It's Troublesome That My Doting Dad Became A Villain

Edgar and the knights were left speechless, jaws hanging open.
Well, of course.

Crescent's divine power and rank far surpassed that of any bishop or even cardinal. She was a Saint, after all.
The moment those simple but indisputable words rang out, the knights slowly began to nod.
Edgar nodded along with them, but then something suddenly surged up inside him. His eyes welled up with tears.

“We went through hell out there!”
They had fought desperately against Magi that kept multiplying no matter how many they eradicated, and were on the verge of giving up.
Not that they truly intended to give up—but the suffering had been immense.

And now, with a Saint appearing and accomplishing more than a hundred men could, how could they not feel overwhelming relief?
Several knights, just like Edgar, found their eyes turning glassy with emotion.
Crescent shook her head and patted Edgar on the shoulder.

“Yeah. You did well.”
Her gaze rose to the heavens as she said it.
The sky, where stars should have sparkled, looked far more consumed by demonic energy than left untouched.

Lifting her sword once again, Crescent’s eyes sharpened.
It was the kind of situation where a frenzied dance of blades seemed almost inevitable—where it felt like everything needed to be cut down.
***

The dais where the Pope sat was high above the ground.
Tenebris, the Pope of the Ammas faith, glared down at the gathered masses inside the sacred sanctuary, his dark brown eyes gleaming.
The circular chamber echoed and rang with so much noise that it hurt to hear and throbbed in one’s skull.

The clamor was due to the priests splitting into factions, each claiming righteousness and battling over it.
The Pope was not blind to what was happening outside.
A demon had suddenly appeared, drowning the world in Magi.
Even now, the Holy Knights were fighting tooth and nail to protect the country, and yet the weight of fear crushing the people was palpable, down to the bone.

A catastrophe unlike anything before had descended upon the land.
Yet to the priests, that wasn't the most important matter at hand.
“We must not only strip the Saint of her title, but take her life as well! She must pay with blood for defiling the name of Ammas!”

“Taking her life is far too kind. We must burn her at the stake in front of the entire nation! Even that wouldn’t begin to repay her sins!”
“Burning isn’t enough! Tear her limb from limb, mount her head on a pike, then use her corpse as firewood!”
The ways to execute the Saint grew more elaborate by the second.

Even the Pope couldn’t say he didn’t understand their fury.
The revelation that the Saint was the Demon King’s daughter had struck him with such force, his head had pounded from the shock.
At the same time, he began to understand the unease he had always felt while watching Crescent.
As she grew older, he had increasingly sensed a discomforting familiarity.

She was beginning to resemble someone she had no reason to resemble. It was nearly uncanny.
Of course, it was a ridiculous thought, and the Pope shook his head slightly to dispel it.
Just as the cries to kill the Saint reached a crescendo, threatening to shatter the ceiling of the sanctuary, voices opposing the idea rang out with newfound strength.

“Even if we are to kill her, now is not the time. We should release the Saint and tell her to do something about that damn Magi! Our knights are coughing up blood out there while she sits locked up with her hands folded—that doesn’t make any sense!”
“He’s right! If she’s the Demon King’s daughter, all the more reason to force her to fix this mess! It all started because of Crescent, didn’t it? Stripping her of her title can wait!”
“Don’t be absurd! After being humiliated by the Demon King’s daughter, you now want to beg her for help? Have you sold your pride to the Demon Realm?!”

“You’re unbelievable!”
“What did you say? You want to go again?!”
Crack.

The Pope clenched his fist tightly.
The moment he felt he could tolerate this no longer, the priests all turned to him in unison.
“Your Holiness! Please, issue the decree. Crescent Dallas must die!”

“No! Saving lives must come first! We must release Crescent immediately and have her join the fight!”
It was clear nothing would be resolved by letting the priests argue amongst themselves.
Everything hinged on the Pope’s decision.

Tenebris’s eyes narrowed.
To think the sacred sanctuary of Ammas, once united in purpose, was now split in two—truly, the influence of the Demon King’s daughter was vile.
Dozens of eyes held their breath, fixed solely on the Pope.

But the girl in question wasn’t someone who could be subdued by force. The fact that she remained imprisoned was almost perplexing in itself.
Tenebris’s sharp gaze deepened with deliberation.
Now was the moment he desperately needed the guidance of the god Ammas.

***
Hundreds—no, thousands—of beams of light streaked across the human world.
It was the divine power radiating from the Holy Knights.

Tch.
Prima clicked his tongue softly as he looked down at the world from the Demon Realm.
The sky, once shrouded in darkness, was now rapidly growing brighter.

Two particularly brilliant rays of light shone with clarity, even from afar.
Crescent and Meteor’s power.
Since she had started lending her strength, the time it took to clear Magi had finally outpaced its growth.

Prima zoomed in on the location where Crescent fought.
She flew relentlessly across the battlefield, never taking a moment’s rest.
Wouldn’t it be faster to come straight to the Demon Realm and seek out the Duke of Dimensions?

Yet Crescent seemed set on resolving the human world’s crisis first. Likely because she felt the people’s terror needed to be calmed.
Suddenly, a faint crack appeared between Prima’s brows.
That wasn’t just any demonic power—it was Antalia’s influence. Even for Crescent, negating the power of the second-highest demon in the realm wouldn’t be easy.

It looked like Bonnie was putting everything on the line too.
Prima shifted his slouched posture and opened another screen.
There, Bonnie came into view.

What was she doing now?
She stood upright atop a pond of Magi, fists clenched tight in intense focus.
Sweat trickled from her temple.

Prima let out a quiet, knowing laugh.
Of course.
It wasn’t just any knight—she was facing Crescent and Meteor, both at once.

To cover the human world in demonic power faster than their rapid strikes, Bonnie would have to give it her all.
How long could this tug-of-war continue?
Both sides were too evenly matched—it wouldn’t end easily.

Prima watched Crescent for a moment longer, then rose to his feet.
With one heavy step, the texture beneath his feet shifted completely—from smooth white flooring to a black, writhing jelly that moved on its own.
It was a sickening feeling, and Prima wrinkled his nose.

He strode toward Bonnie’s distant location.
Whether she noticed his arrival or not was unclear—she remained singularly focused on her assault.
When Prima stopped at what he deemed a good distance, a voice broke through.

“If you’re not here to help, then fuck off.”
Bonnie’s ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) voice barely made it out of her throat.
It was frail—like it could snap at any moment.

Prima crossed his arms and smirked.
“For a demon in need of help, your attitude’s trash. Shouldn’t you be begging on your knees or something?”
Bonnie bit her lip but said nothing.

This wasn’t the time to respond to useless provocations.
Then, after taking a deep breath, she spoke again.
“If I asked for help, would you actually help me?”

“Help with what, exactly?”
“Isn’t it obvious? I’m trying to kill that human bitch the Demon King sees as a thorn in his side. Why the hell are the humans just standing around? Someone oughta be stoning her by now!”
She had revealed the girl’s identity, hoping the humans would turn on her—burn her, stone her, anything.

But that hadn’t happened yet.
Step.
Prima took another bold stride forward.

“You’ve got some nerve for a runt. Keep dreaming.”
His tone was flat and cold.
At that, Bonnie’s eyes narrowed. But then her gaze softened.

Still not looking at him, she muttered:
“Knew something felt off. You’re not on our side, are you?”