Chapter 54
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: The Empire's Most Valuable Reward (1)
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Black hair and black eyes.
An overall Eastern look to her features.
My 170-point Intelligence quickly reached a conclusion.
'The status window's brush-script font, and all... Could she be the one who made the exception handler?'
The administrator that the status window dispatched.
And right after, the core object 'Purity' appeared.
That was the woman standing before me.
In other words, she was my benefactor.
'Yeah, that font showed up when handling the virginity deletion exception, right?'
She must be in charge of this mod.
Creating a god-tier mod like this... It suits someone with such a generous soul pocket.
I frantically moved only my eyes to express my gratitude.
'Thank you! But please take that one out on your way!'
"......"
Did she read my intent?
She slowly walked toward us.
Her hands clasped behind her back, her steps mystical, like floating on clouds.
-Step.
"......"
She headed first to Citri's front.
Her red eyes meticulously scanned Citri's features.
Then, they moved up above her head.
"......!!"
Her face twisted in revulsion.
As if she'd seen something she shouldn't have.
'Yes! She's the bad one! Take her down!!'
"......"
-Nod.
She even read my mind.
She gave a small nod toward me.
Then, Citri's panicked pupils glared at me—
-Swipe.
'Whoa, what's that.'
As if blocking the gaze, the black-haired woman held something in her hand.
A talisman covered in red script.
'Suddenly it's Eastern fantasy vibes.'
I blanked out for a second seeing it, but anyway.
The woman pressed it to Citri's forehead.
The talisman sank in like it was absorbed and vanished.
Citri's expression, looking up at her own brow, was an ahegao face. It was hilarious.
'If she weren't a non-virgin... Ah, my turn now.'
-Step.
Anyway, now she came to me.
She scrutinized my features just like with Citri, then glanced at the top of my head.
Her reaction was the complete opposite.
-Smile.
"......"
A warm, overflowing smile.
She even gently stroked my head.
I don't know what she saw, but she seemed quite pleased.
-Swipe.
'Huh, no talisman for me...? Oh, different color.'
She placed a blue talisman in my hand.
She pointed alternately at Citri's forehead and my hand,
-Clap.
'Hit Citri's forehead with this hand?'
The moment I understood, she nodded vigorously.
She smiled at me very warmly.
It was like a mom whose baby just recited the multiplication table, but anyway.
And finally.
She seemed about to write something in the air...
[Violation of core object - 'Purity' guidelines confirmed.]
[Executing debug...]
The alert that appeared at that moment.
It was as if someone was watching her deviant actions and intervened the instant she crossed the line.
'She was about to tell me something... Too bad.'
Who she was, why she defied the status window to tell me something.
Such thoughts flashed through my mind, but
-Stroke.
"......"
'She's not a bad person, for sure.'
The woman stroked my head once more.
Her busy palm and the breasts jiggling with each motion.
The moment I saw that, I was certain.
At the very least, this woman was not my enemy.
'The virginity exception handler was her too...'
-Step.
Anyway, she finally pulled away from me.
A portal, drawn like with a brush, swallowed her just as when she appeared.
Stopped time resumed.
[...Debug in progress.]
And our enemy, the worst demon Citri, the immortal one...
-Roar!
"KyaAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!"
"......Eh!?"
'What the hell!!'
She was suddenly engulfed in blue flames.
Excuse me, but you're on fire.
A scream like scraping metal pierced sharply.
The sound came from Citri rolling naked on the ground.
No trace of high demon dignity on her tear- and snot-streaked face.
To Blanc, it was an utterly incomprehensible sight.
'What is...?!'
What was happening to her now.
For some reason, Citri was trying to escape even in death.
And she herself had been desperately holding her back to buy time for Yi Hyun to arrive.
But the moment he arrived, the situation flipped.
'She's burning like that, but her skin's intact?'
Citri was wrapped in blue flames.
Flames that didn't burn her flesh or even a single dry blade of grass around her.
What kind of sorcery was this?
'That must be the debug... Without the exception handler, it would've been horrific.'
-Step.
The only one who understood glanced at the hand the talisman had seeped into.
Yi Hyun planned to strike Citri's forehead as the woman instructed, but
"I-Yi Hyun! Get away!!"
"Huh? No, I need to touch her."
"What if it spreads!!!"
Blanc panicked and pulled Yi Hyun away.
