About two hours later.
Ono, who had been waiting, snapped impatiently.
“It’s getting late; I don’t know what you’re doing.”
“……”
“Hey Hamel. Start answering something…”
“I found it.”
Hamel nodded, cutting off Ono’s irritated words.
“…What?”
“The path they took.”
After wandering through the ruined village for a long time, Hamel stopped.
It was… a sheer cliff.
“…Are you saying they flew away?”
“No. This way.”
Hamel pointed to the base of the cliff.
The party approached cautiously and looked down.
There was a protruding ledge.
A path stretched dizzyingly along the side of the cliff.
If there was a problem…
“…We have to go this way?”
Narrow stepping stones where one slip meant a fall.
It looked more like rock-climbing than a path.
“…Are you sure?”
Ono retorted with a face that screamed he’d rather die.
Hamel nodded.
“The tracks lead this way.”
“……”
“I’ll go first.”
After saying that, Hamel leapt down the cliff.
He landed lightly and moved along the ledge.
“Then I’ll go next.”
Lena followed without hesitation.
“I’ll go first too.”
Daniel leapt down with a whoosh.
“……”
Alone, Ono shifted his gaze between the cliff below and his companions behind him.
No matter how he looked at it, going down here seemed madness.
‘Should I go back alone…?’ he wondered.
But if he slunk off now, he’d be mocked by the group for the rest of his life.
“…Damn it.”
Muttering quietly, Ono squeezed his eyes shut.
And then…
─whoosh
He jumped down the cliff.
He’d rather die than endure that humiliation alive.
Hamel’s party proceeded without hesitation.
The path was narrow and treacherous, but the traces grew clearer as they went.
After passing through gaps in the cliff, the trail gradually widened.
They walked like that for some time.
Eventually.
“I can see it.”
“…That is…”
The party flinched and stopped.
Hamel held his breath and stared at the scene before him.
Under the dark mountain shadow where the sun didn’t reach, a tall spire rose sharply.
Beneath the sharp, Gothic-style citadel, a vast city spread out.
A city in such a remote place.
It was impossible to guess when it had been built.
Hamel couldn’t even speculate.
He stood there, staring blankly at the castle.
(muffled chatter)
Faint voices drifted from afar — from the direction they had come, not the castle.
‘This way!’
Hamel and the others hurriedly hid behind a rock.
After a moment, demons appeared.
At first glance they looked human-shaped, but the six-armed demons trudged wearily toward the castle gate.
The guards at the city gate spoke with them, then let them pass.
“…Just now, that was…”
“Yes. Perhaps that city is controlled by demons… or maybe it was founded by demons themselves.”
“……”
Ono and the others fell silent, faces grave.
Vlad Chepesh had certainly gone into that city.
A colossal city that could probably house thousands.
No party, especially not theirs, could hope to fight thousands of demons.
Even more so when they didn’t know what kinds of demons were there.
“This is… impossible.” Ono shook his head, grim.
Even Lena shook her head.
“Priest.”
Lena looked at Hamel with pleading eyes — they should retreat. She couldn’t bear to watch everyone risk their lives for her.
Just then.
“Wait… just a moment.”
Hamel halted the group’s objections and thought intently.
That was a city of demons.
In other words, demons could enter without issue.
‘Let’s not be mistaken.’
His enemy wasn’t the thousands of demons in that city.
Vlad Chepesh.
Only that man was the prey he sought.
‘Then…’
One method flashed through his mind. Reckless at first glance, but worth trying: a deception technique used since ancient times.
“What if we disguise ourselves?”
“Disguise?”
“That means…”
The party’s expressions darkened in unison.
Disguising meant, in essence, entering that city now — into a place that might house thousands of demons.
How do demons distinguish one another?
Did the earlier demons get let through because they had six arms?
‘No,’ Hamel shook his head.
If that were the case, demons that looked exactly like humans wouldn’t be able to pass the gate.
Thinking that way, a method occurred to him: how humans distinguish and chase demons — precisely,
‘the lingering trace of demonic energy.’
Whether they possessed it or not, they’d be judged solely by that presence or absence.
Then the possibility was sufficient.
Hamel quietly drew up the demonic energy within his body. It was the same sensation as opening a talisman.
He condensed the magi into one arm and made a wound.
Blood fell into a wooden bowl and quickly filled it.
“Everyone, hold this blood in your mouths.”
“……”
“…Why?”
They all stepped back slightly and asked.
Hamel answered calmly.
“It’s to wear a mask.”
It’s a method used since ancient times. Old priests held salt water in their mouths so demons wouldn’t notice them.
‘Of course it’s not used much now…’
Its effectiveness is limited, and today’s Exorcist priests fight demons head-on rather than avoid them.
