TBR CH46

Chapter 46: Dancing on a Blade’s Edge

Edwin knew this moment would come. 

The Holy Son’s encounter was the fuse. The various secrets of the Church of Light were now being bandied about, and the one who had released these rumors was his opponent. Prince Angelo sometimes seemed like an overly agitated madman, but the power behind him could not be underestimated.

He was the current king’s own brother, but everyone believed he was the one who truly decided the kingdom’s major affairs. When the old king was still alive, he had doted on him excessively. Yet, for some unknown reason, he ultimately did not pass the throne to this highly anticipated child, even ordering that he did not want to see him before his death. And Angelo had acted with extreme cold-bloodedness. While his father lay dying on his sickbed, kissing the cross of the God of Light, he was in a room in the flower district, summoning a large group of courtesans, enjoying their company in his arms.

Before the old king died, he had murmured to himself: God, forgive this child.

If Angelo had heard this, he would have likely scoffed. In any case, in his youth, he had ultimately been one step short. If he hadn’t revealed a flaw, letting his father discover he had sold his soul to a demon, perhaps his brother would have died a miserable death long ago, and he would be the one wearing the crown now. Or… if he had poisoned the old king earlier.

But it made little difference now. His brother was certainly no match for him; his power had been completely usurped. The truth the old man had not spoken before his death would never be known by anyone. He was born of noble blood; he was meant to hold power over the world.

This continued until he tried to make a move against the Church of Light, only to hit a hard nail. The puppet he had so carefully chosen was perfect, yet in the final election, he was defeated by a nameless, lowly-born person.

He still remembered how Edwin had proven the inseparable connection between that candidate and the prince, and what unspeakable, filthy secrets he had been secretly involved in. And under Edwin’s meticulous logic, his opponent had nowhere to hide, stammering and flustered, casting a pleading gaze at him for help.

The moment he received that gaze, Angelo knew he had lost to him.

But it didn’t matter. He would not lose a second time. The demon lord he had made a pact with was Satha, one of the seven pillar demon gods. Angelo was well aware that the other was only interested in the promised sacrifices and souls, and looked down upon him, a humble mortal.

However, isn’t this how the world works? Based on race and bloodline, the order had long been written. Mortals could not fight demons, and a lowly birth could never compare to a noble bloodline. Satha helped him find Edwin’s greatest weakness, a weakness so fatal that Angelo felt a blazing, intense ecstasy.

“We must confirm this as soon as possible,” he did not hide his malice. The other party was already well aware of it.

The Bishop gently caressed the ruby on his scepter, then lifted his eyes, not minding the interruption just now. “Your Highness the Prince,” he began quietly, “The affairs of the Church, I’m afraid, do not yet require your concern. The devil has eroded the minds of those who spread rumors. I will pray for God’s forgiveness for them, but I have no guilt in my heart. Besides the God of Light, I need not prove anything to anyone.”

“That’s not the right way to put it…” Angelo’s smile widened. “The reputation of the Church affects the number of its believers. As a servant of God, Your Excellency the Bishop, you only need to sacrifice a little of your time to prove the falsity of this farce. Although I represent the kingdom, I am also very willing to offer everything to the God of Light. Why are you so reluctant?”

An atmosphere of tense confrontation spread between the two.

The Pope sat on his golden throne. The old man opened his eyes, carefully watching everything unfold. If he were younger, he might have had a greater desire to speak. But he was too old. One morning, looking in the mirror, he had suddenly lost his ambition, just as one might lose their appetite.

“Hmm…” he said slowly. “Edwin, my dear child, I certainly believe in your piety. But Prince Angelo’s words are not without reason. Prince, do you perhaps have a method or a witness to prove the truth of these rumors on the spot?”

That things had reached this point was, for the moment, within Edwin’s expectations. He slightly lowered his neck, indicating his acceptance of the Pope’s words.

The smile on the prince’s face stiffened slightly. “There was a witness…”

But he died yesterday. Edwin silently completed the sentence in his mind, listening as Angelo explained the situation to the Pope, not forgetting to end with a hypocritical sigh: “May God forgive his sins. He must have felt guilty for his lies.”

This was utter nonsense. No one commits suicide by stabbing a knife into their chest. Of course, Angelo probably had no chance to know the specific cause of death. The bishop of that jurisdiction was very tight-lipped and was clearly acting under Edwin’s orders. He couldn’t be touched for the time being.

“Of course, I request a basic examination of Bishop Edwin first.” Angelo’s smile returned to a stable state, a smile so flamboyant it was uncomfortable. A demon’s body has corresponding characteristics; their blood is black.

The Bishop was silent for a moment, looking at the Pope with a questioning gaze. The Pope stared at him and shook his head, signaling him to comply with the other’s request. But the old man also emphasized, “Every member of the clergy who enters the Holy See has undergone rigorous examination, Your Highness the Prince. This is merely a routine matter.”

