Volume 8, Chapter 49 – The Realm of Manipulating Fate

“Tarta… nos?”

“The Demon Lord?!”

In contrast to Yisi’s surprised, questioning murmur, the hero Lin spoke in a tone clearly mixed with tension and unease.

“How can it be the Demon Lord!”

Instead of looking up at the arrogant demon lord, Yisi chose to first look down at Lin, whom she was stepping on. On that face, which was stained with rain and dirt and could be described as bewitching, on the side of her cheeks, were the clear marks of a non-human—cyan scales. An ordinary person would probably be terrified, but she only felt a demonic allure. There were not many scales, just a few scattered ones. This inhuman feature actually made the image of her black hair and deep purple eyes even more charming, like a demon from the underworld. Of course, a beautiful demon.

Honestly, to be stepping on such a beautiful girl is really quite embarrassing.

If Lin hadn’t been standing firmly on the opposite side, and if she hadn’t really wanted to kill Alice, she wouldn’t have been so heavy-handed. Against someone with a troublesome magic like ‘Danger Sense,’ even ‘Spatial Lock’ became difficult to use—before it could be used, ‘Danger Sense’ would perceive it and remind Lin to escape. She had used ‘Spatial Lock’ on Lin before, but Lin had dodged it by jumping into the air. Therefore, only with faster and more numerous attacks could she subdue Lin. To prevent her from escaping, she could only step on her.

As for why she wanted to take the Gospel from Lin, the reason was also very simple. In the hands of the Divine Religion, a thing like the Gospel would only create tragedy. Even if they were pursuing a better outcome, she could not agree with such a means that ignored the process.

At certain times, her thoughts were the same as Pepe’s—of course, she couldn’t rule out that she was influenced by Pepe. To ignore the means to achieve an end was barbaric and base. Just as a believer who, in order to get closer to their god, bows to the secular world, from the moment they bow their head, that cleric is no longer a believer of their god. The same applied to the Divine Religion. To kill innocent people in order to save more people, no matter what their original intention and final result were, their crimes could not be washed away by this.

In addition, she also really wanted to know to what extent the Gospel could predict the future, and what exactly was going to happen. If the demon lords were the most powerful enemies in this world, then the Gospel should have been able to foresee that she would stop them from starting a war. She would do so, whether for herself, for Andrea, or for her other companions. Therefore, the Gospel had no reason to create a hero, unless it had foreseen that she would not intervene, or had sensed that due to some external force, she had become unable to intervene. But that was incredible in every sense of the word.

At this thought, Yisi bent down again and began to search Lin’s black-veiled body.

Although to emphasize amorous matters in this environment was undoubtedly to not understand the atmosphere, she still felt a sense of unease. Because Lin was struggling so much, even though she had tried her best to avoid touching some places she shouldn’t, it was still inevitable. Yisi could only be glad that it was pouring rain now, so she wouldn’t smell the perfume on Lin. Otherwise, the feeling of nervousness and anxiety would only be worse. No, she was actually very nervous and anxious now. Every time she remembered that her and Lin’s posture would be seen by outsiders, her soul felt uneasy all over, wondering if people would misunderstand that she was doing something terrible to Lin.

Of course, Yisi also understood that with her beauty, which was close to Pepe’s, it was impossible for outsiders to have any misunderstanding. No matter who came, they would only think that one person was unceremoniously searching another (and not sexually harassing her). But she just couldn’t help but feel awkward, thinking of ending it quickly, so an anxious look appeared on her face.

“Hey! Did you see that! That’s a Demon Lord! Let me go! If we don’t run, we’ll all die!”

There was an urgency in Lin’s tone, but Yisi only quickened her search. The existence of a demon lord didn’t matter. What she cared about most now was the Gospel.

Wait.

A Demon Lord?

Because her attention had been on the Gospel and her own embarrassment, Yisi hadn’t paid much attention to the demon lord, or rather, hadn’t connected the words with the meaning they represented. And now, after Lin’s reminder, Yisi suddenly came to her senses.

As if she had been hit by a gavel, Yisi was stunned for a moment.

In her memory, the childish voice from the sky, which was no different from a little girl’s, had said that her name was something something—she couldn’t remember the long string of names in front, but in any case, it was Tartaros.

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Tartaros… that bastard who had sent her a challenge, but in the end, had just come to tease her and Laxy? Deliberately putting the source of Mana into Laxy’s body, then having her go and find it, arranging a drama where she and Laxy would get to know each other, and in the end, in order to get the source of Mana, she would have to kill Laxy.

Although she had not made that choice, it was absolutely inexcusable from any angle not to teach Tartaros a lesson.

More importantly, she had sworn in her heart that she would tie her up like a bug and hang her from the city gate for public display. In addition, she would also force her to, as promised, give Evelyn her freedom. As a Pope, to lose all her magic power as soon as she left the range of the Tower of Ymir, even if Evelyn said it was fine, she would not allow such a dangerous situation to continue.

Her gaze fell on the anxious, struggling Lin. Yisi hesitated for a moment.

Should she take the Gospel first, or go after Tartaros?

