The reason seven Trappycches appeared all at once. The reason the seven bodies moved in perfect coordination. At the center of it was that monster, Setian, who controlled the [Hive Mind].
'That thing... it’s a monster that’s existed from the start for the sole purpose of destroying Hiaka.'
After realizing that Setian was within the royal court, I dug up every scrap of information on him.
As Chairman of the Council of Elders, Setian had been the king’s closest friend and a driving force behind Hiaka’s revival, but his record was riddled with suspicious incidents.
'Even if you’re a demon, you can’t hide everything.'
Take, for example, the king’s “Mountain Bandit Subjugation” achievement. Under the command of Hiaka III, the bandits of the eastern mountains were successfully eradicated. Half of them had been destitute commoners driven to banditry, who were later given work to prevent recurrence.
But then strange rumors began circulating about the other half. That in some underground warehouse near the royal palace, they were all found with their eyes gouged out and their Achilles tendons severed—like offerings waiting to be sacrificed.
Gruesome stories like this about Setian were not uncommon.
It was why, eventually, Setian came to be called the king’s executioner—the sword that dealt with those the king deemed unfit to live for the sake of leading the nation.
'Even so, many citizens believed such things were necessary for the country’s prosperity.'
Thus, he was also seen as a man symbolizing national revival.
But...
'He must die.'
Not just him. By any means necessary, the entire Council of Elders must be exposed.
I looked up at him. Far away, in the middle of the battlefield, Setian floated like a parasite bursting from the corpse of some dead monster. But that was [Illusion]. He wasn’t truly here.
《 Show yourself, you worm of a human! I know you are here! 》
Aside from the two horns, his face looked quite different from that of an old man. He was shouting for me, so I decided to answer with an [Illusion] of my own.
Still within Rebecca’s mental world—its dark, oppressive sky and land holding steady—I placed an illusion of myself brimming with presence before him.
《 Finally crawled out, you worthless thing. 》
《 How does it feel, the sense of impending death for one who’s spent his life meddling everywhere? 》
《 The countless Trappycches gathered here will one day grind your flesh to a pulp. You’ve stirred too much. Without the power to back it up, you’ve acted far too arrogantly. Did you think you could go on living forever like that? 》
I wondered if a two-horned demon was capable of having a personality. His face overflowed with something beyond confidence—vile arrogance.
Then, using Trappycche’s slime tendrils, he lifted several soldiers into the air and burst the spikes, killing them all.
“Guhhk!”
“Gk—!!”
It wasn’t for my benefit. Nor was it out of joy in killing. He simply existed to kill humans. It was the work he was meant to do.
《 Answer me. Have you anything to say before me? 》
The Trappycches paused briefly, and this conversation carried across the entire battlefield. I could feel thousands of eyes fixed on me.
From this moment on, I would drag him and the Council of Elders out of this nation.
“The premise is wrong, Chairman Setian.”
My voice spread deep and resonant along waves of mana, utterly free of tension or excitement.
“You cannot kill me.”
I was calm. Strangely so—calm to a degree that even surprised me.
“The monsters you’ve brought here will be slain by me and those with me.”
“And in doing so, I will receive blessings from the Stars worth at least three or four times their number. Those blessings will become the blade that severs your life.”
At the mention of the Star Fragments, a crack appeared in Setian’s expression.
《 Will you still speak so boldly once your limbs are torn apart? 》
“What is there I would not do?”
《 Arrogant... In the end, you are nothing but a pitiful human. Many who stood before me in arrogance knelt in humiliation before death, kissing the tips of my feet. Do you think you’ll be any different? 》
“Chairman of the Council of Elders, Setian. You have quite the tongue.”
“You...”
“Are you afraid of me?”
His arrogant mask crumpled. To have a personality meant emotions shone through, and his were on full display.
《 Silence, before I tear you apart right now. 》
Fortunately, his personality was crude. That worked in my favor. The soldiers had been shocked ever since hearing his name, “Setian.” If I could draw him out further, exposing his ugliness, it would be the perfect ammunition to turn against the Council.
...Or so I thought.
Bwoooong—
He suddenly cast a spell, trapping us in the same space.
『Veil of Isolation』.
A way to prevent sound from escaping.
《 Do you know why I’ve let you live until now? 》
And from here, words I had never expected began to spill out.
“You spared me?”
《 You must know it. You still live only by my permission. 》
He eased some of his menace, even smiling.
