How to Create a Farm with the All-Known Fantasy Book - 39: Facing the Count of Pestilence

***Khali’s POV***

“This isn’t right…no matter how much I think about this, this is where she should be.” said Khali as he looked around at the other tower where the princess was presumably put into.

“If not here, then where?” asked Shirley.

“…The Count of Pestilence was enamored by the princess’s beauty. Every day he would visit her tower and try to convince her in anyway possible to marry him and every time, she would reject him.” said Khali.

“How do you know that?” asked Louis.

“Because of him…” Khali than raised his hand and a white dove suddenly lands on his finger.

“A dove?” asked Louis.

“Its not just any normal dove…its my familiar. An animal that I made out of my own magic. With its help, I was able to keep watch of everything that has happened in this kingdom.” said Khali.

“If that is true, you could have used the dove to be sent to the empire and bring reinforcements instead. Why couldn’t you?” asked Shirley as she looked at the dove.

“…My Familiar’s range is only about 15 kilometers at best…its nowhere near good enough to reach the empire. If it goes past the 15 kilometer range, I will start to lose control over the familiar. So the second best thing that I could use it on was to monitor the changes of what was happening with the princess.” said Khali.

“…When did you have this familiar on?” asked Shirley.

“Since the time we were invited here by the kingdom itself. Being the guard of the princess, I always try to take note of everything that was happening within my range of view.”

“Okay…if your familiar is as helpful as it can be, do you think it can locate the princess?” asked Louis.

“No.”

“What? Why not?”

“Because my familiar had noticed a few destructive situations happening within the prison station far from the castle. It wasn’t here when the princess was probably transferred”

“What?”

“…” there, the dove then leans into Khali’s ear where it began to chirp a message.

“Hmm, four people exited down into the sewers and four other warriors are fighting off the crowding soldiers…do you know anything about this?” asked Khali.

“…its probably Tyson and the others…they must have escaped.” said Shirley

“Hmm, that might explain how the dove said that the other four are making their way here now.” Said Khali.

“…Really?” asked Shirley.

“Yes…Now, knowing that the princess isn’t here, the only possible thing to happen might be that she is beside the demon count right now. After all, only the demon count knows about the entire situation.”

“Okay…so where do you think the demon might be?”

“Where else, in his goddam throne. We have to get to there fast before the demon does something reckless.” said Khali.

And with it, as they turned around to make their way to the throne room, they ran down from the tower’s stairs and came to the halls where they were nearing the throne room. But as they made it to the entrance of the room, they were blocked by two outrageously big doors.

“Hmm, its locked.” said Louis as he tries to push it open.

“No…Its closed with magic.” said Khali as he touched the very doors, feeling for a magical sense within its surface.

“Maybe we can break it just like how we did with the walls at the tower.” said Shirley.

“Maybe.” without wasting anymore time, Khali brought out the same magic circle. Placing it in a position that was critical in opening the doors, he added more power into those magic circles. There, he looked to the two imperial dragons and spoke.

“Do this right and do this strong, more stronger than what you did at the tower. We only have one shot. If we fail to open those doors, the Demon might take notice of our presence. So please strike with everything you have.” said Khali.

“…”

“…”

The two dragons looked to him in a nervous manner. A lot is on the line and its not something that they should take lightly.

There, Khal activated his magic circles and prepared to strike at the count of his mind.

3…

2…

“What are you doing!?”

But all of a sudden, the voice of a woman was heard from the end of a hallway.

“…!?” as Khali quickly turned around, he saw the face of a woman who looked rather confused.

It was the 2nd mage who was supposedly guarding the prison station. Her name was unknown to the three of them, but she was a unique character that made Khali look rather cautious-like.

“Y-you!?” and the woman, in return of seeing Khali’s face, she turned pale and rather conflicted. It was as if she had recognized the man in front of her.

The Mage stood as her hands were covered in blood and at the back were four guards who carried a body who showed features of a demon. With its horns and dead eyes at show, Khali quickly determined that the demon that those guards were carrying was none other than the demon that was killed moments ago at the other tower. The demon-mage who made a contract with the count of pestilence.

“…You, do you know who I am?” said Khali as he looked to the mage with a rather commanding voice.

