“Teron! Please, step back!”
Daike drew his sword and leaped in front of Teron.
Teron also shifted his stance behind him. A Demon brazenly revealing itself like this…
It didn’t feel good.
“Calm down. I’m only here because I want to help.”
“That’s the oldest kind of Demon temptation there is.”
“With your level, you couldn’t stop me anyway, you know?”
The Demon wasn’t joking. The two of them could feel it instinctively.
‘What is this demonic energy… It far surpasses the high-ranking Demon we faced in Carpathia…!’
They could feel death breathing down their necks.
And that could only mean one thing.
“A Demon that’s successfully descended…”
Legion Commander authorities, black mages’ sacrificial summons, loopholes in contracts…
Under special conditions, some Demons descended fully into the human world.
The process was so noisy that most were hunted either before or right after descent, but a few did manage to survive and escape.
The Demon in front of them was probably one of those.
“I should introduce myself. I’m called Benumael. A 2nd Grade Demon.”
Equivalent to an Eight-Star knight by human standards.
He was way beyond what Teron and Daike could handle.
‘We have to stall for time.’
Until someone noticed and called for reinforcements—teachers, instructors, rats, servants, anyone.
Teron forced himself to sound intrigued and spoke up.
“Help, you say. What exactly do you mean by that?”
“Just what I said. A son who can’t gain his father’s approval… I found it terribly pitiful.”
“How dare you…!”
Daike’s rage flared, and it looked like he might swing his sword any second.
Teron barely stopped him by raising a hand.
“Still, for your age, I’d say your strength isn’t bad at all. Ah, that’s not flattery. Even if I scoured the entire continent, I wouldn’t find many kids like you. So hold your heads high.”
“If my father’s standards are high, then I have to reach them. Comparing myself to others is meaningless. So I don’t need your help.”
“Solid thinking. A wonderful child, and your father can’t even see it. Pathetic, really.”
“Watch your tongue. Unless you’re tired of your long life and want it to end here.”
Benumael burst into laughter at Teron’s provocation.
After a good, long laugh, his eyes gleamed.
“If it had ended there, I wouldn’t have cared either. But watching the loyalty between you two changed my mind. I wanted to help. What can I say… I was moved.”
“Don’t spout nonsense. In the end you’re just telling me to borrow your power.”
“Well, yes. But you can be angry after you hear the contract terms. It won’t be too late.”
Fwoosh—!
A burning sheet of paper appeared in front of Teron’s eyes.
A Demon’s contract.
As a child of a high noble, he’d been trained in dealing with Demon contracts.
He’d been warned about their temptations and even seen actual contracts from time to time.
So there was no reason to be surprised.
But the terms written on this one were something even Teron had never imagined.
2nd Grade Demon “Benumael” will lend Six-Star knight-level power to “Teron de Vyuern.”
“Teron de Vyuern” will borrow this power only until he is acknowledged by “Zeppelin de Vyuern.”
This contract will automatically be nullified once “Teron de Vyuern” is acknowledged by “Zeppelin de Vyuern.”
A contract that automatically dissolved once the conditions were met.
And it didn’t even ask for his soul. The only risk was—
‘The fact that I’m making a deal with a Demon.’
If he was unlucky enough to get caught by Victoria’s Heresy Inquisition, it would be all over.
Of course, even as a joke, it would be difficult for anyone to put a high noble’s son like Teron through that.
Which meant the risk was practically nonexistent.
Naturally, his suspicion grew.
“These terms are generous. So generous they’re suspicious.”
“Because I was moved.”
“Nonsense. You’re the kind who toys with souls and torments humans for fun. What could possibly move you?”
“That’s a misunderstanding. I’m a top-tier Demon. Souls do tempt me since they translate directly into power, but at this point, even thousands at a time don’t interest me. I’ve long grown bored of tormenting humans, too.”
‘He’s “tired” of it?’
Even Teron had no way to know if that was true.
Top-tier Demons were beings that had to be eradicated on sight. They killed them before they could even extract information.
So there was almost no solid information about them.
They were simply stronger and more troublesome than high-ranking Demons. That was it.
“And if I don’t want to deal?”
“Then you both die here.”
The aura of death thickened.
The reason a descended Demon was so dangerous in the human world—
‘There’s no penalty.’
