Editing Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume16 Chapter12 (section)

===Part 8===

Breaking the closed door and charging into Scorpia&mdash;

What greeted Kamito and Claire was a scene from hell.

"...!"

Claire widened her eyes and was compelled to cover her mouth with her hands.

Inside the palace, countless tentacles were crawling around like blood vessels, pulsating eerily.

No patrolling soldiers or ladies-in-waiting could be seen inside. There were not a single sign of humans.

None of those things that wrapped up humans into cocoons could be found anywhere.

(...Has everyone evacuated, or&mdash;)

The speculation surfacing in Kamito's mind made him nauseous.

Most likely, this palace was the first place to merge with Leviathan.

In other words, all the people inside the palace had already been&mdash;

"...Let's go, Claire."

"Yes..."

Kamito and Claire nodded calmly, slicing their way through tentacles while charging into the depths of the palace.

"Restia, can you figure out where that Demon's Circuit device is located?"

While running, Kamito asked the demon sword at his waist.

'Yes, at the very back of the Hierarch's Hall where state-level ceremonies are conducted, there should be a passage leading to underground military facilities&mdash;'

"&mdash;Got it."

Kamito drew out the Vorpal Sword and incinerated tentacles to oblivion using jet-black demon lightning.

Traversing the palace that had turned into the interior of Leviathan's body, they reached the Hierarch's Hall where a giant magic circle had been drawn on the floor.

As expected&mdash;

At the very back was a tightly shut metal door.

"Kamito, what is this!?"

Claire cried out in alarm.

Hearing that, Kamito soon noticed. He had seen it before, something similar to this door.

At the deepest part underground of the mine town Gado, Kamito and team had seen the same kind of door.

However, unlike that door, which had the Darkness Elemental Lord's emblem scratched off, this door had the Five Elemental Lords' emblem erased.

"...!"

Suddenly, Claire clutched her head and collapsed on the spot as though she were dizzy.

"Claire, are you okay?"

"...Kami... to... Inside here, is something extremely powerful..."

Claire responded in a semi-moan.

Hailing from the same lineage, Claire had inherited talent as a princess maiden. Most likely, she had felt the presence of the strategic-class militarized spirit that had stolen divine power from the residents of Zohar, thus stunning her as a result.

"&mdash;Est, are you able to destroy that door?"

'&mdash;Yes, Kamito.'

Est replied.

Kamito readied the glowing Demon Slayer then swung at the sealed door in one breath.

The door was shattered to reveal a mass of viscous darkness occupying the interior.

The walls were covered by flesh resembling mucous membranes, pulsating nonstop. Kamito used the Demon Slayer's glow for illumination and the walls of flesh trembled as though in fear.

"Is this place the Demon's Circuit...?"

'No, its location is even lower down&mdash;'

Restia replied.

"...Hmm, I feel a bit dizzy."

"Yeah, me too."

Stepping into the darkness, Kamito felt a serious sense of fatigue.

A moment's carelessness and one could very well lose consciousness here.

'Your divine power will be stolen simply by staying here&mdash;'

"Looks like we need to hurry."

Kamito and Claire quietly descended the staircase leading underground.

&mdash;After who knew how many levels...

Having spent a long time in the darkness, almost about to faint, they finally reached the end of the staircase.

Next was a passage leading to yet another door.

"Let's go, Kamito&mdash;"

"Yeah..."

Once again, Kamito poured divine power into the Demon Slayer and destroyed the door.

Then&mdash;

"...!?"

The first to come into view was the red color covering the floor completely.

Confronted with the most horrific sight, Kamito covered his mouth and Claire was forced to turn her face away.

What had dyed the floor red was a great volume of blood.

Inside the crimson sea of blood were the bodies of princess maidens who had been drained of life energy. No one was breathing, everyone were dead.

"W-What is this..."

Claire's voice trembled. She tightly clutched Kamito's arm in apparent fear.

Most likely, these princess maidens were the ones who had released Leviathan's seal.

At this moment&mdash;

"&mdash;How splendid, Demon King's successor. To think you even managed to vanquish the Sword Saint of antiquity."

Inside the vast triangular space, an elderly and hoarse voice was heard.

"...!?"

Kamito looked up forcefully and raised the glowing Demon Slayer.

Only to see at the very top of the equilateral triangular room&mdash;

The figure of Sjora Kahn, the Theocracy's princess.

"Sjora!?"

Claire cried out in surprise.

Having lost her seductive good looks, Sjora was now all skin and bones, exhibiting none of her former glamor. In addition, her lower half was merged with a beating crimson heart.

"My original plan was to wipe out the rebel army gathered at Mordis and absorb their divine power. Never did I expect you people to be present&mdash;"

Sjora Kahn's crimson lips curled up to show a terrifying grin.

"Prepare yourself, Sjora Kahn. For the crimes of using a strategic-class militarized spirit and slaughtering your own countrymen, your atrocities will be tried and punished by the international court!"

Raising her flaming whip, Claire shouted.

"It matters not. ''We'' shall concede our defeat on this occasion. This Zohar can be yielded to you lot too. However, a mere city of this sort does not count as any heavy setback. Accept it as a present for celebrating the revival of the true Demon King. K-Kukukuku, kuhahahahahah!"

Sjora's mocking laughter resounded all around. The sound did not resemble her sultry voice known to Kamito and company, instead, it was more akin to the laughter of old men.

In the next instant, together with the gigantic beating heart that she had merged with, Sjora's body slid down lightly, falling at the feet of Kamito and Claire.

"...What!?"

Kamito was speechless.

Sjora Kahn. The girl known as the Theocracy's witch&mdash;

With a creepy smile on her face, she breathed her last breath.

"Leviathan stole all her divine power."

Claire murmured quietly.

"To think the Theocracy's princess met this kind of demise..."

"Yeah... But in the end, she said stuff that bothers me..."

The revival of the true Demon King... What on earth did that mean?

"Maybe it's a legend in the Demon King's cult or something. Let's investigate it later."

"..."

Kamito looked up to the ceiling of the equilateral triangular room.

Having lost Sjora, its controller, the heart&mdash;Leviathan's core&mdash;continued to beat. As long as this thing existed, Leviathan would probably keep absorbing divine power nonstop.

With the Demon Slayer readied, Kamito aimed at the still active heart.

"Est, I'm counting on you. Finish this&mdash;"

'Yes, Kamito&mdash;'

While Est's voice sounded in his mind, the Demon Slayer's blade gave off silver-white light.

Kamito swung the sacred sword directly, slicing the heart in two.
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