Trash of the Count's Family Vol 2. Chapter 395: The Birth of Evil (12)
Click.
The door opened, and Raon rushed straight inside.
“Human!”
Flap flap.
It had been a long time since he had been separated from Cale like this, and since it was practically the first time they had been apart for a reason that was not bad, the beating of his wings was especially light and cheerful.
“Did you smash it up good?”
“...I went there to steal.”
“Then you didn’t smash it?”
“I did.”
“I knew it! Hehe! Next time I’m going to the Third District too! I’m the best at smashing things! Hehe!”
There was not a single wrong word in what Raon said, so Cale simply let it pass in silence.
He had no idea that Raon had already decided all by himself that next time he would do a “smashing collaboration” with Rosalyn.
“Cale-nim.”
And then at last, disaster.
No, not disaster yet.
He faced Clopeh Sekka.
“Uh, right.”
For some reason, Cale found himself at a loss for words.
[Recovery Rate 99.31% (Time Remaining: 23 hours 19 minutes)]
[Birth Ceremony Progress 159%]
[Reward Grade Undetermined]
He wanted to ask why the quest progress had ended up like this.
“Did you return safely?”
But looking at Clopeh smiling, he was afraid to ask.
‘...Did I make the wrong choice here?’
For the first time in a very long while, Cale regretted one of his own decisions.
“I carried out the task you entrusted to me with all my body and soul.”
Ah.
A groan slipped from Cale’s mouth.
“I have completed all preparations, so all you need to do now is wait one day, Cale-nim.”
Clopeh smiling.
His gentle voice.
His eyes overflowing with happiness.
And on top of that, the excitement sparkling in them.
‘I’m screwed.’
Whatever it turned into, Cale realized that for now, he was screwed.
And then—
“Hahaha—”
He laughed.
“Yeah. Good work!”
Yeah, whatever it is, it’ll work out somehow!
And it’s not like I’m going to live inside this game, though that dragon half-blood bastard might be a little embarrassed.
‘Right, people will forget the Birth Ceremony soon enough!’
Honestly, look around.
Who would keep talking for over a decade about the moment some random person, not even family, was born?
‘Yeah! It’s just an event! A quest!’
Exactly!
“Right, I’ll just wait.”
I’ll just sit still and collect the quest reward.
“Hahaha!”
Cale laughed.
“Human, why do you keep laughing? I’ll laugh too! Hahaha!”
Raon laughed too.
“Ha ha—”
Aurora looked at the reward in Cale’s hand and laughed too, because she was happy.
“Heh.”
And Clopeh let out a small laugh.
“!”
That laugh sounded ominous enough that Cale flinched, but there was something he had to do first.
“Clopeh. I’ll hear the details of the process in a little while. There’s something we need to do first.”
“Yes. Understood. Then I shall go ahead to the hatchery where Eruhaben Miru is.”
There’s a separate hatchery for Eruhaben Miru too?
Cale could guess that a lot had changed in the few days he had been gone, but for now, he pretended not to know.
“Yeah. I’ll come there.”
“Yes. But, Cale-nim.”
Before leaving the room, Clopeh spoke cautiously to Cale.
“Once the Birth Ceremony begins, there is one part where you will need to use some of your power, so long as it does not strain your body. It is nothing serious, just a very small thing.”
“Ah. Right. Fine. If it doesn’t strain me, then I don’t care.”
Cale answered without much thought.
“Yes.”
Clopeh smiled brightly.
‘Huh?’
Should I have said no to that?
Just as that thought began to cross Cale’s mind—
“Then I’ll take my leave.”
Clopeh suddenly made a very swift exit.
Click.
The door opened and shut in an instant, and Clopeh was gone.
“Human, why do you look so uneasy?”
“...It’s nothing.”
Ignoring the ominous feeling, Cale walked over to the bed.
The small glass vial in his hand.
The liquid inside it.
“It says I just have to pour this onto his forehead.”
At Cale’s words, Aurora ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) clasped both hands together, unable to hide her tension.
