Chapter 57 - Main Dish

“Heh heh...”

“Why do you keep snickering like that?” Pumpkin asked, looking thoroughly sick of First.

First had been like this for a while now, standing atop the ramparts and letting out bizarre chuckles, his nostrils flaring.

'That's how he gets when he sees Agent Galahad.'

Pumpkin narrowed her eyes and looked where First was watching. She could see nothing. She squinted harder, but still saw nothing.

She poked him repeatedly. When he failed to respond, she discreetly smacked the back of his head. Only then did he turn around.

“Hmm? Did a bug land on me?”

She had put quite a bit of force into that blow, and he thought a bug had landed on him. A monster was a monster, all right.

Pumpkin feigned innocence and asked,

“Is something out there? Why do you keep snickering?”

“Ah, you wouldn't be able to see it. Heh heh.”

“See what?”

“He intends to test me. The nerve.”

First grinned as he said “the nerve,” and Pumpkin muttered a curse under her breath.

Judging by how completely he'd lost his mind, it had to be Galahad. But a test?

“It will certainly be quite a challenging test.”

Pumpkin stirred a little aura. Only then did she make out something like dots in the distance.

Those were...

'... Black Mages?'

Black Mages were busily making preparations as if they were about to attack.

A Black Mage attack wasn't much of a problem. Hadn't this place already been attacked by that Black Magic Society?

The problem was the man among them.

'... Why is Galahad over there?'

Pumpkin's eyes scrunched up at the sight of him.

If Galahad was among the enemy, that changed everything.

If asked whom she least wanted as an enemy, her answer would naturally be Galahad. His power was one thing, but he would stop at nothing. His relaxed yet chilling obsession was something beyond madness.

He was the last person she wanted to get tangled up with.

“Fucking hell. Why is Galahad over there?”

“To test me.”

“What kind of test?”

“As I thought, you don't understand.”

At First's broadening grin, Pumpkin muttered, “Fuck!”

First pointed toward Galahad.

“He's too far away to launch an attack, yet too close to conceal his identity. This shows he has no intention of attacking. If he meant to attack, he would already have moved. He's not the sort to wait around.”

First let out a heated breath. Pumpkin recoiled in disgust and took a step back.

“Then why remain within my line of sight? Galahad must know how exceptional my eyesight is. He must be trying to tell me something.”

His muscles creaked, almost as though they were breathing.

Pumpkin took another step back.

“Because I alone can understand Galahad.”

“... Bullshit.”

Pumpkin cursed him openly, but First didn't hear a word.

“The Black Mages must be targeting this place because of the Demon Realm. In that case...”

His lips curved into a broad smile.

“Ah, I see. My rival, I understand your intentions.”

First's face turned serious. His thick neck bent in a solemn nod.

'What the hell is he talking about? Seriously.'

Pumpkin stepped back again in disgust.

Just then, First lightly jumped down.

THUD

Despite the considerable height of the wall, that quiet sound was all he made. He landed precisely between the soldiers standing guard.

“Huh? What—”

The instant a soldier turned his head, First's hand moved.

CRACK

The soldier's head turned easily. First caught him as he fell and propped him up at the side, then immediately moved again.

It took him no longer than a single exhalation to bring down four soldiers. Their faces were peaceful, as though they hadn't even felt pain.

'He's gotten faster.'

Pumpkin's eyes widened. Having spent all her time with First, she could tell immediately.

Questions arose, but she grabbed her sword and jumped down for now. First might act as though he had a hole in his head, but he never botched a job.

When she reached the ground, First was adding logs to the fire the soldiers had been warming themselves by.

Pumpkin didn't bother asking what he was doing. First moved on without explaining.

He soon headed toward the gate. As befitted the North, the Seventh Battalion's gate was enormous. Rough scars from demon-beasts marked it all over, and it reeked of rust.

“There's a pulley on the other side. I'll go over.”

“No need.”

With that brief reply, First placed his hands on the gate. His back was twice as broad as anyone else's.

He exhaled briefly and began exerting himself. The snow beneath him sank deep.

CREAK

The muscles across his broad back groaned. Aura rippled over it.

Pumpkin stared blankly at the sheer brute force on display.

Then, with a low rumble, the gate began to move.

'Insane.'

He was opening a gate that took two oxen to pull, using nothing but strength.

Faced with such overwhelming brute force, Pumpkin let out a crude exclamation of awe.

Soon the gate stood wide open. The two sleeping oxen startled awake and rose, lowing softly at First.

He dusted off his hands with a broad grin.

“Come, my rival.”

At his low words, Pumpkin pressed hard at her temples.

'Has he forgotten the mission?'

Even First couldn't simply go to Galahad whenever he pleased. The mission was what made this course of action possible.

Worried though she was, Pumpkin shook her head. There was no way First would forget the mission.

* * *

“Th-the gate has opened.”

A Black Mage stammered out the report. Helcarton turned toward Galahad in astonishment.

