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The Hero and the Saint.
Edmond could not fully comprehend the weight that these two titles held. He was a monstrous black wizard who had survived for over a hundred years, but he had never met a true Hero or Saint.
“A Saint, you say,” Gavid repeated consideringly.
However, the Blade of Incarceration and the Queen of the Night Demons had both met a true Hero and a true Saint. In that era from three hundred years ago, both the Hero and the Saint were active in the world. Since then, the Hero hadn’t reappeared, but the Holy Empire of Yuras had appointed a new ‘Saint’ several times and made them the symbol of their holy kingdom.
“I think there is a possibility,” Edmond confirmed.
Noir moved with a leisurely gait and sat on top of an empty table.
She then crossed her legs with a bewitching smile and said, “The Saint Candidate for this generation, her name was Kristina Rogeris, right? That woman looks just like Anise Slywood, doesn’t she? It took those fanatics two hundred years, but they finally managed to clone Anise Slywood.”
“We don’t know if they have truly succeeded quite yet,” Gaivd corrected her. “After all, they may have simply managed to recreate her face. Though, in fact, wouldn’t that make it easier for the Holy See to control her? After all, they actually made Anise so well that they couldn’t control her in her later years.”
Noir and Gavid knew the truth about Anise Slywood. These two were demonfolk who had lived for hundreds of years and were familiar with the Saints who had come before Anise. Although they had been grandiosely called Saints, the Saints who came before Anise were imperfect creations who could not live up to their name.
The same went for the Saints who came after Anise as well. It was still unknown what method Yuras used to create the Saints, but it seemed that their method of producing Saints was imperfect. So far, there had been numerous Saint Candidates and full Saints, but among all of them, only Anise deserved to be called a Saint.
“If she’s just a crude doll that was made to resemble Anise only in her face, then… hehe,” Noir finished with a snicker. “As you said, it would make it easier for the Holy See to use her. Because just by resembling Anise, she could act as a symbol for their zealotry.”
“But as for the Hero,” Gavid muttered, still not sitting down. Instead, he stood with his back to the window and stared at Edmond as he gravely said, “Count Edmond, I am also quite appreciative of you, but the word Hero isn’t something that you should so easily bring up, even as a joke, as I hate just hearing that word.”
“The same goes for me as well,” Noir agreed. “The word Hero… fufu. Just mentioning it reminds me of Vermouth of Despair.”
The two still vividly remembered what had happened three hundred years ago.
Among all of the countless demonfolk in Helmuth, these two were considered greater demonfolk who held supreme power. The two of them held the titles of Duke, so they were known as the Three Dukes along with Raizakia of the Dragon Demon Castle. After the war ended three hundred years ago, Noir Giabella and Gavid Lindman became the closest beings to the seat of Helmuth’s third Demon King.
After the war had ended, numerous demonfolk had started scrambling to establish a new pecking order while proudly boasting of their battle merits, but not a single person had ever challenged Gavid and Noir. The two of them held a different status than the rest of the demonfolk. Even in the most recent territory war between Noir and Iris, Iris must have been desperately fighting to win, but to Noir, it was nothing more than light amusement to soothe the boredom of this long peace.
The only thing that could make these two monsters sense the possibility of death was the battlefield from three hundred years ago. When the Great…. No.
Vermouth of Despair.
Hamel of Extermination.
Sienna of Calamity.
Molon of Terror.
Anise of Hell.
Only their battle with these five individuals, who were so strong that they didn’t seem human, could make Gavid and Noir sense the possibility of death. The other high-ranking demons who had lived in that era, who had held a similar status to Gavid and Noir, had all been killed by the five of them.
Vermouth Lionheart. He literally was Despair incarnate. Without even having to bring up the destruction in the shape of a sword that was the Moonlight Sword, Vermouth had made countless demonfolk feel despair just by existing.
Hamel Dynas: he was the only one who could stand beside Vermouth and keep pace with him in battle, and in a certain sense, he caused the demonfolk to feel even more despair than Vermouth. While Vermouth’s sword would erase everything, Hamel’s sword would flood the battlefield with blood and gore.
