Chapter 51
Chapter 51
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: Notarized Promise
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A long time ago, I would have been startled by even a single bolt of lightning from the sky. But looking back, my nerves must have thickened quite a bit since then.
The sobbing dirges, the swirling blood mists, and the roars that pierced the heavens.
I could watch them all calmly while assisting Her Highness the Princess. The Demon King ranked third in the hierarchy, Subaza Grozam, had prepared for a long time in advance, but still summoned a massive tidal wave that engulfed us all.
Grimudo alone, by releasing just a portion of the mana it harbored, blackened the skies and eroded the earth. The Blood God Atorije was an evil deity that had advanced to granting human wishes through faith; wherever it tread, blood lotus flowers bloomed, and every puddle was dyed red with blood.
And what of the army of the dead summoned by the Elder Lich Balzac? The continent is full of true powerhouses. That’s why my adventure with Yurinel was such a great experience for me.
By now, the might of Duke Schumira was hardly enough to surprise our party. We’d seen far too much.
“A dying wish...? No, nothing is over yet.”
Even when Duke Schumira gazed at us—at me specifically—and murmured those words,
Even when the magic spear that had fallen to the ground suddenly sprang up on its own and charged toward me,
“Don’t look down on me like you’ve already won. You can’t kill me. Never.”
“Oh no, the Bloodthirsty Magic Spear! Saint, get away, that thing is...”
Even when Princess Ardein shouted far too late, I wasn’t particularly startled.
Even if it pierced me and I died, I’d just revive anyway. But more importantly, that wasn’t going to happen.
The spear swam through the air as if alive, thrusting toward me, only to halt right before my nose and tremble violently. This place had the sanctuary’s candles lit; it was a sanctuary, watched over by the Lord behind me.
“Checkmate. Your Highness, if you want to save your priest... What?!”
I spread my palm, pressed it against the spear tip, and slowly pushed it back.
The spearhead split like a beak, its hideous teeth clacking. But it couldn’t bite into my hand and only kept getting pushed away. No matter how ferocious a weapon you are, this is the Lord’s domain.
If the Princess and I had struck the Duke first, the Lord might have withdrawn His hand from me for a moment. But this was different.
We were guests here, showing no hostility, yet Duke Schumira had struck first with a cowardly move. In such cases, the Lord’s hand remains at my back.
“What are you doing? Subdue him quickly! Do you think I’ve been feeding you my blood all this time just to see this? Hurry, now!”
A flash of bloodlight gleamed on the spear as it desperately lunged at me. But it couldn’t even prick my palm, merely writhing. No matter what power it held, it couldn’t touch me.
Soon, with a sharp crack, a single fissure ran through the spear’s core, several teeth shattered and flew off. Every attempt to rebel against the Lord’s power would rebound even stronger, until the spear could no longer endure.
“No matter how great a spear, without its master, it’s just a lump of metal.”
Only then did the spear close its head and swiftly retreat from me, but it was already too late.
Princess Ardein’s sword, infused with golden dragon-shaped aura, struck dead center on the spear. With the explosive clash of metal on metal, the magic spear shattered into crimson-black fragments that writhed.
The broken shards crawled across the ground, but soon even that stopped, and they vanished.
“It’s not even a match for this sword in my hand. Saint, I believed in you. I’m glad you’re safe.”
“I’m fine. More importantly, the Duke...”
“Duke Schumira. You were once a duke of the Empire, so I’ll give you two choices.”
Princess Ardein approached with heavy steps, stomped the Duke’s head to pin it to the floor, and murmured as she held her sword to his throat.
“Choose: be beheaded here and die, or be escorted to the capital and executed.”
“Executed...? Bullshit... Who could execute me...? That senile Emperor...? Hah...”
But apparently, it wasn’t over yet.
“Let’s make a deal. Let me go, and I’ll release one of your people.”
“One of our people? That wolf... no, Roca? You have her?”
“My daughter Camira wanted to collar her and make her a pet, so I allowed it. She’s probably caught tight by now, right? You didn’t plan to just let that wolf roam free, did you?”
I should have known when Roca didn’t return. Duke Schumira had been targeting all of us from the start.
