“Catherine, you’re just an ordinary human. Unlike the demon race, you’ll age, fall ill, and grow ugly. But if you become one of my undead, you’ll remain youthful forever.”
The Great Sage pulled out the golden dagger hidden at her waist.
The souls of those killed by this dagger would be bound to their bodies. As long as the body remained intact, the soul would not dissipate. This was the ritual dagger for necromancy.
“Ahh, I know. You can’t feel it right now~ You must have known long ago that I needed your body, yet you deliberately came to me.”
The Great Sage walked behind Catherine. Just as she aimed the dagger at Catherine’s heart, with the blade mere millimeters from her flawless back—
Boom—!
The door to the secret chamber collapsed with a thunderous crash.
A woman flew in, interrupting the Great Sage’s spell. Her figure slammed into the wall, letting out a pained whimper before collapsing unconscious on the ground.
The Thief.
A member of the Hero Squad.
She had been guarding the prison hall, but now it seemed she had been struck and sent flying with a single blow. If not for the protective magic the Great Sage had given her in advance, she would have been shattered to pieces.
“What a useless fool.”
In the next instant, silver feathers shot through the air like darts at speeds imperceptible to the naked eye. The Great Sage dodged to the side but still grazed her shoulder. In the blink of an eye, Avira’s figure followed close behind.
The silver feathers transformed into a sword. Avira’s eyes were sharp as she burst out of the smoke, her blade precisely piercing the Great Sage’s body as she charged toward the already crumbling wall.
Bang—!
The secret chamber’s wall completely collapsed. The opposite wall lost all support and came crashing down as well. The entire building shook precariously, and the Great Sage was blasted away by the shockwave.
Avira stood behind Catherine and snapped the two chains binding her wrists with two sharp strikes.
“Heh, Saintess, I was so close to succeeding. Why are you here? Could it be… you’ve betrayed humanity? As property of the Holy Church, your actions now are a blasphemy against the Emperor God.”
The Great Sage was not dead. She rose from the rubble, her wounds healing rapidly.
But Avira did not pursue.
She knew it was pointless.
She crouched down and began examining Catherine’s injuries. She immediately took out her last two healing crystals and started treating her.
“Oh? It seems this trick has no effect on you. They say you’ve awakened the Saintess Bloodline—looks like it’s not just rumors~”
The Great Sage smiled seductively.
Then she vanished into the wind, leaving only an ethereal echo:
“Your efforts are meaningless, Saintess. You will face certain death in the end.”
Avira did not turn around, for this Great Sage was merely her clone.
Her hands paused while bandaging Catherine, and her body trembled slightly.
“Damn it.” Catherine remained unconscious.
Judging by the wounds on her body, she had endured hours of torment.
Avira felt a wave of exhaustion wash over her, but it wasn’t from fatigue.
“Cough cough…” Avira stood up and looked toward the corner.
She noticed the coughing—it was from the Hero Squad member nearby.
She was still conscious; that punch hadn’t killed her.
Avira walked over, grabbed the Thief by the throat, and lifted her effortlessly.
“Cough cough, cough…”
“Where is the Great Sage? Where is the Hero?”
“I… I don’t know either…”
“Is that so? You’re just a bunch of ignorant mongrels, kids swayed by a few sweet words. Of course you wouldn’t know.”
Avira tightened her grip.
“Cough cough…”
The Thief let out a pained sound. In front of Avira, she was like an ant.
Suddenly, a blue meteor streaked across the sky.
The meteor carried a powerful aura as it descended behind Avira. Once the light faded, a beautiful dragon girl stood there.
Her exquisite scales reflected the starlight, and her sturdy, broad wings were magnificent.
Avira released the woman and turned around.
It was Ophitia.
Her hair was a bit disheveled from the wind. She smoothed it out before smiling at Avira.
“Honey, acting on your own like this means you’ll have to be punished, you know.”
As expected, it was this nonchalant attitude that infuriated her the most.
Unlike usual, Avira did not feign obedience and approach the Demon King to let her have her way. Her aura made the woman on the ground tremble, wondering if this was really the frail princess Avira.
But she soon lost consciousness; the magic radiating from Avira was overwhelmingly powerful.
“Lady Ophitia, I want to know why you’re here.” She demanded.
“Why can’t I be here?”
“Do you know what’s happening right now?!”
“Avi…”
“The Royal Capital is under attack. The dead spiders were teleported to the rear by the Great Sage’s power—this is the worst possible outcome. Lace is fighting the demon army alone.”
“…”
“And the front lines? The Evil Demon Army will surely be hit too. I don’t know by whom, but as long as the Great Sage and Oleniya are there, they’re done for.” Avira’s voice was filled with resentment, growing louder.
“…” Ophitia remained silent.
“The Catherine Knight Order is our enemy too. They’ve long allied with the Great Sage. Now, along with the Holy Church, we have three enemies.”
Avira stepped forward, staring at the Demon King with doubting, icy eyes.
“And you, Demon King Ophitia—why are you in an unreasonable place like this! What reason is there for you to come to Dulton?”
After the time rewind, Avira realized not everything was under her control.
The perfect victory and absolute domination she wanted seemed insignificant before the machinations of the unknown.
Something had changed in the shadows, but she didn’t have the all-seeing eyes of a god. She couldn’t grasp at shadows or exploit cheat-like magic endlessly.
Catherine’s failure was completely unexpected… Why hadn’t she escaped with all her might? All for some invisible, intangible so-called justice!
Now everything was too late. Even Ophitia, who should have followed the plan, was acting on her own and had come to Dulton. If this continued, the demons and humans would descend into chaotic slaughter, and the demons’ future would mirror the one before the time rewind.
In short, she had screwed up.
Then, even her own fated death would replay, and nothing would change. Utterly meaningless, all returning to the void.
Avira recalled the scene of her own death. She felt cold, then burning with rage. Why were there so many uncontrollable things in this world!
“I like you. I don’t want you to face it alone…”
“Yeah? You like me? What an absurd reason!”
Ophitia hadn’t finished speaking before Avira cut her off.
She was like an enraged little beast now, baring her sharp teeth:
“I hate you.”
