Inside the abandoned cathedral.
“What a pity we let that succubus escape.”
Although the matter of the Black Mages had been resolved, Carlo couldn't help but feel a twinge of regret when he thought of the escaped succubus.
After all, the succubus was the key to this entire affair.
As an Abyss demon, she could easily create other Black Mages to continue endangering Caslant.
“Escaped? Can she really run away?”
That succubus was only at the Fourth Circle. How could she possibly escape from Avia's hands?
The succubus being able to break free from Avia's restraint earlier had naturally been done at Tyr's behest.
For a succubus to cause trouble in Caslant with several Black Mages for so long without leaving a single trace was clearly abnormal.
One had to know that Caslant had a branch of the Temple.
Tyr suspected that they must have accomplices in Caslant.
Letting the succubus go was only to root out her accomplices as well.
“Let's go and meet this succubus's accomplices.”
...
In the cathedral of the Temple.
Bishop Coos had just seen off the commander of the City Defense Knight Order.
Earlier, a priest he sent out had delivered a message stating that Tyr wanted to mobilize Caslant's City Defense Knight Order.
Although Bishop Coos already regarded Tyr as an ignorant, playboy noble child, he had still called the commander of the City Defense Knight Order over beforehand just to be safe.
The identity of Callis did not hold that much weight in front of Aglaia.
As they were both peak families of the empire, he did not fear Tyr at all.
Moreover, Tyr had only come here for a mission, whereas he was the regional bishop stationed here long-term. He believed Commander Elys knew how to choose.
And things went exactly as he had anticipated. In the end, Commander Elys had brought several key members of the City Defense Knight Order over to his side.
“Hum~”
Just as he was feeling smug, a pink mist burst into the cathedral, landing on the ground and transforming into the succubus.
“Cough!”
Revealing her true form, the succubus violently coughed up a mouthful of blood, her face turning pale. Having forcibly broken free of Avia's magic rope earlier, she had suffered a magic backlash.
Succubi were already extremely beautiful, born temptresses. Her current weakened state only added a fragile, pity-inducing charm to her, causing Bishop Coos, who stood nearby, to swallow hard involuntarily.
Fortunately, thanks to the presence of the Holy Power, his sanity had not been completely overcome by temptation to the point of throwing caution to the wind.
“What happened? Who injured you?”
Thinking back to Tyr's sudden mobilization of the City Defense Knight Order, he subconsciously associated it with Tyr.
Sure enough, the succubus's next words confirmed his suspicion.
“It's those two brats from House Callis. I don't know what method they used, but they actually found the sacrificial ground.”
“Not only were all my subordinates captured by them, but I was also injured by them.”
Thinking of Tyr and Sevira, the succubus gnashed her teeth in hatred.
Her plan had originally been on the verge of success. By opening a gate to the Abyss through sacrifice, she could have summoned an Abyss demon of the Demon General (Seventh Circle) level.
When the time came, by sacrificing the entirety of Caslant and its surrounding towns, they could open an anchor portal to the Abyss on the Elan Continent.
But now, the plan was completely ruined.
“Lord Bishop, Young Master Callis has arrived.”
Just then, a priest's urgent voice came from outside the cathedral.
“Hide first. I will handle the rest.”
Actually, Bishop Coos was quite pleased to see the succubus fail. He only wanted the citizens of Caslant to live in fear so they would become more dependent on the Temple; he didn't actually want the Abyss demons to descend.
In truth, even if Tyr and his group hadn't acted, Bishop Coos had prepared a backup plan. There was no way he would watch the succubus open a portal between the Elan Continent and the Abyss.
Otherwise, if an Abyss portal actually appeared in his jurisdiction, he would never be able to escape his family's scrutiny.
“I understand.”
A wave of Abyss power surged from the succubus. Soon, her revealing attire transformed into a solemn nun's habit. She stood up and walked toward the confessional inside the cathedral.
After the succubus left, Bishop Coos waved his hand, and Holy Power gushed out, erasing all traces of the succubus inside the cathedral.
Creak.
The doors of the cathedral were pushed open, and Tyr and the others walked in.
“I wonder if this Young Master Callis has encountered some confusion and needs the Temple to clear his doubts?”
Seeing Tyr and his group enter, the expression on Bishop Coos's face changed in a split second as he welcomed them with a warm, friendly smile.
“I indeed have some confusion that requires the Lord Bishop's guidance.”
Seeing Bishop Coos still putting on an act, Tyr said with a smile.
“Oh? Why don't you tell me about it? Perhaps I can offer some advice to Young Master Callis.”
Bishop Coos's expression remained unchanged, but in his heart, he was somewhat uncertain about the reason for Tyr's visit.
“My confusion is this: we chased a succubus all the way here, but why did she end up entering the Temple?”
Tyr's words caused the smile on Bishop Coos's face to freeze instantly.
“Has the Temple now started taking on business from the Abyss race as well?”
Normally, the Temple was bathed in Holy Power year-round, which exerted a massive suppressing effect on demons.
Just like in Eastern ghost stories, where those spirits feared government offices.
“Young Master Callis must be joking. How could our Temple ever allow a filthy creature like a succubus to enter?”
Bishop Coos quickly composed himself, showing no panic despite Tyr exposing him.
“Is that so?”
“Then... who is she?”
A wisp of blue-green magic power flew from Tyr's hand, darting into the cathedral's confessional in the blink of an eye.
With a hard tug from Tyr, the door of the confessional was smashed open, and the succubus, dressed as a nun, was dragged straight out.
The moment the succubus saw the magic rope, she wanted to use her old trick to escape, but Tyr was obviously not going to give her that chance this time.
Bang!
The succubus's body slammed heavily onto the ground, rolling a few times across the white marble floor of the cathedral before stopping at Tyr's feet.
“Young Master Callis, what is the meaning of this? Unprovoked assault on a temple nun—are you harboring some dissatisfaction toward House Aglaia?”
Bishop Coos remained unperturbed, even directly bringing up the name of House Aglaia.
“You are truly the most composed criminal I have ever seen.”
Tyr was also slightly surprised. Even at this point, Bishop Coos could still talk nonsense with such a straight face and even have the courage to threaten him.
There was a reason he could become a regional bishop; with this level of thick-skinned audacity and mental fortitude, he was truly not someone an ordinary person could compare to.
Rate on N.U.
