VOLUME 12: CHAPTER 18

VOLUME 12: CHAPTER 18

Half a month ago…

The mana of the portal twisted, and the Demon Lord Barkuvara found himself in the Human Realm.

Cattlewood Plains.

The place Master Harris defended until death in order to buy time for the citizens of Meredith City to evacuate.

The lush plains had long lost its vibrance. The tall grasses reaching the knees had withered, and the rich soil turned cracked and barren.

The tormentors, flesh eaters, and fire giants guarding the portal immediately knelt the moment they saw the Demon Lord Barkuvara.

Although this was the first time they'd seen the Immortal Demon, they heard of his descriptions. Their instincts also told them that the demon that had just entered the realm was powerful enough to single-handedly annihilate them.

"W-Welcome to the Human Realm, Absolute One!"

Muuka couldn't hide the nervousness in his voice.

He never expected the Immortal Demon to visit this place himself after one of the two portals suddenly closed.

The Demon Lord Barkuvara silently took in the view of the Human Realm. He gazed at the lifeless plains, the sky filled with dark clouds, and the city at a distance.

The Demon Lord Barkuvara spoke, "This place used to be a village."

The village that used to be near this place had been demolished by the demons. Defensive structures and portal stabilizers were placed in its stead.

Muuka nodded his greasy face. "That's correct, Absolute One. I believe the humans call it Cattlewood Village."

The Demon Lord Barkuvara looked at the city. Even now, there was smoke swirling up the sky coming from the inner parts of the city.

"And that one?"

"It's called Meredith City, Absolute One."

Without uttering another word, the Demon Lord Barkuvara flew toward Meredith City, leaving Muuka behind.

"A-Absolute One!"

The Demon Lord Barkuvara did not look back even after hearing the desperate shout of Muuka.

He flew until he reached the center of the city. From here, he could see the Corrupted Tower below. The blood-stained streets, the rotting corpses of humans sprawled on the ground, the ruined buildings, and the demons roaming about.

There were over a hundred sky demons flying in the sky, but they all dispersed the moment the Demon Lord Barkuvara arrived.

For several minutes, the Demon Lord hovered there, gazing at the city below.

Eventually, he muttered, "It's ugly. There is nothing beautiful in a lifeless city."

What made humans fascinating was their ability to adapt to anything. Despite their mortality, they were a race that strived to improve the quality of their fleeting lives. They were a race that constantly underwent change, unlike the demons who'd been stuck in their old ways.

"Maybe I should have ordered them not to massacre all of the humans living here."

The Corrupted Tower needed sacrifices in order to mature and produce more flesh eaters, and humans, with their numbers, were the perfect food for it.

The Demon Lord Barkuvara loved fighting, but after being sealed for over a millennium, the first thing he was looking forward to were the changes in the human race.

What kind of new technology did the humans create?

How much had they advanced since the Cataclysm and Descent?

Unfortunately, the first city he'd visited upon coming here ended up a disappointment.

There was nothing he could see or do in this ruined city.

"A-AAAbsolute Oneee!"

The cry of Muuka was heard in the sky.

Looking in the direction of Cattlewood Plains, the Demon Lord saw Muuka approaching his way while being carried by two sky demons. The Chief Researcher was so desperate to catch up to the Demon Lord that he let go of his pride and let mere sky demons carry him up to the sky.

"I apologize for being late!"

The Demon Lord was the one who left without warning, but it was the Chief Researcher who apologized.

Muuka nervously cleared his throat. Skillfully, he continued where he left off, "This city is called Meredith. I believe that's what the humans call it."

Still being carried by the sky demons, Muuka pointed at the fleshy obelisk below.

"Below the Corrupted Tower took over it, that place used to be the First Tower of Mages in the Empire, Absolute One. It's the place where the man called Harris Mavis resided. According to the humans we've interrogated, he's one of the strongest humans in the entire continent."

At the mention of the words 'one of the strongest', the Demon Lord Barkuvara finally showed interest in Muuka's story.

"Where is he?"

"H-He died defending this territory, Absolute One."

The Demon Lord frowned, but didn't utter another word.

Seeing the Demon Lord's disappointment, numerous beads of sweat formed on Muuka's greasy face.

Muuka continued with his story, "After he died, our army marched to this city. The mages of the First Tower intercepted us while the citizens evacuated to the southern gates."

"It was a fierce fight, Absolute One! The humans had invented strange artifacts and formations capable of killing even our fire giants! Unlike what we initially expected, it took us several hours before we managed to kill all of the mages of the First Tower!"

"And where are these artifacts now?" said the Demon Lord.

"A-About that…" Muuka nervously gulped. "They were destroyed by the demons during the fight."

"All of them?

"N-Not all, but most had been destroyed, Absolute One."

Once again, the Demon Lord seemed disappointed upon hearing those words. Judging by his tone, it seemed he wanted to see those artifacts created by the humans of this era.

