We arrived before a massive stone gate, its surface covered in countless carvings. Ashen-black flames and bundles of withered roses clung to every detail.It was bound and sealed by a web of iron chains and dried crimson blood. Seeing this, Himel seemed to have finished his task and quietly withdrew.
Janeus stepped forward and sliced her arm, letting blood flow.
"By the Royal Oath, I, the Princess—"
She stood before an altar, using her own blood to stain the eyes of the marble dogs carved into stone.She recited the royal vow. Blood and oath were the proof of royalty.
I stood aside and waited.The gate began to glow with a gentle golden light. I stepped forward, found a lock, and inserted the key.
RUMBLE—
The chains shattered one by one and fell to the ground.
With all my strength, I pushed the gate open and stepped inside.
Beyond the gate lay a pitch-black space. At its center stood a massive, ancient bell of tarnished gold.
This was the key to resolving the problem of the demons.
I stepped forward. The pollution of Death Mana filled the air. I rang the bell.
A sound echoed through every corner of existence, leaving behind a scream-like resonance.
From the very beginning, killing the demons had been a nearly impossible task.However, by introducing an external force, a breakthrough could be created.
The overall plan was simple.
By killing two demons twice within the false reality, we would weaken them enough for Lloyd to seize their bodies, thereby releasing the souls of Phelion and Sophia.This had been the plan from the start, executed through Lloyd's blood-marked symbolic puppets.
Once stripped of their souls, the demons would be left in a critical state. At that moment, an overwhelming force of death would be used to crush them instantly—allowing death to blanket the land and erase the demons' mana imprints entirely.
At the same time, the White Key would allow life to sprout once more within the third layer of false reality, counteracting the death spreading from outside.
The White Key grants rebirth.It is born from the death of the Black Key,and the Black Key is born from the absorption of death itself.
That was the trump card I had prepared to defeat any demon, no matter who—or what—they were.
As for the object I had just struck: that bell was a ship-calling bell.
A vessel similar to the one that once carried me to the Abyssal Prison.
In essence, this place was a massive gate connected to an underground world, similar to the cavern I had visited before.It could hide itself completely from all forms of tracking—no mana-based detection could ever find it.
Death Mana here was too overwhelming. Any attempt at mana detection was meaningless.
And that wasn't even the deepest secret.
The reason a barrier existed to block the demons—the barrier that later became the third layer of false reality through deception—was hidden here.
A fragment of Heaven.
A royal secret buried for three hundred years.
And the reason Janeus had come here.
I turned around, intending to tell her about the royal secret—
My vision dimmed.My body suddenly went limp.
SPLAT
Something pierced straight through me.
It was Janeus's hand.
I coughed up blood and collapsed to the ground.
…
What would you think if someone told you there were assassination plans targeting you?
What if that person explained dangerous, filthy truths?
What if they spoke of conspiracies?
Either that person was weaving endless schemes,or they had powerful backing,or they possessed far too much information.
In short—they were dangerous.More like someone threatening others than a harmless storyteller.
He even paid attention to minor behavioral details, adjusting his conduct accordingly.He assigned a bodyguard to monitor Janeus within the false reality.
Ron—he was strange. Grotesque. The most mysterious of all.
That was why she had waited.
Waited for the moment he separated from his companions.Chose the instant he was vulnerable.Chose the timing of her strike—ensuring everything would remain secret.
And she was certain: no one but her knew the royal secret revealed today.
She approached the gate and reached out toward the bell, intending to examine it—
When she suddenly felt something was wrong.
"Why… is the ground above the wall?"
Her entire body was seized as if by a giant bear and hurled into the air.
Ron Irus attacked her—
No.
It was the One-Eyed Imposter.
Its second ability—the power it gained after awakening—was imitation.
Through constant observation, it developed an intelligence similar to an AI.However, it could only judge and operate a body when the soul was absent.
Which meant—
Ron Irus was already considered dead.
And now, Janeus would have to face an opponent with power equal to Ron Irus himself.
Only ten minutes remain before the ship arrives.
A/N:Actually, the key-related section originally had more explanations, but unfortunately I forgot to write them down. Sorry about that—I'll revise it later.