“I received a notice today that states that William had declared war against you, and anyone who joins your side will be treated as his enemy,” the Headmaster of Hestia Academy, Byron, said. “I would like to inform you that Hestia Academy will not be taking part in the war between you and the Ainsworth Empire.”

“Well, I never expected any help coming from you in the first place, Byron,” the Pope replied with a sneer. “Just go and hide in your little Academy, while I deal with the Prince of Darkness myself.”

The Pope had received similar communications throughout the day after William had sent his messengers to every part of the Central Continent to inform the Kings and Emperors that he was about to wage war against the Holy Order of Light. 

“You and your organization don’t stand a chance,” Byron stated. “It will be best if you surrender. At least, your life can be spared if William is compassionate enough.”

The Pope shook her head stubbornly and glared at the old man’s image on the surface of her round mirror. 

“I’d rather die than bow my head to a devil spawn.”

“Then you will die a dog’s death.”

“Oh? Do you really think that I will lose this war?” the Pope smirked. 

“Don’t bluff yourself out of this one,” Byron sneered. “Do you really think that he couldn’t massacre your entire generation by himself? You are forgetting something. Although we still didn’t have any confirmation, we assumed that William is this generation’s current Dungeon Conqueror. 

“You lose in both quality and quantity of troops. Even if you have a million Crusaders, Templars, and Inquisitors under your command, they would be outnumbered ten to one when the battle begins. Surrender, so that the sacrifice of needless lives will be averted!”

The Pope snorted. “Shut up, old fool. You and the peanut gallery should just watch from the side. I will show you who has the upper hand in this war!”

Without another word, the Pope cut off the connection before slamming her fist on top of the table. 

“Everyone thinks that I have no chance of winning, those fools,” the Pope gritted her teeth in anger. “All of you just wait. After I’m done dealing with that Half-Elf, all of you will be next!”

During the month that the Pope and her organization didn’t attack the Ainsworth Empire, they had started to make preparations for one last large-scale war against the Prince of Darkness.

All the artifacts that protected the Palace of Light were activated, and the Sacred Treasures from their Treasury had been taken out as well. The Pope had no intention of waiting for her death, so she had decided to go all out, with the intention of winning.

She was prepared to sacrifice the countless lives of her Organization in order to defeat the black-haired teenager, who had finally declared war against her.

“You made one mistake, Half-Elf,” the Pope said. “You shouldn’t have allowed us to make our preparations before you declared war. Do you really think that the Palace of Light will fall that easily after activating all of its defenses?”

The Pope’s smile widened because she was already looking forward to the expression that the Half-Elf would have after he had experienced the surprise that was waiting for him the moment he attacked the Stronghold of the Palace of Light. 

——–

Ainsworth Empire…

William stood on the highest tower of the Palace, looking at the two moons in the sky.

He had just woken up from his rest, and decided to gaze at the moons and the stars in the sky in order to calm his mind.

“It’s almost time.”

A playful voice sounded behind William.

The Half-Elf didn’t even bother to turn around to know who the owner of the voice was. Although he didn’t interact with her much when he arrived back from the Underworld, the fox lady appearing where he was didn’t surprise him at all.

Shannon had always held a cloak of mystery about her, more so than Nisha, whose face remained hidden behind a veil. 

His interactions with Shannon were always unpredictable because the latter came and went as she pleased. Of course, he knew that she was on his side, but as to whether she was really an ally, or not, was still debatable. 

To this day, William didn’t know what her goal was, causing him to always have his guard raised against her.

“Are you ready for the big fight?” Shannon asked as she stood beside the Half-Elf who was looking at the sky. 

“Yes,” William replied. “How about you?”

“Well, I am ready in my own way.”

“Is that so? Good for you.”

Shannon removed her mask because William would no longer be overwhelmed by the power of her Divinity. She was only wearing it to prevent the others from commiting suicide because her Sin was simply too strong for those without a Divinity to resist.

“Sir Will, can I ask you a question?” Shannon inquired. 

“Okay,” William replied. “But, I may or may not answer your question.”

Shannon smiled because she could sense that the Half-Elf didn’t intend to turn her away. Because of this, she decided to ask the question that had been weighing on her mind.

“Sir Will, have you ever regretted becoming the Dark Prince?” Shannon asked. “If you were given a chance to start over, would you do it?”

William finally shifted her attention to the beauty that was standing beside him. Her long white hair was currently tied up in a ponytail, and her two, clear, purple eyes gazed at William steadily as if looking for signs that would tell her if he was going to lie or not.

“You asked two questions,” William replied. “I thought you were just going to ask one.”

Shannon covered her lips with her hand and giggled. “Surely, Sir Will wouldn’t mind answering these two questions of mine? I promise I won’t ask any questions afterward.”

The Half-Elf arched an eyebrow and gave the Fox Lady a doubtful gaze which made the latter give William a very sweet smile.

“Sir Will, I am not your enemy,” Shannon said softly. “Never have been. Never will be. I only want what is best for you.”

William stared at her for a time before reluctantly nodding his head. 

“To answer your first question, I didn’t regret it,” William replied. “During that time, I only wanted to save the people that were important to me. If I didn’t become the Dark Prince, Lilith, Charmaine, Chloee, and the others would have all been taken as slaves by Felix, and would have suffered untold hardships in his hand.

“Also, if I didn’t become the Dark Prince, I wouldn’t have gained the power to fight against Felix and Ahriman. At the end of the day, I was left with no choice but to become who I am out of necessity.”

Shannon hummed before lightly shaking her head.

“You’re wrong, Sir Will,” Shannon stated. “You didn’t make a choice. Others made the choice for you.”

William narrowed his eyes as he gazed at the fox lady in front of him. If he was being critical about it then Shannon was correct. He didn’t say “Yes”, but he had intended to say yes back then. 

However, before he could do so, he had lost consciousness. The next time he opened his eyes, he was already the Dark Prince, and had faced off against Felix and Ahriman for a brief moment before leaving the battlefield with the help of Shannon.

“As for your second question,” William commented. “If I were given a chance to start over, I would. I have lost many important people in my life, and to this day, my heart weeps for them.”

“I see…” Shannon shifted her gaze to the two moons in the sky because she had seen the sadness on William’s face as he answered her questions. 

Shannon didn’t want to see the Half-Elf in such a vulnerable state because, for her, William was bigger than life itself.

“The moons are beautiful tonight,” Shannon commented as she gazed towards the night sky. “It is a good day to turn over a new leaf in life. Don’t worry, Sir Will. I will help realize your wish for you.”

The Half-Elf once again looked at the beautiful lady beside him with a doubtful gaze. He didn’t understand what Shannon was hinting at.

But, something inside him was telling him that the fox lady’s words carried a hidden meaning in it. 

As to what that meaning was, he had no way of knowing, and simply stared at one particular constellation in the sky, whose stars were shining in the Heavens, just for him.

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