Some people had already started exchanging glances, considering what to do next.
“Next up is...” Liana raised the holy sword high, and its sacred light shone down on the people below.
After a short while, some people began to show abnormal symptoms. They all shared one commonality, a strange black mist on their bodies.
After these characteristics appeared, Minoga and Orleya stopped watching and went to carry out their duties.
They killed them in the gentlest way possible, trying to avoid frightening anyone. But no matter how gentle, it didn’t change the fact that they were dead.
“I know you are frightened and confused by what is happening. I don’t know how many of you knew the truth, or how many were involved. Investigating the infiltration of demons is very troublesome and unnecessary. At least some of you held your bottom line and did not fall to the power of demonkind,” Liana said.
“I know many of you are, to some extent, dissatisfied with the Lisat Kingdom. This is normal, and I can understand. For my own personal reasons, I’m pretty unhappy with the King of Lisat too.”
Minoga wanted to go over and drag Princess Liana back. She wondered what on earth Liana was saying.
“But I have to admit, the King of Lisat is an outstanding king. It’s precisely because of his excellence and stubbornness that I find him annoying.” Liana pursed her lips.
“I’m sure most of you know what happens when people are infected by demonkind. The demon will devour your life, devour your mana, and possess your body, becoming your master. We cannot be complacent about them. So, after my attempts to recover them failed, I chose to kill them.
“I also know that among this group were your friends and relatives. It’s normal for you to feel grief, or even hatred for me.” Liana snapped her fingers.
A pitch-black figure was transported over. It was the fully demonized Karen. Liana hadn’t chosen to kill him immediately because he still had this tiny bit of utility left.
Its hands and feet were bound by sacred magic, but it still roared, trying to break free.
“This is someone you are all very familiar with, Karen.”
Some people seemed to have accepted it, but most showed expressions of shock and doubt. They wondered if this was Karen. Had the bright and handsome Karen turned into such a monster?
Most were still unwilling to believe it, thinking Liana was just intimidating them. This was where Karen’s usefulness came in.
Liana pierced Karen’s body with Durandal. After Karen’s life came to an end...
The demon attached to him, receiving no more magic supply, and coupled with the holy sword’s sacred magic, was quickly and completely dispelled.
Karen’s pale body appeared before the crowd. His skin was stuck completely to his bones; he had truly become skin wrapped bones.
“Perhaps in the future, there will be a way to solve the demon possession, but right now, we don’t have one. To prevent your loved ones from harming you, or themselves, we can only do this.” Liana said, “A person possessed by a demon starts off in control, wielding its horrific power, letting you indulge in it. But every time you use it, the demon understands your body a little more.
“Over time, it will replace you and become your master. But it’s not over. You don’t die completely. You live on in great pain, powerlessly watching everything happen, unable to stop your body. You will clearly feel the moment you kill your beloved family, but you can’t do anything. You just live on, powerlessly and painfully, inside the demon’s body. Your ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) despair becomes its nourishment.”
Liana not only explained the dangers but also intentionally kept Karen to show them clearly. After all, no amount of words is as direct as seeing it for oneself.
Sure enough, after seeing Karen’s miserable state, some people settled down.
“I know you are very uneasy and lost right now. But I’m telling you, you don’t need to be afraid or lost. You just need to live as you did before. We will handle everything. We will protect your safety. No matter what, you are all the people of Lisat. We will not abandon you,” Liana said.
After Liana finished speaking, the uneasy atmosphere began to improve.
“Soon, people from the Lisat Kingdom will come to help you.”
“But what if they don’t come to help? What if they come to silence us forever? What do we do then?” Someone didn’t trust Liana.
“Either obey, or die. I have no spare time to joke with you. I’ve said enough. Whether you believe it is your business. Whether you want to live is also your business,” Liana said coldly.
She had said enough nice words. Either listen or not, Liana didn’t want to explain anymore. She still had to find Mephilia.
“Princess Liana has such an overbearing side,” Minoga said. “But this way, others’ impression of you might worsen.”
“It won’t worsen once they know we won’t harm them. Besides, I don’t care about that. I’ve always been this way, haven’t I?” Liana’s tone was relaxed. She walked up to Orleya. “This... counts as handled, right?”
Orleya nodded. “You can leave the rest to the royal knights.”
