CH 49

「Our King.」

「Our King.」

There were voices from the sky that were so gloomy that her back was chilling. However, no matter how much she checked, she couldn’t see the subject of the numerous voices.

Then she realized that the voices were coming from underground.

「Our King has come.」

「Our King has come.」

She shook off her dizzy head and raised her head. The blood that was pouring out disappeared before she knew it.

A magic circle large enough to cover the entire Lilith, which was being drawn in full swing, caught my eye. But—.

‘Oh my.’

「Worship our King.」

A flame that bursts when the magic circle is broken.

As soon as the dark red flame fell, Catherine thought that this view she was seeing now might be the last scene of her life.

But fortunately, that didn’t happen.

「Unlike my master, it’s a king who is quite noisy—」

Catherine opened her eyes, which she had closed unknowingly. She felt a large shadow pass over her head.

Even putting it in at a glance, as tough as it is, the huge whale was being hit instead of the falling flame by the Lilith. (t/n : I’m not really sure about this;;)

“Grand Duke!”

Someone raised their crouching body and shouted.

“The Devil of Grand Duke Cesare!”

“It’s Grand Duke Cesare! Haa, we’re alive!”

The flames bounced off and crashed into the sea.

「It’s noisy, you insects. I can’t hear my master’s voice—」

It was clear that it was the same Remor, but it was incomparable to the size when Catherine summoned it.

‘You have to be at that level to be able to call the real Remor.’

Remor, who had not complained much about her summons, felt generous once again.

Damian lifted his hand from her shoulder and brushed his hair soaked in the red rain.

“Finally, Sir Cesare is here. I’m relieved now.”

“Not at all. This is nothing to be relieved of.”

“Yes?”

When the great devil has been summoned, how can she say she’s relieved?

“But how was it possible to summon it?”

The passengers of the Lilith are alive and well.

「We didn’t think much. The sacrifice did not have to be a person.」

Catherine looked around, startled by the rushing chill.

She didn’t know when she was approaching, and black smoke hid inside her bag.

It was Madame Pompadour.

“If it’s not human?”

「Non-human creatures abound in this area! There must have been a massacre in the sea around this area. It’s hard to find any surviving creatures. oh, damn it—. I was completely fooled by them. I wasted my time properly!」

Are you saying that sea creatures were sacrificed in order to summon the Great Devil? Madame Pompadour’s voice sounded depressed and half-crying.

「As a rough estimate, it’s 10,000. They slaughtered 10,000 lives to summon the Great Devil! No matter how great the Grand Duke is, the Great Devil can’t be stopped. We’re done now!」

No, first of all, the Grand Duke is also a Great Devil—.

She wanted to comfort Madame, who acted as if she was on the verge of death but she quietly pretended not to know because it was a secret that couldn’t be revealed.

Meow.

She heard a cat cry under my feet. It was Meow.

“You’re here?”

Instead of answering, Meow eagerly groomed her blood-soaked back. Catherine picked up the little body, wiped the blood roughly with her sleeve, and put it into her bag.

Remor’s shadow slowly began to clear.

「You dare to bother Cesare’s mood. Cesare is angry.」

There was no need to ask who. Because it was certain that it was the Great Devil that was being summoned

Did it appear in front of Cesare, the Ruler of the Sea, as a result of the sacrifice of a sea creature?

“Then what happens to us?”

That was the question. If there was no intention of using humans as a sacrifice, why did they make such a fuss on Lilith?

「The use of the humans here is obvious.」

Meow said in a rare tense tone.

「It will be the first meal of the Great Devil who has descended.」

At the same time, the vision flashes, and Catherine loses her mind.

*******

Since when was it?

Catherine suddenly realized that she had been walking for a very long time. Immediately after recognizing this fact, the surroundings began to appear.

This place was not Lilith. Catherine was walking on the surface of the sea, which was deep and dark.

She could see the sun, redder than blood, blazing over the hazy turquoise sky. The rough surface of the rock, which could be seen in several places, was covered with golden moss.

Where is this place?

「It’s been a while, Leviathan.」

If she didn’t listen, she wouldn’t be able to hear it properly. But rather, the name mentioned made Catherine’s body tense.

Leviathan, Ruler of the Sea, is one of the Seven Great Devils that rule the underworld.

She didn’t expect to hear Cesare’s true name in such a strange place. Catherine recognized that where she stood was not an ordinary place and stiffened her shoulders.

「Why did you call me this way?」

It was a cold voice that gave her goosebumps, but it was clear that it was Cesare’s voice. Catherine carefully moved her steps so that there was no sound and hid behind the rock.

「Is there a reason why we can’t meet like this?」

「Don’t mess with me. If you want to come, then come nicely. Because I will put you back in the underworld.」

「I’m here to ask you not to do that, but really.」

「Did you forget to come up quietly and even touch my stomach? If you act recklessly, you should pay the price.」

Is it really Cesare?

