Extra Demon: Sacred Academy of Light-Chapter 154: Fair treatment
"Mmm…" Brynthia paused for a moment, reflecting, before her gaze settled on Arthur's sword."You're going to give it to me, aren't you, Elizabeth?" she said with a cold smile as the atmosphere around her turned chaotic — the air seemed to split, and the space around them distorted violently.
Brynthia and Elizabeth kept their polite smiles, staring intently into each other's eyes as if they might kill each other at any moment…
Emilia remained silent for a few moments, then averted her gaze, looking over at the two primordial families…
The first creations of God, the guardians of the water, the leviathans — they were ancient, so ancient even to her. God created them to guard the ocean and thus rule over it: immortal creatures with their own names, bound only by the duty to protect marine life. In the same way, the leviathans were neutral, uninterested in mundane problems or worldly affairs, completely indifferent.
On the other hand, the guardians of the skies were initially the dragons, primarily created by God. The dragons represented responsibility, kindness, and compassion toward a race inferior to them. In their beginnings, dragons were worshiped as gods — untouchable, magnificent beings. But with adoration came vanity, and with vanity arrived the Monarch of Arrogance. Influenced by the monarch of the demon realm, the dragons ceased to be neutral, leaving the wild clearings to create their own empire. By breaking the bonds they had with God, they brought upon themselves a curse: dragons ceased to be immortal and stopped being worshiped by humans. It was once believed that dragons never died — until a human managed to cut off a dragon's head, proving to his people that even winged beings could fall at human hands.
Without the throne of the sky, the phoenixes — beings of primordial fire wrapped in the blessing of rebirth, making them practically immortal — took the throne of the heavens, as they were the second-winged creatures in the power hierarchy. With this, the phoenixes ceased being weaker than the dragons, rising to match them, creating a new balance that the dragons had once shattered…
And finally, the throne of the earth. Emilia glanced at Brynthia, who was still locking eyes with Elizabeth. She sighed to herself, noticing how, little by little, the space around them groaned in pain, beginning to crumble like a thin sheet of paper…
It is believed that God created the world in seven days. The first signs of life emerged from the ocean with the leviathans. Then He created the dragons, guardians of the skies. Lastly, He created man — Adam and Lilith — in the paradise of Eden. Lilith rebelled and, together with Lucifer, was corrupted by the sin of lust, becoming the last to take the throne of a cardinal sin. God then created Eve from Adam's rib. The two lived in harmony for many years. It is said that in the midst of those years of "peace," God created the guardian of animals. Not even Emilia knew exactly how or where Brynthia was created, but from what little she did know, it was said Brynthia was a combination of the blood of all the first animals to walk the earth — including dragons and leviathans — with the help of the divine rune of life…
Emilia frowned slightly. She was aware that Elizabeth wanted to strike a deal with Brynthia using Arthur as the medium. She already knew her annoyed sister's intentions, but she didn't know what Brynthia wanted.
"What are you going to do with Arthur?" Emilia asked, staring intently.
"I just want a sample of the blue flame, nothing more, I promise!" Brynthia smiled, raising her hand as if making a vow.
"It doesn't work that way, you know that, right?" Emilia shook her head. "Only you and Elizabeth stand to gain from this. Arthur will only end up losing."
"Why do you care so much about a demon?" Brynthia kept smiling, but the space around them grew even more chaotic.
"Because he's my student, of course," Emilia said coldly, shifting her gaze to Elizabeth. "I won't let you do whatever you want anymore. Arthur is not a tool you can just use at your whim."
Elizabeth pouted, placing her hands on her hips. "Don't be so cold with me! I was going to talk to Arthur about it, but first I wanted to speak with Brynthia to confirm the contract!" Elizabeth seemed briefly offended by Emilia's cold tone. "It's not that complicated! Everyone will come out winning!"
"Brynthia, as you know, to take even a small flame you have to rip it directly from his soul. It's not an easy process," Emilia frowned. What Brynthia wanted was extremely dangerous — soul manipulation was a procedure that could end in the death of both people involved, in this case her and Arthur. It was a dangerous game where everything could go wrong with even the slightest external trigger, creating a bomb that could explode at any moment.
"Don't worry so much, Emilia. We're going to use this for storage," Elizabeth smiled mischievously, and in her mana appeared a brilliantly golden trumpet…
Emilia sighed deeply… What Elizabeth was showing was the Second Trumpet of the Apocalypse. As the second Seraphim, she had full authority over that thing, but the trumpet was sealed…
"See!" Brynthia beamed, and the air around them returned to normal as if nothing had happened. "With this artifact, everything will go wonderfully! There's nothing to worry about!"
Emilia frowned as she looked at the trumpet, which seemed ordinary. After thinking for a few moments, she sighed. "Fine, then what will Arthur receive from all this?"
Brynthia pursed her lips slightly. She snapped her fingers, and in her hands appeared a black wooden box. "He can receive this!" She extended her hands, offering it to Emilia.
Emilia accepted the box, and the moment her fingers touched it, her eyes widened. The wooden box shone as if it were a star on the verge of burning out. A strange vitality wrapped around her body like a blanket — it was so warm, but at the same time, dangerous.
The glow was draining her life energy!
Mouth slightly open in surprise, she quickly covered the box in a layer of ice. She took a deep breath. "This is…"
"Indeed it is!" Elizabeth's eyes sparkled. "It's one of the lost fragments of the Rune of Life."
