Chapter 102
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 102
Chapter Title: The Prince's Corrupted Halo
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Revealing this meant there was no longer any need to cling to that position.
"Go on."
"Though I became His Highness's escort knight to make contact with the imperial family, from my perspective having served by his side for so long... he's absolutely not that kind of person. Prince Dorn possesses a warmer character than any other member of the imperial family."
She spoke with utter conviction on her face.
"I don't know what's going on, but she's right. I've seen Prince Dorn for myself, and he really is like that. But... what the hell is her deal?"
Melissa eyed Merrill warily as she asked, and I calmly revealed the truth.
"Moon's Watch."
"Ah, Moon's Watch... what?"
Melissa's eyes went wide as she stared at her.
"That band of murderers?"
"No! Our group isn't some blood-crazed pack!"
"Then what is it? Do you even know how many lives your group has taken? If you say it's a lie, I'll apologize."
"That's..."
"So it's not a lie."
Merrill lowered her gaze, at a complete loss for words.
"Ah, whatever. Let's just get back to the story."
Luna was in the safe zone. Melissa was secured. I felt a bit more at ease.
"Hoo... Right. What I'm saying is, His Highness would never do something like that. For starters, as a collateral prince, there's no way he could access confidential information so secret even count families are in the dark about it."
She seemed utterly convinced.
But what to do about this.
Crackle... sizzle...
I gave a cold smile as one of the threads linking me to her reacted furiously.
"They say when you go somewhere, it's always market day."
"What does that mean?"
"The Death Knight I attached to your friend."
Her eyes flew open wide at my icy tone.
"It just got half-destroyed."
A Death Knight with power rivaling a master's, half-wrecked in such a short time?
The opponent was at least master-level strong. No—overwhelmingly so.
Unlike Leon, who had immediately zipped all over the mist maze, Luna had felt an eerie sense of unease the moment this domain unfolded.
Leon could protect himself, so she wasn't too worried about him, but her instincts told her she couldn't just ignore this feeling. Even after entering the safe zone, she had gone back out to scout the surroundings.
Of course, she hadn't found much of anything, so she eventually gave up and returned to the safe zone.
Everything was deathly still.
The massive building serving as the safe zone was packed with people, yet not a single one opened their mouth.
Among them was Lilia Bernier, the young lady of the Bernier count family whom she had met here in the safe zone.
But right now, she lay unconscious on the floor, limp and helpless.
And standing alone in the midst of all those collapsed figures was a single man.
He was a handsome man with soft features.
A brooch bearing the imperial crest adorned his clothes.
Who wouldn't recognize his identity by now?
Dorn Lu Pascalia.
The very man they kept hearing about—so good, such a good person.
But judging solely by the carnage before her eyes, she had to question whether those stories held any truth.
"Ah."
At his feet lay Leon's undead Death Knight, its chest cavity crumpled in multiple places as it collapsed in exhaustion.
Even without fully awakening its power, Leon's Death Knight was a near-master-level entity.
To neutralize it that quickly required at least some matchup advantage.
Luna quietly tilted her head to look above his.
A burning red halo hovered over his head.
Ah, that's the reason.
The halo hidden above Luna's own head emanated immense power at a mere glance.
Likewise, the halo in her vision clearly granted him strength from countless sources.
And as a side effect, an indescribable intangible force crushed everything around him.
Anyone with even slightly low resistance would lose consciousness outright.
Only then did Luna realize the source of her unease, and she made no effort to hide her disgust.
"You carry something repulsive."
"Hm? There's still someone conscious? Fascinating. Most people can't endure this."
"Prince Dorn, your handiwork?"
"You know me?"
"Hard not to, with that brooch."
"Hmm. I thought since your eyes were closed, you couldn't see ahead."
He spoke calmly as he shook the blood from his sword.
Death Knights didn't bleed, so that blood belonged to someone else.
Glancing around, she spotted others who had collapsed from fatal wounds, excluding the unconscious ones.
Whoosh!
Luna reflexively swung her hand, healing their wounds.
"Hm? What an odd power. It was definitely something that made healing impossible."
"Why do something like this?"
"Why? Well, naturally..."
He gave her a soft smile.
"Does a prince need a reason to become emperor?"
At the same time, a terrifying chill seeped into his smile.
From the perspective of the people here, it was like getting clubbed over the head in an instant.
