Volume 1 Chapter 13: A Deal with the Dark Side?
Translator: The Light
Edits by Lord Immortal
Bella successfully obtained an improved version of the camera from Andrea but since she did not have another set of clothes in hand, they brought Andrea along with them on Noesha’s dimension-traversing tour company. After they finish their business in the next dimension, they would return to Bella’s dimension and she would make a new set of clothes for Andrea.
This was the third dimension that Bella and company were visiting. A strong aura of darkness swept through them the moment they stepped in. Above them, dark clouds stretched for as far as the eye could see, and not far from them was an entirely black continent. Bella and company sat upon Bethia’s magic carpet and headed towards the tallest peak at the center of the black continent.
“Hey Bethia, do you have any more magic carpets like this?”
“I do have some extras, but I don’t think they will work in your dimension since your dimension’s magic structure is different from mine. It works fine here as the magic structure is the same.”
“Magic is not ubiquitous, Bella; why don’t I give you some flying crafts? You can use them in any dimension and can come to me if they stop working.”
“It’s fin as, my dimension doesn’t have a usable power source for your machines, so I won’t be able to use your tech for long either.”
After flying for quite some time, they finally reached a black castle situated on the mountain. There was a small figure easily visible on the walls of the fortress.
“It’s been a while, Noesha... why did you bring three... er, two creators to my place? I don’t think any other creator would be interested in my dimension.”
It was theã??Dark Creatorã??Tracy Mystica’s first time seeing another creator. They could not directly interact with other creator’s dimensions as long as he was still alive; they wouldn’t even be able to enter it without the help of a Troublemaker like Noesha.
“Mystica, you’ve misunderstood. This time, it’s my sister Bella who needs your help with something. Those two tagged along for fun. We’re getting them something after we’re done here, and then they’ll return to their own dimensions.
After they descended, Noesha led the group and greeted Mystica. Only now did Bella realize that this loli with the long black horsetail was the 9th dimension’s Creator, Tracy Mystica. Her figure wasn’t much different from the previous two creators that Bella had met. She was wearing a dark black robe.
The smaller the dimension’s number, the earlier it appeared. As the 9th Creator, Mystica’s power was greater than Bethia and Andrea; both of them were rather nervous and fidgety before Mystica spoke to them.
According to Noesha’s information, this Dark Creator was the higher existence who created the terrifying Dark Dimension and had countless demon kings in her service. It turned out that she was the same as Bethia and Andrea: just a girl who had been alone for far too long.
“You want me to save these three little sisters? These two have a demon-G.o.d’s power on them, one was even originally a demon. How did they get so beaten up?” With Noesha’s help, Bella had brought Felia, Eleanor, and Dolores, placed within crystal caskets, with her.
Bella hesitated slightly but gave in to Mystica’s dark-purple irises and told her about the battle with Lisha, not mentioning anything about transmigration of course.
“You’re a demon-G.o.d and you let... never mind, where are the monsters that you created? Follow me, I’ll help your girls, and I’ll also see what can be improved about your monsters.” She gestured Bella and the others to follow her inside.
With the help from Mystica’s powers, Bella was able to move the three caskets into a mysterious room. It was large and had a black pool in the center exuding the aura of death.
“This is the G.o.d-tier equipment of your dimension? Its quality sure leaves much to be desired.”
Mystica came up to Dolores and casually pulled out the golden dagger buried in Dolores’s chest. The G.o.d-tier golden dagger turned black soon after she pulled it out, and then disintegrated into dust.
“Great Mystica, will they be able to regain their original strengths? Angel can revive the dead as well, but she said that they wouldn’t be able to fully recover as they had exhausted their bodies too much before dying.”
“Can you not add a ‘great’ in front of my name... if those two were to hear it, I... it’s fine if you call me by name alone, don’t add the great! As for their power, their current body is already at the highest potential, so even if I restore them, they won’t improve much in strength.”
“But, as all three of them have absorbed power from demons and evil G.o.ds, I can teach you how to turn them into demon kings. They will be reborn after they become demon kings and their power will also increase greatly. You should ask their opinions first though because they won’t be able to turn back the clock after they become demon kings.”
“Can you turn Felia into a demon king first? She’s actually my...”
“Er... I guess I can help with this, but your dimension already has twelve demon kings. Normally they would inherit their powers from their predecessors. If I step in, it would mean that I am indirectly tampering with your dimension’s balance, increasing the number of demon kings...”
