Chapter 330

Lia had taken down six, while Chris had taken down four.

“Hehe, my victory! Do you admit it?”

“…The ones I fought were a bit stronger.”

“So, you’re not going to admit defeat? For a genius, you're quite petty.”

“…Who are you calling petty? Fine, I lost. Alright, alright, you're something else.”

Chris wore a sour expression.

He didn't know how long it had been since he'd lost a bet.

“So, what do you want from me?”

“That’s still a secret.”

“……?”

“How exciting. This must be the taste of friendship, right? In any case, be fully prepared to grant my request! Hehe.”

Lia was smiling from ear to ear, who knows what she was thinking.

A sense of anxiety welled up, but this was no time for a leisurely chat.

‘We dragged this on longer than I thought.’

The power of the Bone Dragons was stronger than expected.

If it hadn't been for Lia, it would have been impossible.

‘…Lia's power isn't at the 7-Star level. It's at least at the level of entering 8-Star or higher.’

It was an astounding story.

At this, a single question came to Chris’s mind.

‘To think the Blood Sword Demonic House had such an incredible talent. Why hadn't a being of this caliber become famous?’

Chris didn't know much about the Blood Sword Demonic House either.

This was because after Idrinne became the Blood-Drenched Demon King, she had carried out a horrific purge against her own house, leaving not many survivors.

He had just thought that Lia was one of the victims of that purge.

‘Still, it's strange. For a person of such incredible skill to be completely unknown.’

There were two 8-Star Absolutes in the Blood Sword Demonic House.

The current Head, the fallen Vampire Lord Rubinson.

And the Vice-Head, the Lady of Blood, Berling.

‘It’s neither of them.’

The Head, Vampire Lord Rubinson, had joined hands with the Necromancy and Curse Demonic Houses of the Four Kings' Castle, and the Vice-Head, the Lady of Blood, Berling, was in poor condition and had difficulty moving.

‘No. There's one more.’

Chris gulped.

His body froze stiff, as if he had been struck by lightning.

‘Grand Duchess Idrinne.’

Idrinne's current achievement is known to be at the level of entering 8-Star.

Exactly the same as ‘Lia’.

‘It can't be.’

Chris wore an expression as if the thought were absurd.

In truth, it wasn't that he hadn't had similar suspicions until now.

But the gap between ‘Idrinne’ and ‘Lia’ was so great that he had dismissed it as a ridiculous thought.

“Hehe, today was truly wonderful. To carry out a secret friendship mission with you, and to even win a bet! How exciting!”

Just look.

At that idiotic appearance.

How could he see Idrinne's face in that of a ditz like her?

But if Lia was Idrinne, then all the things that didn't add up until now would be explained.

“I have something to ask you.”

“Ask me anything!”

“…Why did you get close to me?”

“Why do you ask such a thing? There’s no particular reason. There's never a reason for becoming friends!”

“…Really?”

“…Actually, to be honest, there is a reason.”

“Tell me.”

‘Lia’s’ cheeks turned red.

Noticeably so. Her pale skin turned as red as an apple.

“W-well, I just wanted to be close to you from the moment I first saw you. I don't know the reason myself. Even now, I want to be closer to you. Closer and closer than we are now. I want to be greedy about it, like a greedy person.”

“……”

As he thought, it was a foolish answer.

The problem was that the answer didn't seem like a lie.

She was being sincere.

‘…I don't know.’

For now, he had to take care of the Life Vessels first.

He decided to confirm the truth properly after this was over.

“Let's head down.”

The Life Vessels were located in the inner part.

The reason he knew the structure of the ruins in such detail was, of course, because he had come here once before with the Hero’s party in his past life.

‘Other than the Bone Dragons, there are no particularly threatening guardians.’

It was as they were descending, neutralizing the undead and traps that appeared from time to time.

Suddenly, a chilling feeling ran down his spine.

‘Why do I suddenly have such an ominous feeling?’

It was an intuition that was difficult to ignore.

Thanks to his elevated soul-rank, his intuition now had a quality akin to ‘precognition’.

And in the next moment, Chris knew the identity of his anxiety.

“What is this…?”

A giant magic circle was drawn in the very center of the underground ruins.

“Why is something like this here?”

This was a sight he had never seen in his past life.

The problem was that this was no ordinary kind of magic circle.

‘It's a magic circle linked to Gehenna. Who could create a devil-worshiping magic circle of that level?’

A chill ran down Chris’s spine.

There was only one group in this world capable of drawing such a magic circle.

‘…The Mystic Demonic House?’

And at the same time.

Step. Step.

The sound of footsteps echoed.

Seeing those who had appeared, Chris’s eyes widened.

They were people wearing white priestly robes embroidered with a ghastly demonic crest.

“The Mystic Demonic House?”

And they were no ordinary members.

The ones who appeared had a crest of a horrifically tortured human engraved on their foreheads.

It was a crest that had made the Alliance tremble in fear in his past life.

‘The Order of Heretic Priests!’

It was the combat priest corps of the Mystic Demonic House.

Those who define anyone who doesn't worship devils as heretics and offer them to devils as food.

‘Why are they here?’

That wasn't all.

[Ufufu. I'm so pleased. I was just wondering how we were going to escort you, and here you are, walking in on your own two feet. How lucky.]

It was a figure with a bizarre appearance.

Strange, paper-white skin with no hint of blood, jet-black pupils without any whites, long fingernails, and even two jet-black wings on his back.

