Raise Joan of Arc to be an empress, then discard her.

This fellow, who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, had become the king's most favored sycophant in recent times. Not only was he appointed as the royal advisor within three days, but he was also bestowed with a title, money, and a mansion. For three months, he had been almost inseparable from King Hobbes, receiving undiminished honors and praise without bowing or mentioning his name. He enjoyed immense privilege and influence throughout the Twin Towers Kingdom, and for a time, all the princes and ministers envied him, considering it an honor to befriend the young royal advisor. However, the collapse of the dynasty was swift. Today, King Hobbes went to the Inquisition to report this royal advisor on charges of heresy.

The palace was eerily quiet. Only King Hobbes remained in the vast palace, surrounded by maids and servants who stood on either side, heads bowed and ears lowered, utterly silent. Only heavy breathing occasionally drifted from the throne.

King Hobbes was in a terrible mood, as evidenced by his disheveled and wrinkled robes. Feeling frustrated, he roughly ripped open the buttons on his chest, revealing his white shirt underneath. He rested one hand on his cheek, leaning slumped against his throne, his expression gloomy and unpredictable. His long, black hair fell casually over his shoulders, adding to his eccentricity.

King Hobbes sat slumped on his throne, his face contorted with rage and rage. His once elegant and magnificent robes had been roughly torn open, revealing a white shirt underneath. The robes were wrinkled and hung loosely on his body. King Hobbes propped his cheek with his hand, his eyes shifting between a sinister sneer and a cold, ruthless gaze, a stark contrast to his disheveled long hair.

Yes, it's all because of that man named Keir Domingo.

As rumored, he encountered him during a tour. The man, who identified himself as a bard, wore a silver mask and was shrouded in black robes. After being captured by the guards, he performed seven spells for him under the watchful eyes of soldiers… Yes, at first glance, he was just an actor. If that were all, King Hobbes would naturally not have been interested in this passing actor. In a bad mood, he killed him on a whim. There were quite a few people in the kingdom who could use supernatural powers, most of whom had joined the royal guard. Hobbes had long been tired of the magic flying everywhere. But this bard said something else quite unusual.

"Your Majesty, may I teach you these spells?" The bard smiled and leaned closer to him, speaking in a low voice that only the two of them could hear.

King Hobbes immediately understood his meaning, and promptly dismissed everyone else, staying alone in the tent with the bard.

Yes, King Hobbes was successfully captivated and developed a fanatical interest, craving as if he were a hungry animal for what the actor could offer him.

As a king, he had already enjoyed most of the world's riches and honors. Power, money, beautiful women... these things that ordinary people dream of were all within Hobbes's grasp. However, even as the king of the Twin Towers, there were two things he could not obtain: the first was the opportunity to spend a night with a saintess from the Papacy, and the second was the legendary blessing.

Whether most people in this world receive a blessing at birth is already predetermined. Those who are in harmony with the Seven Gods are born with a blessing and become their preachers and apostles. Those with a weak connection to the Seven Gods receive nothing and are just like countless ordinary believers. This does not change whether you are a commoner or a king. Even the king of the Twin Towers Kingdom can only accept the fact that he was born a "mortal". But this mysterious bard gave him a new opportunity that others could not have.

King Hobbes soon learned that this man indeed possessed the ability to cast spells, even though he was a mortal who could not receive blessings. The methods he used were very similar to those used by the priests, and unsurprisingly, they originated from "heresy." Under the rule of the Seven Gods, heretics were constantly hunted down by the Papacy and had almost disappeared from the world. However, in his ecstasy, King Hobbes was indifferent to this, completely absorbed in the "miracle" he had performed. In order to completely possess this power, King Hobbes immediately appointed him as royal advisor, granted him a title, and gave him free access to the palace.

