The Devil Does Not Need to Be Defeated

Chapter 643: The True Mastermind

Imperial Capital, Bigusler Residence, Shien’s Quarters, A Room.

Just as the “sun of death” descended upon the Imperial Capital, a master and servant pair in this room, their expressions changing drastically, left the room.

As the figure wreathed in brilliant flames and dazzling golden light clashed with the “sun of death” in the sky, and the terrifying shockwave swept through the Imperial Capital, a ripple-like barrier appeared outside the Bigusler residence, enveloping the entire mansion.

The shockwave was blocked by this barrier.

Clearly, the master and servant pair who left the room were responsible.

Or rather, Lasha, sensing the shockwave, erected a magic barrier to protect the mansion.

This allowed the Bigusler residence to withstand the terrifying impact, and the little girl with tanned skin, lying on the bed in the room, remained safe and sound.

However, just as the culprit behind the “sun of death” was slain by the Hero, this little girl, who had been unconscious for days, opened her eyes.

Her eyes were calm and unperturbed.

“Is it over?” the girl murmured.

Then, a laugh reached her ears.

“Yes, it’s over. I wonder if you’re satisfied?”

With these words, several figures appeared in the room.

Most were cloaked in black, their faces and auras concealed, yet they exuded a faint but terrifying pressure.

But these people respectfully protected a demon man among them. This seemingly gentle and refined demon man, with no imposing aura, looked at the girl with a smile.

The girl sat up and looked at the demon man.

The demon man bowed politely.

“This should be our first meeting, right?” The demon man said courteously, “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Danas, the Star Apostle of the Original Demon, an Old Demon Faction.”

The girl’s expression remained calm.

“I know you,” she said softly, “Mara and I are connected telepathically. She told me that she cooperated with the Original Demon, an Old Demon Faction, and gained the support of the Star Apostle among the Sun, Moon, and Star Apostles, conspiring with him for some grand undertaking. That’s you, right?”

“Indeed,” Danas nodded with a smile, “The necromancer who was suppressed by Anima, the Goddess of Life, thousands of years ago, cultivated an existence called the Greater Spirit of Death a thousand years ago. The special nature and potential of this existence greatly attracted our Old Demon Faction, which was formed around the same time. We searched for her for nearly a thousand years, and only recently discovered Miss Mara and established a cooperative relationship with her.”

Saying this, Danas chuckled.

“At that time, I thought Miss Mara was the one we had been searching for for a thousand years.”

“It wasn’t until recently that I learned Miss Mara was merely your agent.”

“Am I right?”

“The true possessor of the Greater Spirit of Death, the princess of Erei.”

“Princess Leni Erei.”

Danas’s words made Leni raise an eyebrow.

Only then did Leni look at Danas seriously.

“How did you know that child was my agent?” Leni seemed intrigued.

Danas smiled nonchalantly.

“It’s simple, Princess Leni,” Danas explained, “A Greater Spirit of Death can only be formed with extreme love that turns into extreme hate.”

“Miss Mara does possess extreme hate. Her resentment and hatred towards Heroes sometimes even surprise me.”

“However, she only has hate. I’ve never seen love in her.”

From that moment on, Danas began to doubt whether Mara was truly the possessor of the Greater Spirit of Death.

So, he investigated.

As a result, just like Harvis, Danas discovered Leni’s existence.

From then on, Danas knew that Leni was the true possessor of the Greater Spirit of Death.

“This is strange,” Leni tilted her head, “My Unique Skill, [Colorless and Odorless], can block all prying eyes. Even Nadue, the Goddess of Nature, can’t sense my presence, and Sara, the Moon Demon, can’t see through me. Even that Hero couldn’t discover my true power. It’s truly unbelievable that you were able to find me and even discover my past identity.”

“It was just a reasonable deduction, Your Highness,” Danas shrugged, “I don’t have astonishing strength like you, nor a Unique Skill. I was born without any talent, not favored by the gods or the world. But I’m quite skilled in Bio-Creation Magic. My most painstaking creations, these Magic Fighters who protect me, all possess the [Symbiosis] skill. Therefore, with my suspicions, I naturally wouldn’t miss the fact that Miss Mara also has this skill.”

