I already knew who was behind all of this. I knew who had been manipulating Hinata. Using my Absolute Probability Manipulation, I made it appear to the attackers—the Seven Luminary Clerics—that Hinata had been struck by the sword. They had no idea she was still alive, trapped under my Judgment of Osirion, suffering immense pain. This was her punishment for defying me, for her stubbornness.
Her chest had been pierced by a searing heat ray. I immediately caught her before she fell.
"Oi… Hinata, can you stay with me?" I demanded.
"Gu…huh…" she croaked.
Blood spilled from her lips. She pressed her hands against the wound, attempting to cast magic, but it was useless. She couldn't even form a sound. All her strength had drained, and she collapsed onto me.
My clothes were drenched red as her life force waned. If I didn't act, she would die here, with no one understanding why.
I reached into my Stomach dimension and produced a healing potion, spraying it across her chest. Normally, her body would begin regenerating immediately. Yet nothing happened.
«Answer. Subject "Hinata Sakaguchi" appears to possess high resistance to magic. Her body automatically disintegrates magicules to nullify the effect.»
"Magic… nullification?" I muttered through gritted teeth.
"M-Magic doesn't work on Hinata-sama. It's the same for healing magic. Any system based on magicules will fail," Arnaud said, shaking his head as he hurried over.
If that was the case… would Holy Magic, independent of magicules, even work? My potion could not save her.
"Right! Don't just stand there! Cast Holy Magic—now! There's still a chance!" I barked.
Arnaud and the others reacted, but suddenly glowing chains erupted from thin air, restraining them.
From a rift in the air, two figures emerged, kneeling before me with unnerving precision.
"We've not met before, Demon Lord Atem," they said in cold unison. "We are the Seven Luminary Clerics. We have come to execute Hinata Sakaguchi for defying our orders."
Their arrogance filled the air. Hinata lay on the ground, her consciousness slipping. Arnaud and the others were bound, powerless.
I narrowed my eyes, aura flaring. "I do not care for your quarrels. Stay out of this. Hinata has made amends. She will not die on my watch."
The Seven Luminaries ignored me completely, gestures exaggerated, voices dripping with self-importance.
"Regrettably," one said, his tone like a sermon, "that cannot be allowed. Hinata has disobeyed the holy will of Luminas. Her defiance is an unforgivable crime. She must face divine judgment."
All self-important, speaking as if she were theirs to condemn.
"B-But!" Arnaud shouted.
"She has her reasons! Please forgive Hinata-sama!" another Holy Knight cried out, but their protests were ignored.
Then, one of the Holy Knights—the captain who had led a hundred knights—shouted furiously. "Stop! You tricked us! You planned from the beginning to have Hinata-sama killed!"
Chaos erupted. Another soldier drew his sword and plunged it into the captain mid-shout.
"—Wha—Garde! What are you doing?!" the captain gasped.
"How dare you slander the prestigious Seven Luminaries? You conspired with that traitor Hinata to deceive us all!" Garde bellowed.
Even the restrained knights were shaken. Whose words were true? Who could they trust? The immense authority of the Seven Luminaries was terrifying, yet something felt… off.
I studied Hinata, noting that the heat ray that pierced her chest seemed to originate from Garde's direction. Was this truly his attack, or another layer of manipulation?
My mind sharpened. The situation is under control all part of my illusion.
I gritted my teeth, tightening my grip around Hinata. "Enough. I will not let her die—not by your hands, not by anyone's. If you stand in my way, you will face me directly."
The air trembled with the weight of my presence. My Demon Lord aura flared, distorting space around us. The Seven Luminaries' smug expressions faltered slightly. They had underestimated the severity of facing Atem, Demon Lord of Eterna.
They said they'd come to punish Hinata for defying orders. The Seven Luminaries announced it plainly—no stealth, no subtlety. At the very least, they weren't openly antagonising me. That only simplified matters.
How should I punish them? Hinata would not die. That wasn't the point. She would learn.
Part of this had been requested by Shizue-san. Part of it was because the misunderstanding was on the verge of clearing up. I could have ended the farce quickly, but I wanted the lesson to land hard.
"I'll hear your justification later," I said flatly, my voice cutting through the hubbub. "This is my land while you stand in it. You will obey the Law of my nation. Arnaud—cast healing on Hinata, now."
My kingdom had no such written law, but the pretense worked. It gave me leverage, and leverage was useful.
They refused.
"That cannot be," one of the Luminaries declared, eyes blazing with pious fury. "We of the Luminas Order swore loyalty to the god Luminas. Not even a message from Demon Lord Atem will make us bend. We will not cooperate."
They started citing doctrine, quoting scripture, invoking edicts to hold off the Holy Knights who tried to help. The glow of their authority pushed back, and for a moment, the scene threatened to turn into a courtroom rather than a battlefield.
There was no time to debate theology. I felt the threads of patience snap. Before I could give the order I wanted, Diablo's voice pinged into my head through the Telepathy Net.
"Atem-sama. Urgent report—"
"Speak."
"We uncovered those behind Archbishop Reyhiem's murder. Evidence points straight to the Seven Luminaries themselves."
My jaw tightened. Timing. Good. Diablo had done his part cleanly.
"Can you gather proof?."
