439 That Time I Almost Turned Myself Into A Demon



"Explain," The older Tiara demanded curtly after we had killed all the imps and sat down for a short rest.

"Hey! You're being rude right now!" Odeta growled, standing behind me like a protector.

"Rude? I'm a Princess!"

"Of what? A broken castle and a burned up land?"

Woah, woah… Let's all just calm down now… Look, even the King is looking quite troubled over there…

I waved my hand placatingly at the princess, "Ok… Umm… Let's just start over ok? You wanted to know how I can use Infernalmancy, right?"

The older Tiara nodded, "I've learned that this is a magic that only demons are capable of casting, I've even tried to learn it myself but it turned out to be impossible. So how are you able to do it?"

"Umm… Could I ask if you tried to use a Demonic Core to cast it?"

"Are you mad?! Just having one of those within sight is enough to start driving one insane or even have your mind corrupted by its influence! Why would I be using one in the first place?! Yet I remember you're there holding on to a Demonic Core like it was nothing!"

Oh right… I actually forgot about that function… Doesn't that just mean that normal people aren't able to learn this magic at all because of that? Or maybe trying to do so would result in the same case as that nobleman transforming himself into a demon?

I cleared my throat, "Ah… Well… You see… I have a Unique Skill that allows me to be immune to its influence, so those whispers that it does to others… I can't hear it, basically…"

Well, it's a half lie since I'm not really sure if it was because of my [Mind Shield] that I could not hear the whispers but it's the easiest explanation I have for her right now.

The princess of this dimension narrowed her eyes at me, "You are not lying are you? You're really claiming that you have an ability that resists mental influences?"

"If it helps, I have a Siren lover and I use this ability to listen to her songs without being affected by her magic."

Now it was the King's turn to speak up, "Truly? A skill that would allow you to even resist a Siren's song? I know people who would kill for a skill like this. But now I'm curious… How does a Siren's Song actually sound like? I've heard tales of it but never experienced one myself."

"Oh, it's beautiful. Truly. And I'm not just saying that because she's my lover. Would sis… Ahem… Would Your Majesty like to try it sometime?"

She chuckled, "Ha! As long as your Mother does not mind, Aster. But let's get back on topic. I remember you showed this to us back at your home as well and you were not affected. While Madam Nilm did say she heard the Demonic Core whispering as well, you mean to say you hear nothing from it?"

I nodded, "I didn't even know that there were whispers until my… My Infrid lover told me about it. When I first got it, I simply tried to manipulate the mana inside it and I learned how to use the mana to cast magic, allowing me to learn my first Infernalmancy spell."

The older Tiara looked at me with a complicated face, "You're probably the craziest, most delusional person, an absolute genius, or you've turned into a demon and you don't even know it."

I was about to tell her that I was not a demon but paused and checked myself with [Screened] to make sure my race was indeed still being displayed as "Meslatar".

Oh good, I still am.

I was actually scared that it might show up as something like 'Half-Meslatar' or something along those lines…

"No, I'm still a pure blooded Meslatar."

The older princess raised an eyebrow at me but did not comment on that. Instead, she pointed at my hands, "You are able to control the mana from the Demonic Core, right?"

"I learned how to do it, yes."

"Now this is weird… From what I know, if you were to absorb the mana from a Demonic Core, you would definitely turn into a demon yourself… So how are you not?"

Wait, really?

I mean it hurt a lot when I tried to absorb it which was why I directed it out of my body straight after trying it… Did I almost turn myself into a demon back then?

Damn… That's scary…

"Umm… I don't actually absorb the mana from the orb, I simply use the mana needed to cast the magic and nothing more," I explained, trying my best to hide the fact I almost did what she said.

The King nodded, "I see, I see… Instead of trying to adapt the Demonic Core's mana into your own body, you simply pull the required energy needed to cast the spell and let none of it remain in your body so that you don't get affected. As expected of Aster to come up with something like this."

