Chapter 255
✠“Well done, Aillet Rodelain.”
Reed, observing the situation from afar, smiled. His plan was proceeding smoothly.
✠There was no time to wait for dark adaptation. I summoned the Holy-Demonic Lily Cross Flexible Scythe, Librilly, and imbued it with aura.
As the white light pushed back the darkness, my vision returned.
Two o’clock direction, fifteen paces away.
“To drag my venerable self down to such a filthy bottom.”
Inferinos’s long hair fanned out in the air, wildly rippling.
Her red eyes, covering even the whites, gleamed like a pair of malevolent stars.
The demonic energy and prestige of the 3rd ranked Demon King were gradually being unleashed.
It suffocatingly weighed down the air layered at the bottom of the pit.
Enduring the pressure that tried to force me to my knees and choke my breath, I took a deep breath.
“First, I shall clear the surroundings, Executor of Evil’s Bane.”
Amidst the storm-like currents of demonic energy, Inferinos raised both her hands to shoulder height.
“My retainers, offer your lowly spirits and flesh to become a part of me!”
Whoosh!
Thread-like forces spread out in all directions from her ten hooked fingers.
They sought their prey, dominating the bottom of the pit.
The purpose was obvious. She intended to kill her retainers and absorb their power according to the rules of solitude.
<Aillet!>
Agnes’s voice made my entire body tense.
It was time to gather my divine power in preparation for the Demon King’s prestige, which would explosively grow even further here.
But.
“My retainers…?”
The threads failed to bring back even a single prey.
Only then did I realize there were only two presences at the bottom of this vast pit.
‘What about the other demons who were to be sacrificed?’
It was at that moment, as the question arose in my mind.
“Gasp.”
An unknown searing sensation spread across my back.
What, suddenly?
The confusion due to ignorance was greater than the pain that made me break out in a cold sweat.
At that moment, the deity confirmed what I couldn’t see on my back.
[‘Scales that Judge Souls’ says that a large number of stigmata are being engraved on your back.]
The system continued with a detailed explanation:
[
[
“……!”
What followed was information flowing too quickly for my brain’s processing speed to keep up.
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
……
“Ugh……”
The burning pain had spread from my back to my shoulders.
[
[
‘A total of 10,255?’
The number was just one less than Tesillid’s sacrifice number. Its meaning was clear.
“Could it be that the silver stigmata girl eliminated all my retainers!”
That’s correct.
While Inferinos was still reeling from the shock, the heat on my back subsided.
[
“……!”
My mind began to understand and accept the countless skills that had been directly hammered into my body.
I instinctively knew how to use them without reading a single line of explanation.
“Hmph… Haah…”
With a long exhale, all the power was gathered.
It was the moment when the spoils left by the final survivor of the myriad battlefields were completely transferred to me.
You worked hard, Tesillid.
‘Leave the rest to me.’
I straightened my body and looked straight ahead. My gaze pierced the distant linear distance, meeting Demon King Inferinos’s eyes.
Her prestige and demonic energy could no longer intimidate me. Thanks to a passive skill I just gained.
[
You, the courageous one who confronts enemies bringing about the world’s destruction on the front lines.
Indomitable courage and noble dignity reside within you, allowing you to stand proudly before any foe.]
Click.
I re-gripped Librilly, the lily cross that combined a sword and a scythe, and took my stance.
By then, Inferinos seemed to have accepted the situation.
“Well, even so, it’s just a mere human. It won’t matter, ri-ight.”
The end of her words fragmented, and her voice distorted. A deep, murky sound hummed as if echoing through the cave.
A bizarre voice, clearly revealing her non-human nature, filled my ears.
<I shall make you regret challenging a Demon King, from the very bottom of hell.>
Whoosh!
Her golden hair, turning blue towards the ends, grew and spread out widely behind her like a screen, rippling.
The dozens of divided strands of hair wriggled like individual entities.
It felt like looking at the head of a Medusa made of lapis lazuli.
Whoosh.
Her loose ceremonial robe parted left and right, transforming into a cloak with black fur.
Beneath it, ornate leather armor clung to her body.
It was the moment Demon King Inferinos completed her transformation into a form suitable for combat.
[
[
The surrounding environment reconstructed itself. Befitting the name Coliseum, the pit walls transformed into theater seating.
And that wasn’t all.
[
Thump-thump-thump!
“……!”