“O-of course, a man of your achievements and power, you are known as one of the greatest mage to have ever lived in our time. Graduate mage, Aprecius Khali.” said the mage as she then looks hesitant to even take action against Khali.

In the Magic Academy, a form of ranking is made for all mages who attend the academy. From grade 1 where you are but a beginner starting life as a learning mage to a graduate level where you are acknowledged to be one that surpasses the level that the academy could teach you. Here, by forms of ranking, respect is showed to anyone who are on the board of the graduate level. With rankings ranging from grade 1 to grade 10 (before graduate level), these ranks marks just how knowledgeable a mage is in his own sense of talents.

If one shows no ounce of respect to one’s ranking, punishment by the higher ranker will be gifted and put the lower ranker in his place. Khali being one that is of Graduate level means that he was far superior than any other mage that is within this kingdom.

“…” Khali nods into this known acknowledgement of his identity and turns his back forth to the Door.

But before he could proceed, the mage stopped him again in question.

“Wait! I ask again, as the 2nd in command mage of the hearts kingdom, Meryl Fage, 8th grade mage, what are you doing?” she asked as she shouted across the long halls.

“…We intend to purge the demon that sits behind these doors.” said Khali as he remains standing with his back turned.

“W-what!?” asked the mage known as Meryl as she looked rather surprised by this.

She then paced herself forward to Khali in question but Khali raised his hands in the notion that she stays where she stands.

“I…I don’t understand. Why is a demon behind that door that leads to the throne room!?” she asked.

“…Meryl Fage, have you ever noticed anything different within the kingdom in the past few days?” asked Khali as he then turns to look her in the eye.

“What?” confused and taken aback, Meryl simply could not fully reach the idea of that question.

“I’m sure that what you are holding behind you is none other than the other mage in command. Odys if I am correct.”

“!?” to her surprise, she turned back to see the demon that she had found in the tower. Even in her discovery of this matter, she thought it was simply coincidence to find such a monster that looked similar to that of Odys, she had doubts at the very sight of it. But hearing the truth coming from Khali made her think that it might not be so far-fetched.

Why did she think so? its because of the nature of what a light-mage is.

Light Mages are nothing but the opposing enemy of all demons in nature. They are the exorcist and natural enemy that deals with most demons throughout all of Astra. Their very nature is one that threatens the very lives of a demon’s existence. So having been seen Khali, one of the strongest mages speak of such statement, made her doubt that Odys might have been a demon.

To her, she had known Odys all her time working in this kingdom. Not once had she thought that the mage she was working with would have been one to betray the human’s nature of living by working with a demon.

“You might not believe me, but he is one that has made contact with the demon that stand behind this door today.”

“…That room is where the king sits, if what you say is real…is the king well?” asked Meryl.

“No.” with a straight face, Khali told his truth to Meryl.

“W-what!? What do you mean?” she asked.

“The king has been long dead…I don’t know how long, but the one that sits before the throne today is not the king…but a demon. One that has the magic to change one’s face and bring about a plague throughout the countries.” said Khali.

“That can’t be…” feeling doubtful of his words, Meryl tried to see hope in the matter that it was a lie

“You’ll believe me once I prove it to you.” said Khali.

“…” Meryl only kept her silence as she watched Khali then perform back those magic circles into place.

“…The two of you, take the demon’s body to my lab, the other two, stay here and assist the situation.” Ordered Myrel to the guards with her. It was the only thing she could do.

“…Louis, Shirley, prepare yourselves.” said Khali.

There, Khali showed one of his most powerful spells to date. A spell that counters the very nature of a demon’s magic. Holy Magic. And with it, he fired unto the doors and as he did, it broke open and showed the very sight of what made him and the others fear for what was inside the room.

“”!?””

The scene of Shay being pierced through by his stomach because of a vine that rooted itself from the ground with the black flames burning his face, and the scene of a monster that stood with such a grin on his face. Khali could not help but shake in the fear of just how powerful the aura that the demon was displaying in front of him and the others.

“…Shay!” Shirley could not help but gasp in fear of Shay’s very figure. Dying on his spot, Shirley wanted to rush in to stop the demon, but Khali ordered her to stay in her place because rushing in will only kill her as well.

