Chapter 137: Bestowing Hor’s Protection (3)

– Ugh…!

The Dregs of the Demon King were the first to sense the change.

Bulging eyes on its hideous horns scanned the entire area between Heaven and Earth.

Soon, its gaze fixed on Alisa’s Faithful Ring.

An auspicious Divine Light spread from the ring.

“Aah.”

Within the ears of Alisa and Bafel, an auditory hallucination like a holy bell began to ring.

Alisa looked down at her Faithful Ring.

The Eye of Laplace, said to be able to see through everything in the world, reflected a presence like the Sun.

A brilliant, massive soul in the shape of a cross.

Her mouth fell open as she stared at that soul, which felt strangely familiar.

‘The Curse of Elder Nifel is…’

She touched her eyes with trembling fingertips.

The area around her eyes, hideously distorted by the Curse, was returning to normal.

That wasn’t all.

Rumble, rumble—!

It was merely that Light had entered the room, yet Bafel’s Barrier shook violently.

Bafel’s hand, having lost its reason to the Dregs of the Demon King, could no longer move forward.

“You wench! You’ve harbored Eodom! You deserve to be cast into hell!”

He spat out poisonous words.

His face was a tangled mess of loathing and rage.

“What a stubborn Eodom! Do you not fear God?!”

Both body and mind.

To one completely dyed black, Light was nothing but poison.

In his eyes, that Divine Grace was merely a poisonous Eodom.

“……Father.”

Even amidst the confusion, Alisa felt a bitter taste in her mouth.

Her maddened father likely did not know.

Who was shrouded in Eodom, and who was shrouded in Light.

Sshhh—

The Light flowed along her hands and deep into her Soul.

Alisa’s eyes, liberated from the Curse, could now see that holy presence even more clearly.

‘What exactly is your identity, Richard?’

He was the one who had given her the Faithful Ring, and he was the one who possessed such a soul.

It would be more strange if Richard had no connection to the current situation.

It was as Alisa thought of him.

[O King of Laplace Kingdom.]

A holy Voice awakened Alisa’s thoughts.

A mysterious wave emanated from her, overwhelming Bafel and the Dregs of the Demon King.

Bafel’s Spirit Staff, which was soaked in Demonic Energy, slowly began to wear away.

– Hor’s…!

The dregs shrieked.

However, the Divine Grace did not give the creature even a shred of attention.

[Behold clearly.]

[This is the behavior of one who serves the wrong thing.]

[This is the disaster that will lead the world to its end.]

Thump, thump.

Alisa’s heart pounded wildly.

Her eyes, etched with a Magic Array, naturally turned toward her father.

An ugly and hideous sight.

[I deliver this Divine Revelation.]

[Do not forget what you have seen with those eyes.]

[Do not turn away from what you have felt personally.]

With those words, the Light subsided.

Soon after, the Faithful Ring on her finger shattered with a sharp crack.

“Heh, cough……! You pitiful girl. It seems even Eodom has abandoned you.”

Bafel, having lost his reason, let out a sneer.

However, Alisa could only stare blankly at the ceiling.

More accurately, she stared at the heavily distorted Heaven beyond it.

Rumble—!

The Heaven was screaming.

Alan waited for his sister to emerge in front of the Lord’s room.

But no matter how long he waited, the door did not open.

Was the conversation getting long?

Whether a Barrier had been erected or not, only silence could be heard even when he listened closely.

“Sister, are you alright?”

Alisa was the only sibling he truly followed.

To the extent that she could be called his spiritual pillar, she was the closest and most dependable person to Alan.

That was why he was even more concerned.

Because Alan knew that Bafel Marx was a Heresy.

He was glaring at the firmly closed door with growing impatience.

Rumble—!

A heavy cry echoed from the Heaven outside the fortress.

“Tch, is it a thunderstorm?”

Nifel clicked his tongue and cast his gaze out the hallway window.

Dark clouds covered the Heaven, with occasional bolts of lightning bursting forth.

But Alan alone could feel it.

“Is this Hor’s…?”

In the violently writhing dark clouds, he vividly felt a familiar energy.

Soon, the thunderstorm, accompanied by Divine Grace, swelled in size.

[Heaven’s Wrath]

Crr-ack—!

A single bolt of pure white lightning fell from the dark clouds that seemed ready to burst.

At the same time, the fortress trembled violently.

At first, it was one bolt.

Next, it was dozens.

Boom, k-boom—!

In an instant, the rain of lightning began to lash the fortress.

Cracks appeared in the hallway.

The glass windows had long since shattered.

“Elder Nifel! We must deploy the Barrier immediately!”

Amidst the chaos that had turned into a shambles in an instant, the Spirit Wizards called out to Nifel.

If this continued, the fortress was on the verge of collapsing without a trace.

“Damn it! What kind of sudden bolt from the blue is this! Summon all the Wizards in the fortress!”

Nifel pulled out his Spirit Staff and moved away.

Excluding the Wizards running around busily, Alan was the only one left in front of Bafel’s room.

He also pulled out a staff from his waist.

Of course, he had no intention of deploying a Barrier with the others.

Clack—

A complex Magic Array was drawn at the tip of the staff he pointed toward the door.

7th Circle Magic, which even high-ranking Wizards could not easily cast.

That powerful miracle manifested in the blink of an eye.

K-boom—!

Debris scattered.

Through the roar of the exploding door and walls, a sharp noise like shattering glass was heard.

“There’s no way the Barrier of my Father or Sister would be this weak. It was already unstable from a strong impact.”

