chapter 97

There was something that Lilith hadn’t realised.

Frey had noticed when her Spirit Body arrived and left.

No, to be precise, someone told him.

[Hmph…]

Standing beside Frey with his arms crossed was none other than Asura, Ruler of the Slaughter Hell.

His appearance was as daunting as ever, but it was strange that his overwhelming aura could not be felt at all.

This was because he had not been summoned directly, and his current form was only an illusion meant for communication.

“I didn’t think you’d be able to contact me from your world.”

[It’s possible because I’m a Grand Duke. It’s impossible for even the best Demons.]

“Do you dislike Lilith?”

[Are you really asking me that? She’s an embarrassment to Grand Dukes like me. She’s a cowardly bitch who’s afraid to even leave her territory in the Demon World. If I met her in person, I’d tear her crotch apart.] (TL:…tmi)

Asura’s voice was dripping with malice.

He slowly turned his head to look at Frey.

[Anyway, be careful. I don’t think you need to worry with your mental power, but at least for now, that bitch is still a Grand Duke. You never know if she might have different means to get inside your head.]

“Right. Thanks for the advice.”

He sat down and fell into thought.

‘So it’s a circle member from the Phisfounder Armlets.’

The evidence wasn’t conclusive, but the probability was very high.

This was because he didn’t think there would be anyone from the other circles who would be able to sign a contract with a Grand Duke. (TL:…except him…)

‘A Force Honor? Or is it the Circle Rounder?’

Still, he didn’t think the Circle Master would show up in person.

Then was it the Circle Rounder?

The Circle Rounder of the Phisfounder Armlets was a vampire by the name of Sheryl Roland. This was what Ivan had told him.

He remembered because he said she looked like a girl who didn’t appear to be that old.

“Hmm…”

Frey narrowed his eyes.

One thing was clear at that moment.

If they were acting so carefully, it would be difficult for Frey to find them first.

“Such a headache.”

He was also uncertain if he’d be able to explain the situation even if they met in person.

This was because he was unsure if they would even believe anything he’d say.

He didn’t know if there were any members from the Trowman Rings among them, and he couldn’t tell executives from other circles about his divine power or Riki.

‘…Should I just kill them?’

He thought about it for a moment before deciding against it.

This was because they were people with the potential to help him in his fight against the Demigods.

This meant that he would have to subdue them if he was forced to fight them.

Unfortunately, this wouldn’t be easy since he couldn’t use mana for a while, and it was naturally harder to subdue people than it was to kill them.

Frey looked down at his hand.

Crackle. (TL: considering using this as the sfx for the lightning)

Lightning bounced across his hand.

Although it was only slightly released, the destructive aura of his divine power could be felt clearly.

‘It should be stronger than 7 stars but weaker than 8 stars.’

He was referring to the destructive power of his lightning.

This fact was certainly amazing.

It had only been two months since Frey had first come into contact with divine power, but it had already reached such a high level.

This allowed him to understand a little why Lukes and Oydin had fallen to the allure of divine power.

The thought of achieving such strength without much effort or time was certainly alluring, and the more desperate the person was, the harder it would be for them to escape the temptation after falling into it.

It was a powerful force that came with little risk.

However.

“It’s not so simple.”

It was possible to get strong fast. However, easily gained strength would lead to weakness of their willpower.

That was, in a way, much worse than ruining your body.

There was no way that kind of strength could be gained for free.

But Frey didn’t intend to rely on divine power.

It was but another means to an end. His foundation was firmly embedded in Magical Science, and it was not something that could be shaken.

He had resolved to remain this way for the rest of his life.

“First, I’ll wait for Riki.”

Frey murmured to himself before laying on the bed and extinguishing the candle.

* * *

Riki returned exactly three days later.

He spoke in his characteristically blunt tone.

“I didn’t learn anything. Leyrin wasn’t there, and the head, Isaka Blake, was also away… Ah.”

Then he suddenly paused as if he just remembered something.

“The second son, Heinz Blake, was there.”

“Heinz?”

“Right. He was the one who guided me. However, his timing was too coincidental. He arrived just after I got there.”

“…”

It seemed Riki didn’t know he was a member of the Circle.

Frey thought about sharing that fact for a moment, but he decided against it in the end.

After all, he didn’t fully trust Riki.

‘Heinz…’

Certainly, as Riki said, the timing was too coincidental. Frey felt that there was a very high possibility that Heinz was among the circle members who were monitoring them.

It wasn’t like he wasn’t strong enough.

Riki led him out of the inn while saying.

“Shall we get going?”

That very afternoon, they used the Warp Stone to head to Luanoble.

After the short Warp ended, Frey looked around.

“So this is Luanoble…”

The place that Frey and Riki had arrived at was ‘Lupei’, a city in the Luanoble Kingdom.

Although it wasn’t the capital, it was one of the largest cities in the country.

