Chapter 220: For Elize (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 220: For Elize (5)
When Elize appeared in the Cathedral, she looked different from when she had last parted ways with Karami.
Her two pairs of vampire wings were gone, replaced by the benevolent appearance of the Saint she presented to her people.
No matter how fanatically her followers believed in her, it was obvious that revealing her vampiric form would create a crack in their faith.
While controlling their minds was an option, doing so would cause problems with their devotion.
For Elize, whose power stemmed directly from her believers' faith, it was necessary to thoroughly act the part of the Saint.
“What brings you to the Holy Kingdom?”
Her head was tilted fifteen degrees to the side.
The corners of her lips were raised, but not excessively.
It was the optimal smile Elize had researched, designed to lower her opponent's guard and win their favor.
If done poorly, it could easily backfire and create antipathy.
“Ahh. To think she would be so kind even to such wicked people. As expected of our Saint.”
“How can her heart be so pure? I can’t believe someone like her is human, just like us.”
But Elize was a master in this field. The believers’ loyalty, already piercing the heavens, soared even higher.
Of course, Karami, who knew everything, was not about to be swayed.
“What brings me here? I’m a master who has come to see his slave.”
“You seem to be under a grave misunderstanding. I am not your slave.”
“I never said you were, Saint. Are you perhaps feeling a bit guilty?”
“…”
As I thought.
I really don’t like this man.
“If you’ve come to play word games, you should leave now. If you cause any more harm to the Holy Kingdom, I will deliver divine punishment in the name of God.”
“Before that.”
Karami gave Mirabelle a signal.
The shackles of subjugation, which had rendered countless slaves powerless. Mirabelle wasn’t happy about having to use such a precious thing on someone else, but she suppressed her feelings.
After extracting the necessary amount of mana from Karami, she cast the spell.
The target was Elize.
The spell would bind her with a contract of subjugation.
Fzzt-!
But the unpleasant sensation of a failed spell washed over Mirabelle. She grimaced.
“It’s not going to work like this, Master.”
“Why not?”
“Her resistance is too high. I can’t just tamper with her soul directly.”
“After all the suffering I endured while those shackles were on me, did you really think I would allow such a thing?”
To Elize, it was a perfectly reasonable statement, so she said it casually, but her words struck a nerve with two people.
“Such a thing…?”
“‘Such a thing’? Some of us would kill to have one, and you call it ‘such a thing’?”
“Do you have any idea what I went through? Do you think you’d still say that if you did? He threatened to make me take walks in the nude at the drop of a hat!”
“That’s a reward.”
“Are you an idiot?”
“Who are you calling an idiot…?”
“Hah, that’s enough nonsense.”
The conversation seemed to be heading in a strange direction. Karami quickly intervened to cut it off.
He racked his brain.
He hadn’t anticipated being unable to place the shackles on her.
No. This is the normal reaction.
He’d gotten so used to people flocking to him, begging to become his slaves, that he’d started to think it was easy. Common sense dictated that no one would want to be a slave.
It had been a miscalculation.
The situation doesn’t look good.
Now that Demian was dead, his power was likely running rampant inside Elize’s body. He had even removed the Crimson Ring that suppressed her vampiric traits.
It had to be difficult for her to even maintain her sanity against the bloodthirst.
He could tell just by looking at Elize’s complexion.
The exhaustion was plain on her face.
It would be easier for her if she just relied on him, but Elize had no intention of doing so.
“I have warned you several times. Since you don’t seem inclined to move, I will escort you out myself.”
A red halo appeared above Elize’s head.
She raised a hand, and a brilliant light flashed from her fingertips.
A flash of light shot out at a speed that transcended perception.
Pshk.
It pierced the crown of the pink fox’s head.
With miraculously swift movements, Rin had pulled the fox spirit away and leaped back.
She had read a future where, if she stood still, the beam would have pierced her heart.
If she had been a moment later in twisting fate, it would have become reality.
“A very talented fox. It would be fun to raise you.”
“I wonder~? Rin has only one master. I have no intention of serving a bat, and more importantly, you stink, so I don’t like you.”
“Stink? What insolence, to say such a thing to a lady.”
“You can’t fool Rin’s nose. You reek of disgusting blood. Seeing as how even your soul is stained crimson, I doubt you’ll ever be liberated~”
“…”
Reading Elize’s expression, Rin grinned.
“So don’t you dare get that disgusting stench on my master. You filthy bat.”
“…I’ll make sure you don’t leave here with all your limbs intact.”
“If you can~”
An apostle was worth a million points.
So the Saint must be worth a hundred million, right?
If she could just take down this one, her victory in the bet against Alfia was guaranteed.
And she would receive a reward from her master.
Rin brought her hands together.
“Solar Eclipse.”
