HPDBC Chapter 29
Chapter 29
Strangely, the beasts passed right by Lin.
It was as if they couldn’t see him, or as if there was some sort of barrier that prevented them from stepping on or crossing over where Lin stood.
The beasts rushed past, shaking the ground as they went.
“We’ll save formal introductions for later,” Adora reappeared beside him, leaving Lin bewildered. She was a figure who shifted from a thief to smoke, an utterly unpredictable presence.
“For now, it’s more important to verify whether the warrior can be trusted to protect you, at least for the time being.”
“Trusted to protect me? I’m not some pet.”
Lin’s sharp response made Adora flinch in surprise.
“Of course, I never meant it that way.”
She gently stroked Lin’s left arm. Given the situation, Lin could do nothing but allow it. Yet as she touched him, an overwhelming wave of exhaustion swept through his entire body.
“As I thought.”
Adora felt sorry for the struggling Lin.
“You haven’t fully recovered.”
“How... do you...?”
Suddenly, an intense drowsiness overcame him. Lin struggled to resist sleep, but Adora soothed him as he fought to stay awake.
“There’s no time to explain everything right now.”
He couldn’t hold out any longer. Ever since Ephalte, Lin had found it increasingly difficult to resist sleep.
“You’re at your limit. Even the Sacred Sword deemed it dangerous not to force you to rest.”
The feeling of helplessness was overwhelming. As Lin collapsed as if fainting, Adora gently lowered him onto her lap.
“I won’t let anyone disturb you. Sleep well.”
Of course, Adora had no intention of forgiving anyone who dared to interrupt her time with Lin.
“Liiiin-!!!!”
Lin was nowhere to be seen. He had vanished from sight the moment the beasts charged. Lucy had seen it, seen Adora approaching Lin from behind in the last moment she caught a glimpse of him.
“Damn demon!”
From the moment Adora appeared at the black market, she had made no effort to conceal her demonic aura. When Lin had outright asked if she was a demon, Lucy hadn’t sensed anything suspicious at the time, not even the faintest hint of demonic energy.
She should have investigated more thoroughly when Lin asked her directly. But instead, she had wasted time playing power games with Ravin, leading to this disastrous situation.
She was furious with herself, unable to contain her anger.
“Get out of my way!”
Lucy grabbed the jaws of a beast lunging at her and tore them apart, pulling them up and down. When another beast bit her arm, she gouged out its eyes. Her kick, infused with magic, created a crescent-shaped clearing, but it was quickly filled again with beasts.
“Warrior!”
Fortunately, because Lucy was blocking most of the beasts from the front, Waltercrua’s forces were able to push forward more easily. Though that didn’t mean there were no civilian casualties. Ravin, consumed by rage, sought out Lucy.
“What the hell are you doing, showing off alone?!”
“Did you know that Adora is a demon?!”
“The informant...?”
Lucy suddenly realized that even though she had told Ravin Lin’s name, Ravin stubbornly kept calling him ‘that guy.’
“Did you tell that woman Lin’s name? And why do you keep refusing to call him Lin?”
“Why would I tell her?! And how could I call him by his name when he didn’t ask me to?!”
“...Hah.”
In the end, it was her carelessness that had brought about this situation. There had been enough clues—Lin’s suspicion, the way Adora called him Lin without hesitation.
No, Adora must have deliberately left those gaps. But she had ignored it all, treating it as trivial. Even though a demon had targeted Lin, she hadn’t noticed anything.
Swallowing her tears, Lucy had to admit it. She was more useless now than when her limbs were severed.
“Why are you just sitting there with your head down?!”
Ravin wasn’t going to let Lucy off easily.
“Find that guy! You were so sure he was yours—so why are you just sitting there now?!”
“Ravin....”
“Oh, come on!”
Even as she scolded Lucy, Ravin slashed through the beasts that charged at them.
“What are you waiting for?! Go find him now!”
“But there are too many of them... I can’t tell where he is....”
“You...!”
Furious to the point of exploding, Ravin yelled at Lucy.
“You shameless fool!”
Ravin’s shout echoed across the field that had once been the black market.
“That guy didn’t worry about whether he could save you or not—he just did it!”
“He saved you because he wanted to! He wanted to save you!”
“You’re awake, Lin.”
“Adora.”
“You could’ve slept a little longer.”
She admired how calm he remained even in the midst of such chaos.
