Chapter 108: Chapter 108
Pondering for a moment why he had failed to notice an opponent who had approached this close, Shan realized that the sound of his still violently pounding heart was interfering with his hearing.
Only then did his thoughts reach the ring he was wearing on his right hand.
The magic item that heightened the five senses, which he had worn constantly ever since receiving it from Count of Shedil…
As he removed it, all of his senses dulled, and the effect the incense had on his body also noticeably diminished.
‘To think it would have this kind of side effect.’
He had thought it was purely good since it was a magic item that enhanced abilities, but sometimes excess was no better than deficiency.
Engraving this new realization into his mind, Shan paid attention to the opponent before his eyes.
The public evaluation of the Marquis of Beshalia was strictly that of an ‘aged noble young master.’
They said he was an immature human who had lived in luxury without knowing hardship since childhood, only growing up in body.
Because of that, Cheryn had also presumed that the Marquis was likely just a puppet controlled by Yure.
Judging by the words he had babbled just a moment ago, however, that presumption seemed to be wrong.
Since he had felt the control disappear the moment Yure died, at least his remarks were not made under control.
As Shan quietly placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, the Marquis raised both hands in surprise and shouted.
“Wait, wait! Let us talk! I will be dead soon anyway. I stabbed myself with a manticore poison needle. At most, I have about twenty or thirty minutes left.”
He had heard of a manticore’s poison needle before.
A potent lethal poison that even ordinary priests could not cure…
Whether those words were true or not, it was certain that his physical condition was far from normal.
For the Marquis’s face was stained purple.
“Why did you stab yourself with a poison needle?”
Since he had openly revealed that he had colluded with monsters, there was no need to use respectful language just because the opponent was a Marquis.
The Marquis laughed frivolously as he replied.
“Then what else was I to do here? Having used up every scheme for this plan and failed. Even if I fled on a ship, I would lose my territory, wander around, and die miserably like a beggar! Rather than that, I intended to end it cleanly. I dislike suffering, you see.”
In his own way, it was not wrong.
Even though it was truly disgusting of him to say such a thing after sponsoring Elvin and throwing the youth of the south into death.
“If so, it would have been better for you not to appear before me.”
“That is true, but, well… a person’s heart does not always go as intended, you know? When my time to die came, leaving just like that felt a bit regrettable.”
The Marquis looked up at the sky and spoke as if complaining to himself.
“Have you ever felt something like that? When you come up with a truly magnificent blueprint, but it doesn’t go as well as expected and falls apart, that urge to brag about the blueprint to anyone, just to show how grand what we envisioned was.”
“I have no ties to creation.”
“Dear me, try it if you have the chance later. It isn’t bad. At any rate, that is the reason I bothered to reveal myself. I also wanted to have a chat with humanity’s strongest knight before I died. As luck would have it, you also have quite a few things you are curious about, don’t you? It should be a win-win for both of us.”
Shan hesitated for a moment before nodding.
If the bastard were going to pull some trick, the golden opportunity would have been a moment ago when Shan was incapacitated by Yure.
Since the effect of the incense would fade as time passed anyway, whether the claim of dying from poison was true or false, time was on his side.
However, that did not mean he had to be dragged along by the pace the bastard led.
“Ugh!”
Hit in the stomach by a kick thrown out of nowhere, the Marquis was choked of breath and fell backward without even being able to scream.
Shan firmly stomped on the Marquis’s back to suppress him so he could not move.
Shedding tears in torrents from the pain and gagging, he barely recovered his breath and cried out.
“W-Why hit me all of a sudden! Ugh! If I knew it would be like this, I would have just crawled into a corner of some tower and died alone!”
“Because it’s pathetic to see a traitor who colluded with monsters acting so relaxed. So, is succubus this creature’s title?”
Beating him up out of nowhere, stepping on him, and then interrogating him for information.
Tilting his head back with difficulty, the Marquis looked up at Shan with an incredulous expression.
Shan added force to the foot stepping on him.
“If you don’t want to hurt more before you die, hurry up and answer.”
After a moment of silence, the Marquis burst out giggling even as he broke out in a cold sweat from the pain of the beating.
It seemed he found the current situation amusing.
“My word, you are no less of a lunatic yourself… Yes, that’s right! You likely haven’t heard of it. Yure lived quite a long time, but she said she had never seen another succubus besides herself. Though not as rare as dragons, it seems to be a high-ranking species that doesn’t appear easily. Or perhaps they are all living hidden away, quiet as dead mice somewhere.”
