116
Chapter 116
"I believed in you. As expected, it's you. You came to save me at just the right time."
The First Prince looked at Cardinal Dominic and his companions who had come to find him as he spoke.
The time of adversity and hardship had finally come to an end.
The southeast wind had finally begun to blow; now was the perfect time to light the beacon of counterattack.
With such conviction in his heart.
"I merely did what I had to do."
Cardinal Dominic traced the sign of the cross with his hand.
Centered around him, a massive Divine Spell Formula was constructed by drawing upon the Divine Power of twenty High Clergy members.
The magic circle inscribed beneath the First Prince's feet shone brilliantly.
A figure of an Angel made of light embraced the First Prince. At the same time, his body began to recover at an unnatural speed.
His battered body returned to its original state.
However, for some reason, his remaining Mana rapidly decreased until it completely evaporated.
That was likely a side effect of this Divine Spell Formula.
Everything came with a price, so a loss of this extent was acceptable.
It didn't matter even if he could no longer participate in the battle.
With this much military power.
Considering that the enemy had exhausted a significant amount of strength, a comeback was entirely within reach.
Even if that failed, escaping and reporting the information about those bastards to his father would guarantee his victory.
A smile naturally formed on the First Prince's lips.
While he assessed the situation like this, his body had finally recovered to the point where not a single wound could be found.
"This is more than enough treatment."
"Yes, it seems so. May I begin the operation?"
As soon as he heard those words, he took a step forward to give his orders.
...No, he tried to take a step forward.
The First Prince's face was instantly dyed with confusion.
"Isn't the treatment over? Why aren't my restraints released?"
The figure of the Angel that enveloped him.
The entity that had been healing him until a moment ago maintained its form even after fulfilling its role, binding him in place.
Was this another side effect?
Thinking that, the First Prince asked the question.
But the answer he received was far too calm.
"Why do you ask something so obvious? I haven't even begun the treatment yet."
A bizarre answer.
He couldn't understand what they were talking about at all.
It was even more so for the First Prince, whose mind was still reeling from the aftermath of the catastrophe that had occurred just a few minutes ago.
However, whether this was fortunate or unfortunate...
That wasn't much of a problem.
"There is no way to cure a Demon who denies God, other than to completely destroy it so it can never appear in this world again."
What the hell was he talking about?
Why were they suddenly radiating Bloodlust toward him?
Even if he didn't know that.
"W-Wait a second! What is this...!"
As soon as he saw the twenty enraged Clergy members swinging their Maces at him, he realized exactly what kind of situation he was in.
In other words...
He was completely and utterly fucked.
*****
The utterly barren Demonic Realm.
A radiant and benevolent white light flashed repeatedly in this desolate land that even the sun rejected.
However, if you were to ask if it was a holy sight...
I would firmly answer that it was quite the opposite.
"We don't know when it will bewitch us with honeyed words. Silence it!"
"Then should we crush its throat? If it doesn't have a throat, it won't be able to speak. ...No, rather than that, if we crush its head, it won't be able to think of any blasphemy!"
"Great idea, brother! I will right..."
"Calm down. We must not kill it in one blow. To completely destroy this Demon's soul, we need to inflict an appropriate amount of pain."
"Ah...! I was being foolish."
"I understand the desire to punish evil. Let's proceed with patience and take our time with the work."
Saying such things, the Misters enthusiastically pierced, severed, crushed, and dismantled the First Prince's feet.
It was an endless cycle of torture, with his body continuously healing through the Divine Spell Formula.
They even held discussions among themselves, suggesting that if they broke his neck to stop him from speaking, he might not feel the pain from below his neck, all while continuing their gruesome work.
Watching that scene unfold, I couldn't help but be a bit dumbfounded. It was one thing if I had built up a tolerance from seeing such things often, but more importantly...
'Why did the Holy See come here in the first place?'
The question was why those Misters were here.
They couldn't have just dropped by while passing through, and if someone had called them, it would have been the First Prince. So why on earth were they torturing the very person who called them?
Not to mention Rien and Lucy, the Barrier surrounding Ciel was openly radiating a demonic aura.
Were they ignoring the obvious demonic presence and just blindly treating him as a 100% pure Demon?
I couldn't understand the situation at all.
