Master 55

Prev I TOC I Next

“Ugh…?”

As I felt the cold sensation of the dagger Hestia had thrust into my heart and coughed up a mouthful of blood, I forced my head up, struggling to keep my blurring vision.

“I-I did what you told me to do…”

“……”

“I-I’m not really going to die like this, right? There’s a plan, right…?”

The saint, who had adamantly refused my request until finally agreeing at the last moment, was asking this while gasping for breath with the dagger still in her grasp.

“You weren’t killed by me on purpose just to throw off the Demon King’s shackles, right!?”

‘Like I said, I’m not the Demon King or anything…’

I already feel wronged enough to have become the stand-in for the Black Mage leader without warning, and now I’m being treated like the Demon King? It’s enough to bring me to tears.

“Ha…ha…”

“D-Don’t laugh! It sounds like you’re agreeing with me!”

But with the dagger piercing my heart, all I could do was gasp for air and give a faint smile.

To be honest, I should have died instantly, but somehow the remaining white magic power in my body was desperately trying to keep me alive.

At this rate, I might die not from the wound or bleeding but from shock. Being a white mage isn’t always a good thing, really.

“If you’re using me, I’ll curse you for the rest of my life!”

“Cough…”

I felt sorry for the saint shouting while holding onto me, but in truth, I had used her, at least to some extent.

To be precise, it was to break through an unbeatable mechanic of the demon who was to be fully summoned in about a minute, by making myself classified as an enemy of Hestia, the demon’s number one target.

‘I’ve used this bug multiple times, but now that I’m doing it myself, I’m nervous…’

I didn’t need to explain it—soon the saint would see with her own eyes what I intended—but if this didn’t work, it would be the end of me.

Just imagining it was horrible, but even worse…

I hadn’t yet given Lady Meredia the gift I prepared for her.

If I knew it would come to this, I would’ve just brought it with me when I met her in the carriage.

“Hey! Don’t make that wistful face!”

“……”

“Now that I mention it, you really need to fix that expression of yours…!”

Just as I was preparing myself to let go of my hazy consciousness, leaving behind that small regret that suddenly popped into my head—

“Stop! Don’t!!!”

Suddenly, from behind me, Cecil’s terrified voice rang out.

“Brotheeeeeeer!!!”

Somehow, even though she was supposed to have been dragged to the infirmary by Runiel, she was now running toward me, crying like a tragic heroine.

And beside her was a pale-faced Runiel.

Wait, why? Runiel was supposed to be explaining the plan from the Trickster’s pouch to Cecil and Meredia by now and calming them down.

“L-Let me talk to you—ah!”

In the confusion of the unexpected situation, Cecil tripped and fell from the massive tremor that shook the arena once more.

“I-I’ll help with your plan now… So please, just think it over one more time…”

Even as her legs were scraped from the fall, she stood back up without caring about the wound and tried to speak through her tears.

“B-Brother?”

But the sight she saw as she lifted her head—

Was me, slumped on the ground with a dagger stuck in my heart.

‘Wait, if Runiel is right next to Cecil now…’

But more than Cecil’s despair-filled face, I had to focus on the overwhelming energy I felt nearby.

‘…Does that mean Meredia never got the message?’

As expected, Lady Meredia, who had been watching everything from the judges’ seat, looked more pale and shaken than ever before.

“Saint… lady.”

“Y-Yes?”

“Pull the dagger out.”

Seeing that, I mustered my last bit of strength and urged Hestia, who looked just as confused, to proceed with the plan.

“B-But…”

“Please…”

Because if Cecil or Meredia saved me here, there would be no turning back from this situation.

“OO…!”

“…Gah.”

As the saint, drenched in cold sweat, finally pulled the dagger from my heart, I felt my strength drain completely and quietly closed my eyes.

“Noooooooo!!!”

In that moment, a scream—unclear whether from Cecil or Meredia—echoed throughout the arena, but my consciousness had already faded.

*****

“Ugh…”

Meanwhile, at the very moment the dagger was pulled from Whitney’s heart—

‘It’s been so long since I felt fresh air…’

The top-class demon Azrael, who broke through the arena floor at just the right time, basked in the sunlight with a happy smile.

‘It’s probably been over a thousand years since I was sealed during the Academy’s workshop battle.’

