Volume 7, Chapter 1 – An Invitation from the Demon Lord

The long winter had finally come to an end. Although a hint of bleakness still lingered in the air, the snow on the rooftops and streets was gone. As far as the eye could see, besides the white, church-style buildings, there was only the earth, blackened by the moisture. The mountains and forests were filled with withered, lifeless trees, a scene waiting for the arrival of spring.

When the sun reached its eight o’clock position, Yisi’s group, having woken up early for the occasion, appeared on the outskirts of the city. With them was a box carriage provided by Evelyn, lavishly decorated—the type that announced its occupants were wealthy at a glance.

“I wanted to take this chance to tour the southern territories of the Ymir Church while seeing you off, but there just wasn’t enough time to make the arrangements. I can only take you this far.”

Ignoring the paladins following behind her, Evelyn, holding a Divine Cross Staff, spread her hands helplessly.

Standing by the carriage, Yisi offered a wry smile in return. Except for Refina, who knew how to drive, the rest of their companions were already inside the carriage. Tiffany, in particular, was catching up on sleep after being forcefully dragged out of bed by Mary.

“It’s better that you didn’t come with us. It’s best if you minimize your time away from the Tower of Ymir, Evelyn.”

“Tch, how is that any different from house arrest? I’m not the kind of woman to be defeated by a little difficulty like this. I’ll complete my tour within the next year. If you’re still in the Norta Empire then, Yisi, I might take the opportunity to visit the Xilu Diocese in the south.”

“Don’t force yourself. We won’t be staying in one place for too long. Besides, I plan to gather rumors about the Tower of Alexia while looking for the Child of Fortune. If I find any information on the Heart of Ymir, I’ll come back and tell you immediately.”

To reassure Evelyn, Yisi gave a playful wink.

“Immediately, huh…” Recalling how Yisi could move freely through the church with Andrea, a look of indescribable complexity crossed Evelyn’s face. “Just how strong are you? When you left the fifth floor, Julius was still a coherent lunatic. After just one night, he was reduced to a man who could only mutter, ‘[We have betrayed God]’ and ‘[This is God’s punishment].’ You were definitely involved.”

Widening her blue eyes innocently, Yisi tilted her head in puzzlement.

“Well, maybe it’s as you said, Evelyn. Julius was possessed by a demon, and that’s why he became so unstable?”

“Don’t give me that. You know perfectly well I just made that accusation up. It’s obvious you did something to him. The ‘God’ he’s talking about must be you.”

I should have used magic to seal Julius’s mouth shut.

Yisi guiltily averted her gaze. As if sensing her predicament, Evelyn didn’t press further, letting out a helpless sigh.

“Well, it’s enough to know that you’re strong. You even defeated Julius. I suppose as long as you don’t get a sudden whim to go looking for where a Demon Lord lives, I shouldn’t have to worry about your safety. I hope you’re not missing any arms or legs the next time I see you. Otherwise, I promise I’ll keep you locked up in the Ymir Church.”

“Can’t you just heal it with [Heal]?”

“I said I’d keep you here, so how could I possibly heal you? But seeing your pitiful state, I suppose I could heal you just a tiny bit each day with [Heal]—the kind that would take a decade to fully recover. Just to give you a little hope.”

You devil…

As if bored by this kind of joke, or perhaps irritated by something else, Evelyn clicked her tongue. She first swept the silver hair that had fallen across her forehead back, then waved her hand as if shooing away a fly.

“Haaah, enough with the silly jokes. If you’re going to leave, then go. Stop annoying me. You’ve read the documents I gave you, right?”

“Yes, I’ve read them all.”

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The documents Evelyn referred to contained intelligence on the Demon Lords. While she and Evelyn were taking inventory of the treasures in the library, they had accidentally found a journal belonging to Julius. In addition to a large amount of experimental data, it also contained Julius’s speculations about the existence of the Demon Lords.

