I Planned a Su*cide Mission and Got Kicked Out of the Party

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“Divine power, huh? It’s been ages since I’ve heard that term. Honestly, it’s not even worth studying, so I never learned about it. What exactly is divine power? In the end, it’s just a technique used by fraudulent wizards who abuse their magic to call themselves priests and deceive people.”

Jenis said. Jeongjae nodded slightly.

When Jeongjae first came to this world, one of the things he assumed would certainly exist was a church or a deity. In a positive scenario, there would be priests or saints who handle divine power and recover the stamina of warriors.

In a negative scenario, there would be fanatical cultists and scheming bishops. But ever since Jeongjae arrived in this world, he had not encountered either. This is because, in this world, religion as a major ideology in society had already collapsed.

“Is there really nothing like true miracles or experiences of divinity? I mean, this is a world with magic.”

“It’s precisely because there’s magic that such things don’t exist. Most of the strange happenings in the world can be explained by magic. Wizards have been trying hard to dismiss discussions on divinity in the operation of mana.”

“Well, that’s true. I’ve heard that too.”

There are two main reasons for the significant decline of the social authority of religion in this world. First, when the nation was founded, the laws could be enforced upon the Emperor himself as a magical contract, causing legal norms to evolve faster than religious authority.

The second reason is that the fact that faith does not provide any realistic protection has become painfully clear. Hundreds of years ago, the opposing force faced by the holy knight orders in this world was not ‘humans’, who are seen as heretics, but rather evil demon races that cannot coexist at the tribal level.

While scholars from the Magic Tower, who extremely dislike religious interpretation, were scoring victories against evil races, the achievements of those who endorsed the divine were not that impressive, which accelerated the atmosphere of skepticism regarding the existence of divinity.

As a result, religion has not progressed beyond philosophies of life or small parish meetings in the present-day Audrich Empire. While atheism is common among the nobles, Jeongjae felt that this is not necessarily a progressive trend.

The extreme line of atheism has deeply rooted itself in society, sinking discussions of pantheism and theism into the abyss. The idea of inherent human rights—that people are equal from birth due to something granted by the heavens—never properly emerged.

Instead, the nobility successfully reinforced a dominant ideology based on bloodline principles. People are born differently. Superior bloodlines guarantee superior abilities, which has become the most important basis for the permanent existence of hereditary nobility.

In a sense, a subtly twisted meritocracy was dominating the empire’s society.

“You mentioned that in your world, there isn’t even magic. I can’t imagine divine power would really exist there.”

“Such a force is not even recognized in our world. But if we go by that logic, I thought there were no vampires in my world my whole life. It’s just unimaginable…”

Jeongjae stared intently at the note written in English again. There were far too many meaningful parts in it. No, it was really like each sentence had such depth that it seemed to bounce around his imagination.

“Did it say something like ‘I’ve read the borrowed book well, my friend…’ in the first line?”

“It certainly says that.”

“And it mentions ‘divine power’ of ‘our world’? It specifies ‘our world’, not ‘my world’, right?”

“Our universe. Yes. It means our world.”

“Then, it would be reasonable to view that the recipient of the note shares the same world as the sender.”

“At that time this note was written, there must have been at least two people who came from my world.”

“And… um, what you just mentioned…”

Jenis stared intently at the unreadable letters, mumbling.

“Our actions greatly contributed to saving Europe, I see… What is Europe? Is it a country?”

“More than a country, it’s the name of a continent. It’s a powerful continent where many countries of various sizes are distributed.”

“Anyway, it means this person did something that helped protect that world, right?”

“But that became a disaster in this world… Honestly, I can’t fully grasp it.”

Regarding this point, both Jeongjae and Jenis did not have many speculations to offer. Jeongjae naturally entertained the suspicion that the being known as ‘Dracula’ was really the former hero who brought about this world.

It’s not impossible. But why? For what purpose? How? The logical reasoning would be that ‘the vampire lord is too dangerous on Earth.’

