[translator - kiteretsu]

    [proofreader - kyros]

    chapter 85

    - violet. please come to the separate palace of the mother’s star.

    violet, who had been in the middle of a conversation with diether hart regarding the saintess’ ultimatum, was startled when he suddenly collapsed after uttering those words.

    “oh, brother!”

    she shook diether hart’s body, but his body was so cold it was hard to believe he was alive.

    fortunately, his pulse was faintly beating, and he was still breathing, though it seemed he might stop at any moment.

    “call a priest! quickly!”

    after instructing the maid outside the room, violet hurriedly made her way to the separate palace.

    why had he told her to go to the separate palace?

    though she didn’t understand, violet ran with all her strength.

    and then—

    ‘what is that?’

    where the separate palace once stood, a mass of black darkness, resembling an artificially formed cloud, had gathered.

    at a glance, it exuded an ominous aura of dark magic.

    could diether hart’s collapse be related to this dark magic?

    ‘the dark magic is far too dense.’

    even with glacia by her side, entering recklessly would be dangerous.

    ‘i need to give it my all from the start.’

    shhhhh—

    violet’s body began to crystallize.

    she was activating spirit form, a feature only available in mana suits rated a-grade or higher.

    “ice spear!”

    violet immediately summoned and launched a barrage of ice spears.

    boom!

    dozens of ice spears pierced the darkness, but—

    ‘they’ve been swallowed...?’

    the magical energy of the ice spears vanished the moment they entered the darkness.

    those ice spears had been meticulously crafted.

    raising her vigilance, violet summoned a single ice spear and concentrated her power.

    she poured all her strength into this one strike.

    the ice spear grew to the size of a building column, its thickness monumental.

    boom!

    perhaps because of the immense magical power imbued within, this ice spear managed to cut through the darkness and create a small opening.

    following that opening, violet entered the separate palace.

    and then—

    “who are you?”

    there, she saw a knight clad in white armor.

    the knight’s sword, imbued with pure white aura, radiated majestically amidst the darkness.

    he appeared no different from a hero in a storybook.

    [violet... you’ve come...! subdue him!]

    a sinister voice echoed from the ceiling, causing violet to frown despite her now-icy expression.

    [what are you doing? hurry!]

    even as the voice urged her, violet didn’t move a muscle.

    the knight standing before her... anyone could see he was a sacred paladin.

    in contrast, the voice commanding her was nothing short of ominous.

    meanwhile, kaylen, observing violet as she calmly assessed the situation, realized something important.

    ‘so, she’s not on their side.’

    if even violet had been nothing more than a puppet of the black skeleton, kaylen would have subdued her immediately.

    however, judging by the unfolding situation, that didn’t seem to be the case.

    still, the fact that the black skeleton had urgently called for violet meant it had some sort of plan in mind.

    hearing those words, violet''s eyes turned icy cold.

    "ha. you''ve greatly underestimated me."

    swoosh!

    an ice spear pierced through the black skeleton without hesitation.

    "did you think i would be swayed by the ramblings of a cornered undead?"

    [heh... hehehe. so mere words without the stimulation of dark magic were not enough. my mind control was insufficient...]

    summoned as reinforcements, but now perishing by her hands.

    yet, unexpectedly, there was no despair in its voice.

    [but... it is done. i have received even the faintest sliver of moonlight... the great one shall revive me once more.]

    kaylen looked behind violet.

    through the ice spear she had thrust, a faint trace of moonlight had seeped in.

    the black skeleton, reduced to ashes, dissolved into the moonlight and disappeared.

    [the unfulfilled wish of the bormian bloodline... shall come true...]

    with those final words, it vanished.

    ''hmm. the black skeleton''s existence has been completely eradicated.''

    when violet had broken through from the outside, only a small amount of moonlight had entered.

    if such a fleeting exposure was enough to guarantee resurrection...

    it would indeed be a troublesome adversary.

    "...sir knight."

    whirr...

    violet gazed at the fading magic circle with a somber voice.

    "could you ask the saintess to investigate the separate palace... and my brother?"

    "yes, princess."

    "i want to believe that undead''s words were lies... but..."

    once the magic circle had completely vanished, the separate palace returned to its original state.

    a silent, dark space, void of any presence.

    violet continued to look around the place with trembling eyes.

    "now that the magic circle is gone, this place looks different to me. bright and serene, like a true royal annex."

    bright and serene?

    to kaylen, the annex appeared as an entirely different world.

    ''even if she wasn''t completely under mind control... was she affected by illusions?''

    perhaps it was because of the s-rank mana artifact, glacia, that had been weighing on his mind. even if black magic hadn''t fully dominated her mind, it seemed that various other methods had been used.

    "everything here appears well-maintained, as if what happened earlier was all a lie... i can hear the footsteps of maids outside the door. i always thought this was normal, but now... i can no longer trust my own eyes. how does this place appear to you?"

    "it looks like a dark and abandoned annex, without a single candle to light it."

    "...and the maids'' footsteps?"

    "since i arrived, i haven''t sensed a single presence here."

    "i see..."

    violet let out a hollow laugh.

    "i want to believe that all of this was the undead''s doing. that my brother''s collapse was because of that creature. that a part of our royal family chose to become demons... i want to believe it was all just lies to deceive me."

    she sighed and continued, "in any case, we must summon the saintess. but first, i need to be examined. since you''re from sanctuary, i assume you can do it?"

    at the princess''s request, kaylen confidently nodded.

    "yes, i can. but before that—"

    crackle.

    from kaylen''s sword, a radiant aura of light burst forth once again.

    thud.

    he drove the sword straight into the floor of the annex.

    "i''ll suppress them to ensure they won''t rise again."

    even after leaving his grip, the sword continued to emit a brilliant aura of light.

    it looked like a legendary holy sword from the old tales.

    violet, impressed by the knight''s extraordinary power, nodded in admiration.

    "...please take care of it as soon as possible."

    [translator - kiteretsu]

    [proofreader - kyros]