Chapter 363

Words : 2318 Updated : Oct 9th, 2025

Helia’s touch became more seductive. Her lips became moist, and her eyes held a subtle hint of sensuality. A pink aura flows around, at the same time, a thick fragrance that seems to melt the brain wafts over. “How about it? Aren’t you interested?” “...” The hand that was climbing up the collar rose to the neck. “I’m very interested though.” Just as that momentum carried her hand about to touch Rudger’s cheek. “Remove your hand.” -Tap. Rudger lightly knocked away Helia’s hand. “Not interested.” Simultaneously, both the pink aura that had filled the surroundings and the tickling fragrance in his nose disappeared. Helia stared at Rudger with wide eyes, with a look of disbelief. Belatedly, she smiled wryly while wearing her usual playful smile. “Huhu. It’s been a while since I was rejected by a man like this.” “Not just ordinary seduction, but using hallucinations to stimulate all five human senses – any normal person would lose their mind.” “Right. Just talking to them a few times makes them lose their minds. But you’re different indeed. To think you’d reject me so mercilessly. Honestly, it hurts my pride. At this point, I’m starting to feel competitive.” “Actions without sincerity, no matter how thick the surface, can only be light in weight.” “Sincerity is like a heavy anchor. Even if you want to go somewhere, you’re tied down and can’t do this or that.” Helia twirled her parasol and tapped the ground with it. “Isn’t it much better to live freely, going where the wind blows and water flows?” A hazy, thin glass-like veil covered the lodging in a dome shape. “What are you planning to do?” “Obviously to talk. Of course, couldn’t we go inside to talk? I am a guest after all.” “...” “Hey. Don’t tell me you’re angry because of the joke earlier?” “...Come in.” When Rudger permitted it, Helia entered with bouncy steps. “Hmm? There’s less stuff inside than I thought? I thought it would be all decorated with various things.” “There’s nothing good about having things here anyway. Sit here.” Helia sat down as told. “Ah, do you perhaps have coffee? An expensive one?” “Do you know about the word humility?” “Humility, modesty, humbleness. Would there be anyone more suited to such words than me? No, I suppose to you all, I’m a demon.” Helia grabbed her stomach and cackled as if she had just made an amusing joke. Rudger didn’t even respond to that sight and sat down across from her. “Huh? What about the coffee?” “Don’t have any.” Actually, there is, because he received some coffee beans from Sedina but he didn’t want to serve that precious coffee to this demon in front of him even if it killed him. “Hey. What is this? How boring.” “So what’s the reason for specifically seeking me out? I doubt it’s just for fun.” “Well, I have many purposes. I wanted to see what kind of place Theon is since Zero Order is interested in it, and I also wanted to see who the previous owner of the position I now occupy was.” “Did you go to see Selina?” “I didn’t meet her directly. I just watched from afar briefly. Actually, I had seen her during the Esmeralda period too so I imitated her a bit with illusions, but I’ve never met her face to face.” Surprisingly, the statement about not having direct contact with Selina wasn’t a lie. Of course, Helia said she didn’t approach Selina because she wasn’t particularly interested. ‘That can’t be true.’ Even to Helia, Selina was quite an intriguing existence. The original owner of the body was Esmeralda. But she disappeared, and naturally, the body that lost its soul should have stopped its life functions. Yet surprisingly, she was alive. Not as Esmeralda, but as an existence called Selina. ‘I thought about approaching to take a look out of curiosity. But if “that thing” is attached to her side, even I would be reluctant to approach.’ There was a similar being by Esmeralda’s side too. The fire spirit “Quasimodo,” was it? ‘I’m not sure if something that twisted can be called a spirit.’ Quasimodo was quite a powerful being. It wasn’t for nothing that he rose to the position of First Order with that power. However, even Quasimodo wasn’t enough to pose a threat to Helia. In contrast, that thing attached to Selina was enough to make even Helia, a demon who had lived for ages, feel instinctive reluctance. ‘A spirit that’s less spirit-like than Quasimodo who’s twisted and pretending to be a spirit. But that one is probably closer to the real thing. So it’s better to avoid it. If I carelessly approach, I’ll just end up bleeding for nothing.’ There was no need to explain that fact to Rudger. “Seeing how you came to find me, it seems like you have something separate to tell me.” “Yes, that’s right. If not for that, I wouldn’t have put up a veil around us in the first place. It would be troublesome if our conversation leaked outside, right?” “I roughly know why you came. Is it about the Order Synod?” “What? You figured it out too easily.” Helia crossed her arms and pouted her lips. “I was hoping you wouldn’t know for a bit longer.” “Zero Order already told us there would be an Order Synod soon anyway.” “Right. And that’s why I’m dissatisfied. To think such valuable information was casually revealed.” “Zero Order is the only being who can convene an Order Synod. There’s no point in arguing about that.” “You speak like someone loyal to Zero Order. You don’t need to act like that [John Doe] in front of me.” Helia leaned her upper body forward and rested her chin on one hand. Whether intentional or not, while subtly showing off her voluptuous figure, Helia asked playfully. “Or are you still wary of me?” “Being wary of a demon is a natural response as a human.” “Hahaha! ‘As a human,’ you say. Come to think of it, that’s right. It’s not surprising that I’m treated that way. But aren’t you curious?” “About what?” “About Zero Order. How did that one and I come to know each other? What happened in the past, and such?” “...” Indeed, it was curious information. So much so that it felt quite captivating among all the actions Helia had shown so far. But Rudger didn’t hastily say he wanted to hear it. This could be deliberately trying to probe his true feelings, and there was no guarantee that everything Helia would say would be the truth. After all, aren’t they both demons? They say there’s