The pillars decorated with beast corpses.
The doors crafted from countless bones and flesh.
Sinister black flames encircling them, burning ominously.
Even the wizards of the Mage Tower and the holy knights of the Holy Country couldn’t bring themselves to speak at the sight that made one’s hair stand on end.
It was because the mist of Demon Energy emanating from the door dominated the atmosphere.
“The Left Arm of the High Priest of Wrath has disappeared. The Demon Energy I sensed has diminished greatly.”
Lorenzo, maintaining the sacred barrier, informed Diabolo’s condition.
Erias, who had been quietly observing the situation, nodded her head.
“The insufficient price has been compensated by a body imbued with Demon Energy. Still, it shouldn’t be too great a cost. That door looks impressive on the outside but is likely hollow inside.”
“Is it a permanent loss?”
“Hmm… probably not.”
Erias coldly analyzed the situation.
No matter how unprecedented the phenomenon might be, if it was caused by magic, she could always interpret it.
After all, the correct answer resided within the mind of the world’s greatest wizard.
“Gate of Hell… Gate of Hell… Could it be that they’ve opened a passage to the Demon Realm?”
Though it was shocking, Erias’ expression remained unchanged.
Opening a portal to another dimension required an immense cost, even for someone of her caliber.
Using the pure Demon Energy and the body of the High Priest as sacrifices still wouldn’t make such magic possible.
“In that case, that heart must be the Dragon Heart.”
“Dragon… you mean? It was said to have vanished long ago…”
“That’s what they say. They most likely gathered the hearts of wyvern-like dragon species to construct something similar. If it were a real Dragon Heart, there’s no way I wouldn’t have recognized it.”
Regardless of how many dragon species were condensed, that wasn’t the crucial point.
Then, what power does this door created by offering such sacrifices possess?
“Demons… are unlikely. Even if any come through, they’d be nameless ones at best.”
Without a title, demons stood no chance against Erias.
This meant there was no reversing the current situation.
So, why did the enemy in dire straits choose to open this door?
At that moment, the tightly shut Gate of Hell began to slowly open.
– Keeeeeee
– Grrrrrrk
From the impenetrable void emerged crimson eyes, one by one.
In no time, dozens of red eyes appeared.
Erias realized the opponent had chosen the strategy of overwhelming numbers.
“Monsters, huh. With this kind of number, they’re not bad troops. At least…”
Victory belongs to the first mover.
Having grasped the enemy’s intent, Erias swiftly poured out her Mana.
[Transcendent Magic: Fury of the Sea God]
A trident made of seawater descended toward the Gate of Hell.
As swarms of monsters poured out, she smirked.
“We’ll buy a few more minutes, at least.”
***
Just as Erias predicted, it took less than ten minutes for her to settle the situation.
The Gate of Hell was already completely destroyed, losing its form.
The monsters that had escaped into the world fell back to their homeland as corpses.
Of course, during the process, some wizards and holy knights were injured, but…
That was a trivial issue.
“What… What a monster. To casually use Transcendent Magic like that… Cough! And so recklessly.”
Diabolo, having lost both arms and sprawled on the ground, spat out blood.
His once-great broadsword had long since broken,
and the robe with the dragon emblem was shredded beyond recognition.
Erias, who had embedded the trident of seawater into her clearly defined abs, looked down coldly at her prey.
“You let the High Priest of Sloth escape. Who would’ve thought you’d use the dimensional portal as an escape route…”
Though she caught one High Priest, she had failed the mission’s objective.
This failure of a direct order from the Emperor irked Erias.
“Haha… So you can make that face too, huh? Guess my journey won’t be boring after all.”
Upon seeing Diabolo sneering, Erias drove the trident deeper.
“Khhp!”
“Did you think I’d let you die easily? You’ll suffer for eternity in the Mage Tower.”
At those words, Diabolo’s eyebrows trembled.
Approaching him closely, Erias whispered quietly.
“You scolded Diligence, didn’t you? ‘A mere mortal blessed by some cursed god.’ Isn’t that exactly what you are too?”
“…!”
“Do you think I don’t know that your High Priests gain power through contracts with the Demon King?”
A contract with the Demon King can only be made by one person.
Therefore, as long as the current High Priest Diabolo doesn’t die, the next High Priest of Wrath cannot be born.
The revelation of this secret that should never have been exposed shocked Diabolo.
“H, How do you…!”
“If you thought you could reap the rewards without effort through such shallow schemes… Looks like you’ll have to pay the price, won’t you?”
“KRAAAH! Infantry Palace-!!!”
“Noisy.”
With a casual flick of her hand toward struggling Diabolo, Erias transformed the trident, which began to bind him.
Binding his limbs, face, and entire body tightly, Erias began to wrap up the situation.
“Healers, go get treated by the holy knights immediately.”
“Yes!”
“Holy knights, handle the treatments yourselves.”
“Yes…!”
Fortunately, this place was Espina’s hideout.
