Around an hour later, Mariel arrived at the western gate of the city.
"Can you prove that you are a native of Londinia?" asked one of the gate guards as Mariel reached the front of the line.
"Here's ten escal," he said, handing over a silver coin.
The guard accepted the coin, and Mariel immediately ran away from Londinia.
He had wanted to learn more about the Sterminatore Organization through its branch in Londinia, but it seemed he had no choice but to abandon that plan. After all, the members of Sterminatore in Londinia were incompetent. How could they not realize that such a dangerous demon was living among them?
Mariel would have to go to another city if he wanted to continue investigating Sterminatore.
Pendragon was the right city. Not only was the Sterminatore branch there more competent, but the Knights of the Round Table were also stationed there. Not to mention King Arthur IV. It was unlikely that the demon Liliphia would dare set foot there. Going to Pendragon was the perfect decision.
However—
Mariel suddenly stopped after running west for several minutes.
—he remembered the conversation between Selena and Ferguso.
Birmithan could be an option. Lukhiel was also there.
If he went there, he might be able to see what the demon was up to.
After all, if Selena and her subordinates could track down Lukhiel, it was likely that the top officials of Sterminatore and the royal army could as well. Like Selena, who was heading there, it wouldn't be surprising if King Arthur IV sent one or two members of the Knights of the Round Table. The same went for Sterminatore. So, if he went there, he could help Lukhiel if the demon was cornered.
With my ability to nullify any attack, master can focus on attacking.
But if he openly helped Lukhiel (who was, after all, a demon) in front of humans, wouldn't that mean he would be considered a traitor to humanity?
Mariel would become a fugitive. Bounty hunters would chase after him for a reward. Moreover, every kingdom might find out about it—and as a result, he wouldn't be able to legally enter any city anymore.
Wasn't that a huge consequence?
Heh!
Mariel faced north and then sped off at full speed toward Birmithan.
Who cares? This would only make things more exciting.
It was Lukhiel who saved him when he was almost killed by humans. It was Lukhiel who killed the man who murdered his mother. It was Lukhiel who taught him much knowledge. It was Lukhiel who made him strong. Was there any reason why he should side with anyone other than the demon who had become his master?
No.
Whenever and wherever, Mariel's choice was clear.
Covering his body with wind armor, Mariel shot forward at even greater speed. The distance between Londinia and Birmithan was quite far, about twice the distance between Londinia and Pendragon. Although Mariel could have reached there before nightfall, he chose to delay. Mariel wanted to stop at a large village to spend the night. So, his focus now was on finding the village, not Birmithan.
-----------⟨⟨ Birmithan ⟩⟩-----------
Lukhiel sighed softly before placing a cigarette in between his lips. He was in one of the rooms on the top floor of a luxurious inn. Celinee and her two companions were in the same room. Lukhiel inhaled the smoke while staring at the mayor's building, meanwhile, the three women were busy moving their pens across empty sheets of paper.
Lukhiel's worries from a few years ago had proven to be true: the issue they were facing was a long-term problem.
The laboratory that Celinee had feared was indeed conducting experiments to turn humans into half-demons. And her suspicions were also correct, the mayor himself was supporting those experiments. The mayor wanted to create half-demons as super soldiers to be sent to the battlefield. Even worse, the mayor was doing this under the orders of King Arthur IV.
Dr. Lergen had truly been exploited by this kingdom.
From the classified documents of the mayor that Celinee had successfully copied, it was clear that King Arthur IV wanted the mayor to work on the "Super Soldier Secret Project" in preparation for conquering the Great Celtekhna Kingdom, which also had a similar project. King Arthur IV had obtained information about Celtekhna's illegal project through spies he had sent there.
But that wasn't the only reason they often visited this city. The real reason was the ancient inscription found in one of the rooms of the laboratory. The script used on that inscription was the same as the one engraved on the holy weapon. It was an inscription from a time before humans appeared: the age of the gods and other mystical beings.
From what they had learned, the inscription had been discovered by Arthur Pendragon when the king dove into Lake Erebus—the largest lake on the Western Continent. Merlin, with her magic, helped King Arthur retrieve the inscription from the lake's depths. It was also said that Merlin and Morgan Le Fay could read the inscription. However, there was no proof to confirm this. No records had been found regarding the translation of the inscription.
According to the notes of the researchers working in the underground laboratory, the reason the inscription had been hidden was due to concerns about what was written there. To prevent anyone from reading the inscription and misusing the information or knowledge obtained from it, Arthur Pendragon buried the inscription on Avalon Island—the island located in the middle of Lake Erebus (a lake that separates Pendragon, Gothhant, and Breathound).
Arthur IV Pendragon, with the help of Athrecia Le Fay, the current owner of Avalon Island, managed to locate the inscription. However, Athrecia Le Fay was unable to read the inscription as her ancestor, Morgan Le Fay, could. Thus, the underground laboratory was established. Its main goal was to translate the inscription. The experiments led by Dr. Lergen's assistant were merely side activities.
That was the reason they often visited this city and infiltrated the laboratory. Lukhiel wanted to know the progress of their research. He wanted to find out what was written on the inscription. At the same time, Celinee and the others could sabotage the experiments conducted by Dr. Lergen's assistant.
Their affairs should have been safe. Celinee and her two colleagues could kill the dozen humans used as experiments every time they visited; Lukhiel could observe the researchers' activities safely. However, three months ago, they were shocked by the arrival of Guinerhea Modred—an individual from the Knights of the Round Table who had managed to earn the name Modred. More specifically, Lukhiel was surprised by Guinerhea's presence in the inscription room.
