novelraw Chapter 188
Chapter 188
Chapter 188
She didn’t look back. Instead, she shaped a purple blade from magic in her hand, facing the door inscribed with ancient script head-on.
“You think any door can be opened with a key? To open the door to the Forbidden Book Repository, the proper process is… Royal Sister?”
“I’ll do it.”
“Wait—!”
Before Belith could object, Sheffy, with swift motion, snatched the purple blade from Belith’s hand barehanded. Then, in a fluid and unwavering gesture, she pressed the blade’s tip against her own index finger and slid it across.
A line of blood instantly seeped from the delicate finger.
“Sheffy?! What are you doing?!”
Even such a small wound made Xiarette’s heart ache. Don’t be fooled by how naturally and coolly Sheffy had performed the act—her slight flinch a moment ago betrayed the fact that, in her past life, she still dreaded pain.
Before the blood could clot and begin to heal, Sheffy quickly pressed her index finger against the cold surface of the door.
After all, that blood couldn’t go to waste!
Then, a miraculous scene unfolded.
The unremarkable, ancient door began to emit a faint glow. A gentle breeze stirred the silver hair that symbolized royal blood, making it sway to the side. The blood from Sheffy’s finger formed a thin stream, flowing in a circuit along a circular pattern on the door, dyeing the dust-covered stone an eye-catching red.
Belith slowly stepped back to stand in front of Xiarette, the crimson crystal glow reflecting in her eyes, revealing not only her ache—
—but also her yearning.
And beneath that yearning, overflowing affection.
“The condition to open the door to the Forbidden Book Repository… is the bloodline of the Demon Royal Family. Only members of the royal bloodline are allowed to enter. I could’ve done it myself… Royal Sister…”
Hearing the concern in Belith’s voice, Xiarette felt her own throat tighten with anxiety.
“…Does it require a lot of blood? Is it dangerous?”
“It needs more than a dozen drops!”
“That’s just like scraping your skin and bleeding a bit!”
Look at how freaked out I got! I thought this thing would cause massive blood loss!
The sisters were equally exaggerated. Once the light on the door had faded and the awakening ritual was complete, Sheffy turned around, covering her finger with tears in her eyes, looking utterly pitiful.
“Ow! Who the hell designed this kind of door-opening method?! Every time you want to open it, you have to slice your finger first—this is practically anti-Demon behavior!”
“Exactly, exactly! A rule that hurts Royal Sister is completely unacceptable! Ugh… Royal Sister, let me stop the bleeding for you.”
“Oh, no need for that—it’s already healed, see? Wait a second… you don’t know healing magic, do you? Hey?!”
There was a kind of “healing magic” more powerful than healing magic itself.
Sheffy’s fingertip suddenly felt a gentle, moist sensation enveloping it.
Looking down, she saw Belith, like a little kitten, gently holding her finger in her small mouth. Sheffy could feel the tiny, insignificant wound being relentlessly teased by that mischievous little tongue.
A bit focused, and more than a bit suggestive.
Hurry up and put away your divine technique! At this rate, the wound itself was nothing, but it’s about to evolve into emotional trauma!
Xiarette couldn’t stand to watch any longer. She calmly stepped between the two and spread her arms, separating them—saving both Sheffy’s finger and her sanity.
Sheffy quickly turned her head and flicked off the saliva from her finger, masking the sudden blush on her face with an expression of disdain.
Meanwhile, Belith remained immersed in the moment. With a playfully wicked smirk, she licked her lips, as if to say—"Thanks for the treat, Royal Sister."
“You know, Belith… you’re really…!”
Before she could finish her sentence—
—an ethereal, echoing voice rang out across the relatively small space.
“May I ask what business the two Princesses have in visiting the Forbidden Book Repository?”
“?”
The disembodied voice set off Xiarette’s sharp instincts. She placed her hand on the hilt of the Holy Sword, preparing herself.
But Sheffy and Belith appeared far more composed.
Well, after all, what they had awakened with royal blood wasn’t the door itself—
—but rather, the gatekeeper who guarded it.
Everyone looked up. Suspended in the air was a glowing blue sphere, roughly the size of a cooking spatula.
Light flickered and danced inside the orb, resembling the flow of a starry river in chaos.
At first glance, this floating unknown object looked like a semi-transparent glass bead.
All in all, it was… weird.
One could only determine from its voice that this glowing orb sounded like a young girl’s innocent and tender voice.
She had appeared suddenly, but Sheffy even smiled and raised a hand to wave at the blue orb in greeting!
“Yo! Gatekeeper, long time no see!”
“Yes, Princess Sheffy Harl, it has been a while… The last time we met was… a hundred years ago, perhaps?”
“That’s incorrect. The last time I came was only five years ago! I’m only twenty years old now!”
“Haha… Is that so. Apologies—I’ve been slumbering here for so long, there’s much I can’t clearly remember.”
“No worries. Forgetfulness comes with age, it’s understandable. No one really comes here anyway.”
Xiarette looked for a chance to ask Belith what that glowing orb was, but unfortunately, Belith merely gave a dismissive hum and ignored her—still lost in savoring the sensation of her Royal Sister’s fingertip.
With no choice, Xiarette had to wait for a pause in Sheffy’s conversation to ask her instead.
To Xiarette’s surprise...
Though Sheffy sounded quite familiar with the glowing orb while chatting with it—
In truth, she had no idea who it was either.
“I don’t know either? This gatekeeper, I heard she’s been here since my grandfather’s generation. And he said she’d already been here since his great-grandfather’s time. So if you think about it… this gatekeeper must be older than Sylatrella.”
