Chapter 499: The One who was once the Sun

「…So, what kind of powers does he have as a magical devilish being, your former comrade? I know he can poison an entire city, but he’s a magical devilish being, so I’m sure that’s not all he can do. 」

The Demon-Eyed Beast Doha Surah moved his chin and spoke with obvious doubt. The Copper Dragon Shadraput swallowed dry. She didn’t like his big eye.

The true nature of the Demon Eye was pursuit. The Demon Eye revealed the true nature of the opponent to the point of exhaustion. For a dragon like Shadraput, who wanted to hide her true identity, there was no one more troublesome.

Therefore, she didn’t want to do anything to upset him. But how much should she say? Shadraput growled and hesitated.

It was fine to talk about Junelva, but it would be meaningless if they, or Lugis so to speak, didn’t kill him in the end.

After all, it was never a good idea to deliberately speak about the power of a great demon or a magical devilish being. Demonic beings, especially those who were once gods or kings, increased their power through faith. How?

If information about their powers and existence were spread poorly and elevated to faith, it could only strengthen their presence.

That would be very bad for Shadraput. After all, Junelva harbored an extraordinary rage towards her for some reason, and above all, he had the authority to kill her.

The actual results would only be known if they met face to face, but Shadraput didn’t want to meet him if there was a possibility that she would be defeated.

Why would someone put themselves in a place where they might die? Such a being can only be described as insane. That was the root of Shadraput’s thinking.

Shadraput spoke, choosing her words carefully in her own way.

「…I don’t know the exact source myself. But poison isn’t his true nature. Maybe I should describe it as melting. 」

「Melting? You mean with poison? 」

Lugis asked again, leaning on one elbow with little interest. It was as if he was just continuing with a casual conversation.

Shadraput’s lips rippled in response. Lugis could kill Junelva alone if he got interested in him.

「You’re not wrong, but you’ve got it the wrong way round. Poison is only a glimpse of his true nature. His true nature lies in the sun. 」

Shadraput said, pointing to the sun above.

It wasn’t because Junelva had poison that he melted things, it was because he, who possessed the true nature of melting, was given poisonous attributes.

It was unusual for Shadraput to lower her eyes as she spoke of this. She covered her mouth and even let out a sad expression.

When Junelva symbolized the sun and the wind was he was a god. There was a positive side to this past, controlling the warmth and blessings of sunlight, as well as the fertility that spread the seeds of plants.

But now that he had become a magical devilish being, and all of that had been lost.

He lost his very foundation when his faith was stripped away, and his only refuge was the Original Text. The power he chose was the evil side of the sun, which heated and melted everything in its path. This was linked to poison, and he was reduced to a venom-spitting bird king.

Shadraput didn’t know how much this meant to him. When Junelva submitted to Vrilligant, unlike Shadraput who didn’t become a magical devilish being, he chose to become a magical devilish being himself. Then perhaps there was some thought behind his existence.

Considering Junelva’s true nature as the sun, there was nothing in this world that he couldn’t melt and conquer. In his prime, Junelva should’ve been able to cover the entire sky with poison.

Shadraput had no idea how much power he could wield in this world where magic was scarce, but there was no way a mere human could win against him, anyways.

After she finished speaking, Shadraput waved her hands and concluded.

「That’s why you have to kill him! If a human wants to defeat him, then a miracle will be the only way! 」

Lugis replied while sitting back in his chair. He looked uninterested.

「Then, they can just make a miracle happen. There’s nothing I can do if they can’t make it happen. They will die with their resolve. At that time, I will kill him in line with their resolve. 」

Lugis spoke arrogantly. He didn’t change his way even after hearing Junelva’s true nature. That was typical of a magical devilish being. But it wasn’t the answer Shadraput wanted.

After all, it would be harder to kill the Great Demon Vrilligant, who would appear later, with Junelva roaming around freely and in good health. Shadraput wouldn’t find any relief until Vrilligant lost his life.

Relief. Freedom from the fear of death was Shadraput’s top priority. She wanted to kill everyone who could possibly kill her, without getting her hands dirty.

Right now, the Great Demon Vrilligant was forced to sleep due to the low amount of magical power it contained. But this was only temporary.

Vrilligant could open his heavy eyes at the slightest moment if everyone here was killed and the magical power became as concentrated as wine.

