72 – 72 Episode – Princess, Alice Tantalota 14 –
Episode 72 – Princess, Alice Tantalota 14 –
The demon’s request was clear.
To become the saint of the demon.
I briefly wondered why, but soon I understood the reason.
Especially from my position of knowing the final boss of this place.
“Ah ha. So you can’t tolerate me becoming a deity either?”
[Yes.]
“When humans were trying to exterminate each other, you didn’t intervene… It’s truly amusing.”
[Don’t you already know the reason?]
“Yes… that’s why I’m accepting it. Anyway, you won’t care about whatever I do, right?”
[As long as it pleases ‘me’. It’s your freedom.]
In most online games, especially in RPG games, it is rare not to know who the final boss is.
Even if the settings or abilities of the final boss are unknown, who the final boss is will be revealed.
In WFS, it is the embodiment of sin.
Although I came here before being implemented as a boss.
The setting had been somewhat revealed.
‘In the end, is it a divine being…’
Other factions, the Demon Cult and Lion Corps, demons and vampires, dragons, and in some cases, even elves, could be defeated by the power of humans.
Of course, there would be numerous casualties, but it would not lead to the extinction of mankind.
It was roughly similar to the Nazis’ position.
The rise and fall of many nations would be affected, but it would not reach the level of mankind’s extinction.
However, the incarnation of evil is different.
It is an existence that has yet to be realized as a boss, so even I do not know much about it.
According to Dante, it is the worst-case scenario, with the potential to vaporize 90% of humanity.
I must defeat it in order to leave this world as my legacy.
[So, will you become my son?]
The demon asked, not having yet received an answer from me.
Though it already knew. A divine being that highly values the freedom of creations.
“Of course!!!”
That’s why I agreed.
Because the risks are minimal.
Previous saints unified the Demon Cult based on that freedom.
But I am different.
No responsibilities but gains?
Naturally, I must do it.
‘There might be risks… but I can handle them…!’
With a position comes problems.
If it is revealed that I am the Saint of the Demon, it will become extremely dangerous.
Even stronger than the Heavenly Maiden, the highest-ranking individual in the current human society.
That is, after the Demon Cult has survived and completed its growth.
It would be difficult in its newly born state.
Moreover, the Demon Cult is currently on the brink of destruction, so it will take even longer.
But what’s important is that it has reached such a high point.
In the end, there is potential to become stronger, rather than just staying on par with them.
“The time has come.”
The demon begins to chant something.
The power of the gods is rooted in perception.
It happens as the gods think, but the more difficult they think it is, the more the consumption of divine power increases.
Although most of the divine power is external for the demon.
Through offerings, it has become possible to temporarily restore divine power and recreate an adult.
The form the demon takes is unknown.
Something even darker begins to envelop my surroundings in the darkness.
The darkness is shaped by evil and fear, but darkness only means the absence of light.
Excluding vampires, darkness itself has no special meaning.
Something black is just something black.
It is not about manipulating darkness.
But the absence of light is darkness.
In other words, if there is no light, it is always dark.
That’s why in the beginning, there was darkness.
Darkness symbolizes the beginning even more than light.
The darkness that had never shone even once since the beginning covered my surroundings as per the will of the demon.
It flowed into my body.
“Do you have a place where you want the mark to be engraved?”
This is also a very important factor.
The demon’s mark can be very annoying when exposed, so it needs to be hidden.
But there are moments when it must be revealed.
If it were located in a more exposed area, it would be quite troublesome when proving.
That’s why I chose one place.
“Between the right shoulder and the elbow, so it’s not very visible when wearing long sleeves.”
“I understand.”
The dark darkness that begins to envelop my right arm.
The darkness eventually began to seep into my skin.
In the end, it created a geometric pattern.
“The time has come. I have only one thing to ask.”
“I know.”
What the evil spirit desires.
Knowing about the evil spirit, I could understand what it wanted.
Preventing the incarnation of wickedness.
That was the only request and command of the evil spirit.
“I hope the next time we meet, everything will be accomplished.”
There were many questions to ask.
I knew the fact that I came from Earth.
What is the World Fantasy Saga?
What will become of the original owner of my body?
Why was I reborn in this place?
And are there others among the people who were reborn like me?
But these were not important now.
