"Your Majesty... in the end, it still has to be you who takes action."

Shenyi’s eyes were filled with sorrow—sorrow from the deepest place.

He was the most loyal minister, and also the most devout follower. To him, for such a trivial matter to actually require His Majesty’s personal intervention—this was the greatest humiliation to him, «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» even more humiliating than being jumped in the face by an insect.

But he had no choice but to do it.

For the demonfolk.

And also for His Majesty.

"Please, display your authority."

The deep-gray curtain spread again, temporarily isolating Muen and the other three lines of offense outside.

Shenyi knelt on one knee, incomparably respectful.

"Y-you... what are you talking about?"

An retreated warily. "I already told you, I’m not your whatever king. You’ve got the wrong person!"

"Of course you are not yet His Majesty—at least, not right now."

Shenyi lowered his head and said softly.

"Therefore, the one I am calling is not you."

...

...

Somewhere beneath Gutongs Castle.

A Thorn Throne forged from obsidian remained just as imposing and solemn, without the slightest change—like from the distant past of the river of time to the present, it had always stood like this, and even into the eternal future, it would still be so.

But the lifelike stone statues around the throne—vicious and manic, as though they might leap at any moment—had, at some unknown time, changed their poses.

They were all kneeling.

Kneeling like ministers.

And at this moment, atop the throne, a luxurious, multi-colored feathered robe swayed lightly.

This was an enclosed space guarded by some terrifying rule. There was no airflow at all, let alone wind.

So that slight movement of the robe was not caused by any external disturbance, but because...

The skeleton on the throne moved.

The skeleton wrapped in that gorgeous robe slowly shifted from its original lounging posture, and sat upright.

Like a king, she placed both hands on the armrests, arrogantly looking down at the ministers kneeling below.

In those deep eye sockets, it was as if a faint glimmer flashed, and then...

Bzzzz—

Accompanied by a piercing buzzing, a crown rose!

It was a crown completely different from any Crowned One’s crown.

It was not dazzling, and it did not give off even the faintest glow.

The patterns carved into the crown were even more of a blur—sun and moon and stars, heaven and earth and all things, everything was damaged.

Yet the instant it appeared, the entire city—Gutongs Castle as a whole—began to tremble violently, as if some ancient monster beneath the city was turning over its massive body.

Of course there was no monster beneath the city.

This trembling was naturally only the might of the crown itself!

Might enough to make an entire city shudder!

It was a crimson crown.

And the moment it floated up into the sky, the entire Abyss was dyed blood-red.

Even Holy Light and the black sun looked dim under that blood-red illumination.

"What the hell is this thing now?"

Muen slammed a fist into the gray curtain, his face even paler.

Even if he hadn’t reached that level, and even if he’d never heard of any crimson crown, he still instinctively felt that something was wrong.

Very wrong—wrong to the point it felt like some surging BGM suddenly kicked in and a final boss had shown up early.

Fuck, so the demonfolk really are the standard overpowered-protagonist-novel villain template, huh?

Beat the small one, the old one comes.

Beat the old one, the undying old bastard comes.

Beat the undying old bastard, and now even the one that’s truly dead crawls out!

It was practically a perfect step-by-step ladder for the protagonist to grind levels on.

But I’ve never heard of a plot where all of that gets crammed into less than half an hour!

What kind of cheat can run through half a book’s route in half an hour? I want it right now!

No wonder Ariel bowed out so fast—so this is the protagonist’s instinct for avoiding harm and chasing benefit? Love it, love it.

Muen gritted his teeth and kept driving the black sun to crush down, attacking Shenyi.

But he also knew that the situation now was no longer something he could control.

But a man... how could he say he can’t?!

"Fuck you, Shenyi—die for me!"

Black flame burned, tearing open the obstruction of the gray curtain again and again. Muen finally managed to take one step forward, and throw a punch...

"Useless."

Muen’s punch cut empty air, because he was quickly drowned by endless crimson, once again unable to move.

Shenyi watched him like this, his expression utterly calm.

"It’s completely over."

...

"This is..."

The Judgment Archbishop frowned, waving her jade hand as more Holy Light crosses fell mercilessly.

She pierced Grand Duke Shenyi’s “domain” again. At the current pace, this “split soul” of Grand Duke Shenyi would be completely dealt with in less than three minutes.

But...

Bloodlight spread out, submerging all the Holy Light crosses. The Goddess’s judgment only pierced through Shenyi’s defenses, yet it never actually fell into the city.

That bloodlight was more terrifying than she had imagined.

"A blood-red crown... what exactly is that thing?"

The Judgment Archbishop had read through the canon of the Holy City since childhood, yet she still had never heard of any blood-red crown.

Although the crowns of Crowned Ones had always been a thing full of mysteries, this crimson crown was far too contrary to common sense.

Could it be that there was something she had never...

"Withdraw for now."

The Judgment Archbishop suddenly heard a gentle, mellow voice, and her expression immediately turned respectful.

"Your Holiness."

"Withdraw..."

The Pope appeared on the other side of the holy domain’s gate, calmly looking down at everything happening within Gutongs Castle.

Even this endlessly surging crimson bloodlight did not cause the slightest change in his expression.

"Since that one... or rather, since the remains that one left behind have acted, it will be impossible to resolve Grand Duke Shenyi today."

"I understand, but..."

"Let him be."

"N-no!"

Liya suddenly cut off the Judgment Archbishop, anxious as she said, "Muen is still in there! Shenyi or whatever isn’t important, but Muen—"

"Don’t worry," the Pope said. "A scourge lasts a thousand years. That brat won’t die so easily, and that annoying old thing won’t let him die so easily either."

"But..."

"There’s no ‘but.’ That boy getting involved in this might itself be the karma he must bear. That old thing’s mess from back then—our Church has no need to help her clean it up. What we’ve done so far is already benevolence to the utmost."

"B-but what does that have to do with saving Muen? How does it conflict?"

Liya puffed her cheeks, still completely unable to feel at ease.

Seeing that his own cabbage wasn’t worried even about the world ending, yet was still worried about that yellow-haired pig’s safety, the Pope couldn’t help letting out a quiet sigh, and said, "Then we’ll watch to the very end. If my guess is correct, that move is about to come."

"That move?" the Judgment Archbishop asked, puzzled.

"Just watch," the Pope said, hands clasped behind his back. "If my guess is correct, it will be a corner of the source of all of this."