They managed to escape from the city. However, Guinerhea was able to catch up with them on their way to Londinia. A fight was inevitable. Guinerhea was stronger than most Level 1 Sterminatore. However, Lukhiel managed to kill her. He destroyed the knight's body, leaving no trace behind. In doing so, their presence remained a secret.
Unfortunately, Guinerhea had predicted that she would lose. So, she had already informed the head of the laboratory about their infiltration. The defenses of Birmithan were tightened. The security of the lab was reinforced. It became much more difficult to even enter the city, let alone infiltrate the lab.
As a result, Lukhiel and Celinee stopped visiting the city for nearly three months.
However, even to this day, the security was still very tight. In addition to the two Level 1 Sterminatore guarding outside the lab, two members of the Knights of the Round Table were inside the lab. Because of this, they hadn't attempted to infiltrate.
And they no longer needed to infiltrate. Celinee had heard that the results of the archaeologists' research and other experts had already been moved to the mayor's building. Celinee herself had also decided to leave the issue of the experiments to Sterminatore—not the Birmithan branch of Sterminatore, but the headquarters of Sterminatore in the Western Continent. That's why she and her two companions were busy writing up the evidence.
"Do you need our help for tonight, Sir Lukhiel?" asked Celinee after finishing her writing. "If not, we will head straight to the Kingdom of Esparossa now."
Lukhiel turned around when he heard the question.
The Sterminatore headquarters for the Western Continent was located in Erazora, the capital of the Kingdom of Esparossa. Celinee and her two companions would have to deliver the documents they had written directly there if they didn't want them to be intercepted. The leader of the Birmithan branch of Sterminatore was corrupt; asking them to deliver the documents there would be foolish. The mail services in the kingdom weren't trustworthy either.
"Can't you rely on your two companions to deliver them?" Lukhiel replied. "I only need your help. I want you to steal the files while I distract all the guards there."
"I am more than willing to help you, Sir, but I'm afraid someone might intercept their journey. Moreover, I'm worried Glazzier will recognize my two companions as half-demons if they are required to meet with him. You know no one is better than me at hiding demonic powers."
Celinee was right. Relying on other half-demons to deliver the documents to Glazzier would be a mistake. That man would immediately sense the demonic presence within them. Although Lukhiel suspected that Glazzier had already caught wind of the corruption of the Sterminatore leader in Birmithan, he would still demand that the person delivering the documents to hand them over directly.
"Alright, I understand." Lukhiel had no choice. "You can go ahead. I'll change my approach. I'll infiltrate quietly."
"I think that's the best way, Sir. In that case, we'll take our leave. Thank you for your cooperation so far. I will make sure Madam Rhemea gives an appropriate response for your help, Sir Lukhiel."
Lukhiel simply waved his hand, not caring whether he would be rewarded or not. After all, whenever he needed help, he always went to that old woman. So, helping Rhemea's students wasn't a problem at all.
"Be careful," Lukhiel said as he turned his gaze back to the window. "Rhemea will come looking for me if you don't return to her."
"You be careful too, Sir Lukhiel."
Lukhiel didn't respond to those words. He didn't say anything until Celinee and her two companions had completely left. He didn't have the right words to respond with. Lukhiel was a demon. It felt strange to hear those words.
"Now, how am I going to infiltrate and steal the researchers' work?"
If Lukhiel hadn't changed his life's direction, he would have killed hundreds, even thousands, of people tonight. Their deaths would have summoned demons. With the chaos, he would have easily infiltrated the mayor's building and taken the translated inscription's results.
However, Lukhiel had now chosen a different path than his past self. There was no way he would resort to such vile methods.
"Well, it seems like I have no choice but to go with the classic approach."
-----------⟨⟨⟨ O ⟩⟩⟩-----------
Mariel found a village large enough to be called a town just as the sun was setting—he had arrived there after visiting more than ten other villages.
The inn immediately became his destination. He didn't even need to ask to find the location of the inn. Anyone who set foot in the village could see the inn without needing to look for it. Beside being the largest building, standing four stories tall, there was a sign reading "Black Blue Inn" at the highest point of the building.
"One room for one night," Mariel said.
The receptionist nodded and showed him three keys. "This is the key to the premium room," she began. "It costs 500 escal per night. In addition to the best room and food facilities, you can also choose one of our workers to provide you with 'special service'."
"This is the key to the extra room," the receptionist continued. "It costs 250 escal. There's no 'special service', but the facilities are the same as the premium room. And this is the key to the normal room. It costs 100 escal per night. So, which key would you prefer?"
"…The key to the extra room," Mariel answered after a dozen seconds of silence, placing two gold coins and five silver coins on the counter. "I'd like the food delivered to my room within three hours."
"Alright, thank you for your reservation. Here's the key, and please find your room on the third floor."
Mariel took the key and hurried to the stairs, which were a few meters to the left of the reception desk. He walked while letting out a long sigh. He had made a wrong choice with this inn. Mariel didn't know the inn was "like that". Fortunately, there were extra and normal rooms available.
Upon reaching the third floor, Mariel immediately searched for his room. Room 321 was found after nearly three minutes of searching. This was because, although all the rooms were numbered, the numbers on the doors were not sequential.
Mariel inserted the key, turned it, and pushed the doorknob down. The door opened. However, before he could step inside, the door to his left opened.
Selena's purple eyes widened in surprise. Two seconds later, the door next to Selena opened as well, and Ferguso looked equally shocked. A second after that, the door to the right of Mariel opened. Then, three more doors behind the teenager opened.
"Er, um, hello?" Mariel greeted with a smile, like someone caught doing something unusual.
"You…." / "You…." / "You…." / "You…." / "You…."
"Mariel!"
Mariel quickly entered the room, slammed the door, and locked it tightly.