CH 2.2

A long shadow loomed over her head as she stumbled right onto the bed. It was Barbatos, the one who had been silent all this while.

“There’s nothing more to see here. Let’s just take her to the tower.”

“What? You just shouted how it wasn’t a simple problem at all, didn’t you?”

“No matter how hard you look at it, isn’t it quite strange?”

Barbatos took out a handkerchief and grabbed Julia’s chin as if he just didn’t want to touch any insignificant humans directly. A pair of thin, snake-like eyes had ripped apart her whole appearance.

“The appearance is roughly the same, but this attitude—it’s not that of a princess. She is a human being who has been accustomed to submission.”

“Are you implying that she’s a substitute? But there’s no doubt that pinkish platinum hair is the symbol of Vestra’s Imperial Family!”

Lerazier, who had grabbed Julia from his brother, began to look closely at her face once again. Her hair that was as pale as an unripe fruit had been messed up in his hands.

As her cheeks moved to and fro between the two brothers, a firm conviction eventually settled in Julia’s mind. And the fact was that if it were to go eventually like this, she would ultimately die with much certainty and clarity—whether she would be swept away by the power of the Magic Stone or end up dead because of the felony that dared to deceive the demons.

If she were to die, she should at least make an effort to live. Julia gathered all her courage before she carefully opened her mouth.

“I—I am a princess…”

As soon as she said it, she regretted it terribly. Her voice was dreadfully trembling, even when she heard of it herself.

Unsurprisingly, Barbatos’ eyes turned even colder over those glasses. Even before Lerazier could say anything, he had opened his mouth first.

“I’ve already said that I didn’t have any time to play around, human.”

“I, I really…”

“If you stand in front of the Magic Stone, everything will be clear instantly. Follow me right away.”

He turned around mercilessly as he gave no room for excuses at all. Even before Julia could grasp the meaning of his last words, Lerazier had grabbed a hold of her lightly with one hand and embraced her. Then, as if he was fond of it, his steps began to trail airily after his brother’s footsteps.

Eventually, he added some words of comfort in his own way.

“If Brother comes out too strong, I can’t really help it either. Instead, I’ll carefully weave your body into a doll, so don’t worry about it too much.”

“A doll…”

“Of course, if there are still any parts being intact though, kekkek!”

To be honest, Julia had an absolutely minuscule amount of courage—she feared turning into a doll much more so than simply dying. She tossed her head forcefully to live while struggling to avoid Lerazier’s touch, which was already holding onto her slender waist.

Although her identity had been questioned, the situation itself was proceeding exactly the same as the game’s prologue.

Estelle, who had finally reached the top floor of the Demon God Tower, was forcibly dragged into a space where the crystal ball had already been sealed by two demons. However, the magical power that was emitted by the magic crystal had been so strong until it could no longer survive as a human body, which had yet to be blossomed into a ‘key’ before she merely fainted while having barely saved her own life.

After that, the full-fledged story finally began and she had to raise her various stats, but Julia could not possibly think that she would be able to get that far.

It would be sheer luck if she didn’t die while frothing away as soon as she entered the Demon Tower, let alone in front of the crystal ball itself.

‘I don’t want to die……’

Unknowingly, Julia’s hand that was still grabbing onto Lerazier’s hem began trembling. To anyone else, they would have felt pity for her slender figure, but Lerazier even had loosened his own grip against her as if it was such a pleasure to let Julia dangle from the side.

“I’m, I’m going to fall like this!”

“Then, why don’t you hold me a bit tighter? Hang on to me with all your might. I won’t exactly help you even if you were to fall.”

The gigantic wings spread out like countless petals bursting from his back. Barbatos, who was walking ahead of him, suddenly leaped into the air and flew through the dark night sky.

Julia’s fear finally reached its peak when Lerazier leaped over the window sill as well. She clung onto the demon’s neck with all her might, lest she would unknowingly fall onto the distant ground. On top of that, she was only thinking of just one thing.

‘I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die!’

She eventually reached the Demon Tower while still hanging from Lerazier’s neck. The two demons had struggled against the pulsating magic power before climbing up the stairs and finally stood in front of the great altar.

By the time she had regained her senses, it was already too late. Right before her eyes was a huge sphere of deep purple that was glowing with a buzzing sound.

Just like her eyes would go blind if she had stared directly into the sun, it was rather difficult for Julia to gaze at it for a long time since it was emitting such a huge wave.

“Oh, Brother…”

“I’m looking at it.”

A slightly confused groan could be heard in Julia’s ears, who was merely standing awkwardly. She slowly shifted her gaze before turning around to look at them and only then did she realize the situation she was currently in.

‘It’s exactly the same as the CG in the game. This is definitely the Demon God’s crystal ball.’

The entire hall, which was as grand and huge as the stadium, had existed solely for the sake of the magic stone.

It was definitely the same as in her own memories, but a different kind of pressure than back when she had simply looked through the monitor was weighing down against her. As if she was just standing in front of a primeval nature, a boundless state of awe had swallowed up all of Julia’s other sorts of emotions.