Manasvir Empire’s capital, Macnadix City’s eastern district, Christian Hotel. In the hallways of the hotel, Bella was reading the letter sent to her by the emperor of the Octavia Empire. Just like what was written to her little sister Lisha, the emperor wrote to her like a father advising his daughter who was away from home to take care and he didn’t see anything wrong with this.
How cunning. The emperor deliberately did not mention that he had already held a funeral for Bella’s surrogate body, Princess Felia. He clearly wanted to ignore that event. But it does make sense. The Emperor conducted the funeral himself, wouldn’t it indirectly mean that the Emperor was blind since the ninth princess was still alive? No emperor would slap their own face like that.
The difference between the letters Lisha and the others received and Bella is the extra page regarding the Emperor’s secret promise to Bella. The Emperor promised to annul all of Princess Felia’s previous marriage contracts and would properly compensate Princess Felia for all the unfairness she went through all these years, including the time she had been unjustly denied the right to advance as a dragon knight due to Lisha’s awakening.
Bella put the letter away without much comment. The Emperor’s promise to her did not seem like much, mainly because the current Princess Felia was already a Dragon Knight, and the level of her mount was the super perversely strong Thunder Dragon Queen Geleman. If she really did not want to accept those political marriage arrangements, then nobody could actually force her. As for compensation, Bella was so poor now that she was left with only gold and treasures. It didn’t seem like she needed any.
“Big Sister Bella, what did Fa…the Emperor say? He didn’t reprimand you did he? Or did he ask you to return to fulfill the marriage contract…”
“Silly girl, what are you worried about? The Emperor did not ask me to return. Let’s go back to the Empire and have a look when we have time. As for the marriage contracts, you girls are enough for me! Why would I need to get married!”
Seeing the worried look on Lisha’s face, she flicked her forehead teasingly. This girl, when did she begin having such sis-con tendencies? She really never saw this in her before! After putting the letter away, Bella went downstairs together with Lisha. The beautiful dragon maidens inside the room have already fallen asleep from exhaustion, nestled together. With Bella’s provocation, the dragon beauties who came last had forgotten the conflict between the both sides, and rolled together intimately.
Crystal Dragon Princess Purple Crystal and Emerald Demonic Dragon Princess Bess, as well as Gem Dragon Queen Lolifel, could now be considered to be reconciled. After all, they already “slept” together, what else can’t be resolved? And there was also the Golden Dragon Race’s princess who had the power to challenge the entire dragon race.
Around the corner of the stairs, Bella saw Noreya dressed in a black, skin-tight assassin outfit. Noreya was holding a dagger and her face was on alert. This made Bella a little curious. This is a safe zone, what was she so worried about?
“Noreya…You…You’re?”
“Not so loud, Bella, Lisha. There are infiltrators in the hotel and their levels aren’t low…You should go back first. I’ll take care of the infiltrators…”
“Let us join you. We just happen to be free anyway, and this is our Rose Society’s territory. We can’t toss everything to one person.”
“In that case…Alright then. Just don’t make too much noise. To be frank with you, it’s the first time I’ve brought two knights with me to an ambush…”
Bella and Lisha followed Assassin Noreya towards the floors where no demons were stationed. The floors without any demons were where the students of the Radiant Church were staying at. Currently, the girls of the Radiant Church’s St. Louis Church Academy have all basically gone to the floor where the fallen goddess Mable was confined on their “pilgrimage”. The rest of the floors were empty defense spaces.
In the corridor, Bella and them encountered two girls. They were both walking with empty eyes. It looked as if they were being controlled by some sort of magic. They came to the window and opened the tightly shut windows. Outside the window, a dozen people dressed in all black entered. There were no identity markings on the black-clad people, but Bella didn’t think they belonged to any of the major four evil organizations.
The young mistresses of the Blood Skull, Skeleton Tower, and the Horrorshow Group, as well as the big boss of the Eye of Darkness are all in her hands now. Several of them are even staying in this hotel. No matter how gutsy they were, the subordinates of the four major evil organizations generally would not dare to break into the hotel where their bosses stayed in. These black-clad people were clearly from a fifth party. The purpose of their infiltration into the Christian Hotel was still unclear for the time being.
Bella recognized the two girls who were being controlled by magic as people from Magic Special Class 3, students of Great Magister Orlando. Recalling Orlando’s expertise in hypnosis magic, Bella became a little suspicious of him. That guy shouldn’t be a mole, right?
“Tsk tsk, the bodies of these gals really are…”
“Stop dallying, Scorpion. Quickly look for the Grand Duke. What’s so fun about playing with girls? I’ll bring you to the Red Pavilion after the mission is over so you can try out their most skilled aces. My treat.”
“You’re the same as usual, Bat, never out for fun, eh? As for what’s fun with a girlie…Wait, why are you walking so fast? Are you in a hurry to die?”
