Chapter 104: The Twilight Council

Along the pitch-black stone path paved in the sky prison, the already eerie dungeon looked even more sinister under the flickering candlelight, especially with the dismembered corpses appearing in view and blood splatters from battles making it terrifying enough to make cowards hesitate.

But this was not enough to intimidate a certain Priestess and her pet. The two young girls, delicate as flowers, strolled confidently through this mismatched area.

Having come to the Sky Prison in the City of Courage for the first time, Miss Vilyric was entirely befuddled about how to navigate this complex labyrinth-like place.

However, by deducing from the corpses and blood left behind by the guards and a few invaders, she could track their movement paths since this place was merely complex in structure and not truly designed as a maze.

The further they went, the more visible the signs of battle became, the more brutal, and the more corpses there were.

It was clear that the guards on the first level were fighting while retreating in this direction, requesting aid from the lower-level “Keepers of Sin” while repelling the invaders.

Finally, the two girls arrived at a particularly spacious battlefield site with wide stone steps leading downward, where the number of corpses from guards and invaders was notably high. Miss Vilyric even spotted several bodies clad in black brocade and wearing masks obscuring half their faces.

So this must be the so-called “Keepers of Sin.”

There are living people ahead.

And they are enemies.

There were about a dozen individuals wielding large scythes, dressed in what seemed like robes from some religious order. The eight-armed black demon embroidered on their backs looked particularly terrifying in the dim light.

Moreover, these individuals shared a common trait: irrespective of gender, they were generally skeletal and emaciated, appearing to be extremely unhealthy, but the aura they exuded was anything but weak.

Additionally, they were living humans, not the undead of the Throne of Immortality; this Miss Vilyric could ascertain.

“What are you?!”

As Miss Vilyric laid eyes on them, the demon-emblazoned individuals also noticed the two girls, who showed no intention of hiding, and immediately raised their sharp scythes, surrounding them from all directions.

However, they didn’t seem to recognize them, and since Miss Vilyric and her companion did not resemble the kingdom’s army, they weren’t immediately attacked.

“Hmph.”

Xiao Guang stepped forward, ready to take care of this bunch of scum when the Priestess suddenly had a clever idea, grabbing her pet’s little hand and signaling her to wait a moment with her eyes.

“Master?”

Though confused, Little Dragon Daughter obediently stopped right away and quietly tilted her head to look.

Miss Vilyric shook her head, took something out of her bag, and deliberately put on an arrogant and enigmatic expression as she walked towards the scythe-wielding cultists, reaching out to show them the item.

“You really have some guts, daring to brandish your weapons against me?!”

“?!”

At her words, the group was taken aback, but when they saw the black-gray token in Miss Vilyric’s hand, engraved with a green serpent, they immediately trembled as if encountering something horrifying, and without hesitation, they all knelt down, prostrating themselves.

“N-no, we didn’t realize your esteemed presence! Please forgive us!”

They cowered on the ground, but one certain black-haired girl acting all high and mighty was also stunned, nearly losing her composure, clearly not expecting this impulsive move to work so well.

This token, of course, was one of the three special items Miss Vilyric had found in the “Demon God’s Guardian Ring” that Count Ban Meikailande had given her.

At that time, she felt that this item might be shrouded in deep meaning, intimately connected with existences like the “Demon God.”

So the Priestess thought to try it out a bit in front of these mysterious individuals, thinking that even if it failed, she wouldn’t lose anything by bluffing.

The result, however, seemed to indicate they not only recognized it but also regarded Miss Vilyric with a sense of awe…

What on earth is this item? What does it represent in terms of identity?

While curious, she couldn’t directly ask — “Can someone tell me what this thing means?” Relying on strength to extract confessions wasn’t out of the question, but surely there were those within who understood this token better than they did.

Thus, it was unnecessary.

“Ahem… Well done on having some perception, I’m here to help. Now, where are the others?”

Looking at the black-haired girl, hands on her hips and posing as if “I’m incredibly impressive,” the cultists exchanged glances, and finally, a man who seemed to be the leader cautiously spoke up.

“The rescue team for the second prince has already penetrated to the next level and should be engaged in battle with the “Keepers of Sin” and the remaining forces in the prison. Another esteemed person is also below…”

Seemingly unconsciously, he said that.

“The council is really taking this operation seriously; I didn’t expect that a joint kingdom would send two esteemed individuals. Could it be that even a member of the council…?”

“Uh?”

“!!!”

Curiosity piqued by the key phrase, Miss Vilyric let out a meaningless hum, but the other party seemed to finally realize what they had said and suddenly prostrated before the Priestess in terror!

The solid stone floor echoed with the sound of his head hitting it, making Miss Vilyric wonder if this guy had practiced iron head skills.

“I deserve to die! I deserve to die! I simply haven’t interacted with the council’s upper echelons for too long and got a bit carried away; I had no intent to inquire about a member’s whereabouts! I beg you, forgive me for my offense!”

Huh?

What on earth is going on here…

However, since too many words lead to mistakes, Miss Vilyric couldn’t be bothered to continue pretending with these guys. With another exasperated “Hmph!” that even the Priestess herself didn’t understand, she dragged her pet past the kneeling cultists and boldly stepped down the staircase.

Of course, the self-preserving cultists dared not utter another word, obediently lying on the ground, watching with awe as the two girls vanished at the bottom of the stairs.

Once they were far off, the leading man, as if having survived a calamity, wiped the cold sweat off his forehead, trembling as he rose from the ground, his back already soaked.

“Thank goodness… thank goodness, it seems this esteemed individual is in a good mood today…”

A few younger cultists, confused yet too intimidated to speak earlier, couldn’t help but approach the leader and ask him.

“Bishop Enoch, who exactly were those two just now? Why did everyone…?”

“Shh! Keep your mouth shut if you don’t want to die!!!”

With exaggerated motions, the man named Enoch carefully glanced down the staircase where the two girls had disappeared before lowering his voice, warning these young people in a cautionary tone.

“Did you see that token? That is the symbol of a member of the Twilight Council. Each council member is an unparalleled powerhouse; they all have extremely peculiar and unpredictable personalities.”

“…Don’t be fooled by their seemingly harmless appearances; I tell you, my magic eyes can’t discern the strength of either of them. Those two girls are definitely not human, and there are no normal humans in the Twilight Council! One mistake, and we could all die here! Understand?!”

“You all saw the esteemed member who fought alongside us earlier, effortlessly annihilating hundreds of elite kingdom soldiers! And esteemed members are even stronger than the council members; they are truly…”

As if hitting a nerve, Bishop Enoch trailed off and then recited with a reverent voice, like a prayer.

“Mythical beings!”

   

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