novelraw Chapter 54 : Chapter 54
Chapter 54 : Chapter 54
Chapter 54. Nox (3)
Number 3 described the scene he had witnessed in great detail, as if he were a novelist.
According to his story, he had worked as a wandering minstrel before becoming one of the Unseen Ones.
‘What a diverse group of people.’
Number 1, who had been raised as an assassin from a young age, was rather a unique case.
Anyway, based on what he said, the identity of the person in the crystal ball was undoubtedly Nox.
The two horns, a symbol of a high-ranking demon.
The green tattoos covering his entire body.
The large scar on the bridge of his nose.
For another person with these features to exist besides Nox would be as likely as a bolt from the blue.
A characteristic of this Nox was his penchant for conquest.
He always stood at the forefront and devoted all his energy to war.
But to be plotting behind the scenes using humans?
‘In that respect, it’s highly likely that Nox has entered Primus' command. This isn't his style.’
Primus was not only immensely powerful but also felt like a strategist who used his head.
Or perhaps, like me, his power was being restricted for some reason.
‘Number 1 and Anonymous also said that his power weakened after he created humans and the Demon Tribe.’
Number 3 thanked me for saving his life and said he had to return to the Durani Empire immediately.
“Why don’t you rest for a few more days? Your wounds may have healed, but you were on the verge of death.”
“Time is of the essence.”
His gaze was resolute.
“It seems pointless to try and stop you. I’ll lend you a Pegasus, so ride it.”
“Thank you. I will never forget this kindness until the day I die.”
He bowed his head deeply to me, and I gave instructions to Elliot.
I told him to lend the Pegasus to the man.
Since it wasn't my property to begin with, in a sense, it was like a shared good.
‘It’s better for the person who needs it right now to use it.’
Then, a thought suddenly occurred to me, and I stopped Number 3, asking him to wait a moment.
“What is it?”
“There’s something I’d like you to give to Iris.”
“Understood.”
I immediately sat at my desk and wrote a letter.
After pondering for a moment on how to begin, I started the sentence with a rather sentimental content.
From your loving Frank> I thought it was a bit cheesy,but I also felt it was acceptable as a letter from a father to his daughter. I sealed the finished letter with sealing wax and handed it to Number 3. “I will be sure to deliver this letter to the master. I swear on my life.” “Hmph, no need to go that far. I wish you good luck.” He nodded his head and disappeared like the wind. I called out to Anonymous, who was standing idly behind me. “What is it?” “I need you to go to Mammon right away and deliver this.” I showed a huge gold ingot to Anonymous. In terms of gold coins, it was an amount equivalent to 5,000 gold coins. It was so heavy that it would be difficult for two ordinary people to lift. Anonymous frowned but couldn’t refuse my proposal. That was the nature of the magic device called the Magic Potion. Absolute obedience to the master’s words. If she disobeyed my words, a pain worse than death would spread through her. Watching Anonymous' back as she quickly disappeared from sight, I hoped that she would safely deliver the gold ingot to Mammon. With Nox now in the picture, Mammon’s cooperation was no longer an option but a necessity. *** “Why is there still no news?” Dekal anxiously bit his own fingers. Several days had passed since he sent his subordinate, but there was no sign of him. “Did they lose him? Even so, shouldn’t they have reported back to me by now that they failed? Could it be that they were defeated?” The opponent was a master of stealth, skilled enough to sneak into this place undetected and disappear without a trace. It seemed he was injured by the magic, but it might not have been a fatal blow. “Damn it. If I had known it would be like this, I should have sent stronger ones.” Taking over the Lombard Kingdom was an incredibly easy task,but nothing seemed to be going right since then. Dekal, deciding that he couldn't repeat his mistakes, immediately turned around. He then commanded Alboin, who was sitting blankly. “King of Lombard, invade the Benedict Kingdom at once.” At that, Alboin rose from his seat slower than a turtle and repeated Dekal’s words like a parrot. “At once… invade the Benedict Kingdom…. It is the king’s command.” Although most of the key figures in the royal palace were from the Demon Tribe disguised as humans,they made up less than one percent of the total population. Thus, Alboin was still a useful tool for controlling this place. Spinning plots from behind the scenes through a puppet was one of Dekal’s specialties. Before long, all the soldiers of the Lombard Kingdom marched towards the Benedict Kingdom. Ringing the prelude to war. A procession with no end in sight. The heavens and earth vibrated with the sound of horse hooves. Dekal, who was leisurely watching the magnificent scenery from the balcony, thought to himself. ‘I couldn’t uncover the identity of the intruder here, but the die has already been cast. The only thing humans can do is kill each other. Huhu.’ If this venture succeeded, his position within the Demon Tribe would become even more solid. Dekal, vowing to restore his tarnished honor with this matter, leisurely drank his wine. It was a gift from Marquis Moltke, who said it was a specialty not of this place, but of the southern empire. ‘The aroma is rich and the taste is very deep. Humans are so good at making things like this.’ Dekal quite liked this wine,but he had no idea that its true identity was the Devil’s Wine, which was popular in the Durani Empire. Dekal was slowly getting addicted to the wine. He couldn’t even imagine that a mere drink like this would take his life. *** At that moment. Anonymous was entering an ancient ruin using the key she received from Frank. Since she hadn’t undone her invisibility magic, she was able to do so without being stopped by anyone. Only after entering the ruin did Anonymous undo her invisibility magic. “Phew! To think I’d be reduced to such an errand girl. But what can I do. It’s for my Master, so I have no choice but to do my best.” This was far from simply obeying him because she had drunk the Magic Potion. It was, after all, an action driven by her own 100 percent pure will. Anonymous was about to use the side path she had passed through with Frank, but she suddenly stopped her steps. “What on earth is ahead that made my Master so scared?” Dragons were fundamentally a curious race. The reason