Chapter 51: Baglos Emotions

-What?

Faced with that cold tone and the intense, strange disgust lurking beneath it, Duru Satal had no choice but to forcibly regain his composure.

“Whether you know true death or not, what meaning does that have? After all, you too have sacrificed countless subordinates just to prolong your own life. Are you trying to say that only those who know death are qualified to force it upon others, and those who don’t, aren’t?”

For a moment, Duru Satal glimpsed something through the gaps in the connected Network of Consciousness. Beneath the surface of the consciousness and emotions relayed by Anak through the connection, something flickered—like ashen flames slowly rising.

-Yes, you! What on earth is that…?

Duru Satal had lived for a very long time. Though he mostly shared consciousness with monsters or beasts, ruling and controlling them, it wasn’t as if he’d never linked with beings of reason or intellect over all those years.

Granviphra, now and in the past, other administrators, pitiable humans who lost their way in the forest and could never leave, and even the various clans of the woods now vanished—he had connected with the consciousness of quite a few. Sometimes, unintentionally, he’d even peered deep into their minds, as he was doing now.

Even to Duru Satal, staring at it, he could not say exactly what it was, but he had come to call it the Soul’s Surface. And since the Soul’s Surface was never a concrete thought or emotion, at least to Duru Satal, it always appeared as a color or light.

Some were bright, some dark; some monochrome, some dazzlingly multicolored or faded and shabby.

Sometimes it appeared as a light, sometimes with colors and lights all mixed together. Yet, though he had glimpsed the Soul’s Surface of many, this was the first time he’d seen anything like this.

A flame burning ashen gray. For a moment, it even seemed as if that ashen light was illuminating its surroundings. Yet the ominous hues flickering through those surges, and the deep, heavy darkness at the heart of the flame, never felt so bright.

-You—you’re really one of those who saved the world…?

Duru Satal found himself asking again, unable to help it as he gazed at those flames.

“To be honest, I sometimes wonder about that myself.”

With a gesture from Anak, a sigil appeared in the air, and then, as if the space itself was being torn, a black wound split open. Through that black wound, a Kadulukude—covered in black fur from head to toe, with hooves for feet—emerged.

“…What matters isn’t some abstract, conceptual justification like whether you know death or not. You already know this deep down, don’t you?”

With his gesture, a nasty laugh from the Kadulukude—like claws scraping a gravestone—spread through the air.

“What matters is simply whether you have the power to do so or not.”

-……!

At that cold sneer, Duru Satal reflexively tried to sever the connection, as a bizarre and chilling force suddenly invaded his Network of Consciousness. He didn’t know what was happening, and though it was just a connection of thoughts, with his real self far away and not in direct danger, his scant instincts screamed at him to cut the link.

But he was a step too late. Before he could sever the connection, that strange force quickly burrowed in and, in an instant, seized control of the link.

“Directly connecting was your mistake. You’ve already experienced it once before—did you really think it was just an ordinary confusion spell?”

Duru Satal desperately tried to break the link as he watched the strange thoughts racing along the connection toward his true self, but with control already lost, it was impossible. In fact, as those thoughts spread throughout the entire Network of Consciousness, Duru Satal found himself being expelled from his own network.

He no longer had the Network of Consciousness. No shared thoughts, no fragments reaching out. Only his own consciousness remained, and a single connection to the wolf, now overtaken by black thoughts.

-You, what on earth are you…!

And when those thoughts touched his own consciousness directly, he was no longer seeing through the wolf’s eyes. No, he wasn’t even in the forest anymore. He had become a tiny sapling, precariously rooted in blood-red soil, with Anak and the hoofed Kadulukude standing over him.

-What have you done to me!

“Did you think you were the only one who could manipulate mind and consciousness? Sure, it’s a rare ability, but compared to the Illusion Demons, it’s nothing special.”

They were inside an illusion created by the Kadulukude. Yet, Duru Satal’s mental strength was truly formidable. The nightmare that had once ensnared the souls of an entire mountain village was now filled to the brim just holding Duru Satal’s single mind.

“Approaching so recklessly when your network was weakened was a mistake.”

Finding a path to the main body within the vast and complex Network of Consciousness connecting monsters was difficult even for an Illusion Demon, especially before the opponent could sever the link. But with most of the network gone, and a direct connection attempted without going through other links, it was a different story.

Duru Satal simply could not believe the situation before his eyes. Who could blame him?

In all his long years, not a single opponent had ever threatened him through the Network of Consciousness. In fact, not even in this primeval forest was there another being with abilities like his. Among the primitive creatures living in groups or monsters hunting with hypnosis, there were only fragmentary similarities—none could compare to him.

Such experience and time had given him an incomplete certainty, and up until this very moment, that had never changed.

