It was evident that the two heroes had quelled the dungeon burst outside. Now that they had arrived, the polite thing to do was to greet the nation's saviors. Pope Senedict, Cardinal Vegalius, Cardinal Dekal, and Saintess Muriel all hurried across the courtyard toward the newcomers.
"Duke Heathfenrir! Marchioness Lecandro! You've come to save the holy kingdom. Thank you, Strict Order and Goodness! May your protection be with us," Cardinal Dekal's voice carried across the courtyard, unable to hide his excitement.
To this, Grand Duke Heathfenrir and Marchioness Lecandro both nodded their heads.
"I'm glad Marchioness Lecandro and I weren't too late."
"We are relieved to see that you're fine, considering the devastation outside."
Cardinal Vegalius stepped forwarded and said, "Saintess Muriel here activated the Sacred Place Establishment artifact, which allowed the majority of citizens to survive. However...." He dragged out the end of his sentence with a questioning tone. "Is it just you two?"
"What do you mean, Cardinal?"
Grand Duke Heathfenrir's question was one of pure curiosity, yet Cardinal Vegalius instantly froze as if he'd been accused of a horrible crime.
Cardinal Dekal had no choice but to step in to reply on his colleague's behalf. "Ahem, we were wondering where the Divine Emissary and the master of the holy sword might be."
It seemed that the representatives of the Holy Prosecution Ministry and the Ministry of Gospel were only aligned when raising matters like this. To them, the Divine Emissary and the master of the holy sword were not only faithful servants of the religious order, but soldiers who had a duty to sacrifice everything and bravely protect the holy kingdom whenever needed. And they were nowhere to be seen. They felt rather offended, an emotion they couldn't hide even if they tried.
As soon as the cardinals expressed disapproval of Grand Duke Heathfenrir granddaughter and Marchioness Lecandro's royal prince, the expressions upon the two aura masters' faces instantly darkened.
"All capitals in all nations are experiencing the same disaster right now, so my granddaughter went to Gehenid the moment she subjugated the boss that appeared in Feronsa. She personally asked me to come here because she said she was the only person with the skills to save Gehenid, but I guess the holy kingdom doesn't find my contribution satisfactory," the grand duke said, his tone simmering with anger.
"Our prince also mentioned something similar after he saved the royal capital and headed to Gehenid. In truth, I cannot guarantee that I would've come to Fanel had it not been for his order."
It was clear from the two aura masters' explanations that they had come due to the command of the Divine Emissary and the master of the holy sword. Only then did Cardinal Dekal and Cardinal Vegalius realize their mistake and adjust their attitude. In order to revive the mood, Pope Senedict changed the topicâit just so happened to be that she came across a piece of information that could not be ignored.
"According to you, Grand Duke Heathfenrir, dungeon bursts erupted across all four cities at once. Such a disaster has never occurred before. I fear for the future of this continent."
To this, Muriel closed her eyes and gave a quick prayer. "Please protect the citizens of Serentra, Strict Order and Goodness."
It was a reverent act, as would be expected from the poster child of the religious order.
Grand Duke Heathfenrir, who was known to be a faithful person, contemplated whether he should close his eyes as well for a moment, but decided not to. The passion in his heart had dampened when he heard her call for Order and Goodness. Instead, he wore a troubled look on his face, as there was something far more important to discuss right now.
After the aura masters exchanged a quick glance, the Marchioness remarked, "Your Holiness, Your Eminences. There is something we must tell you about regarding the dungeon burst at Fanel."
"Are you referring to the sharing of loot? If so, we believe the two heroes shouldâ"
"That is not what we're talking about, Cardinal Dekal. There was no boss battle to begin with, so there's nothing to split anyway."
"Pardon?"
There was no boss battle? Then how did they stop the dungeon burst?
The four members of the religious order looked utterly confused, so Grand Duke Heathfenrir added, "It's exactly as Marchioness Lecandro says. Neither of us saw so much as a shadow of the boss because the gate self-destructed while we were battling the lesser demons."
At first, they hypothesized that perhaps someone had subjugated the boss from the inside, just as Tesilid did in Vilhelon, the royal capital, but no one emerged from the gate and the gate disappeared abnormally fast. This was also why Grand Duke Heathfenrir purposely used the word "self-destructed" instead of closed. This was another incident that had never happened before, to which the pope, the saintess, and the two cardinals frowned with concern. However, the followers who had been listening in from the side came up with a much simpler answer.
"Indeed, the Strict Order and Goodness has protected us!"
"The demons must've retreated because our land was too holy for it to stand!"
It was fanatical optimism at its best. That was when the ground shook as if to mock their ridiculous interpretation.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
"...!"
A heavy pulsing sensation washed over the people three times, as if someone was beating a loud drum. The source of sound seemed to be located somewhere high above them.
"T-The sky!"
