Xingyue, is Xiaokai also considered Kai?

"What I'm saying might sound like just words of comfort or temporary relief..."

But whether it's Fina Brad Sfielding, Rizzowal Stuart, Cathy Palug, or the Royal Guard, their king will only be you, not because you are the successor to the Crimson Moon, but because your perseverance and actions make them believe that following you is worthwhile.

I think you can be even more proud of this.

Hei Ji looked up and saw that Avia had already looked away.

“Didn’t you promise to give them the glory they deserved? You haven’t fulfilled that promise, Princess of the Dead Apostles, Altrouge.”

Although it is impossible, even though it is impossible.

But Hei Ji finally broke into a smile, her blood-red eyes softening as she smiled gently.

"...Ah, I almost forgot."

"Don't worry, we're still allies, and I'll support you wholeheartedly."

Typhon, puffing out his cheeks as if to cheer Avia on, made an electronic sound effect that had no clear meaning.

"Now that you say that, I can rest assured."

The black-haired girl propped herself up, got off Avia, and turned to face the pristine white bed.

Faced with the yet-to-be-born perfect being, Arcueid, the true successor of Crimson Moon.

"I will definitely come back, back here, to have a fair and square battle with you, my sister."

150: He became the new leader in the mineral science field before even leaving home.

Earlier, when Avia successfully eliminated Zhu Yue's Action Concept.

The Demon Marshal gazed at the swirling runes of lightning emanating from the edge of the door, then slightly raised the corners of his mouth and said to everyone present with a smile that seemed out of place for his age: "It's... completely over."

Then, ignoring the astonishment of the crowd, the vigorous old man looked up at the 'moon' in the sky.

At this moment, the white flowers of the ancient city are far more beautiful than the 'moon'.

The creature that could have used this method just moments before is now gone, as if it were a lie, leaving not even a last word.

Although this was within the expectations of the Demonic Marshal, he still felt somewhat moved.

Although not a magician, what he did ultimately achieved the same or even greater miracles, demonstrating such feats to himself, but it was indeed a unique radiance that only humans possess.

"Looks like I'm about to add another chapter to the biggest and most exciting part of my life, haha, that's great!"

"I always feel a bit startled whenever I see you, Kishua."

"Indeed, I feel the same way."

Faced with the teasing from his friend Van Fim and his junior brother Kaobike, the Grand Marshal of the Demonic Path simply laughed and accepted it all.

"You two should hurry up and prepare. It won't be long before we have to unite again. This time it's a battle for our survival. I'll try to persuade the association, but they'll have no choice but to fight."

The old man said with great interest that the association had to fight for both reason and emotion, not only to break free from the church's control, but also because the ruins they now occupied in Britain were actually the remains of some kind of creature that the first-century Roman emperor had painstakingly transported from elsewhere to fill the underground.

"...Really, will we win?"

"Van Fem asked."

“Who knows?” Kishua said calmly. “After all, the power of the Holy Scripture surpasses the magic I’ve comprehended. After that battle, because my soul was locked by it, it became difficult to maintain. But in any case, it can’t be delayed any longer. Moreover, according to Zagreus, the Prince of the Underworld who survived by using the Hidden Divine Principles of the Wandering Sea, Mabul Qihuang’s spiritual level contains the mad god Ate, who was integrated into the human world during the Age of Gods, and—”

As the words fell, a clay tablet written in a long-lost language emerged from the old man's hand.

"The R'lyeh Scrolls".

Meryl, who was standing to the side, put away her usual cheerful expression and calmly said the name on the clay tablet.

The Scrolls of R'lyeh, also known as the Book of the City of R'lyeh, are said to have been handwritten and bound with human skin. They prophesy that once the celestial bodies are in the correct positions, the city of R'lyeh will rise from the seabed, and Cthulhu will awaken.

"Are you saying that the current state of Qihuang is actually due to the mad god Ate and the foreign evil recorded in this text?"

In response to Kaobak's question, the Grand Marshal of the Demonic Path shook his head:

“I don’t know, but Zagreus said that, as a fellow Greek god, he didn’t sense Art mixed in with Mabul, but rather that Art was being manipulated by her. And this scroll was merely a phantom of nothingness, not used to summon evil that the planet refused entry. On the contrary, what was mixed in with the book was an extreme resentment towards the god of the church—”

At this point, Kishua looked up at the sky. Although he was a disciple of King Solomon, he was not a believer like Van Phim and Kobaek.

"He is like Zeus, the king of the Greek gods, and Odin, the great god of the Norse, who was at the very top of his own pantheon, but for some reason, he fell from being a cloud to the ground. He is Beelzebub, the king of demons in the Bible."

