MTM 133

Thud.

Zed broke the silence and set the luggage he was carrying on the floor. The Seeker had already taken a seat in the room. His eyes sparkled as if he could see exactly what was inside the bag.

‘I would prefer to speak in private. It will be much more comfortable for you as well.’

The proposal the Seeker had made before they entered the room lingered in Zed’s mind. He couldn’t help but think that the man knew something. He felt uneasy, but he could not corner the other person without clear evidence.

Since the most important thing for Zed right now was to extract as much information as possible regarding the Demon God’s fragments from the Seeker, he decided to wrap things up as quickly as possible.

“Uh… then… I just need to do my job and leave, right?”

Ser stood behind Zed, unable to hide his anxiety.

Through information he had already gathered from the snow fairies, the Seeker knew that Zed possessed the ‘Demon King’s Essence.’ To verify its existence, they had to go through the tedious process where Ser would undo the alchemical sealing formula, and then reseal it once the confirmation was finished.

Ser carefully unwrapped the layers of cloth while looking at Zed. As he removed the barriers Zed had set up with holy power one by one, Demon King’s Essence, trapped inside an amber gem and shimmering with a faint light, was revealed.

“So this is it…”

The Seeker quietly approached and stared at it for a long time, he even held his breath. His persistent and scrutinizing gaze made Zed’s eyebrows twitch.

“You’ve seen it, so that’s enough. Ser, seal it again.”

As Zed hurriedly put up the barrier again, Ser layered the sealing formula over it to imprison the Demon King’s Essence. When it returned to its original state in the blink of an eye, the Seeker wore a look of disappointment.

However, he didn’t resist or interfere until the sealing was complete. Once Ser finished the final touches and left the room, leaving only Zed and the Seeker, Ren, the air became even heavier than before.

“Hmm…”

The Seeker sat on a bright chair in the corner of the room and slowly began to speak.

“You must be well aware of the Demon King, whom the allied nations and the priests of the Holy Kingdom, Carseon, managed to put to rest 300 years ago at the cost of their lives.”

There was no way he didn’t know. The history that the Demon King was sealed after a desperate war between humans and monsters that lasted for centuries, and that today’s peace was built upon that sacrifice, was a fact every citizen of the empire learned.

“But it didn’t just end peacefully.”

There was a deep resonance in the voice of the Seeker as he whispered softly.

“The Demon King is originally an unbeliever. He is an existence that frontally denies the laws and causality of the world designed by God. His power isn’t just about having strong mana. His mere existence twists the causality around him and destroys every domain that divine power hasn’t touched. It’s like hot flames suddenly freezing or a flowing river stopping. According to records, everywhere the Demon King’s touch reached, life withered, the earth rotted, and even the flow of time stopped.”

The Seeker paused for a moment and looked at Zed.

“In other words, he was a living disaster. Since there was no way to completely get rid of the source of that powerful and persistent evil, the priests had to choose a desperate measure: dividing the Demon King’s body into pieces and sealing them in various places. The heart, the essence, the blood vessels, and the spinal cord… Later, people came to call these the ‘Fragments of the Demon God.’”

Among the parts of the Demon King’s body said to be divided into four pieces, Zed felt an indescribable dissonance specifically at the word ‘heart.’

“Why do you think the Regnovar Empire was able to trample other allied nations and reign as such a massive superpower? It isn’t because they are righteous or great. It’s simply the result of getting their hands on that ‘Demon King’s Essence’ before us and taking that greedy power.”

The Seeker was disgusted by the foul behavior the emperors of the Regnovar Empire had committed using the Demon King’s Essence. The ugly truth hidden behind the empire’s brilliant history was being laid bare through the Seeker’s mouth.

Zed also knew well enough that countless histories of blood were engraved behind the glorious splendor the Regnovar Empire enjoyed. However, the fact that its roots originated from a foul legacy like the ‘Fragments of the Demon God’ was shocking to him.

“If the empire gained the power to rule the continent for generations with just one fragment, what happens if all the remaining fragments are combined?”

