"As long as my power can be of help to you, that is all that matters."
Her eyes alight with joy, Sinora nodded.
"Then I will take you out now, and explain a few pointers for living in the Protos Empire along with the precautions you'll need to know," the Poet of Great Love said, walking toward the cell door on the other side.
He stepped through the translucent barrier at the doorway. When he returned to the cell, he brought in a female Domination priest.
"I'll have to trouble you to pose as Miss Sinora here for a while. Before long, the Bishop and I will get you out," the Poet of Great Love said apologetically to the Domination priest.
"My Lord, please do not worry about me. I live only to see the day when you and Lady Bishop take control of the Protos Empire," the Domination priest replied, bowing to the Poet of Great Love.
At this point, she looked forward to only two things: upon getting out of prison, witnessing their Domination branch take control of the Protos Empire, and attending the wedding of Lord Holy Son and Lady Bishop.
Lord Holy Son was a man of his word, omnipotent. If he could rescue three great demons today, then one day he would surely bring down the Bishop of Extinction as well. Such a man was precisely the other half Lady Bishop had been waiting for.
"Right..."
A few question marks seemed to pop up above the Poet of Great Love's head in bewilderment. He couldn't shake the feeling that this Domination priest's loyalty was tainted with something bizarre, giving off a vibe somewhat like Boss Cat.
"..."
Watching the two approach from a distance in silence, Sinora felt a jolt of shock.
*The New King is already taking control of the Protos Empire?*
Come to think of it, for the New King to strut into Herrom Prison so brazenly, even bringing Antanas along to converse with her inside her cell, was beyond arrogant. There wasn't the slightest trace of a spy or sleeper agent about him; it was as if he had integrated into the Protos Empire with total perfection.
Furthermore... what was this about a "Bishop"?
Could it be that besides infiltrating the Protos Empire in human disguise, the New King had also successfully subjugated many humans, established a deep partnership with the Resurrection Church, and was now plotting with them to seize control of the behemoth that was the Protos Empire?
The mere thought made Sinora's palms quiver. She couldn't wait to return to the surface and see for herself just how far the New King's grand ambition had progressed.
Though her wild imaginings bordered on the implausible, what if the New King had actually accomplished some of them?
While Sinora was lost in thought, the priestess used the specialized [Polymorph: Demon] card given to her by the Holy Son, transforming into Sinora the Spellbreaker.
"Sinora."
The Poet of Great Love's voice in front of her snapped her out of her reverie.
Immediately, she noticed another version of herself standing nearby, as though she were looking into a mirror.
"This..."
Sinora took in the slender, graceful figure in astonishment. She couldn't even tell whether the person before her was human or demon.
At this point, Sinora had no way of knowing whether the trainee guard who had just walked in was truly a human or a demon.
In terms of presence, she felt more like an officer from the Demon King's Army special forces.
Yet one thing was certain: she was a warrior wholly loyal to the New King, willing to trade places and assume her identity here just to break her out.
It had been a very long time since she had seen a comrade she could trust so completely.
"Here, take this card."
The Poet of Great Love handed Sinora the [Polymorph: Human] card that would transform her into the Domination priest.
Dazed, Sinora took it and activated the spell. Looking down at her hands, she gathered that she had completely turned into the trainee guard who had entered moments ago.
"Here's a mirror."
With a thoughtful flick of her finger, Antanas traced a barrier of light before Sinora, allowing her to clearly see her current human form.
Sinora carefully examined her new appearance, finding it strangely to her liking.
Though her features had changed and her demon traits were concealed, the aura suited her to perfection.
A thought struck Sinora, and she hastily reined in her gaze, realizing she had inadvertently stared for too long.
"Could it be... you personally designed this for us?"
Sinora habitually closed her eyes once more, inquiring of the Poet of Great Love in an uncertain tone.
The Poet of Great Love merely nodded.
Before departing, the three appearances Lanqi had designed for the specialized [Polymorph: Human] cards given to the three Domination priests were tailored to resemble the human forms of the three great demons. Furthermore, these three human identities were specifically prepared by Lanqi for the great demons.
Before arriving at the prison, the three Domination priests had already used [Polymorph: Human] to take on the forms the great demons would assume while living in the Protos Empire. Now, all that was required was to pass the [Polymorph: Human] disguise over to the corresponding great demon.
This way, whether on the Northern Continent or the Southern Continent, maintaining this appearance long-term would feel much more comfortable for the great demons.
After all, if they followed him, most of their time would be spent living peaceful daily lives, with the occasional civil dispute mediation; resorting to fighting and killing would be the rarest of exceptions.
"You are truly thoughtful."
Sinora bowed to the Poet of Great Love once more. Even with her eyes tightly shut, she could barely suppress the overflow of gratitude in her voice.
Now she asked for nothing more. As the New King's blade, her path ahead might be laden with thorns, but she was certain she would cleave through every briar for him and endure any hardship!
"Have you memorized your new appearance?"
The Poet of Great Love waited patiently until Sinora finished taking in her new look.
"Yes."
Sinora nodded, awaiting the next command.
"Heh heh."
Standing to the side, Antanas wore the look of an experienced veteran, studying Sinora's face as if waiting for an amusing reaction.
This puzzled Sinora greatly, yet before the New King, she didn't want to lose her composure and interrogate this gossipy woman.
"Sinora, your new identity is a native of Bourne City in the Snowfield Province of the Protos Empire, currently a third-year student at the Protos Royal Magic Academy. Upon completing this Herrom Prison Guard Assessment project..."
The Poet of Great Love handed the Protos Royal Magic Academy student wristband over to Sinora, who had transformed into a human.
Mid-sentence, the Poet of Great Love trailed off and glanced over at Antanas.
"...you can apply for graduation. Once we return to the prison's base level, you can retrieve your complete set of Protos Empire identification documents from storage."
Even though his mouth had stopped moving, a woman's voice continued echoing in the cell.
For Antanas, like a parrot, had recited the second half of the sentence for him.
The Poet of Great Love stared at Antanas like a teacher looking at a student who loved parroting the teacher's words during class.
He didn't inherently mind such behavior, but Antanas was proving even livelier than he had anticipated.
Antanas ducked her head, made a gesture of zipping her lips shut, and lightly tapped her own temple.
She loved to talk, but it seemed she ought to exercise a bit more restraint before the New King in the future.
"Sinora, your job for the coming period will be as a senior professor at the Protos Royal Magic Academy—four days on, three days off. On top of that, you'll be nominally registered with the Church, taking on a few incidental commissions. Both sides pay separate salaries. In your spare time, make sure to experience modern life around Imperial Capital Herrom. Later on, you'll likely have to leave the Northern Continent with us for a while."
The Poet of Great Love exhaled, gazing at the dumbfounded Sinora, and pointed at the black wristband on her wrist.
"..."
Cradling the wristband, Sinora remained dazed for a long time, unable to process what she was hearing.
*This doesn't seem like a fake identity at all...*
*And why are the benefits so generous?*
*Even when she held a post back in the Demon Realm, things were never this relaxed!*
Chapter 434