First of All, I’m Drinking - Chapter 50

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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 50

 

Dark Slum.

 

The body of Zagan’s agent, Ordo Pereira, crumbled to dust and disappeared.

 

I stared at the spot where he had been for a moment.

 

‘Dangerous. I never would have imagined such a secret existed.’

 

Demon Cult.

 

They were far more dangerous than I had thought.

 

And it wasn’t just Zagan’s Order.

 

If I hadn’t captured Ordo today and extracted information from him, I would have unknowingly faced a terrible disaster.

 

‘The information I extracted from him is worth its weight in gold.’

 

Ordo had spilled everything he knew under my threats.

 

Now I had to return to Harten and hold a strategy meeting based on the information I’d obtained.

 

Step, step.

 

I left the slum and headed to the location we had agreed to meet beforehand.

 

It was in front of a quiet fountain where people rarely came and went.

 

After waiting for a few minutes.

 

Flash!

 

Three people appeared with the light of teleportation magic.

 

It was Kise, Diago, and Merry, all clad in full armor.

 

“Whew! You were already here, Prince.”

 

Kise said, panting heavily.

 

“Did something happen?”

 

“Don’t even ask. You know that princess’s escort knight? That bastard overheard our entire conversation.”

 

That was Diago’s answer.

 

“Ah, that Buckle guy or whatever.”

 

“We barely escaped using Kise’s magic. We almost got into serious trouble.”

 

Right.

 

Someone would have gotten into serious trouble.

 

Not you guys, but the people who were there.

 

“Anyway, let’s return to Harten.”

 

Merry asked.

 

“Did you gain anything?”

 

“Yeah, I did.”

 

And it was tremendous gains at that.

 

I smiled, showing my teeth.

 

“Then, I’ll prepare the teleport!”

 

Whooom!

 

Mana burst from Kise’s hands, drawing a magic circle on the ground.

 

First we had to teleport to the Imperial City where the Warp Point was located, then warp to Harten through the Imperial City’s Warp Point.

 

Casting consecutive long-distance movement spells would be a great burden on Kise’s body, but now wasn’t the time to worry about such things.

 

Pursuers could come charging in at any moment.

 

‘It’s best to avoid troublesome situations.’

 

Flash!

 

Light flickered and blinding radiance swept over us.

 

* * *

 

We returned to Harten.

 

Dragging my tired body into the Temple of Horus, Deront and Nicolaus were waiting for us.

 

“You’re finally here?”

 

“You’ve worked hard. I’ll bring some warm tea, so please rest first.”

 

I waved my hand to decline.

 

“You didn’t sleep?”

 

“Haha, how could I sleep when I was worried? So, how did the operation go?”

 

“The operation was successful.”

 

I took off the Trickster’s pendant.

 

With a tingling sensation, my appearance changed and I quickly returned to my original form.

 

“Phew.”

 

I swept my head back once, and my black hair fluttered.

 

“Ugh, I thought I was going to suffocate to death. How do swordsmen wear these things?”

 

Kise grumbled as he removed his armor.

 

Merry quietly took off her helmet and tucked it under her arm, while Diago retorted to Kise’s complaints.

 

“It’s much better than cumbersome robes.”

 

Yet he himself was hastily throwing off his armor just the same.

 

All three of their bodies were drenched in sweat.

 

I returned the Trickster’s pendant to Deront.

 

“Here.”

 

“Wow! Finally!”

 

Deront immediately put on the pendant.

 

His demonic ears and tail disappeared, and his vertically slit pupils became round and cute.

 

There weren’t any other significant differences, but Deront seemed very happy to be wearing the holy relic after so long.

 

“Hehe.”

 

Is it just my imagination, or is that guy becoming more childlike after pretending to be a girl among humans?

 

Thud.

 

I sat down on one of the wooden chairs lined up in the sanctuary.

 

“It’s late, but I have something urgent to discuss.”

 

As I lowered my voice quietly, everyone’s attention focused on me.

 

“While killing Zagan’s agent this time, I learned more details about the Demon Cult’s purpose. Why they’re collecting holy relics. What they plan to use them for. Everything.”

 

The scale was bigger than expected, so even I was startled when I first heard it.

 

If we left them alone, it was clear that great chaos would befall the world.

 

I quietly began my story.

 

* * *

 

“Two things. If you answer just two questions faithfully.”

 

As I held up my index and middle fingers, Ordo nodded frantically.

 

“I’ll do my best to answer within the scope of my knowledge!”

 

Whoosh-

 

The hellfire that had been burning his body stopped igniting.

 

When the pain ceased, Ordo quickly checked his body’s condition.

 

However, his expression still held a tense light.

 

I opened my mouth.

 

“What were you planning to use the holy relics for?”

 

Zagan’s Order had been buying holy relics with money earned by disguising themselves as a guild.

 

Moreover, to steal the highest-grade holy relics created directly by deities, they had even broken their long silence and revealed themselves to the public.

 

The project of collecting holy relics was an activity of tremendous importance to them.

 

“That is…”

 

Ordo hesitated for a moment.

 

Soon, as if realizing his situation, he began resolutely.

 

“You probably know there’s a region called the Void Snowfield at the northernmost tip of the continent.”

 

Void Snowfield.

 

This topic had come up before when I first met Deront in the cathedral basement.

 

“I know of it.”

 

A land of bitter cold and death from which no one had ever returned alive.

 

There exists a massive wall in that place.

 

A long, high wall that perfectly divides the human territory from the land beyond.

 

And beyond that wall….

 

‘There is a gate leading to the Demon Realm.’

 

A fact I now know all too well.

 

The fact that this topic came from his mouth—does it mean other Demon Worshippers also know the secret of that land?

