Chapter 183

Deep within the imperial palace, in the innermost chamber where Empress Isabella resided, there existed a secret space she had never shown to anyone.

A sanctuary carved and refined by tunneling bugs, a witch’s lair hidden beneath the earth. The interior, shrouded in a veil of darkness, was filled with unspeakable horrors.

Thousands of bugs crawled across the walls, ceiling, and floor, their skittering noises echoing endlessly. A black well, created from countless decaying corpses, bubbled incessantly, spewing forth new bugs.

Wriggling larvae devoured their kin to grow, soon transforming into new monsters. People reduced to mere meals for these monsters lay scattered on the ground, their brains and innards being gnawed on as they let out feeble groans.

It was as if a slice of hell itself had been carved out and placed here.

—

At the center of the sanctuary stood a statue and an altar, both roughly 3 meters tall.

The statue depicted a goddess entwined with four beasts in a lewd act. Carved from marble and then covered with the stitched-together skin of young maidens, it was a grotesque sight.

The goddess’s face resembled that of Elpinel, as if mocking her, but no one would mistake her for a deity. She looked more like a demon.

Four wing-like appendages draped over the beasts like hair. Her face, twisted in ecstasy, stuck out its tongue as if to lick whatever was before her. Her limbs, wrapped around a beast on her stomach, ended in sharp claws.

This was the image of Lilith, the depraved goddess of lust and arrogance.

On the altar before the statue lay a naked man, seemingly lifeless.

Ernst.

The result of his desperate struggle against an unbeatable foe was devastating. He was no longer even human.

For three days since the dawn battle, Isabella had remained here, meticulously refining her eldest son.

Had it not been for the sudden communication, she would still be doing so now.

—

Isabella sat leaning against a chair beside the altar, wearing nothing but a thin veil. In one hand, she held a sharp dagger, and in the other, a crystal sphere glowing with magical energy.

“Our groundwork is complete. As soon as the civil war breaks out, the north and east will intervene. The western fairies won’t miss this opportunity either.”

A soft voice emanated from the crystal sphere.

The first apostle, Feyrus. Isabella listened to her collaborator’s message with a subtle smile.

“Now it’s your turn to fulfill the promise, Venes. Honor the covenant.”

A covenant made a hundred years ago to escape the witch hunts.

To spread chaos and death across the empire as grandly as possible.

For Isabella Venes, it was a satisfying condition.

Though their goals differed from hers… the evil god she served also reveled in blood, death, chaos, and corruption.

“Hmm. So my role as empress ends here. A bit disappointing. It was more fun than I expected.”

The original plan was to make Ernst emperor and use him as a puppet to sow chaos… but that plan had long been abandoned.

Thanks to Leopold’s faction growing stronger than anticipated, a more effective idea had emerged.

A civil war engulfing the entire world would spill far more blood than the tyranny of a single foolish ruler.

Though it meant she could no longer enjoy the luxuries and pleasures of being empress.

For Isabella, it was merely a pastime, but it had been quite entertaining.

“If we win the civil war, there’s no problem, right?”

“Who knows? We can’t keep Faylun and Landenburg bound forever. And… that Ka`har woman is also quite the headache.”

“Are you talking about Ai-shan Gi-or?”

Yes. That woman was the problem.

A woman who, despite never having met Isabella, strangely avoided contact to an almost eerie degree.

With a growth rate that could surpass even Valenstein in just a year, and to top it off, chosen by the Oath Sword.

For Isabella, who rooted herself in darkness, she was an unsettling adversary.

“Exactly. It’s clear she’s targeting me, yet I can’t kill her. There’s a limit to absurdity.”

“…She’s a crucial variable. How you utilize that variable is up to you.”

Feyrus’s tone was firm.

It was clear that killing Ai-shan Gi-or Ha-shalleur was absolutely out of the question.

Not that it was wrong.

In fact, her actions had contributed to the empire’s downfall.

Her crossing the barrier with Ka`har’s peace agreement heightened the beastmen’s sense of crisis.

