As the two were chatting idly, an old man dressed in a white robe pushed the door open and entered. The smile instantly vanished from Ariel's face, replaced by a cold, piercing gaze.
"What are you doing here?"
Facing Ariel's interrogation, the old man sat down slowly, his expression calm. "It's been a long ti, Ariel."
Ariel snorted coldly. "Just you? Aren't you afraid I'll kill you?"
"If I were to go to war with you, bringing more people would be aningless." The old man shrugged, completely unfazed by the killing intent radiating from her.
"Heh, at least you have so self-awareness, Dustin." Ariel narrowed her silver eyes, staring at him dangerously.
Upon hearing the newcor's na, ra and Sophia exchanged a look, both seeing the shock on the other's face. Dustin. The Pope of the Word of God Religion, the man who ruled the world's largest church. He was also the mastermind behind the previous great war.
To put it plainly, Dustin had played a major role in the fall of Count Keren's territory, alongside Potimas's secret machinations. The Word of God Religion was dedicated to wiping out "heresies" like the Goddess Religion, and to that end, they hadn't hesitated to trigger a war to eliminate the Sariella Kingdom.
Clearly, the old man before them was an enemy.
Seeing the hostile stares of the master and servant, Dustin looked apologetic. "I am sorry for the trouble I've caused you both, but I did not intend to harm you personally."
ra didn't buy a word of it but didn't make a move either, simply staring him down coldly.
"Stop acting, Dustin," Ariel said, her tone equally icy. "Just say it. What do you actually want?"
Dustin sighed. "Could you please refrain from interfering in the affairs of the Goddess Religion? Also... could you hand over the Nightmare of the Labyrinth?"
"Hmph, you certainly have a lot of nerve." Ariel laughed out of sheer anger. "Aren't you afraid I'll just kill you right here?"
"I didn't co here expecting to return alive. In fact, if this life can serve as atonent for this incident, it would be a worthy trade," Dustin said indifferently. "If possible, please hand over the Nightmare. I am willing to pay any price."
"Do you think I'm an idiot?" Ariel sneered. "Your life isn't worth anything. You can reincarnate infinitely—how can you say such things with a straight face?"
"..." Dustin gave a wry smile. "Apologies. I suppose I was being presumptive."
Ariel remained noncommittal, stating they were just passing through and had no interest in inter-sect squabbles. "The Goddess Religion can burn for all I care. But forget about the Nightmare. My battle with them is over; we are currently partners, not superiors and subordinates. I have no right to interfere with their will. Give it up."
"I see." A flicker of disappointnt flashed in Dustin's deep pupils. However, as long as the Demon Lord didn't interfere, the problem shouldn't be insurmountable.
"Speaking of which, for the 'Divine Beast' of the Goddess Religion to abandon them to their fate... that is quite cruel of you, Lord Demon Lord."
Ariel sneered. "Why? Isn't this exactly what you hoped for?"
"I was rely curious."
"Tch~ in my eyes, the teachings of the Goddess Religion are garbage! 'Just pray to the Goddess and you'll be protected'—that kind of talk, pushing every problem onto the Goddess, makes my blood boil. It's better if they're wiped out."
"...Fine. On that point, our views are aligned." Dustin smiled slightly.
Ariel fell silent. Dustin was right; to both of them, the Goddess Religion was a heresy. It was actually more tolerable to look at the Word of God Religion. At least the Pope knew the truth about the world's impending destruction and was protecting humanity at all costs. In contrast, the Goddess Religion were just parasites sucking the blood of the Goddess.
"Don't get happy too early. Once I return to the Demon Lord's territory, it will be the day war begins with the human race. I hope by then you've resolved your internal human conflicts."
Dustin shook his head. "As long as you don't interfere, it's fine. As for the Nightmare..." He let the sentence hang, his tone heavy. "By the way, Potimas has moved again. He's likely up to no good. You'd better be careful."
With that, the old man turned and left, leaving Ariel frowning.
"Is that guy actually worried about ? Tch~ ddling old fool." A trace of irony curled Ariel's lips.
In terms of factions, the Administrator Güliedistodiez was her ally, the old elf Potimas was her mortal enemy, and Pope Dustin, representing humanity, was effectively neutral.
(Dustin would sacrifice anything to protect humanity, including humans themselves—sacrificing the few to save the many. This didn't actually conflict with Ariel's views: sacrifice a portion of people to fix the world and preserve the rest of humanity. It was that simple.)
She had no interest in human infighting. According to her own plan, she would use the war between demons and humans to kill as many people as possible to replenish the energy the world needed. In the process, she would eliminate the world's cancer, Potimas. Ultimately, after saving the world, she would rescue the Goddess Sariel, who had beco the core of the System.
Or rather, everything she did was for Sariel. For that, she would gladly give her life. As for the lives of anyone else? She didn't care.
"Ariel, why didn't you kill that old man?" Sophia didn't understand why she let him go. She didn't care about the fate of the Goddess Religion; having just been born, she felt no loyalty to this country.
"He can't be killed. He possesses the Ruler skill . When he dies, his soul reincarnates with all his mories. Before long, he'll just beco the next Pope. Co to think of it, this is his sixty-first reincarnation."
Reincarnation... mories... clones...
*Ding—!*
A taphorical lightbulb suddenly appeared over Ariel's head. "AH!! I've got it!!" She stood up abruptly, her eyes sparkling.
Sophia shrank back, startled. "W-what is it?"
"Hahahaha...!" Ariel laughed maniacally. "I understand! I understand everything now! So *that* is the secret to your immortality!"
Using egg-laying to create mindless clones, then transferring consciousness right before death... swapping the main body and the clone instantly. Brilliant! Truly brilliant! No wonder Abyss Magic didn't work on them. It all made sense now! *I should have realized it when that consciousness body invaded . I'm so stupid!*
Wait! Dustin and Potimas's secrets were already hard to decipher, but these two combined both! Geniuses! Absolute geniuses! *And since I figured out the thoughts of absolute geniuses, doesn't that make the genius among geniuses?*
"Hahahaha...!" Ariel continued to laugh like a madwoman. The mystery that had troubled her for over six months was finally solved, and her mood was soaring.
After a long ti, her laughter gradually stiffened, turning into a look of dejection. "But what's the use of knowing? I still can't do anything about them~"
She thought that finding the secret would give her a way to defeat Shiro and Shirazawa. But the despairing truth was that even knowing the theory didn't change anything. Abyss Magic was too slow to cast; trying to finish it before their consciousness escaped was nigh impossible.
In that case, the only path forward was to win them over completely.
*My children, I can't avenge you anymore. May you be happy in heaven.*
"Sigh~ I'm ntally exhausted." Ariel rubbed her temples. Six months of cold war... repairing this relationship was going to be a bit of a hassle. *Looks like this Demon Lord has to show off so special skills.*
Thinking of this, she got up and left the inn, heading out to buy so gifts.
---
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