Chapter 233: Internal Enemy

A sigh finally escaped me.

Hel flinched at the sigh, which clearly conveyed my frustration. He cautiously glanced up, then slowly shrank back. Deon watched the black shadow slump to the ground, a look of disbelief on his face, before closing his eyes tightly.

“I’m not here to scold you… I just have a few questions. Now, get up.”

“Yes…”

“There’s no reason to scold you in the first place. Anyone can see this is a good thing, so why is everyone acting so cautious?”

“It’s just that you seemed to be in a bad mood, Sir Deon… Maybe you should have summoned a different legion commander instead of me…”

“No, you’re more than enough.”

I really don’t know why I’m stuck here comforting this guy.

A wave of weariness washed over me, but I knew better than to show it. If I did, we’d be back to square one. So, forcing a bright smile, Deon consciously masked his true feelings.

“I heard the summoning was a complete mess. And yet you still managed to form a contract. That’s pretty impressive, don’t you think? Even in that chaos, you managed to stop information from leaking to the enemy.”

This is why Hel is currently covered in blood.

Incredibly bad timing, actually. Just as he was summoned, Imperial soldiers stormed the scene, having caught wind that the Demon Church was performing a demon summoning ritual. Before he could even grasp the situation, he had to quickly distinguish friend from foe and eliminate the threats.

“That’s more than enough to prove your abilities.”

……

“The reason I looked displeased was… because your contractor turned out to be someone unexpected.”

In fact, you seem even more capable than the other legion commanders. I really don’t get why you have such low self-esteem.

You’re so capable it’s giving me a headache.

“R-really?”

“Yeah.”

And now I can’t exactly *not* send him to the Human Realm.

Right now, the demons are obsessed with conquering the Human Realm, they think it’s practically within their grasp. As commander-in-chief, if I make questionable decisions, I’ll be immediately called out. Actually, *because* I’m the commander-in-chief, it’ll be even worse.

The other demons would bombard me with questions, and the Demon King, with his usual sly smile, would playfully try to undermine me.

Deon watched Hel, the 8th Corps Commander, awkwardly stand up. His eyes were filled with complex emotions. Finally, he spoke slowly.

“Alright… first, let’s properly figure out the types and scope of your abilities that can be used in the Human Realm.”

***

“Annihilated… you said.”

“Yes.”

“The Demon Church members aren’t strong enough to wipe out the Imperial army on their own. They must have succeeded in summoning a demon.”

And of all times, it happened just as the soldiers arrived.

They’ve always failed before, so what changed this time? What made them finally succeed? Elpidius rubbed his forehead, looking like he was about to get a headache.

“Because they were annihilated, there’s no way of knowing how powerful the summoned demon is…”

I suspected something was fishy, but I never imagined it would be this bad.

I was stunned when Chancellor Ardal burst in, face ashen, shouting that soldiers needed to be sent to the Demon Church immediately. When I asked him what he meant, he thrust paperwork at me, as if he’d been waiting for the question. The contents were unbelievable.

‘The Demon Church… fellow humans… are trying to summon demons.’

We’re at war with the Demon Realm, and the enemy was already within our walls.

Yes, I suppose there are always people like that. Intellectually, I understand… Elpidius clenched his fist, his knuckles white. An indescribable frustration squeezed his heart. It even carried a faint glimmer of despair.

‘As if things weren’t bad enough already.’

No, wait, maybe it’s *because* the situation is so bad that this happened.

The inherent survival instinct in all living creatures must have driven them to seek strength, to cling to the powerful.

So… I understand. They were just beings, and before they were human, they succumbed to the most basic instinct of survival.

And so, Elpidius slowly began to speak.

“What’s done is done, so let’s just move past it for now. We’ll wrap things up by sending a warning to the King of Sanguo, telling him to be careful.”

……

“Send troops back to the Demon Church. We can write off letting it happen once as being caught off guard, but we can’t let it happen again. This time, send in more capable men than before and deal with it decisively.”

Judging by the paperwork Ardal brought, which included conversations about their determination to finally succeed this time, this must be their first summoning. That’s a small mercy.

There won’t be a second time. Ardal, understanding the weight of the order, flinched and looked up. Elpidius met his gaze directly, unflinching, and spoke with finality.

“There’s no need to bother with arrests. Not just the members involved in the demon summoning, but anyone even remotely connected to the Demon Church. Find them all and kill them.”

…’Anyone even remotely connected’… Are you saying to kill people even if they’re not members?”

“That includes anyone who’s even taken a piece of bread from the Demon Church. So, yes, that’s right.”

……

It can’t be helped. We need to weed out anyone sympathetic to the Demon Church. Only then can we prevent the church from rising again, or stop a second or third Demon Church from popping up.

He added casually, glancing at Ardal, whose expression had hardened.

“Even Uncle would have given the same order.”

…I understand. But at least *he* would have felt guilty.”

“Yes, a truly pointless emotion. Since I’m not going to reverse the order, there’s no need to deliberately make myself feel bad.”

Guilt is a luxury Demon Church members can’t afford. The deaths of non-members are regrettable, but that’s where it ends.

The reason humans are superior to other creatures is because of reason, the ability to suppress instinct. If they give in to instinct, they’re nothing more than beasts.

‘If they turned their backs out of a desperate will to survive, then we have no choice but to exploit that same instinct.’

This wasn’t an order based on some meaningless whim; it was an order born out of necessity. There was no reason to feel guilt.

