"Where on earth is he?"
With her arms crossed, Liana de Grantz frowned and muttered.
The Miss & Mister Temple Contest had already begun.
Students from the Royal Class who came to watch the contest were all seated in the adjacent seats, spectating the event.
"Exactly..."
In response to Liana's irritated tone, Harriet whispered softly.
The contestants were all exceptional in appearance, and if they lacked a little in that regard, they each had at least one outstanding individual skill.
Ellen's contestant number was 9.
With contestant number 7 just finishing their turn, it would soon be Ellen's turn.
Kono Lint and other classmates were all present, except for Reinhardt.
What could he be doing?
Harriet's feelings were complicated.
She didn't know what Reinhardt was up to, but she thought he would definitely come, and yet he didn't.
According to Liana, the senior from the 5th grade also hadn't shown up in the waiting room for some reason.
What could they be doing?
It was a place they had to attend, so why weren't they coming?
Harriet thought that it was both a relief and a shame that Reinhardt hadn't shown up.
Harriet knew that her hope for Reinhardt not to come was cowardly, but she was also afraid to see what kind of appearance Ellen would have today.
Everyone else also found it strange that Reinhardt was nowhere to be seen.
Feeling anxious and restless, Harriet watched the situation without even knowing why she was so uneasy.
Contestant number 7, who had successfully completed their dance during the appeal time, albeit a little nervous, exited the stage and it was time for contestant number 8.
As that person's turn passed, Harriet grew increasingly anxious.
And then, contestant number 9.
-Now, we have a participant from the Royal Class. As you all know, the Royal Class numbers indicate their skill ranking. This participant is from Royal Class 1st year A-Class, an impressive number 2. It's Ellen!
As the applause echoed, Ellen walked onto the stage.
"..."
Harriet knew, of course.
Ellen had always been wearing school uniforms or training clothes, but she was well aware that Ellen had a remarkable appearance.
However, upon seeing Ellen fully dressed up, Harriet couldn't help but gape in awe.
It seemed that Liana had been searching for the color that best suited Ellen.
Ellen was now wearing a pure white dress. Her hair was tied up and adorned with a ribbon. Wearing matching white heels, Ellen seemed to stand out excessively compared to the other contestants, even in Harriet's eyes.
Liana looked satisfied with Ellen's appearance, and not only her classmates but also the audience who didn't know Ellen stared at her in a daze.
She had practiced smiling relentlessly, and now, she wore a rather convincing smile that was nothing short of perfect.
That much was certain.
She could hold her own against Olivia.
That's what Harriet thought.
But no matter what others thought, Ellen simply stood there, smiling at the audience.
As if she were searching for something.
And as Ellen searched, her eyes met Harriet's, though it wasn't who she was looking for.
To be precise, her eyes met Harriet's before scanning the surrounding area, as if searching for someone who was nowhere to be found.
Finally, her gaze returned to Harriet.
It was a questioning look.
As if asking whether she had failed to find something, or someone.
Despite not being the person in question, Harriet felt a tightening in her heart.
Ellen seemed to be asking Harriet with her eyes.
Had Reinhardt not come?
Harriet couldn't figure out how to respond to that gaze. She found herself in a predicament, unable to laugh or cry.
She must have made a rather peculiar expression.
Ellen averted her eyes.
As if Harriet's discomfort had already provided the answer.
"Miss Ellen, is there a special reason why you decided to participate in Miss Temple?"
"Ah..."
Ellen opened her lips.
She must have had something to say.
Harriet saw Ellen, with her head down, trembling silently.
"Was there someone special you wanted to show your appearance to today?"
"..."
To the emcee's question, Ellen gave no response.
It was a question that struck right at Ellen's heart in this situation.
She needed to say something, but what? As Harriet saw Ellen desperately trying to find the right words, she clenched her teeth.
Just moments ago, Harriet had been relieved that Reinhardt hadn't come.
However, seeing Ellen in such a pitiful state, there was only one thought in Harriet's mind.
Ellen seemed on the verge of breaking.
Harriet did not wish for that, above all else.
'Where are you...?'
Unconsciously, Harriet clenched her fists.
'What are you doing...?'
Harriet resented Reinhardt for not coming.
Sarkegaar was keeping an eye on the situation from the outskirts of the abandoned monastery. The long-unused monastery was grand in scale, but its abandonment had left it with a sinister atmosphere.
