Chapter 71: Western Fantasy Romance (XIII)

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Chapter 71: Western Fantasy Romance (XIII)

As one of the Kedor Continent’s forbidden zones, the Dark Marsh was the place the Holy Church detested most. It always appeared without warning, and each time it did, it brought forth those who had been corrupted, not only humans but also the magic beasts native to the Foken Desert. Once corrupted, those beasts became far stronger than ordinary magic beasts. Driven solely by the instinct to kill, they fought without any regard for their own lives.

In contrast, the Dark Marsh was the place most favored by the Dark Church. Although its members would never risk entering the marsh itself and losing their sanity, they could search the surrounding area for items carried out by corrupted humans or magic beasts. Such objects, saturated with dark elements, were invaluable materials to them, whether for magical arrays or for cultivation.

Thus, every appearance of the Dark Marsh became another contest between the Holy Church and the Dark Church. One side sought to purify the creatures corrupted by darkness, while the other sought to claim them for its own ranks. The mindless corrupted were especially prized by necromancers. Without intelligence, they offered no resistance, making them ideal materials for creating undead puppets. The demonic aura permeating their bodies only made those creations even more formidable.

This time, however, the Dark Church’s arrival was different. Both sides behaved as though the other did not exist, completely ignoring one another. The uneasy calm carried the unmistakable feeling that a storm was about to break.

Standing on the second floor, Areya gazed toward the increasingly prominent cloud of darkness in the distance. She was still puzzled by the Pope’s order forbidding the Holy Church from stopping anyone from entering the Dark Marsh. She knew the Divine King was currently on the Kedor Continent, but that did not mean the corrupted could no longer inflict suffering upon the people. Even stranger, the Dark Church had made no attempt to sneak into the marsh either. Could it be because they had learned that the Pope was here?

Taking a deep breath, Areya smiled faintly. The Pope’s thoughts had never been something she could hope to understand. All she wished for was to remain by his side. A staff appeared in her hand. Compared to her current rank as an Archmage, it was nothing more than a beginner’s wand, something that should have been discarded long ago. Yet she had treasured it all this time because it had been personally given to her by Aesop Leslie. Even knowing that those memories belonged to her alone, she could not bring herself to let it go.

By chance, she glanced downward and met a pair of obsidian-black eyes. The icy chill within them, along with the faint trace of crimson beneath the darkness, sent an involuntary shiver through her. Almost instinctively, Areya tightened her grip on the staff. ‘That person… is one of the corrupted? Had someone already entered the Dark Marsh?’

Turning to leave to inform the Pope of what she had seen, Areya found herself unable to move even an inch. She could only stand there and watch as the man in black entered the inn. Only then did the oppressive pressure ease slightly. That was when she realized her clothes were drenched in cold sweat. Not even Pope Aesop had ever exerted such pressure on her. It had even felt somewhat like the Divine King’s. ‘How could that be…? The Divine King…’

Areya forcibly suppressed her racing thoughts. Looking up again, she finally noticed the person following closely behind the man in black. It was Caelric Gerald, the prince of the Mante Empire who had been missing for over two months. Why was he here? More importantly, why was he with someone who appeared to have fallen to demonic corruption? Had the Mante Empire become entangled with the Dark Church? Areya hurried to Aesop’s room. Stopping outside the door, she knocked respectfully, but no answer came even after a long while.

Then an icy aura seeped out from within the room, carrying unmistakable hostility. Instinctively, she pushed the door open. Inside, the Divine King rested a hand atop Miao Lichen’s, their intertwined powers withdrawing in an instant. The light filling the room gradually faded. Standing before them were the very two people she had seen downstairs.

Miao Lichen glanced at Areya and waved a hand. She could only bow and quietly withdraw.

Miao Lichen’s gaze swept over Servius Joy. The Demon King had now fully regained his complete form. Merely standing there, he radiated an overwhelming presence that could not be ignored. It reminded Miao Lichen of the first time he had met Sathalia—a presence entirely unconcealed. His gaze then shifted to Caelric’s familiar smiling face. “Prince Caelric, it’s been a long time. Arthur…”

“Your Holiness, you already guessed, didn’t you?” Caelric Gerald paused briefly, then leaned back against an empty chaise lounge, his smile growing more genuine. For reasons even he could not quite explain, he continued, “Arthur’s true name is Servius Joy. Before my reincarnation, my name was Caelir Andreas.”

“What has happened on the Kedor Continent to bring the two of you here?” Miao Lichen met Servius’s gaze. It was as cold as ever. Perhaps because he had fully matured, the last traces of youthful innocence were gone. What remained was the bearing of a true Demon King. If it had to be described in one phrase, it was the presence of a sovereign. Though there was still a faint familiarity about him, it was overshadowed by unfamiliarity. More than that, the name Servius Joy represented the ruler of the Demon Realm, one whose body was steeped in the darkness Aesop Leslie despised most.

