Chapter 807

Heavenly Demon Fox, Persciella.

A dragonkin raised by Dragon King Shilud, whose individual combat prowess supposedly surpasses even winged dragonkin like Beherikes or Macaoros.

Always wearing a mask, even her close aides know nothing about her except her name. But with such power, she’s probably on the verge of ascending to a lesser dragon.

In other words, her level might be the same as mine.

Of course, that doesn’t mean she has equal power.

Even within the same level, strength varies greatly depending on skill, combat style, divine blessings, racial traits, and equipment.

Take me, for example. With all my blessings, divine blood, national treasure-level equipment, and Hersela’s Life Force Technique, I’ve been able to dominate opponents of similar levels.

So, how strong the Heavenly Demon Fox is can’t be known without facing her directly.

If Demon Mage Bernard Faylor, the only human in the Heavenly Demon Palace as Macaoros said, is the fifth apostle… then I can roughly guess Persciella’s identity and abilities.

The collared female dragonkin that appears when fighting the fifth apostle.

A pale, naked woman with scales, reptilian eyes, and horns on her head—she didn’t look much different from a human. That must be Persciella.

Tamed like a dog, she transformed into a dragon and joined the fight under the fifth apostle’s command.

Which means… even if not now, someday, the Demon Mage will betray Persciella and reduce her to a pet.

Hmm, Heavenly Demon and a collared female Heavenly Demon. Maybe “Heavenly Demon” is just short for “Heavenly Genius Female Demon” or something.

—

That was all the information I got from Macaoros.

The Ducal House couldn’t dig up anything more, so they’re considering disposing of him.

Keeping him alive is useless, and if his mana seal breaks, it could lead to disaster.

If he starts flinging high-level magic in a last-ditch effort, the underground of Pailoon Castle might collapse entirely.

“What a shame. Taxidermying a dragonkin would’ve been fun.”

Freide clicked her tongue and shook her head.

If he were intact, maybe, but with all his limbs cut off and scales removed, he’s not worth preserving. She sounded like a potter carefully selecting clay for fine porcelain.

Though in reality, it was far from such a refined task.

Anyway, it seems Macaoros’s end will be a beheading. Dismemberment is pointless since his limbs are already gone.

As for Ereneisia…

“Why is her interrogation report full of [REDACTED]?”

I sighed in frustration, looking at the document detailing her interrogation.

I was personally curious about what that arrogant fairy went through, but about 30% of the torture—uh, interrogation—was deemed inappropriate to report to Marquis Median.

It felt like being denied alcohol because I forgot my ID and was told minors can’t drink.

If they’re hiding it from me, they must’ve gone all out with the torture… but for me, it was just unnecessary meddling.

Still, it was probably gentler than sticking needles into nerves and electrocuting them.

“Hard to get a confession without breaking their self-esteem. With [REDACTED]’s help, we [REDACTED], but no change in behavior. Administered [REDACTED] to amplify [REDACTED] by 30 times and tried again… What even is this?”

I could tell they tortured her to break the fairy’s pride, but with all the redactions, I had no idea what they actually did.

“……”

Freide stayed silent, either not understanding or choosing not to explain.

Well… it’s a shame, but they did get a confession, so I’ll have to be satisfied with that.

Unlike Macaoros, who spilled everything once they started peeling his scales, Ereneisia held out until her ego was on the verge of collapse.

Stubborn or foolish? Holding out like that only increased her suffering without changing the outcome.

After her ego finally shattered, she obediently answered all their questions.

There’s a chance she lied, but Pailoon’s interrogators seemed to think it was mostly true, judging by how well they summarized it in the report.

Only six guardians remain, but if the World Tree and Council of Elders wish, they can replenish them with lesser beings.

To reach the heart of Alvheim, where the World Tree’s roots lie, you need the fairies’ ability to manipulate forests.

Seven guardians were deployed for this mission, but one died at the hands of the dragonkin.

They realized the revived Insect-Dragon didn’t harbor Nidhogg’s soul, so the World Tree’s revenge was just a pretext—their real goal was to assassinate me.

Most of this was already known, so it wasn’t particularly helpful. It just reinforced the need to stay vigilant against the fairies.

During the interrogation, she cursed humans, saying they should’ve been wiped out long ago.

This was probably because seeing me, a descendant of the Twelve Knights, reminded her of the nightmare from 800 years ago.

For the fairies, the events of 800 years ago are like a panic button.

Hearing that I split the sky and defeated the Arm of the Evil God, they must’ve recalled the legend of Carolus, who cut through clouds and mountains with his sword.

That’s why they went all out, deploying seven guardians to kill me.

Even though I can’t even meet the prerequisites for Heaven-Splitting Slash right now.

The ultimate technique, Reversed Heaven—Heaven-Splitting Slash—requires mastering the ability to cut through space after pushing time compression and spatial cutting to their limits.

—

Ereneisia’s fate will also be decided by the Pailoon Ducal House.

They offered to hand her over to me, but since she’s completely broken, I declined. What use is a shattered fairy?

I thought about gifting her to Lacey, Ferne, or Hersh, but bringing her all the way to the Imperial Capital seemed too bothersome.

She can’t even control her bodily functions and needs to be fed. It’s better to just leave her in Pailoon Castle.

Unlike Macaoros, she’s not dangerous, so they’ll keep her imprisoned until she dies. If I need her later, I can always ask for her then.

—

We traveled like this for several days. Stopping at small territories and towns to restock supplies, wash up, and rest in comfortable inns.

With the Pailoon Ducal House’s emblem on our carriage, we bypassed inspections and avoided any troublesome idiots. It was a leisurely trip.

Except for Freide.

While Rana, Damien, and I could rest peacefully in inns without revealing our identities, Freide couldn’t.

Lords, shocked to hear the Ducal House’s lady had visited their territory, invited her to banquets.

They probably wanted to curry favor, but seeing Freide sigh in annoyance each time, it seemed to have the opposite effect.

She said something like, “I could refuse invitations from barons or viscounts, but refusing an earl would be rude and damage the Ducal House’s reputation.”

So, even if it was just a quick meal, she had to show her face.

Thus, whenever we stopped in a moderately sized city, Freide, grumbling all the way, headed to the lord’s castle with a Pailoon knight acting as her coachman.

You’d think I, the Lord of the Borderlands, Marquis Median, and a saintess of the Astraea Church Order, would also get invitations, right?

In principle, yes. In principle.

But not having to go through inspections means the lords don’t know who’s inside the carriage.

If they knew I was here, they’d be scrambling to send invitations, but since I kept my identity hidden, I avoided the hassle of banquets.

Freide grumbled about how she was suffering while I rested comfortably.

“What can I do? If they knew I was here, it’d be chaos. You’d be even busier then.”

“…You’re just lazy.”

Unable to refute me, Freide reluctantly praised my wisdom and trudged off to the lord’s castle.

—

Ten days later, we finally returned to the Imperial Capital.