As Fafnir expected, Dante enjoyed the honey cake. Though he felt sadness for not being able to eat it by himself, he satisfied himself by eating a few spoons of sugar.

Fafnir was now sitting on Elizabeth's shoulders, his fingerless small hands holding her head firmly for support.

His job now was simply listening and observing to give Dante all the information, though the sharp gazes he was receiving from the guards were a bit annoying.

Being able to learn about the world while being in the forest was a welcoming thing in his current situation. Seeing the brutal video-like scroll showed him that Uldor's reputation wasn't for nothing, unlike the dragons who were slandered instead.

After a few minutes, the first important figure arrived.

"Oh, it's a saintess!"

At the entrance of the hall, a beautiful woman with scarlet eyes with star-like pupils and short hair with the same color arrived.

She also had a pair of scarlet wings and a small halo floating above her head, highlighting her race as an Angel.

She waved to them happily while passing by them until she reached the gate of the meeting room. She gently opened the gates and clenched her hand into a fist before raising it upward.

"Remember! We might die in this war, it might be your chance! Never give up!"

BAM!

As she left those words behind, she closed the gate and left everyone staring at the closed gate.

"..."

Her statement was strange.

They knew that they had to wait for a saintess to die to take her position, but she didn't have to say it like this!

One by one, the saintesses continued arriving. All of them gave encouraging words to the candidates in their own ways, without hinting at their own death.

Elizabeth was among those who felt touched by their words. She felt that there was hope for her, even though there were many other candidates.

But as the people in the hall were speaking and smiling happily…

"...!"

An intense pressure suddenly struck all of them.

They felt as if they were in the depths of the ocean. There was nothing truly on them, but they still felt that pressure, stopping them even from moving their heads. It was like an imaginary or invisible force that none of them could see, though for some experienced people, they knew that it was real.

It truly wasn't a physical pressure, but spiritual pressure!

Tap… Tap… Tap… Tap…

The sound of footsteps echoed through the silent manor. It grew closer and closer with every passing second, until someone finally entered the hall.

Fafnir's eyes squinted as he barely turned his head enough to see that individual.

He was a man in shining, light armor with long white hair. Not the white hair of old age, but like a natural charming white hair.

He had a white crown hovering above a golden halo above his head, it was inlaid with several golden gemstones and had a diving appearance.

His sharp features showed him as a man in his mid-thirties, not too old nor too young. And the most attractive feature about him were his eyes.

He had a pair of sharp, piercing, golden eyes. As Fafnir stared at them, he and Dante couldn't help but feel that there was something special about those eyes. It wasn't their first time seeing such color, but something deep inside them told them that the golden color wasn't normal.

And lastly, he had two pairs of golden wings on his back, not the sharp wings of the dragons, but beautiful wings with golden feathers.

After reading some books in the library, Dante was able to easily recognise this man.

He was Zaragoza, the only king of the Holy Kingdom, and one of the few living Crowned Existences.

While all the people seemed to fear his presence as he passed, Dante and Fafnir saw different things in him.

'He looks… sad and… depressed?'

Of course, he was. Why wouldn't he after his enemies showed him how they were torturing his daughter, mocking him as a father rather than a king.

He ignored everyone and walked toward the meeting room, giving only a small glance toward Fafnir.

BAM!

As he entered the meeting room, he closed the gate brutally, causing small cracks to spread across the walls reaching the floor and the ceiling.

It should be mentioned that the manor was made of Grade 3 materials, making it hard to scratch even for Dante.

The candidates looked at that sight in fear. Some of them had seen him several times, yet it was their first time seeing him that furious.

"I think some rumours are real…" A candidate suddenly whispered: "The scrolls truly affected him."

BAM!

Something suddenly hit the gate inside the room, but no one wanted to check what happened. They all stayed silent while waiting for the meeting to end.

¢¢¢

The meeting room.

"And why can't we?!" Zaragoza glared at the woman with scarlet hair: "Scarlett, you only have to go there and make a request! No matter how confident Valor is, he won't be arrogant enough to ignore the angels."

Scarlett, the angel with scarlet hair, rubbed the back of her head. She was just thrown against the gate brutally, as though she was a small toy.

She shook her head and smiled: "I'd like to do that, but we can't. It's not like I don't understand your feelings as a father, but as a king, she's only one person among all your people."

"She might be a bit talented, but that doesn't make her valuable to the angels. If we do as you wish and make a request, they'll either refuse or ask for something from you."