'...Well. Since they are technically taking our side, should I consider this a good thing?'
Although they did spout nonsense about how they weren't worthy to face me and avoided conversing with me.
Setting that aside, they were definitely a huge help.
Not only were they taking care of the First Prince so thoroughly, but they also lent a hand in the fight against Karl.
Karl was already being pushed back in the first place.
That guy probably had some hidden cards up his sleeve like Balzac, but the moment the Holy See joined, the outcome was quickly decided.
A Sword Master and an Archmage. Plus the Right-hand Man of the Former Hero. We had finally succeeded in taking down all those heavyweights.
I was having those thoughts when...
I lost my balance a little and staggered. My head was dizzy.
Things like Aria's condition, or what kind of misunderstanding the Holy See held against me.
There was so much to think about... and having unleashed that strike just now, I was bound to be exhausted as well.
That was precisely why I was currently using the Holy Sword as a support to barely hold myself up.
But....
I forced my body upright once again.
I had no other choice.
The matter regarding Aria.
The matter with the Holy See.
And even the matter concerning the throne of the Empire.
Because right now, I had a task so important that it rendered all those things trivial.
The Barrier of black shadows.
Using the Holy Sword like a Staff to support myself, I walked toward that place.
Seeing as they hadn't been able to harm Ciel, this Barrier seemed to still be in effect.
Nevertheless, I reached out my hand.
I couldn't explain it rationally, but I was certain it wouldn't reject me.
Sure enough.
The Barrier did not stop my approach.
I slowly stepped inside.
*****
[Don't forget, kid.]
[This isn't some sort of free goodwill. It's an investment and a contract.]
[Just as I helped you, you will help me.]
[So that I can punish that old man with my own hands, the one I wouldn't feel satisfied even if I killed him a thousand times. So that I can repay the humiliation from ten years ago.]
Annoying voices could be heard.
Wolf had been muttering to him. Saying that although he had received everything as a price, he wouldn't take it away.
Saying that if he offered the Emperor's soul, he would return all of that ownership to him.
However, such voices didn't reach Ciel's ears. They couldn't reach her.
Because that person was over there.
A mess, stumbling. And yet, there was a man walking toward her.
She was confused.
It wasn't just because she had just woken up.
The girl was clumsy with her own emotions.
Even she didn't fully know what she was thinking or what she was feeling.
That was why the girl was confused.
Clearly, everything had been resolved well.
So all that awaited her was a welcome reunion. If so, she should naturally be happy.
Why on earth did her heart ache so coldly? Why did it feel like tears were about to pour out?
His battered appearance.
Was it because she was imagining the hardships he must have endured? But if so, that was strange.
Because as she gazed at him, the girl felt a tiny bit—truly, just a tiny bit—of happiness.
Thank you.
It's dangerous here, so let's wrap things up and head back to the mansion.
All that was left was to say those words and leave. But the words wouldn't come out. She didn't want to say them.
She wanted to tell him something.
But what?
She wanted to tell him something, but she didn't know what. She didn't know what to say, yet the urge to convey her feelings remained.
She didn't know.
She couldn't figure out a single thing.
The heart was so full of contradictions that it was impossible to understand it through logic.
"The favor I asked of you. You broke it. It's a breach of contract."
Yet, those were the words the girl spoke.
She didn't know why she was acting like this. She didn't know what she was trying to do.
Even so, her lips moved on their own.
"So, I'm canceling my previous request."
But...
Maybe that was fine for now.
The girl thought to herself.
With that in mind, she took step after step toward the panicked man.
"Don't worry. I'm not going to ask for anything unreasonable."
Perhaps the heart was always meant to be contradictory and incomprehensible. And now that she realized that...
She also knew what she had to do.
"You can refuse if you want. So..."
She was clumsy when it came to talking to others.
So it was impossible to express this complicated mess of emotions in words—feelings that couldn't even be perfectly captured by any language in the first place.
But if that was the case.
She just needed to convey them in a different way.
"...Ciel?"
She could feel his breath.
It was a face she saw every day, but seeing it this close felt entirely new.
Are you feeling the same way?
Is your heart racing just like mine?
She didn't know the answer to that.
There was only one way to find out.
And so, the girl spoke.
"Just for a moment, close your eyes."