The bard certainly didn't disappoint him. In three months, his power grew stronger and stronger, and he cast more and more spells. The royal advisor, being sensible, didn't make demands like converting the state religion to a heresy. He seemed to be just a young man with a strong interest in money and power... King Hobbes wasn't interested in that. He was simply captivated by this infinitely fascinating miracle. During a prayer with the kingdom's archbishop, he casually cast a spell, and the archbishop's stunned expression remained vivid in his memory to this day.

If time continued as it was, that man would probably become his most favored minister. However, King Hobbes knew that heretics could not survive in a world governed by the Papacy. Sure enough, at the banquet where Princess Irina of the Empire visited the Twin Towers, during the performance, Princess Irina keenly noticed the abnormality in him. When the matter was exposed, King Hobbes was so frightened that he almost trembled all over. Even if he was the king of the Twin Towers, he could not bear the crime of being a heretic. The Papacy's wrath could even destroy his family. However, Irina did not expose him. Instead, she made him tell the whole story and then revealed the crimes of the Grand Preceptor.

This very morning, King Hobbes donned a devout clergy robe, found the cardinal of the Inquisition, knelt down to confess his sins, and accused Aaron Heather of using the devil's power to bewitch him and attempt to overthrow the country. Irina's method worked as expected; the cardinal did not punish him but immediately ordered the Inquisition to detain Aaron Heather.

King Hobbes trembled uncontrollably, like a drowning man just pulled from the water. His eyes were as sinister as venomous snakes, and he gripped the armrests on either side of the throne tightly. A hysterical sneer appeared on his ferocious face.

"Rest in peace, Kael Domingo. I will watch you suffer at the stake, but do not worry, once you are in hell, I will mourn you on earth in the name of King Hobbes."

The explosion outside the palace interrupted his madness. King Hobbes awoke from his fear and glanced down at his servants, who were also looking at him with panic and confusion.

"What's all the fuss about?" King Hobbes shouted, raising his head menacingly.

Chapter 257 Celebration

The armored knight arrived at the palace and calmly reported, "King Hobbes, it was just the common people setting off fireworks in the sky. Some superhumans used their spiritual power to add to the festivities, and nothing unusual was found."

"It's those lowly people again..."

King Hobbes irritably rubbed his cheek, looking somewhat annoyed.

But the next moment, with a deafening roar like a tidal wave, a knight who was waiting at the door came rushing in in a panic, and King Hobbes's angry expression froze instantly.

"Your Majesty, the explosion... came from the direction of Tartarus Prison!"

Tartarus was built by the first Hobbes under the papacy. From its inception, it was designed to imprison the most heinous criminals in the world. Therefore, the prison was located in the far north, in a frigid region, and its walls were made of diamond, the hardest known material at the time. Moreover, the first Hobbes cast four thousand spirit stones into the prison walls. These spirit stones were inlaid into the prison by craftsmen of different weights a century ago, making Tartarus almost completely isolated from spiritual energy. The craftsmen who built the prison once boasted, "Even the eyes of God cannot penetrate this place." Thus, the name "Hell" came about.

King Hobbes, who built Tartarus five hundred years ago, would have been proud of creating Hell, but he probably never imagined that a century later his descendants would establish a kingdom on this harsh land, relying on the very "Tartarus prison" as its legal basis. He also could never have foreseen that five hundred years later this kingdom would be divided in two, with Tartarus becoming a symbol of legitimacy for one of the states.

As Irina left the prison, the warden respectfully watched her go, and the guards lined the path, all showing her utmost deference. Irina, however, paid little attention. This had been her life since birth, and she took it all for granted. This was thanks to the Lumilia Empire's status in the West; no one wanted to provoke the royal family of a powerful nation, just as no one wanted to provoke a majestic lion, especially when it was in its prime.

Ignoring the trembling jailer, Irina was deep in thought as she climbed the stairs. Kyle Domingo's rejection had clearly angered her; no one in the world had ever dared to refuse her like that before. However, Irina didn't immediately kill him in a fit of anger. She was still not giving up and was thinking about how to make the man submit. Unlike Irina, the two squires visibly breathed a sigh of relief as they emerged from the depths of the prison, revealing relaxed expressions.