So, Danas knew that there must be another being behind Mara, not only the true possessor of the Greater Spirit of Death, but also sharing the characteristics and power of the Greater Spirit with Mara through the [Symbiosis] skill.

And [Symbiosis] was a skill that could only be learned by those with a deep life connection, usually twins. Ordinary people couldn’t learn this skill, not even gods or demons.

Coupled with the fact that Mara was from Erei, as long as Danas investigated along this line, he would naturally discover some truths.

For example…

“In the former Erei, there was a famous princess, beloved by the Erei King, who deeply loved Hero Mitra from a thousand years ago,” Danas recounted.

“It is said that the princess survived the disaster of Erei and was taken away by the guilt-ridden Hero.”

“It is said that the princess accompanied the Hero for his entire life, even serving him as a maid, but she never gained his love.”

“The Hero only felt guilt towards her, and he only stayed with her because he was rejected by the Elven Queen and decided to compensate the princess, spending his life with her.”

“But until the very end, the Hero never loved her, even ignoring her pleas when he decided to sacrifice himself and leave his Holy Sword to the Mitra Kingdom.”

“So, the princess gave up, left, and disappeared without a trace, never returning to the Mitra Kingdom.”

Danas looked at the calm Leni.

“Some say she found a place to live in seclusion and spent the rest of her life there.”

“Some say she might have chosen to die with the Hero, ending her life quietly in an unknown place.”

“But I believe that this princess, who admired and deeply loved the Hero since childhood because of his heroic deeds, who even revealed the Demon Race’s plot in Erei to the Hero, indirectly leading to her country’s destruction, and who never received the Hero’s love in return, despite accompanying him for his entire life, giving everything and losing everything, must have harbored unparalleled hatred in her heart.”

This was the extreme hate born from extreme love, the true emotion needed for a Greater Spirit of Death.

Then…

“I heard that there was also a maid who always stayed by the princess’s side,” Danas stared at Leni, as if trying to discern something from her eyes and expression, “Every member of the Erei royal family had such a shadow by their side.”

“They were chosen as the royal family’s shadow warriors after undergoing a special magic ritual baptism, now lost and only practiced in Erei. They would appear on behalf of the royal family when it was inconvenient for them to appear in person, or when they needed to attend dangerous occasions.”

“Therefore, they shared many similarities with the royal family members they served.”

“Some in appearance.”

“Some in physique.”

“Some in strength.”

“Some in magic power.”

“And some even had almost identical life force fluctuations.”

This explained how Mara could learn the [Symbiosis] skill.

Coupled with the fact that Mara secretly sent people to protect Leni and had always been watching her, Danas finally discovered Leni and formed this bold guess.

“Miss Mara is the maid by your side, right?” Danas said with certainty, “After you transformed into a Greater Spirit of Death, she stayed by your side, obtaining your Greater Spirit body through the [Symbiosis] skill, and lived with you for a thousand years.”

Mara’s hatred for Heroes actually stemmed from Leni.

Because of her master’s experience, this maid completely hated Heroes and everything related to them.

As for Leni, she always remained behind the scenes, never appearing in person.

In other words, Leni was the true mastermind hiding in the deepest shadows.

“You want to obtain the Branch of Rejuvenation to compensate for the flaws of the Greater Spirit of Death, right?” Danas said with a sigh, “That self-proclaimed High Priest does have some skills, creating a life form outside the realm of life to bypass its limits, attempting to achieve Transcendence with the Greater Spirit of Death.”

“But she’s just a frog in a well, with talent but no vision, cowardly and powerless. How could she possibly imagine that even if such an existence is created, the world wouldn’t allow it to grow?”

The laws of the world weren’t just for show.

Only living beings had levels. Non-living things didn’t have the concept of levels. This was the rule of the world.

That’s why Leni needed the Branch of Rejuvenation.