However, any physical examination of Edwin was a complete waste of time. No matter how you looked at it, this person was just an ordinary human. This step would achieve nothing. Angelo knew it wouldn’t be that simple, but he still felt a little disappointed. The gray-haired, timid man had told him that the ritual at that time had not been entirely successful, and that some characteristics should have remained. This Edwin was unfathomable; he must have long since washed away the evidence.

However, he had never intended to win in one go. He preferred to gradually force his prey into a corner. And right now, the trap was not yet fully set. For now, there was only one type of basic examination left.

Edwin asked the Pope for a dagger. The Pope’s dagger, amidst gold and jade, gleamed with silver light. The Bishop merely pressed it lightly against the pale skin of his arm, and crimson blood eagerly gushed from the wound. It was the vibrant color belonging to a human.

A faint smell of blood permeated the room. This room had probably not seen blood for many years.

The Pope nodded lightly in approval, indicating that this was enough. But when he looked at the prince’s expression, he was suddenly startled. Even though Edwin had proven his innocence, and even if Angelo had some follow-up plans, in this attempt, he had gained nothing. Yet Prince Angelo, who held power over the kingdom, wore an arrogant and confident expression.

The smile on his face was much warmer than at the beginning. He said enthusiastically, “What terrible rumors! Bishop, I completely believe in your innocence, especially since you have so generously proven it… Of course, there are some small experiments to follow, but those are insignificant. Congratulations!”

It wasn’t over. These four words flashed through the minds of everyone present, including Tar, who had been watching the whole spectacle from the shadows. The young demon stared thoughtfully at the wound on Edwin’s arm, which had already stopped bleeding.

A human’s wound does not heal so easily. The scar gaped ferociously on the pale skin, and just now, someone had fed this mouth something.

The moment Edwin cut his arm, the Bishop had lowered his eyes to look at the wound, while Prince Angelo had silently opened his tightly clenched fist. It was impossible to see, even if one tried hard. This was a trick performed by a high-level demon. It was obvious that the prince’s demon had used Edwin’s open wound to plant a seed carrying demonic energy.

Even if no one else knew, Tarksius only needed to sense it to know its function. No matter how much Edwin had disguised his bloodline, he had to admit that it was an unalterable fact written into his soul. Even if the succubus bloodline was so diluted as to be undetectable, it would always be there. And this seed could stimulate the demonic bloodline to gradually expand and take over. Demons often used this trick to transform mixed-blood demonic beasts, making their demonic energy stronger. He never thought it would one day be used on a human.

The seed had been planted. One day, it would take root and sprout.

Meanwhile, Noah finally found the lost Adelaide. This was indeed not easy. The Holy See covered a large area, and Adelaide was precisely wandering at the end farthest from the Holy Son’s residence. As the Holy Son, Noah was not supposed to show his face. He tried to stick to less crowded paths, but it was inevitable that he bumped into a few members of the clergy.

Although they all asked very kindly after a slight surprise, “Where is Your Highness the Holy Son going? Is there anything I can help you with?” he couldn’t answer such questions and could only make up a few excuses to get by. Noah only found these people annoying and felt a strange surge of anger towards Adelaide. He could only quicken his pace, praying that wherever Adelaide was, there would be no one else around.

Unfortunately, when Noah saw Adelaide, the dragon was asking a passerby for directions. After wandering for so long, even a fool like Adelaide should have realized something was wrong with his sense of direction. He desperately wanted to spread his wings and fly into the sky as usual, using a downward perspective to find his way, but that wasn’t possible. So… he could only ask someone else.

The person being asked for directions was an elderly priest. He squinted his eyes, carefully studying the strange, black-clad man before him who had just asked for the location of the Holy Son’s residence. He was a little unsure. Although the other party repeatedly emphasized, “I definitely won’t go there,” he felt that he didn’t seem like an ordinary person…

Adelaide, on the other hand, was getting more and more anxious. To an outsider, the black-clad man’s aura gradually grew gloomy, as if some terrible power was gathering within him. The old priest was startled and couldn’t help but take two steps back. In this atmosphere, he certainly wouldn’t give Adelaide the correct directions. He just randomly pointed in another, equally wrong direction, then hurriedly left, intending to report the sighting of a suspicious person to the Holy Knights.

From the shadows nearby, Noah witnessed all this and was practically frantic, yet it wasn’t a good time for him to appear and lead Adelaide away. Seeing the dark aura around the dragon dissipate as he cheerfully thanked the old priest and then happily walked off in another wrong direction, he finally hurried out from an empty corner.

“Adelaide,” Noah said in a small voice, “I’m here.”

