NOVEL NEXT Chapter 223
“Let’s get straight to the point. The location presumed to be where Sorceress Bel resides is right here.”
The place the Pope pointed to on the map was a vast, empty sea.
“…….”
Neither Lucius, nor the others, nor even us, the clones of the sorceress, could believe the Pope’s words, including Saintess Yan and Holy Knight Commander Liriez, who belonged to the Order of the Goddess.
“Do you have any evidence?”
“Yes. There is clear evidence. It is indeed one of several candidate locations, but this is the most likely one.”
“Several candidate locations?”
Lucius led the conversation with the Pope.
Normally, we, the sorceress and sage, would have taken the lead, but given the current situation without a body, Lucius couldn’t be stopped from leading the discussion.
“Should I explain it metaphorically or directly?”
“Let’s get to the heart of the matter, Pope.”
“Understood.”
Lucius was impatient, and perhaps the Pope picked up on his urgency and went straight to the main point.
“To the south of the continent is the vast sea. Between the mountain ranges on the western side of the continent. And to the eastern edge, the dark ground. I suspect the Sorceress vanished in one of these three places, with the most probable location being this vast sea.”
“A city beneath the sea, is that what you’re saying?”
That’s possible.
“For instance, a city underwater.”
There was also a place called Belselphia deep underground in the northern part of the continent, so we couldn’t dismiss the possibility of a similar place in the south.
“No way. Under the sea? You’re making quite an amusing statement. How could there be a city under the sea?”
The Pope’s sensible words left us feeling a bit taken aback.
If the Pope had actually seen Belselphia, he probably wouldn’t say such things.
“What’s wrong, Saintess?”
“Nothing. The Pope is right. There can’t possibly be a city under the sea.”
Since Saintess Yan didn’t inform him, the Pope’s remark was perfectly reasonable.
“Then I don’t understand. If there’s no city beneath the sea, does that mean the sorceress is currently adrift on the ocean? Or is she moving across the sea by boat?”
“No, no. It would be better to show you through a direct analogy.”
The Pope pulled out a large glass box.
Inside the box was nothing but water—
“…!!”
Lucius seemed to catch onto something.
Liriez saw it, and so did we, the sorceress backed by the Holy Sword.
“There’s an island.”
“What? An island? Lucius, where is this island you’re talking about?”
Those who could see the island.
Those who couldn’t see it.
The party was divided into two.
“That’s right. There is an island here. But it’s invisible to the eyes of ordinary people.”
The Pope gently waved his hand over the glass box filled with divine power.
As divine energy sparkled and seeped into the box, the fog lifted and the island appeared.
“While this is based on divine power, it is highly likely that a large-scale illusion magic is being used. Or perhaps it’s hidden by some other means.”
The Pope pointed to one wall.
There seemed to be a wide sheet of paper attached to the wall, which he had apparently prepared for explanation, and the Pope picked up a brush soaked in blue ink.
“To the naked eye, it looks like a piece of paper entirely filled with white. But if you do this…”
Swish.
“Thanks to the texture underneath, a pattern begins to form. What does it look like?”
“Is it the continent…?”
“Yes. This represents the continent. The light of the Moon Goddess was present to illuminate the entire continent with divine power bestowed by the Moon Goddess. And as one scans the entire continent, some ‘strange’ places pop out.”
There were several places among the areas the Pope painted where the ink did not spread.
To the south, over the sea.
To the west, between the gorges.
To the east, within the city center.
It was so cleverly done that one might not have noticed it if it weren’t for the blue ink appearing to ‘float’ slightly due to the glue.
“No matter how keen an observer is, sometimes when it’s purposely concealed like this, they might not notice.”
It was as if the ink flowed over the glue that had been coated white in advance, going upwards, downwards, left, and right.
“I see… I understand.”
So intricate was the trick that even Lucius couldn’t help but murmur in awe.
“So you’re saying the kidnapper of my master is somewhere creating a villa-like place, confining my master there and hiding the villa?”
“Yes. That could be an island, a hidden underground labyrinth between gorges, or a forest castle hidden within a city where people live.”
The Pope drew red X marks with a red brush.
Besides the incongruous parts due to the glue, a multitude of Xs began to spread.
