“Your daughter is a monster! You’ll be destroyed along with— mmph!”
I shoved the gag back into Elvariel’s mouth as she yammered noisily.
“Stop badmouthing someone else’s daughter and behave yourself.”
I meticulously checked the seal once more to ensure her mind couldn’t escape back to her main body. Then I sent the command via transmission.
‘Mari, Seraphina. Start preparing to withdraw. The objective has been achieved.’
[Yes, Father.]
Mari’s prim and proper voice echoed in my head. From afar, Seraphina quietly nodded as she met my gaze.
I turned to look at Bi-yeon standing beside me.
“Take this one and bind her securely. The moment you let your guard down, she’ll flee straight back to her main body.”
“Got it.”
Bi-yeon effortlessly lifted Elvariel and bound her tightly with powerful threads of wind.
“Mmph…!”
“Then I’ll head off first.”
“Thanks.”
With Elvariel cradled in her arms, Bi-yeon soared into the sky.
After confirming she had disappeared above the clouds,
I once again looked down over the battlefield.
The demon king’s army was swiftly restoring order and withdrawing. The paladin order’s commander was screaming toward Seraphina, while the hero clenched his fists tightly, glaring at the demons.
“…Then I should prepare too.”
I deliberately inflicted deep wounds on my own arm and body.
***
Several days passed.
The streets of the Holy Kingdom were still heavily shrouded in the shadow of despair. Charred buildings, the sighs of those collecting corpses, and the sound of sobbing everywhere pressed heavily on the morning sunlight.
People no longer looked toward the Holy Light Cathedral. That place was no longer where God’s blessing dwelled.
It had simply become a symbol of defeat, crushed by the demons.
In front of each denomination stood countless flowers and candles. Some prayed quietly; others hung their heads as though even their last hope had been extinguished.
Above all, the fact that the heads of both major orders had fallen in battle remained an irreparable shock to everyone.
The Pope of the Pale Star, Delphir Banadel. He fought fiercely against the Demon King’s daughter until the very end before entering eternal rest. Likewise, Cradius, conductor of the Holy Spear of the Black Choir, blocked the demon army’s fierce assault with his entire body before collapsing on the battlefield.
The deaths of these two giants shattered not only the Holy Kingdom but the pillars of faith and order that had stood across the entire continent.
However… the most shocking thing of all was that Saintess Seraphina had fallen into corruption.
“The Saintess… betrayed us…”
“They say she bore the Demon King’s child…”
“Has God… abandoned us…?”
Believers sunk in despair, knights wearing expressions of utter disbelief—people could no longer look up to the heavens.
The representatives of each nation who had attended the conference all felt their lives threatened by this raid and hurriedly returned to their own countries.
Once the human kingdom delegates left, the other races no longer had any justification to remain. The Continental Alliance Conference ended in vain, leaving behind only half-hearted promises.
In the end, the only ones left here were me—quietly recuperating while receiving treatment—and Karisa Verseran, who had stayed until the very last moment.
In the quiet hospital room, a knock sounded at the door.
—Knock knock.
“Come in.”
The door opened and Karisa entered with an exhausted face. The area around her eyes was bloodshot, as though she hadn’t slept all night.
“Marquis… how is your condition?”
“I’m fine.”
Karisa let out a deep sigh and heavily sank into the chair. Unlike usual, her eyes were thick with hesitation and fatigue.
“I have… a request.”
“What is it?”
I quietly looked at her. Karisa kept her gaze lowered for a long while, biting her lip in hesitation.
Finally, she spoke.
“…Would it be alright if I stayed in your territory for a while…?”
“That’s rather sudden. Is it because of the rumors circulating now?”
Karisa said nothing.
Although the entire continent was still in chaos from the aftermath of the Holy Kingdom raid, the rumors spreading within the Empire were gradually rising to the surface as well.
The horrific news that Maurice Verseran had finally ascended to the imperial throne. That he had married the daughter of Duke Bastian and handed over military and real power to him.
‘And the newly crowned Emperor Maurice not only purged the imperial princess faction entirely, but also exposed every secret Karisa had kept hidden.’
The announcement that the deceased emperor had colluded with demons and sold his soul for eternal life. And that Karisa had concealed that fact until the end.
Now a colossal bounty had been placed on Karisa’s head along with the stigma of traitor.
One reason she had remained here was to clear up the rumor that she was on the demons’ side.
‘It seems she had some kind of deal with the orders, but everything fell apart because of me.’
“Very well. Stay in my territory for the time being. However, you must know I cannot keep Your Highness for too long.”
Karisa gave a faint nod.
“…I know. The Empire’s pressure will begin soon.”
“It won’t be mere pressure.”
I calmly pointed out the reality.
“Now that Maurice has branded Your Highness a traitor, the Empire will certainly demand your extradition. And if I refuse—”
“War will break out.”
Karisa gave a lonely smile.
“I’m sorry. I’m only being a burden to you, Marquis.”
“We’ll depart in three days. Until then, please rest and recover.”
“…Thank you.”
Karisa rose weakly and left the room. Beyond the quietly closing door, her slender footsteps echoed in solitude.
Soon after, Marienne quietly entered the room.
“Master, as expected, Grand Chamberlain Seraphin and Liet are keeping close watch on your movements.”
“Well, it makes sense. While everyone else was desperately fighting, I never showed myself.”
Marienne approached and whispered beside me.
“But… I’m curious why you deliberately left traces. If you wanted, you could have hidden perfectly.”