At this moment, I had to focus on something other than such philosophical matters.
[Next time we meet, I will tell you everything.]
He must have read my thoughts, and I anticipated the next words.
Gradually, the surrounding terrain began to collapse.
When I opened my eyes, I discovered that I had returned to the previous space.
“Have I returned…?”
As I made that judgment, the surroundings became visible.
My arm had also returned to its original state.
Most people had already been sacrificed and turned into black smoke.
If I hadn’t been the chosen one by the evil spirit, we would have met again, but it would have taken longer, at least.
However, that was no longer the case.
I had prevented it.
But now that I had returned, I didn’t hear the sound I must have heard.
The Second Imperial Princess, Alice Tantalota. Her voice was not heard.
It didn’t take long to find her.
Petreo was floating above her.
Alice Tantalota had collapsed.
The condition was not a matter of life and death, but judging by her face, it was far from good.
“Why is this happening? Could it be that someone is manipulating the power of dominion in exchange for life?”
[Not exactly. It’s likely a result of exhaustion from using what’s referred to as the power of dominion. But, Abraquasus, it seems something has changed in you…]
– That’s probably because of this.
I immediately showed her the mark of the evil deity.
Her expression quickly turned into one of bewilderment when the mark of the evil deity appeared.
However, she soon accepted it.
After all, she was no longer the divine messenger of the heavens but a free Petroel.
– From a human perspective, both evil and divine deities are simply creators. So, don’t think too strangely of it.
You might have been born from the power of the divine, but the influence of the evil deities played a significant role in my creation.
[I didn’t find it strange at all. However, if that’s the case…]
– You think it could get us into trouble?
If I had known that I would become the embodiment of an evil deity, I might not have been so careless about it.
Anyway, it doesn’t matter much if I’ve made up my mind to avoid predictions.
I carried the princess in my arms and saved her condition.
“What if I just let it be…?”
She had a fever, and she was sweating profusely.
Of course, in Korea, this wouldn’t be a death sentence.
Even if this place was considered modern, it had its sanctity, so no deadly diseases would be found here.
“But… the means of transportation here are quite limited!”
There were no automatic carriages here.
I knew how to drive one, but they didn’t exist in this place.
Magic birds would take hours to arrive.
There might not even be a network in place for communication.
“If I make a mistake, her condition could worsen to the point of death… What should I do?”
Humans are surprisingly fragile.
A common infection can kill a human being.
It’s just that we’ve overcome it with antibiotics and advances in medicine.
Here, they relied on sanctity to overcome it.
Originally, humans could easily die from such trivial matters.
“We need to escape quickly.”
Before that, while searching the area in case there might be emergency medicine here.
“What’s this? You’re alive?”
The Archbishop of the Cult of Evil.
He, who was now dedicating his life as a sacrifice, was slowly dying in the corner.
“…Why have you… chosen the path of evil…!”
A person who was the Archbishop of the Cult of Evil.
Whether it was because he was an immensely powerful figure or because there were other means, I do not know, but he could converse without losing his life as a sacrifice.
“The gods of evil respect the freedom of sentient beings as much as possible. They are entities that affirm everything in their creations. That’s why, from the perspective of the gods of evil, I was also a potential adult candidate.”
“I know… but…”
“Of course. However, there’s one thing you’ve overlooked. Adults are chosen as the ones who can best fulfill the will of the gods of evil.”
“That’s right. Wait… what does that mean…”
Naturally, in the WFS, he would have become an adult.
He had actually succeeded in leading the Cult of Evil.
But in the current situation, I was the one who could best follow the will of the gods of evil.
The gods of evil didn’t want to nurture the Cult of Evil to spread their will far and wide.
Originally, the gods of evil did not hate the present sentient beings who hated them.
For the gods who follow freedom, the rebellion of their own creations hating them is the ultimate proof of their freedom.
“hahahaha…”
The Archbishop just let out a bitter laugh in disappointment.
Since I felt I knew his emotions well, I didn’t say anything to him.
Even so, I gave him some words of comfort as I suddenly pitied him.
“Alberto Leblanc. You used to be the Archbishop of the Cult of Evil, but now you’re just a mere human in broad daylight. I will remember you.
I don’t approve of your actions, but at least your faith is something to admire.”
