Everyone Was Obsessed With Me After I Became the Youngest Princess Favourite - Chapter 243

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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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Damn it!
I felt the Master’s aura rapidly approaching and bit my lip.
I had expected Diana to buy me more time, but it seemed he had already noticed my absence.
Just moments ago, the instant Diana and the Master clashed, I had rushed toward the Altar where the Demon Realm Entrance lay, as we had planned.
I immediately summoned water through magic to extinguish the flames consuming the Altar, then began closing the Demon Realm Entrance.
Standing directly before the Altar with my hand extended toward the black vortex, I took the demonic energy head-on, and my skin tingled with the impact.
It was agonizing to witness the people atop the Altar, their eyes still unable to open.
Yet this level of suffering was something I had already anticipated.
After all, purifying these souls was not my responsibility—I needed to focus on what I could do.
Maintaining my concentration without distraction, I glanced sideways at Lucio, who was engaging the Demon Worshippers.
‘I had no idea he could fly like that….’
The moment I moved toward the Altar, Lucio immediately pursued me.
The instant I extinguished the Altar’s flames, he began wielding his sword against the Demon Worshippers rushing toward me.
I had already known that Lucio was a Sword Master, but this was the first time I had actually witnessed him wield his blade.
The blue aura that matched the color of his eyes was far more vivid and powerful than any aura I had ever seen, and it was breathtakingly beautiful.
What surprised me even more was that Lucio’s swordsmanship far exceeded my expectations.
‘There must be first-class agents here as well….’
All of Terenthium’s operatives possessed exceptional martial prowess as a baseline, but the first-class agents stood out even among them.
I had thought that even a Sword Master would be overwhelmed if multiple first-class agents attacked simultaneously, yet Lucio handled them with effortless grace.
Thanks to him, I could pour all my strength into closing the Demon Realm Entrance without wasting mana on defensive barriers or engaging the Demon Worshippers myself.
Still, because it was such an overwhelming one-against-many battle, I kept glancing at Lucio, worried he might be injured the moment I looked away, and my brow furrowed slightly.
According to the plan Diana and I had established, while I closed the Demon Realm’s gate, Diana would face the Master, and the Priestess and Holy Knights would engage the Demon Worshippers.
Yet as we progressed, whether they had grown exhausted or not, the Priestess and Holy Knights were nowhere to be seen.
‘Of course, I had been prepared to suppress the Demon Worshippers alone and even close the Demon Realm Entrance myself….’
Even though the situation was now far more manageable thanks to Lucio, seeing him struggle alone made my heart ache inexplicably.
Just as I was beginning to worry whether Diana might be losing ground against the Master and unable to come to our aid, it happened.
Suddenly, the Priestess and Holy Knights came rushing in and began fighting the Demon Worshippers alongside Lucio.
Then, an overwhelmingly intense aura made itself felt.
I poured more mana into closing the Demon Realm Entrance and bit my lip.
The Master had indeed noticed my absence far too quickly.
‘I should have held back just a little….’
“Lia, stop this instant!”
In that moment, a voice so sinister it made my skin crawl reached my ears.
I turned reflexively to see the Master, his face contorted with rage, advancing toward me.
Seeing this, Lucio immediately moved to my side, and I shook my head inwardly.
‘Not yet… not yet.’
The moment I had envisioned was not now.
“Ha! Setikaael, did you run away because you were afraid?”
At that moment, Diana, refusing to let the Master slip away, followed him inward and taunted him.
She created arrows from sacred power so blindingly bright it stung the eyes, and fired them forth.
The Master stood motionless, spreading his wings to block the assault.
In that moment, I shook my head at Diana to signal it wasn’t time yet, and she gave a subtle nod before resuming her attack stance.
The Master defended swiftly against the barrage that followed, but this time he couldn’t evade completely.
An arrow riding on wind sharp as a blade grazed his arm, and smoke billowed from the wound as if he’d been burned, his skin charred and peeling.
The Master, his brow furrowed, glanced at the Demon Realm Entrance closing slowly but steadily, then at Diana unleashing relentless attacks, and finally at Lucio and the Temple Order being pushed back by the Demon Worshippers.
Then, as if reaching a decision, he suddenly raised his arm.
In that instant.
“Ugh!”
“Gasp!”
The Demon Worshippers cried out in various tones, their bodies convulsing before they began collapsing to the ground one by one.
Diana and even Lucio, who had been fighting them, seemed shocked and confused, but I understood instinctively.
The Master was reclaiming all the power he had distributed to them.
They had surrendered their souls to the Demon and received power in exchange.
