Chapter 87
Chapter: 87
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>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 87
>Chapter Title: Otherworldly Apocalypse (2)
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>There was no need to dig through the imperial warehouse records to learn the true name of the Salmon Sword. Head chamberlain Louis, who had just entered with a freshly brewed pot of tea, provided a clear answer.
“The sword’s name is [Silver Thorn], and its nickname is [Acacia]. A truly beautiful blade.”
He set a warm cup of tea before the Holy Emperor and continued.
“Its virtue from the scriptures is [Repentance].”
Apparently, it was a long-standing tradition of the Delcross imperial family to bestow virtues from the scriptures upon treasured swords. Things like [Promise], [Sacrifice], or [Reverence].
So even the chief chamberlain had every item in the imperial warehouse memorized? Impressive.
Louis chuckled softly at Seongjin’s admiration.
“No such thing. This sword is simply special. It was one of the few holy relics designated as armament, but it was stolen decades ago.”
At the time, it had been under strict management alongside other holy relics at the Theological Academy, only to vanish overnight without a trace.
After a long search, they recovered it, but it had become nothing more than an ordinary fine sword.
“It was over forty years ago. I was merely an apprentice chamberlain then, but it was such a notorious incident that I still remember it clearly.”
A holy relic had been stolen, and it had lost its sacred status. The imperial family and the academy had been thrown into chaos.
High-ranking priests and academy scholars had spent months in frenzy, but the sword’s noble essence never returned. In the end, amid widespread lamentation, Silver Thorn was abandoned in the imperial warehouse.
“So I believe it must be fate that Your Majesty chose this sword.”
Louis gazed at the Holy Emperor with a gentle smile.
The Holy Emperor, unaware of this history, looked unusually solemn. It was a former holy relic, after all.
“What an unremarkable name. Then perhaps Salmon Sword suits it better than Silver Thorn…”
Was that what he’d been agonizing over?
Seongjin quickly shouted.
“No! Absolutely Silver Thorn or Acacia sounds cooler!”
“……”
Even with that crestfallen face, no means no!
* * *
On the way back to the Pearl Palace after the audience, Seongjin decided to stop by the Tribunal. He wanted to meet Kenneth Digory and the Black Prophets who were imprisoned there.
There wasn’t much to do at the Monster Task Force even if he went in, and every member was just staring at his face for some reason. So he figured conducting his own investigation on a whim wouldn’t hurt.
Clop, clop. Lost in thought inside the slowly moving carriage, Seongjin barely noticed.
The accompanying knight, Marsaine, subtly gauged his mood before falling silent. The prince’s expression was too grave to chide him for unnecessarily heading to the Tribunal.
In truth, throughout the audience, what Seongjin had really wanted to ask the Holy Emperor was something else entirely.
-Have you been keeping tabs on Captain Bruno through Arenza?
-What does it mean that he’s fully tied to my karma?
-How much does Arenza know about me or the Demon King?
-What exactly are you expecting from me and the Monster Task Force, Father?
But when he actually faced the Holy Emperor, the words wouldn’t come easily.
Whether it was Seongjin’s strange intuition or his sensitive senses, he wasn’t sure.
During conversations with the Holy Emperor, Seongjin sometimes detected an inexplicable precarious aura from him.
-Sometimes, just speaking something aloud can shake its very foundation and cause it to crumble.
Katrina’s words kept coming to mind.
‘And maybe it’s just me, but he’s looked oddly fatigued lately…’
After a moment’s thought, Seongjin ruffled his hair wildly. Startled by the sudden action, Marsaine flinched and glanced at him.
‘Ah, whatever! It’s a headache!’
Such brooding wasn’t Seongjin’s style to begin with.
The Holy Emperor would handle things just fine on his own. No need to burden the busy man by meddling where he shouldn’t.
Yeah. Better not stir up trouble first.
Just staying healthy and well-behaved as he had been—that was fulfilling his duties as a son, right?
As Seongjin mulled over these thoughts—praiseworthy ones that would have made the Holy Emperor sigh if he knew—the carriage arrived at the Tribunal.
Seongjin’s visit to the Tribunal was perfectly timed.
Three of the six Black Prophets members were about to be released on bail until the Synod concluded.
Of course, this excluded Kenneth Digory, the ringleader suspected in the disappearance of the mansion’s maid and servant.
Nor did it include Ashley and Jonathan, who were still unconscious after treatment for the Gray Plague.
“We know nothing about that disease, Your Highness.”
“Ashley and Jonathan were investigated separately from the start.”
The three preparing for release hesitated as they spoke, and Seongjin frowned.
Seongjin now suspected the Heresy Tribunal. The two had been fine at the Digory mansion but arrived at the Tribunal already implanted with monster eggs.
That meant the implantation happened in the Tribunal’s prison.
If the two recovered and testified, it would be simple, but Gray Plague survivors often suffered mental derangement from the rampant hallucinations, so full recovery was uncertain. That left interrogating the ones imprisoned with them.
But no matter how much he pressed, the three claimed ignorance. They’d been in separate cells anyway.
In the end, Seongjin released them without gaining anything.
“As Your Highness knows, I was receiving treatment elsewhere at the time.”
The second person he met was Kenneth Digory.
His face was haggard—whether from prison stress or his hastily submitted thesis was unclear.
During the Bantra Moss incident, he’d taken a blow to the head from Seongjin, fracturing his skull. Thanks to that, he’d been under treatment and avoided much hardship at the Tribunal.