Mystica was hesitant about helping at first but eventually gave in to Bella’s nagging, mainly because she heard that Bethia and Andrea had already helped her. She would have people to share the blame with, if something went terribly wrong. Anyways, Bella wasn’t just a demon-G.o.d, there was another ident.i.ty of hers that gave Mystica peace of mind when she decided to help.
Bella and Mystica secretly discussed for some time where she managed to get an unimaginable amount of aid from Mystica. After getting Eleanor and Dolores’ opinions, Mystica personally ‘remodeled’ Felia, Eleanor, and Dolores’ bodies. The trio now had the bodies at the level of demon kings, as well as exclusive equipment sets for each of them.
Felia’s demon king recognition ceremony was personally done by Mystica. Felia had received the power of three demons and evil G.o.ds through their blood and had the qualifications to become a demon king. Although Eleanor and Dolores also received the same power, they had gotten it from the Dark and Blood crosses, and didn’t completely meet the qualifications. However, as their body was at the level of a demon king, they would be considered quasi-demon kings, while Felia was a true demon king.
Under Mystica’s guidance, Bella discovered the faults in her monsters. Apparently, as her monsters had all been created with Angel and Mia’s help and made from the bodies of monsters that they had slain, they could only be considered modifiedâ??not officially created by a demon G.o.d. It also explained why their abilities were so low.
“Thank you so much for your guidance and aid Mystica. Can you tell me why you would go to such lengths for me? You all call me demon-G.o.d but what is my relation with the creators...”
“Listen Bella; I, Bethia, and Angel are all matrilineal creators. There’s a big difference between us and those patrilineal creators. You’ll know in the future that all the saviors and worldbreakers are actually... anyway, if you really want to thank me, just design some nice clothes for me when you have time.”
As for the reason for which Mystica cut-off one of her sentences, she didn’t feel it was the right time to ask. Bella and Noesha returned to their original dimension with a sack of goods Mystica had gifted them. One thing that made her happy was that the three loli creator-G.o.ds didn’t stop her from setting up a special gate near their resting places. This way she would be able to seek advice from them when needed, and maybe one day she would be forced to seek refuge in their dimensions.
___
When Bella returned to the Anola Clark region’s Anole Town, it had returned to its previous deserted state; the undead that were swarming its streets had all vanished into thin air.
“Angel, are all of them...?”
“I’ve dispersed all the monsters that were still alive.”
___
Several days later, in the great church of the Anola Clark strip, Bella was holding a meeting with her inner circle to discuss their plans for the future. The attendees included Angel, Mia, Eleanor, Dolores, and the two girls who were taken prisoners by Bella: Roland and Annie, who were still in the same state as when they were captured. Bella had not yet freed them from their bonds.
Roland and Annie didn’t know how to act. They initially thought that Eleanor was going to save them, but it seemed that she had joined Bella’s side. They had now lost any hope they had for someone to save them
“Sister Bella, with my help, Eleanor’s knights have pledged their absolute allegiance to us. However, as these two sisters still fail to understand their current position, do you want me to help convince them?”
Seeing Noesha cast her wicked gaze at them, Roland and Annie were scared out of their wits. This devil’s child seemed to have come from the same place as Bella who had been bullying them for the past few days. They didn’t know how Noesha broke those strong-willed female knights, but they could see that their cheeks were flushed after leaving her room. Her persuasion methods definitely weren’t anything ordinary.
“Lady Bella, I’ve gotten some of my subordinates to scout for information in the nearest town. It seems that the five empires have decided to sweep the destruction of Anti-Demon Knight Corp under the carpet. As for Annie and my brother... Sidney, the Kristoff Empire (archers/a.s.sa.s.sins) and the Octavian Empire (knights) have spread the news that they were on their honeymoon. About me and Roland, the Octavian Empire’s (knights) sources simply state that our current location is unknown.”
Eleanor paid no heed to Roland’s pleading gaze as she was already a quasi-demon king, not a human anymore. Although she didn’t wish for Roland to remain bound, she was no longer on the same side as her. Eleanor decided that she would sit back and watch unless she switched sides.
Bella didn’t expect the two empires to spread false propaganda of a successful marriage. Why don’t they just sign a pact in the first place, instead of making it so complicated?
“You may speak your mind.”
With a gesture from Bella, Noesha removed Roland and Annie’s gags. Although they had regained their ability to talk, the two of them didn’t know what to say. They had heard Bella’s conversation with the others yesterday, so they knew the latest happenings. They hadn’t expected Eleanor to betray the empire and her family and become a follower of Bella.
