Chapter 491: Conversation with the Demon

Oliver, with half of his hair bleached, collapsed vertically, losing consciousness.

He appeared extremely exhausted, which wasn’t surprising. He had confronted a demon to this extent, an event neither recorded in history nor ever occurring before.

The Burned One silently watched Oliver fall, his hand twitching slightly. Just then, a desperate cry rang out.

“Ahhhhh!!!”

The voice belonged to none other than Joanna.

Suppressing her instincts as a living being, she frantically rushed forward, swinging her mace at The Burned One.

Joanna knew it was an ineffective attack, and The Burned One was even more aware, yet he stepped back and dodged.

The mace sliced through the air.

As The Burned One widened the gap, Joanna caught the fallen Oliver with one hand and slung him over her shoulder, attempting to flee in the opposite direction.

She didn’t know where to run, but staying still wasn’t an option.

[Are you trying to save him?]

As soon as she turned around, the demon was standing there.

He had clearly been in the opposite direction… He had moved instantly, as if to prove there was no escape.

Realizing this, Joanna, instead of despairing, put the unconscious Oliver behind her and raised her shield and mace.

Fighting despite knowing she couldn’t win. No, she was trying to protect. At the very least, she had to try.

Conversations with Oliver flashed rapidly through Joanna’s mind.

‘Hello?’

‘Um… Are you this cautious because I’m a dark sorcerer?’

‘I just want to talk.’

‘What does it mean to live as a human?’

‘Have you been doing well?’

‘The world… is quite an interesting place.’

‘Yes, I like you, Knight. Because you’re beautiful.’

‘I heard women like chocolate?’

‘I don’t really know what a friend is.’

‘…I just want to go home and sleep. I’m really tired today.’

‘…It’s been a while, Knight.’

‘I came to seek counsel from you.’

‘Nevertheless, save him.’

The time spent with Oliver wasn’t that long, but in retrospect, every moment was invaluable. It was her first time experiencing such a connection.

‘Joanna, you’ve helped me too.’

Remembering what Oliver had said, Joanna spoke to herself.

This time. This time it’s my turn to help.

Just like during the Cathedral and the closed Slave Compound, I can’t ignore or avoid it.

Maybe because of that? Despite her hands trembling, Joanna neither averted her eyes nor fled, nor did she give up.

Even though her whole body trembled and her instincts screamed for her to run, she still held her shield and pointed her weapon at the demon.

No matter how scared she was, she didn’t flee. No matter how afraid, she didn’t step aside.

Ready to face death, Joanna stood in front of the demon as he opened his cracked mouth and scattered a few tiny sparks into the air.

The sparks were small but vivid, and they carried a powerful energy.

Joanna asked as she watched the sparks disappear into the sky.

“…What are you doing right now?”

[I just burned one-quarter of the City of Sin. I have my own obligations too.]

The First Step, one of the largest Cities in the New Continent, a military stronghold and the main supplier of Magic Stones.

The demon had just said he burned one-quarter of The First Step. And he said it in a very matter-of-fact way.

It took Joanna a few seconds to fully grasp the meaning behind those calm words.

However, Joanna couldn’t say anything – no questions about why, no protests about what he had done, or accusations of his evil.

She wasn’t simply faced with the evil of The First Step. There was an even bigger reason. It was none other than—

[You really care about him, don’t you?]

The demon voiced the feelings Joanna couldn’t deny as he looked at Oliver.

It couldn’t be denied. At this moment, for Joanna, Oliver’s safety was more important than the catastrophe threatening the City.

Despite being a Holy Knight… It wasn’t any different from when she had faced the Cathedral. Even though the City was built on sin, she still shouldn’t have felt this way. But she worried more about Oliver. That was Joanna’s honest feeling.

The demon, staring intently at Joanna, asked a very malicious question.

[Do you love him?]

Taken aback by his entirely unexpected words, Joanna was shocked.

