Hunting the Black Curtain (3)
A bizarre pair of inverted eyes, the likes of which one would never ordinarily see.
The moment Miyat met head-on with the red pupils shining like rubies at their center, her mind was bleached pure white. ‘...I’ll die. I’m dead. I’ll really die. If I don’t keep my head on straight here...!’ She forced her stiff jaw to move and bit down hard on her tongue.
It was an instinctive action that emerged before she herself was even aware of it.
Along with the fishy taste of blood spreading through her mouth, her consciousness, which had been drifting faintly away, snapped back.
“Ggh!”
Then she grabbed the nape of the middle-aged man who had been frozen beside her and threw herself over the office table, putting as much distance as possible between them and that unidentified being.
It probably wouldn’t mean much in the immediate moment, but if she wanted to live, she had to do something. ‘What is that? What the hell is that?’ But her mind had long since overloaded with confusion past its limits. ‘A demon? A demon?’ Had demons even existed in this world to begin with?
Like Earth, Sabacheon was a world where only humans existed.
It wasn’t as if there were no stories involving demons, ghosts, dragons, and the like, but she had heard those were merely distortions of phenomena caused by chakra. ‘But that...’ Her breathing grew ragged.
Her instincts had been screaming continuously since a moment ago.
She could feel it intuitively.
That thing had absolutely nothing to do with chakra or practitioners.
It was a crystallization of absurdity, existing wholly and entirely on its own.
But she couldn’t just stay still like this.
Miyat gritted her teeth and, taking care not to meet the demon’s eyes as much as possible, swiftly scanned her opponent.
In any case, if she wanted to survive, she had to gather whatever information she could.
“Oho? Not bad.”
Hella, who had been watching Miyat as though amused, raised the corners of her lips and stroked her own chin.
Even if it had not activated properly, still.
Her mystic eyes, with the effects of “Nation-Toppling Beauty” and “Lord of Bewilderment” added on, contained a powerful demonic allure in and of themselves.
At an ordinary level, it would have been normal to lose one’s mind completely the instant one met them... ‘Like that man.’ Hella’s gaze slid aside to the middle-aged man who had been with Miyat.
Still unable to regain his senses, he kept staggering and violently shaking his head from side to side.
Though he had awakened from his daze with outside help, he had yet to fully escape the influence of the demonic allure still filling his mind.
Even though he, too, was a powerful practitioner who had reached the lofty realm of the upper tier. ‘Unlike Miyat, who is the same sex as me, the fact that he is of the opposite sex likely had some influence as well.’ But even taking that into account, Miyat’s mental strength in beginning to respond so quickly was worthy of praise.
Though it might simply be that her survival instincts were that highly developed.
“Hey, you know? I have a few favors to ask...”
A soft, beautiful voice flowed out from between red lips.
At that voice, which made one’s mind grow distant just from hearing it, Miyat and the middle-aged man immediately bit into their lips.
Seeing them with blood streaming from their mouths, Hella playfully touched the tips of both hands’ fingers together and tilted her head.
“Since meeting like this must be fate, won’t you cooperate with me a little? It won’t be that hard. You just have to answer the questions I ask.”
It was a request so sweet and affectionate that one wondered if anyone could be more amiable.
So much so that it seemed impossible for anyone in the world to refuse.
But reality was far colder than expected.
Craaaack—!
Hella, who had been smiling radiantly, froze solid.
A bitter cold so extreme that the entire office was covered in frost from the aftereffect alone swept through.
Saaaaaa—
Following that, thick darkness filled the surroundings.
A space buried in an abyss like a black hole, where the very concept of darkness itself had manifested and was swallowing all light.
Standing at its center, Miyat immediately attempted to escape. ‘Quickly, quickly...’ Fighting to the end would be madness.
For now, she had somehow been able to move while her opponent’s guard was down, but if she missed this chance, she might be unable to so much as lift a finger. ‘It worked...!’ Her unique skill was “Shadow Assimilation.”
Not only was it highly compatible with dark chakra, it was also the lifeline that had earlier allowed her to break through the Yun clan’s perimeter and escape.
It was an ability that could move her in an instant into a shadow tens of kilometers away without leaving behind any trace of presence...
“Huh?”
Miyat, who had activated her unique skill with a triumphant smile, flinched to a stop.
Her facial muscles spasmed, and her expression twisted grotesquely.
Cold sweat trickled down the nape of her neck.
“What are you doing? Hurry...!”
The middle-aged man, who had been scraping together the last dregs of his mental strength to operate his freezing chakra, began shouting something, but she did not respond.
She merely raised her head slowly and looked at one point directly ahead.
The place where the demon had been standing just moments ago.
All around them was shrouded in darkness so thick one could not see an inch ahead, but having opened her dark chakra, she could see within it as clearly as in broad daylight.
And thanks to that, she was able to face it clearly.
