Chapter 51: What the Past Says

  10 months ago.

  The woman sat in the throne room, gazing into her magnificent, royal mirror.

  'It seems the effects are indeed wearing off. Exactly as the devil warned...'

  On her uncommonly beautiful face, the first signs of aging had recently appeared.

  Aging, which she was supposed to have definitively conquered two decades ago, proving that nothing in this world lay beyond her reach.

  A shadow of false hope made her stare into the mirror for a few more seconds—as if expecting something to change—before she sighed quietly.

  'I cannot allow this. Not after everything I've achieved.'

  Pushing the mirror aside, she rose thoughtfully to look out the window at her kingdom.

  Something that wasn't even meant to be hers was ultimately a symbol of her great victory.

  In her mind echoed the comments she had once heard among the people and in the newspapers.

  "The incompetent princess won't bring any substance!"

  "The old king's stupidest offspring is to take over the unstable kingdom!"

  "Hard times are ahead of us!"

  She just shook her head at these memories.

  'How much can change in 30 years...'

  Who today would dare say such a thing about the nation's hero? About the splendid torch of humanity who had managed to imprison a powerful devil? About the queen who had the unwavering support of the Empire?

  'Yet all of this can still be forfeited.'

  She knew better than most that a situation calm one day could change dynamically.

  The Empire's power, favorable today, could turn hostile tomorrow. The economy, making citizens dependent on the state's power and crushing every sign of rebellion, could soon collapse under planning errors and require liberalization.

  She knew she had to act and could not allow herself to become disposable again. To be without a position again. To again be just an option, and not the most necessary one.

  She turned away from the window, where she saw a city too weak to ever rebel against her, and made a difficult decision.

  'If one devil isn't enough to keep my beauty alive... perhaps two are needed.'

  Diana Le Ecarlate VII, the Eternally Beautiful Queen, then directed her steps to the residence of her most trusted advisor.

  Knowledge regarding the summoning of a devil was almost common knowledge in the corrupt church.

  There was no need for secrets from mysterious papal libraries, filled with blackmail on temporal adversaries instead of theological revelations.

  Access to any bishop would suffice. His notes described the necessary ritual with more than enough precision.

  "Time to see where this path leads."

  Soon, the candlelight in the room dimmed and it became difficult to breathe. The silence hanging in the air grew increasingly unnatural.

  On the floor, extending far beyond the circle drawn by the chalk-drawn shapes, appeared an enormous shadow from which a terrible energy emanated.

  "What do you want, worm?"

  The low, sinister voice of the summoned being resounded, laced with impatience and hunger. Above all, an immense hunger.

  Diana's eyes widened as she felt the aura of menace flowing from the demon. An aura completely different from the naive fool who had courted her 20 years ago.

  It took her a moment to master her fear, but she finally presented her wish.

  "I want to live forever in beautiful youth."

  The tone that echoed in the room betrayed a bit too much how great this desire was.

  Silence answered her for a moment, after which the summoned being burst into derisive, mocking laughter.

  "Who doesn't? I fear, however, that not even concepts as powerful as the Lord of Hell, or even the Great Order, are eternal."

  Diana hesitated for a moment, but mere mockery wasn't enough to stop her.

  "What about the immortals? I know that in hell, they are also the foundation of your societies."

  These mystical, energy-absorbing warriors were well known to her. After all, even in the human world, armies were composed of them, and tales of warriors living for thousands of years formed the basis of cultures and nations.

  The demon pondered for a moment, then yawned.

  "Immortals have as much in common with eternity as the average fox has with wisdom. Some peasant heard some nonsense once, and then entire legions began repeating it after him."

  "Nevertheless, I would like to try."

  Silence filled the room. For Diana, those few moments of silence felt like an eternity.

  "Even if I could help you, what would I get out of it?"

  The being still did not seem interested.

  The Queen was surprised by the negotiations with this being, who seemed very different from the imprisoned Ignatius. However, this did not go beyond the scenarios she had prepared for.

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  "And what do you want?"

  The demon laughed lightly. With a certain derision in its voice, it began to speak.

  "I want something that will satisfy my immense hunger. Something that is beyond the actual abilities of vermin like you to provide. I crave a being that possesses enough power to ensure that both my might and my hunger are sated, if only for a week. Regardless of whether it's a stray angel, a wounded devil, or a strangely powerful human. For that, I would be able to give you the greatest of my gifts on the path to immortality and even offer you cooperation. Without it, however, you are nothing to me, so you'd best break this ritual before I get angry," it said in a long monologue.

  It was evidently already impatient and didn't want to drag out the unnecessary performance any longer. In Diana's eye, however, a strange glint appeared as she listened to these demands.

  Shortly thereafter, a smile crept onto her lips, indicating she had something to offer for the bargain.

  After the meeting, the Eternally Beautiful Queen was certain.

  In this world, if there is a will, there is always a way to survive. She saw the demon's shock when she mentioned the name of the devil she kept chained in the tomb.

  'Even if he said he had to think about it... his answer will definitely be positive.'

  Diana had operated in the world of intrigue for so many years that she had long since learned to interpret various behaviors and emotions.

  She knew how to use someone's desires against them, how to manipulate them for her own ends.

  'And devils, in this respect, are surprisingly human.'

  Sitting on her throne, which she had taken after her tragically deceased father and siblings, a thought struck her.

  'I wonder how they would react if they saw what I intend to do.'

  She could clearly imagine her father, who would look at her in terror. Her stupid, good-natured father, who believed he should fight the Empire and that his children would not fall out when it came to dividing the inheritance.

  'Even my naive brothers and sisters...'

  To this day, she remembered how they looked at her with a certain condescension, how they never expected that it would be she who would lead them all to their deaths and stab them in the back, becoming the sole heiress to the throne.

