Chapter 125 Negotiation with the Demon
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
He came from the Frontier to kill me. But this brat named Akahorus? He touched my servant Ashraf’s mana—just barely—and went completely insane. Turned into a hollow shell.
The grass was stained a vivid red. At the center of that scene, the dead, pathetic excuse for a demon lay motionless. No sign of it coming back.
It was dead. Completely.
”For all that bluster, he sure went down easy.”
They said he had more mana than a normal person. That he’d killed plenty on the eastern battlefield. But mentally? He was even more fragile than that useless low-rank noble, Luca Dalton.
”…Ahh… ahhyo… hyo… hhyoo…”
Akahorus, dangling limply in Ashraf’s grip, drooled from hollow eyes and let out meaningless, groaning sounds.
(No use for him now.)
I’d considered turning him into Ashraf’s magic slave, like Luca or that Colosseum boss Zoltan, and sending him back to my father alive. That might have been interesting.
But now? No choice. I’d kill him clean and send his head back as a little souvenir for my father.
As I coldly considered the brat’s fate—
Ashraf, still holding the limp demon, offered an intriguing suggestion.
”Xenos-sama. If I restore this one’s broken consciousness and re-anchor it to his body, he can be reused as my subordinate. I will take full responsibility for managing him—but?”
Oh. So he could do that too.
(Damn. This guy…)
I made my decision instantly.
I drew the sword from my waist, sliding it smoothly from its sheath.
And without a moment’s hesitation—
I severed Akahorus’s thin neck in a single stroke.
Swish!
A wet, dull sound of flesh being cut.
My blade sliced clean through. Akahorus’s headless body crumpled to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut. All that remained was the severed head, still bearing a look of surprise, clutched in Ashraf’s grip.
”No. Sorry, but I’ll kill him here. —This guy just pisses me off.”
”…As you wish, my lord.”
Ashraf, not even seeming to notice the blood dripping from the head in his hand, bowed gracefully toward me.
I generally let my servant, this ‘Teleportation Demon,’ do as he pleases.
That was my policy from the start. I deliberately left him alone.
Why? There was no clear logical reason. Just my gut feeling—that it would work out better in the end.
That said, I didn’t just let him run free without looking into what he really was. I sought knowledge about these ‘demons’—beings separate from humans.
There are old grimoires in this world that mention demons. Forbidden tales of high sorceresses borrowing immense power from demons to cast great spells, or summoning demons themselves into the world.
After combing through them, I reached a conclusion.
A battle of wits with a demon is one humans cannot win.
Conventionally, it’s said demons can be bound by contracts. But how much can that common wisdom really be trusted?
The deeper I dug, the clearer it became: no matter how detailed the wording, no matter how carefully a contract was drawn, it was never enough. Because demons are experts at finding loopholes.
For example: a demon ordered ‘Never defy me’ might calmly kill its contractor and say, ‘I didn’t defy you. I just killed you.’ Or a demon ordered ‘Never kill me’ might slay its contractor and say, ‘I didn’t kill you. I just drove my hand through your chest.’
And those are the tame ones.
Looking into ancient anecdotes, they never had any intention of keeping their word. They would twist the very meaning of the ‘words’ written in the contract to suit themselves. The word ‘absolute’? They’d interpret it as something like ‘if possible’ and casually punch giant holes in their agreements.
Demons are dangerous opponents who can never be bound by contracts.
And the higher-ranking they are, the better they are at making humans believe they can be ‘controlled.’
Humans shouldn’t think they can ‘control’ demons.
That was my conclusion.
My initial instinct hadn’t been wrong.
(I didn’t just leave him alone because I was lazy. —I really didn’t.)
An opponent I couldn’t beat in a battle of wits. So I chose not to fight a losing battle.
But this time—
I was a little curious.
Ashraf had clearly wanted to make Akahorus his own pawn.
What would this unfathomable demon do if I cut Akahorus’s head off right there?
And so I acted almost reflexively.
After I swung, I realized I might have crossed a dangerous bridge. I felt a slight pang of regret.
I cut off Akahorus’s head.
Fresh blood gushed from the stump like a fountain.
Ashraf, sprayed with the blood, didn’t flinch at all—just bowed quietly to me.
(Hmm. So this doesn’t faze him.)
Maybe Akahorus wasn’t all that important to this demon.
”How would you like me to dispose of the remaining body?”
