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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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Chapter 186: Black Baltahar
A memory that anyone who participated in the expedition couldn't possibly forget.
Iosa, the renowned demon and last Demon Earl, and Pelleer Samael, who annihilated him.
I looked at the sentence written in the record once again.
[Day 1,527.
The Ion Mercenary Corps was annihilated by a cunning attack from the Black Clan. But we had the great Sky Sword. It was Aiolli Baltahar who finally beheaded Iosa, the leader of the Black Clan.]
iosa was disguised as a member of the Black Clan, and the name written instead of Pelleer Samael was Aiolli Baltahar.
I remembered that knight too.
Baltahar's teenage swordsman who was killed by Iosa's blow.
I closed the book for a moment and leaned against the makeshift bedding near the window.
I can't quite tell how much time has passed.
Perhaps it's been about three or four days since I came up to the 4th floor.
Only now do I feel parched, so I grab a bottle of water from the table and look out the window.
Dark clouds billow in the night sky.
"Whew."
Clearly fabricated records.
But I was calmer than expected.
Perhaps it was because I had already anticipated it to some extent, even if I hadn't brought those thoughts to the surface.
Samael's past has disappeared, and the demons that reappeared have colluded with humans.
And... the fabricated records of the expedition.
Facing the most likely scenario, it's this:
'It was the demons who erased the records about Samael.'
What's certain is that the demons existing in the present world know about the records of the expedition.
That Samael fell.
That the incantation magic disappeared.
It's highly likely that the demons did it all.
Because the biggest threat to them was the incantation magic and Samael.
It feels like the fog is clearing.
However, one unanswered question remains...
'Is there any reason to manipulate things this way?'
They are cunning bastards.
I can't quite grasp it.
If I had to guess, it would be 'to make the demons appear weak'.
That too can't be a clear reason.
Is there any reason to tamper with books that are hard to find in this way?
* * *
"Ugh."
As soon as I wiped the drool from the corner of my mouth, I looked out the window to see dawn breaking.
To be honest, it was hard to tell day from night because the shadow of the barrier cast over the window was so thick.
As soon as I got up, I heard a cracking sound from my back.
"Damn, I almost threw out my back."
My whole body is stiff.
I took a short nap after checking all the books on the 4th floor, but it doesn't seem like I just slept for a few hours.
This is why regular rest is important for people.
After grabbing a few snacks from the table, I slowly moved to one place.
The stairs leading to the last unopened area, the 5th floor.
I had already scanned all the books on the 4th floor, but I couldn't find any more records about the expedition.
In the end, I have no choice but to go to the next floor.
As I continued to climb the steep stairs, I felt the remnants of a strong magic circle scanning my body. After climbing for a long time, the 5th floor of the library appeared.
It was magnificent.
There were far fewer books than on the 4th floor, but it felt twice as spacious.
Splendid decorations were everywhere, and there were chairs and spaces for resting.
Once again, I started checking the books one by one, starting with the bookcase on the far left.
There were books related to the history of the continent, and then books related to magic caught my eye.
Each title was extraordinary.
[Manifestation of Incantation Imagery: Part 1]
[Study of Ancient Incantations: Focusing on Magic Circles]
'Ancient incantations?'
A title caught my eye, and I pulled out a thick book.
I definitely remember Mahon talking about ancient incantations or something.
As soon as I opened the book and read a few lines, I let out a hollow laugh.
'So, ancient incantations refer to the 7th Circle.'
Although the specific method was not specified, it described the 7th Circle incantation, which we used to manifest in the past, as magic that mages had to cooperate to manifest through a magic circle.
It was full of useless information.
While closing the book and moving to the next bookcase, I suddenly looked to the right.
In the resting area by the window, someone in white clothes was reading a book with their back to the window.
'A mage? Or the librarian of the 5th floor?'
Curiosity got the better of me, and as I approached, I suddenly smelled a familiar scent from somewhere.
Thud—
As soon as I took a few steps, I stopped and looked back at the end of the opposite aisle.
'What?'
A faint sense of murderous intent.
A murderous intent in the 5th floor library of the White Magic Tower?
I slowly approached the direction from which the murderous intent was coming.
The end of the aisle in front of me was blocked by another bookcase.
As soon as I reached the end of the aisle, folding screens for the rest area were densely placed on both sides like a partition, obstructing my view.
The faint murderous intent was still emanating from the right side.
I slowly began to lift each folding screen one by one.
I moved towards the corner of the library, and the moment I lifted the fifth screen.
Grab—
I immediately ducked to avoid the murderous intent and reached out my right hand toward the opponent's wrist.
The sensation of cutting through the air the moment I thought I had grabbed it.
The moment I felt the murderous intent stabbing towards my left shoulder without even a moment to check the opponent.
I immediately opened the circle of my heart and concentrated wind pressure in my right hand.
The murderous intent disappears the moment fist and fist collide.
Only then did I see the opponent's face.
"...Black Star?"
"Nice to meet you."
