112
Chapter 112
"They just keep coming endlessly...."
In the heart of the Demonic Realm.
Surrounded by all sorts of monsters and Demons, the First Prince muttered to himself.
It wasn't for no reason that the Empire, despite its power, had left the Demonic Realm alone all this time.
Unless the Demonic Realm itself was destroyed, the exact same monsters and Demons would simply be reborn shortly after being slain.
Some of the higher-tier ones even inherited the memories of their predecessors.
Since there were no benefits and a high chance of only drawing unnecessary aggro, leaving the Demonic Realm untouched was the best strategy.
'As expected, that shitty bastard is absolutely useless in my life.'
Yet, the Second Prince had meddled with it.
And with impeccably horrible timing, at that.
Of all times, they started resurrecting right now, when he was tied down to the Demonic Realm because of that Elf girl.
'They say there's nothing scarier than an incompetent ally.'
Those words were undeniably true.
The fact that the Demons and monsters had regenerated right at this exact moment to attack them, fueled by their hatred for the Empire...
Even if he chalked that up to a mere coincidence, there was no excuse for the rest.
That damned brother of his had stubbornly reported to their father, getting the other Sword Master, Heinrich, removed from his forces.
Because of that, he had almost actually died.
He could still vividly remember the final strike that white-haired girl had unleashed. If he had taken that head-on, he definitely wouldn't have gotten off scot-free.
And that Hero seemed to be hiding some kind of trump card.
If he had used it while exploiting the opening during the attack, it surely would have resulted in their defeat.
'At this point, I can practically consider him a spy.'
He needed to report this to his father the moment he returned.
He didn't possess supernatural intuition like his younger sister, but even so, he knew.
If he let that bastard Renya keep his command, even the mighty Empire might eventually crumble.
However....
"Three of them. Powerful ones are approaching."
"I know, so shut up, Karl."
He had to somehow deal with the immediate problem right in front of him first.
The Corpse Lord, the Soul Reaper.
Beings like those were rushing in endlessly.
Was it because of their hostility toward the Empire? Or was that girl, radiating such an ominous aura, drawing them in?
He wasn't sure if it was perhaps both, but...
The battles continued without a single moment of rest. Of course, normally, a fight of this caliber wouldn't be an issue, but....
'...I'm getting a little tired.'
Right now, things were a bit different.
Even though he had used a Great Magic that interfered with causality, he had only cast it twice.
Furthermore, he possessed a much larger Mana capacity than others, having reached this level by devouring dozens of humans with the talent to become Archmages with his father's help.
Despite that, the Mana he had left right now was only about twenty percent.
Even if he had fixed the Hero's causality. He had only blocked two sword swings. It was an abnormally high rate of consumption.
He didn't know what had gone wrong or what trick that bastard had pulled.
Regardless, he had consumed way too much Mana.
It was only natural that he was feeling fatigued.
'Using the Corpse Puppet is also a bit risky.'
The right-hand man of the Former Hero.
The woman who was also known as the Weapon Master. Certainly, if he used her, he could easily take care of these guys without wasting any Mana.
But there was something wrong with the puppet's condition.
Ever since she encountered the Hero and saw his sword, she had been mumbling strange things to herself and shedding tears.
There was no telling when she would break down and the Suggestion would wear off.
Only his father could repair something like this. But right now, they were in a situation where they couldn't escape this place. It was even difficult to contact the outside.
Because they didn't know when those guys would regroup and come looking for them.
It was better to save his trump card, so he couldn't use the Corpse Puppet against these enemies.
In the end, this meant that for now, he and Karl had to take down all of those guys by themselves.
"...It seems like nothing ever goes right."
Capturing that one person had been perfect up to that point, but things were getting tangled up to a strange degree.
The more that happened, the more his sister's words kept circulating in the First Prince's head.
She had said she really didn't want to tell him, but she felt like she would get caught up in it too if he left it alone, offering the advice while acting all high and mighty.
It seemed like his plan would succeed, but she had said it felt like success would actually be poison.
That bothered him immensely.
However....
Such worries did not last long.
The scene unfolding before his eyes a short while later.
It completely wiped away all his distracting thoughts from his mind.
A holy light visible in the distance.
And the immense Divine Power he could feel.
It was obvious who was coming here.
"You mentioned an urgent matter, so I came immediately."
Cardinal Dominic.
The figure most likely to be the next Pope had appeared before him.
So, it was only natural that all his worries vanished.
