Location: Higurashi Castle
The gates of the core royal city of the Lanting royal family slowly opened, and the citizens cheered for the return of the holy knights!
The bards had already spread the news of their slaying of the demon king back to the kingdom, and the townspeople had begun preparing a welcoming ceremony a week in advance.
On that day, flowers rained down on the streets.
Hagen looked up and saw angels hidden in the clouds reluctantly scattering flowers collected from all over the world.
They were generally unwilling to do such boring things; as children of the Lord, they would much rather watch the knights slaughtering their way across the battlefield.
Is it Paul's order to scatter flowers here now?
However, these angels seem to...
"There are more now..."
"What?" Andersen asked, puzzled, beside Hagen.
"Ha, it's nothing." Hagen shook his head and continued leading the group toward the royal residence.
The number of royal guards along the way also increased. They were responsible for the handover and kept civilians at bay. The captain of the guard continued to guide Hagen and his party.
The streets within the kingdom were more bustling, the houses more exquisite, and the golden-winged eagles of the royal scouts circled in the sky, constantly monitoring every corner.
The assassination attempt by a mysterious force hundreds of years ago nearly wiped out the royal family, which also spurred the royal family to attach great importance to intelligence gathering.
“Commander Hagen, His Holiness the Pope and the King have been waiting for quite some time,” a cardinal in a red robe said before the white jade steps.
“Okay, let’s go.” Hagen patted Andersen on the shoulder, signaling them not to just admire the scenery, but to follow him.
“Lifeless…” Zhuo Wula sniffed as she passed by the guards.
She glanced sideways at the guard on duty, his numb gaze piquing her curiosity.
"Zhuo Wula!" Andersen called from the long steps, "Keep up!"
"Oh! Uh... okay." Zhuowula shook her head and followed the group.
The soldier, his eyes glazed over, trembled slightly, but ultimately just stood there, numb.
An angel landed beside the guard, silently activated invisibility, and then bit down on his neck. The guard could see the struggle in his eyes, but in the end he could only numbly endure it, again and again.
"Fool, don't suck him dry! We need these reserves for our development!" Yunxi flapped her wings and came to the little angel's side, her attitude firm.
...
"Well done, Hagen!"
Inside the royal castle, the paladins were led to the dining hall to enjoy a meal, while Hagen delivered the demon king's head as a token of his mission.
Pope Paul was waiting for him in the living room with King Lanting.
Upon seeing the palm-sized skull in Hagen's hand, Hagen excitedly rushed over and picked it up.
"Well done, Hagen! The Lord is very pleased!"
Hagen's gaze, however, was drawn to King Lanting, his wife, and his children.
King Lanting sat stiffly on the sofa, his hair white, his face aged, his eyes numb.
His wife stood silently beside him, holding their quiet child, while the princess kept her head down, showing no emotion whatsoever.
Is he... angry?
"King!" Hagen was about to kneel down when Paul reached out and stopped him.
Paul smiled kindly: "The King is very enlightened; he is willing to offer the kingdom to the church, and the Lord is very pleased!"
"..." Hagen looked at King Lanting, who still showed no change in emotion, and wanted to say something, but he couldn't get the words out!
“Ah... very good, praise the Lord, hiss—” Hagen was saying when he suddenly covered his head with his hands.
"What's wrong, Hagen?" Paul asked worriedly, supporting him.
"My head!" Hagen cried out, clutching the increasingly prominent bloodstain on his head. "It hurts! It hurts so much, Paul!"
He opened his bloodshot eyes, frantically scratching at the bloody marks, howling, "It hurts so much!!!"
Paul immediately cast a healing spell, but seeing that it had no effect, he assumed it was some kind of curse and quickly used a purification spell to expel it.
However, Hagen still collapsed to his knees in pain!
Paul recalled the healing magic from the miracle, and he glanced at the potion on the table in front of King Lanting.
"Yes, there's still a little bit of the medicine the Lord gave us." Paul opened the bottle and dripped the last few drops into Hagen's mouth.
"It's alright, Hagen!" Paul hugged Hagen tightly. Although there was only a little medicine left, it was still effective.
If they can cure members of the royal family, there's no reason they can't save Hagen!
Lord, you are all-powerful!
"No! Paul! No!" Hagen cried out, waving his hands frantically as he looked at the writhing, invisible insects in the bottle.
"This is not..."
“What are you saying, Hagen? I’m… saving you… Lord, you are merciful…” Paul gave a horrifying laugh.
On his face, gentle parasites crawled across his face, their enormous, invisible tentacles connecting to the sky!
"Paul, it seems we..." Hagen's voice grew softer and softer until only the pain in his head remained.
...
"Commander Hagen!!!"
"Retract the formation!"
"No! I don't want to die!"
"Huh?" Hagen woke up suddenly as he heard these sounds.
He gazed at the sky, where warhorses occasionally swept past, and the sounds of battle cries echoed all around.
Perhaps he should stand up?
But why does my body hurt so much?
Why... do I have no strength?
Why does even my head hurt so much?
"Where am I?" Hagen asked the air weakly.
He thought for a long time but couldn't remember, but he felt that he must have forgotten something.
He used his last bit of strength to move his arm; he simply couldn't stand the itching on his scalp anymore.
Scratch it, just scratch it and it'll be better! It's so itchy!
When my palm touched the sticky stuff, a jumble of chaotic memories suddenly flashed through my mind.
"You're still alive?" Elsie came to Hagen's side, looked at Hagen who was digging into his brain with his hands, sighed, and pointed the Lord's Longsword at Hagen.
"Rest in peace!"
As the longsword slashed down, the dazzling light reflected from it caught Hagen's attention.
He remembered! He remembered everything!
It was Paul, it was those lovely members of the group, it was...
"Heaven."
Hagen gazed at the family manor reflected in the sky, laughing as his head was severed by a longsword!
...
Inside Mirror Lake City, Paul, who was trying to contact the Lord, suddenly paused. He looked south and suddenly wanted to call out a name, but he couldn't remember who that person was!
"I...it hurts a little." Paul clutched his heart.
"It feels like I've lost a very important friend."
"Never mind, we'll all meet again in heaven anyway," Paul said with a smile.
The Lord's revelation came instantly; the Lord said...
“Really? Lord! You are so kind! For the world! For the Kingdom of Heaven! This is what I should do.” Paul listened to the Lord’s words.
They began to evenly pour the divinely bestowed medicine into the wine...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com