Chapter 65: The Traitor of the Demon Clan (2)

Those gathered in the hall.

They were all people who held positions of power in their respective countries, or positions equivalent to that.

That’s why, at first, they struggled to maintain their confidence and dignity.

But now?

Perhaps out of nervousness, they swallowed dryly, staring intently at a single spot.

There, stood myself.

“Kuheok!”

And still, dangling in mid-air and thrashing about, was the Harbinger of War. 

Even during the battle with Kayle Turner, the cloned Hero, I had not let go of him to the very end.

That was the part that revealed the overwhelming difference between the fake Hero and myself.

Having lost all support from behind, the creature struggled pitifully, letting out pained groans.

Yet in those eyes, there was still the unique hostility characteristic of the Demon Clan.

But—

“Sssss!”

A cold Magical Power, overflowing with frost, seized his flesh.

“Crack!”

As his lower body began to freeze over, he changed 180 degrees.

“Keok! S-save me…”

The fighting spirit and hostility from a moment ago vanished completely.

What remained in him was a coward, something the Demon Clan loathed above all else, now begging for his life.

And that sight—

‘P-please spare me. If you let me live, I’ll gladly serve the Undying Corps Commander.’

It was enough to remind me of one of the fragments of my past.

With a twisted smile, I gazed at the mutated Demon Clan member, begging for his life.

As I had been sure of moments ago, this one too did not remember who I was.

Just as he had begged for his life before—he did not remember that disgraceful fact.

That’s why—

“You’re not like the Demon Clan I once knew.”

I mocked him.

“The Demon Clan is a race of war. I’ve heard they obey their superiors’ orders absolutely, and would even throw away their lives for battle and victory.”

Of course, most members of the Demon Clan are like that.

But for the 1%—especially for mutants who gained special powers like the Harbinger of War—it did not apply.

“K-kehek. If you spare me, I’ll tell you everything, anything you want to know. Please, just spare my life, keuk!”

There was no pride of the Demon Clan left in him.

Why?

It’s simple.

Unlike the typical Demon Clan, this one was not born with a body made for battle, and so he was always the target of ridicule and contempt.

Even in the world of the Demon Clan, there is bullying.

No, it’s even worse there.

In this world governed by the absolute law of the survival of the fittest, physical weakness itself was a sin.

All the Demon Clan around him, even his own parents, showered him with every conceivable humiliation.

For the Harbinger of War, who had grown up in such a harsh environment, pride in the Demon Clan?

If that ever sprouted, that would be what you’d call abnormal.

He had none of the pride typical of the Demon Clan.

Instead, he was filled with anxiety that the place and position he’d struggled so hard to obtain might be snatched away.

Like a human lusting after power, a greedy hybrid had been born.

Yet, despite his desperate pleas.

“Crack-crack!”

His lower body was now completely frozen.

What I wanted was not a negotiation.

And at that moment sensing my intent, his appearance began to change.

What once looked like a young man from the United States now transformed, with a single spiral horn jutting from his forehead and wings sprouting from his back.

Incubus.

Ordinarily, he should have had two horns, but as a mutant, he had only one horn and three wings—a mutated Incubus.

“Ha!”

“My god!”

Those who witnessed this transformation let out cries of shock.

Who could blame them?

A monster they thought existed only inside the Tower was now striding about the real world.

And, on top of that—

“Y-yes, that’s right. The Demon Clan rules this world.”

That monster was now declaring that his kind ruled the world.

“The United States, China, even Russia. Only a few nations remain untouched by the Demon Clan’s grasp. In fact, you could say we have more than 70% of Earth firmly in our hands.”

Yes.

This is what I wanted.

Depending on how he answered, his fate would be decided—whether he would live, or die.

This was not a negotiation or a deal.

It was a demand for absolute submission.

“Well then.”

Sweeping my gaze over those present in the hall.

“…Are you all sure there are no Demon Clan members among you?”

I posed the question.

A strange tension began to coil throughout the hall.

If the Harbinger of War were to point anyone out, they would immediately be regarded as a Demon Clan member and would meet the same fate as those who had died moments ago.

“There are none.”

He answered, firm and resolute—at least he probably thought so.

However—

‘He’s wavering.’

His composure was shaken.

The Insight Eye, which I’d honed over years, did not miss that fleeting moment.

The ice, having spread from his lower body, now covered up to his navel.

“Gyaaaaah!”

Demon Clan members are not immune to pain.

No, with their developed bodies, they feel pain even more keenly.

Of course, a typical Demon Clan member would have been trained to endure pain, but this one, who never went through proper training—

“Gk, gyaaaaah—”

All he could do was scream, succumbing to the agony.

With his body freezing and the terror of impending death looming, rational judgment was beyond him.

“Here, there, and over there…”

In an instant, he pointed to several spots with his fingers.

“W-what?!”

“This is absurd!”

Those singled out jumped in fright, their faces pale with panic.

They knew very well what it meant to be pointed out.

“This is a trick!”

“You’re not seriously going to believe him, are you?”

“It’s a ploy! We shouldn’t fall for such a simple ruse…”

There were quite a few of them.

