Chapter 207: Silverleaf Academy (LV)

FWOOOOOOOOOOOP!

A sudden pull shook the ground.

The red gate behind them began sucking everything in, whether it was loose rocks, splinters of ice, even Beelzebub’s severed fragments.

The vacuum howled like a beast calling the end of the dungeon.

Aestrea’s aura, which had been burning bright and violently, slowly started to flicker out.

He glanced at the gate and sighed.

“…Ah. Our time here is over.”

He turned away from the others.

“What a pity…”

The glowing swords around him disappeared with a sharp whip of mana.

He stepped forward, toward Lilith, who was still kneeling with that maddening grin on her lips.

Without saying a word, Aestrea reached down and grabbed one of the ice chains coiled around her neck.

Clink…

Lilith trembled with a delighted gasp.

“Ahh~ yes… pull harder…” she whispered, her tongue brushing her lips as she leaned her face toward the chain.

Her tail coiled loosely around his leg, just to feel closer.

“This feeling~ being owned~ hnnn~ it’s so addicting…”

Aestrea didn’t respond as his face remained cold, and his eyes flat. He simply turned and started walking, dragging her by the chain like a slave being led through judgment.

Her hips swayed with every step she took beside him, purring softly the entire time, savoring the eyes of everyone watching.

But just before they reached the red portal’s edge…

Aestrea suddenly stopped, as if he had realized something.

“…Lilith.”

“Hm~?”

“This was supposed to be Beelzebub’s territory, wasn’t it?”

She blinked, tilting her head like a playful fox.

“Yes~?” she replied with fluttering lashes.

“Why? Want to go sightseeing with me~?”

A small smile appeared on his lips at her first reply.

“…Then take it.”

Lilith’s eyes sparkled instantly, clasping her hands together like an excited bride.

“Kya~! This’ll be our love nest!” she giggled, doing a small twirl, her chains jingling softly as she twirled in place like a girl who’d just received a wedding ring.

Aestrea’s eyes turned ice cold again.

“…Mhm~, look at me like that moarrr~” she moaned, biting her lip with pleasure.

Aestrea rolled his eyes and shook his head.

“Just turn this place into your territory. I’ll call you later.” He lifted his left arm, showing the glowing mark pulsing softly on his forearm, the same symbol engraved on Lilith’s neck.

Her eyes softened at that mark.

“Yes~, Master~”

She blew him a kiss, licking her fingertip first.

Behind them, the others hadn’t moved, as they were simply watching silently, processing everything that had just happened.

But Aestrea could feel their eyes burning into him.

Especially hers.

Ella.

She stood with her fists clenched, her eyes wet but filled with rage.

“You can’t just trust her!” she shouted, stepping forward. “She’s dangerous, Aestrea! She seduced the Emperor! She tried to kill you!”

He didn’t turn around.

She screamed louder.

“SHE’LL TRY TO KILL YOU AGAIN!”

Still, he didn’t look.

Lucas opened his mouth to speak, but he caught the look on Aestrea’s face.

It basically said: “Not now.”

“…You’re being manipulated!” Ella’s voice cracked. Her chest heaved as she took a shaky step forward. “Please… just let her go. We can fix this together. Don’t fall for her tricks—”

“That’s rich coming from you.”

Aestrea interrupted her.

Flick.

Then, he snapped his fingers, and Lilith’s tail perked up.

“Expel them.”

“Mhm~”

Lilith raised her hand like a queen dismissing her court, and—

BOOM!

A gust of black wind roared behind them.

The air distorted and twisted.

Suddenly—

WHOOSH!!

Lucas, Ella, Leon, Iris, Rose, Telmo, Violet, Ethan, every last one of them, was flung toward the portal like dolls in a storm.

“No—!!”

Ella reached out, but it was too late.

They were swallowed by the red gate.

FWOOOOOOOOOP!

Gone.

Only silence remained.

Lilith hummed softly, walking up beside him as the red glow of the portal crackled behind them.

“Awww~, they didn’t even say goodbye~”

Aestrea said nothing.

He looked up at the broken ceiling, where distant light shone faintly through a crack, and whispered almost to himself—

“…You can start now.”

His tone made Lilith’s expression brighten slightly, her smile curling at the edges.

“It’s time to fulfill my promise with Violet.”

Lilith stopped beside him, her hands behind her back, head tilted to the side with a teasing grin.

“Yes~, Master~.”

And with that, her body floated up slowly, chains uncoiling from her neck as she twirled once mid-air, graceful, seductive, dangerous, and then zipped off.

Probably heading straight for the core of the territory, just like he ordered.

Aestrea stood still for a second longer.

He took a deep breath…

FWOOSH—

The air twisted sharply around him as he stepped through the red gate. The pressure pulled at his coat, and for a moment, all was dark.

But then—

STENCH.

A sharp, awful smell hit his nose: burning flesh, blood, and smoke. His eyes narrowed instinctively, and as he fully opened them…

They widened.

“…No.”

