Chapter 297: Iron Fairy Subjugation (7)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 297: Iron Fairy Subjugation (7)
“Kill that bastard immediately!” Emperor Carlos roared.
Before the command had even fully left his lips, Merlin blurred into motion. She appeared before Mephisto in a flash, her blade whistling through the air.
Swoosh!
The lethal strike was aimed straight for Mephisto’s throat, but…
Thud.
Mephisto caught the lightning-fast blade with nothing but his fingertips.
It was an impossible feat. Merlin’s eyes widened in shock, but her combat instincts remained sharp. Realizing her sword was trapped, she instantly abandoned the weapon, pivoted her weight, and unleashed a devastating roundhouse kick.
Mephisto caught her leg just as effortlessly.
Ssss!
Boom!!
“Ugh!!”
A dense surge of dark mana coiled around Merlin before detonating against her midsection.
The force sent her hurtling across the hall. She slammed into the far wall and slumped to the floor, her body convulsing as blood sprayed from her mouth. No matter how hard she struggled to push herself up, her equilibrium was shattered; she couldn't find the strength to stand.
Mephisto smirked, his gaze shifting toward Emperor Carlos.
[With the Ice Sovereign out of the picture, who exactly is killing who? If you keep ignoring me like this, you’re going to hurt my feelings.]
“You monster… Were you waiting for the Ice Sovereign to be lured into that sanctuary?”
[Correct! It might be a bit petty, but what can I do? Even I fear the Ice Sovereign. It’s much better for my mental health if I don’t have to face such a freak of nature. Now then, Princess Snow White?]
Mephisto turned toward White, his smile twisting into something sinister.
[Even though the clock has become useless, I am still bound by my duty to drag you down to hell.]
“What are you talking about…?” White stammered.
[Well, I did sign a contract with your mother, you see!]
White’s trembling stopped instantly.
Her mother’s contractor. She had heard whispers of this entity following the Alice incident.
“So, it was you…”
Her voice was low, vibrating with a cold, simmering fury.
Crash!
The charging knights and wizards were suddenly blasted back by a wave of Mephisto’s dark magic. They coughed up blood as their bodies were sent flying like ragdolls. Even the Empire’s finest elites couldn't lay a finger on him.
The power of Mephisto, an agent of the Evil God, was simply beyond the reach of ordinary mortals.
“Is there no one left?!” the Emperor shouted in desperation.
[Everyone is sleeping soundly, so let’s not wake them, shall we?]
“You insolent wretch…!”
[Such foul language is quite unbecoming of a king, isn’t it? I’m in a hurry, so I’m generously overlooking your rudeness, but instead of gratitude, you hurl insults? How disappointing.]
Every Imperial soldier in the hallway had been neutralized, left unconscious by Mephisto’s power. The demon began to walk slowly toward White.
White stared blankly at her approaching death.
She remembered why her mother had tried to have her assassinated. It was a reason so absurd that she had spent years believing it was a lie. Her mother had been jealous—consumed by the thought that her own daughter was more beautiful than she was.
That ridiculous, petty jealousy had haunted White even long after her mother’s death. Because of that, White felt a hollow sense of emptiness that outweighed her fear.
[I was powerless while the Ice Sovereign was around. But not anymore.]
“…”
Mephisto dropped to one knee, tilting White’s chin up to force her to meet his gaze. The demon’s eyes were grotesquely distorted, yet they possessed a strange, haunting aesthetic.
“White!”
As Emperor Carlos lunged toward his daughter, Mephisto lazily extended an arm brimming with dark mana. The Emperor gritted his teeth, forced to halt his advance or face certain death.
[Snow White… You truly are the most beautiful human in this world. Your death will be a tragic loss for all of humanity. Ah, how heartbreaking….]
“That’s strange.”
[…I beg your pardon?]
A sudden realization had flickered in White’s mind.
Until now, Mephisto hadn't dared to approach her because of Isaac. But with Isaac currently occupied by the Iron Fairy, Mephisto had moved with perfect timing.
How could he have known things would play out this way? How did someone who had been fleeing from Isaac’s forces manage to arrive here at the exact moment Isaac was indisposed? It was as if he had known the schedule in advance.
“How did you know this would happen? You have a partner, don’t you?”
At the mention of a partner, Mephisto’s smirk widened.
[How admirable. To remain so composed even in the face of death. Your beauty shines with such serenity.]
“Princess White…!”
A wet, ragged cry tore through the air. Merlin, her mouth filled with blood, screamed White’s name as she clawed at the floor. Her fingernails were torn to the quick, and her body was wracked with agony. She tried to drag herself forward, but her limbs, eroded by dark mana, refused to obey.
Mephisto reached out, his long fingers gripping White’s head. Dark mana began to rise from his palm like black smoke.
White gently closed her eyes.
In that final moment, her chaotic past flashed before her. She remembered the poisoned apple her mother had sent when she was a child. As her younger self lay dying, she had gazed up at the sky through the canopy of trees. In her fading consciousness, she had seen death descending from the heavens.
