Book 3 Chapter 51 - Kaliss versus Erica (2)

After completing the deal with the Jewellers Guild, Woohyuk escorted Erica back to the mansion.

There had been no further incidents in the following days. Still, he was quite concerned about the fact that demons were involved.

“Did the pirates that were supposed to help us not arrive yet?”

“I told them I’d be in touch when everything is set in place.”

Doing just as Woohyuk had recommended, Erica had refrained from stepping outside as much as possible.

The war between the two factions would soon break out. If she were to die, Erica’s faction would quickly crumble.

“I haven’t seen Darius in quite some time, it’s been a while since he took leave due to sickness.”

“Do you think there is a chance he would betray you?”

“I think it’s quite unlikely, because Darius….”

He’d been in love with her for quite some time. It was the main reason he had sided with her this whole time despite Kaliss’ obvious dominance.

Hearing Erica’s explanation, Woohyuk’s face formed a frown.

‘He might have gotten himself captured.’

Due to his ego, he most likely went out drinking after his loss against him. Intoxicated, he doubt made for an easy target and had likely endured several rounds of torture by now.

“If he does return, you should be wary, there is a good chance that he might be under the demon’s control.”

“... Alright.”

It was possible that in the past it had been Darius that had unintentionally betrayed Erica in such a way.

Erica would have surely died, and Isaac would have fled after robbing her heirloom, under the pretense that their side no longer had any hope

As the picture started to become clear in his mind, Woohyuk made his way to the door.

“Where are you going?”

“There is something I need to go check on.”

A group of guards stayed behind with Erica, to ensure her safety as he went out.

“Master, I’ve found some suspicious looking people.”

“The orphans now addressed Woohyuk as Master.”

He offered food to any that worked well, not to mention the possibility of a bonus, earning their goodwill.

“Where did you see them?”

“Near the docks.”

It seemed like one of their groups had arrived. It could either be Sea Snake’s Fury or Deep Sea’s Vortex.

After giving them some money for the information, Woohyuk followed the street urchin and headed towards the docks.

“What did they look like?”

“Most of them were dressed in ragged clothes, like sailors, but their boss seemed pretty imposing, and had a black beard.”

Edward Teach, it was surely him.

As Woohyuk picked up his pace, Aris appeared from through a black portal.

“Asura, the demon…”

Along with Sebastian, the two had gotten into a carriage and headed towards the merchant's district.

If she were to continue to tail them, she risked revealing herself once she used her powers, so now they didn’t know their exact destination.

Woohyuk took a second to digest Aris’ latest report.

‘What are they up to?’

The Merchant’s district wasn’t a suitable area for them to meet with Blackbeard. It was usually quite crowded and the amount of guards were higher than other places.

‘Are they trying to create some turmoil before the real attack?’

A coup disguised as a riot of sailors. Sebastian, who would always care about the public’s opinion, needed a justification to seize power.

Having deduced what their opponent’s plan was, Woohyuk turned back and returned to Erica’s mansion.

“Gather your mercenaries, the battle will begin soon.”

“Alright, understood.”

Erica nodded back with a determined look.

She then gave out some instructions, as the maids were sent running around the mansion.

Shortly after, their hidden armory was unlocked. The best weapons which she had spent most of her fortune on, were handed out to her mercenaries.

“You guys protect Erica, They will try to infiltrate during the chaos.”

He would have his hands full with Blackbeard’s pirates as well as the demon.

After deploying his party throughout the mansion, Woohyuk rode his Three Clawed Eagle and headed to the Merchant’s district.

“Sa, save me!”

“Ahaahaack!”

As expected, the area was in complete chaos. Pirates, acting undercover as sailors, went around fighting and looting everywhere. Their numbers were too high, so the city guards didn’t have the courage to interfere, only watching from the side.

‘Looks like Barbarossa’s Sea Snake’s Fury has come as well.’

Sea Snake’s Fury seemed to have been aware of Blackbeard’s plan, and had come over to intercept them.

Woohyuk decided to see how things played out before interfering.

“Blackbeard! It is time for us to get our revenge for your betrayal against Captain Barbarossa!”

“Hahahah! You talk big for a bunch of leftover small fries, I’ll wipe you all out here and now!”