Err… I don't know how to tell him that I really just discovered this by pure luck alone…

The Princess narrowed her eyes, "But the finesse needed to control that mana to make sure it doesn't affect you…"

"I have proficiency in Mana Management… I had a lot of practice manipulating mana when I was young."

That seemed to be enough to appease her at last as she nodded her head with a relaxed look on her face.

"So are we done interrogating my Mistress?" Katsuki spoke up beside me.

Even though her face showed a neutral look, I could tell that my Inugami maid was quite upset with how her tail was curled up and tensed behind her.

The older Tiara nodded, "Yes, please accept my apologies for doubting you but I had to be sure that I won't be stabbed in the back while we are advancing up the tower."

I waved my hand, "Don't worry about it. So… Shall we ascend the tower now?"

Everyone nodded in agreement and we proceeded towards the entrance of said tower where the teleportation circle should be.

When we opened the door however, we were greeted by a mound of rubble just behind the door, completely sealing off the entrance.

"Damn it! Seems like they don't want anyone else ascending the tower…" The King cursed, clearly upset at the sight. "Even if we were to remove the rubble, I don't think the teleportation circle survived the destruction."

I looked up at the tower and narrowed my eyes at the balcony jutting out, attempting to cast [Link Portal] at it.

The portal manifested for a moment before it sputtered out of existence.

Tiara shook her head at me, "Anti-teleportation barrier. Nothing teleports in or out."

I grimaced, "I can fly up there I suppose… But I don't think I can carry all of you at the same time…"

Katsuki then surprised me by pulling out a length of rope seemingly out of thin air, "Mistress. If you are able to fly this rope up there and secure it to the balcony, we will be able to climb up there as well."

The King reached out her hand to get my attention, "Wait! If you're going to fly up there, please take me with you as well, Aster."

"What?! No way! I will go with Sister Aster instead!" Odeta protested.

The King turned to the Amrap, "I apologise for this, Odeta. But my daughter is up there right now because of the greed of one of my subjects. This is something that I will not budge on and I will fight you if necessary."

Odeta took a step forward and looked like she was intending to fight the King just for that when Katsuki placed a hand on her arm.

"Odeta, we can join Mistress straight away after the rope is secured. The King is much stronger than you are and will be able to protect Mistress better than you can."

"Tch… Fine! But I will definitely grow stronger than the King in the future!" She huffed before crossing her arms and looking away.

I wanted to ask how Katsuki knew the King was stronger but stopped when I realised that of course she would know…

Instead, I turned to the King, "Umm… So… Am I allowed to carry you?"

She looked at me with a weird face before breaking into a wry smile, "Of course, Aster. This King allows you to carry her."

I wasn't really sure how I should be carrying her so I just opted for the usual princess carry again.

Even though she was wearing that chestplate, she was surprisingly light and I managed to lift her up without any problems.

As though reading my mind, the King explained, "My armour is enchanted, Aster. It's actually as light as cloth but still as sturdy as a plated armour."

Ah, of course it was.

Even the dress I was wearing was enchanted so the King should also be wearing enchanted armour too.

With the King in my arms and Katsuki's rope clutched tightly in my hand, my wings exploded from my back to shoot me up into the sky.

The King held on tightly and showed no fear despite being airborne, her eyes set only on the balcony that we would be landing on.

My expectations of a smooth flight up were destroyed when several winged imps flew out of the tower and started diving towards us.

Damn, so they even expected us to try and fly up there?

Umm… Should I just shoot them down with my ma--

"Forgive me for this, Aster!" The King shouted, interrupting my thoughts.

She repositioned herself in my arms before using my arms as a springboard to launch herself up into the sky.

The leading imp was just as surprised as I was by the King's actions but unlike me, its life was quickly extinguished when the King's sword slashed the monster into half.

She then kicked at the imp and used it as another springboard to launch herself up higher, slashing her sword at another imp and repeating her jump again.

She repeated that action several times until all the imps were sliced apart and she even managed to leap onto the balcony and disappear inside the tower. The imps didn't even manage to fight back…

What the heck… Just how ridiculous is this King?