“What do you think, Vlad?”
Aoke remained calm on the surface, but he was actually speaking with the distant Vlad — his familiar had disguised itself as a pigeon this time.
The bird perched on the top of a discarded parasol, constantly exchanging mental links with him.
“What’s wrong with it? The humans are holding a festival, aren’t they? Naturally, the hotter the atmosphere, the better.”
“But this hasn’t received Her Royal Highness’s consent yet.”
“I say… we are currently in the middle of the Demon King Succession War. You are at least the first successor of the Beast Demon Duke, right? Do you really see yourself as a mere pawn under her command — or has your family already thrown itself into the Regent’s arms?”
“No. My father and I have only ever been loyal to the King and his bloodline.”
“Then isn’t that settled? It’s not like you don’t know; that woman doesn’t have a single Heavenly Demon trait or ability — she even needs Selene’s power just to disguise her identity. For the daughter of the King and the Regent, both of whom are Heavenly Demons, to be like that… you don’t actually believe the words the Regent said, do you?”
“I don’t believe the Regent’s one-sided story. But you’re well aware of the potential she has shown. Furthermore, she displayed that potential without even revealing any Heavenly Demon traits. I do not believe someone without the King’s blood would possess such potential.”
“Potential… potential… which one of us doesn’t have potential? If it were destined for someone with the King’s bloodline to become the new Demon King, then why would the Seven Domains disregard all decorum to fight until their heads are bloodied? and after all that bleeding, why would they waste time and energy gathering us all together for this Demon King Succession War? You must know that High Demonkind have always valued strength above all; the strongest is crowned King!”
“…”
“Your family isn’t interested in the throne at all. To be able to suppress the instincts buried in the blood of High Demonkind just to pursue so-called loyalty — even I have to express some admiration. But since you are a participant in the Succession Battle, isn’t this a bit cowardly? Tell me honestly… do you really not have even a single thought about becoming the Demon King?”
“…Vlad. We haven’t consulted Selene’s opinion either. We are companions, after all.”
“Selene?”
Vlad’s voice made Aoke feel that if the man were standing in front of him, he would surely be clutching his stomach and rolling on the ground laughing.
“If she knew the Sword Saint was here, she would immediately volunteer to take your place. Then you, you pig, would be forced to go play the part of the Duchess’s daughter!”
“I will state this one more time. Do not call me a pig.”
“Fine, fine, fine. I’ll leave the decision to you. My preparations are still underway. If you want to try using the Sword Saint’s head to take the lead in the succession battle, then accept the humans’ plan. My familiar will be responsible for relaying the message you were supposed to bring them to Selene and the others.”
After saying that, Vlad stopped sending mental links. But Aoke knew the man could still hear his decision.
“…Friend, you’ve been silent for far too long. If you have no intention of cooperating, then we don’t need to waste any more time here.”
Yebul had been waiting for a long time. Seeing that Aoke was still unwilling to speak, he stood up, making a gesture as if to leave.
“I can follow your plan. But I have one requirement.”
“Name it.”
“You. Or this man in white must come with me. If that can’t be done, then the whole thing never happened.”
Aoke looked at Yebul and then pointed at Ariel beside him.
“Oh… I didn’t expect that.”
“…….”
Yebul couldn’t help but look at Ariel. Because the man always wore a smiling face with squinted eyes, Yebul couldn’t read his thoughts from his gaze.
However, Yebul knew very well that this man would absolutely never place himself in danger.
And he felt the same. Just as Yebul was considering how to persuade the Demon Race member to change his mind, Ariel spoke, defying his expectations.
“In that case, I shall accompany our friend of the Demon Race on this trip. There is no time to lose; let us go fetch the explosives.”
……
“Hahaha…! When a pig needs to get ruthless, it really can be ruthless!”
In a dark alleyway near the Civic Square, Vlad released the pigeon from his hand.
Behind him lay over a dozen figures… most of them were Sage’s Clones. However, mixed among them were a few unlucky souls who had been drained of every drop of blood, turning into withered husks.
“Don’t blame me. There was no gate to hell — you chose to barge in yourselves. You could have enjoyed the festival properly outside… no, once the things in my hands explode, you’ll all die anyway, right?”
He played with a pile of Magic Stones in his hands — he had ripped them straight out of the chests of one Sage’s Clone after another as they entered the alley.
He had utilized their mechanics to gather the vast majority of the clones in the vicinity into this single alley.
The clones entering the alley one by one and never reappearing had certainly aroused the suspicion of some citizens.
After they entered the alley with curious eyes to peek, they also became part of the poor souls who could never leave.
“Ah… the taste of that pre-prepared blood in the Duke’s Household is truly too boring. Real delicacies must be prepared through slaughter and hunting to truly taste delicious! Queenphilan… you, who does not understand this logic, are simply not fit to sit in the position of the Blood Demon Duke any longer.”
“Thank you for your assistance, citizen. I shall proceed to recover her… them.”
A familiar voice caused the obsessed Blood Demon to turn around.
At the entrance of the alley stood another one of Sephy’s clones.
Destroying soulless scrap metal didn’t give him much pleasure.
But the act of being able to destroy without restraint itself… was enough to stir his sadistic nature.
He bowed to the newly arrived clone with an elegant posture — the etiquette high-ranking Blood Demons used when initiating a hunt.
He lunged forward with a wild laugh, completely failing to notice a faint trace of sadness flowing in the clone’s eyes.
…….
The time was shortly before this, back when the festival float was still moving along the tree-lined avenue.
“Hey. The Hero’s Daughter and that maid have been up there for quite a while. Can you hear what they’re saying?”
“I can’t. This float seems to use some kind of material or spell that isolates sound and magic perception.”
Facing the question Selene threw his way, Luc shook her head slightly.
The two of them had been focusing on the movements of their target, the Hero’s Daughter.
“We’re about to enter the square. From the current situation… this Civic Square will likely be the most crowded section of the entire parade.”
The festival float was currently passing through a ceremonial gate.
Looking out from the second-floor window toward the direction of the float’s path, Luc could already see the dense crowd in the square.
Having lived in the Demon Realm since birth, she had never seen such a surging tide of people.
In other words, that would be the perfect location to strike.
Right at that moment, she heard the heavy sound of mechanical movements coming from the stairwell behind her.
She understood that it was the signal that the third floor was now open to the guests.
“Selene, get ready.”
“Mhm.”
They looked at each other and nodded.
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.