-…What do you intend to do with me? Do you really want to make a master-servant contract?

“In the end, that’s how it will be. But for now, I’ll just keep you trapped here.”

There was still time until the Granviphra would hatch. Even if the opponent had no special tricks left, Anak knew well from experience that desperation could lead to unexpected last-ditch efforts.

If it was certain the other two administrators had fled, then imprisoning Duru Satal in this otherworldly space would mean no further resistance.

“Please wait quietly until the hatching. Though, I doubt it’ll be much fun for you.”

With Anak’s gesture, a cruel and pure anticipation flickered in the single eye of the Kadulukude.

-Wait, wait!

Duru Satal tried to call out and stop him, but Anak severed the connection and left the Kadulukude’s space. Normally, he might have lingered to savor his superiority while listening to his opponent’s futile, contradiction-filled pleas, but in the face of the pure malice digging into him through soul resonance, there was no room for such indulgence.

Duru Satal screamed at the approaching Kadulukude and the mass of thoughts following behind, but it was utterly meaningless—there was not even anyone to hear his screams.

***

The space seemed to blur slightly, and then, out of the empty air, the forms of Raje and Baglos appeared.

“Oh my, I brought good news for once, and today you’re late?”

The space, walled in on all sides, was the place where he had always met the masked man, but for some reason, the masked man who had summoned him was not there. At that moment, the masked man’s figure appeared, reflected in a transparent crystal sphere.

I told him to come alone.

“Oh? Are you really going to miss this sight?”

The Black Crystal in Raje’s hand emitted a glow, and Baglos knelt before it.

“Surely you’re not afraid my sword might pierce you, are you?”

-Don’t get cocky.

The killing intent in the voice was so strong it came through even beyond the crystal sphere, but Raje’s signature mad grin never left his face.

“When did I ever get cocky? I just thought you might be worrying needlessly.”

-Don’t flatter yourself. I can make as many Black Crystals as I want.

“Yes, yes. I know well that you’re holding that old lunatic in your hands. But why can’t you face me in person?”

The masked man said nothing, and Raje’s smile deepened.

But even though Raje was relatively cunning, right now, he was overexcited by the fulfillment of a long-cherished wish, and that excitement was clouding his judgment.

Beyond the crystal sphere, the masked man’s eyes, visible through the gap in the mask, slowly scrutinized Baglos. But it wasn’t out of some baseless fear, as Raje too hastily assumed. He was observing with cold calculation. Of course, even so, he had no way to truly discern Baglos’s intentions.

He watched every movement and glance of Baglos, searching for any hint of his true motives. That was why he no longer appeared in person.

He knew Raje would break orders and bring Baglos here. And at the same time, unlike Raje, he still didn’t fully trust the Black Crystal’s effect.

As a Chimera, whether by choice or not, Baglos was the strongest assassin, both in the past and now. He was also one of those who saved the world in the last war. Only fools or hopeless optimists would trust an imperfect spell—whose effect could only be confirmed by the target’s reaction—and meet face-to-face.

“So, what now? Shall we start by cleaning out the branches here, one by one?”

The masked man hesitated. If the Black Crystal’s effect was real, it was best to proceed with the plan right away, now that they had Baglos. But if this was a trap set by Baglos, the whole plan could collapse. If even the tiniest clues caught his eye in sufficient number, he would realize everything.

-What of the Summoner of Deceit?

He decided to confirm that first.

“I don’t know the exact time or place, but it’s certain he’ll arrive soon.”

-Have Baglos take care of him directly.

Right after those words, the masked man again scrutinized Baglos’s expression and every tiny gesture, but Baglos remained utterly motionless. Like a true doll, he was exactly as he had been, kneeling just moments ago.

As for his silence, that was always the case. During the last great war, the tales of Baglos’s feats were so many that even if every drunk in every tavern talked all night, they’d never finish. But not a single story ever mentioned him showing emotion.

Still, though he knew it was pointless, the masked man couldn’t help but desperately search Baglos for even the slightest flicker of unrest.

“Understood. This should be quite the spectacle.”

Raje, on the other hand, had not a shred of doubt. He was simply enjoying himself, truly for once. His eyes burned with madness like never before, and anticipation dripped from his lips like a wolf drooling over its prey.

Raje and Baglos vanished just as they had appeared, and as soon as they were gone, four or five Mages in deep robes entered the space. All of them wore the Eagle on Lion Emblem embroidered in gold on their chests. Their movements—and even their breathing—were as disciplined as well-trained knights.

-Erase everything. Leave not a single trace.

At the masked man’s command, the Mages erased the teleportation circles and various barriers hidden in the walls one by one, and in their place inscribed spells symbolizing fire and destruction.