“Gatekeeper?”
“Yeah, since we don’t know her name, Belith and I just call her ‘Gatekeeper.’”
Because that’s exactly what she did—guard the door year after year. She wouldn’t even show up unless someone called for her.
According to Demon Clan customs, the gatekeeper of the Forbidden Book Repository had existed since the ancient primordial era. Her existence was once recorded in the annals of Demon history, but for unknown reasons, those records had later been lost.
Since there was no particular need, no one bothered to investigate further why she existed.
Everyone simply knew—she was the Gatekeeper.
Despite such an impolite title, the blue, semi-transparent glowing sphere showed no signs of being offended.
Though even if she did, no one could tell—she had no face.
The light sphere bobbed gently up and down in the air, eventually floating to the side, making way for the path to the door.
At the same time, the ancient gate groaned open, dragging with it layers of long-sealed dust, gradually revealing a dim stairway that descended toward the bottom of the lake.
“Princess Sheffy Harl, Princess Belith Harl, bearers of royal blood, you may proceed to consult the Forbidden Book Repository. However, do not linger. According to the royal regulations, you must not—”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah! I’ve heard this all before, thank you, Gatekeeper. We’re just here to check some materials—we’ll be out in a bit!”
“Understood.”
Sheffy had gotten smarter this time and cut her off early.
She still remembered her first visit to the Forbidden Book Repository—listening to the glowing orb drone on with that speech had wasted a full thirty minutes!
Xiarette curled a strand of the silver hair that had manifested over her temple with her fingers. She thought, maybe she could follow them in naturally too?
Sheffy had just said that silver hair was the symbol of Demon Royalty. Since only those of royal blood could enter, maybe this silver-haired form could let her tag along with Sheffy and Belith. That was the very reason she had resumed this transformed state.
However...
Xiarette stepped forward.
But just as she was about to reach the stone steps—
She slammed straight into an invisible and colorless wall of magical energy!
“Mm…?!”
“Stop.”
The flow of chaotic light within the blue sphere noticeably sped up.
“Those of royal blood may enter. But you, miss—since you are of the Human race, why intrude upon our Demon Clan’s Forbidden Book Repository?”
“!”
This glowing ball didn’t seem particularly smart, yet it turned out to be this sharp and perceptive?!
It wasn’t angry?
Not letting her in?
Xiarette’s pleading gaze instantly filled Sheffy’s field of vision.
And Sheffy was just as puzzled.
This was unexpected even for her.
Sheffy had assumed the Gatekeeper wouldn’t be that discerning. If she and Belith went in together, and brought along Xiarette in a silver-haired state, they should be able to sneak her in easily, right?
Thinking that this glowing orb might just be testing them, Sheffy feigned surprise. Flashing a grin and her little tiger tooth, she casually brushed it off.
“Gatekeeper, what are you saying! This is my distant cousin. Even if you don’t have eyes, surely you can see her silver hair? Come on, don’t say any more—let’s just go. We’re in a hurry and need to get inside quickly!”
In other words—just give us a break, would you?
Who would’ve thought this glowing orb was the type to uphold impartiality, speaking only by the book.
Its blue glow pulsed a few times, as if double-checking something.
Yet its reply remained unchanged.
“Princess Sheffy, as the administrator of the Forbidden Book Repository, I have no right to comment on your associations with one bearing the Hero’s bloodline. However, in accordance with duties upheld for millennia, I absolutely cannot permit one of Heroic blood to step even half a foot into the domain of the Demon Clan’s Forbidden Book Repository. Even a royal command cannot sway the absoluteness of this rule.”
“You really don’t budge, do you…!”
Sheffy let out a long sigh.
Then, her eyes narrowed like blades, and overwhelming magical power suddenly surged outward, enveloping the entire island. The water’s surface rippled in reverse from the sheer pressure.
Her once playful tone dropped low—imbued now with true menace.
“Even if I said I was going to bring her in… and might end up destroying you… would you still keep talking about rules…?”
The magical pressure was so intense that even Belith broke into a cold sweat at her temple.
But she understood—Royal Sister was only pretending to be angry.
To get things done, one had to balance soft with hard. If smiling and teasing didn’t work on the Gatekeeper, then it was time to try some pressure.
But who would’ve thought—
The blue orb not only didn’t retreat, it actively floated around Sheffy, circling her calmly. The tender voice of a child remained unmoved.
“Yes. Even so, I must fulfill my duty. Let me repeat: I have no authority to question Your Highness’s relationship with the Hero. My jurisdiction is limited solely to the Forbidden Book Repository. If one of the Wright family’s Heroic bloodline enters the Repository, it would be my failure. Upon my dispersal, I would be unable to face the ancestors of our Demon Clan. Therefore, Princess, I ask that you reconsider this matter.”
“……”
In truth, Sheffy hadn’t been idle just now.
She had tried blowing forcefully at the blue orb, to see if she could puff it away like a bubble.
She had also waved her small arm, attempting to smack it aside—but her arm simply passed through the center of the orb. It had no physical form.
If this thing really dated back to a thousand years ago, then it was tenacious to an absurd degree.
You’re practically the perfect embodiment of the phrase: “clingy as a ghost!”
This intangible existence reminded Sheffy of someone else—Lady Aimeris. But the two were fundamentally different.
Aimeris had no physical form but radiated magic one could feel. This glowing orb, however, was more like a projection. It had no magic fluctuations whatsoever.
Naturally, Sheffy had other ways to disperse it, but...