Chapter 138

Absolute power, with just a single command, could bring bloodshed across a thousand miles.

And the blood—belonged to family. The tears—were left for oneself.

From that day onward, Firex changed.

He became deeply shrewd, learned to endure—and also became insatiably greedy.

He pleaded guilty as the son of a convicted traitor, once again begging the Pope for employment, assuring that he could take the risk to infiltrate the Kingdom of Aurus, offering his life in exchange for useful intelligence to the Pope, in return for boundless wealth.

At first, the Pope couldn’t grasp why he would do this, even suspected that it was a ruse to bide time for revenge.

It wasn’t until Firex revealed his ultimate goal that the Pope finally understood the young man’s mind.

——He wanted to seize the throne of the Kingdom of Aurus.

Theocratic authority in the Holy Theocracy of Coreia was already a deeply rooted, immovable giant tree.

But the Kingdom of Aurus, which had been swaying unsteadily amid storms in recent years, was like duckweed battered by rain.

Firex yearned for the pinnacle of power.

He detested the absolute authority at that summit, yet at the same time, was uncontrollably drawn to reach that place.

Loathing and desire—what seemed contradictory was in truth a reflection of many people's hearts.

For that goal, Firex lived more and more unlike himself. The unrestrained greed in his heart had driven him mad.

To reach the top, he was willing to do anything.

Betrayal, deceit, treason—even being called the dog of the Theocracy—none of it mattered.

Because as long as he could get there... all voices would fall silent. Never again would someone dare to throw a loved one’s severed head before him. He would sleep peacefully until dawn, and no longer see the sky engulfed in flames.

In the end...

It was all nothing but an illusory dream.

Raindrops fell on his face, then on the ground—soundless, dissolving into dust.

Perhaps... he should have just lived as an ordinary person, hidden among the common folk, far from power. That wouldn’t have been so bad.

But he would never have chosen that path.

Today, he was defeated by the might of the Demon Clan Princess.

But yesterday, he had already lost to his endless greed.

The day before, the moment he chose to become what he hated most—that was the root from which all evil sprouted.

Firex sat cross-legged on the ground, glancing back at Milh, whose face was full of panic as he frantically patted Firex's shoulder.

He let out a cold chuckle.

“Ha... Born into royalty, Prince Milh... How could you, blessed as you are, be so blind to your fortune and still choose to rebel? Look at you now—dragged yourself into the grave too. How absurdly laughable.”

“What the hell are you saying...! You damn bastard... Do you have a way or not?! Speak! Didn’t you want power?! Weren’t you planning to kill me and take the throne once I seized it?! Now you’re out of options?! Useless scum!”

“Oh? So you actually knew? And here I thought you were truly stupid.”

“When I sit on the throne, the first person I’ll kill is you!”

“Ha... Hahahahaha!”

Look!

This... was power.

This... was the power he had lusted for all his life!

So filthy. So maddening. So nauseating.

But if you were to ask Firex—if he still had the chance now, would he still want the throne?

The answer was—of course.

Because even he... had planned to kill Milh after usurping the throne.

They were the same. No difference.

There was no turning back, no regret. The filth of power—he had understood it decades ago. And even knowing that, he still stepped onto this path of no return.

Because power... was poison. Addictive.

Milh's face was stricken with terror.

From not far behind, came the galloping of the Kingdom's Guard led by Eclight, shouting thunderously: “Capture the treasonous rebels!”

They were getting closer and closer.

While Milh's ambitions grew ever more distant.

The Kingdom's Second Prince—had finally gone mad.

His eyes were bloodshot, his body convulsing as he frantically rummaged through his belongings for any remaining Reflection Demon Crystals.

“There's more... there has to be more...! If I can't have it... then none of you will...! You all have to die... all of you must die with me!!”

Firex couldn't be bothered with him. Though, if it had been a few years earlier, perhaps he himself would’ve been the same.

So be it.

In Firex’s hands, two long blades of magic condensed into form.

Xiarette and Belith simultaneously raised their weapons in alert, bracing for a desperate counterattack.

