Apart from the duel going on outside, the ballroom with Leon and Beatrice was relatively quiet.
"Oh, no!"
"Yes!"
Compared to people like Beatrice and Vulcanus, the knights of the First Order of the TTG Temple were objectively powerful.
"Stand, Holy Grail—!"
The Thunderbolt Spear from the Holy Knight of Sky and Thunder and the Absolute Barrier from the Holy Knight of Light and Justice.
When the Absolute Barrier's special ability, Great Wall, forms a barrier of holy power and drives the hostages into a corner, the Spear of Thunder unleashes a barrage of its own.
Calling down thunder from the heavens is the most powerful of Ultima's holy arts, but Jae-hyuk's Thunder Spear was a holy artifact that could be used to stockpile thunder.
"Hey, wasn't that the French minister you just searched?"
"That's right— the minister was also a Fallen——."
It wasn't just the high-ranking Taiwanese officials who were revealed to be demons or fallen as they raided room after room of hostages.
They were invited by the Taiwanese government–or, more accurately, invited by the demons.
"Isn't this going to cause diplomatic problems?"
"He's dead because he was caught in the act, but what the hell, we're documenting it."
They were wearing body cameras. It was Yappy's suggestion, as he said it was best to have video evidence of anything.
The body cam footage showed hostages exposed to the holy gas mutating into demons or melting away, and in clear evidence, falling to the knights' blades.
"This floor is still a ways off, was that senior Ha-ri at the end of the hall?"
"Yeah, eh, sister?"
Ha-ri, who must have started at the far end of their respective directions, was now standing right in front of them.
"Soo-ho, Jae-hyuk, are you hurt?"
"Uh-huh. But sister——"
"No, senior, why are you already here? Didn't you start in room 1909?"
"I just got everything organized."
"Already?"
While Jae-hyuk and Soo-ho were teaming up to organize ten rooms, Ha-ri had already taken care of a similar number of rooms.
Ha-ri flashed them a sly grin and decided to demonstrate.
"Watch."
She sped through the next cabin, and the hostages in it cowered, visibly relieved to see her.
"Oh, it's Lord Han Ha-ri," said the Italian minister, "you have been released──"
Before the Italian minister could finish his sentence, Ha-ri drew her sword.
"Holy fire!"
"Lord Ha-ri? What the hell, aaahhhh!"
"Crazy—!"
Ha-ri unleashed a blast of flame from the bottom to the top. The spreading flames dyed the narrow room a dense red.
-Kyaaaaahhhh!
-Buu, fire! Fire! Fire!
The hostages in the room screamed, but there were some who melted in the searing pain.
"The deputy director of Taiwan's National Security Bureau, and— the executive secretary?"
Those who were not demons were safe from the flames of Ha-ri, while those who were demons or corrupted were melted by the dense flames made of holy power.
It was only possible because of Ha-ri's fine-tuning of the Holy Laws and her specialization in flame.
"How's that for fast?"
Ha-ri's smile made the two of them dumbfounded.
"I think I just witnessed a— trench warfare disaster."
"What do you mean– aren't Flame Holy Knights invincible indoors?"
There were fifty of these monsters and among them, Vulcanus is said to have single-handedly melted a frozen continent, but they didn't know if that's true.
* * * *
When one is extremely frightened, there is not a thunderous scream, but a silence that is mixed with wailing.
Chen So-yeon was thinking now that it was plausible.
"So, you're saying that you don't know the location of the Fallen Archduke, right?"
"That, that's right, that's right——."
Demons and Fallen, drooled and lost in thought answered Beatrice's question.
'His Majesty told us to escort the Queen, but—'
Indeed, did this magician queen need an escort?
Chen So-yeon prided herself on being incredibly strong. Her official rank was quasi-S rank. However, her potential must be at least Class S or higher but facing a superpower like Beatrice changed her definition of strength.
"Ms. So-yeon."
"Yes?"
"You were once the enemy of the Slaughter Archduke Akasha, right?"
