Beguiling the Enemy’s Patriarch - Chapter 127

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 127
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Auredhian Belgot had said the purification of Belgot was nearly complete. I remembered clearly how he’d mentioned that by now, even the Southern Region should be fully purified. Yet here I was, walking endlessly through darkness without a single trace of light. It could only mean one of two things: either I was trapped in a maze of mountains, or I was underground.
And my thoughts increasingly leaned toward the latter.
“This seems to be an underground tunnel, doesn’t it?”
[Mm.]
My entire body tingled with electricity. If this were a properly purified area, such dense magical energy wouldn’t be lingering here. Yet Auredhian didn’t seem like the type to do sloppy work—not when it concerned my safety directly. He would have been meticulous.
Which meant this was a place hidden so skillfully that it could evade even his notice. But how long was this tunnel? The path stretched on endlessly. Walking through pitch-black darkness, relying only on the faint glow of divine light, felt—
terrifying.
[At least the slope is going upward. We’re not descending any further, which is something.]
“Is that so…?”
Raulus was right. Bit by bit, I was definitely climbing upward. After turning through several sharp corners, certainty crystallized within me. I must have been thrown to the very bottom of this long underground tunnel, and with only one path available, this tunnel undoubtedly formed the shape of a serpent crawling toward the surface.
[And faintly, but I can sense it—divinity.]
“You can sense it?”
[Yes. Somewhere above. Far away. Let me see… whose divinity could it be…?]
Raulus leaped from my arms and glanced around.
[Sheir, Raduer… or not? Aria? Hmm, it’s faint…]
A string of sacred names tumbled out.
[My children seem to be scattered on the surface just above here, little crumb.]
“Oh. That’s welcome news.”
Raduer was Diego Schmart’s sacred name. If the purification was nearly complete with the Southern Region being the last, and Diego was still here above, then this place must be—
“Southern Belgot.”
[That would be it.]
Southern Belgot. I’d essentially crossed the entire Sezan Mountains diagonally. How long would it have taken Auredhian to reach here after learning of the incident from Sergei Lebanon? Raulus settled back into my arms and spoke.
[It doesn’t seem like it will take much longer. Let’s climb a bit higher for now.]
“All right…”
I murmured like a sigh.
“I hope nothing else appears.”
But my words were mere wishful thinking. Just before turning the corner, a sharp surge of magical energy pierced down from the crown of my head.
“…!”
Thump. My heart sank. It was a blessing that I’d stopped before fully rounding that corner.
[What is it? What’s there?]
Even knowing his voice couldn’t carry outside, I frantically covered Raulus’s mouth. Fearing that even a single footstep might be heard, I froze in place.
“…”
The magical energy crackling across my skin made my mind spin for a moment. A voice was coming from beyond the corner.
“It would be better to go down below Remordi instead.”
My heart pounded so loudly I feared it would drown out the voice. Even my breathing felt intrusive, so I held it entirely.
“No. The test subjects can’t survive below Remordi.”
“They all look like they’re going to die here anyway. What does it matter if the test subjects are important? Once this last base is purified, it’s truly over.”
Remordi. Test subjects. Last base. I listened to the conversation with a mind on the verge of collapse.
“How did you manage to smuggle out those puppets…? If he found out, he wouldn’t forgive you. You know he’s not the mentor he used to be anymore.”
A sigh escaped that seemed to make the very ground collapse inward.
“In the end, it’s one or the other. Either you die by Soleia Elad’s hand, or you die by the Emperor’s divinity.”
Soleia Elad. The Emperor. At the mention of Soleia Elad’s name, my vision went white, but I barely managed to regain my senses at the word Emperor that followed immediately after.
[Oh, little one. Have you arrived already?]
“….”
[Or not?]
Raulus’s ears perked up. I leaned my back against the earthen wall and exhaled with great difficulty. I couldn’t gauge whether I’d lost consciousness for longer than I thought, or whether Auredhian Belgot had truly come quickly, or whether the divinity above ground belonged to a different priest. Nothing was clear.
The conversation continued on.
“How far along is the experiment?”
“Halfway. It’s slower because it’s land that was purified once before.”
