“...He did it again.”

    Marquis Bogut muttered, wearing a dumbfounded expression as he stared at the insides of the Imperial Palace.

    He noticed that all the ruckus that had gone on for a while now finally died down.

    Which meant, Nicholas—who had been turned into a monster and was set free inside the palace—had been beaten. The troops he gathered as a follow-up measure also wouldn’t be coming.

    That masked woman also seems to have done everything she had to do properly...

    Thinking about that person who referred to herself as the Prophet, the marquis let out a deep sigh.

    Though they called it ‘cooperative relationship’, the relationship wasn’t quite a satisfying one for both of them.

    Because he knew that she was also mooching off the damn old raccoon of the Holy Land.

    Of course he didn’t consider himself as ‘clean’, but he was extremely close to that description compared to the Pope.

    Simply put, the Pope was a motherfucker. So far, the motherfuckerism he had revealed was only the tip of an iceberg.

    That made the Prophet—the person who was mooching off him—a dirty rat. There was no way that she didn’t know what kind of person the Pope was.

    Although she probably had a good reason why she was still sticking to the Pope despite knowing that. And it was...

    ...Because of that man.

    Dowd Campbell’s usual struggling face came up in his mind, prompting a chuckle from him.

    Right, he had seduced all the women he had with that dumb, innocent-looking face. Ridiculous.

    Love really is a scary affair.

    “...”

    Although, in that sense...

    Bogut had no right to cuss the Prophet for something like that.

    Because he himself...

    Was doing all this, risking everything he had, all for the sake of one person.

    There were only a few steps left before he finally reached his goal.

    The situation that followed was clear evidence that his plan was going extremely well.

    -!

    Upon seeing dust soar up, accompanied by banging sounds, the marquis let out a bitter smile.

    Right, she always shows up in the most aggressive ways possible...

    As he laid his gaze upon the steel giant who landed behind him, he quietly called her name.

    “Astrid.”

    It had been a long time since the last time they saw each other. Probably more than ten years ago.

    And yet, the response that came out of her mouth—even though this was supposed to be a reunion of best friends—couldn’t be colder.

    [You should’ve left when you had the chance to.]

    “Now, that’s just mean. Is that really something you should say after meeting up with your best friend for the first time in a while?”

    [No one calls someone who tries to hurt their child a best friend.]

    “Is that so?”

    The marquis shrugged his shoulders and let out a smirk upon seeing the steel giant’s arm that was pointed at him.

    As someone who had received all kinds of items from the Magic Tower, he knew what that was. An ion cannon.

    A weapon that could turn him into minced meat in the blink of an eye.

    “Shoot me.”

    [...]

    “Can’t do that, can you, Astrid? I mean, this isn’t why you came here.”

    He said in a flat tone of voice.

    Showing such a detached attitude that even Astrid—who was aiming her weapon at him—stayed silent for a moment.

    “We won’t be able to kill each other anyway, let’s not unnecessarily antagonize each other, okay? You didn’t come all the way here to waste all your emotions in that way, did you?”

    [...]

    “Anyway, you are aware of it too, right? It won’t be long until the ‘world’s ending’. The Power of Hell has been filled up.”

    Ever since ‘Yellow’ was eliminated, one seat had been left empty, but now, someone had ascended to become ‘Black’.

    He was someone who had the ability to directly influence the Devils to boot.

    Soon enough, the Astral Realm would be turned upside down, and the Holy Land, who was directly connected with them, would also step in.

    “You need to take your son to the Magic Tower as soon as possible, right, Astrid?”

    [...]

    “You need to explain everything to him. The ‘meaning’ that he has, the real purpose of the Devils, and the truth of this world.”

    [You—]

    “I know, I know. Outsiders can never go inside the Magic Tower.”

    Marquis Bogut replied while smirking.

    “But I’m gonna do that anyway.”

    Even as he spouted such lunacy, he did it in a calm tone.

    “Those guys would be more than willing to bite, chew, taste, and enjoy me for what I’m worth, don’t you think so? They would go crazy to grab the person who managed to see through the Magic Tower’s top secrets: the information about the Devils, and Dowd Campbell’s identity.”

