Royal Secret: I'm a Princess!

456 WHEN EVILS UNITE (2)

CALLISTO de Luca would admit that in his present state, killing Ruston Stroganoff would be difficult for him.

Thus, his priority was to save Calyx.

Escaping from the purple-haired boy with the Masterpiece wouldn't be impossible. He might suffer some damage, but he could take it since he wasn't using his temporary body was replaceable, anyway.

[But the fact that Ruston Stroganoff easily knocked Calyx down is a problem.]

Would the royal princess pretending to be the Crown Prince capable of taking down the Masterpiece, too?

"Callisto de Luca, should I help you get rid of Ruston Stroganoff?"

He raised an eyebrow when a "child" who looked like he was around eight years old appeared in front of him as soon as he stepped out of the mansion. If he didn't know any better, he'd think it was just a lost noble child.

But, of course, there was no way a "child" with glowing red eyes could get lost in a mansion hidden in the middle of a trap and barrier-filled mountain.

"A god," Raven, who was walking behind him, said in disbelief. "But who…?"

This was the first time that he saw the "child," but judging by the pure Darkness inside him, he could only think of one god who could possess such power.

"Helstor, the God of Eternal Darkness," Callisto said indifferently. "Are you here to fight?"

Most of the crows were Darkness attribute users.

But it didn't mean they worshipped the God of Eternal Darkness, the same way the de Lucas didn't worship Yule, even though they were also born with divine power from the Moon.

"I'm not here to fight," Helstor said, then he tilted his head to one side. "Why would you even think that, Callisto de Luca?"

He rolled his eyes before he gave a response. "We have conflicting goals, Helstor. I exist with the intention of ruling the world. But you're a lunatic who wanted to drown the entire world in Absolute Darkness."

"That's quite an accusation, Callisto de Luca," the God of Eternal Darkness complained. "Why does everyone think I was the one who caused the Absolute Darkness during the Ancient Period? I was just a child back then."

"Then what are your intentions for approaching me?"

"You and your clan succeeded in modifying the Darkness substance that you got from the Dark Elves that you massacred for your little experiment," Helstor said. "You know that the Dark Elves are some of the few followers that I have, don't you?"

Ah, so the God of Eternal Darkness had been keeping an eye on his clan all this time.

They had to modify Darkness in order to use it without getting purified by their divine power. After all, the de Lucas were born with divine power, just like the de Moonasterios. Granted that their divine power was weaker than what Yule's descendants possessed, it would still automatically purify any kind of Darkness that would enter their bodies.

Thus, modification was needed.

"The divine power of gods like me relies on the faith that our followers have in us," Helstor continued. "Major gods like Yule and the Sun Goddess have remained very strong from the Ancient Period until today because they govern two of the biggest continents in the world."

That was true.

"On the other hand, I've grown weak after the Ancient Period," Helstor lamented. "The humans born after the Ancient Period were instilled with fear of Darkness, so only a few people who believed that Darkness isn't inherently evil continued to worship me. But as time goes by, they grew smaller in number, too."

"That's right," he agreed. "I heard that you almost became a nameless god, since most people have forgotten about your existence already." He raised a brow at that god. "Thus, I'm surprised that you're still alive."

"Youngsters these days are really rude, huh?"

"I don't have time to listen to your nagging, old man," he said. "I don't have time, so tell me what you want from me already."

"Let's make a deal," Helstor said bluntly. "I'll help you get rid of Ruston Stroganoff. But in return, I want you to "raise" Hanna Quinzel in my stead."

"Too bad our Masterpiece wants Hanna Quinzel dead," he said, rejecting the god's offer right away. "Moreover, I don't need your help to get rid of a child. I may not be a pureblood like you, but half of me is still a god."

"You and your so-called Masterpiece would die at Ruston Stroganoff's hands without my help."

He smirked while shaking his head. "Ridiculous–"

[Argh!]