“Then that’s that. I need to go to the Minagado Territory,” Liana said.
“Not resting first? You just went through a fierce battle,” Orleya reminded her.
“I’m not that fragile.”
“Princess Liana, it’s best you rest. You might not be aware, but while in the illusion, two days have passed in the real world. Your body just might not have caught up yet,” Sephirena also chimed in.
“Then I have even more reason to hurry!” Two days has passed! Was Mephilia going to be fine?! “Besides, I can rest in the carriage. It won’t affect anything.”
“And you were injured in the battle.” Sephirena pointed to Liana’s wrist, which was stained red with blood.
“It’s just a small wound. A little medicine and some healing spell will fix it,” Liana said.
“Princess Liana, have you forgotten who we were fighting?” Sephirena said with a very serious expression.
“Relax, Sephirena. I don’t feel any discomfort. I already used purification magic after the fight. Plus, the demon I fought wasn’t very strong. As long as I don’t actively seek it out, it can’t possess me.” Liana cherished her life, she wouldn’t forget details like these.
“I understand.” Sephirena nodded. “I will use elven light magic on you while you rest, Princess Liana.”
“Hmph hmph, then thank you.” Liana knew what Sephirena was worried about. “Gotta say, you’re becoming more and more like a proper knight... if only certain parts of your personality could change. But if your personality changed, would you still be Sephirena?”
Liana smiled at Sephirena, which made Sephirena a little embarrassed.
“I wonder how Mephilia is doing.”
“Liana and the others have already set off. To avoid any accidents, shall we go too?” Mephilia said, looking at Loraviel beside her.
“Mn.” Loraviel nodded, trying her best to relax.
She wondered what Princess Mephilia was planning with this arrangement. Did she want to say something? Had she deliberately sent Princess Liana away to display might upon dismounting?1下马威 (xiàmǎwēi), a show of force upon first meeting or opportunity, as if right after dismounting their horse from arrival.
After boarding the carriage, Mephilia looked out the window. “I wonder if things will go smoothly this time.”
“Weren’t you very confident before we left, Princess Mephilia? Was that just an act to keep Princess Liana from worrying?” Loraviel asked.
“Not really.” Mephilia looked at Loraviel with a grin, saying no more.
This put immense pressure on Loraviel. She really couldn’t figure out what Princess Mephilia was trying to do.
“I haven’t been to the Minagado Territory in a long time. I wonder what it’s like now.” Mephilia’s fingers tapped a rhythm on the window frame. “Loraviel, have you been to the Minagado Territory?”
“I have.” It was because when she was training with Orleya, she had been given a mission, which included retrieving a weapon from the Minagado Territory.
But since the goal was just to get the weapon, Loraviel hadn’t stayed long.
“Oh? You’ve actually been?” This surprised Mephilia.
“I just took a look and came back. I’m not very familiar with it,” Loraviel said.
“Is that so?” Mephilia’s gaze returned to the window. “The other part of the holy sword is probably being kept by the Lord of Minagado. The place we’re going this time is, in fact, the Minagado Manor.”
The more Mephilia spoke to her, the more Loraviel felt something was wrong. She wondered if Princess Mephilia was pressuring her to confess.
Loraviel couldn’t possibly bring it up herself. If there was a misunderstanding, it would put Princess Liana in a very difficult position.
“It seems Princess Mephilia knew about this a long time ago.”
“I didn’t know a long time ago. But someone did.” Mephilia’s words were a bit baffling.
“If someone knew, why didn’t they say so sooner? This concerns the holy sword,” Loraviel asked, confused.
“Who knows? Maybe they had their own ideas. Or maybe they didn’t want to attract attention from other places. This is something within our Lisat Kingdom. If others found out about it, the holy sword in the Elf Forest would become vulnerable,” Mephilia said.
“That’s true.” Loraviel nodded in agreement. “Is the other party the Lord of Minagado?”
Anyone who could safeguard the holy sword must have some connection to it, perhaps even be able to use its power. Loraviel had heard that the holy sword was forged by dwarvenkind, and she thought it reasonable that they could use its power.
Mephilia shook her head. “It’s not the Lord of Minagado.”
“Then who is it?”
“We’ll know when we get there,” Mephilia said.
This annoyed Loraviel; she felt Princess Mephilia was deliberately stringing her along.
Soon, they arrived.