According to Julius, the three Demon Lords of the continent—Ouranos, Lord of the Sky; Styx, Master of the Ocean; and Tartaros, the Earthen Demon Lord—were hostile to one another, yet for some reason, had never engaged in direct conflict. This was all information Yisi already knew.

What intrigued Yisi were some of Julius’s later conjectures.

For instance, why had the three Demon Lords, despite their mutual hostility, never truly gone to war?

Julius speculated that there was a more powerful entity, something formidable enough to make all three Demon Lords fearful. It was this entity that restrained them. Either it had established rules forbidding them from fighting each other under penalty of annihilation, or if their numbers were reduced through infighting, the remaining Demon Lords would be unable to cooperate to resist this entity, and all three would perish together.

This coincided with Yisi’s own past theories.

Of course, that wasn’t Julius’s only hypothesis. He also offered another line of thought: each Demon Lord possessed magic powerful enough to destroy the entire world. If one of them were pushed into a corner, they could drag the whole world down with them. That was why they avoided direct conflict. This was also something for Yisi to be wary of, but she didn’t dwell on it. If she let such possibilities make her timid when facing a real threat from a Demon Lord, she wouldn’t be able to defeat an enemy that she otherwise could.

In addition, Julius also explained another matter he had mentioned before.

During Yisi’s first negotiation with Julius, he had described the war between the Blood Clan and humanity in detail. At the end of that conversation, Julius had said, “Now that we no longer have the demons’ protection, once the Blood Clan regains its strength, humanity will not have a chance to survive.” At the time, Yisi had asked what he meant by “the demons’ protection,” but Julius had replied that he would only tell her if she joined the church. Later, busy with the task of making Evelyn the new pope, Yisi had temporarily forgotten about it until she saw the journal.

Julius’s explanation of “the demons’ protection” was quite nuanced.

The so-called protection referred to the demons secretly maintaining a balance of power on the continent. For example, Ouranos, the Demon Lord controlling the continent’s north, would send its minions to appear behind the Blood Clan’s lines whenever they were about to attack humans, stalling their advance.

Julius gave two examples.

First, during the final stages of the war between humans and the Blood Clan, humanity was in a precarious position, and the combined front was on the verge of collapse at any moment. At this juncture, the Tower of Alexia appeared along with the Demon Lords. The tower helped humanity solidify its defenses, while the Demon Lords caused trouble in the rear. As a result, the war quickly ended, and the borders between the Blood Clan and humanity were redrawn.

Second was the death of Alvier VI.

Although the direct cause of Alvier VI’s death was a noble rebellion, the root cause was the appearance of a demon army led by the Fallen Angel Camael in the Blood Clan’s Astrid Territory. Alvier VI was said to be the closest in power to the first queen, and under his rule, the Blood Clan possessed the most formidable army on the continent. If Alvier VI had concentrated his forces at that time and launched an all-out attack on humanity, humans would have likely faced another crisis. Camael’s appearance at that specific moment perfectly fit Julius’s theory that “demons balance the continent’s power.”

Of course, with too few examples and no historical instances of demons intervening when humanity was stronger than the Blood Clan, Julius’s theory couldn’t be substantiated. It could only be treated as speculation. Yisi simply found it an interesting idea and didn’t take it too seriously.

Evelyn shrugged.

“So? What are your thoughts?”

“It’s very interesting.”

Yisi took Julius’s journal from her inventory and handed it to Evelyn, who accepted it without ceremony.

“I knew it. You think it’s unrealistic too. That old fossil must have gone senile from living too long. By the way, I prepared some gifts for you. You should be able to use them.”

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As she spoke, Evelyn beckoned to someone behind her.

Two nuns walked forward carrying a silver tray lined with red velvet. Evelyn picked up the items on it and placed them in Yisi’s hands one by one. Among them were a personal letter from Evelyn, a total of seven translation pendants, a red robe that looked very expensive, a Divine Staff and crown symbolizing the rank of cardinal, and something that made Yisi smile.

