My Childhood Friend the Demon Knight Hates Me - Episode 39: Reiss Edition

39 Reiss Edition

Translator: Lioness

Editor: Arya

The process from apprentice knight to officially becoming a knight and joining the Order of Privileged Knights was fast.

Ironically, I was given the nickname ‘Demon Knight’ because of my repellent appearance, my ruthlessness because I was used to killing my emotions, and my uncharacteristic strength of demonic possession.

In this country, ‘demon’ was an unfamiliar term, and my colleagues were jealous of me for having that name, probably just to make fun of me.

Even so, when I heard the name, I felt a twinge of self-mockery.

The duties of a knight weren’t that difficult for me. It was the battle with the demon that was more difficult.

Demons use moonlight as their power.

Night was the demon’s domain.

When I had to walk under the moonlight for night work, I always wore my hood to avoid the moonlight.

I was also worried that the demon would take over my body while I was unconscious, and I had been unable to sleep for a long time, but I remembered that the Ricola flower was effective against demons, so I had it made into a sleeping potion.

A former subordinate of Uncle Alan, who was taking care of me, introduced me to Leon, an apothecary who would take any job as long as I paid him, and he was very good at it. I was also grateful that he was curious, but I didn’t go deep into his customers’ affairs.

Ricola’s sleeping potion put the demon to sleep, and I finally fell asleep myself.

Thanks to the potion, I was able to sleep a little more peacefully, but even so, the potion was kind of ineffective especially during the nights with a full moon, the demon often showed me dreams.

The recurring dream was that —- I was going to kill Suria.

I, who was possessed by the devil, pushed her down and pointed her blade at her throat. Without hearing her sorrowful restraint, I gladly swung my blade down.

… That was where I always woke up to jump up.

“…. D*mn!”

Suppressing the habitual breaths each time.

The devil who shouted ‘Kill a loved one’ repeated ‘dislike’ which had become a habit.

It would probably be easier if I could truly hate them. However, in the end, I was unable to do so, and went through several nights of cold sweat and heart palpitations.

—- Months passed like that, and before I knew it, it had been nearly two years since I broke up with Suria.

I think I had endured well, and tried everything I could to find a way to get rid of the demon, but I couldn’t find it.

According to the literature on demons found in the library of the royal castle, there were several ways for an ordinary demon possessed person to exorcise the demons in their body, but none of them applied to me, who had been completely assimilated by the demon hunter.

While I was struggling, the demon’s erosion continued.

My mentality progressed every day just like the hourglass falling slowly, but I still could not surrender to the devil.

However, it was also a fact that we were not able to kill the demon just by enduring it, and we are being hunted down. Furthermore, after a certain point in time, I noticed that the power of the demon inside me was somehow increasing rapidly, and I was getting impatient.

That was when the apostle general of the church, Gaudi Fins, extended a helping hand to me.

●●●

The Apostle General, who had come to the Order to select a knight to guard the Princess Spirit, noticed at a glance that I was possessed by a demon, and invited me to the church in the morning when the demon’s power was low, just to be sure. I was surprised that the church was aware of the existence of demons, even if it was only some of them.

“… I was shown all the memories of this Lord. You have been fighting against the devil for a long time.”

The office of the head apostle of the church.

When the Chief Apostle learned about my situation, which I was unable to reveal to anyone due to the abilities of a fire spirit named Riou. He bowed to me and said, “I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you sooner.”

It was the first time I had ever been able to gain an understanding of demons, and I felt an unexpected but short-lived sense of relief.

The Apostle General, with his warm, compassionate eyes, looked a bit like Uncle… Alan.

“But it was a good thing we found you before we got to the bell tower.”

“Holy Bell Festival…?

“During this period, the power of the Spirit Queen is at its weakest due to the accumulation of impurities. Therefore, the demons are more likely to rampage during the Holy Bell Festival. You’ve seen the demon’s power increase recently, right?”

When I nodded, the Chief Apostle raised his eyebrows with a mysterious expression, “Because the Holy Bell Festival is approaching.”

I was hoping that if he knew so much about demon biology, he might be able to exorcise the demon in me, but he shook his head in frustration.

“I’m sorry to say, but I can’t help you if you’ve been assimilated to such an extent. If there is any chance at all, it’s our Queen of Spirits. … Here’s a suggestion.”

The Chief Apostle then devised a plan to get me to the Queen of Spirits and to get me through the Holy Bell Festival.

First of all, I was going to be the guardian knight of the spirit princess.

Apparently, I was originally considered for the job.

If I became an escort knight, I would be granted an audience with the queen. And if you do, you will automatically be granted with the Queen’s blessing. This was the power of the Queen of Spirits, who ruled the spirits even when they were weakened by the defilement. It was said that the special blessing bestowed only during the Holy Bell Festival would be a useful hand to suppress the devil without measurement.

