The Demon’s Bargain – Part 01
[previous_page]
[next_page]
Translator: Kell
Interlude: The Price of Pride
They say humans are born sinners.
Young children steal things from people even before they learn the concept of thievery. They establish dominance over the weak through violence. The human mind is weak, and that is why it needs God.
A young child who sins is punished, and learns discipline, self-sacrifice, patience, and love.
But villains, their minds tainted by evil, learn justice to evade it.
Despite their good fortune, they take everything from the hungry, and with a sharp sword in hand, oppress the weak and unarmed.
Neither parental love nor God’s morals can reach their hearts.
They step on people like it’s nothing, use them, and even take their lives, all with a smile on their faces, as if it’s their God-given right.
Their souls are tainted, and that taint is passed down through generations. A worm’s child is a worm. A beast’s parent is a beast.
Thus they learn how to hide their filthy, ugly soul with flowery words.
Like the daughter of a brute who pretended to be a knight—Gemma.
Or the witch who successfully infiltrated the Knights Templar’s ranks.
Demons flooded the world. Countless innocent people were dying, waiting for God’s salvation from the pits of despair.
They will welcome the wicked’s false salvation with joy.
On that day, the wicked will become the saviors, plunging the world to real hell.
He could not stand by and watch that happen. Leyland Tanger knew he had a mission to fulfill, even if it meant branding himself an insurgent by expelling the person whom the Commander appointed as captain.
“Oh lord of the seven guardian deities, merciful God who loves the people. Give me power to protect the masses. Power to see evil. Power to vanquish the enemy. With my body, my life, and my soul, I am one who wields the sword of God.”
It seemed as if God answered Leyland’s prayer. For the next few days, they marched on without any problem.
The journey was so peaceful that he almost forgot that demons ran rampant in the north. He even thought that they would make it to Knox Cathedral in one piece.
But God always puts pride to the test.
It was only after they had lost dozens of knights that they noticed they were losing men from behind the long column. Realizing that something was wrong, Leyland immediately took action and divided the column into two, ordering one to watch the other.
They found out one thing as a result. The men all left the ranks of their own volition, lured into the woods.
Leyland could not believe it. The horrific demonic phenomenon that claimed the lives of knights at the Demon Archway was not limited to that location.
He immediately ordered his men never to answer a call from behind. It pained him when he realized that he was giving the same instructions as the witch, but there was no other way.
But this did not go well either.
The demon tempted men all day and all night, at any time and place. The other day, one of his soldiers, deceived by the demon, killed five of his comrades and committed suicide.
Their numbers were dwindling. Suddenly the men began holding the rope that the witch provided, as though saying it helped strengthen their minds.
They did not have enough faith, Leyland decided. He was furious that they would cling to the power of a witch for help.
“Are you going to protect us?” his subordinate asked with frightened eyes.
There were many non-combatants in the expeditionary force, those assigned to cooking and carrying supplies.
“Is your faith going to protect us from the demon? Because it seems my faith alone can not protect me.”
It wasn’t long before whispers reached Leyland’s ears.
“Why did he banish the witch?”
“Wasn’t it because he was confident that he could protect us?”
“The witch actually did something, while he just stands idly by.”
He did not know if it was the whispers of the demon, or the grumblings of his men.
But if there was one thing Leyland was sure of, it was the fact that it was neither the demon nor his subordinates who voiced the doubts and misgivings the loudest. It was his own mind.
Madia led us to the basement of the fort where the archives were. Barcel couldn’t walk properly, so I had no choice but to carry him.
“Why do I have to carry you?” I grumbled.
“I don’t want to be carried by a stuffy Beastfallen either. Besides, I wanted to look for the captain. Ouch.”
He shut his mouth. He was so numb that he couldn’t speak clearly. Talking while being carried around made him bite his tongue by accident.
On a different note, I didn’t expect to find a copy of the Grimoire of Zero like this. Since the whole world was plunged into chaos, we had given up on searching for it.
“Over here.”
At the end of the stairs was an old wooden door with a Magic circle painted on it in red and black ink.
“A demon-repelling ward,” Zero said as she regarded the door.
