“How…?”
Darius and Beatrice could only stare in shock.
The divine power Ex had displayed here was not something that could be dismissed as an ordinary feat.
‘There were rumors that he could use internal energy and mana, but now he can wield divine power too?’
The legend of the Hero, the one who commanded three different powers, immediately surfaced in Darius’s mind. He had no idea how he was supposed to make sense of what he was seeing.
Leon had already been chosen as the Hero.
There could not be two Heroes in the world.
‘This is driving me insane. This is far beyond anything I should be dealing with.’
Darius let out a deep sigh inwardly.
Something that shattered common sense to this extent brought nothing but new worries.
But there was one thing he was now absolutely certain of.
‘Ex is definitely not a demon worshiper. I feel like an idiot for ever suspecting him, even for a moment.’
Darius, at least, had only gained another headache to worry about.
Beatrice, on the other hand, felt as though her head might actually explode.
‘But you’re a demon…?’
Something utterly impossible was unfolding before her eyes.
A demon was wielding divine power.
And unlike the tricks used by the demons in the Theocracy, this was no illusion or deception.
It was genuine divine power.
‘Demons can’t use divine power…!’
And now, that very premise was on the verge of collapsing.
Nor was that the only crisis Beatrice faced.
“I was granted this miracle as a servant of the Goddess. Do you truly believe evil could dwell within someone like me, Brother Andersen?”
Ex made a point of shining the brilliant radiance of his divine power directly toward Andersen.
Bathed in the light, Andersen could only flinch at the unbelievable sight before him.
“If I were a demon worshiper, I wouldn’t have been able to manifest a miracle like this in the first place. But as you can see, I’ve proven that I’m no demon worshiper.”
“I cannot believe this. How could…”
“Whether you believe it or not hardly matters. What matters is the will of the Goddess.”
“You…! Do not speak so carelessly…!”
“The one who should be careful with his words is you, Andersen.”
Ex deliberately dropped the title of Brother.
His expression turned cold as he continued.
“You swore a covenant upon your faith and devotion. So I’ll ask you one more time. Consider this the Goddess’s final act of mercy and patience.”
Ex’s gaze shifted toward Beatrice, whose face had gone rigid.
“Are you certain that you ‘didn’t misread’ the Demon Contract Scroll?”
“…”
Andersen remained silent for a long time.
Behind everything that had happened here was an order from the Pope.
He had been commanded to cooperate with Beatrice and expand the Theocracy’s influence within the Empire as much as possible.
The series of trials Beatrice had orchestrated had been perfectly suited to weakening Darius’s position.
If they could merely establish a precedent proving that the Empire was incapable of suppressing demon worshipers with its own strength, the Theocracy would gain justification to dispatch soldiers into imperial territory under the pretext of purging demon worshipers.
All they had needed to do was tie every demon-related incident that had occurred thus far to this student named Ex.
“The trials the Goddess places before us are truly merciless.”
But now, rather than expanding the Theocracy’s influence, Andersen was facing the possibility of losing what little influence it already possessed.
At this point, there was nothing Andersen could do.
In the end, he had no choice but to make a decision.
“It is certainly possible that I may have misread…”
“Ah, before that, there’s one issue we should clear up.”
Ex cut in just before Andersen could force out the rest of his decision.
“Everyone keeps arguing over one thing, whether I’m a demon worshiper or not. Since we’ve come this far, though, we might as well settle something else while we’re at it.”
“What are you talking about…?”
“If I’m not a demon worshiper, then who exactly was behind the Demon Mansion Incident and the demon attack on the Academy? If we simply ignore that question and move on without finding the answer, wouldn’t that mean we’ve fallen straight into the demons’ scheme?”
The courtroom erupted into murmurs at Ex’s words.
The citizens finally began asking themselves the question they should have considered long ago.
But even if someone raised that question, what could possibly be done about it?
Just as everyone reached the same conclusion, there was one person desperately suppressing the murderous intent surging inside her.
“What do you think, Imperial Princess? Who do you believe the culprit is? Who do you think the demon might be?”
Beatrice was no longer smiling.
Instead, Ex wore a twisted smile as he continued.
“During the Demon Mansion Incident, I fought desperately to stop the nobles from undergoing Demonization. In the end, I managed to reach the place where the mastermind was hiding. There, I encountered a demon named Andras, and from that demon, I learned the truth behind everything that had happened. I even got a very clear look at her face.”
“…Ex.”
“Come to think of it, I heard that Your Highness used to wield divine power, but at some point you suddenly stopped and began using nothing but magic. From Brother Andersen’s perspective, I imagine that must look rather suspicious.”
“Ex…!”
“What an extraordinary coincidence. The demon I saw inside that mansion looked exactly like an Imperial Princess who had mysteriously lost the ability to use divine power. It’s unfortunate, really. Things in this world just never seem to work out neatly.”
“Ex-!!!”
