Why must the devil be Defeated?

From Shane's perspective, he could not feel the slightest trace of breath or life from Harvis at this moment.

Apart from the concentrated magic power and the faint death Qi emanating from Harvis's body, there was almost nothing to indicate that he was alive.

Looking at Harvis in this state, Cappelen turned somewhat sorrowfully toward an old man in a vestment robe beside her.

"Temple Master, has there been no improvement in my brother's condition?"

Cappelen asked the other party.

The other party was the Temple Master of the Imperial City Temple, the leader of all the Divine Practitioners in the entire Empire, a Temple Mage of level eighty-nine.

It was not until this moment that Shane realized that not all leaders of the temples could be called Pope.

The Pope was a title only bestowed upon the most trusted by the Divine Race and the most venerable Divine Practitioners, and there would be only one Pope per generation.

The current Pope was a Legendary figure from the Royal Capital Temple, who commanded all the Divine Practitioners of the kingdom and whose status was on par with the King, Pope Yule.

As for the leader of the Empire's Divine Practitioners, he was merely the Temple Master of the Imperial City Temple.

This Temple Master had been secretly observing Shane ever since he saw him, and it wasn't until now that he looked toward Cappelen and chuckled bitterly.

"I am very sorry, Lady Cappelen. As you can see, Prince Harvey isn't injured nor cursed, but he has been eroded by a massive amount of death Qi and refined into a half-human, half-corpse undead by Death Magic. To save Prince Harvey in such a state is as difficult as reviving the dead. Not to mention me, even Pope Yule from the Royal Capital Temple would likely find it impossible."

The Temple Master sighed and conveyed how dire Harvis's situation was.

"Isn't there any way?"

Cappelen's expression grew somewhat agitated.

"There is a way," the Temple Master sighed. "If Life Goddess Anima were here, she would certainly be able to expel the death Qi from Prince Harvey with her authority, purify his body, restore his vitality, and grant him new life force, which could revive Prince Harvey."

In other words, no one but Life Goddess Anima could save Harvey.

Cappelen then looked at Harvey, who lay on the bed motionless like a dead man, and after a while, she turned towards Shane.

"Do you have any idea?"

Cappelen was now almost pleading with Shane.

Clearly, Harvis's condition had nearly driven Cappelen to despair.

Shane thoughtfully looked at Harvis and then turned to the Temple Master.

"If we just expel the death Qi and purify his body, could we save him?"

Shane spoke slowly, seemingly not finding the situation too troublesome.

"Yes... yes," the Temple Master was slightly startled by Shane's question, and then responded somewhat nervously, "If the death Qi is expelled and vitality is restored to the half-corpse body, then using top-level recovery magic, it might not be impossible to replenish the lost life force for Prince Harvey."

But that death Qi was incredibly persistent, more obstinate than a curse, and the Temple Master had tried various methods to remove the negative states, all failing to expel the death Qi and purify Harvis's body, which showed just how difficult this was.

Yet Shane smiled.

"If that's the case, let me give it a try."

Saying this, Shane drew the Holy Sword from his waist.

"Unsealing (Heresu)."

Along with the short spell, Shane unsealed the first layer of the Holy Sword.

The Holy Sword then burst into a radiant light, causing the steel blade covering the blade to fall off, transforming into a Sword ring, and fitting around the hilt.

"Oh...!"

The Temple Master immediately uttered a moved sound, almost reflexively kneeling before the divine brilliance emanating from the Holy Sword.

Around him, the Divine Practitioners accompanying them also knelt down one by one in shock and excitement.

"The radiance of the Holy Sword!"

"God..."

"I never thought, in this lifetime, I would actually see the true Heroic Holy Sword!"

"Goddess above! Hero above!"

The group of Divine Practitioners all issued their profoundly moved exclamations.

Cappelen also watched this scene, her eyes intensely fluctuating.

"He really is a Hero..."

Watching Shane holding the Holy Sword, even though Cappelen had seen such a scene before, she still seemed somewhat incredulous.

She then touched the imitation Holy Sword at her waist.

After all the dust settled, this imitation Holy Sword, which had fallen on the battlefield, had been successfully retrieved by Cappelen.

Now, the imitation Holy Sword was slightly vibrating, as if excited and joyful.

The Holy Sword was appearing before her eyes, and as an imitation, the imitation Holy Sword's reaction was naturally significant.

Shane paid no mind to all this and approached Harvis with the Holy Sword in hand.

"Shoop!"

In the next second, Shane suddenly swung the Holy Sword at Harvis, slicing through Harvis's body.

No, what Shane sliced through was not Harvis's body, but the death Qi enveloping Harvis.

