"Anyway, the princesses might be manageable if they're on a similar level, but what do we do about their mother?" Beatrice asked. "She's on a completely different level. I couldn't even scratch her."
"Was there anything else you noticed about the 'demon in her dress'?" Lucarad asked.
"She talked to the demon from time to time, thought the demon never replied," Beatrice thought back to her encounter. "She summoned those invisible tentacles and also had a powerful barrier around her, but it always seemed like she wasn't even remotely serious. OH, she did mention the demon by name… What was it? One of those 'devil' names…"
"'Devil'?" Ember asked.
"It was a weird name. B, B… Beezer? Beezer-something," Beatrice said. "Bulb! Beezerbulb? No, that doesn't seem right."
"Beelzebub!?" Lucarad exclaimed and rose from Helen's lap, only to fall back in pain.
"Yeah! Sounds about right!" Beatrice said.
"Unthinkable!" Lucarad gasped. "Our queen is in league with one of the demon Sovereigns! Is this the reason that the city is still standing? That the people here are nothing more than playthings in a Sovereign's playground?"
"We have to let everyone—Ah, wait…" Beatrice interrupted herself. Her first thought was to let as many people as possible know the truth about the royal family. But then she remembered was the average citizen here was like.
Looking back to how these so-called 'people' behaved during the tournament, they might as well be demons. What if most of them were already under demon influence or demons themselves? Of all the people Beatrice encountered in this depraved city, even half-decent beings were few and far between.
"Oh, you are thinking the same thing that I am?" Ember asked Beatrice and crossed her arms.
"That depends, I guess… Who can we even trust?" Beatrice asked. "Is it just the Queen and her family that are in league with the demons? What if they have already corrupted most of the city?"
"Impossible!" Lucarad coughed. "The city would have been permeated with demonic aura. It would not go unnoticed!"
"Your friend's wife has been snacking on a Sovereign's thick sausage right under your nose," Ember pointed out. "And by the looks of it she also shared that meal with a good number of her daughters, I do not think we can put much faith in your senses anymore."
Wait, wasn't Lucarad supposed to be her boss? Beatrice thought when she saw how Ember talked to the High Priest. Sure, she said she was a mercenary, but such blatant disrespect…
"I have to get Emily," Olivia uttered and struggled to get up on her feet.
"W-wait! You're in no shape to go anywhere!" Beatrice held Olivia.
"You said it yourself! This city that already had no redeeming qualities is effectively under demon rule with no way to tell friends from foes!" Olivia raised her voice. "I will get my sister out of here if it's the last thing I do!"
"But you haven't been cured!" Beatrice argued back. "What if that 'Taint' returns? I do not yet have the power to fully heal you!"
"All the more reason to not waste a single second!" Olivia's determination strengthened.
"Lucarad, can't you do anything more for her?" Beatrice turned to the priest to save her friend.
But the High Priest only shook his head and said, "She was touched by Beelzebub himself! That explains the level of Taint within her, but it also puts her beyond my abilities. She already cracked my Taint Eater, and I cannot risk it being destroyed when there are countless more that will no doubt need it."
"Isn't there anything else?" Beatrice asked. "Samantha managed to keep her Taint in check with constant sex."
"'Samantha'?" Lucarad asked. "Shadow Hunter Samantha?"
"There's more than one Samantha on this earth," Ember said, though it was clear that she was not ecstatic about the name-drop.
"Right," Lucarad said sarcastically but then started coughing painfully. By the way he was sweating, Beatrice assumed that the High Priest already developed a fever. "But as it is, I cannot recommend any sexual activities for the girl. For all I know it could very well re-activate the Taint that lays dormant within her."
"And there you have it!" Olivia said. "I'm going while I still have a chance. The rest of you can do whatever!"
"You're not going alone!" Beatrice said. "If I cannot cure you, then the least I can do is help you in whatever way I can!"
"T-thank you!" Olivia said, seemingly surprised by such words.
"Didn't you hear what Lucarad said?" Ember asked. "She's a time bomb! And you plan to enter a wolf's den with her at your side? It's the Iron Peak that you plan to invade! The Purple Cape Captains are no joke! Olivia's fighting prowess was nothing worth mentioning on the best of days. What if you have to fight two Captains once and she suddenly goes into a cock-frenzy and jumps you for sex?"
"And what is your suggestion then?" Beatrice asked.
"Just put her out of her misery! We have more important things to worry about than her stupid sister!"
"Absolutely not!" Beatrice was adamant. "Those Purple Capes are overdue a beating anyway! Two birds with one stone!"
"Stubborn—" Ember grew angrier but was suddenly smacked to the ground.
"THE SAVIOR MADE HER DECISION!!" Lucarad bellowed in Ember's ear as he held her head down into the dirt with one hand. "Beatrice is the one that will rid this world of the demon threat! Remember your place, freckled coin-slut!"
With a face full of mud, Ember looked up at Lucarad with a sharp gaze that craved to rip High Priest's throat apart. But the very next second Ember mellowed and said, "I am sorry for my insolence. Of course, the Savior's will is absolute."
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