Chapter 183
Chapter 183
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 183
Chapter Title: Second Trial (5)
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In fact, contrary to public perception, Prime Minister Sullivan and the Emperor weren't the type to growl at each other just from exchanging glances.
To put it precisely, it would be most accurate to say they had absolutely no connection with one another.
Unlike their subordinates below, who snarled and tried to devour each other however they could, the personal attitude these two held toward one another was remarkably consistent.
Indifference.
If you don't touch me, I won't touch you. And if conflicts arose occasionally, handle them swiftly, fairly, and with minimal escalation.
Even in this massive empire where they effectively split the power structure in two, the absence of civil unrest or massive clashes could be largely attributed to this stance from the top leaders.
Therefore.
The current situation was an exceedingly bizarre standoff.
“...”
A suffocating silence filled the room.
With two heads of state present, elite guards were stationed throughout, yet even they swallowed dryly from the tension at times.
The source of that atmosphere was undoubtedly Prime Minister Sullivan, seated at the center, radiating a murderous aura around her.
Finally, after keeping her eyes closed for a long while, she slowly lifted her lids.
“What in the world were you thinking, committing such an act, Your Majesty?”
Her voice carried a chill that felt like it could flay skin.
Someone nearby, overwhelmed by the pressure, couldn't hold back and gulped audibly.
“I heard you ordered the Sword Saint to deploy the Nullification Field.”
Cecilia XI gazed silently at her from behind the drooping veil nearby.
Sullivan stared back with an icy gaze.
It was as if they were ready to pick a fight, hostility thick in the air.
Just as the tense silence threatened to stretch on.
“The Nullification Field may appear nearly omnipotent on the surface, but its countermeasure is an exceedingly straightforward technique.”
It was a voice smooth as glass, devoid of any emotion.
“...”
Sullivan's expression twisted for a split second.
Her gaze turned to the hulking man who had spoken.
The Emperor's direct bodyguard.
A massive sword hung on his back. Towering two or three heads taller than an average adult male, this middle-aged man exuded gentlemanly refinement from every inch of his enormous frame.
Rad Alexander Barfon.
The Sword Saint of the present era.
The empire's strongest fighter, who even the Grand Duke of Tristan and Margrave Kendrid had to yield a step to.
Surpassing mere imperial supremacy, he was among the handful of saints—those at the pinnacle of their fields—who bore the sacred title.
Even after Sword Saint Kwonseong lost limbs and much of his peak power, unless the Tower Master or the Pope showed up, there was no human who could even compare to this monster.
“...I wasn't asking you, Sir Rad.”
She uttered the words in a low, sunken voice, but the response came without hesitation.
“One need only step outside the effect radius. There's no restriction preventing that.”
“...”
She knew that.
It was the clear reason why such a powerful technique had never been openly used in actual combat, despite its strength.
But.
“...Stepping outside the radius results in immediate disqualification from the trial, as I understand. You set it up that way on purpose, didn't you?”
“Those who value their lives would do so. What's the problem with that?”
“...”
“The weight of the title 'Hero' demands no less. It would be stranger if it didn't. Even foreign leaders acknowledge as much.”
The Sword Saint continued flatly, a gentle smile on his lips.
“...However, expecting participants to risk such threats is far too harsh—”
“Sullivan.”
The Sword Saint cut her off with a soft voice.
“You're being unusually emotional.”
“...”
“From a humanitarian standpoint, perhaps not. But in terms of suitability, it's flawless. If it were truly problematic, foreign leaders would have intervened.”
“...”
Indeed.
Her current actions lacked solid grounds.
It was unmistakably emotional conduct, unworthy of her Iron-Blooded Prime Minister reputation.
But.
‘...That man would undoubtedly...’
She knew Eliya Chrisanax would throw his life on the line again to claim the Hero title for that human.
He always had.
Outwardly a wastrel and scum, but peel back the layers, and he was devoted to those around him to a foolish degree.
Just as it remained vividly in her memories from before.
“...”
Sullivan clenched her fist under the table.
Thus.
She hated tossing him into an unexpected ‘variable.’
No matter the method, she didn't want Dawood Campbell facing life-threatening peril in a situation she couldn't predict.
At least, her options in this trial's proceedings were severely limited.
With the Emperor already designated as the trial's overseer, inserting herself was exceedingly difficult.
‘...I let my guard down.’
She never imagined the Emperor would directly orchestrate something like this.
The Emperor had always been thoroughly indifferent to that man. They had no reason to cross paths.
It hadn't happened in the ‘previous loop’ she experienced.
‘What intent lies behind this?’
Until now, they typically avoided clashes with tacit understanding.
Likely because their interests aligned in not wanting to wreck the empire through power struggles. She knew the Emperor never sought the spotlight unnecessarily.
In that regard, this sudden move was completely unforeseen.
“Prime Minister, is it because of that man?”
“...Pardon?”
“I mean Dawood Campbell.”
The Sword Saint's abrupt words narrowed Sullivan's eyes.
Then, her reason sank coldly.
If they already knew that much, she could roughly piece together the situation.
“...Your Majesty.”
She opened her mouth in a voice devoid of inflection.
“This was deliberate, wasn't it?”
Faint anger laced her tone.
“You intend to pressure me using him as pretext?”
“You're mistaken, Sullivan.”
This time, it wasn't the Sword Saint's voice.
Faint, so delicate that one had to strain every nerve to hear it.
