Olsylvia Academy, North Campus, Filomena n.o.bility Academy's Student Quarters, within the secret environment of the McPherson Monastery, one of the Olsylvia Academy's Nine Midnight Forbidden Grounds, Cynthia's dreamscape.
"Cynthia, since you already know that all of this is not real, why are you still partic.i.p.ating in the illusions' show?"
"Bella, the reason why… just let it be. You should leave as soon as you can. Leave this up to me. I will deal with it."
The Holy Swordsman, Cynthia, seemed to be holding back some secrets from Bella. She had never been successful in trying to lie to her. Bella had not relinquished her hold on Cynthia, as she had a feeling that if she were to let this girl go, she would be lost to Bella forever. It did not make sense to release something when she was so close to taking her "first bite" of Cynthia's scrumptious body.
"Cynthia, I refuse to do so. If I am leaving, I have to bring you with me, no matter what. Don't even begin to think about abandoning me. It seems like your naughty little mouth still needs to be punished."
"Don't do this. I truly have my reasons for doing so. If you continue to act this way, don't blame me for what I'm about to do. Wait… why are you moving even closer to me? Don't…"
"Look into my eyes. Cynthia. Tell me everything that's in this brain of yours. Otherwise, I will have to punish you. This time, it will not be resolved with just a few kisses."
Bella pushed her face closer to Cynthia, her threats forcing Cynthia to make direct eye contact with her. Cynthia was terrified that Bella had some new twisted trick up her sleeve to take advantage of her. As the Holy Swordsman, she had always been very strong and aggressive. She did not expect that she would become so wishy-washy after being taken advantage of by Bella. Seriously, could it be that this naughty d.u.c.h.ess was meant to take her down?
"Cynthia, I believe that you are still hiding secrets from me. Tell me. I can help you resolve them. Don't just reject me outright. I'm guessing that your ident.i.ty as the Holy Swordsman has to be kept a secret. Even though I'm extremely close to President Maria, she has never mentioned you before."
"I… Don't talk nonsense. President Maria… just…"
"Cynthia, be honest with me. You can't lie when you're with me. It seems like I have to utilize some special methods to get you to talk."
"Bella, hold on. Let me think about it… Don't…"
Bella did not give Cynthia any time to consider. She wanted her to reveal all of the secrets that she had hidden. Once Bella got hold of these secrets – from that moment on, Cynthia would be hers. After that, all of the high ranking individuals of the Radiant Church would belong to her.
Staring into Cynthia's beautiful silver irises, Bella took advantage of her confusion and used her Demon King ultimate skill, the "Demon King's Mercy". This skill had been used by Demon Kings when they were bestowing dark energy to their subordinates. If the skill was used on humans, it would be a way to force the human to give in to their master's whims.
It was the first time that Bella was using this ultimate skill. Previously, President Maria and the four Holy Maidens did not put up such a strong fight against her, so Bella did not feel the need to use it on them. This time, Cynthia was much more resistant than they were, so it was the best opportunity to test this skill out. Once Cynthia was forced to be on her side, she would no longer be able to keep any secrets from her mistress.
Bella forced her lips on Cynthia's once again, keeping her eyes locked on the other girl. At the same time, she was ensuring that Cynthia remained in a trance-like state. If she had an extreme reaction, Bella would have to stop. During the kiss, Cynthia could clearly tell that there was a strange energy flowing from Bella's lips and into her body.
As the Radiant Church's Holy Swordsman, Cynthia was especially sensitive to dark energy. Almost instantly, Cynthia knew that the energy that Bella was transferring to her was dark. She twisted her body from side to side in an attempt to escape Bella's restraints, but she was thoroughly locked in Bella's tight embrace. Eventually, Cynthia could only give up and remain helpless against Bella's administrations.
Once Bella's dark energy had entered Cynthia's body, she realized that there was a problem. There was an unusual magical mark within Cynthia. When the dark energy touched the mark, it would rebound and a strong burst of radiant energy would be reflected back to Bella.
Unprepared at first, Bella had been struck by the rebounding attack. When she released Cynthia's lips, there was blood dribbling out of the corner of her mouth, as she had suffered some minor internal injuries. This was the first time that Bella had been met with a setback after forcing her kisses on so many young girls.
"Bella… You're… You're a demon! How could that be? If you were a demon, you would have already… Please hold on. Don't look at me with such a terrifying expression. I wish you no harm."
"Cynthia, I will give you one last chance to explain yourself and tell me all your secrets. Otherwise… Since you already know that I am a demon, I will play along and keep you as my prisoner for the rest of eternity…"
"Bella, please calm down. I will tell you everything… Just, I implore you to never repeat anything I am going to tell you to another soul."
