Devouring World Dragon

Chapter 168 Conversation with the Shadow
"Cough cough cough..."

Inside the dimly lit cell, the former Saintess of Orleans, who once commanded a large army, now lay on her bed, barely breathing and coughing incessantly.

This time, her illness was indeed very serious, but the British did not want her to die so soon, so they arranged for two doctors to take care of her. At the very least, she should die during the trial. If she could not be defined as a witch or heretic, then her death would be meaningless and would not affect the legitimacy of King Charles's rule.

However, the young woman from Orleans felt somewhat desperate about her condition. Perhaps the year-long imprisonment and jail life had left her deeply exhausted, to the point that she began to make her final arrangements with her servants.

"After I die, bury my remains in the holy land..."

She lay in bed, murmuring to herself, with her knight beside her. Since she left Vaucoule, the noble knight named Jean de Meuse had voluntarily followed her, and even after she was captured, he was able to visit her in prison through his marriage ties in England.

"Holy Maiden, you will not die."

Hearing Jeanne's words, the knight beside the bed tried his best to comfort her, but Jeanne just shook her head gently, knowing her own body.

After a long while, the cell returned to silence. The knight had left, and only the girl resting on the bed remained...

"Hehehehe... Woman, you've fallen to this state, and you haven't uttered a single complaint."

Suddenly, a dark figure could be vaguely seen in the corner of the cell. The figure chuckled and said that the figure had always been there, but neither the doctor nor the knight noticed him, nor even the jailer. It was as if the figure did not exist at all.

"Why should I have any complaints?"

Looking at the dark figure, the woman asked in return. She wasn't afraid of the figure because she knew its identity.

Ancient serpent, Satan, enemy of God...

Humans have given it many names, but none of them are its true name. When the shadow first appeared, the woman was indeed afraid, but she soon realized that the shadow could not harm her, or rather, it could not harm a single blade of grass or tree in this world.

"There is a pact between gods and demons, but that is beyond your knowledge."

The shadowy figure made no attempt to hide anything, openly stating the fact that it could not interfere with the present world.

As a major villain in the religion, the shadow did not show any particularly cruel behavior in front of women. He was indifferent to killing and crimes, only indifferent. As he said, "Would you enjoy killing ants?"
The world calls it the epitome of evil, but to the young girl, it is exceptionally beautiful…

"Huh? Really?"

The shadowy figure glanced at the woman in front of him, a smirk playing on his lips, and a low, mocking laugh rang out.

Although its body is shrouded in deep darkness, making it impossible to see its face, it possesses an indescribable, bewitching charm that makes people feel as if they can sense its every move, and even create the illusion that they can see its true face in the deep darkness...

His skin was so pale it didn't look like a man's; his naked body was muscular and well-defined; his demeanor was cold and composed; and... his pupils were devoid of light, not even reflection, as if they had swallowed all light, like a black hole that devoured everything.

Although reason clearly knows it's an illusion, it always gives people the feeling that it's real, that it's what things look like after the darkness.

An ancient monster that has existed since the beginning of the world.

"Tap...tap..."

Listening to the footsteps that only she could hear, Jeanne, lying on the bed, had no idea what the dark figure was doing. But when a creaking sound came, she realized that the dark figure had sat down in the chair.

With a forced turn of her head, Jeanne saw in her line of sight the dark figure whose face was obscured by darkness, sitting in a chair, leisurely flipping through a book.

Even Jeanne didn't know what the shadowy figure wanted. The shadowy figure had been by her side since she was a child, but instead of tempting her to degenerate as the nannies had said, it told her many heroic stories and told a shepherdess many things that she would never know.

Even now, Jeanne cannot truly understand the shadow's intentions. Why does it seem to be cultivating her into a good person who aspires to do good, instead of making her a villain?
Even now, Jeanne cannot understand the shadowy figure's intentions.

"Woman, tell me, why don't you hate? Have you forgotten what happened a month ago?"

The deep voice rang out, and Jeanne fell silent upon hearing it.

No matter how legendary her experiences were, she was ultimately just a teenage girl, and she was exhausted during her year-long imprisonment.

