Volume 5, Chapter 26 – The Demon Hidden Beneath the Sunlight

Guided by the [Omniscient Map], Yisi arrived at an alley. While the main streets of the Royal Capital Alvier were free of vagrants and starving slaves, that didn’t mean they didn’t exist; they had just been driven to the corners of the city to survive in a different place.

This was the so-called slum.

In an alley near the slum, Yisi found the person she had been concerned about.

Augustin Riel.

Dressed in his blue magic robe, he was being cornered against a wall by a group of fierce-looking, bare-chested men.

The man in the lead tapped a large club in his hand. With a rather arrogant attitude, he tilted his chin up slightly, looking down on the much frailer Augustin.

“Yo, we don’t see many magic chanters in these parts. A magic chanter lord coming near the slums all alone should be careful not to get bitten by the stray dogs on the road. The dogs around here are the type that won’t let go once they’ve tasted blood.” The man’s eyes shifted. “However, if you give us a little protection money, we can drive away those stray dogs for you. Otherwise, we’re really worried if a small frame like yours can make it out of this alley.”

It was just robbery in another guise.

Besides the leader, the other men also took out knives from their pockets. Anyone could see that if Augustin didn’t comply, this group of men would leave him here forever.

However, Augustin neither showed fear nor put on an air of noble arrogance. On the contrary, his bespectacled face held only a gentle smile.

“May I ask how much protection money is required?”

“Well…” Seemingly surprised that Augustin would comply so readily, the leader was stunned for a moment. An ill-intentioned smile appeared on his face as he looked Augustin up and down. “This staff of yours seems quite nice, my lord magic chanter. To be able to afford a staff like this, you must not be short on gold coins. Let me think… besides the staff, another ten gold coins. Do that, and we’ll guarantee you won’t be bitten by any stray dogs in the future.”

“Is that so.” Augustin smiled and pushed up his glasses.

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He’s not really going to hand over his staff, is he? Yisi, watching in secret, frowned. Although Augustin was Level 37, recalling his miserable beating at the hands of the beastman warrior in the underground arena, and the fact that he was only half a body’s length away from the men, leaving no time to chant a spell, Yisi strongly suspected that he would indeed comply.

Unhurriedly, Augustin took off his glasses, wiped them with a handkerchief, and put both items back in his pocket, continuing to smile at the men.

“I’m sorry, I don’t have that much money on me. However, I have another solution.”

The leader frowned. “What solution?”

“Could I ask you all to die?”

“You—”

Before the man could finish his sentence, Augustin thrust the end of his staff straight through the leader’s throat. The man’s eyes widened, and he collapsed, convulsing.

Seeing this, his accomplices immediately brandished their knives and lunged at Augustin. But Augustin merely pulled out his staff and swung it horizontally, forcing back all the men who tried to pounce. Immediately after, a layer of yellowish-brown light emerged from the ground. The hard ground instantly became as soft as a swamp, and the men’s legs all sank deep into it. Even as they struggled to get out, they only sank deeper.

His cheek was still spattered with the man’s blood, yet Augustin still revealed a gentle smile. His face, without the glasses, felt unfamiliar at this moment.

“Well then… who shall we start with? Hmm, you look like you’ve killed a lot of people. Let’s start with you.”

“Eek!”

Ignoring the man’s cry, as if what he held was not a staff but a long-handled iron hammer, Augustin smiled and swung down violently.

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Crack.

With a sound like a watermelon being smashed, the man’s body gradually went limp without even letting out a scream, and was finally swallowed by the earth.

“Time for the next one.”

His gaze swept over to the next target. The man who was targeted immediately begged for mercy.

“L-Lord, I didn’t lay a hand on you! Just give the word, and I’ll get out of here right now and never bother you again. I know I was wrong, my lord, my lord!”

“Those who do not understand the Queen’s gentleness have no value.”

Crack.

With the sound of shattering bones, the man’s cries came to an abrupt end.