“......!”
Buried within transparent ice, a pair of eyes gently curved.
That warm smile, as though watching a child’s antics.
[Were you hoping for something?]
A voice, alluring as ever, burrowed into her ear.
At that, the middle-aged man who had been urging Miyat on widened his eyes and turned to look that way.
Craaaack—
The ice imprisoning Hella shattered and fell away.
At the same time, the darkness that had filled the surroundings also vanished smoothly, like cotton candy melting in water.
“Heave-ho! How was it? Did your heart flutter for a second? Did it pound? Were you surprised?”
Now, all that remained was the office covered in thick frost.
Aside from that, nothing had changed from the beginning.
There was not even a drop of water on her body, which had been encased in ice, to the point that one might wonder if everything had been a dream.
“How... no, since when...?”
Miyat opened her mouth with difficulty.
She had certainly activated her unique skill.
But the result was failure.
The reason was nothing special. ‘Everything in this entire area was already... under that demon’s control.’ Not only the darkness that should have assisted “Shadow Assimilation,” but the control over the entire space had passed into another being’s grasp, so there was no way she could do anything now.
The darkness she had summoned wasn’t even hers.
And she had not noticed that fact at all until the very moment before.
It was so absurd that only a hollow laugh could come out, but with that absurdity now having become reality, what more could she say?
Thinking back on it now, even after such a commotion, she still could not sense any sign of people outside. ‘Maybe I’m already bewitched and seeing hallucinations.’ Only then did she clearly realize it.
Her opponent had not been neglecting them because she was off guard.
“Since when, you ask? Why, of course...”
At Miyat’s question, Hella tilted her head and smiled brightly.
Then she slowly approached the rigidly frozen woman, lifted her chin with an index finger, and answered in a low voice.
“From the very beginning?”
Whatever else one might say, Hella was a Demon King who reigned at the pinnacle of demons, creatures notorious for their wicked personalities.
For someone like her, this much was nothing more than a light prank.
“We had a bit of fun and built some rapport, so shall we move on to the main topic? You two will help me, won’t you?”
Hella looked over the man and woman standing before her. “Seven-Colored Mystic Eyes” activated, and the pupils of her left and right eyes each emitted a different-colored light.
The red eye of domination and the green eye of the mind.
Feeling the strength drain from her entire body, Miyat stared blankly at them with her hazy mind. ‘Ahh...’ She no longer had any means left to resist, nor any will.
For practitioners who valued inner cultivation, Demon King Hella was a calamity that corroded the mind by her very existence.
To begin with, if not for that “prank,” this would never have dragged on so long. ‘How beautiful... beautiful enough to make me want to sink into them...’ A pair of jewel-like lights shining in the darkness.
Following those lamps, Miyat sank endlessly into the depths of her own mind.
***
Choosing Hella as the person to dispatch to Sabacheon had been a decision made after weighing various reasons. ‘More than anything, the fact that her abilities were optimized for dealing with chakra practitioners was the biggest factor.’ In a different sense from Hun, who sprayed mental pollution everywhere, she could be said to be their natural enemy.
While his “Runaway Thoughts” had an extreme attack-oriented nature, all-or-nothing, Hella could control all of those things to a certain degree as she pleased. ‘She is also the actual owner of the mystic eyes used to examine Anton’s mental state.’ And the result of that choice could be confirmed in real time.
In a very satisfying form.
“I have brought warm tea.”
“...That is all. Is there anything else you would like to ask, Lady Hella?”
Hella, seated on the sofa in the office, closed her eyes languidly while drinking the tea Miyat poured for her.
Beside her, the owner of this office—the middle-aged man, Pirat, a high-ranking official of Cheonghae Kingdom—stood respectfully and was spilling everything he knew in exhaustive detail.
“...Hmm, the Chancellor, is it? So that man is your superior and the person in overall charge of this area?”
“That is correct. I handle the practical affairs directly under the busy Chancellor.”
“Then what about the Emperor of Cheonghae Kingdom? Does the Emperor know about this?”
Naturally, some sort of restriction had been placed on the mind of Pirat, a high-ranking administrator of the organization, likely for security.
In ordinary circumstances, even if they subdued him, things would not have gone this easily.
However, if there was one variable here...
It was that Hella was an existence so far removed that she stood at the exact opposite of the word “ordinary.”
“At present, the Chancellor is serving as regent in place of the still young Emperor. In effect, most of the real power is in the Chancellor’s hands.”
“Ah, I think I’ve heard of that. But wasn’t he said to be nearing adulthood soon?”
“That is why there was a sense of urgency. To prevent the Emperor from doing something unnecessary and ruining the plan that has been prepared for so long.”
As with any world, it seemed the political scene in this place was a complete mess as well.
In that sense, there was no need to ask why the Chancellor desired war. ‘What is it with that thing called power...’ Hella, the absolute ruler with omnipotent authority over the entire Demon Realm, clicked her tongue and drank the remaining tea in one gulp.
