Chapter 94. The Bell of the Silent Night
Rinne, lost in thought, found her mind tangled with a myriad of concerns.
The revelation that her mentor's body, once a paragon walking the righteous path and guiding her with unerring principles, was undergoing 'demonization' was deeply unsettling.
Furthermore, the memory of him wielding his sword against her and Yulian haunted her.
"The same one who spared Yulian's life even upon his expulsion..."
What kind of change had occurred in his heart for him to turn so drastically?
He was a man who, despite his waning age, could fend off dozens, even hundreds of threats with the blade in his hand.
A star that shone uniquely amidst the glorious constellations of the Empire.
Such a person had now forsaken even the very name of the 'Empire.'
"... Upon closer inspection, isn't that a familiar face?"
As Rinne tried to organize her thoughts, she looked up at the heightened sound of Eulsis' voice.
In her line of sight was a man engaged in conversation with Eulsis.
From his attire alone, it was clear he wasn't one of those who bred demons in this arena.
A somewhat familiar face.
'Ah!'
The memory clicked.
The man named 'Idel,' who had once come with her mentor, the Sword Saint, Hayden Reich.
'When did he get so close?'
Had she been too absorbed in her thoughts to notice? Or perhaps the man was adept at concealing his presence to some extent.
"It's been a while, Your Highness Eulsis."
"Yes, your name is... what was it again?"
Although Eulsis seemed to recognize the face and showed a hint of familiarity.
'Do they know each other?'
While Eulsis harbored that question, she sensed a presence closing in around them.
'The followers who had tracked us before.'
Rinne, who could feel the intent of three presences solely directed at her, slowly placed her hand on the sheathed sword.
"My name is Idel."
"Idel! Yes, Idel Hyrans!"
A familiar surname. Where had she heard it before?
As she delved deeply into her thoughts, she finally recalled that the 'Hyrans' family was one of the noble families of the Empire and realized the downfall they had encountered.
Danger.
"Come to think of it, didn't your family also seek asylum in the Holy Kingdom..."
As that thought crossed his mind, Idel drove his fist into Eulsis' abdomen.
Thud.
At the dull sound, Eulsis bleakly collapsed.
"Your Highness!"
Clang!
Quickly drawing her sword, Rinne attempted to close the distance to the man called Idel in an instant, but it was in vain.
Two shadows emerged from the surroundings, blocking her path.
"Move aside!"
As she circulated mana throughout her body and transmuted it into aura, she swung her sword, but one of the men intercepted it with a dagger.
Clang!
Sparks flew with the sharp metallic sound, and the blocking man's body was lifted into the air.
"Ugh..."
The surprise was evident on the face of the man wielding the dagger.
Even as the Sword Saint's disciple, they had underestimated her because she was young and a woman.
Tracking his form with her eyes, Rinne swiftly reclaimed her blade and struck at his unguarded position.
"Your aura is sharp."
The attack, however, was unsuccessful.
Just as she thought she'd closed in, the accompanying man covered his comrade's opening, swinging his scimitar to counter her.
'What a nuisance.'
Rinne took a step back.
If it were a one-on-one basis, she felt she might win by a hair's breadth, but there were two on the other side.
Moreover, their coordinated movements were all too familiar.
"I will take the prince to the place of the ritual; here is yours to handle."
Leaving those words, Idel hoisted the downed Eulsis and moved toward the interior of the arena.
"Stop right there!"
Hastening to pursue him, Rinne swung her sword again, but was, once more, only blocked by the two men.
"This is as far as you go, heretic. Your prince will merely become a 'true' member of the Church of the Sun through the 'ritual'."
"... Ritual?"
"Yes."
Watching the men nod, Rinne bit her lip hard.
In truth, these were the Black Chain of the Chancel of Seven Seats of the Holy Kingdom, dispatched to handle dirty work by the High Priest Garot.
Though they hadn't revealed their identities, Rinne could infer from their skill level, which was close to her own.
She couldn't discern what they intended to do, but something was bound to happen to Eulsis' person.
It must be stopped. But how?
Her current strength might not be enough to defeat them both.
Furthermore, even if she managed to defeat them, the 'ritual' mentioned might have already concluded.
'Why at a time like this...'
Where is Sir Yulian? No, they must have been waiting for this moment.
"I shouldn't have left my post, huh?"
But even her complaint turned to a sense of relief as a familiar voice arose.
"Yes, it's because you left!"
Rinne replied, somewhat spitefully.
Though there was a sense of relief that he could solve anything, there was also a feeling of resistance against such emotions.
"Where have they taken Prince Eulsis?"
Yulian, who had appeared without notice, was calm.
He seemed to understand the situation based on fragmented information.
"Th-the man master brought with him took the prince away. His location is..."
"Likely underground."
"Are you certain?"
"Heh, truthfully, I'm not sure. Just a hunch."
A joke at such a time.
Rinne, slightly annoyed, was about to speak curtly, but noticed the two black-garbed men's flinch at the mention of "underground."
"Still, it seems my joke pinpointed their location."
So it wasn't merely a joke.
To extract such information with a bluff in this situation, he was indeed an unbelievable man.
"Then, let's deal with these guys and quickly rescue His Highness..."
"I'll handle them; Sir Yulian, please tend to His Highness."
In that sense, Rinne decided swiftly.
If she pinned down the two in black here and dispatched Yulian first, she believed he could resolve the matter.
"Are you sure? These are the Black Chain, special operatives of the Holy Kingdom. You could die."
"Anyway."
She gripped the hilt of her sword tightly.
"We'd die just the same if something happened to His Highness, wouldn't we?"
Yulian smiled briefly at Rinne's words. It was different from the usual sneer, containing more emotion.
