[Ariel's POV]
The holiday period for the academy students is almost over; the day after tomorrow, the welcoming ceremony for the first-year students will open, and after that, academy activities will resume.
Currently, I have officially become a third-year student. Actually, there are not many learning activities upon reaching this stage; that is because the third year is the time for students to practice what they have learned during the first and second years. As a Priestess like myself, after graduation, I will be placed in one of the branches of the Temple of Goddess Diana located in the Empire. After that, Father will surely begin looking for a partner to become my husband someday.
I sighed and then turned to the side, looking at the blonde-haired man currently walking beside me.
Brian... After his defeat by Princess Alisha in the Tournament final yesterday, he still looks gloomy like that. Although many nobles have expressed their interest in him, Brian still appears displeased. Lately, I am sometimes confused about what his motivation for fighting is.
If one pays attention, he does everything only because he wants to attract attention. Perhaps Brian truly sincerely wants to help others, but I feel he lacks maturity when doing so. Nevertheless, we are still friends, and a friend should help a friend who is in trouble, shouldn't they?
"Hey, Brian."
He turned to me upon hearing me call him.
"How much longer are you going to stay depressed like this?" I said to him. "It has been one month since the tournament; you must be more spirited as usual. Aren't you now the Head of the Swordsmaster Club?"
That is true; Brian has now become a Club Head. Many members from the nobility opposed this, but they were all silenced by Brian through his abilities in the tournament.
"You must show your new juniors the spirit in achieving their goal of becoming a Knight!"
Honestly, many students—especially those from the commoner class—are inspired by Brian. Even without a great status or background like the nobles, he was able to surpass them in terms of ability. That is why Brian has become a symbol for them, so that students from the commoner class are not looked down upon or trivialized.
Hearing my words, Brian then smiled. "You're right, Ariel. I shouldn't be showing this kind of attitude if I want to set an example for our juniors."
"Right, isn't it? Defeat in a tournament is not the end of everything!"
We then continued our journey toward the Main Temple of Goddess Diana located in this City. Upon arriving there, a crowd of city residents could be seen filling the area around the temple. This is because they want to welcome the Saint candidates visiting here before continuing their journey to the Holy City of Notredame, located in the eastern region of the Empire.
Although still within the Empire's territory, the Holy City of Notredame is actually an Independent City. That city is the Center of the Authority of the Temple of Goddess Diana.
"This place is so crowded," Brian remarked.
"Of course it's crowded," I replied to him. "You know, Brian. A Saint is a symbol for the teachings of the Temple of Goddess Diana; even a noble would not easily see her if there is no important business!"
"Does that mean the position of a Saint can be comparable to a King or Emperor!?" Brian said, sounding incredulous.
"Even greater; a King or Emperor only has authority over the country they lead," I answered, explaining to Brian. "However, the Saint's authority applies to all followers of the Temple of Goddess Diana's teachings in this world."
"A Saint is truly... amazing, isn't she..." Brian muttered.
Exactly, a Saint is indeed amazing. She is the holiest, kindest, and most generous girl in this world. She shines a light on the darkness of human misbehavior with her perfect nature.
"Hey, hey, they have arrived!"
"Where, where! I want to see the Saint candidates!"
The residents present began whispering to one another; that was because the entourage carrying the four Saint candidates had arrived in this area. On both sides of the entourage, lines of armored Knights were seen guarding the horse carriages carrying the four candidates. At the front of the formation, a Knight in light blue armor was seen leading the escort.
"Isn't that Knight Ludwig von Heisenberg!? One of the Holy Knights nicknamed the Water Dragon!?"
"True, true, I heard stories of him defeating hundreds of monsters attacking a village with his powerful magic!"
Holy Knights...
They are the strongest Knight units under the auspices of the Temple of Goddess Diana. Their task is to eradicate the Heretics, Monsters, and Demons still roaming this continent. The Temple of Goddess Diana has a military unit called Aques. Within this military unit, there are different units depending on their tasks and expertise. However, the Holy Knights are the peak of them all.
Not long after, the entourage stopped in front of the temple. The carriage doors then opened, revealing four beautiful and graceful women exiting one by one. They then smiled and waved their hands, greeting the residents present.
