A genius alchemist who became a heretic to acquire forbidden knowledge.

It was unknown how long he has been in this world.

However, it was estimated that he was at least a few thousand years old according to the appearance of his name in an ancient document about the chaotic period before the War of Gods and Demons.

As Lilith's minion, he definitely had a hostile relationship with Pronoia and Castineon, the groups Rosenkreuz belonged to.

What would happen if he faced him now?

He didn’t know, but it would be difficult to get out of here safely.

He would not be able to secure more information about the members of Eteria Rodinus.

As Rosenkreuz looked troubled, Aleister laughed happily.

“Hahahahahaha! You’re afraid, aren’t you? Well, that is normal since you haven’t received Lady Lilith’s revelation. Salvation! It can only be obtained through the destruction of this world! The god of Light you believe will be swallowed up in the abyss of the beginning when the hour of judgement comes!”

“…That is blasphemy, an alchemist who sold his soul to a witch. It is true that salvation will arrive, but the God of Light is the supreme god and will not be affected by the destruction.”

“The supreme god? Ah, you mean the first rank amongst the seven gods in the heavenly world. But even then, compared to Lady Lilith, who has reigned in the demon world 

since the Genesis

, he is nothing. Just a small cog in the machine.”

“Bullshit. The one who led Genesis was the God of Light. The other 

sub-gods

 managed Paradise Lost under His direction.”

The two continued arguing because of their different beliefs.

Ibn Rusud intervened in their conversation as he couldn’t just stand on the side doing nothing.

“You guys really don’t know anything, do you? The being who oversaw the divine throne system is the Creator. So, Lilith and the God of Light were just dancing in the palm of the Creator. The conflict between the demonic faction and the heavenly faction is just for the balance of the world. The human world intervenes and acts as a buffer.”

The human world referred to by Ibn Rusud meant the Eeth continent.

The place where most myths, legends and stories took place.

The demon world and heavenly world were areas where the other faction could not enter, so they were safe in there, so the confrontation naturally happened on the Eeth Continent.

However, the majority of the gods rebelled against the creator and were then confined, and the rest of them only watched the human world from heaven.

Rosenkreuz and Aleister shook their heads stubbornly at Ibn Rusud's speech.

“That is blasphemous. There can be no greater being than the God of Light.”

“Lady Lilith is nearing the origin of the system. Therefore, she can go against the destiny set by the Creator.”

Both were fanatics who couldn't be reasoned with.

Ibn Rusud sighed and spoke to Aleister.

“Aleister, are you here to intervene and benefit from our battle?”

"That's right. Those who preach the gospel on their own must be cautious. If you don't choose the correct stage and time to appear, you will not be able to achieve the will of the great being. Isn't that right, Rosenkreuz?”

“This damned alchemist...”

Rosenkreuz glared at Aleister with his flashing purple eyes.

He didn’t enjoy the fact that he had been used.

Meanwhile, Aleister kept laughing and showed a relaxed attitude.

“You must have been pretty intoxicated with the efficacy of the Clipport’s fruit. But you know yourself, right? After the effect’s duration is over, you will be incapacitated for at least one day.”

“…”

"Ha ha ha ha ha! The neutralizers you make will only prevent side effects on the surface. Now, how much time do you have left? 3 minutes? 1 minute? Or 30 seconds?”

“Urgh...”

Rosenkreuz trembled at Aleister's words.

Time was tight.

However, it was difficult to find a breakthrough.

'Should I also eat one more pill?'

If he took the Clipport’s fruit repeatedly, the duration of the effect would definitely increase.

But the problem would come after that.

As a result of the experiments with the pagans, very serious side effects were observed, such as intestines melting and death. Moreover their appearance had deformed even after being fed neutralizing agents.

And even if he took such a risk, it was unsure whether this obstacle could be overcome.

In the first place, it was Aleister who made the Clipport’s fruit, and he most likely had a plan in his mind.

When Rosenkreuz was unable to make a decision, spears of darkness began to rain on him.

“Hahahahaha! How long will you be worrying? Time is on my side!”

Booboobooboom!

Boobooboom

Booboobooboom!

The surrounding air shook, creating a crack on the protective barrier.

The reason behind the fissure wasn’t only the strong attacks, but also the fact that the Clipport’s fruit’s effect was disappearing.

“Urgh… !!”

Rosenkreuz groaned, frowning deeply.

He wouldn’t be able to withstand it.

There were only two realistic options left for him.

'Running away or taking him down with me.'

But in the latter case, there was the chance that he would fail and die alone.

Of course, there was also no guarantee that the former would always succeed.

However...

'I will never hand over Solomon's treasures to you.'

If he left here, Aleister would comfortably defeat Eteria Rodinus.

He had to stop the alchemist, even if he had to ask for help from the King of Rhine.

Rosenkreuz urgently requested support through the informant’s messages.

[Lakius, accept my summoning orders!]

[Yes, Lord Rosenkreuz!]

Soon enough, Lakius appeared with a ray of light.

His appearance caught Aleister’s interest.

“Oh, you brought a dog from the Holy See. Are you going use him to run away now? Running away from heretics and fanatics?”