she had become engrossed in metallurgy and tanning. Anonymous stealthily moved her feet, passed the single path along the cliff, and reached the corridor on the other side. “I was nervous for nothing. Nothing is happening.” At that very moment. Skung! A steel spike suddenly shot out from the side. “Aish! You scared me!” She dodged it with animal-like reflexes, but she had almost been sent to the next world in an instant. Right now, she was in a humanized state, so not only her defense but also her stamina was less than a tenth of her original power. And if she were to return to her original form, the space here was too narrow. Despite that, the stubborn Anonymous continued to move forward. With every step she took, a feast of traps followed. A giant iron ball. Steel spikes shooting out from all directions. Sharp blades and arrows coated with deadly poison, and so on. The maid uniform she was wearing became tattered, and her body was covered in scratches. Feeling that she couldn't possibly pass through this place, Anonymous hurriedly retraced her steps. “Hahk. Hahk. I thought I was going to die. What kind of place is this?” The person who installed this must be the perverted demon in the lowest level. Anonymous grumbled and used the side path. She went down the endless stairs. Just how far down had she come? Just as she was starting to feel disgusted beyond boredom. When she opened the door, she saw the perverted demon. She had come all this way with great difficulty, but he had a sour expression on his face and said this. “Hmph. Is that you.” But that acted as a trigger, exploding Anonymous' suppressed anger. “You son of a bitch!! Why did you have to make something so dangerous and bother me! I’m going to kill you!” At that, Mammon guffawed and mocked her. “Kuhahaha! I felt like something was caught in a spiderweb, and that was you? You’re lucky to have survived.” “I won’t let you go. Master’s orders or not, you’re finished today.” “Hoo, you’re going to defy it even after drinking the Magic Potion? It’s not as simple as you think.” Indeed, his words were correct. She tried to kill Mammon, but no strength entered her body. Instead, a pain like death engulfed her entire being. ‘Keuk. Such humiliation.’ Mammon looked down at her leisurely and slowly opened his mouth. “You have something to give me, right? Hand it over and get lost. I don’t like you either.” Anonymous made a helpless expression and rummaged in her bosom. She was about to take out the gold ingot that Frank had told her to give to him. The weight of the gold ingot wasn’t unbearable, but since its volume was too large, she had greatly reduced its size with magic that made objects smaller, but……. ‘Huh? Where did it go?’ Could she have dropped it somewhere while breaking through the traps? Flustered, she looked all over her body, but she couldn't find anything resembling a gold ingot anywhere. Mammon narrowed his eyes and asked. “What is it?” “The thing I was supposed to give you is gone.” “Hoo. You’re awfully bold for someone who’s lost something.” “Damn it. That’s why, why did you have to make such a trap and ruin things! This is all your fault!” The thief has a guilty conscience, as they say. At Anonymous' absurd protest, Mammon frowned and raised his voice. “You idiot! If you had just come through the secret passage from the beginning, this wouldn’t have happened!” “Wh-What? An idiot?” Ttuk. The sound of the thread of reason, which she had barely been holding onto, snapping. The form of Anonymous, who had been merely a teenage girl, gradually transformed into the queen of the dragons. Since this was a very large cavern, the walls did not collapse even when she transformed into a dragon. Seeing that, Mammon made a horrified expression and screamed. “H-Hey! Are you kidding me right now?” For the first time since meeting Primus, Mammon had to feel the crisis of death. *** Meanwhile, in a forest in the Tambora volcano, located in the westernmost part of the Continent of Ista, a secret communication was underway. “Failure. The word failure is an expression I haven’t heard in a very long time.” “I-I have committed a mortal sin, Father.” “A subordinate’s sin is also the father’s sin. Therefore, just as you are incompetent, I am also incompetent.” “I will be careful not to let such a thing happen again! Please give me just one more chance!” Fortunately, his father was a kind person. “This is also part of the trial and error process. From now on, I hope you will never mention the word failure again.” Nox pressed his forehead to the ground and trembled with fear, promising to do so. “You always press your forehead to the ground whenever something happens. That’s what the weak and powerless do.” At the other’s words, Nox immediately raised his head. Blood poured from his forehead like a fountain, but Nox paid it no mind and said. “I am merely realizing my incompetence.” “Huhu, one who knows their own shortcomings is bound to grow more than they are now. Before I cross over to the continent, you must complete all the tasks I have given you.” “I will never disappoint you!” “Understood. Then I will trust you with it.” With those words, the communication ended. Nox clenched both fists and cursed Dekal. “Because of that damn octopus bastard, I showed a shameful side to my father. What do you mean, the greatest mind of the Demon Tribe! I should have stepped up myself.” He desperately wanted to take the lead himself,But unfortunately, he had a direct order from Primus. Nox stared quietly at the mountain peak before him. An active volcano that ceaselessly spewed smoke. “So Lucifer is hiding in that place. He was in a truly hard-to-find place.” Lucifer was the leader among the archdemons. As the one in charge of pride, he would possess skills comparable to the Demon King class. And yet, he had never shown himself until now, and to think that was all due to his father’s glorious might. Nox praised Primus once again. “As expected, Father is a great being. To think you subdued all the archdemons that were only passed down in legends.” Nox admired and climbed the mountain again. His father had said that Lucifer’s soul was currently torn and sealed in this mountain. Along with the words that if he absorbed it, he could obtain a power incomparably stronger than before. He prided himself on the fact that his current skills were by no means inferior to the previous generation of Demon Kings. In that state, if he could also obtain Lucifer's power? If that happened, no one except his father would be able to look down on him. Nox’s sharp gaze was tinged with deep ecstasy.