“Did you hear? We have to go see Grandpa Jevivkot.”
Raymund, who was worried about how to make things easier for Seiana during the trip, narrowed his eyes as Aries suddenly barged in and started talking only about what he wanted to say.
Normally, Raymund would have ignored him pretending not to hear anything, but the name that came out of Aries’ mouth was a name he could not ignore.
“Why?”
“Didn’t you hear? We found something strange this time, but it seems difficult to handle alone, so they want everyone to go together.”
Since it wasn’t an incomprehensible situation, Raymund accepted it.
Occasionally, such orders were given to those with special abilities—like checking on something or going somewhere to do a certain task.
Raymund and Aries were still young, so such orders wouldn’t be given until they grew up.
However, this time it wasn’t really an order but a request for help from another person with special abilities, so it didn’t count as an order.
If he could give a reason, he didn’t have to go… but since it would mean shirking his responsibility, he didn’t want to.
‘I guess I can finish everything before the trip.’
Thinking that, Raymund hurriedly wrote a letter to Seiana saying he would be away and it would be hard to meet this time, then left the palace.
“Oh, you’re here, kids.”
“Ah, since people are short, even kids have to work. The empire is really running well.”
“What can we do? Even if we’re young, we have to do what we have to.”
The adult special ability users who hadn’t been replaced by the next generation welcomed Raymund and Aries.
And in that corner…
“He’s here too.”
Aries muttered as he saw a small silhouette curled up in the corner.
Normally, special ability users hated each other, but Aries’ hatred toward this person was stronger than usual.
It seemed the other person felt the same way because as soon as he heard Aries’ voice, he frowned and sharply turned his head away.
Not even wanting to look at him, Aries snorted disdainfully and looked away.
“Hey, you two should get along.”
“Hey, would kids at that age even listen to that?”
“Well, when we were that age, we didn’t kill each other, but we fought a lot.”
Thanks to the cheerful adult ability users, the atmosphere seemed friendly but, Raymund thought, there was a subtle tension as well.
‘Maybe not.’
It seemed only he was feeling nervous.
Was it because of worry about the upcoming task?
Or…
The growing anxiety made Raymund feel restless.
“Ah, I want to go back soon. I want to see Seiana.”
Unlike Raymund, Aries muttered with a completely indifferent expression that didn’t show any tension.
Raymund shared the same feeling, wanting to finish the work quickly and return, so he asked the other ability users.
“What is the reason for calling us today? Is it about the Haejoo?”
“Didn’t the news reach you properly? It’s a demon.”
At those words, all the young ability users flinched in surprise.
They had heard it was a difficult matter but this was a bigger deal than expected.
Thanks to that, they understood why everyone was gathered.
“How many?”
“There seem to be no large ones, but about ten medium-sized ones. They couldn’t figure out the number of small ones.”
Was this the reason for the anxiety?
Raymund felt this might be a longer schedule than expected.
“Is everyone gathered?”
At that moment, the person who called them appeared.
His surname was Violet, and he was an old man nicknamed Jevivkot (Violet).
He was an old man with white hair all over, but his physique was solid and he was very vigorous.
It was probably thanks to his ability.
“I came to perform the Haejoo.”
He briefly explained how he discovered the demon.
He thought it was a curse because livestock were dying and the land was rotting, so he came to perform the Haejoo but ended up discovering the demon’s nest there.
“There are quite a few, so I thought it would be difficult alone and called you.”
“Well done. You’re old, so if you overdo it, something serious could happen.”
“Is that so?”
Joking with each other and laughing, the adults smiled as they looked at the children frozen stiff at the mention of demons.
“Actually, you didn’t need to be called, but I thought it would be good for you to experience this while you’re gathered.”
Since if they lived as special ability users, they would inevitably have to face demons.
Better to get used to it early and prevent accidents than to be clumsy later.
It was a good point, so the kids didn’t complain.
“Now, shall we go?”
Jevivkot, who knew the way, took the lead.
***
The story of demons and special ability users goes back a very long time.
Before the empire existed, over a thousand years ago, demons suddenly appeared in the world.
They harmed the world just by existing.
Besides killing people, the demons spread curses that rotted the land so nothing could grow.
All living things died.
