Chapter 55: Chapter 244

Let's probe her a little bit more.

"I heard the Demon Lords battled each other at the Felhemstein duchy. Putting aside who won, weren't your forces damaged quite a bit? I'm surprised you can afford to waste your soldiers like that."

"Oh, you're right. I did lose many soldiers to that bastard, Karpeios."

For the first time, a look of rage seeped into the elegant and calm face of the Rule Enforcer. No one would expect Demon Lords to get along well, but rank two and three particularly hated each other.

Inferinos referred to Karpeios as a barbaric demon who lives on the streets without a proper fortress, and Karpeios disparaged Inferinos as a shady fraud who hides underground away from the light of the moon. Their last fight had been a battle of attrition, leading to the destruction of forces on all sides.

"So, why send so many into the pit? I understand you want to offer Chaos and Evil a special sacrifice, but don't you think you're risking too much? You're the lowest rank of the Demon Lords."

Surprisingly, Inferinos didn't react to my provocation.

"I don't care about those things," she explained simply. "We simply follow his great will, which forms the basis of our existence." Her voice was so pure, it almost sounded reverent. She seemed to have realized that I was digging for more information, for she casually added, "You probably realized two things based on what I just said. You're right. The Pit of Solitude was created in response to the Primordial Chaos's revelation, so a significant amount of power has been irreversibly consumed by it."

The revelation of Chaos and Evil... Those words dug deep into my brain.

"Another thing. You probably already suspected this when I used the word, "we," but the other two Demon Lords have also received their own revelations and are working on grand projects as well."

⟬The Advocate of Confidentiality takes note of the plotline that didn't exist in the original story.⟭

⟬The Voice that Shapes the World has a bad feeling about this.⟭

The information I could deduce from what Inferinos said was clear—that Reed was using the three Demon Lords to plan something that would destroy the world without a doubt.

"Aren't you curious to know what he's planning, Executioner of Evil?" the Demon Lord goaded.

"I suspect you, Inferinos, don't know what the plan is yourself."

"There's no need to wheedle answers out of me like that. I'm generous when it comes to questions. Don't forget who the Bible of Truth belongs to."

"So?"

"So, let's speak honestly to each other."

Oh, I see. I had guessed when she first bound me to a chair and told me to wait that she wanted something from me.

With that in mind, I suggested, "I think you want to make a deal, not have a conversation."

"That's right. No wonder the late Marchioness Levant wanted you for herself."

I momentarily rolled my eyes to the side and glanced at the current Marchioness Levant—I could guess what kind of expression lay beneath her mask.

That was when Inferinos glanced down into the pit and remarked, "I was thinking of trading the lives of the humans to make a deal with you, but..." She hummed thoughtfully. "In the end, there was no need to keep hundreds of humans hostage. Your eyes changed when you heard that the stigma bearer intended to sacrifice himself."

Clearly, she had seen through me like glass. It was time for us to get to the point.

"Tell me what you want, Rule Enforcer."

"Jumping straight to it, huh? I like that." The beautiful Demon Lord wore a smug smile on her face as she thrust her hand forward, showing me the back of her fingers as if she was ready to be escorted. "Give me your hand."

I frowned as I reached out my right hand to take hers, a disgusting feeling seeping into my skin before we even touched. Soon, the mark of the blue half moon was imprinted on my palm, and, as always, the contract with a demon was given to me in the form of a quest.

⟬«Quest» A Legal Transaction (Difficulty level: SSS)

Inferinos is a Demon Lord obsessed with rules, etiquette, and knowledge. She is very curious about the revelations the other Demon Lords received from [The Primordial Chaos]. She discovered what Evixinous' was, but the only thing she knows about her mortal enemy, Karpeios, is that he's developing an [Unknown Structure].

Inferinos is extremely concerned because Karpeios, an uncivilized demon, who had been homeless and living on a rocky cliff until now, is suddenly interested in the advancement of civilization. Hence, your mission is to rid Inferinos of her curiosity. Infiltrate Karpeios' territory, the Abyssal Dunes, and gather information regarding this [Unknown Structure].

Reward Upon Success: Survival of Tesilid Argente.

Failure Penalty: Death of Tesilid Argente.⟭

⟬«System» Do you accept this quest?⟭

Having read the details, I had to ask, "You're asking me to do this because you already know a way to infiltrate the territory, right?"

"Of course." The moment Inferinos took her hand away, something small appeared in the air. It immediately landed on my palm as she remarked, "Dark purple looks good on you."

I could instantly tell what this item was—it was the seed of the Dead Man's Flower.

✠

The dungeon sink that attacked Fanel, the capital of the holy kingdom, suddenly stopped. The multitude of whirlwinds that had been tearing through the city quite suddenly sank back into the ground, and the citizens who were released as per the rule of substitutionary atonement had already escaped to the Litennial Plains near Fanel.

