Chapter 33 – Interlude: The Summoner of Count Cardiff

“Damn it all!”

Maurice suddenly flew into a rage and hurled the glass in his hand against the wall.

No matter how much he drank, he couldn’t get drunk. And staying sober only made him more depressed, with everything at a dead end. All that was left was to indulge in carnal pleasures.

So it was wine and women. Lately, Maurice had been doing nothing but that, day and night. Yet unpleasant memories would still surface at unexpected moments.

Just when his new “business” was getting on track, everything suddenly fell apart. It all started when those adventurers—whatever their names were—got captured. In his panic, he was forced to abandon the harbor base. Unable to move freely, he couldn’t dispose of or sell the adventurers captured from the labyrinth or the female-type monsters.

That wasn’t all. Thinking the heat had died down, he sent his second son—who had been confined to the estate—back to the academy, only for the boy to cause trouble on the very same day.

The other party involved was the illegitimate child of Count Gartner. And with the head of the Silun barony intervening, he likely made an enemy of him as well. Or perhaps they were enemies from the start.

Gartner County and the Barony of Silun—that area was a major grain-producing region. Having failed in agricultural methods himself, insulting the head of the Silun family was rather foolish. He intended to get his revenge eventually, but for now, he had no choice but to back down.

Because of all this, Maurice’s mood was close to its worst.

And there was someone watching such a Maurice with cold, mocking eyes.

“Please calm down, Your Excellency.”

A bell-like voice came from Maurice’s bed. It was a beautiful woman with crimson eyes.

Linette Kaird. A female magician who had drifted into House Cardiff about three years ago. Linette was seeking a patron, and Maurice had answered her call.

“How can I stay calm?! The inventory we’ve built up in the South District is stuck in limbo! This was your idea in the first place, wasn’t it?!”

“My, but it was you who took up my offer, Your Excellency? You stood to gain vast sums with minimal investment and risk, while I could conduct field experiments to advance my research. And indeed, once we began, everything went exactly as planned. It was nothing but benefits, wasn’t it?”

“Only if things hadn’t ended up like this!”

Shouting, Maurice irritably shook off Linette’s arm as she tried to wrap it around his shoulder and stormed out of the bedroom.

The heavy footsteps faded down the hallway.

“…Hmph. Too late now.”

Left alone in the room—a smile crept across Linette’s lips.

A smile thin as a sliver of moon, stretching nearly to her ears.

“The pig got cold feet.”

Admittedly, Maurice’s thought patterns tended to be single-celled and driven by the logic of force—but when it came to the logic of force, Linette’s own companions weren’t much different. If anything, manipulating Maurice’s actions had been rather easy.

In truth, House Cardiff had been extremely useful as a foothold in the Boundary City.

The research facilities, procurement of materials, the patron’s lack of ethics or concern about what was being researched as long as it promised future profits—all of it.

Though she’d grown somewhat weary of his persistent nighttime advances, she considered it an ideal symbiotic relationship.

But the beginning of the end was Maurice’s failure in managing his territory. If House Cardiff’s finances dried up, her own research would stagnate. As a solution, she had suggested procuring adventurers and female-type monsters from the labyrinth to sell, promising profits rivaling those of slave traders.

She had also told him that with the black Transference Stones she created, the chances of discovery were low if they acted cautiously. While it was persuasive rhetoric, she had explained the risks from the outset and hadn’t lied about her assessment.

Maurice had jumped at the opportunity, and since the Count likely couldn’t take charge, she had prepared everything from the plan to the facilities herself.

Under normal circumstances, they would have long been unable to repay their debts and would have lost this mansion. And after the capture of Snake Bite, when House Cardiff’s servants were arrested at the harbor, Maurice should have been caught in the dragnet as well. That they avoided that was largely her doing.

But then again. All of this was to reach the seal at the Moonlight Temple in the lower levels of the Boundary Labyrinth—never for the sake of humans or the Count’s house.

Rising through the ranks of House Cardiff to live a life of luxury was not Linette’s goal, so there was no reason to take pride in it. Besides, there were those who knew about her involvement with Maurice and her research, so she and that pig were already in this together.

However, Linette pondered.

What was the actual situation? How far did the royal faction and the Adventurer Guild suspect House Cardiff? Depending on that, she might not have the luxury to dawdle here like this. Still, even for Linette, abandoning her research results and the Transference Stones still in experimental stages would be a shame.

She had been sending her results to her companions and reporting regularly. It wouldn’t go to waste, but it was still regrettable.

Research on Transference Stones could only be done in Termwills. But with House Cardiff in this state…

“Perhaps it’s time.”

At least a little longer. Until the next experimental results came in.

But if she was going to escape, she needed to do it quickly… Yet escaping presented its own difficulties. Her research on teleportation and transference methods using Transference Stones was still incomplete.

This city, whether in the labyrinth or the outer areas, had multiple layered barriers that restricted teleportation and summoning magic.