“Don’t insult me. I’m a Holy Knight. I swore to dedicate the rest of my life to the duties granted by the gods! I only… saved Oliver because…”

Joanna, agitated, couldn’t finish her sentence. The demon ignored her frustration and continued speaking.

[Holy Power isn’t a gift from the gods. Holy Knights aren’t beings tasked by them. It’s true that you act for the gods, but you weren’t commanded by them.]

“Stop filling my ears with lies!”

[You call the truth a lie. The gods refrain from direct intervention.]

The demon spoke to Joanna. His voice, though lacking detailed explanation, had a convincing force behind it.

[But that’s not the important point. The real question is, do you want to protect him?]

The demon brought the discussion back to the main topic. Joanna looked again at the unconscious Oliver lying behind her.

[Do you want to protect him?]

The demon asked again. Joanna responded.

“…I will protect him.”

[But you don’t even know who he really is, do you?]

“That doesn’t matter.”

Joanna answered decisively. Honestly, she was curious about Oliver’s true identity. After all, she had confronted a demon who had even greeted him. How could she not be curious about Oliver, who fought an invincible demon?

But even if she didn’t know, it didn’t matter. He was someone she was extremely grateful for. At this moment, she had to protect him at all costs.

[Are you sure it really doesn’t matter?]

“What do you mean?”

The demon responded with his real voice.

“Can you handle the truth?”

***

Murmur, murmur.

Typical gloomy weather in Seland. Yet, the Royal Zoo in the capital was bustling with visitors as always.

With its many attractions, it was like a trophy room of the United Kingdom, which ruled the world – it was no wonder.

Nobles in dress coats, ladies in expensive dresses, their children, military officers, and middle-class families enjoying a leisurely life. Here, social status faded away, and all could admire the rare animals behind the bars with the same astonishment.

White-furred tigers, monkeys that could smoke, elephants performing circus tricks, a thousand-year-old turtle, parrots that spoke human language. There were plenty of sights, but the biggest draw was right here.

“The Human Zoo.”

In one corner of the zoo, a crowd had gathered. An elderly gentleman seated on a bench said.

Even at a glance, he seemed highly educated and experienced. Despite his ordinary appearance, he exuded an intimidating aura, and no one except the old man sitting next to him dared approach.

Judging by his bearing, he could have been a high-ranking politician or a renowned nobleman.

“Care for some?”

The elderly gentleman, or rather Puppet, offered a brown bag full of peanuts to Merlin sitting beside him.

“No, I’m fine.”

“There’s nothing in them. I just bought them.”

To prove his point, Puppet popped a peanut into his mouth and chewed. The savory flavor and crunchy texture were a blessing.

“I have no appetite, so I’ll pass.”

Merlin declined again, watching the colonial natives locked inside cages.

The natives, regardless of the weather, wore traditional tribal outfits and sat around a bonfire.

They were there to show off the ‘real’ life of the natives. There was no dignity to be found, yet the zoo visitors eagerly observed them with interest.

They didn’t consider them fellow humans.

“It seems you’re uncomfortable here. I apologize.”

“I don’t need an apology you don’t mean.”

“Well, I particularly like it here. I find it soothing to watch them like this.”

Puppet spoke, watching the native do a tribal dance for a piece of bread thrown by a visitor. Whether it was a real traditional dance or not was unknown, but the one who threw the bread laughed heartily, obviously satisfied.

“It helps me feel how completely ordinary I am.”

Puppet spoke, someone who had lived for centuries, who had never shown his true form to anyone, and who had conducted countless human experiments. He called himself ordinary.

“They turn their fellow humans into objects of entertainment to satisfy their desires, while I conduct human experiments for my own ambitions. It’s all natural, so there’s no need to feel guilty, right? It’s ordinary.”

“Is that why you called for me?”

“No. I’m not expecting you to understand. Especially not you.”

Puppet responded calmly but sharply because Merlin himself had once been obsessed with human experimentation, much like his friend Theodore, who was absorbed in mage supremacy.

