Neril tilted her head.

“You think you know?”

“No, but… how is that even possible? Why is it possible?”

“What are you talking about? Explain properly.”

“That’s something even I can’t do. Is it even possible to get stronger like that?”

Neril flicked Adwin’s forehead.

Smack!

It rang out with a sharp, crisp sound.

“Ow!”

“Got your head straight now?”

“No… feels more like I’m about to lose it…”

“Then explain.”

“That person, no, not a person. That thing just opened the Gate of the Underworld.”

Everyone’s heads tilted in confusion.

Lisel asked,

“So the Second Finger is a necromancer?”

“Probably? Though I don’t think she recited any incantations.”

“What does opening the Underworld’s gate have to do with Kaeld getting stronger?”

“She is…”

He swallowed nervously.

“She is feeding Kaeld’s soul with the souls she summons from the Underworld.”

“What?”

“Ah, it would be easier if you just see it for yourselves.”

Adwin’s arm lit up brightly.

It was the same spell he had once used on me, one that allows ordinary people, not just necromancers, to see souls.

When we looked across the battlefield through it, the scene was completely different from before.

‘Now I get what he meant.’

Every time Pirensha snapped her fingers, dozens, hundreds, of souls appeared from nowhere.

She sent them toward Kaeld.

And Kaeld’s soul devoured them.

Not like eating through the mouth, more like… absorbing them.

Neril murmured,

“This is the first time I have actually seen souls. Fascinating. So you, kid, always see the world like this?”

“Heh heh. Finally, you recognize my greatness.”

“Not at all.”

“….”

“But does absorbing souls normally make you stronger?”

Adwin answered with a sullen expression.

“I honestly have no idea. No necromancer has ever tested something like this. But if that’s what we are seeing, I guess we just have to accept it.”

“Hm.”

“It’s a vile act. The souls Kaeld devours like that, what happens to them? They might never return to the Underworld. They might vanish completely.”

Most likely.

We all knew the answer, but avoided saying it aloud.

Because of his profession, Adwin was more sensitive to such matters than anyone else, and his face grew gloomier.

“Pirensha’s power, that must have been granted by Idria, right?”

“Most likely. Idria is an expert at manipulating souls, she even kidnapped Lepia’s soul.”

“Hoo… I have said it many times already, but Idria really must die.”

I couldn’t agree more.

Though first, we had to secure Trail’s safety.

[Don’t worry about me.]

‘Don’t you worry about me worrying about you.’

[Mide.]

‘We will talk later. Right now there is something more urgent.’

Adwin spoke again.

“The one relief is that it’s only temporary. Look.”

He pointed toward Kaeld.

Kaeld’s soul increased enormously every time it absorbed a soul from Pirensha.

But within minutes, it shrank back down to normal.

And each time, Pirensha snapped her fingers again to summon new souls.

Xenia said,

“That’s a relief. If he grew stronger permanently with every soul, he could be infinitely powerful.”

“Exactly.”

“But why does it shrink again?”

“Maybe he digests it and… poops it out?”

“…That actually makes sense, which is irritating.”

Adwin nodded.

“I think Hyung is right. You have got quite the insight into necromancy, huh?”

“I have got an excellent necromancer as a companion.”

“Ahem. Anyway, according to my theory, a soul can only absorb so much at once. Like how a stomach bursts if you overeat.”

So…

No matter how strong Kaeld became, that was probably his limit.

If it were right after my regression, I might have worried. But as I am now, I could handle him.

[How impressive.]

‘I wasn’t bragging. It’s actually terrifying.’

[What is?]

‘Kaeld’s soul can only handle a few hundred soul at once. But what about Idria?’

[….]

‘If Pirensha starts feeding her thousands, tens of thousands of souls…?’

Trail fell silent, at a loss for words.

‘You have already seen it in Atrium territory.’

[You mean the time I missed my timing to use the Eye of Omniscience?]