"Look, they smiled at me!"
"No way, idiot! Only a hero has the right to receive the warmth of their smiles!"
A hero, huh? Hearing those words, I turned to the side to look at Brian. He was seen focused on looking at those Saint candidates, as if enchanted by their beauty. I suppose it is only natural for him to be interested in them.
A Saint is a woman who deserves to be yearned for by men. There is no record in history of a Saint having a poor physique or nature because they are the light of this world. They cannot be compared at all to someone like me, who is full of flaws and has a weak heart. However, I want to become like them—able to help others and make everyone happy just by their presence, just like at this moment.
***
[Raul's POV]
While the people were focused on observing the Saint candidates, I was observing the woman who was supposed to be a Saint in the game—Ariel—from a distance.
I still do not understand why Ariel was not selected as one of the next Saint candidates. If I'm not mistaken, the selection of these candidates emerges purely through a ritual called the Miracle Chosen. A Vicar—the Leader of the Temple Authority—will perform this ritual with the Cardinals, and a name will eventually appear written in the Runic language.
Three of the candidates who arrived today are the same as in the game. However, there is one different name replacing Ariel's place, namely Anastasia Romanova—the younger sister of Princess Alisha Romanova. Anastasia Romanova was supposed to become the Tsarina a few years after this, following the deaths of her sister and father, if following the plot in the game.
That means the storyline has shifted again, and the future will become increasingly blurry if this continues. I must do something to correct it back to the intended plot, and that opportunity will come during the field work practice that will run one month from now for the third-year students.
I must rack my brain so that Ariel can be chosen as a Saint again in accordance with the plot in the game. Because I am certain that only she is capable of carrying out this task and neutralizing the demon race invasion if it ever occurs.
While observing Ariel, I saw the ring given by Puppeteer earlier begin to glow. I then hurried to find a very secluded spot before answering their call. After arriving at a place where I felt no one would come, I began to activate the Rune on the ring.
I closed my eyes, and suddenly my soul felt as if it were being sucked by something. My head began to spin, and my stomach felt nauseous. Once the condition felt normal, I opened my eyes. I appeared to be in a forest; the sky looked dark as if it were nighttime. Touching my face, for some reason, I was suddenly already wearing The Fool mask.
"Hey, newcomer, hurry over here."
I turned because I heard a voice from behind me. Three women and three men wearing masks were seen standing around a campfire. I then walked toward them. No doubt about it, they are the six Performers of The Masquerade—one of the antagonist groups in the game Path of Destiny.
"He really looks very young," said one of the men holding a large brush in his hand.
If I'm not mistaken, he is the Painter, who possesses the ability to make everything he paints become real. Beside him is the Singer, who has illusion abilities and provides buffs to those who hear her singing. She is the Painter's partner when performing missions.
"Hmmm... how old are you exactly?" asked a man who had a bird perched on his shoulder.
He is the Tamer, who possesses the ability to summon Magical Beasts that have formed a contract with him. Beside him is a woman known as the Dancer. She is a short-sword user and has insane speed when fighting. She is the Tamer's partner when performing missions.
"You seem to be not yet accustomed to performing a Soul Jump," said Puppeteer, looking at me with pity.
"Let's just end the pleasantries," interrupted a woman carrying a book in her hand. "We are here to perform the Ritual of Gift and Share for our new Performer."
She is the Keeper, the one who leads the Performers and gives them missions to work on as members of The Masquerade.
"Come here and place your palm on this blank page of the book," the Keeper commanded.
I obeyed her words, approaching and then placing my palm on the blank page of the book she carried. Not long after, the writing 'Vengeance' appeared along with the details regarding the information of this ability on the blank page. This is the Sharing process, where this book will copy one of the Profound Codices I possess so it can be shared by the members of The Masquerade group.
"We copy one of the members' Profound Codices so they can be distributed and used by other members in this group," said the Keeper, staring at me. "In return, you will obtain one of the other abilities previously copied into this book."
With this additional ability, it means I will have a total of four Profound Codices. I hope I get an AoE ability so I can more easily defeat my opponents.
The Keeper then closed the book. She then murmured a mantra; the book she held changed color from red to black.