“I operate not only the Holy Knights but also the ‘Inquisition’ squad, and I have been eliminating the seeds of evil spread across the continent for the past few years. I kept it a secret from the Saintess and the Holy Knight Commander.”
“W-what do you mean…?”
“Secret society.”
The Pope’s sudden and shocking declaration.
“500 years ago, after the demise of Demon Lord Bel Phegor. The Demon King’s army disbanded but did not perish. To say they disbanded simply means the remnants scattered.”
“And so the secret society?”
“Yes. I have been mobilizing these secret societies for several years, combing through the whole continent. I sent investigation teams to questionable locations and finished the investigations.”
Rustle, rustle, rustle.
Red Xs began to spread in various places.
Among them was the vast lake near where we first appeared as heroes, or the vicinity of the Odrone territory where we encountered the Narag Poison Bugs and Beelzebub.
“After repeated investigations, the bishop has reached one conclusion. Sorceress Bel was someone who, 500 years ago, led various heroes to defeat the Demon Lord Bel Phegor. If someone were to kidnap such a person, they could certainly be seen as humankind’s ‘enemy.'”
A gleam of certainty sparkled in the Pope’s green eyes.
“Asydia!”
“…!!”
“500 years ago, the remnants of the Demon Lord seek to sacrifice the sorceress as a tribute to resurrect the Demon Lord!! And now, there are only three places remaining!”
The Pope pointed to three areas marked with red circles.
“Surely among these three places, where the Moon Goddess’s divine power does not reach due to Asydia’s chaos magic, the sorceress must be hidden!”
*
“Zephar. The whereabouts of Hero Lucius have become impossible to find. He must have vanished due to some wind magic.”
“Haah.”
Zephar picked up a thin rapier at his subordinate’s words.
“Are you certain? Can you take responsibility for that statement?”
“Yes…?”
“To be certain is a hypothesis. Speculation has no place in the Demon King’s army. Let me ask you again. How did Hero Lucius disappear?”
“…….”
The subordinate couldn’t speak a word.
Zephar, with elegant movements, held the tip of the rapier with his hand.
“Did I not tell you to find that out?!”
Whack.
He struck the subordinate demon with the hilt of the rapier.
“He disappeared with three holy swords! Including the one he originally had and Hero Liriez’s holy sword, that’s a total of five swords! Has there ever been a time when holy swords were so gathered? There was! When the Demon Lord captured all the heroes of the holy sword!”
Zephar clenched his blood-stained hand, grinding his teeth.
“We must secure all the holy swords! We need to gather all the holy swords into one, all seven holy swords!! We will use them to…!”
Flap.
“Create a beautiful accessory for the Demon Lord!”
Zephar pointed to the enormous Black Dragon behind him.
The corpse-like Black Dragon had seven distinct grooves on its body.
Forehead. Chest. On both hands. On both feet. And some hidden place that couldn’t be seen.
“We’re going to insert the holy swords into the body of the Black Dragon that the Demon Lord had used, binding the Demon Lord’s soul. Then the Demon Lord won’t be able to escape this intermediate realm. Do you understand? Holy swords aren’t just incredibly powerful items! They’re special objects that can keep an otherworldly being bound in the intermediate realm!”
“B-but still…”
“That’s why we need to search! We have to find the holy swords no matter what! Lucius, we need to lay down bait for him to reappear!”
Zephar furiously pointed outside.
“Bring all the red-haired women here! Dress them up to attract attention! Spread rumors, disseminate information, and set traps! We shall capture Lucius and take all the holy swords from him!”
Currently.
Asydia has not a single holy sword.
There were never any holy swords to begin with.
“Listen well. Only with the holy swords can we bind that being. If there are no holy swords, even if we offer this body to him, he won’t accept it and will leave because this body isn’t to his liking.”
Zephar touched his face with his blood-stained hand and grinned lewdly.
“To be suitable, at the very least, this intermediate world’s ‘god’ would need to have seven holy swords embedded in their body…!”
He chuckled.
“Oh, Demon Lord Bel Phegor! I… I will gather the holy swords for you once again!”
Grrr.
“No matter where you are, Asydia will serve you!!”
The corpse of the Black Dragon lay bound in chains, quietly sleeping while exuding only its red glare.
*
“I’m losing my mind.”
I am still captured by Leberced Arpe.