Chapter 116
Chapter 116
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 116
Chapter Title: Holy Spirit Festival (3)
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"Hmm~~ What a fine atmosphere."
Overlooking the entire kingdom from the grand cathedral, Cardinal Aoira nodded slightly with his signature gentle, benevolent smile, as if satisfied both inwardly and outwardly.
The most powerful cardinal, known as Cardinal Bartroi, had discovered his true identity, and contrary to plan, the avatar of the great being had awakened prematurely.
It could be called a small issue or a big one, but in the end, the Holy Spirit Festival proceeded without any problems, right on schedule.
'Batroi has been dealt with properly, and some upstart brat can't possibly defeat a puppet and the great one's avatar.'
Even if he won by some stroke of incredible luck stacked upon luck, it didn't matter. The avatar dying wouldn't make its powers disappear.
From the beginning, the primordial demon couldn't truly die. Even if killed, it would revive—unless its origin was completely stripped away or the main body ordered its annihilation, it wouldn't perish easily.
So there was nothing to worry about. That's what Aoira thought, oblivious to the fact that on the fifth underground level, the avatar he so desperately desired—the most crucial one for his plan—had been fully absorbed by Shin Juha.
"The grand scheme is nearly upon us."
Aoira reviewed his thoughts, organizing them in his mind as he recalled the details of the festival he had orchestrated through his puppets.
The festival lasted a total of five days.
The first two days were filled with events and activities that anyone could enjoy, regardless of gender, age, nationality, or status. Everything typically seen at a festival unfolded during those two days.
From simple parades to fireworks, celebratory performances, and various food stalls. Rather than living up to the grand name of Holy Spirit Festival, it was simply time for enjoyment.
'Pathetic nonsense.'
To him, it was merely a time to gather more sacrifices. A preparation period for the grand scheme, perhaps?
The true Holy Spirit Festival began on the third day, with the Holy Spirit Combat.
It was a sacred ritual and event to display the holiest and strongest souls to the gods—a colosseum tournament for those who had signed up during the previous two days.
Of course, there were conditions.
First and foremost, as a rite to show one's true self to the gods, participants must not serve any deity.
Next, it wasn't for just anyone; they needed at least minimal ability and to pass the tests.
Finally, naturally, they had to be able to use holy power. Though this condition was a bit lenient. Even general-grade holy power-related items or skills counted, so possession of at least one sufficed.
In other words, one didn't need the holy power stat itself. Fighting with an item might catch a god's eye and grant holy power.
The holy power stat was unique, allowing coexistence with mana, but it wasn't easy to acquire regardless. So the condition made sense.
However, each match required at least one use of holy power, making it a mandatory condition.
Victors received tremendous rewards and the title of Honorary Captain of the Holy Knights, bestowed by the Holy Kingdom.
It was a title granting the right to form a knightly order affiliated with the Holy Kingdom at any time. Essentially, the backing of the Holy Kingdom itself.
A knight captain held power and authority equivalent to a cardinal's direct subordinate among the faithful.
Even decent small knightly orders often lacked a titled captain. The order that had escorted Shin Juha's merchant group wasn't small, yet had no captain, as evidence.
'Fighting over such pitiful things. If they showed their struggles to the great Demon King, they'd receive far more blessings.'
It irked him that this event had sprung from his own mind and hands, but he endured. After all, the blood spilled here would contribute to His descent.
On the fourth day, true to the word "festival" meaning celebratory ritual or event, grand ceremonies in a sacred atmosphere unfolded.
Starting with prayers at the grand cathedral beseeching blessings from the myriad gods watching over this Abyss and protecting the Holy Kingdom, the day was filled with rites where people prayed to their patron deities.
That evening, at the colosseum of the Holy Spirit Combat, monsters harmful to the world were randomly summoned, slain collectively, and offered to the gods.
Obviously, not disaster-class monsters. They wouldn't summon anything unmanageable that could cause unexpected issues.
'I wish I could unleash those from underground.'
But it was impossible to control. Releasing them would wipe out the sacrifices for the Demon King and potentially annihilate the Holy Kingdom—no, all of Stage-1.
'Especially the one on the fourth floor.'
That massive fragment of a tremendous existence was something even the Demon King couldn't guarantee victory over. Aoira couldn't help but question why such beings were sealed beneath the Holy Kingdom.
That was why he'd been puzzled upon first learning of His avatar in the Holy Kingdom's depths.
All that aside, the fourth day marked the end and beginning of his prepared grand scheme.