"Now, place your palm on the table of contents page of this book," the Keeper said.
I then did as she commanded. At a glance, I could read some cool abilities on that table of contents.
- Swooongg!
The book then began to glow; I then released my palm from the page. After that, the book suddenly flipped pages by itself and then stopped on a specific page.
"Hmmm... the Profound Codex you obtained is... Phantom Thief," the Keeper muttered.
Phantom Thief...?
Wait, wait, let me remember first what exactly the ability of this Profound Codex is.
"It is written here that the user can open any seal in this world," the Keeper explained. "Nothing can restrain their movement, whether with sealing magic or other trap magic."
Ughhh... that means I didn't get an AoE Profound Codex, right? Truly a shame.
"I think this ability is very suitable for performing infiltrations, isn't it?" said the Painter. "As it happens, we do need someone to perform those missions."
Okay, now I've become the James Bond of this organization. However, this ability is indeed useful for escaping and not worrying about any magic that will limit my movement. Which means it will be impossible for me to be caught when activating this ability.
***
[??? POV]
Some time ago, my master, Lord Regulus, summoned me to appear at his residence. I did not know what my master wanted, but it seemed he had received a decree from the Demon King. Currently, I am flying toward his residence at Vellachia Castle.
The sky in this world has an odd color of red mixed with blue. That is because of the growing imbalance of life energy occurring in this world. This results in the resources in this world becoming increasingly scarce; we demons find it very difficult to breed in this world.
To be honest, we do not originate from this world. Our ancestors came from a world named Normandy, inhabited by humans, dwarves, elves, and other creatures. However, in ancient times, our ancestors committed a taboo act forbidden by Goddess Diana, who rules that world. But it was not entirely our fault. It has become our natural instinct as demons to do such things, so it is unfair if all the blame must be cast upon us.
However, the Goddess did not accept our reasons and then punished the Demons by moving them to a world that is very poor for living. Since then, we vowed to return to Normandy and conquer it as retribution for what the Goddess did to us.
Not long after, I arrived at Lord Regulus's castle. He was seen standing in front of the gate as if waiting for me.
"My Lord, I—Vilmore—have appeared in accordance with what the Master commanded!" I said while kneeling to him.
"Rise, Vilmore," Lord Regulus said, smiling at me. "We are going to discuss something important."
I stood up according to his command and followed Lord Regulus into his castle. We then arrived in Lord Regulus's room; it appeared there was already food and blood drinks that seemed to have been prepared by the castle servants.
"Sit first and taste this fresh blood, Vilmore," Lord Regulus said while sitting in his chair and beginning to drink a glass of blood on the table.
I followed his words to sit and then tasted the glass of blood on the table. However, my expression changed slightly when I tasted the blood I was drinking.
"The supply of humans we kidnapped 100 years ago has run out," Lord Regulus said. "This is Bermouth blood."
Bermouth are creatures that inhabited this world before we arrived. We Demons hunt them for food and drink. However, their taste is very poor compared to humans.
"The Hero has been reborn in that world," Lord Regulus revealed.
The Hero? Weren't we going to attack that world not long from now? However, if this news is true, then they will become a major obstacle for our invasion, just like before.
"But, according to His Majesty, the Hero currently has not yet reached their full strength. This means we have an opportunity to kill them before our invasion of that world."
Is that so? I think I know where this conversation is heading.
"Does the Master want me to cross over to that world to find them?" I asked him.
"Exactly," my Master answered. "We high-ranking Demons cannot cross the barrier installed by the Goddess as we please."
That is true; Demons who have a strong blood tie with the ancestors like Lord Regulus would be immediately annihilated if they forced their way into that world. However, there is one way that has succeeded so they can penetrate it. But this method can only be performed once every few hundred years, so it must be used at the right time.
"We can open a portal for a few demons like you to enter that world. You will seek the presence of the Hero and then kill them before they reach their peak strength."
If that is indeed what is best for our race, then I will gladly sacrifice my life to complete this task.
"Ready, Master! I—Vilmore ur Salterin—will fulfill the hopes of the Demon Nation and kill the Hero immediately!"
With strong determination, I will not waver even if I face any enemy, no matter how strong they are over there.