First of All, I’m Drinking - Chapter 104

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 104

After giving Kise some time to rest.

We took a warp back to Rantaskar Castle.

Thud.

I held up Deilos’s severed head before the Emperor.

“…It really was a demon.”

Rage surged throughout the Emperor’s entire body.

“My speculation was correct.”

I told the Emperor everything I had investigated the night before.

“I see… The Demon Subjugation Society was an organization composed of demons summoned by the Lucifer Sect.”

The kidnapped beastfolk had been reduced to mere meals for the demons.

Would being sold as slaves have been a better fate?

Perhaps thinking of the suffering the beastfolk must have endured, the Emperor was more enraged than ever.

“You want to lure out the Lucifer Sect?”

“Yes. I left an address at the scene. I hope Your Majesty will also send reinforcements.”

“Sending reinforcements isn’t difficult. I’ll send you a full battalion of the Royal Guard, including Genta. The very best.”

“Thank you.”

I could have requested more troops, but in this situation, too much would be counterproductive.

If we concentrated more forces than necessary, the Lucifer Sect might not take the bait.

Suinuk’s elite Royal Guard battalion would be sufficient.

“I was hoping Your Majesty would personally take the field.”

“Insolent. How can a king carelessly leave his castle empty? I’ll watch the situation and join the battle myself if things go poorly, so don’t worry.”

“Wow, how reassuring. I’ll count on Your Majesty alone.”

Perfect.

With this, I had secured the most reliable insurance.

“I’ll go ahead and wait there.”

“Very well. I’ll dispatch the troops as soon as they’re ready.”

The Lucifer Sect would disappear from this world within a few days.

After checking our weapons and condition at the castle, we arrived in Mantangkar.

* * *

A chapel emanating an ominous aura.

In the darkness where even moonlight couldn’t penetrate, a woman stood.

Below the woman, hundreds of people knelt in formation.

“Report.”

A voice like rolling jade echoed throughout.

The woman’s identity was Lucifer’s representative, Adora.

Though she was an ancient monster who had lived for hundreds of years through the Demon Lord’s power, she appeared to be only in her late twenties.

“Your Holiness. All the demons we summoned for research have been killed.”

One of the cardinals in the front row reported.

“Who did this?”

Power was infused into the end of her sentence.

The priests swallowed dry saliva, recognizing the Pope’s anger.

“We haven’t identified them yet. However, it’s likely the work of demons summoned by another sect.”

“Demons summoned by another sect?”

“Traces of demonic energy were found at the scene. High-concentration demonic energy at that. Unless it was a high-ranking demon, handling that level of demonic energy would be impossible…”

Bang-!

The cardinal’s head exploded without warning as he continued speaking.

“How foolish.”

Demonic power rippled around Adora like a mirage.

“Among the Demon Cults, we’re the only ones who put all our effort into demon summoning. Demons summoned by another sect? That’s impossible.”

Indeed, according to reports from regular Demon Cult gatherings, no other sect except the Lucifer Sect had mentioned summoning demons.

Of course, the cardinals thought differently.

‘Couldn’t it be one of Nevilos, Aderzhen, or the Pluton Sect that we’ve lost contact with?’

Three sects that had stopped attending regular Demon Cult gatherings at some point.

There was plenty of possibility that one of them had summoned demons.

Of course, they didn’t voice such assumptions.

‘Crazy, insane psychopath bitch!’

Adora, the Pope of the Lucifer Sect, was a tyrant.

Not a single priest among them truly respected her.

Yet the reason Adora could reign over the priests was simply because she was transcendentally strong.

Overwhelming force that lived up to her title as representative of the second divine seat without shame.

Though there were many sects in the Intermediate Realm.

There were probably very few popes stronger than Adora.

Thud-

The corpse of the priest whose head had burst fell lifelessly.

Tremble tremble tremble.

The priests who met Adora’s mad eyes buried their heads down.

“James.”

“Yes! Your Holiness.”

The cardinal called James raised his head.

“Do you remember why we summon demons?”

“Of, of course.”

“Tell me.”

“To analyze the components of demonic energy… and research methods for humans to handle demonic energy.”

“That’s right.”

Flutter-

As Adora spread both arms, her loose priestly robes fluttered.

“Handling demonic energy with a human body. That was my… the Lucifer Sect’s long-cherished wish.”

Click click.

Adora crossed between the priests, her high heels clicking.

“But before we could even start research, all the materials died? Keke… Kahahaha!”

Insane laughter echoed through the chapel.

“Which… fucking bastard!”

Blood vessels burst in Adora’s eyes.

She ground her teeth.

Immeasurable rage surged.

“But it might actually be an opportunity.”

Her anger subsided instantly like flipping paper.

A smile spread across Adora’s lips.

Emotions that changed rapidly even in short moments were major symptoms of madness.

‘Crazy bitch.’

James cursed Adora’s antics inwardly.

“James.”

Flinch.

James’s shoulders trembled slightly.

She couldn’t have heard his thoughts, could she?

“You know what? Lord Lucifer loves me so very much.”

“Ah, of course. Your Holiness is an incomparable saint to the Lucifer Sect…”

“So he bestowed this upon me too.”

Adora’s eyes glowed golden.

