“Oh, Master Johannes! You’re finally out. I was so worried we’d be caught. Oh, but where is Miss Iris…?”
“The plan has changed.”
“How so?”
“We’ll talk as we go.”
Johannes, now draped in the cloak James had handed him, walked quickly while scanning his surroundings with a wary gaze.
As he explained the new plan, James’s eyes widened.
“Is that even possible?”
“We have to trust Iris. She’s the woman the Goddess — no, the woman I chose.”
The calm tone brought a look of surprise to James’s eyes. It wasn’t just his way of speaking; even the look in Master Johannes’s eyes had become steady.
He looked like a completely different person, despite sharing the same appearance as the man James served.
It was simply astonishing how much the weak young master, who had seemed to be in desperate need of recuperation, had grown.
James had once worried that Johannes’s excessive obsession with Iris would lead to a catastrophic situation.
However, the relationship he thought would end as a hopeless one-sided love had developed remarkably, and that development had molded the young master into a much better man.
The Johannes of today was no longer the gloomy, shy boy of the past, but a fine man capable of giving his all for the one he loved.
While James felt gratified, he also feared that if his relationship with Iris were to go awry in the future, Johannes might fall apart.
And if he fell apart, what would happen to the person by his side? It was obvious. James muttered a plea to Iris under his breath.
‘Miss Iris, please stay with Master Johannes for the rest of your life. Otherwise, I’m a dead man.’
Thanks to the party upstairs continuing late into the night, Johannes and James managed to escape to the surface without being caught.
A heavy sigh escaped through Johannes’s red lips as he pulled his cloak tight.
He could see bright lights spilling from the highest floor of the Black Castle. It seemed the party was still in full swing.
The more those bastards let their guard down, the higher the chances of the operation’s success. Johannes’s eyes glinted sharply.
‘Go ahead, drink your toast early. Your party will be over in a few days.’
It felt as though his heart was tearing apart, leaving Iris in that dungeon, but he only had to endure two more days until the Total Solar Eclipse.
That would be the day the villains who dared to use Iris met their end.
***
From the next day, Johannes suppressed his urge to visit the dungeon where Iris was held and moved forward with the plan step by step.
First, as Iris had requested, he bribed a guard to ensure Teresa could live comfortably even inside the cell.
This was an incredibly easy task. This was because ‘It’ had withdrawn its influence over most people, intending to save as much power as possible for the ritual.
This was due to the arrogance and negligence inherent in ‘It’, an entity born from evil.
The pride of mistakenly believing the victory was already won and the natural laziness of a demon made ‘It’ careless, preventing it from noticing that the interior of the castle was slowly changing.
Having easily bribed the guard, Johannes was able to enter the cell where Teresa was held.
Fortunately, the bribed guard gave them time to talk, allowing him to deliver Iris’s message to Teresa.
“Please hold on just a little longer. Iris told me to tell you that she will definitely reclaim the Relic.”
“Iris… I knew it. I thought a girl like her would pull it off.”
“Yes. Iris can do it, and she will.”
Teresa nodded with a faint smile. Her physical condition, which had worsened due to neglect, was recovering at a rapid pace thanks to the Health Potion Johannes had secretly delivered.
Meanwhile, Iris felt relieved after confirming Teresa was safe through the Vision Sharing she performed with Johannes.
Vision Sharing was an incredibly useful superpower. Through Johannes’s eyes, Iris could even see the transparent case containing the collected Relics, which sat beside ‘It’.
She tried focusing her gaze with the hope that a miracle might happen since she possessed the Goddess’s protection, but as expected, she couldn’t reclaim the Relic just by looking.
‘Johannes, be careful. That thing has the Skill Detection ability.’
Since it was possible to communicate via Telepathy while using Vision Sharing, Iris gave Johannes a warning.
She was worried that ‘It’ might detect the skill. Fortunately, however, there was no sign ‘It’ had noticed.
This was because ‘It’ had even deactivated its ability to detect others’ skills to conserve energy.
Iris frowned as she spotted Abellus beside ‘It’ through Johannes’s eyes.
Seeing Abellus smiling so comfortably made her eventually snap and end the Vision Sharing in irritation.
