Chapter 80: Chapter: 78

The Emperor widened his eyes in disbelief, unlike his son, he doesn't aware of the fact that his daughter-in-law is the culprit behind the missing Grand counselor all along, it was so much a headache for him to think about the missing Judas, the last time he saw him was at the engagement party.

He tried to swallow the whole shocking facts tonight and taking a long deep breath, even before the engagement he knows that this Belial Princess is doing shady things secretly because of the report given by his spy who worked as the head Butler in the Belial Castle, but he would never know that she is fearless enough to kidnap the Empire's Grand counselor, and a high-class noble Lord at that.

Moreover, the gate used before, is that another blessing? How much power did she possess? He failed to see the limit of Grizel's power.

"Father, I know you might be confused right now but I came tonight because there is no going back after sacrificing him"

Emperor Drake once again sighed and nodded, he finally realized why Grizel come to the Palace in secret, it's for him and Rex, she could have just went to the west and do what she had planned without a warning to convince the spies planted in the Palace, His and Rex's reaction when they heard about the news of Judas's death will be the main point to judge whether the Imperial Family related to the kidnapping or not, if Grizel doesn't come and explain her plans, Rex and the Emperor will give the most natural reaction they could have, but...

She came despite knowing the risk to reveal her plan, it's all because Judas is his worst enemy, she wanted to give them a chance to finish their business.

"Judas, tell me why did you betray me?"

Judas whose hands and feet are tied by magic rope started to laugh at the Emperor like a lunatic.

"The monarch of the strongest nation? Pfft-"

"BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA"

"Don't get carried away with that fake title, Drake..."

"YOU ARE NOTHING BUT MERE ANTS IN FRONT OF THOSE MONSTERS"

Judas said while laughing crazily, he might say it to ridicule the Emperor but Grizel could sense a hint of fear in his voice, it seems like the Westerners are indeed no ordinary people.

"You should live peacefully in the fake happy ending we've planned and get older without knowing anything, that is the only way to survive the storm, hahaha how foolish"

He sneered at the glaring Crown Prince as he stopped his twisted laughter.

"Now you know everything, Azure will perish along with me"

It seems like he was the one who created the fake happy ending in the original novel while the Westerners remain in the shadows.

Rex clenched his fists trembling in both anger and fear, he knows about the fake happy ending Judas mentioned from the piece of Grizel's memory of that suspicious novel.

In that novel, the Crown Prince 'Rex' had been manipulated in his entire life, if Angela didn't possess Grizel's body, he might end up with the same fate as that 'Rex' in the novel, the fake Hero.

Gyuut...

A warm hand wrapped his trembling one, it was Grizel's, the fear vanished as he looks into her reassuring eyes, she always there as his source of strength whenever he needs her, this wonderful woman has become half of his life without his knowledge.

Rex nodded as he turned his head to look at his father who feels the pain of being betrayed by his closest friend rather than fear because he didn't know about the novel.

"Father, I will bear witness to his end with my own eyes"

Rex is determined to follow Grizel to execute this traitor as the sacrifice to start the war.

"I... Will remain here"

Unlike his son, for Drake, Judas was his long life close friend, even though he killed his beloved wife and make his only child lose a mother figure, a part of it was also his fault, he blindly trusted him in the name of friendship.

"Judas..."

Drake called his close friend for the last time with a weak voice, which is shaking both by anger and pain.

"You might not know, but my late wife had always been envious of our friendship"

"..."

A once cherished relationship regardless of the difference in status, the Emperor and his most trusted aide the Grand Counselor who govern the land of Azure side by side, now it became the story of the past.

"Farewell"

It was the end of their friendship, no word of resentment comes from his mouth, Drake really has the heart of a saint, only the sound of his footsteps can be heard as the merciful Emperor turned his back leaving the room.

"Thank you"

Rex whispered to his fiancee feeling grateful for giving his father a chance to finish his lingering attachment to his greatest enemy and friend.

Swoosh...

A black robe came out of Grizel's artifact, the size of it seemed to fit a young boy as she handed it over to the Prince who chooses to follow them to wreck the West.

"Here, wear it if you wish to come with us"

"Alright, let's go to the West"

Grizel said as she gives a sign to Mammon to open the gate.

"Ah Rex, don't you have a poison extracted from a poisonous mushroom to make people laugh uncontrollably for a few hours?"

Rex flinched as he recalled his embarrassing past, it was his favorite prank on Dion when he was young, like how Grizel's memories were shared with Rex, the same goes for his.

"Ahem, well I still have a few bottles left, do you want to prank on someone as well?"

Grizel smirked as she stepped into the gate created by Mammon, the West will be in chaos tonight.

"I'll teach you another level of prank"

-•-

Bam!

A big muscular man kicked a trash can at the back alley, he was the thug who used blackmailing and extortion to the villagers to make money before the Security Orbs were released.