The two pirate fleets engaged in an all out battle, plunging the streets into further chaos.

It was a very even fight, so whoever killed the opposing leader first was sure to emerge victorious.

Woohyuk attempted to throw his Vampiric dagger laced with Basilisk’s Poison at Blackbeard.

“Hohoho, I didn’t know that there was another demon here as well.”

Amanda appeared from the shadows, blocking knocking his dagger out of the air.

“Are you the demon which is sponging off Sebastian?”

“Sponging? That’s a bit insulting.”

“You must really like something about this city.”

“Well, to be honest it isn’t as bad as I’d thought, but I came here under orders.”

Amanda had been sent to Landium by the Demon King Belial. Since they had only recently been released from their seal, the actual 72 Demon Kings were still quite weak. They were in no position to engage in any aggressive conquest, and could only send their subordinates ahead to establish a base.

“Are you trying to compete with me?”

“Well… it’s not like I’m in any position to back down. We also need our own base.”

Even if two demons were from the same species, they would still fight when it came to interests.

Amanda’s arms turned into dark spears, as she rushed towards Woohyuk.

Huick huick

The sharp spears aimed for Woohyuk’s vital points as they tore through the air.

Higher ranked demons like her were able to morph parts of the body at will by using their Demonic Energy. Still, because she had been in slumber for so long, her abilities were quite a bit lower than usual.

Kalang!

Grandia and the Dark Spear clashed, they were quite evenly matched as they caused sparks to fly out.

‘Not bad.’

Amanda’s Stats were likely higher than Woohyuk’s, so he couldn’t subdue her through sheer presence alone.

Her battle sense was also quite good.

Staring into her eyes, Woohyuk spoke up.

“Let’s finish this.”

“Good, I also don’t like drawn out fights.”

Amanda replied, as she took a step back. At the same time her Dark Spear erupted in a frightening flame, emitting a blistering heat that one could feel even from a distance.

‘I also have my own hidden card.’

Verserios, Asura’s exclusive weapon. It certainly had quite the powerful ability, able to absorb the souls of its victims.

Amanda’s eyes widened in surprise, upon seeing him switch out Grandia for Verserios.

“What, what is that!?”

It was her first time feeling such a pressure.

The Demonic Energy inside Woohyuk was very strange, and that sword was even more unusual.

An Abyss that seemed to want to suck you in just by its sheer existence.

‘Just what is his identity?’

Just by Hierarchy alone, he would have to be quite a bit higher ranked than even Belial, but she couldn’t match his likeness with any of the 72 Demon Kings which she knew of….

As Amanda hesitated, Verserios was already tearing through the air, aiming for the opening caused by her momentary lapse.

Amanda tried to hurriedly parry the attack

Chwaaak!

But Verserios was able to cleave right through her Dark Spear.

Pooah!

Piercing right into her stomach.

“Kuluk”

Amanda spat out a mouthful of black blood, a look of incredulity on her face.

Absurd destructive power, the gap between their weapons was simply too large.

‘He’s difficult to deal with.’

Although she didn’t know who he was, she knew that she might not survive if they continued fighting. After coming to such a conclusion, Amanda urgently tried to negotiate.

“If you kill me, won’t you be bringing a lot of trouble upon yourself?”

“Why would you think that?”

“Because you’d anger Lord Belial. I am his most cherished subordinate, his vanguard here to conquer a piece of the Eeth continent. In other words I am important to him.”

Belial might be able to live with the loss of a potential base, but if one of his top subordinates were killed, he surely wouldn’t stand still and do nothing.

Not to mention, that he belonged to Ars Nortorial. He would have to tread carefully, or risk angering an entire circle of Demon Kings working together.

In order to be able to accomplish the plan he had set out for himself, he couldn’t afford such interferences or else he’d waste too much of his precious time.

After contemplating a while, Woohyuk finally nodded.

“That makes sense.”

“The continent is a big place. There are many areas which we can use as a base, even if it isn’t this one. If you show me mercy, I can return and explain the situation to Belial.”

If another High ranked demon had taken the city first, Belial would likely simply shift his target to a different region.

There was no use in trying to fight among themselves, since it would just result in an unnecessary competition.

‘She has the nimble mind of a schemer.’

