âIts force⊠is a little different from before though?â
Iliya said as Dowd, who was standing next to her, quietly nodded.
There were injuries here and there on his body due to him clearing out all those Spirit Forms on their way here, but he didnât seem to care much about them.
It was as if this level of injuries werenât noteworthy compared to what was to come.
âFrom now on, the real thing is going to start.â
Phase 2, the phase where the Devilâs main body was summoned, was a nightmare for most Sera users. There was a reason for this; To give the players a clear impression of the Devilâs powers.
Now, the column of fire before their eyes wasnât only spreading Demonic Aura, it was also âchangingâ its surroundings.
It went beyond only dying the surroundings red.
The scent of sulfur, the scent of burned plants and trees.
Accompanying those, a black aura emanated from the burned objects began to engulf the surroundings.
It changed everything, from the ground to the atmosphere, into âsomething elseâ.
Into an environment that felt like a completely different world.
â...This isâŠ?â
âTerraforming.â
Dowd said with a sigh.
âA Devilâs mere existence could change its surroundings to look exactly like the Pandemonium.â
Needless to say, it was a ridiculous trait.
If one were to judge it by its ability to kill, the Devil could kill the world just by breathing, since only Spirit Forms were able to survive in a Pandemonium-like environment, as they were originally beings that existed there.
And this was merely a âdefault passive' of those beings called the Devils.
â...â
Fortunately, the scope of this phenomenon wouldnât extend all across the continent for the moment, since the Devilâs main body had not descended directly yet.
HoweverâŠ
This was enough to call forth the âpowerful beingsâ that were not supposed to exist in the Material Realm.
-!
-!!!
Another Dimension Gate was created nearby.
Except that this one wasnât on the same level with the ones that were created before.
It had an âauraâ that could overwhelm any human who dared to steal a glance at it.
-!!
-!!!
At that moment, a humanoid Demonic Creature walked out of the Gate.
Magic power wrapped around its whole body like an âarmorâ and it carried a âweaponâ.
â...A knight?â
Iliya muttered. When Dowd heard that, he let out a chuckle.
He didnât seem to refute her words.
âYou know how Kings are usually accompanied by a single guard at least, right?â
He muttered.
The Devil was also called the King of the Pandemonium.
Which meant, there must have been at least one living being that was drawn to their power.
âIt's similar to that.â
To put it simply, that being was a Hell Guard, the Royal Guard of Hell.
One of the most powerful creatures in the Pandemonium.
It seemed similar to the Automaton that the Angels of the Astral Realm used, but its combat power and killing ability were in a completely different level.
â...â
The moment Iliya saw it, she realizedâŠ
âŠI canât win against thatâŠ!
The gap between their power made her feel hopeless.
Thanks to being with Dowd, she had met all kinds of crazy things, but even when considering those things, the being in front of her wasâŠ!
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âIliya.â
âYes?â
Just before Iliyaâs mind drifted away, Dowd's low, subdued voice knocked on the rim of her ears.
âIâm repeating myself, but youâre the one whoâd need to end this whole thing.â
â...â
âWhatever happens to me, donât ever look back. You must go till the end. Got it?â
â...â
The fact that he said thatâŠ
Meant that this person was going to throw himself into a terrible situation.
â...That thing⊠How strong is it?â
â...â
Dowd went silent.
As if he could not bring himself to answer her.
âLetâs say that neither of us can defeat it. At least for now.â
He let out a deep sigh.
âAnyway, one of us has to march forward.â
âNo way, are you saying that youâre going to deal with it alone?â
âYes.â
Gritting her teeth, Iliya forcefully spit out her words.
â...Teach.â
This timeâŠ
She could say these words with absolute certaintyâŠ
âYouâre going to die.â
â...â
â...Iâm being serious, youâre going to die.â
She could feel it clearly.
This time, he was charging ahead recklessly without any plans.
He was doing it just âbecause he had toâ.
Because he had no other choice.
â...But.â
His reply came, accompanied by a bitter smile.
âI have to do it.â
â...â
âQuickly, go ahead. Iâll take care of it here.â
Iliya looked at him with shaking eyes.
â
Cecilia the 11th sent Marquis Bogut a sharp glare.
