Remnants (3)
Shadow Transference.
It was a movement technique that Manggot had devised on his own. A technique that allowed the user to travel long distances through shadows by connecting with a target.
It was also an indispensable technique for Selena to protect Frondier. There was a reason why she and the other members of the Yeolgot were skilled in close combat. If the connected target was an enemy and not an ally, using Shadow Transference would inevitably lead to close combat.
As such, Shadow Transference was a technique that could be used by many of Manggot's subordinates. The Shepherds and the Yeolgot were all known to be able to use it, and even the Shepherds' direct subordinates could use it.
However, that was a small number of people compared to the entirety of Manggot. It was not something that could be learned so easily.
“Shadow Transference isn’t a technique that can be learned in a day or two. You could get hurt.”
“I don’t care! I’ll learn it with all my might!”
“……More importantly,”
Selena’s gaze sharpened with wariness.
“How can I trust you?”
“What?”
“Shadow Transference is useful, but it’s also a dangerous technique. If you were to learn it and ambush Master Frondier…”
Selena’s eyes became clearer and colder.
“Even if Master Frondier were to be safe, you would die. And so would I.”
Lily for the crime of targeting Frondier, and Selena for the crime of teaching Lily Transference.
Selena said that both of those sins had to be paid for with death.
Looking at Selena, Lily grinned.
“I knew it, I knew you’d say that.”
“Excuse me?”
“You believe that I can do it, don’t you, Selena? If I just learn it.”
“……..Ugh.”
Selena had spoken on the assumption that Lily would master the technique. In other words, Selena subconsciously felt it too. That Lily would be able to perform Shadow Transference.
Selena sighed.
“What do you plan to do once you learn it? Let’s hear it.”
“To protect Frondier, of course.”
“And you expect me to believe that?”
“Why wouldn’t you? I’m Frondier’s subordinate.”
It was true. Lily did seem to serve Frondier.
However, Selena found it hard to trust Lily, a devil.
As if she knew what Selena was thinking, Lily smiled.
“Right. Selena, you’re a human, not a devil. You don’t know much about us.”
“I don’t?”
“Devils are a race that will give their lives for the one they serve.”
“……..”
“You’ve seen how the other devils have been acting, haven’t you? When they attacked Frondier, when they attacked Pielott. Devils move on the assumption that dozens, hundreds of them will die. Because an individual’s life isn’t important.”
Devils placed a low priority on their own lives.
Their top priority was not the survival of the individual, but the survival of the entire race.
There were only two cases in which such devils would retreat from battle. When they judged that the battle was of no benefit, or when they judged that the entire race was in danger.
“Are you saying that you’re the same, Lily? That you think lightly of your own life?”
“I’m a high-ranking devil, so I value my life more than most, but it’s a different feeling than that of a human. A high-ranking devil can command lower-ranking devils. I have a sense that my death could mean the death of all the devils below me. That’s why I value my life.”
In other words, the only reason Lily valued her own life was because she was thinking of the entire race.
“But you’re moving for Master Frondier now, Lily. If you think about the entire devil race, wouldn’t serving Master Frondier have the opposite effect?”
“Yes, that’s the important part, Selena.”
Lily raised a finger as if she had hit the nail on the head.
“That’s what I thought at first too. Frondier is a human and powerful, so I thought he might endanger the entire devil race someday. But look at the situation now.”
It was true that Frondier was hostile to devils. There were countless devils who had died at his hands.
Frondier was human. He killed devils to protect humans.
And now.
Frondier saved a devil to protect humans.
“The 72 Devils are now under Frondier’s command. Now that they’ve found the Gate, they can return to the Demon Realm whenever they want. He’s brought together the scattered forces of the devils. And he did it with the power of a devil, no less.”
The master-servant relationship between devils who had submitted to the power of a devil was absolute.
Selena said, “You’re saying that serving Master Frondier has actually benefited the devils?”
“That’s right. The moment I realized that, my purpose changed.”
Lily was also one of those who served Frondier, having received his power. The master-servant relationship was absolute.
However, at the same time, Lily had been prepared to turn against her own kind for Frondier. Frondier was human. Serving a human meant being hostile to her fellow devils.
But that wasn’t happening.
“I persuaded the 72 Devils. I’ve heard that the 72 Devils who haven’t come to Frondier yet are gradually returning to Baal. The Seven Deadly Sins are certainly powerful, but their king is only a temporary leader. They’re not a united force.”
“Wait a minute, Lily. Are you saying…”
A chilling thought crossed Selena’s mind. Lily nodded as if to confirm it.
“I want all 72 Devils to be able to use Shadow Transference. So that the devils can be by Frondier’s side at a moment’s notice.”
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Bro is becoming Solomon
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