If Dracula was sent to the Audrich Empire with intention, why would the entity that sent him have any reason to come to this world as well? What reason would there be to become a hero and clash directly with the Demon King’s army? If he was worried about the evil that Dracula might wreak in this world, wouldn’t it be better to handle such threats on Earth or, if he had already exiled him to this world, just forget about it and focus on his own world’s affairs?

That Dracula crossed over and fought for humanity seemed odd.

More importantly, is this ‘Dracula’ truly the Dracula from the novels? The one Jeongjae knows from the story? If so, what part of that story is factual and what part is fiction? Is the content of that novel reliable historical material? Or is it a manipulated record? Or perhaps, is it merely an absurd story not worth considering at all?

Mention of ‘the divine power of our world’ seems to suggest that Dracula is somehow related to this affair. Yes, in this world, divine power holds no meaning against undead beings. In fact, the existence of divine power itself is being denied.

However, oddly enough, the House of Harker, which carries the closest symbol to sacred relics among the nobility, is quite different. Since the people of this world are ignorant of Christianity, they wouldn’t think much of seeing a cross symbol, but it is clear that Count Harker’s family is significantly aware of Christian faith.

In the novel ‘Dracula’, the villainous Count is sensitive to sacred relics like the cross and can be harmed by them. Vampires in this world are not affected at all by crosses or holy water, but if it’s Dracula who crossed over from Earth, would the story change?

Jeongjae deduced from the contents of the note that the hero who ‘borrowed’ this book saw that the cross dealt effective damage to Dracula, leading him to think about how to apply Christian divine power against the undead in this world.

That consideration would have ended in failure. If it had succeeded, by now, that method would surely be widely known.

“Jenis. There’s no one else to discuss this with. I need to see your father once again. I may seem to be visiting too often, but I think it’s for good reason.”

“Let’s go together, Professor.”

“No, you stay here to guard the territory.”

Jeongjae firmly rejected her. This time, Jenis did not insist, seeing Jeongjae’s attitude.

“Since it’s a dangerous time. I understand, Baron. You must be wary of leaving a territory that had just recently become a target for the Demon King’s army, unattended without a strong defense like mine.”

“You’ve become quite adept at reading my thoughts, Jenis.”

“I could always see through your intentions.”

Jenis spoke in a strangely lonely tone.

“It’s just that I had my own desires as well as following your wishes, Professor.”

“If I discuss this with Count Harker, I can’t even predict how far the conversation will lead, Jenis. I would appreciate your understanding of my desire not to involve a conversation that could take unexpected turns.”

Jeongjae hastily packed up the notes, preparing for a trip to Count Harker’s estate.

Around the same time, the Demon King in the north was immersed in deep thought, devising a way to turn the current situation around.

Today’s Demon King couldn’t even sit still on the throne of the Demon King’s Castle and was merely pacing around it. The Succubus Queen quietly sat in a chair of regency, showing no reaction to her daughter’s fidgety actions.

After the defeat of the No Member Battle, the Demon King’s mother was nearly elevated to an equal status with the Dragon Lord, landing her second place in the official hierarchy within the Demon King’s army.

Whether this was a radical promotion or a dismissal to prevent her from entering the battle again was ambiguous. It could either mean she was politically calculated to place her own kin in high positions for stabilizing the situation.

The only interpretation one could make was that, instead of dismissing the Succubus Queen, who clearly lacked military talent as a field commander, they decided to put her to work in a role where she could be of better use, given that amongst the Demon King’s army, she was relatively smarter.

Of course, no one except the Demon King himself could properly interpret whether even that was correct. Even the Succubus Queen, suddenly elevated to the regent’s position, couldn’t glean the true intent behind that change.

Regardless, it was not the Succubus Queen feeling burdened by the Demon King’s restlessness, but rather the Dragon Lord, who had once held the second position in the hierarchy. As the only one in the Demon King’s army not under command, even if he was pushed down in the ceremonial order, he still essentially maintained his status as the second-in-command of the Demon King’s army.

It wasn’t the importance of ceremonial rank that made the Dragon Lord uneasy; it was the fact that today, the Demon King would be demanding to conscript several dragons from him.

