Chapter 75
The Count’s Domain (5)
A great commotion erupted in the Wicked God Society’s branch on the second underground level.
“What is going on?!”
“Th-there appears to have been a problem during the summoning ritual!”
Dense demonic energy blanketed the entire cavern. An unfathomable presence bore down upon the space like gravity.
Everyone in the Wicked God Society was thrown into turmoil.
The cultists hurried toward the summoning chamber, while the lesser spirits danced wildly, overcome with excitement.
“What in the world has been summoned?!”
“Assess the situation first! Hurry!”
Countless cultists converged on the summoning chamber.
The instant they entered, they froze stiff.
Every one of them stood rooted to the spot in shock.
They had come face-to-face with an incomparably sinister being.
Eyes darker than blood gazed down upon them from above.
A pair of enormous wings stretched from side to side, filling the summoning chamber.
Pitch-black mist poured ceaselessly from its body.
A chilling voice rumbled through the room.
“You hold your heads awfully high, mortals.”
Black smoke slashed through the air.
Most of them immediately dropped to their knees.
The heads of the few who failed to react were severed in an instant.
Fountains of blood erupted into the air.
Even as their comrades’ heads landed at their feet, the cultists of the Wicked God Society paid them no heed.
One of them cried out in a trembling voice.
“W-we behold the Great One!”
The others repeated after him.
“We behold the Great One!”
The demon opened his mouth.
“Were you the ones who summoned me?”
Everyone’s gaze shifted to one place.
There stood a newcomer wearing a black hood.
It was Ilea.
She spoke.
“I was the one who called upon you, O Great End.”
A summoner instinctively knew the name and identity of the demon they had summoned through blood.
The newcomer had addressed the demon before them as an End.
In other words, an Apostle had descended upon this underground complex.
The cultists of the Wicked God Society shuddered with exhilaration.
The moment they had awaited for so long had finally arrived.
A high-ranking demon had been summoned.
More than that, an Apostle stood before them.
The Wicked God Society’s dearest wish had come true.
They prostrated themselves on the floor.
“O Mapheltan, Lord of All Evil! Cast down the hypocrites and grant us freedom and prosperity!”
“We shall devote our bodies and souls to serving you!”
The Thirteenth End was the only Apostle remaining in this era.
If the being before them truly was an Apostle, then he could only be Mapheltan, the Throne of Deception and Chaos.
Mapheltan spoke.
“How utterly displeasing. Did you intend to curry my favor with a mere scrap?”
The offering used in the summoning was nothing more than an unidentified fragment of bone.
No matter which high-ranking demon had been summoned, they would have taken offense.
Had a hot-tempered demon such as Kaiaze manifested instead, the Wicked God Society would have been slaughtered on the spot.
As Mapheltan displayed his displeasure, the atmosphere grew oppressively heavy.
One of the cultists spoke in a trembling voice.
“A-an offering worthy of satisfying you will soon be prepared! Please quell your anger!”
Mapheltan stared at him expressionlessly.
“I shall hear what it is before deciding your fate.”
Confidence flashed across the cultist’s face.
“The Third Holy Grail. Before long, that supreme holy relic will fall into our hands.”
The Third Holy Grail was one of the First-Class Holy Relics. If the grail were used as an offering, it might even summon one of the top ten demons in the Netherworld’s hierarchy.
Originally, the Wicked God Society had planned to conduct a proper ritual after obtaining the grail, but events had unfolded quite differently from what they had anticipated.
A high-ranking demon had been summoned out of nowhere.
The Wicked God Society was delighted, but in truth, they were also deeply bewildered.
Mapheltan’s crimson eyes gleamed ominously.
“The Third Holy Grail is a treasure guarded by the Watcher’s bloodline as dearly as their own lives. You claim you can take it from them?”
The Third Holy Grail was stored in the forbidden archive of the Myatro Barony.
The cultist replied.
“The head of House Myatro will soon be replaced. The new lord has promised to provide the grail to our Wicked God Society.”
The new lord he referred to was Count Staviana.
The count had entered into a certain contract with the Wicked God Society, and as the price of that agreement, he was required to hand over the Third Holy Grail.
Naturally, Mapheltan already knew every detail of the plot.
He remained silent for a moment, pretending to deliberate.
A heavy tension hung in the air.
After a while, he spoke.
“It does not tempt me. My heart remains entirely unmoved.”
Anxiety crossed the cultist’s face. If they failed to satisfy Mapheltan, the entire Wicked God Society might be wiped out.
“B-but the grail is a First-Class Holy Relic containing Marziel’s sacred blood! It will surely be of great use to you, O End!”
Mapheltan shook his head.
“The grails only reveal their true function once all seven have been assembled. A single cup is nothing more than a useless ornament.”
In short, it was more trouble than it was worth.
The cultist swallowed dryly.
“B-but…”
There was also the option of corrupting it into a profane relic and using it that way.
Mapheltan had no intention of even considering it.
“The grail is worthless to me. Do not mention it again.”
His weighty voice struck them like a thunderbolt.
It was almost as though a Word of Power were imposing a prohibition upon them.
The cultists trembled as they bowed their heads.
“We shall offer you another holy relic—or even tens of thousands of human sacrifices!”
“Please spare our lives!”
“We will find an offering that satisfies you, no matter what it takes!”
The corners of Mapheltan’s mouth rose.
“Why bother? You already possess one.”
Several of the cultists raised their heads and looked at him.
“W-we shall offer it at once!”