“Noah!” The black dragon’s voice was a bit too loud. Noah was so anxious he wanted to cover his mouth, his heart already extremely irritated. Adelaide’s little stunt had completely disrupted his plans and, moreover, had left a flaw within the Church. This would hinder his meeting with the next capture target and could also trigger the Church’s defenses again, leaving a stain on his own record.

The young man’s mind was in turmoil, but his face quickly stabilized, putting on a sweet smile. “I’ve been looking for you. The Holy See is so big, it’s normal to get lost. But we’d better be careful.”

The moment he saw the smile on Noah’s beautiful face, Adelaide was completely stunned, having lost his basic ability to think. He let himself be pulled into a corner by the young man without any resistance, and only then did he shake himself out of his enamored state.

“Noah, you’re so beautiful,” Adelaide praised with sincerity. “You’re the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen.”

Of course. That’s what the system’s charismatic halo is for.

Then, the black dragon remembered his purpose for coming here. He hurriedly looked Noah over from all angles and asked, “How are your injuries? Does it still hurt? I brought you many dragon clan treasures that might help with your wounds.”

Adelaide started pulling things out of his pocket and stuffing them into Noah’s hands. His Highness the Holy Son, however, was starting to get a headache. Even if these things were given to him, he couldn’t use them. He was now the Holy Son of the Church. Even if others didn’t find out, the God of Light would surely discover them the next time he came to heal him. How was he supposed to hide everything, and how was he supposed to use them?

Most importantly, after having seen a god, Noah had completely lost interest in the black dragon. The black dragon’s things were certainly no match for the rewards that trickled down from between the fingers of the God of Light and the Dark God.

“No need,” Noah said quickly, stopping Adelaide from stuffing things into his hands. His tone held a hint of impatience. Then, noticing his attitude was a bit inappropriate, he softened it. “I know you like me, Adelaide, but I’m too embarrassed to accept so many things from you… I wouldn’t even know what to give you in return. Mmm, just pick a small one to give me.”

“You don’t have to give me anything in return…” the black dragon said, a little dejected.

But he obeyed whatever Noah said. So he began to struggle with his large pile of gifts, trying to find the most valuable item among them.

Time was running out. Noah thought, as the Holy Son, he shouldn’t be missing for too long without an escort. But at this moment, he couldn’t take Adelaide back to his residence, so he could only send him off here. There was only about an hour left until the next appointed time.

“Adelaide,” he said abruptly, “that one will do.” He was pointing to a string of beads carved from Dragon’s Breath Wood, which had the effect of warming the body and healing injuries. Adelaide hesitated for a moment. He seemed to think there were better things, but the Holy Son almost ruthlessly and hurriedly told him to put the rest away.

The black dragon felt a little hurt inside.

But Noah was getting more and more anxious. He could only placate Adelaide with a few sentences, his mouth full of the most ambiguous sweet nothings, but his mind was not there. Even Adelaide could somewhat sense his lover’s perfunctory attitude, but love still broke through his defenses. He had countless things he wanted to tell the other. After Noah left, he, a lone dragon, was so lonely. He spent every day missing the other. He had counted all the stars in the Dragon Valley… Adelaide held the Holy Son’s hand, about to start rambling, but was interrupted by Noah again.

But this time was different. His lover’s expression tensed. He silently walked to the corner, where voices could be heard.

“Yes… it was just here… a man in black… said he was looking for His Highness the Holy Son’s residence…”

“His aura… was not simple… yes, please go confirm the Holy Son’s situation as soon as possible…”

No, this can’t happen! Noah was terrified. He didn’t care that Adelaide still had a mountain of loving words to pour out to him. He wanted to blame him for his slip of the tongue just now, but he forced those words down. He only told the other, “My dear, I have to go back now. I love you, please believe that. We’ll contact each other later…”

The black dragon asked melancholically, “Noah, we haven’t spoken much. Even if you’re afraid of being discovered, can’t you stay with me for just two more minutes?”

This wasn’t a matter of being discovered or not. If the Holy Knights became vigilant because he wasn’t in his residence and strengthened the guards around, his upcoming plan would be ruined.

Adelaide asked, “Then can I come again later?”

At a time like this, according to the plan, this should be the climax. Noah was supposed to move him with emotion and reason, satisfy this dragon, and then persuade him to go back to the Dragon Valley and stay there. But at this moment, there was no time to think about all that, nor could he come up with a suitable reason in such a short time.

Noah gritted his teeth. “You can.”

Adelaide’s final suggestion was, “If Noah is afraid that person will spread the news, I can try to kill him.”

Noah was almost amused to the point of anger by him. Killing someone inside the Church, this dragon was truly audacious. He, of course, put on a pure and kind appearance and righteously refused Adelaide.

…But this plan left a faint trace in his mind.

Afterward, the curtain fell on the lovers’ brief meeting.