At the appearance, which was closer to that of a demon than a human, Chris let out a low groan.

“A Cardinal of the Mystic Demonic House.”

[Oho? That is correct. It seems you know of our Mystic Demonic House. My name is Cardinal Scheler. It is a pleasure to meet you.]

Cardinal Scheler bowed his waist in an exaggerated manner, as if in mockery.

Chris’s expression turned heavy.

‘If he's a Cardinal, he must be a being of at least 8-Star or higher.’

The Mystic Demonic House was a group of devil worshipers.

All of its members were contractors who had offered their souls to devils, and every one of them possessed great power.

The most overwhelming among them were the high priests, consisting of Cardinals, Bishops, Archbishops, and High Priests.

These individuals received an even more special blessing and, despite being human, became beings no different from high-ranking demons.

‘It’s fortunate that he's not a Bishop or higher, at least.’

A Bishop possessed power reaching High 8-Star.

Of course, that didn't mean the situation wasn't desperate.

It was difficult for Chris and Lia to face even a single Cardinal, and they even had the combat priest corps with them.

They had no chance of winning.

‘What do I do?’

For now, he decided to stall for time.

“For a Cardinal of the Mystic Demonic House to come all the way to a remote ruin like this. You must have nothing better to do.”

“On the contrary. This is a matter more important than any other, so I, a Cardinal, have come in person.”

He continued with a slight smile.

“Because it is the task of welcoming you, the great vessel who will fulfill the great work of our Mystic Demonic House.”

“!!”

Chris frowned.

“What kind of nonsense is that? If you're talking about your great work, do you mean Ragnarok?”

The Cardinal wore a surprised expression.

“As expected of Grand Duke Christian. You know of our Mystic Demonic House's long-cherished wish. That is correct. Our Mystic Demonic House, following the will of the great devils, plans to destroy this false world and open a new one.”

Up to this point, it was a story he knew from his past life.

However, a vessel.

‘Could it be?’

Something clicked.

“…But I wasn't supposed to be the vessel, was I?”

The Cardinal let out a sound of admiration.

“You truly know a great deal about our Mystic Demonic House. That is correct. The vessel we had in mind originally was not you.”

The story continued.

“Originally, we considered Grand Duchess Idrinne of the Blood Sword Demonic House to be the 'vessel'. But then, a being such as yourself suddenly appeared. One who fits the 'prophecy' even more.”

“……”

“After reviewing it in various ways, the judgment was made that you are the vessel spoken of in the prophecy, which is why we have come to escort you.”

It was an astounding story.

Chris clenched his fists tightly.

‘Then, in my past life, was Idrinne used as a tool after becoming these bastards' vessel?’

The question was answered, but this was no situation to be happy about.

At this rate, Chris was on the verge of becoming the vessel instead of Idrinne.

[This magic circle is for the purpose of taking away your futile will and allowing you to be reborn as the perfect vessel. Rejoice. Today, you will be born anew in this place. You will become the protagonist of our great work.]

“…Shut your nonsense.”

Chris desperately thought of a way out while they talked, but an answer did not come easily.

Escaping with a spatial teleportation relic was impossible. They wouldn't just stand by and watch.

A head-on fight was also hopeless.

‘No. Still, there must be a way?’

But just then, Lia, who had been standing blankly beside him, opened her mouth.

“Grand Duke Christian, I have something to ask you. Are we truly friends?”

“…In a situation like this, what kind of out-of-the-blue nonsense is that?”

He answered, mixed with irritation, but Lia did not withdraw her question.

“Please, answer me. It's important.”

“…Yes, we're friends. Why?”

“Hehe, I see.”

Lia smiled.

An incomprehensible sight.

“Actually, I have something to apologize to you for. Will you forgive me?”

And then.

At the ensuing scene, Chris’s eyes shot open.

Lia’s appearance began to change.

Flowing, blood-red hair, captivating, deep violet eyes.

An appearance that held a breathtaking, noble beauty, as if sculpted by the heavens themselves.

It was the face of Idrinne!

“This is…?”

“That's right. I'm sorry for deceiving you. I am Idrinne. I hid my identity because I was afraid you would be hostile to me if I appeared in my original form, but it just ended up staying that way.”

Chris fell silent.

Since he had already guessed to some extent, the shock was not that great.

Although he still couldn't believe that the ditz, Lia, was Idrinne.

“…I'll ask again. Am I still your friend?”

A faintly trembling voice.

Idrinne’s eyes, filled with anxiety, looked at him.

Just like the ditz, Lia.

Chris was silent for a moment, then answered.

“…Yes, you're still my friend.”

An unexpected answer.

Chris himself was surprised by his own answer.

In truth, his grudge toward the ‘Blood-Drenched Demon King’ had not emotionally disappeared.

Of course, he now fully knew that the events of the past were not Idrinne’s fault, but this was a matter of emotions engraved on his soul, separate from reason, so he could not easily shake it off.

But despite that.

“…You're my suc—... I mean, you're my friend.”

The fondness he had felt for the ditz, Lia, was not a lie either.

She was, indeed, his sucker.

“Hehe, thank you.”

Lia, no, Idrinne smiled.

Was it because her appearance had changed?

It was the same foolish smile, but it felt more captivating than silly like before.

“Do you remember the bet from before?”

“I remember. Stop with the useless talk and let's find a way to escape….”

“I'm going to use that request now.”

“What…?”

“I will hold these bastards back, so you get away alive.”