Episode 654: The ghost of old memories (2)
Setadel stared at Deanna with eyes full of contempt.
“Did you think I didn’t know that the saint’s existence was an eyesore to you, so I kept putting her out to death in order to get rid of her on purpose?”
“gibberish!”
“Bullshit? “The saint passed away that day, and her power disappeared from the kingdom. The saint who should have appeared from generation to generation was not born in subsequent generations. But what is the saint who exists now?”
Wrinkles appeared between Setadel’s eyebrows due to anger.
“It’s a fake made using fragments of power that the false saint, Saint Archenis, had left behind in the church just in case.”
Saint Bretus, who lost a saint in the past, was deeply troubled.
After the death of Saint Archenis, no one with the saint’s power appeared.
It wouldn’t have mattered if Archenis had lived his life or died in battle…
The problem was that Lumensis was involved in her death.
The church thought…
I wonder if the enraged Lumensis has completely taken back the saint’s powers that he bestowed from this continent…
Otherwise, there was no way someone with a saint’s power test would not appear in the church…
But I couldn’t announce that fact to the outside world.
If that were the case, I didn’t know what those who realized that there was no saint would do…
“In order to somehow restore the power of the disappeared saint, I created fakes and set up substitutes and enjoyed the power well.”
Cetadel took out a lantern with green light.
“And seeing that you remember me, I can guess who the dirty traces on your body are.”
Kiiiiing·
As the light from the lantern grew stronger, Deanna screamed.
“Aaaah! stop! stop! stop!”
Even though she tried to twist her whole body and struggle, she couldn’t move because her body was fixed by the black chains and blue spear.
“Get out of there right now, you look like a dirty ghost.”
A spirit that seemed to be made of whitish gray slime began to emerge from Deanna’s head.
The image of the soul was that of an old and shabby old man.
“Ugh, what on earth is that?”
Sheridan frowned when he saw it…
Gray slime dripped down onto the floor.
It was an ectoplasm that was created when spiritual things took shape in reality.
“More importantly, who is that?”
It was Surna who answered Helia’s question.
“The squadron is a success…”
Benedict van Bretus, a prosperous former king who disappeared after handing over his position to Salesin.
The old man’s face clearly had Benedict’s face.
“Benedict disappeared after handing over his position? “Why on earth is that person in this form?”
Setadel looked at Benedict’s soul and muttered in disgust.
“Seeing as he recognizes me, I guess it’s probably been Benedict since before. It’s been going on for a very long time.”
“Could it be that you inherited the soul?”
Helia stuck her tongue out in disbelief.
A method that can only be used by a spiritual master who exchanges the soul with the body·
To deny that, didn’t Cetadel continue to endure by replacing his body?
“Give birth to a child, inherit your soul, and pass on your place to that child. If you do that, you can rise to the position of saint again with a completely new body.”
“That means that now Salesin…”
“It means that although he looks young and prosperous on the outside, inside he is a terrible old monster who has been living for a long time.”
Violetta, who was quietly listening to the story, raised a question…
“Wait a minute… If the current Holy Emperor is possessed by a ghost, then what on earth is that ghost we are seeing now?”
“That is a fragment of a part of the soul that has fallen off…”
Setadel, who confirmed the ghost’s condition, responded…
“I inherited my soul from my blood, but Deanna Van Bretus’s talent was so outstanding that a part of her soul also came to reside in her. Should I say that it was thanks to the manifestation of her talent that she would have become an outstanding spiritualist in the past?”
“Then why did Salesin, who took the throne, leave Deanna unharmed?”
“Even if only a part of it was contained within him, he probably intended to use it rather than kill it.”
This was the reason why the other bloodlines were treated cruelly, but Deanna was left behind.
A guy who understands some of the thoughts and ideas will be much more useful than other guys who don’t know what’s inside and have the potential for betrayal…
Surna nodded as if she understood…
“Indeed, that’s why he was hostile toward me and was able to use some of his powers.”
The power that Surna experienced was not an illusion, but the original was correct…
Alex shook his head as he looked at the squishy soul.
“This is a monster that keeps changing bodies because it doesn’t want to give up power. It’s really scary to hear.”
The dawdling Ectoplasm Wraith glared at Cetadel with empty eyes.
[Setadel… Why… Why did you betray us…]
“I saw that you are repeating the same thing even though I explained the reason to you a little while ago, so it seems like your memory has been damaged somewhere.”
Even if you tried to extract information like that, it seemed difficult to get a proper answer.
Cetadel held out its lantern towards the soul…
[why! Why!]
“There’s no need to answer, you just suffer here for the rest of your life.”
[Oh, no···!]
The specter tried to run away, but could not escape the Cetadel’s lantern.
The strong power that pulls the soul from the center of the lantern sucked the ghost’s body.
The ghost of the Holy Emperor struggled to escape.
Ectoplasm was scattered around, but it was no use…
The gradually collapsing figure was now nothing more than a lump of melting mud, hardly worthy of being called an old man.
Shuaaaaaa!
The ghost of the Holy Emperor was eventually absorbed into the lantern, as if being sucked into a water hole.
“Ah uh… ah…”
When the ghost completely disappeared, Deanna, who had lost consciousness for a moment, opened her eyes with a groan.
“here is····”
A voice that flows unnaturally
Because part of the soul was assimilated with the ghost of the Holy Emperor, the aftereffects of forcibly extracting the ghost remained.
However, Deanna’s soul did not completely disappear, so she was able to regain her senses, albeit imperfectly.
“Yes, that’s it. Our role was a failure.”
Deanna looked at Ludger with blurred eyes.
A faint smile appeared on her lips…
“You grew up reliably, youngest brother.”
“····”
“Yeah, I guess it’s funny to even say something like this now.”