The others wore much the same expression.

'First.'

Galahad placed a cigarette between his lips as he watched the wide-open gate.

He hadn't sent a single letter, yet First had understood his intentions perfectly. He really was useful.

'The Society's president, then.'

He had to capture the president this time. From a link to Dawn to complete ownership of the Black Magic Society, the man came with quite a few rewards attached.

The trouble was that he was quick enough to flee while abandoning his own subordinates. Still, this time he wouldn't be able to resist showing himself.

His trusted subordinate had rebelled while everything was falling apart. A cautious man would certainly want to see it for himself.

'From a suitable hiding place, of course.'

Galahad spread his mana out, but detected nothing. The man was even more cautious than he had expected.

How was he to catch someone like that?

The answer was simple. Offer bait he couldn't pass up.

That bait was, of course, the Demon Realm they called their sanctuary. What would the president think when he saw Helcarton pass effortlessly through the Seventh Battalion, with the Demon Realm waiting beyond?

'He'll think the betrayal was planned from the beginning.'

He would most likely decide that the report of failure at the Seventh Battalion had been false. After all, he had merely received reports from afar.

Above all, the Demon Realm so plainly visible there was an undeniable fact.

'He'll come out.'

Galahad was certain. And at the heart of it all was, naturally...

'Helcarton.'

Galahad looked at Helcarton. His eyes were more sinister than before, and filled with astonishment.

“Didn't I tell you not to worry about the Seventh Battalion? Now, everyone, get ready! We're going to the sanctuary. Ah, have you all been chosen?”

“Yes. Our Advisory Council has been chosen, and we have our staves as well.”

Helcarton answered firmly. The Black Mages showed their wrists, where the magic circle left by the first human Mage was inscribed.

Galahad nodded.

“Well then, Mr. President. Lead the way.”

Helcarton's lips curved upward at being singled out. He nodded deeply and turned around.

There was something almost noble about his back as he headed toward the gate. Galahad quietly slipped in among the Black Mages.

The gate stood wide open, without a soldier anywhere nearby, as if welcoming them.

Helcarton clicked his tongue softly in wonder and quickened his pace. It was quiet inside the gate too. Buildings lay in ruins here and there, as though the damage from the previous attack had yet to be repaired.

His gaze was fixed on the distant sanctuary. That darkness, its presence undiminished even in the dark of night, was unmistakably the sanctuary.

The Black Mages picked up their pace, excitement and anticipation replacing fear. Everything else hardly mattered...

“Huh?”

Just then, Helcarton met the eyes of a patrolling soldier with a decidedly vicious face.

He and his subordinates hastily gripped their staves and prepared for battle. Tension mounted.

Then—

“The man who earned the Grand Duke's recognition!”

The soldier snapped off such a vigorous salute that Helcarton startled.

It was directed at the man.

“Keep up the good work.”

The man accepted the salute naturally.

'Opening the gate for him wasn't enough? They even salute him?'

Helcarton's eyes rounded at this bizarre turn of events.

The Black Magic Society had also won over the Seventh Battalion's company commanders. Indeed, that control had been the foundation for opening the Demon Realm. Yet despite the considerable money and effort invested, they had never shown this level of loyalty.

The loyalty of these northerners wasn't something a simple transaction could buy. And yet, this response...

'Dawn, indeed.'

Helcarton's eyes gleamed.

“Don't stop. The night is short.”

At the man's whisper, Helcarton resumed walking. Before long, they reached the sanctuary.

'The sanctuary... '

Its overwhelming appearance left him gaping in awe.

“Have you been to one before?”

“Yes.”

Helcarton nodded at the man's question. He had once accepted an invitation from Dawn in place of the excessively cautious president. The place that invitation had led him to contained a sanctuary like this one.

“... Even denser than this one. Hmm?”

Realizing he had been speaking aloud, Helcarton frowned.

“My, you must be tired. We'd better get you into the sanctuary quickly.”

The man patted his shoulder, and Helcarton nodded.

The gate leading to the sanctuary opened wide. In the opening stood a hulking knight with an unctuous look and an astonishing beauty.

Helcarton's gaze remained fixed on the sanctuary.

“Now, enjoy yourselves to your hearts' content.”

They all headed into the sanctuary in a daze, like moths rushing into a flame.

After making sure the last one had entered, Galahad smiled.

“Manufacturing your own achievements. Interesting.”

First had approached unnoticed and murmured in a low voice.

“Ah, don't injure them. Every last one is a valuable worker.”

“Workers? Those vermin?”

Galahad tapped the ash from his cigarette in response to First's sneer.

“Surely that isn't too difficult for you?”

“Not at all.”

First's expression hardened instantly. His muscles creaked, and Galahad smiled at that wonderfully straightforward simplicity.

“Oh, the main dish is mine.”

One corner of First's mouth rose.

“I'm not shameless enough to steal someone else's credit.”

With a hearty laugh, First followed the Black Mages.