Sienna Merdien was the embodiment of Calamity itself. Her magic would create natural disasters that swept the entire battlefield. In the present, the magic of humans had developed so much that it was even possible for them to compete with the demonfolk, but that hadn’t been the case three hundred years ago. The high-ranking demonfolk had always regarded the magic of humans as insignificant and weak. However, Sienna’s magic was beyond the understanding of the demonfolk. Even in the current era, the reason human magic could now compete with the demonfolk was all thanks to Sienna having taken the magic of humans and completely reworking it.
Molon Ruhr: he was a man who would refuse to retreat no matter how dire the battle got. The human who was more like an undead than the undead… even if his body was covered in blood and his limbs were blown off, he would always, always open up a way forward. Then he would penetrate his way into the center of the battlefield and turn the tide of the battle. The sight of him swinging his ax with one arm while his severed arm was held between his teeth had caused countless demonfolk to run away in terror.
Anise Slywood was called a Saint by the humans, but to the demonfolk, her very existence was a living hell that could move on its own. Just like how black magic could be used to raise the undead, her miracles would forcibly resurrect any dying humans. If they had lost their will to fight through the pain and the fear, her miracles would quell those emotions and forcefully fill them with the energy to keep advancing. Her outstretched wings and the light pouring froth from her would purify any dark power and extinguish the demonfolk’s souls.
Gavid and Noir were two of the rare few demons who had managed to survive facing those terrible humans.
During the final stages of the war, Noir had repeatedly tried to break their spirits by infiltrating their dreams, but she had failed every time and had almost even died several times.
Gavid had confronted Hamel and Sienna, who were out conducting reconnaissance, and had engaged them in battle. However, Gavid had actually ended up suffering an almost-fatal sword blow from Hamel and had been left with no choice but to retreat.
“Do you really think I would say something like this just to upset the two of you?” Edmond asked with a wry smile as he stared at the soul in his hand. “This is the soul of a black wizard who had been invited to serve as an expert in magical techniques by the Divine Magic Department of the Holy See in Yuras. As Your Graces may already know, the Department of Divine Magic not only researches the repurposing and creation of miracles, but it also dabbles in black magic.”
“That’s right. The world really has changed a lot. I never thought that a day would come when black wizards would be invited to the Vatican to serve as magic experts,” Gavid said with a sigh.
Edmond nodded proudly, “That just shows how much the rights of black wizards have risen.”
The Department of Divine Magic had been studying Soul Separation Magic. This magic involved transferring the soul of an individual into another body for quite some time, but such magic fell into the field of black magic. Since the Bishops involved in this research didn’t want to dabble in black magic themselves, they had no choice but to invite a black wizard from outside the country.
Although there were a lot of black wizards in Aroth, most of the black wizards who lived there were members of the Black Tower of Magic. This might be stating the obvious, but the Bishops of the Faculty of Divine Magic didn’t want anyone to discover that they were inviting black wizards to collaborate in their research. As a result, the Bishops had to first search for freelance black wizards who didn’t belong to any group, then choose a black wizard from among the countless black wizards in Helmuth known to have both skills and a good reputation. Then after signing a confidentiality contract, they would finally bring him to their Department of Divine Magic.
“Were you the one who sent him to infiltrate them?” Gavid asked curiously.
“Yes,” Edmund confirmed. “Even a confidentiality contract could only serve as a guarantee while he was alive.”
In fact, this wasn’t really the case. Usually, even if he died and his soul was harvested, he would still be bound by the contract as he was during his lifetime. However, if it was a black wizard of Edmond’s level, they could destroy a soul that was bound by a contract and read their past memories.
Edmond revealed, “This guy was killed by the Commander of the Knights of the Blood Cross, Raphael Martinex.”
“Haha… that bratty paladin?” Noir giggled with a smile.
Edmond shrugged and continued talking, “According to the memories that I read, it wasn’t just this guy. Most priests belonging to the Forbidden Department of the Department of Divine Magic were decapitated by the Crusader’s sword. All of the black magic that was being stored away and studied there was also obliterated completely.”
“And so?” Gavid prompted.
