Chapter 593: Obstruction
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 593: Obstruction
Blood-red clouds drifted across the firmament.
They seemed to have wafted in from afar, merely passing through on the wind, yet they also felt as if they had been suspended over the city from the very beginning—overlooking this great, turbulent metropolis at the heart of the storm while the others were locked in fierce combat.
But regardless of where this blood cloud came from or when it appeared, neither Adolf, with his Star-seeing Eyes, nor Professor Prang, who had filled the sky with magic arrays, had sensed its presence until the Indra King spoke.
Those blood clouds were like a mist swirling before the word "Fate," shielding all perception.
"Blood-red clouds... Could you be..."
Archbishop Canterbury’s expression shifted as if he had suddenly remembered something.
"Giggle..."
A ripple of laughter rang out.
It was a voice of enchanting beauty; the mere sound of it stirred the blood and evoked illicit desires.
The blood cloud gradually dispersed, and a shimmering silhouette emerged. It looked as though a peerless beauty was rising languidly from behind the clouds, revealing a curvaceous, alluring figure to the world.
As the clouds thinned further, the figure suddenly turned her head. At that moment, even Adolf, who usually spent his time fluttering among various "flowers," couldn't help but gasp, frozen in a daze.
This woman... is freaking hideous!
In stark contrast to her nosebleed-inducing, devilish figure was a face that looked like a thousand-year-old female corpse freshly unearthed from an ancient tomb.
Her skin was shriveled and covered in deep wrinkles; her eye sockets were sunken, and her features were mangled. Her mouth, nose, and ears appeared to have rotted away, leaving the white of bone clearly visible. Her eye sockets were empty, save for flickering crimson flames. Blood-colored worms crawled through the various orifices, and several flaps of hanging, rotten flesh swayed in the wind, seemingly emitting a nauseating stench.
"Giggle... To think the Archbishop still remembers me after only meeting once. I’m truly honored."
The figure in the blood cloud giggled, casually plucking a worm and crushing it in her mouth. Foul, stinking juices splattered. Her voice remained exquisitely seductive, but looking at that face, even the most seasoned lecher wouldn't be able to muster a single stray thought.
"Holy crap... Where the hell did you meet a 'top-tier beauty' like this?"
Adolf had somehow scurried over to Archbishop Canterbury’s side, whispering with a face full of dark gossip.
"You fool, can't you tell who she is?"
Archbishop Canterbury had no intention of joking. He said in a heavy voice, "She is of the Demon Race! One of the Eight Demon Dukes—Demon Blood Princess Alshabas!"
"The Demon Race?"
Adolf’s pupils shrank as the realization hit him. "Those people actually dare to collude with the Demon Race? Are they insane? If word of this gets out, even if the First Prince takes the throne, he’ll be condemned by every nation—even his own people... Could he really hold that seat?"
"Heh, whether they're insane or not, I don't know, but..."
Beside them, Professor Prang rubbed his silver staff and sneered. "It seems our 'wise and martial' First Prince isn't the only one who chose to collude with the Demon Race... Am I right, former Academy Head of the Kingdom’s Royal Mage Academy, Herman Sayanglo?"
Another figure emerged from the blood cloud.
It was another old man. In terms of temperament, he was quite similar to Adolf—wearing a crisp formal suit, his silver hair combed meticulously, with a flamboyant red rose pinned to his chest.
However, this old man looked more ancient than anyone else present. His exposed skin was covered in age spots, and he exuded the stagnant aura of a dying man, as if he could truly step his other foot into the coffin at any moment.
"Professor Prang must be joking."
The old man hunched his back and smiled. "This is just an old fossil with one foot in the grave, wandering around before the end. It has nothing to do with colluding with the Demon Race, and even less to do with the Kingdom."
"I was wondering how a useless old man like you—who achieved nothing in his life and whose academy was suppressed by Saint Maria Academy for a lifetime—still had the face to show up here. So, the Kingdom has already thrown you out as a discarded pawn to stir up trouble?"
Professor Prang’s eyelids lowered slightly. His solemn face betrayed no emotion, but the knuckles of the hand gripping his silver staff were white, revealing the old man’s irrepressible rage.
Originally, he had come here only to fulfill a "cub-protecting" mission for a certain Grand Magister who wished to remain anonymous. But now, seeing these two individuals who shouldn't be here appearing in Belland at such a time, he felt a sincere, roaring fury as he understood everything.
Colluding with foreign powers, and even with the Demon Race—who shared a blood feud with the Empire... Was this the Way of Kings?
Of course, since the opponent dared to show this hand, they surely had something to rely on. After tonight, there would likely be no one left to prove the connection between these two and the current First Prince...
What a calculation. To take that seat, he was willing to use every possible power. He hadn't learned a shred of a King's magnanimity, but he was a master of being utterly unscrupulous!
"It seems the trouble really is massive this time," Archbishop Canterbury sighed softly.