Galahad glanced behind him and tapped his cigarette.

It was about time for the bait to be taken.

* * *

'Hmm.'

The elderly president of the Society looked at the distant Seventh Battalion and reviewed the situation once more.

'They entered without a fight.'

The gate had opened on its own, and Helcarton had marched boldly inside with the Advisory Council at the fore.

The implication was clear.

'It never failed in the first place.'

The old man's eyes gleamed.

The operation to open the sanctuary had not failed. They must have submitted a false report.

'It was strange that the sanctuary remained open to begin with.'

If they had truly failed because Adrianna had appeared, she would never have left the sanctuary untouched.

Then why report that they were reclaiming it now?

The answer was obvious.

'To draw me out.'

The old man's wrinkles deepened. They clearly coveted even his position as president.

'They've underestimated me.'

The air around him turned cold in an instant.

This was the trouble with Mages. They could never let go of their greed.

There was, however, one thing they had failed to consider. He had never trusted them in the first place.

'Laughable. Utterly laughable.'

The old man adjusted his grip on his staff. It had been fashioned from a massive ancient tree, and something dark red was attached to the tip of the visibly extraordinary staff.

It gleamed like a jewel, but it wasn't a mana stone.

It was the egg of an upper-echelon Demon.

Dawn had given him the staff.

An upper-echelon Demon's egg.

What sort of beings were upper-echelon Demons? Even low-ranking Demons were absolute beings to them. Upper-echelon Demons were no different from gods.

He hadn't believed it at first. If it truly was such an egg, he had thought, they would never give away something so precious.

That doubt shattered the moment he took hold of the staff.

His old staff had also been of the highest quality. Yet the one Dawn had given him belonged to another realm entirely.

This was progress. Innovation.

Not magic, but authority.

'Feed it blood, and its power grows.'

The power it displayed the first time he fed it blood had inspired awe. The egg grew with each feeding, and was now as large as his face.

On top of that, he had the original magic circle left by the first human Mage.

'Fools.'

The old man carefully surveyed the situation. The gate stood wide open, with no troops visible inside.

“Let's go.”

Having confirmed that, he set off. Only then did those who had been crushed beneath his presence let out their breaths.

Their eyes were full of terror and awe.

'Insolent bastard.'

He would take this opportunity to replace the lot of them.

If he fed the egg all those insolent bastards' blood, it would surely grow once more. And then...

'I won't need to fear even Dawn.'

The wrinkles around his mouth deepened further.

The fortress was quiet enough to hear every breath. The old man walked on, struggling to suppress the impulse rising within him.

He reached the sanctuary, but there were no troops there either.

It was just as originally planned: seize complete control of the Seventh Battalion and build up their forces inside the sanctuary.

They had clearly succeeded after all.

'How dare they lie to me—'

A fierce impulse surged up. Frowning, the old man examined his hand.

Stems extending from the staff had pierced his hand, as though the two had become one. Violent impulses surged through the staff in succession, like a heartbeat.

A high-pitched ringing filled his head.

Before he knew it, he was running toward the sanctuary. His subordinates desperately followed.

'Home.'

Only after entering the sanctuary did the old man come to his senses.

The dark-red egg trembled faintly. A weighty power flowed through the staff.

'So this is the power of an upper-echelon Demon... '

Roots emerging from the staff crawled up his wrinkled hand and arm.

Just then, a low voice sounded behind him.

“Everyone's inside.”

An enormous, unctuous-looking knight stood by the gate.

SLAM!

The knight shut the massive gate as though closing a bedroom door. The old man's subordinates recoiled in surprise at that tremendous strength.

The old man frowned. All around the knight lay the people who had gone in ahead of them.

They had only entered a short while ago, yet he had subdued them all already.

'Impressive.'

Then the knight unleashed his aura. The flames blazing over it as though coating its surface were unmistakably high-level magic.

At that fragrant scent, the old man's lips curved upward. He wanted to tear into the man and devour him at once.

“I like that look in your eyes. Unfortunately, the main dish has already been reserved.”

Spouting this nonsense, the knight pointed somewhere.

'Who dares treat me—'

The old man turned his head and froze.

A man stood behind him. The ash around him was sparse, as though avoiding him.

Or fearing him.

The glow of the cigarette between his lips illuminated his face. He was a refined-looking man. His neatly swept-back hair seemed to offer a glimpse of his personality.

His eyes were fixed squarely on the old man, gleaming coldly as though he were looking at a delicious meal.

That gaze was chilling enough to make him flinch for an instant.

'Ridiculous.'

Then a truly fragrant scent wafted from the man, so irresistible that he could hardly bear not to devour him immediately.

The old man's body trembled with the fierce impulse. The roots embedded in his arm writhed violently.

Behind him, ash swirled together and took shape, resembling enormous wings.

Watching the old man unleash the full force of his power, Galahad smiled in utter satisfaction.

“What a splendid egg dish.”