Gozine

Three Grand dukes-level demons.
It didn’t take long for the demons to manifest on the surface.
But among them, there was only one named entity.
It was strange.
Among Grand dukes-level demons with this level of mana, could there really be one I didn’t know?

But that doubt was quickly resolved.

I checked the status window.
Then, information windows for each demon appeared, instantly flooding my mind with details.

The first demon was Dantalion.

———————————————————

[Basic Information]
Name: Dantalion
Gender: Male
Age: ???
Race: Demon
Primary Element: –
Achievements: [72 Demons]

[Traits]
Positive: [Prodigy of Mana Sensitivity] / [Genius of Memorization] / [Wisdom Devourer] / [Sagacity] / [Curse of Curiosity]
Neutral: [Pure Evil] / [Future Sight] / [Record Reading]
Negative: [Decadence] / [Human Experimentation]

[Stats]
Physical strength: 20
Mana: 24
Luck: 5

Will: 20
Charm: 5

[Skills]
Passive Skill: [Perfect Memory]
Active Skills: [Memory Plunder] / [Illusion Barrier] / [Records of the World]

———————————————————

As far as I knew, he was a demon who took the form of an old woman.
A being reminiscent of Professor Fritzel with a hunched back, but one thing was certain.

He was a monster.

Even if his stats were low, the artifacts he possessed were borderline divine relics.
That alone would make him a monster.

[The Book of Dantalion]

A book that records every event that has happened or will happen in the past and future without omission.
This made it impossible to ignore Dantalion, even if he was considered relatively weak among the 72 Demons.

‘He knows which direction I’ll attack from and how to counter it. No matter how I think about it… this is dangerous.’

Would Dantalion have come here if he hadn’t foreseen his own victory?

Absolutely not.

Which meant that, in the future he saw, our fate was…

Death.
I cut off my thoughts with two syllables (죽음=Death).

Dantalion adjusted his round glasses and spoke lightly.

“I am Dantalion. One of the demons sent by Amdusias-nim to kill you.”

“A demon mimicking human manners? Planning to observe formalities?”

After saying that, I stalled for time while assessing the other two.

“You know him?”

Ru asked.
I nodded slightly.

“Yes. A little.”

“Good. Nox von Reinhaver. The discarded youngest son of the family, the one who would become an obstacle to the Archduke. I knew of you. Though I was puzzled as to how you knew of me.”

“So, what now?”

Of course, from Dantalion’s perspective, this wouldn’t make sense.
He was, above all, a seeker of knowledge.

Baal and Amdusias?
He only followed them because their existence served his purposes, and he had solidified his role strictly as an advisor. He had never actively stepped forward before.

But I knew him.

Because I had already encountered him in the game.
But he wouldn’t understand that.

Why did I know him? What abilities did he possess?
And what he truly desired.

“I intend to take you alive and dissect your brain. Magic to forcibly extract knowledge is common enough in high-level magic.”

“You think it’ll go your way?”

“Nox… I feel something dangerous. We need to run. The malice is almost the same as when we faced Belial.”

“Young Master.”

The voices of Eleanor and Zitri. But it was already too late.
Hadn’t I said it earlier?
Their goal was most likely my death.
A move to eliminate Ru?

Of course, that would be important to them, but suddenly attacking the North now didn’t make sense.

They should’ve known.
In this village, Ru had lived quietly all this time.

“I see no point in further conversation.”

“Be careful, Knight Captain.”

I felt a little guilty for saying it, but there was no other choice.
There was no other reason.

The other two Grand Duke-level demons.
They weren’t overwhelmingly powerful, but they seemed to have undergone some kind of anomaly.

‘Those things… chimeras in the form of demons.’

But it didn’t make sense.

How?

Beings capable of condensing this much mana were exceedingly rare.
And they could turn them into puppets and manipulate them? Even if Dantalion only briefly appeared in the main story and his divine relic was the main focus, making his full abilities unknown, this was unexpected.

A technique to create puppets with Grand Duke-level mana.

How many more could they make with this later?

Just how far did Dantalion’s abilities go?

“You seem quite curious about me as well.”

“Planning to trade riddles?”

“No need. I only intend to take your head, not kill you outright.”

“…I don’t like you.”

Ru said that, then ordered the knights behind him to fall back.

“Everyone, retreat. The two companions of Nox von Reinhaver as well. From here on, this is a fight between me and him.”

“…Understood.”

