17 episodes
The dark, damp basement was filled with the smell of blood.
Ethan was startled by the sound of a man’s desperate scream.
‘This voice?’
It was hard to understand because he was so rested, but it was definitely Leon Bernstein’s voice.
Ethan turned his head.
A man with gray hair, wracked with scars, was tied to a chair.
And in front of him was a man wearing a robe.
‘That one?’
The man in the robe was putting new magic over Leon’s eyes.
Ethan then realized why Luisa had two tattoos.
‘You changed the path of the existing soul subordination.’
The person who engraves the tattoo had a different physique from the man in the robe he had seen in the memory of the Demon King.
But Ethan instinctively realized.
‘Both of them must be the origins of the Dark Followers.’
The man in the robe staggered, seemingly exhausted from his tattoos.
“Wow, I don’t want to take away the traitor’s dog, but it’s no big deal.”
“master… … .”
Leon, whose mind was fluctuating, muttered like that.
Then the man in the robe slapped Leon on the cheek.
“The child ran away! Your master is me from now on. Not like a lowly person who dared betray the Demon Lord!”
The man in the robe muttered a little.
“Damn it. Even our family’s magic cannot erase the spell, and the only thing we can do is change the course of the command.”
Tears of blood flowed from Leon’s eyes.
The memory ended there.
* * *
Ethan returned to reality with a slight vertigo.
His eyes were twinkling.
‘I wasn’t wrong!’
Ethan could see that his intuition wasn’t wrong.
Those who tried to resurrect the hateful beings, even if they chew on them, were deeply related to this event.
‘Clearly. House Harper is a dark follower. And it made sense that Luisa was subordinate to the Harper family.’
So far, this has been just speculation.
However, it was a clear truth, as he confirmed the memories of the past with his jet-black eyes.
jerk.
Ethan stepped out the door.
There was a deep smile on his lips.
Half of it was a gamble, but it was a success.
‘Eyes of pitch black surely guided me into the past.’
Ethan touched his left eye.
To confirm the relationship between Luisa Bernstein and Matilda Harper, it was not enough to simply overhear the story.
It was necessary to actively use the jet-black eyes.
Surprisingly, the jet-black eyes proved their worth.
Of course, the fact that House Harper was a dark follower didn’t even need further investigation.
However, the relationship between the Bernsteins and the Harpers had to be clarified.
It was a simple reason.
“You have to distinguish between the ones to kill and the ones not to kill.”
For Ethan, the Bernstein family was a remnant of the past.
So, I didn’t want to touch it.
However, if at least one of the Bernsteins was a dark follower, that was no exception.
No matter how much the subordinate’s family agrees to resurrect the hateful Demon King?
It was unacceptable for Ethan.
Fortunately, the Bernsteins were merely bound by the magic of soul subordination.
Ethan’s eyes grew cold.
“Now the next goal is… … .”
* * *
Matilda slapped Thomas on the cheek.
“Stupid! Can’t even stop a single kid from coming in!?”
“Sorry, I’m sorry.”
“Do you know how insulted I have been for the mistake you made?”
“He came in here with no time to stop me!”
“Are you asking because I don’t know it now? Why couldn’t you stop a single young believer?! You are asking that!”
Thomas was embarrassed.
Matilda’s palms slapped her cheeks.
His red, swollen cheeks were hot.
Even Thomas knew it was his fault for not stopping Ethan.
However, Ethan was hardly an opponent who could be stopped by Thomas’ skill.
At first, Thomas, like Matilda, tried to block the entrance of young followers, but after being briefly suppressed, he was thrown to the ground.
‘What kind of young devotee has that kind of power?’
Thomas was exhausted and seemed to die.
He was only a young believer.
However, the supernatural power he used to subdue himself could not be ignored because he was young.
He broke his arm and kicked his foot with a skillful movement.
It was hard to believe that he was a young believer who had not been formally ordained a priest.
However, seeing the divine power engraved on his hands, he could not accept it as a lie.
What was in front of me was a clear fact.
“I don’t want to see you, so get out of here!”
“Yes, yes!”
Thomas panicked and ran out of the house.
It was because he felt the fear that if he continued to be in the same room with Matilda, his cheeks would be ripped apart.
At first, Thomas was a loyal Harper family.
But he was not a man of great ability.
He was by Matilda’s side simply because he was infinitely loyal and took on mean things.
‘shit! I hated Matilda that bitch, so I have to do whatever it takes to make up for it. Otherwise, it will be relegated to the Harper family.’
Thomas’ head turned quickly.
Originally, the more sensitive the mouse, the more nimble it was to react to the danger that could come to it.
He groaned, scratching his head nervously.
‘It’s just that guy. In the first place, Matilda and them came to the delegation to directly confirm the miracle of Seong Baek-soo. We have to protect our original purpose somehow!’
It was as Thomas thought.
The reason Matilda is angry now is because everything has gone wrong.
Of course, it was true that she was in a humiliating situation and that she had been humiliated as well.
However, the original goal of the delegation was to build a relationship with Edan, which was largely due to the fact that it went wrong from the beginning.