The fifth day had the final Saintess selection contest scheduled, but they likely wouldn't proceed.
It was obvious. The moment the summoned monster died, he planned to summon the Demon King using it and the accumulated sacrifices as mediums.
'When He opens His eyes, this repulsive, nauseating brightness will be drowned in darkness and death!'
The Demon King would descend with power beyond his expectations, thanks to the unexpected strong body and soul now in his grasp.
'I repurposed Batroi as the second core, altering the summoning array.'
While masquerading as Cardinal Aoira, he'd drawn a massive summoning magic array spanning the entire Holy Kingdom—secretly, boldly, unknown to all.
Originally, he planned to use a giant beast's body and soul as the core, with blood-absorption spells on the array drawing life force from all living beings in the Holy Kingdom to summon the Demon King.
Then, the descended Demon King would raze the kingdom, triggering the array's third effect to further restore the main body's power.
Finally, absorb His avatar and challenge the vacant throne of the Demon God in the demon realm!
Surpassing other Demon Kings, the one he served!
Of course, the plan was already half-failed. With Shin Juha absorbing the avatar and becoming the Demon God's successor.
As a human unable to meet specific conditions for absorption, his grand scheme was doomed to fail purely on results.
But he didn't know. That Shin Juha hadn't died, had crawled up from underground, had absorbed the avatar.
Who would imagine some upstart fulfilling the quest to inherit the king's legacy?
In any case, even if the grand scheme succeeded and the Demon King departed, the contest wouldn't continue.
That was the deal. The Saintess would aid him, offering herself as a tempting third core sacrifice. In return, he'd use her as sacrifice to destroy the Holy Kingdom, ensuring it could no longer influence her, fully vesting the Saintess title in her for direct succession.
Mutual benefit. Satisfied with how smoothly it flowed, Aoira turned from the feasting, reveling Holy Kingdom, maintaining his duplicitous, repulsive mask.
And seizing his lapse in vigilance, three beings emerged from the underground prison.
The underground prison was designed to prevent escape from inside to outside, considering the dormant entities and criminals within. It was only natural.
But when we'd entered, I'd copied the key to the prison door from the bundle lent by Knight Barkley, so it wasn't a big issue for me.
"...So all the guards are Aoira's puppets, right?"
"Yes. We must deal with them before that guy notices. He'll know you escaped, but he won't see me or this great being. Open the door, exit, and swiftly eliminate all the guards. They're essentially under Cardinal Aoira anyway, so killing them won't cause much trouble. He's at a moment where he needs zero disturbances."
I nodded at Navirung's words, pulled the Myriad Demon Sword from my inventory, inserted the key, and turned it.
Click.
The instant the door opened, I kicked it wide and charged out.
"What!"
"How?!"
"The prisoner is escaping...!"
The guards, sunk in laziness and boredom, panicked at the enemy appearing from behind—something they'd never dreamed of—and were sliced apart in seconds.
The strangest among them was, predictably, the puppeteer's puppet.
"Kekekeke! Impressive! Truly impressive! To think His avatar hasn't awakened? You survived there? Luck favored you, but you'll die anyway."
"Yeah, yeah. I'll kill you before I go. Clean your neck and wait. I'll be right there."
Slash!
The sword cleaved its throat, and the puppet's head fell, immediately swelling before exploding in a familiar blast.
Flesh and blood sprayed, the explosion echoing through.
"Tch, repulsive to the end."
I shifted Myriad Changes in a split second into a massive shield, blocking the blood from splattering my body this time, clicked my tongue, scanned around, and signaled inside.
"Whoa~~ You went wild, huh? Got excited?"
"Lord God..."
I scowled. That seductive fallen angel. And you too, Navirung—don't look at me like that.
"Not me. The puppeteer self-destructed it. He knows I escaped."
"No helping it. Sneaking out quietly was impossible."
"Yeah. So let's hurry. The explosion will draw people."
We needed to hide and uncover the puppeteer's exact plan. We swiftly exited the grand cathedral.
The underground prison was so secluded and remote that we escaped without issue.
"Hmm..."
Normally, I'd head to Cardinal Bartroi's office, but given the situation, he seemed to have attacked Aoira and gotten counterattacked...
'Probably a betrayal.'
One of his subordinates was a puppet, or else I couldn't imagine that monster losing to a mere puppet.
I scanned around, sensed a very familiar aura, and turned. At the grand cathedral's outskirts, in a small, remote room—those presences.
"We go there."
It was Min Cholong, the legion, and one unfamiliar presence.