“T-this…”

Before him, the once-beautiful Silverleaf City was crumbling into chaos.

The noble silver banners, those that once fluttered with elegance, now burned. The spires of the cathedral had shattered.

Buildings collapsed one after another like falling cards.

Screams echoed all around, women, men, even children running through the alleys, chased by twisted beasts with malformed limbs, fangs, wings, and eyes in places no living creature should ever have.

Chimeras.

Monstrous abominations, patched together like nightmares. Some galloped on clawed hooves, others slithered across rubble.

And riding alongside them—

Men and women in priest robes.

They cast holy magic without mercy, shooting down innocent civilians as if they were demons.

Aestrea’s gaze dropped.

And then hardened.

“…The church?”

Behind him, the others emerged from the gate, one after another, and immediately froze as they saw the same nightmare unfold.

It seemed that Aestrea was still the first to arrive despite being the last to enter the portal.

“W-What the hell…?” Maya muttered, fists clenched.

“Those bastards… they’re priests?” Lucas stepped forward.

“No… they can’t be…” Iris breathed. Her legs almost gave out as her trembling hands covered her mouth.

“They’re… supposed to protect people…

Her eyes locked onto one of the priests, conjuring a holy barrier, not to shield innocents, but to trap a group of villagers for the chimeras to kill.

“I-I don’t believe this…” her voice cracked.

But perhaps the most shocked—

Were Leon and Ella.

Ella took a shaky step forward, her eyes going completely wide. “But… the Church works under Imperial supervision…”

“No… Father has direct contracts with them. This… This shouldn’t be possible!” Leon’s jaw clenched.

“Then what the hell are we looking at?” Lucas growled, pulling out his Excalibur. By now, he had completely realized that the one at fault wasn’t Aestrea… but the Emperor himself.

Aestrea remained silent, staring blankly at the horror before him.

Right now, Derek, James, Mia, and Maria are probably on the academy’s grounds trying to defend it…

Even Alaine and the others were also fighting against them, and Lumi was with him, so she couldn’t warn him about this.

And that made him remember…

One of the visions.

One of the scenes he saw, long ago, through the system’s glimpse of the future…

He had been so focused on the dungeon… that he had forgotten that this was coming, and just because of a small mistake…

Silverleaf was in this state.

“Lumi…”

He didn’t care anymore if others saw her.

Lumi didn’t even take the time to make a brilliant appearance as she felt her Master’s emotions; she was still in the same pink state.

Wordlessly, Aestrea reached into his coat and pulled out Beelzebub’s core.

The heart of Gluttony.

“Eat this, and go help the academy.”

Lumi didn’t argue.

She looked at him, her eyes wide, solemn, glowing with emotion, before she nodded.

No words were needed.

She opened her mouth, swallowed the core whole, and the instant she did—

FWOOOOOSH!

Her pink glow surged outward into crimson and violet flames as raw power burst through her veins. Her form blurred, twisting slightly, tails flicking behind her as her eyes turned sharper, more feral.

In seconds, she became a monster in her own right.

An SS-rank creature of gluttony.

Without a single goodbye, she shot off in a blur of wind and petals, crashing through the air like a bullet as she headed for the academy grounds.

Then… Ella hesitantly took a step closer.

“…Aestrea? Are you okay?”

Her voice was soft, shaking a little, like she wasn’t sure if she should even ask. Her fingers curled at her side, and she looked at him like she was scared he might break apart.

But he didn’t answer.

He just stood there, staring ahead, without moving.

And then—

Snap.

Something inside his chest cracked.

FWOOOOOOOSH!!!

A massive explosion of violet aura burst out from his body, shaking the air violently. The ground cracked beneath his feet, chunks of stone rising slightly under the pressure.

His aura surged so fast that even the sky darkened.

The soft blue turned deep purple, painted by a rising storm of raw energy.

The very air seemed to scream.

“…Kill…”

“Kill…”

“Kill…”

“Kill…!!”

Each repetition was louder.

More unhinged.

More monstrous.

“KILL!”

The others flinched, every single one of them, at the sound of his voice. Even Leon, who had threatened to kill him minutes earlier… stepped back unconsciously.

His red eyes glowed bright, but then twisted.

Vertical slits.

His breath grew heavier, fangs slightly poking out, and then—

Glow—

『 ✯ Moon Mark ✯ 』

His body lit up.

Dozens of glowing moon-shaped sigils shimmered across his chest, back, shoulders, arms, like ancient tattoos of forgotten magic. Glowing lines of power crawled across his neck, his jaw, even beneath his eyes.

The air trembled under the pressure of his released form. His violet aura thickened, warping the space around him, like pure bloodlust.

The runes moved, shifting and forming a radiant, flowing script in midair around him.

“…The Church… the Emperor…”

He raised his hand slowly—

Thousands of violet swords snapped into the air around him with sharp metal cries, floating like a crown of blades.

“I’ll kill them all.”

And with that—

He vanished in a blur of motion, his shadow streaking across the ground, his eyes completely fixed on the nearest priest…