Chapter 81: Chapter 81

Elin stopped at the chapel of the imperial palace.

It was a space where one would hardly imagine a necromancer hiding, but in her judgment, it was the most suitable place for the current situation.

By now, she thought, how much have the baby snakes eaten? With that in mind, Elin gestured.

The shadow snake threw the thing it had been holding by the tail to the ground.

With a scream swallowed by the shock, the young man was thrown to the floor.

It was Julian Minerva, who had been pierced by the snake the moment the lights in the ballroom went out.

He regained consciousness, but he still couldn’t move even the slightest finger.

He barely managed to lift his eyelids.

“Are you awake, child?”

Elin walked forward and looked down at Julian.

“No need to struggle. The paralysis poison I prepared for you isn’t light enough for you to shake off.”

“Well, you should’ve made a wiser choice.”

If he were a wise boy, he wouldn’t have done such a thing in the first place.

Elin muttered, and Julian's face twisted.

But it was clear that this wasn’t a situation where he could vent his anger.

“You... Are you really the Second Elder?”

“Well, does a title really matter?”

Such things change constantly.

The leader, the elder, the low-ranking believers, the researcher.

She was Elinia when she was born, Nigellia just a few days ago, and now she was Elin—titles held as little meaning as the clothes she wore.

“Why did you give the evidence to the other side while being bound by the leash? Now I look ridiculous, thanks to you. You must know that the cult doesn't leave traitors alone, right?”

“Well, I can understand why you acted so recklessly. After all, the consequences of your failures have been light, so it probably seemed like nothing could touch you. But, you see...”

Elin bent at the waist and gently petted Julian's hair.

His fine pink locks were neatly tidied up.

With each touch, his face gradually grew paler.

“I was only letting it slide because I had hopes for you.”

That was enough of an introduction.

Elin pulled out a white pouch filled with small grains and tossed it in front of Julian.

Thud. It was Beatitudo.

Julian’s eyes shook wildly.

“You wanted to surpass Cruello by eating this, didn’t you? Today is that day.”

“Did you... wait for me to eat this?”

“Yes. I hoped you’d take it willingly, but you were so full of unnecessary fear that you did nothing. Even after all this time.”

“Are you afraid of the side effects of eating this? Don’t worry. The greater the danger, the greater the reward.”

Elin straightened up and stood, affectionately stroking her snake.

“This little one is the result. It’s the power of this creature that incapacitated all those people in the ballroom in an instant.”

She controlled the shadows of people, making the baby snakes attack their owners.

The number of snakes increased with the number of people, making it a very effective spell for causing chaos in a short time.

Thinking about it, Elin felt nostalgic and spoke of her past experiences.

“The first time I ate Beatitudo was when the research I was doing had hit a wall. I was frustrated because human strength couldn’t progress further, and I wanted to break that limit.”

“There were other researchers who took on the same challenge, but to make a long story short, they all died. But it was worth it.”

A growing sense of ecstasy seeped into her voice.

“My old, tired body regained youth in an instant, and the magic I could handle increased exponentially. Most importantly, from that day on, I could hear the revelations of that being.”

“I don’t care how you’ve lived.”

“Your situation is very similar to mine back then. Your chances of survival are about the same. Don’t worry.”

Julian tightly pressed his lips together, showing his resistance, but it meant nothing.

His shadow split into two.

One of them, like a snake, slithered across the floor and brought the pouch to Julian’s lips.

“I won’t eat it. Just kill me.”

“Haha, it seems you misunderstood because I kindly explained it to you.”

The other shadow of Julian grabbed his hair and yanked it back roughly.

His mouth was forced open.

“There’s no choice now.”

The pouch was torn open.

Grains the size of salt were shoved into Julian’s mouth without mercy.

He struggled with all his might, but his resistance yielded no results.

“You should’ve listened when they said not to follow strangers.”

“If you survive, I’ll personally teach you our doctrine.”

Just before the Beatitudo grains could go down his throat,

A sharp blade suddenly emerged and sliced through Julian’s shadow and the pouch of Beatitudo.

The salt-like grains scattered across the floor.

The one who caused the commotion quickly grabbed Julian and took a few steps back.

“You should’ve let him eat it quietly. Now, he’s just licking the floor.”

Elin muttered to herself and lifted her head to look at the one who had attacked.

A knight with chestnut-colored hair and ash-colored eyes. He was holding his sword at the ready while protecting Julian.

Was it Daedire Crimson?

Elin vaguely recalled the name.

“Julian! Spit it out!”

“Did you throw it all up? You didn’t swallow any, did you?”