“The Crusader threw the head of Pietro, the Chief of the Department of Divine Magic, at their feet. He told them that Pietro’s execution was punishment for the crime of blasphemy. All the priests of the Forbidden Department were beheaded for the same crime,” Edmond calmly reported.
After hearing that even a Cardinal had died, Noir’s laughter faded away. Gavid’s eyes also settled into a freezing cold gaze as he stared at Edmond.
“As Your Graces may be aware, every generation of Popes and Cardinals have faked being Agents of the Light by having their Stigmata engraved onto their bodies. Even though the Cardinal was executed for blasphemy, there have been no announcements from the Vatican. And the Saint Candidate, Kristina Rogeris, was seen observing the situation at the execution site of the members of the Forbidden Department. The circumstances suggest that Saint Candidate Kristina was also present during Pietro’s execution,” Edmond surmised.
“Hm…,” Gavid was lost in thought as he stroked his chin. “It doesn’t seem like Pope Aeuryus was the one who ordered the execution.”
“There’s another interesting fact,” Edmond added with a bright grin. “Eugene Lionheart entered Yuras a few days before the executions took place. It’s already widely known that the Young Lion was also accompanied by the Saint Candidate when he went to Samar.”
“Their search for Sienna Merdein,” Noir said with another giggle of laughter. “So it seems that the target of their search wasn’t the only reason the Saint Candidate was hanging around him. The Holy Sword that had been buried in the Lionheart clan’s treasure vault must have finally chosen a new owner after three hundred years…. Ahahaha! Indeed, this really is interesting news. So this means that kid wasn’t just entrusted with Akasha by Sienna; he’s also the master of the Holy Sword?”
Gavid began speaking, “In the present, Kristina Rogeris is Yuras’ sole Saint Candidate… and yesterday was even Anise Slywood’s feast day. With Eugene Lionheart also arriving in Yuras at such a time, I don’t believe it was a mere coincidence that there would be such an outbreak of bloodshed, starting with Pietro, in the Holy See.”
“So what does this mean for us?” Noir asked as she turned to look at Gavid with a bright smile.
Gavid silently stood there with his back to the window. Seeing such a sight, Noir felt a thrill run down her spine. It had been three hundred years since the war ended. Even Gavid Lindman, who was once called the Blade of Incarceration and the Slayer, had been extremely softened by this peace.
However….
For demonfolk, three hundred years wasn’t necessarily all that long a timeframe. The fundamental nature of demonfolk would never change. Nevertheless, the era had changed, and the Demon King no longer desired a war, so Gavid had simply created a mask that was more suitable for this peaceful era and had disguised himself behind it.
And Noir had just seen the mask worn by her old friend and comrade shake.
“It seems that he really can’t be underestimated,” Gavid eventually murmured.
Cracrack.
As his thumb tightened over his index finger, there was the sound of knuckles cracking.
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“From what the people are saying, Eugene Lionheart is so exceptional that he’s been called the Second Coming of Vermouth,” Edmond spoke up.
“I don’t know if he really has the raw potential to be compared to Vermouth, but… fufu, he certainly is exceptional, isn’t he?” Noir remarked with a giggle. “Without even needing to talk about his skill in martial arts, even if it was with a handicap, he was still able to defeat the Eighth-Circle Green Tower Master in a duel.”
“That’s even more reason why we can’t underestimate him,” insisted Gavid. “If even the Holy Sword has recognized the Young Lion, then he can truly be considered the Second Coming of Vermouth.”
“So what?” Noir asked challengingly. “What do you propose to do, Duke Gavid? Will you make a move yourself and step on the head of a young man who’s rapidly climbing to the top? Or perhaps you intend to send one of the sword-demons in your service?”
“Is that really necessary?” Gavid asked with a twisted smile. “If he really is a Hero who has been recognized by the Holy Sword… if he performs the duty of a Hero like his ancestor did, that wouldn’t be such a bad thing, right?”
Noir burst into laughter, “Ahahaha…!”
“Though, of course, the Demon King of Incarceration might decide to erase this Hero who threatens the Oath and the peace it brings,” Gavid added cautiously. “In fact, in Nahama, the Demon King did warn the Young Lion and the kingdoms of the Continent to be wary of destroying the Oath and this era of peace. So if the Demon King of Incarceration does want to preserve this peace, then as his sword, I will gladly take the Young Lion’s throat. However, if he should remain silent….”
