Chapter 120
Veris has been in a terrible state these past few days.
Sylvan's condition worsened again. After his true form was revealed one day, Veris reopened the gates of Hell without hesitation. In that space, which was separate from the world, only the remnants of Sylvan's former consciousness could soothe his instincts.
For over ten days, Veris kept Sylvan pinned to that tower in Hell. It was the first time he had ever seen Sylvan's true form. He had slain many gods, and even launched the Sky Battle Royale in the Young King's Secret Realm, but none of the gods' true forms were like Sylvan's.
Is this truly an ancient god from the universe who coexisted with the origin of the world?
Veris stood in a corner of the tower, deep in thought.
The indescribable ancient god revealed his true form; in a sense, manifesting the demonic form through the body of Sylvain's reincarnation can be considered a form of atavism.
Veris had placed a lot of furniture in the corner, and now he was half-lying on the sofa, propping himself up on his arms, staring at the demon's true form that was still baring its fangs and claws in front of him. It had been several days, and there was still no sign of it turning back into human form.
He couldn't help but feel a little worried.
His worry lasted only two seconds. He picked up the novel beside him and started reading. In just a few years, the things these people wrote were truly imaginative. The author of the novel in his hand was obviously a former bard. His words and sentences had a strong poetic flavor, but combined with the popular novel language of today, they created a unique feeling.
However, after watching for a short while, Veris felt a feather brush against his calf. He remained calm and continued watching without hesitation.
The sensation subsided quickly, but finding that Veris was unresponsive, it reluctantly poked Veris's calf with its antennae again, this time even moving a little higher.
Veris remained unmoved.
The fragile heart of an ancient god who wished to remain anonymous shattered instantly.
These little disturbances were all too common these days. At first, Veris would politely ask Him what was wrong, but the thing just kept laughing foolishly. After a while, Veris got tired of playing such childish games with Him.
The ancient god, who has been ignored so many times, if he had tears, the entire tower would be flooded with tears, which would then overflow into the ruined city outside.
His true form underwent several transformations, and finally, amidst immense sorrow, he came to terms with reality. Divine power surged within the entire tower, and the most primal desires and instincts were suppressed by the human form. Within the vast tower, a young man reappeared. He remained silent, his brows drooping, and slowly approached Veris, who was reclining on the sofa, before kneeling on the ground.
Veris shifted his attention back from the novel in his hands, looking at the familiar face so close to his face, feeling both annoyed and amused: "What are you up to now?"
"Please punish me, Father." His voice was low, but because he was so close, Veris could almost feel his breath on the skin of the back of his hand.
After a moment of silence, the smile on Veris's face vanished, and he asked softly, "Punish you? I can't bear to, Sylvain. How much do you still remember?"
Sylvain's body trembled slightly at the first part of his sentence, and his eyes lowered even further, as if afraid that Veris would see the emotion in his eyes.
"I remember everything, and I forget everything."
The next second, his jaw was gripped by a hand, forcing him to raise his head and meet Veris's eyes. Those strikingly beautiful heterochromatic eyes reflected his own pale and greedy face. He could feel Veris using force, and he knew that Veris would probably leave scars on his skin.
He wanted to treasure it like a medal.
The surrounding light dimmed considerably, leaving only this corner as the shadows of the two figures cast on the ground. With just a glance, Veris could see the traces left by Sylvain's body as he slid across the ground.
But he had no time to pay attention to those things. He just stared intently at Sylvain and said in a low voice, "This is the punishment I deserve."
He spoke calmly and slowly, but as he finished speaking, the hand that was pinching Sylvain's cheek loosened and gently withdrew. The lingering warmth on his cheek and the scent of Veris left together, immediately throwing Sylvain off balance.
Veris was still thinking about how to get Sylvain back to normal when half of his body was grabbed and he was pinned to the sofa. He heard "I was wrong" in his left ear and "Father, don't give up on me" in his right. Sylvain looked at him with red eyes, but Veris just stared at the ceiling and sighed in his heart.
What kind of situation is this? The knighting ceremony is in a few days. Sylvain can go up like this without any problem, but... Veris was still in a daze when he felt a slight stinging pain in his neck. He twitched his forehead, threw the person off him, and straightened up from the sofa. He was wearing a white robe, and now the collar had spread down to his waist.
Barefoot on the ground, Veris frowned and looked down at Sylvain lying at his feet.
The other person was also staring at him expectantly, which completely vented his rising anger. He raised his hand to press his temple, and immediately heard Sylvain's concerned voice, which made him furious again.
Veris stood up, grabbed the formal clothes draped over the sofa and put them on, saying, "Since you can stabilize your human form, then go back to the High Church. Although faith in divine power won't have much effect on you, it's still useful."
Sylvain looked up at him and slowly nodded.
Logically, the power of the High Papacy should have gradually restored Sylvain's divine status, and things shouldn't have turned out like this. Veris even suspected that there might be a problem with the High Papacy's power, but the investigation revealed that if it weren't for the High Papacy's power, Sylvain's situation would be even worse.
Sylvan's current abnormality is a consequence of the severe damage suffered by the pantheon, and Veris is unsure how long these aftereffects will last.
If he hadn't insisted on reincarnating Sylvain, perhaps none of this would have happened... Veris suddenly closed his eyes, realizing he had been incredibly stubborn; it was just a small accident.
