“As the Demon King, you are bound to honor any contract you forge. Especially given that the seal of this agreement is etched into your very heart.”
Paimon calmly addressed Jeha, who had been reacting with considerable agitation, as if to gently remind him.
“Precisely, precisely! A contract, once made, must absolutely be honored!”
Zephyr, a look of delight spreading across their face at Jeha’s reaction, swiftly echoed the sentiment.
‘Right, there was a contract. How could I have completely forgotten about it? This is utterly absurd.’
Jeha muttered to himself. He recalled how, on the very day of the contract—or rather, up until the following day—he had been observing his contractor and finding amusement in their actions. Yet, somehow, in the interim, all memory of them had become submerged within a hazy, impenetrable fog. As a Demon King, dementia was surely out of the question; perhaps this was merely a unique characteristic of beings like him, destined to live through eons.
Jeha swept his hand through the empty air. With a mere thought, a colossal mirror materialized before him, large enough to encompass several individuals.
Instead of mirroring the immediate surroundings of the room, this looking glass revealed an entirely different realm.
It was, at a glance, the interior of a temple. Crafted from pristine white marble, the sanctuary’s interior exuded an air of grandeur and sanctity. Hundreds of human worshippers thronged the vast space, their gazes fixed intently upon a single point. Each individual held their hands reverently clasped, their eyes brimming with profound awe and worship.
A wooden podium stood at the focal point of the worshippers’ collective gaze. Before it, an aged priest, his long white beard flowing down his chest, delivered an impassioned sermon. His white priestly vestments, lavishly adorned, spoke volumes of his elevated status. Purple fabric, intricately embroidered with gold thread, draped his shoulders, while a large pendant, studded with precious gems that shimmered with light, hung prominently at the center of his chest.
[The utterly wicked Demon King Bellarossa personally descended, staining the holy temple with blood and brutally massacring the high priests, who are divine kin. The unprecedented appearance of Bellarossa, Demon King of Sloth and Corruption, on the mortal plane is undoubtedly a manifestation of the people’s extreme sloth and corruption. Demonic power has always drawn strength from the darkness harbored within humans.]
As the high priest delivered his impassioned sermon, the assembled humans nodded in unison. Dressed as lavishly as the priest himself, these congregants within the opulent temple appeared to be royalty and nobility.
[The people’s idleness has reached its peak; they not only neglect their duties and indulge in laziness but also do not hesitate to corrupt themselves with impure and unclean acts. They are already committing immense sins, no different from worshipping the Demon King.]
At the priest’s severe pronouncement, several congregants, as if the mere utterance of such words was defiling, instinctively kissed the necklaces or rosaries they wore, calling upon their god.
[Therefore, after long deliberation, the temple has decided to revive the Inquisition system, which had been suspended for decades!]
[Oh! My God!]
At the preaching priest’s resolute declaration, the humans cried out in near-unison, a collective gasp of awe and approval.
‘Inquisitors. The word was not unfamiliar. Weren’t they the very group responsible for orchestrating witch hunts in his original world?’
Jeha found himself frowning involuntarily. Wasn’t the rampant witch hunt of the medieval era merely a product of malice, wielded as a weapon by corrupt and avaricious humans? While he couldn’t say whether true witches and sorcerers had ever existed, Jeha knew all too well that countless innocent lives had been unjustly extinguished under the guise of these hunts.
“The temple is certainly taking a drastic measure. It must signify the profound shock they experienced due to your master’s descent.”
Paimon stated with an intrigued expression.
[As long as the wicked cult that worships the Demon King hides among the people, our temple will pursue them to the ends of the earth and punish them in the name of God. Thus, we will thoroughly purify this land so that the Demon King’s evil shadow may never again fall upon it! This is the holy mission of those who serve God!]
As the priest concluded his fervent address, the humans surged to their feet, some crying out praises to God, others erupting in applause.
Observing the spectacle, Jeha’s brow furrowed as he shifted his gaze towards a corner of the mirror. As if dutifully manifesting his will, a section of the mirrored image expanded, sharply revealing the figure of a single individual.
As immaculately white as the marble that clad the temple’s interior, a man sat poised and proper in one of the opulent chairs arrayed in a neat row behind the sermonizing priest. It was Hereis, Jeha’s contractor.
With dazzling silver hair and clad in pristine white priestly robes, his uniquely vibrant blue eyes were subtly cast downwards. Jeha, observing his subtly concealed, downcast gaze, detected a potent mix of revulsion and malice. Yet, the rest of his face remained utterly impassive, rendering his true emotions undetectable unless one were seated at his feet, looking up.