Yet unmistakably, the Emperor speaking directly.
“It was never my intent to pressure you. No reason to sour relations. It's true that my interest piqued because of your attention, leading me to approach that man.”
“...”
Sullivan's eyes twitched slightly.
How long had it been since she heard the Emperor use her own ‘voice’?
Considering the constraints on this girl, it was profoundly unusual.
The Curse of Dragon Blood.
A rare affliction striking those inheriting the rumored ‘dragon’ factor of the imperial bloodline, at minuscule odds.
The current Emperor was likely so ravaged internally that even producing her own voice strained her body.
In other words.
For her to force out a voice in that state meant she was deadly serious about this matter.
“Merely to gather more information on a subject I'm observing closely. I'll ensure nothing worrisome befalls him, so fret not.”
“...What do you mean by observing closely, Your Majesty?”
Sullivan questioned, eyes still narrowed.
What reason did the Emperor have to fixate there?
Dawood Campbell was undoubtedly a promising talent on a continental scale based on his path so far, but for an Emperor surrounded by vetted elites, he wasn't a focus-worthy target.
As she pondered.
“Nothing major. Half out of idle curiosity.”
It came with a chuckle, in jesting tones.
But.
At those words.
Sensing the ‘atmosphere’ woven in.
Detecting the faint ‘presence’ underlying it.
“...A fateful resonance, shall we say. Something trivial like that.”
Sullivan's eyes flew wide in shock.
“...”
She clamped a hand over her mouth unthinkingly.
Her utmost effort to retain composure.
A mere speck of a sensation.
So faint it could slip away unnoticed.
Yet an unforgettable one.
The sensation from nightmares she'd replayed countless times.
“...”
Calming her ragged breath, Sullivan barely suppressed the shock threatening her expression.
“What's wrong, Sullivan?”
“...It's nothing, Your Majesty.”
As one who could wield ‘demonic’ energy herself, she felt it acutely.
‘Brown.’
She gripped her trembling hand tightly, murmuring the word in her mind.
Of course, she despised all demons.
In every experience she'd endured, not one had refrained from harming Dawood Campbell for selfish reasons.
Varying in frequency, but Dawood Campbell had the potential for at least one death at the hands of every demon.
At least, from what she'd ‘seen.’
“...”
But.
Brown was the most... ‘exceptional’ among them.
In some ways, even more than the Gray Devil.
‘...The Emperor, as the vessel for the Brown Devil.’
An assumption she recoiled from imagining.
Unlike others who approached Dawood Campbell for their reasons—holding back, detouring, or limiting to levels he could handle—this one.
Alongside Sullivan herself, she was the empire's foremost power.
Driven solely by emotion, she could uproot and destroy everything of that man.
To say nothing of.
If it were that Brown Devil.
The final lord among Pandemonium's six thrones.
The Brown Devil.
Bastard child of angels. The lowliest demon.
The one who killed Dawood Campbell the most across ‘all worldlines.’
“...”
Memories resurfaced.
Dawood Campbell begging for death.
The horrific scene piercing her consciousness made the Prime Minister quickly bow her head.
She didn't want to show her paling face.
“...Sullivan? Are you alright?”
Everything.
Had stemmed from the demon this woman harbored.
“...”
Sullivan barely quelled the killing intent surging in her expression.
Right now, she wanted to.
Rip the opponent to shreds, kill her, shatter her soul and scatter it.
But.
Not yet.
Not yet.
This level of presence meant even the first fragment was far from awakening.
Demonic fragments were keenly sensitive to their host vessel's mental state. No need to stimulate an early emergence.
Given their near-immortal nature, killing them outright was impossible anyway.
Better to delay that time as much as possible for now.
“...Yes, Your Majesty. I'm fine.”
Sullivan replied calmly, donning her usual impassive mask.
Her mind writhed with plans, contingencies, and schemes.
But no need to show it yet.
Revealing her intentions to a future ‘rival’ so plainly was fool's play.
However.
“...But, Your Majesty. If you went ahead knowing my interest, you must at least take responsibility.”
This much displeasure was fine to show.
“Responsibility?”
“If that man is harmed in the slightest.”
Sullivan's eyes gleamed golden.
“You will pay the price, Your Majesty.”
“...”
Such words from Prime Minister to Emperor were an unimaginable insubordination.
Yet no one in the room stepped in to stop it.
They were elite for a reason.
They clearly understood this gathering split the empire's power.
In other words.
If anyone blundered and escalated to the worst, it could plunge the continent into chaos.
These two women held positions of that magnitude.
Unless one erupted violently, playing invisible was wisest.
‘...What the hell is that Dawood Campbell guy...!’
Naturally, they inwardly cursed the man turning two such women into this atmosphere over one male.
“...I told you not to worry.”
As those around sweated in tension.
The Emperor herself waved it off with a wry smile.
A nearby attendant swiftly brought a crystal orb at her gesture.
“Visual feed from the trial site. We'll observe live from now on, and if that man faces any peril, I'll dispatch Rad immediately.”
With those words, she gestured again, and the attendant bowed, activating the orb.
Soon, real-time footage transmitted from within.
And there.
“Kill me gently, you bastards---!!!”
At the Nullification Field's center.
Powerless.
Bare-bodied, charging massive beasts in nothing but underwear.
Dawood Campbell.
“...”
“...”
“...”
All fell silent watching it.
No one uttered a word.
Not a soul.
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