure, to whom he had hidden his final power.

‘How on earth did she figure it out…?’

Belcus pondered the reason his identity had been discovered as he smoked a magical cigarette, but the doubts only grew deeper, and he couldn’t find an answer.

If it had been the paladins of the Holy Kingdom or the knights of the Empire who had caught him, he might have been able to force himself to accept it.

They might have deduced his identity from the tattoo on the forehead of his mind-controlled targets.

But how could a savage woman who had been holed up in the eastern outskirts until last year recognize the tattoo of someone who had disappeared a decade ago?

No matter how much he racked his brain, it was an incomprehensible situation.

“I thought the discord in Arad was nearing its end… but now things might go awry. There’s nothing we can do from here.”

Belcus let out a white sigh and clicked his tongue.

He had hoped that all the citizens of Arad would rise up and be slaughtered by the paladins of Astraea, and that the discord between the Kranuus Church Order and the Astraea Church Order, who had cooperated with the protesters, would intensify.

But just a few days after leaving Arad, thinking things were going smoothly, everything had gone wrong.

‘If only I had stayed there…’

He had left Arad for Arvil, fearing that the paladins of Astraea would catch his trail, but in hindsight, it was too reckless.

If he had stayed in Arad, he could have acted directly instead of using weakened puppets.

Facing them head-on would have been impossible, but with his power, he could have at least tried to ambush and subdue them.

He heard she had demon resistance, but… that alone wouldn’t have been enough to stop his second power, 『Dark Conception』.

“…Just like with Holon, she’s a nuisance in many ways. Since she knew your identity, she must have been targeting us back then too. I wish she’d just drop dead.”

Eljure moistened her throat with wine as she expressed her hatred and resentment toward Ha-shal-leur.

Her forces, the Dream Paradise Society, which had been slowly eroding Holon, had been annihilated overnight by Ha-shal-leur’s actions.

Who could have imagined such a thing would happen while she was away for a short time?

Just thinking about it made her blood boil.

“That’s… we’ll just have to hope the forces of Astraea fight well. It’s as clear as day that she’ll clash with the Judges of the Order God.”

Belcus brushed off the ash from his half-burned magical cigarette as he speculated on the future of Arad.

Since she had declared the city occupied and forcibly suppressed the conflict in Arad, the backlash that would arise from it would fall solely on her.

Until the Astraea Church Order finally broke, she would have to fight alone, over and over again.

And in a way that avoided killing as much as possible.

“Even if she’s the superhuman who destroyed the Grimnir Church Order, whether she can win fighting like that… we’ll have to wait and see.”

“Hmm. I never imagined I’d end up rooting for the Astraea guys. The world sure is interesting.”

Eljure chuckled as she set down her empty glass.

======[ Ha-shal-leur ]======

After gathering the scattered wood pieces in the alley and neatly cremating Fritz’s body, I turned around and headed back toward the plaza.

I don’t know where Belcus was trying to take me, but it was obviously a trap.

I had no intention of going there.

I had experienced enough of how tricky mages’ traps could be just a few days ago.

Since I had smoked my last cigarette, I stopped by a general store on the way back to the plaza.

Just in case, I searched Fritz’s pockets, but nothing came out.

The general store showed the chaos of the city, having been looted once.

The door and window frames were broken, and the inside was a mess, as if a storm had swept through.

Fortunately, the small warehouse inside was intact, thanks to its iron door.

Though the door was dented and scratched here and there.

– Clank!

I shoved my left hand into the gap of the door and tore it off.

With the scream of the steel hinges, the heavy iron door was ripped off entirely.

The inside of the warehouse was a bit dusty but looked cozier than I expected.

Shelves lined up neatly with various items stacked on them, and the air smelled of leather and wood, mixed with a faint hint of mint.

Not bad.

I was just planning to grab some cigarettes and leave, but this seems like a good place to rest until morning.

After propping the torn-off door against the frame, I moved a few shelves to create a makeshift barricade.

Anyone targeting me wouldn’t be stopped by such obstacles, but they’d at least have to make some noise to break through.

As long as I don’t fall into a deep sleep, I should be able to wake up from the noise.

After blocking the entrance, I searched the warehouse and took all the cigarettes, leaving a gold coin in their place.

This makes it a legitimate transaction, not looting. In fact, I even paid three times the market price.

I took a blanket from the corner, spread it on the floor, and lay down. The drowsiness I had been suppressing hit me all at once, and my eyelids grew heavy.

…I must have been more tired than I realized.

Well, I did cover a distance that should have taken over ten days in just three, so it’s only natural.

I closed my eyes and slowly let go of my consciousness.

Today, a mountain of things to think about had piled up… but unfortunately, my brain wasn’t working anymore.

My mind had reached its limit.

…I’ll think about it after I wake up.

—-

Perhaps because I had remembered Belcus’s name, my dreams that night were particularly violent.

Milia, holding a golden fetus in her arms, laughing with half-open eyes.

And Evian, with his arm around her shoulder, laughing frivolously. What kind of nonsense dream is this?

It must be Menes’s prank.

After being quiet for a while, she must be trying to mess with me again.

Maybe I should rip out a pillar from the real Menes Cathedral.

—-

Five hours later.

As the high-rising morning sun illuminated the snow-covered city, signaling the end of dawn, I woke up.

The heavy snow that had been falling all night had stopped, and the wide sky was clear without a single cloud.

If it weren’t for the temperature dropping because of the snow, it would have been a perfect day.

Time to head out.

I had a quick breakfast of dried fruit and jerky in the warehouse, packed the cigarettes I had swept up and the neatly folded blanket into my bag, and left the general store.

I felt a bit guilty about tearing off the warehouse door… but I had propped it back up properly, so the warehouse shouldn’t get looted.

You’d need to be at least a knight to move a solid iron door.

Outside the general store, it was quiet.

The knee-high snowdrifts must have absorbed all the miscellaneous sounds.

The cityscape before me was hard to believe had been the site of a fierce battle just yesterday.

It felt more like visiting the ruins of a long-lost civilization.

The debris of buildings scattered everywhere was covered in white roofs, and not a single person or even a small animal was in sight, making it eerily peaceful.

Regardless of the circumstances, the scenery alone was quite a sight.

After washing my face with melted snow, the last remnants of sleepiness vanished.

I wiped my wet face with my sleeve, lit a cigarette, and started walking.

Toward the cathedral with the golden roof in the distance.

I was well-rested and had eaten, so my physical condition was perfect.

It was the ideal state for a good fight.