Shaperia could not hide her bewilderment. Everything was happening far too suddenly. The round table beneath her had dropped without warning and was plunging deeper underground.

Its rim scraped against the walls with a dull roar.

GRRRRIND!

Stone fragments flew in every direction. Violent tremors battered her entire body. Shaperia crouched low, gripping the table's handholds tightly. Her face was rigid with tension and fear. She cried out urgently.

"My lord!"

Yohan looked utterly calm.

"We'll arrive soon. Bear with it a little longer."

He seemed accustomed to this. Shaperia could not help resenting him a little.

"N-next time, please give me some warning!"

Had she known about the fall, she would not have made such a spectacle of herself.

"Then here's your warning. Brace for impact."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a tremendous jolt struck her entire body. The noise battered her ears, and a cloud of dust billowed up. The round table had hit the ground. They had reached their destination.

Shaperia panted, shooting Yohan a reproachful look.

"... I really thought I was going to die."

"One moment, Sir Shaperia."

Something was odd about Yohan's expression. His face, so calm a moment ago, had grown strangely stiff.

"What's wrong?"

Yohan did not answer. Shaperia immediately followed his gaze. Ahead lay impenetrable darkness, without a single point of light.

Yohan spoke in a low voice.

"It seems something has gone wrong."

At that moment, two crimson lights flashed in the distance. Red as human blood, their glow resembled a Demon's gaze. It held the power to freeze a person in place. Wariness crept over Shaperia's face.

"... Wh-what is that?"

Surely there wasn't a Demon living beneath the lord's castle? On her first visit to the forbidden library, Shaperia was thoroughly confused.

Yohan spoke tensely.

"I believe it's His Highness. Almost certainly."

Shaperia's pupils widened. She stared intently at the red lights.

"You mean His Highness the Third Prince?"

"Yes. The encroachment seems to have progressed faster than I expected."

Third Prince Gawain had become a Demon. Shaperia was profoundly shocked, but she did not stand there helplessly. She immediately drew the sword at her waist.

"Put away that shoddy blade, Shaperia. I have no business with you."

The voice came from ahead. Chilling yet somehow calm, it gave Shaperia an odd sense of familiarity. She stammered.

"Y-Your Highness! Is that you, Third Prince?!"

The distant red glow blinked once.

"Yes. We meet again."

Somehow, the voice sounded a little closer. Shaperia took an involuntary step back.

"Are you all right? I heard you were afflicted by a Demon's curse."

The red lights blinked again, growing slightly larger. An eerie laugh reached her.

"A curse? A curse, you say? Shaperia, it seems that wicked man has deceived you too."

A biting chill seeped into Shaperia's skin. She swallowed hard.

"A wicked man? What do you—"

The red lights blinked once more. A pitch-black silhouette began to emerge. The distance between Shaperia and the lights had unmistakably shrunk.

"The man standing beside you."

Shaperia tightened her grip on her sword.

"... Your Highness, please come no closer."

The crimson eyes abruptly vanished. Shaperia quickly scanned her surroundings, but could sense no presence anywhere.

Yohan spoke in a hushed voice.

"Sir Shaperia, run straight ahead on my signal. As fast as you can."

Shaperia nodded. At that very moment, she felt an unpleasant touch on her shoulder. A pitch-black hand stroked down it. An icy voice spoke right beside her ear.

"As I said, I have no business with you. So turn back."

Terror spread across Shaperia's face. Yohan shouted.

"Now!"

He snatched her wrist and broke into a run, sprinting toward the forbidden library with her at full speed. A burst of laughter erupted behind them.

"How do you intend to escape? From me, of all people?"

Shaperia shouted as they ran.

"Sir Yohan! Do you have a plan?!"

Yohan bit his lip before answering.

"Even if I don't, we must find one! We cannot let His Highness loose on the world in that state!"

When a human fell and became a Demon, the strength they gained was proportional to their original power. Gawain had already been a transcendent being. His fall had brought about a terrible calamity. The moment he appeared aboveground, the world might truly come to an end.

Shaperia knew that all too well. She spoke urgently.

"I'll do anything I can! Just tell me what to do!"

Yohan swiftly looked all around him. Stifling a groan, he said,

"It's too dark! I can't find any useful holy relics!"

"Give me a moment!"

Shaperia took a small orb from inside her clothes and tossed it overhead. A burst of pure white light erupted in the air, illuminating the interior.

"Well done, Sir Shaperia!"