Deanna readily acknowledged the mistakes they had made.
Even if she was influenced by a ghost, she was not completely innocent…
Because when she was fully Deanna Van Bretus, there were certainly evil deeds she committed as a member of the royal family…
“Salesin will not stop, because he will have already succeeded in taking the entire continent into his hands.”
“That’s no reason to stop…”
“Even though the whole world is your enemy?”
“Not everyone…”
At Ludger’s words, Deanna looked at her colleagues and nodded obediently…
“That’s right… I have good companions… On the way to the end, I will give you a gift… About the secret of this Galaharad Fortress…”
“The secret of Galaharad Fortress?”
Sheridan’s eyes lit up…
From Deanna’s voice, I instinctively sensed that this fortress itself had a hidden function…
“This fortress is not just a castle. It is a huge device.”
“For what?”
“It is an amplifier to spread power throughout the world… If you use the castle’s full functionality, your hidden true self will be revealed… If you utilize it, even if the entire world is your enemy, you will have a chance of victory…”
Ludger pointed out a strange part…
“Why didn’t Salesin use this power? “If it served as an amplification of power, there would be no need to bother doing this.”
Ludger shook his head as he spoke…
“That’s right… It couldn’t be used… Because Salesin wasn’t qualified… Even the ghost that resided in his soul…”
“···As expected, you are quick-witted… That’s right· But Heathcliff, if you were you, you would be able to do it…”
“How can I use that feature?”
“I don’t know that… I just know that there are such things…”
Deanna’s voice slowly subsided and her eyes began to close.
Because a part of her soul was ripped out, she doesn’t have much life left…
Deanna’s last gaze reached Surna…
“What you are looking for is right here…”
“····”
Normally, Surna would have taken it back with a smirk, but she didn’t do that this time.
Surna nodded silently…
“Everyone, try your best…”
Deanna closed her eyes after saying those words.
* * *
“hmm?”
Salesin, who was enjoying the moonlight while sitting on the terrace overlooking the castle’s garden, raised his head.
“Did this happen to me?”
Because part of his soul had completely disappeared, he could tell even from a distance.
“Still, I thought he was a useful guy, but I never thought he would disappear like this… Did I have too high expectations, or on the other hand, was the youngest’s skills even better than I expected?”
Of course, if Heathcliff was possessed by a devil, it was not completely incomprehensible…
“At this point, I have no choice but to go here sincerely…”
Salesin laughed…
Who would have ever thought that a situation would come where he, a prosperous person, would have to attack his own country?
“A lot of blood will flow…”
Even though he expressed regret with his mouth, Salesin was happy.
Yeah, it’s no fun if you fall this easily.
Salesin turned his head and looked inward.
“Are you ready? “2nd prince, or should I call him emperor?”
At those words, Ibelon von Exilion, who was waiting, bowed his head humbly.
“I’m not the emperor yet, so you can just call me second prince.”
“okay·”
“Preparations are complete… Soon the world will declare war on the heretic Heathcliff… A holy war that will go down in history…”
“I’m looking forward to it…”
“Then I will leave now for the departure ceremony tomorrow.”
Salesin caught Ibelon as he was about to leave.
“Ah, 2nd Prince Ibellon, may I ask you a favor?”
ask·
Salesin did not need to ask Ibelon for a favor.
If he wanted to, he could just give an order…
However, he said the word ‘please’ as if he was no one.
“Yes, please say”
“I think it would be a good idea to add one word in front of my younger brother’s name in the headline of the newspaper that will be published tomorrow morning.”
“What word should I add?”
In response to Ibelon’s question, Salesin smiled kindly and said,
“Demon King”
* * *
Ibelon, who returned to his residence after finishing his private meeting with Salesin, looked at the secluded and quiet room and sighed.
There was a sharp touch on his back…
Ivelon did not know that it was a sharp blade…
“Now, why don’t you do it in moderation, sister?”
Ibellon was not surprised and spoke in a calm voice.
With those words, the feeling of the blade behind me was erased…
“Annoying guy…”
Eileen, who was holding Ibelon’s back, appeared from the shadows.
“Sneak attack… Where on earth did you learn such a skill?”
“Nothing to know…”
Eileen sat down on the empty bed, swinging the dagger in her hand.
It was a strange sight…
Eileen, who should have been brainwashed and wiped out, was conversing normally in Ibellon’s room.
“I was so surprised… I never thought you were a spy for the Holy Kingdom of Bretus…”
“Please call me a double agent.”
Ibellon took off his coat and sat down on the sofa in comfortable clothes.
“Holy Salesian will start a war… As you know, the target is Heathcliff van Bretus. They say he has escaped from the prison of the Holy Kingdom and has taken over Galaharad Fortress…”
“Hehe, it’s that guy after all. Pretending to be captured and calling in a force in the middle of enemy territory… That’s a bold decision you wouldn’t make unless you were crazy.”
“But now he has turned the entire world against him… and tomorrow a holy war will be declared in earnest…”
Ibelon stared at Eileen with mixed eyes.
“This war itself cannot be stopped… so you have to step up…”
The Holy Kingdom has long since secretly planted spies to prevent the Exilion Empire from doing anything foolish.
They contacted Ibelon and made him their believer.
“I still have doubts… The ridiculous power of brainwashing that the Holy Kingdom possesses… I thought it was necessary to stick to their side to prevent the empire from disappearing because of that… But now, like this, you and your sister are planning to betray the Holy Kingdom. “You see, it’s strange even when I think about it again.”
“Then why don’t you just brainwash me, kick me out, and take the emperor’s seat?”
“Don’t you know very well that you can’t do that? Just as you left me alone, I am also a person who has no choice but to do that.”
Ivellon smiled bitterly…
“As expected, I prefer a family that gets along well rather than an emperor or something like that.”
