First of All, I’m Drinking - Chapter 20

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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 20

At the same time, I felt an tremendous sense of pressure.

Thick, viscous killing intent squeezed around my heart.

I activated my aura to the maximum, then swung the sword I had taken from the Imperial Armory to strike it down.

Clang-!

It was struck by the sword and bounced away, falling into the thicket.

I approached closer to confirm its identity.

It was an arrow with a jet-black color as if forged from darkness itself.

However, unlike ordinary arrows, the shaft was as thick as an adult man’s forearm, and the arrowhead was large and sharp.

It had the mass of a siege weapon rather than an anti-personnel weapon.

But what caught my attention more than that was the black energy endlessly emanating from the arrow.

Similar to demonic energy, but not demonic energy.

Another power of darkness that manifested through faith in Demon Lords, corresponding to divine power.

Demonic Divine Power.

“Wow, to deflect that. That’s impressive.”

Soon, a man with a languid impression revealed himself from between the trees.

He wore a black robe that covered his body, but boldly had his hood down, revealing a face covered in tattoos.

The same demonic divine power as the arrow was continuously flowing from the man.

“Four members of the Imperial Guard all failed to block that and collapsed.”

The bastard chuckled leisurely.

“You’re better than those guys, aren’t you? Young Prince.”

The man showed his yellow teeth and smiled wickedly.

However, the emotion I felt the moment I saw him was neither fear nor terror.

It was pleasure.

“…Found you.”

My mouth split wide as the corners of my lips curved grotesquely.

My eyes flashed blue, emitting a chilling light.

“Priest of Baal.”

The man stopped laughing and looked at me with a hardened expression.

A flash of confusion crossed the bastard’s previously relaxed face.

“You, how do you know my identity?”

“The demonic divine power I feel from you.”

I extended my index finger and pointed at him.

I twitched my nose and sniffed the air.

“No doubt about it. It’s definitely that bastard Baal’s energy.”

“How dare a bastard like you carelessly speak the sacred name of a deity…!”

“Shut up.”

When I snapped coldly, the bastard flinched.

Soon his face twisted savagely, as if ashamed that he had been intimidated by a brat younger than himself.

The bastard opened his mouth while unleashing his killing intent without restraint.

“Well, fine.”

The bastard snapped his fingers in the air.

“Anyway, the mission I received from above is to kill you here.”

Demonic divine power gathered above the man’s head and formed into the shape of arrows.

The secret technique that had pierced the hearts of four Imperial Guards in one strike.

There wasn’t just one or two.

Easily more than dozens of black arrows made a keening sound as they automatically rotated in the air.

“There’s no need to get angry over every word from someone who’s about to die.”

Dozens of arrowheads all aimed at me simultaneously.

The concentrated destructive power was warping and distorting even space itself.

The arrows trembled as if they would be fired at any moment.

“Any last words? Since you’re a Prince, I’ll specially listen to them.”

“…”

I kept my mouth shut.

The bastard interpreted my attitude as he pleased and sneered.

“Scared? Well, it wouldn’t make sense for a child to remain calm when facing death. Right?”

Keeeing-!

The arrows’ rotation accelerated.

Each one possessed siege weapon-grade destructive power, a literal killing technique.

I could be certain.

The bastard’s rank was not an ordinary priest.

At minimum bishop-level. Or higher.

It would be impossible to block with the skills of a 3-star Sword Runner.

At least Expert-level would be needed for there to be any possibility of establishing a fight.

The man seemed to know this too, as he smiled coldly and offered his final greeting.

“Farewell.”

Whoooosh-!!

The arrows shot forward all at once.

Like wolves running across a plain, they cut through the wind and charged at me fiercely.

My vision was instantly dyed in pitch-black darkness.

The moment that would decide life and death was an instant.

Clatter.

I threw the sword I was holding onto the ground.

The man sneered at the sight.