"That's ——."
Slaughter Archduke Akasha also known as the Wandering Magic Sword used the body of a cursed magic sword that turned its user into a demonic swordsman.
He stole her father from her, and she lost her mother and her uncles and aunts in the guild who were like family to her.
On her path to revenge, she encountered the God of Vengeance and had her soul mortgaged, but thanks to Leon, she was able to complete her revenge by handing over Akasha's soul.
"I'm very envious of you. I also think you're brilliant."
"What?"
"In essence, to take revenge on a Demon Archduke, no, to face it is an impossible task."
It is because of beings like Leon and Vulcanus, who are the epitome of unreason that mortals can stand against demons who are immortal and have infinite lives.
Beatrice has fought countless demons, killing them but there was no end.
"I have lost so many people in the process. My people, my subjects, my brothers and sisters."
After all that she had lost, she hadn't even dreamed of revenge. Instead, she fell for the enemy's offer.
"And you–you will succeed, because you have the king."
"Yes, it's a long shot."
Yes, if there was anything different now, it was the presence of one man, Leon, whose presence was so magnificent that Beatrice could begin her revenge, even a hundred years later.
He is the enemy of the demons. Only by following him, by serving him, could the impossible be realized.
"Perhaps I should have made a contract with the God of Vengeance."
"Would you like me to relay it to him?"
"No, I can't mortgage my soul."
Beatrice's life, her soul, is not hers alone.
For the captains and knights of the kingdom who sought to protect her from a hundred years of corruption Beatrice Alighieri Spero must keep their legacy intact.
"I have gained strength——"
There is nothing more gratifying than being able to exact vengeance on your own terms.
The two opened their cabin.
"Oh, there you are."
A handsome young man in an immaculate suit.
"——"
His face is different, his mannerisms are different, his voice is different but his twisted smile and piercing gaze reminded her of someone.
[Queen, make a deal with me]
It is impossible to forget the face that hides such terrible malice, even if it has disguised itself.
[If you plant the essence of corruption and survive for a hundred years, I will stop invading this world and return it to its original state]
"Miss So-yeon."
"Yes—!"
Chun So-yeon didn't hesitate for a moment, charging towards her unusual opponent.
Wielding Arianna's Holy Sword and Ventasis' Magic Sword, her offensive power could be said to be almost at the level of a Holy Knight.
-Bam!
The demonic figure blocks the charge of the Holy Sword as its sharp hands are deformed into hideous teeth.
"Is this the power of the God of Vengeance? It's quite annoying."
Something leapt out of the Fallen Archduke Quai's chest. It was a tentacle head with hideous gills.
So-yeon reflexes were astounding, but the tentacle, which had stretched out as far as it could go, returned like a boomerang, aiming for her back. Just then──
Great Magic
The Eye of Destruction blasts away the dozens of monster tentacles.
The tentacles that had been blown off their heads by Beatrice's gesture landed on the floor.
"Haha~ You're still the same, magician queen, deploying Great Magic-level magic at the speed of regular magic.
The headless tentacles crawled back into the man's stomach and a horrible sound that shouldn't be in this world bubbled up from the man's gut.
"Even the Archdemons of wisdom and exploration are praising your magic skills. Don't you think it's a shame?"
"What?"
"If you had remained corrupted and become the Lord of Pleasure, you might have become an Archmage that could rival even that Caracael."
"I'm not interested in becoming a demon or anything like that."
The demon laughs against the backdrop of the city's neon lights and So-yeon cringes at the unearthly malice that radiates from that laugh.
If Archduke Akasha, the Archduke of Murder and Destruction, terrorized with pure violence and murder, this one drove a man from the bottom up with slimy malice.
'They say they're not the most combative of demons——.'
But this pressure, far from being a will to kill or a will to destroy, was a strange stickiness that was very unpleasant.
I want to scratch at the skin exposed to that licking gaze right now.
"Miss So-Yeon."
