As the morning prayer bells pierced through the stained-glass windows, the first ray of sunlight, like a golden-red curtain, swept across the cathedral's altar, scattering dazzling and brilliant points of light on the Damascus-patterned ceremonial sword.
Mil originally thought that 8 AM was already unbeatable.
Who knew that after arriving in this world, he learned there was something called prayer, which required waking up at 5:30 AM and clocking in at the church by 6:30 AM.
It was truly quite a life.
And when he thought that this kind of life would last forever…
Hmm, becoming the Demon Lord was absolutely necessary.
On the second day of becoming a Cardinal Deacon, before 6 AM, Mil was dragged out of bed by Alice and taken to the church.
He sat on the long bench, half-lidded, living as if dead…
Actually, as an excellent dropout of the Heinrich Seminary, Mil originally couldn't enter the church or become a priest.
But three years ago, when Mil received his dropout notice and was about to pack his bags and leave this godforsaken Holy City…
Alice arrived; her identity was revealed by “Sibyl’s Golden Prophecy,” and she became the Saintess.
And Mil, as the Saintess's attendant, was kept in the Holy City to look after his younger sister, serving as her personal assistant.
However, there was someone even more despairing than Mil: Teacher Klama, the previously healthy Tribunal adjudicator, who had sworn to God that if Mil entered the church, he would suffer from constipation, difficulty urinating, premature ejaculation, and insomnia.
It turned out he was a man of his word…
As the first Saintess to appear after a thousand years, Alice had a great reputation but little power;
Relatively speaking, Mil’s work was also quite relaxed, and Alice was very proactive in helping Mil with tasks that could be completed in 20 minutes.
So much so that later on, Alice went to the Pope’s Hall by herself, and Mil would just laze around at home in the mornings, doing nothing all day.
“Mil, from today onwards, you need to be at the Tribunal at 5 AM every morning to help prepare for prayer-related work.”
The nun said this while beginning to introduce Mil to his duties: lighting candles, setting up censers, and preparing holy oil.
White Magic Miss, who had slept for over a month, also encouraged him from the side:
“Mil, cheer up! Prayer is about to begin, prepare a little more, and you won’t be sleepy once you start moving! You are the great hero of the Holy City!”
Mil felt even more depressed; he had to quickly find a way to rescue his people…
The nun, who did auxiliary work in the Scriptorium, continued:
“In addition, after you become a Cardinal Deacon, your monthly salary will increase by three thousand Thalers on top of the original amount.”
Sure enough, as soon as salary increase was mentioned, he felt that these annoying matters could be endured a little longer, but Mil always felt something was off.
He thought carefully, then suddenly frowned:
“Wait… salary? What salary? I’ve been the Saintess’s attendant for three years, and you’ve never given me a single penny!”
“That’s impossible! Eight thousand in salary was allocated to you every month, and at the end of the month when salaries were issued, Lady Alice signed for it.”
Mil, who was indignant a second ago, suddenly fell silent, then abruptly stood up and walked quickly towards the Saintess’s Hall…
“Alice—!”
…
After a busy morning, Mil finally managed to sneak away.
He visited all the Demon Clan strongholds that were previously lurking in the Holy City…
Without exception, all of them had been wiped out by the Holy Knights, and Mil's contact with other Demon Clan members was completely severed.
Except for the Demon Lord’s daughter…
There was no other way; for now, he could only go see the two high-ranking Undead who were imprisoned.
Everyone else who participated in the Lectures had been imprisoned in the lake-bottom prison next to the Lectures;
Only the Skeleton Knight and the Blood Clan Princess were escorted back to the Holy City and imprisoned in Seraphim Fortress.
The church probably wouldn't touch them for a while, as they still needed them as hostages to negotiate with the advancing Undead.
Seraphim Fortress, standing alone on the edge of the Holy City, was specifically for imprisoning heretics; screams often emanated from it, and almost no one lived nearby.
The Holy City, which had existed for a thousand years, possessed both mystery and sanctity; it was sunny in the morning, and by afternoon, a sudden downpour had ceased;
It was another rainy summer.
On both sides of the road were Gothic buildings, their gray walls turned brownish-black by the heavy rain, and occasionally, melodious music could be heard.
A unique medieval solitude and romance, accompanied by the post-rain gloom, permeated the streets.
Mil walked quickly down the street, pondering how to perfect the “Diana’s Fall Plan.”
In the story's background, Diana admired two people the most:
One was her elder brother, the Imperial First Prince, Otto; the other was her teacher, the Chief Royal Magician, Volk.
In her story of fall, a Black Magician sent people to kill her brother, bribed the Tribunal, and framed Diana for the crime;
Then, rumors were spread that she had betrayed her faith, betrayed the Empire…
And then, people around her gave her a demonic potion, causing the Holy Sword to abandon her.
But the Emperor deeply loved Diana and always protected her, firmly believing that she could not be allied with the abyss.
So, the instigator again spread rumors that Diana was born from her mother's affair with the Emperor's brother;
Afterward, it spread like wildfire across the country, her loving mother hanged herself, and the Emperor went completely mad, and after being hypnotized, ordered Diana to be hanged.
And Diana’s teacher, risking his life, broke into prison to rescue her, and just as they were about to successfully escape…
She watched her teacher die right before her eyes.
Fortunately, many in the Royal Knights still supported her, accompanying her all the way to pursue the killer…
Finally, they chased the Black Magician to the foot of his tower, unaware that they had fallen into an ambush;
At the Black Magician’s place, Diana learned the truth: too many people in the noble circle wanted her dead.
Her former comrades fell one after another, Diana fought valiantly, but in the end, she was still overwhelmed…
But just as she was on the verge of death, a shadow appeared before her, throwing a dagger of the abyss contract at her feet.
She plunged the dagger into her heart, nailing her soul within her corpse; the flames of hatred began to burn her soul, and the desire for revenge took over her sanity, thus becoming an Undead monster…
The strongest Death Knight was born.
Mil shivered at the thought, then looked up and saw that a drizzle had started again.
As he pondered the methods he should use, Mil's heart stirred, but his connection with the chaos holy stone quickly calmed his mind;
However, Mil still felt that there was no need to make people so desperate;
It wasn’t out of pity for her, but rather, the more complex the matter, the higher the chance of failure.
Just kill Diana’s brother, frame her, let her pursue the killer, and then set up an ambush…
That should be enough.
Of course, success depends on human effort; to achieve something, one still needs help;
And Mil already had a rough idea of which nobles wanted Diana dead.
The key was to acquire the abyss magic item, the sacred artifact that summons the Death Knight—the Blade of Blasphemy.
Unconsciously, Seraphim Fortress appeared before his eyes…
In front of the majestic and grand fortress was a lush green hillside, surrounded by a deep green moat.
On the training ground within the city walls, Diana was checking information with people from the Tribunal;
The Royal Knights’s adjutant, after dismounting, walked up with a mischievous smile:
“Your Highness, I heard earlier that Princess Lilith is canceling her engagement with the Third Prince and marrying Mil. Is this true?”
“Yes, but Father King didn’t particularly object; perhaps we still need to discuss it for a while. On the other hand, the Lyata Family seems unwilling?”
Diana answered with a serious and earnest expression, but the adjutant seemed unsatisfied, asking with twitching eyebrows:
“Your Highness, you and Mil seem to be childhood sweethearts, aren’t you? Do you have any particular thoughts on this?”
“Me? Hmm… I wish him happiness.”