His interactions with the Demon Lord Barkuvara were often short, but by now, Muuka realized the Demon Lord was very interested in the current progress of humans.

With this newfound knowledge, Muuka suggested, "If you wish to see the magic artifacts created by humans, I believe there were some that managed to remain intact in the Maiaka Magic Academy."

"And as we've been reserving her as the final sacrifice for the Corrupted Tower, the Headmaster of the Magic Academy remains alive. We can bring her to you if you wish to, Absolute One."

"The Headmaster of a Magic Academy," said the Demon Lord Barkuvara. "Is she powerful?"

"One of her students, before dying, told us that their Headmaster used to be an imperial court magician."

For the first time, the Demon Lord Barkuvara looked pleased.

The words 'imperial court magician' made him recall pleasant memories over a millennium ago.

Most of the imperial court mages back in the Era of Magic were powerful individuals capable of slaughtering thousands of demons on their own.

Hopefully, the imperial court mage of the Empire would be as powerful.

"Lead the way to the academy. And bring her to me."

"Of course. As you wish, Absolute One."

***

Ephiane 'Duchess of Mana' Avira.

A former imperial court magician and the current Headmaster of the Maika Magic Academy.

For decades, she'd been serving as the institution's pillar in honing talented children in magic.

She was part of the Avira Family, famous for their uncanny ability to detect mana.

Since she'd been young, she was able to see the ebb and flow of mana in her surroundings to the point she could accurately measure it.

The average non-magicians had grain-size mana filling their bodies, aspiring young magicians normally had finger-size mana filling theirs, while the graduates of the academy had mana the size of several fingers.

Even now, despite being injured and famished, she could clearly see the flow of mana of the students inside the cell with her. The flow of mana in their bodies continued to sway and fluctuate, indicating the fear and uneasiness they were experiencing.

"Headmaster… w-what's going to happen to us now?"

"When is help going to come?"

"…What is the Emperor doing! Why isn't the imperial army coming!"

There were roughly thirty students inside the cell with her right now. Most of them were unconscious, a few were even on the brink of death, and those who managed to remain awake were in the pit of despair.

There used to be an academy teacher in this cell two days ago. But after he was dragged away by the demons, he was never seen again. Headmaster Ephiane was certain he was dead, as she could no longer feel even a trace of his mana signature.

"Headmaster… I'm thirsty…"

"I want to go home!"

"The demons… they're not going to take another one of us today, right?"

Everyday, without fail, the demons would drag one of the students in this cell with them. They couldn't even resist with magic, as the demons had placed leashes capable of disrupting the flow of mana on their necks, rendering them incapable of casting even basic spells.

They were like livestock, fed the bare minimum, and slaughtered whenever the demons needed a sacrifice.

Even Headmaster Ephiane started entertaining the thought of death at this point. If she concentrated hard enough, it should be possible with her skills to manipulate mana for a second or two and slit her throat. The only thing stopping her from committing suicide were these children.

"Hush, it will be fine," said Headmaster Ephiane. "The Emperor will never let those demons do as they please with the Empire. Remember? He's called the Devourer of Lands."

"R-Really?"

"But you told us the same thing a week ago, Headmaster!"

"Stop lying!"

"T-Those demons! What can the imperial army even do to them!"

"You kept lying to us! Telling us that everything will be okay!"

The students broke down. Tears didn't fall down their eyes as it had been three days since the last time the demons gave them water to drink. Their eyes were sunken, and their lips were cracked.

The students also knew that they shouldn't be blaming the Headmaster like this, but they did not have an outlet to release their pent-up rage, so they ended up taking it out on her instead.

"Hiiik… Hiik… I'm sorry, Headmaster. I know you did your best to save as many students as you could."

"W-We know the teachers sacrificed their lives for us students… so most of us can escape…."

"But… when is this going to end?"

"I wish the demons would just k-kill us instead…"

Headmaster Ephiane's heart was torn upon hearing those words.

She felt powerless.

If only she could freely manipulate mana, she could do something about their current predicament. But alas, she was turning sixty this year. Old, injured, famished, and with mana restrictions – she couldn't do anything even if she wanted to.

Amidst the cries of the students, footsteps outside the cell were heard.

The students immediately stopped crying when they heard this.

By now, it had been deeply engraved in their minds what those footsteps signified. It seemed that today, the demons would take away another one of them from this cell.

Would they be fed to that gruesome, fleshy obelisk?

Would they be experimented on by the demons?

They did not know, for those who'd been taken away from the cell was never heard of again.

The bodies of everyone in the cell stiffened as they awaited the appearance of the owners of the footsteps. And soon, a tormentor wearing a black hood appeared outside the cell.

Unlike the other tormentors who looked fierce and muscular, this one was old and feeble.

"Is that her?" said Muuka.

