Chapter 24 – Doppelganger
Translated by : betterdays
Proofread by : ch17175
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“A Doppelganger?”
“Huh, what’s that?”
The soldiers murmured. Balbaca, or rather, the doppelganger’s eyes shook. However, it quickly erased the shock on its face as soon as it appeared and clenched it’s teeth.
“You’re talking about a type of extinct demon! The demons were kicked out of the world a long time ago. You’re spouting complete bullshit!”
“Stop acting.”
Asher put his hand in his pocket and spoke.
“Yes, there’s no way to prove you’re a doppelganger unless I use a special method. This special method requires some very particular ingredients, and what was interesting when trying to procure the materials in the territory, was that they were long banned from being circulated in the territory. Almost as if Balbaca the Great Hero wanted to shield even a demon. However, no matter how kind Balbaca was, he would never shield demons. Which only leads to one other conclusion.”
Asher pulled a small pouch out of his pocket..
“Take it.”
Asher opened the pouch. He dug around inside the pouch and sprinkled some gray dust in the air.
“This powder was processed with dried birch. You like it, don’t you?”
(T/N : Birch is a type of tree just letting you know.)
“You! You! You!”
Balbaca struggled and yelled, but Asher’s grip was as firm as steel.
“A Doppelganger is a demon that utilizes mana to mimic humans from their appearances all the way down to their memories. They were active back when the era of war was present, but they were supposed to have been driven out of the continent over 20 years ago. But, there was one fatal flaw with doppelgangers, since no matter how hard they try, they can never fully mimic or imitate another human being perfectly.”
Doppelgangers were demons that knew how to mask their presence and appearance through the work of mana and were difficult to identify. However, during the warring era, they were eradicated after much difficulty and the humans finally developed a method to identify them easier.
“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”
Balbaca’s figure started to twist and distort. It’s right arm bent outwards in a sharp and unnatural angle and the shape of the human face contorted unnaturally. The soldiers’ faces turned pale at the transformation happening in front of their very eyes.
“I thought he was just being crazy….”
Charon clenched his teeth and murmured under his breath. A dark and murky aura of mana started to creep up from the corners of the room.
– …you bastard freak, who are you?
A shrill voice rang out. The Doppelganger ‘s body shook as it spoke through the mana. Asher let go of his hand with a completely different expression of wariness apparent on his face. The Doppelganger frowned in a distorted form at Asher.
– How can you remember us, when our kind has been hiding for the past twenty years as you’ve said?
“Some people still remember.”
Balbaca’s appearance finally started to stop the transformation, showing the doppelganger’s original form. The form of the Doppelganger was completely eerie. It had the figure of a human being, but had no facial features whatsoever, and was colored in a pitch black. Its one feature however, was a mouth that was sewn shut.
“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”
“Oh, my God!”
The soldiers fell into panic at the frightening appearance. Boros and Charon fell into shock as they couldn’t believe the hideous and sudden appearance of the demon species.
The Doppelganger glanced at them and then turned its gaze back to Asher again.
– You did a good job figuring that all out on your own. It’s surprising that a mere human being child could do such a thing.
The thick and murky dark mana spread around the flesh of the Doppelganger.
“Well, then I guess we should reintroduce ourselves properly. I’m Asher.”
***
‘Is this the second time I’ve seen a demon in this life?’
The first one was a minor demonic species that fed off the shadows of individuals, but it was repelled right away by Van Ester, so there was no time to observe it properly. Asher looked at the watery figure of the Doppelganger wrapped around in a coating of mana.
There was nothing different from the past. The body and movement of the demonic mana were the same. Asher observed it closely as he didn’t want to jump to any conclusions about it’s strength, as it had been twenty years after all and he wasn’t sure if the demons had evolved in any way.
The Doppelganger grinned maliciously and looked towards Boros as it spoke through the waves of mana.
– Hello, my proud son.