Shaperia's eyes went wide.

"Wh-what is all—"

The forbidden library spread out before her. All manner of holy relics and treasures stood in neat rows, every one of them beyond price. It truly was the continent's treasure vault. Not even the Empire or the Holy Kingdom would have a place like this.

Every artifact inside shed a brilliant light. To have smothered all that radiance in darkness—just how immense was Gawain's malice now that he had become a Demon? Shaperia could only stare in horror.

As she stood speechless for any number of reasons, Yohan shouted.

"There's no time to marvel! Find a holy relic we can use right now!"

Shaperia immediately came to her senses and looked quickly around. She could only despair. Without the ability to wield holy power, there was no way to use the relics—and she had lost all of hers.

"M-my lord, I can't activate any holy relics!"

Yohan clicked his tongue.

"Neither can I!"

He had yet to learn how to wield holy power. Despite the countless holy relics before him, he could not use a single one. They were all utterly out of reach.

A chilling laugh echoed.

"What an utterly useless pair. You're so pathetic it hurts to watch."

Yohan and Shaperia looked back. Gawain, consumed by malice, was snickering. Apart from a slight darkening of his short purple hair and pale skin, he still looked much like a human.

He advanced slowly toward Yohan, all manner of restraints dangling from his body.

Yohan suppressed a groan.

"Sir Shaperia, we don't have much time."

Sooner or later, Gawain would shake off all those shackles. That moment would spell Yohan's death. He had to subdue Gawain as quickly as possible.

Shaperia looked around desperately. Still, there were no holy relics she could use. Her entire body trembled.

"... I'm sorry. I'm so useless."

Yohan shook his head.

"Don't give up. There must be a way."

He kept thinking, refusing to despair. Shaperia did not lose heart either.

"I don't intend to give in either!"

Deep in thought, Yohan suddenly spoke.

"The Radiant Covenant!"

The Radiant Covenant was a pentagram seal made from the Great Saint's holy blood. Embedding that holy relic in one's forehead allowed one to borrow the Great Saint's holy power, however briefly.

Shaperia's voice filled with hope.

"There's a Radiant Covenant here?!"

"I'll fetch it. Wait a moment."

Yohan immediately headed off. When he returned a short while later, he held a deep blue pentagram seal. Shaperia brightened and held out her hand.

"Give it to me, my lord."

Yohan shook his head.

"No. I will use it."

Shaperia's expression stiffened slightly.

"... Don't you know? You'll die, my lord. From its side effects."

The Radiant Covenant burned the user's soul, converting it into the Great Saint's holy power. The moment one embedded it in one's forehead, one began to die.

Yohan answered calmly.

"Of course I know. But I must be the one to do it."

"Why?!"

"As the Watcher of the Abyss, I must take responsibility for every demonic incident in the south. Even if it costs me my life."

Shaperia cried desperately,

"No! Think of the greater good! You're destined for greater things, my lord! If you die here, how could I ever face the Great Saint? Give it to me, quickly! I can no longer serve the Great Saint anyway!"

Yohan shook his head.

"You are the Great Saint's favored child. One day, you will regain your power and protect humanity. Please keep yourself safe until then."

Gawain snickered.

"What a touching scene. It brings tears to the eyes. Most entertaining."

Shaperia ground her teeth. She suddenly lunged at Yohan to snatch away the Radiant Covenant. But he was faster. He had already embedded the pentagram in his forehead.

Shaperia's eyes shook.

"... S-Sir Yohan."

Yohan slowly rose into the air. His eyes shone brilliantly, and pure white holy fire blazed all over his body. Shaperia could not tear her gaze from him. He looked like the Great Saint incarnate.

His voice rang out, deep and majestic.

"Sir Shaperia, consecrate your blade."

Consecration allowed sacred soldiers who could not wield holy energy to borrow the power of priests or holy knights to fight.

Holy power of exceptional purity burst from within Yohan, bathing everything in white. Shaperia gripped her sword tightly.

"... Sir Yohan, I will remember your name."

Brilliant light suffused her blade. Amid the white blaze of holy fire, she leveled her sword at Gawain. He stepped back.

"Shaperia, you're being deceived. By that wicked bastard."

Shaperia charged at him, shouting,

"Do not dishonor Sir Yohan! He tried to save you to the very end!"

As she swung her sword, a stifled laugh came from the lofty ceiling. A sweet, clear voice followed.

"She really is so easy to manipulate."

Yohan looked up at the ceiling and frowned.