“Tomorrow?”
Ex repeated the word before he could stop himself.
Andras seemed delighted by his reaction and proudly launched into an explanation of her plan.
“Yes! Tomorrow is the day of the ‘Hero Memorial Ceremony.’ The Imperial Prince will conduct the ceremony at the Imperial Palace, while the humans from the Academy gather in the grand auditorium. Don’t you think it would make for quite the spectacle if the ‘demons’ attacked right then?”
Ex couldn’t help but be thrown off.
He had never even heard of anything called the ‘Hero Memorial Ceremony.’
‘Was this setting added along with the new plotline…?!’
Whether Ex was flustered or not, Andras continued explaining her plan.
“The humans will gather at the Academy without realizing that all those nobles became demons last night. And when they do, the demons will begin their massacre from both inside and outside the Academy!”
Andras shuddered with pleasure at the scene unfolding in her imagination.
“Pain and screams will echo from every direction, and the streets will become hills of blood and corpses! The Empire will be plunged into chaos, everything will grind to a halt, and that’s when the Hellgate Ritual will be completed! The Empire won’t be able to do a thing. It’ll be ravaged by demons and torn to pieces!”
Just imagining it seemed to fill her with such excitement that her breath came out in harsh, ragged bursts.
“Then harvesting the million souls we’re still missing will be nothing! Once we’ve gathered even more than a million, ‘His’ descent will no longer be a mere dream! And then I’ll finally be ‘recognized’! Not as the ordinary demon Andras, but as ‘Archdemon’ Andras!”
She smiled with the innocent delight of a child and asked Ex,
“What do you think? Doesn’t that sound fun?”
Ex was reminded all over again of exactly who Andras was.
‘Right. She was the final boss of the Imperial Schism Scenario. And from my perspective, she was also the worst villain in the entire story.’
The original novel had featured all kinds of villains, but Andras was the one who had remained lodged in Ex’s memory.
The way she trapped Hero Leon at the most critical moment, along with the terrifying persistence she displayed, had left a particularly deep impression on him.
‘Even after the Hellgate was destroyed, she immediately devised another plan, assassinated the Imperial Prince, and pulled off the absurd scheme of becoming Empress herself.’
And Andras was also the demon who ultimately deceived Hero Leon and dragged his life all the way down into the deepest pit of hell.
She had been involved in no fewer than three Doomsday Scenarios. It was only natural that she possessed this much initiative and audacity.
‘I’ve gathered all the information I need.’
The revelation that the Academy would be attacked tomorrow had come as a shock.
But once he forced himself to think calmly, there was still enough time to prepare.
‘There are hidden powerhouses at the Academy, like Lung and Maria. If the attackers are beast-type demons, they should be able to keep the casualties to a minimum.’
The greatest danger should have been the demons who had infiltrated the ‘inside’ of the Academy, but Ex had already dealt with them.
There shouldn’t be any demonic attacks from within.
‘More importantly…’
Now that he was confronting a demon’s madness head-on, he could barely keep his heart from trembling.
This was different from the overwhelming presence Roxwell had radiated as a martial artist.
It was closer to instinctive revulsion, to a primal and fundamental terror.
Without the Reckless Duelist title, Ex would probably have been trembling pathetically by now.
‘Stay calm. I’m almost done.’
He had obtained every piece of information he needed.
All he had to do now was get out of here.
‘I’m worried about Lola too. I need to make sure she’s safe.’
Once Lola was ready, they only had to carry out the final operation and flee immediately. Then it would all be over.
‘The banquet just needs to begin, and the nobles need to drink the Mandrake Potion. Then Lola blows open the banquet hall doors and starts shouting that there’s a fire. That’s all it takes.’
Andras’s plan would be shattered, and Hero Leon’s awakening event would proceed without a hitch.
‘As for running into the Imperial Princess at the Academy… I’ll worry about that later. I can always dye my hair or something.’
After organizing his thoughts, Ex cleared his throat and spoke.
“Good. It seems you’ve prepared the plan thoroughly. There are a few areas that concern me, but I’m sure you can handle deviations of that magnitude on your own.”
“Thank you for viewing it so favorably.”
