Baldschmidt (4)
Rage burst out.
A primal interrogation method that could never be called a magician's way.
Reed's fist struck Igtus Baldschmidt's cheek with all his might.
Bam!
Thanks to the constant exercise to bear the weight of the gauntlet, Reed's fist had good strength, and the gauntlet he created had an attack power attached to it.
It could deal damage that could be compared to that of a novice knight.
"Tell me, what did you do to suddenly turn into a demon?"
"Do you think... I'll answer?"
"Fine, you don't have to answer."
He clenched his fist again.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
A rough sound that would not normally echo in a magician's mansion resonated loudly.
As violence erupted, the beatings became more brutal.
He focused on beating the face of the damned old man lying down helplessly.
Dolores and Reed couldn't forgive the man who claimed to be the victim, Igtus, who had hurt them.
They wanted to kill him right there and then.
'But I can't do that.'
Reed managed to maintain his composure even while excited.
The goal had not been achieved yet.
Reed withdrew his gauntlet-clad fist.
The filthy demon's blood flowed down his bronze gauntlet.
Igtus Baldschmidt showed a toothless gum smile as he lost his teeth.
"Why did you stop? I'd die if you hit me a little more."
"I won't kill you."
"Yeah, that's right. You'll torture me, cast mental magic, and somehow try to steal information. You've been treating demons... like that."
Igtus smiled.
He released the remaining tiny bit of mana.
After releasing the amount of mana that couldn't even form a fireball, only then could they understand what his intention was.
'Self-inflicted mana poisoning...?!'
Mana poisoning.
Like dying when your health reaches 0, anomalies occur when mana reaches 0.
When mana reaches 0, one becomes a disabled person who can't use magic at all, or their health is reduced.
In that case, their life force will be reduced, and if they can't solve it, they'll become disabled or die.
That was the method of suicide Igtus chose.
"Ugh... gurgle..."
Blood flowed back up.
Reed tried to find a potion or something to replenish mana, but he had nothing.
With Reed's skills, there was no way to stop him from committing suicide.
Igtus foamed at the mouth and rolled his eyes back.
Igtus, who had been trembling, stretched out his body.
"Damn it..."
Reed laid down the stretched-out Igtus.
Since he was already dead, Reed began to think as hard as possible.
'He was forcibly turned into a demon. It was never meant for this moment.'
He recalled the betraying nuances of his monologue.
There was no doubt that they had been acting under the influence of demons for a long time.
'What about Erel Baldschmidt?'
If Igtus had revealed his identity, wouldn't his wife, Erel, have revealed hers too?
No, she might have done it before revealing her identity.
Either way, Reed ran to the kitchen where Erel was, thinking that he could get something he didn't get from Igtus.
But the situation in the kitchen was already over.
"Damn it..."
There, Gorgan, the empire's quick sword, who should have been waiting outside, was seen with his sword sheathed.
In front of him were a split table, chairs, teacups, and Erel Baldschmidt.
Her arms were cut off, and she was foaming at the mouth with blood.
She had also resisted and committed suicide.
Gorgan turned his gaze and asked Reed.
"Are you alright?"
"What's going on here?"
"I felt something was strange and came inside. I saw someone in the kitchen, and since she had the eyes of a demon, I cut off both her arms, but..."
"It seems she committed suicide with mana poisoning."
"Did Igtus Baldschmidt also commit suicide?"
Reed nodded his head.
Gorgan bit his lip.
They thought there would be witnesses left for each other, but in the end, nothing remained.
Gorgan glanced at Reed's clothes.
His white shirt was stained red.
"You have blood on you. Are you hurt?"
"It's not my blood. Thanks for worrying."
Reed waved his hand and sat down.
Gorgan grabbed Erel's jaw, who had become a corpse, and looked around.
"Erel Baldschmidt found it strange that he turned into demon."
"Same with Igtus."
"I guess someone knew you were coming and prepared in advance, what do you think?"
"No, that wouldn't be it."
Reed shook his head.
There was a possibility that they had taken care of it from the outside knowing he was coming, but that was too careless a thought.
"How were the Baldschmidt couple usually?"
"They weren't doing well. I only asked about their survival every few months."
"Then, it's possible that they were induced to reveal themselves when they were entertaining guests. And I came sooner than expected, so they revealed themselves even sooner."
"Do you know what the inducer is?"
Reed recalled Igtus's actions once more.
As if rewinding, the blood flowed backward, the fist returned, and Igtus's demonic transformation was released.
"It seems like there was something in the black tea."
"Black tea..."
Gorgan turned his head.
The neatly split teacup and the red liquid flowing inside.
They drank a cup while entertaining guests and got food poisoning.
"Did you drink it, sir?"
"No."
He was so angry that he couldn't even think of putting anything in his mouth.
Rather, he thought it was fortunate that it prevented him from exposing himself in a dangerous situation.
"They say that evil always comes from unknown places... I never thought that the loyal Baldschmidt couple would be under the influence of demons..."
"Just letting go like this only shows incompetence."
Reed raised his head and spoke.
"Find out from the empire what magic the Baldschmidt house has researched. Have some black tea taken for research as well. Check everything they were involved in, the equipment and medicines they took. There may be magic they researched separately in the imperial workshop, or there may be more demons left."
"I will convey that to the magicians."
"And control the information for the time being. No one other than the top brass should know that there were demons. If distrust arises among the magicians, it will hinder the research."
"…Will you help?"
You?
Gorgan looked at him with doubtful eyes.
To be honest, Reed had no interest in the Garcia Empire and its citizens.
"I won't promise."
He had a reason to help.
Dolores.
Erel and Igtus, both had demon blood, and there was no way Dolores, who carried their blood, could be normal.
The secrets they had were now buried.
However, as much as the Baldschmidt house was involved, Dolores would be involved too.
No, rather, she could have been the source of everything.
'What they created... they said I ruined it.'
He didn't want to think about the worst-case scenario, but it wasn't easy.
'I need to go to the library.'
While Gorgan went to convey the message to the patrolmen, Reed moved to the library here.
For magicians, the library was a place to store their lived history.
If she was an important figure, she would undoubtedly be recorded in some form.
'Where... if I were to leave information about Dolores, where would I leave it?'
He detected magic, but there was no storage magic.
* * *
Dream big tl dot com
[Original Source – dreambigtl . com]
* * *
That meant it was hidden well somewhere.
Reed roughly pulled out the books from the top and looked into each one.
It wasn't visible on the bookshelf.
Then was it on the desk?
He went through the books placed on the desk one by one.
Nothing.
He opened the drawer and looked inside.
Nothing.
Thinking that there might be a space inside the drawer, he reached as deep as possible.
Thunk.
He caught something.
Reed's quick movements became calm.
A hardcover book.
On the cover, it read:
-Blue Rose
Blue rose.
Reed opened the book.