‘Yeah. Pirensha boosted Idria then too. She even surpassed you, her lifelong rival, in raw speed.’

Which meant: before confronting Idria, Pirensha had to be killed.

Not a choice. But a necessity.

[Even if Pirensha dies, wouldn’t Idria still do the same thing herself? That power came from her, after all.]

‘Maybe. But I’m not about to give her the luxury of opening the Underworld’s gate mid-battle.’

Then Offense spoke up.

“There’s another bit of good news.”

“Yes?”

“Looks like Pirensha can’t strengthen monsters.”

“Ah. Makes sense. Monsters don’t have souls. No target to receive the offering.”

Right, Idria couldn’t create souls.

That’s why, at the final stage of her plan, she tried to wipe out humanity itself and steal their souls.

The monsters she created were nothing more than soulless dolls.

So in the end, Pirensha could only strengthen beings with souls… mainly Kaeld and his party.

At that moment, Neril clapped lightly.

“That’s enough analysis. Shall we begin?”

“Yeah.”

“Leave them any longer, and Kaeld’s ego will burst the roof. I would rather die than watch that.”

“Pfft. Fine, let’s begin.”

I drew out the Gem of Desolation and handed it to Neril.

She held it, tapped it gently, and soon an invisible haze rose among the monsters.

Neril said,

“Looks like the gem will be feasting tonight.”

Kaeld was intoxicated with his newfound strength.

The speed of his blade. The force.

Vitality and confidence coursed through him.

‘With this power… maybe I could even defeat Mide.’

Though his strength came from another’s help, Kaeld didn’t care.

On the contrary, it felt too good.

Being stronger was great, but more than that…

‘More than anything… this roar.’

A roar.

Hm?

There was no roar.

Only then did Kaeld realize.

At some point, he was no longer fighting.

What he was doing was nothing more than simple, repetitive butchery like stabbing and slicing at meat hanging in a butcher’s shop.

‘Wh-what is this!’

This had nothing to do with his supposed strength.

The monsters weren’t attacking Kaeld at all.

They were sprawled across the ground instead.

Some had their eyes rolled completely back, while others were lolling their tongues out.

And then, a voice drilled into Kaeld’s ears.

“You idiot! Stop already!”

“Gasp.”

“I have been calling you over and over, didn’t you hear me? Are your ears clogged with something?”

It was Pirensha.

Her voice was sharp and vicious, unlike usual.

Kaeld turned around, trembling.

There stood Pirensha, her expression as terrifying as if she had just crawled out of hell.

“Can you hear me now?”

“Pi… Pirensha. What… what’s happening?”

“Damn it. Shut up for a second. I’m trying to figure out how the hell to fix this.”

She scratched her head violently, then called out to Idria.

—Mother. You see this, right?

—I do.

—I’m so sorry. The monsters suddenly stopped obeying me…

—It’s fine. That isn’t your fault.

Idria let out a light sigh.

—It’s Mide.

—M-Mide? He is here? Where?

—Above you. In the sky.

Pirensha’s body twisted at the words.

—Agril? Did he… did he reclaim Agril?

—It would seem so.

—But how? Even if he did, how could he be this fast?

—I don’t know. But that isn’t the problem right now.

Of course it wasn’t.

Pirensha pricked up her ears.

Though her own strength wasn’t much to boast of, she was still a Finger of Lie. From atop the wall she could clearly make out the voices of the soldiers.

“What’s going on?”

“The monsters are just collapsing on their own.”

“It’s like they are sticking their necks out for execution. Like they want to die.”

“And Lord Kaeld is cutting them down for real.”

“Even a child could kill these kinds of monsters.”

Pirensha’s lips trembled violently.

Kaeld too must have heard the whispers because his face went pale.

“Why… why is this happening…?”

“It’s the Gem of Desolation.”

“What?”

“The gem is draining the monsters’ vitality!”

“Th-then you, give them strength again! Revive them! Make them strong, the way you made me!”