The third body was swallowed by the earth.

Augustin continued his interrogation. Although the gentle smile on his face did not change, it no longer brought any warmth. His blood-stained expression was like that of a demon from hell.

“Now it’s your turn.”

Having watched two of his companions die tragically, the man who was now targeted no longer had any resistance left. His mental defenses instantly collapsed, and he cried and begged for his life.

“I-I’m not with them! I was forced by them! My lord, I’m innocent! Please let me go! I’ll give you all my money. R-Right, a slave, I can be your slave. I’ll do whatever you say. I’m willing to be your beast of burden!”

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“From the moment you became one of them, the only path left for you was death. How much effort did Alvier put in, how much pain did she endure, to govern the Royal Capital into its current state? But you dregs want to destroy Alvier’s work and make Alvier cry—anyone who hurts Alvier has only one outcome.”

“Wh… what?”

“Death.”

The fourth body.

“Are there three left… I’m getting a little tired of always purifying you with my staff. Oh my, I forgot about this.”

Augustin picked up the large club that had originally belonged to the leader. The remaining three men, knowing that begging for mercy was impossible, all turned red in the face, their eyes bloodshot, as they struggled desperately, trying to pull themselves out of the swampy earth. But the harder they struggled, the deeper their bodies sank. In the end, they even began to shout at the top of their lungs, cursing Augustin as a demon while hoping that God would lend them a hand.

Behind them, Augustin hefted the club, aiming for the back of one of their heads.

“The fifth one.”

“N-No! Let me go! I’ll give you anything! Someone, anyone, please save me!”

“That’s enough.”

Before Augustin could swing the club, Yisi stepped out, stopping his massacre. Although Yisi also felt that this group of robbers and murderers deserved the death penalty, Augustin’s current methods were too cruel, to the point where she could not just turn and walk away.

His movement halted by Yisi, Augustin looked at her. He first put down the club, then wiped his hands and face with a handkerchief and put on his glasses.

“Your Grace, Duchess Yisi Fred Alvier, what brings you to such a filthy place?”

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“Never mind me. Why are you here, Augustin?”

“As you can see, I am cleaning up the dregs.”

Although there was a smile on his face, Yisi only felt a coldness that plunged her into an ice cellar, as if the Augustin before her was not a normal living being, but a vengeful ghost that had crawled out of hell.

“They are all of the Blood Clan, are they not? Even if they have done wrong, they should be handed over to the patrol for judgment. Your methods are too extreme, Augustin.”

“Extreme? I just don’t want Alvier to cry. These dregs not only do not repay their merciful king, but they also attempt to trample on Alvier’s gentleness. They have no idea what level of affection they have been shown. Such dregs have no need to exist in this world.”

There was no exaggeration or confusion in his eyes. For the first time, Augustin’s smile vanished, and he scanned the three men trapped in the earth with a furious gaze.

At the same time, from Yisi’s blind spot, Augustin kicked out with his right foot, preparing to snap the neck of the nearest man. Yisi stopped him with a magic shield.

“I can pretend I didn’t see the ones you’ve already dealt with, but I will not allow you to carry out any more killings. In the end, do you think Andrea would approve of your actions if she saw you now?”

“One demon is enough, and that is me. For that merciful king, all she needs to do is maintain that gentleness. Alvier does not need to know about these filthy things.” His strike having failed, Augustin straightened his clothes. “However, since Your Grace does not approve of my methods, I will not pursue their responsibility any further. But I must ask that Your Grace take these dregs to the place where dregs belong. Alvier seems to be very fond of you. I hope you will not do anything to disappoint her. I have other matters to attend to, so I shall take my leave.”

After speaking, Augustin gave Yisi a noble’s bow. Without dispelling the earth-softening magic, he turned and disappeared around the corner of the alley.

“…A man like that absolutely cannot be allowed to stay by Andrea’s side.”

Muttering to herself, Yisi began to think about the road ahead.