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EPISODE 43 – FROST ANVIL (1)
There were numerous demon followers in Pleiades.
Their history began with the descent of the two great monarchs of hell. More than a thousand years have passed, but even now, they persistently continued to exist.
‘The demon followers are not just one group.’
Contrary to public perception, they were not all on the same side.
Because the great monarchs they served were different.
The demon followers antagonized and competed with each other, as the great monarchs of hell did, and in severe cases, they did not hesitate to shed blood in their clashes.
The Devil’s Hand is a group who served Asmodeus of lust, one of the five great monarchs of hell. Their ultimate goal is to have Asmodeus descend and take over the world through the realization of her hell, Sabbath, on the real world.
“The sacrifice had left the eagle’s nest.”
At the headquarters of the Devil’s Hand, located at the center of the SĂ€len Kingdom, the key executives of the Devil’s Hand were all gathered in one place.
One was physically present, while others used phantoms that appeared through magic.
The eyes of the key executives who stood in each corner of a hexagonal star were all focused on the black-haired woman, demonic human Saluzia, who was in charge of the northern part of the SĂ€len Kingdom.
The sacrifice left the eagle’s nest.
Cordelia Chase had escaped from Count Hrésvelgr’s protection.
“How did that happen?”
It was a woman’s low voice that made the listeners feel at ease.
She was the leader of the Devil’s Hand, and at her question, Saluzia explained the details of the situation.
“Cordelia Chase went on a honeymoon trip with her fiancĂ©, Jude Bayer.”
“Even though they were ambushed twice?”
When demonic human Koros, who stood on one corner of the hexagonal star, asked with a wry smile because he found it absurd, the other executives somehow also had the same facial expressions as they too found it to be incomprehensible.
The first and second attack pretty much stated that the goal of the Devil’s Hand was Cordelia and Lucas.
However, there was still more to be dumbfounded about.
“Furthermore
”
“Furthermore?”
“The two had escaped to go on a journey. Count Hrésvelgr have currently dispatched people everywhere to find the couple.”
“Crazy.”
The other executives also nodded at Koros’ sentiments.
Then, Koros added a few more words to try to lighten up the conversation.
“Are you saying that they’re teenagers who have nothing in their brains because they are so blinded by love?”
“For now
I think so.”
Saluzia answered with a little difficulty before looking back at their leader again and continuing her explanation.
“Cordelia Chase’s destination is presumed to be Frost Anvil.”
“On what grounds?”
“The very purpose of Cordelia Chase’s visit to Count HrĂŠsvelgr in the first place was to acquire the legendary Sunflower that blooms in Frost Anvil. That flower is a special medicine which would heal the chronic disease of her fiancĂ©, Jude Bayer.”
“They went on a trip looking for a drug to cure her fiancé’s illness? I see, so that’s what they were thinking when they left.”
When Koros spoke quietly again, Saluzia frowned but did not deny his words.
Saluzia had thought the same too.
But there were two reasons why Saluzia frowned.
One was the fact that Koros jumped in her conversation with their beloved leader. The other was the fact that they had already lost three demonic humans and more than a hundred combatants because of those immature and empty-headed teenagers.
Saluzia was the one who had planned both operations, so if she looked at it from a broader perspective, she had failed twice because of those immature teenagers.
“This is no laughing matter. We’ve already lost three demonic humans because of those children.”
Minos, Varus, and the Northern Viscount were all low-ranking demonic humans, but even so, they were still demonic humans. They had to invest a considerable amount of time, effort, and assets to create them.
Moreover, the loss of the Northern Viscount was more painful than the previous two.
Before he was a demonic human, he was a nobleman who officially had a manor in the kingdom.
“If not for that iron man, we wouldn’t have lost those demonic humans. The two were just merely lucky.”
The iron man he was referring to was Landius.
Koros grumbled a bit as he spoke, and their leader had a gentle smile.
“You’re right. Certainly, if that iron man hadn’t intervened, Saluzia’s second operation would not have failed. But don’t forget the fact that those children defeated Minos too.”
Furthermore, it wasn’t just that.
Although they were helped by the witch’s soul, the demonic monster of Asmodeus, who was asleep in the Trefalgar Forest, also died at the hands of those children.
They weren’t children that could be easily dealt with.
“Saluzia, do you have any other reasons on why you think they’re going there?”
“Yes, I have. We’ve looked at civilians on the route from Vedrfolnir to Frost Anvil, and we’ve found a small number of people who saw what is believed to be Cordelia Chase and Jude Bayer.”
“And?”
“Kanos’ foresight also pointed to Frost Anvil.”
Kanos was one of the few demonic humans with the power of foresight, and was in fact, appointed as the successor to Saluzia.
“The disadvantage of Kanos’ foresight is that you can’t get it whenever you want
but it is accurate once it appears.”
As if to help Saluzia, one of the executives spoke in a small voice.
It was Nemea, a demonic human active in the Argon Empire.
The leader of the Devil’s Hand, who had long blue hair, closed her eyes once. She was silent for a moment as she organized her thoughts, before she opened her eyes and said.
“Saluzia.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“What’s your plan?”
“Considering their speed of movement so far, it will take two more days for Cordelia Chase to arrive at Frost Anvil. So before that, I plan to deploy troops at the Great Gate, the only entrance to Frost Anvil, to capture the two.”
It wasn’t a bad plan.
Moreover, the iron man Landius had already left Count Hrésvelgr’s territory and was heading towards the capital.
There would no longer be any unexpected intrusions.
“Saluzia, I will trust you once again.”
“Thank you. I will surely live up to your expectations.”
Saluzia replied, bowing her head deeply when their leader gave her permission.