He groaned internally when Helstor's red eyes glowed brightly. The blinding light hurt his eyes, but he couldn't close his eyes to avoid it. His eyes remained wide open while unfamiliar images flooded his mind.

The first image he saw was about Calyx's death. In that vision, Calyx died when Ruston Stroganoff stabbed the Masterpiece in the heart with Moonblood– the weapon that he created in the past to torture and kill the female de Moonasterios who would get in his way. He would also use that dagger to threaten the male de Moonasterios he wanted to control.

[But Brother Yule confiscated the Moonblood from me in the past. How did Ruston Stroganoff get a hold of it when I didn't even know where my brother hid the dagger?]

Moreover, Ruston Stroganoff also knew that he needed to keep attacking Calyx after he pierced his heart with the Moonblood. He created powerful lightning bolts and struck the Masterpiece with them until the latter died.

[Those lightning bolts aren't normal…]

His thoughts were distracted when the vision he saw next was his own death.

He really died.

Ruston Stroganoff just didn't destroy his temporary body– the young man also crushed his Essence. It was the thing that was protecting his soul.

[If it gets crushed, I would be gone for real…]

For the first time in a long while, he actually experienced fear again.

"That was the vision I saw," Helstor said, snapping him out of his trance. "I'm certain you could tell whether the visions I showed you were real or not."

That was true.

And the visions that Helstor showed him weren't fabricated.

"Who is Ruston Stroganoff?" he asked, confused and frustrated. "All I gathered was he was only supposed to be one of the Sun Goddess' representatives who was tasked with protecting the Cyran Temple."

"That was what I thought at first, too," the god said. "But you'll realize something is strange with that boy once you meet him."

It looked like Helstor already figured out who Ruston Stroganoff was.

"Why are you to trying to save me and my Masterpiece?" he asked carefully. "You asked me to "raise" Hanna Quinzel in your stead. But as far as I know, the Quinzels originally worshipped you, the God of Eternal Darkness. Why don't you raise her on your own?"

"The Quinzels no longer trust me after I helped Rufus Quinzel in the past," Helstor said. "Moreover, I made an oath with Rufus when we agreed to help each other before. He dealt with some scoundrels who used Darkness to commit atrocities that I didn't approve of. In return, I promised him that I would harm none of his family members. Thus, I cannot lay a hand on Hanna Quinzel."

"Harm?" he asked, confused. "But you just asked me to raise Hanna Quinzel."

The God of Eternal Darkness smiled.

And that cruel smile sent shivers down his spine.

"Callisto de Luca, do you think you raised your little crows properly?"

It took him a minute before he understood what Helstor wanted him to do.

Then he laughed out loud.

Of course, he didn't "raise" the little crows the way a normal person would raise their child.

"I see," Callisto said when he calmed down. "You want me to "raise" Hanna Quinzel that way. But if she breaks along the way, don't blame me for it."

"I don't care if you break Hanna Quinzel little by little– just don't kill her right away," Helstor said, then he smiled "innocently" at him. "The taste of the Quinzels' despair is scrumptious– so I want to savor it for as long as I can."

***

CALLISTO was actually skeptical when he made the deal with Helstor.

After all, he knew better than trusting a god.

But after he saw Ruston Stroganoff's real strength, he was glad that he accepted the offer made by the God of Eternal Darkness.

[I almost died…]

When Ruston Stroganoff used the Moonblood and its thousands of replicas against him, he survived thanks to the barrier that he created. Moreover, Helstor distracted the boy so he failed to release his final blow.

Because Ruston Stroganoff was distracted, his control over the daggers weakened.

That was when he had the chance to break free and destroy the daggers. Then he grabbed the original Moonblood. When he saw that Ruston Stroganoff was busy with dealing with Helstor, he took that chance to hand Calyx over to the unexpected reinforcement that came with Raven.

But it was risky.