Both were possibilities, but Shan presumed it would be the former.
That was how extraordinarily powerful her charm magic had been.
To the point that thinking several were hidden in the human world felt like a terrible disaster.
“What was your relationship with Yure? Seeing as it is, it doesn’t seem like you were coerced into following her under threat.”
“Lovers? Companions? Sponsors? Guardians? Truth be told, I don’t really know either. Yure probably doesn’t know well either. Well, isn’t it enough if a man and woman share physical affection?”
Judging by how he casually babbled about a monster being a lover or companion, he seemed to be quite a lost cause of a human.
Shan asked about the topic he was most curious about, and at the same time, the one the Marquis must have been dying to talk about.
“Did you want to manipulate Pendia from behind the scenes?”
“Something like that. To be precise, the plan was to turn Pendia into a country completely ruled by monsters. By manipulating the upper echelon, we would insert intelligent monsters capable of mimicking humans one by one (like high vampires, werewolves, or Rakshasas and Skinwalkers of the Southern Continent) and eventually replace the entire upper echelon of the kingdom.”
“Why on earth? That creature aside, you are human, aren’t you?”
Judging by the feeble reaction when kicked earlier, the Marquis of Beshalia was clearly human.
To the natural question, he answered without hesitation.
“It was something my lover desired… and above all, it seemed fun. When you enjoy all kinds of pleasures, mediocre pastimes no longer satisfy you, heh.”
“I don’t find it particularly amusing.”
At the statement that he did all this simply because it was ‘fun,’ Shan repeatedly trampled on the Marquis’s back with his heel.
In pain so intense it felt as though his internal organs were bursting, he inhaled, exhaled, and groaned repeatedly.
When Shan eased the pressure on his foot a moment later, the panting Marquis continued speaking.
“Yure was an interesting child. Even though she was a monster, she felt very lonely and wanted to form a group. I do not know whether it is a characteristic of succubi or a personal trait of hers. Gathering a band of vampires, as well as creating the Brotherhood, was because she was convinced that Altoans were definitely half-breeds of monsters and humans, believing they could coexist someday.”
“What kind of nonsense is that again?”
Altoans being half-breeds of monsters and humans? Why was a mere monster spouting the kind of nonsense that only Old Faith zealots would say?
“That is the exact same thing I said when I first heard it! For your information, the final piece to complete that plan was none other than you. If only you had shared flesh with Yure a moment ago, it would have turned out that way.”
Upon hearing those words, the unpleasant memory from earlier resurfaced, and Shan put weight back on the foot stepping on the Marquis.
Gurgle! A sound of escaping breath emerged, as if his lungs were being compressed.
“I wanted to ask about that anyway. The venereal disease the King and Elvin suffered from: that was your doing, right? What exactly is its purpose?”
“You already knew that as well… It is a venereal disease called the ‘Black Death’ brought from the Southern Continent. Yure modified it with magic, cultured it directly in her womb, and made it so that it could replace the brain of the infected target to exert influence.”
Boasting that it was an achievement made thanks to a succubus, naturally born with powerful charm magic, spending a long time researching magic, the Marquis spoke with a proud expression as if he had accomplished it himself.
It was all content that matched terrifyingly well with what Cheryn had anticipated.
To think that infection by a magical creature would mean something like this.
“With such a powerful charm magic, why bother with that?”
“Charm magic is not omnipotent. There are a few sacred relics that detect it, and it weakens when the distance grows far. Its efficacy also degrades over time. In contrast, control mediated by the ‘Black Death’ is far more powerful and semi-permanent.”
As Shan listened to the story, he felt cold sweat trickle down his spine.
Because it meant that if he had failed to regain his senses from the subtle incongruity and had simply given in to desire, he would have contracted that terrible disease.
Then he would have ended up becoming Yure’s plaything, just like the King or Elvin.
“The reason you weren’t infected?”
“We shared love while avoiding the infected parts. Being controlled by Yure wouldn’t have been bad either, but hiring a High Priest to continuously receive treatment was difficult due to circumstances.”
The Marquis of Beshalia, giggling and making strange hand gestures with both hands, soon babbled on about things he hadn’t even been asked.
Things like how it was quite difficult to bring it because it was a rare disease even in the Southern Continent, or how there were various trial and errors in the process of Yure modifying it with magic to culture it directly in her womb.
He also talked about how they tried to weaken the disease, which had acquired an excessively lethal lethality compared to the original during the process of granting magical power, but it didn’t go well.