Seal Citri or whatever, she absolutely couldn't let her man get caught in that freak phenomenon.
Her teary eyes looked up at the receding Yi Hyun.
"Kiiii......"
'It hurts, it hurts!!'
Citri couldn't think of anything.
Because her evil deeds were being relayed back as pain.
She couldn't even breathe properly.
The pain she felt was evident from her clawing at her own carotid.
"Kie, kieee..."
"......?"
'What is she doing? Why scratch her throat.'
But Citri found no relief.
The hands that once tore humans apart effortlessly had no strength left.
She wasn't even permitted to kill herself.
She bore her sins fully.
"Yi Hyun, stay back!!"
"No, that's the kill switch right now."
"It's dangerous!! Contact the sage first to figure out what's happening."
"Kruuuu......"
Finally, Citri couldn't endure the excessive pain.
She laboriously flipped over.
Too weak to crawl, she rolled pitifully on the ground.
Yi Hyun and Blanc both fell silent at the wretched sight.
"That..."
"See, she's rolling toward me begging to be killed."
"Did you really do that? Her?"
"It's related to my blessing. Seems like female demons, especially the misbehaving ones, turn like that when they see me?"
"...Still no. It's dangerous."
"It's fine... Ah, Seraphina?"
"What happened!?"
And then the Imperial 1st Knight Order Captain arrived.
Seraphina's eyes quickly surveyed the situation.
In her hand was a crystal orb.
[What is that... Blanc, Yi Hyun. Report what happened.]
"Engaged Citri and in combat when she suddenly burst into blue flames."
"I just found out too—must be one of my blessings! Now if I touch her, she'll die?"
[How many blessings do you even have!?]
"Anyway, Your Highness, ask the sage if Yi Hyun can make contact. Urgently."
[Understood!]
The princess's voice faded from the crystal orb.
Silence fell over the hill with just the three of them and one demon.
They watched Citri slowly rolling toward Yi Hyun with complex gazes...
[Received sage's reply. Yi Hyun, finish subjugating Citri.]
"...Yi Hyun."
"Yes."
Yi Hyun finally stepped forward.
He extended his hand to Citri's forehead.
In his ear echoed a conversation from Zaksen before.
[—Tragedy has no meaning. But you'll make us all stronger in the end? I'll try to ensure no more like you appear.]
[—Ahh, with just that...]
'Zaksen folks, watching from beside the Amazon boob goddess? I think I kept the promise.'
The demon who turned Zaksen into hell.
The man who helped the wandering spirits find peace.
Their gazes met,
'Next life, be born a pure virgin pussy without sinning.'
-Smack.
Yi Hyun's hand struck Citri's forehead.
The blue flames engulfing her felt refreshingly cool to him.
"......Ah."
And as the two talismans within them collided.
Citri's face thudded to the ground.
That was the end.
[Main Quest - 'Capital Invasion' outbreak cleared!]
[Excess EXP converted to tribute. Obtained 50,000 Contribution Points.]
[Acquired Title - 'Savior'.]
"Huh?"
'That's it? I didn't even do anything.'
All that remained was a massive amount of Contribution Points,
-Pat pat.
"The body's still here, so she's really dead?"
"Can't confirm 100%, but when the Hero beheaded her, demonic energy flew off."
"The remaining Skull Wyverns are falling powerless. She's really dead."
"Unbelievable... I never thought Yi Hyun would...!!"
"What the hell is that guy?"
The feat of subjugating a top-tier demon even in the demon realm.
Their gazes toward him did a 180.
Now, he had the same achievement as the Hero.
[...Ending Operation Moth. Return with Citri's corpse.]
"Understood."
"Yi Hyun, Yi Hyun!! Yi Hyun!!! I believed you'd become a hero!!!"
"Uh, um."
'Truth is, I didn't really do it.'
To him alone, the ending felt utterly lackluster.
Three days later.
"The merit in subjugating Citri cannot be praised enough. You've reclaimed the empire's skies—a greater feat than even the Hero's."
"You're too kind, Your Majesty..."
"Thus, I shall grant the empire's most valuable possession."
"Pardon?"
"I hereby designate Quartermaster Yi Hyun as Liriana's consort and proclaim him a proud member of the glorious Shattenreich Imperial Family!!"
"...Yes?"
'Reward, you said!! You said you'd give a reward!!!'
The Empress had thrown me a massive troll.
A seriously stinky one, at that.