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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Yuziro
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Pillars decorated with the carcasses of beasts.
Doors crafted from countless bones and flesh.
Ominous black flames engulfed the surroundings.
The sight was so chilling that neither the mages of the Magic Tower nor the paladins of the Holy Kingdom dared to speak.
The miasma of Magi emanating from the gate dominated the atmosphere.
“The Archbishop of Wrath’s left arm is gone. The Magi I sensed has also drastically decreased.”
Romeo, maintaining the Sanctuary, reported Diablo’s condition.
Aerius, who had been observing the situation calmly, nodded.
“She compensated for the insufficient price with her Magi-infused body. Still, it shouldn’t be a significant loss. That gate, despite its appearance, is likely just a shell.”
“A permanent loss?”
“I doubt it.”
Aerius coldly analyzed the situation.
Even if it was a phenomenon she had never witnessed before, as long as it was caused by magic, she could interpret it.
The answer resided within the mind of the world’s greatest mage.
“The Gate of Hell… The Gate of Hell… Could she have opened a passage to the Demon Realm?”
It was a shocking event, but Aerius’s expression remained neutral.
Opening a passage to another dimension required an immense price, even for her.
It was a spell impossible to cast, even with the pure Magi and the body of an Archbishop as a sacrifice.
“Then that heart must be a Dragon Heart.”
“A Dragon… you say? But they disappeared long ago…”
“That’s what they say. She probably gathered the hearts of dragon-kin, like Wyverns, and constructed a similar form. If it were a true Dragon Heart, I would have recognized it.”
She didn’t know how many dragon-kin had been condensed, but that wasn’t important.
The crucial question was the function of the gate created with that sacrifice.
“Demons… are unlikely. Even if they emerge, they would be nameless.”
Aerius could handle any demon without a title.
It meant they couldn’t overturn this situation.
So, what was the enemy thinking when they opened the gate in this life-or-death crisis?
At that moment, the tightly shut Gate of Hell slowly began to open.
Kiiiieee
Kruuk
Red eyes appeared one by one in the impenetrable void.
In a brief moment, dozens of eyes emerged.
Aerius realized the enemy had chosen a war of attrition.
“Monsters. That number isn’t bad. At least…”
The first move was an advantage.
Grasping the enemy’s intent, Aerius quickly unleashed her magic.
A trident made of seawater plunged towards the Gate of Hell.
As she watched the horde of monsters pouring out, she smiled.
“They’ll live a few minutes longer.”
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As Aerius predicted, it took her less than ten minutes to resolve the situation.
The Gate of Hell was already destroyed, its form lost.
The monsters that had emerged were now corpses, falling back into their realm.
Of course, some mages and paladins were injured in the process…
But that was a trivial matter.
“M-monster. To use Transcendental Magic… so recklessly!”
Diablo, lying sprawled with both arms lost, coughed up blood.
Her massive greatsword was long broken.
Her dragon-emblazoned robe was torn to shreds.
Aerius, having impaled Diablo’s clearly defined abdomen with the trident of seawater, looked down at her prey with cold eyes.
“You hid the Archbishop of Sloth. To use a dimensional passage as an escape route…”
She had captured one Archbishop, but failed to achieve the mission’s objective.
The fact that she had failed the Emperor’s direct order irritated Aerius.
“Kuh huh… You can make that kind of expression too? It’s amusing to see, even as I die.”
Seeing Diablo sneer, Aerius drove the trident deeper.
“Keuhk!”
“Do you think I’ll let you die peacefully? You will suffer eternally in the Magic Tower.”
Diablo’s eyebrows twitched at her words.
Aerius leaned closer and whispered,
“You called the Inquisitor ‘a commoner empowered by a pathetic god.’ Isn’t that the same for you?”
“…!”
“Did you think I wouldn’t know that you Archbishops gain power through a contract with the Demon King?”
The Demon King’s contract was only possible with one person.
Therefore, if the current Archbishop of Wrath, Diablo, didn’t die, the next Archbishop of Wrath couldn’t be born.
The revelation of this absolute secret shocked Diablo.
“H-how did you…!”
“Did you think you could reap the rewards without paying the price with your petty schemes?”
“Kraaagh! Sagittarius-!!!”
“So noisy.”
Aerius lightly waved her hand at the struggling Diablo.
The trident transformed, binding her.
It bound her limbs, her face, her entire body.
Then, Aerius began to organize the situation.
“Those injured fools should receive treatment from the paladins immediately.”
“Yes!”
“Paladins, heal yourselves.”
“Y-yes…!”
It was fortunate that this was Espina’s hideout.
A hidden room containing what appeared to be research records had been discovered.