Ardal sighed at the tyrant’s nature he saw so clearly in Elpidius.

“You’re saying some frightening things. Guilt might seem unnecessary, but it’s essential for an Emperor. It’s a mechanism that helps you find better solutions. Without guilt, you’ll easily issue orders like this. Eventually, you might even order the abandonment of Imperial citizens without a second thought, just because it’s easier and faster, without even considering other options.”

…Your nagging is getting long.”

Elpidius deliberately propped his chin on his hand and turned his head away dismissively. Seeing this blatant refusal to listen to his nagging, Ardal looked at someone else, as if pleading for help.

Aletea, feeling his gaze land on her, gave an awkward smile.

“Your Highness, Crown Prince.”

“Hmm… Well, I think His Majesty’s orders are unavoidable. I agree with the Chancellor’s point, but at least when it comes to Demon Church members, I don’t think we need to feel guilty.”

……Good heavens.”

“A ruler only needs to care for their own people. Beasts are outside that scope, so there’s no need to worry about them, right?”

She flat-out called the Demon Church members beasts. Ardal froze, his expression hardening.

It would have been better if she’d just called them criminals.

Humans aren’t granted the right to reduce the value of other humans to that of beasts. Not even the Emperor is exempt from that. Her statement was something even the Emperor shouldn’t say.

There’s a difference between thinking something and saying it out loud. That kind of statement is dangerous enough to potentially revive the slave system that was abolished long ago.

Were these two really siblings born to the 1st Prince, who was supposed to be gentler than anyone? Ardal groaned inwardly.

At least they seemed decent when the late Emperor was still alive. What on earth changed them so much?

Whatever Ardal was thinking, Elpidius didn’t care. He just opened his mouth and continued.

“Did you hear me? Now get going and gather the troops.”

……

“Let’s make it crystal clear what kind of end awaits those who dare to collude with demons.”

His golden eyes, filled with a ferocity that reminded Ardal of a self-proclaimed tyrant from the past, flashed sharply.

…….

This order isn’t just to set an example. In this dangerous situation, where we have no idea what kind of demon was summoned, the best course of action is to eliminate the contractor, the vulnerable human link.

If they kill everyone connected to the Demon Church, the contractor hidden among them will be killed too.

When the news of annihilation reached him, and his thoughts led him to infer that the demon summoning must have succeeded, Elpidius thought to himself.

‘Who could the contractor be?’

***

After the death of the former Emperor Eudoardo Deserte, Paul, leader of the Revolutionary Army, who had expanded his forces to an unprecedented level by absorbing talent from nations ravaged by the conquest war (nations that had held back from joining him while gauging the late Emperor’s intentions), swiftly ordered additional information gathering the moment he heard that the Empire had dispatched troops to the Demon Church’s lair.

‘In a situation where every soldier counts, there’s no way they’d waste troops on some pseudo-religion that could be dealt with later.’

Plus, the fact that they’d left it alone for so long, then suddenly dispatched troops, suggested it was urgent. There had to be a reason.

And so, the additional information they obtained was quite shocking.

That the Demon Church had been consistently attempting demon summoning.

“This is insane.”

Paul muttered coldly, having received information suggesting they’d finally succeeded in the summoning and, through that demon, annihilated the Imperial army which arrived late.

“Some of us are busting our asses trying to keep the Demon Realm at bay for everyone’s sake, while others are just inviting demons into the Human Realm.”

Even as it was, the Revolutionary Army was doing everything they could to protect the Human Realm, thoroughly hindering the Demon King’s army from attacking Sanguo. This news was especially infuriating.

He reread the report, checking for any missing information, even turning the paper over to double-check. Then he looked up.

“No information on the summoned demon or the contractor, Iram?”

“Not yet. Apparently, even the Empire, who sent troops themselves, doesn’t know.”

“Well, they did say they were annihilated…”

Demons who contract with humans and enter the Human Realm are dangerous on a whole different level, not just in terms of personal martial prowess, but also in their adaptability and applications.

‘If a ‘human’ contractor summons a ‘contracted demon’ in a critical strategic location, it would be a nightmare scenario. There are even records that contracted demons face fewer restrictions in the Human Realm. That would be truly terrifying.’

“Demon or contractor, we need to deal with one of them, for sure. Let me know the moment any information comes in.”

“Sure.”

The contractor is a conduit for demons, so if we can’t deal with the demon itself, we have to eliminate that conduit at least.

Paul, having received confirmation from Iram, leaned back in his chair and let out a long sigh.

‘…….’

He closed his eyes, savoring the rare moment of peace. Then, he slowly opened them and looked at Iram. As if sensing his gaze, Iram looked up from the paperwork. Paul offered him a smile, but it was strained, unnatural.

“By the way, Iram.”

“Huh?”

It was a rare moment of peace, but that’s precisely why I had to bring it up. This was a question best asked during downtime.

“Any news on Sia’s whereabouts?”

……

Iram fell silent.

His expression was carefully neutral, but his eyes betrayed him. Paul saw the flicker of unease in Iram’s subtly shifting pupils.

Ha. A hollow laugh escaped me. I knew it.

Feigning ignorance, he said each word slowly, deliberately, his tone still casual.

“It’s been a very long time since I asked you to find Sia, and yet, not a peep.”

……

“Seriously… isn’t it weird? Our Revolutionary Army’s intelligence network isn’t so useless that it can’t find one little girl.”

Finally, Iram, thawing from his frozen state, sighed and lowered his gaze.

“I’m sorry.”