“Send a Gargoil. Assign a sturdy and powerful one. Intelligence reports indicate that the Hellhound’s Northern Expeditionary Force exceeds 100,000. It can’t just be bluster, so we can’t afford not to have troops stationed in other areas urgently.”

The Demon King opened his mouth. The Dragon Lord bowed his head, relieved by the unexpectedly small number.

“Yes, Your Majesty. I will prepare them promptly.”

“And ten more under my direct command.”

At these words, the Dragon Lord’s breath caught in his throat. Ten? Ten dragons?

Does the Demon King know what it means to summon ten dragons? No, he must know. After all, he is the Demon King. He’s not someone who just sits there flamboyantly.

If ten dragons are summoned, that would constitute more than half of the dragons led by the dragon lord himself. There wouldn’t be any dragons left under the Dragon Lord’s command, meaning the Demon King would now hastily requisition most of the dragons currently existing on the surface.

“But Your Majesty!”

“Are ten insufficient? Do you think ten is too few for what you are trying to accomplish? If that’s your sincere advice, I’ll listen. But if not, I won’t hear any more.”

Suppressing the rising anger, the Dragon Lord deeply lowered his head. There was no chance of winning against the Demon King. If a one-on-one clash were to occur, the dragons might hold the upper hand.

But the Demon King possesses an unmatchable charisma, an intimidating majesty that commands respect.

The Dragon Lord sensed instinctively that opposing the Demon King was not wise.

“Your Majesty, may I ask what you intend to use my subordinates for?”

“A book that I lost a long time ago.”

“A book, you say?”

“It’s a kind of prophecy book written in a script called alphabets, where the wisest man in the world wrote down everything he predicted. Apart from me, there are not many who can obtain that book and interpret it.”

“I’ve lived a long time, but I’ve never even heard of such a book, Your Majesty.”

“I also lived without concerning myself with it for quite a while. In fact, there haven’t been many who were aware of its existence or significance until recently.”

The Demon King frowned, biting his lips.

“However, it seems that recently, those who can read that script have started taking an interest in it again. A document that I myself have only properly read a single page of.”

“But… if it’s simply about finding a book, there would be no reason to use the forces under my command. I cannot accept this!”

“What will you do if you cannot accept it, Geode?”

The Demon King suddenly unfurled the massive wings of the succubus behind him. The wings were much smaller than what the Dragon Lord could spread, but the dark aura surrounding them instilled fear even in the dragon lord.

“The Kaiser of the Dual Empire is in an extremely vulnerable state, and tightening the political situation surrounding him even just a little can shake the foundations of Europe. I’ve already eliminated Rudolf, and Karl has also met his end. Ferdinand is the last trigger to transition to the next stage of the plan. By having Hungary kill the Kaiser’s nephew, it will lead the world into irreversible ruin.”

The Demon King suddenly uttered something incomprehensible. While the Dragon Lord blinked in confusion, unable to understand the meaning of the words, the Demon King glowered at him.

“This is what is written as the very first line of the document I mentioned. Though your dull mind may not grasp the importance of this line! Upon reading it, I thought that two countries should not coexist within one nation. What do you think, Dragon Lord? Wouldn’t it be better to just hand over that little fragment to me instead of trembling out of fear for a few dragons?”

“I will prepare ten dragons.”

The Dragon Lord, nearly burying his head to the floor, shivering in fear, accepted it. Right after the Dragon Lord hurriedly left the Demon King’s Castle, the Demon King, weary, folded his wings and slumped onto his throne.

Turning to the still-silent Succubus Queen, the Demon King spoke.

“Mother, what do you think can happen in the world after 120 years?”

“Isn’t it around the age of your own? You should assess it based on what you’ve seen and felt, Your Majesty.”

“This world has always remained the same. What I mean is—”

The Demon King sighed, his expression filled with concern.

“Even when it seems like things are on the verge of escape, visitors still come in good shape. What might that visitor know about the things I don’t?”

The Succubus Queen remained silent, afraid that a hurried answer might irritate the Demon King’s temper.