 

Ordo continued speaking.

 

“The wall that exists in the Void Snowfield. Beyond the barrier commonly called The Final Wall… there is a gate leading to the Demon Realm.”

 

As expected.

 

This was the moment when the hypothesis that high-ranking priests of the Demon Cult might know how to reach the Demon Realm was confirmed as fact.

 

On one hand, I felt dismayed.

 

Even a mere human knew of the ‘gate’s’ existence, while I, a Demon Lord myself, had been ignorant of that fact….

 

‘I suppose Vergil’s information control abilities were exceptional.’

 

In reality, not just me but other Demon Lords also seemed unaware of the ‘gate’s’ existence.

 

According to Deront’s words, Vergil managed the ‘gate’ with an obsession bordering on madness.

 

But then how did the humans of the Intermediate Realm know of its existence?

 

The answer was obvious.

 

‘He deliberately spread the information.’

 

He had intentionally informed the humans belonging to the Demon Cult about the ‘gate’s’ existence.

 

I asked with sharp eyes.

 

“Where did you obtain that information?”

 

Ordo’s response was exactly as I had expected.

 

“It was information directly provided by Vergil’s representative during the regular Demon Cult meeting 17 years ago. Our sect later investigated through independent channels and confirmed it as fact.”

 

17 years ago.

 

The time when Cael de Argent was born into this world, and the time when Pluton died.

 

It was also when the Pluton Sect stopped attending Demon Cult gatherings and disappeared from sight.

 

As soon as I died, Vergil spread information about the ‘gate’ to the believers as if he had been waiting for it.

 

He didn’t even inform only his own sect, but the entire Demon Cult.

 

Which means.

 

‘Now all the other Demon Lords must know about the ‘gate’s’ existence too.’

 

Then Vergil’s fanatical concealment of the ‘gate’s’ existence in the past Demon Realm must have been entirely because of me.

 

To prevent me from discovering the ‘gate’s’ existence.

 

What could be the reason?

 

What did I mean to Vergil, exactly?

 

-You were born with a somewhat special fate. A very dangerous fate, that is.

 

What about me did he fear so much that he desperately concealed information and even resorted to murder?

 

While I pondered alone, Ordo continued speaking.

 

“Why The Final Wall was built is obvious.”

 

“To separate the entrance to the Demon Realm from the continent.”

 

“Correct. Then, do you know what kind of function this wall serves that allows it to seal the entrance to the Demon Realm?”

 

“Hmm.”

 

This was a part that puzzled me a bit when I heard the story.

 

Among the beings of the Demon Realm, there are many who can fly through the sky.

 

At the very least, there are plenty who possess monstrous strength capable of destroying the entire wall.

 

Simply being high and thick could never stop these beings.

 

‘Wait.’

 

I recalled the conversation I had when I first met Deront four years ago.

 

-That passage is firmly sealed. It’s a seal that even deities can’t easily break, so there’s no way someone like me could do anything about it….

 

Right.

 

That’s how it was.

 

A refreshing sensation swept through my mind as if I had solved a long-standing puzzle.

 

“That wall was a device that sealed the ‘gate.'”

 

“Correct. To tell you one more hidden truth, the entire wall is a massive holy relic. A holy relic created directly by Esnia, the Deity of Stars.”

 

“What?”

 

The entire wall is a holy relic of the Deity of Stars?

 

Then.

 

Suddenly, a chilling thrill ran up my spine.

 

“You’re saying that not even the deity’s full power, but just a portion of divine power contained in a holy relic… is blocking the path between the Intermediate Realm and Demon Realm.”

 

Is that even possible?

 

It’s something I could definitively say was impossible, even for me who possessed the greatest military might among the Demon Lords.

 

Esnia, the Deity of Stars.

 

The deity worshipped as the state religion by the Holy Kingdom that exists across the eastern sea of the continent.

 

Also the deity with the strongest religious influence among the neutral deities.

 

‘Most neutral deities are of lower rank than Celestial Deities and Demon Lords.’

 

But the Deity of Stars was an exception.

 

Even the Deity of Lightning and Deity of Swords, famous for being relatively strong among neutral deities, are nothing more than moths before a flame in front of Esnia, the Deity of Stars.

 

Since I’ve never met him directly, I don’t know exactly how strong he is.

 

But if this statement is true, the power he possesses might be greater than even the highest-ranking Demon Lords including myself.

 

‘I should visit the Holy Kingdom sometime soon.’

 

Going directly to the Void Snowfield is a distant prospect with my current level.

 

As an alternative, I felt the need to visit the Holy Kingdom and learn more about Esnia, the Deity of Stars.

 

“Anyway, so the reason you were collecting holy relics is related to that wall?”

 

“That’s correct.”

 

Crack—

 

A small fissure opened in the air.

 

Ordo inserted his remaining arm into the fissure and pulled out a cube-shaped stone fragment about half the size of a fist.

 

Some parts protruded irregularly while others were deeply carved, giving the impression of something meticulously crafted by an eccentric artisan.

 

I immediately recognized that this object was extraordinary.

 

“What is that?”

 

“It’s an artifact containing profound mysteries that ordinary people cannot understand. Though this is just a smaller, inferior version.”

 

Ordo pressed the protruding part of the cube with his finger.

 

The artifact then emitted a black aura and floated up into the air.

 

Creak, creeak.

 

The appearance of the floating artifact began to twist bizarrely.

 

Long tube-like protrusions resembling muzzles emerged from two opposing faces of the cube.

 

The completed transformation looked like two brass instruments connected with the central cube as the junction.

 

Ordo’s lips parted.

 

“I’ll now show you something miraculous.”

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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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