The force supporting my legs grew stronger. The ground was rising.
Along with it, the pitch-black darkness that had served as a ceiling receded, revealing the night sky. The triple moons high in the sky signaled the return to the mortal realm.
[‘Voice-Spirit that Constructs the World’ says that a localized Dungeon Burst has occurred.]
This meant that Reed had caused a burst specifically here, in the ‘Coliseum of the Throne War’.
A burst pulls the dungeon’s owner into the mortal realm and amplifies their power. The now even stronger Demon King rejoiced.
Thump-thump-thump!
The triple moons above my head were gradually getting closer.
Amidst the vibrations and noise that travelled up my ankles and vibrated through my skull, I stared at the enemy before me.
The situation was clear.
If I lose here, Demon King Inferinos will be unleashed upon the world.
✠Near the capital of the Elfenheim Holy Theocracy. Litniel Plain.
Receiving a wicked revelation that a Demon King would appear in the mortal realm through this location, the four nations of the Serentra Continent dispatched Aura Users, Mages, and Priests to gather for the Demon King subjugation.
Among billions of people, only about 20,000 had awakened their abilities.
And among those, only those who had reached a certain level of mastery were suitable for deployment in a Demon King battle, so the number of forces was not very large.
In fact, the main protagonists of the battle were already determined.
Aura Master Pugilist, Duke Aroniake Hispenril.
Aura Master Swordsman, Marquise Romina Lekandro.
Assassin Guild Master, Fliegel Knight.
Chimera Researcher, Moriphis Marcelion.
Saintess of the Theocracy, Muriel Philise.
These five.
An Aura Master, an 8th Circle Archmage, an 8th Divine Power Tier Saintess. Only those of that level were meaningfully considered full power in a Demon King battle.
Therefore, it was no exaggeration to say that the future of the Serentra Continent depended on them.
Though they themselves didn’t know it, these five were also the protagonists who sealed Reed at the end of the 100th iteration of the original story.
“Will a Demon King truly appear?”
Marquise Lekandro asked with a hardened face.
The large-scale troop movement was based solely on a single word from the black swordsman.
It was natural to be half in doubt, looking at the still peaceful plain.
Or perhaps, it was a desire not to believe in the impending catastrophe.
“He.”
After a moment of solemn silence, it was Saintess Muriel who answered the question.
“He didn’t seem like someone who would waste words carelessly. Even more so given that the triple moons haven’t disappeared.”
The Saintess’s words carried authority. Marquise Lekandro decided to abandon her fleeting hopes.
“……I agree.”
Others also nodded.
Muriel lowered her mysterious eyes, where blue and gold coexisted.
“The enemy we will fight is likely Rule-Setting Inferinos. Inferinos is known as a troublesome Demon King who uses incantations. However, among the Demon Kings, she is the weakest opponent, so there is a chance of victory.”
The triple moons still dominated the sky, and the great catastrophe Doomsday had not yet ended.
It was natural to expect that Inferinos’s Demon King territory, which had caused a Dungeon Sink, would consistently also cause a Dungeon Burst.
Of course, this information was obtained through those who had been dragged to the Final Judgment Hall and returned.
It was a great help that the citizens of the Theocracy who had escaped through Litniel Plain specified the Demon King’s name.
“Thanks to the dungeon survivors, we were able to devise tactics specialized for Inferinos. This is proof that ‘Strict Order and Goodness’ protects us, the ignorant, and also watches our victory from above.”
These were words well-suited to boost morale.
However, for a moment, Marquise Lekandro felt a slight churning in her stomach at the Saintess’s words.
‘It’s not divine protection, but thanks to human sacrifice.’
Because the people of the Theocracy said they were saved at the cost of one person’s life, Tesillid Argent.
Despite clearly hearing the facts, the Saintess only gave glory to God?
It was truly a contrasting image to the Holy Saint.
Given that the Holy Saint could not be found anywhere on Litniel Plain, it was clear she had not emerged from the Demon King territory.
She had not exchanged Tesillid’s life for her own survival.
While someone risked their life and refused to abandon the sacrifices, someone else was erasing the existence of those sacrifices.
Marquise Lekandro spoke, seemingly intending for her words to be heard.
“I hope that divine protection extends to His Highness the Prince and Her Excellency the Holy Saint as well.”
“……”
Muriel flinched, realizing the intent behind the words.
Privilege for the Possessor