Chapter 298

Unlike their feeble voices, the monsters relentlessly pushed back the subjugation force.

No matter how much the continent’s strongest individuals exerted their skill, there was no way to contend with the endless wave of demons continuously rising from the ground.

Furthermore, infiltrating the heart of enemy territory inevitably meant bracing for encirclement.

As the subjugation force responded from a tactically inferior position, casualties mounted.

“Aargh!”

“Sir Elman!”

“Father, danger…! Cough!”

“L-Lynden? Sir Lynden! Open your eyes, Sir Lynden!”

“Damn it!”

With every fallen comrade, the knights’ swords grew sharper, the clerics’ prayers more fervent, and the mages’ flames burned brighter.

No one retreated in fear.

From the start, everyone in the subjugation force was here, prepared to shed blood on behalf of their family, friends, and lovers.

However, despite their valiant and noble resolve, the battle showed no end. The subjugation force’s injuries increased, and their stamina dwindled.

‘This can’t go on.’

Not far from Tesillid, Marquise Lekandro, who was cutting down demons, felt that a decisive action was needed. So she shouted.

“Your Royal Highness! At this rate, it will only be a war of attrition!”

She wasn’t the only one who realized the gravity of the situation. The continent’s strongest individuals had just moved nearby to exchange opinions.

Fliegel Knight, who had taken down a giant goat and landed, also spoke.

“It’s impossible for everyone to move together. It would be better for only a select few to break through.”

“If it’s a select few, then it would be me, Fliegel Knight, the Marquise, Hispenril, and the Holy Sword’s Master, wouldn’t it?”

“That’s right, Lord Moriphis.”

Hispenril ripped out the Grim Reaper Lord’s spine with his bare hands and let out a grunt.

“Is there no choice then…?”

The Holy Incantation Army is currently holding on because the continent’s strongest individuals are active.

If these elites were to withdraw, our casualties would be severe.

But we cannot continue fighting a battle that wastes time and stamina.

It was a time for the commander-in-chief to make a bold decision. So all four of them, in the middle of battle, quickly turned around.

“Your Royal Highness, a decision!”

“Grandson-in-law! We’ll share the responsibility!”

But then.

“Your Royal Highness…?”

“Grandson-in-law…?”

Tesillid, who had just moments ago been spreading divine aura light like a lighthouse near Marquise Lekandro and displaying his martial prowess, was nowhere to be seen.

“Huh? Where did the Holy Sword’s Master go?”

“…Impossible.”

“Fliegel Knight?”

“Look over there.”

In the direction pointed by the elite assassin’s fingertip, the silver-haired paladin was moving away, his back turned.

“What?!”

It was an astonishing sight.

The demons, who rushed as if to annihilate all human invaders, were different towards Tesillid alone.

They were clearing a narrow path for him, as if daring not to approach.

Thanks to this, the silver-haired paladin was leisurely crossing the hell of myriad demons without any obstruction.

“Your Royal Highness!”

“Grandson-in-law!”

Marquise Lekandro and Hispenril’s calls stopped his receding, upright back.

Tesillid looked back over his shoulder and spoke with an utterly nonchalant expression and tone.

“It’s dangerous from here. I’ll go ahead and handle it, so please take care of our allies.”

“…!”

There was no time to reply. Demons poured forth again, covering the path Tesillid had taken.

The four powerful individuals lost sight of Tesillid.

Later, Marquise Lekandro burst into indignation, and Fliegel Knight sighed.

“No, what is he saying! It’s dangerous, so we should go together, Your Royal Highness!”

“…It seems His Holiness and the Holy Sword’s Master are truly a perfect match.”

It meant two of a kind had met.

Hispenril cleared his throat, used his aura to clear the surroundings, and spoke sternly.

“Once this place is cleared, let’s follow him!”

Exchanging nods, they began to focus on the battle in the central courtyard again.

“…”

Meanwhile, Tesillid had finished crossing the central courtyard and had already entered the Pontifical Palace building.

Thud, thud…

His disciplined footsteps echoed on the cold, dry marble floor.

The dark and silent corridor had already left the realm of the human world, becoming completely demonized.

The aura of corruption overflowed throughout the space, infiltrating evil into every visible corner.

Stained glass, sacred art murals, and marble sculptures had been dyed black, becoming havens for demons.

Goat demons hidden in glass mosaics snorted, succubi stripped bare in murals bared their fangs and claws, and fallen angels pretending to be statues unfurled their wings.

They flashed red eyes at the silver-haired intruder crossing the corridor.

<A delicious-looking prey! Let’s chew him up!>

<Hehehe, I’ll take the left arm with the Holy Stigmata. Hehehe…>

<I don’t need smelly flesh! Instead, the scapula and ilium are mine!>

<Kiiieee! His eyes, those blue eyes are to my liking! Give them to me! Kiiieee!>

Demons, lusting after the handsome man’s body, surged from all directions.

