[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 349

Chains of light materialized in the air, completely binding him in place until the seal was fully complete.

The old man glared at them with eyes so full of murderous intent it looked as though he might tear someone apart.

“How did you get here?”

“How do you think? When an undead blows up spectacularly, you think I wouldn’t notice?”

“But… you said you were busy…”

“I promised to protect you.”

“The distance, ”

“There are ways. More importantly, anyone hurt?”

“Just minor injuries. Thank you…”

Relief softened her voice as she exhaled a shaky sigh.

“Those filthy wenches, ”

BOOM!

Even sealed, the old man’s roar was silenced as his mouth snapped shut by force.

“Let’s head back. Kid.”

“B…Brother…”

Uldana burst into tears and threw herself into his arms.

She was the same little girl who’d once delightedly admired the Paradise Artifact.

“It’s all right now. It’s over.”

“Huwaaaaah!!”

He held her close, patting her back to calm her, but her sobs wouldn’t stop.

“Someone take her back to the city. Marian, come with me.”

“I’ll carry her!”

* * *

The old man, Valdibord, a Sealer.

Honestly, if he hadn’t inherited the power of the Hall of Sealing, he would never have captured the man so easily.

To be fair, the old man was strong, on par with those titled Stars, perhaps even more dangerous depending on the situation.

But their powers were complete opposites, his sealing arts versus Valdibord’s.

A perfect counter.

He’d expected resistance, but Valdibord’s overconfidence in his own strength had led him right into the trap.

With his abilities suppressed, the old man was thrown into the underground prison along with the slavers who had aided him.

Those merchants pleaded that they’d merely been deceived by the old man, begging for leniency.

But truthfully, they were even viler than him.

“I’ve lost count of how many laws they’ve broken.”

“Most aren’t even citizens of the Bata Kingdom.”

“What’ll you do with them?”

“Maximum sentence. I’ll throw them into the Demon Realm as food for the beasts. Anyone who trades people like livestock, I don’t call them human.”

Melissa stamped the document coldly.

With that, the slavers’ fate was sealed.

“That leaves the old man, the one who started it all, and the source of the false report. What’s to be done with him?”

“She says she wants to clear the misunderstanding before punishment.”

“Why?”

Melissa gave him a skeptical look.

“What?”

“How should I know?”

“Foolishness. Probably just because she’s not used to humans.”

All sentient beings, especially humans, are masters of self-justification.

Even if the old man’s lie was exposed, he’d never accept it.

“So how does she plan to clear it up?”

“No idea. Marian insists on talking to him herself.”

“The same old man who slaughtered her kin and caused the former queen’s death?”

“How should I know?”

“Is her whole race full of saints or fools?”

Melissa sighed.

“Anyway, what about the thing you went to prepare?”

“All handled. Nothing big.”

“Good. By the way, big brother.”

That sudden term of endearment made his skin crawl.

“What the hell, you toxic woman.”

“Congratulations on your marriage.”

He grimaced but didn’t want to ruin the mood.

She smiled faintly.

“Thanks.”

“But to clear a misunderstanding, you’ll need to know who’s lying first, right?”

“I’ve already called in an expert.”

* * *

In the underground cell, the old man sat silently.

“Why have you come, filthy monster?”

“To clear a misunderstanding.”

“Misunderstanding? Don’t make me laugh.”

“As I said before… we never did such things. We avoided humans and never seduced anyone when drawing essence, ”

“You must have tempted him while you drained him.”

“No. When we draw essence, it’s within dreams. We show them the dream they desire.”

“That’s exactly the problem! Because of that, he threw away my daughter like trash!!”

His murderous gaze made Marian flinch.

Just then,

“Neither of you are lying.”

A beautiful girl, utterly out of place in the dim prison, appeared.

“You are…?”

“Neither side, really.”

Leon’s summoned expert,

The blue-haired beauty, Lispa Elde Remielia, former Archangel, regarded them calmly.

“When did this happen?”

“Five years ago.”

Even the old man instinctively used honorifics; her presence radiated a strange, divine authority.

“Five years? Then your daughter must’ve been grown, was she a late child?”

“She was. Born when I was already old. Her mother died giving birth.”

The girl was raised like a princess ever since.

“All right. I’ll see the truth. Don’t lie, I’ll know instantly.”

The old man’s face twisted.

“And who are you, exactly? You don’t look human.”

“A fallen being, that’s all. You carry a lot of rage.”

“How could I not? Those wretches destroyed everything!”

“Life’s complicated. I’d check it firsthand if I could, but… interference’s not possible now.”

She paused, then clapped her hands as if an idea struck.

“Well, maybe this will do.”

Reaching into the air, she summoned a tremendous power.

Everyone instinctively recoiled.

It was the same power once wielded by Eve, the Tree of Sephiroth.

—Malkuth.

A deep, heavy force surged from her fingertips, forming rotating halos behind her.

Even those who didn’t believe in gods felt compelled to kneel.

As the boundary between life and death began to blur, she closed her eyes, reading unseen records.

“Found it.”

