novelraw Chapter 108 : Chapter 108
Chapter 108 : Chapter 108
Chapter 108. Suspicion
In the dead of night, screams echoed through the dark mansion.
“Ah, demon! A demon!”
“U-Uwaaaaah!”
Two men, masked and cloaked, were fleeing down the corridor, shrieking.
Their eyes were consumed by sheer terror.
Mapheltan’s lips curled wide.
The fear and screams of humans brought him pleasure.
Suppressing laughter leaked out in short bursts.
Mapheltan kept chuckling to himself.
Part of him wanted to burst out in full-blown laughter.
If he let himself surrender to ecstasy like other demons, it would surely be bliss.
Mapheltan shook his head.
‘……Control it. Control.’
He clung tightly to his fading rationality.
He slapped his own cheek and clawed at his chest.
His wild, blood-red eyes gradually calmed.
The madness receded, though a faint thrill lingered.
There was no way to erase that faint pleasure.
‘A little enjoyment won’t hurt.’
He had to compromise.
It was too difficult to resist instinct completely.
For a demon to grow, he had to indulge at least somewhat in human fear.
He had to learn to control pleasure.
Mapheltan steadied his breathing, then took flight.
A black demon glided through the shadows.
His red eyes left long trails like heat haze.
A sharp slicing sound of air rang out.
One of the thieves felt the presence and turned.
His pupils dilated wide.
“U-Uwaaaah! Don’t come closer! Get away from me!”
Mapheltan smiled faintly.
“Not enough. Scream louder.”
His chilling voice echoed through the corridor.
Like an awl boring into the brain.
It had the power to freeze a man’s limbs.
One of the fleeing thieves suddenly collapsed.
“H-Haaah!”
His body was stiff, seized by overwhelming tension.
He writhed on the ground like an insect.
Mapheltan’s grin split ear to ear.
“An amusing sight.”
He folded his wings and landed in the corridor.
The thief looked back over his shoulder from where he lay.
“N-No! Stay away! Get lost!”
He clawed desperately at the floor, dragging himself.
Mapheltan walked toward him slowly.
The distance closed, step by step.
“Got you.”
At last, Mapheltan overtook him completely.
His red eyes gazed steadily at the floor.
The thief trembled and spoke.
“I-I was wrong. Spare me, please.”
Mapheltan crouched, locking eyes with him.
He savored the man’s terror.
‘……Easier to control than I thought.’
The thrill was real, but this time was different.
Mapheltan hadn’t been consumed by frenzy.
‘Is this the result of all my training?’
Ever since his possession, he had battled constantly against himself.
He had struggled tirelessly not to be swallowed by malice.
That effort had borne some fruit.
Now, a single human’s fear could hardly sway his mind.
Mapheltan showed a satisfied expression.
“I almost want to grant you mercy.”
The result of his effort pleased him.
Hope lit the thief’s eyes.
“Th-Thank you! Truly, thank you! I’ll never forget this favor!”
Mapheltan chuckled.
“Very well. I’ll kill you without pain.”
He had considered torturing them.
As cruel and vile as it was, practicing torture was a skill he might need to survive in this world.
One day, without doubt, he would have to torture someone.
In a savage world, clinging to morality alone was too difficult.
Compromise was always required.
But Mapheltan wasn’t ready yet.
He lacked the resolve to dismember the man before him.
No—more precisely, he doubted he could stay sane while listening to his suffering and screams.
If he tortured someone now, he would drown in ecstasy.
He would lose himself.
Until he could fully control himself, torture had to be postponed.
And in any case, Mapheltan already had another method to extract information without it.
Despair returned to the thief’s eyes.
“I-I want to live. Please. Spare me.”
Mapheltan shook his head.
“That is a request I cannot grant.”
At once, a tendril of black miasma surged from his body.
The thief screamed, clutching his head.
He thought he was about to die.
But the miasma didn’t attack him.
Instead, it shot toward his fleeing companion.
The other thief shrieked.
“U-Uwaaaah! Let go! Let me go!”
His body was instantly dragged through the air toward Mapheltan.
Mapheltan snatched his head with a black hand.
“Running so far, leaving your comrade behind.”
His red eyes gleamed as they fixed on the thief.
The man thrashed.
“B-Begone, fiend! In the name of the Great Saint, I command you!”
Mapheltan laughed softly.
“Marziel does not hear your prayers.”
With his other hand, he seized the head of the thief on the floor.
Then lifted him up.
Both men dangled in the air.
Pained groans escaped them.
“D-Don’t! Please! Spare us!”
The other drew a dagger from his coat and hacked at Mapheltan’s arm.
“Release us, foul fiend! Now!”
Not even a scratch.
