A Mastermind? No, I'm just the Live-In Son-in-Law-Chapter 55: Death Game

Honestly, I should’ve died immediately. But it seemed the residual white mana in my body was desperately trying to keep me alive.

At this rate, I might die from shock instead of blood loss or the wound itself. Seriously—being a white mage isn’t always a good thing.

“If you used me, I swear I’ll curse you for the rest of my life!”

“Cough...”

I was sorry, but... she wasn’t entirely wrong. I did use her to a degree.

To be exact, I used her to break the unbeatable gimmick of the demon that would be fully summoned in under a minute. I needed to be classified °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° as her enemy—Hestia, the demon’s number one target.

‘I’ve used this bug several times before, but doing it in person really is nerve-racking...’

There was no need to explain it now. She’d see my intent with her own eyes soon enough. But if this didn’t work... I was finished.

Just imagining it was terrifying.

Though, what was even more dreadful was that I hadn’t gotten the chance to give Lady Meredia the gift I prepared.

If I’d known this would happen, I should’ve brought it with me when we met in the carriage.

“Hey! Don’t make that sentimental face!”

“......”

“And now that I mention it, you seriously need to fix your expressions—!”

I was about to push aside those fleeting regrets and mentally prepare to let go of consciousness when—

“No! Stop!!!”

Suddenly, a frightened voice echoed from behind.

“Oppaaa!!!”

Cecil, who should’ve been taken to the infirmary by Lunelle, came running and wailing like a tragic heroine.

“......”

Even more baffling, she was accompanied by Lunelle, whose face had turned deathly pale.

What the hell?

Lunelle should’ve been explaining the contents of the trick pouch and reassuring Cecil and Meredia by now.

“I-I need to talk to you—Ah!”

Startled by the unexpected turn of events, I froze for a moment. Cecil, dashing toward me, tripped and fell as another massive tremor shook the arena.

“I-I’ll help with your plan from now on, I promise... Just please, think this through again...”

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Ignoring the scrapes on her knees, she got back up and looked up at me with tear-filled eyes, trying to say something.

“...Oppa?”

And then, she saw it.

Me, sitting on the ground with a dagger buried in my heart.

‘Wait. If Lunelle’s with Cecil right now...’

But instead of focusing on Cecil’s face full of despair, I had no choice but to direct my attention to the immense pressure rising beside me.

‘...Does that mean Meredia never received the plan?’

Sure enough, Lady Meredia, standing in the judges’ area and watching everything unfold, looked more pale than I had ever seen her.

“Saintess...”

“Y-Yes?”

“Pull out the dagger.”

Seeing that, I summoned my last bit of strength and urged Hestia, who was just as shaken, to continue with the plan.

“B-But...”

“Please...”

If Cecil or Meredia tried to save me now, there would be no turning this around.

“Ugh...”

“...Khk.”

As the Saintess pulled the dagger from my heart, her hand slick with sweat, I felt all strength drain from my body and quietly closed my eyes.

“Nooooo!!!”

A scream echoed through the arena—Cecil’s, or maybe Meredia’s. I couldn’t tell.

But my consciousness had already been severed.

***

“Mmm...”

At the exact moment the dagger was pulled from Whitney’s heart—

‘It’s been so long since I’ve felt fresh air...’

The top-tier demon Azrael, who had just broken through the arena floor in all her terrifying majesty, was basking in the sunlight, a delighted smile on her face.

‘How long has it been since I was sealed in the Academy siege? Over a thousand years?’

Sealed after the final battle between the first Hero and the Demon King, she had spent centuries buried deep underground. This was the long-awaited moment she had dreamed of.

‘Now then. Where is the clever black mage who summoned me back to the surface...?’

Unlike most demons who were nervous when meeting their contractor, she eagerly glanced around, full of anticipation—but her face soon twisted with displeasure.

“So the strange air I felt... It really was the prophecy come true!”

“The enemy is a demon not seen for centuries! Prepare defenses! Contact the capital at once—!”

“Hmph?”

The knight order from the Holy Nation—those blessed by the wretched goddess she loathed—were storming into the arena.

“Even after all this time... the goddess’s dogs are still running around?”

Azrael looked at them with utter contempt, her expression tinged with scorn as the knights charged in, radiant with holy power.

Her crimson eyes gleamed as she whispered softly.