Beelzebub, originally a god in Canaanite mythology named Baal, meaning "Lord of Heaven," is used in Jewish rabbinical texts to refer to the Lord of the Flies, and is considered a demon that causes disease.

He was also the sun god in the Phoenician sacred texts, but was later worshipped by the Canaanites as the "King of the Dung Heap". There are also traces of this demon king in Greek mythology, because the god-king Zeus was also known as the "Fly-Avoider".

In other words, it is an image formed by a chief god of a pantheon being stigmatized and demonized due to a change in faith.

Although Kishua is the immortal Second Magician, he is far superior to the Fifth Magician, who has lived for so long that he has long since lost the concept of "himself"—in other words, has lost his physical body—and who will grant any request within his power.

Kishua, who is capable of both anger at evil and mockery of good deeds, would never easily agree to someone's request that it's "no problem," because as a sage who considers the overall good future, he would not care about small sacrifices in the grand scheme of things.

So, after everything was settled, the old man, stroking his chin, said softly:

"Please be quiet, everyone."

It was a very small voice, spoken in a soft tone, yet it instantly made all the True Ancestors, Magicians, and Dead Apostles in the Thousand-Year City feel a strange and familiar sensation emanating from the Demonic Marshal. It was an aura from the other side, far more ancient than the present, long beyond the reach of our time.

"Although everyone knows who I am, let me introduce myself anyway."

Kishua's voice was somewhat hoarse, yet it resonated powerfully throughout the ancient city.

"I am Kishua Zelrich Schbein'ogu, the second magician under the tutelage of the Magic King, the founder of the Mineral Department of the Mage's Association, and also the beloved Marshal of the Magic Path."

Kishua didn't seem to be joking at all; on the contrary, he spoke with a hint of certainty.

In other words, he seems to genuinely believe that he has forcibly united the solitary magicians who lack military capabilities, which is why he is called the "Marshal of the Magic Path" and finds it normal to be afraid of this.

That being said, no magician could refute it, since Kishua's strength was far superior to theirs in every aspect.

"From this day forward, after a century, we will unite once again. This time, we will not be fighting against an enemy of the planet, but against our own enemy, the Church of the Holy See, which has been oppressing you for an unknown period of time and has become corrupted."

Everyone present nodded deeply.

With a gentle smile and a hint of amusement, the Demon Marshal continued in a hoarse voice:

"This time, the supreme commander of the alliance is not me, the Grand Marshal of the Magic Path, but the new leader of the Minerals Department of the Mage's Association—"

"Avia".

151: Looking at the contorted expressions of pain can be good for your health.

"Is that alright?"

After bringing Eltrauge out, in the now peaceful Millennium City, Avia nodded to Kishua, who was beaming with joy.

Avia did not resist being suddenly announced by Kishua as the new leader of the Minerals Department of the Mage's Association.

After all, it's just another title for him. At most, it means that the El-Melloi family, which is in charge of the Minerals Department, will have another non-native monarch in its history.

Since it is only the fifth century AD, the genius magician Barthezmello, who laid the foundation for the "Lord" class, has not yet been born. Therefore, although the current Magic Association has become the "beacon of hope" in the magic world, which is being suppressed by the Church, many years in advance, it is not yet called the Clock Tower, and the title of monarch can not yet be used to address the heads of other departments outside of the three major noble families.

Aside from this trivial matter, Avia was most concerned about the R'lyeh Scroll, which was inscribed on clay tablets.

Although the Jewel King said that there was only the aura of Beelzebub and not Cthulhu, Avia still had to think twice, after all, these evil gods were really not easy to deal with.

"By the way, Kishua, during the Great War of the Millennium City, was there a magician named François Plelatti among those you brought with you?"

The silver-haired youth seemed to remember something and asked the gem-bearer.

In the Type-Moon universe, the only one connected to both Beelzebub and Cthulhu is François Plelat, an independent individual born from the Greek mad goddess Artemis, who remained behind the scenes during the Hundred Years' War, leading to Joan of Arc's execution by burning at the stake and causing the fall of Marshal Gilles, whom he considered a 'friend'.

"Although it happened more than a hundred years ago, this old man still remembers it quite clearly." The Gemstone Elder chuckled and touched his cane. "...No, there was no such person as François at all. The only one with Plelatiti was a female magician named Francesca, who was skilled in illusion magic, but she seems to have died back then."

In fact, Avia knew that both François and Francesca were essentially only related to Art, while Beelzebub and Cthulhu could be simply understood as having somehow gotten involved with them.

