“How surprising.”
Sandro’s smile returned to his face.
He leaned deeper into his chair as if to show off his composure.
“Was the collar loose? Or was it defective from the start? …In any case, I’m disappointed in the Chester Company. This is a bit upsetting.”
He’d have to call Rutan and set things straight.
They would probably bow till their foreheads touched the floor. After all, they should have been fully aware of what kind of world they were stepping into.
“It’s useless even if you do it right 100 times. Naturally, all that matters is whether you make one mistake or not.”
Lukas still didn’t say anything.
Sandro smiled.
“But you’re foolish. If you had hidden the fact that the collar was defective and waited for the right chance, you might’ve gotten the chance to run away.”
Sandro had little interest in Lukas from the beginning. His attention had always been on Min Ha-rin.
This blonde-haired man who came with her was nothing more than an extra, a bonus. Even if he was somehow able to miraculously escape, Sandro would not feel any loss.
However, it was a different story altogether for him to remove the collar before his eyes.
His authority would be challenged if he were to let go of this after seeing such behaviour with his own eyes.
“No matter how I look at it, you don’t seem crazy… Am I mistaken?”
“No.”
Lukas opened his mouth for the first time, and Sandro admired his clear voice.
“You have a pretty good voice, better than I expected. You also look fine.”
Sandro’s eyes swept over Lukas.
He seemed to appraise him for a moment before he smiled and said.
“How about this? If you kneel and kowtow right now, I will pretend like I didn’t see you take the collar off. I have a few spare collars, so I’ll let you pick whichever one you like most. If you do that, I will forgive your rudeness and give you the right to be my slave again.”
This was an unconventional offer for Duke Sandro.
In the first place, he still didn’t have much interest in Lukas. However, he felt that it was a bit of a waste to just kill him like that.
He felt that he was a compassionate person who showed unending mercy to those who pleased him.
It was the same this time as well.
But Lukas didn’t answer.
At first, he thought that he was thinking about it, but that didn’t seem to be the case either.
Surprisingly, he couldn’t tell what he was thinking.
‘This guy is an unknown.’
That was the end of Sandro’s analysis.
He shook his head.
In any case, he was only a bonus.
“That’s too bad.”
Paht.
Sandro’s cloak turned dark and began moving as though it had a life of its own.
Min Ha-rin looked back with an anxious expression.
Even she, who had participated in numerous battles against Demon Nobles, didn’t know just how strong a Duke was.
To be more precise, all she knew was that they were incredibly strong.
With one gesture, they could cause heavy winds, lakes to rise, and forests to burn to ashes.
If such beings really existed, then it could only have been seen as a sign of the coming of God.
It was unbelievable.
She couldn’t believe it, and she didn’t want to believe it.
If even some of the rumors she heard were true, then mankind’s struggle was for naught.
Min Ha-rin had once participated in a battle to subjugate a Count.
It was a Demon named Cerberus whose powers were so transcendent that he killed 90% of the hunters who participated in the battle.
And yet, Counts could only be considered as beings at the threshold of high ranking nobility. They were called high-ranking nobility because their level of strength was several times that of the normal Demon Nobles.
The strength the Demon Count had shown that day had become a nightmare deeply engraved in her mind.
And now, the being in front of her was a Duke.
He was definitely much stronger than any Count or Marquis.
Min Ha-rin couldn’t even begin to imagine just how horrifying such an existence was.
The cloak shot forward.
The cloak, which was made of cloth, suddenly clumped together to form a spear.
Despite the fact that it didn’t make a sound, the speed it moved at wasn’t particularly fast.
In all honesty, it wasn’t that impressive.
Was this all the power a Duke had?
If it was only that much, then even she would be able to avoid that attack.
But the moment she thought that…
Min Ha-rin’s face became pale.
“…”
She didn’t blink. And she didn’t lose track of it, either.
But before she realised what had happened, the spear split open.
Instead of a spear, the cloak became a monster filled with hundreds of teeth, which devoured Lukas’ body.
Crunch, crunch…
The only thing that could be heard was the sound of flesh and bones being crushed and torn apart.
