Chapter 107
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Chapter 107
"It must be someone from the Holy Kingdom. To interfere even slightly with an archangel’s halo would require a high-ranking priest’s divine power."
"You heard that, right? I've seen something similar a few times myself."
Leon asked again.
"Who is it? The one who made that contract with you."
Dorn, who had been sitting with a vacant expression, gave a faint chuckle at the question.
"Ha. Do I have a reason to tell you?"
"If you refuse, you’ll at least have an unpleasant death."
"It’s better if you don’t know. The moment you hear it, the number of threats against you will increase."
"Are you worried about me now?"
"Yes. You’re my enemy, after all. It’s someone called Baril of the Holy Kingdom. That’s all I know."
At Dorn’s composed reply, Leon raised his sword without hesitation.
"Wait, Prince Leon."
It was then that Meryl Dyne, a member of the Moon’s Watch who had been tending to the fallen outside the rift, appeared.
"What is it?"
"It’ll just take a moment. I have something to ask Prince Dorn."
"…Go ahead."
Meryl Dyne, a member of the Moon’s Watch—an assassination group—was someone who firmly believed Dorn was not a bad person.
After all, she had once been Dorn’s knight.
Thus, the shock must have been immense.
"When I first heard about you, I didn’t believe it. I believed you weren’t that kind of person."
"Ha. It’s Meryl, of all people."
As they conversed, Leon turned to look at Luna, who surprised him.
"What are you doing?"
Luna was wrapping a cloth around her eyes.
"I can’t. I mustn’t look now."
Leon must have sensed something in her words.
He strode over to her and yanked away the bundle of cloth she had hurriedly wrapped.
"Ugh!"
Despite feeling stronger than before, she was too flustered to resist.
When her eyes, which glimmered like a galaxy of dark blue stars, were revealed, Leon’s eyes widened.
Then he slowly turned his head.
Was it a hideous sight?
Luna, taken aback by his reaction, looked at him nervously.
However, the misunderstanding didn’t last long.
"They’re beautiful. Your eyes."
"That’s the most relieving thing I’ve heard recently."
Without saying another word, Luna hugged him from behind.
Leon remained silent at her reaction.
"Did you ask why I did it?"
Just then, Dorn’s subdued voice echoed.
"I am human, too."
His eyes were filled with deep resentment.
"Even if I went back in time, I wouldn’t regret this decision. No, I’d prepare more thoroughly."
No one had expected him to feel remorse. Humans are inherently selfish creatures.
"Go ahead and kill me now."
Leon shook his head at Dorn’s request.
"There’s one more person with a grudge against you. I’ll leave it to them."
"Ha... haha. Someone as talented as you wouldn’t understand."
"Sorry, but asking me if I’m talented is an insult."
If he were talented, he wouldn’t have spent so many years imprisoned.
At that moment, something surged through the massive flow of energy within the rift and swallowed Dorn whole.
Mist, an ancient monster, was relatively docile compared to others.
It wasn’t likely that this outburst was intentional.
It had no reason to feel kindly toward the one who woke it from its peaceful slumber and drove it to madness.
As Leon watched Dorn’s body disintegrate into bloody fragments, he thought, At least Melisa made it out of the rift.
"So... what do we do now? Never mind Prince Dorn—this monster seems pretty dangerous."
The fog-condensed humanoid monster screamed silently as it furiously desecrated Dorn’s corpse.
"Hmm... A powerful bomb would be nice."
At Leon’s muttering, Luna picked up a red halo that had fallen to the ground.
"While transferring power through a contract is no longer possible, this on its own is already a sufficient bomb. Colliding its energy with dark mana should do the trick."
"Wait a minute! I’ve heard that the fog monster Mist is immune to most physical attacks, and it’s nearly impossible to capture its form!"
"Hmm?"
Leon looked at Meryl.
"Even if you somehow capture its true form, finding its core inside its body is nearly impossible. You could end up trapped inside the Mist instead."
It seemed Meryl had done a fair amount of research on ancient monsters.
However, Leon and Luna only exchanged glances.
When Leon stared at her, she lowered her gaze, embarrassed.
"Can you handle the core?"
"Piece of cake."
"That’s good enough."
Luna picked up the Crown of Judgment with a look of distaste and poured her power into it.
"One strike will be enough to blow up the Mist. We have to finish it before anyone else synchronizes with this fog space. If we don’t, they’ll be bound to this place like the monsters here, even if it disappears."
Leon had already been thinking along the same lines.
Leon rushed forward like a flash of light and snatched the Mist’s core before it even realized what had happened.
"How did you grab the Mist’s true form?!"
