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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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Chapter 88
Saintess Theresia marveled at how she couldn’t feel a single gust of wind while flying.
Even though she was riding a dragon at high speed, she should have been facing a strong headwind.
Yet, the dragon’s back felt as warm as if she were inside a room.
Theresia understood exactly where this phenomenon was coming from.
"Sword Area..."
The absolute domain that only those who have reached the Master’s level can deploy.
To withstand the acceleration of the Drake, the use of the Sword Area was essential.
Therefore, the knights who rode drakes were equivalent to commanders of the Empire’s knight orders.
In other words, only martial artists who had reached the Master’s level could do this.
It had been hundreds of years since a Sword Master had appeared...
Yet, the newly emerged Sword Master Stein was freely using the old Sword Master's techniques without restriction.
She had heard that he was a descendant of Meier; could he have obtained the records?
As she thought this, she gently touched the scales of the Drake.
The scales were inscribed with a magic circle.
Theresia had seen this pattern before.
"Mana Eater's magic circle..."
The Mana Eater, a monster directly commanded by the Demon Lord, was capable of absorbing all magic from lower circles.
In the current Meister system, the Mana Eater was a disaster in itself.
Only the Holy Legion within the Sanctuary could face these creatures, but their method was simply to suppress them with divine power, making a more effective countermeasure necessary.
If she could analyze this magic circle, it would be a great help.
"Stein-sama."
As Theresia approached Kaylen, who was standing silently, she spoke.
"Please, speak."
"May I ask where you found this Drake?"
"I found it in the legacy of the Demon race. It was sealed."
"The legacy of the Demon race..."
The legacy left behind by the Meier royal family, which had fallen into corruption and become part of the Demon race.
It was once rumored that in order to obtain this legacy, the seal and bloodline of Meier were required.
But there had never been a report confirming this, so she had thought it was just a baseless rumor.
But it seemed it was true.
"Stein-sama, do you know about the magic circle inscribed on this Drake?"
"I'm not sure about the details, but I saw it absorbing magic earlier."
"That's right. This magic circle is an anti-magic seal inscribed on the monster's body, directly belonging to the Demon Lord's command. It resists low-circle magic strongly. We used to call monsters with this magic circle 'Mana Eaters'."
"Mana Eater?"
Kaylen asked, feigning ignorance.
As a mage, he had already known about it, but as a Sword Master, Stein had never heard of it before.
"Monsters that resist magic are the deadliest enemies to humanity in the Meister era.
While knights’ auras worked to some extent, there were so many large monsters that knights couldn’t easily counter them.
Only our Sanctuary's Holy Legion was able to overcome them..."
The Saintess gently caressed the Drake’s scales with a gleaming gaze.
"I believe that if we analyze this magic circle, we may discover a weakness of the Mana Eater. Then, humanity would finally have a way to counter the Demon Realm's conquest."
"Hmm..."
"Stein-sama, would you grant us the opportunity to analyze this magic circle?"
"Analysis, you say?"
"Please. For the sake of humanity, analyzing the anti-magic seal is something that must be done."
"I will consider it."
Kaylen replied to her request, understanding the importance of it for humanity.
But, 'Nothing comes without a price.'
A brief pause was necessary for such a proposal.
After the matter with the Bormian royal family was settled, they could discuss it further.
As soon as they arrived at the royal palace, Kaylen shifted his gaze.
"We've arrived at the royal palace."
The Drake flapped its wings slowly and began to land.
Perhaps it was because Kaylen had contacted them beforehand and mentioned that he would be riding a Drake, but the knights' training grounds were crowded with people, resembling a cloud.
Kaylen observed the people, who were staring with their mouths open in surprise at the sight of the Drake. His eyes lit up.
‘Diether Hart. He’s awake.’
Among the many people, the ones standing at the forefront were Princess Violet and the First Prince Diether Hart, who had previously collapsed.
‘A dragon knight. He's more troublesome than I thought.’
Bormian, who was controlling the body of First Prince Diether Hart, thought to himself.
Where did he get the Mana Eater from to ride around on?
A Drake with anti-magic powers, along with a Sword Master.
It was an annoying combination.
I’ll have to capture the Drake and Sword Master separately.
After gaining an enormous amount of dark mana from the northern regions, Bormian had no more concerns.
Even though the distance between the main body, Black Skull, and the royal palace was vast, his mana had grown so strong that he could control the First Prince with ease.
Thus, once the main body arrived at the royal palace, he was confident he could seize control of the palace in an instant.
It will take three days for the main body to reach the royal palace.
In that time, he needed to keep the Sword Master restrained.
Originally, Bormian had planned to use the forces he had cultivated within the palace to trap them.
But seeing the Drake changed his mind.
Rather than using forces to fight, I should stall for time until the main body arrives.
He couldn’t let the Sword Master escape on the Drake.
Thud.
When the Drake landed, dust flew everywhere.
"That’s a Drake..."
"Wow, it’s really huge."
"It looks bigger than the Sky Sphere at the Knight Academy."
"But if it’s a Dragon Knight, isn’t that supposed to be a Master?"
"Not all dragons, but for a Drake Knight, the Master level is required. Sword Area is essential."
The knights whispered as they gazed at the impressive Drake.
One by one, the White Knights and the Holy Knights began to set foot on the ground.
The First Prince stepped forward and walked toward them.