One of the tormentors accompanying him to the cell nodded.

"Very well, bring the Headmaster to me."

The tormentors opened the door to the cell and entered. One of them dragged the Headmaster by the hair, making her body skid through the ground.

"Headmaster!"

"Nooooo!"

"Don't take her away!"

The students despaired upon seeing Headmaster Ephiane being dragged away by the demons. She was the last figure of authority left in the academy, and she'd served as a pillar of strength for the surviving students here.

The students wailed upon realizing it was her turn to be dragged away from this cell.

"Hey, hey, be careful of her!" angrily spat Muuka. "How are we going to present her to the Absolute One in that state!"

The tormentors apologized to Muuka. One of them pulled up the Headmaster, this time gently, and carried her over his shoulder.

"And feed those humans over there. Who knows, maybe the Absolute One will ask us to take one of them to him. Make them look alive, at least."

With those words, Muuka left the cell, taking Headmaster Ephiane with him.

***

"Absolute One, it's me, Muuka."

To Headmaster Ephiane's surprise, the place the demons brought her was not the fleshy obelisk but the half-destroyed magic academy.

"I've come to present to you the Headmaster of the Maiaka Magic Academy."

She was brought to the peak of the only tower that remained standing.

And upon seeing the demon standing there, she felt her entire world spin. She vomited.

"Bleeechhhh!!"

It was the first time she'd seen mana so dense and vast it filled her vision completely.

The mana flowing through the bodies of academy teachers was the size of a fist, the mana flowing through the body of an imperial court mage was the size of a carriage, and the mana flowing through Master Harris Mavis – one of the strongest in the entire continent – was the size of a freely flowing river.

But this demon – the mana flowing through its body was similar to an ocean.

It was so absurd that something like this was permitted to come into existence.

Had someone told her this demon was one of the Seven Gods, she might even believe it.

Muuka was enraged upon seeing her barf.

"You! How disrespectful! How dare you—"

"—Enough."

The Demon Lord gazed at the Headmaster with curiosity in his eyes.

"How interesting," said the Demon Lord Barkuvara. "Human, you could see the flow of mana in my body."

Even now, the Headmaster kept vomiting, but as she hadn't eaten anything for the past few days, nothing but saliva came out her mouth.

"Bleeechhh! Bleeeech!"

"But it seems you're unable to control that ability."

Suddenly, the endless world of mana filling the Headmaster's vision vanished. As though it was a lie, the infinite ocean of mana that filled the demon's body was gone entirely. Now, only mana the size of a fist remained.

"How is it? Do you feel better now?"

The Headmaster's eyes were filled with tears as she huffed. She gazed at the demon, fear evident in her eyes.

"What… what are you?"

The creature before her resembled a human more than a demon. Had it not been for the horns jutting out of his forehead, she would have mistaken him for a human.

"They say you're the most powerful mage in this city."

After the demon suppressed the mana unconsciously leaking out of its body, the Headmaster no longer felt nauseous when looking at him. And she was now able to answer him clearly.

"I am not."

The Demon Lord Barkuvara looked at Muuka, then at the Headmaster.

Headmaster Ephiane said with certainty, "The most powerful mage is Master Harris Mavis. Compared to him, I am nothing."

The Demon Lord Barkuvara nodded at this. "But he is dead."

Hearing those words come out of the demon's mouth confirmed everything, and Headmaster Ephiane felt a squishing sensation in her heart.

Master Harris was not only a colleague but a dear friend to her. And it seemed he'd really died in battle.

"Are you familiar with this artifact?"

Headmaster Ephiane's eyes widened upon seeing the orb in the Demon Lord Barkuvara's hand.

That artifact was the key to controlling the defensive weapons installed throughout the academy. Although some of these defensive weapons had been destroyed by the demons, the majority of them should still be functional. They were unable to properly utilize them during the last battle since they prioritized the escape of the students.

"Muuka said this artifact is capable of controlling the defensive weapons of humans."

Hearing this, all hope vanished in Headmaster Ephiane's eyes. So, the demons knew the artifact's function.

"I will give it to you."

"W-What?!"

Headmaster Ephiane repeatedly opened and then closed her mouth.

"Seven days."

The Demon Lord Barkuvara willed the orb to fly toward the Headmaster. The orb flew and softly landed on her hand.

"Eat, rest, heal your wounds. Seven days from now, fight me with everything you have. You are free to use even that artifact."

"The Descent and Cataclysm have taken away the glory of the human race. Now, a thousand years later—"

The Demon Lord Barkuvara turned around and looked at the ruined buildings of the Maiaka Magic Academy below.

"—I wish to know how much the humans have progressed. Show me, human."

Headmaster Ephiane mustered her courage and asked, "If I win?"

"I shall grant one of your desires."

"Then, if I win," said Headmaster Ephiane. "Order the demons to leave this city. No, leave the Empire."