Ignoring Meryl’s shocked voice, Leon wrapped his hand in dark energy and gripped the Mist tightly.
Without hesitation, he overloaded the Crown of Judgment and drove it into the monster’s core.
"I went through a lot of trouble to catch you. No matter how much of a mutant you are, I know your structure inside out."
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With those words, a massive shockwave erupted from within the creature’s body.
Even with all its immense power, the Mist’s core and body were incredibly fragile.
Leon had no idea why a mere monster like Mist possessed such strength, but it couldn’t withstand the Crown of Judgment’s explosion.
Its entire body erupted in radiant light and shattered.
BOOM!!!
Simultaneously, the energy bound to him began to swirl and scatter in all directions, losing its grip on the bodies that had not yet resonated in this space.
It expelled them beyond the boundaries of the space.
Leon glanced at his half-transparent hand before speaking.
"Let’s go home."
* * *
The festive atmosphere of the Berner Estate, once celebrating a marriage to a prince, had now turned exceedingly somber.
“Sob… sob…”
“No, no! If you go like this, what am I supposed to do?”
“My daughter… I can’t see my daughter! Please! Someone find my daughter!”
Throughout the streets, grieving people clutched at bodies, weeping.
The scent of sorrow and death lingered across the estate.
Though the souls of the deceased had moved on to the cycle of reincarnation, the dead would not return.
One small mercy was that the incident had occurred within the Mist Maze, sparing the buildings outside from damage.
The Mist Maze had been created hundreds of years ago, and considering its current form matched the layout of the Berner Estate, the mystical nature of the Mist was truly remarkable.
Festival-goers, estate residents, noble families…
The victims were numerous, evident with just a quick glance around.
"Over 200 people died. It’s a catastrophe."
Some had survived thanks to the undead I had sent, or by quickly finding safe zones.
But those who hadn’t been so lucky were either cold corpses or had left no remains at all.
“It’s a terrible tragedy.”
“You saved Farell Berli once before, didn’t you?”
“That was under specific conditions. In a case like this, it’s impossible.”
Melissa nodded at my words.
Then, glancing briefly at Luna, who was avoiding our gaze, she quietly asked me:
"She suddenly opened her eyes?"@@novelbin@@
"Somehow, yes. Though it seems she’s not exactly pleased about it."
I didn’t know what she had experienced in that sphere.
But it couldn’t have been anything good.
Since she woke up, her presence felt oddly different.
“Luna.”
“What?”
“Your eyes.”
At Melissa’s calm mention of her eyes, Luna’s gaze widened.
“They’re beautiful.”
Luna, who had been frozen in place, finally smiled faintly.
“You two siblings really do resemble each other.”
“Are you crazy?”
“Take that back right now! You compared me to this bald-headed dinosaur?!”
As my sister and I erupted, Luna chuckled.
“There’s a lot I want to ask, but now’s not the time. Let’s talk on the way.”
With that, Melissa briefly looked toward the room where her friend had been.
There was no way to hide that Prince Dorn was responsible for this disaster.
After all, there were witnesses who had seen his betrayal.
She had been betrayed by the one she loved overnight and had nearly died.
Perhaps still in shock, she had sobbed uncontrollably as soon as she regained her senses.
“So, what happens now?”
“What do you mean? There’s no disqualification on our side, and the marriage wasn’t completed, so things will go back to normal.”
If the wedding had been held, it might have been different, but since it wasn’t, there was no issue.
Of course, there would likely be some troublesome gossip in social circles, but the royal family seemed intent on containing the rumors.
"I said goodbye before I left. The Count and Countess of Berner will be back soon."
Since they had hastened to wrap up their affairs upon hearing news of their daughter and estate, they would soon return to comfort her.
Melissa, feeling guilty about not being able to stay with her friend during such a difficult time, looked bitter.
But she also seemed to understand that she couldn’t be away any longer than she had already planned.
During her short stay, Luna wandered around the estate, healing the wounded.
I followed her silently.
Along the way, people referred to her as a high priestess or even a saint.
It was a common misunderstanding faced by healers.
Of course, I didn’t deny that Luna possessed a healing power stronger than that of Saint Nadia Ten Lilibel.
A stigma loved by the gods?
Luna’s healing ability far exceeded any standard measure.
Though I couldn’t help but view her revelations in a high regard.
“Welcome. Where shall I connect you?”
“To Cascadia, please.”
Melissa tilted her head when I answered, thinking I’d ask for the Bekdel Magical Estate near Cascadia.
“What’s this about?”
“You’ll see.”
“Connecting now.”
The administrative magician had already received the transfer request and smoothly established a connection to Cascadia, creating a large gate.
“Have a pleasant journey.”
[Translator - Night]
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