'Her intuition is certainly accurate for the most part. But it seems I was just worrying over nothing.'
Then again, she was famous for her filthy personality to begin with. Her lack of popularity was also for that reason.
Her advice to him was likely not real advice, but rather her just thoughtlessly cursing at him for insulting her.
Cassandra was exactly the kind of person who would do such a thing.
"You came at just the right time."
The Prince said as much, welcoming Cardinal Dominic's visit. Contacting him before entering the Demonic Realm was just a capricious act done on the off-chance.
He hadn't left any detailed explanations in the letter, though.
But that wouldn't be much of a problem.
The Barrier surrounding the girl was unimaginably malevolent.
The guy had probably already figured out at least why he had been summoned.
"This... what an incredibly ominous aura......."
"Well, that's not exactly strange. That guy is a member of Black Fang, after all."
The First Prince, who had been speaking casually, paused for a moment.
He couldn't help it.
Dominic, who had merely been staring at the Barrier in apparent dismay, had suddenly changed his demeanor.
However, that surprise didn't last long.
"Is this child truly a member of Black Fang?"
It was obvious if one thought about it for even a moment.
Black Fang was the very organization responsible for bringing down the Holy See. Hearing the name of an enemy and not showing any agitation would have been even stranger.
"Yeah, I captured her for now. But she deployed a bizarre Barrier, you see. That's why I called you."
"If you captured a member... did you also see the Leader's face?"
Since he somewhat understood the reason for the persistent questioning, the First Prince casually answered Dominic's query.
"White hair and blue eyes. It's an uncommon trait, so it'll be quite helpful for tracking him down."
"I see. So that's how it is......."
Muttering to himself with a grave expression, Dominic opened his mouth to speak again.
"Thank you for calling me. If I hadn't come here, I truly would have regretted it bitterly."
A greeting of gratitude for giving him the chance to vanquish a villain.
After offering those words, Dominic suddenly grabbed the First Prince's arm.
"If you don't mind, may I bestow a Blessing upon you as a reward? It will help replenish your Mana at least a little."
It seemed he wasn't called the next Pope for nothing. He was polite and highly perceptive.
He had been troubled by his depleted Mana just a moment ago. There was no reason to refuse, so the First Prince nodded immediately.
A Prayer was chanted.
At the same time, a highly complex Divine Spell Formula was drawn in the air... before immediately inscribing itself onto the Prince's body.
It was truly fitting of a Cardinal's Blessing.
He expected his Mana to recover immediately... or so he thought.
It felt no different from before.
The First Prince looked at Cardinal Dominic with a questioning expression.
"The effect is quite underwhelming. It seems the power of the Blessing has been halved due to our location in the Demonic Realm. I am truly ashamed."
Cardinal Dominic said so, blaming himself for his lack of discipline.
Well, it would be a lie to say he wasn't disappointed. But since he hadn't suffered any real loss either,
the First Prince graciously accepted the apology and returned to the main topic.
"So, what do you think about the Barrier?"
That was the most important issue at hand.
Whether he tortured her to extract information,
or used her as bait to lure those bastards to the Imperial Palace where his father resided.
Either way, he needed to break the Barrier.
That was why the First Prince had asked, but...
"It is an incredibly wicked Barrier. Ordinary Divine Power won't work against it."
The answer he received was extremely unpleasant.
He had thought things were finally going his way, only to end up back at square one.
Just as the First Prince was about to let out a sigh....
"But there is no need to worry."
Dominic's voice rang out once again.
"If we lack strength, we simply need to borrow it."
Cardinal Dominic explained.
that he would summon his 'brothers'.
If they combined their powers, they could easily overcome the strength of a wicked Heretic.
"Please leave the matters regarding Black Fang to me as well. I will take responsibility and deliver all information about them to the Imperial Family."
It was an incredibly competent display.
Naturally, the Prince's face, which had been distorted with exhaustion and irritation, returned to normal.
"There is no need to worry. We will wipe those wicked Heretics who insult Him from the face of this earth... by whatever means necessary."
The Bloodlust contained within that voice.
The fanatical rage he was suppressing.
It completely erased even the slightest hint of worry the Prince had.
It was clear he desperately wanted to kill the Heretic right in front of him, that black-haired Half-Elf, but was frantically holding himself back.
He was truly a model Clergyman.
Naturally, a smile formed on the First Prince's lips.
To have so many talented individuals.
The future of the Empire was indeed bright.