With the Holy Power of the Holy Sword, Shane effortlessly cut through the pesky death Qi, which even the Temple Master had found insurmountable, allowing the brilliance of the Holy Sword to fall on Harvis's body and purify it.

Under these circumstances, some changes finally appeared on Harvis's body.

His face gradually regained its color, and his chest began to rise and fall again, indicating signs of life.

"My dear brother!"

Cappelen could not help but exclaim in surprise when she saw this.

"A miracle... a miracle!"

The Temple Master also started shouting loudly.

But Shane had not yet finished what he wanted to do.

"[Celestial Breathe]."

Shane then cast a spell, allowing the starlight to fall on Prince Harvey alongside the Holy Light.

"This... is this Celestial Magic!?"

The Temple Master was once again greatly surprised.

Shane did not pay attention to him, focusing solely on casting the spell to restore the life force Prince Harvey had once lost.

If the Death Qi still lingered on Prince Harvey, then this life force would have been plundered by it and transformed into Death Qi.

If Prince Harvey's body had not been purified and was still a half-human, half-corpse, akin to a living dead, then the life force would not have sprung anew on his body.

Using the power of the Holy Sword to eliminate the Death Qi and purify his body, Shane restored the foundation of life for Prince Harvey.

After receiving treatment from [Celestial Breathe], equivalent to top-level recovery magic, Prince Harvey's life force visibly recovered quickly.

"Uh..."

Before long, Prince Harvey uttered a soft moan; his eyelids trembled slightly, and under the watchful eyes of anticipation from everyone, he slowly opened his eyes.

"I... what is this...?"

Prince Harvey looked around in confusion, mumbling to himself.

"Lady Cap!"

Cappelen finally let out a cry of joy mixed with tears.

In the temple, bursts of joyful shouts followed one after another.

...

In this way, Prince Harvey recovered.

He seemed to have no memory of his time under Death Spirit influence, therefore, he always appeared confused and had no idea what had happened.

Not until Cappelen explained everything did Prince Harvey gradually understand the situation, and he remained silent for a long time.

Afterwards, Prince Harvey voiced his reflection.

"I didn't expect that when I woke up, everything was already over." Prince Harvey said apologetically to Shane and Cappelen. "Sorry, I have caused you trouble."

"Not at all." Cappelen shook her head, indicating Prince Harvey should not worry about it.

"You were just deceived by that Poisonous Consort, it's not the first time." Shane stated somewhat disparagingly, leaving Prince Harvey with a wry smile.

"I only remember waiting in my quarters for your news, then suddenly that Poisonous Consort came to see me and did something." Prince Harvey said helplessly. "After that, I lost consciousness until now when I woke up and learned what had actually happened."

"How fortunate." Shane expressed heartfelt envy. "I, too, would like to wake up and find everything is already over; none of the overwhelming floods would be my concern."

"Are you mocking me?" For once, Prince Harvey rolled his eyes and said, "As you discussed all that happened, I was touched, thinking that if it weren't for you, we could never have defeated that Poisonous Consort, and the Empire would have perished due to her actions."

"Is that so." Shane replied nonchalantly. "Now that it's all over, what do you plan to do next?"

"What else can I do?" Prince Harvey shrugged and said, "Since Moro has been successfully eradicated and the Emperor has indeed died suddenly, then everything that follows will be natural."

Right, everything that followed would be natural.

Prince Harvey would naturally ascend the throne and become the Emperor of the Empire.

The citizens of the Empire would naturally support him, for he was the only Prince of the Empire now.

The Empire would naturally find its rebirth.

And the nobles that supported Prince Harvey would naturally be put to high use, while those associated with the Imperial Concubine's faction would naturally be removed.

And Shane would naturally fulfill the deal made with Prince Harvey.

"As per our previous agreement, during my reign and until you die, I will support all your actions unconditionally." Prince Harvey looked directly at Shane. "That means, from now on, the Empire will be a force at your disposal."

This was the stake Prince Harvey was willing to pay.

Only...

"This relationship can only operate in the shadows, not out in the open, right?"

Shane stated condition imposed by Prince Harvey.

It was unavoidable.

Who else but Shane, ultimately a noble of the Kingdom?

If Prince Harvey publicly declared as Emperor that he would submit to Shane, then everyone in the Empire would likely revolt.

Therefore, the relationship between Shane and Prince Harvey was limited to the shadows, not to be exposed.

But under the condition of remaining unseen, Prince Harvey would do his utmost to fulfill any future requests Shane might have.

"We will have many dealings in the future."

Prince Harvey smiled.

"I hope you won't regret it."

Shane remembered the trouble he had brought upon himself and grimaced.

With this, the Empire was truly on its path to rebirth.

And the turmoil surrounding Shane, the Hero, was also about to unfold.