Gavid slowly raised his head to look up at the ceiling. The conference room they were now in was located on the ninetieth floor of Babel. This entire floor, not just this meeting room, served as Gavid’s office.
Yet even as a Duke, Gavid was restricted from entering the higher floors, starting from the ninety-first floor, as he pleased. The floors from the ninety-first to the ninety-ninth existed solely for the purposes of the Demon King, and it was only possible to ascend to these upper floors when they were summoned by the Demon King of Incarceration.
“As for me, I will gladly respect whatever decision he makes. And you, Duke Noir, will that satisfy you as well?” Gavid addressed Noir seriously.
“Well, so-so,” Noir muttered with a frustrated sigh. “I hope that the Young Lion doesn’t run amok due to the hotbloodedness of youth. But, in order to accomplish what his ancestor failed to do, I hope he does manage to start a war by raising the Holy Sword.”
“Although it’s a tragedy for this peace to end, but… if war truly does break out, the Demon King of Incarceration will never show the humans the same mercy as he did three hundred years ago,” Gavid said as his head turned to the side. “Edmond, has Eugene Lionheart ever had any interactions with Balzac Ludbeth while he was studying abroad in Aroth? You’re close friends with Balzac, so I just thought you might have heard some interesting news.”
“I’ve heard that he was born with a genius talent for wizardry as well. Also… it’s said that he hates black wizards to the point where it’s almost abnormal,” Edmond reported.
“And what have you heard from Amelia?” Gavid asked once more.
“She said that that brat broke her pet, so one day, she’s going to tear him to pieces. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to hear the full details of what transpired from her,” Edmond confessed.
“Is that so,” Gavid mused, then relaxed his clenched hands and continued speaking. “Before deciding on how we should treat Eugene Lionheart, I think it would be worthwhile to take a closer look at him.”
Noir cocked an eyebrow, “You’re not intending to head to the Lionheart clan by yourself, are you?”
“I will not,” Gavid firmly denied. “But I’ve heard that the nations of the continent intend to unite and hold a festival called the Knight March in the Ruhr territory next year.”
Noir giggled, “Heehee…. But they’re not going to allow just anyone to participate, are they?”
“I’ve heard that as long as they’re on the list of approved knightly orders and mercenary companies, they will allow anyone to participate. Of course, the humans intended to limit these qualifications to the countries on their continent, but… who knows. If I, the Duke of Helmuth, lead my knightly order to go looking for them… let’s see if they dare to chase me out,” Gavid snorted.
Naturally, Gavid was also aware of the purpose behind organizing this Knight March. It was all because of the warning that the Demon King of Incarceration had delivered through Eugene Lionheart. But these arrogant and rude humans, instead of heeding the warning and taking care not to cross them, had decided to gather the knights and mercenaries from all over the world to stand in Helmuth’s way.
‘How foolishly arrogant,’ was Gavid’s sincere opinion of them.
“To think that Eugene Lionheart is the hero… fufu,” Noir chuckled. “What kind of expression would Iris make if she knew the truth? That stupid woman. The Hero she so resents as having been her father’s enemy was right in front of her eyes, but she didn’t even recognize him and even failed at taking him hostage.”
“Have you heard the rumors about her?” Edmond inquired.
“Of course, I’ve heard them. They say she’s engaging in piracy within Shimuin’s territorial waters, right? With a pirate flag of a black skull that has pointy ears sticking out of it, they’re plundering trade ships while claiming to be the Pirates of Fury, aren’t they?” Noir licked her lips as she said this, recalling how Iris had kicked and struggled while she held her down. “See, didn’t I do well not to kill her? Does that idiot truly believe that by raising funds as a pirate, she will really be able to increase her own strength?”
“You seem to be investing a lot of time in her,” Edmond responded with a smile.
Noir suddenly recalled something, “Oooh, that’s right? You’ve been interacting with the Kochilla tribe in Samar, haven’t you?”