“…oh! AHHH”
Feeling his anxiety heightened to unreal extremes, Boros let out a shriek.
“My father… What did you do to my father?!”
– Your father? Oh that stupid, innocent idiot?
The Doppelganger laughed at Boros.
– He’s probably just a pile of bones now.
“…Die!”
Boros took out the sword from the sheath by his waist and swung it, losing his reason. The Doppelganger blurred it’s figure and reappeared right in front of Boros, as it struck its hand out and grabbed Boros by the neck.
“Young Master Boros!”
“You, you wicked demon!”
The soldiers grabbed their spears, but their young lord was caught by the Doppelganger and they didn’t want to endanger their lord’s safety by irritating the doppelganger with threatening movements. The Doppelganger lifted Boros’ body by his neck and spoke in an irritated tone.
– It was very annoying to imitate your father. I’ve always wanted to kill you since you were such an annoying chore. Ah! but there was one thing that was fun.
The doppelganger laughed.
– Killing your father’s lover. It was a lot of fun. Especially seeing your reaction to it when you were so horrified. It was so funny seeing you still think I was your father after that.
“…AHHHH!”
Boros screamed in anger and resentment at the Doppelganger. As this happened, Charon rushed in. In an instant, he narrowed the distance and slapped the hand away that was gripping Boros by the neck and kicked the Doppelganger square in the stomach. The Doppelganger was struck with the firm kick and flew into the wall behind them as Boros’ figure dropped down.
“Father….”
“Please come to your senses young master, Boros.”
Charon pulled out his sword with a stern and hardened expression. It was his first time dealing with a demon, but he would not panic.
“That’s not Balbaca, that’s a demon.”
They were their natural enemy as human beings. The Demons had tried to exterminate all of humanity back in the era of wars. The Doppelganger slowly lifted itself up. Boros’ shaky eyes regained stability as he clenched his fist.
“…all soldiers take up your arms!”
Cha ja-jang!
The sound of the weapons being armed and readied, echoed out in the surrounding area. The soldiers held out their spears and pointed them at the Doppelganger with nervous expressions.
“That is not the Lord! That is a demon who has murdered this Empire’s nobility and committed mass treason. He must be killed here and now!”
Boros coughed up a little bit of blood in his throat but held it down as he shouted.
“Kill him!”
“WOAHH!!!”
The soldiers seized the spear and rushed in as they yelled fiercely. They were obviously trying to corral their spirits, as they were fighting an entity so frightening and dangerous, and whose presence was only found in history.
– How dare you pick up your arms against your master?
“You killed our Lord you monster!”
A soldier threw out a spear as he yelled in fury at the Doppelganger. The Doppelganger laughed and waved his dark hand. The speartip that collided against it’s hand that moved in a simple gesture, shattered on impact.
“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”
The soldier who was stabbed by the shrapnel of his spear, rolled on the ground with a scream.
– I was born a pure-bred demon. Do you think you weaklings can honestly even touch me?
Doppelgangers were shaped like humans, but that didn’t mean they were anything like them. They were among the lowest ranks of the Demon Species, but they were not weak by any means. Even the weakest of Doppelgangers, could easily kill an average human male.
The Doppelganger giggled creepily and enjoyed the sight of the soldier screaming in front of it as blood spurted from the man’s wound. The soldier, who was rolling around on the ground, trying to crawl away, paled. The Doppelganger saw his expression and darted forwards. Grabbing the soldier’s head, he laughed out maniacally.
– Ah your name was Bohem right? I always wanted to kill you anyways you dirty filth.
Quaddeuk.
The Doppelganger’s hand crushed the soldier, Bohem’s head, like a watermelon. Brain matter, pieces of his skull and blood splashed out on the floor. The soldier’s body writhed and spasmed as if it weren’t dead even after it’s head was crushed.
“YOU FUCKING DEMON BASTARD!!”
The Doppelganger approached the soldier who shouted out in rage at his comrade’s pitiful death.
