Chapter 724 – 724. The Serpent’s Tail (5)
It had the height, size, and face of a normal lion, but had devil’s wings on its back, and a mace full of sharp thorns moving on its tail rather than the tail of a lion-like beast.
Kreur
“… Omg.”
Erin murmured with an expression of bewilderment at the shocking visual monster Lily created.
The monster’s growl, which appeared without any sign or warning, takes over the prison and overwhelms the atmosphere with its presence alone.
And Erin wasn’t the only one who was horrified by the monster.
“Eh, manticore… !?”
In fact, the realization of a very threatening monster located at the top of the predators living in the Pandemonium is a level that even Lucy cannot easily accomplish.
There is no way that she, who was a resident of the Pandemonium, could not recognize the Manticore.
It was astonishing to be able to do it just once, casually, and succeed with an awkward attitude as if this was the first time.
“Kill.”
Kreuk!
The Manticore, embodied in reality, was faithful to the command of the owner who created it.
Lucy exclaimed in horror as she faced the sight of the beast leaping at her body with its mouth wide open to bite her body.
“Oh, no!”
The fact that one cannot inflict damage on oneself according to the physical laws does not change, but that is a demonic beast embodied by the same demonic magic as oneself.
Of course, you can also damage yourself as a mental body.
Moreover, having already been burned once by Erin’s fox fire, she is overwhelmed by the manticore’s intimidating feeling and is in a state of contemplation.
Agitated, she hurriedly raised herself up and ran away to distance herself.
However, with a body that is no different from the physical specifications of an ordinary human, it is impossible to close the distance with the Manticore, who kicks the ground as hard as he can and closes the distance at terrifying speed.
Also, in such a narrow dungeon with a ceiling, it is impossible to use your own wings to go up into the sky.
Lucy, who had been thinking and thinking about how to live somehow in that short moment in the moment of desperation, remembered the words of the witch who had warned her to prepare for any emergency.
[Use this if it ever becomes dangerous.]
Lucy did not accept the crystal ball she handed over, but rather laughed at the witch.
[I’m barely beaten by humans? To the lowly ones who can’t even get out of my brainwashing, let alone attack me?]
[It would be like that for normal humans. However, if it is the Kingdom of Pernias, it is wrong. There is Riod, and there is ‘me’. And… Because there is also Hyun.]
It wouldn’t be that easy, no, the witch was sure that Lucy would die.
[Joy.]
Lucy didn’t like that.
It wasn’t enough to look down on her and ignore herself, but the attitude of the witch, who thought she was a low-level demon that could barely be beaten by a human, was terribly wrong.
And the result is the current situation.
‘What’s this? Why are things like that here? Even the devil is completely on the side of humans?’
Facing Lily and Erin, she was confused.
A succubus who can use the ability to turn dreams into reality is an intermediate level within its race, and its power is by no means weak.
Lucy, who never thought that she would be so helpless by a human, realized that her arrogant judgment was wrong.
“I, I am only human… !”
It wasn’t exactly the right expression because Lily was there too, but Lucy’s feelings for Erin, who had caused intense pain to her, harbored even greater hatred.
Then Manticore bit her arm with terrifying strength.
“Kyaaaaah!”
Not a drop of her blood flowed from Lucy’s arm, even though her arm had been torn off and she was screaming.
The demon’s arm, which is nothing more than a mental body, is literally made of magical power.
It was as if she had lost some of her own power to her manticore.
Originally, Manticore would also be able to control her mind with her own brainwashing, but perhaps because she was already under Lily’s control, her brainwashing didn’t work.
What it means.
‘What? Is that demon on the same level as me?’
Or maybe more, but Lucy, with her ego, tried to ignore the possibility.
When Manticore, who absorbed her power by eating Lucy’s arm intact, opened her big mouth to devour Lucy’s head itself.
[That’s why I hope you listened to my warning.]
Someone spoke to Lucy.
It was the witch’s voice that came from within the crystal ball imprinted with the teleportation magic she possessed.
“Uh?”
“This… The voice…”
Erin and Lily paused at the familiar voice.
The witch’s voice was Illyana’s, which the two of them were very familiar with.
Ugh
Lucy was taken aback by the artifacts that soon began to act out of their own way.
“Eh, what is this… !”
[Since you lost, your life will be destroyed anyway. Please use it for me.]
Realizing what it meant, Lucy contorted her face.
“This, this damn human bitch… !”
She hurriedly tried to get away from her crystal ball, but the crystal ball had already absorbed her body without falling from Lucy.
The demon’s body, made up of mental bodies, is itself a powerful magic power.
As if the target had already been designated, the crystal ball that had not fallen from Lucy continued to gnaw and absorb Lucy’s mental body.
“Oh, no! It can’t be like this!”
She struggled in astonishment, but Lucy’s mental body was eventually completely absorbed by her crystal ball.
“What happened… Did it happen?”
“…”
It happened so quickly that when Erin and Lily were unable to respond, a familiar witch’s voice flowed from the crystal ball.
[Summon begins.]
◆ ◆ ◆
“Illegal manufacture and distribution of narcotics. And Count Ephrate on charges of conspiracy with the devil. I will redeem you.”
It was Eira’s first words as she pointed at Count Eprate with her drawn sword.
