Raising Paladins

Episode 74. Battle for City Hall (6)

“Carlos! I heard you died?!”

A frightened goat-headed demon.

Whether I should call him him or her, the one with a mysterious combination pointed to the knife and looked in astonishment.

“He died. But I’m back.”

“how?! Has the magic of the human world already reached that level?”

“No, there is another way. It’s not something you know.”

“that… … .”

“I guess I was famous, right? That you, one of the seventy-two demons, cared about my death.”

“of course! Without you, there are not just one or two demons who have been eager to descend into the human world and go on a wild rampage. I was like that too. I was looking forward to this summoning for the first time in nearly 200 years, but damn… … .”

Baphomet shook his head with a sad face.

Baron Astel, who was watching all this, had a blank look on what the hell was going on.

‘That priest does not hesitate to go away with Baphomet, one of the 72 great demons… … .’

It’s like they’re talking to friends they haven’t seen in a long time.

It was Baron Astell himself who summoned Baphomet and tried to borrow his power.

It was the baron himself who figured out how to temporarily revive the withered golden apple tree, discovered how to corrupt the golden apple and replaced it with dark power, and drew the magic circle in search of the devil’s book.

However, Baphomet was talking to the priest without paying attention to the baron who drew the magic circle and even summoned it.

“Your appearance has changed a bit. Is this the body you got when you were born again?”

“how is it?”

“Except for being very skinny, it’s pretty good, isn’t it? More than anything else, the way you looked before was so scary.”

“Right. But there is something I want to ask you.”

Sweep.

With the steel sword Carl was holding, he lightly cut the tip of his finger.

Then, when he swung the injured part at the demon, a drop of blood flew away.

When Baphomet saw it, he was delighted.

“oh! blood!”

fly!

Baphomet quickly tasted a drop of blood that flew by.

The goat’s head was fed up.

“Ugh… … After all, blood full of divine power is not good. No matter how fresh it is.”

Baphomet’s tone, as if he had tasted it before.

Baron Astell listened blankly to the strange conversation between the priest and the devil.

It was because I did not dare to intervene.

“Still, since you drank blood, you must pay the price. What are you curious about?”

“A while ago, in another area, I formed an army with goblins who had four seals engraved on the back of their necks and tried to plunder a city. Did you guys do it yourself?”

“… … What are you looking at me for? After all, I am one of the 72 demons. I don’t have the time to lend my strength to those trifles one by one!”

“As expected. Then that guy over there must have bought it with your help.”

“Yes… … ?”

Baphomet finally stared at Baron Astell.

Then, with a face that seemed not very interested, he continued.

“I can definitely feel the traces of my blood magic… … . But are you too weak? Were you the one who kept trying to call me out until recently? It’s been a while since I expected you to respond to a summons, but you were a weak warlock. no way… … .”

“Above, great demon Baphomet! I am Astel, the baron of the human world! Please hear me!”

“why me?”

“omg!”

Baron Astel’s face stiffened at Baphomet’s calm response.

“Aren’t you the one who made a sacrifice and tried to call me out? I’ve already gone through the trouble of sending a spiritual body to this point, so why do I have to accept a favor?”

“That, that… … .”

“Anyway, humans are arbitrary. When you look at it, it’s worse than the demons of the underworld? I wonder what kind of guy left the narrative that if he calls us, he will grant us a request or wish, and if he finds it, he really wants to tear it to pieces. That is my honest heart.”

“ah… … .”

“I have to stop doing this. Carlos, you are alive too.”

Baphomet reached for the ground near the tree stump.

Then, an old parchment book lying in the middle of the magic circle was pulled away by his hand and flew away.

chuck!

Carl looked at him and asked.

“Is it your demon book?”

“that’s right. If I sprinkle this in the human world, sometimes stupid warlocks call me out. It’s something that happens once every 100 years… … I have to stop doing this too. In fact, if Carlos was in the human world without you, it would have been nice to have come a few more times.”

“What are you doing?”

“That’s obvious. After killing some of these guys, and soaking the village with their blood, I leave behind the goat symbol that symbolizes me, and instill fear of me in the future humans. That way I won’t perish. You know, we demons feed on fear and fear.”

“Have you stopped kidnapping virgins?”

“It’s been a while since I gave up on that. At one point, it just wasn’t fun.”

