Chapter 34: The Demon King’s Strength! Part One

“Shh, shh, shh… keep it down. Don’t you see the Demon King over there?”

“You’re right… should I call her over?”

Liana said casually, only to be immediately kicked by Alona.

Liana clutched her leg in pain and rolled on the ground, bumping into Herya, who was cowering in the corner.

Herya felt a wave of dread. These two actually had a connection with the Empress.

She was finished. Fals had once mentioned offhandedly that the person who died because of her seemed to be related to the Empress—her brother or something.

She didn’t know if it was true.

Sephine pulled back the gauze scarf covering her face. All these items were things she had asked Ai’er to bring her.

Fortunately, Ai’er was quite honest and believed whatever she was told; otherwise, Sephine never would have gotten this outfit.

However, if Vi caught her sneaking out, she would be truly finished.

She might even be put in solitary confinement.

Back in the military camps, soldiers who disobeyed orders were confined and forced to transcribe military regulations.

‘Who is this person?’

Sephine wondered, pointing at Herya in the corner.

Every time she met Alona, there was always a new girl around her.

‘Maybe this girl is a Succubus.’

“I don’t know her, but she seems to be with those rebels,” Liana answered for Alona.

“Gah—”

The Control Collar around Herya’s neck had just loosened slightly, but now it suddenly tightened again.

Herya couldn’t breathe, and her face turned a sickly shade of blue.

She could only slap the ground forcefully, trying to attract the attention of Sephine and the others.

The sound wasn’t particularly loud, but it wasn’t quiet either.

Sephine heard it, and further away, the Demon King’s attention was also drawn.

Vi was still giving orders to the knights.

She had been speaking at the entrance for a long time, but she kept a constant eye on the movements in the area.

That little mouse who had appeared out of nowhere was wearing a black cloak, making it impossible to see their face.

However, there was a familiar Magic Power emanating from them.

“She’s looking over here!”

Sephine hastily turned around to avoid the Demon King’s gaze.

Although the cloak was made of coarse burlap, it had been personally sewn by Misilanka—it was practically blessed! Once worn, it could mask all of the wearer’s magical fluctuations.

Alona continued to chatter about nonsensical topics with Liana to cover their unease.

The Demon King looked back with suspicion, but since she had knights under her command, she had to resolve the issues here before investigating over there.

Sephine breathed a sigh of relief before continuing the conversation.

“What is this person hitting the ground for? Wait, why does it look like she’s dying?”

“There’s a collar on her neck controlling her…”

“Understood.”

Sephine rummaged through her pocket and produced a small knife, using it to carve a large notch into the collar.

Herya’s consciousness, which had been drifting away, was instantly pulled back.

As she breathed fresh air again, it felt like she had been given a new life.

“No need to be afraid now. This collar is broken.”

“What kind of knife is that? It’s incredible!”

“I picked this up next to the corpse of a Demon King’s General back then. It can destroy the magical flow of a Magic Tool, rendering it useless instantly.”

Although Sephine wanted to boast more about her heroic deeds, she felt she should probably ask this girl a few questions first.

“Let’s change locations.”

Sephine tried to lift Herya… but failed.

Alona lifted Herya instead, and the three of them headed toward a small alley.

***

“Demon King? What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing. I just have a strange feeling. Send someone to my Inner Palace to see if the Empress is still there.”

“Huh? But weren’t we discussing the offensive?”

“Just send someone back!”

The Demon King snapped the pen in her hand.

‘If that shorty is really Sephine, she’s in for it!’

To actually disobey an order she had emphasized repeatedly…

However, she preferred to believe it was just an ordinary shorty who happened to be the same height as Sephine and happened to know those girls.

“Continue…”

***

Sephine and the others reached a secluded, deserted alley.

It felt much safer here.

Since they were being so cautious, Vi certainly wouldn’t have discovered her.

Sephine had considerable faith in Misilanka’s craftsmanship; her Demon King Father’s handmade goods were top-tier.

“Who exactly are you?”

“Empress! You must help me!”

Herya realized that this might be the only chance in her life to truly escape her misery.

She grabbed Sephine’s lower leg with both hands, sobbing on the ground as she recounted her tragic experiences one by one, explaining how she had been oppressed by Fals and the others.

Sephine wiped the sweat from her brow. Herya’s story made her skin crawl.

Her governance could only reach the surface; she had no idea how many people were being victimized by the Old Nobles in the shadows.

This was the perfect opportunity to wipe them all out and give the people justice.

“I understand.”

Sephine quickly processed the information she had gathered and sent it to the Knight Commander of the Royal City Knights, Aglis Gross.

Aside from the Demon King, Aglis was the one whose strength Sephine trusted most.

The location of Fals’s basement and the descriptions of Fals and Eubulos were all sent to Aglis Gross.

She used their newly developed Magic Tool, a communication device similar to the first generation of mobile phones from her past life, which was currently being trialed within the Imperial Palace’s official system.

Sephine approached Herya, helped her remove the collar, and then used magic to erase the Slave Brand on her neck.

This was the extent of what Sephine could do for now.

*Clang— Clang—*

The sound of relentless hoofbeats echoed from the streets.

It seemed they planned to use overwhelming numbers to tightly surround the rebels inside the Magic Academy.

Initially, they had only intended to conduct a search, but they discovered that the number of cultists hiding inside had increased rather than decreased.

The Demon King immediately ordered more reinforcements.

She would not act personally unless necessary; she didn’t want the streets and buildings she had worked so hard to build to be destroyed.

“This collar… should still be useful.”

Sephine held the collar and used her knife to sketch a simple array on the ground before placing the collar on it.

“This is an Anti-tracking Array. It can trace Magic Power back to its owner.”

The collar crumbled into fragments, which began to float slowly toward the interior of the Academy.

“That Eubulos you mentioned should be inside. He’s a Cult Leader; why would he act personally? Has he lost his mind?”

“I don’t know… he’s a half-human, half-ghost madman! He’s capable of anything!”

Herya was right.

At that moment, Eubulos, standing alone with Fals’s corpse, had already reached the center of the Academy.

“It’s time to use the Magic Power we’ve collected for so long. Fals, I’ve raised you for this long; it’s time for you to repay us.”

With those words, Eubulos threw Fals’s body onto a Hexagram Array.

The array began to emit an eerie, dark-red light.