“...Stop.”

With that single word, not just the knights, but everyone in the arena froze exactly where they stood.

“Hah, just as I thought. Utterly useless.”

Once the terrifying enforcer of the first Demon King’s will over a thousand years ago, Azrael had wielded immense power.

Though much of it had been lost during her long imprisonment after being sealed by the Hero’s party...

Even now, having just revealed her true form, her power was sufficient to paralyze the entire arena with just one command.

“Well then, let’s take our time and find my contractor.”

Still in her humanoid form rather than her true demonic one, she planted her feet on the ground and began to hum as she walked leisurely across the arena.

“...Hm?”

But only for a moment.

Sensing an overwhelming force from nearby, Azrael turned her head—and her eyes went wide.

“What the hell...”

“......”

Meredia, her eyes glowing a deeper crimson than ever before, was glaring at her with her lips pressed tight.

‘That’s power equal to the Hero’s party that sealed me!’

Meredia was already twitching her fingers.

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If she hesitated even a little longer, it was clear she would ignore Azrael’s command and attack outright.

‘...Where the hell is the contractor?’

For Azrael, who couldn't die and actually enjoyed fighting, this wasn't much of a problem.

But her summoner—her contractor—was another matter.

Demons could only remain in the physical world through a contract. And their greatest weakness, then and now, was always the same:

If the summoner died, the demon was banished.

‘...No way. Don’t tell me he’s already dead?’

Even after all this time, her power hadn’t fully returned, which meant something was off—the contract hadn’t been completed.

“...Huh?”

While frantically scanning the area, now racing against time, Azrael’s eyes suddenly widened.

“Where is that damned Saintess’s aura coming from...”

The aura she sensed nearby was nearly identical to the one that played a crucial role in her sealing by the first Hero’s party.

“Aha...”

Following the trail of that aura, Azrael quickly moved in its direction, her lips curling into a sly, twisted smile as her tail swayed behind her.

“So that’s where you were hiding. So close by.”

She had just witnessed a rather amusing scene not far from the location where she had been summoned.

“You’re the current Saintess, aren’t you?”

Approaching, Azrael asked the trembling girl holding a bloodstained dagger—a girl who, despite her harmless, innocent appearance, stood in stark contrast to the weapon in her hand.

“Hm, that sickeningly pure aura pouring out of you... Yeah, it’s definitely you.”

Though she was dressed like a maid, Azrael, being a demon, could feel the unmistakably noble and divine energy radiating from her.

“But you haven’t awakened yet. So, you haven’t met the Hero, have you?”

“......”

“Looks like you tried to cancel the summoning by killing the contractor. Too bad.”

If a Saintess, bound by so many restrictions, went so far as to kill someone, the reason could only be obvious.

Even though there were a teary-eyed girl and a swordswoman standing frozen behind her, Azrael had no doubt that the man lying at her feet, gasping for breath, was the one who had summoned her.

“Oh, dear saint. When your power is lacking, it’s better to aim for the neck rather than the heart if you want to kill someone properly.”

“...Ugh.”

“Well, thanks to that, I managed to escape a tight spot. Hah!”

Her face brightening significantly, Azrael reached out to caress the cheek of the Saintess holding the dagger—only to pause, her gaze drifting downward.

‘...Wait a second.’

A strange sense of incongruity brushed past her mind.

‘Is this guy really a black mage?’

From the man dying of blood loss from the chest wound, she could sense no black mana.

‘I mean, judging by the atmosphere, it seems likely, but...’

Of course, it was possible that his mana couldn’t be sensed due to how close he was to death—but black mana was the most potent and lingering type, often seeping into the clothes or skin of the caster.

– Crackle...

But she didn’t have time to be cautious. The pressure from Meredia, who was now pushing forward despite her paralyzed muscles, was becoming overwhelming.

‘Bah, whatever. No way someone like this isn’t a black mage.’

Still inspecting the bleeding man closely, Azrael finally shrugged off the ominous feeling after confirming his objectively wicked-looking face and reached for him.

“I answer your call.”

With those whispered words, Azrael gently kissed Whitney’s limp hand.

– Zzzzzzhing...!

A dark, eerie aura surrounded them both, signifying the completion of the enslavement ritual.

‘...Tch. Normally I’d drag out the process and savor the power a bit.’

