Chapter 9 – The Saintess Is in Danger
The Ascalon family had, for generations, been born with a mysterious supernatural ability.
Even Kyle Ascalon himself did not know where it originated. Only direct descendants inherited it, and no one in the Empire truly understood why only the Ascalons possessed such power.
One thing was certain.
His father, James Ascalon, had been called “The Sword of the Empire” for the sword energy he was born with.
And the reason Kyle Ascalon, known as the Silver Knight, had been able to defeat demons—creatures far superior to humans in strength and magic—
Was because of his innate ability.
Curses did not work on him.
***
Kyle exhaled slowly. The cold breath dispersed in white mist.
The flames that had swallowed him whole were gone, leaving only a slightly scorched collar.
“You—how did you survive that fire?!”
“I already explained. Are you stupid?”
The blue-eyed wolf once praised as the Silver Knight glared coldly and muttered,
“Then you should die.”
Slash!
He adjusted his grip and sliced upward, cutting through the demon’s torso to her shoulder.
“Aaaagh!”
Anne gagged as blood splattered against her spherical shield.
The demon shrieked, clutching her split shoulder.
“You wretched human!”
She conjured fire in her palm.
Kyle stepped back, sword raised vertically.
“Get out of my way!”
A fireball shot toward him.
Anne, Nina, and Chloe held their breath.
Clang!
Kyle inhaled sharply and split the fireball in half. Sparks flew past Anne, striking a camellia tree and knocking it over.
Thud.
The tree collapsed.
“Chloe! Are you okay?” Anne shouted.
“I—I’m fine, but…”
Chloe stared ahead.
“Kyle… is he even human?”
“…I don’t know.”
Demons possessed overwhelming physical ability and deadly curses. Flame demons controlled fire. Plague demons spread disease. Darkness demons commanded shadow.
Before the Silver Knight appeared, the Kanata Empire had been on the brink of defeat.
But if someone was immune to curses—
Everything changed.
To the girls, Kyle looked evenly matched against the demon with nothing but his sword.
There’s no place for us to intervene.
If they stepped in, they would only get in the way.
Then the demon’s gaze shifted toward them.
“Can you dodge this?!”
Fire gathered in the air again.
Kyle clicked his tongue. Risky or not, beheading her was the fastest option.
“Move!”
“Too late!”
Just as the fireball launched—
Thunder tore through the sky.
A blinding bolt struck the ground, turning the forest white.
Kyle instinctively raised his arm to shield his eyes.
“Ahhh!”
“What was that?!”
The light vanished.
Silence followed.
The demon was gone.
Only black ash remained.
Kyle felt a chill.
There was only one person capable of this.
***
Two minutes earlier—
Bang!
Winter burst into the altar hall.
Her footsteps echoed as she rushed forward and knelt before the statue of the god holding a bronze scale.
“God.”
Winter did not believe in God.
She could not believe in the being who had cast her into such cruel fate.
“Your child humbly begs.”
But she knew very well how to use the authority granted to her as the Saintess.
“Lend me Your eyes and power.”
Two facts told her this was no ordinary situation.
First, a demon had breached her great sanctuary.
Second, she had scanned the forest with holy power multiple times and found nothing.
Putting the pieces together, she dismissed the possibility that Kyle had cooperated with demons.
If he were truly the future Demon King, he wouldn’t need such trouble. He could have simply killed the girls and then slaughtered her while she was alone.
Whatever the case—
Eliminating the demon in the forest came first.
She closed her eyes.
Instead of darkness, she saw all of Atlans, buried in silence.
Borrowing the all-seeing eyes of God.
White energy flared around her kneeling body.
The more divine authority she borrowed, the deeper she sank into a trance.
Her vision moved beyond the sanctuary—
Into the camellia forest—
To the clash of steel and flame.
As expected, Kyle and a demon stood in combat.
“…Found you.”
A twisted smile touched her lips.
***
“…Something’s off.”
Kyle crushed the black ash under his boot. A foul aura lingered.
“What do you mean?” Chloe asked nervously.
“The corpse didn’t vanish. Demons disappear when they die.”
“Now that you mention it…”
“Then it’s not dead?”
Kyle frowned.
In all his battles, demons were not immortal. Sever the neck, and they disappeared.
Being struck by divine lightning should have erased it completely.
Something was wrong.
“K-Kyle! Look!”
Nina’s voice trembled.
Kyle raised his sword.
From behind the living camellia tree, countless familiars emerged.
Not the rat-like ones from before—
These were skeletal, hollow-eyed apparitions.
“Grrr…”
“…This just got annoying.”
So it wasn’t just the flame demon.
Kyle flicked blood from his blade.
Could he escape while protecting three girls?
Then—
Thunder roared again.
Boom!
White lightning struck.
The sky split apart.
Familiars screamed in agony as they turned to ash.
“…Saintess?” Anne whispered toward the dark sky.
Boom!
Another bolt struck.
Twenty.
Winter counted the familiars she killed.
Seventy-six.
She would not stop until every single one was gone.
The girls covered their ears.
Two hundred thirteen.
The familiars could not even scream.
Kyle stared in disbelief as wave after wave of lightning erased them.
One thousand five hundred thirty.
That was the final count.
Kyle understood.
The reason the Holy Nation had hidden the Saintess’s existence—even during wartime—
Was because even they could not handle this power.
This was not healing light.
This was divine punishment.
Even familiars, though lesser demons, were far stronger than humans.
The forest reeked of burnt air.
“…Has it stopped?” Kyle muttered.
“I think so… which means…”
Anne turned to Nina and Chloe.
“Nina! Chloe! Get up! We need to go to the Saintess now!”
“What? Didn’t you just see that monstrous holy power?” Kyle said. “She can handle demons without us.”
“No.”
Anne’s voice was firm.
“We have to go. Right now.”
Kyle frowned.
“Why?”
Anne’s face was pale.
“Because right now… the Saintess is in danger.”