There was a hidden location where documents resembling research records were stored.
Though they couldn’t deal with the monstrosities that ran rampant on the Island of Wisdom, at least they could figure out what they were.
“Tch, maybe I should’ve brought Leo.”
When he said he was busy and couldn’t come along, I should’ve dragged him here by force.
If I had, we wouldn’t have missed our target.
Thinking about the Emperor pressuring her over this matter, Erias muttered under her breath.
“Surely, they won’t punish me again at this age, right? I don’t want to abuse this old body any further…”
“I’m sorry, Infantry Palace. I failed the mission because I was too weak.”
Romeo, who had expended much energy maintaining the sacred barrier, appeared with a weary face.
Since Erias wasn’t the type of cruel wizard to berate someone who understood their own shortcomings, she patted Romeo on the shoulder.
“Thanks to your barrier, no one died. Hold your head high.”
“If it weren’t for you, many lives would’ve been lost.”
Erias’ magic, which effortlessly blocked dozens of monsters, was still vivid in Romeo’s mind.
So this is what the Empire boasts as the Golden Way Zodiacs.
Romeo couldn’t help but feel another level of inferiority.
“Hmm… True enough.”
She was definitely T.
“…”
Seeing Romeo’s increasingly gloomy face, Erias hurriedly spoke.
“It’s fine. You have a bright future ahead, don’t you? I’ll organize the research records here and share them. Don’t worry.”
“Thank you. At least I can save some face.”
“Hmm.”
Apparently, she wasn’t very good at comforting others, Erias thought.
“Now that we’ve roughly wrapped things up, let’s head back. How’s the Holy Country’s plan going?”
“This information shouldn’t normally be disclosed, but… Is it alright with you, Infantry Palace?”
Returning to his usual demeanor, Romeo approached her and whispered.
“Are you familiar with the Heretic Ranks?”
“High Priests, priests, deacons, believers… in that order, right?”
“We managed to capture some heretics, including those of the priest rank right below the High Priests.”
Through interrogations conducted using undisclosed methods, the Holy Country obtained several pieces of information:
1. Recently, the heretics recruited a lot of external personnel.
2. Most of the kidnappings happening around the world were orchestrated by the heretics.
3. Currently, they are focusing on entities known as ‘The Vessel’ and ‘Singularity.’
Explaining up to this point, Romeo sighed softly.
“That’s all I can tell you. I wish I could say more, but…”
“It’s fine. You have your own considerations. But I’ve heard of this ‘Singularity’ before.”
“Really? Could you possibly…”
Romeo knew it was unscrupulous, yet he shamelessly pressed on for the sake of the Holy Country.
Fortunately, Erias answered without hesitation.
“The World Singularity. Beings that appear when the world is in peril, aren’t they? Doesn’t the Holy Country have similar beings? Those chosen by the gods, superhumans, right?”
“Ah, could it be…!”
“Exactly. The saviors of humanity who appear whenever heretics like these disrupt the world.”
“Hero…!”
Romeo’s shock confirmed Erias’ nod.
The heretics following the Demon King targeting heroes chosen by the gods.
It was an obvious conclusion that seemed strange to have overlooked.
“But I’ve never heard of ‘The Vessel.’ Though I suspect it refers to the escaped monstrosity now… Something feels off.”
“Apologies for receiving so much, but we must quickly return to the Holy Country.”
“Indeed. We’ll also head back soon. We’ll escort you to the border.”
“Thank you.”
As Erias prepared for spatial transfer, one of the Mage Tower’s wizards rushed over urgently shouting.
“Mage Tower Master! Urgent news!”
“What is it? An order from the Royal Palace? Even though we’re returning anyway, you’re awfully impatient…”
“Code Red! The Dawn has faded!”
“…”
Dawn was the code for the Empire’s light.
Meaning Lux was in trouble.
Taken aback for a moment at the unexpected news,
Erias frowned and clicked her tongue.
“Perfect timing… Can’t be helped. You take responsibility for escorting the holy knights to the border.”
“Yes! And what about you, Mage Tower Master?”
“I’ll head to the Mage Tower first. Bring everything we gained here to the Mage Tower without missing a single thing. From this moment forward, you’re in charge here. Got it, Robert?”
“I understand perfectly!”
Robert shouted loudly, thrilled that the respected Mage Tower Master remembered his name.
Leaving behind the delighted Robert, Erias turned to Romeo.
“Sorry, but I’ll leave first.”
“Not at all. It seems urgent; please don’t worry about us.”
“Perhaps we’ll meet again.”
Bowing deeply, Romeo watched as Erias enacted the spatial transfer.
In an instant, her figure disappeared, leaving behind a gentle breeze.
Whoosh~
“… I need to train harder.”
Never before had the name ‘Diligence’ felt so heavy.
Showing weakness in the face of evil must end here.
Clutching his fists firmly, Romeo resolved deeply.
It was the moment the young soul resting in the embrace of the gods awakened.