"Yes, many reporters saw the scene. I'll handle it—exterminate them on my authority."
I let the permission hang for a beat. Diablo had the green light.
Perfect timing. The knot of lies began to unravel exactly as I'd hoped. The culprits weren't random fanatics. The Seven Luminaries—those who had come to deal with Hinata—were the manipulators. They'd engineered the chaos to discredit Hinata and throw the field into confusion. Garde and Renard, the Holy Knights who'd turned on each other, were pawns. The man who thrust a blade through Renard's side had been compromised; the heat-ray that pierced Hinata had the fingerprints of that plot. Committing those crimes within range of my Universal Perception was tantamount to confessing.
No more charity today. They'd already caused too much trouble. I could have handed them to Diablo and let him mete out immediate, brutal justice—but I wanted to do things my way as well. A lesson from me would be colder, clearer.
"Benimaru. Souei." My voice was calm, but firm. "Detain the Seven Luminaries. If they resist, use force."
"Understood!" Benimaru's hand tightened around his blade. Souei's expression went unreadable. Both moved like coiled springs.
The Luminaries glared at me, hatred burning in their eyes. I ignored it and continued.
"Shion."
"Yes!" she snapped, lively and ready.
"You take Garde."
Shion's face shifted—surprise, then resolve. She dropped into position like a hunting blade answering its name.
I watched the Seven Luminaries, cold and precise. They still clung to doctrine and sanctimony; they still believed themselves untouchable because of a god's name. Let them. Authority that hides corruption will break hardest when exposed.
Arnaud staggered from his restraints and rushed to cast whatever holy rites he could. The other knights, shaken and uncertain, tried to move. My orders gave them a legal pretext to comply with my commands; my presence made refusal dangerous. The reporters who had been lingering—Diablo's witnesses—shifted with the tension, pens and lenses trembling.
"Listen," I said quietly, and the words landed like iron. "You will speak. Tell us everything you did, why you struck Hinata, who ordered you. Confess, now. If you lie, I will make the truth very plain."
The Seven Luminaries stiffened. They were proud men, wrapped in prayer like armour. Pride dies slowest, but it does die.
One of them opened his mouth, voice like dry scripture. "You do not have the right—"
"You're mistaken," I finished for him. "You have already acted. You executed the deed within my sight. Your rights ended the moment you used the Church to mask murder."
His face went white. The others around him looked around for escape routes and found none. Benimaru and Souei were already moving to encircle, not to strike—yet. That restraint was my intent. I wanted testimonies, not corpses. I wanted names shouted into record, not buried.
Then I told Shion "Don't get careless — one of those Seven Luminaries could be disguised," I said.
"Got it! I'll tear their masks off and show them hell!" Shion replied, already drawing her oodachi with a grin that promised blood. She wanted the fight. I wouldn't stop her. In fact, I wanted to see how far she'd go.
Two of the Seven Luminaries muttered between themselves, panicked and haughty at once. "This is madness… we'll be waging total war."
"Then do it properly," I answered coldly. "Leaving you alive only sows future disasters."
Faces among the Holy Knights went taut. They'd been stunned, then furious. Arnaud pointed his sword directly at the Luminaries, voice shaking with rage. "You murdered Archbishop Reyhiem. You tried to pin it on us. Do you have the nerve to stand by that?"
The Luminaries only laughed — shrill, cruel. "Kukuku… exposed, are we? The Saint is already dead. Atem, aren't you tired from your duel with Hinata? This is the perfect cover!"
They had no shame. They dropped the act completely and revealed what they were: schemers who would burn a continent to hide their crimes. Laughter full of malice echoed across the field. My skin went cold with a different kind of anger — the one that demands punishment, not show.
Benimaru, Souei, and Shion moved at once. They surged forward to take the traitors. Good. No hesitation. But the Luminaries had anticipated that reaction.
"You idiots," one spat as they began to float, distancing themselves. "You think you see through us? We planned for this. We always planned for this."
Shion lunged for Garde, blade arcing — and he vanished into air as well. The three ascended and locked into positions that formed a huge triangle. Runes began to burn beneath their feet, lines lacing outward as one massive magic circle took form. The circle would cover more than us: the two Beastketeers, the gathered Holy Knights, anyone nearby. They were going to wipe everything clear to erase the evidence.
"Black Flame Prison — Hellflare!" one cried, and the sky answered with a black fireball.
"Web Slash of Monsters!" another shouted, and a sticky, razor-thread net unfurled, meant to rip through armor and iron.
Their spells hit the air with theatrical confidence, like men pressing buttons on someone else's doom. "Futile," they sneered. "This circle will dispel everything but the holy element. Your monsters' attacks — worthless."
"Human wisdom has grown through the ages," they crowed. "Monsters are arrogant with their strength. We will not lose to animals!"
Shion barked back, pride flaring. "Shut up! Your tricks won't work on my Hercules Ex!"
She dove, blade a comet aimed straight at the nearest Luminary. She moved with that reckless brilliance she always had — headlong, unstoppable. Their mocking laughter froze mid-phrase when a clean, white line split the air before them. Space itself cracked like thin ice.
For a heartbeat everything hung on that split: a cold, precise cut in the world that made the Luminaries' runes shudder.
"No — what is this?" one of them spat, surprise breaking the mask.