“Are you really going to Evian?”
“Yes, if I were Yona, I would definitely go to Evian. There’s someone special to Yona there.”
Watching Vigrind speak with such conviction, Ceres couldn’t help but admire him.
Vigrind hit the nail on the head without a single mistake.
At this point, Ceres was curious too.
What kind of priest is this Aege that even Vigrind and Yona feel this way?
Despite the circumstances, Yona was determined to meet Aege while Vigrind confidently stated that Yona would definitely head to Evian.
The name hardly came up when they exchanged messages with the Alebians.
Just someone who protected Yona, that was about it.
That was the extent of Aege’s image in Ceres’s mind.
Yet, it was surprising that Yona would take such a risk to go to Evian, and even Vigrind was sure that Yona would do just that.
“Is that person really that amazing?”
“Rather than amazing…”
Vigrind paused for a moment at Ceres’s question to gather his thoughts.
Aege wasn’t quite remarkable to that extent.
Her divine power was impressive, but not standout, and if you asked if she excelled as a priest, it wasn’t that either.
“It seems like describing her as a true priest would suffice…”
“Is that so? Even more than Yona?”
At that moment, Ludvik, who had been sitting next to Vigrind, slammed his hand on the table and glared at Ceres.
“She’s a heretic. Don’t refer to her as a priest. How could an elder say such things?”
Faced with the fiercely sharp words from the hero, Ceres forced a smile.
“Uh, well, that’s true. Hero, and Saint, I apologize for my rudeness.”
“No, no, it’s not okay. Hero, that’s rude.”
Even with Vigrind’s words, Ludvik’s stern face remained unchanged.
Hero, Ludvik.
Though he’d lived as an adventurer for quite some time since becoming a hero, he felt his powerlessness acutely in the recent incident.
He was toyed with like a child by Vervaria,
almost facing a great crisis entangled in her tail.
Not to mention the humiliation of being saved by the heretic Yona.
“The unprecedented disaster that the Celestial God mentioned to me and the Saint must signify this. The heretic Yona not only accepted the great demon Vervaria into her body but also concealed her identity and infiltrated the Church of the Celestial God to attack, didn’t she?”
“Hero, I told you there must be a misunderstanding! Yona isn’t like that! There must be a reason!”
“Saint. It seems you are particularly soft on that heretic. However, no one would say the heretic Yona became that way due to misunderstanding.”
Vigrind had seen Ludvik wasn’t this deeply entrenched in faith before.
But in the recent battle against Vervaria, Vigrind saw Ludvik finally radiate golden light, meaning he could now use the Celestial God’s power—
Now Ludvik was truly walking the path of a hero.
To Ludvik, Yona—the heretic Yona—was merely an enemy to be defeated, that’s how he perceived her.
Still unable to clearly draw the line, Vigrind only seemed frustrating to Ludvik.
“Um, you two, it would be a bit inconvenient to quarrel here. It’s a public space, and if you start arguing, that wouldn’t be good, would it?”
“Isn’t it a bit weird if we hear a sound?”
At Seres’ words, Ludvik sealed his lips tightly.
Unlike before, there was a seriousness filling the corners of his tightly closed mouth.
“So you two are also planning to go to Evian, right?”
“Yes.”
“Um… well, sounds good. I was planning to keep tracking as well, so how about moving together?”
After all, Seres also intended to go to Evian.
Yona’s group must be on the move by now, and Seres had planned to come up with a reasonable excuse to head to Evian too.
And with the news that the heroes are also headed to Evian, Seres thought that perhaps things could progress even faster—she thought to herself.
Suppressing her laughter, Seres forced a serious expression.
“Since you will have to travel by ship anyway, it would be impossible for the heretic group to boldly enter Evian. It wouldn’t be a bad idea for us to arrive first and wait to intercept them.”
“…What if they don’t come to Evian?”
“Then we can trace back from Evian. We’re not the only ones tracking, you know? The churches of the Church of the Celestial God spread throughout the Duchy of Kapatia are all on the lookout. Their trail will definitely be caught.”
Speaking confidently, Seres laughed.
This time, she genuinely laughed.
*
“It’s still desolate.”
Yona’s impression upon entering the Demon World through the gate was just that.
The appearance of the Demon World, which she had been to before, always looked like this.
It wasn’t as if something had changed, and the desolation felt devoid of life.
Somehow, that chilly feeling made Yona shiver as she rubbed her arms.
– So you feel it’s desolate, huh?
“Well, isn’t this place desolate?”
Yona responded with a sulky voice, causing Berbarria’s laughter to spread.
– You want to see some changes, I guess.
“What could possibly have changed?”
– Then, you’d better start with changing yourself.
At that remark, Yona slightly furrowed her brows.
She wasn’t unaware of what that statement meant, which made her even more so.
“Are you saying I have to wear it?”
– Yes, indeed. Dress appropriately; don’t humans say that too?
“…Fine. Only here.”
She wasn’t particularly keen on it.
She had heard that such a thing existed but had never worn it before.
She had heard it from Seres and learned how to wear it as well.
But she had never wanted to wear it.
Yona lightly rubbed the inside of her wrist and uttered an incantation.
If the Saint of the Church of the Celestial God recited a prayer, the Saint of the Demon World chants a spell.
That prayer, also known as a wish, symbolized the Demon World.
Yona’s chant echoed softly.