“Wait on my command.” said Khali.

“…The king is not here!?” Said Meryl as she could not find any face that resembled the king.

“Meryl Fage, if you truly are on the side of Humanity, help us today in defeating that demon. We need everything we can to take down that bastard.” said Khali as he then performs another base of magic circles unto his arms.

“…alright.” it was clear to Meryl that their was only one enemy in this room. And it was clearly the beast that stood in the middle of it all.

“Where’s the princess?” asked Louis. As he tried looking all over the place.

“There! Up on the ceiling!” said Shirley as she noticed a prison sized chandelier dangling on top of the ceiling.

“We can’t go after the princess if the demon is in the way. So deal with the demon first.” ordered Khali.

“”Okay!”” Louis and Shirley quickly replied and with it, they brought out their weapons on the ready.

And as they stood on the entrance of the room, the demon notices quickly that pest had already intruded his very domain.

“Hmm…more and more of you are coming in without my permission. Just how rude can all of you be!?” said the demon as he looked to Shay with sadistic eyes.

But Shay could only ever suffer as the thorny vine continues to dig into his flesh.

“KhKK!!” blood never stops dripping from his mouth and as each second passes, his face was slowly turning pale.

“Shay! Hold on!” shouted Khali as he then performs magic on his spot.

And with it, a beam of light was quickly fired and it targeted the demon.

“Hmm, Light mage. Have you not yet learned your lesson? Will you only ever learn your place once I kill you?” said the Demon as he remembers what happened at the start of this whole debacle.

It was when the princess was invited to the kingdom that when they meet the king, Khali quickly figured out that the king was nothing more than a demon. There, on that spot, he wanted to finish the demon off before everything would start to go to ruin. Seeing as how the princess was by the demon’s side, he was cautious to make a move, but not too cautious to see that the Demon had already figured out that Khali was unto him.

In that moment, in an instant, the demon had shown his true colors to the Dragon Empire guest. With the Pestillus and Odys side by side, they attacked the guest and ruined all of the people in that very place. Khali tried to fight back, but to his shock, the person who he was fighting was more than just a simple demon in disguise. He never knew that the demon before was none other than the Count of Pestilence himself.

It was only when he receive an attack from the Demon that he knew the gap of their levels. Even as a graduate level, he could not quickly prepare himself in taking on such an enemy on the spot. But now, as he stood with the idea of who the demon was, he was in all matters of hope, prepared.

As the beam of light struck the demon, the demon simply made a barrier to block the attack, thinking that it was not capable of piercing through. But to his surprise, the attack was able to pierce through and with it, the beam of light struck him down on his face.

“!!?” The Demon was pushed back as the light slowly burns of his face.

In that moment of disarray, Shirley ran first to save Shay from the grasp of the demon by cutting all of the vines holding him in place.

With the Demon being occupied, he could not fully concentrate on dealing with Shay’s position. The flames on Shay’s face started to get extinguished and it gave Shirley the chance to successfully cut the vines with her sword and break Shay away from the vines.

“I got you.” said Shirley as she then retreats back to Khali’s side with Shay being on her back.

“Hnn..fuck, I was too careless.” said Shay as he was slowly regaining consciousness.

“Don’t talk. With how badly injured you are, you need as much as rest as possible.”

“…”

“God…how are you even alive with this big of a wound on you.” said Shirley, but to her knowledge, she didn’t expect that Shay had already recovered 75 percent of his strength in just a matter of seconds.

Running back, she focused everything she could to bring Shay safely, but as she did, she wasn’t aware that a thorny vine was following her like a snake with its own thoughts.

Clueless to this nature, Shay felt the intent of this attack and as it was nearing her, so he swung his hand down to push back the vine. Successfully, Shay tore the vine into shreds with his incredible mana reinforced strength.

“..!?” Shirley could only look back with a curious face placed on herself. Not knowing what just happened.

By the second that they arrived at Khali’s side, Shay was put down to rest and Shirley went back to focus her intent on saving the princess.

“Good, we’re going all out starting from here.” said Khali.

With Shirley and Louis as the tanking team, Khali as the range dealer and Meryl as the Support of the fight, they stood their ground with the plan to completely exorcist the demon in front of them.