148.

Audrey stepped into the basin. The water reached her waist. Ro could see that Audrey was feeling the evil aura of the water throughout her entire body. With a blissful expression, Audrey whispered,

“It’s absolutely perfect…….”

Ro realized that this ritual wine, the altar, and the sacrificial offerings used in the ceremony had been calculated with far greater precision than the brief passages described in Demecaron—knowledge far surpassing anything a human could attain. How obsessive, how long-held must this desire have been?

“Come now, my child. Step in here.”

My child. Audrey was already deluding herself into believing she had become a god. The illusion of an old dream coming true clouded her eyes and turned her away from ominous signs.

“…….”

Then Ro met the Imperial Princess’s gaze. For a fleeting moment, a glimmer of awareness flickered in the Imperial Princess’s pupils, which had previously seemed lifeless and dark. She subtly tilted her head sideways. According to their prearranged signal, it meant the reinforcements were nearly here—just buy a little more time.

“Audrey, or should I say, Scylla.”

Just a little longer. Ro raised her voice cheerfully, pretending to have no ulterior motive. She began asking questions to distract Audrey, while searching inside her sleeve for the small glass vial she had hidden, concealing it in her palm.

“……My patience is not endless. But showing mercy to the pitiful is also a duty of a god. Very well, ask your question.”

“Do you know what happens when a single drop of noble blood is mixed into holy water or the first dew of dawn?”

“What nonsense are you spouting at a time like this…….”

Without waiting any longer, Ro clenched her fist tightly, shattering the tiny glass vial in her hand. Shards pierced into her palm. Instantly, her skin split open and blood began to flow.

“Mix a single drop of noble blood into holy water or the first dew of dawn. Then…….”

Her voice trembled terribly, so it wasn’t a clear or resonant recitation. But Audrey seemed to belatedly catch a vague sense of what was happening. Her eyes widened like lanterns.

“Then you shall face the hidden truth.”

The hidden truth. Ro believed that phrase referred to suppressed nature. Scylla harbored a heart more vicious than anyone, and the potion that revealed the “hidden truth” would expose her true form completely. Ro stretched her wounded hand toward the basin. Clenching her fist, droplets of blood trickled down the creases of her palm and fell. Audrey shrieked as if in agony.

“Stop that wench! Now!”

A piercing scream, the Crown Prince rushing desperately toward Ro, demons and knights struggling to emerge from the basin, the Crown Prince shoving her body down the stairs—Ro couldn’t precisely perceive which event happened first or last. But above all else, her drop of blood had fallen into the basin first.

Just one drop. Yet that single drop altered every spell. The water’s color, previously a deep navy resembling the night sea, turned into a thick gray, reeking of sulfur. It began to bubble and boil violently. Bubbles started to form, growing more numerous and rising higher.

“No, no……! This can’t be, this can’t be happening!”

The bubbles began slowly devouring Audrey. Starting from her elbows, then her chest, jaw, cheek, face……. Her body rotted and decayed, revealing bare bones—an abhorrent sight.

“All my effort, no, no, no……!”

Her long, agonizing scream was soon swallowed by the surging spray. She was dragged beneath the surface like a shipwreck. The voice she emitted was muffled by the water, growing duller and duller until no sound remained. The surface became as still as if no ripple had ever disturbed it.

Was it over? Just like that? Ro staggered to her feet. Her entire body throbbed from being shoved violently down the stairs and tumbling multiple times. Whatever the case, she wanted to rest by now. But the Crown Prince, clearly unable to forgive her, charged toward her like a madman, grabbing her by the throat and lifting her into the air.

“You madwoman! How dare you, how dare you!”

“Huh, huh…….”

“I’ll personally cut off your limbs and throw them to the livestock as feed!”

Ro wasn’t listening to his ranting—her attention was entirely focused on what was happening behind him. The basin began boiling once again. And with a tremendous surge of spray, two sharp tentacles shot out from the water like daggers aimed directly at them. Like the fangs of a predator piercing its prey’s neck, they impaled the Crown Prince’s body.

