"Demon God?"

Leon repeated the words slowly while staring down into the crater, his focus returning to the boy sitting motionless at the center.

The young boy's body had turned colorless, to the point that his interiors could be seen with bare eyes.

Thump. Thump.

His heartbeat after every second past, pulsing black fluid through his brown veins. The dark mana core had caused all of this.

Leon's mind traced back to the events of the Great Calamity War, during that war, the Everbright, the Silvermoon, and the other three calamities had sealed the Demon God away by force, trapping his physical form inside a separate and isolated reality that existed beyond the reach of this world.

People believed the Demon God had been erased entirely, but that was never the truth. Only the body had been sealed.

There were only two possible ways for the Demon God to return.

The first was to recover his full strength, which was impossible because Silvermoon's time restriction consumed the Demon God's remaining power at a faster rate than it could regain.

And the second method was far more dangerous but also far more achievable.

The Demon God could return by using someone in this world as a vessel and anchor the soul inside that host. But to do this, a vast amount of energy is required.

And looking at all the destruction nearby, all those sacrifices, and the mana gathered from the fallen town citizens, the vast energy could easily be gathered.

But that last method came with countless restrictions.

The vessel had to be prepared with the right mana structure, the right physical endurance, the right compatibility rate, and even the right mental pattern. Failing in any of the steps would lead to the soul collapsing instantly. The procedure was considered nearly impossible, but it's achievable.

The boy in front of Leon was living proof that someone had successfully been able to achieve it.

Leon took a quiet breath. "Hahh…"

There was another reason why the Demon God had never been killed in the past, a reason so absolute that even calamity heads refused to cross the line.

The Demon God possessed a unique skill. A rule embedded into existence itself.

Whoever killed that entity would suffer an eternity far worse than death.

"They forced this onto a child just to bring him back…"

He muttered, looking at the boy's current state. The dark mana core was still in the process of completion.

The young boy's skin was done shredding. From his lower body to the upper torso, his tissues and muscles had already lost their color. The flesh had turned grey and thin, and even the bones underneath carried the same unnatural shade. The corruption had climbed up to his waist now, spreading at a slow and steady pace.

Leon disabled his mana sense for a second and calculated the rate in his head.

He exhaled quietly and said. "We have seven minutes and nineteen seconds left."

Eula's head turned towards him at once. Her eyes narrowed slightly, and she shifted her gaze to Veronica next.

"What do you want us to do?" Eula asked.

Veronica did not answer immediately. She looked at the boy first, then at Eula, and then at Leon. Her expression remained calm, but Leon noticed the subtle change in her breathing.

She was plotting something.

"I will not explain what I am about to do. But… I want Leon to stop that thing."

Eula felt a pull in her chest.

"Why him?" she asked.

She already had her suspicions, but she wanted to hear it from Veronica directly. She needed confirmation.

Veronica smiled in a way that carried no humor at all.

"Because he is unique."

That one statement confirmed everything Eula wanted to know, she already knew.

Veronica knew about Leon's Light Affinity.

Only light had the potential to suppress dark mana at its root. But even with that truth, Eula could not ignore the most obvious contradiction.

Veronica Valentine was one of the five calamity ranked humans to ever exist in this era. Her combat presence alone could bring any kingdoms to their knees. She had more than enough means to deal with the child if she wished to. She was someone who could rewrite a dying organ or stop an explosion with her Temporal Rewrite.

So why ask for Leon?

Why place responsibility on someone weaker than her?

Why expose him like this?

It did not make sense at first. Not until Eula caught the faintest shift in Veronica's eyes. A calculated look, and that deliberate calmness she was making.

And all the answers slipped into Eula's mind all at once.

Veronica wanted Leon's Light Affinity to be known, she doesn't want it to stay hidden. She wanted the higher authorities, the knights, the watchers who were about to arrive, to witness it.

Veronica wanted Leon to stand at the front of this incident.

Eula could not stop the quiet smile that rose on her lips. She looked at Veronica again and saw the plan clearly.

Veronica was intentionally placing Leon in the spotlight.

Light was rare. Light was powerful. Light was feared. A myth that was supposed to exist in the stories… What would happen if this becomes a reality?

Leon was the perfect person to stand at the center of it.

Eula lowered her gaze slightly, her fingers tightening at her side.

"So that is your intention," she muttered softly. Now she knew why Veronica made her stay as well.

"I guess you are not a fool like Charlotte," Veronica said calmly. Her voice held the same casual confidence as always, but her intention was clear. "I kept you here for a reason. As the second… no, as the current first princess of Liora, you will serve as the witness to this."

Eula's expression tightened, she smirked at her words, wanting to just laugh out loud.

When this incident is reported to the royal council, to the elders, to the Ministers of Defense, and to every authority that monitors unnatural phenomena, they will need someone with the proper standing and credibility to confirm what happened.

"And the one who will stand as the primary witness will be you."

.

.

[A/N: the bonus chapters will be up in 24 hours, thank you guys are great. So once again, 600 PS for the 3 chapters mass release for this week as well.]

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.