IWMHWD 100

Chapter 100 – Contract with the Demon
2024.02.08

“I-I’m fine.”

She used his arm as support and stood upright. The pain gripping her chest vanished as if it had never existed. Perhaps it had only been a passing pain.

“What do you mean, ‘fine’? Stand here. Where does it hurt?”

“It’s nothing. I just… suddenly felt a little short of breath.”

“Ahh!”

Leonard’s interrogation didn’t last long. A woman crawled toward Cordelia, soaked in blood.

“Please… save me… please… I beg you, save me…”

Looking closer, Cordelia saw a straight wound across the woman’s abdomen, as if cut by a sharp blade. Blood poured from it in a torrent. Her mouth was frothing with blood. Shocked, Cordelia fell to her knees in front of the woman.

“Good heavens… wait!”

Cordelia hurriedly tore a part of her skirt to try to stop the bleeding. Leonard reached out his hands alternately to two men.

“Master, Baron. Please lend me a knife.”

“…Cordelia.”

Baron bent down and placed his hand on the woman’s neck. He shook his head slowly.

“She’s already dead.”

“What? But… she was talking to me… just a moment ago.”

“I suppose that was the last of her strength.”

Baron closed the woman’s unseeing eyes and draped his coat over her.

So much had happened in an instant. Frozen in the face of death right before her eyes, Cordelia couldn’t rise from her knees. Leonard wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

“Let’s go for now.”

“Who would do something like this…?”

“The method seems unusual for a magician. It looks like she was cut with a sword.”

“Right… that’s strange.”

Cordelia walked forward, almost buried against Leonard’s chest. After a few steps, the pain she thought had vanished returned suddenly.

“Ugh…”

“Cordelia!”

She didn’t even know how to describe this feeling. It was far more intense than what she felt earlier. It was as if someone were squeezing her heart with their hand. Her heartbeat raced unnaturally fast.

Leonard frantically cast healing magic over her, but it had no effect.

“Baron! Find a nearby physician immediately. Hurry!”

“Yes, understood.”

“Cordelia, look at me. Where does it hurt? Huh? Why all of a sudden?”

Baron, realizing the severity of the situation, ran off quickly. Cordelia was now too weak to even stand on her own.

Leonard carefully laid her down on a bench. He was at a loss at the sudden change in her condition.

At that moment, Lottie, who had been trailing behind the group, stopped on all fours and stared at something.

[It’s coming.]

Cordelia heard the short sentence like a thunderclap. She struggled to turn her head toward Lottie.

Lottie’s blue pupils narrowed vertically, snake-like.

The pressure crushing her chest grew stronger. Cordelia clutched her left breast, writhing in pain.

“Ugh… ugh… ack.”

“Cordelia… Cordelia.”

Leonard’s face turned pale. He held her hands tightly, trying desperately to ease her pain, but there was nothing he could do.

A chilling wind blew. A cold energy swept over the area, making Leonard shiver. He looked up sharply, scanning the surroundings. Somehow, even the sound of birds had vanished.

Breaking the terrible silence, footsteps approached. Leonard tensed and stood in front of Cordelia. Lottie stepped forward a few paces.

But what appeared in front of them was an unexpected figure.

“Lydia?”

“Hello, Leo.”

She greeted lightly, her cheerfulness entirely inappropriate for the situation.

Lydia wore a white hat decorated with fresh flowers and a yellow dress, more than half soaked in blood. The sight was grotesque, impossible not to notice.

“Step aside. I have something to say to Cordelia.”

“Say what? She’s sick now; talk later.”

“Sick? Oh… so it’s because of me, huh?”

“Because of you?”

Lydia smiled brightly. Sunlight poured over her head, yet somehow, it felt chilling. Leonard sensed something deeply wrong with her, though he didn’t yet understand why.

“Sometimes, if someone is sensitive to demonic energy, they collapse like this.”

“Lydia… what have you done?”

“This little one did something, yes.”

“This little one?”

Her choice of words sounded like she was referring to someone else. Lydia spread both hands to her sides, and a single arrow appeared in an instant. She aimed it at Leonard, then let it fly, making a sharp sound.

“Kuh!”

The magical arrow flew over Leonard’s head, hitting a fleeing man before vanishing.

Lydia giggled.

“Ah, this is exciting! I have no idea how long it’s been since I came to the human world—especially like this!”