Had Merlin not become an Archive, he might still be conducting human experiments today. No, he certainly would have.

“Why did you summon me?”

Puppet countered.

“Why did you want to meet me?”

“A reason?”

“Yes, a reason. I requested the meeting, but you accepted. So, you must be curious about something as well, right? After all, I’ve been tinkering with the Royal Family and other factions.”

“And you think it’s fine to tell me such things?”

“You must already know, so what does it matter? I’ve been chased and fought by the Archive for hundreds of years. I know they don’t take me lightly.”

“…And you’re the one who has survived against that Archive for hundreds of years.”

Puppet only offered a slight, bitter smile.

But Merlin wasn’t wrong. Several past Archives had tried to eliminate Puppet, but he had survived against them.

That was an impressive feat.

It wasn’t just a matter of power, but if you focused on survival and achieving your goals, the current victor was Puppet.

“The reason I called you here was to ask about the Apocalypse.”

“…Hmm.”

“Ironically, the ones who know the most about the Apocalypse aren’t the dark sorcerers or Pater Church – it’s the Archive. How far has it progressed? A demon has descended on the New Continent.”

“Are you talking about the Great Fire? I assumed it was caused by Fen and the Red Ones’ dark sorcerer.”

“Don’t treat me like a fool, Archive. Even though my life might be shorter than the Archive’s history, as an individual, I’ve lived nearly ten times longer than you. The demon hasn’t appeared yet. But there were signs, and the Great Fire in the myth has occurred. It hasn’t shown its form, but the demon has descended.”

“Are you asking how close the Apocalypse is?”

“Not exactly. I just—”

“—Oh! Someone collapsed!”

As Puppet and Merlin conversed, one of the visitors shouted.

As he said, one of the natives locked inside the cage had collapsed from weakness, causing a stir among the people.

It was the inevitable result of not being properly fed and relying on the visitors’ handouts for food.

Soon, zookeepers arrived, drove the mourning natives away with clubs, and took the collapsed native out. The body would likely be stuffed and displayed in a human museum, in the name of the kingdom’s science and progress.

The natives mourned, saddened by the fact they couldn’t bury their dead.

Then, someone threw another piece of food, and cruelly enough, the natives had to dance with tears in their eyes, as trained.

“…I just want my research to be completed. The Apocalypse might help, or it might hinder it. I was just asking.”

“That sounds like you’re saying you’d even cause the Apocalypse if it would help you.”

“It seems you have no intention of stopping the Apocalypse.”

Puppet responded, not backing down. But he was also sincere. From what he’d seen over the centuries, the Archive never seemed to intend to stop the Apocalypse.

It wasn’t that they were indifferent. On the contrary, they seemed more interested in it than anyone.

But apart from that, they showed no signs of trying to prevent it. It was a bit complicated to explain. They neither desired the Apocalypse nor actively tried to avoid it, but they had no will to stop it.

It was an emotion full of contradictions. For proof, Merlin didn’t try to kill or confront Puppet even though he was standing right in front of him.

“Because while you might stagger me temporarily, you’re not someone who can kill me. You’re the Puppet Immortal, after all.”

“But you can disrupt the plans I’m currently working on, can’t you? Or at least, ask something.”

“Sometimes, questions reveal more than answers.”

“Ah… So I’ve been had.”

“Yes. I’ve heard enough questions, so I’ll take my leave.”

Saying this, Merlin stood up. Puppet called out to him as he did.

“Day… No, Oliver.”

Merlin paused.

“How involved is he in the Apocalypse, the one you took as your disciple?”

“Why would you think that?”

“It’s obvious he’s not just an ordinary young man. And more importantly…”

“…?”

“When the demon debuted in the Contaminated Zone, he demanded up-and-coming problem solvers be brought to him. It seems clear that Oliver was his primary target.”

“…”

“Why do you think the demon wanted him? Aren’t you curious?”