The power of the Spirit-Binding Stone in Tartarus is far too great. Its ability to isolate spiritual energy still lingers within a kilometer radius of the prison. In the center of the prison, it is almost completely cut off from spiritual energy, as if one were in an abyss. No superhuman would like this feeling.

One of the men, with a profile resembling that of an ancient Greek sculpture, laughed and said, "Luckily, that guy is going to be burned at the stake tomorrow. This should be our last time here."

The handsome man appeared to be only nineteen years old. He was strikingly handsome, possessed a radiant smile, and was one of the most outstanding young men in the Lumilia Empire. He was also the princess's squire. His name was Byron, and he had once been the son of a marquis, but three years ago he renounced his inheritance of the title and swore eternal loyalty to the princess. From the very beginning, he had no intention of concealing his ambition: the beautiful princess before him.

"The burning at the stake tomorrow at noon." Another attendant, a melancholy and handsome man, leaned lazily against the prison wall and said with a hint of schadenfreude, "The princess will be with us to watch the grand burning. Hopefully, she will look as dignified as possible on the pyre, at least dying like a hero."

His name was Hall. Although his birth was not as noble as Byron's, he was also Irina's squire. In a duel held by the royal family, he defeated many of Irina's suitors and became a royal squire. Like Byron, he was also one of the best among the younger generation of the Lumilia Empire.

"I don't believe anyone can remain so calm in the face of death. That kind of calm should absolutely not appear on the face of someone of this age. He must feel invincible."

Irina said with a determined look in her eyes, "I will arrange a slow slicing before the burning at the stake to wear down his arrogance. Then I will prolong the execution time as much as possible, letting fear slowly seep into his heart. In fear and pain, he will definitely give in."

Kevin and Byron exchanged a glance, and thinking of Irina's determined expression, they both sighed in unison. Although Her Majesty the Princess was a magnanimous and benevolent ruler, she could be as stubborn as a child when she got serious, and she would never give up until she got to the bottom of things. However, it was thanks to this personality that Her Majesty was able to stand out from the many royal brothers and princesses and be targeted by the stubborn Emperor. That man named Kyle Domingo was in for a rough time.

Irina suddenly smiled and said, "I originally thought this trip to the Twin Towers Nation was just a routine inspection, but I didn't expect to have such a pleasant surprise in this small border country. It's definitely been a worthwhile trip..."

A faint rumbling sound reached their ears, and the three of them looked up simultaneously. Byron gazed at the dark dome and said, "Fireworks? Oh, right, today is the Twin Towers Nation's National Day..."

Irina listened to the fireworks outside the prison and initially nodded thoughtfully, but after a moment, she seemed to suddenly realize something, and her face turned slightly pale.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

At this very moment, deep within the Tartarus prison.

In the dim firelight, the man stood with his head bowed. He hadn't uttered a sound for hours, his muscles relaxed as if he were in a deep sleep. Few criminals could remain so calm before their execution. Most criminals, once in the execution chamber, would either wail or tremble uncontrollably, unresponsive to the guards' shouts and beatings. This had always been a troublesome problem for prisons; after all, a dead pig is impervious to boiling water, and those about to meet their maker often become exceptionally brave. Therefore, the guards were exceptionally lenient with this quiet man. Since he didn't cause any trouble, the guards maintained a respectful distance from him. However, since he was a prisoner handpicked by the Inquisition and King Hobbes, the guards, while being cautious, naturally wanted to minimize their interactions with him. History was full of unfortunate souls who had lost their heads for knowing things they shouldn't have.