Whatever it was, it was not a normal situation.

He hardened his expression and walked into the thick dust.

The scene that unfolded next was enough to break the composure Alan was barely maintaining.

“A-Alan…”

His sister was standing with difficulty, weeping tears of blood.

Alan’s pupils, which had been vibrating violently, quickly settled.

However, the rage contained within them burned even hotter.

‘Sister?’

“Run, hurry! I will buy us some time!”

Hearing her desperate cry, Alan turned his gaze.

His eyes met his father’s, who was standing still like a demon.

“Have you truly given up on being a Human, Father?”

“Come here.”

Bafel smiled benevolently.

Despite his hideously torn mouth, he spoke with an affectionate Voice.

“Look at your sister. That wench is an evil seed harboring Eodom.”

“Now, Alan. Will you believe me now? The one I serve is a great being who punishes those evil things.”

“Father.”

Alan took a step forward.

In that moment, there was no rage toward the one who threatened his sister, nor any enmity toward the Heresy.

Only the devastating feelings of a son facing a maddened father tormented his chest.

“I have told you before.”

“Told me what?”

Alan continued as he supported the staggering Alisa.

“To fear the Heaven.”

His Voice was calm.

Only Alisa could feel the trembling of the arm holding her.

“Fear the Heaven? Are you telling me to fear the thunderstorm? How utterly ridiculous!”

“…Is that so.”

His gaze toward his father turned cold.

It was no longer the eyes of a blood relative looking at a father.

It was the gaze of one looking at a mortal enemy, or a loathsome insect.

“Then, fear me from now on.”

“……What?”

“For I am the Agent of Divine Punishment. Bafel Marx, I will make sure to burn you to death someday.”

Rage rose in Bafel’s face.

“Have you also been stained by Evil already, Alan—!”

Numerous Magic Arrays rose into the air.

Potent Magic, each with top-tier power, poured toward Alan and Alisa.

K-boom—!

Parts of the precarious fortress turned to dust and scattered.

“Did they escape?”

Bafel’s face twisted.

Desperate anger.

And sorrow.

Ridiculously, he wore such expressions.

***

“Sister!”

Alan hurriedly checked on his sister.

Alisa, who had been under extreme tension, had lost consciousness at some point.

Gritting his teeth, he looked at the fortress in the distance.

The fortress was nearly half-destroyed.

“When I return next time, not even a trace of it will remain.”

The great and mighty Marks Family.

Alan’s enemies were now them.

Screee—

The ‘Crying Bird’ took shape.

Securing his sister firmly upon it, he flew toward the Laplace Kingdom.

Even while tearing through the air by grinding his Mana, he found it difficult to endure his twisted insides.

‘Damn it! Even at the moment my Sister became like this, I…!’

What kind of Saint?

What kind of Inquisitor?

What kind of genius Wizard!

The wick of his heart, which felt as if it would twist and snap, remained unchanged even when he arrived at the Laplace Kingdom.

“Oh my God! Lady Alisa!”

The face of Pyran Hall, known as the ‘Mage of the Destroyed Prison’, turned pale.

All the Wizards of Laplace opened their eyes wide.

They were all former retainers of the Marks Family, and all were Divine Army who followed Alisa.

“Who… who did this!”

“Just what happened! Why is the Lady…!”

The unconscious Alisa was hurriedly transported.

The prominent healing Wizards had to exert themselves to the point of exhaustion.

Only after two more days had passed could the Wizards calm down even a little.

“…The Lady is recovering smoothly. Her Mana Routes were all entangled; she must have received an incredibly vicious attack.”

Pyran said to Alan.

“Is that so.”

“Young Master, please do not be too distraught.”

When Pyran was about to offer a few words of comfort to the silent Alan.

“Why do I not see Richard?”

“Ah, the Young Lord said he hasn’t been feeling well since a few days ago.”

Alan looked at his sister lying with a pale face and then left his seat.

Where he headed was the artificial lake built in the backyard of the Royal Castle.

The surface of the clear lake reflected the boy’s face.

A gentle wind blew, ruffling his blue hair.

However, a violent storm was brewing in Alan’s chest.

– Kill them. Kill them. Kill everything you don’t like.

The terrible demonic nature he had heard before.

It was the Voice of Demonic Energy he had heard again since returning to Laplace.

Black energy surged out from Alan’s body reflected on the water’s surface.

‘What a ridiculous sight. To think I still haven’t overcome the Demonic Energy.’

He sneered at himself.

To call himself the Saint of the South. To call himself an Inquisitor.

In reality, was he not closer to a Riot who hid Demonic Energy deep within his body?

Rustle.

Along the wind, a single Nail Leaf fell onto the surface of the lake.

That Nail Leaf was filled with Light.

“Hor. Are you watching me?”

In the past, he would have knelt immediately.

He would have trembled with joy.

But not now. There was something more important.

“I was thinking wrongly. You must have been waiting for me to realize it on my own.”

I am sorry I am late.

Alan, bowing his head toward the Nail Leaf, pulled out his staff.

“I will become someone worthy of the qualification you have bestowed upon me. Please, watch over me.”

Whoosh.

A flame rose from the tip of his staff.

It was a White Flame, sizzling white, having absorbed the Light from the Nail Leaf.

The flame swallowed the staff.

Not stopping there, it spread instantly up Alan’s arm.

“I will burn away all the Eodom within me. If I myself am not a blank slate, how can I make this world a blank slate?”

It was like a ritual of purification.