“Among those, the easiest part was infecting the King and Elvin. When I subtly showed Yure to them, they snapped her right up. There was no need to even use charm magic.”
“It must have been quite a while since Gizel III contracted the disease. Don’t tell me you’ve been controlling him since back then?”
“That is not the case. As I mentioned earlier, there were quite a few trials and errors. Since this wasn’t as easy as expected. The moment we became able to completely control the King was when Elvin brought him to Beshalia with his illness deepened.”
Bragging that thanks to that, he was able to wake the King while controlling him, and infect Elvin as well, the Marquis chatteringly boasted.
Listening to this, Shan felt relieved inwardly.
Whether those words were true or not, it meant Cheryn’s hatred toward the King had been justified.
“However, from that point on, opinions split a bit between us. I simply wanted to unify Pendia using Elvin as the linchpin while controlling him, but Yure wanted you.”
“Me?”
“Yes. That child wanted to make you the King of the Altoans. By controlling you and then linking Princess Cheryn as well, dominating the two of you to rule Pendia from behind.”
Only then could Shan understand why Elvin had begun to crumble so helplessly at some point.
For today’s attack, Yure had thrown away the piece named Elvin as bait while drawing Shan in.
That method had even come dangerously close to succeeding.
If Yure had succeeded in controlling Shan, they would have been able to escape Beshalia without much trouble.
If, in that state, they had all gone up to Hasra, controlled Shan to attack the defenseless Cheryn, and infected her with the disease…
As this came to mind, Shan, feeling unpleasant once more, firmly stomped on the Marquis’s back again.
Yet for some reason, instead of groans or screams like before, dark purple blood poured from his mouth this time.
“Time… cough, has come.”
It seemed the manticore’s poison had begun to act in earnest.
Watching the muscles of his entire body tremble violently, Shan removed the foot he was stepping with.
Even without doing such a thing, the Marquis was suffering pain to the degree that he could not twitch a single finger.
“You said you hated suffering, yet you kill yourself in a damnably painful way.”
“P-Pain is… only… for a moment…”
Contrary to his words, the Marquis of Beshalia writhed in horrific pain for nearly five minutes after that before breathing his last.
Even that was likely not as great as the price he would have had to pay while alive.
Just before dying, the last thing he looked upon was the miserable sight of his lover, dead with her neck broken while naked.
*
While Shan went up to the Marquis’s castle first, Roden devoted himself to securing the harbor district, the heart of Beshalia.
Above all else, the warship, which was like the symbol of this city, had to be firmly brought under control.
Because it would become the most potent means for Pendia to project power onto the sea in the future.
“Are there any more guys on the ship?”
“There are none!”
“Good. Maintain a thorough watch just in case.”
As dozens of men could steal a ship and flee out of nowhere amidst the confusion, Roden mixed and deployed southern soldiers who were relatively skilled in seamanship alongside loyal Palles-Shedil soldiers.
As a bonus, trade ships that had come from other regions were also prevented from leaving the harbor.
Because it would be troublesome if key figures escaped by stealthily blending in.
While he was engrossed in his duties like that, a soldier ran over in haste and shouted.
“Vice Commander! The Commander has returned!”
At the news of Shan’s return, Roden nodded calmly.
He had been a little anxious since Shan was alone, but he did not think that the strongest warrior of the Arman Alliance would truly be in danger.
Contrary to his expectation that it would have gone smoothly, however, Shan’s face upon returning looked exhausted, as if he had fought a tremendous battle.
“…Did something happen?”
“Yeah. A whole lot of things, really.”
Properly dividing stories that could be told and stories that could not be told was something Shan’s mind found difficult to accomplish on the spot, so he felt he would have to ponder it one way or another.
However, there were also stories he could pass on without burden.
Shan thrust out the purple-stained head toward Vico behind him.
“This is…”
“It is the head of the Marquis of Beshalia. He killed himself with poison. Impale it on a spear and hang it in the square.”
“U-Understood.”
Even so, the thought of whether it was acceptable to handle a figure of a Marquis’s stature in such a manner crossed his mind, but like a faithful retainer, Vico chose obedience over doubt.
The one who raised an objection instead was Roden.
“The citizens’ backlash will be severe.”
“Seeing what is with it, they won’t be able to think that. Look at that.”
“Huh? Uh…”
Where Shan pointed stood Arwin, and on the beast’s saddle, a grey-skinned girl was loaded naked.