For her, who had been buried underground ever since being sealed in the final battle between the first Hero and Demon King, this was a long-awaited moment.

‘Now then, where is the precious black mage who summoned me back to the surface…?’

Unlike most demons who feel nervous about meeting their contractors, she looked around excitedly—but then her face twisted.

“So the strange air current wasn’t just in my head. Was the prophecy true!?”

“Our opponent is a demon that hasn’t appeared in centuries! Proceed with extreme caution and send word to the homeland immediately—”

“Huh?”

Knights of the Holy Kingdom, blessed by the goddess she despised, were storming into the arena.

“Even after all this time… The goddess’s dogs are still running rampant?”

With an exasperated expression, Azrael watched the knights charging with divine power, then whispered with glowing red eyes.

“…Stop.”

At that single word, not only the knights but everyone in the arena froze in place.

“Hah, as I thought, nothing worth noting among them.”

Over a thousand years ago, she had commanded fear as the first Demon King’s right hand.

Though she had lost much of her power from centuries sealed underground, just by revealing her true form, Azrael still had enough strength to freeze everyone with a single command.

“Well then, let’s leisurely look for the contractor.”

Shifting into a small human form instead of her true demonic appearance, she landed on the ground and started walking, humming.

“Hm?”

But that lasted only a moment. Feeling an enormous power nearby, Azrael turned her head—and widened her eyes in surprise.

“What the hell…?”

Meredia, with her eyes glowing a deep red, was staring at her with clenched lips.

‘That power… It’s no weaker than the Hero’s party who sealed me!’

Meredia’s fingers were already twitching slightly. If Azrael delayed even a second more, she’d probably attack, ignoring the demon’s command entirely.

‘…Where is the contractor!?’ 

It wasn’t a huge problem for Azrael herself—after all, she couldn’t die and enjoyed fighting—but the issue was her contractor.

Demons could only stay in the real world through contracts, and their greatest weakness, now and then, had always been the risk of their summoner being killed.

‘Don’t tell me… they’re already dead?’

Even after the seal was undone, her power hadn’t returned, meaning the contract likely hadn’t completed properly.

“Hm?”

Desperately scanning the surroundings with her new time limit, Azrael suddenly widened her eyes.

“Where is this cursed saint’s energy coming from…?”

She had sensed an aura almost identical to that of the saint who helped seal her centuries ago, right nearby.

“Aha…”

Following the energy, Azrael moved quickly, her tail swaying as she smiled wickedly.

“So this is where you were. Quite close, actually.”

Not far from where she was summoned, she’d witnessed something very interesting.

“So you’re the saint of this era?”

She approached the girl trembling with a bloodstained dagger in her hand, who, despite her kind appearance, looked completely overwhelmed.

“Hmm… Judging by the disgustingly pure energy radiating off you, I guess you are.”

Though the girl was dressed as a maid, Azrael—being a demon—could easily feel the blatantly noble energy she emitted.

“But… you haven’t awakened yet. Haven’t met the Hero, I suppose?”

“……”

“Looks like you tried to cancel the summoning by killing the contractor, but that’s a shame.”

If even a saint, bound by so many restrictions, went as far as to kill someone, their identity was obvious.

Though behind her, a young girl and a swordsman stood frozen in tears, watching her with the dagger still in her hand—

Azrael was easily able to confirm that the man gasping for breath at her feet was the one who summoned her.

“Dear, naive saint. If you really want to kill someone when you lack power, you should aim for the neck, not the heart.”

“…Ugh.”

“Well, thanks to that, I avoided a crisis. Hahaha!”

Her expression visibly brightened as she reached to touch the saint’s cheek—only to pause and lower her gaze.

‘…Wait a minute.’

A strange sense of wrongness brushed through her mind.

‘Is this guy really a black mage?’

The man, who was dying from massive blood loss near his chest, oddly emitted no trace of dark mana.

‘I mean, the atmosphere suggests it, but still…’

While it was possible that someone on the brink of death might not emanate much mana, black mages usually carried traces of dark energy on their clothes or skin due to its intensity.

— Crack…

But there was no time to be cautious, not with Meredia already defying the paralysis and slowly moving toward her.

‘Eh, he must be. No way a normal person would look like that.’

Still watching the bleeding man carefully, Azrael eventually dismissed her unease upon seeing how objectively wicked his face looked and reached out to him.