“If there has truly been any major event, it would only be that Servius responded to the Dark Church’s summoning and descended upon the Kedor Continent. It seems, however, that the Holy Church’s interference caused something to go wrong, so the form in which he descended was not his complete one, but an ‘infant form’ never before seen among the ancient gods.” Sathalia showed no hostility whatsoever toward the two of them. The curve of his smile did not change in the slightest, and a trace of satisfaction flickered almost imperceptibly in his eyes.

Aesop Leslie was the Pope of the Holy Church. He held not the slightest faith in Sathalia himself, which only proved how sincere his faith in the power of light truly was. And the more complete Servius became, the denser the darkness within him grew, making it all the more impossible for Aesop to accept him. Let alone accept him as his own. What could a demon’s mark possibly signify? If demons had marks, did the celestial not have them as well? The celestial mark was far more beautiful than a demon’s.

‘Only…’ Sathalia narrowed his eyes slightly. He did not possess such overwhelming possessiveness toward Aesop, so there was no reason for him to place the Divine King’s mark upon him. That meant that, in this regard, he was unquestionably at a disadvantage. A flicker of displeasure rose within Sathalia, but he suppressed it well. On the surface, he still wore that compassionate smile.

“Which is why there was Arthur.” Miao Lichen’s tone did not waver in the slightest. He rose to his feet and walked over to Servius, resting a hand on his shoulder. Servius did not resist in the least, allowing Miao Lichen’s power to enter his body. Light and darkness could never truly merge. If one’s own body became the battlefield for their clash, only the person enduring it could know the suffering involved. Though perhaps there could be an exception.

Within Servius’s body, Miao Lichen found the power of light. It was faint, yet impossible to ignore. Though teetering on the brink of being consumed by darkness, it endured with unwavering resolve. A Demon King who possessed the power of light was a feat that defied the Laws themselves. Precisely because of that trace of light, Miao Lichen’s power entered Servius’s body without the slightest rejection, let alone the violent reaction one might expect from water poured into boiling oil.

The instant Miao Lichen withdrew his hand, Servius wrapped an arm around him, just as he had done countless times when he was still the little Arthur. Only now, not a trace of childishness remained. All that was left was an unyielding possessiveness. “Aesop Leslie, I’ve come back.” ‘So the only person who could remain by your side was me.’

Servius narrowed his eyes slightly. He had not forgotten that what Aesopn had promised was only a temporary separation, never abandonment. Once the Holy Church was no longer in danger, he would be allowed to return to his side. Now he was complete, a complete being no longer bound by the Laws themselves. The Divine King no longer posed any threat to him, and the humans of the Holy Church were even less worthy of his notice.

“You are not Arthur.” Miao Lichen met Servius’s gaze. Every promise he had made had been to the child called Arthur, not to the Demon King named Servius Joy. His eyes narrowed slightly, concealing his emotions, yet the subtle motion of pushing him away was enough to show his rejection of the aura of darkness. It was rejection, not hatred. A being who should have belonged solely to the darkness had accepted the light because of him. What right did he have to hate him? If the beginning between them had been built upon deception, then his own use of Arthur had hardly been sincere either.

“Servius, Aesop is the Holy Church’s representative in the mortal world for us gods. If I remember correctly, you’ve studied the Holy Church’s scriptures.” Sathalia interjected at just the right moment. The lifespan of a god was far too long; one had to find things to occupy the time. Besides endlessly strengthening their own power, the ancient gods naturally knew something about one another. Just as he had read the scriptures of the Dark Church, Servius had also studied those of the Holy Church.

The very first requirement the Holy Church imposed upon its followers was made perfectly clear: devotion to the light and rejection of darkness. So he should not expect to claim him. Aesop belonged to the Holy Church. ‘He belonged to Sathalia, the Divine King of Light.’

Sathalia’s body stiffened slightly. Belonged to him? When had he ever begun thinking that way? Since when had the Divine King lacked loyal followers? To harbor such thoughts over a mere mortal was laughable. Even if that mortal was extraordinarily gifted, even if he wished for Aesop to become the first person to break through to the Divine rank. If he truly wanted Miao Lichen to belong to him, would he really begrudge him a celestial mark? It was probably only because of Servius that he had fallen under such an illusion. The hostility between light and darkness truly was powerful.

∇ Capture Target Sathalia Campbell Favorability: 65.

“How do the Holy Church’s scriptures compare to the Laws themselves?” Servius tightened his embrace around Aesop and rested his head against his shoulder. The mingling of their breaths made the aura around him unusually tranquil. Demons were not meant to wield the power of light. That was a Law engraved into existence itself. But he, as the Demon King, could. If even that could be broken, then what else was impossible? Aesop was his, not merely as a subordinate, nor simply as a possession. Even he did not yet know exactly what that bond truly was…

∇ Capture Target Servius Joy Favorability: 70.

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