《 I have a proposal. 》
A proposal?
《 Frankly, I’ve wasted decades unable to find you. 》
《 Now, even I am pressed for time. The Heaven-ordained end of the world draws near, and I have yet to find my master—the Lord of Eternal Return. 》
...What?
The words were unfamiliar, but I had heard them before—from the Eternal Constellation∞, Song Chien.
At the edge of the world, there is a power that returns all things to nothing, forcing them to begin again. In context, it referred to the Demon King.
'...Why is a two-horned demon discussing the Demon King’s absence with a mere professor?'
It sounded... deeply suspicious.
“What are you trying to say?”
《 Why ask when you already know? 》
《 Tell me where the Lord of Eternal Return is. 》
...What?
'You’re asking me for the Demon King’s location?'
A two-horned demon? Why?
'You should be the one who knows, you lunatic.'
I’d been at a loss recently, unable to guess the Demon King’s location or identity—finding no clues even after the Pink Drug’s spread.
'I was planning to wring it out of you, Setian...'
Now, he was asking me.
I instinctively knew I couldn’t let him find out that I didn’t know.
“Then what will you offer me in return?”
《 Your life. 》
《 If you give me information on the Lord of Eternal Return, I will let you live here and now. 》
《 If you find him, I will ensure that you and a handful of those you choose survive into the future. 》
Setian smiled.
《 I swear it before that cursed star in the sky, Transcendent Star✯. 》
He’d lived so long in a human guise that he now thought himself human. I wanted nothing more than to smash his skull in right there.
However...
“So gathering seven Trappycches was not to kill me, but merely a grand hostage play. A sound decision. With this many lives as collateral, even I might consider compromising with you demons I despise.”
“...But, Setian. I have no idea what you’re talking about. How could I possibly know where the Lord of Eternal Return is?”
《 ... 》
His face began to tremble, the shudder starting at his eyes and climbing his horns, the killing intent so thick it made my skin sting.
Soon his eyes bulged and drifted apart, pupils darting erratically.
From just one question, the two-horned demon’s rage nearly stopped his breath.
《 So you mean to feign ignorance? 》
“What of it?”
《 You hid it. Exactly fifteen years ago. 》
A ripple spread across the lake in my mind. This wasn’t about me—Dante Hiakapo.
《 I know everything. 》
《 You were the one who stopped me from killing that cursed girl, Rebecca. 》
《 And you were the one who hid the Lord of Eternal Return. 》
《 You, built on nothing but lies. You, who were never of Hiaka but merely an Imperial citizen. You, master of the Black Blades, who deceived the Empire and served as its Chief of Public Safety. 》
《 You, who abandoned the Stars without fear! Abandoned the discipline you created! Abandoned your nation and your people! 》
《 Or did you think I wouldn’t know? That even I could fail to see through you? Even if the Constellations were blinded, I am not! 》
Random fragments spilled from his mouth—Rebecca. Black Blades. Imperial citizen. Public /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ Safety Chief. And his fury...
This was about me hiding the Demon King.
Or rather—
About something before me hiding the Demon King.
《 For a mere human, you’ve gained far too much power! You deceived the world, acting as if you were its savior, but you could never have killed the Lord of Eternal Return! You cannot deceive me! Such a thing is beyond human ability! All you could do with that vaunted power of yours... was hide! 》
《 You liar! Cursed thing! A being that deserves to be torn apart a thousand, ten thousand times over! 》
《 Where is the Lord of Eternal Return? Answer me! 》
And at the very end—when he spoke my name—a chill ran down my spine.
《 ―― 》
***
This was before the Soltia Conference began.
In the [Forest of Illusions].
It was about the being who had created the entire forest in which the hero Eve once wandered.
After taking shelter from the rain together and stepping outside, Eve moved her hands to ask the man:
'Who?'
'Who are you?'
'Name, what?'
Until now, communication had been impossible, though there had been some shared understanding. Both knew they were parting ways soon. Standing before him, Eve asked a question she herself didn’t understand. The false human seemed to realize something, smiling slyly.
“Are you curious about my name?”
Eve nodded. The man grinned wider and answered.
She couldn’t hear the sound, but she remembered the shape of his mouth, the movement of his jaw, the trembling of his throat.
“My name is spoken thus.”
And in the silent Forest of Illusions, the man spoke softly.
“Abraxas.”