Chapter 213
Chapter 213
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 210
Chapter Title: Lucifer Who Leads Evil - 5
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Not every demon in hell possessed the power to demand tremendous sacrifices from humans. Far from it.
The demons capable of emerging into the human world were fundamentally on a different level altogether.
In hell, where only the strongest power reigned as truth and law, any demon able to claim the offerings presented by worshippers had to be formidable. The weak wouldn't even get the chance.
Demons also had to steel themselves for permanent annihilation by divine forces the moment they stepped into the human realm, so only those confident in their abilities answered the summons.
Moreover, they typically arrived at the peak of their power after absorbing sacrificial offerings, then immediately drew more strength from nearby humans upon manifestation.
All these factors combined to make any demon appearing in the human world a threat that even a holy nation had to endure significant losses to confront.
—Kieeeek!
Conversely, that meant the vast majority were nothing special.
The screams of demons filled the heavens and earth. It was only natural that these weaker ones couldn't handle the holy nation's elite forces, who had come fully prepared.
The sun rose, piercing the blood-red sky. Golden radiance spread across the crimson heavens. The entire land blazed brightly, bathed in sacred and brilliant light.
Hundreds of demons engulfed in sunlight writhed in agony, flopping like fish stranded on dry land. Their eyes, heads, torsos, arms, and legs melted away wherever the light touched.
Holy knights, backed by the blazing sunlight, moved with even greater vigor. Blessed weapons cleaved through the demons thrashing in place.
Beside the sun floated a round moon. Amid the golden light dominating the sky, a silver veil unfurled. A chilling aura seeped through the radiance, settling in the gaps.
Hundreds of demons struck by moonlight froze in place. Unlike those screaming and thrashing under the sunlight, these made no cries or frantic outbursts.
They simply collapsed silently, one by one, in whatever pose they had halted. And once fallen, they never rose again.
Battle nuns, empowered by the cold moonlight, smashed the heads of the downed demons one by one.
“If the sun embraces us, what must we do?”
“We must show our faith!”
“Exactly.”
Hearing the voices booming across the battlefield, Stella smiled warmly and raised her flail.
The head, larger than a man's skull, smashed into a demon's crown. It crumpled vertically into the ground without so much as a squeak. Blood and flesh burst from what had once been a demon.
Battle nuns wielding shields and flails followed behind Stella, roaring with mighty cheers.
“Heaven is for the faithful.”
“Grant hell to the unbelievers.”
“Soon, there will be no place left for them even in hell.”
Celene lifted her rapier, adding a chilling line of prayer to the heretic inquisitor's battle chant she had once used.
The needle-sharp tip pierced the demon's right ear, scrambling its brain, then emerged flawlessly from the left ear.
The battle nuns behind Celene melted into the shadows like phantoms.
While the faithful enacted righteous justice under the sun and moon's light, Floretta and Luna slowly walked the battlefield, illuminating it with their holy relics.
A small sun for the Pope of the Sun. A small moon for the Pope of the Moon. That alone was enough to send morale soaring endlessly.
“Sister.”
“Yes, Evangeline.”
“Weaker than what's recorded in scripture, right?”
“You felt it too?”
The sisters met each other's eyes and smiled faintly. Scripture recorded that upon entering hell, demons instinctively sensing the threat had swarmed like "grains of sand on a beach."
But this was different. Though their numbers were far greater, gaps were evident everywhere, and crucially, no truly major threats were in sight.
If there had been, the popes would have stepped in personally.
“Did the honored guest and the emperor take them out?”
“Maybe.”
Their thoughts naturally turned to Delta and Kaikilia, who had plunged into hell several steps ahead of them.
For a holy sword bearer and a divinely blessed emperor to roam together made such feats seem trivially easy, even for just the two of them.
Floretta and Luna strolled along, chatting casually without a hint of tension. Everywhere their feet touched turned into barren wasteland under the sun and moon's light.
Divine power held no ability to desolate land, but in hell's unique environment, it produced effects akin to deadly poison.
Even after this purification, it would remain uninhabitable for humans—but the same went for demons.
What did it matter if they couldn't live here anyway, when they were all doomed to die?
“Your Holinesses? We're almost at the location you specified.”
“About a hundred minor injuries and thirty serious ones, but all have recovered safely.”
Stella and Celene approached. At the report that they were nearly there, the popes' faces brightened.
The spot where the portal had opened wasn't far from Lucifer's castle. They had deliberately set the coordinates close. To meet the honored guest even a moment sooner.
Perhaps sensing Floretta and Luna's earnest wish, the castle soon came into view. Their steps quickened slightly. The parched ground crumbled under their high heels, kicking up dust.
Floretta, in particular, felt intense guilt after the explosion had seemingly swallowed the honored guest, so her every movement dripped with urgency.
God had assured her the guest was unharmed, but she wanted to see it with her own eyes.
Before long, they reached a colossal castle that rivaled the holy nation's grand cathedral or the empire's imperial palace in scale. The gates were firmly shut.
“Stand back.”
Luna stepped forward, raising her holy relic. The battle nuns and holy knights already gathered split to either side. The full moon at the staff's tip emitted dazzling light.
The gates melted away entirely.
Normally, it would have merely shattered. But hellish architecture brimmed with demonic energy, making it highly vulnerable to divine power.
Floretta and Luna stepped inside without hesitation. No one around them spoke of potential dangers or insisted on going first in their place.
What was the point? Even all of them combined couldn't defeat a single pope. It was needless worry.
“……What happened here?”
“……I don't know either, sister.”
A path of demon blood welcomed the popes. Unlike when Kaikilia and Delta had visited, time had passed, causing it to congeal somewhat.
Their reaction was predictable. The blackened blood purified under divine power and melted away. Soon, the entire castle began to shake. The structure itself was purifying.
“Doesn't seem like the honored guest's doing.”
“Then the emperor……?”
“Doubt it…….”
Luna trailed off.
Logically, since the honored guest had arrived first and no demons remained, it made sense the earlier arrivals had cleared them out. But neither seemed the type to pull something like this.
Floretta and Luna pressed on into the inner keep, doubts lingering.
“……Popes?”
They found Kaikilia staring blankly into empty space.
Kaikilia noticed Luna and Floretta's arrival and spoke with a faintly surprised expression.
“No need to ask why you're here…… If that woman escaped safely, she must have sought your aid.”
“Indeed.”
“What are you doing here, Emperor of the Empire?”
The holy sword pointed at empty air.
“Waiting for the insolent retainer who dared abandon me here.”
“I thought you were fighting alongside the honored guest to slay the king of demons.”
“That pretender king dragged Delta into another space. From my view, it was all foreshadowing that this would happen. To bring me all the way here and hunt the biggest one alone—what an utterly disloyal retainer. I'll punish them severely upon return.”
Kaikilia scoffed. Floretta and Luna tilted their heads.
“The honored guest alone— ”
Before the words finished, a chilling sound like space warping shook the entire castle.
Kaikilia gripped her holy sword with a frown, Floretta and Luna raised their holy relics, and the others tensed, scanning their surroundings.
“……So that's it.”
The eerie sound echoed once more, and an arm covered in wooden roots burst through a tear in space.
The wooden root-covered arm slammed into the floor with full force.