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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“Silence.”
Unable to falsely agree while maintaining her pride, Cecilia simply commanded silence, her aura intensifying. Floretta continued with a smile.
“My offer remains open. Please consider it at your leisure. As you have just witnessed, our esteemed guest is more than capable of embracing us all.”
Though I desperately wanted to believe otherwise, Floretta’s words carried an undeniable double entendre, especially after our experiences in the Holy Kingdom. It seemed those memories were deeply etched in her mind.
Cecilia remained silent for a moment, then gritted her teeth.
“……Pope of the Sun.”
“Speak.”
“Why is that thing still alive?”
Having seemingly decided that she couldn’t outwit Floretta verbally at the moment, Cecilia’s golden eyes shifted towards the still-twitching golden armor.
Floretta, seemingly sensing Cecilia’s lack of desire for a response, let the question slide.
“Under normal circumstances, I would have ended its life. However, it is merely a vessel, not as dangerous as a true demon manifestation. Furthermore, it was once a servant of Your Majesty. Perhaps there are questions you wish to ask. Information regarding when, where, and from whom it received the demon, perhaps.”
“Questions? Hmph, a pointless endeavor. There’s nothing to be gained from interrogating such filth. Its origins are irrelevant. It merely signifies the depths of its depravity.”
At her words, the twitching of the transformed body intensified.
Though barely perceptible, it was enough to irritate Cecilia further.
She frowned.
“Do you dare defy me, you worthless creature? There’s nothing to ask a wretch who would abandon their loyalty and embrace a demon out of mere jealousy. So die, and be gone.”
“M-Mag…ic……”
A mumble escaped the transformed body, but it was unintelligible. I glanced at Floretta, wondering if it was some sort of incantation, but she seemed equally clueless.
“Commander of the Dark Starry Night Knights.”
Cecilia, ignoring the mumbling, addressed me. She had fully regained her imperial composure.
Her body, however, remained in its current state.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“That Knight Order is now under your command. Do not disappoint me.”
I had anticipated this.
As I pondered the implications of suddenly absorbing the entire Golden Twilight Knights, the former Knight Commander continued its incessant mumbling.
“Magic……”
“How utterly tiresome. If you must die, do so quietly. Why this pathetic clinging to life?”
Cecilia, annoyed, drew her holy sword, then paused, turning to me.
“I command you. Dispose of it.”
“As you wish.”
I had been planning to request the honor of the kill myself, for the boss experience.
I drew Wingless Nightmare.
The holy blade shimmered. Floretta watched with a satisfied smile.
“So…ul……”
Ignoring the mumbling, I raised Wingless Nightmare, preparing to strike, then hesitated.
I had noticed the inverted pentagram beneath the body. The Golden Twilight Knight Commander was already possessed, so it shouldn’t be there.
Floretta tilted her head at my sudden pause.
“What troubles you, esteemed guest?”
“Your Holiness, do you see the inverted pentagram beneath its body?”
“An inverted pentagram… Ah, you refer to this. Yes, I see it.”
“Do you know why it has appeared now?”
An inverted pentagram was a symbol used by demon worshippers during summoning rituals.
Since the Golden Twilight Knight Commander was already possessed, it shouldn’t be visible.
Floretta considered my words, then raised her holy relic. A golden, hemispherical barrier enveloped the transformed body.
“Forgive me, esteemed guest. I do not understand its significance. However, it is best to be prepared.”
I nodded.
I didn’t know what it meant either. Caution was warranted. There was a chance a demon could be summoned.
“Your Imperial Majesty, may I handle this? As a precaution.”
“Do as you wish.”
Cecilia, also sensing something amiss, readily granted permission.
Floretta channeled holy power into the small sun at the tip of her staff. Just as she did, the inverted pentagram began to glow crimson.
“As I suspected.”
Floretta’s voice turned cold, her benevolent smile vanishing. She knew what the glowing pentagram signified.