“Wouldn’t you agree, Imperial Princess ‘Andras’?”
The entire courtroom fell silent.
Not a single person dared even breathe loudly.
There was no one present who had failed to understand what Ex had just said.
If anything, they had understood him far too clearly.
So clearly that they desperately wanted not to believe it.
“The Imperial Princess is… a demon?”
The citizens’ minds went blank at the accusation that the woman they had revered almost like a saint was actually a demon.
Ex’s revelation went far beyond mere irreverence.
A lowly commoner had dared to point at a member of the Imperial Family and call her a demon.
That alone was an obvious capital offense, one that hardly even required a trial.
“…”
And yet Milia, the Sword of the Empire, remained perfectly silent.
“Can you prove that blasphemous accusation?”
The nobles were the first ones to speak.
“You claim the Imperial Princess was behind every one of these incidents, and that she’s actually a demon? If you cannot prove it, I doubt anyone needs to explain what fate awaits you.”
“How dare a lowborn wretch who is not even of noble blood slander the blood of the Imperial Family! What more is there to see? He should be executed immediately, as is only proper…!”
The nobles all shared the same thought.
Ex’s accusation had no basis whatsoever.
Then this was their chance to defend the Imperial Princess and earn her favor.
And the favor of Imperial blood was never cheap.
Beatrice had finished making the same calculation and finally spoke as well.
“Ex. Do you believe that simply because you displayed a miracle of the Goddess, every word you say will automatically be accepted as truth? How foolish. This entire trial has lost its meaning. And so have your words. You will be executed for insulting the Imperial Family. There will be no mercy whatsoever…”
“Who gave you permission?”
Darius was the one who cut her off.
He stared at Beatrice with ice-cold eyes.
“For the crime of insulting the Imperial Family to apply, the accusation must first be proven false. You would execute him without even giving him the opportunity to present his evidence? Since when did you possess that authority?”
“Imperial Prince. Are you saying you intend to let this pass?”
“Do not twist my words. I’m saying I’ll give him the opportunity to prove his claim.”
This time, Darius looked toward Ex with a trace of unease in his eyes.
“Ex. You do have a way to prove this, don’t you?”
“Of course I do.”
Ex nodded as though the answer were obvious.
Then he finally revealed the card he had been saving all this time.
“Imperial Princess, why don’t you take off that ring on your index finger? It’s hardly difficult, so I’m sure you can do it right away. Like this.”
Ex ostentatiously slipped the Soul Trap Ring from his own finger.
Beatrice raised her voice, desperately trying to conceal the fury threatening to explode inside her.
“How dare a worthless, lowborn mongrel like you attempt to insult the Imperial Family!! Did you delude yourself into believing that just because we stand inside this courtroom, the difference between my station and your filthy, verminous status has somehow vanished?! What are you all doing!! Cut that bastard’s head off immediately!!!”
Beatrice’s refined, imperious roar shook the entire courtroom.
The citizens’ eyes widened at the sight.
“Th-The Imperial Princess just said something like that…”
The foundation of Beatrice’s popularity had always been her equal treatment of everyone, regardless of social status.
Noble or commoner, she had appeared to treat everyone the same.
That was why the people had trusted her.
That was why they had followed her.
And now, words that shattered that very image had burst straight from her mouth.
“Have you all gone deaf?! Kill that vermin right now!!”
No one moved.
They merely stood frozen in shock, watching Beatrice lash out.
“Do my words mean nothing to you?! You worthless pieces of trash…”
“Imperial Princess Beatrice.”
The Imperial Prince finally spoke after watching her outburst.
“Remove the ring. That is an order.”
Milia and the soldiers around her drew their swords.
The person before them was no longer the Imperial Princess.
She was a demon whose true identity stood on the verge of being exposed.
Beatrice bit down hard on her lip at the sight.
Only now did she finally understand the purpose behind everything Ex had said.
‘He was targeting me from the very beginning.’
The truths that were difficult for ordinary citizens to relate to and nearly impossible to prove had never been meant for them.
They had been aimed at Darius.
Among everyone here, Darius was the only person capable of determining whether Ex had been telling the truth.
By repeatedly feeding him truths that only he could verify, Ex had gradually maneuvered Darius into supporting him.
‘As if he planned every last detail from beginning to end.’
She had believed he was mute.
She had assumed he would never even be able to defend himself.
Then, out of nowhere, he had opened his mouth and begun speaking.
Because of that, the discord she had deliberately stirred among the citizens through agitation had rapidly died down.
Worse, the presence of both commoners and nobles in the courtroom had transformed her status as an ‘Imperial Princess’ from a weapon into a chain around her ankle.
“Ha.”
A hollow laugh escaped Beatrice.
Now that she thought about it, Ex was not even a demon.
She still could not understand how he had deceived her.
She had calculated every possibility and accounted for every move she could imagine, but this went so far beyond common sense that there was no way she could have anticipated it.
