Chapter 87: Holy Land (3)

“Rebecca?”

A boy she had never seen before called out her name.

Though she had no idea who this unfamiliar boy was, the princess felt something special about him.

It was as if the warmth that had embraced her countless times, the warmth of that divine power, belonged to him.

As if… he were… my master… the one who…

Brrrrr.

The princess shook her head vigorously.

“No. That can’t be. It’s just a misunderstanding.”

As she set down Perizet and stepped back, the princess asked Albus.

“Who are you?”

“Forgive me, Your Highness. My name is Albus Vernier.”

Albus stood in front of her, blocking the Perizet  as if to protect it from her.

“Vernier? I remember now. The Duke of Vernier, didn’t he have another child besides the swordswoman?”

A noble of the empire, perhaps.

Surely she didn’t know him.

The Vernier family had declared neutrality in the succession crisis, so there had been no chance to form a connection with him. 

This was her first time meeting Albus.

But why did she feel a sense of longing for him?

Why did she feel the warmth of her lord’s touch from someone with whom she had no relationship at all?

“And yet. Why is the son of the loyal Duke of Vernier standing in my way?”

The princess was displeased by the sight of Albus trying to protect someone from her.

“It seems there has been some misunderstanding…”

“Misunderstanding? No. There is no misunderstanding.”

Though her mind had been twisted due to the corruption, she had no intention of doing anything to the Perizet .

She had merely reacted impulsively when the woman mentioned being an angel’s envoy, something that had struck a nerve.

But seeing Albus protect another woman from her made her heart ache.

She couldn’t just leave it alone.

“I warn you, step aside. I have not finished speaking.”

She felt jealousy rising within her.

“Your Highness, please calm down and listen.”

“Calm down? I am always calm. There is no need for your counsel.”

‘She’s lost her mind.’

Albus, who had observed her as she was pushed into the role of the first apostle and supported through broadcasts, realized that something was seriously wrong with her.

But in the real world, not in Rudera, he lacked the power to stop her.

‘Is there no choice…? …Guide.’

-Yes, master.

Albus called upon the guide internally.

‘Can you send a notification to Rebecca right now?’

The academy had already been transformed into Rudera. 

Albus wondered if it was possible to send a notification to the princess here in the real world.

-Yes, it is possible.

‘Good! Send one right away. In the name of the GM!’

Thankfully, it seemed doable.

Ding.

“Hmm?”

The princess was startled by the sudden message that appeared in her field of vision.

“This is…”

The message was from the very envoy of the GM she had met before.

It commanded her to stop her strange behavior in the real world and return to Rudera.

Crack.

The princess clenched her fist tightly.

Normally, she would have realized her mistake for forging the divine command and rushed back to Rudera to beg for forgiveness.

After all, the GM knew what she was doing and had sent a warning.

But she didn’t do that.

“Again! Again! Again! Again!”

The message itself wasn’t the issue.

“Why do these new women keep appearing?!”

The problem was the ‘GM’s envoy’ who had sent the message.

Already irritated by the appearance of a new angel claiming to be a representative of the god, she had come all this way to investigate. 

And now, another envoy?

For the princess, who had been twisted by the forces of evil, this message was like pouring gasoline on a fire.

‘What’s wrong with her?’

Just moments ago, it seemed like she could be reasoned with, but now she was on the verge of losing control entirely.

Having expected that the princess, who had followed the GM’s orders so well until now, could be reasoned with, Albus was shocked by her reaction.

“Move!”

The princess pushed Albus aside forcefully and approached Perizet .

Or at least, she tried to.

Vwoom.

“Whoa!”

As her hand reached toward Albus, an adamantium suit expanded, enveloping his body protectively.

“A suit?”

The special suit, a gift from Cartesia, had detected danger and deployed itself.

“What is this…?”

Even the rampaging princess stopped in her tracks at the shocking sight.

And in that brief moment of surprise, the dark energy clouding her mind vanished.

The purifying power of the adamantium had also affected her.

The jealousy and intrusive thoughts disappeared in an instant.

“…What have I been doing?”

The princess felt a strange sense of discomfort.

Everything she had done up to this point didn’t feel like her own actions.

It felt as if someone had been controlling her.

‘What do I do…?’

Noticing the sudden change in the princess’s behavior, Albus carefully observed her.

“Sorry… I’m sorry.”

The words that came out of the princess’s mouth were completely unexpected.

“I will… I will make it up to you. For now… for now… ugh.”

Vwoom.

The princess shot up into the sky, her body surrounded by divine and magical energy, a golden light streaking upwards.

Thud.

Albus’s companions, their tension finally released, collapsed to the ground one by one.

“We survived.”

They could feel the overwhelming pressure of the transcendent princess dissipating, leaving them with a sense of relief.

Vweeee.

As soon as the danger completely disappeared, Albus’s suit returned to its original form.

With the suit deactivated, Albus collapsed just like his friends.

“Hey, man! What was that just now? That was amazing! You looked like GM’s robot!”

Now that his heart had calmed down a little, Wald clung to Albus in his usual manner.

“Haha…”

Well, of course. It was designed based on that.

Albus, relieved that the situation had somehow resolved, smiled.

Suddenly.

“Huh?”

Albus, who had slumped down and closed his eyes in the rush of relief, felt the soft sensation of fur against his back.

“Thank you, Albus.”

Perizet had embraced him.

“You were really cool.”

…

In reality, all I did was cower in fear inside the suit.

***

“No. I am the true king established by the GM. I must not do such things to fulfill my personal desires.”

The princess, who had flown away from Albus and his companions, arrived in a distant forest.

The princess, her hand glowing with golden energy, fidgeted with something in the air.

Vwoooom.

Using her power, she created a special, square-shaped space from another realm.

An imaginary, temporary phase dimension, separated from the current world, was born. 

It was a means of ensuring safety while she remained connected.

“Something was controlling me.”

Something unknown had entered my mind and defiled it.

“A demon’s whispers, trying to tear me away from the light of the GM.”

As she attached a connector to her head, she muttered.

“I must cleanse it.”

Yes.

“I…”

Her consciousness sank deep below the surface.

“I…”

Suddenly.

Within Rudera, she opened her eyes.

“I am…”

“The only true king of the GM.”

She murmured blankly.

“The only companion of the GM.”

Saturated with the evil born of the abyss.

“I will eliminate the enemies of the GM, the evils that interfere with my love.”

“The fall of the first king is complete…”

The guide, who had been watching the twisted process of the princess’s mind on a screen displaying the command window, turned off the screen.

“Next is the turn of the successor.”

Vwoom.

A new screen appeared.

On the screen, a young country girl, once a child with a slingshot, had transformed into a powerful warrior.

“The second king will take over that position.”

Click, click, click.

The guide’s hands, busy manipulating the command window, suddenly stopped.

No matter how much it was for the master, deceiving him…

Corrupting and destroying the king he had appointed…

Can this really be forgiven?

‘No. We won’t be forgiven. We will be judged for our sins. But through this, our master will be reborn as the true god.’

The voice of the future [GM] echoed in her head.

Yes.

It doesn’t matter if we aren’t forgiven.

“My master’s happiness is the very reason for my existence.”

Click.