It sounded like a striking iron plate.
Mapheltan’s hide was harder than most armor.
His chilling voice spread.
“Mortals, speak every detail of who you are and why you dared come here.”
The words leaving his mouth twisted into the Ancient Demonic Tongue.
『 Mortal’ekh daruul, kha’rem Azel’tan nox’ir, sha’gol envek thar’an. (Mortals must explain why they dared seek the Apostle’s refuge.) 』
The Verbal Command Spell was engraved.
Lowly criminals like them could never resist an Apostle’s command.
Torture wasn’t needed—Mapheltan could extract everything from them.
Their eyes glazed over.
One opened his mouth.
“……We are low-ranking members of the ‘Keyless.’ We came to your refuge seeking to lay hands upon the property of a Council noble.”
The Keyless was the kingdom’s largest thieves’ guild.
“You knew my mansion was empty at night. Who told you that?”
This time the other replied.
“There was a notice posted openly at the Guild’s underground exchange. It said the Watcher of the Abyss had come to the capital, and that his mansion was vacant at night. Most didn’t believe it. We came only out of curiosity.”
Mapheltan turned the words over in his mind.
‘……A public notice about my mansion, at the thieves’ guild?’
If something was posted openly where all could see, it meant the information was considered of very low value.
Impossible.
Information related to a Council family was worth more than gold.
Details of their mansion’s layout, above all, should have been classified at the highest secrecy level.
And yet that information had been posted like a flyer. It was baffling.
He fell into thought.
Silence stretched.
‘……Could it be, why?’
Someone had deliberately spread the mansion’s details.
But why? It likely wasn’t money.
If profit were the goal, they would have sold the intel in secret.
No one would pin up golden information like a public flyer.
Mapheltan swallowed a sigh.
For now, the culprit’s intent was unclear.
He spoke.
“Do you know who posted the notice?”
One thief answered immediately.
“No. No one in the guild knew his identity.”
Mapheltan clicked his tongue.
Frustrating.
Most likely, one of the mansion staff was responsible. But there was no concrete proof.
‘I do have one suspicion…’
But it was only a hunch. He couldn’t be sure.
He needed solid evidence.
Mapheltan asked.
“Do you have any other useful information for me?”
No answer.
Only pitiful words spilled out.
“……We want to live.”
“Please spare us.”
Mapheltan frowned.
They were no longer of any use.
No other way to make use of them either.
He briefly considered enslaving them to monitor the guild, but dismissed it.
Too risky.
In the capital, every move had to be cautious.
He could not afford to leave any trace tied to “Mapheltan.”
“Sorry, but you must die.”
He clenched his grip.
Crack.
A sickening sound.
Their necks snapped cleanly.
Mapheltan let them drop.
Their bodies collapsed like puppets with cut strings.
They were dead on the spot.
He stared at the corpses.
He lingered for a long time.
There was too much to think about.
***
Morning came.
Yohan sat blankly at his desk.
From last night until now, his thoughts had continued endlessly.
Then, suddenly, his long chain of thought snapped.
A knock came at the door.
“This is Haman. May I enter?”
Yohan hesitated, then spoke.
“……Enter.”
The door opened.
Haman stepped inside.
With an awkward smile, he spoke.
“Good morning. How did you sleep?”
Yohan’s face was expressionless.
“Not bad, more or less.”
Relief flickered across Haman’s features.
“That’s good. I worried about your first night in an unfamiliar place. Nothing unusual happened during the night, I hope?”
Yohan studied his face closely.
There was no sign of suspicion.
He looked just as bumbling as yesterday.
Yohan spoke calmly.
“It was a peaceful night, as usual. How about you? You must have been busy.”
Haman answered with an innocent expression.
“If you mean errands, I didn’t waste much time. The Marcano family treated me very well. All thanks to your prestige, my lord. Once again, it’s an honor to serve you.”
He had visited the Marcano family yesterday to deliver Yohan’s message.
No doubt an appointment for a private meeting with Horentz had been arranged.
Yohan asked.
“When is the appointment?”
“Viscount Horentz said you may come at your convenience.”
As expected, Horentz showed great favor toward Yohan.
Yohan nodded.
“I’ll go around noon. Prepare accordingly.”
“Yes, my lord. I’ll take my leave.”
He was turning to go when Yohan spoke.
“Oh, by the way, there’s something else. Let’s have dinner together this evening and talk.”
Haman looked puzzled.
Just yesterday, Yohan had ordered everyone to vacate the mansion after dark.
“Will we be dining outside, then?”
Yohan shook his head.
“No. Here, in the mansion.”
Haman bowed his head deeply.
“As you command.”
Yohan couldn’t see his expression.