When Edwin returned to his bedroom, he found the formation at the door untouched, and Tar was sitting in the room, his eyes sparkling as he looked at him. The demon’s light and soft voice flowed out with a strange guttural quality. He tilted his head and said to him, “Welcome back.”

In an instant, a wave of fatigue washed over him.

Finally, one good thing. Edwin comforted himself. Tar looked very well-behaved, having sat here reading a book all morning. Then, he saw the cover of that book: One Thousand Ways to Deal with Demons. This was a very old and outdated encyclopedia; some of its methods had been proven useless by people. Seeing a real-life demon sitting in his room reading such a book, no matter how you thought about it, it was a bit strange.

Tar put the book down. Edwin glanced at the small title on the page: “Half-breeds and the Seed of the Devil?” This didn’t sound good. But Tar looked at him with a straight face, showing no particular expression. Edwin felt a strange sense of relaxation. Perhaps, for the demon before him, this was not something worth caring about.

Then, the long-suppressed self-loathing and disgust finally had a chance to be released.

Edwin rolled up his sleeve and looked at the scar on his hand. He then pulled the blade from his boot and, following the already healed wound, made a cut. The skin and flesh opened up again, and fresh blood gushed out once more.

But this time, the color of the blood seemed a little darker.

Someone had tampered with it. Edwin knew this, but today’s action was unavoidable. Angelo had to see him bleed. This could be considered a promise the Church had made to the royal family, and his action was a necessary sacrifice.

But, something had entered his blood vessels and was now slowly and stickily creating some filth. He was also very clear on this point.

“Tar,” Edwin suddenly spoke, “can you now sense the half of my bloodline that is in me?”

It was said that demons had a resonance with their own kind. Tar walked over lightly. The demon’s boots stepped softly on the floor, like an agile cat, making no sound. He extended his arm, his long fingers stained with Edwin’s fresh blood.

Then, the Bishop watched his demon stick out his tongue and lick the blood from his finger. Tar performed this action like a nimble and wary predator, with a heart-stopping beauty. A demon tasting human blood, the hidden associations behind it always sent a chill down one’s spine.

Edwin wanted to speak, but after thinking about it, he said nothing.

“Bishop, who did you see this morning?” Tar put his hand down. His pomegranate-red pupils sizzled and melted again, re-forming into a demon’s vertical pupils. He was asking the obvious, but it didn’t matter. No one would know there was a fourth person in the room at that time. He was just an innocent little demon.

And Edwin captured the deeper meaning behind his words. The question he asked Tar was about his bloodline, but Tar’s answer first skipped over the bloodline and instead asked about the person he had met.

“Angelo,” the Bishop said truthfully, “the prince of this kingdom, the actual ruler.”

“I would have thought you went to see a powerful demon,” Tar said. “Your wound is imbued with the demonic energy of a high-level demon. If it’s as you say, then there must be some powerful devil standing behind Prince Angelo… By the way, I could never smell the scent of your demon bloodline before, but now there seems to be a faint trace.”

Edwin was silent.

And Tar even had time to make a joke: “Looks like he succeeded where you failed, summoning a powerful demon?”

And whose fault was that failure…

Edwin looked at the wound on his hand, feeling a strong sense of disgust and nausea. This overwhelming feeling of sickness almost made him want to retch uncontrollably. But in the end, his face just turned pale. “Is there any solution?”

“I’m just a low-level demon, my dear Bishop.” This was a standard answer. The gap between a low-level demon and a high-level demon was like a chasm between heaven and earth. Edwin hadn’t expected Tar to be able to do anything in the first place. The important thing was that he had to start thinking about what he could do.

And Tar suddenly spoke: “Perhaps, Edwin, I can disguise your aura for you. I told you, I’m good at this.”

Indeed… he couldn’t go around with a bloodline aura that other demons could recognize. Thinking of this, the Bishop suddenly formally realized that Tar was also a usable asset.

And the only being Edwin could trust with all his heart was also Tar. After all, the contract the demon had signed with him could not be faked.

This was a duel with a huge disparity in strength. He was on the weak side, with only a low-level demon of little strength by his side. His opponent was the noble Prince, with a powerful devil backing him. The two sides of the duel strangely had some commonalities, but the outcome seemed obvious at a glance.

Only…

The gray in Edwin’s eyes was like the thick fog behind a headland. Hidden within the gray were raging storms that could not be stilled. Every step he had taken to get here was like dancing on the edge of a knife. He did not believe he had a final destination. This time, even having reached this point, he would win.

Tar thought: What a beautiful soul. He will never be satisfied, never give up, always demanding.

Even the demon couldn’t help but feel a flicker of anticipation for the human before him. He decided to help him. But only as Tar, not as the Dark God Tarksius, so his strength was limited, like a light-hearted joke.

—Just how far can he go?

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