Thanks to her research, teleportation and summoning were now possible within the barriers… But to escape to the outside, she would have to walk through the main gate. If they were being monitored, waiting for her to make a move, any attempt to flee would likely end in capture.

Or perhaps—if she destroyed the outer barrier by killing the Moon Temple’s clerics and shrine maidens, could she then teleport away? Her trump card was still in the mansion’s basement, and if there was a chance things would get messy, she should consider that option as well.

The risk was high, but if she succeeded in breaking the barrier, it wouldn’t be a “retreat” but a “triumphant return.” She wouldn’t have to endure Valros’s smug face.

Advance or retreat. She needed to think it over.

As she pondered, she heard shouting from downstairs, like people arguing.

Wondering what was happening, Linette left her room and peered down from the second-floor hallway into the entrance hall. There, at the doorway, Maurice was in a heated exchange with armed soldiers.

“You bastards! Do you know who I am?!”

“That’s precisely why, Count Maurice. You are under suspicion of kidnapping and murder. Please come with us quietly.”

“How should I know anything about that?!”

“If you would just cooperate to clear your name—”

“Silence! My House Cardiff is of noble lineage!”

That was the gist of their exchange.

It’s over, Linette thought.

How the situation came to light didn’t matter now. If they weren’t being monitored, she should leave the Count’s mansion and escape the city before things escalated. In that case, she would have to abandon her ongoing research.

Linette was making such calculations, but all of it—everything—was shattered by Maurice.

“Insolent fools! I said be silent!”

In his fury, Maurice unleashed the water magic Icicle Lance. A soldier was impaled through the shoulder by the ice spear, let out a scream, and rolled on the floor, scattering blood.

At Maurice’s actions, Linette instinctively leaned forward. Resisting wouldn’t improve the situation. It was a terrible move—the worst, one might say.

—On this day, what proved most unfortunate for the soldiers who came to the Cardiff mansion was Maurice’s rampage and their superior’s impatience for achievements.

They were supposed to coordinate with the Adventurer Guild, but fearing the guild would take credit for rescuing the hostages and anxious about having overlooked House Cardiff’s crimes until now, the authorities had acted alone, jumping the gun.

Their reasoning was that even though the target was known to be combative, he didn’t keep private soldiers stationed at the mansion constantly. There was that complacency as well.

“He used magic! Call for backup! Get backup!”

“You’re outnumbered, Count Maurice! Resistance is futile! Why not admit your suspicions honorably?!”

The soldiers were still saying such things. They were likely holding back because their opponent was the head of a noble house.

Even for Linette, it was a disaster she wanted to look away from.

As the soldiers clamored and took spear stances, Maurice shook his head in disgust and shouted.

“Shut up! How should I know about any of that! It’s all her! That woman! Linette must have done everything!”

—That pig! He sold me out?!

What was this accomplice saying?

Linette gripped the hallway railing, furious.

It was decisive. Becoming her patron and keeping her close, such an excuse would never hold up. Maurice was doomed, and she was confirmed as a most-wanted key figure. Such was the moment.

This was utterly disastrous. To prevent fugitives from escaping, the main gate would surely be closed.

But.

“—Hah, fu, fufu”

After a moment of intense anger passed through her, laughter escaped her lips.

It was terribly, ridiculously absurd.

A wanted criminal? He betrayed me?

From the beginning, we demons and you humans were incompatible.

Now that things had come to this, there was no need to pretend to be a weak human and act clever.

Miasma began to rise from Linette’s body. The time had come to use that thing in the basement. That was all.

A magic array unfolded at her feet.

“Awaken.”

“Wh-what is that?!”

A great tremor shook Maurice’s mansion.

Slender somethings burst through the entrance hall floor. Not just one or two.

“A hydra…!? But this is…!?”

One of the soldiers recognized it.

An ugly dragon mimic. A multi-headed dragon boasting abnormal regenerative abilities.

However.

Flesh was scraped away in places, revealing muscle and white bone beneath.

—Undead. An undead hydra.

“Eek!”

It lunged at the nearest soldier, biting him, swinging him around, slamming him against the floor, and then chewing.

Simultaneously, the hydra’s crumbling tissues began to regenerate. That pitiful soldier’s flesh and blood. Being assimilated and absorbed by the undead hydra.

At the horrifying sight, a shudder ran through the soldiers.

Having become undead and lost its original regenerative abilities, it instead gained the ability to regenerate indefinitely by devouring prey. It was a monster that had acquired such a power. In the sense that it felt no pain or fear, it might be more dangerous than a true hydra.

But it was not a natural creature. Even as undead, it could only exist if controlled. If so, then its master must be somewhere.

“Linette! Was it you!?”

Maurice shouted, searching for the woman’s figure. And then, he saw.

Linette was floating in the middle of the entrance hall.

Forgetting what he had just blurted out, Maurice, even now, held onto hope. Because he knew of this undead hydra’s existence.

He thought she planned to use it to escape the city. He believed she would save him. That’s what he thought—until he saw her.