A human had pretended to be a demon and fooled an actual demon?
“You’re the one who acts more like a demon than any of us.”
Beatrice’s fingers touched the Soul Trap Ring.
“You certainly knew how to play me with that silver tongue of yours.”
Slowly, the Soul Trap Ring slid from her finger.
“From the very first moment we met, all the way until now.”
And then the Soul Trap Ring left her finger completely.
“It’s time for proof.”
The instant it did, Ex fired a beam of divine light toward Beatrice.
It was exceedingly faint.
A tiny glow so weak that it would not even have the power to heal.
At best, it was little more than enough light to illuminate the road ahead.
But the moment that light touched Beatrice.
Sssssssssss!!!!
The sound of evil being purified rang through the courtroom.
Everyone understood at once.
Beatrice was the demon Andras.
“EX!!!!!!!!!”
“Lady Milia!! The ring!!!”
Ex’s shout reached the Sword of the Empire through Andras’s maddened scream.
Milia was no fool.
She immediately understood what he meant.
“The Imperial Princess really was a demon…!”
Moving at a speed that transcended ordinary perception, Milia closed the distance to Andras and immediately seized the Soul Trap Ring.
“Damn you!!!!!”
Even Andras could not instantly react to a 7-Star martial artist.
But neither could Milia simply cut Andras down after hearing Ex’s next shout.
“You absolutely cannot kill the Imperial Princess!! You have to subdue her somehow!!!”
“You certainly don’t ask for easy things…!”
Ex’s goal was to eliminate Andras.
It was not to sacrifice Beatrice.
And if he wanted to save her, her body had to remain intact.
“I’ll kill every last one of you!!!!!”
Andras flew into a frenzy and unleashed her demonic power.
Wooooooom-!!
In an instant, she cast magic that distorted gravity in every direction. At the same time, she protected herself behind a powerful barrier spell that enveloped her entire body.
The gravity magic was not enough to threaten Milia, a 7-Star martial artist.
But it was more than enough to throw the ordinary citizens surrounding them into terror.
“Aaaaaah!!!”
“Th-The Imperial Princess really was a demon!!!”
The citizens descended into panic, scrambling over one another in a desperate attempt to escape.
But whenever a crowd moved without order inside an enclosed space, disaster was inevitable.
Stray spells hurtled toward the crowd.
If even one of them exploded among the citizens, dozens of deaths would be unavoidable.
“Do what must be done.”
But that catastrophe never came.
The sound of a simple cane striking the floor echoed once.
At that exact moment, translucent barriers appeared around every gravity spell scattered throughout the courtroom.
The gravity magic detonated inside them, but not so much as a trace of mana escaped beyond the barriers before the spells vanished entirely.
Ex immediately realized who had cast the magic.
It was the middle-aged gentleman in a top hat standing among the nobles.
‘Who the hell is that guy? He neutralized that many spells in an instant.’
Thanks to him, casualties among the ordinary citizens had been prevented.
Ex was curious about the man’s identity, but Andras came first.
All that remained was for Milia to subdue her.
“You think I’m just going to let you capture me…!?”
Andras pulled a scroll from inside her clothes.
There was no need to spend long wondering what it was.
“Teleportation…!”
Just as Milia’s sword began cutting through the barrier, the Teleportation Scroll tore apart and activated.
Blue particles of mana enveloped Andras’s body as she screamed at Ex in a voice overflowing with venom.
“Ex, I swear I’ll tear you apart with my own hands!! No, perhaps I should drag you into hell and turn you into a demon too. Then I can drown you in boiling sulfur and make you suffer without end!! And this damned Empire you love so much, I’ll destroy every last piece of it!!!”
By the time Milia’s sword cleaved through the barrier, nothing remained but the echo of Andras’s curse-filled scream.
“Damn it…!”
Milia ground her teeth at the realization that the Imperial Princess had escaped.
For the Sword of the Empire, it was a humiliating failure.
But from Ex’s perspective, Andras had simply reacted far faster than expected.
‘Once she released her demonic power, she managed to use Tier 6 magic instantly. I didn’t expect that.’
Capturing Andras would have been the best possible outcome.
Unfortunately, they had failed.
But it was hardly a disaster.
‘She can’t go back to the Theocracy anyway. The Empire will hunt her relentlessly, and if she returns to the Theocracy, a horrific punishment will be waiting for her. Knowing Andras, she’ll hide somewhere inside the Empire and make her move on the day of the attack.’
In any case, even if the outcome had fallen short of perfect, the problem had been resolved.
Ex’s trial was now completely meaningless.
The revelation that the Imperial Princess had actually been a demon would spread across the entire Empire in no time.
With a scandal this enormous exploding in everyone’s faces, no one would care much about Ex anymore.
“Ex. You and I need to talk.”
Now there was only one problem left.
Ex had to figure out how to calm down an Imperial Prince who was so furious that even his face and neck had turned bright red.
–TL Notes–
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