– Ah it’s you, Crone.
The dark hand smacked the soldier’s chest and his armor was crushed into his chest. The soldier fell with a spout of blood spurting from his caved-in chest.
“Stop at once!”
Charon ran with the sword at the Doppelganger. The sword drew a diagonal line and the Doppelganger turned it’s arm. With the sound of the steel sword clashing with the arm that felt like iron, both of them were pushed back slightly by a few steps.
– Oh? It’s a proper human swordsman.
The doppelganger wriggled the demonic mana around it, and several arms sprouted from the ground. The arms lashed the air like a whip and shot forward at Charon. Charon took a deep breath as he saw the incoming arm movements. He tensed his nerves and narrowed his eyes, regaining his composure and focus.
Kaga-Gagak!
The sword moved swiftly and only afterimages were left behind as he slashed through the several oncoming arms made of demonic mana. Charon tensed his muscles, pulled his arms forward with the sword , and exploded forwards with his movement.
– What the hell!
Charon stabbed forward with his sword and pierced the sticky chest of the Doppelganger that was surrounded in its murky coating of demonic mana.
“I am the Loyal Knight, Charon of the Great Halvark Estate.”
Charon was one of the most prestigious knights active in the Empire. Although he did not rise to the level of a hero, he was a talented and skilled swordsman of a certain level that was rare to see.
“You may be a demon, but you are not my match if that’s all you have to offer.”
Charon spoke with a confident and authoritative voice.
– Do you really think so?
Suddenly Charon’s body was pushed back out of the blue. Charon barely reacted to the blow and his feet skid across the marble floor.
– You don’t know anything. What we demons are, or why people are so afraid of us.
If the demonic species had beings without mana, they would just be called monsters that could be found in forests and subjugated. But, just by simply being able to wield mana, made them at least 5 times more powerful than the average monster. This was the same for the Doppelganger.
The Doppelganger shot out its claws at Charon, while Charon blocked and parried the sharp movements with a tense expression. Looking for an opening, Charon grabbed the sword and brought it down with a rough and vigorous movement. Quickly, the Doppelganger avoided the sword’s trajectory and wrapped its arm like a snake around Charon’s upper forearm.
It’s not my fault.
Charon twisted out the Doppelganger’s grip with speed and twisted his sword in a fluid movement and threw it up in the air. Rotating his body and catching the sword in the air with his other arm, he caught it in a reverse grip and slashed down at the Doppelganger’s throat.
Kaga Gak!
Red blood splattered across the floor. The Doppelganger grabbed the cut and stepped back without any visible worry or panic on it’s face.
It’s not my fault.
– How futile.
Charon ignored the Doppelganger’s murmurs and took a swing with his sword. The Doppelganger’s arm was cut and red blood splashed.
I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m terribly sorry. I was-I was- I was… wrong. Please forgive me.
Charon paused. Suddenly, he stopped moving with a blank expression as if he had been possessed.
“What… what are you doing to me?!”, Charon suddenly shouted at the Doppelganger.
– Brainwashing is a good excuse, isn’t it? Even if you kill your comrades in war, betray their trust, lie to them, kill their loved ones, it all is perfectly fine as long as you brainwash yourself into thinking you were just being a loyal knight… kekekek!
“Shut up! Shut up!”
Charon rushed in with the sword being swung in a completely flimsy trajectory, clearly showing signs of him losing his composure. The Doppelganger continued to mock Charon, avoiding the sword being swung without any grace or intricate movements.
– You’re not a knight. Your Lord Halvark has taken you in and made you swear allegiance to him, but what does he really think of you? Do you think he trusts a traitor? Do you think he has no doubt about your terrible deeds of the past?
“Shut up!”
Charon swung the sword; his eyes filled with fury and rage. It was a simple movement that even beginner swordsmen could avoid without difficulty. The Doppelganger stopped moving and caught the sword with its hand.