Instead of the silent, pondering Princess, I spoke up.
“Very well.”
“Very well? Then release me first. I’ll order my daughter to let the wolf bitch go.”
“Promise, the moment you’re freed, you’ll send Roca back to us unharmed. Swear it in the Lord’s name, and I’ll release you immediately.”
“Sure, anything. Just let me go.”
In a situation like this, wondering whether he’d keep or break the promise is pointless.
The Lord has notarized it.
“Is it really okay to release him? We don’t know what schemes Duke Schumira might still have. We can’t even be sure he’ll return Roca.”
Seeing the Duke unable to hide his oily smile, the Princess asked with a dubious expression.
I don’t trust the Duke either.
“I’m not trusting her. I’m trusting the One behind me.”
Whether she takes this promise seriously or it’s just a lie to save her skin,
Since the Lord has witnessed it, Roca will return to us. The Lord will guide that child to me.
“All that awaits liars is a pit of fire and brimstone. If the Duke breaks this promise, we won’t even need to do anything—the Lord Himself will cast him into the darkness.”
I murmured lowly as I watched the Duke flee to the end of the corridor. The Princess didn’t press further. Then, mocking laughter echoed from the corridor’s end.
“To think you’d be this naive. You humiliated me like this and expected me to keep my word? I’ll torment that little one as my pet. I’ll play with her every time I think of you lot—nice and fun.”
“And Ardein, you foolish bitch. The Empire is already done for! Look forward to it—I’ll entrust myself to Her Majesty the Demon Empress and return as one of the queens of the demon realm. By then, you’ll be begging me for your life!”
“Your priest too—next time we meet, I’ll make him my eternal blood bag. I’ll never forget this humiliation.”
“When I return, there won’t be a single human left in what you call the Empire’s southeast! Only vampires and two-legged livestock will remain!”
All those threats and bluffs were empty delusions. They meant nothing.
Duke Schumira spat curses in rage, but she surely didn’t truly believe her dreams would come true. If she did, there’d be nothing more to say.
Whether she kept the promise or not, Roca would be safe.
Still, it would be best to go look for her.
“Roca will return safely, but she’ll come back faster if we find her. Let’s search for her as quickly as possible. Together.”
I trust the Lord, but that doesn’t mean I can just sit and pray.
Let’s find Roca as soon as we can.
“Let’s check the bathhouse first.”
“Did Viscount Leighton take part in this too? If so, then he...”
“I don’t know. I don’t presume to speak on things I don’t know.”
It’s true Viscount Leighton brought us here as the Duke’s lackey, but whether he’s truly an accomplice isn’t certain. I can’t prejudge and treat him as an enemy.
So I’ll try to keep my promise with him too. The promised day hasn’t ended yet, but even so, I had some plans in mind.
Let me think. The cosmic law hostile to vampires is already a dead law.
It doesn’t apply to non-vampires. Making a vampire not a vampire would also mean escaping the sun’s curse.
‘If I reconstruct the body and remove the targeted parts, could I evade the curse?’
By disassembling and reassembling oneself, excluding only the vulnerability to the sun’s curse, the problem could surely be solved. But how?
Suddenly, the image of the Light Angel came to mind. The Lord’s herald disassembling herself into possibilities and reassembling vividly played in my head.
‘A divine power to disassemble oneself into waves, then reassemble.’
Even as I followed the Princess to the bathhouse, my mind was a whirlwind of thoughts. But I’d roughly found the answer.
I had the direction, and if I could draw it out, creating the divine power would be instantaneous.
‘I tried making it before and failed. This time, I don’t even need to go that far. Just reconstructing the body while removing the weakness would be enough.’
I opened my hands and extended divinity, selecting and differentiating one among countless possibilities.
The divinity took the form of cold light, condensing into a droplet-shaped fruit in my palm.
A fruit like a glass craftwork, emitting a soft glow like fireflies. My new divine power, the Firefly Crystal Fruit, shone faintly and sparkled.
Crackle!
Right after manifesting, the light droplet collapsed back into possibility and vanished, but capturing the form was what mattered. If I could do it once, I could do it better the second time.
By the time I meet Viscount Leighton again, the divine power should be refined enough to be useful.
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