  How they saw nothing in her but a pretty face.

  'If only they knew that this pretty face is worth far more in our world than all their ridiculous, immeasurable values...'

  She smiled, shaking her head.

  She could not lose her beauty, but this was only the beginning. This was her minimum plan and her insurance policy.

  Now, after summoning the demon, she was certain—soon she would receive a chance to obtain true strength.

  'Strength that will tolerate no compromises and in its directness will be as beautiful as I am.'

  To this thought, she drank a glass of red, bitter wine.

  The church bells caused her deliberations to turn in another direction for a moment.

  She imagined the families now going to church, the people in their homes saying prayers, the children fearing punishment if they strayed beyond the framework established by the Great Order.

  Embracing all this in her imagination, she smiled slightly, and then laughed at how absurd the situation was.

  'This world was created for people like me.'

  Just as she had wondered earlier about her former family's reaction, she now again felt superior.

  Superior to all those who were cowardly enough to believe in fairy tales about the Great Order and never dared to cast off the binding yokes of morality.

  With this wonderful thought, she went to sleep.

  Soon, she received a message from Greedius.

  As she had expected, he agreed to the proposed terms and committed to giving her a chance to become immortal.

  Although he tried to sound unenthusiastic, she knew better. She had been in palace politics for too long for someone like him to deceive her.

  'If I had wanted him to shower my kingdom with gold, I would probably be the richest person in the world tomorrow...'

  His enthusiasm even made her wonder if she wasn't accidentally getting the short end of the proposed deal.

  Confirmation, however, was impossible. The bishops of her kingdom's church were useless in this matter and knew neither who Ignatius was, nor this Greedius.

  'Perhaps he's trying to cheat me?'

  The direct manner of solving the problem proposed by the devil was very troublesome for her. One miscalculated move and everything would end in disaster.

  Then she would lose her hard-won kingdom.

  'Getting rid of the imprisoned simpleton cannot be a simple break-in, an escape, or even the destruction of the tomb... If anything goes wrong, I must maintain my reputation.'

  Although Diana puzzled over this problem, she remained calm. The most difficult part of the plan—securing a new source of youth—had already been achieved. Now she just had to create a story that, regardless of the outcome, would be her victory.

  She decided it was a good time to let her mind rest.

  So she rose slowly to look out the window. In the distance, beyond her city, green forests and meadows were visible, which brought a delicate smile to her face.

  Unlike the dirty, wooden districts surrounding her beautiful, marble castle, they always filled her heart with a pleasant feeling.

  'The residential district is especially awful, with the poor breeding like worms...'

  Gazing into the distance, she commanded her mind not to think about it. The sight was so repulsive, however, that she narrowed her eyes.

  If only something could be done about it...

  Soon, the seed of a budding idea glinted in her eyes.

  It wasn't long before she and Greedius finally developed the concept of a false attack on the city.

  The palace would be cut off by fire, terrorists would inflict terrible losses on the city, and finally, they would free the devil. They would do all this, leaving behind the horrifying symbols of three eyeballs.

  Their bodies, disguised as cultists and left in the tomb's numerous traps, would serve as permanent evidence of this mysterious cult's revelation to the world.

  'We also need to paralyze the city guard, so they don't accidentally display a rare flash of competence...' the Queen stroked her hair. 'It seems, however, that Greedius has some proven method for that.'

  And so the plan was approved, and all that remained was to wait for the right moment. It came when the devil appeared in the kingdom, declaring they had to act quickly.

  "The infernal dimension already knows that Ignatius is here. If we don't take care of this now, someone else might free him," he said, angry at the foolish turns of fate.

  Soon, they set the date for the attack.

  When the fateful day arrived, everything went according to plan from the beginning.

  Hellish grain was fed to city guards and their horses as well.

  Cathedral was already burning.

  The Queen was in the palace cut off by the fire, and was giving the guard orders to break through. While her devoted men died in agony from the devil's infernal flame, she was sipping wine in the privacy of her throne room.

  Greedius was nearby, hidden in the shadows and ready to react if anything were to get out of control.

  That happened soon after.

  "Some human has appeared in Ignatius's chamber!"

  Diana didn't even notice the moment he disappeared from her sight.

  With furrowed brows, she awaited further news. She was so close to the power she desired that she no longer considered anything other than total victory.

  Her pact-mate soon appeared, tossing three unconscious people aside. One was burned so badly it didn't even have eyes.

  The Queen recognized this as the effect of the gas that also worked on devils and was her insurance policy.

  "Damned bandits. When they spotted the traps, they started disarming them at the cost of others!"

  Greedius explained, furious.

  Despite his best efforts, due to the gas he had appeared too late, and his old friend, along with the man who had freed him, disappeared into a hellish portal.

  "DAMN IT!"

  He shouted, inconsolable that his prey had slipped from his grasp.

  It was obvious for Diana that he began calculating what loose ends he needed to tie up.

  Despite the fear the queen felt, however, he decided not to get rid of her. Instead, he offered her and the two remaining bandits his gift—giving them power and turning them into devils.

  A gift whose consequences and limitations she would only feel in the future.

  As for the burned man, whom the poison gas had scorched so badly it almost killed him, he sold him to Eusebius.

  Justinian, searching through Belisara's memories, saw all of this and much, much more.

  He saw the way she had gotten rid of her family.

  He saw how she had been ready to kill him in his sleep during their first meeting.

  He also saw what she had done to Aldona.

  The weight of these memories was so great that he took a step back, pushing the terrified demoness away from him.

  His face first turned pale, and then... it twisted into a terrible grimace full of a fury that consumed his entire being!

  For now, he finally knew who was responsible for the evil that had ravaged his life and taken his family.