The Execution Grounds Become a Constellation Battlefield
Of course, right after the brilliant light burst from Aisha and the majestic song rang out.
The executioner who had been about to slip the noose around Aisha’s neck flinched violently and staggered backward.
Once the song ended, the Imperial Guard knight ordered the execution halted.
But even the executioner couldn’t bring himself to loop a rope around the neck of someone who looked that sacred.
Yet his confusion lasted only a moment.
The Rampart Knight who served as the incarnation of the Ruler of Serpents and Darkness stepped forward.
“Executioner! What are you doing? Resume at once!”
The executioner’s pupils trembled as if struck by an earthquake.
His gaze darted back and forth between the Imperial Guard knight and the Rampart Knight in utter panic.
The Guard knight, Emond, let out a quiet internal sigh and cautiously stepped forward.
He too had received knighthood and formed a contract with a constellation, but the one he served was merely a low-tier being.
He was literally the shrimp whose back would burst between two whales fighting—a mid-to-high tier constellation and a top-tier constellation.
At least he was acquainted with the Rampart Knight.
Relying on that familiarity, the Guard knight spoke.
“Sir Setin, as you know, executing the incarnation of a top-tier constellation is beyond our authority…”
“Is that what matters right now?”
The Rampart Knight called Setin cut Emond off sharply.
He spread his fingers wide in a theatrical gesture and began speaking in a dramatic, stage-like tone.
“The crime of committing terrorism within the Imperial Capital…”
He folded one finger.
“…Death penalty.”
Emond’s face twitched slightly.
“The crime of bombing the Pantheon…”
He folded another finger.
“…Death penalty.”
Technically the “bombing” part was a slight exaggeration, but Emond kept his mouth shut.
“And finally… the crime of damaging a constellation’s statue and attacking its incarnation.”
Setin folded one more finger.
“This too is obviously punishable by death! Death! She was even caught in the act—why are you obstructing my order to carry out the sentence?”
“Haa…”
Emond let out an open, heavy sigh.
By now, Setin’s own constellation was probably bombarding him with frantic messages and pressure.
Objectively speaking, everything the Rampart Knight was ranting about was correct.
If Aisha had been an ordinary person.
But when incarnations clashed, right and wrong didn’t matter.
What mattered was whose constellation held more power.
In short, it was a battle of backers.
The backer of Rampart Knight Setin was the mid-to-high tier constellation Ruler of Serpents and Darkness.
That was certainly an impressive rank, but this time the opponent was simply too strong.
The backer of the woman still striking poses on the scaffold—Aisha—was the top-tier constellation Seeker of Supreme Knowledge.
The difference was like night and day: Emond’s low-tier constellation could at least talk back to a mid-to-high tier one, but against a top-tier being, it couldn’t even lift its head.
Besides, hadn’t his normally chatty constellation been spamming him with messages since yesterday?
It kept saying that this newly appeared Seeker of Supreme Knowledge was an absolutely terrifying existence.
In the end, Emond—mere incarnation of a low-tier constellation—read the room and declared victory for Aisha’s side.
“I’m sorry, but it appears we cannot carry out the execution at this time. We will postpone it and await further instructions from above.”
Setin’s eyes widened at those words.
Not at Emond, exactly.
He was reacting to the message that had just arrived from his constellation.
[The Ruler of Serpents and Darkness demands that woman be killed immediately.]
[The Ruler of Serpents and Darkness issues a strong command to kill that woman at once!]
[The Ruler of Serpents and Darkness warns that failure to kill the woman will result in the revocation of your incarnation status.]
Naturally, the Ruler of Serpents and Darkness had no choice but to see Aisha dead now.
She had deliberately chosen a public execution to display the power of the Underworld and issue a warning, even gathering spectators.
Yet she had been thoroughly humiliated on that very stage.
If she couldn’t kill the woman here?
Not only would the Ruler of Serpents and Darkness’s already plummeting reputation sink further, but the authority of the entire Underworld constellation group would tumble down alongside it.
Setin, senior knight of the Rampart Knights, drew his sword.
“Damn it, move aside! If you won’t do it, I’ll cut off that wench’s head myself!”
The subordinate knights who had followed him also drew their blades and fell in behind Setin.
Emond drew his own sword in response.
“Stand down. Authority over criminal management fundamentally belongs to the Imperial Guard.”
The Guard soldiers behind him nervously leveled their spears despite their unease.
Emond had zero intention of fighting the Rampart Knights to the death here.
But at the very least, while the Seeker of Supreme Knowledge was watching, he had to make a show of blocking them.
Otherwise he would earn the enmity of a top-tier constellation.
The tension was so thick that any single movement could spark a bloodbath.
At that moment, a group approached the public execution ground.
Emond glanced sideways at the person leading them.
A woman wearing a military uniform rather than armor, holding a sword—she was a soldier, not a knight.