Anyway, he can wait.
After getting dressed, Veris turned around and saw the man still lying on the ground looking at him. His gaze then shifted downwards, and he sneered, "If you don't want him, I'll take care of him for you."
Sylvain's expression changed slightly.
Upon returning from Hell to the High Papacy, Veris continued to confine Sylvain to his room and turned to dealing with the backlog of official duties. All the important figures to be present at the knighthood ceremony were from the High Papacy, and he had to go and see them in person.
After finalizing the ceremony, before even reaching the building where his room was located, he saw a dragon carrying Lortheran, clinging to his room's window, doing something he didn't know.
What is this all about? This isn't how you visit someone! Veris's forehead twitched again.
With its keen eyesight and keen hearing, Longyan quickly noticed that Veris was rapidly approaching them. Terrified, it dropped Lortheran and then flapped its wings and ran away.
Lortheran, who had fallen into the grass, cried out "Ouch!" and scrambled to his feet, his head covered in grass blades, only to see Veris staring at him expressionlessly.
His Majesty the King traveled light this time, dressed in ordinary civilian clothes, and smiled awkwardly: "What a coincidence, Veris."
Then he looked up at the tightly closed window upstairs. Veris watched his subconscious action and sneered, "You come to visit Sylvain not through the main entrance, but by prying open the window? A king of a country, don't you feel ashamed?"
Lortheran cried out in protest: "There are so many restrictions and seals at the entrance of your building, it would be a miracle if I could even get in! This crazy idea was actually from the dragon!"
The dragon turned and ran away, leaving Lortheran all alone to face Veris. Lortheran cursed the dragon a hundred times in his heart. What happened to sharing joys and sorrows?
Lortheran explained that they came to check on Sylvain because they were worried about him. Veris was busy with the ceremony up ahead, so they didn't want to disturb him and came up with this brilliant idea.
Veris, however, was not buying it. Lortheran rubbed his hands together, verbally responding to everyone's pleas, while inwardly cursing the dragon's ingratitude once again.
They clearly agreed to work together, but they left him here all alone. Will he have to walk back to the palace later?
His Majesty felt dizzy at the thought, but he quickly remembered that the Papacy had a dutiful descendant named Garcia. Oh well, he'd hitch a ride back with Garcia.
Upstairs, Sylvain stood by the window, quietly listening to the conversation between Veris and the blond man from the small garden below.
Although Veris's voice was unfriendly and even somewhat angry, it softened considerably after the blond man's few words of interference, and in the end he impatiently told him to get lost.
"Yes, Your Holiness." The sleazy voice faded into the distance, and Sylvain loosened his grip on his wrist. The curtains fell, and the room became somewhat dim. The magic circle engraved on the gemstone ornament activated on its own, and the light in the room quickly returned to normal.
When Veris opened the door, Sylvain was sitting at his desk looking at a magic book. Hearing the noise behind him, he immediately stood up. Veris turned around, closed the door, and said, "Those two didn't say anything weird, did they? They're used to messing around."
“…No, they just asked me how I was feeling,” Sylvain said softly.
Veris was somewhat suspicious, but then he thought that apart from these questions, Lortheran and the dragon wouldn't ask anything else. After all, those two would never pry into his and Sylvain's private affairs.
He felt relieved and smiled.
The award ceremony is in two days, and Veris needs to give Sylvain an emergency crash course. After all, neither the past nor the present Sylvain has ever experienced such a ceremony, and there are certain procedures he needs to know.
Sylvain obediently listened to Veris's instructions.
Veris has been really busy these past two days. Besides arranging everything for the awarding ceremony, he also has to stabilize Hill's soul. Although Lortheran generously offered to share a body with Hill, Hill refused without hesitation, saying it was too terrifying.
Lortheran was greatly disappointed, and the dragon also thought Lortheran was out of his mind.
Veris provided Hill with a new body, a puppet sealed deep within the High Vatican's treasury. Although it was inferior to a human, it was Hill's creation and the pinnacle of Hill's alchemy. Apart from being unable to speak, its individual combat capabilities could overwhelm Lortheran's current abilities.
Then fight the dragon to a 40/60 split.
In other words, Hill didn't consider vocal cords when he created the puppet; otherwise, the puppet might actually have been able to speak.
Shortly after waking up, Vesper ran away in terror; he never imagined he would be able to lie in the Papacy for so long.
The day before the awarding ceremony, Veris received a letter from Lortheran. At that time, he was sitting at his desk in his room, with Sylvain standing beside him, watching him open the letter.
Sylvain’s gaze first fell on the signature on the letter—Lotheran.
He was the man who joked around with Veris that day.
In his letter, Lortheran stated that after the conferment ceremony, Arnold would be given an official position in the former Demon Forest.
Veris was not surprised by the result; in fact, he and Lortheran had reached an agreement on this outcome beforehand.
With demon blood within him, and royal blood at that, Arnold will surely notice something amiss with his body when he steps into the Demon King's Forest again.
That is the control over other demon races, stemming from the inheritance of blood.
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Author's Note: I'll definitely be able to rewrite the synopsis in the next chapter! [Angry]
I'm taking the day off tomorrow, and will update the day after tomorrow (sorry).
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