“Ghk, hgh……!”

The Crown Prince stared wide-eyed, unable to believe what had happened, not comprehending at all what had struck him. He fumbled as he slowly turned his head back. His bloodshot eyes looked grotesque.

“Mo……Mother?”

There was no reply. In the next instant, the two tentacles embedded in the Crown Prince’s body tore open his ribcage and ripped out his heart. Then, as if done with him, flung his corpse aside. Soon, something began to emerge from the basin. Ro bit her lip until it bled.

It. The evil thing. Something that could not even be named in human language. Its upper body resembled a woman, her flesh and bones hanging in tatters, while its lower half was a writhing mass of tentacles like a kraken. Its body was a slimy, corpse-like ash gray, and its rotting flesh emitted a foul stench.

For a moment, it covered its mouth with a tentacle as if chewing, making smacking sounds. Then, lifting its blood-soaked face, it grinned eerily. Using its hands, it gripped the edge of the basin and crawled out.

[Ah, I finally feel alive again.]

According to her words, Diego was her son. And yet, after tearing open and devouring her son’s heart, she showed not a trace of sorrow……. Horror. Pure cruelty. The terror of facing an incomprehensible, unknown entity was unimaginably dreadful.

[Not bad, Priestess.] [Noble blood and dew. I nearly forgot. Yes, that’s right. That spell…….] [Ha! My cunning, vicious sister. Truly worthy of being her priestess.] [Shall I tell you how the priestesses chosen by my sister end? They die, shattered into pieces like waves.]

Curses, and curses again.

[You will die soon. Most wretchedly. In the most hideous form imaginable.] [I only need to wait another twenty years. In the goddess’s time, that’s but a fleeting instant.] [This body won’t be usable much longer, though.]

Scylla endlessly spewed words no one could possibly answer. Terror. Horrifying fear closed in. Ro couldn’t move a hand, a foot, or anything at all. Even sailing a tiny raft through a stormy sea wouldn’t inspire such terror. Gasping, Ro pushed her fallen body backward.

And in that moment, she felt something warm beneath her as she sat on the floor. Instinctively, she reached down and grasped it. It was…… Calypso’s box. Inside the box, which had been empty before, lay a long sword. It was a shamshir—one identical in shape and length to the one she wielded during the Crimson Dawn. Even the cloth wrapped around the hilt was exactly the same.

Calypso. Only Calypso could have orchestrated this. Ro wanted to look around to find where Calypso was, but she knew glancing about would surely draw “that thing’s” attention. Careful to keep the shamshir hidden from Scylla’s sight, Ro tightly gripped its hilt. And in that instant, she felt a warm hand gently rest upon her back.

Calypso, the sea witch who was once a goddess, had placed her hand on Ro’s back. Though invisible, her presence was unmistakable. From that touch, Ro felt a surge of new vitality. Fear vanished, and strength returned to her arms and legs. It was as if she had returned to the body of the “Crimson Dawn.” Now, she could easily swing this shamshir with one hand.

Scylla had already pulled most of her body out of the basin. She was moving slowly on purpose, savoring Ro’s terrified expression. A long, extended tentacle crept up the stairs toward her, one step at a time. Now Ro could almost feel its repulsive breath.

Ro tensed every muscle in her body. Skillfully masking her emotions, she kept a fearful expression—so that it wouldn’t realize she was the prepared hunter. Clenching her lips tightly, she measured the distance. Just a little closer, just a little more……. Each time it growled, her hair fluttered. Just as the bloodthirsty tentacles trembled and reached to crush her neck,

a thunderous sound of marching boots approached. Soon, the banquet hall’s doors were flung open as if they might break. At the forefront stood Cardier. He cried out with a despairing face,

“Leah!”

In that instant, Ro saw a flash of ecstatic triumph in Scylla’s eyes. Leaving her behind, it shot like lightning toward Cardier.