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Volume 7 Chapter 1 Part 14

She went on the stage with Theo, and Hubertos, the head of the Sages Committee, handed Theo a letter of appreciation, and then she listened to him reading it out loud with a curious expression on her face.

It was the first time she had seen the head of the Sages Committee so closely. He is over sixty years old, and although he is thin, he is also tall and had the air of an old tree around him. Although his hair were already pure white, his hair and beard are full, and his blue eyes were still clear. Although his voice was a little hoarse, he read the words of the letter of appreciation accurately and never once he needed anyone to support him with it.

When the letter of appreciation was handed over to Theo, there was a huge round of applause in the Grand Cathedral.

Next, Siluca was given a list of royal rewards by Tiberio, the lord of the Meletes family. The rewards included a set of weapons imbued with magic, a high-speed sailing ship, and 10,000 gold coins.

Siluca still thought that the Mages Association had their ulterior motives, but for now, the Mages Association has recognized Theo’s achievements to the fullest and rewarded him accordingly for them.

Theo firmly shook the Hubertos’s hand and stepped off the podium. Siluca followed suit.

Although grand, the ceremony itself was short.

The Chairman left the venue immediately without even giving a speech. Afterwards, the Chairman of the Inquiry Committee took the stage and listed the names of the people involved in 「The Tragedy of the Grand Cathedral」.

All of the names were familiar to Siluca, and each one held a certain position within the Association. She heard that most of them had chosen to commit within the past three days instead of being publicly trialed.

Taking responsibility for his failure to prevent the atrocities, Commissioner Kent, who was in charge of the ceremony, resigned from his post, and those in charge of security at the scene were also subject to severe punishment.

It was decided that a huge amount of compensation would be paid to the Kraische and Ducet families.

It was then announced that a special agency dedicated to the destruction of Pandora would be created, and this was the final report of the Inquiry Committee.

For the Mages Association as a whole, it can be said that the settlement was quite bloody.

(And this is just the tip of the iceberg…)

When Siluca thought about it, she almost shuddered, but she couldn’t show it to the public. Without a doubt, their every move was being watched.

She told Tiberio that Theo’s purpose is to bring the three forces together and end the Great War.

It was not a lie when she said that he was aiming for that. After that, they planned to have Alexis Ducet and Marine Kraische get married, have Theo subordinate to them, and unify the Crests to create a Grancrest.

However, it is highly unlikely that their intentions will be discovered. No one thinks it’s possible, and Theo doesn’t really benefit from it. The Mages Association believes that it would be better if the three forces competed with each other rather than if The factory Alliance or Fantasia Union gained supremacy, and Theo’s award this time probably reflects their desire to support that.

「After this, in the central square of Elam, the Black Witch, who was responsible for the murders of Archdukes Matthias Kraische and Sylvestre Ducet, will be burned to death on the stake. 」

The Chairman of the Inquiry Committee made a calm announcement, and the meeting was adjourned. There wasn’t even a feast. However, Siluca was rather grateful for that, as it would have been exhausting for her to be entertained by something like that.
What made her feel sick is that they now had to witness the Black Witch’s execution at the stake, Since Theo and Siluca have been asked to attend as well. It seems that the people of Elam have gathered in the square to see the cruel spectacle, and they wanted to see the hero Theo Cornero there as well.

「Since we captured her, it’s our job to see this through to the end. 」

When asked to be present, Theo responded by saying so. And in the square, preparations for the burning at the stake have already been completed.

There were piles of stakes set up on the cobblestones and piles of firewood. All that remained was to bring the Black Witch herself.

When Theo arrived, the enforcer called out his arrival by name, and the people of the town cheered and praised him. Theo seemed uncomfortable, but he responded by raising his hand.

Before long, the Black Witch Yana has been brought in. Her hands were bound, a black bag was placed over her face, and there were even chains with iron balls attached to her feet.

The people of the town yelled insults at the Black witch and threw eggs and stones at her.

Siluca resisted wanting to look away and stared at the Black Witch.