"Damn it, those flies are everywhere"

He almost gets caught today after gathering his courage to extort money from a small merchant in the village.

"I can't make a living by only waiting like this"

When he was about to vent his anger to another trash can, a black gate appears in the air and start getting bigger.

Wooosh...

"W-who are you??!!"

He shrieked as he sees people come out of the gate one after another, except for the young boy at the back who wears a black robe, the rest of them are in black assassin-like attire lead by a mysterious girl, as someone who has become a criminal for his entire life, he can smell the dangerous scent from these people no matter how young they look like.

Swoosh...

With Grizel's quick movement and unwavering expression, she grabbed his bald head and injects her illusion magic.

"Forget everything you've seen tonight and go redeem your sin"

The bald muscular thug nodded, his eyes look empty as if being brainwashed or hypnotized, without a single word he leaves for the guards to surrender himself.

"Please forgive me, My Lord. I should have put an invisible barrier around the gate beforehand"

"Never mind such a trivial thing, it's not your fault"

Levi didn't make any mistake, the appearance of the gate couldn't be hidden unless Levi was there to create the barrier before the gate appeared, but he comes along with the others through the gate, and who would have thought that someone was hiding in here to avoid the guards, moreover, they had chosen the most deserted place within this rural village to open the gate, it's merely that thug's misfortune to meet them.

"Woah, My Lord. How did you know he was a criminal?"

Lucy chirped as she walks following behind Grizel heading to the Western border not far from the back alley they were come from.

"Human is a sinful creature"

With a short answer, Grizel put her hood on and cover her face, this small village doesn't have a lot of people, at night time like this only guards, some drunkards, and thugs can be found on the street, making it easier for them to walk freely.

In less than 5 minutes, they arrived at their destination, there is a wide canal between the village and the border wall of the West region that served as the separator of the two sides where the guards of the Empire and the Rebels patrol.

Sssssttt...

The mist of sleeping gas comes out from Grizel's hand, it was the monster's ability she absorbed at the Forest of Demise, the very same ability she used to put the whole Belial's workers to sleep when Lucy or formerly called Phantom was trying to assassinate her as Baron Goldway's slave assassin.

"Wind"

A huge gust of wind blows as Grizel's command spreading the sleeping gas towards both the Western border and the Imperial guards who are on duty tonight.

Flop! Flop! Flop!

One by one, the guards of both sides fell into a deep slumber leaving the border of this conflict area vulnerable to a certain fearless group.

Grizel and the others walked to the edge of the canal, across this waterways is the gate to enter the West region, because the place is isolated, the bridge to connect both sides has long gone.

Swiishh...

Swiishh...

The blessing of Poseidon in Grizel's possession started to react to their owner's desire to cross the water, suddenly, the water in the canal formed a bridge for Grizel and the other to cross over the waterway, those fools who deemed the elemental blessings to be useless just don't know how to use it, what a shame, isn't it very convenient to have nature on your side everywhere you go?

They climb up the wall of the Western border passing through the sleeping guards and look at the surrounding, there is a small empty area not far from the border.

"It's perfect here"

Grizel murmured to herself, she has found the perfect location to execute their plan, it's within the Western territory but not too far from the border, perfect to frame the rebels while letting the others bear witness of the execution.

"Levi"

Levi nodded in understanding of what he needs to do as he creates a huge invisible and soundproof barrier to cover this area.

"Back off"

As ordered by Grizel, Levi, Lucy, Deus, and Mammon are backing off while pulling the confused Prince since he came without knowing their full plan.

Woooosshh...

Grizel is brought by the wind and floats high, even higher than the border wall which is about 32 feet.

Wooooshh...

In the air, she pulled out a wooden cross from her artifact ring, the size is enormous but the wind managed to keep it afloat, it's around 100 feet in height with the lower part shaped like a drill ready to pierce the ground.

Woooshh woooshh...

Bam!

The wooden cross spin in the air by the whirlwind before it hit and drilled into the ground making a loud sound, fortunately, the surrounding area is covered by the soundproof barrier and the guards are sleeping nicely.

Now, the huge wooden cross is all set, towering higher than the border wall making it visible from all directions once the invisible barrier made by Levi is lifted.

"Mammon, bring the traitor"

Grizel said as she landed on the ground, Mammon hurriedly opened his gate and pulled the unconscious Judas from the other side of it.

Splash!

Cough.

Cough.

"Urgh..."

A ball of water brings back Judas to his consciousness as he woke up coughing while groaning to the pain all over his body.

"Haha, another torture?"

Judas weakly laughed and glanced at his surroundings, in front of him are the mad Prince and the evil woman standing along with her vicious minions.

"Heal"

Grizel used her high-class healing magic to recover Judas's health and vitality, now he is energetically glaring dagger at the one who healed him.