“I answer your call.”

She took Whitney’s limp hand and gently kissed the back of it as she whispered.

— Zzzzzz…!

A dark aura surrounded them both, signaling the completion of the contract.

‘…Tsk, I should’ve milked more from this.’

Because the situation was urgent, she had to make a hasty pact, but still—this was the one who released her from a thousand-year seal, so Azrael decided to show him some mercy.

“Cough, cough…”

As soon as he received a portion of Azrael’s power, the man’s wounds quickly healed, and he coughed up blood while regaining consciousness.

“Contractor, state your wish.”

She could have fully healed him, but to be cautious, she only gave him the bare minimum mana.

Still, it had been so long since she’d asked that question that she found herself smiling faintly.

“Do you desire the world’s destruction? Or revenge against those who made you this way?”

Since he was now her master, she was ready to grant whatever wish he desired.

“If not that, even simple pleasure is fine—just say the word…”

After all, he was basically her savior, and once his wish was fulfilled, she planned to devour his soul as painlessly as possible.

“Whatever it is, I’ll make sure you’re satisfied…”

“Aha, ahahaha…”

“…Huh?”

As Azrael swayed her tail in good spirits, the man suddenly let out a sinister laugh, making her tilt her head in confusion.

“…So it worked?”

“What?”

The next moment, her snake-like pupils dilated wide.

“I was so nervous it might fail…”

“W-What is this?”

The man suddenly released a grayish energy from his entire body, completely healed the wounds that had only partially closed, brushed off his clothes, and stood up.

“You… are a white mage?”

“…That’s right.”

Azrael, staring dumbfounded at the grayish glow, asked hesitantly, to which the man responded with a radiant smile.

“But, how…?”

Only then did Azrael realize something was terribly wrong, and she began to back away, pale as a ghost.

“You, huh? That’s rather rude.”

“Eek—!”

Whitney grabbed her arm as she tried to retreat, his wicked smile enough to make even a demon shudder.

“From now on, call me Master.”

“…!”

And thus occurred the first time in the history of the Empire—no, the world—where a demon was tricked into a contract by a human.

*****

“Gasp.”

“Ah…”

“…Ugh.”

As the demon’s mind-control spell lifted, sounds of people gasping echoed throughout the arena.

“Um, so…”

At the center, I—freed from the spell like everyone else—gave a sheepish smile as I noticed the intense stares of Cecil, Runiel, and Meredia.

“Tada, plan success…!”

“Graaagh! How dare you…! You tricked a demon…!”

Though my words were mostly drowned out by the demon Azrael’s enraged shriek as she knelt beside me.

‘…But now’s where the real problem starts.’

I had perfectly pulled off the bug I used often in the game—tricking the demon into thinking I was an ally because I’d been attacked by the saint.

In the game, that mechanic was used as an invincibility exploit to easily beat demons.

But since there was no Hero this time, I made her sign a temporary contract instead.

Still, despite saying “plan success,” the real issue started now.

We might’ve prevented a rampaging demon incident, but it was likely the selection tournament would be canceled.

‘That’s the one thing I can’t let happen.’

The situation was already a mess. It’d be one thing for the Hero’s birth to be delayed, but both Lady Hestia and I would surely face the Holy Nation’s Inquisition.

And the only way to stop that was—

“Hey, boss!”

While I was deep in thought, Bergen’s urgent shout came from behind.

“I brought the selection participants just like the plan said!”

“Whew…”

Thankfully, unlike Runiel, Bergen had disguised himself as the disciplinary director and gathered the participants as instructed.

Relieved, I quickly headed over, doing my best to ignore the blank stares from the three women still focused on me.

“Haha, alright then…?”

Whether it was good luck or bad, the arena was still blanketed in the dark smoke that had risen from Azrael’s unsealing.

Which meant no one outside could see what was going on here until the smoke cleared.

“So, everyone… sorry to ask this out of nowhere, but…”

Clearing my throat, I turned to the confused participants and spoke in the kindest voice I could manage.

“From now on, you’ll need to kill e— No, wait.”

I slipped up a bit there, but still—this was the only path left to resolve this twisted mess.

“From now on, you’ll need to fight… until only one person remains.”

I felt a little sorry for dragging the tournament participants into a sudden death game…

But hey—this was all for the sake of world peace.

Prev I TOC I Next