Chapter 41: The White Priestess and the Black Prince
"Ancient deities of weather and earth were bound to be positioned as 'gods of fertility.' The same goes for the Sun and Moon gods. Thunder, lightning, and storms are simply the more destructive aspects of weather gods, much like earthquakes demonstrate the destructive power of earth gods. The sun is the source of life, yet it can also threaten life, causing droughts and conflagrations."
"Looking at these cases, varying degrees of heatwaves have appeared wherever the light touched North America. Our comrades in New York have confirmed casualties in the tens of thousands. However, there are also reports of elderly people becoming younger simply by being exposed to the light, and patients who were suddenly cured. Most bizarre of all, there are even women who were still virgins yet found themselves pregnant."
Full of enthusiasm, Alice waved her slender arms in her spectral form, saying, "So, everyone needs to pick up the pace. Based on past intelligence, I feel that this time, we can definitely gain a preliminary understanding of Hikigaya Hachiman."
Looking at her expression, Patricia Ericsson only felt the sense of crisis in her heart intensify.
By "picking up the pace"... you mean you're going over there to make contact again, don't you?
Her premonition quickly became reality. She saw Alice already drifting toward the window while speaking.
"Princess!" Patricia Ericsson ran to the window in a state of shock.
Stopping her was impossible. A "spectral body" was called such because it was like a ghost; it could pass through anything and could not be touched.
"To handle a global crisis, of course! Just like before," the quirky princess said to her righteously, without immediately fleeing.
Her expression was triumphant, carrying a vibe of: Haha, I'm so clearly in the right, let's see you try to criticize me now.
"Princess, please return to your body first. You have been away from it for too long. Since this concerns a Campione, being anxious won't help anyway, will it?"
"I won't! I'm going to handle this great crisis with super efficiency." Today, Alice gave Patricia Ericsson the feeling of being more mischievous than ever before.
How can she be this naughty? Patricia Ericsson felt a massive headache coming on.
The second most mischievous person Patricia Ericsson had ever met was a cashier she saw when she secretly went to register at a marriage agency. To avoid being recognized, she had specifically traveled to a remote village to go online in secret.
That person wasn't just mischievous; he was a total brat—apparently the son of the village head. At the time, Patricia Ericsson really wanted to hit that brat with a spell to see if he'd stay so cheeky.
However, what Patricia Ericsson didn't know was that her secret had long since been discovered by Alice.
Thus, when Alice giggled and leaned into her ear, whispering, "Miss Ericsson, so you actually like the 'younger brother' cashier type?", Patricia was thrown into total disarray. By the time she stammered her way back to reality, she found Alice had already vanished.
She decided she would hate that cashier boy from now on.
.
.
.
Meanwhile, Alice—known in European magical society as the "White Priestess"—flew out of the Witan Council headquarters. Based on intelligence gathered from the network, she went to find the man four years her senior who was full of passion for his work—his "work" being a vigorous commitment to being a Demon King who threatened the world.
When a Campione exerts their power upon the earth, it inevitably draws the attention of other Campiones.
When that happens, disasters like the one where Marquis Voban and Luo Hao nearly tore London apart—after meeting because of some suicidal noble—become very easy to trigger.
It is said that Madame Aisha was also involved in that battle, but since it's all rumors, the truth is hard to verify; after all, no one who observed that battle survived to tell the tale. Even if they had, they probably wouldn't have lived long enough to brag about it.
Therefore, the best information would certainly be with that man.
The man who, not long ago, had slain Minos on the island of Crete.
Thinking of this, a thought occurred to Alice—perhaps it was safest for everyone else only when the Campiones were focused on slaying gods.
Finally, she saw the train.
Alexander was the Black Prince who had usurped the authority of "Divine Speed," but unless he was fighting or intended to snatch something, he made good use of his God-given legs and human transportation.
Despite this, Alice still defined this British Campione with labels like "threat to the world," which weren't to be taken as jokes.
Every Campione believes they are unique; in particular, they believe they are different from other Campiones.
But in reality, they are all the same.
True, their methods of fighting gods, their means of victory, and their individual personalities are different. There might even be some differences when they first become a Campione. But once they grow accustomed to the identity, there is no difference.
What Hikigaya Hachiman was doing in the Americas was no different from what Marquis Voban and Cult Leader Luo Hao had done in Europe and China.
That is why the world calls them Demon Kings.
However, the mischievous White Priestess loved to provoke men on the level of a Demon King.
Slipping into the carriage reserved exclusively for the Demon King, she appeared in the seat opposite him. By adjusting the density of her spectral body, she could touch physical objects like a normal person, though she still couldn't do things like eat.
For instance, drinking wine with the Demon King before her was definitely out of the question.
Regardless of whether Alice intended to do so, the man who set down his wine glass because he was disturbed gave her a look of pure reproach.
The meaning in his eyes was incredibly easy to read: Why is it you again, you brat!?
Alice was four years younger than Alexander, but she neither considered herself a child nor him an adult.
Perhaps... frenemies?
"Aren't you a noble? Then enter the door properly in the manner of a noble."
"Ha! For a terrifying Great Demon King, you're surprisingly big on etiquette. Do you plan on destroying the world then?"
As usual, she snapped back quite fluently.
Alice actually quite enjoyed the feeling of bickering with the Black Prince. Because of her status, she had no one to bicker with since she was a child.
She had looked forward to this legendary form of socializing for a long time, until she met Alexander twelve years ago.
At that time, she was twelve and Alexander was sixteen.
Back then, Alexander had just lost his biological father. Although he had defeated a fallen angel and obtained the authority of Divine Speed through sheer luck and sharp intuition, he hadn't essentially stepped into the role of a Campione yet.
Furthermore, Alexander was a bit disgruntled with the Witan Council. At the very least, he felt that if his father had been accepted by the Council back then, he probably wouldn't have died of exhaustion and disease. His grievance lay in the fact that he felt his father was a brilliant scholar, while the Council felt he was only mediocre.
Regarding that topic, the two of them had a satisfying verbal showdown.
And then, it seemed, a mysterious bond was formed just like that.
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