“Bella... Lady Bella, I wish to stay by your side. I would become a bargaining chip anyways if I were to go back , so I might as well not return at all!” Annie thought for a while before surrendering unconditionally, leaving behind a despondent Roland.
“What about you Roland? I want you to know beforehand that if you choose to go back, I can only return you like this. I’ll leave you at your family’s front door!”
“I... will stay too, just don’t send me back!”
Roland and Annie ended up giving in to Bella. She got Noesha to undo their bonds after their surrender. In order to push them to the point of no return, she took out her new camera and shot several scandalous photos of the two before letting Eleanor’s knights take them to rest in their quarters.
“Sister, through my spirits’ investigation, I’ve discovered where those people from before are: they’re at the nearby Akse Town. Are we going to...”
“You’ve worked hard Angel, it’s fine; I intend to abandon this place and move. Noesha, can you move all the buildings here into your parallel world? Mia, can you create some fodder monsters to wander this place?”
“No problem, big sister!”
“I understand sis”
Just as she was about to continue arranging everything, one of Eleanor’s knights entered to report a force of knights had set foot in the outskirts of the town. They were led by a Cardinal and Archbishop Stanley.
After knowing who had come, Bella told Angel and the others to keep out of sight. She would meet with Archbishop Stanley and the Cardinal by herself. According to Felia’s memories, she had never met a cardinal before so there wasn’t much of a chance that he would recognize her.
___
“You are Knight Bella, right? You’ve worked hard for spreading our doctrine in this place.” Cardinal Andrews Salo unemotionally looked at Bella who was performing a greeting suitable of a knight’s etiquette. He still had some suspicions in his heart, as he couldn’t see through Bella’s cultivation level.
He was someone who was even able to see through dragon knights. So if he couldn’t see through someone, it was either they were too powerful or too powerless. Since Bella was a good-looking young woman and Stanley’s significant other had pa.s.sed away many years earlier, Salo suspected that she might be Stanley’s ‘hidden lover’!
Things would be much simpler for Salo if she really was. He had thought that Stanley was an upright, but that might have been just a ploy. With this, Andrews Salo hid the killing intent in his heart; he decided to switch to plan B.
Archbishop Stanley was every bit as shocked as Cardinal Salo. Just a while ago, he had still been able to sense that Bella’s cultivation was on the level of a Holy Knight, but now he couldn’t perceive anything. Had something happened to her and she lost her cultivation completely? But that didn’t seem to be the case as her face was calm and peaceful, unlike someone who had lost everything.
“You’re called Bella right? It’s like this, the Church believes that this place is unsafe and would prefer to be in direct control of this area. Due to your unswerving loyalty and distinguished contributions to the Church, we have decided to give you a new missionary certificate. You may continue your services to the Church in another region.”
Andrews Salo handed a small box to Bella. It felt heavier than she expected it to be. She froze for a while after she opened the box. Apart from a certificate that was the same as the one that Stanley had given to her before, the box also contained several dozen gold bars.
“Then I won’t bother you two any longer, old Stanley, enjoy your chit-chat. Miss Bella, there are a lot of monsters here; I suggest that you should leave as soon as possible.”
“May the Light bless you, be careful on the way home, sir Cardinal!” Bella gave Andrews Salo an exaggerated smile. Only the most honest and virtuous person wouldn’t smile after receiving so much free gold.
Seeing Bella’s smile, Andrews Salo further confirmed his suspicions. He believed that he had doneArchbishop Stanley a favor by offering his ‘lover’ a large gift. He shouldn’t be so unwilling to help the next time he needed his help. If this old man could think through this kind of stuff earlier, he wouldn’t be a mere archbishop of an insignificant county.
“Are you alright?” Seeing the box of gold in Bella’s hands, Stanley seemed to understand Salo’s weird gaze which was jumping back and forth between them. Oh well, it’s not a bad misunderstanding; at least he won’t hurt Bella now.
“I’m fine Stanley gramps, that Cardinal...”
“He is Andrews Salo, one of the three cardinals of the Church of Light, and that’s all you need to know for now. You should leave this area without delay He’s probably planning to use this place for... never mind that, you should hurry up and get ready to move.”
Bella didn’t refute Stanley. Andrews Salo’s presence made her somewhat uncomfortable. She didn’t feel any holy or divine aura from him, but rather something sinister and evil. He was obviously not planning to end world hunger or secure world peace. As they might be birds of the same feather, she didn’t feel the need to stop him. Instead, she decided that it would be better to leave with the gold otherwise it would be tragic if Salo was to go back on his word.