Right after hearing the report from Zenre, Arad and I headed to the underground prison with Zenre.
Since we couldn’t show the body to Elia yet, we left her with Ruina for a while and ran to the underground prison.
And there, just as the report had mentioned to Zenre, were the bodies of Benjamin and Sherda, dead with their upper bodies gone.
“Ugh…….
“Damn… What the hell happened to them…
“First, move those bodies. Then, after that… Ah, Your Majesty!”
The guards, retching at the sight of the horribly disfigured bodies, were cleaning up the blood.
The captain of the guard, who had been giving them orders, quickly lowered his torch and saluted when he heard our footsteps.
“Your, Your Majesty, it doesn’t seem like a very good sight, so there’s no need for you to…
“Move aside, I must see it myself.”
“Yes!”
Because it was such a gruesome sight, the captain of the guard tried to block the scene out of concern for Arad, but with just a wave of Arad’s hand, he had no choice but to step aside.
Arad, after all, had personally participated in wars against nobles challenging the throne in the past and had slaughtered countless monsters.
He was already desensitized to cruel sights, so the captain’s worries were unnecessary.
“Hmm… This is…”
Of course, the bodies of the two were more brutal than any other corpses we had ever seen, so Arad briefly covered his mouth, but soon he leaned in to observe the bodies more closely.
Following Arad, Zenre also stepped inside the iron bars, stepping on the blood.
Thanks to the torches hanging around, it was possible to clearly see the condition of the bodies.
Above the lower body, the upper bodies seemed to have exploded like balloons, with pieces of flesh all over the inside walls of the iron bars.
Occasionally, pieces of flesh would fall off, slightly making one feel nauseous.
Even when deliberately averting his gaze from such things and looking at the bodies more closely, the only thing that could be understood was that the bodies had exploded.
However, the two had been bound with mana seals, unable to even use mana, and there were no signs that anyone had entered the underground prison, so their explosion was a mystery.
“Who the hell did this…”
“I can’t figure out the cause at all.”
Arad and Zenre could only sigh at the mysterious deaths of the two and couldn’t come up with any proper answers.
However, unlike the two of them, I could see the cause, so I subtly dipped my hand into the blood flowing on the floor and showed it.
“…There’s demon energy mixed in this blood.”
“Demon energy?”
At my words, Zenre turned her head in shock.
She seemed quite surprised, as she never expected to hear the term “demon energy” after the Demon War had ended.
Similarly, Arad, who also turned his head at my words, asked me.
“Demon energy? What do you mean by that? Can you explain it more clearly?”
Unlike before, there were several guards around, so Arad asked in his royal tone.
At his question, I nodded and answered.
“Of course, Your Majesty. I participated in the Demon War in the past, so I clearly know what kind of energy demon energy carries. And in the blood of these two, I can distinctly sense the energy of demons.”
“Then, does that mean you know what caused their deaths?”
The demon energy mixed in Benjamin and Sherda’s blood—this was something I had also seen during our fight.
To be more precise, I had seen this demon energy when their wounds were healing.
To give an analogy, like an electrical circuit, it is usually inactive, but when a wound appears, a part of it activates to heal the wound.
That was the regeneration factor of the prototype demon that I saw inside their bodies during our fight.
However, the demon energy I felt in their blood now was not like before, where only a part was activated, but rather the whole energy seemed to be activated, as if it were overloading.
So, what caused their deaths?
The answer to that was almost already clear.
“The runaway demon energy in their blood is suspected to be the cause of death. And since the blood mixed with demon energy could cause it to be absorbed into the body, it’s best we leave immediately, Your Majesty.”
“Such…! Captain of the guard! Pull back all the guards! The investigation of the underground prison will be carried out later with the help of magicians!”
It wasn’t an exaggeration—if that blood had entered through the nose, mouth, or any wound, it could have been a catastrophe.
So, as soon as he heard my words, instead of retreating himself, Arad immediately commanded the guards to pull back.
