VOLUME 12: CHAPTER 19

It was the start of a strange encounter.

After meeting with the Demon Lord Barkuvara, Headmaster Ephiane found herself freed of the mana-disrupting collar. She was given food enough for two people for each meal, and allowed to use one of the intact houses in the residential district.

But the most peculiar change the Headmaster experienced was this: every afternoon, after her mana training, the Demon Lord Barkuvara would visit her residence and ask about various things related to the human race.

At first, the Headmaster was hesitant to speak about anything, as she felt it would be a betrayal to the human race. But after spending some time with the Demon Lord Barkuvara, she realized he was not asking those questions to prepare for war. Instead, he was simply curious and interested in how far humans have gone in this era.

Today was the fourth day since the Headmaster received preferential treatment. And just like before, the Demon Lord Barkuvara visited her.

"Welcome, Absolute One."

Headmaster Ephiane had become more at ease meeting the Demon Lord now compared to the first day. She even started politely greeting him whenever they met.

"I will prepare tea for you," said the Headmaster. "Last time was hibiscus, this time is chamomile."

The Demon Lord Barkuvara sat at the table. He silently watched as Headmaster seeped tea and poured it into a cup.

They were tea nobles would scoff at as they were normally drunk by commoners, but they were novelty to the Demon Lord Barkuvara.

"Here, please have a drink."

The Demon Lord Barkuvara took the cup and sipped it. There was no change in his expression, but the Headmaster felt the Demon Lord liked it.

Strangely, this demon enjoyed things related to humans.

But if he was this fond of them, why was he so keen in fighting humans?

It was a question she'd been wanting to ask the Demon Lord Barkuvara.

After several minutes of silence, the Demon Lord spoke.

"The students will be freed today."

Hearing this, Headmaster Ephiane almost dropped the cup she was holding.

It was a request she made yesterday when they were having tea together. She never expected the Demon Lord Barkuvara to actually grant it to her.

"They will be released in a Town called Cirno. It's near this city, and I already ordered the demons to leave that territory, so it should be safe."

"T-Thank you! I know we'll be fighting in a couple of days but—"

"—Their freedom is not for free," said the Demon Lord Barkuvara. "Equivalent exchange. Now, tell me about the fight between the Empire and the Republic of Everfrost. And the previous war between the Empire and the Kingdom of Lukas."

As though he remembered something, the demon added, "And continue where you left off regarding the rankings of the Council of Scholars. In. Detail."

What a strange demon, Headmaster Ephiane thought.

For some reason, the Demon Lord Barkuvara was more talkative whenever he was with her than when he was with his subordinates.

Based on their previous interactions, Headmaster Ephiane learned that this demon before her was akin to a deity the demons worshipped in the Demon Realm.

It still felt surreal they were talking so casually like this.

Had she told others she had teatime with the ruler of the demons, no one would probably believe her even if she was the Headmaster.

"I understand," said Headmaster Ephiane. "But please let me express my gratitude at least. Again, thank you for freeing the students."

If she could save the lives of those kids, she did not mind entertaining this demon for the next few days.

"Then, let's continue where we left off."

For hours, the Headmaster told the Demon Lord Barkuvara stories about the wars involving the Empire. The temporary truce between the Empire and the Three States Alliance, the conflict between the Empire and the Republic of Everfrost, and the war against the lukasians.

Whenever the Headmaster mentioned the names of strong people, the eyes of the Demon Lord Barkuvara would momentarily glimmer. He would then ask her to tell him more about the person.

"As you already know, the strongest person in the Empire is Master Harris Mavis. He's ranked fifth by the Council of Scholars. But now that he's dead, the strongest should be Sword Saint Isaac Segarus, the so-called Sword of the Emperor."

"And where is he?"

"That is…."

Headmaster Ephiane bit her lips and didn't utter a reply. Although she might incur the wrath of the Demon Lord, she chose not to answer that question.

The Sword Saint probably returned to the imperial capital by now to protect Emperor Sylvius. The last thing Headmaster Ephiane wanted was for this Demon Lord to personally come to the imperial capital just to meet Sword Saint Isaac Segarus.

The Demon Lord Barkuvara seemed to have understood her intentions. He redirected the flow of conversation.

"Tell me more about the rankers of this continent."

"Yes, Absolute One."

Headmaster Ephiane was relieved that the Demon Lord was very sensible, unlike his kin.

She was also glad that although she was a former imperial court magician, she was not included in the rankings.

"The one who currently holds the top position is the Wandering Sage. A magician not affiliated with any nation or organization. Not much is known about him, but the Council of Scholars guarantee he exists. They say he wanders from kingdom to kingdom, sometimes helping alleviate droughts, healing diseases, and even stopping wars. The last time he was sighted was five years ago, when he single-handedly stopped a monster stampede from destroying a village near the Kingdom of Steelwall."