Raezl’s words had been true—with that power, the Demon Worshippers neither aged nor died, enjoying eternal life.
The moment their power was stripped away, the Demon Worshippers’ bodies shriveled like mummies, their forms shrinking in an instant.
All of them were wrapped head to toe in black garments, making it impossible to distinguish one from another.
But I knew well that most of them were informants for Terenthium.
The faces of Rope, who had guided me earlier, and Ted, who had taught me mana control, flashed through my mind, along with the other informants, and my heart clenched.
Despite their years of loyal service, the Master showed no hesitation—I realized they meant absolutely nothing to him.
A chill ran down my spine, and I watched the situation more intently.
Having reclaimed all the power, the Master now scattered demonic energy incomparably greater than before, gathering tremendous magical force in his hands.
The Priestesses and Holy Knights, who had been bewildered by the sudden collapse of the Demon Worshippers, finally grasped the situation and their faces went rigid.
Though they tried to hide it, despair and fear were palpable.
‘Even Diana…’
Diana’s forehead was beaded with cold sweat from the relentless barrage of attacks, and her expression had grown oddly tense.
But I knew the truth.
Diana’s tension now stemmed entirely from the promise between us.
Unaware of this, the Master spoke slowly.
“I wanted to show you taking Lia to the Demon Realm, but it can’t be helped.”
His heavy, murky voice made the ground resonate with a ringing vibration.
“I’ll simply have to kill everyone here and leave.”
Seeing the magical force undulating like black flames, Diana created another arrow from sacred power.
But this arrow differed slightly from the simple form of before.
Blue flames bloomed from the arrow nocked on the bowstring.
It was sacred fire—the Temple’s ultimate weapon that burned away all demonic and wicked things.
Rather than being created by Priestesses pooling their power at the Temple, Diana had manifested it entirely through her own strength, leaving her face deathly pale.
Seeing this, the Master let out a scoff.
“A foolish choice.”
It was obvious he believed that no matter how much sacred power she gathered, he could simply dodge it.
Yet Diana gritted her teeth against the Master’s mockery and poured even more of her holy power into the sacred flame, which blazed forth with an even brighter, more radiant light.
Everyone held their breath, watching the final confrontation between Diana and the Master unfold.
And I slowly lowered my trembling arms, which had been held aloft all this time to seal the Demon Realm Entrance.
The distance between the Master and me.
And the gap between Lucio and me.
When I finally saw that all of these aligned perfectly, I cried out urgently toward Diana.
“Now!”
In that instant, Diana, who had been aiming steadily at the Master, suddenly shifted her aim and released the bowstring.
With a sharp twang of the string, the arrow flew forth.
The Master’s eyes shook violently as he tracked the arrow’s unexpected trajectory.
The arrow was flying directly toward my heart.
* * *
The world fell silent as if time itself had stopped.
Diana kept her bow drawn even after confirming the arrow had struck its mark perfectly.
And then.
“…Cough.”
Setikaael, clutching his chest, coughed up black blood.
Embedded in his heart was an arrow that blazed with brilliant light, as if dispelling wicked darkness itself.
Yet even with his chest pierced through, Setikaael’s eyes remained fixed on Lia, who stood before him.
“Are you…all right…?”
He barely managed to move his lips to ask.
Holy power was as poison to those shrouded in demonic energy, and the sacred flame in particular—the strongest form of holy power—possessed a force so formidable it could even annihilate a demon’s soul.
No one understood the might of that power better than Setikaael, whose soul had once been sealed by the sacred flame.
Just moments before, the burning arrow of sacred flame had shattered into hundreds, thousands of points of light in an instant, sweeping across all directions, and the mere shockwave had reduced the corpses of the Demon Worshippers lying on the ground to dust like sand.
And when Setikaael saw the arrow gather itself again, burning with even stronger light, flying toward Lia, he could think of nothing else.
Of course, Lia was not a Demon Worshipper, and since holy power had never attacked a human before, he could not gauge the extent of its destructive force….
The mere possibility that Lia might die—that alone moved Setikaael to act.
He endured the searing pain that felt like his own body burning, scrutinizing Lia carefully to ensure not a single strand of her hair had been harmed.
And gazing at Lia, who appeared unscathed, he murmured as if groaning.
“Thank goodness… Ugh.”
Only after confirming that Lia was safe did the pain come crashing down upon him belatedly.
It was agony too intense to even cry out.
His entire body felt as though it were burning, being torn to shreds.
Setikaael coughed up another mouthful of blood and staggered.
Before Setikaael could collapse completely from the convulsions of agony, Lia sank to the ground and cradled him in her arms.

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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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