If a Demon residing in Hell directly killed a human, their soul’s rank dropped, and in the worst case they could even die.
That was why they used “Demon contracts” to possess people or borrow hands to kill for them and harvest souls.
But if they successfully descended?
They could kill not just two people, but everyone in the academy without incurring any penalty at all.
Of course, they’d probably lose their life when the rampage ended, but either way, Teron and Daike had no path that didn’t end in death.
The only reason they were still alive right now was the Demon’s absurd whim—this “I was moved and want to help” nonsense.
“Then I’ll be the one to make a contract!”
“You’re not qualified.”
“Why not?!”
“Intense desire. It’s the only thing that can substitute for a soul. You don’t have that. You pretend to live for your master, but in the end, your own safety matters more, doesn’t it?”
“Don’t flap that filthy tongue. There’s a limit to how much I can ignore.”
“Is that really so? You don’t actually want to leave this boy’s side?”
“What are you—”
“Your dream of becoming a knight. Don’t you still want to fulfill it?”
Daike’s body flinched.
Benumael, who’d survived for so long, had a practiced eye for human desire.
No matter how exceptional he was, Daike was only fifteen.
His mind was still immature, and his deeply buried desire had been exposed far too easily.
“You want to leave. You’re sick of cleaning up after your master, aren’t you?”
“Y-you wretched Demon, spouting such nonsense…!”
“That’s enough.”
“Teron! It’s not true! I—!”
“I’m saying don’t fall for a Demon’s attempt to drive a wedge between us.”
“Ah…”
Only then did Daike realize how worked up he’d gotten.
Demon tongues were terrifying. He’d just learned that the hard way.
“Impressive. As expected, you’re exceptional. Makes me want to rip your soul out by force.”
“I don’t want or need your compliments.”
Right now, what mattered was one thing.
“If I make a contract with you… can I beat him?”
“You mean that boy, Zero?”
“…”
Teron wasn’t weak enough to be swayed by a Demon’s temptation.
The reason even he wavered at Benumael’s words—
‘He earned my father’s acknowledgment in a single encounter.’
Teron had never been acknowledged even once.
It wasn’t about timing. It wasn’t about inferiority.
It was just that he had never once satisfied his father.
That truth—that he was a disappointment—felt unbearably sad.
And it hurt.
The Demon’s eyes curved in a crescent smile.
Demons appeared when people were at their lowest and offered their hand.
Which was why…
It was so hard to refuse.
“Of course you can.”
If that’s what you desire.
“Fine.”
“Teron!”
“But I’m changing the terms.”
Ignoring Daike’s attempt to stop him, Teron quickly altered the contents of the contract.
2nd Grade Demon “Benumael” will lend Six-Star knight-level power to “Teron de Vyuern.”
“Teron de Vyuern” will borrow this power only when fighting Annwood Academy’s first-year students “Alex” and “Zero.”
This contract will automatically be nullified once “Teron de Vyuern” subdues “Alex” and “Zero.”
The reason he changed the contract was simple.
The condition “being acknowledged by his father” was too abstract.
‘If I defeat Zero and Alex, I’ll be number one. If I become top of the class, Father will have no choice but to acknowledge me.’
On top of that, he’d only receive power when fighting Alex and Zero.
There would be no reason for demonic energy to leak out in daily life.
“…Smart.”
“You’re not going to tear it up just because things didn’t go exactly as planned… are you?”
“Well, that’s, uh…”
“Even a lowest-grade Demon wouldn’t pull something that trashy. A top-tier Demon wouldn’t, right?”
“O-of course not. I am Benumael! Servant of the mighty Third Legion Commander!”
Benumael grumbled as he tidied up the contract.
Daike’s expression twisted with conflicted emotions. With his back to him, Teron spoke.
“Respect my choice. This was the only way to save you.”
The reason Teron said he was saving Daike—
They could die to the Demon here, but surviving this room wasn’t the end either.
If they returned to the family over summer break with nothing to show for it, Daike would be dead anyway.
“Teron…”
“I’m the one who will save you. Because I am… your master.”
No matter what it took.
Seeing that, Benumael smiled to himself.
The details were a little off from his original script, but he’d secured a contract in the end.
‘To sacrifice yourself for someone else… humans really are foolish creatures.’
