C183
"¡…!"
As if quite surprised by my question about whether she expected the red moon, Mia's pupils stretched horizontally in an instant and then narrowed. Like a goat.
"As expected... it was Mia, not the 4th Queen."
"I don't know what the princess is talking about."
Mia acted even more pitiful, probably because she didn't seem to notice the change in her eyes.
She pretended to be innocent all the time, constantly shedding tears to garner sympathy from others.
"Mia, do you know what?"
I called her softly.
"You're good at acting with tears, but the performance of your eyes is poor. The repertoire is no different from when you deliberately tripped in front of Philap Montes, so it's boring."
"......"
"The red moon rises and connects the demon realm and the earth to create chaos, you thought it would be a great strategy, but it's boring because it's always the same, you know?"
When the emotions of the devil and Mia were stimulated at the same time, the hands in contact began to tremble.
"Don't you feel ashamed while lying when you know everything?"
I poured divine power into my grip so forcefully that it couldn't be compared to the previous time.
Blood vessels sprouted from her eyes, causing the whites of her eyes to be dyed red.
Seeing her arm turning black from the divine power, Mia trembled, thinking she could no longer hide it.
"... Acting and lying... Don't you feel ashamed?"
She suddenly stopped crying and faced her eyes that had changed like a goat.
"Actually, I find it amusing."
When her attitude suddenly changed in a strange way, the crowd and the research team murmured as if only then they felt a strange sensation.
"Deborah Seymour, if you hadn't bothered me in every way."
"!!!"
"It would have been much more fun."
Suddenly, a burning pain ran through my hand.
A strong demonic energy emanated from her skin upon touch, and my hand holding her wrist turned red as if it had been burned.
I wanted to pull my hand away from the darkening skin, but this time, Mia pressed my arm forcefully.
"Yes, as you said, I was waiting for the red moon to come out."
"[I still remember the shiver of fear that your soul, Nayla, showed when monsters rained from the night sky.]"
As soon as Mia finished speaking, a hoarse voice pierced the eardrums.
"Ha, are you Nayla...? A princess who lived as she pleased is the incarnation of the true Saint? It's not even funny."
Mia's and the devil's voices drilled into their eardrums one after another, and then slowly overlapped into one.
"But the fact that there is no red moon doesn't change your future, which is stained with blood and is nothing but death."
I couldn't tell if it was Mia's words or a curse from the demon that had been on the brink of extinction because of Nayla in the early days of the empire's foundation.
I clenched my teeth and spoke to the presence in front of me showing a sharp murderous intent.
"I'm sorry. Because I'll live a long time until my purple hair turns white."
Swallowing the burning pain of her skin, she kicked her shin forcefully and then stepped on her back as hard as she could.
"Aargh!"
Mia's body staggered, perhaps surprised by this kind of close combat, and then she laughed again.
"So... I'll just do it like this."
"... What is that?!"
"Oh my God. Holy God..."
Those who sympathized with Mia looked at her with astonishment.
"Is it alchemy?"
This is because the powder, which had changed her hair to a pink color, crumbled and gradually changed back to its original color.
"It's the devil! Even the Archbishop was deceived by that wicked demon!"
At the same time, goat horns sprouted from Mia's temples, and then the priest shouted loudly with a contemplative expression.
"You even dyed it. You interpreted the incarnation of the Saint very meticulously."
Suddenly, a sense of absurdity arose.
In the past, Nayla sacrificed her life to save the world, but because she was tainted by demonic power, she couldn't enjoy fame and wealth and died while living a limited life. Because crazy people tried to rule the empire with false saints.
"Lord. Save us from the devil."
The priest, clasping his hands and trembling with a loud noise, opened his mouth.
"Holy God."
Because I created thousands of pure white arcs in the air.
That fell on Mia, who was rapidly assimilating into the demon, and her father took the opportunity to give orders.
"At this moment, mobilize all forces and attack Mia Binoche, who is turning into a demon!"
"Tower master. O-over there...."
Cracks gradually formed in the grayish sky with a sudden roar of thunder and lightning.
A group of demon dragons appeared through the gap in the sky, and monsters with various strange forms fell to the ground.
"Still, it's a horde of monsters on a significantly smaller scale than when the red moon appeared...."
Much better than the horrible vision of the entire sky turning red, which had disturbed my sleep.
Should I say fortunately, it wasn't worse?