Beside the prison's stone walls, the guards stood solemnly, holding loaded muskets, their bodies slightly leaning against the wall. They were all veterans transferred from the Holy City; they knew when to be vigilant and when to relax. They carried sacred magical weapons developed by the Holy City. These veterans had all undergone rigorous training under the Holy See, tempered by countless battles. With weapons in hand, they could take on a hundred men. The central prison was vast, the guards positioned at a comfortable distance from their cells, separated by diamond iron bars. They could react instantly to any disturbance, especially since they were only guarding ordinary people bound in heavy shackles.

"boom……"

A faint whistling sound drifted into the prison, finally exploding with a loud "bang"—the sound of fireworks. It was noon, and the Twin Towers Kingdom's National Day celebrations had begun. Under the blazing sun, extraordinary individuals would unleash dazzling etheric magic upon the sky, while vendors thronged the alleyways, selling food, handicrafts, and fine wines. The streets and alleys were filled with the festive atmosphere and the aroma of delicious food. Everything looked wonderful, stirring a sense of excitement within. A prison guard's mouth began to water. He thought of the cold beer in the tavern, the charred venison, and the white legs of young girls peeking out from their dancing skirts. These images made his body feel hot.

Not only the prison guards, but the faint sound of fireworks also seemed to have caught the attention of the person in the prison. As if awakened, he opened his sleeping eyelids and looked straight up at the sky through the prison dome.

His awakening immediately attracted the attention of the other prison guards, but they didn't care, as most of their attention was elsewhere in the prison.

The festive atmosphere is so wonderful that it makes people linger, but it can also easily make people careless.

Is it time?

The man silently chanted in his heart, and his sleeping body awoke, his muscles tensing, and the chains began to clang.

Imprisoned by the Spirit-Sealing Stone, he was just an ordinary person without any ether, and it was impossible for him to break free of the shackles with divine power.

However, for men, the power they can rely on is far more than just ether.

He slightly opened his mouth and took a deep breath. There was no divine magic flowing through his breath; only a breath of pure air was inhaled into the man's abdomen.

Pure air, simple and unadorned, permeates the space between heaven and earth, flowing like water and sunlight in any place where life exists.

But this breath of pure energy, passing through the winding, secluded orifices, through the meridians of the whole body, finally transformed into a sea of ​​vital energy, flowing through the man's body.

The saying "a single breath can travel three thousand miles" perfectly describes this.

The next moment, the layers of shackles binding the man's arms cracked open.

The heavy shackles fell to the ground, and the man landed silently, raising a cloud of dust and making a loud bang. This finally attracted the attention of the prison guards outside the prison. In an instant, the firelight illuminated the dark prison door, and countless muskets were aimed at the man's body.

The warden began to have a bad feeling. A great fear rose in his heart. All signs indicated that some kind of change was about to happen, as if a terrifying force was about to descend upon this place.

But for a tiger that has never been truly restrained, this is merely a weak act of resistance.

After landing, the man did not rush towards the iron bars, but lay on the ground with one arm raised and the other hand clenched into a fist.

"shot!"

The warden's hair stood on end. He roared and gave the order to fire. Countless muskets fired in unison. After all, they were elites transferred from the Holy City. Their rigorous training allowed them to react quickly and pull the triggers at the first moment. The roar of bullets filling their ears filled the air. The warden stared intently at the prison, wanting to see the man's body pierced by the holy bullet. But it was too late. The immense fear in his heart finally became a reality. He could only stare wide-eyed as he watched the birth of a god.

The man didn't look at the jailers outside the bars, nor did he even raise his head. From beginning to end, his gaze remained fixed on the ground, as if he were looking at the prison itself.

In Greek mythology, Tartarus is the underworld where the supreme god is imprisoned. It is surrounded by three dark curtains and three bronze walls. The bronze doors were made by Poseidon, who is also a personified god representing the abyss.

If this enormous prison were a living organism, then the stone walls would be its skin, the spirit-sealing stones its blood, and the 1,700 steel bars that forged the prison its skeleton. When the prison is attacked, the force is evenly transmitted to the 1,700 steel bars, making it virtually invincible in the modern sense. Such a structure can withstand storms, tsunamis, and even the roar of level 12 magic. In other words, the steel bars represent Tartarus's heart; as long as the heart remains intact, Tartarus will stand firm and unyielding.