“Human! Is the Dark Ghost Lupe waking up?”
“Yeah. Soon.”
Cale opened the vial.
The liquid inside had neither scent nor color.
“......”
Count Lupe looked as though he were sleeping soundly.
Cale tilted the vial, and the liquid inside fell downward.
Drip.
And the moment the liquid touched Count Lupe’s forehead—
Flaaaash!
“Ugh!”
“It’s blinding!”
A brilliant light burst out, bright enough that Aurora and Raon had to cover their eyes.
Cale narrowed his eyes as much as he could, but still emptied out all of the liquid.
Drip.
The moment the final drop left the vial—
“Human, the liquid disappeared!”
Together with the bright light, all the liquid vanished without a trace, as if it had been absorbed straight into Count Lupe’s mind.
Ding!
Cale heard a notification sound.
A notification sound only he could hear.
[You have used the reward!]
[Dark Ghost Lupe has regained “Count Lupe,” the lost memories of his past.]
“Mm.”
Lupe let out a groan and twisted his face.
“Count!”
Aurora called to him in a trembling voice.
“......”
Lupe slowly opened his eyes.
Blink, blink.
After blinking a few times, he looked around.
His gaze stopped on Aurora.
“Ma—”
Ahem.
He cleared his throat, then continued.
“You have grown a great deal.”
“Ah.”
Aurora sank back down into the chair again.
As though all the strength had left her body, she leaned back against it, then soon smiled.
“A great deal of time has passed, Count.”
Count Lupe.
Those memories had definitely returned.
Despite her youthful appearance, Aurora could hear in his voice the grave Count Lupe she had once known.
“......”
Lupe’s gaze turned to Cale.
He looked at Cale for a long while before opening his mouth.
“Thank you.”
And then he added,
“O Worst One.”
At that moment, the corner of Cale’s lips curled up slightly.
‘As I thought.’
Lupe’s ego was “Dark Ghost,” not “Count of the Demon Realm.”
He had only recovered the memories he had lost.
After confirming that, Cale spoke.
“You two must have a lot to discuss, so I’ll just deliver one thing and take my leave first.”
“Hm. You’re not staying with us?”
Aurora, who had thought the three of them had much to discuss, was visibly disappointed. But Cale pretended not to notice.
‘I can’t get any more involved in Demon Realm affairs.’
Aurora probably wanted to discuss the Demon Realm, but with Cale already holding Deshuran, the baron who commanded one of the current Demon King’s eight armies—now six, really—he had already done more than enough.
He pulled out a stack of papers from inside his clothes.
“These are the result reports from Transparent’s experiments on demonfolk from the Demon Realm. And there are also documentary records proving that those demonfolk were supplied from the current Demon King’s side.”
“......!”
Aurora’s eyes widened.
Her trembling hands snatched up the papers Cale handed over.
“This—”
“Yes. As for how the two of you use this, I think you can discuss that together.”
Gulp.
Aurora swallowed, her eyes wavering.
She had now gained a dagger with which to stab the current Demon King, and a justification for her own actions.
And on top of that, an ally with the wealth needed to carry all of this out had returned to her side.
“Let me tell you one thing.”
Cale’s voice reached her ears as her heart pounded violently.
“When we hit Transparent’s laboratory, we pretended to be the God of Chaos’s Dark. And the current Demon King also believes that the God of Chaos’s Dark is the one who seized his subordinates and interfered with his affairs.”
Cale watched the light in Aurora’s eyes sharpen as she listened silently, and said no more.
‘She’ll handle the rest well enough.’
Aurora.
She was the head of the mediator group, and even as the only bloodline of the previous Demon King, she still had many shortcomings if she wanted to oppose the enormous power centered around the current Demon King.
But depending on how she used the advantage she had finally obtained, she could gain a great deal.
“We’re going to have to accept a lot of help from the God of Chaos. From Dark.”
At Aurora’s words, spoken with a grin, Cale smiled back.