The worst situation was avoided, but due to the cracks occurring here and there, the power in this area had no choice but to disperse.
"Moreover, the power that came out of Mia's body before... is unusual."
I swallowed dry saliva as I looked at my hands still swollen even after pouring healing power.
The demonic power emanating from the direction where Mia was standing was becoming thick enough to suffocate her.
"You're injured."
Isidor, who approached me before I realized, said with a stiff expression.
"Princess, if you think it's dangerous, run away. I told you the other day. You're not obligated to save everyone."
I suppressed a bitter smile, thinking he was also clever.
"After all, I am their target."
And there's no way I can leave Isidor and my family and run away somewhere else.
"After all, I am also trapped with that demon in this life. Curse it."
"Isidor."
"Yes, Princess."
"Tell me that everything will be fine, that you, I, and our loved ones will live happily ever after."
A moment of astonishment crossed his beautiful emerald eyes.
He seemed to think it was uncharacteristic of me, who meticulously considered efficiency and economic viability, to ask for emotional words out of nowhere in an urgent moment.
"Isidor. Surprisingly, the words* of your distant ancestors were very powerful."
(N/T: It means that the things they said came true.)
"......"
"Originally, the golden Visconti was the Visconti of the golden dragon. The family name was changed due to political issues, as dragons are the supreme animals symbolizing the emperor."
"......"
"It means you are descended from a dragon. It was also the Lord Dragon, the Yellow Dragon*."
(N/T: Huanglong (黃龍) is a yellow dragon appearing in ancient Chinese myths and legends. It symbolizes good fortune and power. Since it is the most revered dragon, ancient people often used it as a symbol of the empire and the emperor.)
"Is that so? It's a desperate moment, so I don't know if it will work."
He might think it's absurd, but Isidor blindly listened to everything I said.
It's hard to believe that a man as loyal as a big dog is descended from a dragon that is selfish and arbitrarily reveals only gold.
"Everything will be fine."
"Yes."
"Have we ever failed in the past?"
"No. Never."
"You and I will always get our way."
The moment he took out a two-faced lucky coin and finished his speech in his characteristic relaxed and confident tone, I convinced myself that everything would be fine.
"Isidor is a male protagonist even if you see him on a KTX*."
(N/T: Korean Express Train.)
And at the opportune moment, those on my side appeared one by one.
"I'm late. I'm sorry, Princess."
The powerful flames fired by the 5th princess instantly annihilated the swarming monsters.
The Crown Prince, a sword master, also took the lead and quickly cut the vital points of the demon dragon.
The magical battle unit led by Rosad poured powerful high-level magic in rapid succession, and whether it was thanks to Thierry or the Duchess Orge, who owed me her life, the Orge family also joined the fight against the demon.
In addition, Oryx, my trusted knight escort, demonstrated the power of a hundred men.
Despite the sudden turmoil, this team quickly formed a line and responded well to the devil's infernal chaos.
It was completely different from the brutal and one-sided massacre that took place under the red moon that Nayla had in mind.
["Did you think this would be it? You're still too accommodating."]
At that moment, the devil's lugubrious voice spread through the air where a strong gust blew.
Kruuuung-!
Two more cracks appeared as a loud explosive sound erupted, and a huge demon dragon, supposed to be the leader, protruded from the great rift.
But at the same time, what I had been waiting for appeared.
An ancient weapon that I asked Belreck to find, just in case.
It was a golem.
"What the hell is that?!"
"Is it a monster alongside another monster this time?"
"No. Up there is Sir Belreck!"
Mirju Seymour's twin brother had made inventions similar to Belreck, so I thought he could operate it too.
"Because he is mass-producing massagers, Belreck is faster than anyone in operating such structures. Enough to operate a mechanism as simple as a golem."
"Don't borrow it for a second, Deborah!"
Belreck shouted over the head of the golem.
The giant demon dragon, supposed to be the leader, wildly flapped its wings, but when the golem swung its huge and strong arm, it fell like a lizard in an instant.
["Aaargh!"]
The demon shook violently as if angry, and a strong demonic power rose to the point that the earth trembled.
"Please, just a little more..."
While licking my dry lips, I prayed that the devil would be distracted by creating cracks.
As far as I know, the strongest and most threatening thing to demons was the divine magic that was about to be completed.
At that moment.
["What are you doing?"]
Suddenly, the devil reached his hand towards the sky and summoned a long black spear and threw it in the direction where I was.