A cold glint flashed past and the man in the lead had his head pierced through with a crossbow bolt, instantly bursting his head and killing him. The rest of the black-clad men quickly retreated back to the window when they saw the situation. Just as Bella was about to go after them, they had already been taken care of by Assassin Noreya who had already put her crossbow away and had stopped Bella who was about to rush out.
“No need to chase after them, Bella. These aren’t the guys we’re waiting for. Look…”
“Uh…That’s…”
Bella looked out the window and saw a few blurry translucent figures entering. The men who were dressed in black immediately froze in place before they could even figure out what was going on. They were killed instantly before they could even scream, almost as if they had died of fright. There were no clear traces of trauma on their bodies.
When the translucent figures drifted by, their bodies were devoured. Other than the black-clothed body that had its head blown off earlier, the rest were completely gone as if they had never existed.
The blurred figures began to move downstairs towards Bella’s room. Noreya quietly leaned into Bella’s ear and told her about the origins of those translucent figures. They are Hell Messengers, a terrifying type of killer demon. They were said to be able to turn into their victims’ appearances and scare them to death that way. To see someone with the same face as you out of nowhere, most people would jump in fright at that. If they had blood or something on them, then the effect would be even greater.
Hell Messengers weren’t afraid of physical attacks. Bella and the other two basically wouldn’t use magic attacks, so they really had no effective way to attack those Hell Messengers for a moment, unless they exposed their hidden identities by using their power which contained the darkening effect of a Demon King. Seeing that the two girls who were being controlled by hypnosis magic were about to be dragged in, several golden energy arrows came from afar, instantly stopping the Hell Messengers on their track.
Priest Isaman happened to be passing by. She came up here to take a look because she sensed some strange movements upstairs and was just in time to save the two girls who were in trouble. The Arrows of Light were stuck in the Hell Messengers’ bodies, stopping them in place. Bella and the others came out immediately to pull the two girls away.
“Bella, you were here too… You should retreat. These Hell Messengers are immortal summoned demonic beings that cannot be purified unless the summoner is defeated. They will keep haunting their victims and they know if their targets have been eliminated.”
Isaman cast a Barrier of Light and sealed the Hell Messengers completely. But this was only temporary. The summoner had to be found as soon as possible. The summoner had to be nearby, otherwise there was no way they could contact and control the Hell Messengers. Even though Bella could purify them with the “Tears of the Goddess” given to her by the Creator of Light Vianne, it had been used many times and now they didn’t have much left. They couldn’t waste it casually anymore.
The other precious object, “Praise of Light”, Bella left at the Olsylvia Academy as a precautionary measure, so she could only act according to the instructions of priest Isaman now. The two hypnotized girls had no idea what they had done, so Bella entrusted her little sister Lisha to help them back to their rooms. Then, she left the scene with Assassin Noreya and Priest Isaman. After that, Bella’s demon familiar, Demon Princess Diaz, would seal up the scene with her demons and deal with the aftermath.
In the hotel across the street from the Christian Hotel, the temporary stronghold of the “Spades K” organization, there was currently a counter-invasion happening in this place. Bella put on her black knight’s armor and set off with Noreya, who was already in her black assassin get-up. Priest Isaman reluctantly changed into a black demonic priest outfit for the sake of her image. The priest outfit was decorated with skulls and bones, looking more like a dark priest than a radiant one.
Behind the three of them were a large number of heavily armed Skeleton Soldiers. Christian Hotel itself had its own hidden dark barracks so it wasn’t difficult to dispatch these demons. The night came unusually early today. Bella remembered the time information given to her by her own biological clock. It was only five o’clock in the afternoon, so she didn’t expect to see the sky so dark when she went outside.
The royal guards that were stationed outside of Christian Hotel had all retreated and there was nobody walking on the street either. When Bella and the others entered the hotel across the scene, practically nobody saw them. It wasn’t until she entered that Bella finally realized that this hotel belonged to the first group of black-clad invaders.
After pushing the door open, the suffocating smell of blood hit her nose. Under the flickering candle lights of the hotel lobby, Bella saw a trail of corpses and blood, all dressed in black. There were several humanoid demons with their heads lowered, gnawing on those bodies. After they noticed the door opening, the demons got up and pounced over in a strangely quick speed, aiming right for Bella.
The Skeleton Soldiers behind Bella quickly formed a wall with their shields. Practically in an instant, they stopped the “ghouls” that had pounced over. These “ghouls” were also called Demon Tongues and looked like regular old zombies. The only difference is the long tongues in their mouths that can extend infinitely and pierce through the defenses of most human race armor.
Bella took a few steps back to avoid the disgusting image in front of her. These “ghouls” did not eat human bones, so they immediately began climbing up after crashing into the skeletons and tried to retreat, but it was too late. The rest of the Skeleton Soldiers came forward and surrounded them with their long spears, stabbing the “ghouls” to death on the ground.
“Looks like someone…No, One of our kind came ahead of us. Isaman, your senses are correct, right? Is the guy who’s controlling the Hell Messengers really here?”
