Berna Subjugation Successful
No. I must not be seduced.
I have to break free of the Demon King's grasp.
"No, I..."
"Are you truly certain?"
"Nngh. Hah. Don't—!"
My body would not move. I could not resist. That steady, reliable voice drew me in before I even realized it. Helpless, I was pulled into the arm the Demon King extended.
"Ah... aah... ah..."
"If it were me, I would love you for the rest of my life."
Before I knew it, my body had stopped fighting. Rationalizing that the sheer force of his power left her no choice, Bernoa surrendered herself into the Demon King's embrace.
And the Demon King truly did give Bernoa love. He whispered affection, pressed his lips to hers, and held her close. His arms were far too warm for a Demon King. To Bernoa, already riddled with darkness, the Goddess's words no longer felt like something she could lean on. As even her heart was slowly eroded, she willingly nestled into his embrace.
"Ah... aah..."
"That's right. Be honest with yourself. You must have suffered a great deal until now."
He murmured warmly and stroked her hair. The touch set her chest ablaze. The only one who had ever made her feel this way was her lord. Perhaps the Demon King—no, the Demon King himself—was her lord. Maybe somewhere along the way they had been switched. The real lord was the Demon King, and the man currently in the Ashtar territory was a fake.
She rationalized it to herself. To justify betraying humanity. To tell herself she was simply following the one she loved. She brainwashed herself. If she did not, she would be nothing more than a common traitor.
Yes. This person is my master. My light.
The Eldacrad who had come to subjugate the Demon Realm was the fake lord. A fake who had come to attack the real one!
"Ah, Demon King. So you were my lord all along."
"Yes. I am your master and your light. I am Eldacrad."
"Ah, my lord..."
"Bernoa. Will you become mine? Will you become my blade and take the lead in slaughtering the humans?"
That was the final choice. She had to escape here. This was her last chance to turn back.
Hurry—hit this Demon King with a miracle, then flee from Seto while his guard is down and go to the fake Eldacrad. Tell him about the real lord and die? Wha—?
Already steeped to the bone in darkness, Bernoa's true nature had corrupted and chosen its master. There was no such thing as a choice. Only the Eldacrad who loved her—only her lord—was real. There was no reason to run. This Demon King's castle, where the real lord resided, was where she belonged.
"Yes. I will follow you, Demon King."
"At last you have become mine. Your nature is more than enough to accept my authority. I shall grant you the Authority of Fall."
The Demon King embraced Bernoa once more and gifted her his power. The rosary imbued with the Goddess's strength had long since lost its light. Bernoa's hair slowly took on an ashen hue, and her eyes began to gleam like blood. A new power overflowed from her body—not holy power, but a dark, turbid force. The power of the demonkin had taken root.
"Aah, power is overflowing. The Demon King's power!"
"From this day forth you are the Fallen Saint, Berna. Time is plentiful. Eradicate the humans in the lands liberated by the Ashtar army, and kill the fake lord to rid me of my troubles."
"Yes, Demon King."
Receiving the Demon King's command, the Fallen Saint Berna slaughtered the people of the kingdoms in the territories the Ashtar army had freed.
"S-spare us! P-please! At least the children!"
"If you want the children to live, then the children must die first."
She made no distinction of age or gender. She killed young children before their parents' eyes, and elderly parents before their children's. Every time she looked upon people sunk in despair, she could not believe how happy she felt. Why had she only realized this now? That killing people was far more fulfilling and enjoyable than saving them. The thought of being praised by her master made her body tingle with anticipation.
After thoroughly enjoying the many uses of her power, Berna returned to the Ashtar army camp in her former appearance.
"You seem to have changed in the time you were gone."
"My apologies. I was in such a rush escaping that I must look a mess."
The fake lord suspected Berna's fall. Quick-witted, yes—but that only proved he was a fake. The Demon King would have at least tried to understand. This one was definitely a fake. There was no need to hesitate.
In secret, Berna used her authority to corrupt half of Eldacrad's soldiers, persuaded his close aides, and at last drove the army into an advance on the Demon King's castle.
And then—
"Ha-haha. Hahaha! See? You're a fake! If you were the real lord, you wouldn't die like this!"
"How truly pathetic."
Berna betrayed Eldacrad in spectacular fashion. She lured him all the way to the Demon King's castle and struck with both her corrupted army and Seto's forces lying in ambush. In the end, she succeeded in capturing Eldacrad.
"You're under some kind of delusion. The Demon King is the true lord! Of my own free will I pledged love and loyalty to him! You are nothing but a loser—and so you die here by my hand! There is only one lord, and that is the Demon King!"
Berna seized a fallen sword, determined to sever the ties of the past. Here. She had to kill him here. Only by killing this fake would the Demon King become the true lord in truth. Even as a corner of her heart knew this was wrong, she brainwashed herself that she was merely killing a fake—to justify the betrayal.
Shhk!
In the end, Berna cut down the Eldacrad she had once loved.
"Even as you die! Ha-haha. Just you wait! When the time comes, I'll kill every last member of your fake bloodline and send them to your side! Ha-haha! Ahahaha!"
Before he died, Eldacrad left Berna with words like a curse.