Even though they hadn’t captured the monster that rampaged on the Isle of Wisdom, they could at least identify it.
“Tsk, I should have brought Sagittarius along.”
When he said he couldn’t join because he was busy, she should have dragged him here by the scruff of his neck.
Then they wouldn’t have missed their target.
Recalling the Emperor, who would likely reprimand her for this, Aerius grumbled.
“I’m this old, and I still have to be punished? I don’t want my old body to be abused any further…”
“I apologize, Capricorn. I failed the mission because I’m weak.”
Romeo, exhausted from maintaining the Sanctuary, appeared with a weary face.
Aerius wasn’t cruel enough to scold a young man who had realized his limitations, so she patted his shoulder.
“Thanks to your Sanctuary, no one died. Be proud.”
“I’m ashamed. Many would have died if it weren’t for you.”
Aerius’s magic, effortlessly blocking dozens of monsters, was still vivid in his mind.
So this was the Empire’s famed Zodiac Knight.
Romeo couldn’t help but feel another kind of wall between them.
Seeing the dejected young man, Aerius nodded.
“Well, you’re not wrong.”
She was a T, after all.
“……”
Seeing Romeo’s face darken further, Aerius quickly added,
“It’s alright. You have a bright future ahead of you. I’ll share the research records we found here, so don’t worry.”
“…Thank you. I can at least save face.”
“Yes.”
Perhaps she wasn’t good at comforting people, Aerius thought.
“Now that things are settled, shall we return? What are the Holy Kingdom’s plans?”
“This is information I shouldn’t share, but… I suppose it’s alright with you, Capricorn.”
Romeo, his usual composure restored, approached her and whispered,
“Are you aware of the Heretics’ hierarchy?”
“Archbishop, Priest, Deacon, and Follower, isn’t it?”
“We’ve captured several Heretics, including those of the Priest rank, directly below the Archbishop.”
He couldn’t share the exact methods, but after interrogating the captured Heretics, the Holy Kingdom had obtained some information.
The Heretics had recently recruited many external members.
Most of the kidnappings occurring worldwide were orchestrated by the Heretics.
They were currently focused on a being called the “Vessel” and another called the “Singularity.”
Romeo sighed after explaining this far.
“That’s all I can tell you. I wish I could tell you more, but…”
“It’s fine. You have your reasons. I’ve heard of the Singularity before.”
“Really? Could you tell me…”
Even Romeo knew he was being shameless.
But for the sake of the Holy Kingdom, he had to put on a brave face and ask.
Fortunately, Aerius didn’t seem to mind and answered,
“The Singularity of the world. A being that appears when the world is in danger. Doesn’t the Holy Kingdom have a similar being? A superhuman chosen by God.”
“Ah, could it be…!”
“Yes. The savior of humanity, appearing whenever those Heretic scum disturb the world.”
“The Hero…!”
As Romeo gasped, Aerius nodded.
The Heretics, followers of the Demon King, were targeting the Hero chosen by God.
It was such an obvious conclusion that she wondered why she hadn’t considered it before.
“However, I’ve never heard of the Vessel. I suspect it refers to the escaped monster, but… something feels off.”
“I’m deeply grateful for the information, but I think we should return to the Holy Kingdom quickly.”
“Indeed. We should also return. We’ll escort you to the border.”
“Thank you.”
As Aerius prepared for spatial transfer, a mage from the Magic Tower rushed towards her and shouted,
“Tower Lord! Urgent news!”
“What is it? An order from the Imperial Family? We’re about to leave anyway, what’s the rush…”
“Code Red! News that the Dawn has faded!”
“…What?”
“Dawn” was a code referring to the Empire’s light.
In other words, something had happened to Lux.
Her momentary surprise quickly turned to a frown.
“At a time like this… It can’t be helped. You are responsible for escorting the paladins to the border.”
“Yes! What about you, Tower Lord?”
“I’ll head to the Magic Tower first. Bring everything we’ve obtained here to the Tower. From this moment on, you are in charge here. Understand, Robert?”
“I understand!”
Robert shouted energetically, thrilled that the revered Tower Lord remembered his name.
Leaving the rejoicing mage behind, Aerius addressed Romeo.
“I apologize, but I must go first.”
“Not at all. It seems urgent, so don’t worry about us.”
“Until next time.”
As Romeo bowed deeply, Aerius cast spatial transfer.
A gust of wind swept through the spot where she had vanished.
Whiii-
“…I must strive harder.”
Never before had the title of “Diligence” felt so heavy.
This would be the last time he was powerless against evil.
Romeo clenched his fist, making a firm resolution.
It was the moment a young soul, complacent in God’s embrace, awakened.
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[Man work be craaaaazy im hella tired]