‘It seems Hereis isn’t too fond of the Inquisition system either.’
Jeha murmured. When he uttered Hereis’s name instead of the more formal ‘contractor,’ Paimon’s eyebrow gave a subtle twitch. Jeha, quick to notice this, regarded Paimon with a look of displeasure.
“Why? Am I not permitted to call my own contractor by their name?”
“They are but a trivial human, and furthermore, a divine kin imbued with abundant holy power. I deem it unwise for you to foster any sense of familiarity.”
Paimon replied, their tone somewhat circumspect.
‘Hmm…’
As a fledgling Demon King, Jeha had resolved to heed his subordinate’s counsel whenever possible. Yet, after a brief contemplation, he found no compelling reason to avoid feeling a sense of familiarity with Hereis. Regardless of divine power or anything else, Hereis was, ultimately, the human who had slaughtered priests, using their very blood as a sacrifice to summon a Demon King to the mortal realm. With a contract now binding them, they were, in essence, on the same side.
“Well, regardless, possessing such formidable divine power means he won’t perish easily, will he? To put it another way, he makes for an exquisitely fine plaything for Your Majesty to amuse yourself with for some time. As long as Your Majesty remains entertained and unbored, that is all that truly matters. Wouldn’t you agree, Paimon?”
Zephyr hastily interjected, winking at Paimon as if to smooth over the tense atmosphere. Paimon, initially frowning slightly as if displeased, slowly nodded, apparently conceding to Zephyr’s point.
Jeha, oblivious to their exchange, fixed his gaze intently upon Hereis in the mirror. How had he managed to utterly forget such a distinct presence for days? As he observed Hereis, and particularly the revulsion in his eyes at the priest’s words, a peculiar, profound sense of kinship stirred within him.
“How am I to meet him? Must I simply wait until he summons me once more?”
Jeha inquired, and Paimon shook their head.
“Having forged a contract with a human, Your Majesty has, in essence, acquired a facile conduit through which to intervene in the human realm. This is precisely why so many demonkind eagerly embrace contracts with mortals.”
“If I can intervene with such ease… Does that imply I can enter the human realm discreetly, without hordes of holy knights descending upon me as they did last time?”
“Anything your Majesty desires is possible.”
‘Hmm…’
Jeha hummed thoughtfully, propping his chin on the desk. His gaze remained fixed on Hereis in the mirror, a pleasant smile blossoming on his face. The lassitude that had made even breathing seem a chore had utterly dissipated, replaced by a vibrant surge of motivation.
‘—Defile me—’
Jeha murmured Hereis’s peculiar request to himself. A moment later, he offered a sly smile. It had been quite some time since he had a report to compose. The subject? ‘Various Methods of Human Defilement’?
****
Despite the massacre of dozens of high-ranking priests, including the archbishop and several bishops, the temple swiftly cast off its somber pall. Indeed, beneath the surface, a vibrant energy now thrummed, fueled by the commencement of the selection process to fill the newly vacant, prestigious positions.
With fervent backing from their respective nations, priests were already embroiled in subtle power struggles, leveraging every connection and ounce of wealth they possessed. The temple’s atmosphere, a maelstrom of checks, balances, and intricate political machinations, was not merely bustling but fiercely charged with ambition.
Hereis, a favored child of God from birth who had ascended to the bishopric at an early age, was conspicuously the youngest in the assembly hall. Compared to the venerable priests seated around him, he was decidedly a generation younger.
Though the high priests acknowledged Hereis’s existence as one deeply favored by the divine, they consistently sidelined him from matters pertaining to the administration of the priesthood. Hereis, for his part, harbored little interest in such affairs, and consequently, had never once stepped forward to voice an opinion or offer counsel. He possessed no desire to sully his hands in such murky waters. At least, that had been true until this moment.
“To widely proclaim God’s word to the people and guide the flock onto the righteous path is the temple’s most crucial mission. To do so, the presence of high priests who can properly guide and lead many priests and worshippers is indispensable. Therefore, these positions cannot remain vacant for long. Especially now, with the Demon King having descended upon the earth and the public’s morale in disarray. The longer we delay, the more anxious the worshippers will become.”
“That is indeed true. We must fill the vacant positions as quickly as possible to restore order within the temple and prepare for any potential attacks from the Demon King.”
“That’s not all. Many holy knights have been martyred due to the Demon King’s descent. Is this not the time for us to redouble our efforts to replenish the vacant Holy Knight Commander position and the holy knights, and furthermore, to cultivate the strength to resist the Demon King and his kin?”
The eyes of those speaking were uniformly sharp and intent.