An unusual gesture from her, since usually sheâd plaster a gentle smile on her face, but she knew all too well that she did not need to keep up such a pretense around this man.
â...First of all.â
The next words that came out of her mouth drove the point even further.
âYou are well aware that it is a lĂšse majestĂ© for a mere Marquis like you to suddenly visit the Empressâ Residence, no?â
âBy the way, Your Imperial Majesty!â
Of course, he did not even pretend to listen to her words properly.
The Empressâ expression had gone terribly sour, but Marquis Bogut continued his words while grinning.
âWhat do you think?â
They sat face to face, with a table placed in between. On that table, there was a crystal ball, projecting a video.
From the way it looked, it was a live video of the area near the place where the Third Ordeal took place.
â...â
Cecilia the 11th looked at the screen.
The sky, the groundâŠ
Everything was on fire.
Perhaps, if there was an ocean nearby, the fire would also burn it as well, she thought.
The Crimson Night.
The night when the Red Devil went berserk.
The international disaster that this man had pointed out would happen one day.
âYour Imperial Majesty, donât you think that column of fire...â
As the Empress was lost in her thoughts, Bogut asked.
âKeep going stronger and stronger as time passes?â
â...â
âIf we let it be, maybe itâd break the Seraphimâs barrier.â
â...â
âIt will go like, the Devilâs Vessel, with three Fragments, going berserk, crushing the barrier, then the Vessel meets up with the Devilâs main body inside the Void Zone⊠And boom, the world is doomed.â
The way he casually said such a thing as if it was a joke irritated her.
However, he wasnât wrong at all. This was certainly an unprecedented crisis. It wouldnât be wrong to say that an apocalypse could happen anytime soon.
If the Devilâs main body and the awakened Vessel met, that would trigger a âDevil descentâ.
It wouldnât be surprising if the entire continent ended up getting destroyed if only one out of the seven Devils succeeded in doing so.
â...The Empire has already dispatched some manpower to deal with the situation.â
The Empress said in a stiffened voice.
âTheyâre among the best we could dispatch, to make sure that the scenario you said would never happââ
âNo.â
Bogut cut off her words.
âThatâs useless. A mere waste. You know it well too, Your Imperial Majesty.â
â...â frŃewebηovel.cŃłm
âIn the first place, why do you think the Holy Land chose this place as the location for the ordeal, Your Imperial Majesty?â
â...â
âBecause this is their way to express their intention to bury this incident quietly. In such a place where ideally none of their manpower would be wasted. They know no matter what kind of power they exert, all of it will be meaningless when the opponent is a Devil.â
Marquis Bogut continued, not dropping the grin on his face.
âThis is an incident where a Devil is going berserk. Everything in the realm of the âhumanâ standard is meaningless against them.â
â...â
âEven the country with the highest authority when it comes to the Conquest of the Devil is treating this incident as such. Itâd be a miracle if the manpower of the Empire could do anything at all.â
He was right.
Of course despite him stating the truth clearly, it didnât quell the Empressâ anger at all.
As she glared at him without saying anything, Bogut continued, still grinning.
âNow, if the Guardians, the group that consists of those who had evolved to their peak form among the humans, it might be possibleâŠâ
There was a sly glint in his eyes.
âBut, you killed them all with your own hands, didnât you?â
The Empress bit her lip to the point it almost bled.
â...â
âYou were the one who gave them orders through Duke Tristan, driving them all out to quell the Devil incident, to kill themselves in that place, just like that.â
The Empress, who had been staying silent, barely opened her mouth again to speak.
â...I donât think that has anything to do with whatâs happening now.â
âAh, is that so? Please forgive me.â
The Empress sent Bogut, who had shamelessly agreed to her words, a fierce glare before growling out her next words.
âWhy are you showing me this?â
âBecause I thought itâd be good for you to properly see what kind of power it is that you have set your eyes on, Your Imperial Majesty.â
âWhat?â
âAre you not interested in Dowd Campbell because youâre curious how powerful he could be in relation to the âDevilsâ?â
â...â
âIn order to remove the âdead bloodâ circulating in your body that you inherited from your parentsââ
[You.]
Bogut quickly shut his mouth.
