My transformation into a beautiful girl started with a hemorrhage.

Kouta had changed into a merchant's outfit, wearing a hat, and looked just like a young businessman.

After leaving the capital of Altona last night, he immediately piloted [Vimona] to fly to the nearest neighboring kingdom, the Kingdom of Lambasa.

With the almost inexhaustible supply of magic power from Wisdom, Vimana moved at lightning speed, arriving above the royal palace of the Kingdom of Lambasa in just over two hours. Then, Wisdom planted the phantom of the Holy Grail without anyone noticing.

Throughout the entire night, the shadow of the Holy Grail was successfully planted in the two neighboring kingdoms of Lambasa and Saint Golda, with the Kingdom of Altona at the center.

As Kouta was about to head to his next target, the Kingdom of Gordon, it was already dawn. In order not to alert the enemy, he bought a traveling merchant's carriage and disguised himself as a traveling merchant before heading to the Kingdom of Gordon.

The carriage slowly traveled through the fields. The scenery here was beautiful, with endless green rice paddies on both sides of the carriage. There was no blurry feeling of scenery rushing by, only the fresh and natural scenery like a pastoral poem.

After traveling for a while longer, the carriage was almost at the capital of the Kingdom of Golton.

The number of carriages on the road also increased, most of them belonging to traveling merchants like Kouta, who used their carriages to transport goods between countries and earn a small profit from the price difference.

The merchants also chatted with each other to pass the time during the noisy and tedious journey.

At that moment, Kouta heard conversations coming from two carriages traveling side by side behind him.

"Hey, have you heard? A major event has occurred in the Kingdom of Altona. A top-tier, mysterious powerhouse has appeared on the continent—the 'Demon Artifact Master'."

"Who doesn't know that? The deeds of the 'Demon Artifact Dominator' are known throughout the entire continent."

"Do you know what a major event happened after that?"

The man's interest was piqued: "What important matter?"

"The hero has changed."

"What?! The hero has changed? What does that mean? Explain yourself."

"Hehe, you don't know this, do you? The hero was temporarily defeated by the 'Demon Artifact Ruler' and retreated, but in fact, the hero was already cursed by the Demon Artifact Ruler at that time. He died soon after returning. At this time, the hero's power chose a new host."

"Are the Demon Artifact Masters really that powerful?"

"Of course, even the legendary Radiant Knight chose to retreat upon seeing it, what do you think? Sigh, but the main reason is that the Hero hasn't grown up yet."

"That's true, but can the power of a hero be changed? Who is this new hero? That's incredibly lucky!"

"This is the first time I've heard that the hero can be changed. I heard that the new hero is just an ordinary baron in the Kingdom of Altona. But that's not important. What's important is that this new hero seems to be Princess Christine's lover. He slept with Princess Christine that very day. I heard the princess's cries could be heard throughout the entire palace!"

"Christine~, you mean Princess Christine, who is known as the 'Flower of the North'! My goodness, this new hero is so lucky."

A year ago, during a celebration in the Kingdom of Altona, I had the privilege of catching a glimpse of Princess Christine from afar. I was absolutely awestruck at that moment. Ah, I wonder when I'll be able to... hehe..."

"Keep dreaming..."

……

Kouta deliberately slowed down the carriage, secretly listening to their conversation.

He was surprised after hearing it.

"The hero is dead?"

"The power of the hero has been transferred to someone else..."

As Kouta murmured to himself, a pair of fair, jade-like arms emerged from the awning, wrapped around Kouta's neck, and gently rested on his neck. Then, a stunningly beautiful head peeked out and rested on Kouta's shoulder.

"Kouta, what are you thinking about?"

"Nothing, I just heard something interesting."

"The interesting thing, are you referring to that princess?"

Kouta shuddered and said righteously, "Hui, what are you talking about? I was just thinking about the hero."

Oh, right, Hui, I clearly didn't kill the hero, but he still died.

Also, is it possible to transfer that power of a hero?