I gave a small chuckle.
“That? It’s nothing special. If they just get toyed with without knowing anything about what I’m planning, it’s no fun. I have to drop appropriate clues and give them just enough chances to get close to the truth so they can at least hold onto some hope, right?”
Marienne quietly nodded.
“Indeed. When someone is toyed with in complete ignorance, even the most outstanding person becomes powerless in an instant.”
“By the way, how’s Liet doing?”
“It seems she still can’t properly use her strength because of Master’s demonic energy and the corruption in her core. Also, I overheard from the hero while passing by—she mentioned Liet might temporarily leave the party.”
“She’ll probably head to the Dragon Mountains for treatment.”
Marienne agreed with my words.
“Since she’s a dragonian, only dragons can properly heal her body.”
***
Meanwhile, Liet and Seraphin were sitting facing each other in a quiet room. Dusk had already begun to fall outside, and only heavy silence flowed between the two.
“Seraphin, are you feeling alright?”
Seraphin nodded.
“Yes, Master. I’m fine.”
For a moment, silence passed as their eyes met. Then Seraphin spoke first.
“…I discovered traces of someone destroying the barrier from the inside.”
“The culprit…?”
“From the remaining traces, it’s definitely a demon. But there is unquestionably a traitor inside.”
A demon alone could never reach the core barrier chamber of the Holy Kingdom, which was filled with holy power. There had to be a betrayer inside.
“Someone we thought was on our side… brought about all this tragedy.”
“And… personally, the one I find most suspicious is Marquis Alcradion.”
Liet raised her head.
“Do you have a reason for thinking that?”
“During this demon king army invasion, almost no one saw him except in the very early stages of combat. Even the knight order he leads was nowhere to be seen. As you know, the Alcradion Marquis’s knight order uniforms…”
“…are so distinctive that anyone who saw them anywhere would definitely remember.”
Liet nodded grimly.
Seraphin continued.
“Yet after the attack ended, he appeared covered in wounds. As if… he had come from fighting somewhere else.”
“But no one saw him fighting…”
Liet murmured.
“But… could it really be him? Until now he’s been the one fighting the demon king’s army the hardest, and just looking at him in the conference hall, he doesn’t seem like a traitor at all…”
Seraphin sighed.
“That’s what bothers me too. That man defeated countless demons and worked for reconciliation between humans and other races in the conference. For someone like that…”
“to be a traitor is impossible?”
“…Yes.”
Liet fell into thought for a moment.
“Maybe he really was fighting somewhere else…”
“It’s possible. And if we wrongly suspect him…”
“I know. We could turn the continent’s greatest swordsman into an enemy.”
Liet let out a heavy sigh.
Silence flowed for a while.
Then Seraphin cautiously opened her mouth.
“Master… about Saintess Seraphina…”
Liet’s face stiffened.
“…Let’s not talk about that.”
“I’m sorry.”
“No… I’m the one who should be sorry…”
Liet was tormented by guilt, believing that the Saintess Seraphina ended up that way because of her.
***
It was dawn, when everyone was asleep. I was meditating.
At that moment, space subtly distorted.
—Zzt!
With a sound like the air tearing, a small crack appeared in midair.
‘Hm? This is…’
The next instant, the void split wide open and a small figure burst out.
“Daaaaaddyyyy!!!!”
—Thud!
Something leapt and crashed straight into my arms.
“Gkh— wait, wait…!”
I choked and coughed from the sudden impact.
Black-haired girl. Pure white pupils. And a mischievous smile.
It was Zinsia.
“Hehe. Daddy, I missed you so much I couldn’t wait anymore!”
Sia hugged my neck tightly and grinned brightly.
“My little girl, could you loosen your arms a bit…? Daddy can’t breathe…”
“Ah! Sorry!”
I sat on the bed, still holding Sia.
“So what’s up with my daughter?”
Sia puffed out her cheeks and spoke sulkily.
“I was born and Daddy didn’t even show his face once! So I came to see you myself!”
“Sorry, sorry. Daddy had some things to take care of… But what about what you were doing? Did you get permission from Mommy?”
“Yup! When I told Mommy I was going to see Daddy, she said okay!”
Sia puffed out her chest proudly as she answered.
“And I finished everything I was doing. Elvariel? I ate her up.”
“Huh? You killed her?”
“No, I just sucked all her power so she can’t run away!”
“Good job. What about the other goddesses?”
Sia pouted regretfully.
“Finding them was really hard. I could sense they’re somewhere in the dimensional gaps… but if I go in wrong I might get lost too… so I just gave up. Sorry, Daddy… hng.”
Sia looked up at me with teary eyes. I silently stroked her head slowly.
“It’s okay. You did well. This is more than enough.”
“Hehe… Really?”
At a single word of praise, her mood brightened instantly and she beamed.
She was a daughter born with tremendous power from the start. And unfortunately, her sense for using that power resembled mine in all the worst ways.
Right now she was smiling innocently, but just earlier Mari had contacted me.
Out of boredom, she had indiscriminately slaughtered both demons and humans.
‘I heard Seraphina barely managed to stop her… but even that seems to have its limits.’
Early education was essential.
I needed to wrap up the Holy Kingdom business quickly and return home to start planning Sia’s education first.
Completely unaware of my inner thoughts, Sia—now in a good mood—snuggled even deeper into my arms.
“Daddy, hug me more!”
“Sure, my little girl.”
The problem was that she was so cute I couldn’t bring myself to scold her.