The one who had saved them and guided them to the safe zone turned out to be the true culprit—the very person who had lured them into a trap.
Of course, from Luna's viewpoint, she could tell at a glance whether Prince Dorn Lu Pascalia was truly a good person or not.
Her vision with eyes closed differed from ordinary sight, after all.
But this was the first time Luna had faced Dorn directly.
To her eyes, the man called Dorn Lu Pascalia had an exceedingly dark inner nature, no matter his outward appearance.
If only she had seen him directly before things reached this point, could she have stopped it?
No, she shook her head.
Every human harbored darkness. She knew well that it alone didn't make someone irredeemably evil.
"I've changed my mind."
Prince Dorn, who had been quietly surveying the fallen people, spoke to her.
"That power of yours is truly remarkable. I'll admit, I'm impressed. How to describe it... it feels like a force containing ultimate healing capabilities. Nothing like ordinary divine power."
"At least becoming emperor doesn't require massacring people."
There was one person in this territory who would charge in with bloodshot eyes the moment his Death Knight got smashed.
Leon was probably already searching for this place.
But with his current power, pinpointing it without affecting the mist maze itself wouldn't be easy.
One wrong move, and he might disrupt the maze enough to leave everyone here lost in another dimension.
"What do you think someone lacking justification needs to win?"
He smiled softly.
"Overwhelming power. A position as a strong one no one dares touch. They say this continent has all sorts of rules, but in the end, the logic of strength never fades."
He took a step forward.
Then, as if it were familiar, he gestured at the empty air.
A strange red pattern shimmered into existence, and a rift leading to a hidden space began to open.
It wasn't his innate power or the mist maze's—it stemmed from the alien halo floating above his head.
The interior resembled an entirely different cave, like a dragon vein formed from the condensed energy within the mist maze.
And along the ceiling of this space flowed a massive, unidentified torrent of energy.
He intended to control this space and absorb every ounce of power from the entire mist maze.
Including the life force of those caught in the process.
The resulting casualties would be beyond counting.
"This halo devours power, condenses it, and makes me stronger. The rampaging mist energy accumulated here over ages will grant me tremendous strength."
"That halo wasn't meant for such a purpose."
Dorn gestured.
Strange power gathered around him, yanking her toward him like a hand gripping her arm.
"A tool's purpose depends on how you use it."
"You think you'll achieve your goal?"
"Hmm... No way I can't handle power like this."
Luna's question carried a different meaning.
"Ah, are you referring to the master of that wraith? Leon Cascadia. I've certainly heard the rumors about him."
He gave a sly smile.
"That said, they seem a bit overhyped. To be frank... I was a little disappointed."
As if done talking, he dragged her into the rift.
"Let me make a proposal. How about joining me? I promise you immense wealth."
"I refuse."
"Hmm. Then what about the empress's position? My looks aren't bad, if I do say so myself."
Luna's eyes twitched faintly at his absurd remark.
"You knock out your fiancée like that, and the best you can say is this?"
"Lady Lilia... yes. We were originally set to marry. She has feelings for me, after all."
"A man like you..."
"But that's her feeling, not mine. Sorry, but her disposition doesn't align with my path."
At those words came the sound of something clanking as it shuffled in.
It was one of the escort knights who had guarded Lilia—the very one who had collapsed bleeding moments ago.
Thanks to Luna's healing, he had regained his senses. With extreme fury on his face, he leveled his sword at Prince Dorn.
"Dorn Lu Pascalia!!!"
"Oh dear, you're awake. I didn't think you'd recover so quickly."
Even staggering, the knight unleashed his full killing intent.
"How dare you... dare toy with the young lady like this?! She truly admired you and followed you with all her heart!!"
"Haha. But I am a prince, after all."
The instant the knight charged without hesitation.
He placed his hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist.
Slash!
Red blood sprayed everywhere as the knight's form crumbled in an instant.
"If you're too noisy, you might wake the others. Better stay quiet."
"Gurk... guk..."
His strike had come at such speed that even the moment of decapitation went unnoticed. His power was greater than expected.
Not from his own cultivation, but the product of that halo.
Luna swung her hand without hesitation, healing the fallen knight.
Ssssh...
Streams of rainbow light poured out, mending the knight's flesh.
"Hmm... Still fascinating no matter how many times I see it. To revive someone who was practically dead."
"You should know your limits. You're not qualified to wield that power."
"Haha. My contract with this halo goes back a long way."