Cynthia was absolutely terrified when she saw the threatening glint in Bella's eyes. A Demon King's threat is one of the most frightening things that one could ever experience. Furthermore, this was the first time that Bella had failed when trying to take advantage of a girl, thus it was inevitable that she would feel anger. In her mind, Bella had already decided that if Cynthia was to resist her again, she would imprison her until Cynthia gave in to her whims.
Cynthia's explanation destroyed some of the knowledge that Bella had learned about the Radiant Church. It seemed like the Radiant Church was not a morally upright organization. The reason why there were no traitors within the Radiant Church since it was established was not entirely due to their insightful teachings.
All members within the Radiant Church, other than the Radiant Pope, had a curse cast on them. This curse manifested itself in a unique spiritual imprint and it was a fail-safe used to control its followers. This curse had a similar quality to evil spells, which meant that the Pope could make use of it to cause anyone who planned to revolt to "self-destruct" and die.
This was an underlying reason as to why the Darkness Church had excommunicated themselves from the Radiant Church. The first Pope of the Darkness Sect had found out about the existence of this spiritual imprint. Using the demon's energy, he managed to break the curse. Ever since the excommunication, the Radiant Pope had increased the strength of the spiritual imprint at least tenfold.
The current spiritual imprint could not be unlocked by a demon… even a Demon King would be unable to cause it any damage. If the Demon King were to force an attack, the imprint would release a burst of light energy and rebound onto the Demon King instead. It could even "ignite" the owner of the spiritual imprint. If Bella had made another frustrated attempt and forcefully injected more of her energy as a Demon King, Cynthia could have "self-destructed" right in front of her.
President Maria and the four Holy Maidens had this spiritual imprint in their bodies as well. It was just that they were blissfully unaware of it. As Bella had not seen the need to forcefully inject her demonic energy into them, they had not uncovered this secret. Within the Radiant Church, only the Radiant Pope and the Pope's personal guard, the Holy Swordsman, knew of its existence.
Other than the self-destruct capabilities, the spiritual imprint was an incredibly similar product to a demon's imprint. Using the imprint, one could even control the actions of the individual for a short period of time.
This spiritual imprint was called the "Radiant Faith". Legend had it that this "Radiant Faith" was a personal gift from the Radiant G.o.d to the first generation Pope of the Radiant Church, the Holy Priest Goldsmith. The initial intention was for good, as many priests had been captured by the Twelve Demon King's underlings during the war against the Twelve Demon Kings.
To prevent the priests from falling into the demon's traps and being tortured, the self-destruct function of the spiritual imprint was especially important. However, the credibility of this information was hard to determine as it was said by the Radiant Pope. In this case, Bella begged to differ against the idea that the imprint was created as a form of resistance to being tortured by the Twelve Demon Kings' subordinates.
Bella did not think that the Radiant G.o.d would hand over such an evil form of magic to a young maiden Pope like the Holy Priest Goldsmith. Folklore claimed that the Radiant G.o.d was a girl as well. Only G.o.ds like the Darkness G.o.d could have come up with such evil forms of magic.
Fortunately, Bella had found out about this in time. Otherwise, it would be an absolute joke if, one day, Bella found herself being controlled by the Radiant Faith through President Maria or the four Holy Maidens. By then, she would not even know if she should laugh or cry.
"Cynthia, is this true? You're not lying to me?"
"Bella, of course it is. Why would I lie to you? You can let go of me now. I will not tell anyone that you are a demon. In the future, we'll just pretend to be strangers…"
"Don't even think about it! Cynthia, since we have kissed, I will take full responsibility for you. Furthermore, I didn't say that I was a demon. I am a Demon King, alright? Any girl that catches this Demon King's fancy will never be let go. You are no exception to this rule!"
For a moment, Cynthia felt completely dominated by Bella. If Bella had been of the opposite s.e.x, there was a possibility that she would have given in by now. As they were both girls, Cynthia was a little hesitant. Being so intimate with a girl was against the faith that she had believed in since she was a child.
"Your Excellency… could you allow me to think about…"
"No way, Cynthia. What are you still confused about? Don't you want your freedom back? Do you wish to be controlled by this spiritual imprint for the rest of your life? I can see it in your eyes that you crave freedom. I know you do."
"But I can't. I cannot betray the Radiant Pope. I have the Radiant Faith…"
"Stop lying! You can't even lie to my face, let alone to your own heart. Besides, the only reason you believe in the Radiant G.o.d is because of the spiritual imprint. Without it, can you guarantee that your faith will still be in the Radiant G.o.d?"