Black Star, who had disappeared from the Demon Realm, was here.
In an instant, an aura stretched out from Black Star's body and completely enveloped the rest area within the folding screen.
"Samael's eldest son, Ruin Samael."
Strangely, the first emotion I felt when I saw him again was...
How surprisingly natural his informal speech was.
The atmosphere was like that.
It was so natural that I didn't feel offended at all.
But when it comes to informal speech, there's one guy who's never outdone, anywhere, anytime – and that's me.
"Where'd you disappear to after the Demon Realm?"
"Slipping away isn't that hard. I was up North for a while."
As expected, he didn't find my informal speech the least bit awkward.
While inwardly pleased, I saw Black Star looking at me.
"I'm Black Baltahar."
"So your name is Black, huh? What are you doing here?"
"Waiting for you."
I tilted my head and asked,
"You knew I'd come here?"
"It wasn't hard to deduce. You'd want to find evidence about the demons too."
"Hmm."
"I wanted to meet you, Ruin Samael."
I met Black's eyes.
This was the first time I'd seen his face up close, and I had to admit, it wasn't a pleasant feeling.
This is probably what the Sword Saint would have looked like in his youth.
To put it bluntly, he had the kind of face that would make gangster molls go wild in my past life.
But somehow, his personality was different from what I'd heard.
'I heard he was quite the arrogant bastard.'
The first son of the Baltahar clan.
Evaluated as a once-in-a-millennium genius, but with a personality that ignores the clan precepts and does whatever he pleases.
But the guy in front of me didn't seem like that.
"Rumors really can't be trusted. I wanted to meet you too."
As we locked eyes, we both sensed there was no need to beat around the bush.
After leaving the Demon Realm, the person I wanted to meet most was standing right in front of me.
Black was likely the one who knew the most about the demons.
Black looked at me.
"We don't have much time, so I'll get straight to the point. Has there been any sign of demon infiltration in the Samael clan?"
"...That's a strange question. No."
"That's odd."
Suddenly, as I mulled over his question, I raised my eyes and looked at Black.
Black nodded.
"There has been in ours."
"Seems like you don't know who it is."
"We only have suspicions. But it's definitely there. Both in the main clan and in the North. There have been several strange occurrences."
"What about the other noble clans?"
"I hope not. But it's highly likely."
Black looked at me once again.
"There have been signs of them trying to infiltrate our clan from deep within for a long time. You have to take a step back to see it. It wasn't until recently that I realized their roots were demonic."
"...."
"The records about demons first appeared 300 years ago. Let me ask you something. Did Samael also participate in the final expedition?"
"So you know that much."
"Indeed. Samael... is one of the clans that were erased, right?"
"What?"
Black was closer to the truth of the past than I had anticipated.
Is this something only Black knows?
Or is it something the entire Baltahar clan is aware of?
As I remained silent for a moment, looking around the aura-enveloped space, Black said,
"Don't worry. The sound is blocked. The flow of the magic circle doesn't reach here."
"Seems like you don't trust the White Magic Tower."
Black nodded.
"The 13 floor Lords are trustworthy. But I can't trust everyone."
I looked directly at Black.
"What's the basis for your assumption that it was erased?"
"The records about the expedition. There are gaps. It wasn't long ago that I found that strange too."
"Tell me more."
"I can't trust any of the records about the expedition. It's possible that the records about our clan have also been distorted."
"Who else knows about this?"
"All the direct descendants know about the expedition itself. But I haven't revealed my assumptions. There's a high probability that there's a demon among them. It's probably the same for the other noble clans."
I suddenly recalled the fabricated record about the expedition that I had found on the 4th floor.
Perhaps the purpose of manipulating the record was because of the noble clans.
The noble clans had enough merit to enter the 4th floor.
If the noble clans knew something about the expedition, they might have realized that the record was about the expedition.
However, it's highly likely they don't know it's been fabricated.
I suddenly looked at Black and asked,
"Do you know anything about the guy with the white half-mask? He targeted you in the Demon Realm."
Black's eyes gleamed as he looked at me.
"That's right. They're the ones related to the demons. But I don't know about the white half-mask. I have seen the Asura half-mask, half male and half female, in the North."
"Indeed, there was more than one with a half-mask."
I paused for a moment before saying,
"Myriad Demon Assembly."
"Myriad Demon Assembly?"
"That's what they call themselves."
Silence fell.
Black, who had been lost in thought with his head bowed for a long time, suddenly looked at me and muttered,
"The magic of Samael that I saw in the Demon Realm... It defied my common sense."
"Ask away."
"...How much do you know about the truth of the expedition?"
"I said ask away."
Black looked directly at me and asked,
"Samael, how far did you survive in the final expedition?"
I told Black the truth.
"To the very end."
As Black fell silent again, I happened to glance down at the crystal ball attached to the ring on my lapel.
The crystal ball that Karios had given me, saying he would contact me instead of sending a letter if something urgent came up.
'Hmm.'
A blue light was swirling in the transparent crystal ball.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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