“Then I’ll be on my way. It would be dangerous if I failed to submit my inspection report before the end of the day. Honestly, being forced to report something like this in writing is nothing but a nuisance.”
Ex rose from his seat.
At that exact moment.
『Warning! It is impossible for an ordinary human to know the true names of high-ranking demons. It is likewise impossible for an ordinary human to possess knowledge of the demons’ operation.
A Plausibility Penalty will therefore be imposed.』
‘What…?!’
That should have been impossible.
A Plausibility Penalty only occurred when ‘Ex’ was caught doing something that violated plausibility.
Right now, Ex was here as ‘Berith.’
Even setting that aside, Elysia would have needed to personally witness Ex’s actions.
‘Don’t tell me villains are included among the viewpoints too…!’
Even if that were true, this penalty still shouldn’t have been possible.
The demons before him firmly believed that he was Berith.
And yet, it had undeniably happened.
『Plausibility Penalty acquired: Andras and Flauros enter Berserk State.』
“Wait a moment.”
Andras grabbed Ex by the wrist.
The chilling touch made it feel as though his heart itself had gone cold.
Andras smiled as naturally as ever and said,
“Today is a historic day. For me, and for demonkind as a whole.”
‘Andras’s Berserk State? What the hell does that even do…?!’
His heart pounded hard enough to burst from his chest, but Ex remained composed.
Doing his utmost to appear perfectly calm, he replied,
“I’m aware. What does that have to do with you holding me back? I am a busy man. If I do not leave at once today…”
“You are Berith, the 28th-Ranked Demon. Your tier stands far above mine. And right now, I need someone like you.”
Andras’s words made no sense.
That only threw Ex’s thoughts into even greater confusion.
“Why? How could that possibly justify restraining me like this…?!”
“Because it does!!”
A sudden burst of agony tore through the arm she was holding, and Ex nearly screamed.
Andras tightened her grip around his arm, squeezing harder and harder as she shouted.
“I’ve!! Devoted my entire life to earning ‘His’ recognition!! My time, my emotions, even my soul!! That means there can’t be a single blemish on my success!!”
“L-Let go of my arm…!”
“If, if anything goes wrong!! Then it can’t be my fault!! I need someone who can take responsibility for anything that happens, someone for all the blame to fall on!!”
It was madness.
A selfish obsession with being ‘recognized.’
A deranged fixation on refusing to accept any ‘responsibility.’
This was why Andras was a demon.
This was why Andras was the worst villain of them all.
‘So this is her Berserk State! Why did it have to be something like this…?!’
Andras stared at Ex and burst into mad laughter.
“And then, at just the perfect moment, a demon of a higher tier than me came along. So if anything goes wrong, it won’t be my fault. It won’t be my fault at all!”
“Have you lost your mind?! I’m nothing more than an Inspector…! There’s no reason responsibility for anything that happens here would fall on me!”
“What are you talking about? We can make up the details when the time comes. All you need to do is bring me everything good that happens. And you can swallow all the bad.”
There was no longer any reasoning with her.
In the end, Ex had no choice but to make one final gamble.
“Do you truly intend to spill blood here? Does a mere 63rd-ranked demon truly believe she can defeat me?”
As far as they knew, he was the 28th-Ranked Demon.
If rank alone were taken into account, he should have been capable of overwhelming Andras.
If he reminded her of the gap in their power, she should back down.
But that was nothing more than wishful thinking.
Andras grinned.
“Flauros. It seems you really are nothing but decoration. Your tier may be a disgrace, but you’re still quite formidable when it comes to ‘strength and abilities.’”
“I would rather not do this, but Lady Andras is my direct superior. Forgive my discourtesy… No, perhaps killing you here would allow my tier to rise.”
Flauros, who had been standing silently behind Andras, drew his sword.
Sinister, wicked flames rolled across the blade with terrifying ease, as though they had always belonged there.
Only then did Ex fully remember what Flauros was.
‘That’s right. This bastard was a fire demon…!’
Flauros was a demon obsessed with raising his tier.
And of all possible directions, his Berserk State had intensified that obsession.
That changed everything.
Even the 28th-Ranked Demon would have difficulty facing the 63rd and 64th-ranked demons at the same time.