Thanks to that, what could have been a small-scale raid by Milichia escalated into a massive uprising that set the capital ablaze.

Thanks to that, Leopold, who had been withering away, found a chance to rise again.

After bringing Princess Ai-shan Gi-or to his side, he rapidly grew his forces to rival Ernst’s.

Enough to attempt a life-risking gamble at Einfeld.

On that battlefield, the corpses Feyrus’s organization had gathered…

As a result of throwing everything in, a massive harvest of death was reaped.

The capital’s great fire and the defense of Einfeld.

Both were contained before causing even greater damage, thanks to that woman’s actions, but considering that her movements were the root cause…

In the end, the existence of Princess Ha-shal-leur Ai-shan Gi-or brought only benefits to Feyrus.

Thanks to the souls harvested at that time, the first Holy Grail was quickly destroyed.

“A variable… Well, it seems to have been quite helpful to ‘your’ plans, but leaving a woman who is practically Elpinel’s finger alone is something I find hard to accept.”

Originally, the imperial succession dispute would have ended with just removing Leopold, but it turned into a large-scale civil war involving other races, all thanks to her.

However, those benefits were only helpful to Feyrus and had little to do with Isabella.

“Elpinel’s finger? It might seem that way now. But that woman…”

Feyrus, who was about to say something, suddenly fell silent.

As if he couldn’t say any more.

“That woman?”

“…The one watching the variable is not just Elpinel. That’s all I can tell you. You serve Lilith, but she is not the one guiding me.”

Witches and demons worship evil gods.

Isabella also served Lilith.

On the other hand, the one Feyrus followed… was not one of the four great evil gods.

Though he had never revealed his identity to Isabella.

His organization and Isabella were merely in a cooperative relationship, their fundamental goals were different.

“That’s enough talk, Venes. Nothing changes. What you must do, and what you must not do.”

Isabella’s brow furrowed slightly.

It was frustrating for her to be told to leave the dangerous element alone without being given any important information.

“What if I must kill her?”

“Then you too will become our enemy. How long do you think it would take for you to be hung on a cross and turned to ashes?”

The answer was chillingly cold.

Isabella remained silent for a while.

Feyrus’s words were not mere threats.

If Feyrus decided to, destroying Isabella would not be very difficult.

He didn’t even need to act directly.

Just leaking information about Isabella to the Holy Kingdom would be enough to kill her.

If they confirmed she was a witch, the Holy Kingdom would surely spare no effort to burn the last witch at the stake.

“…Then, as long as I don’t kill her, it’s fine?”

She was an unpleasant woman, but she didn’t necessarily have to be killed.

If her brain was eaten, it would be as good as dead, so she couldn’t be parasitized by worms… but there were plenty of ways to torment her.

“That’s irrelevant. The variable is sufficient as long as it’s alive, I have no intention of interfering with capturing and corrupting it.”

Making her a corpse would not be tolerated, but turning her into a female was acceptable.

Isabella smiled with satisfaction.

“That’s good to hear. Well then, I’ll take my leave. I have some work piled up.”

Isabella cut off the magic supply to the crystal sphere and placed the orb next to the altar.

It was time to pay attention to her son again.

Ernst, lying on the altar, was conscious but unable to move.

Except for the brain deliberately left alive, his body was no longer his own.

His torn and slashed torso was full of stitched scars.

Every time the worms inside his skin wriggled, his skin bulged and sank repeatedly.

Everything from his organs and muscles to his bones and nerves had been eaten away and replaced by worms.

If his sense of pain hadn’t been cut off, he would have gone mad long ago.

“My son Ernst. You’ve waited a long time, haven’t you? I’m sorry, you must have been having fun.”

Isabella laughed lewdly as she climbed onto Ernst’s body.

The physical transformation was perfectly complete, all that remained was to connect his life.

Ernst cursed inwardly, but since even opening his eyes required Isabella’s permission, those curses never left his mouth.

On Lilith’s altar, another passionate act continued.

It was a depraved and ugly scene.