Ch.183Isabella

=====[Isabella]=====

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

A witch’s sanctuary, carved and refined underground by burrowing worms.

Inside the cavity, shrouded by a veil of dark mana, was a scene of unspeakable horror.

Thousands of insects crawled along the walls, ceiling, and floor, creating a rustling noise.

A black well, created from countless decomposed corpses, continuously boiled and spewed forth new insects.

The writhing larvae grew by devouring any fellow creatures they encountered, eventually metamorphosing into new monsters.

People who had fallen prey to these creatures lay sprawled on the floor, moaning weakly as their brains and entrails were devoured.

It was like a slice cut from the center of hell.

—-

In the middle of the sanctuary stood an altar with a statue about 3 meters tall.

It was a statue of a goddess engaged in lascivious intercourse with four beasts.

A horrifying figure carved from marble, then covered with the stitched-together skin of young virgins to resemble flesh.

The goddess’s face mockingly resembled Elpinel’s image, but anyone could see it was no divine being. It was closer to a demon.

Four wings, hanging down like hair, draped over the beasts.

Her face, stained with extreme pleasure, had her tongue extended as if to lick something before her, and at the ends of her arms and legs embracing the beast mounted on her belly were sharp claws.

It was the form of Lilith, the evil goddess of lust and arrogance.

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

Ernst.

The result was devastating for one who had fought desperately but faced an unbeatable enemy alone.

He was no longer even human.

For three days since the battle at dawn.

Isabella had been staying here, gradually modifying her eldest son.

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

—-

Isabella sat leaning against a chair placed beside the altar, without a thread of clothing on her body.

In one hand she held a sharp dagger, and in the other, a crystal ball emitting mana light.

“Our groundwork is complete. As soon as civil war breaks out, the north and east will intervene. The elves in the west won’t miss such an opportunity either.”

A low voice flowed from the crystal ball.

The First Apostle, Feirus. Isabella listened to her collaborator’s message with a subtle smile.

“Now it’s your turn to keep your promise, Benes. Fulfill our covenant.”

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

To spread chaos and death throughout the Empire as grandly as possible.

It was a satisfactory condition for Isabella Benes as well.

Though ‘their’ purpose differed from hers… the evil goddess she served also welcomed blood, death, chaos, and corruption.

“Hmm. This marks the end of my role as empress. It’s 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 create chaos… but that plan had long been discarded.

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

After all, a civil war engulfing the entire world would spill more blood than the tyranny of a single dark ruler.

She would no longer be able to enjoy luxury and pleasure as the Empire’s empress.

Though it was merely entertainment for Isabella, it had been quite enjoyable.

“If you win the civil war, wouldn’t that solve the problem?”

“Well, I’m not sure. It’s not like we can keep Faelrun and Landenburg bound together forever. And then… that Ka’har woman is troublesome in many ways.”

“You mean Aishan-Gioro.”

Yes. That woman was the problem.

A woman who strangely avoided contact with Isabella despite never having met her.

With growth that seemed poised to surpass even that Valenstein within a year, and to make matters worse, chosen by the Oath Sword.

For Isabella, whose foundation was dark mana, she was an extremely unsettling opponent.

“Yes. It’s clear she’s targeting me, yet I’m told I can’t kill her. There are limits to such unreasonableness.”

“…That woman is an important variable. How to utilize that variable is up to you.”

Feirus’s tone was resolute.

As if he would absolutely not tolerate killing Aishan-Gioro Haschal.

He wasn’t wrong.

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

Thanks to her crossing the wall with the Ka’har peace treaty, the werebeasts’ sense of crisis had intensified.

As a result, what would have been a small-scale raid by the militia expanded into a large-scale uprising that burned the entire island.

Thanks to this, the withering Leopold gained an opportunity to rise again.

After drawing the Aishan-Gioro princess to his side, he rapidly built up his power to a level comparable to Ernst’s.

Enough to attempt a life-risking gamble at Ainfeld.

By deploying all the undead that Feirus’s organization had gathered to that battlefield, they had harvested massive deaths.

The Great Island Fire and the Defense of Ainfeld.

Though both were contained before causing further damage due to that woman’s activities, considering that the fundamental cause was her actions…

In the end, the existence of Aishan-Gioro Haschal had only brought benefits to Feirus.

After all, the souls harvested then had allowed them to quickly destroy the first Holy Grail.

“A variable… I see she’s been quite helpful to ‘your’ plans, but for me, it’s hard to accept leaving alone a woman who is practically Elpinel’s finger.”

What would have been a simple succession dispute by eliminating Leopold had changed into a large-scale civil war involving other races, and when examined closely, it was thanks to her.

However, such benefits would only help Feirus, and had little to do with Isabella.

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

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

As if he couldn’t tell her anything more.

“That woman is?”

“…Elpinel is not the only one watching the variable. That’s all I can tell you. You serve Lilith, but the one who leads me is not her.”

Witches and dark mages worship evil gods.

Isabella also served Lilith.

On the other hand, the one Feirus followed… was not among the Four Evil Gods.

He had never told Isabella his identity.

His organization and Isabella were merely in a cooperative business relationship, with fundamentally different objectives.

“That’s all I have to say, Benes. Nothing changes. Neither what you must do, nor what you must not do.”

Isabella’s brow furrowed slightly.

It was irritating for her to be told to leave a dangerous element alone without being given 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 tied to a cross and reduced to ashes?”

It was an ice-cold answer.

Isabella remained silent for a while.

Feirus’s words were not a simple threat.

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

He wouldn’t even need to act directly.

If he leaked information about Isabella to the Holy State, that alone would be enough to kill her.

If they obtained proof that she was a witch, the Holy State would certainly use all its power to burn the last witch.

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

She was an unpleasant woman, but there was no absolute need to kill her.

She couldn’t implant parasitic insects since that would destroy the brain and be as good as killing her… but there were many ways to torment her.

“That doesn’t matter. The variable only needs to be alive, so I have no intention of interfering if you capture and corrupt her.”

While he wouldn’t tolerate turning her into a corpse, he didn’t mind if she was turned into a female.

Isabella smiled with satisfaction.

“That’s welcome news. Well then, I’ll be going. I have some matters to attend to.”

Isabella cut off the mana supply to the crystal ball and set it down beside the altar.

It was time to give her son attention again.

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

Except for his brain, which was deliberately kept alive, his body was no longer his own.

His body, slashed and torn to pieces, was full of stitches.

Whenever the insects packed inside his skin writhed, his skin repeatedly bulged and subsided.

Everything from his entrails and muscles to his bones and nerves had been eaten away and replaced with insects.

Had his sense of pain not been cut off, he would have gone mad long ago.

“My son Ernst. Have you waited long? I’m sorry, you must have been having such fun.”

Isabella climbed onto Ernst’s body with a lascivious smile.

The physical modification was complete, so all that remained was to connect his life force.

Ernst inwardly hurled all manner of curses, but now, when even opening his eyes required Isabella’s permission, those curses would never leave his mouth.

On Lilith’s altar, another passionate intercourse continued.

It was a blasphemous and hideous sight.