It was an ability she couldn’t use for long anyway because it consumed a lot of mental strength, but more than anything, she didn’t want to see Abellus smiling after he was the one who put her in this state.
“Hah, just you wait…”
Lying back on her bed, she checked the outside and, seeing no one was there, pulled out her hidden food.
It was what James had secretly brought her, and thanks to eating it in between her meals, she had been able to recover her strength.
She ground her teeth and her eyes flashed as she chewed on the bread. There were two days left until the Total Solar Eclipse.
Smile all you want until then, Abellus. Because after that day, you won’t be able to smile again.
“Whew…”
Meanwhile, on the top floor of the Black Castle, Abellus sat on his throne with his legs crossed, resting his chin on his hand.
He was currently in a state of disappointment.
This was because he had received a report from the guard that Iris had yet to wake up in the dungeon.
‘It’ had warned him to be careful regardless of whether she was awake or unconscious, so he couldn’t visit the dungeon anyway, but he felt it was a great shame.
If things continued like this, he would never again encounter her vibrant self, which he had wanted to see one more time.
‘I wanted to see the original Iris one more time, whether she was screaming or trying to trick me by acting… What a shame.’
Just then, ‘It’ took a sip of wine and sprawled out on the sofa. Abellus’s eyes narrowed at the sight.
He wondered when ‘It’ had told him not to let his guard down, considering ‘It’ seemed to be more relaxed than anyone else.
Of course, Abellus had been anxious for a day or two, but he was now at peace.
What could Iris, who had become powerless after losing all her Relics, possibly do?
As long as ‘It’, a being close to a god, was by his side, there was nothing she could do.
Seeing her lying unconscious in the dungeon for several days, it was clear the Goddess wasn’t that big of a deal either.
‘Still, I withdrew the power of the curse, so isn’t she staying unconscious for too long? “It” said she seems to have entered a Soporific State because she lost all the power of the Relics and is under the influence of the Black Castle… Well, she might be better off staying unconscious since she wouldn’t be able to do anything even if she woke up.’
His lips, resting on his hand, curved into a smile.
It was a shame he couldn’t see the Iris from before she lost her reason, but it was fine.
After the ritual was over, he would gain perfect power, and Iris would belong to him completely.
Abellus, whose body grew hot at the thought of doing various things with her in two days, cleared his throat and crossed his legs.
At that moment, he never expected that while he waited for the day of the ritual with an easygoing heart, Iris was sharpening her blade.
***
Time passed quickly, and the day of the Total Solar Eclipse arrived.
The interior of the Enraka Church Shrine, which had transformed into the Black Castle, was bustling with people.
A much larger crowd than those who attended Sunday service had gathered before the Altar prepared in the Backyard of the Black Castle.
There were officials from Enrakakyo, and there were also Villains who had come without knowing anything because J Corporation had simply ordered them to show up.
However, the majority were Villains who had flocked here after hearing rumors that a new Evil God was awakening, hoping to get a share of the spoils.
Among them were quite a few Heroes who had been secretly recruited through the Hero App.
They, too, were those who had come after hearing the rumors.
A man wearing a white Transformation Suit and a mask whispered secretly to the Hero who had come with him.
“Is it true? They say everyone who witnesses the ritual will have their powers strengthened.”
“Who knows? Anyway, a new Evil God is being born, so there’s no harm in getting on their good side. Gyodam City is a lost cause anyway, so rather than dying while shouting about justice, it’s better to stick with the baddest guy and get something out of it.”
At his words, the White-Clad Hero scoffed.
“You’re a Hero. Didn’t you come here to slay the Evil God?”
“Don’t say such dangerous things. How can a human slay a god unless they’re insane? Wait, here they come. Shh.”
As the figures dressed in Black Priest’s Robes descended the stairs, the noisy crowd fell silent.
After they took their positions on both sides of the Altar, ‘It’, draped in a black cloak, and Abellus approached the front of the Altar.
“Gasp…”
“Mm.”
As ‘It’ looked back at the crowd and removed the hood of its cloak, its black face was revealed, and groans erupted from various places.
The crowd, realizing ‘It’ was not human the moment they saw it, showed signs of agitation but soon fell silent.
This was because they thought they might suffer if they spoke out of turn.