Sarkegaar hadn't fully grasped the situation yet.
He had hurriedly followed at the mention of a task requiring some effort, but he didn't yet fully understand how things were unfolding.
All he knew was that there were people to rescue and enemies to eliminate.
He didn't know why it had to be this way, but it was a matter of revealing their existence in earnest.
As always, the objective was infiltration.
This time, it was a rescue mission, not a kidnapping.
Transformed into a sparrow, Sarkegaar easily flew over the monastery walls and headed towards the interior.
The security wasn't strict, but there were a few soldiers stationed here and there for guarding purposes.
Among them, only about twenty were considered the elite and posed a real threat.
The king had ordered the rescue of two women.
One woman trapped in the monastery.
And the woman who had just rushed into the monastery.
There were more people armed and capable of using divine power in the monastery than that.
Sarkegaar belonged to the demon race.
As such, he didn't mix well with divine power, not as much as the undead Eleris, at least. That's why it wasn't too pleasant for him to infiltrate a place where high-ranking paladins were lurking.
However, there was no hesitation in carrying out the order.
Sarkegaar entered the monastery and carefully flew around, examining his surroundings.
"Where is Adriana?"
Without the need for such a meticulous search, Sarkegaar could hear the distressed voice coming from the courtyard.
It was the woman who had just arrived at the monastery.
"That will be answered after you give yours."
"You know what answer will come."
"Then you should know what will happen next."
"What do you want?"
Sarkegaar approached the scene of the conversation.
A courtyard within the monastery.
A middle-aged man sat on an old chair, centered around a bonfire, with a few paladins accompanying him. Opposite him was a young blonde woman dressed in the Temple's robes.
Sarkegaar knew the middle-aged man was Riverrier Lanze.
"Return to Tu’an. Retract all the testimonies you've made, and publicly declare your regret."
"..."
"The Holy Order of Odai will break away from the Empire, establish an independent Holy Empire, and you will be its first Holy Empress."
"What nonsense... That's absurd..."
Olivia stared at Riverrier Lanze.
Holy Empress.
Independence.
Olivia felt as if her breath was stifled just by hearing those words.
"What if I refuse?"
"Then unfortunate events will begin to unfold."
"Are you saying you'll kill Adriana? A young girl who hasn't even become a nun yet?"
"Let's call it an unavoidable sacrifice. God will understand."
As Riverrier Lanze used the name of God as a shield for his evil deeds, Olivia's expression displayed blatant contempt and disgust.
"Is this your way, Father? Are you so angry and resentful for losing power that you're willing to abandon humanity and faith?"
"This is a necessary choice to counter the threat to the Holy Order of Odai. Besides, you know that no one will be hurt if you promise to return."
"I won't go back."
"Will you not care even if something happens to the child who saved you?"
"..."
Despair and resentment flashed across Olivia's face.
Riverrier Lanze believed in the vision of making Olivia the Holy Empress, but in reality, he sought to restore his honor and regain power by making her recant her words.
"Why me? Why does it have to be me? Father, if you want something, just do it. I really don't understand why you have to involve me in all of this. I don't know why you're threatening me like this, risking other people's lives as well..."
"As I always say, it's because there is no one more suitable than you."
"Please don't try to justify it like that..."
Olivia's tears finally spilled over in her sorrow.
"It's just because you want power, isn't it? You want to use me to satisfy your own desires. That's why you created this strange group. You want me to take back what I said to restore your honor, and to regain your power..."
"Olivia, I don't expect you to understand my intentions. But people have roles and destinies given to them, and I live for that."
Riverrier Lanze had an attitude that seemed completely unyielding.
"Until now, my role was to lead the forces in the Demon War to victory, and now it is to protect the Holy Knights of the Five Holy Religions from the clutches of the empire."
In front of the sobbing Olivia, Riverrier Lanze did not show even the slightest hint of personal emotion.
"And you are my successor. I decided that, and raised you accordingly. If it doesn't happen that way, I'll make it happen."
"But... why...?"
"Do you think the issue will end with just Adriana if you refuse?"
"!"
Olivia's eyes widened.
"Do you think Reinhardt will be left untouched?"
"Wh-what... what... are you saying...?"
As soon as the name Reinhardt was mentioned, Sarkegaar, who had been observing the situation, silently watched Riverrier Lanze.
Sarkegaar understood, though not completely, that Riverrier Lanze needed to be eliminated.