But in the current situation it could work.
“By holding blood in our mouths we emit the lingering trace of demonic energy. They’ll consider us comrades.”
“…Is it that easy?”
“Keeping the deception up will be impossible.”
Presumably, once the sun sets the effect will wear off. At night demons become far more sensitive and blatantly exude magi. With such a crude method, at best they could conceal their identities during the day.
However.
“If it doesn’t go well, we just leave before nightfall.”
Hamel’s calm words stunned everyone.
Because it wouldn’t be as easy as he said.
“No, more importantly, can we pass the gate?”
“We’ll have to try.”
“……”
Hamel wasn’t lying.
Whether this method would work was unknown until they tried.
But if they didn’t try at all, there was no way through the gate.
“I’ll go first.”
Lena grabbed the plate without hesitation and filled her mouth with blood.
“…There’s no choice.”
Daniel, reluctant, brought the plate to his lips.
Ono sighed and muttered, “…That was the last chance to run away, wasn’t it.”
Then he, too, put blood in his mouth.
They steeled themselves.
Hamel nodded and led the way.
He drew up and sustained the magi, stimulating the dragon’s blood.
His eyes took on a dragon-like appearance, and blue scales sprouted on his arms and nape.
Thus the mask was complete.
Whether it would work or not had to be tested now.
A prickling gaze bore into his back.
Ono, mouth full of blood, seemed to ask with his eyes, ‘Is this right?’
Hamel averted his eyes. It did seem reckless.
“……”
When Hamel looked away, Ono widened his eyes. His mouth twitched but he couldn’t open it — the blood would trickle out. By now his nose and mouth were reeling from the metallic taste and the foul smell of magi-laced blood.
It was natural to be worried.
However.
─step
There was no turning back now.
Hamel stepped forward without hesitation.
He still had no certainty.
But Lena and Aileen were in dire straits today. There was no time to hesitate.
Hamel briskly approached the gate entrance.
He saw soldiers standing guard.
They were, of course, demons, but they took surprisingly normal human forms.
They straightened as if they had seen Hamel, then raised spears and said, “Halt.”
“……”
Hamel complied. There wasn’t much choice.
One guard, spear pointed, slowly approached, his gaze fixed on Hamel’s eyes and scales. He opened his mouth and asked, “For what purpose do you visit?”
……!
It worked.
They judged Hamel and the party to be demons. Had they been human, they’d have thrust their spears instead of asking.
“I came to meet an acquaintance.”
“An acquaintance?”
The guard’s eyes narrowed.
Hamel answered calmly, “Lord Vlad Chepesh.”
“……!”
This time the guard’s eyes widened. Before he could ask more, Hamel added, “He called for me.”
To Hamel’s surprise, the guard’s attitude shifted dramatically.
“I see. My apologies.”
Lowering his gaze, the guard bowed slightly.
That was enough. It seemed they’d be let through.
As expected, the guard stepped aside — but for a moment he scanned the party behind Hamel and tilted his head.
“But…”
“…Yes?”
“Aren’t those humans…?”
……
Hamel froze. He felt Ono’s gaze even without turning around, as if asking what he intended to do.
‘Hm.’
At this point, was a forced breakthrough the only option?
Just as Hamel reached for his sword.
“Ah. Sorry. It seems you’ve recently made them vassals!”
The guard exclaimed as if he’d realized something.
“…?”
Hamel remained silent as the guard babbled on.
“They were so similar to humans I was mistaken. Looking more closely, I sense demonic energy resembling that of the noble.”
“…?”
“Amazing. To command vassals.”
“…Yes.”
Hamel, not fully understanding, simply nodded.
The guard looked at him with sparkling, almost admiring eyes.
Meanwhile, the party behind Hamel shot bewildered and incredulous looks.
‘Vassals.’
Hamel mulled over the word. Vassals were a privilege of high-rank demons — even some ancient kinds, like vampires, could grant kinship. Just as Vlad Chepesh had made Irin and Lena his kin.
Apparently it was a misunderstanding, but if things went well there was no reason to complain.
“I’ll escort you inside.”
“…Yes.”
In the end, the infiltration succeeded.
The guard opened the gate.
─rattle thud
The massive iron gate swung wide, revealing the city’s interior.
“……!”
Well-paved roads and huge, ornate buildings stretched before them.
Who would believe this city was built by demons?
But seeing was believing.
Namely,
─rumble
Dozens upon dozens of demons strode along the streets even in broad daylight.
From rare high-ranking demons to low-ranking ones, a combination rarely seen outside walked the avenues.
When the gate fully opened, the guard shouted loudly, “The master of the vassals is entering!”
The passing demons’ gazes turned en masse.
‘……’
Hamel seemed to hear phantom screams from his companions.
