Chapter 66: First Encounter
“It wasn’t me—” Isabelle started to explain, alarmed.
She wasn’t worried about Shaya misunderstanding, but about the fact that Bai’s mother was likely the Abyssal Lord she so revered.
In her eyes, Shaya’s words were a direct insult to the Abyssal Lord, and she was being dragged into it.
But Bai waved her hand, silencing Isabelle, then looked at Shaya, her voice low. “Regardless of what you think my identity is, I am currently responsible for the capital’s defense, and for receiving the envoy from the Abyssal Demon Realm.”
“Oh?” A smirk touched Shaya’s lips. “A demon, representing humanity, welcoming the Abyssal Demon Realm? I thought this would be a tedious negotiation, but it seems things have taken an… interesting turn.”
“And you,” Shaya’s gaze fell on Isabelle, “have you also sided with the humans, Isabelle?”
Isabelle, clearly at odds with Shaya, didn’t answer, but simply stood beside Bai, her loyalty clear.
She wasn’t on humanity’s side; she was on Bai’s side.
“It seems you’re the one who brought out this version of Isabelle, aren’t you?” Shaya’s expression turned serious, her gaze piercing, as if trying to see through Bai.
She was only a phantom image, sustained by the purity of Bai’s Vampire Demonic Rune energy.
So, she couldn’t gauge Bai’s true strength, but that didn’t diminish her wariness.
Even Shaya, with her power surpassing the Calamity Class, would find it difficult to push Isabelle to her limits.
Bai had managed to do it by taking control of Isabelle’s Shadow Realm, using her own Shadow Demon techniques to prevent her from escaping. To do that, she had to possess a stronger Shadow Demon power than Isabelle herself.
But Isabelle was the strongest of the Shadow Demons. Before Bai, that had been impossible.
Shaya, assuming Bai’s Vampire bloodline was dominant, had been contemplating how to use her own bloodline to force out the timid Isabelle.
But she hadn’t found a reliable method, which made her even more wary of Bai.
“Your name is Bai, correct?” Shaya’s scarlet eyes narrowed. “I’m very interested in you. We will meet soon enough…”
Her image faded, her voice lingering in the air. “I hope you won’t disappoint me…”
The crimson dagger fell silent.
Bai stared at it for a long time, sensing an immense, almost despairing power from Shaya, far beyond any opponent she had ever faced.
Even her fully awakened form, the one she considered too dangerous to use, might not be enough to defeat her.
Ara, who had been silent throughout the exchange, looked at the spot where Shaya had been, a dejected expression on her face.
“Ara… Ara can’t beat her… Ara can’t protect Bai…”
At full power, Ara’s strength was comparable to a weak peak Calamity Class being. She hadn’t yet fully mastered the Authorities she wielded.
Although she had gained more control since her fight with Isabelle, she still wielded her powers like a child, without the finesse of a Legendary Knight.
But she possessed the potential to surpass even the Calamity Class.
Bai pinched Ara’s cheek, her earlier tension easing, a warm smile on her face. “Ara is still little. Let Bai protect Ara.”
But her words didn’t cheer Ara up as they usually did. She clung to Bai’s side, a troubled look on her face.
Bai sighed. Even knowing Ara was likely the legendary Weapon of Vikarn, she didn’t know what she had been through to become this way.
The answers, she knew, would be revealed at the Imperial Festival, and within Vikarn.
“For now, we prepare for the festival,” Bai said, a resolute expression on her face, the image of the terrifying crimson figure flashing through her mind. “Queen Shaya… I look forward to meeting you.”
…
When Rolof returned to the Crown Guard headquarters and opened his office door, he saw an unexpected visitor.
“Hello, Commander Rolof,” Princess Lilia smiled, waving at him. Her maid, Erlya, stood beside her, her axe slung over her shoulder.
“Commander Rolof of the Crown Guard, at your service, Your Highness,” Rolof bowed formally, but as he looked up, a complex expression crossed his face, something hidden in the depths of his eyes.
He hadn’t seen Lilia since that incident, or rather, he had been avoiding her.
Her illness, Erlya’s disfigurement, his own corruption by demonic power… it was all his fault.
Even Lilia didn’t know the truth, but Rolof did. Her “illness” wasn’t an illness at all.
It was a curse, placed on her by a beastkin shaman at Emperor Ares’s request, a desperate attempt to save her life after she was corrupted by demonic power.
The curse was slowly stealing her senses. She had already lost her sense of taste and smell, and now her sight was fading.
But it was also suppressing the demonic corruption, a desperate, temporary solution.
Of course, even without knowing the details, Lilia knew her time was short.
And the forbidden magic she used to temporarily regain her strength was actually suppressing the curse, making her condition even worse.
Erlra knew. She had seen the Demonic Runes on Lilia’s collarbone at Heroes’ Rest.
If this continued, the curse would fail, and the beautiful Princess Lilia would become a grotesque Fallen Demonspawn, a fate Rolof desperately wanted to avoid.
But Rolof was puzzled. Why was Lilia here, now?