“You need only tell us what it is!”
Mapheltan said,
“I sense an appalling amount of divine power from below. Have you perhaps captured an angel?”
The cultists began exchanging uneasy glances.
“I-it is not an angel, but rather a cradle capable of giving birth to one.”
“It is certainly a precious holy relic, but it would be insufficient as an offering to the End.”
“Th-that is correct. We would gladly offer you any other holy relic instead.”
Their desire to protect the cradle was obvious.
Mapheltan spoke.
“A cradle capable of giving birth to an angel. How intriguing. I shall accept it as my offering.”
The cultists looked troubled.
One of them summoned his courage and spoke.
“O Great End, the truth is that the Celestial Womb Palace does not belong to the Wicked God Society.”
The Celestial Womb Palace was Count Staviana’s property.
Mapheltan’s expression twisted.
“Then seize it and bring it to me.”
To a demon, ownership meant nothing.
Demons were beings who took whatever they desired.
“I-if I may dare to speak, that would be difficult. The powerful man who supports the Wicked God Society has lived solely for the sake of that Celestial Womb Palace. Forgive us, but we are incapable of breaking his obsession.”
The Celestial Womb Palace was a holy relic capable of awakening a human into an angel.
With it, even a corpse could be resurrected as an angel.
There was someone the count wished to bring back to life.
His deceased wife.
Mapheltan displayed his displeasure. Dense demonic energy spread in every direction.
“A man who intends to use the Celestial Womb Palace is allied with you? That makes no sense. Are you spouting lies to me?”
The Celestial Womb Palace was a holy relic powered by divine energy.
To activate it, one would need ties to the religious order—not the Wicked God Society.
The cultist swallowed dryly before replying.
“He intends to corrupt the Celestial Womb Palace into a profane relic. As long as it remains a holy relic, it can never be activated.”
A prohibition had been placed upon the Celestial Womb Palace.
It forbade its use for personal reasons.
Mere longing for another person could never give birth to an angel.
But the situation would change the instant it was corrupted into a profane relic.
The prohibition would disappear.
It would give birth to a demon instead of an angel, but the count did not care.
He loved his wife. His longing for his departed beloved was carved into his very bones.
If he could see his wife again, the count was prepared to endure anything.
Even if the wife he reunited with had been transformed into a demon, it would not matter to him.
Such was the madness of the count’s obsession.
Mapheltan said,
“I have no interest in his circumstances. I shall have the Celestial Womb Palace. Do you dare stand in my way?”
The relationship between the count and the Wicked God Society was firm.
Despite the countless dealings they had conducted, neither side had ever betrayed the other’s trust.
The cultist looked deeply troubled.
“H-how could we possibly interfere in the affairs of the End? However, for the sake of all our futures, we beg you to reconsider your decision just once. The count is an exceptionally capable man. If you make proper use of him, you will be able to accomplish your desires far more easily.”
Mapheltan spoke.
“Seeing how desperately you try to dissuade me, the count’s obsession must be quite extraordinary.”
“Th-that is correct. If the Celestial Womb Palace disappears, the count will go mad. The Wicked God Society does not yet possess the strength to withstand the consequences.”
The corners of Mapheltan’s mouth curled into a long smile.
“Having heard that, I desire it all the more. I wish to see him break. Humans wail most beautifully when their lifelong dreams crumble before their eyes.”
Malice slowly seeped from his body.
The lesser spirits erupted in cheers.
The cultists bowed their heads with resigned expressions.
One of them spoke.
“…We dare not raise any further objections.”
Mapheltan nodded in satisfaction.
“Take me to the Celestial Womb Palace.”
The Celestial Womb Palace was located even deeper underground.
“There is a being guarding the holy relic. We ask that the End bear this in mind.”
Mapheltan was already aware of that fact.
He immediately headed for the Celestial Womb Palace.
Banners bearing the emblem of an eagle adorned the vast plains.
A great force of cavalry and a single magnificent carriage advanced through the night.
It was Count Staviana’s army.
Inside the carriage receiving the finest protection, an elderly gentleman clicked open his pendant.
The portrait of a beautiful woman was revealed.
“…Yeriyan.”
A faint warmth surfaced on the elderly gentleman’s normally cold face.
“We will soon be together again.”
His gaze softened as he looked upon the portrait.
The Blue Demon was nowhere to be seen.
Only before his wife was Count Staviana merely human.
After gazing at her for a long while, his expression suddenly hardened.
A black raven flew over and tapped against the window.
The count opened it.
The raven tossed a rolled note into the carriage before flying away once more.
The count began reading it.
His expression gradually turned as cold as ice.
Something had happened within the underground complex.
He had to return immediately.
The count extended a hand through the window.
A knight approached in an instant.
“Your Excellency, did you call for me?”
The count spoke expressionlessly.
“We are returning to the estate.”
Confusion flashed across the knight’s face.
“The council meeting will begin shortly.”
An emergency council had been convened because of the attack on the royal capital.
The count was the chairman of that assembly.
His attendance was mandatory.
Refusing to attend would mean defying a royal command.
The count did not care.
“Do you intend to make me repeat myself?”
The knight immediately composed himself.
“My apologies. I shall obey your command.”
The troops changed course.
The count looked at the pendant once more.
“Yeriyan, I will not lose you. Even if I must trade my life for yours.”
A chilling resolve settled in his eyes.
The count had no intention of being particular about his methods.
Even if the one opposing him was an Apostle of the End.