The Luanoble Kingdom in itself was not small, so Lufei’s appearance was quite grand. The architectural style especially caught his eye.

There were many white, sharp-tipped buildings that looked like swords, giving the entire city a very sharp aura.

“This way.”

Riki’s tone was a bit sharp as he walked ahead.

Frey stopped looking around and followed him.

Riki led him through the back alleys in a skillful manner as though he was familiar with the complex road structure.

“Don’t we have time before the meeting starts?”

“There’s still a month left.”

“Then why are you in such a hurry?”

“The meeting isn’t being held in Lufei.”

“Hmm?”

It was the first time he’d heard of that.

Riki spoke without turning his head.

“Just follow me for now. There’s something I need to do before we go to the meeting.”

He paused for a moment before saying.

“I’ll speed up a little.”

Swish.

He immediately accelerated.

Frey wondered why he’d increased pace so suddenly, but he soon realised it was an effort to lose any pursuers who might have followed them to Lufei.

‘The next warp won’t be for at least four days,’

That thought occurred to him before he realised that with the Circle’s influence, it wouldn’t be impossible to carry out successive warps.

An hour or so passed.

By the time they stopped walking, Frey was slightly out of breath.

Riki glanced at Frey before speaking.

“You are weak, unlike Ivan.”

“…”

How could he compare him to that stamina monster?

Frey looked around, keeping those thoughts to himself

The loud noise of the city sounded faint.

This place was dark even though it was broad daylight as the buildings in the other sections of the city almost completely blocked the sun.

A disgusting smell lingered in the air, and rats could be clearly seen running around the garbage filled streets.

In other words, this was a very dirty place.

Riki pointed to a stairway leading down to a basement and said.

“If you go down there, you will find an old man wearing a straw hat. Ask him for a mask.”

“What mask?”

“If you’re going to the meeting, you need to hide your identity. Didn’t I tell you before? Most of the Apostles will participate in this meeting, but they will all hide their appearances.”

“Are you saying that I’ll be able to hide my appearance if I use that mask?”

“Right. It will completely conceal the aura of your divine power.”

If that was the case, then it would be very useful indeed.

However, there was still something he wanted to know.

“Why aren’t you going with me?”

“The man down there is one of Lord’s men. If I go with you, they would immediately know that you are my Apostle.”

“…”

That made sense.

Frey glanced at the stairs for a while before walking down.

It was an incredibly deep, dark staircase.

Frey slowly stepped deeper into the basement.

‘So long.’

How much farther would he have to go?

Because of the circular structure of the staircase, the light from outside, however little it was, could not reach very far, and by the time Frey felt it would have been polite to place a lightsource, the staircase came to an end.

The basement was very bright.

The light that Frey felt was previously lacking in the stairwell was now overly abundant in the basement.

Frey looked around, noticing the heavy scent of dust.

It was like an old junk shop.

It was large, but it was smelly because many miscellaneous items were piled up like a mountain.

As Frey looked at one strange object after another, he heard a lively voice from behind him.

“Welcome!”

Frey was a bit surprised.

He had not been able to sense the slightest thing before hearing the voice.

“What brings you here?”

Blonde hair, purple eyes and a maid outfit.

None of these things seemed to match the description Riki had given him.

However, Frey’s gaze deepened slightly.

The person before him appeared to be a cheerful girl with moist eyes and a healthy blush on her cheeks. Her body seemed to be brimming with vitality.

Yet he could feel none of it.

“A Golem?”

It was a Golem of extremely high quality.

It was very possible that another person would never have been able to notice this.

Frey thought of Schweiser.

He had been the best puppet master Frey had ever known.

“It seems a very perceptive guest has arrived.”

A man appeared from inside a back room with a relaxed expression. He was a messily dressed man wearing an old straw hat.

He walked over and patted the girl’s shoulder.

“Aeri, head back for now.”

“Yes, Master.”

The girl called Aeri gave a bright smile before heading to the back of the store.

“I apologise if that made you uncomfortable.”

“It’s fine.”

“That’s good then.”

The man then sat on a stool and spread his arms.

“Welcome to Hector’s General Store. Ah. For reference, I’m Hector.”

“…”

“You’re quite a tight-lipped customer.”

Hector grumbled.

Frey ignored his words and stated his reason for being there.

“I came to get a mask.”

“Ay. You’re a boring customer too.”

He scratched his head for a moment before heading inside.

After a while, he returned with a white mask in his hand. The mask had a crying face printed on it and was covered in dust as though it had been poorly stored for a long time.

Hector glanced at Frey as he brushed the dust from the mask.

Hector’s expression then changed, and his mouth opened wide as he spotted the bracelet on Frey’s wrist.

“H-, huk..”

His entire body convulsed slightly, and he jerked his head up to look at Frey.

A strange light shined in Hector’s eyes.

“…E-, excuse me. But would you mind if I took a look at that bracelet?”