…Did he want this headless corpse? Was there some use for it? Feed it to some monster as bait, maybe?
He wasn’t going to eat it himself, was he…?
”I won the duel. I’ll send the head to my father as proof. You can dispose of the rest.”
”Then I shall handle it.”
I sent word to the guards via Communication Magic to bring a hemp sack for Akahorus’s head. A young guard soon arrived, trembling, holding out the sack.
He was probably terrified of the ominous mana radiating from Ashraf.
Ashraf dropped the severed head into the sack with a dull thud.
Then, with the headless body of Akahorus, the Teleportation Demon vanished without a trace—as if he’d never been there at all.
Once the demon was gone, Lilia, who had quietly watched the brutal duel, hurried over.
”You must be exhausted, Master.”
”Yeah.”
I was tired from dealing with the demon. I nodded at her words of comfort and moved to embrace her generous figure—
But my clothes were drenched in Akahorus’s blood.
After a bath, then.
”Take this head to Oscar. Come with me.”
I ordered the still-trembling guard and headed for the mansion with Lilia.
(…Bringing back the head of a defeated enemy general as proof of victory. Just like a Sengoku warlord.)
I looked up at the brilliantly clear blue sky—
And found myself thinking something oddly carefree.
—
Summary:
Xenos decapitates Akahorus to test Ashraf’s loyalty, sending the head to his father as a trophy. Ashraf remains unflappable, offering no reaction to the brutal execution. The chapter closes with Xenos reflecting on his own danger and the surprisingly clear sky above.
—
Trivia:
Akahorus was a “small fry demon” despite his high mana count and battlefield record.
Touching Ashraf’s mana drove Akahorus insane—instantly.
Xenos considers making enemies into magic slaves for his father but rarely follows through.
Ashraf’s offer to “restore and reuse” broken enemies reveals his capacity for long-term manipulation.
Xenos maintains a hands-off policy toward Ashraf due to the impossibility of controlling demons via contracts.
Demons twist contract wording as a matter of course, not an exception.
The severed head is intended as a “handshake” or political token for Xenos’s father.
Ashraf’s lack of reaction to the decapitation confirms he does not value Akahorus.
Lilia’s offer of comfort is momentarily rejected due to Xenos’s blood-soaked state.
The final skyward gaze serves as a bleak contrast to the bloodshed below.
Notes:
• Akahorus – A brash, arrogant reincarnated mob character brought by Oscar to replace Xenos as the next Grimlock family heir. A small brat with immense mana, multiple attributes, and a demon fused to his left hand, he speaks like a crude delinquent, trying to make Lilia his Magic Slave. Sent by Xenos’s father from the Frontier to kill Xenos, he is driven insane by Ashraf’s mana and later decapitated by Xenos.
• Ashraf – Job: Teleportation demon; Relationship: Guardian of Xenos’s mansion; Note: Guards against potential attacks.
• Xenos – Job: Heir to a high-ranking noble house; Relationship: Owner of Lilia; Has romantic connections with Elenor, Cecilia, and Lizel; Item/Magic: Summoning magic, [Substitution Collars]; Note: Was caught up in a Royal Palace explosion and missed three days of school. Pragmatic and calculating personality. Job: Noble of Grimlock family, protagonist; Relationship: Manipulator of Princess Liliana, pursuing Serena; Item/Magic: [Ring of Transformation]; Note: Reincarnated villain with game knowledge, calculating and arrogant. Job: Theater Owner and noble of Grimlock family; Relationship: Fiancé to Cecilia; Item/Magic: Game knowledge/metaknowledge; Note: Reincarnated villain protagonist who knows the original game script.
• Lilia – Xenos’s fiercely loyal, trauma-resilient Head Maid is a lovely, pale, busty woman with long dark hair, a chest tattoo, and a nullified crest. Dressed in a black uniform, she maintains refined, icy elegance when disciplining others, especially Elenor. While formal and efficient with guests, she masks deep, jealous anxiety for Xenos, finding her greatest joy in serving him and sleeping by his side.
• Oscar – Head butler of the Grimlock family and Gaius’s confidant, he is a tall, lean man in his late forties with gray hair, silver-rimmed glasses, and piercing azure eyes. A professional yet secretly seething “shadow ruler,” he serves as strategist, spymaster, and Xenos’s protective, stoic bodyguard. Though hostile toward Xenos, he maintains composure while managing the estate, even under humiliating orders.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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