A dark night.
Most of the castle is asleep now.
I…
“Byaaak! (I’m awake!)”
Thanks to the deep sleep I had all afternoon, I woke up with a clear mind. I quickly opened my eyes.
And I subtly turned my head to look at Martin lying in bed.
After observing him for several days, it’s clear that once Martin falls asleep, he won’t wake up. Even if a bomb dropped next to him, he’d keep sleeping.
‘Living like this is mind-boggling.’
The moment he sensed even a hint of my presence, he would immediately open his eyes. Just glaring at him with irritation, he’d instantly get up.
‘Let’s not mess with him.’
Yeah, I must never provoke him.
With that determination, I carefully got out of bed. I passed by Martin and went outside. The door was easy to open, so there was no hesitation in leaving.
There was no one in the hallway.
It was eerily quiet and even a bit creepy. It might seem scary at first, but I had no fear. Ghosts aren’t scary. It’s people, or rather, demons that are terrifying.
I moved forward, hiding in the darkness as much as possible.
The destination was clear.
‘Nisha’s room.’
After several days of diligently exploring the mansion, I had found Nisha’s room.
I didn’t get too close. I felt like Nisha would be more cautious if we met.
My plan is as follows.
I go into the room while Nisha is asleep. Then, I stand next to her and absorb her power. Done!
It might seem a bit clumsy, but this was the solution.
Why, you ask?
As soon as I recognized Nisha’s room, this system window popped up.
[SYSTEM]
Based on the ‘hint,’ you can search the room.
Would you like to use it? Y/N
The system also suggested that I should absorb power from Nisha.
‘It’s strange that only Nisha can extract the demon king’s power.’
I couldn’t find a satisfactory answer to this part, no matter how much I thought about it.
So, for now!
‘Let’s give it a try.’
I wanted to deal with the immediate situation that was right in front of me.
“Hyuuh.”
As I reached Nisha’s door, I took a deep breath and exhaled.
From now on, I had to move very carefully. Just in case Nisha woke up.
If she caught me sneaking into her room like this…
‘She almost tried to kill me.’
Since I didn’t want to die here, I absolutely couldn’t get caught. Let’s go quietly.
[SYSTEM]
Based on the ‘hint,’ you can search the room.
Will you use it? Y/N
‘Yes.’
As soon as I thought about it, a bright light suddenly emerged from somewhere and enveloped my body.
I briefly worried about what would happen if others saw this light, but I soon realized that the light from the system was visible only to me, which reassured me.
The light moved around my body, almost tickling me, and then gathered at the tips of my fingers, precisely where I was holding the door.
Bang!
An incredibly intense light burst forth, almost blinding me, and my body was pushed backward by the recoil.
And…
Kiiik-
The door opened just a tiny bit, enough to ensure that Nisha wouldn’t wake up.
‘This is it.’
I quickly adjusted my position and cautiously entered the room.
“………”
The room was as silent as a grave. Only Nisha’s occasional breathing could be heard.
I made an effort not to touch anything on the floor and slowly approached Nisha.
The room was quite cluttered, all due to the books scattered on the floor. They were all books about elemental magic, with spell diagrams drawn beneath them.
Summoning circles to call forth spirits and spell diagrams to control them.
I was somewhat surprised as I gazed at those drawings absentmindedly. The spell diagrams were quite impressive.
In my previous life, I had reached the level of a top-tier elemental mage, so I was well-versed in most spell diagrams related to spirits…
‘Are these genuinely extraordinary?’
Nisha was even more exceptional than I was in my previous life.
If we had met when we were the same age, I would have been utterly defeated. She was that outstanding.
‘But why hadn’t I heard of Nisha in my previous life?’
I had certainly heard of twins, but the name Nisha Daimon was entirely new to me.
If she had already mastered this level of elemental magic, she must have been an exceptional elemental mage.
‘I need to keep an eye on her.’
Thinking this, I hastily approached Nisha and placed my hand on her.
Immediately, another swarm of black light emanated. This light flowed from Nisha’s body to mine, and I could feel the power concentrating in my heart.
Feeling it once again, I could be even more certain.
This is the power of the Demon King.
Moreover, it was the power administered when creating the homunculus.
This power was given in exchange for loyalty to the Demon King.
Without loyalty, one could potentially betray using the power of the Demon King.
Hence, Lyat ensured that loyalty was firmly ‘input’ into the homunculus. They would solely act for the sake of the Demon King.
But why is this coming out?’
After thinking for a moment, I found the answer.
‘Nisha has changed her mind.’
As her loyalty had vanished, the power of the Demon King that had enveloped her was seeping out.
I was now gulping down that power.
If I didn’t absorb this power, Nisha would have been caught renouncing the Demon King. The remaining power of the Demon King within Nisha must have facilitated her change of heart.
‘So that’s why I never heard Nisha’s name in my past life.’
You must have died.
Lyat must have killed her.
‘Why did Nisha lose her loyalty?’
Although I was puzzled, I also felt relieved now, considering my current situation.
‘More, more, come in more. More.’
Thinking that way, I swallowed Nisha’s power eagerly. It was at that moment.
“Hmm…”
Nisha tossed and turned. Startled, I quickly removed my hand. Fortunately, Nisha remained asleep.
‘Phew, that was close.’
Calming my racing heart, I placed my hand on Nisha again.
But…
“What’s this…”
Nisha’s eyes flickered open and immediately locked onto me.
“Why are you here?”
Oh, this is bad.
***
Nisha was utterly flabbergasted.
How on earth did this little kid get into my room?
After gaining control over her magic, Nisha had established a barrier in her room.
It was a lower-level barrier, which could be breached by demons if they were determined, but it served its purpose of preventing other homunculus from sneaking into her room.
Perhaps someone like Yurian could deactivate the barrier, but he had left for the capital, so there was no need to worry.
It definitely should have been like that…
‘How?’
Nisha looked at Shekina, who was stiff and staring intently with surprised rabbit eyes. She furrowed her brow.
‘A baby who’s not even a year old broke the barrier?’
Now that she thought about it, this kid had claimed to have defeated the Cerberus of the twins.
She had initially thought it was a misconception or exaggeration…
“She can handle artifacts, not just break the barrier.”
Tsk.
Nisha licked her lips and then completely sat up. She reached out to hold Shekina’s neck, which was tilting back and forth, in her hands.
“You.”
Nisha’s violet eyes scanned Shekina’s face.
“Why did you come here?”
“…Myaa?”
“Oh, right, you’re just a speechless kid.”
No matter how remarkable she was, she was still a child. Nisha decided not to be curious about Shekina’s intentions. After all, this kid couldn’t speak, which was fortunate in a way.
“It’s better this way. I was planning not to kill you because the demons were tying you up. It’s lucky you came on your own.”
Nisha’s right hand twitched.
“If I kill you here and dispose of the body, no one will know, right?”
“Byaa? Byaaaah?”
“Don’t act unfairly. You brought this upon yourself.”
“Byaaah!”
Woong!
The window rattled and shook as the air started vibrating, creating a gust of wind. The room was filled with mana.
“Die.”
“Myaaa! (No way!)”
Shekina, sensing imminent death right in front of her, screamed without realizing it.
At that moment, an unbelievable event occurred.