When even mobilizing all capabilities wouldn’t be enough to block it, to throw away one’s weapon voluntarily.

The arrows had approached right before my nose.

Even as I felt death approaching moment by moment, I remained calm.

“This kind of attack-“

Kwarrrrrrrrrrk!

I released the seal on my demonic energy.

With a rough explosive sound, black energy surged up ferociously.

As if happy to emerge into the world after so long, it flashed intensely and writhed in all directions.

“-doesn’t work on me.”

I gathered the demonic energy into a round mass, concentrating it into the form of a giant sphere.

The black sphere floated up into the air, scattering pitch-black darkness in all directions.

Now that my aura realm had reached 3-star.

This was the strongest technique possible with the amount of demonic energy currently permitted to me.

Gooooo-

The sphere grew in size with the momentum to devour everything in the brief moment the arrows approached.

In the time it takes to blink once, it surpassed the height of the trees in Gerpelt Forest.

Soon, from the black sphere that reached even the clouds, explosive energy like the sun burst forth in all directions.

The trees lost their form and melted away limply from the murderous heat radiating from the sphere.

“Wh-what…!”

The man’s expression twisted in shock.

I raised my arm high up and clenched my fist tight.

‘Pluton-style demonic energy application.’

Finishing technique.

Star Creation.

Kwaaaaaaaaang-!

The arrows the bastard had fired collided directly with the black star.

A tremendous roar pounded intensely against my eardrums.

Each arrow certainly possessed siege weapon-level destructive power.

Crash! Bang! Crash!

The dark, massive star made of demonic energy.

Was melting away the fired arrows as easily as snow on a spring day.

Dyeing the midday sky pitch black, reigning alone and majestically over the earth.

Every single arrow the man fired was incinerated and disappeared into the black star without exception.

“What… This is ridiculous…!”

The man glared with wide eyes, trembling in his hands and feet.

More than having his arrow barrage blocked by me.

He seemed to have realized that the energy I was using was fundamentally different.

“You too, were you also a priest of the Demon Cult?! No, this isn’t demonic power…!”

The man observed the black sphere intently.

His pupils dilated from shock, and he collapsed to his knees on the spot.

“Pure… demonic energy…”

The man let out a hollow laugh, completely stunned.

“How… can a human use demonic energy…”

He had an expression as if all the common sense and worldview that comprised him had been denied.

I approached the dazed man and patted his shoulder.

“It’s because you haven’t lived life enough yet.”

“…What?”

“If you live long enough, things that go against your common sense can certainly happen. There’s nothing special about a human handling demonic energy.”

“What… do you mean.”

The man opened his mouth blankly, completely stunned.

Before I knew it, he was speaking to me respectfully.

The charisma he had when he appeared majestically after eliminating four Imperial Guards had completely vanished.

“Ah!”

He clapped his palm and fist together and asked as if he had realized something tremendous.

“By any chance… are you a proxy of the Demon Lords, Your Highness?”

A proxy?

What are you talking about all of a sudden.

While it was certainly a situation that could lead to misunderstanding, he had completely missed the mark in a different direction.

‘I can use this.’

I smiled benevolently and spread both arms.

The man reverently clasped his hands together and watched my performance.

“That’s right. I am indeed a proxy of the Demon Lords.”

Proxies.

Also called apostles, they are the only humans who can directly use a deity’s divine power.

Each deity can only have one proxy.

A proxy directly appointed by a deity gains the qualification of highest priest of that religious order the moment they are born.

In other words, they become the pope.

In fact, the four popes of the Celestial Order are all proxies of each Celestial deity.

The popes of the Demon Cult would also be proxies of each Demon Lord.

‘Of course, being a proxy doesn’t necessarily mean you can use demonic energy.’

Unfortunately, this man didn’t seem to know that fact.

The man’s eyes sparkled with a reverent face as if he had received a deity.

“If I may ask, which Demon Lord’s proxy are you?”

“That’s a secret. I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you.”