Elvin, who had been carried alongside, was in the middle of being led down by soldiers.
“Isn’t she an Altoan?”
“That is Yure. She wasn’t human, but a type of monster called a succubus. The Marquis of Beshalia didn’t just collude with a monster; he straight up made it his lover and kept it around.”
At the truly horrifying story, not only Roden but also others in the surroundings gasped for breath.
Taking a monster as a lover: it was a story far more terrible than a shepherd committing bestiality with sheep or goats.
Even if it were a being that looked so similar to a human at a glance as to be mistaken for an Altoan.
“Is that really a monster? Except for the wings and skin, she looks human…”
“When I cut open her chest, even a mana stone came out. Ah, Tavera?”
“Yes, my lord!”
“Take a few soldiers, go up to the Marquis’s castle, and collect the ashes around the banquet hall. They are the remains of a high vampire. The incense inside is an aphrodisiac, so hold your breath when you go in and throw it away somewhere. The Marquis’s butler will tell you the location.”
“Understood!”
Having received the order, Tavera led the soldiers and headed straight up the hill.
After giving instructions to take control of the Marquis’s castle, Shan briefly summarized and told Roden what had happened above.
Omitting all stories like the venereal disease controlling the royal family of Pendia, limiting it to the extent that they tried to cast powerful mind magic through Yure to control him.
Having heard the entire story, Roden groaned softly.
“That’s dangerous.”
“What is?”
“Now that it has been revealed that a monster resembling humans to that extent exists, perhaps it might bring a bad influence upon Altoans as well.”
“…Ah.”
Come to think of it, had Shan also initially looked at Yure’s peculiar pupils and thought of her as just an Altoan with slightly strange eyes?
Even now, having revealed her true form, she had an appearance that could be argued to be just a severely mutated Altoan.
Perhaps her creating the Brotherhood while spouting that Altoans were half-breeds of monsters and humans was also because of that.
Because she wanted to find her identity anywhere she could.
“It can’t be helped. That is the indisputable proof that Elvin and the Marquis of Beshalia colluded with monsters.”
“Well, I wasn’t saying we should keep it a secret either. Knowing that such a thing exists allows us to prepare for it, after all.”
The only saving grace was that even if a succubus’s body was not vulnerable to silver like a vampire’s, it reacted negatively to miracles of purification and could not receive blessings.
Just as the procedure of touching silver at important events had been formalized into custom to block the approach of vampires, it seemed they could have people tested by receiving purification miracles periodically.
Yure’s corpse was displayed for a day right next to where the Marquis of Beshalia’s head was hung, and then placed in cold storage.
As a monster that had not been discovered all this time, mages would later figure out through all sorts of experiments whether there were usable parts in her body.
Of course, before that, those terrible germs would have to be disposed of separately.
Since the deceased Marquis had left behind no wife or children, the one who could be called an heir was his younger cousin, the port manager of Beshalia.
Holding the rank of Baron, he was bound after surrendering alongside the port guards, and upon hearing the horrific declaration that his older cousin had not only colluded with a monster but committed bestiality, he nearly foamed at the mouth.
“T-That is a lie! That cannot be! Do you have proof, proof! No matter who you are…”
Daring to shout loudly in front of Shan and deny it was because it would not end with merely the Marquis’s personal immorality.
With charges of this magnitude, it would be treated as the crime of the entire House of Irenble to which he belonged, so even if they were excommunicated and demoted to commoners, they would have no right to complain.
“There is plenty of proof. Not only do we have testimony that the succubus Yure, hunted this time, accompanied the Marquis as his concubine to official occasions and various places, but we also secured testimonies from servants that they shared a bed privately multiple times.”
“Ah, ah…”
“And I shall testify as well. For I personally saw the Marquis of Beshalia not only turning a blind eye to Elvin’s atrocities but even abetting them!”
The one chiming in from the side was none other than High Priest Kaizal, the King’s direct healer.
Having been kidnapped and dragged along during Elvin’s escape from Hasra, he had to treat Elvin’s illness continuously while traveling back and forth between the underground dungeon and aboveground.
As such, he had seen and heard much on the inside, supporting Shan’s assertion.
Toward the Baron kneeling in despair, Shan declared that all titles held by nobles belonging to the House of Irenble, including him, would be forfeited to the royal family.
Now, they had secured not only the actual power over all of Beshalia but also nominal authority.
It was the moment when the civil war that had lasted for several years came to an end, and all territories of Pendia were unified under a single faction.