no camaraderie between different demons, but at least from a human perspective, it couldn’t help but feel that way. At least they’re allies for now. “Hmm. So you are wary after all?” “It would be strange not to be wary when you’re being so obvious about it.” “Ahaha. That’s true too. Then shall I give you some information as a special service?” “What?” Before he could ask what kind of trick she was planning to pull, Helia recited the information. “You know what? A very long time ago, Zero Order fought against a saint of the Lumensis Order.” “Fought? That’s not strange in the grand scheme of things.” “Right. A demon fighting a saint is obvious. But Zero Order lost to the saint. Multiple times at that. After losing, he had to keep running away.” That Zero Order not only lost fights but had to run away? “Was the saint that strong?” “That’s true, but actually Zero Order wasn’t such a strong apostle in the past.” “The one who now leads the Black Dawn Society wasn’t a strong apostle? Don’t you demons each have innate powers?” Rudger recalled Helia’s illusions and Basara’s mental attacks. Powers that were fatal to humanity just by themselves. That was the power possessed by demons. “Hmm. How should I put it? He does have powers. That’s a kind of privilege given to us apostles. The completely dead Basara can disturb human minds, and I can create illusions with physical force. Other ones are the same. They just easily handle these nonsensical powers.” “So you’re properly aware that your own power is nonsensical.” “But Zero Order wasn’t like that. It felt like a power that wasn’t a power? If others all start from 100, it felt like he completely started from 0.” “And yet you call it a power?” “I guess so probably? Since even a ‘power that can be learned’ is still a power.” A power that can be learned. The expression is truly comprehensive and unclear. Even among demons, though Rudger only knows of two others, it’s certainly exotic compared to the powers possessed by Basara and Helia. “That’s why Zero Order fought particularly hard against the saint. Actually, the saint moved diligently to eliminate Zero Order, and he barely escaped after defeats.” “Is that why Zero Order is now looking for traces of the saint?” “Probably so? Despite how Zero Order appears, that one is a very cunning being. Never revealing his true intentions.” “I can see that.” “But the previous saint is already dead, right? Even a saint is human after all, so they had to age. Zero Order is a demon so they keep living. But the memory of defeat must remain.” “Are you saying he wants to take revenge on the saint by eliminating their successor?” “Or maybe to disgrace the Lumensis Order by stealing the saint’s power instead? That’s my guess at least.” “You say it’s a guess.” “Can’t help it. That cunning one doesn’t show his true intentions to me either. It’s not like I know everything. Come to think of it, it’s a bit irritating? Do I have such low credibility? Between fellow apostles at that.” Helia grumbled while twirling the ends of her hair with her finger. At this point where you’ve already spilled all that to me, your credibility is already... Rudger couldn’t bring himself to say those words. For now, he was in the position of receiving information. In reality, the information Helia gave was quite high-level information. Setting aside whether everything about what happened between Zero Order and the saint in the past could be believed. At least the part about their power didn’t seem to be a lie. ‘A power that can be learned, huh.’ Learning is quite comprehensive, even more so given that there’s no ‘what’ in front of it. If one wants to learn the sword, they can learn it. If one wants to learn magic, they can learn it. Helia said that Zero Order wasn’t that strong initially. Even if one can learn, it probably means the mastery speed wasn’t as fast as one might think but even that becomes a different story if given time that far surpasses a human lifetime. Even with ordinary talent, if one trains with the sword for over 500 years, that alone can reach a certain level. The same goes for magic. How to handle people, how to scheme, how to organize, how to work behind the scenes, how to cause chaos in the world. If all of that is converted into the power of learning, and the period is set to at least 500 years or more Zero Order is perhaps more terrifying than any other demon. “Well, that’s enough idle talk. Now we should go to the meeting?” “Yes. Let’s do that.” “Ah. By the way, the fact that I met you separately is a secret even from Zero Order. Got it?” Helia winked at Rudger as she got up from the sofa. To think it was really an independent action. Rudger waved his hand saying he understood. Though it would be reasonable to be offended by that attitude, Helia smiled like a cat and vanished like a mirage from that spot. Simultaneously, the barrier spread around the lodging disappeared. Thinking what a strange one she is, Rudger put on the prepared ring and closed his eyes. When he opened his eyes again he was in the surface world of Dreamland that he had visited once before. * * * “You’re a bit late this time.” That was the first thing Leslie said when he entered through the door built in the surface world. As seen before, all the First Orders were still in their black fireball forms. “I was busy.” Rudger replied briefly and sat in his assigned seat. All other First Orders were already there. The difference from usual was that the person who should be making the most noise was unusually quiet. ‘Nikolai.’ Considering his personality, he should have been talking endlessly about what happened in the capital by now. The fact that he wasn’t meant he wasn’t in the mood for such talk. ‘Of course, since the secretly led operation failed miserably.’ At that moment, Nikolai glared at Rudger with burning eyes. If he knows about what happened in the capital, he must also be aware that Rudger interfered with his plans. “John Doe.” Just as he was thinking that, Nikolai opened his mouth. “Seems you’ve been doing quite interesting things lately. I heard you stopped a terror attack in the capital?” “That’s right.” “Ha. That’s right? How funny. Don’t tell me you’re seriously working as a teacher at Theon?” All the other First Orders’ gazes focused on Rudger.

Chapter 363

Comments (0)