"That is true."
With those words, Yulian kicked off the ground.
The Black Chain members tried to intercept him, but Rinne wouldn't allow it.
"You're up against me!"
Her aura-infused sword wiped the black-garbed men aside, compelling them to permit Yulian's advance.
***
The underground of the arena was home to an unbelievable number of demons and 'tri-horned demons'.
Knowing that, descending the circular stairway was arduous.
The demonic energy pricking my skin indicated that the tri-horned demon sensed earlier through the 'Demon Understanding' was indeed present.
'The further I descend, the denser the energy becomes.'
A question arose—why bring Eulsis to such a place?
Did they not know about the tri-horned demon residing below? In that case, it would be akin to heading to his death.
'Ah, I understand.'
Descending further resolved the query.
The overwhelming demonic energy, despite my approach, showed no hostility.
The scent of Yulian, known as the 'Demon Slayer', was likely repulsive to demons.
Yet, these creatures with keen sense of smell bore no malice towards me, which meant.
'This place is... Gu Poison Hall.'
This 'Gu Poison Hall' was where creatures suffused with venom were trapped together, forced to devour each other to cultivate a stronger poison.
Here, that poison meant the demonic energy of demons.
In other words, it was a location for gathering and sealing immense demonic energy using sorcery.
To achieve that, many demons needed capturing, but coincidentally, this place was where 'many demon corpses' gathered.
"They seem to have gathered the demons and their corpses here from the arena."
Finally reaching the underground, I stepped onto the mucky floor and spoke.
The demonic energy enveloping my form was potent enough to make an ordinary person froth and faint, but had little effect on me.
If anything, my inner cleanliness maniac frowned at the demon blood and mucus-adorned floor.
"You deduce without needing to look around; your perception is quite sharp."
Upon arriving at the underground, Idel, the man who had come with the Sword Saint before, spoke.
Near him were two priests alongside an unconscious Eulsis.
Having fainted, Eulsis had a crown that appeared like a laurel wreath upon his head.
"Are you planning to cast a suggestion on Prince Eulsis?"
One of the sinister relics within the Holy Kingdom.
The 'Inscribed Lie' allowed one to utilize high-ranking psychic magic without the need for magical knowledge.
"... How did you know?"
"This relic is classified as a top-secret even within the Holy Kingdom..."
"Because there's a document recording that top-secret."
As I spoke with a slight, knowing grin, the hue of 'fear' surfaced over the two priests' heads.
Feigning this charade to unsettle the enemy was second nature by now.
Moreover, it wasn't a lie.
Wasn't the 'setting book' a document?
Right?
'Hmm.'
Unlike the priests, the man named 'Idel' displayed little interest in my words.
Instead, a vivid color of 'rage', or close to 'hatred', was observable.
Ah, Yulian, you even have foreigners nursing grudges against you... Oh well.
"Disregard his words; regardless, you have your duties."
At Idel's command, the two priests refocused on Eulsis, honing in on the crown atop his head.
As demonic energy-laden purple light flickered from the priests' hands, it began to meld into the crown.
The relic, 'Inscribed Lie', allowed users to utilize high-level psychic magic without magical knowledge.
However, it required substantial energy—be it mana or demonic energy.
This Gu Poison Hall was saturated with that energy—demonic energy—so aplenty that it seemed like air; assuming no issues arose, the 'psychic magic' would indeed unfold.
Provided no problems emerged, that is.
Srring—!
In the midst of observing the ritual, the sound of a sword being unsheathed tickled my ear.
"Don't disrupt the ritual. If you do, there'll be no sparing your life."
Says the liar.
"To express such words while emanating killing intent—you, Sir, have even thicker facial skin."
"Not as thick as yours. Nonetheless, as you mentioned..."
I raised a hand to silence Idel.
His expression marred with displeasure, I nonchalantly reached into my pocket.
"I'm not sure what I might have done to you, but as an apology, I'll present you with a lovely bell chime."
I mentioned while gently shaking the 'Bell of the Silent Night' I had acquired earlier.
Tinkle—!
The soft, resonant sound created gentle ripples, akin to water droplets falling upon a lake's surface.
"... What's your scheme in this situation?"
"Isn't it a beautiful sound?"
Suspicion clouded Idel's eyes due to my cryptic action.
Perhaps unnerved that someone like me wouldn't undertake such an act without purpose, he appeared tense.
Yet at the absurdity of simply ringing a bell, he seemed irritated.
"That demeanor, annoying as ever—even so, since today marks the end, perhaps once can be overlooked..."
"What, why...!?"
"What is happening to the demonic energy within the crown!?"
As Idel spoke, the priests voiced their bewilderment, prompting Idel to turn his gaze towards them.
The light that the relic 'Inscribed Lie' had harbored began to fade.
"... So that bell earlier was also a relic?"
"You deduce without even touching; your perception is quite sharp."
I returned to Idel his earlier remark.
As he speculated, the reason for the 'Inscribed Lie's light dimming was owed to the relic 'Bell of the Silent Night'.
The relic facilitated utilizing high-rank psychic magic without magical knowledge.
However, substantial 'demonic energy' was requisite.
'Yet, what if the gathered demonic energy cannot resonate nor be activated?'
The pervasive 'demonic energy' here reduces to mere unpleasant air.
However, demons or those undergoing demonization can still wield 'demonic energy'.
Quiescent 'demonic energy' only diminishes in activity, retaining its potency.
The 'Bell of the Silent Night' was an efficacious relic targeting non-living entities.
Simply put, a relic for relics.
Valueless otherwise, a ruling grade relic.
Vulnerable to the weak, formidable to the strong.
A relic epitomizing 'strong against the strong, weak against the weak.'