Jiana looked ahead and narrowed her eyes before using the group communication channel to speak.
'I don't think the forces of Anfang have grasped Argo's status as a prince yet. But if and when they do, Argo will either be made to swear allegiance to the kingdom or made to disappear from the land of Anfang.
They say the same thing happened to Demonmir as well. The reason he has been given free rein to some extent is that he is still under the kingdom's thumb.'
Eren's curiosity was piqued when he heard that Argo and Demonmir had something in common. No matter how he tried to make sense of the information, it still confused him quite a bit.
There was obviously a context to that link he was missing. It seemed there was something else about the warnings he wasn't seeing. Curious, he turned to Levine and asked.
'What do you guys mean, teacher Levine?'
Levine took a deep breath before responding in a grim tone.
'You know why he is given the title of Demonmir? Not everybody is privy to this information. Only someone like Jiana who is a title holder would have some information.
Demonmir's history is a closely guarded secret, despite the title he was given. It's like his title is an inside joke. But I'm from the same clan as that man. So of course, I know.'
Levine and Jiana looked at each other for a bit. As if to determine whether the information should be shared with Eren and Nina or not. The two then decided that Eren should know Demonmir's history because there was a chance that he would meet him.
Levine's voice turned grimmer as she spoke.
'Eren, I'm sure you must have heard about the origins of demon beasts and demonic possessions. But have you heard about demonic possessions done on rankers?'
The butcher was taken aback by what Levine was implying. However, the latter continued before allowing him a chance to speak.
'Ottoman is one of the rare rankers in Anfang who had to go through demonic possession. It is the same demonic possession that is usually restricted to mana beasts during their breakthroughs. The fact that he survived and managed to retain control of his body makes him even rarer to the point of being precious.
The man managed to keep his mind intact through demonic possession. He defeated the demon soul fragment and took its powers for himself. And this was when he was a mere Ace ranker.'
Eren's expression turned grim as he listened to Levine's words. He wanted to say that he might not win against Demonmir but he wasn't scared of him. But that only applied when Demonmir was a normal ranker. Or as normal as he could be without some wild powers helping him.
But Levine's latest information put Eren on alert. With such an impressive Trump card, it would be foolish to underestimate him. A Trump card he didn't know or understand the scope of.
'Hmm? An awakened demonic ranker? I didn't know there would even be demonic rankers in the land of Anfang. Someone must have performed a demon-summoning ritual here.'
Eren heard Alephee's surprised voice in his head. It seemed that she couldn't believe that there was someone in the land of Anfang who could keep their sanity and control intact after demonic possession.
Mana beasts getting possessed by demon beasts was a different thing. It was because the mana beasts did not have strong and fully sentient souls at the beginning. As a result, it became easier for the demons to possess them at the time of their breakthrough.
However, demonic possession done on a ranker was a different ball game altogether. No ordinary demon would be willing to take such risks. In addition, the average ranker would never remain the same following demonic possession. Therefore, Demonirmir was treated as a special presence in Edinburgh for this reason. Due to his status as an awakened demonic ranker, he had gained elite status.
Eren wanted to ask Alephee a lot of questions about the term demonic rankers and what it stood for. He decided to keep quiet and listen first.
Levine let Eren digest what she had said so far. After a brief pause, she spoke.
'While Ottoman was under demonic possession, the forces of Anfang dispatched to the scene were about to kill him. Ottoman had almost gone insane and was about to die at that point. With sheer willpower alone, he managed to tame the demon inside him.
The kingdom-sanctioned assassins who had come to kill him became witnesses to his achievement. Thus, he was given the title of Demonmir then and there.'
Nina and Eren both looked at each other with grim faces when they heard about Demonmir's past. The two of them had never been involved in the kingdom's affairs in this manner. It was the first time they'd stepped foot in Edin after all. So they were uninitiated about a lot of things only a certain stratum of people like Jiana and Levine knew.
Jiana was the next to speak.
'Ottoman de Montmorency is not your typical big bad guy. He possesses a very powerful demon soul fragment. This is why we urge you to be wary of him and the demonic side inside him as well.
Because we are not sure which side is more sinister and blood-thirsty.'
From her end, Jiana finished speaking and brought the matter to a close. She then focused on finding her way through the sea of crowds.
Levine de Montmorency looked agitated for some reason when she thought about Demonmir. It was as if there was a distant memory she was trying to prevent from resurfacing in her head.
Eren had stress lines on his forehead as well. Not because he thought that he had underestimated Demonmir. But because he was made aware of these things too late. The butcher wanted to slap Levine's bum for not telling him this crucial information sooner.
AN: The word Mir means prince in Persian and Arabic. So Ottoman's title can be read as Demon Prince. ;)
