Chapter 30
The blinds by the Egg Gentleman’s corpse were drawn open.
[Devil World Ranking ■■■: ‘Count Orsch ■■ ■■■’]
[Devil World Ranking 16,738: ‘Count Orsch’s Proxy Gentleman’]
[‘The Scales That Judge Souls’ grumbles, frustrated that it took so long to notice.]
[‘The Divulgence Inspector’ laments, saying that without hints from the ‘Word of Creation That Shapes Worlds,’ they wouldn’t have realized it until the end.]
Rodrigo, revealing his true power as an S-rank boss, exuded overwhelming energy. The pressure almost brought Ipeil and Hestio to their knees.
Only I, protected by Tesillid and the system as the protagonist, remained unharmed.
Rodrigo’s face, flushed as he observed me, approached me with an excited expression.
“You’re not even a flowerpot, and yet you’ve begun to captivate me. You’re the first being to make my heart flutter…!”
“That’s quite unfortunate.”
“Miss Eyelet, I’ll propose again. Won’t you stay here with me? I’ll make you the mistress of Count Orsch’s mansion!”
“What?”
Suddenly, the scene felt like a romance novel?
[‘The Word of Creation That Shapes Worlds’ angrily exclaims, calling that guy a pedophile.]
Rodrigo continued with his serious plan.
“Don’t worry about your family’s objections. I’m a collateral branch, so no one will care if I marry a human. If you receive a little blood transfusion from a vampire, you too can become a legitimate member of the Devil World. So from today, you will become Eyelet Orsch! How does that sound?”
“Hmm, wait. Let me think about it. But… this is a proposal, right? Aren’t there any gifts? Like a ring?”
“Oh, a ring! Wait! There must be a ring somewhere here…”
I whispered quietly to Tesillid, who looked ready to scold me again.
“We’re stalling. Share this with our friends.”
I handed over a potion bottle, and Tesillid obediently did as I instructed. Hestio and Ipeil drank the potion, letting out sounds of despair.
“The wounds aren’t the problem. We can’t fight. Against a demon like that…”
“Yeah, Plan A failed.”
At that moment, Ipeil’s eyes gleamed with a cold light, as if he had made up his mind.
“Then we have no choice but to go with Plan B…”
[‘The Divulgence Inspector’ shows subtle excitement at a development that diverges from the original story.]
For reference, in the original story, Hestio is killed by the Egg Gentleman, Ipeil kills all the children, and then ends his own life, leaving only Tesillid to escape the dungeon. It was a false evil act, a sacrifice intended to save the strongest among the Stigmata bearers for the greater good.
As I recalled the frustrating original plot, Ipeil gave me a sad smile.
“Sorry, Eyelet. You won’t feel any pain. Let’s meet in heaven.”
“Yeah. Grow up.”
“What? Wait… why do I suddenly feel sleepy…?”
Thud!
“Ipeil? Suddenly… Ah, me too…”
Thud!
I successfully put Ipeil and Hestio into a deep sleep. I couldn’t risk any church officials discovering my identity.
[‘The Divulgence Inspector’ laments that the story diverged from the original.]
[‘The Word of Creation That Shapes Worlds’ yells that they hate story purists.]
Only then did Tesillid ask, surprised.
“Wasn’t what you gave them a healing potion earlier?”
“No, it was a sleeping potion.”
“What?”
“I brought it in case you couldn’t adjust to the time difference from the church. It came in handy. Thanks, Terry, for stopping Plan B.”
“……”
He seemed shocked, unable to respond even to my quietly used nickname, realizing I had put our ally to sleep with my own hands.
Anyway…
“But Terry, why aren’t you sleeping?”
“I thought it was a healing potion, so I only gave it to them…”
“Oh, well. Can’t be helped.”
Altruism turned out to be a hidden obstacle. Now, we had no choice but to fight together.
I patted Tesillid on the shoulder.
“Don’t worry. We’ll go with Plan C. It’s a guaranteed victory strategy.”
“Plan C…?”
“You take the front, I’ll take the back. That’s the strategy. Let’s go!”
“…What?”
“Go!”
“Yes.”
He stomped the ground. True to a paladin-in-training, who valued obedience, he followed the command without question.
Rodrigo, searching for a ring in the desk drawer, finally noticed us.
“Huh? Why is that silver-haired brat charging at me? Ridiculous!”
As Rodrigo raised his gentleman’s staff to unleash his demonic energy:
“Divine Descent!”