‘Yeah. That’s it.’
The Demon King, the hunters, and the God of Chaos.
Drive as much discord between them as possible, push that conflict to its extreme, and while they are fighting one another, grow as much as possible—then seize the weapon called truth and overturn the entire situation in one stroke.
“It’d be great if they all started beating the hell out of each other.”
After expressing his modest wish, Cale was about to leave the bedroom with Raon when he paused.
“Ah. And you remember, right?”
He brought up what he had told Aurora before.
“I’d like the cooperation of a few demonfolk.”
Demonfolk who used gray mana.
They were perfect for disguising themselves as believers of the God of Chaos.
“Once I finish looting the holy land of the God of Chaos sometime soon, I’m thinking of pretending to be the saint for a while. Hahaha!”
“Human, are you pulling a scam? Hehe!”
Leaving behind an easy smile, he disappeared with Raon, who sounded delighted.
Click.
Aurora stared blankly at the closed door for a moment, then turned her head.
Count Lupe was looking at her. When their eyes met, he opened his mouth.
“The Demon Realm must be dyed in chaos.”
Dark Ghost Lupe.
“The current Demon King is the Demon King of Ennui.”
That was the name given to him because he felt ennui toward all things.
“That is probably only because he has never experienced hell.”
Lupe recalled the moment when he had been experimented on and had been dying.
He had succeeded in the experiment and been reborn in the game as Count Lupe.
But every member of his family had simply died in that pain.
That horrible hell.
“In hell, one would not be bored.”
Quiet fury sat within Lupe as he formed a small smile.
“......”
Aurora could not bring herself to say anything.
Turning his gaze away from her and up toward the ceiling, Lupe spoke.
His voice was very soft.
“There should also be a being who governs chaos and hell.”
“What?”
Aurora asked back, not having heard him properly.
“Nothing.”
He only smiled.
O Worst One.
To think you would make the Demon King, the God of Chaos, and the hunters fight one another.
As expected, you truly are the worst among evils.
“...So I suppose I must believe.”
Count Lupe—no, Dark Ghost Lupe—held a clear sense of anticipation even amidst his desire for revenge.
*****
“A force of the God of Chaos has appeared on Transparent’s side as well?”
“That is correct, Your Majesty.”
The Demon King of Ennui.
He tapped the armrest, then let out a quiet laugh.
“And they still have not found the ones who touched my soldiers either?”
“...That is correct, Your Majesty.”
The minister kneeling on the floor was trembling all over.
But the Demon King’s gaze was not directed at him.
He looked out the window and opened his mouth.
“How interesting.”
Tap. Tap.
There was clear delight in the hand that stroked and tapped the armrest.
“Truly, very interesting.”
The ministers could not tell where the Demon King’s gaze was fixed.
They could only feel a small spark of interest rising within those formerly listless eyes.
There was only one thing that could strip the Demon King of Ennui of his boredom.
“Gather the soldiers.”
And—
“Summon the Seven Generals as well.”
With Baron Deshuran gone, the Demon King’s Eight Armies had now become Seven.
“Also, make contact with the God of Chaos and the Transparent family.”
War.
The only time the Demon King of Ennui cast off his ennui was when he went to war.
And only when facing a worthy opponent.
Only then did he look like a living being.
*****
Eruhaben Miru, the dragon half-blood.
A soul that had lived for over nine hundred years, then become a bone dragon and continued its life.
The time remaining until that soul was born into a new form—
“...10 hours and 29 minutes.”
Calculated out,
“Noon.”
Once this night passed, once morning came, and once the sun rose to the center of the sky at noon—
that was when Eruhaben Miru would be born.
“......”
Cale squeezed his eyes shut.
Only Cale and Eruhaben Miru were in the hatchery.
Clopeh’s report lay across his lap.
“......”
When he opened his eyes, he stared at the egg wrapped in flower cloth.
“...Sorry.”
Clatter.
It was a gesture of understanding and resignation.