Then she rose from her seat and lightly patted Pirat, who was standing beside her, on the back.
“Thanks to you, I have a rough grasp of the situation. As expected of someone who handles state affairs, you explain things well.”
“Ah, it is an honor! If there is anything else you would command of me...”
“Mm, yes. Then guide me.”
Cutting off his words as though she had been waiting for them, Hella revealed teeth so white they were refreshing to see.
“To that man called the Chancellor.”
Pirat’s residence, where they currently were, was not all that far from the imperial palace.
Considering the convenience of entering the palace for work, that was only natural.
Having come this far, there was no need to take any further detours. ‘If I want to finish this quickly, I can’t waste time in a place like this.’ The ringleader who had schemed this affair was not limited to the Chancellor of Cheonghae Kingdom.
There were people of equal responsibility on the side of Hongsan Kingdom as well as among the demonic-path practitioners, and beyond those three there was even the final black curtain known as “that person.”
She intended to seize the Chancellor while she was at it, and then grab the tails of the rest of them too.
“...I am sorry to say this, but the Chancellor is currently staying deep within the imperial palace. Unless a considerably major incident occurs, it has already been quite some time since he last came outside. As he has many hands and feet besides me, it would be impossible to draw him out with a false report.”
In other words, to meet him, they would have to enter deep into the imperial palace of a nation.
Of course, there was no way the security of the place where the Emperor of a country that ruled half the continent lived would be lax.
No matter how remarkable Hella was, she would inevitably be caught at least once.
“Mm, and so?”
“Pardon?”
Of course, such circumstances were none of Hella’s concern.
“Guide me.”
“...Yes.”
After all, there was no one in this world who could stand in her way head-on.
***
Hella’s outing to the imperial palace began quietly.
She was merely following behind Pirat, who had access privileges, but even in the imperial palace, there were not many capable of perceiving her presence when she had set her mind on concealing herself.
After passing through the outer walls, the two cut straight across the inner citadel where the chancellor was said to reside, with unstoppable momentum. ‘This might end more easily than I thought.’ But things in this world rarely went exactly as one imagined.
The even more reinforced barriers, along with the sharply elevated caliber of the guards, finally succeeded in detecting the anomaly.
“Here!”
“Stop! Resist, and you will be executed on the spot!”
The imperial guards blocked Pirat’s path, their eyes gleaming ominously.
It was an elite unit that included not only numerous upper-level practitioners treated as key figures even in the Yun clan, but even deep-level practitioners as well. …Of course, Hella’s response to those who stood in her way had already been decided.
Hella gazed blankly at the extras who had appeared so full of confidence, only to end up sprawled on the ground twitching, and let out a deep sigh.
“It seems we’ve been discovered, so let’s pick up the pace. It’ll be more troublesome if things get noisy and we lose the target.”
“Understood, Lady Hella.”
Pirat nodded and raised his chakra as well, dashing forward at high speed.
Though they had been exposed, it was true they had held out for quite a while, so the remaining distance was not that far.
Wiiiiiing—!
But once their position had been revealed, there was no helping the fact that interference kept coming.
By this point, the other side was charging in desperately, trying to slow them down.
And among them was even…
“How dare you trespass into the Blue Dragon Palace, where His Imperial Majesty resides! You must have a death wish! Reveal your identity at once!”
A powerful being who had reached Transcendence—a practitioner of the Heavenly Gate.
Unlike those she had passed by until now, Hella gave a wry smile as she looked at the old man staring straight at her.
“Aw, I knew it. Infiltration really doesn’t suit me.”
That did not seem like something she should say after successfully sneaking all the way into the inner citadel of the imperial palace, but she meant it sincerely.
If it had been Heinz II, he would have already slipped in without anyone noticing, secured the chancellor, tucked him under one arm, and leisurely made his way back out.
“Well, everyone has their strengths and weaknesses.”
Perhaps getting this far at all with a body leaking demonic energy was the more impressive feat.
She gave a light shrug and slowly looked around.
The target location was already within reach.
At this distance, even if he fled, she would be able to catch up quickly.
“I hadn’t planned to go this far…”
“Cut down the rebel!”
“Attack!”
As Hella smacked her lips, membranous wings spread wide from her back.
At the same time, the surrounding scenery began to be swallowed by wasteland.
“Still, I’ll try to be gentle so it doesn’t hurt too much, okay?”
At the very heart of the imperial palace of the Cheonghae Kingdom, a terrifying demonic energy erupted like an explosion.
A dense abyss, incomparable to that of mere demonic path practitioners, covered heaven and earth as if it meant to swallow the entire world.
“But if it still hurts, then I can’t help that.”
A great evil manifested right before their eyes.
The faces of the imperial guards who faced it began to turn deathly pale.