However, they paused just before reaching Tesillid. And then suddenly, they retreated in a flurry.

<Heeek? No, this is not…>

<He’s not prey…!>

<C-could it be…?!

<This person is…!>

The demons returned to their positions, cowering and trembling. No one dared to block Tesillid’s path.

“…”

Tesillid walked past the corrupted artworks, continuing onward.

An unexpectedly convenient situation. A bitter thought settled in his mind.

There was no need to meticulously ponder strategies, whether it was the 88th iteration or the 91st.

The 117th iteration had its own strategy. Because he, having passed the 100th iteration…

‘…was also Reed.’

The law of the Demon Realm, which corrupts beings, allowed him bloodless entry.

As time passed, the shadow trailing him was distorted in form by the laws of the Demon Realm.

Tesillid’s black silhouette, cast long on the walls and stained glass, depicted long hair.

As if announcing the proximity of the Grand Chapel, the sound of a pipe organ was heard.

Heavy, minor dissonances, enough to drive a human mind to madness. But it was insufficient to affect Tesillid.

His two legs soon reached a black door, reminiscent of the Gate of Pandemonium’s entrance.

Thud.

Tesillid pushed open the massive door, embossed with demons, with both hands.

A whirlwind mixed with Deadly Bloom petals blew forth, engulfing his vision.

Soon, as if a curtain rising on a stage, the deep crimson petals cleared away, revealing the full view of the Grand Chapel before his eyes.

On the stage, the protagonist already stood.

A beautiful girl with blonde hair that turned mint green towards the ends. Demon King Abyssinis was surrounded by a thousand candles, conducting an unknown ritual.

She narrowed her eyes, looking at Tesillid.

“What? A human has already reached this far?”

Confusion flickered in her blue eyes, but it was fleeting.

Befitting a supreme Demon King, she stood tall, exuding a mighty presence and dignity.

“Since there’s still time, it wouldn’t be bad to play a little.”

Tesillid extended his right arm straight out to the side.

Where his fingertips touched, a holy light formed the shape of a sword and soon materialized.

He aimed the Holy Sword and spoke.

“I don’t have much time, so I’ll handle this quickly.”

The square jewel embedded in the sword’s hilt emitted two kinds of light. Deep blue and deep crimson alternated in intermittent flashes.

This was the demonized domain of the Demon King. Even he was not an exception to the law that corrupts all things.

“It seems things have started over there.”

A languid baritone echoed through the air at the snow-capped mountain’s summit.

His gaze was directed northeast. Towards the Pontifical Palace, to be exact.

The pillar of purple moonlight intensified, and the vortex created by the low-hanging dark clouds accelerated.

It was a clear sign that the battle with Abyssinis had begun.

“Looks like it.”

I replied with feigned indifference and averted my gaze from that direction.

Being mindful of the subjugation force was sufficiently handled by a quick glance at the Pontifical Palace just now. More importantly, right now…

“Are you focusing on me? How considerate.”

“If you’re grateful.”

I started, shifting my gaze sideways. Not far from Tesillid’s feet, a flagpole-shaped artifact was haphazardly stuck into the ground.

“Can I have that?”

Holy Ground Construction.

I needed it. Because it was the last artifact required by the ‘Synthesis Mystery Box’.

[ ■■■■ Synthesis (Difficulty: Unknown)

For you, who holds a difficult-to-achieve wish, the ‘■■■■’ artifact is needed. To synthesize this, the following artifacts must be placed as materials inside the Synthesis Mystery Box.

Artifacts worth over 50,000 points (3/3)

Regressor’s Wristwatch (1/1)

Save Point (1/1)

Holy Ground Construction (0/1)]

If I get that, I can fulfill my wish. And my wish is…

“Then will you come to me?”

Reed’s counter-offer interrupted my thoughts.

“If you come to me, I’ll give you the whole world. Is this one artifact so important?”

“If you don’t want to give it, just say you don’t want to.”

“A refusal, then. What a pity.”

Reed raised his right hand. I reflexively tensed my entire body, but it was unnecessary.

Instead of conjuring destruction, his gesture sculpted a chair of snow and ice behind me.

“Shall we sit and talk?”

He showed an intention to converse. In that case.

“Alright.”

There was no reason to refuse.

I leaned back deeply into the snow backrest and gripped the ice armrests with my hands.

Whatever trick Reed used, it wasn’t particularly cold.

After seating me, he himself casually sat on a rough slab of perennial ice, watching me.

“…”

“…”

The silence, filled with mutual gazes, grew longer.

This moment couldn’t last forever, so someone had to initiate a conversation. Strictly speaking, that would be my role.

“Reed.”

“Yes, Aillet Rodelain.”

He slowly closed and opened his eyes, as if waking from a dream.

I said.

“I know what your goal is.”

Privilege for Possessors