The man, at this moment, looked through the thick stone wall directly at the countless steel bars of Tartarus, as if gazing into an abyss.

He was as insignificant as an ant compared to the enormous prison, yet he raised his arm straight up and, like an ant trying to shake a tree, slammed his fist heavily into the ground.

The next moment, with the man at the center, the stone wall beneath his feet began to crack with lightning speed. The cracks spread rapidly to every corner of the prison like an earth dragon. The huge roar of the punch sent all the guards flying. The ammunition containing holy magic was smashed into the hole with power far exceeding their own, as if it had hit a huge vortex storm. The guards could hardly believe their eyes. It was a power far beyond human capabilities, but this was only the beginning of the catastrophe!

In the holy city thousands of miles away, in the magnificent St. Peter's Basilica, the bishops were alarmed by the sound of an alarm. They saw on the celestial globe, the place representing the abyss was being destroyed.

"How is that possible! That place is hell! Who could destroy it?" The white-haired bishops roared furiously, "It's filled with spirit-sealing stones! All extraordinary beings who go there will become ordinary mortals. Who has the ability to launch an attack on it?"

The roars of the old men echoed through St. Peter's Basilica, but thousands of miles away in the Twin Towers Country, destruction proceeded methodically, as if governed by the laws of physics. The entire prison groaned under the influence of some unseen force. A terrifying force swept through the prison, and the stone walls, weighing hundreds of thousands of tons, were the first to succumb. The overwhelming force seeped into the interior, and the stone walls shattered like bubbles, blasted into the sky. The 1,700 steel bars in the prison emitted a tooth-grinding creak, but in just a moment, these supposedly indestructible steel bars began to crack.

Chapter 258 Escape

The 1,700 steel bars in the prison emitted a teeth-grinding creaking sound, but in an instant, these supposedly indestructible steel bars began to crack, and the cracks rapidly expanded as the force penetrated. With a piercing cracking sound, starting from the weakest steel bar, these steel bars finally exploded completely after undergoing extreme deformation and twisting. This explosion also marked the beginning of the collapse of the entire prison.

On the other side of the prison, the stone wall suddenly cracked. One second it was an impregnable prison, the next the entire space was filled with cracks. The earth shook for only a moment. Huge boulders carrying the forbidden stones burst out of the stone wall, grazing past the dazed Irina, and striking Byron beside her. The squire's body was thrown into the air, his body embedded firmly in the stone wall behind him. Irina's eyes were glazed. Just a moment ago, Byron was chatting and laughing with her, and the next moment he was smashed into the wall by the huge boulder. She didn't even understand what had happened before she was knocked down by the sudden tremor. The whole world spun around. Huge boulders fell from the sky, and blood gushed from Irina's beautiful forehead. She noticed that the stone that had embedded Byron in the wall was soaked in blood, and a huge pool of blood accumulated on the ground, foreshadowing Byron's death.

"How is this possible... Byron was a universally recognized knight of God, how could he have died here so easily? What happened... what exactly happened?"

The girl's usual composure was finally shattered in the face of this unknown power. In the face of the catastrophic scene, she was just an ordinary person. Byron died on the spot, and all the jailers around her were overturned to the ground. Irina lost her last support and shed her cloak of power. She was just a girl who had just come of age. No matter how noble her status was, she would tremble in the face of sudden disaster.

A cold wind howled through the enormous hole, and as the smoke and dust of destruction dissipated, Irina turned around and stared wide-eyed at the sight of a shirtless man standing atop the rubble. He was gently stretching his shoulders, the muscles in his back slightly relaxed, as if he had just finished a warm-up. But when Irina noticed him, a premonition welled up in her heart: he was the Destroyer of Tartarus.