Min Ha-rin’s face turned white at the sudden tragedy.
Everything had happened before she even had a chance to react.
It wasn’t hard to realise that the strained voice was coming from Sandro.
Min Ha-rin realised that Sandro’s voice was shaking slightly and that his face would occasionally twitch.
But Sandro’s face wasn’t the only thing twitching. The cloak wrapped around Lukas’ body shook.
Paht!
Then, following the sound of a light explosion, the cloak was torn apart.
And through the strips of cloth that fell like snowflakes, Lukas’ body could be seen.
Just by looking at Sandro’s expression, one could tell how he took this scene.
“What did you do?”
Sandro’s aura had changed dramatically.
Black smoke poured out of his mouth and swirled around him.
The spear he’d just sent forward was strong enough to pierce through any metal the humans had in their possession. It wouldn’t even be a problem for it to pierce through a missile bunker.
At least, Sandro could never have imagined that someone he wanted to kill with it didn’t immediately become a puddle of blood.
What’s more, the one who had done so was nothing but a lowly slave.
“Who are you?”
Sandro’s voice contained confusion that he could not hide even if he wanted to.
Human… was he a human?
No. It wasn’t possible.
He’d met strong humans before, some who were even praised as heroes, but none of them had been a match for him.
Not to mention a Duke.
Even a Marquis. No, they could barely even match a Count.
Weaklings to be trampled on, raised with affection, or thrown away like garbage, depending on their mood.
That was what humans were.
Then what was this being?
He paused his attack.
No. There was something that confused him even more.
‘How did he stop it?’
He couldn’t guess. And it frustrated him that his opponent had a mysterious trump card.
But Sandro hid his agitation.
He had only blocked one attack; nothing had changed. It was hard to tell whether it was intentional or accidental, but the fact that Lukas didn’t die remained unchanged.
So he intended to fight seriously from then on.
Sandro’s gaze deepened.
“Are you working for another Duke? Did they send you to assassinate me? Pride. Is he your master?”
Lukas murmured at those words.
“That’s an unpleasant delusion.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m not a Demon. And naturally, I’m not a servant of Pride.”
If that was the case, then was he really human?
‘A human blocked my attack?’
Ha.
Sandro couldn’t help but let out a laugh.
“You’re trying to pretend. How interesting. I hope your wits are strong enough to overcome torture.”
“Do you think you deserve to test me?”
Sandro’s playful expression disappeared when Lukas asked these words.
“Your way of speaking annoys me. Only the Demon King dares to talk to me like that.”
Sandro’s expression became hazy. The lights in the room fluttered like a candle in front of a breeze before suddenly going out.
The room descended into darkness.
“You… will… beg me… to kill you.”
Sandro’s voice gradually faded into the darkness. His black cloak was swallowed by the ground, followed by his body.
Like ink seeping into a piece of paper, his body was absorbed into the ground.
“Get on the table.”
Min Ha-rin belatedly realised that those words were directed at her.
She hurriedly climbed onto the silver table. Anyone could tell that it was not wise to be moving around blindly in the dark.
‘Sandro is serious.’
She knew how Demons behaved when they became serious. Now, Sandro would not hesitate to reveal his full power.
A full-strength attack from a Duke.
How was he supposed to survive an attack like that?
Shuk.
Lukas knelt on one knee and put his palm on the ground.
And that was it.
“…ku-, urk?”
Like a fish who had been hit by an electric current, Sandro’s body popped out of the darkness.
“U-, urk! Uk! Kuk! Kuuk!”
He looked at Lukas with shaking eyes.
“How… the hell…? I was… between the boundaries… of the shadows…”
He hadn’t simply been pulled out.
His body had been immobilised. Even his joints were frozen as though he had been tied up with an invisible chain.
Now, even his tongue had been paralysed. All he could do was move his eyes around.
“…!!”
For Sandro, it was supposed to be a pleasant day. After a few years, he’d finally found a slave whom he’d liked, and he was certain that he wouldn’t be bored of it for a long time.
He finally got it in his hands, and all he had to do was enjoy it.
Slowly corrupting and breaking humans who mistakenly believed they were strong was something he relished in.