“A fragment must remain a fragment. When you have one, it might be a power to stabilize the world, but the moment they are joined into one… it won’t be a simple combination of power, but the resurrection of a disaster and the end of the world.”

“Resurrection… Are you saying the Demon King is being resurrected right now?”

Zed’s eyes widened. He knew that the sealed Demon King’s body was fragmented and scattered, but the story that gathering them again would lead to the Demon King’s resurrection was a problem on a completely different level.

The image of Harto, who had tried to swallow the Demon King’s Essence by digging through Magnus’s body, suddenly flashed through Zed’s mind. At the same time, an afterimage from the dream that had made his heart heavy this morning flickered. The small heart held in his hand… maybe that was…

‘No. That… that can’t be.’

Zed bit his lip. He tried to deny it by telling himself he was going too far. Even though he thought it might be a hasty judgment, his palms were damp with sweat as he couldn’t hide his anxiety.

The Seeker noticed Zed’s state. He suddenly stood up and took a step toward Zed.

“By the way, Lord Zed. How is the condition of that monster by your side? I believe you called him Harto.”

Zed glared at the Seeker when he suddenly mentioned Harto.

“What do you mean by that?”

His expression suggested the man wouldn’t be safe if he uttered even a single word of nonsense about Harto.

“When an individual with a heart absorbs a fragment, ‘that thing’ is no longer an independent living being. It’s only an empty shell, a vessel, to call forth the Demon King.”

“…A vessel?”

As the Seeker continued explaining, Zed’s mind went cold as if he had been doused with ice water. He felt an indescribable revulsion at the Seeker’s attitude of treating Harto as an object rather than a living being, referring to him as “it.” He quietly clenched his fist.

“He probably harbored that heart since birth. Perhaps his real heart was eaten long ago, and he is barely clinging to life with the mana emitted by the Demon King’s heart.”

“Clinging to life? Ha. That’s a very interesting guess. But if it’s just a groundless hypothesis, you should be more careful when you wag your tongue.”

Zed warned in a low voice as if he were about to draw his sword at any moment.

However, the Seeker’s eyes sparkled, seemingly unconcerned by even Zed’s killing intent. On the contrary, he enjoyed the sight of Zed losing his calm over a monster.

He spoke with a relaxed expression.

“…What is known is that as long as he possesses the Demon King’s heart, that monster is nothing but a walking lump of disaster.”

In that moment, the air in the room froze. In the suffocating silence, the Seeker drove in one more cruel stake.

“So, it’s best to end the monster’s life before it’s too late—”

“Shut your mouth!”

Zed’s loud scream shattered the chill that filled the room. He didn’t want to hear such ridiculous nonsense anymore.

“Your sophistry is nothing but vulgar nonsense.”

Zed’s chest heaved as he muttered like an animal growl. Every breath he took felt like he was swallowing a fireball. Hearing such low-level delusions from someone who didn’t know a single thing about Harto made him repulsed.

“Oh…”

The Seeker shrugged with a relaxed smile. He had already expected Zed’s intense reaction.

“Are you saying you’ll ignore the truth now that you’ve got all the information you wanted?”

“Get out.”

“That’s a shame. Sir Isadora didn’t promise me this kind of treatment…”

“I said get out right now!!”

Zed yelled and threw the door open. The door hit the wall, and the companions waiting outside looked at Zed with surprised expressions. But Zed didn’t care about their gazes.

“I’m disappointed… I heard Prince Ares was a merciful man yet ruthless toward his enemies, but to think you’d lose your reason like this over a mere monster.”

The Seeker already knew Zed’s true identity. However, Zed didn’t hesitate. Whether his identity was revealed or not didn’t matter anymore. The insults towards Harto made his eyes turn red with fury.

How dare someone like you define Harto! Zed spoke while barely holding onto his reason.

“Disappear from my sight immediately. Before I cut out that disgusting tongue of yours.”

Zed once again ordered the Seeker to leave with a terrifying, murderous look on his face.