Seemingly noticing the gaze behind him, the man paused for a moment, then silently turned around.

Never before had Irina's body been so stiff. After being stared at by the man, she felt as if she were being stared at by a terrifying predator. Fear almost froze her in place. His gaze was indifferent and profound, like a god judging her.

The stones were pushed aside with great difficulty. The severely wounded Hall rolled to his feet, knight's longsword in hand, and staggered to stand in front of Irina. He was equally injured, his body trembling slightly from his wounds. A huge boulder had struck his right foot, and he felt as if his bones no longer existed. But he was still lucky. He secretly glanced at Byron, embedded in the wall, where there was no sign of life. Byron had been struck in the chest by a boulder mixed with the forbidden god stone, dying instantly. His body had not moved from the moment it was embedded in the wall. That was a divinely inspired knight... killed by the aftershock of the attack...

Hall gripped his longsword tightly. His knightly honor made it impossible for him to desert, but when he looked at the man before him, he felt an immense fear.

Just now, he regained his connection with spiritual power, which should have been a joyful thing. But this also proved that Tartarus had been completely destroyed. The man in front of him was the one who destroyed Hell. Even now, he did not feel any spiritual power particles emanating from the man. It seemed that the man relied solely on physical strength to destroy this prison.

Amen...

Hall swallowed hard and offered a final prayer. If things were as he suspected, he would have no chance of winning. Byron, whose strength was comparable to his, had been killed by the aftershocks of the attack. What could he possibly use to fight against him? Even if he stood in front of the princess with his badly injured legs, it would be more symbolic than practical. The man could kill him without breaking a sweat.

Fortunately, the man only glanced at them before losing interest and turning to walk into the ruins. Hall, who was forcibly standing in front of Irina, finally calmed down and fainted upon seeing this.

The entire prison had been reduced to ruins, and all was silent. The man stood on the rubble, looking at the scene before him with little expression in his eyes. He was probably the only one still standing in Tartarus. There seemed to be no need to panic too much, but he didn't know when the Holy See would react. There were more important things to do right now.

The man bent down and touched the rubble beneath his feet. According to rumors, the prison where he was imprisoned was the deepest part of Tartarus, but in reality, there was an even deeper layer in Tartarus, where prisoners were held in even more darkness than he was. According to past records, even the prison guards did not know that someone was imprisoned at the bottom of the abyss. In the entire Twin Towers Kingdom, only the king and a handful of others knew about this.

The man gently raised his arm again, smashing through the rubble beneath him with a single punch. This time, he controlled his strength, creating a huge hole in the already dilapidated prison. Looking down, he saw a young girl with shackles on her feet lying silently in the deepest part of the prison.

The girl's features were delicate and elegant. She was barefoot, and her hands and feet were bound in heavy shackles. A large iron ball was chained to the shackles, which looked similar to the ones he was wearing. However, upon closer inspection, it could be seen that the shackles on her hands were entirely black, like the ink jade of the East.

He leaped down lightly and came to the girl's side. The explosion in the prison had not affected her; she was still immersed in a beautiful dream. This was Tartarus's heart. If he hadn't shattered all of Tartarus's bones, even if the outside had collapsed, he probably wouldn't have been able to find her inside the heart.

A white-haired saintess.

The man stepped forward, cleaved the heavy chains with his blade, picked up the half-asleep saintess for some unknown reason, smashed through the already crumbling stone wall with a punch, leaped into the air, and ran away, leaving behind only the severely damaged 1,700 steel bars and the ruins above.

---

Meanwhile, in the capital of the Twin Towers Kingdom, all the citizens heard the roar of gunfire from the prison, and unease spread throughout the city. Along with this, news also spread that the Grand Tutor had been captured.

Have you heard? I heard that the King was furious today because of that royal advisor...?

Is it true or false? What's the reason? Is it because of embezzlement? Or is it because his achievements have overshadowed his superiors?