When the world was on the verge of destruction, ten heroes appeared.
Some say there were more than ten, but the records only mention ten.
They gained special abilities with the help of gods, defeated the demon king, and the world found peace.
They gathered the survivors and founded the empire—that was the founding myth.
It would have been nice if it ended there…
Unfortunately, although the demon king was killed, they couldn’t completely eliminate his followers.
So, special ability users had to continue destroying or defeating the remnants of the demon king’s forces through generations.
That was why, even in an era of peace, special ability users were highly valued.
“No matter how hard we work, people don’t even know there are demons left in the world. They don’t even know why we’re needed.”
“Because if they knew about demons, they’d be terrified. Only we can defeat demons.”
“Still, they even dismiss demons as myths, saying it was the most evil and strongest human of the time. Hearing that made me so angry I almost grabbed him by the collar and introduced him to demons myself.”
“Oh, you’re so childish.”
To ease the children’s tension, the adult ability users chatted quietly as they followed Jevivkot.
Although they had been ability users for quite some time, they seemed quite dissatisfied.
Well, they had lost a lot and were not treated well…
The only reason they could endure was because, aside from the emperor, they had the greatest authority by imperial law.
“If it wasn’t for our sense of duty, no one would do this.”
“Exactly.”
Even though they considered their life a curse, the reason they didn’t give up on life was all that.
Thanks to the chatting, everyone seemed less tense than before.
Only Raymond kept feeling uneasy.
“What’s wrong, are you okay?”
“Are you scared? Such a baby~ Ray.”
“Shut your mouth.”
Aries noticed that and asked, but it was more to tease than out of concern.
Just then, Raymond snapped and answered curtly.
“That’s our arrival. Everyone get ready.”
Just as he said, a boundary was drawn in front of Violets’ feet.
It wasn’t that someone had physically drawn a line.
“Smell.”
The forest, once full of the scent of grass and trees, had suddenly become filled with a rotten stench.
There was no grass in sight, only bare ground, and the earth that should have been brown and glossy was as black as coal.
It looked dry and cracked even to the naked eye, lacking any shine.
Following the rotten ground with his eyes,
“That’s the nest.”
He saw something like clusters of insect cocoons gathered closely.
Nearby, there was a white and yellowish liquid that looked rotten.
Around it, grotesque creatures resembling demons were prowling as if guarding it.
“Disgusting.”
Aries twisted her face and commented.
It wasn’t just her; everyone shared the same thought.
“No matter how many times I see it, I never get used to it.”
Even the adults could not hide their hostility.
Raymond was the same.
For some reason, his chest tightened and emotions surged up inside him.
Only the instinct that he should not be under the same sky as those things remained.
“Alright!”
When one of the espers shouted, the demons that had been lurking suddenly snapped their heads around.
As the demons who spotted the espers charged forward, he pulled steel balls out of his pocket and wedged them between his fingers.
Soon, lightning crackled from his hand, and the steel balls rapidly flew in the direction he pointed.
Zzuung—!
With a heavy thud, the steel ball pierced the head of the demon running ahead.
Even with the death of their ally, the demons showed no sign of fear.
“Pierce through!”
The espers used their powers to take down the demons rushing at them.
Aries also pushed away the demons approaching with her own strength or suddenly lifted and threw them where the demons were clustered.
“You come with me.”
Violets grabbed Raymond.
While others fought the demons, they planned to lift the curse.
Since the cursed ground gradually drained vitality, it was best to remove it as quickly as possible.
Violets and Raymond teleported together to the place where the curse felt the strongest.
Thanks to the noisy commotion outside, there were few demons guarding the nest.
When Violets twisted her thumb and forefinger, the demon’s neck twisted.
She distorted the space near the demon’s neck.
Because Raymond could also use the powers of other espers, when he mimicked Violets’ ability, the nest was quickly cleaned up.
“Well done.”
Violets smiled slyly.
Somehow, it felt like raising an apprentice.
Since an esper’s power does not overlap and can only be passed on after one dies, it was impossible to teach or pass anything to a successor.
He himself had never been taught by anyone either.
“The cocoons aren’t urgent enough to be cleaned up right now… Ah, there it is, the core of the curse.”
Violets, who was looking around, fixed her gaze on a certain spot.