In reality, neither the Demon Duke Alshabas nor the Kingdom’s old Academy Head Herman could fundamentally influence the situation in Belland on their own.
One had ventured thousands of miles deep into the Empire alone and was significantly drained, while the other was a dying man meant to ensure the Kingdom could distance itself from this affair at any moment...
However, it was as if two weights had suddenly been added to the other side of a scale that had been slightly tipped in their favor...
Three-on-one had become three-on-three.
This meant the key factor that could decide everything... would be completely unleashed, with no more shackles!
"He's coming!"
Giving no chance for nostalgia or conversation, the silent Indra King erupted once more amidst the roar of ten thousand thunders!
The Nine Black Rings expanded violently. Demon-like patterns appeared on the Indra King’s iron-cast body. He muttered under his breath, chanting several strange syllables. Black characters flickered and swirled around him like the protection of a Demon God. Then, the Indra King’s figure blurred, vanishing from the spot.
He didn't use a long-range strike to suppress them with force like before. This time, the Indra King charged bodily toward his opponents, and his target was...
"Motherf—! You've really got a taste for crushing me, don't you?!"
Adolf nearly cursed out loud as he threw out a Queen of Hearts.
A majestic Queen rose from the card, her features exquisite and her expression solemn.
However, her voluminous robes suddenly fell away. Accompanied by decadent music, skin as white as mutton-fat jade was revealed bit by bit, and an alluring dance swirled within a pink mist.
Yet, the Queen remained aloof and superior. The contrast between her coldness and her sensuality, her peerless temptation, and her occasional soul-hooking glances—combined with a certain eerie power—even stirred the desires of Alshabas in the distance, causing the red light in her eye sockets to flicker.
But the Indra King didn't care. He smashed the Queen to pieces with a single punch.
"You damned old virgin! No wonder you've been single your whole life!"
Adolf shrieked, ignoring the heartache of losing his precious Queen card. He dodged frantically, then waved his hand. Infinite starlight gathered, transforming into a silver river on the ground to temporarily separate the two.
The Indra King strode forward, punch after punch, intending to tunnel straight through the silver river.
"God says, the arrogant shall fall into the abyss."
Holy Light manifested, and an abyss stretched across the Indra King’s path, blocking his way.
Archbishop Canterbury naturally couldn't sit by and watch Adolf be hunted down by the Indra King; he chose to intervene.
But before the decree borrowing the deity's power could fully form, a thick blood mist drifted from nowhere, rapidly polluting the holy radiance. The phantom of the abyss began to teeter and was shattered by the Indra King in an instant.
"Giggle... This is such an important reunion, yet the Archbishop won't even look at me. It makes my heart ache so."
Alshabas wiped away non-existent tears from the edges of her eye sockets, her tone as tender as lovers meeting after a long separation.
Except that face really made it impossible to feel any romance.
Canterbury’s expression darkened. He wisely turned to temporarily abandon his support for Adolf. Holy Light surged as a Sacred Domain Projection descended, eroding and being eroded by the endless crimson.
On the other side, Professor Prang and Herman collided. The entire sky was lit up once more as exquisite magic arrays unfolded layer upon layer. Brilliant magic clashed, and all of Belland seemed to tremble slightly amidst the booming sounds.
In both of those battles, whether it was Archbishop Canterbury or Professor Prang, they held a clear advantage. It was obvious that victory was only a matter of time.
Only on Adolf’s side was he being chased around like a cornered rat by the Indra King’s fists.
Adolf wanted to cry but had no tears. If he had known, he wouldn't have agreed to that kid's request to "rekindle an old flame." Only now did he realize what a crappy experience it was to fight an enemy like the Indra King, whose techniques and abilities almost completely countered his own.
But even a rabbit bites when cornered. Facing the relentless Indra King, Adolf gritted his teeth and secretly reached for the card hidden in his sleeve...
"Waaa..."
Just then, the sound of crying echoing from the Lower District pierced through the background noise of the battle. It grew louder, sounding remarkably clear even amidst such high-level, violent collisions.
Though loud, anyone could hear the agony contained within that cry.
A heart-wrenching... agony.
It was hard to imagine that such pain truly came from... a little girl not even ten years old.
The Indra King’s expression tightened. For the first time since the battle began, his face showed a slight change. His clouded gaze pierced through countless streets and alleys, seemingly locking onto that pitiful, weeping, tiny figure on the other side of the city.
"..."
His lips moved as if calling out a name. That indestructible heart, which even city-leveling magic couldn't shake, softened slightly at this moment.
He threw another punch, knocking Adolf back. But this time, he didn't continue his relentless pursuit. Instead, he crouched slightly and suddenly shot toward the other side of the city.
"Not good!"
Archbishop Canterbury caught this out of the corner of his eye and roared:
"Don't let him get over there, or that kid is dead!"