She had not studied the thief class’s magic. If the Gospel had been put into a storage spell by Lin, unless she killed her, she would never be able to find it, no matter how she searched. And if she continued to waste time on Lin, and Tartaros were to notice the magic reaction from her and run away, it would be very difficult to find her again.

In other words, if the Gospel was gone, she could go directly to the Divine Religion to find it. But if she let Tartaros slip away, who knows when she would have such a chance again. Compared to understanding the illusory future, Evelyn’s freedom and teaching that bastard Tartaros a lesson were obviously more important.

No longer hesitating, Yisi moved away from Lin and let out a deliberately forceful, cold snort.

“Hmph. I’ll let you go this time.”

[Blink]

◇

“My name is Tina Alexia Tartaros! Fear my appearance, you lowly humans!”

After shouting this slogan to the ravaged earth, Tina Alexia Tartaros nodded in satisfaction. As expected, no human dared to speak out against her. They were all groaning in pain in the ruins—the houses had probably collapsed because the power of the teleportation stone was too great. Although she thought that would be very painful, it also showed the power of the Demon Lord. The dignity of the Demon Lord had not disappeared with her generation. In this way, she would be able to give an account to her mother when she returned.

Tina couldn’t help but look up at the dark clouds that covered the sky. Even though she had only been the Demon Lord for two years, she could still tell that the dark clouds above were the result of overflowing magic elements, not a natural weather change.

The raindrops, mixed with a sacred aura, are really unpleasant.

Should I show these humans my strength, for example, by making these dark clouds in the sky disappear? Humans have always feared beings stronger than them. So as long as I show enough strength, and then give them a little favor, they will worship me as a king, and I can eat and drink for free in the human world—no, enjoy the tributes, right?

Her mind couldn’t help but conjure up a scene of herself sitting on a throne covered with fairy fleece, a group of humans kneeling below, awaiting her orders. Compared to the fallen angels in the castle who were much smarter than her, these humans who did not know her true nature and were afraid of her were obviously much easier to control. No matter what she wanted, they would present it without question. Mm, just like a princess. Compared to being a Demon Lord, being a princess was much easier.

Tina couldn’t help but look at her current attire. On her body, which was as frail as an eight-year-old human child’s, she wore provocative clothes like lingerie. Although she had a loose robe on the outside, because there were no buttons on the chest, the open, half-revealing design was even more erotic.

Honestly, she had always thought that her current attire was terrible. If not for the fact that in demon aesthetics, the more provocative the clothing, the more formal it was, she would have long since changed into the white pannier skirt in her wardrobe. The cuffs, decorated with a large number of complex folds, paired with a bow ornament, a large ribbon tied at the waist, a lace skirt hem, and an exquisitely styled headband—these romantic and delicate clothes were her favorite. In a way, her aesthetic was very close to that of humans. Hetty also often said so.

Ah, I can’t wait.

I’ll show a little of my strength first and scare these humans. To not immediately kowtow to me after my descent, in Hetty’s words, they should be subjected to the most extreme punishment.

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“First, let’s get rid of these annoying dark clouds. Even with the ‘Blessing of Rain Evasion,’ it’s too annoying.”

Just as Tina raised her right hand to the sky, preparing to cast a spell, she suddenly noticed something worthy of attention. She couldn’t help but frown slightly.

The architectural style here doesn’t look like the Norta Empire.

Because it was a newly established empire, the buildings in the Norta Empire were mostly marked by being tall and new. But the city in front of her, no matter how one looked at it, had a very aged feel. The gray color was even very old, giving the illusion that this was the Royal Capital of the Hels Kingdom, Dahl City.

“How can it be the Royal Capital?” Tina waved her hand with feigned ease. “The teleportation stone in the hands of the great demon’s son fell into the hands of the Empire. I saw it clearly at the time. And Hetty also confirmed it. Mmm… just in case, I’ll search the map for now.”

[Terrain Scan – Lower]

A faint blue map, visible only to the user, appeared in front of Tina.

After reconfirming her position, Tina’s red eyes gradually widened.

“You’re kidding… This is the Royal Capital of the Hels Kingdom? How can that be? How did the teleportation stone fall into the hands of the kingdom? The Empire’s national strength is much greater than the kingdom’s. There’s no reason for this!”

Of course, this was not the worst thing. For Tina, as long as she didn’t go directly to Ouranos’s or Styx’s territory, it didn’t matter where she was teleported to. The problem was the person.

If she remembered correctly, that evil existence named Yisi Enya was also in the Royal Capital. And she had just made that high-profile declaration. Because she had used an amplification spell, she believed that everyone in the entire city could hear her announcement.

This is bad.

Maybe that person is already on her way to find me with her long spear.

Although this was a hard-won opportunity to escape from prison (referring to running out of the castle), if she were to be used as a punching bag to vent someone’s anger, she would respectfully decline. Even if this was full of misunderstandings—she also didn’t know that the Gota City labyrinth really had a source of Mana, and that it was on that angel, to the extent that Yisi Enya thought she was toying with her—but even if the misunderstanding was explained, it couldn’t change the fact that she was going to be beaten up. As a demon lord who had only been in office for two years, her strength had not yet grown enough. Not only was she no match for Ouranos, but she could only be passively beaten when facing Styx. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been so scared of a mere fallen angel, Azazel, that she wouldn’t dare to go out.