It was strange. Cesare she knew didn’t use that tone. He was a man who, despite his cheekiness, used to speak a noble language to match his dignity and status—.

「I want you to stop being angry. I was satisfied with the sea creature because I was afraid that killing humans would make you annoyed again.」

「If you had decided to do so, you would have aimed at land creatures.」

「Human interests are complicatedly intertwined. Please know that I didn’t mean to look down on you, Leviathan.」

Is that so?

He is Leviathan here, not Cesare. If this is the case, the current Cesare may be closer to his nature.

「Enough. Tell me why you called me to the abyss.」

Abyss!

Catherine was belatedly able to find out about the mysterious space she was in.

Each of the Great Devils has a passage that connects Eden, the mortal land, with the fiery pit, the devil land, and this passage is known as an abyss or devil summoning circle. This space where Catherine was hiding was the abyss.

‘But why me?’

She looked around just in case, but she was the only person. Of course, the abyss was a world where humans could never step in theory.

‘Is it the aftermath of signing a contract with Cesare?’

「The person who called me wants me to confront you.」

「You mean you know where I am and what I’m doing?」

「Of course. I heard that you recently settled in one place and play with humans. Are you going to make a king of humans?」

「It’s similar.」

The word “human play” came very awkwardly to Catherine. Cesare also acknowledges it.

The devil who was talking to Cesare spoke in a somewhat depressed voice.

「I have a reason for accepting this summons. I didn’t want to come back to Eden… But I responded to the summons for my purpose, and I don’t want to bump into you.」

「Is the person who called you Crown Prince Saferan?」

If it’s Crown Prince Saferan, is he also Maggie’s boss and Cesare’s stalker?

「To be precise, Prince Saferan and Marpacus III.」

The answer that was heard was quite shocking, even to Catherine, who didn’t know anything about politics.

Pope Marpacus III.

As the son of God and transcendent, he was one of the few beings that could rival Emperor Shagweed II by force.

The Vatican summoned the Great Devil! Catherine felt her heart beat fast with the shocking information.

‘No. I didn’t hear anything right now. I’m deaf, I’m deaf—’

The conversation partner continued to say.

「It doesn’t change over time. They have had big snakes inside them from generation to generation. They will pretend to get along; it’s just pretending until the end.」

「Are you still looking for Lilith?」

At first, she thought that the Lilith that Cesare was talking about was that Lilith. But after hearing the following words, she had to change her mind.

「You’re still young, so it’s hard to accept Lilith’s death. Her life is already over—」

「Stop, Leviathan. I beg you, but please stop saying that.」

Lilith, the Great Devil. The Lilith that Cesare was referring to seemed to be referring to the Great Devil Lilith, not this Lilith.

‘Today, I keep hearing dangerous names.’

Until a few months ago, finding a house was the biggest problem for her. She didn’t know that she would come into the eye of a disaster in this way.

「What I want to say ends here.」

Catherine relaxed and slowly leaned her back against the golden moss-covered rock.

Just because they’re the Great Devil doesn’t mean they’re having a completely incomprehensible conversation. Rather, she felt like she was eavesdropping on a normal conversation between two people. Such a conversation is sometimes emotional, sometimes rational.

「Don’t forget that our words have power. If you have even conveyed your intention by taking my time, you must keep that promise.」

「Of course.」

The sea beneath her feet began to shake. Is she going back to reality now? Catherine gazed silently at the turbulent water surface.

「I hope you find the answer you are looking for in Eden, Behemoth.」

******

Behemoth.

One of the seven great devils who rule the underworld and the ruler of bronze.

Yeah, there aren’t many beings who can talk on par with Cesare in the abyss. She felt it was unusual, but she didn’t know that his conversation partner would be the Great Devil Behemoth.

‘Is it like this to be cast out by the Great Devil—?’

She got up from her place, shaking her head that felt dizzy. Not only her, but also everyone else was lying down, but passengers on the deck began to get up one by one.

The huge magic circle that covered the sky, the flame that fell like a meteor shower, and Remor, who was protecting Lilith, had all disappeared.

“It’s okay now, everyone!”

Someone shouted out loud among the crowd.

People’s eyes are focused on one place. A middle-aged man in a priest’s uniform raised his hands above his head with a bright smile.

“We, the Vatican, have punished all the demons that threatened the Lilith! Rest assured!”

Punished?

Although they were the ones who caused this to happen in the first place, the acting was pretty good.

‘Isn’t it? He doesn’t seem to be deceiving.’

Even in the Vatican, very few could have known that the purpose was to summon Behemoth.

“What happened! Explain properly!”

“The Vatican, explain it!”