<-Over one hundred scouts dispatched from the six Evil territories, excluding the Third Evil and the Seventh Evil, have been detected. We are pretending not to notice.
-At least four Evil territories are expected to send figures at the mid-boss level or higher, either officially or covertly, to spy on the Birth Ceremony.
-Border security between the Western Empire and the Eastern Empire has been strengthened. Magic Towers in various regions have begun sending magical reconnaissance toward the Seventh Evil territory.
-Omens of birth have been sent to all forces among New World’s three great powers, five middling powers, and ten lesser powers.
: “Omens of birth” refers not to invitations or written notices, but to the generation of various unusual phenomena implying “the birth of evil,” so that they clearly sense a legend is being created.
*These unusual phenomena include a “dark red sky covered in crows,” “skeletal soldiers rising from the earth,” “sudden whirlwinds, storms, and lightning from a clear sky,” and so on, for a total of 39 patterns that are occurring periodically at a fixed scale.>
Clopeh’s report was over a hundred pages long.
It was hard even just to hold it.
“...He carried out thirty-nine types of strange phenomena... across the entire continent...? This lunatic.”
Clatter.
“He made videos and manipulated public opinion on the community boards too? How did he even find that out? He said legends are supposed to form on their own. Then why make videos and upload them? Haah. Lunatic.”
Claatter.
“You think it’s absurd too, don’t you?”
Claatter.
“You’ve worked hard, man.”
Claatter.
“But once tomorrow passes, it’ll be fine. Yeah.”
Clat?
“Yeah. It’ll probably be fine.”
...Cla...att...er.
Cale did his best to ignore the report detailing the ceremony order for the Birth Ceremony—
no, the birth legend.
“Hey, you just need to be born properly. We’ll handle the rest.”
Cl...at...t...er.......
Eruhaben Miru ignored it too.
<Birth Concept: The Birth of the Worst.>
<The goal is to make all who witness it tremble in fear before that great, dark, and majestic spectacle of birth.>
<Required elements: Cale-nim’s aura, the Heavenly Demon’s aura, Choi Han’s aura, the magic circles of three dragons......>
Cale really did not have to overexert himself tomorrow.
-Cale. I would gladly like to offer all my heart and strength to celebrate the birth of the dragon half-blood.
The dominating aura said, in an unusually solemn tone that suited its deep and weighty voice.
“Mm.”
Well, somehow it’ll work out.
Cale just brushed it off.
It was only a quest, after all.
*****
As noon drew near.
The time when the sun ought, naturally, to be rising over the fairy-tale land—
“...Th-the sun is gone......!”
The gaze of the person shouting in a voice full of fear was fixed in one direction.
The white castle.
Also known as Cotton Candy Castle.
The place where Eruhaben Miru would be born.
Everyone’s attention turned there.
Clatter.
Cale set down the egg that had been tucked under his arm and looked at the screen.
[Recovery Rate 99.98% (Time Remaining: 0 hours 57 minutes)]
[Birth Ceremony Progress 197%]
[Reward Grade Undetermined]
...With less than an hour remaining until the Birth Ceremony.
The progress had soared to nearly 200%.
Cale thought he knew why.
Caw, caw—
The crows brought the news.
Gashan, the tiger shaman, shouted.
“The greatest mage of the Eastern Empire has infiltrated the Seventh Evil!”
“It seems the Sword Master of the Western Empire and his group have arrived as well!”
“Personnel from three Magic Towers have been detected!”
The human world was in chaos too.
“Oh ho. The second boss of the Second Evil has arrived.”
“A shadow from the Sixth Evil has been spotted!”
The Eight Evils were in chaos too.
“All residents of the Seventh Evil, along with all boss-class monsters, are converging on Cotton Candy Castle! The number alone is approximately one hundred thousand—they’ll be surrounding the castle very soon!”
The vast plains surrounding Cotton Candy Castle.
There, the residents of the Seventh Evil were gathering, awaiting the birth of the new master of the Seventh Evil.
“It will begin soon. Huhu.”
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