"How about a question before we bid farewell?"

"..."

Judas only keeps throwing a glare at her as his answer, he's not as talkative as when he was with the Emperor.

"Who are those monsters you mentioned before?"

Grizel asked him without bothering his glare, there's a possibility he is talking about Seraphim, it will be good if he knew their identity, though it's most likely impossible for a pawn like him to meet the whole members of such a mysterious group like Seraphim, but if there's a little hope, at least one of them or a little hints of their appearances.

"Ha! Do you think I will put my life and fortune at stake to commit treason without any guarantee?"

Judas finally opened his mouth, he might be greedy but not dumb, and who would agree with such a crazy plan if the success rate is low? Treason is a felony, and the risk of being discovered would be enough to wipe his entire lineage erased from history, the Westerners might have done something to convince Judas to commit treason as an assurance, made him thought the plan isn't an impossible thing to carry, judging how he called them monsters, he might have witnessed a terrifying thing such as a fragment of their real power.

"Aah, make sense!"

Lucy chirped at the sneering Judas, making her gained the hopeless gazes from the others, they are worried this barbaric assassin is leaning way too much to her instinct, her brain seems to be nothing but a decorative tool.

"W-what are those gaz- hhmmpp"

Levi and Deus covered their sister's blabbering mouth, somehow Lucy acted like Athena who couldn't read the mood.

'Tsk tsk tsk, look at this girl, despite being the oldest, she couldn't even read the atmosphere around her'

Athena shamelessly commented on Lucy's insensitivity as if she was perceptive enough to comprehend the other's feelings.

Sigh...

"Why don't you tell me the identity of that guarantor who failed to protect his precious pawn? I'll make sure to take your revenge on him"

Back to the traitor, Grizel provoked him to reveal the one who has been in contact with him, it would be great if he was one of the core members of Seraphim.

"There's no need to provoke me, It's The Pope, go ahead and fight him for me, I'll gladly watch the both of you killing each other hahahaha"

Judas blabbered in lunacy, he seemed aware of his situation which was in no hope of survival, making both Grizel and the temple confront each other is not a bad idea, he will drag them to the abyss of hell even in his death.

The head of Cronus Temple, the young mysterious Pope who is rarely seen in public despite being a public figure, she can't deny how suspicious he is, Judas doesn't seem to tell a lie about it, a small investigation should suffice for now.

She looked at Judas with her icy eyes, there is nothing more to talk about, it's time to bid farewell.

"Any last word?"

The dying traitor is looking deep into the little girl's cold oceanic eyes, his life is ruined because of her, she and the Belials should be the ones who will be executed for treason, not the other way around, an existence of anomaly might ruin the grand scheme, but to turn the table entirely, isn't it too much to be called coincidence?

"Just who are you?"

This is the last word he wishes for, at least he wanted to know the real identity of the person who ruined his life.

The little girl looks at him with those cold inhuman eyes as if he was nothing but a mere puppet to achieve her goal.

"I should have said that I am Lagertha Grizel Von Belial, but..."

Grizel smiled and introduced herself, but it was a sinister smile to make one shiver, the wind makes her silver hair fluttered gorgeously underneath the moonlight as she leaned on him to whisper.

"This is the consequence of opposing Angela Samael"

On contrary to her beautiful appearance, her voice is like chilling ice as if he had done a gravely sinful act by defying the one named Angela Samael, which name he never heard before.

Being kidnapped for several days in their hideout, he knows that these people are not ordinary, and this little girl is no better than those hypocritical Westerners, it's late but he found out the shocking facts about her.

She was the one who spread lies through rumors, manipulating the spies sent to the Belial, also the reason behind Emma's disappearance, because of the fake letter made by this schemer, Judas and his allies fell into her trap and believed that Emma betrayed them to save Grizel, what nonsense it was, he witnessed how Emma was cruelly tortured by her experiments in magic, she even robs the temples and recruiting slaves by playing as their savior, but the real fearful thing about her is the existence of that secret organization which is unknown to the world.

just...

What kind of sleeping devil has he awakened?

Who is this Angela Samael?

Judas widened his eyes realizing the fact that another existence possessed the body of this little girl, in the last moment of his life, he finally understood the reason why the grand schemes of the Westerners are failed, it's not because of a flaw in their plan whatsoever, but the enemy they bear fang to is a whole different person, no...

It's not a person!

It's the devil.

The devil who was playing with his life from the shadow.

He has opposed the Devil herself.

"Be grateful, you will be a living sacrifice to reunite this shattered nation"

Judas is trembling in fear, the doom he should never touch now backfire on him, he should never listen to the Westerners and oppose what should never be opposed.

"W-what do you mean by living sacri-"

Grab!

"I've told you it was the last word, no more question"

Grizel grabbed his shaking head not letting him finished his words as she injects her illusion magic to replace his memory, the stronger the illusion is, the shorter the effect will be, but that short time is enough to put all the blame on the rebellion.