I called out his name.
“You already… knew all of this, didn’t you…”
He seemed surprised that I knew the truth, but he was smiling.
It seemed like he thought that much should be expected of them if they were to be recognized as saints.
He closed his eyes as if he was about to leave this world and prepared for his last moments.
I watched his final moments without saying a word.
It didn’t take long.
About 20 seconds after I left my final farewell.
He departed to the side of the demon he had longed to resurrect with.
Now, only two people remain in this building.
“Now, what should I do with Alice… Should I just quickly run to the Academy?”
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I couldn’t find the medicine.
Nor could I find anyone else to treat Alice.
That’s why it’s important to quickly escape from this land and head elsewhere.
Because I need to find a doctor.
Realization-
A massive darkness erupts from my body.
That darkness instantly covers the headquarters of the demon cult, leaving no trace of light here.
The fact that I am a member of the demon cult must be kept hidden.
That’s why I will deceive the Holy Court.
The Holy Court cannot see the adults as adults.
The Saint cannot see the past adults.
The Saintess cannot see the future adults.
It is because they all possess the same power and occupy the same observer’s position.
In the observed phenomenon, the observer cannot observe themselves.
It is similar to watching another viewer on a video platform.
Because it exists in that place but cannot be seen, I decided to hide the fact that the Emperor was here.
It is better for the fact that the Empress can fully utilize the power of domination to remain unknown.
“I clearly said that Alice does not have the qualifications of the royal blood. That’s because Alice couldn’t properly use the aura of domination.
But there will come a time when we attack Alice. It’s better to counter at that time.”
When one means of attack is blocked, humans think of another means of attack.
If the means of attack remains the same, humans want to attack that place.
Without even knowing if the attack is impossible.
That way, all the memories that were on this land disappeared completely.
Since this place is covered in scars, they will never see me.
“If this is indeed the same space… it’ll take quite a long time…”
However, there was a problem.
The fact that the way back was limited.
If this is the headquarters of the demonic sect depicted in WFS.
If it’s just lacking in scale because it was before adults were born.
It will take at least a few days to reach a place I know.
I went outside and looked around.
The princess was sleeping in my arms, snuggled against my chest.
“How far do we have to go?”
Petroleum followed behind me.
“…It really is the headquarters.”
It was the worst situation.
The headquarters of the demonic sect was quite far from where I knew.
There was no means of transportation in sight either.
I have to walk a considerable distance with the princess.
“I don’t even know the geography exactly… but I have to do it.”
Before leaving, I gently put the princess down and swept my hair to the side.
My hands are quite large, but the princess’s face is on the smaller side.
I managed to fit her head in one hand.
If it weren’t for this woman in my hands, I would have been unable to leave this building and would have died.
That’s why I can overcome difficult tasks.
Gathering my determination, I embraced Alice once again.
-It’s going to take quite a long time. But that should be easy, right?
“Of course!”
Petroleum just laughed and followed me.
And I just walked.
I had confidence in my stamina.
I don’t know how long it will take.
You may die while walking.
But it’s okay.
Because you’re alive.
I don’t know where to go.
I only know that the west is the answer.
I kept walking, hoping to find the right path.
The sun sets, the moon rises, the sun scorches the earth, and the moon cools the sky.
I witnessed the miracle of night turning into morning, which Helen Keller would have wanted to see if she had eyes.
The princess’s condition did not worsen.
But it didn’t get better either.
She couldn’t rest and kept moving while lying in my arms.
In between, I gave her water.
I hunted and fed her with food.
I took breaks.
How far have we walked?
At some point, I began to see other people with my eyes.
“That, that is…!”
The expression of the person who spotted me turned from surprise to awe, and they shouted.
“We found them!!! We found Her Highness the Second Princess and the Abyssus Knight!!”
Upon hearing those words, I could feel joy inside.
I couldn’t express it.
But I was happy.
Because it was the sound of the rescue team who came to save us.
I don’t know where this place is.
But it’s okay.
In the end, we survived.
People’s gazes shook.
Some approached us to support.
Some tried to contact others elsewhere.
But I had only one thing to say.
“Princess Alice… Please…”
I left those words with the members of the rescue team and decided to take a brief rest.
We are saviors of lives.
I am Alice’s.
Alice is mine.