Chapter 138: Upheaval (2) (1/2)
…There were four people, two of them children and the other two barely adults, running through the tunnel. They recalled the words their parents had left them before they fled.
‘We’ll take care of this place, run away and don’t let yourselves be caught.’
So they ran, driven forward by desperation. Not because they knew what would happen if they were caught, but because they knew who they left behind.
“…Ah!”
A light was shining in the distance. They were nearly at the exit.
“It’s done. Guys, now…”
But, instead of continuing forward, they suddenly halted. The exit of the tunnel was being blocked by a solitary form. He appeared to be reading a book, standing directly in the way, but he raised his eyes to stare at them as soon as he sensed movement. His blue eyes glowed in the darkness, revealing a cold light.
“…!”
The moment they saw his face, they couldn’t even step back. Even the thought of running away was impossible. Not from Deculein of the Yukline household, that clan of destruction whose bloodline had been passed down over the centuries. The devil that hunted and massacred Demon Bloods, responsible for thousands of their deaths.
That monster was blocking their path.
“…”
He looked at them; no words or threats were needed. The two children wet their pants under that glare, and tears began to roll down the cheeks of the two older refugees.
“…Hmm.”
Deculein looked behind them down the tunnel.
“No one else is coming?”
“…”
No one dared to answer. Even that simple question was enough to make them feel the noose tightening around their necks.
“…Me.”
The young woman in her early twenties spoke despite the tension, letting out a shrill and pathetic voice.
“Only me. These children are still young. So only me…”
“Don’t overestimate your worth. You are just an individual.”
Deculein spoke in a voice as cold as the winter wind and pocketed his book. At that moment, death crept past them, whispering. At least, the four Demon Bloods felt it had.
“But if you want to make a sacrifice, shall we place a bet?”
Then, Deculein produced a coin.
Ting-!
The coin bounced off his fingers and sank into his palm.
“Heads, tails. Would you like to try it?”
They didn’t know what kind of hobby it was, but they had the right to life or death. There was no way to express any dissatisfaction. The woman nodded quickly.
“Yes, yes. I’ll do it.”
“If it’s heads, you die. If it’s tails, I’ll let you go.”
It was a questionable proposition, to put it candidly. The coin itself could have been tampered with. However, such an objection was, of course, impossible.
“…Yes.”
Deculein showed the coin hidden in his hand. It was heads.
Uughhh—
A scream leaked out of her that sounded like a deflating balloon. He sat back in his chair and opened his book.
“…”
He remained completely silent. Did it mean he would let them go? The four walked forward hesitantly, but he remained motionless.
Gulp-
Still nervous, they headed out of the tunnel, looked around, and then turned west. However.
“East.”
Deculein, still reading, finally spoke.
“Go east.”
“…Yes.”
Again, they believed in Deculein. They advanced eastward through the thick forest, no destination set in their minds.
“May God bless us…”
…After the Demon Bloods left, the tunnel became silent. Deculein lifted his eyes as he was reading and looked at the coin he held.
──「Coin of Inclination」──
◆ Information
: A special coin that can be obtained from the item catalog.
: It is possible to distinguish a character’s disposition.
◆ Category
: Special ⊃ Miscellaneous goods
◆ Special Effects
: Divine the character’s disposition by betting on heads or tails. It shows heads for good tendencies and tails for evil tendencies.
[ Midas’ Hand: Level 3 ]
─────────
A coin that revealed good and evil. There would be wicked people among the Demon Blood, and there would certainly be fanatics from the Altar. He would not hesitate to kill such people. Three sets of footsteps echoed from further down the tunnel. He continued reading and listened, waiting for this new group to arrive.
* * *
It was late at night when I received a message announcing the end of the situation. When I returned to the battlefield, a bunch of prisoners were gathered in the wild plains. The guard who informed me of the existence of the tunnel approached.
“Professor, what happened in the tunnel?”
“I killed about twenty people.”
“…Whoa! As expected!”
I looked around the prisoners’ faces. There were roughly 3,000 prisoners, but many were almost impossible to distinguish outwardly.
“Can you separate them?”
“Oh, yes. The blood magic invented by Betan can identify them to some extent. Of course, we need quite a bit of flesh…”
Indeed, the prisoners had unusual wounds. It was still too cruel a classification method, but I guess it was at least fortunate they could survive it.
“Hello~ Professor!”
A wizard saluted me, a man with long blue hair tied behind his back: Gurken. Like me, he used steel.
“But do you need to save these guys? I will take care of them.”
Kirik- Kirik-
The steel shards floating around him resonated with his words. His magic was small so as to seep into the body and inflict the worst possible pain. When I thought of the intention behind that spell, I had to wonder about the man’s sanity.
“No need to.”
I blocked his steel with Psychokinesis. Gurken appeared bewildered by the sudden magical interference.
“Hmmmm…?”
He was about to activate the magic again with an expression that looked like he wanted to poop, but my Psychokinesis didn’t budge.
“They are too vile to kill comfortably. I’ll send them all to Rohalak.”
“I didn’t mean to let them off easily, but…”
Gurken scratched the back of his neck and nodded.
“Yes. Let’s do that.”
“…Transfer them all.”
The soldiers saluted obediently, and the prisoners’ complexions turned dark. To die here or to live in Rohalak. They must be deciding which of the two was more painful.
“Hey! You bastards, you heard him! Move! Get up and move! The slow ones will be dumped in the desert!”
However, at least the living side would benefit several dozen times over…
* * *
—Deculein of Yukline has made a huge contribution to this Demon Blood suppression operation, so…
Returning to the continent, I was awarded the Imperial Medal of Merit. Sophien personally hung the 2nd-grade commendation on my chest. Thanks to that, I also received bonus stats, so it wasn’t a bad thing.
“You did a good job.”
“I am honored, Your Majesty.”
Sophien looked down at me from the podium.
“I’ll take this opportunity to give you one piece of advice.”
“Yes. I will appreciate it.”
“Don’t even look at a tree that you cannot climb.”
“…?”
“Now! That’s all!”
With those strange words, Sophien ended the award ceremony, and the banquet began.
-Sir Yukline-! Professor Deculein-!
Leaving that place where people were busy calling out to me, I returned to the car after managing some troublesome connections.
“Hmm?”
But there was a letter lying in the back seat of the car.
[ This is Carixel.]
It was from Carixel of Rohalak. I opened the envelope. From the very first sentence, it didn’t look good.
[ I finally got my hands on a pencil and some paper so I could send a letter to the Professor. First, life in Rohalak isn’t easy, but it’s not as bad as I thought. We found a water source, and fortunately, there are not many clans who’ve starved. This can be attributed to the abundance of edible monsters…]
Carixel’s writing meandered. In summary, the Demon Blood’s lives in Rohalak weren’t all bad. Was it a provocation, or was he testing me? After reading the letter, I replied with one sentence.
[If there is a Demon Blood dedicated to the Altar, deal with it yourself.]
Just then, the car stopped, but they were still some distance away from the mansion. Secretary Ren said in a slightly perplexed tone.
“Professor.”
I looked through the window. The front door of the mansion wasn’t far away, and I could see a woman standing in front of it. Julie.
“What should I do?”