“Your meaning is that each seal represents a different Demon King?”
The Defender was a tall, thin man who wore gold-rimmed glasses and exuded an air of arrogance.
He doubted the Great Sage’s words.
The Great Sage shook her head. “Each seal is of the same Demon King. The Demon King’s goal is to devour this world. In the end, the entire continent will become the demons’ territory, and we humans will have no place to survive.”
At that moment, the squad member known as [Crimson Lotus] stepped forward. She had a petite figure, with wavy dark red hair and a small bow tied on her head. The sleeves of her dress extended far beyond her delicate arms.
“That doesn’t make sense. How could eight Demon Kings be the same one? Then, during the time the Demon King was sealed, how did the second and third Demon Kings appear?”
The Great Sage widened her eyes.
“That was the work of the successive Saintesses. They used their pure bodies to seal the Demon King, only to tragically die at the evil Demon King’s hands in the end.”
“Does that mean Avira is in danger?!” the Thief said anxiously.
The cute and pitiful Saintess is in constant danger. If the Demon King finds her, everything will be too late. We must take her back; otherwise, the Demon King will take everything from us with impunity.
As she spoke, the Great Sage’s eyes turned to Maryvian. She placed her hand on Maryvian’s face and gently pinched her beautiful cheek.
“Maryvian, my cute little one, can you tell me where the Saintess is? The Emperor God will forgive you.”
One day earlier, while carrying out the Demon King’s mission, she had killed a priest once again.
Maryvian merely sneered coldly. “She’s hiding in a place you’ll never know, and you’re just after Avira’s power anyway, you damned thing.”
Maryvian had intended to provoke the Great Sage with those words, but unexpectedly, the Great Sage shoved her hard, sending her crashing heavily to the ground.
Maryvian let out a miserable cry. She knew something in her body had fractured.
Yet, even after venting her anger on Maryvian, the Great Sage feigned ignorance and smiled.
“Oh dear, Defender, how could you be so careless? Though Miss Maryvian was a bit excessive, you didn’t have to treat her like that~”
The Defender had wanted to beat her up anyway.
After all, before the Hero appeared, this Maryvian had personally rejected his marriage proposal in front of so many people! For someone of his status as a duke’s son, it was nothing short of trampling on his dignity and insulting him.
The Great Sage’s words suited him perfectly.
The Defender stepped forward, grabbed Maryvian’s clothes, lifted her up, and then stomped on her back.
“Cough, cough.”
Maryvian closed her eyes in despair.
Yes, Avira had experienced this feeling before.
Publicly humiliated, cursed, tortured, while those who should have been her kin watched coldly from the sidelines.
And now, she was merely repaying her own debts.
The man stomped ruthlessly on her neck, his smile growing more manic, as if he were savoring the pleasure of this abuse. The other members of the Hero Squad closed their eyes and prayed silently. They couldn’t bear such bloody scenes and could only keep telling themselves that he was merely punishing an evil follower.
“Heh heh heh, a woman like you deserves to be… Ah!!”
Suddenly, the man felt a chill in his arm, and blood sprayed everywhere.
His arm had vanished into thin air! His right hand was gone, leaving only a neat cross-section and tattered clothing!
He looked down in shock and discovered that Maryvian was also missing.
At the same time, everyone turned toward the church’s main door.
A golden-haired woman crouched slightly and gently placed the barely breathing Maryvian on the ground.
“If you can move, then hurry and escape. Outside the forest is my Knight Order,” she whispered to Maryvian, then patted her head, stood up with her sword in hand. If glares could kill, she would have diced the Great Sage into a thousand pieces.
“Catherine, you bastard!” The Defender’s eyes bulged with bloodshot fury. His ability was enough to stop the bleeding, but it still hurt so much that he rolled on the ground.
“Really, just as Avira said, you lot are the true evil.”
“Miss Sword Saint, the legendary girl, are you sure you want to oppose the Holy Church?”
The Great Sage still wore that sweet smile.
“Great Sage, do you think the Holy Church exists for you? Reflect on your own sins on the trial stand.”
But suddenly, a swift arrow shot from the rear, heading straight for Maryvian!
The staff of the Oleniya Cardinal, who had been prepared for some time, tapped the ground lightly. The ground beneath Catherine’s feet collapsed instantly, turning into a deep pit.
Seeing this, Catherine had no choice but to scoop up Maryvian and leap away, only to be struck in the shoulder by another hidden arrow!
“Urgh!”
If it had been an ordinary arrow, she could have deflected it with the magic power in her body alone!
She turned her head and saw that the one who had shot her was a familiar face.
“Vice Captain?! You…!”
Catherine gritted her teeth in disbelief. The attacker was none other than one of her right-hand subordinates from the Catherine Knight Order, who had suddenly appeared at the door!
“I’m sorry, Lady Catherine Sword Saint. I too believe that you should remain only in legends.”
The Knight Order had betrayed her.
—
“You say Avira wants to act alone?”
The long night stretched on, with cold winds howling.
Ophitia led the Evil Demon Army, preparing to advance north under the cover of darkness.
But before setting out, Atia found her and reported on Avira’s situation.
As per their agreement, Atia would protect Avira and relay all her matters to the Demon King.
“Yes, it’s absolutely true. Avira told me she wants to go find the Great Sage herself! And she told us to protect you!”
“Mm…”
Ophitia fell into thought.
No wonder Avira wasn’t around. That morning, she had prepared breakfast and then left.
Of course, Ophitia wanted to win. Without her, if the Evil Demon Army was ambushed, it would be disastrous. They could rely on agility and mobility to escape, but that would defeat the purpose entirely.
However, the thought of Avira heading alone into danger made Ophitia’s heart pound fiercely!
Atia had originally thought Ophitia wouldn’t abandon the plan and figured she could go with Selin to find Avira and protect her secretly. It might serve some purpose. She and Selin weren’t a match for the Great Sage, but both were Silver Rank powerhouses.
Moreover, as a king, she should have a good grasp of the big picture and wouldn’t abandon the army to chase after her lover.
A wise ruler must separate love from duty, and she and Selin could handle these matters.
But in her urgency, Ophitia said:
“You and Berika lead the Evil Demon Army. Try to find a way to break the Great Sage’s necromantic magic.”
“Eh?” Atia was at a loss. By the time she reacted, the Demon King had already spread her wings and flown into the sky.
“I want Avira right now.”
Good on Catherine!