Fresh blood splashed on the spot.
　Creon's holy sword slashed Flora from the front.

　Flora screamed and collapsed on the spot.
　The astrologer's yellow clothing was stained with blood.

　Creon says quietly.

'I've noticed that you're critical of my methods. The reason I didn't avoid the crystal sword earlier was to make it clear that you are a traitor. I'm the leader of the Salvation Knights and the de facto commander of the invasion force. And Flora tried to kill me. Therefore, Flora can be charged with treason here and now.

''If it wasn't for you your sister wouldn't have done such a horrible thing and senior Solon wouldn't have been kicked out.

　Flora says with a strained breath.
　Creon ignores Flora's words and instead drives what looks like a clear stake into Flora's chest.

　Flora lets out another high-pitched scream.

　Creon then goes to Arte, who looks completely stiff.

　Hurriedly I went to Flora and bent down.

　She's pretty seriously injured, so if I don't treat her quickly, it'll be too late.
　Besides, the transparent stake is worrisome. I think it's some kind of magical equipment, but I have no idea what it is, and I can't pull it out.

　As I began to use my recovery magic, Flora shook her head.

''I'm........a bad boy. Terrible things to the Demon King's descendants...''

Don't talk. You won't be able to save yourself.

More than me.........sister........

　When I turned around to look, Creon had put his hand on Arte's shoulder with a pop.

'Don't worry, Arte. The demon king has not been destroyed. If it can be annihilated with the power of a flora, there is no reason for Saul to keep it sealed here for two thousand years.

The Demon King is alive?

　Creon smiled at Arte's question and quickly drove an equally transparent stake into Arte's chest area.

　Arte's eyes widened and he let out a small scream, "Oh!

　Creon raised his voice.

''This woman Arte assaulted the nobleman's daughter, Lairen Remilia, and attempted to kidnap His Royal Highness Filia. Since that crime is not light, I hereby impose a punishment of death penalty.

''That........even Creon-senpai knew that, didn't he?

'I don't need you to lie to me. I didn't know about it until after Karelia's accusations that I too knew about it.

　Without hesitation, the twin swordsman Karelia agreed with Creon's words. He then said that Karelia had been threatened by Arte, and had been unwillingly made to take part in the evil.

　But it was Creon who was lying.
　Arte's evil deeds must have been done with Creon's approval, and even if it was Arte's outburst, Creon must have given his tacit approval to everything after the fact.

　That's why Creon is trying to purge this place by making accusations against Arte for some reason.

''There are countless other charges against you, such as embezzlement of knight's property and kidnapping and illegally enslaving a commoner's daughter. And you also tried to conspire with your sister to kill me in collusion.

'No!　I didn't know Flora was going to do that - yikes!

　Creon kicked up the cowering Arte.
　Then he grabbed his hair and dragged his face up.

'Everything involves sacrifice. I'm willing to sacrifice however much I can for the sake of gaining great power. I'm sure that's what Arte said. Then I'll have you sacrifice yourself!

　At the same time as Creon's words, the transparent stake driven into Arte's chest began to glow red.

''Ahh........Kyaaaaaah!　Somebody help--aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

　Arte let out a scream that pierced his ears, and he sprawled in place.
　He was in extreme pain.

　At the same time, a rush of magic power was being generated from Arte's body.
　The reason for the intense pain was probably because she was being forcibly deprived of magic power.

　It was the same for Flora. It would have been a greater burden for Flora, who had been severely injured to begin with.
　Flora gasped in intense pain and looked at me as if seeking relief.

　Anyway, Flora's blood alone has to be stopped.
　But someone tapped me on the shoulder.

　It was Creon.

"Solon. There's no reason for you to help these women.

But...

You have to choose who you're going to help. If you don't you'll lose everything. You can't save these two anymore. You're going to be the sacrifice for the resurrection of the Demon King.

Arte and Flora?

Yeah. These two are excellent magicians. And they used a large number of the Demon King's descendants until they were destroyed to increase their magical power.

'Creon had you two using the Demon King's offspring, didn't he?

　Creon ignored my words and continued.

''Arte and Flora's blood is quite close to the descendants of the Demon King. And the more excellent the sacrifice itself is, the more efficiently it can be used as a medium for resurrecting the Demon King. In other words, we have a better chance of success using these two than sacrificing the Demon King's descendants themselves.

'Sacrificing Filia-sama to resurrect the Demon King is...'

'Did Flora say that?　Yes, that is exactly what Arte might have intended. But I am a loyal servant of this empire. How could I possibly be in such awe?

　Creon laughed in amusement.
　Underneath my feet, Flora no longer had the strength to scream, or she was saying in a muffled voice, "Help.............help me.

　The recovery from my recovery magic alone was clearly not enough to wear Flora down too fast.

　However, no other adventurer was willing to help Flora, or even Arte, for that matter.

　Arte was fighting the adventurers of the attackers who were trying to escape by force, and they were resenting him in the first place.

　In particular, the adventurers on my side had no reason to help Arte at all.

　The summoner Notaras and the swordsman Rascalos are Arte's nemesis.
　The black mage Nasha would rather be on the side that wants to kill Arte.
　It was Arte who had severely assaulted Nasha's master, Lairen Remilia, until he was crippled in the middle.

　And Flora was that Arte's sister, and moreover, she tried to kill Creon.

　There was no one who dared to be Creon's enemy.
　I asked in a trembling voice, "What is Creon's purpose?

'What in the world does Creon want?　Resurrecting the Demon King is for Creon himself, plus it violates the church's prohibition, right?　Flora told me so.

'The most unforgivable of Arte's sins is that he insulted Shea.

　I wasn't sure for a moment what that story had to do with Creon's true purpose, but I was flabbergasted.

　A magic that touches on the prohibitions of the church, and then requires an enormous amount of magic to use the power of a demon king.
　And what Creon truly wants.

'To bring back to life a girl who was once one of us, a girl who had died. Resurrecting Shea, resurrecting the dead, is my goal.

　Creon said with a determined look on his face.