What stood there was not the beautiful woman Maurice knew. It retained Linette’s features. But with brilliantly glowing crimson eyes and purple skin—emitting a black haze-like substance from its entire body—it was—

“A demon… A demon?!”

A terrifying dweller of darkness that fed on human negative emotions to empower itself.

“I’ve come to take my leave.”

From that aberrant form came the cool, familiar woman’s voice.

“Your repugnant emotions were quite delicious. While I stayed here, I enjoyed myself well enough. But all of that ends now.”

Linette paused, took a deep breath. Her mouth split to her ears, and a snake-like tongue peeked out from the corner.

“Gbah!”

The next moment, a highly compressed bullet of miasma shot from Linette’s mouth, piercing through Maurice’s abdomen.

“Ooh, gah, ah…?”

“Die, you scum! How dare you, a mere human, betray me! Gya ha ha ha ha ha ha!”

As he heard Linette’s roaring laughter, Maurice, clutching the tunnel in his stomach, collapsed to his knees.

Linette deliberately refrained from delivering the finishing blow. The agony and despair of the dying Maurice were irresistibly delicious.

“Monster!”

A fireball flew toward Linette.

But she shot it down with a miasma bullet and closed in on the magic-using soldier. Her claws extended sharply, shredding the soldier’s limbs.

“Guoh!?”

Grabbing the hair of the soldier who fell to the ground, she tossed him toward the hydra as if throwing a doll. Bitten on his hands and legs in mid-air, the soldier writhed in agony.

“Gwaaaaaah!”

“Now, now, wait, wait. Not yet. It’s—still on hold, okay?”

Linette smiled cheerfully at the soldier being bitten by multiple heads.

“St-stop—”

“Eat him.”

“Gah—!?”

With the soldier’s screams as background chorus, Linette spread her arms toward the remaining soldiers.

“Well then—”

She licked her lips and glared down at the thoroughly cowering soldiers.

“Ah—how delicious. I wonder what those Temple monks taste like eeeeeee!”

Riding on the back of the undead hydra, Linette advanced without bothering to hide her true nature. The liberation of her true nature and the taste of despair, savored after so long, were unbearably delicious.

Compared to this, the fear and anxiety she had tasted through the bars from those captured in the labyrinth were bland at best.

Her target was the labyrinth entrance, the Moon Temple. The despair and suffering of the clerics and shrine maidens would surely be exquisite.

“Eek! Eeeek!”

“Help me! Someone help!”

Soldiers who resisted, soldiers who fled in confusion—she made offerings of everyone she saw to the hydra, feeding on their fear, listening to their screams as she advanced.

There were sporadic counterattacks, but they were insignificant. Humans were nothing but recovery potions for the undead hydra.

She could make it. It was nothing.

For all its boasts as the Boundary City, caught off guard by a sudden internal attack, this was all it amounted to.

Trampling everything with the hydra’s massive body, she reached the square near the Temple when—

that thing arrived.

“What is that?”

A shiver ran down her spine, goosebumps rising. Following her instincts, she leaped back from the hydra’s back.

A split second later—a lightning strike bright enough to bleach the world pierced through the undead hydra.

“Oooooooh!?”

But as if that tremendous lightning were merely a warm-up, a giant magic circle unfolded across the square.

At its center, Linette saw a human boy. A boy with dark golden-brown hair and eyes—dressed like a noble.

The boy looked at her—and narrowed his eyes as if looking at something boring.

Intuitively, she understood that the earlier lightning strike was the boy’s doing.

“That guy—!”

Pierced through by the Lightning Strike, its body smoking white, the immortal Hydra still moved. Linette, sensing a chill in the boy’s expression and inner thoughts, tried to urge the Hydra forward. But—

“You’re in the way.”

With explosive speed, the boy closed in.

“Devour it completely.”

He approached close enough to touch the Hydra and raised his hand. As the boy spoke, a sealing array unfolded beneath the immortal Hydra’s feet.

The moment its body was completely immobilized, a terrifying brutality erupted within the seal.

Gari gori, gari gori.

A chewing sound echoed.

Beneath the Hydra’s feet, coiling darkness spread. Within it were countless—eyes and mouths. The darkness extended tentacles, binding the immortal Hydra’s body layer upon layer, embracing it.

Its massive form was being consumed and eroded by the darkness.

The Hydra was regenerating, using the flesh and blood of victims from its journey. It resisted, trying to devour the darkness in return.

But it was meaningless. As if sinking to the depths of the earth, helplessly, the Hydra was simply and utterly devoured.

Eighth-Class Dark Magic: Demon’s Eater. A High-Tier Magic.

But Linette couldn’t witness that spectacle. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from the human boy who directed such intense hatred toward her.

Such negative emotions should, by nature, be the preferred feelings of a Demon—

Hatred. That alone she understood. She was used to being its target.

But joy? Why was that there? The emotion of a predator finding its long-sought prey, the way a carnivore looks upon an herbivore.

“A Demon—is it?”

She heard the boy’s quiet voice as he stared straight at Linette.