Chapter 40
“Claiming to be one of the proud Cardinal Guardians, and yet you act so cowardly against a hero who can’t even fight well!”
“W-What? Cowardly?”
Nancy’s 〈Aura〉 had momentarily startled Eije. He had been backing away slowly but then suddenly came to his senses, gritting his teeth in anger.
“The coward here is you, Hero! You, who isn’t even a succubus, attacking my mind with strange mental tricks, causing me to fall into your trap!”
“Mental tricks? What are you talking about?”
“Don’t play dumb! Whenever you heroes face someone too strong to defeat, you use those strange skills to lure us into temptation!”
Nancy feigned innocence, but her face betrayed the truth, her emotions clearly written all over it.
“If it weren’t for those powerful mind-altering skills, I never would have fallen in love with him.”
“Fallen in love? Wait… you fell in love?”
Eije continued without being prompted, seemingly eager to share his story.
“Curious, are you? I’ll tell you! It was with a hero who lived 200 years ago. He had a smile so beautiful, it toyed with my heart.”
Nancy hadn’t asked a single question, but Eije kept pouring out the details.
“I loved him with all my passion! But he… from the beginning, he only ever intended to seal me away. He knew he couldn’t defeat me in combat, so he deceived me, telling me he loved me, calling me ‘adorable’ despite this enormous body of mine—only to betray me!”
Eije’s fists trembled with fury, the memory still vivid in his mind.
Nancy, inwardly relieved, realized that her 〈Aura〉 had done its job. Despite being a powerful Cardinal Guardian, Eije was still susceptible to her skills.
“I spent 200 years developing this elixir, an antidote to all mental attacks!”
With a mocking grin, Eije pulled out a small vial from his robes.
Nancy’s eyes widened. How could a demon be so… clever?
She had thought most demons were brutish, rushing into battle without a second thought. But now she was caught off guard.
“Not even Bije could stand up to this potion’s power. There’s no way a weak hero like you stands a chance!”
Eije popped the cap off the vial with a grand gesture, and instead of downing it in one go, he only let a single drop fall onto his tongue. Then, grimacing in disgust, he stomped his foot.
“For a Cardinal Guardian, you’re really losing your dignity,” Nancy muttered under her breath.
He looked so ridiculous, acting like a child over the taste of the potion, that she couldn’t help but blurt it out.
Infuriated by her words, Eije flew into a rage.
“Shut up! It’s not because I don’t want to waste it! It’s just that it’s too bitter!”
“…”
“…Wait, no, that’s not what I meant. I meant it’s not because it’s bitter—it’s just too precious!”
Eije, having shouted himself hoarse, realized his mistake and quickly tried to correct himself, visibly flustered.
His awkwardness made Nancy cringe with secondhand embarrassment.
“It’s true! Do you even know how much magic and money I spent developing this potion? I had to sell off everything I owned. Even the gifts he gave me! The only thing I couldn’t part with was the fire hat he made because it reminded me of him…”
Eije trailed off, lost in the memories of his past love. His six eyes glistened with unshed tears.
“He knitted it with red thread, saying it would match my skin… He even realized that my flames were sharp and that they pricked me when I slept—”
“Enough about the fire hat! I don’t care what color it was or why he made it!”
Nancy cut him off, thoroughly disinterested. She didn’t care about his past love, only about which of her skills had worked. Who cared if the suspicious fire hat was red or black?
Eije, shocked by her lack of interest, stared at her with his mouth hanging open.
“H-How dare you…! Why do you heroes always torment me mentally like this?!”
Clearly offended, Eije unscrewed the cap of the vial once more and swallowed another drop. Grimacing at the bitterness again, he wiped his mouth with his arm.
“I was freed from my seal, determined to take revenge, but the man I wanted to kill was already dead! My rage and sorrow have nowhere to go… so I’ll take it out on you!”
“Why me?! What do I have to do with any of this?!”
“Shut up! You’re a hero too, so you bear the burden of his sins!”
Eije raised his claws, preparing to attack. Nancy instinctively tried to ready herself to fight, but her possession time had already expired. She was now no stronger than an ordinary peasant.
There was only one way for her to survive. Without looking back, Nancy took off, running for her life.
“AARONNN!”
T/N: Yep, Eije’s a guy! I double and triple checked in case I got the pronouns wrong, he was referred to as 그 instead of 그녀 multiple times
I like the strat Aaron’s grandpa had while conquering the demons— he just rizzed them all up lmao
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