TPOTLPIM Chapter 38

The Red Knights and the mage unit were struggling against monsters that appeared whenever they thought they could finally forget about them. Dealing with the monsters themselves wasn't particularly difficult since they had become quite proficient at it, but the repetitive battles were exhausting them.

When monsters appeared, they would defeat them, and when they appeared again, they would defeat them again. In the midst of this tiresome, endless cycle of battles, an incident occurred.

Bang- Boom-bang- Bang!

Attack magic shot up into the air as if being fired wildly. Blue light was striking the forest trees and rocks, even the knights' weapons and the supply wagons.

"Aaah!"

Even the brave knights were too busy dodging the crazed attacks that couldn't distinguish between allies and enemies. Even after the monsters had fled in a rush, the attacks didn't stop and were now threatening the knight order itself.

"Asen! You stupid girl! Stop the magic!"

Hadel shouted through gritted teeth.

For the past few days, Asen had performed quite admirably. Thanks to her attack magic, the knight order was able to pass through the forest fairly smoothly without major casualties. But today, more monsters than usual had appeared, making the battle drag on, and at some point she lost her composure completely and couldn't control her magic power at all.

Asen was truly out of her mind. Her heart was beating so fast that if it beat any faster than this, it seemed like it would burst. She could hear her brother's voice in her ears telling her to abandon the magic, but how on earth was she supposed to do that! She wanted to stop using magic, but that had already gone beyond her control as well.

At this rate, it seemed like they would all die together.

Just then, Marcel, the knight captain, broke through the wildly firing blue light and approached right in front of Asen, slapping her across the cheek.

Stars flashed before her eyes from the violent shock that turned her head. The confusion, terror, and fear she felt while trying to handle the uncontrollable magic power were momentarily erased, masked by the burning pain in her cheek.

"Uh..."

At the same time, the blue light she had been shooting from her entire body stopped instantly.

When the loud noise like cannon fire ceased, silence settled over the forest. Asen held her swollen cheek while facing Marcel, who was glaring at her.

"Get a grip, Asen!"

Just then,

Boom-bang-

A single streak of blue light shot up into the cloudless sky, scattering like fireworks, and Asen's attack magic finally came to an end.

The knight order, having spent half a day repairing the damaged carts and healing the wounded, didn't depart for the demon's castle until the next day.

Marcel rode his horse toward Asen with an extremely apologetic expression.

"Um, Lady Asen. Yesterday, I couldn't think of any other way to stop you..."

"It's fine, it was my fault. The march was delayed by a whole day because of me."

Asen rode forward looking straight ahead without even glancing at Marcel.

Marcel, who had brightened at her answer that it was fine, became dejected again seeing Asen's reaction. She said it was fine with her words, but she wasn't fine with it at all. Another reason for Asen to hate him had been added.

He persistently rode his horse beside Asen again. One side of her cheek was severely swollen with a bluish-purple bruise, and the corner of her lip was torn with a scab sitting on it. Why on earth hadn't she healed that wound yet!

"My lady, haven't you healed your cheek yet?"

When he leaned his head in to examine Asen's wound, she reflexively turned her head to the opposite side.

"I don't have much magic power left after yesterday's rampage. Since we don't know what might happen, I need to conserve my magic power."

"But there are so many Odik people here! Isn't there a single mage who can heal your cheek! I'll speak to the Research Director immediately."

"Leave it. It's useless."

Leaving behind Asen's protests, Marcel set out to find a mage who would heal Asen's cheek.

He tried to find Hadel, but the first person he spotted was Hans, Asen's cousin of similar age.

"Hans. Lady Asen has a severe wound on her cheek from yesterday's incident. Won't you heal it for her?"

Hans shrugged his shoulders and spoke in a tone that suggested there was nothing to be done.

"I can't heal that."

"But aren't you close to Lady Asen? It's swollen so badly it hurts just to look at. Are you going to just leave it?"

"That's not something I can decide. Not healing wounds that result from wrongdoing is a long-standing educational policy of the Odik family."

"What kind of damn policy is that!"

Marcel, who had been furious, became conscious of Hans staring at him and cleared his throat.

"Ah, I'm sorry if my words were too strong. Lady Asen's contributions have been significant, so where are the rewards for her good deeds when only punishments for mistakes remain?"

"It can't be helped if we want to prevent repeating mistakes. That's how we reduce accidents caused by magic."

Hans spoke indifferently and then rode his horse forward.

Marcel went to find Hadel, but Hadel's reaction was even colder than Hans's.

"You did well. I should have slapped my sister's cheek yesterday, but since you did it for me, I can only be grateful."