“Cough, hack, ugh, Daedire... D?”

Julian weakly gazed at Daedire, his eyes unfocused.

His expression was completely disordered, but in a different way than before.

Daedire clenched his teeth, trying to steady his wavering emotions.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

She quickly took out a magic artifact from her pocket and infused it with mana.

Before Julian could even recognize what she was doing...

“I won’t say much. When you return, turn yourself in, Julian. I won’t turn a blind eye anymore.”

“What... are you... doing, Daedire!”

“We’ll see each other later.”

The teleportation artifact whisked Julian away, disappearing in an instant.

The gate wasn’t of the highest quality, so only one person could be transported at a time.

‘Maybe he didn’t even get to hear his last words.’

With that thought, Daedire slowly rose to her feet.

At the tip of her sword stood Elin, with an impassive face.

“Do you really think that child can escape? As long as he's in this empire, there’s no refuge anywhere.”

“If I take care of you, there will be a way out.”

“You still call me ‘Lady’? Ha, how amusing. Come to think of it, I do owe the Secret Investigator a debt.”

She chuckled softly and flicked her fingers.

From her shadow, a long snake shot out, but Daedire easily sliced it in half.

However, that wasn’t the only one.

Shadows appeared all around her, and the snakes, under Elin’s command, attacked her from every angle.

Though she managed to fend them off, it wasn’t easy.

“You picked up trivial information and thought you could boast, but how did you learn my secret? It’s clear someone must have spilled it.”

“Who that arrogant child was, I’ll figure out soon enough.”

The massive snakes attacked relentlessly, and Daedire managed to block the one lunging toward her with her sword, but her strength couldn’t match the creature’s force.

The snake didn’t swallow her, but the impact sent her crashing into the wall.

To make matters worse, cracks started appearing on Daedire’s sword.

Looking at it, she absently thought,

‘Maybe it’s a blessing in disguise that I gave up on using the old sword.’

“Next life, you’d better live more wisely.”

The sword broke cleanly in half.

Just as the snake’s mouth was about to engulf Daedire,

─ Sixth spell. Brilliance.

A burst of white light erupted explosively.

The snake shrieked and recoiled, but black smoke began to rise from the spots where the light had touched.

It was as if, just like when Elin had burned her hands on the divine energy, the smoke was thick and misty.

In the midst of the swirling smoke, Daedire vaguely saw a figure.

There were two figures, a man and a woman, but the woman at the front was clearly visible.

Under the tangled blonde hair, there was a face devoid of expression.

Her violet eyes seemed to pierce right through Daedire, as if they could see into her very soul.

‘Was that always the look in her eyes?’

On the other hand, Elin didn’t seem particularly shocked.

“Did you come, my disciple?”

She had abandoned the name Nigellia, so she couldn’t use that title.

Elin properly called her Siora Bonetti.

“Welcome, little lion of Pebula. I’ve been waiting for you for a long time.”

Immediately after using the holy spell to separate Daedire from the snake, an unexpected greeting pierced through her ears.

Does she know I’m a follower of Pebula?

She was taken aback, but after using so much divine energy recently, it wasn’t strange that someone might notice.

For now, she swallowed her confusion and showed no signs of panic.

“You’re trying not to be surprised, aren’t you?”

“Well, you’ve been saying such absurd things.”

Cruello stood just a step ahead and responded.

“It’s nice to see familiar faces back to back. But before we talk, I think I need to settle a debt.”

Elin took off her gloves.

The skin that had been hidden for so long was revealed.

As the Emperor had said, her hands had burn marks resembling reptilian scales.

She had admitted to the scars on her hands, but the design was quite elaborate.

Was she showing them off on purpose? Or was it just another show of her key collection?

Elin pulled a key out of the scar.

Unfortunately, the key was a deep red, resembling blood, which made the scene even more macabre.

Why do the Elders act like that?

The remaining keys—aren’t they all hidden in places like the eyes, head, or kidneys?

Shocked, but still curious, Daedire glanced at Cruello and motioned with her eyes.

He immediately knocked Elin unconscious.

“Didn’t you say there was no key there?”

“I only remember mentioning the scar.”

As she spoke, Elin tossed the key to Daedire.

She received it, but this time she couldn’t hide her expression.

She was given a key? Just like that? Was this a declaration of confidence?

“This is the reward for rescuing the hostage. There should always be a proper reward for accomplishments.”

“Hmm. If you’re talking about that straw doll, I didn’t bring it.”

“No, the hostage was you.”

Where did she learn to make such snarky remarks? How annoying.