“…Who are you?”

“Now you ask?”

Lydia—or rather, the demon inside her—smiled brightly. She swished her hand forward lightly. That was all it took, yet the pressure that pressed down on Leonard’s entire body nearly knocked him off his feet.

“Ugh!”

“Mmm… the sunlight feels so good. I prefer the day when the sun is up.”

Lydia spun dramatically like a stage actress, then slowly approached Leonard—or more precisely, Cordelia, who still lay on the bench, struggling to breathe.

Leonard tried to block her quickly, but when Lydia lightly tapped his shoulder with her finger, he staggered as if struck by a hammer.

“Don’t worry, Leo. I’ll kill you too… but first, this girl.”

“Who gave you the right?”

Gritting his teeth, he sent a sharp ice spear toward Lydia. She dodged effortlessly, a little surprised, forming a small ‘o’ with her lips as she stared at him.

“Impressive for a human.”

“No human body can be taken over by contract. So… an incarnation? Which demon is this?”

[Najabut. The ninety-ninth demon.]

Lottie interrupted. Unfortunately, only Najabut and Cordelia could hear this.

Najabut knelt and faced Lottie.

“How do you know my name?”

[Did you think I wouldn’t know after causing such a collapse? Descending into the human world is strictly forbidden.]

“How should I know? She summoned me. That’s why she knows my name.”

Najabut clenched his fist and reached for Lottie. Though he didn’t touch her, Lottie was pushed backward.

“How do you know?”

[Go back! This is no place for you.]

Lottie scolded sharply. No sooner had she spoken than dozens of fireballs created by Leonard flew toward Najabut. The demon blocked them all with a bored expression.

Leonard stood in front of Cordelia, glaring at Najabut.

“You won’t lay a hand on her.”

“We’ll see about that.”

Najabut smiled like a girl, creating a massive fireball behind her back. It looked like a chunk of molten rock from a volcano in hell. The flames were so intense that nearby vegetation withered.

In response, Leonard created a serpent-shaped column of water. Without warning, the two clashed, producing immense steam and acrid smoke.

By this point, Cordelia had barely regained her senses. The pressure on her chest remained, but the intensity of the pain had lessened enough for her to stand.

Lottie approached her side.

[Are you awake?]

“L-Lottie… the demon… descended into Lydia’s body, right?”

Cordelia, gasping, watched the fierce battle between Leonard and Najabut. Sparks flew, ice shards whirled, and the wind tore through trees. Lottie nodded slightly.

[Yes. I don’t know how she summoned a demon of that magnitude…]

“So Lydia is no longer Lydia?”

[Well… some of her original self may remain at the bottom…]

Lottie’s hesitant tone only confirmed Cordelia’s fears. She felt devastated, realizing her suspicions were correct.

Ever since they met again in Mahap, Cordelia knew Lydia had been hostile toward her. Yet she had pretended not to notice, clinging to the hope that if she behaved better, if she were kinder, Lydia might smile again.

It was exactly like with her father.

When he first struck her, Cordelia blamed herself, thinking she had caused it by being inadequate.

But now she knew. This wasn’t her fault. Any misguided pity, sympathy, or desire to be acknowledged as a friend toward Lydia had completely vanished.

Cordelia set her trembling legs on the ground and managed to stand. Her face was firmer than ever.

“Lottie. Can you help Master?”

[In principle, I cannot intervene. But I can assist you in helping him directly.]

“What do you mean?”

[Summoning is a delicate process. So Najabut hasn’t fully settled yet. Also, a human body doesn’t collapse easily from minor shocks.]

Lottie watched Najabut haphazardly tossing fireballs, then glanced at Cordelia.

[Tsk. Maybe that’s why he taught you earlier.]

“Eh?”

[No. Design your magic as I say. There is a spell to separate the host from the demon. It won’t completely remove it, but it can weaken it.]

Lottie’s cryptic muttering faded from Cordelia’s mind. Instead, she focused entirely on executing the complex spell Lottie was guiding her through.

The magic was the most difficult and intricate Cordelia had ever attempted. Sweat poured down her back even while standing still.

Her senses gradually dimmed. The sound of wind cutting through the air vanished, the acrid smell of burning trees disappeared. All that remained was her complete focus on manipulating the immense flow of magical energy before her.