Koros scornfully laughed at her voice mixed with tears, but in fact, all the executives including him, were deeply fascinated with their leader.
If he were in the same situation, Koros would have reacted similarly.
“Now that the conversation is roughly over, let’s wrap up today’s meeting. May Asmodeus’ favor be with everyone.”
“May her favor be with you.”
As their leader spoke, the executives spoke in one voice.
And after a few seconds, the other executives and everything else disappeared.
Saluzia slowly drew her breath and opened her eyes. In front of her was a large podium instead of a hexagonal star, and her subordinates waiting for her return.
“Master Saluzia.”
Saluzia slowly nodded at the call of Kanos, a demonic human who was so tall that he was nearly two meters in height.
“Our head gave us her permission. But this is our last chance. We have to mobilize all our strength to secure Cordelia Chase.”
Cordelia Chase was clearly a valuable sacrifice to summon a high-ranking demon.
But now, it wasn’t just a simple matter of securing the sacrifice.
In order to keep their leader’s trust and maintain her status among the executives, Cordelia must be captured.
“Demonic humans Farragut and Vilkay, and the demon Sisioth have already reached the vicinity of Frost Anvil. They’re probably building a strongpoint in front of the Great Gate by now.”
They needed to secure the Great Gate before Cordelia Chase arrives, so they had already finished preparation to some extent.
“We must succeed this time.”
“We will definitely succeed. The only entrance to Frost Anvil is through the Great Gate. Moreover, two demonic humans and even a demon have been mobilized this time
so it’s hopeless for them unless the iron man appears again.”
Saluzia agreed with him.
What else could they do if they were ambushed at the only entrance?
Would they be teleporting to get inside Frost Anvil then?
‘That’s ridiculous.’
The ancient Dwarven kingdom collapsed more than a thousand years ago.
Who in this world would have the teleport coordinates that lead to such ancient ruins?
Moreover, teleport magic wasn’t a magic that could be used easily.
Unless they were the legendary fairies who could freely travel through time and space, it was not possible.
“Carry out the plan. May Asmodeus’ favor be with you.”
“May her favor be with you.”
Kanos replied with a smile, and Saluzia had a small smile too.
***
Meanwhile, at the corridor of Frost Anvil’s 1st floor.
Jude suddenly said as he looked at the Great Gate, or more specifically, the inside part of the Great Gate.
“As you know, the monsters will come flocking here.”
“Is it because of the Sunflower?”
“Yes, because the blooming period of the Sunflower is imminent. Most of the monsters in the vicinity mush have already gathered near Frost Anvil.”
The Sunflower gave off a unique scent.
It was impossible to properly smell it with a human’s sense of smell, but it was not the same for monsters.
In addition, the unique scent of the Sunflower had the power to attract monsters.
As the blooming period approached, the scent became thicker, so in the next few days, countless monsters would rush into Frost Anvil.
“The best thing to do is to leave some troops at the Great Gate and defend
”
“But that’s impossible because there’s only the two of us here.”
“That’s right, so there’s only way left.”
They would take advantage of the fact that Frost Anvil was constructed with only a single passage leading to a certain floor.
“If we lay down a bunch of traps on that passage, they’ll die along the way.”
It was a simple but clear answer.
Jude had been drawing magic circles throughout their journey in preparation for today.
“We shouldn’t be disturbed during the time when we harvest the Sunflower, so don’t spare on the magic circles. Let’s completely spread it out.”
“You do know that I’m the one who puts mana in the magic circles, right?”
“I know, ma’am. So I prepared a lot of mana potions.”
“I hate you.”
Jude and Cordelia chatted as usual as they set up magic circles on almost the entire first floor passage. Afterwards, they took a break on the lounge in the 1st floor.
“From this point on, the outline of our plan is simple. All we have to do is go down to the 7th basement floor where the Sunflower will bloom.”
“Do we drop by the armory on the way?”
“Yes.”
Their progression was a little different from the original story.
They would go down to the 7th underground floor to get the Sunflower like the original story, but because of the powerful boss monster that could be encountered on the 7th floor, their plan was to go to the 7th floor only after securing a weapon in the armory to defeat the boss monster.
“We already know what will happen, so we don’t need to walk back and forth.”
First, they would stop by the armory and secure the ‘Power Weapons’ that were the legacy of the ancient dwarves.
“I’m looking forward to the power weapons.”
“In the original story, we could only take the one we needed.”
But this was reality now.
They would certainly be able to pick out and take several items that could be of use to them now.
“New equipment is always welcome.”
“It’s the virtue of RPG to go shopping first when you enter a new town.”
“Oh, you understand that much?”
“It’s one of the pleasures of RPG after all.”
“Yes, mom. Mom is right.”
“Yes, so listen well to what mom has to say.”
The two bantered as always while they securely packed their bags before they finally looked at each other.
“Let’s go.”
The two spoke together as they began walking forward alongside each other.
And at the same time again, in front of the Great Gate, Frost Anvil’s entrance.
“Don’t even let a rat pass.”
Under the command of Farragut, a demonic human with an unusually huge right arm, the combatants of the Devil’s Hand quickly moved and began setting up traps all over the Great Gate.
Demonic human Vilkay, a witch of detection, stared at the south with narrowed eyes. The demon Sisioth, whose whole body was entangled with a seal, creepily laughed.
Capture Cordelia Chase and Jude Bayer at the Great Gate.
‘Saluzia will be pleased. And this time, I will go beyond that bastard Kanos and gain Master Saluzia’s favor.’
Farragut leaked out a low laugh as he stood in front of the Great Gate’s firm door and looked south to where Cordelia and Jude would appear.
But three days later, what appeared in front of demonic human Farragut were countless monsters and not an incomparably beautiful girl and an absolutely handsome boy.