“Ah, understood! Everyone, get out of the underground prison! After that, take off all the blood-stained armor or clothes and gather them in a sack!”
“Understood!!”
Since they knew Arad’s nature of prioritizing others, the guards, following the captain’s orders, rushed out of the underground prison.
Then, Zenre also escorted Arad and was the first to leave the underground prison.
And after everyone had left, I was the only one remaining in the underground prison.
Tadadak (sound effect)
Like a torch burning on the wall, I watched as the blood on my hands evaporated and disappeared, clicking my tongue softly.
“A terrifying guy, huh.”
Who would have thought he would even kill his own subordinates just to keep anyone from finding out about them?
That decision, crueler than I had expected, made me click my tongue again as I turned on my heel.
Perhaps the person most needed in this situation right now—the master of the Magic Tower—I contacted them.
“I can no longer disagree. As Kael said, he does seem to be a dangerous guy.”
Right after returning from the underground prison, the first thing Arad said was that.
Even though I hadn’t properly explained all the information I had, just the details I shared from the underground prison were enough for him to grasp the truth.
“Killing the two prisoners… it must have been done by the one leading them, who is now trying to take over the underworld.”
“Yeah, that’s right. I think so too.”
If two prisoners had died in such an explosion in a place where no one had entered, it meant the cause was internal.
And if the cause was internal, then it had to be the magic in the blood of the two I mentioned earlier.
The only explanation was that it had been detonated remotely.
If you ask why remotely—well, the guard testified that they heard an explosion, went down, and found both people dead at the same time.
So, if the magic was detonated remotely, then it was clearly done by the unknown figure they followed—the one trying to take over the underworld.
“The judgment and execution to kill such powerful subordinates are impressive, but the fact that they could implant remotely controllable magic into a human body makes them an even greater threat.”
“That’s right. Researching and using magic like that isn’t something an ordinary person can do.”
Earlier, when I told Arad that those guys had regenerative abilities like demons, he probably didn’t think it had anything to do with actual demons.
He likely assumed it was just an artifact or magic related to regeneration.
But if my comparison was literal, and they were the result of research on demons—turned into magic-based beings—then the story changed completely.
The Human-Demon War had ended with great difficulty.
Yet now, someone was researching and using the nightmare-like magic of demons?
Even from the kingdom’s perspective, this was not something to take lightly.
However, rushing in recklessly wouldn’t help; we couldn’t clean up these guys in an instant.
So, seeing Arad deep in thought, I told him seriously,
“I’m warning you now—don’t try to capture them prematurely. No matter how powerful the kingdom is, you can’t clean up the underworld in an instant.
And if we make a careless move, they’ll just leave behind their tails and escape.”
“…I know. We need to figure out the right time to strike.”
“When they build an organization and grow in size…”
“Right, when they can no longer escape, leaving just their tails behind—that’s when we strike, isn’t it?”
Although he understood, Arad clenched his fists in frustration.
I could understand how he felt.
By the time Worst fully took over the underworld and became a major force, several small villages might already be destroyed.
Even cities could end up half-ruined—or completely wiped out.
A complete takeover of the underworld meant that all the evil festering within Rahman’s borders would gain direction and purpose.
When that happened, countless citizens would die.
As king, Arad could see the damage coming, yet be unable to stop it.
That helplessness would surely make him furious.
And for someone like him, there was only one kind of comfort I could offer.
“Don’t worry. When the time comes to kill those guys, I’ll be the first to step forward.”
A promise.
A vow that I would personally take the lead in eradicating the villainous organization that would one day be known as Worst.
Hearing my promise, Arad nodded solemnly and unclenched his trembling fists.
“In that case, I will do my best to ensure that the kingdom can support you with its full strength, Kael.”
A promise of support from Arad—something I had always hoped for.
And now, I had received it sooner than expected.
That meant I had only one thing left to do.
‘Shall I make my name known once again?’
The war hero Kael, long forgotten by many.
It was time to remind the world of his greatness.