65 Scapegoat Alto (2/2)
”Elder brother, you must seek justice for us! We were conned into participating in this rigged competition where thousands of beasts lurked ready to slaughter us all!
Worse, an Accursed Beast appeared out of nowhere, and almost caused Nils to lose his life!”
”What?”
Bishop Alto trembled. Why was there suddenly talk of an Accursed Beast? A lie, it had to be a lie!
”Stop twisting truth and falsehood! Unless you went to the fourth level, no Accursed Beast would descend upon you!”
He howled, but undaunted, Holger pointed his finger at those behind him.
”You can ask all those gathered. That's the reason why none of them dared stay in the third level for half a day. A few hours in, an Accursed Stolas Beast came from nowhere and began terrorizing the third level, almost causing Nils to lose his life, and injuring me in the process of escaping!”
”It's the truth! We almost became food for a rampaging Accursed Beast. To say nothing of the demonic beast horde afterward!”
Bishop Alto saw the indignity within all the contestants' eyes and knew his good days were over.
Blunder! An enormous blunder had occurred!
”Nils is this true?”
Elmar asked while still patting Nils' head.
”Yes, elder brother. It was such a close call that I was afraid I'd never see you again!”
Nils complained within Elmar's arms.
”Alright. Elder brother will give you justice.”
Elmar set Nils aside and leisurely stepped toward Bishop Alto.
”Remind me, what is the empire's crown prince's status within the church?”
The imperial family and the church possessed an extremely close relationship. So close that the Holy Emperor, the Holy Empress, and the Crown Prince all possessed an equivalent rank within the church. Of course, the higher their cultivation, the better that rank would be.
Bishop Alto teetered, but still, he answered:
”A…arch-bishop.”
”Good. Then as Arch-Bishop of the church and as the crown prince of this empire, on account of your five felonies, I sentence you to death.”
With a backhanded slap, Elmar tore Bishop Alto's head from his neck, sending it flying across the room with a massive gush of blood.
He then pulled out a handkerchief to wipe off his hand and turned toward the remaining bishop who dropped onto his knees and kowtowed in fear.
”Your highness, mercy!”
”So your lot still knows that a prince should be referred to as -your highness.-
I thought you'd forgotten.”
The contestants were terror-stricken. Although the Crown Prince's cultivation was deep and unfathomable, the sight of a Semi-Saint beheaded in a single slap was hard to accept.
Since when did Semi-Saints turn into cabbage?
”Your highness, Bishop Alto was besotted and for personal gains plotted against the imperial family. He deserved ten thousand deaths! Your highness upheld justice on behalf of the lord and deserve only praise.”
That bishop didn't talk a lot, but when he did, his words didn't disappoint. Suddenly, Bishop Alto had become the sole mastermind, and his death solved everything. Was this the script from the start?
”Is that so? For this to become the official version, we will have to see your master's skills.
Now go on, carry on. I'm curious to see how many beasts remain.”
Elmar had no interest in the remaining beasts. He just needed an exact number for when he submitted his report to his father the emperor.
Without delay, the bishop dived into the Prism World, and after half an hour, returned with flabbergasted eyes.
”What took you so long?”
As a Semi-Saint, Elmar was well aware that such a task should not have taken more than a few minutes. However, that bishop wasted half an hour of his time.
Was he also courting death?
But to his question, the bishop remained dazed for a few seconds, then his eyes swept the scene, going from a contestant to another as if to find the culprit of a prank played on him.
”Well? Do you need me to repeat myself?”
Elmar's voice echoed within his ears, carrying with it a pressure that brought the bishop back on earth.
”Your highness…it's…empty. The first three levels are all…empty.”