He was someone who knew very well how to tread around someoneâs line.
Just like he did now.
If âscalesâ began to form on the Empressâ body, her eyes were split like reptiles, and dense Magic Power began to come out near her bodyâŠ
Then it meant provoking her further wouldnât be a good idea.
[I suggest you watch your mouth if you want to live long. Thereâsa limit to what I could tolerate.]
With just the pressure that was contained in her voice, Bogut's body was squashed flat. She did not exert any Magic Powerâthis was a natural reaction from his body since they were simply on a different âlevelâ from each other.
The air trembled, all the glasses in the surroundings cracked. Even the ground cracked, every fragile thing around them was all crushed.
What made this sight ridiculous was the fact that this all happened due to her âSignâ.
Dragonblood.
She had the exceptional majesty of a ârulerâ mixed in her Sign.
The most dignified among the living creatures in the Material Realm. The origin of all magic power.
â...Iâm sorry. Please think of it as a slip of the tongue.â
As he replied obediently, the Empress only glared at him as she took back her aura.
She could sense that at the very least, he wasnât playing around this time.
âAnyways.â
The Empress looked at Bogut, who was already grinning again as soon as she withdrew her aura, with a dumbfounded look.
She even came to wonder what this person's tendons were made of.
âSince the situation is like this, we canât help but leave it to this man to stop the Devil from descending.â
Following his words, the screen changed.
It now showed a woman with orange hair and a man, covered in wounds, running next to her.
â...â
The Empressâ eyes widened.
Because she recognized those faces.
âThe Hero Candidate, Iliya Krisanax. And the forever popular guy among the Devils, Dowd Campbell. A nice combination, donât you think?â
His flippant voice fell onto the Empressâ deaf ears as she tried to examine the video in detail.
If nothing else, there was one thing that caught her eye.
â...His body.â
She muttered in a low, subdued voice.
It was obvious that Dowdâs body wasnât in a good condition.
She couldnât even describe his body with the word âinjuredâ, because it seemed like his whole body was being âcorrodedâ instead.
â...â
And in front of himâŠ
Stood an overwhelmingly powerful enemy. Even though she was watching through the video, she could clearly feel its intimidating presence.
âThatâs a Hell Guard⊠Jeez, I guess it makes sense that something like this would come out since a Devil is about to descend.â
â...Are you familiar with that creature?â
âNot really. I just know what it's called.â
Bogut continued with a grin.
âEveryone who has seen this creature has mostly died, so there arenât many records of it. I assume that there must have been a Hero or two back then who died fighting that thing, though the record about that wouldâve been lost to time.â
â...â
For some reason, he was talking about a lost record as if he had âseen it himselfâ.
As the Empress let out a dumbfounded sigh, Bogut nonchalantly continued.
âIn any case, this is a crisis for sure. There arenât many humans who could stay sane under the influence of the Demonic Aura that once created the âCrimson Nightâ, so he canât even expect any kind of reinforcements at the moment.â
â...â
The Empress bit her lip again.
â...At this rate, heâll die. Thereâs no way heâs able to fight against such a powerful enemy while in such a state.â
âDo you really think so?â
âWerenât you the one who said that nobody could help him? Thereâs a very little chance of him survivingâ!â
âHeâs not someone whoâd die easily.â
Marquis Bogut replied in an indifferent tone.
As if dismissing the Empressâ concern.
âChancellor Sullivan, the annoying masked womanâeveryone is strangely worried about him dying. Thatâs not something to be worried about, they should worry about something else instead.â
â...What do you mean?â
âI'm saying that although the majority of cases in which this world is doomed are under that man's control, there's a lot of possibilities for what âshapeâ it will take.â
â...â
One thing about this man was that sometimes heâd say some things that only he knew, as if he was trying to show off.
An extremely annoying trait for someone to have for sure.
That was what the Empress felt as she glared at him.
âAnyway, in my opinionâŠâ
Again, the Marquis continued in a nonchalant tone, as if he did not care about what she thought.
âHe wonât die. At least in this âcaseâ, he wonât.â
In truthâŠ
The thing that was shown in the crystal ballâŠ
Was completely different from what the Empress was worrying /genesisforsaken