Among them were Hestio, Ash, Hilde, and even Ephael, who had barely managed to keep his hair. The four of them were deeply shocked when citizens who had been further back in line filled them in on what had happened.

"The master of the holy sword said he'd be punished for everyone's sake?! Is that true?!"

"Tesilid, that crazy bastard! Does he think he's a saint or something?!"

"What? What did you just say, ma'am? He's evil? There's no way. The scale must have malfunctioned. If he was a villain, he's be the master of the demonic sword, not the holy sword."

"What about Sister? What about the Divine Emissary? Have any of you seen her?"

They were desperately concerned, but there was nothing they could do because the dungeon sink was already over. They couldn't return to the dungeon because it was now cut off from the human world, and they knew better than anyone that they'd only get in the way of Ailette and Tesilid if they did manage to get through somehow.

"L-let's go to the Vatican first. We should give them an update and come up with a solution—"

"I don't think that's a good idea, Brother Ephael," said Ash as he glanced up at the sky.

Apparently, the disaster was far from over, for there were three moons still hanging high above their heads in a sky void of stars.

✠

Since the capital city of Fanel was illuminated by these three, strange demonic moons, the Vatican knew to keep their guard up. No matter how dark things were on the outside, the barrier that turned the Vatican into a fortress wasn't going to break any time soon.

There was a man who was watching this from a nearby clock tower, one who was wearing a black uniform bordered in gold seams and a black cloak covered in stars stitched with golden thread. His face, which was hidden beneath his long, black hair, was so lovely that even angels would weep in envy to behold it. He was a handsome man who carried himself with the arrogance of many different figures, seemingly an elegant gentleman, a pompous mage, and a charismatic demon, all combined into one.

He spoke in a low tone.

"I should begin the siege."

Without hesitation, his dress shoes carried him over the edge of the clock tower. His body came crashing down at a frightening speed, but his landing was lighter than a feather when he reached the ground.

Reed's controlled steps walked across the ruined city, bringing him closer to his destination, the Vatican. The gigantic gates that he saw in front of him were sealed shut, but he didn't slow down, as if there were no obstacles that lay in his way. When he was but ten steps from the gate, he summoned several dozen aura blades and gathered them in one place.

"Go."

The enormous battering ram made of aura slammed into the castle wall.

Boom!

The attack, powerful enough to crush the gate with a single blow, didn't make the walls so much as tremble. The barrier, Sacred Place Establishment, maintained using Tier 8 divine power, was able to withstand his assault.

"It's quite a useful artifact."

He murmured an emotionless compliment as he slammed another bout of incredible force into the gate. This continued ten times, until a new sound emerged.

Crack!

Finally, Reed's persistence paid off as the Vatican was forced open. When the gray cloud of dust settled, a large courtyard came into view, while the surroundings of the main gate was consumed with fire as a result of the battering ram's explosive attack. Many corpses were sprawled around the blast zone, some citizens having not had a chance to get away in time.

"N-no way..."

"Ahhh!"

The audience gathered at the courtyard like refugees, terror on their faces, but Reed seemed completely disinterested in their presence as he stepped forward.

When the holy knights belatedly arrived, they all shouted, "Who are you?!"

"I-is he a demon?!"

"B-but there's no way a demon could enter this place!"

"Tell us who you are!"

Grand Duke Heathfenrir and Marchioness Lecandro, who had been trapped inside the Vatican because of the Sacred Place Establishment, sharpened their guard and prepared themselves for battle.

However, Reed deliberately ignored them. The only person he was interested in was Muriel Phylise. Or, more accurately, the flag-like artifact that was placed in front of her, the Sacred Place Establishment.

"Who are you?" asked the saintess.

Unfortunately for Muriel, she was bound to one location, holding the Sacred Place Establishment. She broke out in a cold sweat and analyzed Reed as his controlled and elegant steps brought him toward her.

The precious saintess was in danger, so they couldn't let this unknown intruder get any closer.

"Stop the intruder!" cried Clovis, whose division, the Knights of the Temple, had been assigned to guard Muriel.

Before anyone could execute the command, a circular shock wave exploded out of Reed, followed by invisible hands that pressed down on the knights' shoulders.

"Ugh, I can't move!"

"I-it's too heavy!"

The powerful force commanded those around Reed to bow, causing all of the holy knights to drop to their knees under its weight and disgracefully dig their foreheads into the ground. Even the cardinals were shamefully on their knees. The only two people still standing were the aura master and Tier 8 divine power user.

"You ruthless mage knight, why are you doing this?!"

Grand Duke Heathfenrir and Marchioness Lecandro charged forward, prepared to fight.