"Greetings, Saintess. And, Dragon Knight."
The pale-faced prince greeted them with a smile and extended his hand for a handshake.
"I am First Prince Diether Hart."
"Stein."
"Theresia."
"Thank you for coming such a long way. Saintess, it seems you've come again after just one day. I apologize for troubling you."
Diether Hart spoke politely, briefly glancing toward the Drake.
"That Drake... it’s too big for the stableman to handle."
Heh heh, how should I manage this one?
As Kaylen reached out to the Drake, the dragon shrank down.
[M-Master... Ugh... it hurts.]
"Just bear with it a little longer."
[You always tell me to bear with it. If that’s the case, I should have brought Royen.]
"Today’s not the day to bring him."
The Drake, grumbling in pain, shrank instantly to the size of a bird.
"You can get on now."
[Yes.]
After curling up on the ground for a moment, the Drake took flight and perched on the White Knight’s shoulder, leaving the onlookers stunned.
There had been countless legends of Dragon Knights, but they had never heard of a knight being able to adjust the size of their dragon like this.
"There shouldn’t be any more issues now."
"Ho, hoh... so that’s how it works."
Even Bormian was surprised by this sight.
‘A Sword Master can do that? That’s... even mages can’t do that.’
To resize a creature like a Drake so freely—he had never heard of such a thing before.
‘I shouldn’t have underestimated him.’
Watching the now-shrunken Drake, Bormian’s wariness returned.
That White Knight... he didn’t seem like just a simple swordsman.
‘I’ll have to set the trap perfectly. If that Drake grows and flies away, my plans to corrupt him will be for nothing.’
What if the demon general, who had granted the Drake dark mana, failed the mission?
Not only would he fail to corrupt him, but his very existence could become a danger.
‘Right. To capture even the Saintess, my current preparations aren’t enough. I’ll need to make more plans.’
Bormian thought as he spoke to the Saintess and her group.
"I’ve prepared a place to welcome our guests. Shall we head there for now?"
The Saintess shook her head at the offer and smiled coldly.
"No. I don’t think this is the time for such hospitality. Could we go to the problematic annex first?"
At her response, the knights escorting the First Prince froze.
No matter how much of a Saintess she was, for her to dismiss the place arranged by a prince of the kingdom like this...
Wasn’t that a bit too rude?
"Still..."
"We wish to go to the annex first."
The First Prince again suggested they follow him, but the Saintess remained firm in her stance.
Seeing this, Diether Hart smiled bitterly and nodded.
"Understood. Then Violet, please guide them..."
"No."
Theresia, cutting off Diether Hart’s words, spoke with a cold expression.
"I would prefer to be personally guided by the Prince."
"No!"
"Even if you’re a Saintess, this is too much!
To refuse the First Prince’s invitation and even demand to be personally guided—it was more of a command than a request.
The knights escorting the First Prince bristled, and Violet’s expression also stiffened.
"If the Prince himself doesn’t guide us, we won’t move another step from here."
Bormian looked at the Saintess. Had she sensed something?
‘As expected, she isn’t called the Saintess of a thousand years for nothing.’
The Saintess’s firm attitude made Diether Hart sigh and nod.
"Then I will personally guide you."
The exterior of the White Lily Palace was as pure and beautiful as its name.
But the Saintess's eyes, as she gazed at it, were cold and distant.
"Is this the problematic annex?"
"Yes, it is."
"It truly is a beautiful place... on the surface, at least."
The Saintess looked around at the holy knights who were guarding her.
"Shall we bestow a blessing upon this beautiful palace?"
"A 'large-scale blessing'... you mean?"
"Yes. Let everyone offer a prayer to the Heavenly God."
Thud. Thud.
The Saintess kneeled first, tightly clasping her hands.
The 30 holy knights knelt as well, mirroring her position.
"Our Father who art in Heaven,"
The prayer most frequently spoken by the followers of the Heavenly God flowed from the Saintess’s lips.
A prayer asking for the world to serve the Heavenly God,
and for the Kingdom of Heaven to be established on earth.
"...Give us this day our daily bread."
Even the knights, whose expressions had hardened at the Saintess's impudence, began reciting the prayer unconsciously.
"Lead us not into temptation..."
Between the kneeling holy knights, one by one, brilliant white lights began to rise.
A powerful divine energy, never seen among the temple priests.
All the holy knights were emitting light.
Except for one.
The Saintess alone remained unchanged, continuing her prayer.
She had left only the final phrase of the Lord’s Prayer.
Even Kaylen, who wasn’t an ardent follower of the Heavenly God, knew the phrase.
‘Deliver us from evil…’
And then, the final phrase was not what everyone had expected.
"Silence the Red Moon."
The last line was completely different from what they all knew.
"The Red Moon..."
It wasn’t what everyone had anticipated.
Woooooosh!
From the Saintess's body, a brilliant white light surged upward.
The light spread completely into the sky and soon illuminated the White Lily Palace.
Then,
"No..."
"The White Lily Palace...!"
The appearance of the White Lily Palace began to completely change.
The pristine palace turned into walls made of human flesh and bone,
and the garden, once full of beautiful flowers, was now crawling with enormous, grotesque insects.
The palace, now made of flesh, blood, and bone, had a repulsive, nightmarish look.
"As expected."
Looking at this, Saintess Theresia spoke coldly.
"The Necropolis was hidden beneath the palace."
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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