He was a threat to the Valier family. Sarkegaar clearly saw Olivia's expression contort as soon as Reinhardt's name was mentioned.
That woman was definitely an ally of Reinhardt. Sarkegaar also gained such certainty.
"If Adriana isn't enough, I'll simply find another person precious to you. Olivia, I called you here to show you that there is no end to this."
"..."
"Give up, Olivia. Don't cling to me in tears after a small pain becomes a greater one."
Olivia's eyes seemed to die upon hearing those words.
Adriana was just the beginning.
If she didn't give up, Riverrier Lanze would do whatever it took to destroy everything precious to Olivia, one by one.
Since threats and torture against Olivia personally wouldn't yield anything, Riverrier Lanze sought a way to make her give up from the outside.
Because he knew that she could bear her own pain, but not the pain of those precious to her.
Because he knew that Olivia, accustomed to sacrifice, would rather sacrifice herself than see her loved ones hurt.
As Lydia Schmitt attempted self-destruction using Berserk, it seemed as if she had given up on victory and made a sacrifice called "forfeit."
Riverrier Lanze knew how to manipulate Olivia.
"You are... a demon..."
Olivia said in a despairing tone. The surrounding knights flinched at her words, but Riverrier Lanze raised her hand to stop them from speaking rashly.
"If I can't escape... then this must be the right thing to do."
Olivia's body began to burn with explosive holy light and blue mana.
Having strengthened her body with both divine power and magic body strengthening, Olivia glared at Riverrier Lanze.
"Whether I die or you die, it will all end."
In this desperate coercion, Olivia chose to resist rather than accept or submit to it.
Because if she were to die, no one else would be sacrificed.
But before that, she would try to kill Riverrier Lanze, the mastermind behind this terrible situation. However, Riverrier Lanze remained calm in front of Olivia, who revealed her hostility.
"Do you think I didn't know you would make such a choice?"
At Riverrier Lanze's gesture, two knights appeared from somewhere in the corridor.
"…!"
"The moment you try anything foolish, you will witness Adriana's death."
"Senior..."
A miserable-looking Adriana was being dragged into the open by the knights. Olivia stared at Riverrier Lanze with wide eyes.
"You... vile...!"
"Even if you try something here, you'll only meet a miserable end, and you'll have to watch Adriana die first."
From the guilt on Adriana's face, it seemed she knew she was being used as bait for some purpose.
In the end, Olivia could not reach out. If Olivia tried anything, the sword pointed at Adriana's neck would do its job.
"First of all, I don't understand why you think this is such a bad thing. This is the first step in protecting the believers. It's about saving many people. If you just change your heart a little, you can save countless people."
Olivia could not respond to Riverrier Lanze's words.
No, she didn't.
The speaker believed in his words so sincerely that no argument would get through. He did not doubt himself because he believed the path he was taking was true justice.
Olivia knew Riverrier Lanze well.
That's the kind of person he was.
Always demanding something, but never being convinced.
"Senior... don't worry about me!"
"Adriana..."
The captive Adriana shouted at Olivia with a guilt-ridden expression.
Beyond her disappointment in everything, Adriana's expression was filled with disillusionment. Disappointed that what she had been striving for was nothing more than this, she had lost even the motivation to live.
"Senior... I'm fine. I am okay. Do as you wish..."
"Adriana! Don't say anything. I... I..."
I...
Olivia couldn't finish her sentence.
What should she do to save Adriana?
To save her, she must face them head-on.
She must pursue something she doesn't even want, whether it's from the Holy Empire or not.
Riverrier Lanze may become the captain of the Holy Knights again, but she must lie and say that all the cruel things he did to her were false.
Adriana is just the beginning.
Olivia calmly sorted her thoughts.
For now, listen to them.
After listening and making sure that Adriana is safely released...
Die.
If she dies, no one will torment her to change her mind, and he won't be able to torment anyone else either.
Her death will be the ultimate revenge against Riverrier Lanze. Those who want to use her will least want her death.
With that in mind, Olivia decided to accept his proposal for now.
Just then,
-Whoosh!
"Ugh!"
-Thud!
"Argh!"
Suddenly, something unexpected happened.
The necks of the two knights holding Adriana were abruptly severed.
In the midst of the sudden spray of blood, not only Olivia but also Riverrier Lanze's mouth gaped open.
From the darkness, a shadowy figure caught Adriana's body as the headless corpses thrashed about.