“Good thing. Still, you intend to get the price for responding to this summon, right?”

“of course! If I don’t bring that, it’s just that I got scared of you and ran away.”

Poof!

The goat head turned and stared at Baron Astell.

A strange fear in his red eyes gripped Baron Astell’s whole body.

“100 million… … .”

A baron whose body is frozen and unable to open his mouth.

Not only that, but several mercenary members who were lying unconscious around them were also frozen.

‘As expected, I’m glad he came alone.’

Baphomet, the 71st of the 72 Great Demons.

Carl had had a showdown with this demon once in his previous life.

Back then, it was so powerful that a part of the main body of the demon, not a spirit body, was summoned like now.

However, it was Baphomet who escaped with his tail cut off due to divine power like a sea of swords and swordsmanship that split the world.

Then Baphomet made a promise to himself.

As long as there is a priest named Carlos, he will never set foot in the human world again.

However, if the opponent is not a knife, the story is different.

Although the goat demon lost the fight against Carlos, it is still one of the strongest demons in the demon realm.

If even his spiritual body descends, the surroundings will be in ruins, and people will lose their reason and go crazy.

Because it’s too damn bad.

If Carl had brought Hanson or the other priests, it was clear that they would not have been able to withstand Baphomet’s demonic energy.

“The price has been decided by you.”

Poof!

Baphomet reached out again.

Then, this time, Baron Astel’s body was dragged away, and Baphomet’s grip caught him by the nape of his neck.

“Kek… … .”

The baron’s face is getting pale as if it’s difficult to breathe.

said Baphomet, who had put her nose in his face and sniffed at his soul.

“It doesn’t taste very good. You’ve lived too long, man.”

“I heard that he lived for over 100 years by relying on black magic.”

“also… … I like a fresh soul, but it’s a pity.”

For a moment, Baphomet looked around with glazed eyes.

His eyes full of greed.

Carl said sternly at the sight of him rolling his eyes in search of something fresher and more valuable.

“If you’re going to joke around, you’d better stop.”

Whoops!

A steel sword that shimmers with pure white divine power at the same time as the words of the sword.

Seeing that, Baphomet hick! and sighed.

“Calm down, calm down. I’ll just go.”

“Good idea.”

Whirik!

The naked body of a pure white woman, especially the tail that rose right above her hips, terrifyingly disappeared from the knife.

The tail, part of which was cut off, was the stigma of defeat that Carl had engraved on Baphomet in his previous life.

“Let’s ask one before we go.”

“You only got one drop of blood?”

“How about replacing it with something nice?”

“… … say.”

“How are the other demons besides you? Is there anyone planning an invasion of the human world?”

“no.”

Carl was a little surprised by the unexpectedly determined answer.

“As expected, a demon is a demon. They are from the same demon realm, but they don’t hesitate to reveal their dynamics.”

“I don’t know what to do with those bastards. But these days, everyone is saving themselves a bit. Actually, it was a few years ago that Carlos you died, and everyone planned to come to the human world and have fun. Me too. But I’ve heard news that’s even more troubling than your death. Just a month or two ago.”

“What is it?”

“I heard that the guy you know well started moving? The king of night and moon and hatred, born in a bone grave.”

“… … !”

Knock!

Power went into Carl’s hand holding the steel sword.

“Is it so?”

“The gnolls and the goblin army I talked about must have been done by this guy who borrowed my power. However, it is not just the influence of demons or demons that monsters form colonies and attempt to plunder. We do it to torment humans and have fun in the process, but we don’t intend to make a difference in the world at large. you know that?”

“Of course. You like blood and fear, but you don’t want the destruction of the human world.”

“That is correct. If all humans die, the fear they exude will disappear, so the Demon Realm will also disappear. It’s a little different from that bone guy.”

Carl nodded.

“Got it. Anything more to say?”

“hmm… … .”

Baphomet pondered for a moment before opening his mouth.

“I am the devil. Instinctively, when I see someone stronger than me, I respect and submit. Carlos, you are a human being, but you are a great warrior, so that’s what I’m saying.”

“what?”

“This withered tree. It seems to be dead now, but there are definitely traces of divine power left. As you may know, I have traveled to many parts of the human world. To leave behind the fear and legend of Baphomet. Back then, I’d seen trees like this all over the land. Of course it’s not exactly the same, but… … .”