"Why did you show up here?" Callisto asked while handing the unconscious Calyx over to that person. "What if Ruston Stroganoff saw and recognized you?"

"I altered my voice and my appearance, so Chef Ruto won't recognize me," the man clad in a black hooded cloak assured him. "Chef Ruto can't see the faces of average people like me."

Well, that was true.

According to their investigation, Ruston Stroganoff couldn't recognize the faces of ordinary people. But apparently, the boy could see Spirits and divine beings like gods clearly. Thus, their mole had been safe all this time.

"It wouldn't hurt to be careful, so leave now," he said. "Take Calyx back to the mansion."

The man just nodded, then he disappeared with Calyx.

After he had secured his Masterpiece's safety, he hid his presence and attacked Ruston Stroganoff from behind. He stabbed the young man in the back, the Moonblood piercing through his chest.

But even if he didn't do that, Ruston Stroganoff was already on the verge of dying.

He didn't know what Helstor did, but the young man was paralyzed and his overwhelming Mana was fluctuating.

[Ah, I can relax now.]

"How dare you make me bait?" he complained to Helstor. "My Masterpiece almost got damaged badly because of your ridiculous plan, Helstor."

Yes, it was Helstor's plan for him to hold back when fighting Ruston Stroganoff earlier.

That was the reason why he just kept on defending instead of attacking.

"Don't complain when you survived," Helstor said in a nagging voice. "And I see that you already sent your Masterpiece to a safe place, so why are you still complaining?"

It was true, but he didn't like the fact that Calyx was almost damaged beyond repair.

"Callisto de Luca, you don't stand a chance against the real God Slayer," Helstor said, then he turned to Ruston Stroganoff with glowing red eyes. "He's the child of the god among gods sent to this world to hunt us down."

The real God Slayer?

There could be hundreds of God Slayers in the world, but only one would be acknowledged by the gods themselves.

It was the God Slayer who carried the blood of the god among gods.

[Ruston Stroganoff is that child…?]

But this young man's parents…

"Callisto de Luca, get away from Ruston Stroganoff!"

His body moved on its own as soon as Helstor yelled in an urgent voice. Before he knew it, he already teleported behind the god.

But Helstor didn't need to actually tell him to get away from the child.

He also felt Ruston Stroganoff's increasing Mana and divine power. The two mixed and reached to the point where his body could have exploded.

But as soon as Callisto and Helstor jumped away from the child, he froze.

Ruston Stroganoff's fluctuating Mana and divine power suddenly halted. Then the young man fell to his knees while coughing up blood. But even though he looked like he was in a terrible state, there was still a dangerous aura around him.

Thus, he and Helstor didn't approach Ruston Stroganoff yet.

[How can someone who's on his knees while coughing up blood remain looking so powerful?]

Was it Ruston Stroganoff's eyes?

[His glowing dark purple eyes are still full of life…]

His thoughts were once again distracted when, all of a sudden, the night sky literally lit up.

A huge burning stone had dropped from the above, appearing to crush Ruston Stroganoff. But the huge burning stone disappeared before it hit the young man. Then the stone turned into a barrier made from fire.

The Sun Fire, to be precise.

[The Sun Goddess…?]

Then a blinding light exploded on the spot where Ruston Stroganoff was.

And just like that, the boy disappeared.

Callisto knitted his eyebrows. "Was it the Sun Goddess?"

"No, I made sure the Sun Goddess wouldn't be able to leave her little palace," Helstor said confidently. "It was probably the Sun Priestess."

Ah, so the people of the East Continent were getting involved now, huh?

[Well, Yule is on good terms with the Sun Goddess.]

"Helstor, is it okay to let Ruston Stroganoff escape like that?"

"It's alright– I already got what I wanted from that child when I ate some of his despair earlier."

Callisto raised an eyebrow. "What did you get from him?"

"Some of his memories," Helstor said, smiling as if he was satisfied. "Callisto de Luca, have you ever heard of people called Regressors?"