I knew too, but my thoughts were racing for a different reason.
This hadn’t happened in the game. Everything that followed was unknown territory. I was understandably apprehensive.
‘……Let’s just observe.’
Cecilia, wielding her holy sword, stood beside me, and the Pope of the Sun was closest to the pentagram. Any demon would be no match for them.
I calmed myself. I could leave this to them. I would likely have no need to intervene. My role was to observe.
The crimson glow intensified. The golden light from the small sun also grew brighter.
“…….”
After some time, the crimson light within the barrier faded. It couldn’t withstand Floretta’s holy power.
A smile returned to Floretta’s face.
“It seems to be over.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. The unfamiliar situation had been unnerving.
Floretta’s presence had been a godsend. Otherwise, I would have had to face whatever emerged from the pentagram head-on.
“Now, to purify the area with holy power……”
Floretta trailed off. As I wondered why, the crimson light erupted again, far more intensely than before.
Floretta frowned and raised her holy relic. Golden light poured down, as if a second sun had appeared.
—Crack!
“What……!”
This time, it was no use. Cracks appeared in the golden barrier. Floretta’s expression fractured.
She called out urgently.
“Eternal Mage! Your assistance is required! Mana is emanating from within!”
‘Mana?’
“What do you mean, Pope of the Sun?! Did you say mana?!”
Cecilia echoed my confusion, but her words were lost in the surging mana. Minerva had already begun casting.
A blue sphere enveloped the crumbling holy barrier. The crimson light vanished, momentarily obscured by the blue mana. Then, golden holy power covered it once more.
And then.
“You must dodge—!”
The crimson light exploded, shattering the combined barrier of mana and holy power.
The world turned red.
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“…….”
Floretta, her face grim, dispelled the holy barrier. Golden light emanated from the small sun, purifying the hallway.
What had just transpired was unprecedented, even for her.
Not only had an inverted pentagram appeared beneath a dying vessel, but it had also broken through the combined power of the Pope of the Sun and the Eternal Mage.
Such an event was not recorded in the Holy Kingdom’s annals.
“Esteemed guest, are you unharmed?”
Floretta immediately sought him out. She had erected a holy barrier at the last moment, but the range had been slightly ambiguous.
It had definitely prevented the red light from spreading beyond the hallway, but she couldn’t be certain about the immediate vicinity.
“Esteemed guest? Why do you not answer?”
Receiving no response, Floretta called out again. Still, silence.
“……Esteemed guest?”
Her third call was met with the same silence.
A rustling sound came from the end of the hallway. Someone was sifting through the debris. Floretta turned sharply.
“Good heavens, what has happened here?”
Minerva, shrouded in a mana barrier, was pulverizing the debris with a sigh.
She had been about to ask Floretta if she was alright, but seeing her grim expression, she held her tongue.
Then, upon learning the reason for that expression, she joined the search, frantically looking for him.
But he was nowhere to be found.
Nor was Cecilia.
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“…….”
I kicked the ground. Dust billowed from the dry earth.
Why here?
I chuckled dryly and looked up.
Cecilia, gripping her holy sword, scanned our surroundings.
“What is this place? Utterly repulsive.”
Cecilia grimaced. Her reaction was understandable. The place was horrific.
A river of crimson blood flowed nearby, and bone-strewn hills dotted the landscape. The ground was parched and cracked, and wooden stakes impaled with human corpses littered the area.
‘Engulfed by red light, and we end up here… Well, better than dying, I suppose?’
I approached Cecilia. She sheathed her holy sword as I drew near.
“Your Imperial Majesty.”
“Speak.”
“I know where we are.”
“I suspect I do as well. Speak nonetheless.”
She was right, it was hard to mistake this place for anything else.
I smiled wryly.
“It seems we have fallen into Hell.”
Specifically, into the ‘Sanctuary of Demons,’ the third DLC of the Darkest Light mod.
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Tftc
Thanks for the translation!