One thing was for certain, though. He never thought that he would die today.
Crack.
As soon as Lukas clenched his fist, Sandro’s body exploded.
It wasn’t blood and flesh that scattered everywhere. Instead, it was an ink like substance.
This thick, black liquid landed on Lukas’ face, but he didn’t need to wipe it off.
This was because after the darkness in the room faded, the ink disappeared as though it had evaporated.
Clink~
And in the place where Duke Sandro’s body had been, a crystal fell to the ground.
Lukas looked at this crystal for a moment before saying.
“You can come down.”
Min Ha-rin blinked a few times.
“…huh?”
He didn’t answer as he kept looking at the crystal on the floor.
Min Ha-rin gulped slightly before stepping onto the floor. But she still looked around hesitantly.
“Hey… What the hell just happened? Wh-, where is Duke Sandro…?”
“I think you should have this.”
As he said this, Lukas handed the Soul Crystal over to Min Ha-rin.
Min Ha-rin took it reflexively before flinching.
There was no reason to ask whose Soul Crystal this was.
A Duke. A Duke’s Soul Crystal.
How many souls were trapped in here?”
‘There’s no way a Demon would have abandoned its Soul Crystal and ran.’
To them, this item was just as important as their lives.
That meant…
This man had really killed Duke Sandro.
“A-, ah… Th-, thank you for saving me…”
She was still confused, but just as she was about to bow her head…
A small vortex appeared in the air in front of them, from which a person then appeared. It was a being wearing a black robe whose face couldn’t be seen because it was covered by strips of cloth. It was almost as if they didn’t have a face.
[It seems my patience over the past few decades has put me to shame.]
The being’s voice was bizarre.
And its sudden appearance seemed to have something to do with Lukas.
[Are you saying it’s none of my business? Fine. But keep in mind. You gave them a justification.]
Huk.
They disappeared just as quickly as they appeared, but Lukas didn’t seem particularly concerned about it.
He turned to Min Ha-rin and said.
“How old are you?”
“Huh?”
When Min Ha-rin asked back in surprise at the sudden question, he murmured in a slightly embarrassed voice.
“Did I say something strange? I mean… How many years have passed since you were born?”
It was rude to ask someone’s age out of nowhere. If it was another situation or if another person had asked her the same question, she might not have answered.
But this was different.
Min Ha-rin answered in a low but clear voice.
“Twenty-two.”
“Really?.” (TL: oof…)
“Huh?”
…Was he trying to say she looked older?
Min Ha-rin’s expression hardened, but Lukas continued as if he didn’t care.
“What do you think about magic?”
“…”
What did she think?
She’d never thought deeply about it. This had been the case ever since she was told that she had no talent for magic.
However, the magic Min Ha-rin had seen today reminded her of a midsummer fireworks display or a christmas tree.
What did she think while watching this scene?
Min Ha-rin felt like her memories had been awoken like she’d taken an old book from a bookshelf.
“I think… it’s pretty.”
When Lukas’ eyes widened slightly at her response, Min Ha-rin flinched.
“Th-, that…”
Did she make a mistake?
While she was unable to hide her nervousness, she heard a voice.
“That is the first time I’ve heard a response like that.”
“…”
“What is your name?”
The order of these questions seemed a bit strange.
Besides, didn’t he hear it when Sandro was calling her name?
Though she had these questions in her head, Lukas was the benefactor who’d saved her life. She couldn’t complain about something like this.
“I am Min Ha-rin. Th-, thank you for saving me.”
Though she had sincerely thanked him once again, Lukas seemed to be paying attention to something else.
“…Min Ha-rin.”
He closed his eyes slightly and seemed to ponder about something.
After a long silence, Lukas finally opened his eyes and looked at her.
“I will teach you magic.”
Note:
I thought it would be best to put a list of the nobility ranks for those of you who are unaware of the ranks. This doesn’t mean the author will follow this exact ranking though, since there are some variations.
From the top it should be:
King
Grand Duke (The possibility was hinted at, but it’s still unclear)
Duke
Marquis
Count
Viscount
Baron
Lord(If it goes so low. It’s possible that they might skip this one)