Call it his selfishness. However, Reinhardt had enough power to account for all of his responsibilities.
"That’s great, now you can live with me and help me manage the kingdom. I will also gain a twin sister." The Queen held hands with Minerva, clearly excited by the prospect.
The latter had yet to come out of her daze. For hundreds of years, she had been the bearer of calamity; she travelled the world alone and in the end quietly chose to seal herself. Nobody knew the kind of forlornness she had experienced in all those years.
And yet today, for the first time in her life, a man told her something like this. One could imagine the emotional upheaval she was having right now. A warmth that she had never experienced before spread through her body without her control.
"You..." Her voice broke, then steadied. "You are quite a man, my knight."
.
The mind realm dissolved, and they were back at the chamber. Reinhardt glanced at the woman in front of him. The signs of demonization she had shown earlier had all receded back along with the tremendous pressure she released.
Right now, she was back to her usual self.
"What’s wrong?" Noticing him staring at her, the woman questioned.
"Nothing." Reinhardt shook his head.
Maybe because he got closer to both women on a personal level, but he could now tell which soul was in command of the body. Right now, it was still Minerva’s soul who was in control.
"Now then, let me complete the other half of my promise." Saying that, she extended her hand.
At that moment, reality warped, and an ink black compass shot out of nowhere. Unlike the time when he saw the compass back at the Underground Vault, the Ultimate Demonic Treasure was completely awakened.
Minerva gestured with her finger, and a red light burst out of the treasure. Next, it pooled around her finger, finally revealing what it was.
Blood... the thing that Minerva just pulled out was none other than a droplet of her own blood. It was powering the Abyssal Compass and marked her as its master. Now that she severed that connection, it became powerless again.
The treasure fell to the ground, the demonic eye resting at the centre, shut closed. At the same time, every manifestation and anomaly related to it also dissipated.
The tower dissolved into dust, the solar eclipse faded, the monstrous labyrinth floors sank and vanished, and the oppressive red tint of the sky peeled away like mist burned by dawn.
One by one, every unnatural phenomenon that plagued the capital disappeared, and the capital slowly returned to its previous splendour.
Once everything faded, morning sunlight spilled over the city.
As it turns out, one whole day had already passed amidst all the madness.
.
People slowly stirred from their deep sleep.
"E-Everyone is waking up." Kevin and the others who now stood outside were the first ones to notice the changes.
"The walls... the tower is disappearing," Gwen added.
All of them quickly rushed forward and helped the citizens of the capital who were still dizzy and weak from being drained of their strength. They were stopping the citizens from panicking when the High Ranking Knights, who had all gone missing, appeared with a flash of light.
With the tower gone, its many floors also disappeared. Needless to say, the High Ranking Knights who were trapped on the other floors were all teleported back to the capital.
"Hoh, you lot, were you all the ones to resolve the issues of the capital?" Bob questioned.
He arrived in front of them with other members of the Temple of Light in tow.
"Ah, it’s probably the commander. He had gone after..." Speaking this far, Kevin suddenly tilted his head. For some reason, he felt like he had forgotten some things.
"Hey, speak properly." Gwen admonished. She then recited the entire thing while making the same puzzled expression as the boy. It was not just him; she felt it too. In fact, it was everyone who went inside the palace.
While they told the High Ranking Knights the events that unfolded after they stepped inside the tower and their subsequent quest for the needle, the battle with the Cerberus, and the commander’s timely appearance, something was amiss. It was like one of the cogs that turned the gears was missing.
Nevertheless, no matter how much they thought, they could not find what that anomaly was.
"I see, you all did great. You are the heroes who saved the capital." The one to speak those words wasn’t Bob but the commander of the Order of the Blazing Sun.
The Seven Great Commanders were here.
"Really, to think that we would have to rely on the squires. That damn Abyssal Compass is something else."
"Right, good thing we still had such excellent seeds in the capital."
The commanders conversed.
As it turns out, things were just like what their commander said. The High Ranking Knights and the commanders were all sent to separate floors. While the challenges on those floors did not pose much threat to them, they still managed to stall them for a good while.
With the commanders back, they quickly took charge. The many knights who arrived with them spread around the capital, making sure no one was hurt. Before long, order was once again established in the capital that had just gone through a calamity.
After stabilising the city, they entered the palace to back Reinhardt. However, by the time they arrived, he had already rounded up the miscreants and resolved everything.
Reinhardt stood in the hallway, and under him were two bodies.
One belonging to the High Ranking Demon and the other a human. Both of them were knocked unconscious with numerous cuts laced with poison.
Beside him stood two beauties; one of them wore regal clothes that highlighted her already beguiling body and donned a veil to cover her face. The woman was none other than the Queen of Solaris.