“Are there more God-blessed fruit trees?”

“okay. Every time I found something like that, it was very annoying to go around and avoid it. Anyway, as far as I know, there are three more trees like this in your Cron Empire. Now it must have withered like this tree. If it’s you, not another priest, you can revive those trees.”

“… … That’s a pretty big hint.”

A blessed fruit tree that has lost its divine power and withered.

It may have something to do with their condition and the sacred tree in the main hall of the Sun Temple.

As Baphomet said, what if there were other fruit trees besides here, the easternmost part of the empire?

If all of them are revived, the divine tree of the original shrine may also regain its former glory.

Unexpectedly, the sword, which received great help from a demon rather than a human, felt a little bewildered.

Of course, the seasoned Carl noticed the guy’s ulterior motive at once.

“Because if we are going to stand against the Lich King, we need to get back the power of the gods as much as we can. If the human world perishes, your demon world will also disappear, so that’s why we’re telling you, right?”

“Kuu… … It’s not easy either. hehehe!”

Baphomet’s ulterior motive was revealed.

He wrinkled his nose and laughed.

But then.

Baron Astel, who had been caught and strangled by Baphomet, stretched out his hand while floating in the air.

His eyes seemed to want something very desperate.

Carl walked over and opened the lid of the large wooden box.

“This!”

Surprisingly, the box contained a dried-up corpse.

A body so dehydrated that it can be called a mummy.

It was the corpse of a child who must have been about ten years old.

Baphomet frowned.

“It’s obvious. Since you summoned me, please bring that corpse back to life, he must have been asking for something like that. The repertoire of black magicians with a story is always like that.”

“Is it possible?”

“Of course not. Reviving a dead human being or infusing a corpse with will to rule over them is taboo in both the Demon Realm and the Celestial Realm. That’s against the rules.”

“I know a guy who enjoys that.”

“It’s because he’s a pervert. Anyway, I can’t bring you back.”

Baron Astel’s face fell silent at Baphomet’s determined words.

Apparently, Baphomet’s hypothesis that he summoned a demon to revive that child was correct.

“But I mean.”

“… … ?”

“That kid, I think I saw him somewhere in the demon realm. There are cases where souls intoxicated by the dark power sometimes flow into the Pandemonium.”

“… … !”

A glimmer of hope once again shone in the baron’s eyes.

“Instead of claiming your soul, I will look for that kid when I return to Pandemonium. How about signing a contract with it?”

“Go, thank you… … ! great devil… … !”

The baron squeezed his throat and raised his voice.

Looking at the baron like that, Carl shook his head slightly.

‘I was tricked.’

Baphomet’s blatant lie.

When a person dies, nothing remains.

It means that the soul does not go to the demon world or to the heaven world.

Rarely, like a sword, it can be revived with the blessing of God, but otherwise there is only emptiness after death.

Baphomet was in the process of tricking Baron Astel into signing a contract.

In order to write a contract to legally extort human souls and not become a problem later in the fight against Heaven.

“Then I will leave. Let’s never meet again, Paladin!”

“That would be nice.”

Wheein!

As Baphomet’s spiritual body beckoned, a black door leading to another dimension opened.

Baphomet glanced back at the sword and flicked his tongue greedily.

He disappeared through the black door, holding the Baron in his hand.

At the same time, the terrible magic that dominated the surroundings disappeared like a lie, and the summoning circle that remained on the floor also evaporated.

“It must have been a tragedy caused by foolish human desires.”

Baron Astell and his followers Marlon and Aileen.

Numerous members of the security forces and mercenaries under him.

It is difficult to put into words the harm they have done to Meirium.

That it all stemmed from the baron’s desire to revive the corpse… … .

Carl realized again that even after 200 years, nothing had changed in the world.

But Carl was not disappointed.

“There must be a reason why the sun god sent me here.”

Carl opened another wooden box next to the mummy’s box.

Inside, there were a lot of Divine Pendants emitting dazzling divine power.

All of them were old pendants that the baron and his party had collected from all over the empire in order to temporarily revive the golden apple tree and obtain its fruit.

Carl looked back and forth between it and the withered apple tree.

“Like a lotus flower blooming in the mud, a tragic desire sometimes brings hope.”

Dozens of Divine Pendants collected by the Baron to summon demons.

It was now being used to revive the tree blessed by the gods by the sword.