“And … about Miss Suria-Barrett, whom the demon in you is after. I’m going to appoint you as her escort knight, and I’m going to select her as the target of my protection, the Spirit Princess of this year.”

“What? Why …?”

“Actually, Miss Suria was originally a candidate for a Spirit Princess. If she is selected as a spirit princess, she will also be protected by the queen … Those who are targeted by demons tend to attract other demons as well. It’s not uncommon for demons to steal each other’s prey. If you’re in this country on a regular basis, you don’t have to worry about it, but during the … Holy Bell Festival, it’s not safe. The more protection you get, the less you have to worry about it. With a strong demon possession by your side, it will be a check against other demons. It’s called using poison to control poison.”

“But…!”
“… Above all, it is better for me and the queen to act together. During the Holy Bell Festival, I cannot always use my power as a Chief Apostle. If you want to use the Queen’s power to control the demon inside you and to give her a powerful blessing, it’s better to have the two of you as close as possible.”

“So, …, you want me to be her protector when I’m the one who’s putting her in danger?”

It was a terrible contradiction.

The apostle chief seemed to know that it was a painstaking measure, and he was painfully distorting his face.

“While the Queen’s blessing is working, I don’t think the consciousness and body of the Possessed Person will be completely taken over by the demon … but I can only present this idea. I know how terrible it is for both of you to be together again under such circumstances. You will also have to lie to Miss Suria.”

… That was right.

No matter how much the Queen’s power suppressed the devil inside me, I couldn’t completely control it. I couldn’t give the devil a chance. Rather, if I became an escort, I had to kill my emotions more thoroughly and pierce my body, which hated Suria, in front of her because she was by her side.

If that caused her to get hurt again, …. it won’t replace her safety.

“… I will only let Suria finish her role as spirit princess and return safely. I will not put her in danger, and I will lie to her until the very end.”

I made a vow so I swallowed the plan of the apostle chief.

Because she didn’t distract me from my thoughts, I reconfirmed my determination so that I wouldn’t be disturbed even if I met Suria for the first time in a long time.

The Chief Apostle also gave me a tool that could be used only during the Holy Bell Festival to block the demon’s power, though it would take some time to prepare. It was called the ‘Spirit Crystal’, which was produced from the water of the spring in the forest where the Queen lived, and had the effect of displaying the spirit to those who had no spiritual power.

The water from the spring was said to absorb the Queen’s excess impurities, and in the same way, it was said to absorb the power of demons.

After hearing that much, I thought we had finished our conversation, with formal recognition and procedures to follow at a later date, but the chief apostle opened his mouth as if he were stammering.

“I should have told you this at the outset, but I honestly don’t know if I can exorcise the demon in you, even with the power of the … queen. It’s almost a gamble. I’ve never seen someone who can assimilate so perfectly and still maintain their ego. I admire your mental strength. But because of that, I’m not sure I can separate you from the demon. …”

“I’m not sure what you mean by that,” I said, narrowing my eyes.

From the time I heard that even the Apostle Chief, who would have considerable power, could not destroy the devil who was assimilated with me, even if the Queen did her best, the probability of separating me from the devil was what I had expected to be extremely low.

The Chief Apostle may have hesitated to tarnish my hope of salvation, but I didn’t care about the possibility of my salvation.

“The only thing I want is to save Suria’s life. If I can’t get rid of the demon even with the power of … the Queen, then I want her to kill me with the demon inside me.”

I would end it all in an audience with the Queen.

There was nothing new about … killing your demons. I’d been considering that method for some time.

If I eliminate the possibility that I would be saved, I would have more options. If it was difficult to separate me from the devil, you could destroy the devil with me. In the latter case, it should be easy to ask the Spirit Queen.

“My Lord, …”

I could see the Chief Apostle gasp.

I didn’t have time to look for another way.

If I lost the battle against the demon, … Suria would die.

No matter how many days had passed, I could not allow the foolishness of handing her soul over to the filthy demon inside me.

I don’t mean to be pushy with such a lofty-sounding, “I’ll die to protect you”.

This was just me being selfish.

I’d much rather die with the devil than send her to her death, that was all.

The apostle chief said, “Don’t give up on the way of saving yourself until the end,” but the next thing I should do was to ‘Prepare to die with the devil.’

I’m not sure if it was because I’d spent time with Uncle Alan and Suria feeling happy to be alive, or because I was afraid of death.

But if that sentimentality, fear of death, and attachment to life got in the way of me getting what I want, I would just throw them away again.

“Thank you for your kind attention to ….”

I knelt on the floor, put my hand on the hilt of my sword, and hung my head.

I showed the highest level of a knight’s courtesy in my country towards the chief apostle at the end and left the church.

— Not long after that, I was reunited with Suria.