“That’s right. He’s here. You should be able to find him upstairs in the conference hall.”
“That’s good then. Go! Clear this place out!”
Under Bella’s command, the Skeleton Soldiers advanced floor by floor and fought a fierce war with the demons that were already occupying this place. Skeleton Soldiers and mutated demons could be found fighting each other on every floor. Bella and the others avoided the fighting demons and headed upstairs for the conference hall.
It was the right choice not to bring Lisha. The demons that occupied this place were too gory. While walking their way up, Bella and the others could see bone spears sticking out from the ground. There were black-clad corpses on each one of them, pierced through in the standard down-to-up method with the spearhead coming out the mouth of the victims. Even Assassin Noreya’s face turned unnatural at these cruel methods. Priest Isaman on the other hand was walking with her hands folded in prayer, seemingly appeasing the spirits of the dead.
Fortunately, the black-clad men who looked after this place had already disbanded the original attendants, so only the black-clad men died, not the civilians or any women. Bella was pretty open-minded so she didn’t have too much of a reaction. Upstairs in the conference room, Bella and the girls saw the demon lord who was behind the scene. It was an all-black super huge beetle and the thing controlling the Hell Messengers was right inside its body. As long as it was killed, the Hell Messengers will be transported back to their own space.
You could clearly see a row of black-clad men struck dead in their seats by bone spears in the conference room. Their faces showed disbelief as if they did not expect being suddenly wiped out. After entering the conference hall, the demon lord turned around but did not attack immediately. Instead, demonic words came from their mouths.
“You can actually summon dark demons, Grand Duke Bellina? It seems we may have had some misunderstanding before. You are a Demon King from another dimension, correct? I think we have the potential to work together!”
“Work together? Never. I have no idea what you’re talking about!”
“You are not a qualified Demon King. Grand Duke Baize should be your partner too, correct? Without the support of dark energy, you won’t be able to handle the Thunder Dragon and the other demonic dragons. Even though I’ve lost the Emerald Demonic Dragon and the Gem Dragon, in this dimension, I am still…”
As the demon lord was still trying to convince Bella to cooperate with him, Assassin Noreya’s figure flashed instantly and disappeared. When she reappeared, she was right behind the demon lord’s back and she stabbed it in the back in a classic “Back Stab”. The powerful penetrating force pierced through the thick armor on the beetle’s body in an instant and a large amount of green blood splashed out in all directions.
“You…You actually sneak attacked me! Foolish Demon King, go to hell with your subordinates and repent!”
The beetle-looking demon lord was just a puppet in the end. The one behind the scenes was an evil dimensional creator, the former master of the Gem Dragon and the Emerald Demonic Dragon, as well as one of the two masterminds behind the resurrection of the fallen goddess Mable. The evil creator behind the scenes was overconfident and did not think that this demoness Bella was one of those guys who didn’t play by the rules, nor one that would not fear an existence higher than her.
Countless spikes came out from the floor and ceiling. This was the beetle demon lord’s killing technique, “Hell of Thorns”. Its effect was even more obvious in such a tight and enclosed space. Bella and the others did not have any time to retreat from the conference room, which was already sealed by dark energy.
“Sorry but I don’t like hell. You’re the one who should go.”
“This light…You…You actually recruited someone from the other side as your henchman… Damned light…
A violent glow was emitting from Priest Isaman and the warm light magic illuminated the entire conference hall. The spikes that were meant to pierce through the three were dissolved by the holy light, turning into black puddles. The evil creator had not expected that Isaman was only pretending to be a demon priest and was actually a radiant priest, so it was caught off guard by the holy light.
Under the Holy Light’s illumination, the beetle-like demon lord melted like a snowman that was suddenly exposed under the scorching sun, rapidly melting and decomposing. The bead that was controlling the Hell Messenger was also shattered.
“Damn it. It’s your win this time. I’ll leave you to fight with him for this worthless city. I’ll go elsewhere…Also, could you tell me your real name? Your Excellency the Demon Queen.”
“No! I do not approve of you!”
“You sure are still… so unpleasant. But I am different from the dark creator. Since you have won, this is a reward for you as proof of your strength. Whether you take it or not is up to you. It is none of my business.”
As the mysterious creator left, he left behind a black jewel. This jewel was a pearl called the “Dark Source,” which contained all the dark energy obtained by the dark creator after it invaded this otherworld dimension. If a Demon King absorbed all of it, their strength would advance a few steps. Bella wasn’t shy about keeping the pearl inside her storage ring. She didn’t plan to use it herself, but rather to keep it as a gift for Dark Creator Mystica.
After suppressing the raging demons, the hotel across the street from Christian Hotel was sealed off by the royal guards who came afterwards. There were too many dead men inside, so they couldn’t just leave it. When Bella left, she finally learned that the black-clad men who came to look for trouble were from the “Spades K” organization. They were the top underground gambling syndicate and they had done this due to her making them lose all the money from the betting.
