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As soon as Joshua was finished dealing with Aden von Agnus, the first place he went running to was the Magnificent Flower Palace. He postponed everything else. Clearing his name? He didn’t care if he was condemned for high treason for assassinating the Emperor, as long as he could protect his own people.
Joshua flinched.
“Don’t move, Joshua Sanders.”
Joshua looked up ahead and saw Marco, Heimdall’s third apostle. Judging from the big bags under his eyes, it seemed Marco had stayed up all night.
“If you’re here
 then it must mean Heimdall lost.”
“Sersiarin
” Joshua muttered.
The princess was no longer in her sickbed nor did she look ill. She was just trapped inside the five-meter-tall black crystal.
“At first, it was the size of my fist. I didn’t know the crystal had such power. I already tested its hardness, but I wasn’t able to leave a scratch on me even though I hit it with all of my aura. Above all
” The moment Marco touched the surface of the black crystal, black sparks flew everywhere. “Did you see that? They’re sparks of demonic power. The Demon Spirit said that this is part of his heart.”
“His heart
?” Joshua blankly repeated.
There was no way gods had a similar organ system to a human, so the crystal must be just a symbol.
“His heart has one ability, and that is turning anyone inside the crystal into a demon within one hundred days,” Marco said.
“What
?”
“The Princess must be in a lot of pain right now, but, well, it’ll be better than spending the rest of her life in a sickbed. She’ll obtain a stronger body and live in this world with her eyes wide open.”
Marcos covered his sword with his aura and swung it against the crystal to show Joshua. Just as expected, there wasn’t a single scratch left on the black crystal.
“It’s unbreakable. Even if you manage to break it somehow, the Princess will die the moment the external shock affects the Demon Spirit’s heart since that is the only thing that is keeping her alive.”
Joshua frowned. “
This is what Heimdall wanted? This is the insurance you’ve all been talking about?”
Marco nodded. “Because of the Fourth Prince Kaiser ben Britten, all members of the Imperial Family are suspected of being involved with the undead. So yes, if the story of the Brtittens being connected with demons would seriously affect them. It’ll be the end of their line.”
Joshua quietly examined the inside of the black crystal. Just like Marco had said, it was hard to think of Sersiarin as a human now. Her flawless white skin had turned black like a demon, her veins were bulging, and above all, something black was glued to Sersiarin’s chest, beating powerfully like a real heart. It looked disgusting, and its tentacles stretched all over her.
‘
The moment that thing takes control of her body, she’ll be completely turned into a demon,’ Joshua instinctively realized.
“There is no way for you to save the Princess now. You lost, Joshua Sanders. Hehehehe.”
“
No.” Joshua shook his head. “Not exactly.”
“What?”
“Before I do that
” Joshua trailed off.
Marco’s eyes widened as Joshua released an enormous amount of power in front of him. The shockwave made the sky and the ground tremble.
“Get out my way now,” Joshua said.
“W-wait!”
Marco didn’t even get to scream before his headless corpse collapsed on the ground. Joshua had come this far and had no time to waste on the third apostle or whatever he was.
Joshua looked past the decapitated body. “
Sersiarin,” he mumbled.
She had been the first person to welcome him in his previous life when he had been feeling alienated, but this tragic princess was used throughout her entire life. How could Joshua just abandon her?
-Joshua

Joshua’s jaw dropped. “You can
 talk?”
-Leave me and go.
“
No, I can’t do that,” Joshua firmly replied.
-Please, Joshua. Can’t you tell that the Demon Spirit wants your body?
Joshua had a rough idea. Although the Angel Spirit had been annihilated, the Demon Spirit wasn’t someone who would die easily. He would rather find another body like he was doing right now, and his temporary choice was Sersiarin.
“
Do you think I’ll let that happen?” Joshua swung his spear fiercely.
Although Joshua could hear Sersiarin repeatedly telling him to stop, he had to do this. The crystal was made of adamantium, the sturdiest material in the Demon Realm, so there was only one way to break such a material. Joshua had to use Magic Spear Art, Final Origin: Extinction.
-You’ll lose your body! Do you really want that?
“Even if I will
 I have to do this.”
He twirled the spear and thrust it straight in.
The black crystal, the Demon Spirit’s unbreakable heart, shattered with a deafening clamor. So far, things were going according to Joshua’s plan.
Joshua could feel the heartbeats more clearly now. The fist-sized monstrosity glued to the center of Sersiarin’s chest was the source of her continued life, but it was also the source of evil that was turning her into a demon. The Demon Spirit had taken the Eyes of Truth, her curse, so if Joshua could get rid of that monstrosity

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“
You can live, Sersiarin.”
A teardrop rolled down Sersiarin’s cheek. Her mind was connected to the Demon Spirit, so Joshua could feel that she wanted to live and had the will to survive, but she readily gave up on her life out of fear that she might harm Joshua. Nevertheless, a faint desire for life lingered in the corner of her mind.
“Do you love me?” Joshua asked.
Sersiarin started.
“Then live. Survive using any means necessary and confess your love to me.”
-But

Joshua watched her fall silent and came to a decision.
“I’ll hear you out after this.”
Her eyes remained closed, but the Demon Spirit’s black heart was racing. There was only one way to save Sersiarin and get rid of that heart.
“I’ll gladly take it.”
Joshua was going to devour the Demon Spirit’s heart. Once he took the heart, he would turn into a demon in a hundred days at the latest. Although Joshua wasn’t sure about his soul, his body was currently human, so he would turn into a demon with the Demon Spirit’s heart without a doubt. However, he still had to do it.
“With my ability
 I’ll be able to increase the limit from a hundred days to ten years,” Joshua mumbled. He would find a way to fix it within ten years. It was nothing compared to what Sersiarin had done for him.
“Come,” Joshua said.
The moment the Demon Spirit’s heart beat, Joshua touched the heart and absorbed it without leaving a trace.
“Urghhh
”
It felt like Joshua’s brain was burning, but he endured the pain with everything he had.
* * *
After some time, Joshua found himself in a pitch-black space.
-You are truly an idiot.
Joshua slowly opened his eyes. He knew who that tinny, familiar voice was—he had experienced it from Lugia, the Demon Spirit’s spear.
“Demon Spirit,” Joshua mumbled.
-I can’t believe that you, the best battle ghost in both Angel and Demon Realms, would give me your body to save one human girl.
Joshua stood up—or tried. The moment he thought he stood up, the world spun around.
“Do you think you can take it?” Joshua asked.
-Are you talking big even in a situation like this? Hehehe, your destiny was already decided when you absorbed my heart into you.
“Well, no matter how hard I think, I feel like you won’t be able to take anything from me.”
-You’re arrogant until the end, Joshua. You won’t be able to regain consciousness for the next one hundred days and then your ego will disappear and you will become my new body. Hahahaha—
-What
!
The Demon Spirit’s voice trembled noticeably right after Joshua released his power.
“So who the hell decided that?” Joshua asked.
-Impossible! You took a god’s heart, so how can you still—!
“Didn’t I tell you?” Joshua held out his hand. He could feel something.
-What?! How can you see me—no, grab me?!
“You look like this, huh?” Joshua was holding a small demon with red skin and two tiny horns. The Demon Spirit, who was now the size of a hand, swayed from side to side in Joshua’s hands.
Joshua’s smile deepened. “I’ll find a way to wipe you out of existence within ten years.”