Volume 2 - CH 419

10-5. Collaborators

Reizen, unable to keep up with the unusual atmosphere, lifted his chair slightly and moved to a corner of the room.

For now, he decided to observe from the sidelines.

That was the only thing he could do, being conscious of it and waiting for the conversation to unfold.

“I have been granted the authority to speak on behalf of Lady Dacia in this gathering. With that in mind, Houen-san, please start.”

“Yes. The devils’ purpose is to prevent the resurrection of the Evil God. Their relationship with the previous Reincarnators and Hiwa indicates their collaboration. The destruction of the city and killing of humans are necessary for that purpose, but I believe there are other ways as well. However, it remains unclear why the city must be destroyed and humans must be killed.”

“I see. Your imaginative thinking is appreciated, but baseless speculations will backfire later.”

“I’m glad my prediction was incorrect.”

Houen interpreted Irza’s statement, which implied that it was incorrect, as affirmation.

Devils had no choice but to respond this way.

They couldn’t straightforwardly affirm it.

If devils were to affirm it… they would end up on the same path as Atrak.

Without twisting their words, this conversation wouldn’t progress.

Houen earnestly deciphered the true meaning behind Irza’s words, combined the speculations he had constructed in his mind like puzzle pieces, and confirmed them.

It was like constantly solving a mystery.

It was starting to give him a headache, but as the confirmed information increased, the mental burden decreased.

The most important point in the current conversation was the existence of a third party that could resolve the situation without destroying the city or killing humans.

Confirming this was significant progress.

“And also, the existence of a third faction. It took a long time to reach this point, but I believe there is something other than humans. An enemy we have never seen before. Honestly, our current forces are insufficient.”

“Even if such an existence exists, it would be almost impossible to accurately identify the target. Searching would be meaningless.”

“Are they being silenced as well? As expected. The third faction is confirmed… We have a method to find them, but we don’t know how. By acting with the devils, would we be able to recognize their existence?”

“Well, who knows?”

“…I guess it’s impossible. Understood.”

“How the heck do you just accept that statement!?”

Reizen had been listening to the entire conversation, but he couldn’t understand the meaning at all and was surprised when the conversation ended, raising his voice.

Houen understood everything that had just been discussed.

He couldn’t comprehend how he was able to understand to that extent, no matter how he interpreted it.

“It’s simple. Well, Irza seemed to be aiming for the edge of the line this time, so I kept denying it almost entirely. Denial is affirmation. Questions become everything else.”

“And you understand all of that!?”

Only in response to the final question, Irza didn’t deny outright and replied in the form of a question.

Given the conversation so far, the usage of questioning was limited.

If they could find the third faction, Irza should have denied it.

If they genuinely didn’t know, they would be able to state it straightforwardly.

So, by using a questioning form, it meant there was another reason.

Among the answers in the current conversation, the one that Houen found most fitting was ‘impossible.’

“Well, complicated matters like this don’t matter. The problem is that even if we cooperate with the devils, we won’t be able to recognize the existence of the third faction.”

“Um… Does that mean… there’s just a small number of them?”

“No, it’s also possible that they don’t exist in reality. However, the devils know about them, so they should be able to make their appearance. This is a problem that the devils can’t answer. We have no choice but to figure it out on our own.”

“My head is about to explode already.”

“For the meantime, forget about the conversation just now. Keep only the results in your mind.”

“Ah, if that’s the case, I can do it.”

Reizen could easily do as long as he kept the summary provided by Houen in his mind.

Feeling a bit relieved, Reizen straightened his posture and waited for the conversation between the two to continue.

“…I want to know about the Oni.”

“I don’t know much about Oni. After all, I don’t have any means to contact them.”

“…Are they being silenced as well?”

To Irza’s unexpected response, Houen entered his own world and contemplated.

Regarding the voices, the third faction, methods to prevent resurrection, and now the existence of devils.

He understood those three, but he couldn’t grasp why they would be silenced about devils.

But there was a common point.

“…Those who fought against the Evil Gods…”

The entities at the center of the war were completely silenced.

If that was the case, it might confirm the speculations about the Akki as well.

“…They don’t want to allow the power of Akki.”

That must be what they feared.

Although it was unknown what the Akkis had done in the past, there was a possibility that they became the most crucial element in the fight against the voices.

There was a need to unravel the mystery surrounding the devils.

For now, that was all Houen wanted to know.

There was still insufficient information, and they didn’t know how to gather it, but confirming the speculations they had made so far was a good start.

“Irza, it’s your turn.”

“Understood. Then…”

Snap.

Irza snapped her fingers.

At that moment, two shadows appeared behind Irza, dripping and forming into human shapes.

The two were slightly surprised, but they couldn’t sense any hostility.

One was a male devil with iron-like horns and silver wings.

The long-collar of his clothes was adorned with the leather of a hard creature, and dice hung from thin threads on his sleeves.

His slightly unhealthy-looking face glared at them.

The other was a female devil with red horns and red wings.

Despite her slender figure, she wore tight clothing, giving the impression that the clothes were imposed on her.

Her coat, made of monster hide, was decorated with fur, and it had a red and black color scheme.

With long gloves and boots, along with the tightly fitted clothes on her slender body