"Well, that aside, she has a bruise on her cheek. Are you going to leave a grown young lady like that?"

"As long as Asen is here, we can't make distinctions because she's a woman. And before that, the Odik family's long-standing tradition makes no distinctions between men and women."

Hadel spoke as coldly as his porcelain-white skin and rode his horse ahead first.

Marcel, left behind, stared at his retreating figure with a dazed expression. Cruel, so cruel. The Odik people were cold-hearted. How much abuse must Lady Asen have endured growing up as a troublemaker among them?

Just then, someone approached and struck the back of his head as he stood there in a daze.

"Who is it!"

Marcel turned around savagely but then shut his mouth. Throughout the entire knight order and mage unit, there was no one who could strike the head of someone in his highest position. Except for one person.

"My Lord!"

"Pathetic, Marcel. Is this the time for you, who should be commanding the entire knight order, to be worrying about some little lady's cheek?"

"I will correct myself."

Marcel answered by placing his right fist against his left chest, meaning he accepted the order.

"You are the knight captain. Think about your role and get your head straight."

Teros gallantly rode his horse while his red cloak fluttered behind him. Marcel, watching his retreating figure, felt a strange sense of rebellion. His lord, who would draw his sword if Lady Cecilia were hurt, was so cold toward Lady Asen.

Well, Lady Cecilia was his lord's wife, so he couldn't expect the same treatment. Then why was he being so restless about matters concerning Lady Asen?

He quietly spread out his palm and stared at it. The sensation of when he had slapped Asen's cheek yesterday was still vivid.

"Guilt, it's guilt."

He muttered quietly as he rode his horse. In any case, Asen was a woman, and striking a woman's cheek went against the spirit of chivalry.

Just then, the scouts sent ahead returned to report that the demon's castle was approaching.

Following the scouts' guidance, they moved and at the end, a castle that looked like an old abandoned fortress revealed itself. This was the demon's castle they had only heard about in words.

The blue moss stuck between the castle walls, the rusted castle gate, and the watchtower with its broken top that couldn't perform its proper function looked like they hadn't been touched by human hands for several hundred years.

The knight order and mage unit broke down the castle gate, pushed aside the monsters that persistently rushed at them, and began searching for where the demon was.

Before long, they found what was presumed to be the lord's reception room and opened the door. At that moment, the demon sitting in a worn wooden chair waiting for them revealed himself.

The knights made deflated sounds upon seeing the demon, crouching awkwardly.

"It's just a kid?"

The demon was in the form of a boy who looked to be about sixteen. As he greeted the knight order with a bright smile, it seemed like they could almost hear giggling sounds.

"You're the first humans to come here on your own two feet. How were the monsters I sent? They fought really tenaciously. Thanks to that, it was entertaining. I've been far too bored for a long time."

A clear voice echoed through the desolate space.

Teros stepped forward, drawing his sword from its sheath.

"I'm looking for someone."

"Yeah, I know. You mean the blonde gentleman, right? That gentleman was really fun too."

Teros's eyes narrowed as he glared at the demon interrogatively. As if responding to that gaze, the demon lifted the corners of his mouth in a smirk.

"He's dead."

At those words, the knights present froze in shock and watched Teros's reaction. Asen began gathering magic power with the intensity of someone about to kill the demon immediately.

Just then, Teros spoke calmly, as if reassuring the panicked knights.

"Thankfully, he's not dead yet."

The demon sent a mocking gaze asking what someone like him could possibly know.

Teros spoke matter-of-factly.

"I know someone very well who makes the same expression as you. You didn't speak the truth. You're lying because you hate begging for someone to play with you."

Teros looked at the demon's empty, desolate eyes and recalled a face he knew very well. Hollow and cynical, wearing a gentle mask solely for the pleasure of toying with people—his one and only brother.

"You don't need to lie. Anyway, no matter what you say, I plan to play with you until I'm satisfied."

"Can you really entertain me? Really?"

As black magic power stretched out from the demon's fingertips, the knight order and mage unit also began their all-out attack toward the demon.

A short while later, breathless laughter rang throughout the reception room. Knights who failed to avoid the demon's attacks were sprawled across the floor, and Teros was catching his breath while roughly wiping away the blood trickling down his eyes.

The demon was holding his stomach laughing so hard he didn't even glance toward Teros. On the demon's white cheek, there was also a wound where Teros's sword tip had grazed him.

"Ahahaha. Mister, that was really fun for the first time in ages. I don't take the lives of people who entertain me."

