Chapter 87.
'The Familiar Theft I used on the gargoyle earlier. Try using that on him.'
It was what I had told Jeong Do-hwan moments ago.
In truth, Familiar Theft was an act of stealing a summon under someone's control.
But how?
How could a lich named Paracelsus, who was not a summon, be made subservient through Familiar Theft?
It was simple.
'Because he too is a familiar belonging to someone.'
One might think of Paracelsus as the main entity.
However, he too had his soul stolen through a deal with someone—precisely, a demon.
Having one's soul stolen meant becoming the demon's familiar.
And before the original master could make his move.
Swish!
I quickly struck the dagger hanging at Paracelsus's waist.
Normally, he should have reacted to that attack.
"Stay still."
Paracelsus, who had momentarily flinched at Jeong Do-hwan's command, maintained that posture.
The dagger rolled across the ground for a long while from the force of the strike.
Clack.
It finally stopped when it hit the laboratory wall.
And then.
Sssssss—
Red energy spewed forth and began taking shape.
"How dare you, vermin!"
It was basically human in appearance.
The only notable differences were the horns on its forehead and a pair of wings adorning its shoulder blades.
Though not an archdemon, its aura proved it was quite a powerful, high-ranking demon.
'Azoth.'
The demon Azoth.
The demon who had made a deal with Paracelsus and stolen his soul.
A demon particularly obsessed with the field of alchemy even in Hell, and one who hid his body inside a dagger bearing his own name.
The reason Paracelsus had been affected by Jeong Do-hwan's Familiar Theft was because he was Paracelsus's master.
"My name?"
Azoth, revealing his spiritual body rather than his true form, glared at me.
"What sort of wretch are you?"
"What sort? A human, of course."
"A human? A mere human dares to steal my familiar!"
Rumble-rumble-rumble!
Even a demon who researched a specific field of study rather than martial might was formidable if high-ranking.
Its level of power was supreme, save for Baphomet and Dantalion.
Even though it was a spiritual body and not its true form, it would be no easy opponent if it charged with full force.
However.
"I may be human, but I am also a human acknowledged by Dantalion—the great demon of the 71st seat whom you so dearly admire."
"Impudent! How dare you utter his name..."
The excited Azoth roared.
But when it looked at where I was pointing, it couldn't finish its sentence.
"G-g-g-g-good heavens!"
It let out a cry of shock rather than a roar.
It couldn't be helped.
Sssssssss—
Because right before its eyes was a human holding the Necronomicon—the book Dantalion should possess.
"T-that is the Dark Scripture? Why would a wretch like you have it? How could the repository of all things ominous be in the hands of a mere human!"
It was so flustered that it stuttered.
"I told you. I was acknowledged by Dantalion. This is the proof."
At my words, Jeong Do-hwan waved the Necronomicon.
"..."
Perhaps having nothing left to be surprised about, it now remained silent.
"You should know too. How precious this Dark Scripture is to Dantalion—a book containing all the world's ominousness."
"...How on earth...?"
"We are humans acknowledged by Dantalion. Surely you wouldn't dare go against the will of the great demon of the 71st seat?"
Of course, it was a blatant lie.
Acknowledged, my ass.
I had obtained the Necronomicon from Dantalion only because I had deceived him.
If anything, we were in a hostile relationship.
'But he doesn't know that.'
Azoth had stayed in the human world after escaping Hell for a long time.
Dwelling within the dagger bearing his name, he had dominated Paracelsus and repeated research to prove his knowledge.
Because I knew this fact, I could be bold.
"Are you truly saying you received his acknowledgment—that proof?"
"Of course. You don't think we defeated a demon of the 71st seat, do you?"
"Of course not!"
"Yet Dantalion's treasured possession is in our hands. What does that imply?"
"...That is certainly true."
It worked.
Various circumstances aligned perfectly.
'Azoth, who admires Dantalion. And the fact that he's been away from Hell so long that news from there is scarce.'
All those circumstances meshed exquisitely to create the current situation.
"Then I shall ask. What mission has Lord Dantalion entrusted to you?"
You little shit, quite suspicious, aren't you.
That's what I mean about the so-called smart ones—they're so damn suspicious they don't fall for things easily.
"Isn't it obvious?"
"I would like to know that obvious thing."
"The God-Demon War."
"...!"
"To lay the cornerstone of the God-Demon War through the Gate of Hell, and thereby put an end to the eternal war."
Why do demons appear in the mortal world?
To torment humans?
To covet human souls?
No, that was a misunderstanding caused by the rumors spread throughout the world.
'What they want is coexistence.'
What demons wanted was coexistence with humans.
They had no choice, because humans were absolutely necessary to satisfy their greed.
Because they needed humans, they wanted humans to survive.
Contrary to common belief, it was actually the other side that desperately wished for humanity's ruin and the end times.
That was why I had ignored Baphomet's request and made a deal with Dantalion.
Of course, if better terms had been offered, I might have considered it, but given the same conditions, I had no choice but to side with the demon.
"...You know of it so deeply?"
A secret ordinary humans would find difficult to know.
It cast a gaze of astonishment toward me for divulging it.
"So. What will you do now?"
I asked directly.
"Surely you aren't thinking of defying us, who uphold Lord Dantalion's great will?"
Though I said it that way, half of it was a threat.
If you interfere with our affairs now, it would be the same as going against Dantalion himself.
Well, even without going that far, the result was a foregone conclusion.
"How could I dare! I sincerely admire him, who has awakened to all the world's knowledge. If that is his will, I must naturally follow."