The moons they thought had disappeared for good were hanging in the night sky again, aligned in the center as if they were the hands of a clock pointing at midnight. The strange triple moon consisted of a red full moon, a blue half moon, and a purple crescent moon combined into one. This monstrous sight brought horror to those who witnessed it, as gasps erupted throughout the courtyard. The people were trembling with instinctive fear when that unsettling sound rang out again.
Boom!
This time, an even stronger vibration hit them. Grand Duke Heathfenrir and Marchioness Lecandro's eyes widened as Muriel hurriedly reactivated the Sacred Place Establishment. As soon as she had, the screams began again.
"A-ahhhh...!"
"H-help... Ahhhh!"
As if the battle had never stopped, chaos broke out just beyond the Vatican's walls. Every time a shriek tore through the air, another human vanished. Fanel, the capital of Elfenheim... There was no such thing as divine protection here. It was the best place for Chaos and Evil to roam, meaning the real disaster at Fanel was just about to start.
â
I had assumed that the more I got involved, the more I would accelerate Reed's plan. What I was witnessing right now was a perfect example of that theory. Currently, the disaster unfolding in front of me was occurring much earlier than expected.
â¬Â«System» Warning. [The Protection of Chaos and Evil] has increased the difficulty level of the disaster.â
â¬Â«System» Warning. [The Walpurgis Night] has been elevated to [Doomsday].â
A dungeon sink had occurred throughout the entire cityâwhat looked like manholes appeared in random formations and recklessly sucked in any human nearby. Between the screams of dying people, a creepy voice could be heard saying wicked things.
"Punish the sinner. Sinners shall be judged."
This was the situation Tesilid and the rest of the crew witnessed the moment we used the teleportation stone to travel to Fanel. A dungeon sink that dragged living people into the ground... None of us, including my crew, was safe from this chilling disaster.
"A-argh!"
"Hey, take my hanâ Ugh!" The black-haired man and the blond man instantly sank to the ground.
"Hestio! Ephael!"
It wasn't just them. Ash, who was holding onto Hilde from afar, was quickly sinking into a hole like he had stepped in quicksand.
He called out, "You're going to come and save us, right, Big Sis?"
I didn't even have time to call his name before both Ash and Hilde disappeared as well, following the fate of Ephael and Hestio. Tesilid and I were the only ones leftâthere were no other humans in the area besides us at this point.
«What the... What is going on?! Is this supposed to happen?!» exclaimed Agnes with shock.
I tried to remain composed so that I could convey the situation to her as clearly as possible. After assessing the situation, I explained, "No, this wasn't supposed to happen. There should've been a dungeon burst like the other nations, not a dungeon sink. We were supposed to face a boss around Nazril and Cavalencia's level here."
"We were actually supposed to fight a demon called The Master of the Gambling House," Tesilid added.
"Punish the sinner. Sinners shall be judged."
The chilling and sinister whispers of an unseen spirit filled the surrounding area as the dungeon sink continued. With tiny gates endlessly forming and disappearing, the ground looked like it had become a sea of whirlpools. I clenched my teeth as I took careful stock of where I was standing, not knowing when a sink would occur.
A regular Walpurgis Night was supposed to be S-class, but Reed's appearance in this Loop had elevated the level to SS-class. The storyline had followed the original plot until now, but I was an anomaly that caused unpredictable shifts in the plotline. I was expecting Reed to plan something grander than what had occurred in Loop One Hundred of the original story in order to defeat me, and was even prepared for the level to increase to SSS-class, but I now realized my mistake.
I was being foolish. I had underestimated Reed.
â¬Â«System» Announcement. [The Sixth Calling of the Grand Priest of Voiceism] has been increased from SS-class to L-class.â
From now on, the enemy we were going to fight wasn't an insignificant demon like the Master of the Gambling House.
"Punish the sinner. Sinners shall be judged."
The eerie whispers were growing closer. Just before it happened, I realized our time had run out. The ground below my feet disappeared, and something more powerful than gravity pulled me down. With the feeling of passing through a membrane, my feet eventually landed on something I could put my weight on, allowing me to stand.
A message greeted me in the darkness.
â¬Â«System» You have entered [The Court of Rewarding Evil and Punishing Good], an L-class dungeon.â
An overpowering sensation pressed down on my lungs as I silently waited for my eyes to get used to the darkness.
Flash!
Strange blue candles were lit up at once. What I could immediately see was a single path ahead of me, a well-crafted and ancient-looking road that was bordered by cliffs on either side. My eyes carefully followed that path instead of my feet, when I noticed bronze reliefs that mimicked the suffering faces of humans and a platform that was as high as a spire.
I snapped my head up to take a look at the platform. There stood a smug being that was looking down upon me as if it could see all things. Shifting my gaze lower, I noticed that she was a demon in female form, with blonde hair and wearing the robes of a judge. She intensified the power in the air around herself to demonstrate that she was the master of this space, when the system revealed her identity.
â¬Â«System» Master of the territory, Demon Realm Rank 3 [Inferinos the Enforcer], has appeared.â
My enemy this time was a Demon Lord.