A month ago, when the bishops threatened and coerced her, saying that she would die if she did not confess her sins, she hesitated. In the end, she compromised and agreed to confess to the church, stop wearing men's clothes, and return to the identity that a girl should have. She was no longer a French military commander, but just an ordinary country girl. In return, the church should guarantee her safety.

However, no longer being a saint, she was no longer revered.

Just days after she confessed, a British nobleman entered the prison with the intention of raping her. He was stopped by the prison guards in time, but the attempt failed. As a result, she was forced to dress as a man again to protect herself.

To be fair, who wouldn't have grievances after going from being a French commander who could once lead tens of thousands of soldiers to a prisoner who can't even protect himself and whose reputation is being humiliated?
However, after a long while, Jeanne gently shook her head and said...

"I don't hate her." The shadowy figure didn't speak, but simply looked at her indifferently, waiting for her next answer.

Jeanne laughed as she looked at the dark figure.

“You know, when a French knight came to see me, he mentioned something during our casual conversation…”

As she spoke, Jeanne covered her chest with her hand, then smiled and murmured.

"In recent years, no British people have dared to plunder Lorraine anymore..."

Lorraine, that's Jeanne's hometown.

In her memory, Lorraine was often plundered by the British, but now no British dare to plunder anymore. Because of her actions, the people of Lorraine are filled with enthusiasm for resistance. The British dare to plunder a group of timid and apathetic farmers, but they dare not plunder a group of passionate people who are armed to defend their homes.

For France as a whole, the biggest change Jeanne brought about was that it aroused resistance from the general public.

Those people knew nothing of the King of England or the King of France, nothing of the War of the Succession, and had never left their villages. They were even unaware of what was happening in the more distant places. But they knew of a country girl named Jeanne who was just like them, and that the girl said that everyone was French and should no longer be bullied by the British.

"Charles was a good king. Even after I'm gone, he will surely be able to drive out the British and restore peace."

Despite her weakness, the girl on the hospital bed still smiled as she spoke, her bright eyes clear and pure.

Even though Charlie didn't really save her, she didn't blame him. On the contrary, she understood Charlie's current situation. The kingdom desperately needed money and shouldn't waste it on her.

"Yeah……"

But before her, the shadowy figure simply chuckled softly and vanished, just as it had always done.

Lying in bed, Jeanne remained silent for a moment, then, as always, began to pray for Charlie.

"My king, may you be victorious."

The young girl prayed for her king, wishing him victory and peace for the country.

……

Inside the underwater temple, the dark figure sitting on the throne had an indistinct face. It was like a black hole, slowly dragging all the light into it, and nothing could escape or break free.

It has become even more powerful.

It could understand, solely through its connection with its own body, that even if it were to directly confront that god, it would not be at a disadvantage. The god's power was constantly weakening, while its own power was constantly increasing. One day, even that god would be swallowed whole.

However, the rules of the chessboard bound the god, preventing it from attacking the game before it ended, and also bound the game, preventing it from attacking the god before it ended.

However, the shadowy figure didn't care about any of that. It wouldn't be long—perhaps a thousand years, perhaps ten thousand—but no matter how long it took, humanity would eventually submit to it and obey its will. The great serpent had already lived for countless years; this was merely the time it needed to take a nap—it didn't matter.

Jeanne will also become another pawn in its game.

“*$Q@H#O@…”

From the all-consuming black hole, a faint, indistinct sound emanated. The immense power distorted the sound itself, and only the silent woman standing beside the shadowy figure could understand her father's words.

It mocks God's folly and ridicules humanity's ignorance.

Does a belief in good things ultimately lead to a good outcome? How foolish.

It is the common occurrence in the world to commit all sorts of evil deeds without realizing it, all in the name of good. Jeanne's actions, which she believes to be virtuous, will ultimately give rise to a product far surpassing all the evils of her time...

However, upon hearing her father's mocking laughter, Mona felt a strange unease, as if some crisis was about to unfold. She knew the past and the future, and her perception of fate was even more acute than that of gods and demons. This instinctive unease seemed to be warning her of something.

But looking at her father on the throne beside her, and feeling the terrifying power emanating from him, she began to doubt whether her unease was misplaced. What could possibly stop such power? Not even a god…

"Perhaps... it's just my imagination."

The words that were on the tip of my tongue were ultimately left unsaid.

(End of this chapter)