But all Firex did... was smile with relief.

The two long blades traced dazzling arcs of blood in mid-air.

“Guh...

...! Fire... x... You... you... you damned dog...!”

“Yes... who says I'm not... I always have been...”

This long, unending road—had stretched far... far too long.

Each blade pierced a heart.

One, was Milh’s.

The other—was Firex’s own.

In truth—

The one Firex killed...

One was his present self.

The other—his past self.

Which version of himself... no longer mattered.

At least now... for once in his life, he had finally become “himself.”

“Princess Her Highness... thank you... for your mercy...”

“......”

The scattered Reflection Demon Crystals mixed with the pooling blood, telling the tale of a man’s greed.

Firex was dead.

But perhaps... he had wanted to leave a chance for the “young version of himself.” The blade that pierced Milh’s chest was slightly off-center, sparing his heart, allowing him to linger just a bit longer.

Yet, for someone so lost in the fog they couldn't even see themselves clearly—how could they ever see where their opportunity lay?

Blood gushed from his mouth as Milh’s eyes, filled with hatred, stared fixedly at the three figures before him.

“Die... die... all of you just die...!!”

In his hand, he still clutched one final Reflection Demon Crystal.

With the last flicker of strength in his grip, the final magic cannon fired.

——It roared toward Belith.

Perhaps, in Milh’s final judgment, Belith appeared the weakest among the three, which was why he chose to attack her.

Even to the end, his instincts still craved slaughter.

But...

Sheffy had grown irritated.

——And the moment she saw the magic cannon hurtling in Belith’s direction...

A long-lost trace of killing intent surfaced in Sheffy’s eyes.

The gods would not save people.

Nor would she.

The spectators had already been evacuated.

Eclight’s convoy was still some distance away.

Sheffy let out a faint breath.

In that instant, all things fell silent.

The intense white light of the magic cannon had just formed when it was overwhelmed and repelled by a beam of light a hundredfold more powerful.

Light that could devour the night roared in silence, erasing the corpses of Firex and Milh, reducing them to dust in a blink.

The brilliance continued to surge upward, reaching the heavens.

On this day—

No matter where one stood in the Kingdom of Aurus, they could see the light that turned night into day.

The light that Firex once spoke of—piercing through the firmament—had indeed come true.

Only... no one knew whether he had ever anticipated—

That light would be the flood that buried him.

——【Extreme Dark Nova】.

---

50. Wait for me!

“Royal Sister didn’t need to get so angry, really... Mm... but Belith is very happy.”

“Huh? Just so you know, I didn’t do it because of you, I just wanted to test out a new spell!”

“Okay, okay~ Royal Sister just wanted to test a new spell, a spell meant to protect her little sister~”

“You...! Damn it, say one more word and I’ll test a spell that seals your mouth!”

A quiet, dim path leading from the Royal Capital’s center to an outer villa.

Belith’s eyes sparkled like twinkling stars the entire time.

Partly because the absurdly grand spell 【Extreme Dark Nova】 released by her Royal Sister was beyond comprehension.

And partly—because she felt so much love from her Royal Sister!

Sheffy walked in the middle, Belith clinging to her arm. Sheffy frantically flailed her arm, trying to shake off this clingy little attachment, but it had little effect.

Sheffy was desperate to keep some distance—not out of disgust—

But mainly because... the pressure coming from the other side was immense!

Whether it was because the lighting on this quiet little path was too dim, no one knew—but walking on Sheffy’s other side, Xiarette’s expression looked especially dark.

Her hand gripped the hilt of the Holy Sword at her waist tightly, as though she might draw it at any moment and unleash a dazzling display of blades and strikes!

Belith wasn’t holding back much either.

Though she had retracted her wings and was acting all cuddly with Sheffy, not showing any intent to fight, the faint dark purple glow lingering at her fingertips signaled she was ready at any time—for a bloody brawl.

This situation...

If Sheffy had to put it into words, she had only one phrase to offer her two beloved companions:

——Harmony is precious.

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