The Black Witch was roped to a stake and tied tightly with wet ropes before the bag that had been placed over her head was removed. Her face was revealed, but she was gagged so that she couldn’t cast any spells.

Yana looked around and found Theo and Siluca. Then, a smile appeared on her face.

Siluca felt like she was cursed by her at that moment.

The executioner read out the charges aloud. Finally, in the name of the Mages Association, a judgment was passed, heralding that she would be burned to death for her crimes.

A masked man appeared, holding a lit torch. At that moment, a war-like roar erupted throughout the plaza.
There is no punishment more cruel than burning a living person at the stake. However, as long as it is done against evil people, people feel pleasure from watching it. It seems that humans are just made like this.

「I remember when my father was killed… 」

Theo said quietly.

Hearing this, Siluca felt a pain in her heart. Theo’s father was crucified by the Rossini family in front of the villagers.

The man with the torch removed Yana’s gag, so that everyone could hear her cry out in pain, and then he lit the pile of wood. After the wood has smoldered for a while, a red flame began to ignite under it. However, Yana didn’t seem to care about that and was just glaring at Theo and Siluca.
Siluca looked straight back at her. She didn’t feel guilty. The Black Witch may have just been tossed around by fate, but she still deserved to be executed for what she did.

「Theo Cornero! Siluca Meletes! 」

Yana screamed.

The flames began to gain strength and her clothes, which she was wearing, were also catching fire. However, instead of the expression of pain, Yana had an expression of ecstasy on her face instead.

「There are many people who are aiming for your lives, so don’t expect to live happily ever after! I will wait for you to fall to hell screaming! 」

Yana then cried out the Devil’s name. In the next moment, the Devil appeared in the midst of the blazing flames, still sitting in the air.

「Impossible! 」

No one ever thought thought it would be possible to summon a demon in that situation. The onlookers became agitated and ran away in a panic.

Siluca hurriedly took out the her magic wand. However, what was happening was not the same as what happened on that fateful day.

That Devil wasn’t a Demon Lord. It had the head and legs of a black goat on a human torso.
It was a Devil named Baphomet. She heard that it was summoned when Emma and Luna fought against the Black Witch. Normally, it’s not a Devil that can be summoned instantly, so Yana must’ve had a strong bond with it, just like Siluca had with His Highness Balgary.

The Devil created a dimensional barrier that enveloped the Black Witch. Theo saw this and made his Crest shine in order to try and break the barrier.

「It’s already… too late. 」

Siluca held Theo back. Without lifting a finger, the Devil untied the ropes that bound Yana, made her body float in the air and held her in his arms, covered with what looked like the finest black fur.

The dimensional barrier gradually became smaller.

「Is the Black Witch trying to escape? 」

「You can say that… 」

Siluca nodded.

「That Devil probably intends to take her away to the Abyss World. She will disappear from this world, She will disappear from this world and be reincarnated in another world as a projection. 」

The dimensional barrier quickly disappears, leaving only burning firewood behind.

「To the Abyss World… 」

「It’s a terrifying different world, also known as the Demon World. 」

「And she wants to go there? 」

「Probably……」

Siluca bit her lip. For most people, ending up in such a world would be a fate worse than death, but she still ended up choosing it anyway.

「The Black Witch might have wanted to erase the fact that she even existed in this world. 」

If she disappeared from this world, for us, it would be the same as being executed. I don’t know if the Mages Association is going to accept it or not though. 」

Theo said that and turned his attention to the executor who was stunned.

「Someone will have to take responsibility for it. 」

「It has nothing to do with us. In any case, I want to leave this town as soon as possible. I feel like my heart will rot if I stay goddamn shithole. 」

Theo unusually curse. However, Siluca felt exactly the same way.

It was five days later that Theo and Siluca left Elam. they headed east along the highway, passed through Ozer, and entered the castle of Petr Morva in Veltava.

Then, a message arrives that the Artuk Treaty will hold a Lord’s Conference soon. Everyone knew that this was going to be an important meeting in which they would decide the future direction of the Treaty. And the key person for it was Theo Cornero, the Earl of Sistina…