Moreover, Avia remembered that Francesca's master was one of the many facets of the Lake Spirit. Later, after witnessing the Half-Nightmare, who was the opposite of the most dazzling facet of the Lake Spirit, she frantically studied the Nightmare's illusionary concepts as her own. However, since the Half-Nightmare felt that this guy had no human emotions, she didn't pay any attention to him.

However, since Merry was actually quite young at the time, and it wasn't yet the time of King Arthur, it was impossible for her to have learned Merry's concept of illusion...

The creature, which should have been an Artemis-like being, unexpectedly possessed powerful illusion magic ahead of time and even participated in the Millennium City War in 300 AD. In addition, the aura of Beelzebub emanating from this book, which was clearly meant to summon Cthulhu, led Avia to make a guess.

Perhaps for some unknown reason, a wave in Arthas, when it took human form as "Foolishness," merged with Beelzebub, who had fallen to earth and been stigmatized due to a change in faith. Subsequently, out of resentment for abandoning his own planet, Beelzebub formed some kind of cooperation with Cthulhu.

As a stigmatized deity, she is naturally adept at stigmatizing others. Take Joan of Arc's innocent burning at the stake, for example. Although she was exonerated twenty-five years after her death with the help of her mother and many good people, it should be noted that Francesca, who has many copycat materials, can be considered immortal.

Three hundred years after her rehabilitation, during the French Revolution, Joan of Arc's relics were destroyed, and the agreement between the King of France and Joan of Arc that Domrémy would never collect taxes was also revoked. In a magical sense, this is equivalent to a concept material for a third death.

If Napoleon hadn't been willing to acknowledge Joan of Arc's achievements and spirit, and regarded her as an outstanding representative of the French nation and the embodiment of patriotism, Joan of Arc would probably have been stigmatized once again.

Now, Avia understands that the 'savior of humanity' Marble Kihara, who is supported by the planet, the humanoid Francesca who is fused with Beelzebub and is hiding behind the scenes, and Cthulhu who may descend, are all his enemies.

"Merry, could you do me a favor?"

After sorting everything out in his mind, the silver-haired youth looked at the girl who seemed to be doing nothing, so she squatted down and teased the white flowers.

"Hmm... what is it? Tell me first."

Mary looked up, her purple eyes sparkling with delight.

Although Avia sensed that nothing good was going to happen from her expression, she still spoke up for her own purposes.

"Beneath the Fairy Lake in Britain, and its counterpart Lake Avalon, lies a sword. Could you bring it to me?"

"...Huh?" The white-haired girl looked 'horrified'. "Do you know that lake is managed by the Lake Fairy? That guy can be quite troublesome, very difficult, unless—"

"Speak, what do you want to ask for?"

Seeing Melie's mischievous smile, Avia sighed softly.

It's not that I regret not using the conditions she promised to help me back then, it's just that I feel it would be quite troublesome if her personality remained like this. But... I guess I can only say it's normal, she's an emotionless creature.

Humans shouldn't be like this, right? Although this guy is human, he hardly shows any signs of pain.

How boring, if it were twisted...

She thought this with annoyance, then blinked...twisted?

The thought arose very naturally in her mind, and once she became aware of it, it settled in her heart without any abruptness.

Ah, a faint smile appeared on her face to herself.

Oh, I see.

"I've been thinking about it, and the thought of your face contorted in pain, just imagining it, is really good for my health."

Melly rested her chin on her cane, ignoring the gazes of Black Princess and Typhon, and spoke quietly, her purple eyes calmly looking at Avia.

"So, are you able to meet my request?"

"Sure, but I don't know when that will happen to me."

The silver-haired youth answered calmly.

"Well, actually I also think it's unlikely... but I'm still quite looking forward to it."

A hybrid of human and nightmare—a white-haired girl devoid of emotion, she smiles slightly.

152: The Holy Sword of the Stars

The daytime is filled with the sunshine of spring and the atmosphere of summer, while the night is covered by the air of autumn and the starry sky of winter.

This is a desolate land, an island at the end of a permanent forbidden zone, a world untouched by the constant decay and destruction of the surface world.

Even though it has been part of human history, it is a foreign land that has nothing to do with it.

Its name is Avalon, an alternate name for one of the many places where the souls of the planet Earth are placed.

In the night, invited by thousands of stars, the white-haired girl hummed a song and waved her cane as she came to the water's edge, scooping up the water reflecting the Milky Way into her free hand.

The water that was scooped up shimmered for only a moment before falling like tears.

"I've almost finished reading it, does that sword really exist?"

The girl used her other hand to touch the falling water with her cane, then made a soft sound.

In an instant, a path appeared from the river, and Mary followed it.