Despite the actions of the Knights of Artia, who unexpectedly attacked the mansion and thrust their swords, Count Ephrate remained calm.
Far from panicking, he was not at all agitated as if something had come, and asked Eira.
“It’s a drug… I don’t know on what basis you say that.”
When she answered, shrugging her shoulders as if reciting the lines she had prepared, Eira presented a drug containing a pink liquid he had concocted with the devil and said,
“We have secured the situation that this drug was being passed regularly to the prostitutes of the estate and many wealthy merchants and nobles. Of course, witnesses are also prepared.”
“…”
Count Ephrate twitched his eyebrows for an instant.
He remembered that the adventurers who had recently been provided with drugs from under him, poisoning and selling drugs to Chang-gwan and other merchant nobles, had been cut off without knowing why.
They were the adventurers who had been playing tricks on Erin and Lily.
They disappeared all too suddenly and without a sound.
I didn’t know how it happened, but anyway, the drug that the adventurers had was passed on to the Artia Knights is the worst trend.
“It’s not a drug, it’s just a potion that heals wounds and stamina. If you need confirmation, I can prove the effect by drinking it myself.”
First of all, Count Ephrate pretended not to know and insisted on taking it off.
The drug he and Lucy made is a drug that requires the magic of Lucy, a succubus, and over time, the magic of the succubus naturally dissipates and turns into an ordinary potion.
It was about a week ago that he provided drugs to the adventurers who had disappeared.
If what Ayra had was the drug they stole from them, by now it would have lost its effect and turned into an ordinary potion.
If so, there was still a chance to appeal his innocence.
However, that was something that Era knew as well, as she had heard about the properties of this drug from Lily beforehand.
It was abominable for her to lie proudly, but she did not express her irritation, for she also assumed that she would not readily admit her guilt.
“And… No devil I’ve had trouble with the devil. It’s unfair.”
“… Under.”
Eira smiled incredulously.
The sight of him brazenly claiming his innocence without changing his face color is truly ridiculous.
Of course, Count Eprate, who could not readily admit his infidelity, acted based on the judgment that Eira and Cha Han-seong could not have secured evidence that he was in liaison with the devil.
It was a rational decision in general, but the variable that hadn’t taken into account that Lily was on the side of Eira and Cha Han-seong was rather enough to make Count Ephrate laugh.
“Let’s prove that through interrogation. Will you accompany me to the headquarters of the Knights of Pernin?”
“… Are you serious? You know very well that it takes more than a month from here to Pernin.”
Considering the round trip, the manor must be vacated for close to three months at the latest.
Neglecting the territory for a long period of time would not produce good results for either the lord or the territory.
“No matter how powerful the Artia Knights may be, excessive demands…”
“Then can you show me where the slaves you regularly purchased are now?”
“Yes?”
“The Count regularly buys slaves, but no matter how much I investigate, I can’t find out where they are used. As long as you can prove that the use is not a ‘offering to the devil’, we will formally apologize to the Count.”
“…”
There is only one way for Count Ephrate to prove it.
To show that the purchased slaves are actually alive.
However, there is no way to prove it now that Lucy has already absorbed all the spirits and the corpse has been neatly disposed of.
If it were Lucy, she might be able to deceive the eyes of her slaves by intentionally creating the appearances of her slaves with her abilities and unfolding her fantasies, but in order to do so, she herself must appear in front of her Eira and Cha Han-seong. The precondition that must reveal is attached.
In order to hide their intrigue with the devil, the fact that the devil had to reveal itself to them was completely different.
‘I can’t hope this soon…’
He never thought he would have discovered his connection to the devil so soon.
Count Ephrate, who had never thought that Eira and Cha Han-seong came to this territory after catching the situation that the devil might be hiding from the beginning, was worried.
For now, it’s true that they have to cooperate meekly, but while they’re away from the territory, these two knights are sure to find another piece of evidence.
Wow!
Just as I was thinking about what to do, a huge earthquake shook the ground and hit the mansion.
Shocked by the violent shaking of the earthquake, Cha Hanseong tightly gripped the handle of the sword he was wearing around his waist and looked around.
“Stop, senior! This… !”
Cha Hanseong, staring at the violently trembling ground, felt a sense of intimidation from below and was astonished.
Ayra turned her head and glared at Count Ephrathe, then asked questioningly.
“Down here, what’s there?”
“That, that… !”
“Answer!”
“Oh, nothing! Really!”
There must be only humans in the dungeon to provide spirit to the demons.
There would be no one but the devil because he knew that he would always dispose of the corpse after eating.
“I don’t know! Trust me!”
At least the expression and agitation shown by Count Ephrate are genuine.
It means that even though it is your own house, you have not even imagined this situation at all.
There must be Erinn and Lily in the basement, so it was clear that the devil, who was holding hands with Count Ephrate, was doing something.
Koo Goo Goo!
Finally, the violent shaking of the earthquake affected the mansion itself, causing the pillars and walls to crack and the ceiling to collapse.
“Senior!”
“First, evacuate the people inside the mansion… !”
Before he could finish his words, something gigantic broke through the ground and revealed itself.
Kyaaah!
The ‘disaster’ summoned by the witch has appeared.