"...It must have been done by a remnant soul that was lurking there at the time," Hui explained.

"Lurking? A remnant soul?"

"Yes, it was a remnant soul. I vaguely sensed a slight fluctuation at the time; it must have been a powerful figure from this continent," Hui said.

After Hui finished speaking, she used her arms to press her delicate body against Kouta's back, and stretched her little head to Kouta's ear: "Kouta, don't worry about these things. What Kouta needs to do now is to prepare for the ceremony and ascend to godhood. At that time, all heroes will be nothing."

"Okay~." Kouta nodded.

……

Three months later.

For the past three months, Kouta used the Vimana every night to travel, traversing every ley line node on the eastern and western continents, including capital cities, primeval forests, mountain caves, and even islands, finally completing the projection of the Holy Grail's phantom.

With the Noble Phantasms "Glory Not for Oneself" and "Helmet Concealing Infidelity" concealing their aura, even the capital of the Holy Kingdom and the main church of the Holy Light Church could secretly arrange the phantom of the Holy Grail.

All preparations are complete; now all that is needed is to go to the center of the ceremony, raise the Holy Grail, and begin the ritual.

The ceremony took place in the center of the continent's ridgeline, specifically in the massive north-south mountain range that stretches across the continent of Saida—the Dispiel Mountains.

"Dispel" means despair in the continental language, and it has claimed the lives of countless climbers, considered an insurmountable obstacle.

Kouta piloted the Vimona to the highest peak of the Dispire Mountains—the Pillar of Heaven, a colossal volcano that, from afar, resembled a pillar supporting the sky.

The "Pillar of Heaven" is not an active volcano. At its highest crater, a basin has formed, which is the center of the planet's ley lines and the very heart of the ritual.

Standing atop Vimana, Kōta looked down at the endless mountain ranges below. The towering, verdant peaks, covered in lush, shady trees, stretched across a vast, azure sky, with ethereal clouds encircling the boundless forest—a scene resembling a fairyland.

Further up, the altitude continues to rise, the forests gradually thin out, and eventually there is no green at all, replaced by pure white snow.

The mountain was shrouded in white mist, the terrain was all cliffs and steep walls covered with thick snow, without a trace of life. The temperature dropped to minus ten degrees Celsius, and Kouta could feel the ice shards hitting his face. Although his physique was not seriously injured, it was still chilling.

It took Kouta most of the day to finally see the enormous volcano that seemed like an insurmountable barrier.

He only arrived here with the help of the Noble Phantasm [Vimana]. If it were an ordinary person, it would have taken them much longer to get here.

Approaching the crater at the top of the "Pillar of Heaven," the view is already a vast sea of ​​clouds, and the ground is an endless expanse of white snow.

Just as Vimana was about to climb to the top of the volcano.

Suddenly,

A blinding red beam of light shot into the sky from the crater, piercing the heavens and the earth, like a giant red jade pillar standing on the mountaintop. The entire sky was dyed blood red, and the light continued to spread, as if it were about to sweep across the whole world.

The beam of light lasted for several minutes before gradually thinning, fading, and finally disappearing completely.

At that moment, a wild laugh resounded throughout the heavens and earth: "Hahaha! A thousand years, a thousand years! I, the Demon King, am finally free! Hahaha—!"

Chapter 522 Saint-Level

The world seemed to be filled with red light; the sky was red, the clouds were red, the snow on the ground was red, and the protruding rocks were red...

Kouta's vision was filled with red, and he himself was enveloped in the red light. In that instant, his consciousness began to blur, as if he were at the bottom of a dark lake, surrounded by icy water. All the thoughts in his mind began to weigh heavily, and he was about to slowly drift off to sleep...

"Kouta, wake up!" Just as Kouta was about to lose consciousness, Kei's voice rang out.

In an instant, Kouta felt a warm spring water washing over his entire body, making him feel warm and refreshed. His mind became clear, and the strange feeling from before disappeared without a trace.

Kōta took a deep breath and asked in a trembling voice, "Hui, what just happened to me?"