At that moment, Beatrice's cold hand gently caressed her cheek and this brought So-Yeon back to her senses.
"Raise your holy power. Don't give that thing a chance to dig in."
"Do you think that's possible, when even you, the high-minded magician queen, finally succumbed?"
"It's possible, because——"
-To the Lion Heart—! Glory be!
"Because He is with us."
"——!?"
The next moment, Quai, feeling an eerie sense of dread, turned around. What he saw outside the cabin window was a celestial horse galloping through the sky at full speed and the Lionheart King holding a holy spear.
-Boom!
The cabin crumbled before the charge of the strongest charger and a part of the building collapsed with a loud crash as if a missile had hit it.
"Are you okay, you two?"
"Thanks."
Leon checked on the two women, glancing up at Stallion to see a pool of blood on the holy spear.
Even a Demon Archduke could not be unscathed by such an attack.
"Oh, no, really, you're-"
"Stallion!!!"
Leon didn't wait for the Fallen Archduke's sly tongue to tease.
If Beatrice was stalling for time to draw him in, Leon would destroy evil without delay.
It was the difference between a magician and a knight, and before Leon's devastating charge, Quai had to tease him as he fled.
"Isn't fairness a chivalrous virtue?"
"Ha! Do you keep your manners when you hunt beasts? You are beasts. No, less than beasts. A mass of germs to be trampled and burned!"
There's no need to talk to them. It was the doctrine of the Lionheart that demons were to die at the hands of these unyielding holy knights, unable to attempt any trickery or seduction.
"I really don't get along with you guys."
This was the case during the earlier invasions of Lionheart's world, when the common people and officials could be corrupted, but not the knights and nobles.
Even if they were lucky enough to get a few knights or nobles to become followers, the Inquisitors, sensing evil, would immediately kill them.
-Ca-ching! Ka-kang!
"Kwack—!"
Leon unilaterally pressured Quai. Even the Slaughter Archduke, who specialized in combat, couldn't stand up to Leon. In such a situation──
Great Magic
──── Holy Law Double Blade
Of the two people backing up Leon even the weakest Chun So-yeon was an S-ranked and troublesome two-sword owner so Quai was quickly pushed to the brink.
"Kulk—!"
After a loud crash and destruction, Quai landed in the middle of the hotel garden and scratched his head as he struggled to his feet.
"I thought I was strong, but I'm no match for this."
With a thud, Quai rolled to the ground, dodging the airborne javelin charge but at that moment, the Archmage's magic grabbed Quai.
"Is that all you have to say? No, don't think you'll die easily, for I intend to revel in the screams of your soul."
It is said that a demon in the hands of the Magician Queen would rather wish for death.
Quai knew the grisly rumor. She had the idea of leaving mental trauma, not physical, as a defense against a resurrecting demon.
"What makes you think that?"
"Do you think there's a way out?"
In the middle of the hotel where the disturbance occurred, the knights of the TTG Temple, the crusaders of the Hanbit Palace, who had been moving back and forth between the upper and lower floors, gathered.
There was no exit in sight.
"Yes, as long as you exist, Queen."
"What?"
Sensing something, Stallion slammed his foot into the ground and Leon, responding to his ally's reaction, charged with his holy spear but it was too late.
-Pop!
A finger snapped.
"Huh?"
[Oh no—! I can't suppress it!]
The Goddess of Death and her priestess questioned at the same time. The magic power of the 'Essence' implanted in her heart expanded, and then──
"——."
It was a vast, endless wilderness, a desert filled with nothing but sand and heat.
Leon felt hungry and thirsty and called out to the gods.
"Arianna."
He called out to the goddess of light and justice, but there was no answer.
"Poma."
He called upon the god of the sea and waves to appear, but he was not answered.
"Fle, where is Beatrice?"
He called the God of Dreams, but again, there was no answer.
"——"
Leon was isolated in a wilderness, disconnected from the gods, with nothing but endless hunger and thirst.