"Humans..."
The dark figure resembling a materialized shadow murmured, its red maw gaping in the darkness.
"How utterly wicked they are."
The sinister shape, more wicked than anything else in the world, smiled as it spoke of human wickedness.
-Swish!
"!"
As the black figure reached out, shadows wrapped around Olivia's entire body.
"What...?!"
"A demon...?"
The figure, with wings like a blood membrane woven from shadows, soared into the sky.
-Whoosh!
"Hehehehahahaha!"
With a laugh that tore through the night sky, the monster that snatched Adriana vanished into the heavens in an instant. Caught in the monster's trap too suddenly to resist, Olivia dangled helplessly in the night sky.
-Wha-what's going on?! Let me gooooo!
It was a frail, cute scream that didn't fit the grave and ominous atmosphere.
"What is that?!"
"It looks like a demon!"
"H-how could a demon be on the emperor's road...?!"
Riverrier Lanze cursed at the unidentified demonic monster that had suddenly abducted Olivia and Adriana, but no one knew its true identity.
But their bewilderment didn't last long.
An even more bewildering situation unfolded.
-Rumble!
The night sky was covered with dark clouds, and lightning flickered in the accumulated gloom.
-Flash!
In the blink of an eye, lightning began to pour down from the sky.
Harriet de saint-owan had summoned a lightning storm in her battle against Olivia Lanze.
Such a storm appeared and then dozens of bolts rained down.
Rumble!
“Ugh!”
“It's magic!”
Knights struck by the lightning activated their divine powers to protect themselves, but those who couldn't react in time were instantly charred black and crumbled to ashes.
The highest tier of destruction magic, Thunderstorm, had been cast.
“It's an attack from the demon race!”
The knights quickly assessed the situation and shouted, but things were not looking good.
The Thunderstorm wasn't the end of it.
Sizzle
A bizarre, warping sound echoed several times around the monastery, as if space itself was being distorted. Then, massive shockwaves erupted from the north, south, east, and west of the monastery.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Four consecutive explosions.
Explosions were cast four times in a row, causing the already devastated monastery to collapse and crumble.
Knights, priests, and paladins who were unable to use their powers strongly enough had already been shattered to pieces.
It was a massacre.
The knights began to experience hell due to the sudden onslaught of a high-ranking mage.
The sky rained lightning, and the monastery was blown away by the explosions.
And then.
Rumble
The ground shook violently as flames began to erupt from the surface.
From the sky, a rain of lightning.
From the ground, a storm of flames surged.
A Firestorm began to sweep across the land, as if to engulf everything in its path.
“This is…”
Riverrier Lanze watched as the lightning storm and the flames on the ground swallowed the knights whole.
In front of the headquarters of the Holy Knights, a sudden storm of flames had once erupted.
A dragon had appeared, and an unidentified Lycan had wreaked havoc.
Riverrier Lanze hadn't been in charge of the succubus escort at the time, but he had heard the reports and knew about it.
This felt like that time.
An unidentified demon race attack.
Amidst the sweeping flames, someone appeared, piercing through the fire and lightning.
Magic seemed to avoid that someone on its own, leaving that someone completely unaffected amidst the chaos.
A silver-maned wolf-like demon, a Lycan, stood there.
And beside it.
With hair that seemed to be aflame and a pair of curved horns protruding from its temples, it looked human but was something else entirely.
Roar!
In the midst of this hellish landscape, a Lycan and an unidentified demon appeared.
The demon stood within the wall of flames, carrying a pearly white sword with a blade that seemed to glow.
“Riverrier Lanze.”
The situation was a continuous string of incomprehensible astonishment.
With eyes widened in shock, Riverrier Lanze cried out, even as he was hit by the heat and lightning.
“Who are you?!”
"Me?"
The demon boy approaches, dragging his sword on the ground.
"My name is Valier."
"I am the enemy from the demon world."
"And the rightful heir to the Darklands."
The boy points his sword, which has a pearly white blade, at Riverrier Lanze.
Recognizing what the sword was, Riverrier Lanze's eyes widened in shock.
"Ho...w...?"
"Yo...u... Fallen clergy, scum."
From one to ten.
Riverrier Lanze couldn't understand a single thing about this situation.
"It's time for divine punishment."
But even if he couldn't understand it, the situation was unfolding.
The Demon King wielding the holy sword was trying to kill him.