Madia nodded. “It’s from when the first Director successfully summoned the demon.”
I nodded casually in response, then a second later it hit me. “The first Director summoned the demon?!”
“I knew it,” Zero said, as if she already expected this. “That demon was not summoned during the recent chaos.”
“Did you actually notice it?” I said.
“It is too familiar with this place to have been summoned recently. Conversely, this fort is too familiar with the demon. It must have been in this land for at least decades, or perhaps a century.”
“A century?” I found it hard to believe.
“I was born and raised in this fort,” Madia said. “My father said that the demon has been in this fort since long before I was born. The first Director entered into a contract with it. To grant each head of Fort Niedra with “eyes that see the world” until the last in the family dies. In exchange, the demon will be given all sorts of books.”
Madia opened the door, revealing countless books. My jaws dropped. Bookshelves as high as the ceiling spiraled around the chimney that ran through the room, creating some sort of a maze.
Zero squealed in delight. “Wow! So this is the Forbidden Library!”
“This is about a third of what we have. Only the books of high value are arranged on the shelves. The others are stacked further down in the basement.”
Zero hopped over to a bookshelf, picked up the nearest book, and began flipping through it.
“This is incredible, Mercenary!” she said, turning to me. “It is an instruction manual for confining beautiful girls and violating them one after another!”
“Return that evil book to the shelf right now!” I barked.
“I told you most of the books in the Forbidden Library are porno books,” Barcel said.
I set the man down on the floor against a wall.
Madia glared at Barcel, her lips pursed. “That is nothing but an outrageous rumor. Yes, there are many obscene books here, but there are also many banned books that are of artistic quality.” Madia took a quick glance at the shelf and pulled out a book. “This one, for example, was banned because it criticizes the Church. It’s a two-hundred-year-old book that contains the story of a Bishop who used the power of a demon to heal people. Because the story was so detailed, there were rumors that it was true. The author was burned at the stake, of course.”
“Have you read all the books in this archive?”
“Of course. I’m the librarian, after all. I know where all the books are too. The copy of the Grimoire of Zero is on the desk in the middle.”
Madia led us to the center of the vast library. Barcel said we could leave him, so I left him by the entrance.
My mouth hung open as I regarded the bookshelves that reached all the way to the ceiling. There seemed to be more than twenty thousand books. Reading one book a day would not be enough to finish them all. At the center of the spiral shelves were more shelves, but arranged in a hexagonal pattern, creating a small room, with just enough space for a person to pass through. In the middle was a table, and the copy of the grimoire lay on top of it, open.
Zero flipped through the pages without even asking for Madia’s permission. “This is indeed a copy of the Grimoire of Zero,” she said, letting out a small sigh of relief.
“This library is a sanctuary. It’s the only place in the fort that the Director’s eyes can’t reach. It can’t see what’s happening here even with its ability.”
“Eyes that see the world, huh?” Zero glanced at Madia. “So… How much do you know, and what do you want from me? Let us keep things simple, Librarian. Or should I call you Director?”
I couldn’t comprehend what she just said. But for the first time, Madia showed a hint of discomposure.
“How did you know?” the librarian said.
“You said so yourself a moment ago,” Zero replied nonchalantly. “That the contract was to give each successive head of the family “eyes that see the world”. And you said you were watching us when we first met. This can only mean one thing. You are the current head of Fort Niedra.”
For a while, Madia just stood there, taken aback. Then she chuckled at her own stupidity, and for the first time removed her hood, revealing her whole face.
Contrary to expectations, she had very plain features—a button-shaped nose and narrow, sleepy eyes. At best, I would describe her to possess charming looks, but the somber vibe she exuded ruined her charm.
“How embarrassing,” she said. “Even without eyes that can see the world, you can still see everything, Lady Zero. I apologize for the late introduction. My name is Madia Niedra. The previous Director passed away on the night the world fell to ruin. I am now the fifth Director of Fort Niedra.” She gave a strained smile. “Although, the demon has claimed the title at the moment.”
“Let us hear it.” Zero took a seat on the reading table. “The story of Fort Niedra, the demon, and you. It sounds more interesting than reading.”
[previous_page]
[next_page]
Comment (0)