– I am a Demon you fool. Your fear is just a weakness for me to exploit.
The dark arm moved in a blur, and Charon’s armor was crushed. Charon coughed up blood as it spilled from the corners of his lips and fell on the floor.
– Your fear is quite delicious to feast on. This is why human beings are so weak… kekeke!
The Doppelganger stretched out it’s arm. The Demonic mana rose up and formed several thorny vines that shot out at the multiple soldiers standing there, frightened out of their wits. The soldiers struck with fear, had their eyes widen and their complexions pale. Boros clenched his teeth fiercely.
“…You bastard demon!”
– Come to your senses my filthy son.
“Don’t call me your son, you dirty monster!
– But I am your father. And you are my filthy son.
The Doppelganger giggled as it teased Boros cruelly.
– Didn’t you call me your father? Even if I was acting crazy, even if I killed, raped innocent women in the village, stole money, drank and cursed at my servants; you just thought of me as your father…. kekekeke!
The Doppelganger laughed at Boros as if he found his reaction hilarious.
– After all, you idiotic human beings judge people by their appearances and their pasts. Since I look like your father and have his memories, aren’t I technically your father you little shit?… kekekeke!
“…….”
Boros tried to refute the words of the Doppelganger, but his mouth wouldn’t open. He was struck speechless as if his throat was blocked by something. The Doppelganger waved at him as he turned towards the window in the room.
– Goodbye, my foolish son.
The Doppelganger flew out of the window.
***
How long had it been? The soldiers’ groans began to subside. Boros managed to come to his senses.
“I’m… for- for this….”
He was now the Lord responsible for the soldiers. The sense of duty forced Boros to move his body toward the injured soldiers. He lost consciousness earlier but could not stay weak in front of his dead people. He had to wake up and lead his people to safety.
“…….”
There was no such thing as the Great Hero, Balbaca Belturia anymore. Everyone was played for a fool after all. Especially him. Boros bit his lip.
The soldiers assembled and came from the outside as they were called in to assist the injured guards and soldiers inside the former Lord’s room. Those who came in from outside were shocked, but the one’s involved didn’t have time to explain, so they roughly gave a summary of what happened to the newly arrived soldiers. Boros looked at Charon.
“No… It’s not my fault..”
Charon was constantly muttering something incoherently. It was not an atmosphere where the once proud and chivalrous knight could converse. Boros turned his gaze to the other side of the room and found one person. Or rather… the absence of one person.
“…huh?”
Boros became flustered. Asher was nowhere to be found.
***
– It’s annoying.
The Doppelganger grumbled as it was walking through the forest outside of the territory. The Doppelganger once saw Reika as a beautiful flower to soil, but now it had no intention of touching her. It strolled through the forest with a bored face.
It had been stuck imitating an old human for over twenty years.
It was not a short time for him to stay hidden in plain sight as Balbaca Belturia. Even if he was a demon, twenty years was not easy to withstand being among humans. He wanted to quit the act many times over and leave, but was stopped every time.
It was because he was a lower ranked demon, and he was acting on the orders of someone else.
Luckily, his twenty years of servitude and acting as a human had ended, but he never thought it would forcibly end like this.
– It was all his fault.
The Doppelganger murmured. The young man who knew his identity, his weaknesses, and his characteristics. The Doppelganger questioned itself, trying to gather it’s thoughts.
– How did the little human know?
“Because I remember your kind vividly.”
The Doppelganger quickly jerked its head and moved its hand in a defensive posture at the voice from beyond the bushes. The wind started to sway and a murderous and bloodthirsty killing intent poured out from beyond the bushes. The Doppelganger was a demon, but it had never seen a killing intent so vicious and hellbent like the one being emitted from the voice approaching him from beyond the bushes.
As the sound of footsteps rang out in the quiet forest, a young man’s figure could be seen.
– You.
Asher was walking towards the demon with cold eyes.
Chapter 24 – Fin