What could this ‘experiment’ they were talking about be? The way they said ‘experimental subjects’ in plural suggested they weren’t referring to me.
“What about that woman Soleia Elad brought?”
A gasp escaped me before I could stop it. I covered my mouth with the hand that wasn’t holding Raulus.
“Don’t know. The way she said to leave her alone and not touch her suggests she’ll handle it personally.”
“She must be a valuable experimental subject. The way she’s locked up so thoroughly.”
“Probably.”
Crackle. Crackle-crackle. I couldn’t see what they were doing ahead, but sharp magical energy kept pricking at my skin. My mouth went completely dry.
“This should be enough. I’m not sure about the Emperor’s divinity, but at least we can withstand the Vice-Bishop’s divinity. We only need a few seconds.”
The mages ahead seemed to be constructing some kind of barrier. I could feel the flow of magical energy being drawn into one point.
Boom-boom. The tunnel walls and floor shook violently, as if they were testing the barrier they’d created. An ominous premonition flashed through my mind. Wait. If it’s like this…
“That’s enough. Let’s go.”
The sound of footsteps gradually faded away. I waited for the surroundings to fall silent again, then cautiously peered around the corner.
“Ah….”
A terrible headache struck me. A massive iron gate loomed far ahead, blocking the passage completely. The ominous premonition took on a clear, definite form and crashed down upon me.
Ah, I’m trapped.
* * *
“Stay still for a moment, Soleia Elad.”
My fingertips twitched involuntarily. Hades frowned. He reached out and swung once through empty air. The response was strangely delayed by one beat.
The body he inhabited was certainly strong enough not to break even under such a presence, but it was still excessively strong. Soleia Elad’s soul lay deep within the unconscious, yet occasionally it would bubble up and interfere with him—as if trying to reclaim her own body.
Even without a contract with him, she was a woman overflowing with the qualifications to become the leader of the Black Mages.
“Tsk. Anything in excess is unpleasant.”
Hades irritably brushed back his reddish-brown hair. Over the past two years, he’d made earnest efforts to adapt to a human body, but complete assimilation remained impossible. The human form was heavy, cumbersome, and tired easily. But that tedious existence would soon end. After all, he’d finally found and obtained the human he desired.
A new body.
Hades thought with delight. A new body filled with Raulus’s divinity. A body that would carry him beyond Udeta in a single breath. How long had he spent searching through Lebovni to find that sweet Princess? Since he couldn’t read her presence, he’d had no choice but to search one location at a time.
The delay was partly due to his ignorance of the human realm, and partly because Soleia Elad had almost no agents in Lebovni. So to find the Princess, he either had to turn all of Lebovni upside down, or search for her directly. It was one or the other.
“Choosing the latter was a wise decision.”
Without anyone knowing. Without that unlucky Raulus realizing he was targeting the Princess. Hades had obtained the Princess while Raulus was off guard. All that remained was to transfer into that body.
Hades tried to rise. If Soleia Elad’s body hadn’t resisted so fiercely, he would have transferred immediately. Strangely, the original owner of the body, who had been quiet until now, was awake.
“Calm down, calm down. I’ll return your body to you soon.”
But it seemed Soleia Elad was not satisfied with those words. The tremors wracking her body would not cease. Hades asked with irritation.
“Why are you suddenly acting like this?”
“Not here. We can’t do this here.”
Soleia Elad’s consciousness had fully awakened. Hades’ mouth opened of its own accord, and words he had not intended spilled forth.
“Not here… This place especially cannot be discovered…”
“What does that matter?”
The trembling hands that had been shaking violently went suddenly still. Hades swept back his reddish-brown hair with irritation.
“What is this place, and why? Soleia Elad. My contractor. What matters is not your insignificant disciples.”
“…”
“In mere moments, I will finally return to the place I have yearned for across thousands of years. Understand what truly matters. Fool.”
No answer came from Soleia Elad. Yet her resistance ceased. Even her body’s sluggish reactions, delayed by a beat, returned to normal as if by magic. Hades thought once more that his contractor was indeed an intelligent human, and he took a step forward.
“Shall we go then?”
A crooked smile bloomed across his beautiful face. The moment to finally fulfill an ancient desire spanning thousands of years was truly within reach.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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