Rin’s unique domain.
A separate world, cut off from the outside.
A playground for the pink fox who toyed with fate.
A blue moon rose and began to hide the sun.
Rin had sensed the flow of Elize’s power and knew where it came from.
The clergy.
If she could just cut them off, Elize was nothing more than a trivial vampire.
“Tricks.”
Elize, who knew this better than anyone, was not about to stand by and watch.
She reached her hand toward the sky.
The halo spun violently.
The blue moon created by Rin’s Lunar Eye began to turn blood-red.
Then it stopped, caught in the middle, unable to move one way or the other.
“Are you trying to have a power struggle with Rin right now?”
“There’s no need for me to do it alone. That would be foolish.”
No sooner had Elize finished speaking than there was movement on the ground. The prostrated clergy rose and joined in.
An apostle, Constantine the Radiant Cross, slammed the large cross he carried on his back into the ground.
As he clasped his hands and murmured a prayer, the Rosarias held by the believers resonated. The souls of the faithful, moved by Constantine’s purity, began to vibrate.
Another apostle, Beatrice of the Burning Faith, offered a prayer. A white aura rose from her body, burning like fire.
The believers followed suit, praying to Elize.
Belief became faith.
Faith became power.
And prayers offered in desperate situations were always the most fervent.
Faith flowed into the Saint who would dispel the chaos and bring order.
In an instant, a light bright enough to illuminate all of Kassilon erupted.
Black and white flames blazed.
An aura of light enveloped Elize.
The red moon began to push back the blue one.
“Do not covet the world of the living, you monster fox.”
“Look who’s talking, a half-wit who can’t do anything on her own…”
Watching Rin being pushed back, Alfia twisted her lips into a smirk.
“You look like you’re struggling. Should I help? Of course, if you accept my help, I win the bet, right?”
“I don’t need your help! Rin can do this by herself!”
“Suit yourself~”
That annoying elf, still talking about the bet at a time like this.
Does she have a disease where she’ll die if she doesn’t make a bet?
But just as Alfia had judged, the situation was not at all favorable.
Rin and Elize were evenly matched in power, but with the support of the believers, Rin was slowly being pushed back.
It would be so much easier to just kill them all.
Even as she rampaged about under Karami’s orders, she hadn’t killed a single person.
She had knocked them out and used illusions to neutralize them, but since priests were everywhere, they recovered in an instant and rejoined the battle.
Master is just too nice for his own good.
These fools who don’t know their place and dare to defy their master should just be erased from the world.
But if she went on a rampage, Karami would really hate her.
And she’d rather die than accept help from Alfia.
And losing was too much of a blow to her pride.
“Mmm…”
What can I do to make Master praise me for a job well done? Just as Rin was groaning, unable to find a suitable solution, something changed.
“Ugh.”
The change came from Elize’s side. Elize, who could have maintained her advantage just by holding her ground, let out a short groan and staggered.
The balance wavered for a moment.
Rin didn’t know why, but it was a golden opportunity that had fallen into her lap, and she wasn’t about to miss it.
She unleashed an explosion of pink spiritual power.
The blue moon devoured the red one.
And when the full moon was complete, it eclipsed the sun.
Darkness descended upon Kassilon.
“What? Where is this?”
Alfia checked her condition. The presence of the spirits that had been trailing her had weakened significantly.
Her Servants, which she kept within her body, were not greatly affected, but this was by no means a pleasant space. It looked like it would be a real pain to get out.
Karami had also been drawn into the Solar Eclipse. He looked around, but it was too dark to see anything.
“Miss Mirabelle, are you there?”
“Yes. I’m right next to you.”
“Are you alright?”
“I’m alrigh…”
She stopped herself before finishing the sentence.
Her brain whirred at a speed comparable to when she was casting a grand spell.
Conclusion reached.
She tightly gripped the hem of Karami’s trousers.
“…I’m not. It’s d-dark, and I’m scared.”
“Oh dear. Come here.”
Karami reached out and hugged Mirabelle.
He gently stroked her back.
“Is that a little better?”
“Yes…”
In truth, it wasn’t dark at all.
Even within Rin’s Solar Eclipse, Mirabelle could see as if it were broad daylight.
I have to stick close like this to protect Master properly.
No, that wasn’t it.
She could protect him just fine without clinging to him.
This was all just an act of weakness to get a hug from Karami.
But I’ve been away from Master for so long.
They would be together from now on, but it looked like the number of slaves by Karami’s side was about to increase. The time she could be held would decrease.
She wouldn’t be able to bear it if she didn’t satisfy her selfish desires in moments like these.
To think the day would come when Rin would actually be useful.
The world was full of surprises.
Even though she hadn’t lived that long.
The fox may have performed the trick, but it was the witch who reaped the rewards.