"The one who holds the second spot is the Dwarven King Lerenon 'Blood Mithril' Rugard. Like the Wandering Sage, not much is known about the Dwarven King, as the dwarves tend to keep to themselves. It had already been centuries since the dwarves closed off their Kingdom to outsiders. And we do not even know whether or not King Lerenon remains the king of dwarves at this day."

"As for the third spot," continued Headmaster Ephiane. "It's currently held by the Voiceless One of the Principality. But there was also a consensus that had the Beast King been included in the rankings, he would probably be ranked as number two or three."

"Voiceless One," said the Demon Lord Barkuvara. "What an interesting name."

"I agree."

Headmaster Ephiane started serving the pastries she baked herself.

"It's a monicker he earned for being the only magician to have mastered sound magic in the entire continent. Some even say he's capable of hearing conversations hundreds of kilometers away. He's the current leader of the Council of Scholars, and they say the information he holds dwarf even the knowledge one can glean from imperial libraries. The saying 'The Council of Scholars know everything' came into existence because of him."

Headmaster Ephiane wryly smiled. "Who knows? Maybe he's even listening to us right now."

For the first time since they'd met, the Demon Lord smiled, "What an interesting magician. I wish to meet him one day."

For a moment, Headmaster Ephiane was speechless. She didn't expect that the Demon Lord was capable of making that expression.

Whenever he was with his subordinates, he seemed so disinterested and cold. Seeing him smile, he seemed more human than a demon.

"You stopped speaking, human. Continue."

"A-Ah, yes."

After coughing to hide her embarrassment, the Headmaster continued with the names of the people included in the continental rankings.

Some of them came from the Principality, the Republic, and the Three States Alliance, and the Kingdom of Steelwall.

"The tenth rank is held by Lady Alice, ruler of the Witches of Aravark…"

"The eleventh rank is held by the leader of the Holy Knights of the Sun God's Temple."

"...."

"The twenty-sixth rank is held by Sword Saint Alexander from the Kingdom of Lukas."

"...."

"Rank forty-eight is currently held by Lark Marcus, the youngest ranker and the current King of Lukas. He's the newest addition to the Council's rankings."

"....."

"And lastly, rank fifty. It's currently held by Duke Hara of the Three States Alliance."

"Of course, although the Council of Scholars is said to be above even the Silver Palace in their ability to gather intelligence, the rankings they release shouldn't be fully trusted."

"There are places even the Council has a hard time reaching like the Mullgray Islands, the United Grakas Alliance, the Kingdom of Thornforge, and the Dukedom of Mauko. Please keep this in mind."

"But it's amazing, isn't it? Due to the ability of the Voiceless One of the Principality, the Council of Scholars grew into an organization that big."

"You know a lot of things, human."

Headmaster Ephiane laughed, "I'm the Headmaster of a Magic Academy. It's mandatory for me to know at least this much."

The Demon Lord stood up and went to the door.

Headmaster Ephiane did not know if it was a difference in culture. But whenever the Demon Lord deemed they were done with the conversation, he would simply go out and leave without uttering a word.

Or maybe the Demon Lord did not feel a need to say goodbye to a mere mortal like her?

The Headmaster hoped it was the former.

"Ah, let me escort you outside!"

"This will be my last time visiting you," said the Demon Lord Barkuvara.

"What do you mean, Absolute One?"

"Use the remaining days to stabilize your mana. I look forward to our fight."

For the first time, the Demon Lord called her by name.

"Ephiane—"

And strangely, the Headmaster felt it was the greatest honor of her life. It felt as though the ruler of the demons had acknowledged her existence.

"—It'll be a shame for you to die. Although the chances are slim, three days from now, do your best to survive."

With those parting words, the Demon Lord Barkuvara went out the door. A second after he stepped outside, he vanished from sight, leaving not even a gust of wind behind.

***

The promised time arrived.

After being granted freedom to do anything for the past week, Headmaster Ephiane regained most of her strength. Her injuries had been healed with magic, and her mana core had been replenished.

Escorted by several tormentors, she arrived at the half-destroyed arena of the Maiaka Magic Academy. There, she met the Demon Lord Barkuvara.

The Demon Lord was the first to greet her.

"Have you rested well?"

Headmaster Ephiane brightly smiled. She felt strangely happy that the Demon Lord maintained his usual demeanor to her even though there were other demons around.

It was apparent the Demon Lord did not care even if the other demons think he was being friendly with a mere human.

"Yes, Absolute One."

The Demon Lord nodded, "Then we can start. Human, attack me with everything you have. I want to see it. Show me how much the humans have progressed in this era."

