Free Web NovelAlthough Vieya did not believe in any god, she could not help but pause in awe each time she «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» stepped into this grand cathedral.
Twelve towering, elegant round pillars and countless slender arch columns supported the weight of the entire structure. Inside, forty-two small chapels were held by tilted columns, their planes forming a complex series of wavelike lines.
At this moment, the vast cathedral held no one but Vieya.
Under the gaze of the two rows of apostle statues, she walked unhurriedly along the crimson velvet carpet stretching endlessly ahead beneath her feet.
Even the black cat had quieted down, tail lowered, following closely behind her.
“It’s so quiet here...” Vieya murmured as she walked. It was still Sunday—normally, even if it was not crowded, there should not be no one here.
“Meow, there are biscuits over there, they smell so good...” the black cat whispered.
“Don’t even think about it. Those are the holy water and communion wafers prepared by the priests for the Mass. If a pure-blooded monster like you actually ate them, you’d be lucky to survive with just a layer of skin peeled off.”
Vieya spoke casually. “Looks like today’s Mass was canceled... But that’s fine—better no one’s here when I speak with those two Demon Kings.”
“This church feels creepy. Those stone statues’ eyes look like they’re staring right at us... meow...” the black cat said timidly.
“Guilty conscience,” Vieya muttered and quickened her pace.
The statue of the God of Light stood tall at the end of the red carpet. Sunlight streamed down from the painted ceiling above, spilling over the divine figure’s body.
Before the statue stood an offering table, and on it were two palm-sized cages cast entirely from holy silver.
“So those are the Demon Kings... meow...”
Seeing Vieya stop before the offering table, the black cat clung tightly to her ankle with its front paws, its fluffy tail sweeping against her thigh again and again. freeωebnovēl.c૦m
She was inexplicably nervous.
For all her years alive, this was the first time she had ever stood so brazenly at the very center of a cathedral—before a god’s image, no less.
Demon Kings were terrifying, but the gaze of a statue’s eyes was even worse.
For a moment, she actually admired the slime girl—sauntering into cathedrals as casually as if walking into her own home.
Tap, tap, tap!
Vieya raised a hand and knocked lightly on the table, making some noise, but the two small creatures inside the cages remained motionless, like corpses.
If they had been ordinary small animals, starving for this long would have already killed them—but these were Demon Kings, beings of monstrous vitality.
If not for being confined under divine sight, with their regenerative powers, they might have already broken through the holy-silver cages two days ago and escaped.
“Wake up. I have something to say to you.” Vieya’s voice was calm.
“Meow? Mistress, they’re ignoring you,” said the black cat.
“Then there’s no helping it.”
Vieya sighed, went to another table, and picked up a large bottle of holy water and a pouch of communion wafers, then returned before the cages.
She took a bite of a wafer, then a sip of holy water, as though replenishing strength—or perhaps simply snacking.
“Meow?”
The black cat stared blankly at the white-haired girl stuffing herself. Wait—didn’t she just say this stuff was deadly?
“You weren’t lying, right... that really is holy water? Meow?”
Vieya took another gulp and didn’t answer. Instead, she stood on tiptoe and lifted down the cage containing the bat.
Splash!
She poured the holy water directly over it.
In the next second, the bat—previously limp and still—jerked like it had been electrocuted, thrashing wildly in the cramped cage as it shrieked,
“You damn white-haired brat! How dare you pour that filthy stuff on me! I’ll suck every drop of blood from your body a thousand times over!”
Sizzle!
Hiss—!
White smoke rose as the bat let out a miserable scream.
The black cat trembled all over, terrified.
Vieya calmly took another sip of holy water. In her bright green eyes glimmered faint amusement—this move was called kill the bat to scare the cat.
Once they left the convent, she was sure this fat cat would tuck its tail and behave for a while.
Besides, the holy water here wasn’t pure enough.
It tingled on her tongue, fizzy and numbing—almost like drinking carbonated water.
Vieya shook the small cage vigorously, jolting the bat out of its faint once more.
“Gwah—you vicious white-haired thing! I treated you so well at my castle—fed you, housed you—yet you destroyed it, killed my subordinates, and now torment me endlessly! You’re no better than a demon yourself!” the bat shouted furiously.
“Hmph. You were the ones who provoked me first. If this were the old me, I would’ve sealed you both by the spring and kept killing you over and over until your brains went numb,” Vieya said, her gaze as sharp as blades fixed upon the bat. “But this time I didn’t come for revenge. I came to give you a choice—a chance to live.”
“Not going to kill us?” The bat fell silent.
Vieya nodded.
For Demon Kings, death itself wasn’t frightening.
When driven to despair, they would rather self-destruct—lose levels or precious relics—only to return one day, lying in wait to exact vengeance upon humanity.
“I keep my word,” Vieya said. “I swear it upon the name of the Holy Sword and before the God of Light.”
“Truly?”
“Truly.”
“Then what do you want us to do?” The bat studied the white-haired girl carefully. “Or rather—what is it you want from us?”
“I want all of you,” Vieya said bluntly. Her emerald eyes were calm as still water. “From now on, you will forever be my slaves.”
“Heh. You’d take us as slaves? Aren’t you afraid we’ll join forces and stab you in the back?”
Vieya replied evenly, “I need you to willingly hand over a portion of your authority to me—not much. Forty percent will do. As for betrayal, do as you please. If I die by your hands, that only proves my own weakness.”
“Heh, forty percent—you’re really asking for a lot,” the bat sneered. “You may be strong, but what makes you think you can even contain both our powers at once?”
“Whether I can or not is my problem. As long as you give it up, I’ll release you immediately,” Vieya said calmly. “Or you can refuse—and I’ll kill you now, then hunt you down again after you resurrect, and keep killing you until your level drops to zero and some other monster seizes your crown as Demon King.”
“Hahahaha!”
The bat suddenly burst into laughter. Just as the black cat thought it had gone insane from being pressured, the laughter cut off abruptly. The bat’s voice lowered.
“I accept. I’ll give you forty percent of my authority. I only hope you won’t regret today’s choice.”
“A well-considered decision.” Vieya smiled faintly—her expression radiant and lovely.
Elizabeth sneered, “Heh, let’s hope when the day comes we turn on you, you can still smile like that.”
“Is that so? Then I hope your dream comes true soon.”
Vieya didn’t care. Cheap threats like that were nothing more than the weak venting their helplessness.
Then, repeating the same trick, she turned to the other cage—where the spider lay—and began waking it up in the same way.