“You were just corrupted by the will of a demigod,” Hui explained.

Geng was too surprised: "Demigod?"

"Yes, a demigod. One who took that step, but got stuck at that step and failed to complete the final transformation. These red lights are the will of that being instinctively infecting the world."

Hui sighed as she finished speaking, "Alas, I never thought that anyone in this world would take this step."

"Wills infect the world? Is that even possible?" Kouta asked.

"Yes, it's possible. Demigods exist, and although they are still like fireflies compared to the sun when compared to true gods, their will can already distort living beings. Creatures lower than them will be corrupted and mutated the moment they come into contact with their consciousness, and in more serious cases, their bodies will even undergo mutations."

Of course, it's just a living being. If it were at the level of the true form, merely appearing in the world for a fleeting moment would assimilate matter, energy, life, laws... into a part of it, spanning all dimensions without exception.

After explaining, Hui was afraid that Kouta wouldn't understand, so she added, "Kouta, just think of the demigod as a leaking nuclear reactor, and this contamination as nuclear radiation."

Finally, Kouta understood and nodded: "I think I understand."

Hui then said, "Kouta, you don't need to worry about him. This world is destined not to be able to support a god. Without special means, even if you devour this world, you will not be able to completely complete that step. A demigod is the limit. Kouta, just focus on starting the ritual."

“Okay,” Kouta said, then retracted [Vimana] and carefully approached the crater from the ground.

Although he doesn't have Vimana, thanks to the enhancements of several Noble Phantasms, Kouta's physical abilities are already comparable to those of an A-rank Servant.

He ran through the snow, leaping more than ten meters with each step, and soon reached the top of the crater, where he quietly peeked out and saw the scene inside.

It was a crater basin the size of hundreds of football fields. Looking from one side of the crater to the other, Kouta could only see a hazy white line. Unlike the snow-covered outside, the inside was full of life.

Looking up, one sees low shrubs growing everywhere, their branches and leaves lush and green, interspersed with exotic flowers and herbs, colorful and vying for attention, and a babbling brook with roots that are as intertwined as tree roots.

Kouta guessed that this was probably a stream formed by the melting of snow caused by the geothermal heat of the volcano. This would also explain why the temperature here is much higher than outside, allowing plants to take root and grow here.

At this moment, in the very center of the basin, there was only devastation. The ground had collapsed, and smoke and dust filled the air, as if the land had been ravaged by artillery fire, bombed by nuclear bombs, flooded by seawater, and sprawled by lava...

In the center of that devastated land, a large group of powerful individuals gathered.

They were clearly divided into two opposing camps.

On one side was Kouta's acquaintance—Hum.

However, his current state is very abnormal. He is suspended in the sky, his whole body is stained red, and he has become a blood-red humanoid. His original brown hair has turned crimson and floats behind him. He exudes a terrifying power fluctuation, stirring up wind and waves in the air, like a god.

The will that dyed the world red emanated from Hume. Kouta guessed that Hume must have been possessed by the demigod known as the "Demon King" at this time.

Beneath the Demon King, deafening roars echoed across the ground:

"Welcome, Demon King!"

"Welcome, Demon King!"

"Welcome, Demon King!"

Kouta looked in the direction of the sound and saw a group of about a dozen people dressed in black assassin uniforms. Each of them was beginning to mutate, their bodies slowly melting away, like a lit candle slowly turning into bright red blood...

Strangely, these people seemed to feel no pain; instead, they shouted slogans with unusual excitement, completely unconcerned about the physical abnormalities they were experiencing.

Kouta also met an acquaintance among them, the assassin girl who attacked him in the slum church.

She followed behind a group of people dressed in black, prostrating herself on the ground. A third of her body had already dissolved, but even so, she still prostrated herself in worship towards the Demon King in the sky.

Kouta also noticed that she had dyed her hair, changing it from light purple to dark purple.

Kouta didn't know that she wasn't Afra, but his sister Louisa. Afra had already died in the previous battle.