Damn it. It’s all the fault of the previous generations of demon lords. Of all things to steal, they had to steal Azazel’s beloved sword, causing the furious Azazel to block her door.

As she muttered to herself, Tina suddenly discovered that a particularly obvious red dot had appeared on the map, and it was approaching her at an incredible speed.

Tina began to check the red dot.

Yisi Enya.

A monster of unknown level.

“So fast?!”

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Not good, not good, not good.

Completely disregarding the dignity of a demon lord, Tina opened the ‘Infinite Gate,’ which could only be used once a day, preparing to escape. Compared to fleeing in a panic, being caught by Yisi Enya was the real loss of dignity. To avoid being discovered by Yisi, she had also used ‘Concealment’ magic on herself. For the first time, she felt that the casting of the ‘Infinite Gate’ was so slow.

One second.

Two seconds.

Three seconds.

As long as she counted to seven, the ‘Infinite Gate’ would open, and she would be able to safely return to the castle.

However, the red dot on the map had already arrived in front of her. Not even daring to confirm where Yisi was, Tina held her breath and carefully swallowed.

“…I’ve used ‘Concealment.’ She shouldn’t be able to see me, right?”

Although ‘Concealment’ wouldn’t make her a ghost, truly invisible and intangible, as long as she remained motionless, whether by observing with the naked eye or using magical detection, even Ouranos couldn’t find her. She should be safe.

With this thought, Tina began to slowly turn her neck and eyes, searching for the red dot that was overlapping with her. Then, she soon saw Yisi.

A girl holding Gungnir, drenched in rain. But what made Tina’s heart skip a beat was that, although she had used ‘Concealment’ and the other party shouldn’t be able to see her, Yisi was staring right at her position. If one were to observe carefully, one could even see a hint of confusion and suspicion in her blue eyes.

Did she see me?

Even Ouranos couldn’t find me. How could Yisi Enya be stronger than Ouranos?

Then, with an incredulous expression, Yisi pointed at where Tina was, then at the dark clouds above. Tina subconsciously followed her gesture and looked up. Then, an incomparably shameful and indignant emotion exploded in Tina’s mind. Like having one’s dark history read out in public, a blush spread from Tina’s neck to the tips of her ears. Even her shoulders were tinged with pink due to her racing heart.

The ‘Blessing of Rain Evasion’ had exposed her.

The ‘Blessing of Rain Evasion’ would make the raindrops slide to the sides without falling on her. In Yisi’s eyes, a patch of rainless space had appeared in the pouring sky. It was self-evident what was there.

The reason Yisi Enya was looking at her with an incredulous gaze was not only because she had discovered her, but also because she thought she was hopelessly stupid.

Honestly, she also felt that she was hopelessly stupid.

But having self-awareness and being pointed out by others were two different things. In her shame and indignation, Tina almost dispelled ‘Concealment’ and stood out to teach Yisi a lesson.

Of course, she still held back.

In just two more seconds, she could open the ‘Infinite Gate’ and go home.

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However.

“If you’re thinking of using a teleportation spell to slip away, I’ve already sealed off this space. Just come back with me obediently.”

‘Infinite Gate’ is a magic that can ignore spatial lockdowns. Even she, a demon lord, could only use it once a day. This woman was underestimating her too much.

In just one more second, victory was at hand.

As if she could see the demon lord’s castle beckoning to her, in order to laugh at Yisi’s failure, her shame and indignation made Tina unable to resist retorting.

“In your dreams!”

“Got you.”

Like a ghost that suddenly appears behind the protagonist in a horror movie, by the time Tina reacted, the owner of the voice had already appeared behind her. She could even feel a tug on her loose robe.

This is bad.

The other party had used words to trick her into revealing her position. The Yisi just now had only discovered the strange, rainless spot in the sky and had not confirmed that she was here. And now, if she were to continue to activate ‘Infinite Gate,’ there would only be one outcome—to take Yisi back to the demon lord’s castle with her.

This was simply too terrible.

If she were to be defeated at home, it would not only be a true case of being disgraced in her own house, but even her treasures would be confiscated.

Rather than that, I’d rather fight this woman.

A fierce light gradually appeared in her crimson eyes. Tina gathered her courage. Even a cornered slime will bite, let alone her, a demon lord over level one hundred. Even Ouranos had said that when she used her full strength, he was not guaranteed to win.

Damn it, I’ll make you regret this.

Gritting her teeth fiercely, Tina abruptly broke free from Yisi’s grip, dispelled ‘Concealment,’ turned around to create distance from Yisi, and raised her right hand to the sky, making a forceful grasping motion, as if to tear the sky down.

A cruel look appeared on her cute face.

“This was originally a gift for Styx, but today, I will make you the first test subject. Submit to me! 『 Realm of Manipulating Fate 』！”

A powerful barrier that could turn a designated target within its domain to the same level as oneself, reversing cause and effect, and changing the laws.