“Gem coins? Three of them?”

“This one is what I owe you. I lost the gem coin Andrea gave you at the magic scroll shop.” Evelyn placed the first gem coin in Yisi’s hand, then grabbed the other two and unceremoniously pressed them into her palm. “These are from me, personally.”

“Is this the money you’ve been saving up for a long time, Evelyn?”

“Hmph.”

No denial. That means I guessed right.

Evelyn had started saving money ever since she became the successor to the pope, preparing for her eventual escape. Yisi remembered Evelyn saying that her entire fortune added up to only about two gem coins.

Although Evelyn no longer lacked money after becoming pope, this gem coin meant more than its monetary value.

Feeling as though she had received something truly precious, Yisi carefully clutched the three gem coins in her palm.

“I’ll treasure them. But why give them to me? I didn’t accept the request to help you escape the Ymir territory.”

Evelyn’s eyebrows shot up in displeasure, and she crossed her arms angrily.

“Hey, hey, hey… Isn’t making me the pope a much bigger favor than helping me escape? Why do you think I exchanged all the treasure I’d been saving for so long for gem coins? I never thought I could take down Julius on my own. To be honest, I thought for a long time about what to give you to express my gratitude. In the end, I decided that instead of giving you some luxury item you’d never use, it would be more meaningful to give you something I couldn’t bear to part with. Well, this is probably the last time I’ll be visiting a pawnshop.”

“Then I think you’ve achieved your goal, Evelyn. This gift is truly priceless.”

A weight lifted from her heart, and a smile appeared on Evelyn’s face. Then, for some unknown reason, she quickly composed herself and turned away.

“I’m glad you’re satisfied. Just don’t lose them like the one Andrea gave you.” As if remembering something, Evelyn took another gem coin from her pocket and placed it in Yisi’s hand. “Take this. I don’t think you’re short on gold, but use this if you ever need it. You are not allowed to spend the gem coins I gave you.”

“Yes, yes. Don’t worry. I’ll die before I let the gem coins you gave me fall into someone else’s hands.”

Yisi pushed the fourth gem coin back to Evelyn with a wry smile.

Evelyn raised an eyebrow in a very girlish manner, her rosy lips pouting slightly.

“It’s not something you need to protect with your life. If you really find yourself in a situation where you’ll die if you don’t hand them over, then use the ones I gave you. I haven’t learned resurrection magic yet, and I don’t want to see your corpse—though I suspect by the time I saw your corpse, it would be too late for resurrection magic anyway.”

She was clearly concerned, yet she deliberately phrased it so cryptically. She could be quite cute sometimes.

“…That’s one more than Andrea gave you.”

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Faintly, Yisi heard Evelyn say something outrageous.

“Hey, hey, I got this gem coin from Andrea in an exchange! Andrea is very frugal. How could I, against my conscience, just take things from her for free?”

“But the way Andrea acted that day, it was like she wanted to give you the entire kingdom.”

“Uhm… well, that did happen…” Both troubled and embarrassed, Yisi looked away from Evelyn, her fingers unconsciously twirling the ends of her silver hair. “But how someone acts and reality are two different things. Didn’t I tell you? I have no talent for politics. I could never govern a country.”

“Haaah, forget it. It’s not like I’m trying to compete. If we keep talking, it’ll be noon. Stop dawdling and get going.”

But Evelyn was the one who kept holding me back.

Yisi didn’t point this out. At Evelyn’s urging, she boarded the carriage, taking the seat next to Refina.

The veiled Refina asked with a smile.

“Miss Yisi, are we ready to go?”

“Yes, let’s go.” Yisi nodded to Refina, then stored the Divine Staff and red robe Evelyn had given her into her inventory. She turned her head and waved at Evelyn. “I’ll write to you when I get to the Norta Empire!”

“Don’t forget to send local specialties!”

That Evelyn, can’t she say something more fitting for a farewell scene?

But this was more like her. If she had been like Andrea, standing on the castle’s edge watching me leave with longing eyes, I think my heart would have broken.