Perhaps if it were a demon belonging to another faction, but how could Azoth, who admires Dantalion, refuse?
"A wise decision!"
The predetermined ending.
But there was still something left to resolve.
"Then will you do it now?"
"Do what?"
"Cancel the contract."
"..."
"The contract you made with Paracelsus. If that remains active, there's no telling when he'll turn on us."
Though I had performed Familiar Theft, it was an incomplete contract.
He had obtained Paracelsus's soul through a legitimate transaction.
If he ever wished it, he could bypass the Familiar Theft and take Paracelsus back at any time.
'A lich I obtained with such effort.'
Liches were high-level undead.
Powerful beings that could only be summoned after at least a Stage 2 trait enhancement.
Moreover, if it was Paracelsus, he was a powerhouse who could command not only black magic but also four elemental spirits.
If I could control him, it would clearly result in a tremendous boost in combat power.
That's why I didn't want to let him go.
I had no choice but to start the process of definitively wresting ownership from him.
"Cancel the contract?"
"Why? You don't want to? That would be troublesome. We are trying to carry out Dantalion's great will...."
"N-no. How could I refuse? If that is Lord Dantalion's will, I must follow."
Swish.
He raised his hand.
In that moment.
Ziiing—
A magic circle bloomed from the floor beneath Paracelsus's feet.
The red pentagram was related to the contract between Azoth and Paracelsus.
Fwoosh!
The pentagram vanished.
"The contract is canceled."
The contract that had dominated Paracelsus for so long was finally broken.
Of course, from now on he would live as Jeong Do-hwan's familiar, but I was certain that being freed from the demon's grasp was a better environment for him.
"Hmph. Now that the contract is canceled, I must return to Hell."
I knew that.
He had made a contract of knowledge with Paracelsus.
It was something that would not disappear until reaching the end, the pinnacle of alchemy.
But because of me, that contract had been terminated, and he had lost any reason to remain in the mortal world.
Returning to Hell was only natural.
However.
"It would be a shame to let you leave like that."
Where does this bastard think he's going?
"What...?"
"You need to hand over your research results before you go."
He flinched.
His spiritual body shook briefly.
He was clearly flustered.
"I haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about."
"You don't?"
"What on earth are you..."
"The Philosopher's Stone."
"...!"
"You must be nearly finished by now. The dream substance, the Philosopher's Stone."
He remained silent.
It couldn't be helped.
He was being asked to hand over the result of ages of research.
But I had no intention of letting it go.
'Because I came here practically to obtain that.'
Originally, I might have obtained it by slaying Paracelsus, but he had become Jeong Do-hwan's familiar.
With the contract canceled too, he was now completely subservient to him.
Since I couldn't kill him, I had no choice but to shake down the one who created it—Azoth.
"...How do you know of the Philosopher's Stone?"
"Why else would Dantalion have entrusted me with this mission? I have considerable information and knowledge in my head."
"Is there any reason I should give you the result of my work?"
He made it abundantly clear he didn't want to hand it over.
It couldn't be helped.
The Philosopher's Stone, that dream substance, was something finally completed through long research.
He couldn't simply hand it over.
But unlike him, I absolutely had to obtain it.
"For the Grand Design. It could be what ends the eternal war known as the God-Demon War, couldn't it?"
"..."
In truth, the terms God-Demon War and Grand Design were practically cheat keys.
They were beings who lived only for that purpose beyond their desire for greed, so it couldn't be helped.
And I kept pressing that point.
Continuously.
"It's not like you only have one, right? By now... you probably have about two or three?"
Continuously.
"I'm not asking for all of them. I really need this, don't we have to put an end to the eternal war?"
Until he gave in.
"I'll have to tell Dantalion I couldn't pull it off because Azoth refused to cooperate. Tsk."
"Enough!"
He fell for my persistent persuasion(?).
"Ha! Truly relentless. A human more demonic than a demon. I'd sooner believe you were the demon instead of me."
"Well, I hear that often."
To prevent the end times, such intimidation, threats, and blackmail were nothing.
The more ruthless I became, the higher the probability of stopping the apocalypse, so I had no choice but to struggle desperately.
"Hoo—"
Azoth sighed, unbefitting of a demon.
Swish.
He pulled the dagger that had fallen to the floor toward him.
Click!
He twisted the scabbard beneath the hilt and took out the red stone hidden within.
"Take it."
He tossed the thumb-sized red gem, and I snatched it from the air.
It looked like a crude mechanism, but it was a magical device that no one but him could open.
"Are we done now?"
"Ah! And one more thing."
"What else...?"
"It's nothing much. Information about homunculi obtained through your experiments. I need the book containing that."
"Homunculi?"
Azoth's gaze, which had been fixed on me, soon turned to Jeong Do-hwan.
"I see what you mean. Certainly, if it's this human, he should be able to handle that information."
He reached out again.
Vwoom!
A black book flew from somewhere and was caught in his hand.
"It contains all my research records on homunculi thus far. It will likely be of great help to what this human is trying to complete, so take it."
The book that floated up into the air went not to me, but to Jeong Do-hwan.
"Is that all?"
"Thank you. You'll soon realize that Hell's Grand Design has drawn one step closer because of this matter."
"I certainly hope so."
Well, I had mixed in some appropriate lies, but it wasn't entirely false.
"Then."
Azoth, having been stripped of everything he possessed, delivered his final greeting with a sense of emptiness.
Srrrrk—
Azoth completely concealed his traces.
But his traces did not disappear.
Because the Philosopher's Stone was clenched in my hand, and the book containing all information on homunculi was held by Jeong Do-hwan.