This chapter is broken. Please report this on discord.
Translator note: Loving the suspense!
New challenge is coming soon, stay tuned!
The once magnificent ivory castle now resembled a colossal white sculpture crafted from stacked human bodies. Faces, devoid of hair, contorted in agony, gazed up at me and Julius alongside Helios, their eyes darting with unease.
"How eerie and tasteless...! Why do creatures from the otherworld always take such grotesque forms?"
"The otherworld is the realm of the dead, and monsters are the decayed remnants of the deceased. Humans, by nature, are grotesque and eerie creatures. Beneath our skin lie flesh, bone, and organs. Compared to rotting corpses, those creatures are still bearable."
"Why do you have to say such things? I'm already trying to stomach their unsettling appearance! I'm a young maiden who loves beautiful flowers, you know!"
"Aren't you more interested in money?"
"Well, yes, but..."
Perhaps due to the lack of tension in our conversation with Julius, I felt my nausea and dizziness subsiding. Even the familiar scenery of the capital city revealed cracks from above, with dark figures writhing below.
There was a large gaping hole above the central circular area that was the plaza with the fountain, where my shop stood. That must be the gate to the Underworld.
I hoped everyone was safe, especially Roge.
We needed to deal with the angel or whatever it was, inhabiting Aliza's body as soon as possible. At the top of the colossal castle turned sculpture, there was a pedestal made of overlapping hands.
Upon it stood Aliza, gazing up at us.
Even if the elongated shadow, sharp horns and wings were visible, I had never seen a creature of such form before. The shadows seemed to take on human form unlike monsters, which did not have humanoid shapes and often appeared grotesque with haphazardly assembled mashed-up human parts.
As Aliza came into view, Helios suddenly ceased his descent and began circling directly above her.
Though it was difficult to see clearly, there seemed to be an invisible barrier surrounding Aliza.
"We can't get any closer. We'll have to jump. Break through the barrier and descend inside." Julius declared, attempting to rise on Helios as he circled.
Despite the distance being like that of a two-storeyed building between where Aliza stood and the sky Helios flew in, I felt utterly incapable of making the descent. As a genius alchemist with only a moderate aptitude for magic, physical labor wasn't exactly my forte.
"Jump from this height...?! Well, I'll try my best, but unlike Julius, I'm just a regular human, so it would be appreciated if you could take that into consideration...!"
I exclaimed nervously.
"You should be able to break the barrier. Just hold on tight." Julius replied confidently.
"Thank you for your absolute trust in me! I'm not exactly a grand mage, but I'll do my best!"
Breaking through the barrier, breaking through the barrier.
Could I even perform such advanced magic? I rummaged through my bag nervously.
This might come in handy for situations like this~!
I muttered to myself inwardly.
Thanks to Julius's haphazard packing, my bag was a mess, which made me feel queasy. Unlike the neatly organized infinite storage bag connected to my infinite storage trunk, it was challenging to find the necessary alchemical items quickly.
"There it is! Let's give it a try! We might just pull this off!"
While we were in the midst of this, yellow spherical orbs began to rise from the barrier-like structure surrounding Aliza, shooting beams of light toward Helios.
Helios swiftly dodged them, but it seemed like he couldn't evade them forever.
"Seal of Magic! Magic Suppression!"
I retrieved a stamp labeled 'Seal' from my bag.
It wasn't like this stamp was specifically enchanted for magic suppression. It was just a coincidence.
When I threw the golden stamp toward the barrier, it transformed into a size roughly as big as spreading both hands wide, and the word 'Seal' was pressed onto the barrier.
A distortion appeared, and a hole big enough for one person to pass through opened up, the barrier cracking like an egg.
Perhaps Aliza's magic power was stronger than the magic seal. Although it didn't seal everything, Julius lifted me onto his shoulder as if it were enough, standing on Helios's back.
"Chloe. We're taking you with us."
"Yes! I can fight too!"
It felt good to be trusted by Julius.
Being carried like luggage was embarrassing, so I wanted to make an alchemical item that could glide through the air at least a little. I wanted to land stylishly from a high place too.
Without hesitation, Julius jumped off Helios's back.
The sensation of falling made my breath catch. It was similar to falling from a tower, but also different. I didn't intend to die. I wanted to defeat the so-called angels, protect everyone, maybe even help Cyril regain his lost hand, and if possible, rescue Aliza too.
Aliza probably lived with the fear I felt when I was abandoned in an alley, just surviving in the streets everyday.
Passing through the gap in the barrier, we landed on top of the giant hand pedestal.
Julius landed gracefully and gently placed me on the floor. This time, I wasn't thrown away. That was a relief.
Aliza smiled sweetly as she watched Julius, who had drawn his sword and assumed a defensive stance, seemingly defenseless.