‘All those who came with me are anxious to set up a ball here, so I’ll be even more anxious.’
Thomas remembered the nobles who participated in the delegation of the Aurum Kingdom.
They were like Matilda.
It was because of the same purpose as Matilda that they, who were hiding in the dark and following the devil, dared to join the delegation.
Miracle Boy, Ethan.
It was to make contact with Ethan, who was rumored to be a miracle he had created in the new city.
“First, I need to gather information about that cheeky bastard.”
Determined, Thomas moved immediately.
The civilians of the Nouvelle City went to the boulevard where they were actively coming and going.
There was no time to delay.
If the relationship with the miracle boy could not be restored, everything would go in vain.
Before that, information had to be gathered and aggregated.
No matter how much a boy with enormous divine power, his mental age would be no different from that of a boy his age.
“Where is the famous tavern here?”
Thomas flipped a coin and asked a poor man.
The ghetto hurriedly picked up the coins and showed Thomas the tavern.
No city had more than a tavern for gathering information.
There was only a gap in which even a small thing could fit.
There is no human without a story.
So, Thomas was confident that he would be able to find the gap at any time if he tried his best.
At least, that was the case until the sudden attack.
months!
Thomas’ eyes and mouth closed in an instant.
I couldn’t scream, I couldn’t feel anything.
My senses seemed paralyzed.
It was then that Thomas realized that something was wrong.
* * *
midnight.
It was the time when darkness fell in the new city and everyone was asleep.
Ethan was in the warehouse in the back alley of the outer castle.
He broke the lock of the warehouse and infiltrated the interior.
“Is this enough?”
Ethan opened the door and looked outside.
It didn’t feel popular.
Besides, it was a time when people were sleeping, so I was relieved.
profit.
Ethan quietly closed the door.
He stopped the blood from the wound he made on his finger.
“It’s been a while, so it’s a little painful, but my skills aren’t dead yet.”
Ethan made a satisfied face.
The dark magic circle was painted in blood on the floor of the warehouse.
It was to block the noise that would be generated in the process of interrogating Thomas in advance.
It was a type of magic that could not be used with divine magic.
‘but. How many years have you been rolling around as a child of the Demon King?’
However, having learned several dark magic in a previous life, he was able to do this with ease.
‘It would be terrifying if other people knew.’
Ethan laughed involuntarily.
The heart of the Pars Church, using dark magic in the middle of the new city?
It was a trip that could not be made without the liver coming out of the stomach.
That was then.
Thomas, who had fainted, woke up with a groan.
“Wow! Are you testing me in this way again?”
If there was something strange, it was Thomas’ response.
Even though his eyes were covered, he was neither surprised nor struggling.
It was as if he had been kidnapped several times before.
‘What, you bastard?’
Ethan made an impression.
Because it wasn’t the reaction he expected.
“Didn’t you tell me last time? I really follow the Demon Lord. Rather than kidnapping you like this every time, give me a chance to prove your loyalty. Then my innocence will be revealed!”
Thomas complained as if it was unfair.
It was then that Ethan realized that Thomas had misunderstood his opponent.
‘Oh, maybe this guy?’
Things turned out pretty fun.
Ethan applied magic power to his vocal cords to produce a altered voice.
“How did you know who I was?”
Then Thomas shrugged.
It was because he thought it would be a great opportunity to show his excellence.
“I saw dark magic in action before I lost my mind! It’s a little different from the dark magic we’ve seen so far, but it’s for sure! So I thought you were here to test me. I’m different from a frivolous errander who’s ignorant of magic.”
Ethan’s eyebrows twitched at those words.
I realized why Thomas had made such an absurd mistake.
‘You did a good job covering your eyes, too.’
Ethan thought carefully about what to say before asking Thomas.
However, Thomas teased first whether his mouth was light or it was difficult to bear the silence.
“Seeing you came so quickly, you must have been very curious about Matilda-sama’s research on new magic. Am I right?”
“Well, yes.”
“Unfortunately, research is at a standstill. It seems that research is not progressing because it is difficult to obtain magical power from outside.”
Ethan understood that.
There were several ways to obtain magical power from the outside.
It was also a way to bring it from a creature or object that was exposed to magic from the beginning.
But now, it was a time when everything related to the Demon King was oppressed.
So it was difficult to get magic power.
‘Then, are you conducting research on new magic by adding the divine power extracted from Luisa’s blood to the magic?’
The theory was quite plausible.
In Thomas’ words, Ethan knew what the Harper family was doing, and the truth.
“How is the new magic research going? Are there any other specimens?”
“Well, that’s what I said last time… … .”
Thomas said he realized something strange.
“who are you? Who dares pretend to be them and get information from me!”
It seemed that he could no longer fool Thomas.
Ethan clicked his tongue low and took off Thomas’ eyepatch.
“You, you!?”
When Thomas opened his eyes, he looked at Ethan’s face and was astonished.
Isn’t that the kid who beat himself up and broke into Matilda’s quarters?
‘Why is that guy here?!’
Ethan made eye contact with Thomas and smiled.