Her eyes opened, glowing with the same sacred sigil as the spinning rings.

“Ha. Wicked woman.”

She looked at the old man.

“Want to hear the truth?”

“…”

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

The weight in her words made his hands tremble uncontrollably.

“What… what is it?”

“Call it divine grace if you want. I’m reading the records of the dead.”

“Impossible… that’s not a power humans could ever, ”

“Do I look human?”

FWOOSH!

Wings unfurled behind her, and both the old man and Marian froze.

“An… angel?!”

“Why would an angel be here?!”

“Even fallen, I still care for you. So, do you want to know the truth?”

“Please tell me,”

Marian said.

The old man hesitated, then nodded.

“Tell us.”

“The succubus was innocent.”

A short, cold statement.

“The man your daughter loved was already unfaithful. She couldn’t bear the shame, so she blamed a fantasy, the succubus from fairy tales, and took her own life.”

Her suicide note condemned an imagined being.

And because the old man had once glimpsed a real succubus in his youth, his rage found a target.

“No… impossible… My daughter would never lie to me…”

“Believe it or don’t. It’s your choice.”

As he muttered frantically, Marian tried to step closer, but Lispa stopped her.

“Stay back.”

“Why?”

“It’s dangerous.”

“No… it’s a lie! All lies!!”

The old man’s body convulsed as he screamed.

“Is he here?”

Lispa turned.

Leon had arrived, watching with a somber face.

“What’s happening?”

She explained what she had seen through Malkuth’s power.

“It’s not a power I like to use, but for you, I made an exception.”

“That makes me uncomfortable.”

“That’s the point.”

She stuck her tongue out playfully.

But the old man’s body began to radiate an ominous aura.

“We’ll need to move.”

CLAP!

The entire area rippled, and in an instant, they were standing in an empty forest clearing.

“Teleportation? Eighth Circle?”

“Yes. A recent creation.”

“Unbelievable.”

CRACK!

From the old man’s chest burst hideous tentacles.

“Does a Sealer have that kind of power?”

“Not exactly. That’s something he sealed inside his own heart.”

He must have experimented with forbidden seals to grow stronger.

Squelch! Slam!

“This can’t be… it’s all lies…”

Blood gushed as he muttered,

“Lies… all lies!!”

Driven mad by rage, he released the monster sealed within him.

A crimson mist engulfed him, and his body was shredded away,

Leaving behind a single, horrific creature.

“Wh-what is that?!”

“Demon Beast King, Cridos.”

Leon answered calmly.

The creature had the body of a stag, the head of a wolf, and many writhing tentacles.

“It’s almost Demon King level, still, quite strong. Why he sealed it inside himself, I’ll never know.”

Lispa and Leon locked eyes with it.

The beast roared defiantly, but above it, countless magic circles glimmered in the sky.

It froze, realizing the situation, and its doom.

CLANG!

Chains erupted from the ground, binding it tight.

Then,

[Eighth Circle – Thunder System]

[Keraunos]

KZZZAAAT!!

A storm of lightning rained down, burning it to ash before it could resist.

“The seal must’ve weakened. It was weaker than expected.”

The charred remains twitched once, then went still.

It had been hopelessly outmatched.

Leon spoke quietly.

“I told you you’d regret it.”

“Why did this have to happen…?”

“Jealousy.”

“Jealousy…”

“When someone’s abandoned by the one they love, they look for someone to blame. The succubus just got caught in it.”

“Humans… are cruel beings.”

“No more than others. They’re just a little better at it.”

Lispa shrugged and tugged Leon’s arm.

“So, where’s my reward?”

“What do you want?”

“A kiss on the cheek would be nice…”

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.”

“Didn’t expect you to agree. Oh, and congratulations on your marriage. Maybe in a hundred years, give me a chance?”

“No.”

Leon chuckled.

Lispa laughed it off.

Marian, however, looked deeply troubled.

“Regret you couldn’t take revenge yourself?”

“N-no… I just… if there hadn’t been that misunderstanding, our kind… our queen… wouldn’t have died like that.”

Because of a daughter’s misplaced grief, an entire race had been slaughtered.

A tragedy born of coincidence.

“Anyway, I have to get back. The wedding rehearsal’s waiting.”

“What are you practicing?”

“The wedding performance.”

“Oh my, music?”

“You’re singing?”

Marian asked hopefully.

“Ah, no, just piano.”

“I’ll supervise!”

Lispa purred, clinging to him.

Marian thought for a moment, then said softly,

“If it’s not too much… may we sing for you?”

“You?”

“Yes.”

He hesitated, then nodded.

And soon, the wedding day arrived.

Leon and Luna were busy with final rehearsals.

Watching them with amusement, Lispa skimmed through the guest list.

Saint of the Holy Kingdom.

The demon Diablo.

The World Tree’s envoy.

Heads of noble houses.

Bearers of the Star Titles.

So many powerful names,

But only one made her eyes narrow.

“That bastard dares show his face here?”

She crumpled the paper in disgust.

The name scrawled there was barely human at all.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]