Headmaster Ephiane didn't remind the Demon Lord to keep his promise. By now, she already knew he was a demon who would always keep his word.

Moreover, she was certain she would never win this wager in the first place.

What could someone like her, who wasn't even included in the rankings, do to an entity worshipped by the demon race?

She was already glad to have survived this long. And she was glad that her students had already been freed by the demons.

Even if she died here today, she wouldn't have regrets.

"Yes."

The Headmaster started channeling mana into her surroundings. At the same time, she poured mana into the artifact that served as the key to activate the defensive weapons of the Academy.

Three ten-meter-large magic formations appeared in the sky.

Ninth-tier Magic: Malevolent Lightning.

A high-tier textbook spell taught in the Magic Academy.

From the magic formation, three swirling spears of lightning appeared, each of them capable of destroying the walls of a small city on their own.

Soon, the defensive weapons of the Magic Academy started rising from the ground.

KWAAANGG!

Twelve steel pillars rose and started gathering mana at their tips. These artifacts were meant to protect the students in the event of war or rebellion, but they were now being used against the Demon Lord Barkuvara.

After the pillars had gathered enough mana at their tips, Headmaster Ephiane spoke, "Are you not going to protect yourself, Absolute One?"

The Demon Lord Barkuvara didn't bother moving from his spot. He didn't erect a barrier or coat his body with mana.

He was staring at the defensive artifacts of the Magic Academy, particularly at the runes engraved on their bodies.

"Is this everything?"

"W-What?"

"It seems humans stopped progressing after the Cataclysm. What a disappointment. Human, attack me."

Headmaster Ephiane gnashed her teeth. Casting three ninth-tier spells and controlling all of these weapons on her own was greatly straining her old body. She knew she needed to unleash her spells now before she lost control of them.

With a wave of her hand, the three massive lightning spears above shot toward the Demon Lord Barkuvara. At the same time, the pillars shot beams of mana toward the demon, each of them creating a massive explosion upon impact.

The ground shook, and a deafening boom echoed.

Headmaster Ephiane flew back from the shockwave of her own spell and struck the wall of the arena. She couldn't even erect a barrier to protect herself, as she'd already used all of her mana in that attack.

Headmaster Ephiane slowly stood up, groaning. Her vision blurred. She felt her insides ruptured from the shockwave that struck her. She remained conscious through sheer willpower.

'Did it work?'

She looked at the place struck by her spells and the beams of mana. The combined attack had created a massive crater spanning twenty meters in diameter.

'No.'

As expected, her attack was futile. Standing at the center of the crater was the Demon Lord Barkuvara.

The Immortal Demon stood there, unscathed.

Ephiane heard the Demon Lord say, "What a disappointment. I've lost interest. Muuka."

"Absolute One!"

"We're leaving."

"Leaving? Where to, Absolute One?"

"To find one of the rankers of the continent. Sword Saint Isaac Segarus. He should be in the Empire. Lead me to him, Muuka."

Muuka bowed. "We've recently obtained a map of the Empire. I will do my best to find his whereabouts, Absolute One." Slowly, he added, "And… the human?"

"Heal her injuries. The Town of Cirno. Send her to where her students are."

Muuka stared at the Headmaster. He didn't dare question the will of the Demon Lord Barkuvara.

"As you will, Absolute One."

***

[Present Time]

"King Lark," said Prince Rykard to Lark. "We're almost there."

After nearly half a month, the Rykard Army finally reached the meadow where the Town of Cirno was located.

Like the other places they passed through, the land of this territory had become dry and barren. The soil was cracked and looked as though it hadn't been touched by rain for decades.

No critters, birds, or even insects.

The meadow had become devoid of life. And all of this was due to the Corrupted Tower located in the City of Meredith.

"King Lark, isn't it strange?" said Vulcan.

Lark nodded. He noticed it, too. "We haven't encountered any demons in the last three days."

Oddly, the closer they were to the Town of Cirno, the lesser the demons their army encountered. It felt as though the demons had already vacated this territory.

As though confirming their suspicions, Captain Symon approached their carriage and spoke, "Your Majesty. Our advance party found something strange in the Town of Cirno."

"What is it?"

"That is…," said Captain Symon. "According to the scouts, there are no demons in the town."

Prince Rykard was dumbfounded upon hearing this.

"No, that's impossible. I personally saw the report given by one of the survivors," mumbled Prince Rykard. "It should be teeming with demons…."

"The town is in ruins, and there were traces of battle, indicating that the demons did attack it," said Captain Symon. "But for some reason, the demons suddenly left the town."

Captain Symon added, "And they found survivors, Your Majesty."

"Survivors?"

"Yes. Students from the Maiaka Magic Academy, including their Headmaster, the 'Duchess of Mana' Ephiane Avira."

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