“Even they have been victimized by Lady Iris’ pirate ship several times,” Edmond confirmed. “In the process, even the elves who were being transported as sacrifices were stolen away.”
“Really?” Noir reacted with surprise. “Are you saying that Iris’ piracy isn’t entirely pointless? What about your search for the Word Tree and Sienna? Has there been any progress?”
“Unfortunately… there has been no progress,” Edmond admitted.
Noir just nodded, “As expected. Since we couldn’t find anything after searching for two hundred years, there’s no way we would find something at this point.”
Edmond gave an excuse, “There have also been several difficulties that cropped up during the search. It seems that the other Great Tribes, like the Zoran tribe, have been strongly suppressing the Kochilla.”
“Can’t you just get rid of that?” Noir said dismissively. “How much of a problem can they even be? No matter how many of the natives of the Samar are killed, it won’t matter to the peace of the continent.”
Edmond hesitated, “Well, even if it is annoying, it’s still at a level that can be ignored.”
“Heehee,” Noir giggled as she stared at Edmond with eyes sparkling like stars. “Edmond, though I’m curious to see what it is that you’re plotting, I won’t ask. If I find out in advance, it won’t be as entertaining when the fun actually starts.”
“I’m not actually trying to hide it, but…,” Edmond trailed off.
“I know, I know. That’s why I’ve said that I won’t ask any more questions,” Noir said, waving her hands to silence him as she hopped off the table. “More importantly, Duke Gavid, doesn’t our Loyalty need to increase the number of members as well? The young master of the Dragon Demon Castle isn’t in a position to attend our meetings, let alone have the intention to do so. Balzac Ludbeth and Amelia Merwin aren’t even in Helmuth either.”
“Are there any nobles who you would like to recommend?” Gavid asked her in response.
“Are you familiar with Count Karad, the lord of the Ruol fief right next to the Dragon Demon Castle?”
“I’ve heard that he’s a young demonfolk with quite decent skills and resourcefulness. What’s his race?”
“He’s a Giant Demon who has the mixed blood of the Giant. But well, I’ll take care of his size, so he won’t bang his head on the ceiling if he comes here,” Noir generously offered.
“I was wondering why you mentioned his name…. You’re trying to tempt Count Karad into invading the territory of the Dragon Demon Castle, aren’t you?” Gavid asked suspiciously.
“No way. How could I do that? He’s just someone I remember because I thought it was cute to see how much attention and ambition he’s showing towards the Dragon Demon Castle,” Noir said with a giggle as she walked over to Gavid’s side. “If not him, then how about Jagon? That maniac killed his own father, Oberon, by tearing his throat out with his teeth. He might not have any class, but at least his strength is certain, right?”
“If it’s Jagon, we can consider making him a member,” Gavid agreed. “Though that means we’ll need to instill some etiquette into him.”
“Your sights really are set far too high, Duke Gavid…. Hmmm, then what about them?” Noir asked with a broad smile as she pointed out the glass window.
The two men’s eyes turned to see the night sky of Pandemonium, where hundreds of Air-Fish were floating around. Slightly below their level, large holographic screens were also floating in the air. Among all these screens, the one that Noir pointed to showed a cutely dressed succubus idol group in the middle of a dance.
Noir introduced them, “Those are the Dream Girls who’ve recently debuted under Giabella Celebrity Management. In just the first week of their debut, they’ve already reached the number-one slot in Pandemonium’s album sales. They’re cute, aren’t they? Those are the children I’ve raised.”
Gavid kept his silence.
Noir tilted her head, “Could it be that Duke Gavid prefers sexy over cute? There’s also a senior group to theirs that’s called the Dream Rose. They’re in the third place on Pandemonium’s cumulative album sales—”
“Stop,” Gavid interrupted her.
“Perhaps you prefer incubi over succubi? We also have boy groups—”
“I said stop talking.”
While holding back his distraught emotions, Gavid looked away from the holograms and raised his head. However, through the window, the Giabella-Face was smiling mechanically at him….
Ignoring Gavid’s request, Noir continued, “I’m also thinking of releasing an album.”
Gavid squeezed his eyes shut, unwilling to keep listening any longer.