It seemed to pierce through inner thoughts, and also seemed to absorb everything within its field of vision.

“It’s divine insight. A power that only deities can possess.”

Cold sweat dripped from James’s forehead.

He knew about divine insight.

It was recorded in detail in scriptures and various documents.

‘Even divine insight… was bestowed upon her?’

What on earth does Lord Lucifer see in this woman…

James’s thoughts couldn’t continue any further.

Bang-!

His head exploded and brain matter scattered.

The other priests looked at James’s corpse in terror.

“Of course, it’s nothing compared to what real deities possess… but if you think too loudly, I can hear it. Haha.”

We’re screwed.

That was the thought that flashed through all the priests’ minds at that moment.

James wasn’t the only one who had criticized Adora.

They too would be purged.

“Hmm~.”

Adora glanced once at James’s corpse and then hummed a tune.

Fortunately, it seemed she would let it slide this time.

But there was no telling what would happen next time.

“You said they wrote an address at the Demon’s Lair?”

That was something they hadn’t reported yet.

But Adora knew about it as if it were obvious.

What on earth was inside that human’s head?

The fact that they couldn’t read her amplified the priests’ fear.

“It’s a full-scale attack, boys. Of course I’m going too. Let’s see that damn bastard’s face for once.”

Leaving an address so openly was obviously a trap.

But no one could go against her orders.

Adora was far more terrifying than dying in a trap.

* * *

“We meet again.”

The crocodile beastman, Genta, cheerfully extended his arm.

“I heard everything from His Majesty. You’re planning to finish off the Lucifer Sect?”

“Who knows when such an opportunity will come again.”

“I agree. When I think of what those bastards did to the beastmen, my blood boils. We’ll fight with everything we have.”

“I’m counting on you.”

No matter how sinister the Demon Cult might be, they were still just a sect.

They wouldn’t be able to withstand the finest elite soldiers protecting a nation’s royal family.

The situation was better than when we fought the Jagan Order.

‘The only concern is how strong Lucifer’s proxy might be.’

Jagan’s power of resurrection was more specialized for warfare than individual combat.

However, Lucifer’s power maximizes individual combat strength.

It shines more in one-on-one battles than in group combat.

‘Well, the Emperor said he’d come personally if needed.’

If Lucifer’s proxy proves troublesome, I’ll just leave it to the Emperor.

Surely the 5th of the Top 10 Strongest of the Continent wouldn’t lose.

“By the way, it’s been a while since I’ve been here.”

The cool, damp scent of night dew stimulated my nose.

On the rooftop, bathed in moonlight from the sky above.

Genta spoke as if lost in melancholy.

“Have you been here before?”

“This is where I lived before joining the knight order. Now I live in the royal castle with my family.”

“Ah, I see. I was curious who had lived here, so this was Sir Genta’s house?”

127-96 113 Mantangkar.

The place I chose as the decisive battleground was a massive manor standing alone in a remote area away from residential houses.

However, it had been quite some time since anyone lived there.

You could tell from the unmanaged weeds and ivy that had grown wild.

I thought it was just an abandoned manor, but it was Genta’s house.

What a terrible coincidence.

“I apologize. I thought it was an ownerless house.”

“It’s fine. We don’t live there anymore anyway.”

“Still, wouldn’t it hurt to see a manor filled with memories destroyed?”

“It’s really okay, so please don’t worry about it.”

Genta looked at me with a warm smile.

“Lord Asel.”

To think a crocodile could make such a sweet expression.

“Thank you once again for saving His Highness.”

Genta bowed politely.

I waved my hands dismissively.

“Why are you doing this? I already received full compensation.”

“Lord Asel is a benefactor to our nation. Prince Muramad is the only one of His Majesty’s bloodline. The royal lineage could have been severed.”

“You don’t need to praise me so highly.”

“Since you saved our country, if anything happens to you, I will risk my life to save you.”

Genta’s eyes were resolute.

I didn’t know he thought so highly of me.

“Nothing will happen to me.”

I rested my arms on the rooftop railing and gazed at Mantangkar City visible in the distance.

“So if you’re going to risk your life, do it for Muramad.”

Muramad is very fond of Genta.

If Genta died here, tears would never dry from those button-like eyes.

I didn’t want to see that.

‘Hah, really. Was I always this sentimental?’

I was embarrassed by my own thoughts and kicked the railing for no reason.

It seemed I had become completely humanized, not just in appearance but in my inner self as well.

“Your… Asel!”

Diago looked up at me from the first floor.

Next to him was a beastman knight who had been keeping watch with Diago.

He spoke with a stern expression.

“It seems they’ve come.”

I focused my mind.

South, about 1km away.

As Diago said, I could feel multiple auras beginning to stir.

There were easily over several hundred.

“They’re arriving earlier than expected. They must be pretty pissed off.”

Whiiiiing-

The alarm magic rang out sharply.

All personnel armed with weapons and armor gathered in the 1st Floor Training Ground.

Merry, Kise, Diago, and the beastman knights including Genta.

“I have one thing to say.”

Genta raised his arm toward the sky and shouted.

“Win! Win no matter what! We’re avenging all the beastfolk who have suffered until now!”

“Uwaaaaaaah-!!”

The roar of the beastfolk shook the earth.

The presence was rapidly approaching.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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