"I die here today, but Ashtar does not forget a grudge. My descendants will surely stop you."
A cold wind brushed her skin, and Berna opened her closed eyes. She was on her knees. Looking around, she saw the banners of Ashtar and the Empire fluttering on every side.
Yes. She had been defeated. It was a wonder she had even survived that assault.
I die here today, but Ashtar does not forget a grudge. My descendants will surely stop you.
Just as Lord Eldacrad had prophesied, she had been brought low by Eldacrad's descendants. Facing an Ashtar army armed with new weapons this powerful, the Third Corps, already without its commander, must have been annihilated long ago.
Yes. About forty years had passed, hadn't they? The situation was completely reversed. When the defeated Eldacrad had stood, only the banners of the Demon King's army had surrounded him. Now she herself was greeting the banners of Ashtar.
Did my lord feel the same way I do now? No. For him, the greater shock must have been the betrayal. He must have hated me so much for betraying him.
She slowly lifted her head. Before her, a woman who carried the soul of Noah from the Ruined Land—the one who had slain the Demon King—and the soul of the Ashtar duchess looked down on her with cold eyes. A woman who was also a descendant of her lord glared at her sharply.
Now it was time to receive her punishment.
I'm screwed.
I never thought Celia would actually be the one to finish her. For now I dumped Berna in a convenient corner and launched into tearful negotiations with Celia.
"Hey, even so, this is ridiculous. Honestly that idiot basically handed her over. I had her completely caught and then that girl just bolted."
"There was no condition excluding assists, was there?"
Well, yeah, but still!
"No, damn it, this is really... Don't you know best two out of three? Besides, the whole 'I'll grant you anything' thing wasn't even said properly at the time."
She should just let something like this slide!
"Um, Lady Olivia. This is a little... unsightly."
My mouth snapped shut. Celia had just called me unsightly. No matter what, that crossed a line. I couldn't accept it. There are lines people aren't supposed to cross. If she starts talking marriage now, what the hell am I supposed to do?
"Well... fine."
"Hm?"
"At the very least, let's make a mage's promise."
A mage's promise? Once a mage's promise is made, it's almost impossible to cancel. Celia was trying to lock me down completely.
"No, I already said I'm not marrying you."
"You're a Saint, so that would be difficult right now. I'm well aware of that myself."
"Oh... yeah?"
"Live with me. You can at least do that much, can't you?"
Ah. Right—I'm a Saint, so marriage is out. Then wasn't that original promise impossible to keep from the start? Wait a second. Just living together wouldn't be a problem, would it? A little annoying, sure, but Celia herself isn't any real trouble. If marriage ever becomes a hassle later, I can just say I'm living as a mage with Celia and that will be the end of it. Besides, I need at least one person by my side who can help me. Someone who knows my true identity.
Claire is Mother's person and doesn't know who I really am. Kise is close with the first-generation side of things and still a bit distant from me—meaning she doesn't know my identity either. Noel... I'd be lucky if she doesn't grab me by the hair and slam me into the ground. She's the type who'd run away from home anyway, so there's no real reason to live with her. All things considered, Celia isn't a bad option.
Right. That wouldn't be so bad. Celia isn't turning into a man, and I'm not turning back into Noah. What could possibly go wrong?
"Mm. About that..."
"If you won't even grant me this, then as a mage you truly have no principles."
No principles? That's a little harsh.
"No, I mean..."
"Surely you don't have some mindset that living with someone from the Ruined Land is unacceptable?"
As if. Do I look like someone who breaks promises that easily? If this didn't benefit me at all, I'd refuse no matter how unsightly it looked—but before she can demand anything more outrageous, this is a proposal I can accept.
"Fine. All right. We'll do it that way."
"Oh? Really?"
Celia's eyes sparkled.
"Just living together isn't so bad. Claire is Mother's attendant, so keeping her constantly at my side feels a bit off. Having one person nearby who knows my secrets seems better. And in the end we're both women, so nothing weird is going to happen."
"Ufufufu."
"What's with that creepy laugh?"
Did I just say something wrong? Should I have thought this through a little more?
"It's nothing at all."
Not long after, the Ashtar army arrived at Crad Castle. From the looks of it, they had finished cleaning up the Third Corps. Even if Crad Castle wasn't far, I hadn't expected them to get here this quickly. When the Ashtar Duke reached the castle and saw its condition, he was stunned.
"Hmm. What in the world happened here? Olivia. Did you capture Berna?"
Celia landed the finishing blow, sure. But I was the one who put in most of the damage, wasn't I? So there was no real need to hand the credit over to Celia.
"Uh. Well, that is... I'm a Saint, you know? And I specialized in offensive miracles. Whereas Berna is a Fallen Saint, so..."
"Does it usually work out that way?"
Yes, it does. Please don't ask any more questions. It's a hassle.
"Yes. Because I'm a Saint. Celia knows too."
"Yes. My lady is truly remarkable. Her magical ability is so perfect she wouldn't even need to go to the Magic Tower!"
"Even so, you still use magic—"
What are you trying to nitpick now?
"Anyway, we brought her down."
Anyway, we brought her down. Don't ask anything else.