Family, lovers, friends.
Everyone had someone precious to them. Even the coldest, most rational people were no exception.
He watched Daike silently renew his resolve to be loyal to Teron.
‘If your master is ever in danger, you won’t have a choice but to deal with me too.’
If he presented a contract to Daike when Teron was in danger, the boy would sign without hesitation.
Even if it was a contract to steal his soul.
‘Then all I have to do is give this young master a new contract afterward… and I can devour both souls.’
The first time was always hard. The second was easy.
“Sign.”
Teron took hold of the burning demonic pen.
He hesitated for a moment, and Duke Zeppelin’s words echoed in his head.
Rise. Become the victor.
Only results… matter in this world.
“I accept the contract.”
Crackle—!
Intense demonic energy burst out from Teron’s quarters.
A quiet teahouse in a small town.
Dwener and Caron were waiting for someone.
“He’s late.”
“The main character is supposed to show up late.”
“Are we the extras, then?”
“If that bothers you, you could always climb your way up to high noble.”
“Even if they offered me the position, I wouldn’t take it.”
“I don’t know… It’s not like you don’t have the skill for it.”
Zap.
Dwener glared, but Caron didn’t look away.
In the end, it was Dwener who averted his eyes.
‘I’ll never get used to that face, no matter how many times I see it.’
Pretending to casually sip his tea as he looked away, Dwener suddenly glanced down at the back of his hand.
At a glance, it looked ordinary, but it was a hand upon which a “Mystery” had clearly settled.
A Mystery.
‘Something different from mana, aura, magic, or black magic.’
It was such a strange, uncanny power that some people even called it “the power of the gods.”
Each Mystery’s ability was different, each had its own activation conditions, and the good ones sometimes sold for astronomical prices.
It was the first Mystery in Dwener’s life that was obviously worth a fortune at a glance.
He had no intention of selling it, but he wanted to know exactly what it did.
‘I tried experimenting, but…’
It wasn’t easy. In three days, all he’d learned was that his physical abilities increased a little and that it lasted for fifteen minutes.
The fortunate part was that there was an expert on such things.
And he was sitting right across from him.
“So, did you figure it out?”
“It’s a combat-focused Mystery. I got a bit stronger too. About… twenty percent, I’d say?”
“…You call that ‘a bit’?”
Caron was a Nine-Star knight. His maximum capacity was already enormous, and now there was another twenty percent on top of that?
‘A bit’ didn’t cut it. ‘Ridiculous’ was more accurate.
Put simply, he was like a 9.2-Star knight. The number sounded silly, but he was definitely stronger than your average Nine-Star.
“Well, it wipes out every chronic illness in your body while it’s active.”
Blocked meridians, arthritis, even severed limbs regenerated.
It was temporary, but even so, it was an incredible power. Only then did Dwener remember that his knee arthritis had disappeared back then.
“How long does it last?”
“Exactly fifteen minutes. Then you can use it again precisely twenty-four hours later.”
“What about activation conditions?”
“I’m not entirely certain yet, but… it seems it only activates when you’re saving someone else.”
“So it forces you to walk the path of a hero… A very fairy-tale kind of Mystery.”
The knights of Trash Village had returned to their old, damaged bodies.
But they weren’t dissatisfied. On the contrary, they were living with newfound hope.
Caron was satisfied too. People with disabilities were easier to slip into places unnoticed.
“Anything else unusual?”
“If you try using it for personal gain or with impure intentions, the effect disappears immediately. You can’t even use it to steal, so the restrictions are pretty strict.”
“So there’s no room for abuse.”
The knights who’d escaped from Trash Village were now officially wanted criminals.
The excuse was that a torrential downpour had caused them to lose the prisoners being transported.
As punishment for that, Principal Dwener had his pay cut, and Ron, who’d been in charge of the transport, was dismissed from his position as instructor.
Ron accepted it coolly. He was going to live as a rat anyway.
“Must be nice.”
The peaceful atmosphere of the teahouse froze in an instant.
Because the star of the day, Duke Zeppelin, had just walked in.
–TL Notes–
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Based on how Teron died in the original script,He must have signed a second contract!
And the third legion huh,A prelude for the third Legion commander descent? With the additional aim of weakening the academy?