“You should be truly grateful to me.”
“…Pardon?”
When the one who’d cracked his skull acted superior instead, Kenneth stared at Seongjin in bewilderment.
He’d acted completely deranged back then, but now he seemed like a meek, upstanding young man again.
Did this guy remember feeding two servants to Bantra Moss? At the very least, he couldn’t deny trying to throw Ashley Becher to it in front of Seongjin.
Yet here he was, looking pitiful as he spoke to Seongjin.
“Thank you so much for stopping me, Your Highness. I don’t know what came over me. Looking back now, I can’t even understand why I did it…”
What, you punk?
As Seongjin’s expression darkened, Kenneth flinched, cowed, and lowered his eyes.
“I know saying this now is meaningless. But truly, our Black Prophets was just a modest club seeking the mysteries of this world.”
They’d formed two years ago. Just young men secretly reading forbidden books for fun and debating curiosities—a lively social club.
But everything changed a year ago with the appearance of someone called the [Sage].
The members hadn’t easily believed the man who grandly introduced himself as ‘one who had reached the truth of this world.’
Yet the more they learned, the more captivating he was. His knowledge was vast, and the worldly truths he revealed like secrets sounded utterly convincing.
Above all, the black mass he brought was no earthly thing. The members gradually came to believe it held the world’s mysteries.
And sponsorship from Mores began around then.
-As the Sage said! Perhaps Prince Mores can share in our mysteries.
Seongjin suddenly recalled Kenneth’s shout in the Digory mansion basement.
So the [Sage] was the one who first brought Bantra Moss’s larva here. And for some reason, he’d mentioned Mores to the Black Prophets.
Just who the hell was this Sage?
“Truth is… I can’t remember much about the Sage.”
Kenneth broke into a cold sweat as he spoke. Seongjin’s glare was sharpening.
“But it’s true! We were definitely enamored with him, but when I think back, I can’t recall his face or voice properly! I don’t even know how we first met anymore!”
Kenneth was nearly in tears.
At that moment, Seongjin recalled what Haven had said upon waking from the Gray Plague.
-Who was she?
-Hm? Well, I was so drunk… Now that I think about it, her face is blurry. But she had such long, beautiful hair.
Had Haven really just been drunk that day?
Seongjin pressed Kenneth further about the Sage but gained no useful info.
The last time Kenneth met the Sage was the day he sent the invitation to Prince Mores.
Until then, the Black Prophets had planned to pocket Mores’s funding and ignore the wastrel prince. But that day, the Sage personally urged Kenneth to invite him.
-Would you maintain that attitude even after seeing what lies in that prince’s eyes? Heavy constraints always harbor immense potential. He more than qualifies to enter the world’s mysteries.
That was the story behind Mores’s sudden invitation.
‘…Hey, Demon King.’
[Yeah, seems true. Pulse is fast, but just emotional fluctuation.]
The makeshift lie detector was working overtime today.
Seongjin watched Kenneth clutching his head in agony, then sighed and left the visiting room.
He’d need to dig deeper into this Sage, but where to find clues?
He hadn’t even properly investigated the Gray Plague yet.
Ugh, so frustrating.
He felt like smashing walnuts in the training grounds.
But when he actually went to the training grounds, an even bigger headache awaited.
“I couldn’t shake the feeling it wasn’t coincidence, so I thought I’d mention it.”
With that preface, Captain Bruno cautiously shared his story.
Before contracting the Gray Plague, he’d coincidentally met someone resembling his first love from childhood.
“Didn’t you say you remembered nothing?”
When first asked about the onset, Bruno had claimed almost total amnesia. At Seongjin’s question, the captain’s face reddened slightly.
“Well… at the time, I thought it was just a dream…”
“Ah.”
Fair enough. Admitting ‘I dreamed of my first love’ would be embarrassing.
“But as days pass, I’m convinced it wasn’t a dream. Her face is so hazy, yet her voice still rings vividly in my ears. Of course, my memories from then weren’t intact, so I can’t be certain.”
“Any chance it really was your first love?”
“No. She definitely died during the Ortona civil war long ago.”
“Hmm…”
Seongjin rested his chin, deep in thought.
The woman resembling Bruno’s first love. The stunning beauty Haven met.
And the Sage who enchanted the Black Prophets.
[…Something smells off. Feels just like the [Charm] demons use.]
At the Demon King’s words, the captain nodded.
“Exactly. The more I think, the more it feels like [Charm]. But there can’t be demonkin in Delcross.”
[Who’re you calling Redhead!]
“Yes, my apologies. Redhead.”
[Argh!]
Seongjin raised a hand to stop their bickering.
“So, do you remember what she said?”
“Nothing special. Just a comforting embrace that made me completely relax. Something like…”
- I know your pain better than anyone. No need to resent anyone anymore. Forget it all, sleep deeply for a few days, and everything will be better.
“…Like that… Oh, not that I resented His Majesty or Your Highness…”
The captain belatedly stammered excuses, but Seongjin nodded with a magnanimous smile.
I get it, old man. Even if you’re loyal to the Holy Imperial Family, living as a cripple for years—no human wouldn’t resent that. If it were me, I’d have ground them to dust and still not be satisfied.
“Even if you ground them in your mind a hundred times, I understand.”
“That’s not what I… ”
“Of course. I know. I get it all.”
“……”