The basis of Cynthia's faith had been completely disrupted by Bella's words. Admittedly, it was Bella, the Demon King's skilled as a "psychic". In the most roundabout way, Bella had managed to cause Cynthia, the Radiant Church's most determined and faithful follower, to waver in her beliefs.
Cynthia had begun to doubt her own faith. In her heart, she did agree with what Bella had said. Who knew? Maybe it was true that she only believed in the Radiant G.o.d because of the spiritual imprint. Could it be inevitable that she would fall?
"Holy Swordsman, what's the matter? It's almost time. We are coming in!"
The group of illusions who had been waiting for a long time at the door finally realized that something was amiss. Effortlessly, they pushed open the door and walked right into the room. Bella looked around the room as she carried Cynthia out of the fake pool. As Cynthia began to waver in her faith, the illusory dreamscape began to decay and crumble as well.
A large crack appeared on one of the walls in the room. Once Bella saw the crack, she swiftly started to run away with Cynthia. Since she was unable to retrieve any of her weapons to destroy the dreamscape, the next best option was to make a run for it.
"Bella, you… the Pope in this dreamscape has the activating curse to the Radiant Faith in my body. I think it's best if you let me go. This was why I played along with this ruse for so long."
"Don't worry about this. Leave it all up to me. I have a way to deal with this problem."
Beyond the crack on the wall was the main square of the Goldsmith Holy City. Based on her memory, Bella ran towards the main entrance. She decided that leaving this dreamscape would be for the best.
"Stop right there! D*am, the sacrificial offering is getting away. Get her!"
"Do you really think that you can get out of this place? Dream on!"
When they realized that Bella and Cynthia were getting away, the illusions began to reveal their true appearances. One by one, the illusions peeled off their human disguises.
However, the current dreamscape would not last much longer. Due to Cynthia's crumbling faith and other external interference, the dreamscape had been completely destroyed.
Olsylvia Academy, North Campus, Filomena n.o.bility Academy's Student Quarters, in the Secret Gardens of the McPherson Monastery, one of the Olsylvia Academy's Nine Midnight Forbidden Grounds.
In a flash of darkness, Bella fell right back into reality. This time, she held on to Cynthia as though her life depended on it. When the dreamscape had shattered, Bella had felt countless hands frantically grabbing at her arms with an incredible amount of strength. This strength was practically impossible for human hands to achieve.
The ice-cold hands had constantly attempted to pull Bella's arms apart, as though they were trying to pry Cynthia away from Bella's embrace. As a Demon King, Bella had incredible strength as well. Making full use of her brute strength, Bella had managed to hold on to Cynthia.
"Bella, are you alright?"
"Eh? This isn't Kriss… nor was it Ariel. No, weren't they still at the hostel?"
Hearing Noreya and Elaine's voice, Bella opened her eyes. In the dim moonlight, she was still unmistakably within the gardens at the perimeter of the McPherson Monastery.
If not for Cynthia, who was still snuggled in her arms, Bella might have thought that everything she had experienced so far was fake. Cynthia still had her face buried in Bella's bosom, afraid to lift her head. Her clothes had been completely ripped off by those despicable illusions. She did not dare to show her face to Noreya and Elaine in her wretched state!
Among the four of them, who had been flung into their dreamscapes, only the Holy Swordsman, Cynthia, had been given such special attention. As a Holy Swordsman, even though her uniform looked like any other student's from the Olsylvia Academy, various protective measures had been hidden within it by the Radiant Church. If the illusions had the intention of using her as a ceremonial sacrifice for any of their evil rituals, they would have had to strip her bare before anything could be done.
Bella, Noreya, and Elaine had all broken out of their dreamscapes by themselves as they were all body doubles. The illusions had been built based on their bodies' original owners' incomplete memories and thus were unable to trap them at all.
Bella's method of destroying the dreamscape was relatively tame compared to Noreya and Elaine's. Their methods were far more violent and b.l.o.o.d.y than hers – especially Noreya, as she had simply killed every illusory figure she saw within the dreamscape. In the end, there was no one else left but her.
"Ahem, this is Cynthia. Stop making wild guesses. You don't have to worry. Like you ladies, she is one of my girlfriends as well."
When Bella saw the strange looks on Noreya and Elaine's faces, she quickly a.s.suaged their concerns by stating that Cynthia was a girlfriend.
