Chapter 18. Hagenti (3)
Mikael could neither dodge nor block.
He had no aura left to stop that attack.
All he could do in that desperate moment was throw the divine beasts as far away as possible.
BOOOOM!
Blood splattered messily across the ground, as though a mosquito had been crushed beneath a palm.
An ordinary person would have been completely flattened, leaving almost no recognizable shape behind.
But the one beneath that giant palm was Mikael.
“Your life force really is tougher than a cockroach’s. Absolutely disgusting.”
Although his lack of aura meant he could no longer regenerate at the incredible speed he had before, Mikael’s body was still slowly repairing itself.
“There’s no point continuing this any longer. It would be better to finish things now.”
“Cough, cough.”
The giant hand lifted away.
Through Mikael’s vision, Hagenti appeared in front of him, holding a purple stone.
The demonic energy coming from the stone immediately triggered Mikael’s sense of danger.
However, his crushed body was already incapable of moving.
Just as Hagenti brought the stone toward Mikael’s mouth—
BOOOOM!
An explosion erupted from inside the monastery.
“T-The monastery is collapsing!”
“Ah! No!”
The followers and Hagenti all turned toward the source of the explosion.
The followers had been ordered to remain where they were, so they couldn’t go and protect the monastery.
All they could do was anxiously stomp their feet.
Hoping for some response, they glanced toward Hagenti.
Thud.
Hagenti understood just how worried they were about the monastery they called their sanctuary.
So he released the fistful of hair he had been holding.
“...So you didn’t come alone.”
Mikael’s vision still hadn’t fully returned to focus, leaving everything blurry.
Even so, he could roughly tell where Hagenti was glaring.
It was near the place where Mikael had thrown Valefor.
“I thought it was strange when something happened to the tree. So you really did have reinforcements.”
Mikael might have been short on aura, but his senses had not died with it.
He could feel the flow of demonic energy continuously draining out of Hagenti.
I don’t know what that tree is, but is it connected to the barrier?
Suddenly, Mikael remembered Taedeung’s panicked reaction when the barrier had been broken.
Whatever it was, it was clearly extremely important to them.
That meant it was probably heavily guarded or hidden somewhere extremely difficult to find.
Those two actually managed to break the barrier...?
I never expected that.
It was hard to believe.
The two people he had trusted the least had somehow created an unexpected variable and bought him time.
“Let’s see... One human girl and—hm?”
“Haa.”
After finishing his search, Hagenti rubbed his smooth bald head and showed a displeased expression.
“Simply because you are favored by Greed does not mean you may freely cross every boundary.”
He was obviously talking about Valefor.
Hagenti, who had remained relaxed from beginning to end, suddenly gave off an icy atmosphere as he muttered.
“I thought you had been behaving yourself rather well, yet now you’ve joined hands with a priest...”
“Have you finally fallen as low as you possibly can?”
Of course, Hagenti himself had tried to make Mikael his subordinate.
But joining hands with someone and making someone your subordinate were completely different matters, weren’t they?
“Rise, my sons.”
Hagenti turned toward the followers lying on the ground and gave his command.
The followers, who had been panicking moments earlier, immediately rose and lowered their bodies respectfully.
“I shall deliver a revelation.”
“There are insolent remnants who have invaded our sanctuary.”
The followers’ eyes shone as they listened carefully to every word Hagenti spoke.
“In the name of the Golden Bull, execute them.”
“And if there is someone among them whom you cannot handle, restrain them for as long as possible until I arrive.”
Valefor was also a Great Demon.
And he was the subject of countless rumors.
Because Hagenti himself considered Valefor someone worth being cautious of, he obviously knew ordinary followers would never be enough to defeat him.
But that was fine.
“Give your lives.”
As long as their sacrifices could peel away Valefor’s veil and expose what lay beneath, their deaths would be meaningful.
I’ve heard rumors about him since long ago and always wondered.
This actually works out rather well.
Let me see just how impressive that famous power of his truly is.
Once the revelation was given—
“We hear the words of our Father.”
Dozens of followers entered the monastery in pursuit of Sia and Valefor.
Watching them scatter in perfect order, Mikael once again wondered whether those things really were ordinary low- and mid-ranking demons.
“You have the expression of a curious cat with its ears perked up.”
Hagenti returned to his usual relaxed expression and slipped the purple stone back inside his clothes.
Mikael’s aura must really suit its taste.
I didn’t expect it to react this strongly.
Hagenti looked impressed by the stone that was still wriggling inside his clothes.
He then spoke to Mikael, whose body had yet to fully recover.
“Curious?”
“About what they really are?”
Perhaps Mikael’s recovered aura would trigger an even greater reaction.
And while he was at it, Hagenti could also investigate Valefor’s hidden power.
Having discovered something new and interesting, Hagenti deliberately drew out the conversation to buy time.
“...”
Mikael avoided answering.
This was exactly the kind of situation where responding would only let Hagenti manipulate the conversation.
But—
Crack! Bzzzt! Bzzzt!
Perhaps dissatisfied with Mikael’s silence, Hagenti stomped down on his arm.
“Ghk...”
Friction tore through flesh that hadn’t finished healing yet, sending blood spraying outward.
Hearing Mikael groan, Hagenti smiled in satisfaction.
“Your curiosity is written all over your face. There’s no need to desperately look away.”
“You are practically mine already, so perhaps there is no harm in letting you know a little about my grand plan.”
Like a child desperate to boast about something, Hagenti began rambling.
“Do you remember my temple?”
“The one you destroyed?”
Long ago, Hagenti had gathered demons he had subjugated in France and built a temple.
From the outside, it had appeared to be a landmark representing the local region.
But inside, it was a place where kidnapped people were gathered and subjected to all kinds of experiments.
“If you hadn’t happened to pass by and destroy that place, I would have produced countless accomplishments there.”
Mikael still remembered destroying the temple after receiving Helena’s request.
However—
“Cough. I don’t really bother remembering insignificant things. Heh.”
He lied simply because he wanted to mock Hagenti.
