This vessel is starting to grow on me.
Lucifyra caresses her─or Gizelotte’s─arm.
She’s far from back to normal, but one function at a time, she’s been able to regain her powers.
Repossessing the piece of herself that was once discarded was easy as well.
Alexei Guberg is now under full control of the main entity.
His psyche was plunged deep inside, and a new psyche took its place─one that’s loyal to the Devil Lord Lucifyra. He’s now essentially a devil.
The information gained from probing his mind had been invaluable as well as infuriating.
Who would’ve thought that collecting the cards was all a ruse.
“Buying time,” is what Shiva called it. But Alexei wasn’t informed of the game’s true purpose.
I shouldn’t take his words at face value. This game is much too elaborate to be just a way to stall for time.
The so-called ruse is orchestrated to put a spotlight on Charlotte Zenfis, the Devil Lord herself.
There’s likely─no, there must be a good reason as to why she’s trying to draw attention to herself.
But by doing so, what is she trying to distract me from?
From Gold Zenfis who’s rallying the nobility to admonish Queen Gizelotte?
No, that’s not it.
Once Lucifyra is fully revived, a kingdom’s politics is the least of its problems.
The kingdom’s leaders could easily be quashed when Lucifyra regains her full powers.
Hold on. What if the card hunting ruse itself is a ruse?
Alexei was susceptible to double-crossing Shiva and Charlotte at any time. If they were acting on the assumption that he’d betray them…
That means there must be some significance to running the card hunting race… It’s no use. I’m going around in circles.
If the intention was to confuse the Devil Lord─as it’s doing now─Charlotte’s strategy is working annoyingly well.
There’s no way I’ll let her have me dancing like a puppet on strings.
In any case, “Assassination of Charlotte” is the first item on the list. Deducing what to do with the cards can wait once all seven of them are in Lucifyra’s hands.
And if the Devil Lord’s full revival can be achieved in the meantime, her chance of triumph will increase significantly.
There’s no use mulling it over.
Heh, laugh while you can, Charlotte Zenfis. In the end, victory will be mine.
Gizelotte’s sharp gaze veers to the gargantuan monster. Its head almost touches the ceiling of the cave.
The torso of a humanoid, the head of a lion with two horns growing atop it, the scaled tail of a dragon-like creature, and two gigantic hind legs of a horse.
Aside from the obvious ones in its appearance, other various animals have been merged in the colossal synthetic beast. Each of their features is enhanced to its maximum potential.
If I send this creature out to the capital for it to trample over the civilians…
A vortex of unresolved grudge that had been brewing inside Lucifyra is trickling into a magic circle─a spell that was once meant to be used for her revival.
Despite losing all contact with Melcuemenes, the spell tied with her is still intact. If she’s able to connect the spell with the synthetic beast, not only will it complete her revival, but she will achieve a level of mana that far surpasses what the original entity ever had.
However, that’s not what the hybrid beast was created for.
I’m sure the Black Knight is aware that my beast is complete, and the fact that I’m preparing to invade the capital. It’s Shiva, after all.
Lucifyra had been analyzing each of Shiva’s actions so far and had drawn a conclusion.
I still haven’t grasped what type of Devil Lord that girl is, but I’m almost certain she possesses the Divine Eye.
The Divine Eye is a variation of communication magic. The wielder can see things that are far away as if they’re watching from above. It can only be used by someone who’s adept at spatial manipulation.
Which gives me an idea of which lord Charlotte Zenfis is possessed by─one of the Three Primordial Gods.
A risky opponent, to say the least.
But if their identity is known, fighting them isn’t an impossible task.
And my preparations to do so are on track.
Lucifyra closes her eyes and focuses her mind to travel to the capital.
The downtown area of the capital is usually bustling with people in the evening. But take one turn into an alley and you can spot a drunkard passed out on the side of the road.
For those with a proper job, this is when the fun hour begins. A group of men are laughing and talking as they walk down the main street. A thin man is walking in their direction.
He’s swaying and trudging this way and that way.
The thin man is dressed conventionally, but he’s clearly unwell.
One of the men in the group doesn’t notice him, and bumps shoulders with the wobbling man.
“Oof, my bad,” he apologizes, hoping it’s not an aggressive drunk.
The thin man keeps walking. He doesn’t look back or react in any way.
“Wh-What’s with him?”
“I saw someone acting like that just the other day.”
“Me too. The one I saw was an old lady. There are a lot of those around here lately, huh?”
There is, indeed, a growing number of individuals, regardless of age or gender, like the thin man being spotted. Many people have been noticing, but none were concerned because nobody has been harmed.
The civilians have no idea─let alone Haruto─what the lifeless lurkers in the city actually are.
Although they’re far frailer than the average human, they’re all devils meant to serve one function.