At the same time, deep within a cave.

The Pope and Melodia, who had left for the ‘Path of Light,’ were walking through the dark cave, relying on a small light. In the deep and profound darkness, the path they walked, relying on the faint light flowing from a distance, was in itself a penance.

The Pope complained while looking at his worn-out shoes, but Melodia walked calmly. Her footsteps were delicate.

During that silent walk without much conversation, Melodia suddenly exclaimed, “Ah!” and laughed brightly.

“It seems the blue bird has arrived,” the Pope said in a low voice.

“The messenger bird sent to the Crown Prince?”

“Yes.”

“…I’m worried that the Crown Prince may have forgotten you. He is essential to our plans, and I wonder if he has wasted too much time exploring the ‘Path of Light.'”

In the dark cave, only Melodia’s eyes were gently shining.

“That’s not possible. The Crown Prince will never forget. I am destined to him.”

“Ah…”

As the Pope rolled his confused eyes, Melodia replied cheerfully.

“Never give up, Your Holiness. We must perfect ‘it’ while we’re alive.”

“…Yes, this is an opportunity to return the destiny that God marked.”

The wheels of fate should not turn backward.

As the Pope and Melodia looked at each other and then averted their gazes, their faces, devoid of any hint of a smile, seemed like corpses.

They walked in silence for a long time.

Melodia whispered to herself as if making an oath, “We must not miss the destiny of victory. We have found all the ways, haven’t we?”

She smiled, pulling up the corners of her mouth, showing the jewel in her hand. The light was gradually getting closer.

Although it still looked very far, and their backs were laden with burdens, they would have to go for another month…

“Now that we can finally leave the demon realm, please smile.”

The Pope, trying to gauge the remaining time, simply nodded.

As the Holy Maiden, a being like Melodia’s doppelgänger and a messenger bird, the blue bird, could leave through the succession, they would soon be able to leave this place.

They had to believe that.

“We will surely conquer Mirmode. Now we have a heart to make ‘it’ even more perfect, don’t we?”

“…Yes.”

The Pope, physiologically frowning, glanced at the bright red garnet-like heart in Melodia’s hand. Melodia smiled gently.

“Yes, a Holy Maiden with the heart of a devil.”

She washed her face with the scarce water.

“…To make ‘it’ perfect, I left on the ‘Path of Light’ to get the heart of a devil, but no matter how I think about it, just seeing that heart is unpleasant.”

“Is that so? I… feel very excited at the thought of correcting fate with this heart.”

The mention of ‘correcting fate’ made the Pope flinch. He lowered his eyes and then raised them again, responding calmly.

“Yes, let’s go and correct our fate.”

After all, they were on the same boat.

For them, there was the ‘human’ being supported by the devil’s heart and Melodia, who was bringing him along, and the treasure deeply buried beneath the temple.

Because of all this, Mirmode would be defeated.

And Melodia’s ‘destiny’ was sure to win. Since their god had marked it so.

Sebastian Duke and the Mirmode family occasionally interacted openly, but they were also continuing internal interactions. Especially, Sebastian Duke often visited Mirmode directly to grasp the situation.

This time was no exception. He was dark in understanding external affairs, and Matthias Mirmode was a valuable source to enlighten his obscure political instincts.

Thus, five years had passed.
Matthias consistently supported him, cultivating his political instincts as partners. However, this time, even Matthias felt as if he were walking through fog.

“Are there still no updates from the Pope and the Holy Maiden?”

“As there is no movement in the temple, we can only assume there are no updates.”

It was time for the Pope and the Holy Maiden to return, but there was no movement in the temple. The priests were moving as usual.

“So, what was the plan for this time?”

Matthias tilted his head sideways, looking at his friend.

Over the past five years, Sebastian Duke, who had received lectures from Matthias, acknowledged that the learning was not in vain.

“We need to capture the situation properly. The Pope and the Holy Maiden are cunning and sly like snakes, able to hide their intentions. But Prince Baal is different.”

“Exactly.”

Matthias handed the documents he had placed on the table to Sebastian.

“Start by checking these documents.”

As Sebastian, the Duke, reviewed the documents, he furrowed his brows. As he flipped through each page, his expression gradually became more ambiguous.

“Matthias, the prince will undoubtedly try to extend his political life. But why…”

“It seems strange to you too.”

“…Yes. Why recruit children? Useless children for any purpose.”

“Children with divine power and no background… Is he trying to raise them as priests?”

“It makes sense, but it feels suspicious somehow.”

They looked at each other, lost in thought.