It had been so brilliant and beautiful that she had reached out a fragile arm toward it.
“What are you doing?”
In that memory of lying in the grass as a dying child, Isaac appeared. He looked down at her and asked a simple question.
Princess White?
Then Merlin appeared beside him, looking at her with a worried expression.
White wished she could have had one last pleasant conversation with them. Even some trivial small talk—something she wouldn't even remember later—would have made this moment feel less regretful.
I’m sorry I couldn’t be of more help, Senior Isaac.
All she felt now was a profound sense of sorrow.
“Stop it!!” Emperor Carlos screamed at the top of his lungs.
It was then.
Boom!!
The outer wall near the window shattered inward as someone flew into the hall at incredible speed. In an instant, an axe blade wreathed in a freezing chill swung toward Mephisto.
[…!!]
Slash!!
The axe cleaved through the air. Mephisto was forced to release White, narrowly dodging the lethal edge.
Everyone in the hall froze, staring at the hooded figure wielding the massive two-handed axe. The figure cast off her cloak, revealing a tall woman with light-blue hair and a prominent scar running across her face.
Mephisto’s brow furrowed.
The woman radiated a terrifyingly cold aura. she flashed a feral, toothy grin at the demon.
“Just as the Lord predicted!”
[And who might you be?]
“Isabel Silverwolf!”
Three more hooded figures leaped through the shattered wall, discarding their cloaks.
There was Dorhan, a massive white tiger Demibeast.
Karius Alsav, a bald-headed brawler with a fierce gaze.
And Erich Leverins, a female wizard who was giggling, her face flushed red from alcohol.
Every single one of them was a Legion Commander of Düpfendorf.
“I serve Lord Isaac, the Ruler of Düpfendorf.”
Isabel swung her heavy axe into a combat stance. Looking at their travel-worn cloaks, it was obvious they had been infiltrating Aldreque for some time.
White, Emperor Carlos, and Merlin stared at the newcomers in a daze, their minds struggling to process the sudden turn of events.
“Hehehe, ha!”
Erich gave a lazy wave of her hand.
Boom!!
An ice magic circle erupted behind Mephisto. Simultaneously, a massive pillar of ice shot upward, blasting the demon off his feet.
A violent gust of wind tore through the hall. While Mephisto wasn't severely injured, the force of the impact sent him flying out of the building like a cannonball.
Crash!!
As Mephisto tumbled through the air, Dorhan, the white tiger Demibeast, intercepted him. He swung a massive fist encased in an ice gauntlet. With the sound of something shattering, Mephisto’s body was punched through the sky, hurtling toward the Iron Sea.
The other Legion Commanders followed, leaping out of the broken wall to press the attack.
“Wait!”
Isabel was about to jump when White’s shout stopped her.
“You… you’re on Senior Isaac’s side, right? What is happening?”
“Princess Snow White,” Isabel said, turning back with a grin that revealed her sharp fangs. “Our Lord commanded us to protect you.”
“What…?”
“This is a message from our Lord,” Isabel recited. “The demon Mephisto has allied with the Heavenly beings, and there is a high probability he will target Princess Snow White. Therefore, all Legion Commanders are to follow my instructions: Infiltrate Aldreque and protect her at all costs.”
Isabel shrugged. “Well, that’s the gist of it. Our Lord values you quite highly.”
With those words, she threw herself out of the breach and into the fray.
The wind whistled through the ruined room. Merlin, covered in blood, finally managed to crawl to White’s side. Emperor Carlos pulled his daughter into a tight embrace, frantically asking if she was alright, but White couldn't hear him.
She looked at Merlin’s face, which was filled with a profound sense of relief. Then she looked around the hall and slowly raised her hands.
“Ah… ah…”
Her fingers were trembling.
The memory of accepting her death resurfaced. She had thought that if her mother hated her that much, she must have been a truly terrible child. When she had given up on life back then, she had only looked at the light in the sky.
But then, she had heard the birds chirping. She had seen the vibrant, beautiful flowers. In that moment, she had realized how beautiful the world truly was.
Back then, her hands had turned pale blue as she clawed at the grass, desperately clinging to life. It was as if her own struggle for survival was more brilliant than the light from the heavens. In response to that desperation, the dwarves—who looked like young girls—had found her and saved her.
She had slept for a long time until the poison was neutralized. The price of trusting people had been heavy, yet she had continued to try and show affection to others. Perhaps that was her own form of revenge against the mother who had tried to drag her into the abyss.
But just moments ago, she had felt like her hands were empty again. She thought there would be nothing left.
Yet, when she looked back, she saw the people who had been standing behind her all along.
Among them, she saw the young man with silver-blue hair. She remembered him asking if she was alright. His expression was the same one he’d worn when he comforted her after her duel with the Priestess.
White covered her face with both hands, her shoulders shaking. She tried to stifle her sobs, but for a long time, she couldn't bring herself to look up.