However.

Just as the carriage began to move, an unforeseen gust of hot wind washed over everyone present—it was a massive fluctuation of magical power.

In an instant, Yisi straightened up, entering a state of alert. The paladins around Evelyn immediately formed a protective circle, their eyes scanning for the source of the magical disturbance.

It was a pitch-black void, about the height of two people in diameter, looking like a gate to hell.

Yisi had seen this black hole twice before. This was the third time.

Tartaros, the Earthen Demon Lord.

Countless withered, branch-like arms emerged from the void. If this were an inescapable underground space, it would have been a terrifying scene enough to make one scream. But it was a bright, sunny morning, which lessened the sense of horror.

The black arms initially reached straight for Evelyn. But when they were still ten meters away, they suddenly lost interest, like a cat that had eagerly run towards the smell of food only to find it was a hard, dry piece of excrement after a lick. The countless arms abruptly changed direction mid-air, heading towards Yisi in the passenger seat.

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To avoid harming her companions, Yisi first pushed Refina into the carriage, then leaped to an open space far from the vehicle. When the black arms were only two meters away, she aimed her palm at them.

“One more step and I’ll act.”

“…”

In an instant, the black arms froze. Though they still waved menacingly, they didn’t advance another inch.

If I hadn’t met them twice before, and if they hadn’t only taken Sandra without causing any other harm, I would have already severed these arms at their roots. But because of the previous two encounters, I felt they might not have malicious intent this time, so I didn’t attack without warning. It seemed now that they weren’t trying to attack me after all.

Tilting her head, and considering that the arms might be the Demon Lord Tartaros himself, Yisi used an appraisal spell on them. The result showed that this was a type of magic called ‘Spatial String,’ not the Demon Lord’s actual body.

I might as well ask.

“Is there something you need?”

After a long silence, the black hole from which the arms extended finally offered a reply. A girl with orange hair cut in a hime style, dressed revealingly with a youthful energy, and appearing to be only eight or nine years old in human terms, stepped out of the void.

The Fallen Angel, Sandra.

Like a goddess descended from the divine realm, Sandra emerged slowly from the black hole with her eyes closed, her entire body enveloped in a sacred, inviolable chill. With every step, the bracelets and anklets made of crimson gold chimed like wind chimes. Anyone who witnessed such a scene would assume this was someone unapproachable, with a mental age far exceeding her appearance.

However, this impression was shattered the moment Sandra opened her eyes.

Opening her orange eyes, Sandra glanced around. Upon spotting Yisi, her eyes lit up with the same eager glow a child would have upon seeing ice cream.

“Big Sis—!”

As if knowing what Sandra was about to say, a black arm suddenly clapped down on her shoulder. Sandra herself stiffened as if a gun were pressed to her head, her expression turning rigid.

To cover her embarrassment, Sandra coughed twice.

“Ahem, ahem! I am the Fallen Angel Sandra, in service to the great Earthen Demon Lord, Lord Tartaros. I have come today for one purpose only.”

“Demon Lord? A Fallen Angel?!”

One of the paladins beside Evelyn cried out in alarm, a layer of fine sweat beading on his forehead. In common knowledge, a Fallen Angel was an existence more powerful than an adult dragon; something to turn and flee from on sight.

Ignoring the exclamation, Sandra pulled a letter from her unremarkable chest—for a moment, Yisi felt that being flat had its advantages; at least the letter wouldn’t be creased or bent.

“This is the invitation my master has instructed me to deliver to Big Sis—ouch ouch…” A pained expression flashed across Sandra’s face, and she quickly corrected herself. “This is the invitation my master has instructed me to deliver to Y-Yisi. If you wish to know the way to break the curse, then follow my master’s will and challenge the limits that mortals cannot surpass. At that time, as a reward for overcoming the hardship, my master shall grant Evelyn Anna Ymir Shalu her freedom and tell you everything you wish to know.”