r18novel Page 65
Page 65
"In comparison, Lord Fim seems far too quiet." The phantom of the Second Demon slowly descended from the city wall.
Book Demon Swell glanced at Fim, who was holding a broom and staring blankly at the sky in the distance, and said, "She's been spacing out more and more lately. Is she worried about something?"
In the woods, Fim tilted his head, gently sweeping the broom in sync with the rhythm of his thoughts.
She was pondering a very, very important question—
...Should we make hamburger patties or pork chop rice for Mino for lunch today?
"Heh, as a book demon, you can't even grasp the psychology of a bunch of great demons?"
Reclining on the chair, Apophis teased, "Svir, you're not doing a very good job as a demon strategist."
The phantom of Svir trembled slightly, glancing at the demonic sword Apophis, which was radiating a divine aura, and said, "Lord Apophis, could you restrain your divine energy? I'm not used to it."
“Even I can’t control it, you know that, Swell.”
Apophis's aura pulsated, then transformed into a deep, dark demonic energy: "My authority is 'balance.' The amount of demonic energy I release is equal to the amount of holy power I must release."
The lie that demonic energy is dyed from holy energy can only fool a young holy sword like Altote… Svir also knows that among all demons, only Apophis can transform into holy power.
“Just as you said,” Swell said with a sigh, as if explaining something.
"Demons are essentially a collection of desires."
"The Book Demon originates from the desire to 'acquire knowledge,' Lord Apophis from the desire for 'balance,' and Lord Migo from the desire to 'see through and conceal one's true nature'... Based on your nature, I can more or less understand your thoughts."
"But Lady Fim's emotional fluctuations are suppressed by her zombie demon constitution, making them difficult to observe, and her desires do not originate from herself... but from the desires she felt at the moment she transformed from a human into a demon."
"Oh? What's that?" Apophis noticed that Svir's tone was a little off.
"What else could be the desire of a zombie demon?"
"Swell said in a low voice."
"Of course, it's the desire to 'survive'..."
Apophis paused for a moment, looked at the dazed Phim in the distance, and said softly, "Perhaps, little Phim wants to go out for a walk."
"Xiao Miguo often uses her monster body to wander around the border villages. It seems that Xiao Feimu has never been far from the Demon King's Castle since birth... Perhaps there is still a lingering desire for closeness with humans in her body."
Swell paused slightly, then nodded gently: "That's possible."
far away.
Amidst the hushed conversation of the two demons, Phim, who "really wanted to go outside and play," raised his head, a light appearing in his empty eyes, as if he had made some exhilarating decision—
For lunch, let's make omelet rice.
……
"Then let's decide on this for now."
After a secretive and lengthy discussion, the two veteran demons reached an agreement on something, and the conversation came to an end.
Svir's phantom vanished into the air, his consciousness returning to its original form, leaving only a faint sentence at the city gate.
"Now, I should make contact with Lord Sixth Demon."
Chapter 88 The Sixth Demon, the Truth...Connecting All
On the stone platform atop the Demon King's castle, Svir closed the pages of his book.
"The Sixth Demon has been lurking for so many years, it's time to officially activate it, and together with the hero Mino's interrogation... bring true disaster to the Kingdom of Kur." Svir said with a hint of anticipation.
As the Book Demon, it possesses absolutely secretive means of communication, and its rendezvous with the Sixth Demon is entirely under its command.
Swell was about to unleash some of his power.
A page of the book emitted a solid light at this moment, and Swell was slightly surprised:
"Oh, so they contacted us first?"
The book immediately turned, and as the glowing pages lay flat in the air, a familiar voice came through the pages.
"Swell, there's a mole among us!"
"I may have been exposed!"
"What?!" Swell's book pages trembled violently.
……
"This is a blood crystal stone that embodies the power of the 'Abyss'. Wearing it will allow you to possess power close to that of a hero for a short period of time."
On the carriage.
Thanaus handed a richly colored ruby to Dane. The intense blood energy surged through Dane's limbs the moment it touched him, and Dane's eyes revealed shock and joy.
"Your Highness, is there indeed a powerful dark force backing us?"
Dane said hopefully.
A grand vision involuntarily formed in his mind: the seemingly glamorous Kingdom of Kur had long been infiltrated by dark forces, turning it into a weak and vulnerable sieve... He was just waiting for himself to become a key figure so that he could use the dark tide to overthrow the entire kingdom!