But Lin felt anything but calm.
“Ravin, you...”
The moment he saw Ravin, bleeding, Lin immediately understood the situation. The side effects of the potion she had used the day the Filthy Water Alley disappeared were still the same.
Even as she coughed up blood, Ravin felt a surge of emotion seeing Lin’s worried expression directed at her. In contrast, Lucy, who was right beside him, felt the sting of being treated like she was less important than a sack of barley.
Just then, an intruder burst through the uneasy truce.
“Now! Kill that bitch Ravin!”
“The contract was to eliminate Ravin! Now’s our chance!”
The mercenary and merchant guild leaders.
“You’ve got some nerve, making demands in a situation like this.”
Even Adora was taken aback by their audacity. But the merchant guild leader didn’t care.
“You’re just an illusionist! Just like you’ve filled part of Waltercrua with illusions, it should be nothing for you to manipulate the memories of everyone here!”
“Shut up.”
Thud!
The merchant guild leader’s head exploded, bursting like a rotten fruit. Adora was genuinely enraged. That filthy creature had stolen the timing of her introduction—an introduction meant for Lin!
“You broke the contract! This is a violation of the pact! If he finds out...!”
“I don’t care about the little brat who’s controlling you. And honestly, I’m quite pissed off because of him.”
It was Adora who had first noticed when Lin arrived in Waltercrua with the warrior. Although it was only a superficial alliance, she had shared that information. But both the subordinates and the higher-ups had interfered with her, using underhanded tactics that only angered her further.
“I told you I’d handle it!”
The illusions were just for show. Adora didn’t need to painstakingly craft them, as just sending out her demonic aura could choke the life out of the mercenary guild leader, slowly strangling him to death.
“Khhk, urgh!”
“This is a warning. Don’t get cocky.”
Clearing her throat, the illusionist amplified her voice with dark magic.
“I am Adora, an illusionist and a member of the Demon King’s Party.”
Despite the shocking confession, no one dared to interrupt her speech.
“Originally, according to my agreement with the leaders of the mercenary and merchant guilds, I was supposed to kill Ravin, the thief guild leader. But since these two have acted on their own, I’ve decided to make them pay for ignoring a demon.”
“Urk...! Illusionist, you bitch...!”
“Let me make this clear: the leaders of the mercenary and merchant guilds made a secret pact with me, a demon. Well, they’re not my allies anymore.”
This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. Absolutely not. Lin, I wanted to introduce myself to you properly.
Adora sent a mental transmission to Lin, Lucy, and Ravin. To Lin, she pleaded with heartfelt desperation.
“Our goal as the Demon King’s Party is to defeat the warrior’s party and resurrect the fallen Demon King, securing victory in the war.”
Foolish warrior, do you really think you can protect Lin from us without the Sacred Sword?
To Lucy, she taunted with disdain.
“So, you guild leaders are no longer necessary. Just die quietly.”
It’s not just because you don’t have the Sacred Sword that you couldn’t detect me.
Thud!
The mercenary guild leader’s head also exploded, effortlessly destroyed.
“I’m bored now, so I’m leaving.”
Since you lost your limbs, you’ve been forced to stay close to Lin. Over time, you’ve become accustomed to his aura.
“Remember, though the Demon King is dead, we demons still stand strong, guided by the will of the Demon God.”
Even now, Lin’s aura is laced with demonic energy—specifically, the Demon King’s energy. You’ve become so accustomed to pure demonic energy that you couldn’t even recognize the same aura in me.
“And also remember, the next time our entire Demon King’s Party reveals ourselves to the world, the resurrected Demon King will be leading us.”
You know why Lin became like this, don’t you?
The warrior, in shock, turned her gaze to Lin.
Lin remained silent.
Desperately wanting to apologize, Lucy kept tugging at his sleeve, but Lin continued to ignore her.
And Ravin, who had also heard everything through the mental transmission, could barely contain her rage.
Adora, sensing his pain, sent a special message just to Ravin.
You know why I went through the trouble of staging this ridiculous drama here in Waltercrua, right?
Ravin’s bloodshot eyes focused on her.
You have something you desire, Ravin the Thief. Coincidentally, what you and I want aligns perfectly.
The reason Adora had infiltrated Waltercrua with such an elaborate ruse was to recruit Ravin into the Demon King’s Party.@@@@