“Lakius, stop his attacks while I chant the return spell!”

Rosenkreuz did give in to Aleister's provocation.

As Lakius nodded and obeyed the instructions, Aleister looked at Ibn Rusud.

“Are you going to let them return safely to the Holy See? It seems to be a bad decision.”

“You kill them yourself. We can't move a step from here.”

Eteria Rodinus was taking a neutral position.

It would be troublesome if they left their backs open to Aleister while they tried to deal with Rosenkreuz.

However, attacking Aleister meant that they increased the chances of Rosenkreuz returning alive, which also wasn’t beneficial to them.

“Oh well, that’s too bad. But if they manage to escape, don't resent me too much.”

Aleister's magical barrage became even stronger.

As Lakius was grinding his teeth to endure, a pure white magic circle spread out on the floor covered the area with dazzling light.

The return spell had been cast.

“I will never let you escape next time, you heretics!”

Along with Rosenkreuz's mad voice, the two human figures on the magic circle disappeared.

Eventually, the flash ended, and Aleister clicked his tongue and walked toward the members of Eteria Rodinus.

Seeing that, Ibn Rusud took a fighting stance and warned.

“Stop it, Aleister. Don't think we won't be able to stop you just because Lord Boetius is down.”

“You think so? But you were having quite the hard time against Rosenkreuz, weren’t you?

“That’s because we had to fight while protecting Lord Boetius. And since Rosenkreuz is a high-ranking priest, divine magic didn't work very well on him. But you sold your soul to Lilith, so there's no reason for us to be pushed back.”

“I sold my soul to Lilith? Are you sure?”

"Of course. You are Aleister Crowley... Huh?"

Ibn Rusud, who inadvertently tried to answer, could not speak.

This was because Aleister peeled off his face and instantly changed into a young man with black hair.

“I am Chun Woohyuk, the king of the Rhine Kingdom. All of my actions so far were to help you.”

While wandering inside the Memory Garden, Woohyuk had saved the appearance of Aleister he had accidentally encountered with the jester’s mask.

The same went for his magic.

It could be stored in the Queen Star Snake Ghost, so it was possible to reenact it at any time. Other than that, he had met him so often, especially in the imaginary world, that Woohyuk was able to imitate things like his tone, behavior, and thought process.

At Woohyuk's explanation, the blonde woman next to Ibn Rusud stood up and asked a question.

“Then you weren't the one who met Rosenkreuz before?”

"Of course. It was my vassal. She’s an aspiring actor, so her acting skills are excellent.”

“So that’s why I didn’t feel demonic energy from her.”

Eteria Rodinus has been monitoring Woohyuk since long before.

Not only did he possess Lemegeton, but he was aiming for a strange and unclear goal.

So they had come to the capital Tenas to try to meet him, but were unintentionally discovered by Rosenkreuz.

“Were you going to get together like this and attack me?”

“We would have done that if necessary. And that thought still hasn't change.”

“If I hadn't helped, everyone would have been defeated by Rosenkreuz. Are you going to repay grace with animosity?”

“…”

The blonde woman couldn't easily answer as she hesitated.

Ibn Rusud, who saw that, spoke instead.

“You must’ve helped us since you need something from us. Are you aiming for a certain magic book? Or is it the Holy Grail?”

“Rosa Eterna. That will be enough.”

Woohyuk said straightforwardly.

Ibn Rusud immediately looked upset.

“The language of the wisemen cannot be learned without joining Eteria Rodinus.”

“If so, I’ll have to join.”

“That is absolutely impossible. Having demons join us... I would rather join hands with the Pope of the holy Aperian Empire.”

“I am human. I just inherited the name of the former demon god.”

“… what?"

A moment of uncomfortable silence followed.

Members of Eteria Rodinus exchanged glances silently, and the blonde woman opened her mouth again.

“Where is the informant's messages? It has a tracking device on it, so if you have it now, hand it over to us.”

“There is no need to worry. One of my guards is keeping it well.”

The informant's messages were currently in Leifina’s mansion.

To hide his meeting with Eteria Rodinus, she was disguised as himself.

Seeing that there was no report from Leifina yet, Rosenkreuz had apparently been deceived completely.

“Have you found this place by backtracking Rosenkreuz's location?”

"Yes. One of my vassals is well versed in magic engineering.”

Aris modified the informant's messages and forced open the administrator privileges.

Thanks to this, Woohyuk could find out in real time the location of priests belonging to the Holy See's special agency Castineon. This would be beneficial to him in the future.

The members of Eteria Rodinus were astonished at Woohyuk's explanation.

“Amazing.”

“You completely deceived the man called a genius by the holy empire.”

The overwhelming atmosphere from the earlier battles had disappeared.

After a while, when the small talk ended, the blonde woman walked forward and reached out to Woohyuk.

“Allow me to formally introduce myself. My name is Helena. As you may know, I belong to Eteria Rodinus.”

They had decided to cooperate with Woohyuk in consideration of various circumstances.

Woohyuk grabbed Helena's pale hand with a satisfied expression.

“I am Chun Woohyuk.”

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