    [... Bogut...]

    “If you were to arrest me and ‘escort’ me there, your son would also be able to see its inside for once. Don’t you think—”

    [You’re going to die.]

    Astrid cut off Bogut’s words.

    [...To become the research subject in the Magic Tower means that you’ll die no matter—]

    “I don’t have much time left anyway.”

    The one before him was a machine.

    “Let’s not talk about that for now. Can anyone help me get up? I can’t put any strength into my body.”

    “Hold onto me.”

    Hearing what she said, Dowd, who was nearby, offered her his hand. The empress nodded without thinking much and held his hand.

    “...Oh, thank—”

    She really didn’t think much of it when she did that.

    That was why, when the ‘phenomenon’ immediately occurred after that...

    The empress couldn’t be any more surprised.

    “...H-Huh...?!”

    Her lower belly...

    Tingled for a moment.

    Then, she felt a hot feeling from down there, running up all over her body like a fireball.

    “...Eh... Eh...?”

    Unable to control her trembling body, the empress moaned in a daze.

    Thick liquid flowed down her thighs like crazy. Her whole body trembled, as if she was spasming.

    She was fidgeting nonstop, like a child who was blatantly showing her disrespect when scolded.

    But that wasn’t it. What was occurring in the empress’ body was a physiological phenomenon.

    Everyone could tell what was going on.

    It was...

    As soon as Dowd touched her...

    She immediately ‘came’.

    They didn’t do anything else, they were just holding hands. But somehow, she reached a climax on her own...

    “...N-No, wait, I-I didn’t do anything...”

    Dowd Campbell said so with much difficulty.

    Even though he really did something.

    The Devils and their Vessels affected each other.

    So, what he did to the Brown Devil would affect the empress as well.

    But, I really hadn’t done anything to the empress yet—!!

    “...”

    “...”

    No matter how wronged he felt about this situation though, a terrifying silence dropped on his surroundings.

    The empress, the Sword Saint, Dowd, the other Devil’s Vessels nearby—nobody could say anything.

    “-...Uu.”

    Tears quickly welled up in the Empress’ eyes.

    The voice that she let out was also filled with genuine sadness.

    “-T-This, s-so, s-something I don’t know... I-I didn’t do anyth—”

    She desperately pressed her skirt down with teary eyes as she stammered her words..

    Unfortunately for her, her dress had long turned into a ragged mop, so it couldn’t hide the liquid that was falling down her thighs. She tried to tilt her body so that she could hide it, but all her desperate effort ended in vain.

    “W-Why t-this i-is h-app— N-No, that’s not it...”

    By the end of her words, not only was she close to tears, she was actually crying.

    That was how bewildered and ashamed she was.

    “...”

    “...”

    A terrifying silence fell on the place again.

    Meanwhile Dowd could tell that his death was quickly approaching as he stared at the Sword Saint in front of him.

    He just couldn’t find a way to reason with this per—

    “Dowd Campbell, I can forgive you no problem.”

    “...Really?”

    The literal embodiment of uncompromising is willing to forgive me? Even though Her Imperial Majesty is in this state?

    W-Well, if he really means it, then it’s an unbelievably good—

    “...”

    Dowd’s line of thoughts was instantly cut off while his face immediately stiffened when he saw the Sword Saint pulling out his sword from his waist.

    “However, I can’t be sure if this punk would forgive you.”

    “...”

    “Would you have a conversation with him?”

    The Sword Saint said as such while smiling.

    He was smiling, but it was clear that he meant what he said, he was genuinely going to struck him with his sword.

    “...Uh—”

    Dowd looked around.

    Everyone around him stepped back, one step at a time, while stealthily avoiding his gaze.

    As if declaring that there was nothing they could do.

    “...Fuck.”

    After that, it took thirty minutes for the Sword Saint to finally calm down.

    ...If I die right after finishing the Chapter’s Boss Battle... That would just be the most unfair thing ever...