"I invited just the two of you because that wyvern was getting in the way of our conversation. Welcome back, my lady, and nice to meet you, Prince Julius Kraft."
She curtsied, holding the hem of her skirt like a trained noble.
Under different circumstances, it might have seemed very graceful. I aimed the expensive magic amplification wand Robert had given me at Aliza.
"Aliza, enough! I understand you've been through a lot, but it's not a valid reason to cause suffering to the people of the country!"
"But no one helped me. The only one who helped me was the angel. That's why it doesn't matter what happens to this country. With the forces from the Underworld overflowing, the world will become a paradise. If I turn Astoria Kingdom into a paradise, I'll send troops to other countries too. I'll turn everything into paradise."
"Other countries?"
Julius asked with a puzzled expression.
Aliza smiled happily and nodded.
"Yes. I'll turn your Dystiana Empire into a paradise too. A paradise with no life or death. There would be no need to fear death, and there won't be any need to lament anyone's death. A paradise of eternity. How about that? Isn't the angel's idea wonderful?"
"Ridiculous. Once you're dead, it's over. There's no need for anything beyond that. So there's no need to lament."
"Is that so? Well, fine. Since you people are a nuisance, you'll die here. ...Let's kill Julius first. The Julius who will become my puppet will whisper love to me. I'm sure you'll be sad then, my lady. I'm looking forward to it. Show me your despairing face, the same despair I've felt. Take off the mask of a good person, hate me, show me your hatred. I want to see my sister despise me."
Julius's tongue clicked.
I carefully chose my words, trying not to provoke Aliza further, and spoke loudly.
"Aliza, I will help you. I'll defeat the angel for you, so please wait."
"Don't say such stupid things! Acting all understanding, pretending to be a good person, laughing it off. The people of the capital are nothing but heartless ones who threw stones at my sister. Yet you want to protect them. It makes me sick. I hate you so much!"
"Julius, please don't kill her!"
"If that's what you wish, I'll restrain myself."
I directed the magic-amplifying wand toward Julius's sword.
"Searing Angel Seraphim, bestow the Holy Gospel, the light that sweeps all away!"
The divine radiance emitted from the wand transformed the black blade of Julius's sword into white.
Several black snakes appeared around Aliza. Julius subdued them all and dashed toward Aliza.
I also used exorcism magic, eliminating several snakes attempting to engulf Julius. It was overwhelming. Julius was strong, and while Aliza possessed power from her angel, she wasn't accustomed to battle.
In an instant, the snakes vanished, and the tip of Julius's sword was placed precisely at Aliza's throat.
"...Weak." With a muttered remark, Julius struck Aliza's neck with the hilt of his sword.
Just that was enough to make Aliza's body stagger as if she had a concussion.
As Julius moved to catch Aliza's collapsing body, he reconsidered and stepped back.
"Aliza...!" I screamed.
Hands were growing from Aliza's abdomen. Sharp claws. Long fingers. The bloody hands protruded from the black shadows behind Aliza.
Aliza's body swayed unsteadily.
Behind Aliza, who collapsed to the ground like a broken doll, stood a man with two horns and black wings.
The man kicked Aliza's fallen body slowly. Her slender form rolled and collided with the edge of a pedestal shaped like a hand. Her limbs bent in strange directions. As I tried to rush forward, Julius's stern voice stopped me. "Don't move, Chloe," he commanded.
"...You're the angel?" Julius inquired.
With long black hair giving rise to horns protruding from both sides of his head and bluish pale skin, he looked striking and his beautiful purple eyes glistened like gems. Four wings resembling those of a bird sprouted from his back, spreading wide.
The man licked his bloodied fingers.
"Pleased to meet you, offspring of Celestia. And you, just a mere mortal man." The man said, clad in a butler-like tailcoat. His baritone voice casually mentioned my mother's name.
"Why... Did you... Aliza-chan...!"
She truly believed he was an angel.
At least, Aliza believed in him. No matter how grotesque it might have been, it was the only thing she could rely on.
Yet...
"Why... Because I got bored. It was somewhat entertaining to watch until she became the queen of this country, but after that, it became dull. She was just a fragile woman, after all. Although I lent her my power, she lost so easily to that man over there, I thought she was no longer needed."
The man put his hand to his throat and made small sounds like "ah" or "uh."
"It's been a while since I've spoken to humans, but can you hear my words clearly? Is this language suitable for humans? Can you understand? Tell me, Chloe."
"Who are you...?"
Looking at me, the man spoke. It was a casual way of speaking, like meeting an old friend.
"Me? ...My name is Mephisto. I'm an angel from the Underworld."
The man said with a beautiful smile.
Indeed, he looked so beautiful that one might easily believe he was an angel.
But the overwhelming, cruel, and wicked aura emanating from him made me grit my teeth.