The situation was too urgent, so she had no choice but to perform the contract in a simplified manner.

Still, he was the one who had freed her from over a thousand years of imprisonment underground, so she decided to be merciful.

“Cough, cough...”

The moment she shared her power, the man’s wounds began to heal. Whitney vomited a mouthful of blood and came to his senses.

“Contractor. State your wish.”

Though she could have completely healed him if she wanted to, Azrael only gave him the minimum mana necessary—just in case.

It had been a long time since she last asked this question, and she found herself smiling faintly as a true demon.

“Do you desire the destruction of the world? Or perhaps revenge on the one who did this to you?”

Either way, he was now her master, so she was willing to fulfill his wishes.

“If not that, even simple pleasure is fine. Anything at all...”

And since he was practically her benefactor, she even planned to devour his soul as painlessly as possible once his wish was fulfilled.

“Whatever it is... I’ll satisfy you—”

“Ahaha... Ahahahaha...”

“...Hm?”

Azrael, wagging her tail happily, tilted her head slightly at the man’s ominous laughter.

“...It worked, huh?”

“What?”

The next moment, her snake-like pupils widened in shock.

“I was so tense, worried this might fail...”

“W-What the—”

The man’s body, suddenly radiating gray energy, fully healed even the partially mended wounds. He dusted off his clothes and stood up.

“You... You’re a white mage?”

“...Yes, I am.”

Azrael stared at the gray aura in a daze, hesitating for a moment before asking. The man—grinning from ear to ear—confirmed it without shame.

“B-But how...”

Finally realizing something had gone terribly wrong, Azrael’s face went pale as she instinctively stepped back.

“You’re awfully rude for someone speaking to me.”

“Eek—?”

Before she could retreat, the man—Whitney—grabbed her arm, his expression so wicked even a demon would flinch.

He whispered low.

“From now on, you’ll call me ‘Master.’”

“......!”

It was the first time in the history of the Empire—no, the world—that a demon had been scammed into a contract by a human.

***

“Gasp.”

“Aah...”

“...Ugh.”

As the demon’s mind-control magic dissipated, gasping breaths echoed all over the arena as people snapped out of their frozen states.

“Ahem, so...”

Standing at the center, I awkwardly scratched my cheek and mumbled, seeing Cecil, Lunelle, and Meredia all staring daggers at me.

“Ta-da. The plan worked...!”

“Grrraaah! You dare...! You tricked a demon...!”

Not that anyone heard me, since the demon, Azrael, now kneeling and throwing a fit beside me, was shrieking so loudly she drowned out my voice.

‘...But the real problem starts now.’

The trick from the game—the one where being attacked by the Saintess caused the demon to mistake me as an ally—had succeeded flawlessly.

In the game, this made you invincible and let you beat the demon easily.

But here, with no Hero present, I had no choice but to use it as a temporary measure to force a contract.

That said, while I could claim the plan had succeeded... the actual issue was just beginning.

The demon rampage at the Academy had been stopped, but the tournament would likely be suspended at this rate.

‘That can’t happen.’

Things were tangled enough already. Even if the Hero’s appearance had to be delayed, Lady Hestia and I would definitely be subject to the Holy Nation’s inquisition.

The only way to stop that from happening was...

“Hey, boss!”

As I was deep in thought, trying to reorganize my plans, Bergen’s urgent voice called from behind me.

“I gathered all the tournament participants like we planned!”

“Phew...”

Thankfully, unlike Lunelle, Bergen had followed the trick pouch plan to the letter, disguising himself as the Head of Academic Affairs and bringing everyone together.

I let out a sigh of relief, then hurried toward them, ignoring the bewildered stares of the three women still locked on me.

“Haha... Perfect.”

Whether it was a blessing or curse, the arena was still cloaked in the black smoke that had erupted when Azrael’s seal was broken.

Meaning no one outside could see what was happening until it cleared.

“So, everyone. Sorry for the sudden request, but...”

Clearing my throat, I put on the kindest voice I could and addressed the tournament participants, who looked utterly confused.

“From now on, you’ll be killing eac—no, wait.”

I slipped up a bit, but regardless, this was the only real way to resolve the chaotic situation we were in.

“You’ll be fighting... until only one of you is left standing.”

I felt a little bad for the contestants being roped into this surprise death game.

But hey—this was all for world peace. There was no helping it.