She definitely knew what to say in order to save her own hide. Still, he couldn’t rule out the possibility of Amanda returning for revenge, so Woohyuk summoned Aris.

“Hihing Asura. Why did you call?”

“What is the situation with Erica?”

“The mercenaries under Kaliss came, but were easily taken care of. Also Darius made an appearance and was captured just like you’d instructed.”

Woohyuk’s party was strong enough that the mercenaries never managed to even set foot in the mansion.

After having his main force wiped out so quickly, Sebastian immediately fled, going into hiding. Erica however was over the moon, as she had her men scour the city in search of him.

Once Aris had completed her report, Woohyuk introduced her to Amanda.

“This here is Aris, she is of similar rank to Belial whom you serve.”

“...Sorry but can you tell me what her rank is? I have to report this when I return.”

“We are from this world, so we don’t have a ranking among the 72 Demon Kings.”

Two Demon Kings native to this world. To Belial that was ranked 68th, they would be quite the foes.

Amanda nodded back, knowing that they stood no chance.

“Okay, I will inform him about this as well.”

“Are you confident in persuading him not to target this place again?”

“Belial is a moderate, so he’d want to avoid conflict with you as much as possible. Of course we were to establish a treaty, then our relationship can be more clear.

Amanda took the initiative to establish a non aggression pact with Woohyuk.

A promise to not attack each other’s territories. Any break in the treaty would require an advance notice of 30 days, during which no aggressive action could be taken,

‘It’s a treaty with a Demon King.’

A pact with a spawn of evil which he would have to one day defeat. Still, it wasn’t a bad idea for Woohyuk who currently had a lot on his plate.

It wouldn’t be too late to take care of Belial down the road.

“Good, then let’s agree to a non aggression pact.”

“Thank you, then I….”

“Wait, there is one more thing though.”

“What is it?”

“Release the curse placed on Darius.”

He needed someone to protect Erica when he wasn’t in Landium, and Darius was the best person he could think of.

“Oh, you mean that gray haired mercenary? Sure, I’ll do that right now.”

‘But can’t he first remove his sword?’

Amanda sighed, as she looked down at Verserios that was greedily absorbing her Demonic Energy.

* * *

Shortly after Amanda left to report to her master, the civil war was brought to an end, resulting in Erica’s complete victory.

Sebastian was caught trying to flee the city in a carriage and was beheaded. The Deep Sea’s Vortex however managed to escape back to their ships, having fled at the first sign that the odds were turning against them.

Unfortunately he had missed out on killing Blackbeard.

His conversation with Amanda had gone on longer than he had expected, so he had completely forgotten about him.

At least he had managed to sign a treaty with the Demon King Belial, which was quite beneficial for him at the moment.

“Blackbeard isn’t likely to show his face back here any time soon either.”

Low, who had succeeded as Captain of Barbarossa’s fleet, shook hands with Woohyuk.

Although he had arrived a bit, late, he had played an important role in bringing an end to the civil war, and also had a treaty with Erica.

For Woohyuk, he was definitely an acquaintance worth forming a relationship with.

“I hope you can take care of Blackbeard in my stead.”

“I swear an oath before the Sea God, that I will hunt him down until the end of the world and end his miserable life. Else, Captain Barbarossa won’t be able to rest in peace.

Low had been Barbarossa’s closest confidant and first mate.

As he took his Sea Snake’s Fury crew back with him and headed back out to sea, Erica approached.

“Fortunately everything turned out well.”

“Now you are the city’s ruler.”

“It isn’t even a good thing though, if anything the burden I have to bear has increased.”

Erica was always trying to help out the city’s poor people. She had also had a tough time when she was young, so she could sympathize with their situation.

“You will do a good job.”

“Thanks, but it is all due to your help, Woohyuk.”

Erica gave him a brilliant smile, as her hair was blown by the wind.

She was such a pure girl, it reminded him of another woman he knew.

‘...We may yet meet again.’

One of the many he had lost in the past, however this time it would turn out differently.

“Let’s head back and discuss your plans for the future.”

“Great, we can have some tea as well.”

Black tea was quite fashionable among the upper class in Landium.

Woohyuk walked back with Erica, as the cries of seagulls began to fade.

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