The demon wiped tears from the corners of his eyes, then hardened his expression and pulled out a bundle with keys jingling from his pocket, throwing it on the floor. A heavy metallic clanging sound rang at Teros's feet.

"Underground."

Understanding the meaning, Teros picked up the keys and immediately turned toward the door.

"Wait. You have to play with me more. Listen to more of my stories."

When Teros looked at him with eyes asking if he had more to say, the demon giggled. The demon's gaze, filled with both mischief and malice, swept Teros from head to toe.

"Mister, you're under a love spell. I can see the magical aura flowing around you. How romantic it is. Because of that spell, for the past few months your heart hasn't felt like your own heart and you felt like you were going crazy, right? Heh, I'm showing kindness. I'll break that spell for you right now."

The magic the demon was talking about seemed to refer to the love potion Asen had made. Teros ground his teeth.

"Just try to break it. I won't let you get away with it."

"Yeah, I definitely have to break it."

The demon made a mischievous smile like a disobedient child, then turned his head toward Hadel, who was beside Teros.

"Nice to meet you, mister who shares my blood. Do you know that I'm a bastard born among the distant relatives of Odik? My parents feared and hid me because dark energy flowed through the magic power I use, then abandoned me here when I was young."

Hadel's face was tinged with bewilderment. The demon was a child abandoned from the Odik bloodline. This was a fact he knew nothing about at all, despite being the head of the Odik family. It was the moment when the secret of the demon who had appeared from over a dozen years ago was unraveling.

The demon was the result of a child abandoned in a dilapidated castle in the nameless forest, surviving alone while polishing and refining his magic. The infamy of 'demon' was the product of self-defense by a child who had been fighting solitude alone, creating monsters with dark magic and steadily attacking people who passed through the forest.

The demon pointed with his chin toward Asen standing to one side.

"I'm not the only mutant. That sister over there also has distinctive magic power. She doesn't seem to be able to use dark power like me, though. Really strange, isn't it? Some people are abandoned for meeting the wrong parents while others are protected. But mister, let me give you some advice—don't use black magic. It's not something just anyone can handle. I sense a foul energy from you, like black magic."

At the mention of black magic, the surrounding gazes pierced toward Hadel. Hadel only made anxious sounds without saying anything. He kept his mouth firmly shut while breaking out in a cold sweat.

The fact that he had used black magic was a past that Hadel had kept thoroughly secret.

Three years ago, Hadel had become infatuated with black magic and had devoted himself to studying forbidden magical texts. What had started as flipping through forbidden books out of pure curiosity had at some point become something he was frantically fascinated by without realizing it. While he moved more meticulously than Asen, he had the same curiosity as Asen in that any newly learned magic had to be tried somehow, so he had secretly tested several types of black magic at Odik Castle.

But there was something he had overlooked—black magic dominates the caster's mind more and more the more it's used. An intense desire to use black magic on an even larger scale began to cloud his reason.

Then one day three years ago, he created a suitable justification for needing to use black magic and secretly used black magic just once outside Odik Castle where no one would know. He had put forward his own reasoning, but it was something he committed while half-mad from black magic. After committing the deed, fear and regret about being discovered came flooding in, and he returned to Odik Castle as if fleeing, so he didn't even confirm whether the magic had succeeded.

From that day on, he reproached himself for committing something dangerous and resolutely severed himself from the temptation of black magic, but who would have thought it would be exposed by the demon. One fortunate thing was that the demon didn't reveal the content of the black magic he had used.

"Brother, what is the demon talking about? Black magic?"

When Asen approached and whispered anxiously, Hadel relaxed his rigid expression and tried to appear casual.

"What do you mean? Do you believe what he's saying? It's a trick to cause confusion on our side with provocative words."

Having thoroughly disturbed Hadel's mind by mentioning black magic, the demon clapped his hands as if relieved after saying everything he wanted to say.

"Now, I'll send you off, so go on. If you take pity on pitiful me, send someone to play with me sometimes."

Everyone felt somewhat guilty about the feeling of abandoning a young boy and leaving, but they were soon busy with their respective work of checking and healing the wounded.

With the urgent matter of rescuing Count Serin, Teros immediately turned and left the reception room.

In his haste to rush out, he didn't notice that he had dropped a precious item he had been carrying close to his chest the entire time. After Teros left, the item he had dropped remained alone on the red carpet of the reception room, glowing. The demon reached his hand toward the carpet and picked up the thin, thread-like glittering object.

"Hmm, seeing as you left it behind, it must not be that important?"

A blue topaz resembling Cecilia's eyes was sparkling in the center of the bracelet.