“Ah…”

The man looked dejected.

He seemed like a completely different person from just a few minutes ago when he was radiating murderous intent.

“From now on, I’ll ask you several questions. Depending on your answers, the Demon Lords might look favorably upon you.”

“Yes! I’ll do my best to answer!”

“…”

Is it really okay to extract information this easily?

I could understand this reaction given his exposure to demonic energy, but still.

On one hand, the eight sects of the Demon Cult only share the name Demon Cult and can be considered completely separate forces.

There are even cases where they reject other Demon Lords that aren’t the one they serve.

But this guy seemed to think all Demon Lords were good.

It was fortunate for me.

“First question. Your name, affiliated order, and position?”

“Yes! My name is Caluto, and I belong to the Baal Sect. My position is bishop.”

So he was a bishop after all.

He was too strong to be an ordinary priest.

If anything, it was surprising he wasn’t a cardinal.

“Okay. Next question immediately.”

The most fundamental yet crucial question.

“Why did you try to kill me?”

“Those were the orders from above.”

Caluto answered cheerfully.

I naturally asked a follow-up question.

“By ‘above,’ who do you mean?”

“It was Cardinal Lipton’s order.”

“Lipton? Is he also from the Baal Sect?”

“Yes! That’s correct!”

“I see. Then tell me any notable characteristics about this Cardinal Lipton.”

Caluto bit his lips at those words.

Thinking about Lipton seemed to trigger his fear.

“Cardinal Lipton is… a very cruel and frightening person. If you make even one mistake in handling tasks, he kills without mercy. Moreover, he’s incredibly strong, so there’s no way to resist.”

“Is that so.”

A cruel disposition. And strength that makes Bishop Caluto fear him.

I already got the impression he would be a formidable enemy.

“Are there any other notable points?”

“Um… I think there are.”

“Tell me.”

“Well… you won’t get angry, right?”

“I won’t get angry, so don’t worry and tell me.”

“Yes. If you say so.”

Caluto gulped.

Soon, unimaginable words burst from his mouth.

“Cardinal Lipton has a history of attempting to assassinate Prince Cael when you were a baby, Your Highness. Though he failed…”

“Wait.”

I hardened my expression.

I quickly activated my insight.

My insight, which awakened five years ago when I first felt mana, is still at an inadequate level, but it’s capable of distinguishing truth from lies.

“What you just said. Say it again exactly as you did.”

“Ah, yes. Cardinal Lipton attempted to assassinate Your Highness when you were young.”

“The method? What method did he use for the assassination?”

“Through a summoning ritual, he summoned Papuwa, a plant-type monster from the Demon Realm, and planned to disguise a cult member as a maid, infiltrate the Imperial Capital, and naturally deliver it to Your Highness.”

I was left speechless and closed my mouth.

Shudder.

My hands and feet trembled as emotions surged through me.

It wasn’t anger, fear, or desperation.

Ecstasy.

At the thought that I could finally sever the chain of bitter enmity that had been hidden for five years, every cell in my body was crying out in jubilation.

‘Found them. I finally found them…!’

These bastards. The culprits were the Baal Sect.

Lipton. Lipton. Lipton. Lipton.

I chewed that name over and over in my mouth.

‘I don’t know when it will be, but…’

You, at least, I will definitely tear apart and kill with my own hands.

The gains from today alone were beyond measure.

I had obtained crucial information so easily that it was almost unsettling.

“Is that Lipton fellow perhaps infiltrating as someone affiliated with the Imperial Capital?”

“No, that’s not the case. However, I heard he has established close cooperative relations with key figures in the Imperial Capital.”

“Who is that? Tell me quickly.”

“That is…”

Does he know?

Don’t tell me he knows this too?

Bishop is by no means a low position.

The amount of information the sect provided to this guy would not be insignificant either.

My Insight was still active.

Soon, Caluto’s mouth opened.

“First Empress Sabina de Argent.”

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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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