The previous phenomenon repeated. His feet lifted off the ground, hair turned silver, and spread like wings.
Sparks flared. The sigil on his head couldn’t withstand the divine energy and burned away.
“What?! My fiancée, what is happening to you?!”
“Eyelet…?”
Rodrigo and Tesillid, who were confronting each other, both looked at me.
I began by casting a barrier to protect Ipeil and Hestio.
“Omnipotent. Barrier of Mercury.”
[<System> Ultimate Skill ‘Barrier of Mercury Lv.20(+10)’ activated.]
For some reason, my skill level increased. Its form became grander and more majestic. Rising high and wide, it resembled…
“A castle wall?”
Tesillid’s observation was correct.
It was the manifestation of a high-tier siege defense barrier. Behind me, a silver fortress was constructed.
Rodrigo flinched.
“That energy! That skill! C-could it be… did you just defeat Ardiman…!”
“The news spreads quickly in the Devil World. Yeah, that was me.”
No further conversation was necessary. I pointed at Rodrigo with my finger.
“Omnipotent. Divine Punishment! Omnipotent. Divine Punishment! Omnipotent. Divine Punishment! Die, perverted demon!”
“Ughhh!”
Lightning rained from the office ceiling, striking Rodrigo directly.
Though the skill had defeated an A-rank Ardiman in one hit, Rodrigo, an S-rank, endured three consecutive strikes.
He staggered and spoke.
“Ah… my fiancée was a saint…”
“Shut up with the fiancée talk.”
“Did you steal my heart from the start…?! To lure me using a beauty trap! Making me fall for a saint and humiliating me as a corrupted demon!”
“No, that’s not it.”
“I won’t forgive this! How dare you toy with a demon’s pure heart! I won’t forgive it!”
Roaring with demonic energy, Rodrigo charged at me.
I needed to restrain him.
“Omnipotent. Bind.”
Some initial commands could be replaced with other action words.
[<System> Advanced Skill ‘Crown of Thorns Lv.39(+10)’ activated.]
Thorns rapidly grew from Rodrigo’s feet. A dry, leafless, spiky bush wrapped his entire body, forming a rounded crown around his forehead.
The upward-thorned coronation made Rodrigo hesitate.
Meanwhile, I launched a fierce attack.
“Kyaaaa!”
Rodrigo, consumed by rage, bled but broke free from the thorn bush.
“…!”
The distance closed instantly. Rodrigo lunged at me as I inhaled.
“You stole my heart, so I will take your heart, fiancée!”
His staff, filled with demonic energy, aimed at my heart.
I inhaled sharply, and in the next moment:
Kraaaang!
“The barrier rejected me again!”
The Mercury Barrier narrowly blocked Rodrigo’s attack perfectly.
But I was in a predicament.
What should I do? He’s too close. At this range, I’d have to retract the defensive barrier, but I can’t while we’re in confrontation.
[‘The Scales That Judge Souls’ mocks you, saying your reflexes and endurance are F-rank, so close combat is impossible.]
[‘The Word of Creation That Shapes Worlds’ yells that they’ll dismantle my followers but also me.]
Time was against me. I needed to create distance quickly. Fortunately, a solution appeared easily.
“You silver-haired brat! This is between me and my fiancée! Don’t interfere!”
Ah, right! We have a tank!
Tesillid drew Rodrigo’s attention toward him.
“Fall back behind me and attack!”
“Got it!”
Thanks to that, I could focus entirely on unleashing my offensive skills.
Seeing Tesillid struggling, I cast a support skill for him when I had a moment.
“This should do. Omnipotent. Divine Hymn.”
[<System> Intermediate Skill ‘Divine Hymn Lv.53(+10)’ activated.]
Tesillid’s movements changed drastically after the buff.
“No… is this a blessing? It’s completely different from what Hestio used.”
“Kyaaaa! Stigmata bearer! How dare you!”
Rodrigo, scorched by my lightning, struggled. It was time to finish this.
I cast a binding skill again. This time, I wrapped him entirely in thorns, forming a small cage. This time, he couldn’t escape.
“How does it feel to go from predator to prey?”
“Th-this can’t be! Rodrigo Orsch, overpowered by just two children!”
“Still no remorse, I see.”
I pointed at Rodrigo with my finger and unleashed.
“Omnipotent. Sever Evil.”
[<System> Ultimate Skill ‘Sever Evil Lv.15(+10)’ activated.]