Del, who had been tense, immediately relaxed and steadied his mind.
Having witnessed Nox and Ru’s shocking swordsmanship, he understood.
He was weak—he still had a long way to go.

So, he prioritized retreat and protecting the villagers.

As always, there was something he could do.
Just as Knight Captain Ru had once told him.

**********

Two puppet demons.
And the future-seeing demon, Dantalion.
Nox had already shared information about him with Ru.

“He has complete knowledge of the past and future. Unless we create variables, he’ll be a difficult opponent. He likely knows at least two days into the future.”

The penalty of [Dantalion’s Book]. Even if all futures are recorded, if it were truly that absolute, the demons would have conquered this world long ago.
The future he can see is limited to two days at most. After using his ability, there are multiple penalties.
For example, he can’t use it consecutively, and there’s a cooldown of at least a week. Of course, there are no restrictions on past information, but this was a clear weakness to exploit.

Ru was facing him for the first time, but he quickly understood what Nox meant.

Chaeng—!

Though his sword blazed with flames several times, deflecting the enemies’ attacks, Ru couldn’t shake the intense sense of dissonance. The eerie feeling of the enemy reading his every move.
Moreover, as someone who wielded invisible spatial sword, this situation was almost unheard of—making it all the more unsettling.

Dantalion remained in place, calmly reading the exchange of swordplay between Ru and Nox from an open book.

Even the two Grand Duke-level puppets they were fighting seemed to have fully grasped the characteristics of both Nox von Reinhaver and Ru, making their compatibility a complete mismatch.

For example.

The knight that fighting Nox.
Nox had absolute control over the black sword, and since it was a daytime ambush, Nox couldn’t fully utilize his moonlight sword.

Ru’s situation was worse. The enemy denied him any space to use his spatial sword, pressing in relentlessly with brute-force defense.

This isn’t easy.
So, before even ten exchanges, Ru made a quick decision.

[Telepathy].

A type of magic, quite high-level, but most knights learned it.
The reason was simple.

In the worst-case scenarios, where allies couldn’t hear commands, this was necessary to coordinate.

Thus, beyond hand signals, direct telepathy had become a recent virtue among knights.

Ru had no trouble using this level of magic. His talent as a knight was exceptional, but he wasn’t lacking in other areas either.

[Listen well, Nox von Reinhaver. We can’t win against him.]

[What do you mean?]

Nox couldn’t hide his disappointment.
This wasn’t the Ru he had imagined.
From Nox’s perspective, he could only feel baffled by Ru’s seemingly weak words.

But as he thought that, Ru’s telepathy continued.

[To win, we must first accept that we can’t defeat him.]

[To win?]

[Yes. You said it yourself. We need to create variables. You must grow stronger. Stronger than you are now.]

[…..]

[Head to the Aksaras labyrinth.]

Nox’s eyes narrowed at the words.

He was stunned. Why was this suddenly brought up?

The Labyrinth, of all things.

Conquering it would take at least two days, and the remaining trials would have to be cleared stably.
Not to mention, it might require sacrificing a loved one—hadn’t he opposed it before?

But Ru’s expression was more serious than ever.

“Are you certain he can’t see beyond two days?”

“Yes.”

“I’ve already conquered the labyrinth. I gained power, and I have the strength to hold them off for a while. But this is only a stopgap.”

Ru continued.

“I’ll buy time. While you conquer the labyrinth.”

He understood.
Why did he have to head to the labyrinth? Why would Ru buy time?

A method to move forward.
Ru was presenting it.

He was telling him to see a future even Dantalion hadn’t foreseen.
If Nox could endure three days, conquer the labyrinth, and gain power, that power would exist outside Dantalion’s predictions. And he would suffer the penalty of being unable to use his ability for a week.

So.
The only one who could turn this situation around right now was Nox.

If Dantalion had more forces to deploy, he would have done so already.

“…But.”

“Failing to protect what you love is a terrible experience.”

But even if you fail to protect, you lose everything.

Ru said that, then added.

“Of all the talents I’ve seen, yours is the greatest. What my friend never had, what I never grasped, you have it. So at least ask. Ask what others truly feel about you.”

“….”

There was no more to say.

The decision was already made.

Honestly, I knew.

That Ru was in danger, and that something even more dangerous might happen to my companions.

But this was my way.
Every time I was pushed to the limit, I bet my life. This cycle repeated, and I moved forward.
I could only hope it would work this time too.

I had no other choice.