The rank insignia on her shoulder was…
“Salute! Brigadier General, ma’am! What brings you to—”
He didn’t know her identity, but a brigadier general was a heavyweight, equivalent to a vice-commander in the Guard unit he belonged to.
Even though the knight orders and the regular military followed different chains of command in the Empire, she was still someone he needed to treat with utmost caution.
Setin, the Rampart Knight, immediately straightened his posture the moment he saw her.
Yet the title that left his mouth was slightly different.
“Senior! What brings you all the way here… I’m sorry for troubling you.”
The woman gave him a small nod.
Emond’s mind spun rapidly.
Senior?
The term was occasionally used among fellow knights, but Setin was a knight and the woman before them was a soldier.
More importantly, there was one particular group that frequently used the terms “senior” and “junior.”
Incarnations!
Emond’s thoughts quickly reached a single conclusion.
She’s also an incarnation of the Ruler of Serpents and Darkness!
As he stood there sweating profusely in private distress, the woman approached him.
“Knight. Your name?”
“…Emond Lester, ma’am.”
“Very well, Emond Lester. The constellation I serve, the Underworld Watchdog, has a message for your constellation.”
The moment she finished speaking, a low, rumbling growl echoed through the air.
Immediately after, three different female voices snarled in unison.
[Do not interfere with the Underworld’s event.]
It was the same voice transmission method the Seeker of Supreme Knowledge had used earlier.
This message was directed at Emond’s constellation, not at Emond himself.
Emond’s low-tier constellation, the One-armed Mercenary, sent him a frantic message explaining that the Underworld Watchdog was a high-tier constellation belonging to the Underworld group.
The situation had completely changed.
Of course, Emond—who could not access the Community Board—had believed this was merely a pride battle between a top-tier and a mid-to-high tier constellation.
That was why he had naturally sided with the top-tier being.
But in reality, this was a fight between the top-tier constellation Seeker of Supreme Knowledge and the entire Underworld group!
The woman on the scaffold—Aisha—who was now even waving at the crowd, only had a single constellation backing her.
Yet the one furiously demanding her execution, Setin, had an entire constellation group behind him.
This time, Emond declared victory for Setin’s side.
He sheathed his sword and stepped aside.
On the scaffold, Aisha—who had been waving her hand—began to tremble violently.
The group advanced toward the scaffold.
At the same time, a message arrived for the constellation Seeker of Supreme Knowledge as well.
[Princess of Frost] Just as you said, they’re all gathering.
[Princess of Frost] Shall I act now?
[Seeker of Supreme Knowledge] Yes. I leave it to you.
THUD!
A giant of a man wielding a massive axe suddenly dropped from the sky in front of Setin’s group.
“Uahaha! Long time no see, Claire!”
“…Brigadier General Dan Sitaril? Why are you here?”
“Well… um… ah… I’m on vacation!”
“D-don’t make me laugh! The 3rd Army Corps should be busy holding back the monster wave right now. You expect me to believe you’re on vacation?!”
“Hrm… Then what is an Intelligence Bureau operative doing at a public execution?”
“None of your business!”
“Well then, let’s both mind our own business! Uahaha!”
Even as he spoke so cheerfully, the giant man raised his axe and blocked the path, completely contradicting his words.
Emond’s constellation once again sent a frantic message, informing him that the giant was the incarnation of the mid-to-high tier constellation Hell Warrior Duke from the 72 Demons group.
“Then step aside. I have business with that woman.”
“Hmm? I’m afraid I can’t do that. My constellation ordered me to bring that young lady back safely.”
“Haa? Are you picking a fight…?”
At that moment, a voice rang out from atop the scaffold.
“That doesn’t sound so bad.”
The one who muttered those words was a robed boy sitting casually on the scaffold frame, swinging his legs.
Brigadier General Claire recognized the emblem on his robe and murmured.
“Imperial Magic Corps? What is…”
“Our constellation, the Ruler of the Great Ocean, told me to come here.”
While Emond’s low-tier constellation One-armed Mercenary was once again panicking and explaining that the Ruler of the Great Ocean was also a high-tier constellation from the 72 Demons, the moment the boy finished speaking, robed mages emerged from the crowd and surrounded them all.
*****
And the constellations watching the scene through their screens.
The Ruler of Serpents and Darkness was trembling with rage.
She had assumed the 72 Demons would naturally hold the Seeker of Supreme Knowledge responsible.
But they were clearly protecting him instead?
She screamed.
“These bastards were in on it from the beginning!”
Why would the 72 Demons side with the Seeker of Supreme Knowledge after getting dragged into this mess because of him?
Because they weren’t dragged in at all—they must have been working together and planning this from the start!
And so, without realizing it, the Seeker of Supreme Knowledge had once again piled another layer onto the mountain of misunderstandings.