Within the magnificent hall of Floor B6's teleportation lobby, Hyperion sat alone at a table, her posture leisurely and relaxed.
A bag of melon seeds and a bottle of snowfield liquor rested on the tabletop; she seemed to be doing her best to pass the time.
Hyperion cracked the seeds, occasionally raising a glass to take a small sip of the fiery liquor.
To an ordinary person, that snowfield liquor might have rivaled lethal poison, but to her it tasted almost like fruit juice, producing no adverse reaction whatsoever.
At first, she had only wanted to see what the liquor actually tasted like. She had never expected that aside from being slightly spicy and sharp on the nose, it tasted completely like sweet water.
If she had known earlier, she wouldn't have troubled Lanqi—she could have just chugged away with the warden herself.
The ornate chandelier suspended from the hall's vaulted ceiling bathed her in cozy warmth, making this feel like the most pleasant moment of her entire journey to the Protos Empire.
Hyperion paid no mind to the splendor around her, focusing solely on the trivial task before her.
Because everything was so simple and mundane, she barely felt any of the exhilaration that usually accompanied an accomplished mission.
From time to time, she gently blew away the seed hulls from her hand, her gaze drifting absentmindedly into the distance.
Suddenly, her eyes locked on three figures appearing in the corridor.
Hyperion froze instantly, setting down her seeds and liquor as her expression turned serious.
As the silhouettes grew clearer, she recognized Antanas, Sinora, and finally that male priest.
The male priest's demeanor had become far more reserved, matching his appearance much better. Evidently, the human guise Lanqi had prepared for Pranay had been successfully given to the final great demon they needed to rescue—Pranay of Truth.
"You're back."
Hyperion put aside her snacks and stood up, looking neither surprised nor unexpectant at the arrival of the three demon seniors.
As for the Poet of Great Love controlled by Lanqi, her movement speed was rather slow, so it was completely normal for her to lag a step behind.
Besides, while any ordinary creature on this floor would be sprinting for their life at top speed, Lanqi was the only one who would leisurely take a stroll.
Hyperion stepped forward to greet the three figures who had successfully reached the Floor B6 teleportation hall.
Among the three great demons, Antanas of Protection and Sinora the Spellbreaker only had minor scratches on their faces, which were rapidly healing at a visible rate. Only Pranay of Truth appeared the most heavily wounded.
"You did splendidly, Brother."
Sinora had not expected Pranay to walk out without needing to be dragged out half-dead by the Inverted Path of Rebirth. It seemed the new King had instilled quite a bit of resolve in her brother.
"To me now, death may not be all that terrifying. What is terrifying is failing to live up to the new King's expectations," Pranay admitted in a low voice, making no attempt to conceal his disheveled state.
"?"
Listening to their exchange, Hyperion's eyelids twitched.
How long had it even been? How was there already another fanatical Lanqi devotee?
A second later, Pranay noticed Hyperion in the teleportation hall, who was likewise dressed in an intern guard uniform.
He had not anticipated someone else waiting outside for them.
However, since she was lingering with them, she presumably was not human either. This expedition to Herrom Prison was bound to be an all-demon crew.
Hyperion caught Pranay's gaze. Words failed her, and she could only fight back tears.
At a moment like this, she did not dare say she was human, fearing the great demons might mistake her for an enemy.
"She is our Second Princess, and also the new King's inseparable companion," Antanas walked over, draping an arm around Hyperion's shoulders and introducing her to Pranay like a veteran.
She had been the first to join, after all, so she had to assert her seniority to Pranay.
"...My apologies for the slight. I am Pranay, at Your Highness's service at any time."
Pranay bowed respectfully to Hyperion.
He understood instantly what "Second Princess" meant—not only the daughter of Princess Efatia, but also the new King's most cherished kin.
"Mr. Pranay, there's no need for that! I'm just glad you made it out safely," Hyperion waved her hands in a fluster.
Having a Tier 8 great demon treat her with such deference completely overwhelmed her!
After all, her teacher, the Ice Snow Witch, was also a Tier 8 great demon.
Why on earth had Teacher claimed that Pranay of Truth was an exceptionally dangerous demon...?
Hyperion felt that both Sinora and Pranay seemed quite approachable...
In the high-dimensional observation space.
The Ice Snow Witch looked at the scene below, her expression practically questioning reality itself.
Was Pranay of Truth ever this easy to talk to?
If she had been the one looking for Pranay, she would have had to take a Tier 8 spell to the face first before even beginning a strained conversation with him.
Surely he wouldn't treat Hyperion this well just upon hearing she was a princess of royal blood, right?
Furthermore... what was this "new King of the demon race," who was supposedly Hyperion's closest kin?
The Ice Snow Witch had been watching Hyperion the entire time.
The perspective of the clerical assessment could only track the priest. Hyperion had remained outside the cells on Floors B5 and B6 the entire time, so the Ice Snow Witch had no idea what had actually transpired between Sinora, Pranay, and the others inside.
No matter how bizarre Hyperion's human companion was, there was no way he could make two great demons bow before him in such a short span. Could it be... Talia had been plotting the restoration of the Demon Realm in the Southern Continent for a long time?
The "new King of the demon race" had to refer to Talia.
The more she thought about it, the deeper the Ice Snow Witch's brow furrowed.
She felt as though countless clues were suddenly linking together.
Duke Mikhail of the Hutton Kingdom had married the former demon Second Princess, Efatia. Their daughter had later met Lanqi at Ikerite Academy and become his closest friend. Years later, former First Princess Talia had coincidentally arrived in Ikerite as well, suspected of robbing the cradle and tangled up in an ambiguous relationship with Lanqi, even going so far as to put everything into crafting cards for him and letting him use her likeness... Perhaps Talia had long since accepted Lanqi as her proxy to help mastermind the kingdom's restoration. And returning to where it all began, Duke Mikhail was Loren's longtime friend!
Loren appeared to have zero direct connection to any key demon figure, yet anyone connected to key demon figures was inevitably connected to Loren!
The High Priest looked more and more like the mastermind behind the scenes.
What was truly despair-inducing was that just when the turmoil across the Northern and Southern Continents was drawing to a close, when the full truth was finally unearthed and everyone greeted dawn with hope, Loren would flash an eerie smile and tell the world that he had orchestrated it all in the shadows.
The Ice Snow Witch clenched her fist.
All that was missing now was substantial proof to nail Loren down. For instance, if a mysterious figure suspected to be Loren showed up at the Protos Empire's bishop election three days from now to secretly aid the Resurrection Church, she would definitely drag along the Chief Inquisitor, assemble a task force, and head to the Southern Continent to thoroughly investigate High Priest Loren's daily life in Ikerite!
On the other side, Loren had buried his head so low it was practically out of sight.
He could no longer comprehend what kind of chaotic mess was happening inside Herrom Prison.
All he could hope for was that his ordeal would soon come to an end.
Chapter 452