That was impossible.

Monsters had no souls.

No matter how fine a dish you prepare, if there is no one to eat it, it’s nothing but waste.

Pirensha wracked her brain in every direction but found no solution.

Her face crumpled. For more chapters visit novel~fire~net

‘Did I… did I ruin it? Did I ruin Mother’s plan?’

She was on decent terms with the other Fingers of Lies.

She had even secretly teased Sobius and Hyran behind Idria’s back.

Was this karma?

Tears welled in her eyes as she reached for Idria like a child with scraped knees calling for its mother.

—Mother. I… I…

—Come back.

—Eh? No! If we retreat now, Mide will show himself.

And he will stir up the people of the territory to his liking.

About why the monsters refused to attack Kaeld.

He will proclaim that Idria and Kaeld are in league together.

After witnessing such undeniable proof with their own eyes, the people will surely believe it.

—Even so, you must return. That place is dangerous.

—But…

And then it came.

From the sky, Mide’s hateful voice thundered.

“Kaeld Wake! So you finally reveal your true colors!”

“…!”

“What’s wrong? Why don’t you keep fighting? Why are the monsters offering their necks for you to slaughter them?”

“Gh…”

“Everyone, listen well! Kaeld is Idria’s servant! What you see before you, this ‘peaceful’ scene, is the proof!”

Pirensha ground her teeth.

That mouth… must be shut.

She had to silence him before he could spout more nonsense.

“Kaeld! What are you doing? Hurry, rebuke him!”

“How… how do I rebuke that…”

“Are you brain-dead? Say the monsters fell because Mide tricked them! Shout that he is framing you!”

“Kh.”

Kaeld, shaken but barely regaining his composure, launched himself onto the wall as though kicked from behind.

Glaring up at Mide upon Agril, he roared,

“You dare slander me!”

“…”

“The monsters, you’re the one controlling them! You struck them down while I was mid-battle, trying to frame me with your schemes!”

“Hm.”

“With the lives of the people at stake, you stoop to such petty politics? Unforgivable! Come down here at once!”

And then it happened.

Crackle.

The air split open.

A rift appeared.

Everyone on the continent now knew that monster invasions came through such rifts.

It was the Authority over Space.

Idria had already displayed this ability at Atrium and Gabriel territory.

Through orbs and proclamations, word had spread across the whole continent.

So the soldiers cried out instinctively.

“The Demon King!”

And from beyond the rift, Demon King Idria’s voice rang clear.

“That’s enough, Kaeld. It seems we have been found out.”

Neril tucked the gem back into her robes.

“Maybe it’s just me, but it feels a bit fatter now.”

“Good. I will use it for the rest of my life.”

“That depends on how many more brutal fights are waiting. Anyway… are we going?”

Before answering, I glanced down.

Kaeld still hadn’t snapped out of it, hacking away at the fallen monsters.

Was he in a trance?

Pirensha shouted desperately from behind, but he didn’t seem to hear.

“Kaeld is buying us time. We have got a little more leeway.”

“Even so, we must hurry.”

“Yeah. Offense, I’m counting on you.”

By the time I spoke, Offense had already transformed into my face.

He stroked his neck, then answered in the voice of “Mide Mohan.”

“You’re sure this won’t be discovered?”

“Don’t worry, its like looking in a mirror.”

“No… but remember, you saw through this sorcery once before.”

Thanks to blood script, that is.

I clapped him lightly on the shoulder.

“Don’t worry. Just change my voice too.”

“It will hurt.”

“I will endure it.”

Offense shrugged, then laid his hand on my throat.

‘Ugh. Feels like my uvula’s being twisted up.’

[An oddly fresh way to describe it.]

‘An honest way.’

Soon, he lifted his hand.

“You didn’t even scream once. Impressive.”

“Barely held it in.”

But the voice that answered wasn’t “Mide Mohan’s.”

It was a very familiar voice.

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