Worse yet, Flauros’s command over fire was considered exceptional even among demons.
‘Damn it. Why did things have to turn out like this…?!’
He had no time to lament his situation.
Andras’s grip was growing stronger by the second, while Flauros approached with his burning sword, as though preparing to cut Ex down where he stood.
In the end, Ex had no choice but to yield for the moment.
“What do you want?”
Whatever happened, he could not allow them to discover that he wasn’t a demon.
The instant a fight began, he was as good as dead. Avoiding that outcome had to come first.
“A wise decision.”
Apparently pleased by his submissive question, Andras smiled.
“To be honest, you don’t need to do anything. There’s an iron cage in the basement that would be perfect for locking up a demon.”
After saying that, Andras smiled like a child once more.
“But you know, I just thought of something else that might be fun.”
Andras pointed toward the terrace overlooking the first floor.
It was also where the banquet’s host would traditionally announce the beginning of the festivities.
Pointing toward it, Andras said,
“You’re going to open tonight’s banquet.”
“What kind of absurd nonsense is that…?!”
“Here’s the story we’ll use. ‘Inspector Berith became consumed by his lust for glory and tried to steal my plan by using his superior tier against me!’ You won’t be able to make any excuses after that, will you? After all, if anything happens, it’ll be ‘your responsibility’ because you were the one who carried everything out!”
“You’re insane…! Do you honestly think I won’t report this?”
“Yep! I don’t!”
Shing-
The moment she finished speaking, the burning sword swept toward Ex’s face.
Its hideous, malevolent heat washed over his skin as Andras smiled and said,
“Because if you try anything like that, you’ll burn forever.”
“What a pathetic threat…”
“Flauros’s flames are the ‘Unending Punishment.’ They aren’t meant to burn something away until nothing remains. They simply keep burning, inflicting pain without ever allowing the victim to disappear.”
Flauros’s sword moved even closer.
“Well? Would you like to keep burning until the moment the world comes to an end?”
The threats of the two deranged demons tightened around Ex’s heart.
Ex’s greatest weapon was his ‘words,’ but words only worked against those who could still understand reason.
Trying to talk sense into these two half-mad demons was utterly pointless.
In the end, Ex let out a sigh and answered,
“…I’ll do it.”
“Hm? What did you say?”
“I said I’ll announce the beginning of the banquet.”
Andras smiled at his surrender.
“That’s the answer I wanted to hear.”
At the same time, Andras released Ex’s arm and casually swept one hand through the air.
Ex sensed the mana surrounding the area disappear.
‘She even cast magic to block sound and sight while all that was happening. I was hoping the nobles might see the commotion and run away…’
Dong— Dong-…
Then the clocks throughout the mansion rang out, announcing eight o’clock.
At the appointed hour, every noble invited to the estate gathered in the hall on the first floor.
‘This couldn’t be any worse.’
Ex watched them with tense eyes.
Now that he had found himself in the worst possible situation, the only thing he could do was remain calm.
‘I haven’t even confirmed whether Lola is safe.’
His gaze quickly swept across the nobles, but it was difficult to find Lola among them.
She was already short to begin with, which made her even harder to spot.
‘And no matter how I end this speech, I’m still getting locked up.’
Behind Ex stood Andras, wearing a strange smile. Beside her was Flauros, holding his wicked sword of flame.
Perhaps his chances of survival would actually be higher if he abandoned everything and fled.
He could somehow escape, find somewhere safe to hide, and let the world end for all he cared. Maybe he would still find some way to survive.
“Whew…”
“Go on. Begin your speech.”
Ex slowly stepped forward.
The laughter and conversation of the nobles on the first floor gradually faded beneath the crisp echoes of Ex’s footsteps.
By the time every voice had fallen silent, Ex was standing on the terrace.
The moment he appeared, everyone realized that the banquet was about to begin and turned their full attention toward him.
There was no turning back now.
‘Even so.’
Ex had not forgotten what truly mattered.
With everyone’s eyes and attention fixed upon him, he opened his mouth.
“Ladies and gentlemen. Here among us tonight.”
Ex steeled his resolve.
“There is a demon.”
‘What matters is having a heart that never breaks.’
–TL Notes–
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