Listening to Caspond and the nobles screaming, the Satyr quietly looked away and gently covered his ears.
They have beaten me. Even if they do not let me go, at least they will probably grant me a quick death.
He turned his head and saw a golden-haired, crimson-eyed girl leaning down. She watched him with an amused smile.
The sharp spike in her hand swayed back and forth before his slit-pupilled eyes.
"Oh my, we could never forget you."
The Satyr closed his eyes in resignation and murmured, "Go on. Kill me."
Clementine glanced at Calca for approval. After receiving a nod, she grinned, gripped the spike with both hands, and prepared to gouge out the goat eyes.
"Watch out!"
Zesshi Zetsumei sensed something and shouted a warning.
The next instant, a strange magical pulse rippled from the Satyr. His body ballooned like an overinflated bladder.
Skin and bone tore and cracked with a sickening sound. Beads of blood oozed from every pore until he became a gory sphere.
"What…?"
Clementine flickered behind Helant and Zesshi and peeked out curiously.
Bang!
The Satyr exploded into a cloud of crimson mist.
"Hm?"
Calca started to raise a shield, but the blood mist did not spread. It shot straight skyward.
Everyone instinctively looked up.
Against the blue sky, the red cloud was glaringly, eerily conspicuous. A faint metallic tang lingered in the air where it passed.
"A projection spell?"
Zesshi could feel a vibration within the mist very similar to the Thousand Leagues Astrologer's magic.
Calca sensed that whoever had cast it must be the true mastermind behind the demi-human invasion of the Holy Kingdom.
She unconsciously seized Helant-san's hand for reassurance.
As if sensing every gaze upon it, the cloud unfurled into a three-dimensional blood array covered with dozens of runes.
A fifty-meter-tall figure in black evening dress, a blood-faced demon, appeared in the sky.
The demon looked down. His gaze swept past Zesshi, Quaiesse, Clementine, Remedios, and Calca before finally settling on Helant.
He placed a hand on his chest, bowed politely, and smiled. "Ladies and gentlemen, good day. My name is… Basterlo."
How courteous was everyone's first thought.
Were it not for that grotesque demon face, they might have taken him for a gentleman.
Remedios gripped her sword. Her eyes were wary. "Hmph, all that courtesy, as if one of us were his superior!"
Helant's ears twitched. He pursed his lips and resolved to hand Remedios over to the torturers.
Her intuition is terrifyingly accurate.
"You must be the one pulling the strings behind the demi-human army!" Calca said coldly, tightening her hold on Helant's hand.
"Indeed, beautiful Holy Queen." Basterlo behaved as though courtesy were etched into his bones.
"As expected…" Calca bit her lip, waiting to hear what the demon wanted.
High above, the Platinum Dragon Lord stared at the demon's image in shock. A demon? Is he a Pleh-yer?
There were no demons in this world. Only among the Players did such a race exist.
He fixed his gaze on Basterlo and murmured, "Why would a Plah-yer secretly stir the demi-humans to attack the Holy Kingdom? And what will happen now that he meets Helant, who swears by human supremacy?"
In his view, Helant-san and this newly appeared demon belonged to opposite camps, natural enemies.
"Hm!?"
His draconic eyes clearly caught a flicker of wariness in Basterlo's gaze directed at Helant.
Basterlo's image politely turned to Helant-san and drawled, "Should I call you Helant, or the third Human Emissary of the Holy Domain God Lord?"
At those words, Helant lifted his head. His eyes widened in disbelief. "You are from that world!"
Which world?
The one the Six Great Gods came from… Zesshi Zetsumei mused.
"It seems the Holy Domain God Lord's seal is solid. The being He created, you, possesses less than half the might of the first two Human Emissaries…" Basterlo sounded nostalgic, almost regretful for Helant.
"Created?! Sealed?!"
The Platinum Dragon Lord's eyes lit up. He was now certain Helant was an NPC, a loyal monster crafted by those Players.
The seal also confirmed his earlier deduction. The Holy Domain God Lord must be restricted, or He would have swept the world long ago.
Thus, the demon's purpose was obvious. He had come to pick a fight.
"You are forcing me to appear!"
...
Helant snapped to attention. Cold sweat poured down his back.
Basterlo flashed a perfect smile, baring razor fangs. "Ahahaha~~ Followers of the Holy Domain God Lord never bend. They love to sacrifice themselves for the weak and pitiful… See? At the cost of a single nation, I have drawn you out and even made you use the Faith Power you had saved."
An open scheme.
Calca was shocked and furious. The cunning demon had set a trap using Helant-san's sense of justice and benevolence.
Quaiesse also broke into a cold sweat. "Summoning the Holy Domain God Lord consumes Faith Power. Helant-san already spent it slaying that 'god'!"
If another crisis arose, Helant-san would have to stake his life as he had at E-Rantel.
Damn this demon. Exploiting Helant-san's justice was despicable.
"The Holy Domain God Lord is too powerful. Everyone from that world agrees He must be erased forever."
Basterlo kept his gaze on Helant. "Do you know? Among faithless demons, I am the most trustworthy.
For instance, the demi-humans said they wanted a nation of their own, so I kept my promise and helped them scheme against the Holy Kingdom…"
"Enough, mongrel demon. What are you trying to say!" Remedios roared, snarling.
Boo! I had not finished, she interrupted my speech in front of Lord Helant!! What do I do… Basterlo blinked, momentarily at a loss for words.
____
15 Advance chapters:
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