Altes’s question caused Sophie’s heart to skip a beat.
During the battle in Kado City, when she first activated the Divine Might Armament to confront Demon King Ville, she had truly gone all out. She hadn’t held back at all, intending to completely crush her opponent and send her old arch-enemy straight to hell.
However, the moment she saw Via’s face beneath the Demon King Armament, she could not bring herself to deliver the killing blow.
That person was both the mortal enemy who had destroyed her homeland in her previous life and the younger sister she had lived with day after day in this one.
“Selina, why have you fallen silent?” Altes’s voice was no longer gentle.
“I’m sorry, Your Holiness. I was just recalling the battle earlier,” Sophie explained. “During the fight, I really did give it everything I had. I wanted to defeat Demon King Ville. But my strength in this life is still far from what it was in my previous one. Even though I heavily injured the Demon King, I couldn’t deliver the finishing blow.”
“So the Demon King escaped from Kado City. Is that correct?”
“Yes, he most likely did.”
“Very well. Your current power truly is much weaker than it was in your last life.” Although Altes verbally expressed understanding, a hint of disappointment could be heard in his tone.
“Since you have decided to take up the Divine Might Armament once more, the Holy Land will provide you with the necessary resources. Grow stronger as quickly as you can.”
“I will, Your Holiness.”
“By the way, what is Via’s current situation?”
Sophie’s heartbeat quickened slightly.
She now faced two choices.
The first was to tell Altes the truth about her sister—that she was the Demon King himself.
The second was to conceal the truth.
The last time she met with Altes, she had personally promised him that if her sister ever fell and became demonized, she would deal with her herself.
From both her previous life and her current one, she should choose the first option.
But if she revealed the truth to the Holy Land, Via would have no chance of survival.
The Holy Land would never forgive any demonized person or demonkin.
The Lester family previously had connections to demonized individuals, and now the entire family had been destroyed. The family head and several direct relatives had all been imprisoned and purged as heretics.
The remaining members of the family had been exiled from the Saint Luo Empire.
If she spoke the truth, Via would undoubtedly die.
“During the chaos in Kado City, Via seems to have gone missing. Your Holiness, I am extremely worried about her safety! Please find her as soon as possible. She is my only sister.”
“I see. I will have Belon send more people to search for Via immediately.”
Although it is regrettable that the Demon King was not completely slain, you still saved the innocent citizens of Kado City, repelled the demonized attackers, and resolved the crisis. Without a doubt, you are a hero of humanity, Selina.
“A hero of humanity…”
“You have not forgotten why you decided to kill the Demon King with your own hands in the past, have you?” Altes’s seemingly casual reminder struck deep into the most painful part of Selina’s heart.
At that time, Selina had been preparing to return to the orphanage to visit the teacher and director who had always taken care of her, along with the children there.
But when she arrived, all she found was despair.
“I haven’t forgotten, Your Holiness.” Sophie’s body trembled slightly.
“Good. You must never forget those events. You are a hero of humanity, Selina.” Altes spoke sternly. “The demonkin have always persecuted us. Humans and demonkin are irreconcilable.”
“I will remember.”
Sophie replied to Altes.
The light from the communication artifact gradually dimmed, the magic array stopped operating, and the room fell silent once more.
She pushed open the door and walked out.
Warm sunlight poured down, illuminating Kado City after the disaster. The red-haired girl bathed in the sunlight, her face filled with confusion. Her beautiful rose-like eyes had lost their usual vitality.
This question lingered in her heart, yet no one could answer it. She raised her hand, wanting to grasp the sun, but eventually lowered it.
What should I do next…
Holy Land.
A man dressed similarly to Altes came before him and bowed respectfully. However, unlike the Pope’s white robes, he wore red.
“Moen, you’ve finally returned,” Altes said.
“Yes.”
The man named Moen raised his head and looked at Altes.
He was one of the top echelons of the Holy Land and Altes’s designated successor—the future leader of the Holy Land, the Red Cardinal.
If anything were to happen to Altes in this position, the next Pope would be Moen.
However, unlike the gentle and mild-mannered Altes, Moen’s style of doing things was extreme, and his reputation within the Holy Land was highly polarized. He had done many radical things—for example, he had once researched exactly how much abyssal aura a cleric could endure before falling and becoming demonized. He didn’t care about the ethics and had forcefully carried out the experiments anyway.
Just this one matter had drawn significant opposition.
“Your Holiness, I heard that Kado City was attacked by demonized individuals. Is that correct? Those demonized people were all members of Abyssal Eye.”
“Yes.” Altes paused. “Have you found any results from investigating Abyssal Eye?”
“Of course. From my investigation, the members of Abyssal Eye worship an entity known as the Abyssal God. All their actions in the human world are aimed at spreading abyssal aura, transforming the human world into the abyss, and ushering in the descent of the Abyssal God.”
“So that’s how it is…”
“The disaster in Kado City was likely carried out by Abyssal Eye to create more followers like themselves who worship the Abyssal God.”
“I see.”
Altes fell into thought.
It was indeed the right decision to have Moen investigate. Although he had most likely used some underhanded methods, the results showed he was far more capable than the others and had obtained useful information.
“I also heard that in Kado City, the resurrected Demon King and the Silver Sword Princess both appeared?” Moen asked curiously. “Is that true?”
“It is.”
“Will the Silver Sword Princess still help us?” Moen sounded somewhat concerned.
“She will,” Altes replied with certainty.
“She will.”
Twenty years ago, Selina had also wavered about whether to oppose the demonkin. But then something happened that strengthened her resolve, turning the killing of the Demon King into her mission. In the end, the Silver Sword Princess became a hero of humanity.
“Oh, so that’s what you mean, Your Holiness,” Moen immediately understood Altes’s implication.
“Yes. Killing the Demon King is Selina’s destiny, whether in her previous life or this one.”
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