Lying in Bella's embrace, Cynthia was completely naked. With such a gorgeous young maiden in her arms, it was hard for an outsider not to think that something was up. If the situation was not explained properly, with Noreya's concealed weapons and Elaine's puppet strings, things could escalate very quickly.
Due to Bella's acknowledgment of them being her girlfriends, Noreya and Elaine cleverly decided to remain silent. They did not comment about how Cynthia had suddenly become a silver-haired beauty. Anyway, they knew that Bella would tell them everything when they returned home.
The only confused person in the group was the Holy Swordsman, Cynthia. She had no idea when she had suddenly become the Demon King's girlfriend. The word "girlfriend" was obviously weighted. What was wrong with Noreya and Elaine? Couldn't they tell that the word "girlfriend" meant much more than that?!
"Bella, I am not your…"
"Stop talking, Cynthia. Go on, and I will have to punish you. Your pouty little lips are so delicious, I…"
"Don't. It's up to you then.”
Cynthia was afraid that Bella would really force a kiss on her in front of outsiders and thus gave in and allowed Bella to carry on. This meant that she did not object to the idea of being with Bella and had inadvertently admitted that she was her "girlfriend". Unbeknownst to her, Noreya and Elaine were not outsiders at all. In fact, they were on Bella's side.
"Good girl. It seems like you will have to move into my hostel with Chief President Angelia and the others this weekend. I will have to make sure I spend some quality time with you then. Don't try to find any excuses to not come. Otherwise, I will inform Angelia that you are…"
"Bella, you… I understand. I will not run away. Happy now?"
Since Cynthia did not raise any objections, she was sure that Bella would have her for sure. Moreover, there were many stories within the historical records handed down over the generations aside from the Holy Swordsman's oath. Other than the reigning Radiant Pope, the first person to look upon the true face of the Holy Swordsman would be the master or mistress that the swordsman would serve and protect for the rest of their lives.
Cynthia had initially intended to reveal her true ident.i.ty to President Maria at the end of the semester. However, Bella, this pervert, had cut in before she had had the chance to do so. Maybe this was meant to be and Bella was fated to be her mistress.
President Maria already belonged to Bella. It would be too much of a stretch to claim that it was all meant to be. Even if Cynthia had not been here earlier, it would have been a matter of time before she would fall prey to Bella's "demonic claws".
Using the dim moonlight, Bella saw that many unmoving corpses were lying on the muddy ground. The corpses had all been dressed in the Radiant Church's nun habits. However, the design of the habits was vastly different from the ones the current nuns wore daily.
"Bella, these nuns do not belong to this time. This particular design of nun's habits was only worn by nuns a long time ago. These must have been at least a thousand years old."
Bella fully agreed with Elaine's explanation. The current nun's habits that the sisters wore were much more conservative. The modern-day habits covered every inch of the sister's bodies from neck to toe, preventing anyone from catching a glimpse of their bodies. It was as though the Radiant Church was afraid that they would somehow make a loss if someone were to see even a small part of the nun's skin.
These nun's habits were very much different. It was closer to what the legendary Warrior Nuns would have worn back in the day. Much of the collarbone and the thigh area was exposed. The modern-day habits had regressed so much since the Radiant Church had eliminated all of the ones that revealed even an inch of bare skin. As these were far more palatable to Bella's tastes, she would make sure that Maria would reinstate the use of these nun's habits when she was Pope.
The dead nuns must have had their hands sliced off recently as all their wounds were extremely fresh. These must have been the countless icy cold hands that had tried to pry Cynthia out of Bella's hold. It seemed like Noreya had a hand in helping them escape from their predicament by slicing off all these hands.
"No need to thank me, Bella. These nuns must have been dead for thousands of years, but their bodies did not even turn to dust. There must be a good reason why they were left in the monastery. In fact, I believe that the earlier illusions must have been the work of this group of nuns. If I were to make an educated guess, the answer would be waiting for us in the monastery."
"Then let us take a closer look in the monastery! Cynthia, I'm sure you do not want to wear clothes that belong to these corpses. I think it might be safer if you remained in my arms!"
Cynthia could only give in to Bella's manipulations. She was in no position to refuse any of Bella's enforced decisions. As she literally had nothing at all, she had no choice but to go along with anything Bella said!
"Bella, I think more people have entered the area. There are probably close to twenty of them and they are approaching fast. I'm sure that you do not want any of them so see Cynthia in her current state!"
"Of course. Seriously, what has the world come to? I can't even stake my claim on a forbidden area like this without a fight. Why don't they claim the cemeteries on Mount Vernon's peak instead of coming here to s.n.a.t.c.h this territory from me?"
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