"Ok?"
Unexpectedly, after listening to Dane's words, Thanaus gave him a strange look.
"You're overthinking it. It's not uncommon for a noble family, second only to the royal family, to have such unusual collections."
Thanaus shook his head and said seriously, "If you're going to do something, you have to love it!"
"We do bad things because we want to, not because anyone tempts us—we villains should also embrace theories of chance and bloodline like heroes and royalty—"
"Who do you expect to respect a villain like that?"
Grand Duke Thanaus raised his noble head and said in a deep voice:
"If we're going to do something, we'll be pure, noble, and idealistic villains!"
"You're right." Dane lowered his head in shame, then realized something was amiss.
He's already become a villain, so what's the point of having ideals and beliefs?
Bah! You pedantic old fool! Dane raised his head.
Seeing Thanaus coughing occasionally, his face still pale, a barely perceptible smile played on his lips... "Rest assured, Your Majesty, I will inherit your legacy of corrupting the kingdom."
A deep ambition gleamed in Dane's eyes—
A truly courageous person is born between heaven and earth; how can they remain subservient to others for long?
"In short, everything I've told you is true. Now... it's up to you to see how you perform."
The carriage stopped, and Thanaus escorted Dane away from the palace. Dane gave a perfunctory reply, turned around with a cold smile, and disappeared into the darkness...
As he watched Dane's retreating figure, Thanaus smiled, his indifferent voice echoing inside the carriage.
“Dane, I’m not lying. My sons have all died young. Now, you are my only adopted son—”
"But as for why they died young, don't ask..."
……
Kingdom Library, daytime.
Wearing an elegant mint-colored long dress, with books of varying thicknesses piled on the table, the scholar Astrid gazed quietly out the window, her eyes filled with sorrow.
With the arrival of the razor blades from the Border Archives, her anxiety finally died.
How dare those despicable humans claim their novel would tarnish the royal family's reputation? It wasn't even approved before!
A day and a night had passed. Astrid stood up, smoothed her skirt, and walked to a quiet, deserted bookshelf in the library. She took out a very common, well-known fairy tale book from it.
She tapped the book cover three times gently, and the cover gleamed, reflecting a hint of apprehension in Astrid's eyes:
"Swell, there's a mole among us!"
"I might... have been exposed!" Astrid cautiously looked around and timidly said to the book.
"What should I do next? Write a will? Swallow a sword and commit suicide? Or rip out my heart and send it back to my homeland?"
Her intellectual and calm demeanor vanished, replaced by a timid and cowardly expression, her voice trembling with tears.
"Please calm down." At this moment, Swell's voice finally came.
"The Sixth Demon, the Corruptor, Lady Astrid."
"...Could you tell me the specifics?"
"Just last night, the Royal Knights stormed into the Kingdom Library without warning, almost convicting me and throwing me in jail..."
Astrid described it vividly, and finally came to a conclusion:
“They must have solid evidence, which is why they’re monitoring me so closely!” Astrid shuddered.
In that case, it's only a matter of time before she's caught. This is the capital city—now that she's under suspicion, she can't escape even if she grows wings.
"How could this be..." Swell was puzzled.
“Even with the vague revelation from the Holy Round Table, Prince Ota wouldn’t have been so quick to search you… It’s as if he already had some clues that confirmed you were a suspect?”
It should be noted that, apart from the time when they besieged the hero Mino, Svir had never used the Sixth Demon, so Ota should not have known about Astrid's existence.
Moreover, the sabotage operations against the human camp were all based on the information provided by the hero Mino.
If the other party is going to suspect anyone, they should suspect Mino first... How did it get involved with Astrid?
"Lady Astrid, you haven't overlooked any other important clues, have you?"
Astrid shook her head. In her opinion, last night was like a disaster coming out of nowhere. She was writing fanfiction at home when suddenly she was stopped by the authorities!
As for reselling Lotte Merchant Guild figurines, it had long been considered a trivial matter and forgotten.
“That’s strange… Prince Ota shouldn’t have any reason to notice your unusual behavior, especially considering your last action was with Mino…”
Swell's words gradually came to a halt.
At this moment, bits and pieces of knowledge are strung together on the page, the book itself trembles slightly, and a flash of inspiration strikes in my mind.
...Mino...!
“I understand…” Swell murmured incredulously.
—Everything is connected.