"Judas de Cassius..."

"You are the most loyal subject of the Azure Empire, being kidnapped and tortured by the rebels yet your loyalty towards the Empire remains solid, show me, show us how noble you are, prove to the world that you are the loyal subject of Azure until the last of your breath no matter how pain inflicted by the rebels to you, encourage us to fight back against the rebellion..."

"Now sleep"

Judas fell into a deep illusion not knowing that when he wakes up, he will be the main actor on the stage prepared by Grizel, not as the villain but a sacrificed hero of this Empire, a man whose death will trigger the change of people.

Like how they plan to set a role for Grizel to be the Villainess in their story, she prepared the same stage to make Judas the puppet in her story.

Eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth.

The law of retaliation, you will be served what you deserved, yes, maybe it's the fairest principle but not for Grizel, no, it's Angela Samael to be precise, as the price of opposing her, torture and death won't satisfy this girl.

In the novel, the original Grizel was sent to the guillotine, she meets her unjust end tragically after living miserably.

Now, it's time for Judas to meet his unjust end painfully after living foolishly, Grizel will keep using his name even after his death, enough to prevent him to feel the peace of his eternal rest, he shall be furious enough to jump off of his grave.

A Villainess?

Angela Samael will gladly take that given role and become Grizel 'the Villainess', a rival character to make the heroine shines brighter?

No.

It's the rival character who'll crush those Western alliances.

"Alright, tie him"

The others hurriedly carried the command as they bring the unconscious Judas to the giant wooden cross, warped by a tattered piece of fabric, the unconscious Judas was tied with rope while his palms are nailed onto the wood, this image looks exactly like the crucifixion in legend.

Grizel opened the bottles of laugh poison she got from Rex and sprinkles the powder on the air, this is what she meant to be another level of prank.

"Wind, spread out over the rebels, let them taste the joy of the show tonight"

Wooosh...

A wind blows brought the particles of the powder to the sleeping rebels as they breathed it into their lungs, ready to laugh at any moment they wake up.

The stage and the audiences are ready, it's time for them to retreat, enjoying the performance from behind the curtain, let the whole world watch the show of the last tale of a man named Judas de Cassius, a small pawn who foolishly bears his dull fang to the wrong person.

"Fireball"

Ooonnggg...

A small ball of fire began to form on Grizel's right palm, Rex looks at it in surprise, he was sure that is a basic spell of fire attribute magician, but unlike the other fireballs he had ever seen, this one is thicker and denser, the concentrated raging flame that is warped into a small ball made it far hotter than a normal fireball, this level of fireball can't be said as basic anymore, but more importantly, since when did his fiance become a magician? Isn't she an awakener of Rogue and Holy classes?

Fwip...

Grizel casually throws that small fireball into the ground underneath the wooden cross.

Boooom...

The fire exploded loudly before it starts to creep up to the wooden cross, it's raging wildly like the flames of hell and will continue to consume the wood along with Judas as the main target without any way to stop it because it was made of fire magic, unless the rebels have a powerful water magician around Grizel's level.

"Aaah~ what a sight to behold"

She said in front of her magnificent creation, admiring the burning crucified Judas with a satisfied devilish smile on her face, all of her subordinates clap their hands as if excited with the great show that will be performed by this traitor.

The Prince couldn't help but shivering in goosebumps as he is normal enough among these lunatics, Levi and Lucy were indeed having a loose screw in their brains, it's not strange to see them cheer on the burning Judas excitedly, but what about the mature Deus and Mammon?

He might hate Judas and torture him for his personal reasons, he enjoyed it, but it's different for these people, they held no emotions towards him, this execution is nothing more than an amusing performance of the fallen aristocrat.

Rex summarized that lunacy is an infectious disease, and the source of this bizarre situation is...

"Now..."

"We shall unfold the curtain of the show"

The root of all this craziness said, stretching her arms widely like a music conductor who is leading a classical orchestra to the climax of their performance before stepping into the gate created by Mammon to return to their base.

"As you wish, My Lord"

Levi replied to his Lord's wish as he snapped his fingers before stepping into the disappearing gate, his invisible and soundproof barrier started to unleash the moment they vanished from the scene, revealing to the world the stage for the dramatic execution of Judas in the rebel's territory, it's the beginning of the chaos that will be recorded in the history of Azure.

To be continued...

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Author's Corner:

4075 words counted on this chapter!

Wow! Just wow!

It's the longest chapter I've written.

('◔_◔)

I guess I've got carried away because I am writing this scene while listening to an epic music composed by Rok Nardin called The Devil, aaahh it was awesome to imagine this music as the backsound of Grizel and the gang execute the traitor (˶‾᷄ ⁻̫ ‾᷅˵)