Scarlett sighed: "They might ask for one of the kingdom's treasures, some of our best fresh talents, your most valuable relics, or even your Crown of Existence itself. I'm sorry, but… compared to your daughter, they are all more worthy."

As she said that, Zaragoza suddenly appeared in front of her and kicked her in the head brutally. He controlled the force of his kick to affect only her.

CRACK!

The sound of her jaw breaking echoed through the room. But surprisingly, she sat her jaw back to its place, easily fixing it, and smiled sweetly: "Do you feel any better now—!"

BAM!

CRACK!

SPLASH!

The king rained hundreds or thousands of rapid kicks on her head. Despite the speed, all of them carried insane, heavy force.

Her bones shattered, turning into powder. Then the kicks started affecting her flesh and brain, splashing blood, flesh, and brain matter all across the room.

Eventually, King Zaragoza returned to his seat beside the other saintesses and rubbed his temple, leaving a headless body behind him.

The other saintesses didn't even flinch at that sight, as they noticed that there were no core shards scattered with the head remains.

All of a sudden, Scarlett's body stood up, the halo above it gleaming brightly. The next second, the skull bones formed, followed by the brain, the flesh, the eyes, and ending with the skin.

Just like this, Scarlett returned with her former sweet smile. The only proof of what happened to her was her bald head and the blood covering her dress.

"Masochist bitch." One of the saintesses, a woman with cyan hair, remarked with a disgusted face.

Scarlett blinked with an innocent, sad expression: "Oh my, Mia, is this how you thank me for taking his wrath instead of you? How can you all be so ungrateful…"

The king glared at her sharply, while Mia, the woman with cyan hair, clicked her tongue, but she didn't deny what Scarlett said.

She and the other saintesses knew what the king wanted from them. The decision of rejecting his request was already made. Despite that, they decided to let Scarlett be their spokesperson.

Zaragoza was known to the higher-ups for having a quick temper. Although that wasn't shown for the public, there were many accidents when his anger caused some injuries, not to mention how angry he would be because of the news about his daughter.

For this, the saintesses decided to let Scarlett receive all the blame when they had to reject his request.

They didn't feel any guilt for two reasons. The first reason was that Scarlett had an insane regeneration ability, turning her into a semi-immortal angel.

The second reason and the most important one was the fact that Scarlett enjoyed it!

They all knew that she was both a masochist and a sadist. She enjoyed both feeling and causing pain, which turned her into the most perfect punching bag for the king.

Scarlett casually sat beside Zaragoza and cast a spell on herself. Instantly, he hair grew until it reached its former length.

"Do you feel better now, my king~?" Scarlett asked, slightly tilting her head.

Zaragoza glared at the other saintesses, who showed nervous expressions, and hissed while pointing at his crown: "Then what do you suggest? If you don't find me a solution, then I'm ready to hand over this Crown and end everything!"

Scarlett shook her head and, as if expecting him to say that, said: "You can't do that. Your power as a Crowned Existence is what's stopping the other kingdoms from working with Valor. If you hand it over, then he can later attack us again with more power and numbers later."

"Not to mention, having a Crown of Existence will allow him to advance in ranks, which will increase his power significantly. Additionally, if we hand it over, then any other kingdom might kidnap someone from the royal family and ask for our treasures."

As she said that, Scarlett sighed: "For the sake of the kingdom, we have no other choice but to ignore the princess for now. The only thing you can do is ensure that no other traitors would appear."

Zaragoza gritted his teeth and clenched his fist: "What if we ask the Guardian for help?"

Staring at Zaragoza's clenched fist, Scarlett shook her head: "He'll refuse. Last time we tried, he said that you need more… more…" She held her own chin thoughtfully, trying to remember something, then her eyes gleamed: "Character Development."

BAM!

The king punched her, throwing her to the gate again, and glared at the other saintesses.

"I didn't even ask to be the king. Why do I have to consider the kingdom before my own child?"

He asked that question expecting no answers. But apparently, they expected that question as Scarlett was the one who answered again.

"Because that's your duty… as the strongest member of the royal family." She hit the side or her head with her palm, stopping the ringing in her ears: "All the people here are relying on you. You can't sacrifice them for only one person."

Zaragoza opened his mouth, but before he could mutter a word, Scarlett continued: "Also, I think we're now discussing the wrong topics. As saintesses, our job is related to the angels. We aren't meant to discuss any personal things. Maybe you can talk about that with the general council."

She touched the side of her head, the part that was just hit, her face blushing as a smile crept over her face: "Umm… it's not like I mind, of course~"

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