Her pure voice seemed to fit rather well with the atmosphere of the Demon World, but soon the black letters that adorned her right arm began to melt away, which could hardly be considered a good sign.
As the melted black letters fluttered as if they sprouted wings, they swirled around her body.
The letters that had been circling Yona’s whole being began to attach to her body, and soon they started to change form.
As the spell reached its peak, the letters continued to transform.
Some parts became a skirt, some became a blouse, and some portions turned into a veil.
The part is veiled.
And just like that, the shape that was changing finally transformed into an outfit—
Yona’s appearance had completely changed.
“…This feels really awkward.”
– It suits you well, Saint. I have long awaited this moment…
Vervaria’s voice trembled lightly.
A mix of emotions—relief, excitement, joy—all intertwined in Vervaria’s voice, trembling with the weight of long-awaited feelings.
“Now that I think about it, I feel a bit different.”
As she looked around, Yona muttered to herself.
Walking around and surveying the area, Yona was glancing much further than she had when she visited before.
– But I think it’s improved a bit.
Vervaria was nodding along beside her. However, if Yona had to point out what was different compared to last time, it was definitely that the fires had decreased. So the smoke seemed to be lessening too.
Even so, the desolate feeling couldn’t be shaken off. The land stretched out wide with no mountains, and the buildings precariously placed on top were mostly in ruins, leaving only their ugly skeletons behind. Indeed, the flames had calmed down considerably, and the billowing black smoke had lessened greatly.
– Thanks to you becoming a Saint. And also because I have submitted to you.
Vervaria’s submission.
To rescue Alex, Yona had spent two days focusing on receiving that power from Vervaria.
Even though she had received Vervaria’s power, that power didn’t just disappear.
The only difference was that the source of that power, the magic originally possessed by Vervaria, had now been passed on to Yona.
Vervaria had transferred the source of her power to Yona, thanks to which Yona could now wield magic too.
Yona’s power was Vervaria’s power, and Vervaria’s power was Yona’s power.
In other words, Yona had a leash on Vervaria.
– The demon world that had been without a god until now, the demon world that lacked a protective god—had been turning increasingly desolate day by day.
Vervaria coiled up around Yona.
Each thick, black scale contained deadly magic for living beings, yet it felt completely harmless to Yona.
What seemed cold was unexpectedly warm as radiant warmth swirled around the dark scales.
Yona quietly leaned against those scales, waiting for Vervaria to continue.
– Don’t tell others that I explained this to you. Especially Ceres. That woman is so annoyingly chatty for a priestess—it drives me crazy.
“…Got it.”
– Good. Now then—where was I… right, so—the god known as the Heavenly God disappeared hundreds of years ago. We, the beings called demons, emerged from the power of that Heavenly God and finally revealed ourselves in the demon world.
“You were born from the Heavenly God’s power?”
– That’s correct. We were born from the powers of the Heavenly God, which split into seven. In essence, we are like descendants of the Heavenly God. But at the same time, we can never become gods ourselves.
It’s like being a descendant of the gods. But it’s also a being that can never become a god.
As the Celestial God was annihilated, the power that spanned the demon realm was split into seven, each becoming a Demon Duke.
Since the Celestial God, who once protected the human realm with immense power, couldn’t trespass into it, the Demon Dukes governed the divided demon realm.
– However, no matter how much we govern, we who cannot become gods can only let the unblessed land dry and wither. A world without gods tends to become that way. And around that time, the priests found something.
“…Who are the priests?”
I’ve been curious about it since earlier.
Seeing how the priests squawked, I had a rough idea, but confirming it a bit more clearly was necessary.
– Priest, Ceres. Priest, Alebians. They’re the ones called the Leader and the Watcher. Those two are the priests. They found you, and finally, you became the Saint of this demon realm.
“Leader, Watcher…”
Yona clenched her fists.
Yeah, that seemed likely.
I thought those two were scheming, but hearing their names only strengthened my conviction.
“It was all planned by those two… right?”
– …That’s correct. I owe you an apology.
Surprisingly, anger didn’t well up.
It was because I already knew to some extent and had expected it.
– The demons should indeed submit to you, just like I did. Because you are the Saint of this demon realm. Although the Saint of the Celestial God is called so under the Celestial God, you, without a god, represent the entire demon realm, so you could essentially be called its true representative.
“Really?”
– However, the other dukes might not think that way. No, there’s a higher chance they won’t. There will certainly be some who won’t welcome the drop from being an untouchable ruler to a position that must follow the commands of a superior.
“…Let me ask one thing.”
Yona took a small breath.
“If I absorb all those demons, can I overturn the Church of the Celestial God? Can I flip it all upside down?”
At those words, Vervaria didn’t answer right away.
The thick, long body of Vervaria twisted, and she quietly looked into Yona’s face with her long head.
Yona, with her orange eyes, stared directly back at Vervaria without flinching.
Gone was the image of Yona trembling in fear before Vervaria; she faced her without any hint of fear.
The long staring contest ended when Vervaria spoke first.
– Of course. If you absorb all seven Demon Dukes’ powers, it’s as if you possess the power of the Celestial God. No matter how strong the church’s authority is, in the end, they are still humans. They cannot overcome the power of a god.
“Alright. That’s all I needed to hear.”
I will make it happen.
I’ll overthrow the Church of the Celestial God, and then —
It’s your turn, Alebians.
Ceres.
It’s your turn next.
Yona’s gaze glinted ominously.
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