Nearly half the people present, faces flushing red, hurried to defend themselves.

But—

There was no need for words.

The sword Frig, forged of cold through Martial Magic, swung down.

“Slash!”

With a single motion, the neck of Juan Lia, the secretary from China, who had been pointed out, was cut.

“Eek!”

People recoiled in shock at the merciless sword strike.

But then—

“Thud, thud.”

When they saw what fell, they were struck speechless.

Rolling on the ground was a Soul Crystal, proof of a duplicate.

Having lost its light and the source of life, it soon turned gray and became nothing more than an ordinary stone.

The hidden truth had been revealed.

Of course, this truth did not come as a shock to me.

Insight Eye—the people of the continent called it the Sage’s Eye or the Eye of Truth.

This eye of Truth could pierce through any truth, whether human or Demon Clan.

Thanks to that, I realized that what the Harbinger of War said was no lie and acted without hesitation.

It was the same with the next.

“Thud!”

As I struck the floor once more, cold air, chilling enough to freeze the entire hall, spread in every direction.

“Crack-crack-crack-crack!”

“U-uh…”

People panicked.

They probably thought everyone would be frozen solid by this chill.

“Aaagh—”

“Guuuugh!”

But the cold, as if alive and with a will of its own, froze only those I wished to target.

Of course, these were the duplicates the Harbinger of War had pointed out earlier.

As my Magical Power increased, so did its precision.

The cold, transformed by Magical Power, now cunningly froze only those I targeted, as if it had a life of its own.

And so, in an instant, they were wiped out.

And silence descended over the hall.

Even Kayle Turner, hailed as the world’s greatest and displaying greater strength than expected, had died without putting up any real resistance.

And the famous Awakened, those whose names were known throughout the world, were also frozen and destroyed in the blink of an eye.

Overwhelming.

Those cowed by the pressure, as if the whole world was beneath their feet, could only watch, unable to react to the unfolding scene.

“Good.”

Thanks to the Harbinger of War, I had flushed out the spies planted by Salmora.

Of course, with the Insight Eye, if I sat them down and interrogated them one by one, I could have produced the same results.

The problem was time, and the pretext for detaining these high-ranking people in the hall.

Even if it was for the purpose of rooting out the Demon Clan, such forced detainment would inevitably breed dissatisfaction.

When we should be fighting against the Demon Clan, the last thing we need is infighting.

Of course, I could ignore all of that and rule with an iron fist.

But—

‘Dictatorship always breeds rebellion and failure.’

I know that well.

Even the mighty and thorough King of Domination, Belmond, could not sustain his rule by dictatorship in the end.

Having witnessed his end up close, I have no intention of following in his footsteps.

Unleashing overwhelming power until now has simply been a means to an end.

To gain their trust and faith.

Dictatorship breeds rebellion, but strength earns trust.

By walking that fine line, I will unite humanity against the Demon Clan and bring our power together.

But it’s not over yet.

The Harbinger of War—his role is not finished.

“Everything you know. The Demon Clan’s power structure, their objectives, and who stands behind them all.”

An ordinary Demon Clan grunt would never have access to such information, but as one of Salmora’s personal guards, he would know the inside details.

“If you reveal everything, I’ll guarantee your life.”

Of course, if he didn’t answer he would meet a painful end, frozen forever within a chunk of ice, his time eternally stopped.

***

Securing the Harbinger of War as a prisoner was a crucial turning point.

He was one of the personal guards of Commander of the Plague Legion, Salmora—the mastermind behind the invasion of Earth and the Demon Clan’s supreme commander. 

He knew all about the inner workings.

Moreover, unlike other Demon Clan members, this mutant was willing to betray his kin to save his own skin.

Thanks to that, I was able to extract a fair amount of information from him.

The scale of the Demon Clan, the extent of their influence across the world, and so on.

But the most important information eluded me.

The thing I cared about most was how they had transferred to Earth.

But he did not know.

Then, what about the Demon Clan’s ultimate purpose in ruling over humanity?

That, too, he didn’t know.

All he knew was that, following Salmora’s orders, they were advancing plans to conquer humanity and Earth.

It felt like something essential was missing, but even so, I had gained something of value.

Because I intended to use this information to make an announcement to the world.

Already, the Demon Clan’s grip had reached deep into Earth, and there was a need for an Anti-Demon Alliance.

But there was no need for us to tire ourselves out trying to convince people of the necessity of an Anti-Demon Alliance.

[Heh heh heh.] Like telepathy, someone’s message rang in my mind.

The instant I heard it, I knew who it was.

‘Salmora.’

Commander of the Plague Legion, Salmora.

According to all the battles so far, he is suspected to be the final mastermind of the Demon Clan, and now, astonishingly, he was using telepathy to send a message to me—and to all humanity across the world.

[Humans, from this moment on, I, Salmora, Commander of the Demon Legion, will make you an offer.]

It was a sudden proposal.

[Will you stand with the Demon Clan and enjoy eternal riches, or will you lose your worthless lives in futile resistance? Now, choose, humans. At this clear crossroads, which path will you take? Heh—heh—heh—]

It was a declaration of war, announcing the Demon Clan’s full-scale activities to the world.