Shadraput knew that it would mean her downfall even if Vrilligant’s awakening only lasted a few seconds. The Great Demon would come to kill her for sure. And there was no one who could match a fully awakened Great Demon, unless Altia reappeared.

In that case, the best thing to do would be for Lugis to take the lead and kill the magical devilish beings Junelva and Rabel, then kill the unawaken Vrilligant.

Of course, it would be too dangerous for Shadraput to do that. In truth, she would prefer Lugis to do it all if possible.

While hiding her true feelings, Shadraput frankly spoke about how there would be nothing that could be done if Vrilligant awakened. Lugis answered with his eyes on the battlefield.

「If Vrilligant awakens, huh…if that disaster occurs, then there’s nothing that can be done. If we win, we’ll do something about it, but if we don’t, then we’ll have to give up and either submit or flee and gather our strength. 」

Lugis looked back at Shadraput, wondering if there was anything else.

That wouldn’t do. Shadraput breathed heavily, with a bitter expression on her face.

It seemed that Lugis was in awe of the human soldiers’ feeling, to the point of martyrizing them in the end. As a result, he didn’t seem to care if the Great Demon opened his eyes. This wasn’t uncommon for demons who acted according to their own values.

However, with Shadraput beside him, whose dissatisfaction was clearly visible, it was Doha Surah who expressed shock.

Doha Surah shifted the aim of his demonic eye from Shadraput to Lugis and slightly curved his fingertips. He then repeated Lugis’ words in his mind.

At this moment, Doha Surah realized the greatest thing Lugis had lost when he became a magical devilish being.

…The murderous intent and hatred towards the resignation that he had thought of as a curse no longer existed in him.

In fact, before he realized it, Doha Surah’s heart was overflowing with emotions similar to those that other humans felt towards Lugis.

Even if Lugis wasn’t as powerful as Altia, he thought that he could defeat those demons and accomplish something before the Great Demon awakened. It was a similar feeling to what he had felt towards Altia and Offal in the past.

But it seemed Lugis had no such intentions. That was perfectly normal for a magical devilish being.

If there was someone stronger than him, then the only choice he could make was to submit to them or give up and run away.

After all, most demons believed that they could become greater under someone stronger. In a way, it was similar to the privilege that Altia used for her subordinates to oppose the strong.

As he said before, Lugis would kill other demons. He had a certain respect for the humans who were rebelling against those demons.

But Lugis wouldn’t have the will to lead the rebellion once the Great Demon reigned. There was no point in doing so.

Because he was a magical devilish being and wasn’t essentially on the side of mankind. Doha Surah swallowed dry. To be honest, he didn’t like that at all.

It could be that Vrilligant was following Altia’s resolve to destroy the Bolvat Dynasty. That in itself wasn’t a bad thing.

But if that were to happen, Vrilligant, who hated all humans, would probably not stop his invasion. There would be no doubt that he would devour the city-states and even the Gharast Kingdom, where the Heraldic Order had its headquarters.

And with Lugis gone, humanity had no way to fight the Great Demon and the magical devilish beings. Without Lugis, neither the giant Caria nor the Elf Queen would have any reason to side with humanity.

Doha Surah didn’t particularly care if many people lost their lives cruelly. The problem was that if that happened, Palome Bashar, Doha Surah’s master, would undoubtedly die as well.

That would be very bad. Doha Surah didn’t dislike Palome as a person.

Doha Surah believed that Palome’s greedy knowledge, despite his suspicions, wasn’t worthy of contempt. Moreover, Doha Surah had been guarding the prison warden for hundreds of years, and he was the only person he had a serious conversation with.

He certainly didn’t want to lose him. That’s why Doha Surah wanted Palome’s status guaranteed even in this war.

The two demons, Shadraput and Doha Surah, were at a loss for words for a moment, considering each other’s backgrounds. And regardless of their intentions, they agreed that they had to somehow motivate the magical devilish being in front of them.

At that moment, as if they had been waiting for the right time, Lugis said the following words.

「Ohhh, the brainless bird has arrived. Did he miss the sky that much? 」

The two followed Lugis’ gaze as he looked up at the sky. Up ahead, high in the sky, was a demon looking down on the battlefield.

Junelva had his abnormally large wings spread out, like the sun glaring down on everything below.

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