Chapter 335
Chapter 335
Chapter 335
'Golden Dawn Society? Valencia?'
The Dawn Society was an organization led by Zeke's mother Laura Agamemnon and Arch Paladin Fab Valencia.
Zeke couldn't help but be surprised that the Pope was not only the leader of an organization called the Golden Dawn Society with a similar name, but also had the surname Valencia.
Beatrice looked at Zeke and said,
"I will explain downstairs."
Zeke followed her down the secret passage beneath the sarcophagus.
The secret passage under the sarcophagus extended quite long.
"Your Holiness, is this passage an escape route that can be used in case of emergency?"
"Yes. The previous Pope told me about it. Currently, it's being used as a means to secretly meet with members of the Golden Dawn Society."
Following Beatrice through the secret passage, Zeke soon discovered a massive door ahead.
The iron door had the same emblem that Fab had made for the underground tomb carved into it.
'An emblem different from the usual Sun Church emblem.'
Zeke asked Beatrice with anticipation,
"Your Holiness, do you know what meaning this emblem holds?"
Beatrice nodded at Zeke's question and said,
"This is the emblem used by the Light Order that served the God of Light before the current Sun Church."
Zeke recalled seeing this emblem in the Ark as well.
'If the Light Order used this emblem... perhaps it represents the God of Light, that is, the Creator God.'
Since Zeke wasn't well-versed in theology, this was as far as he could speculate.
He decided to ask Arina, who was knowledgeable about theology, for more details when he met her.
Beatrice infused power into the Light emblem, and once again the door opened by itself.
She gestured to Zeke.
"This way."
Zeke followed Beatrice up the stairs.
Checking the map, surprisingly, the secret passage led out of the papal office and connected to the outskirts of the Vadoka Holy Nation.
Moreover, it was connected to the basement of an old warehouse, allowing them to exit without being noticed by others.
Upon reaching the top, Beatrice skillfully removed her religious garments and changed into casual clothes she had prepared in advance.
When she magically changed her hair color to brown, she looked like an ordinary woman rather than the Pope.
"This way, Sir Zeke."
Zeke followed Beatrice out of the warehouse.
Unlike the downtown area where clergy and nobles frequented, the market created in the outskirts of the Vadoka Holy Nation for commoners was chaotic and noisy due to poorly maintained roads and facilities.
The market seemed even more chaotic due to rumors of approaching monsters. People were trembling in fear and spreading ominous rumors.
"I heard they've already burned down all the other cities?"
"Then aren't we in danger too?"
"Nah, if we were, the high-ranking folks would've fled first! Since they're still here, we must be fine!"
"Don't be stupid. Those people can go to other countries in one night with that whatchamacallit, teleportation magic. That's why they're still hanging around, ain't it?"
Beatrice's expression darkened at the sight of citizens trying to shake off their anxiety through such arguments.
Nevertheless, she seemed to gather her resolve and walked determinedly into an old building in the market alley.
Though it looked like an ordinary general store, Zeke immediately realized it was a front upon entering.
The woman working as the store clerk was a mage, and the man who appeared to be the owner was a knight who had received knight training.
They cast suspicious glances when Beatrice brought in an unfamiliar person.
She raised her hand to reassure them.
"It's alright. He's here to help us. Open the second floor."
At Beatrice's words, the mage disguised as a clerk activated a secretly hidden magic circle.
Then the firewood stacked on one side of the store automatically aligned to create stairs.
Beatrice led Zeke.
Surprisingly, upstairs there were various materials posted on the walls, including a continental map and situation board.
Beatrice smiled at Zeke and said,
"Sir Zeke, welcome to the Golden Dawn Society headquarters."
*******
CAAAAAAWK!
An ominous crow's cry echoed.
Below, soldiers in formation were marching with sharp metallic sounds.
Knights on horseback shouted at the soldiers.
"Maintain Formation!"
The knight's flag with a wolf's face drawn on it was fluttering in the wind.
An endless column of troops filled the highway of the Holy Kingdom.
Currently, only one place in the continent could mobilize this many troops at once - the Rom Empire.
The Knights of Scorpio, one of Rom Empire's 13 legions, were advancing at the front of the troops.
Leading the Knights of Scorpio was Vice Commander Calito Luciano, who was fully armed with artifacts.
He was the one who previously tried to catch Zeke with Jimenes but was defeated instead, losing troops and barely surviving thanks to Rahim, the spatial ability user and leader of the Six.
Although he almost lost his position as Vice Commander due to that defeat, Calito preserved his position thanks to his unique political sense and rhetoric, and now volunteered to lead additional troops for this Imperial campaign.
Next to Calito was a man so large he resembled a barbarian, concentrating with closed eyes atop his horse.
And he was Gillian Apex, the Commander of the Knights of Scorpio.
Unlike Calito, Knight Gillian Apex of Thousand Scorpion was a typical warrior.
Being completely devoid of political skill, Calito, who was inferior as a knight, led the Knights of Thousand Scorpion and handled external affairs.
Gillian Apex was devoting all his time to training to break through the final wall to becoming a Black Knight.
Without Calito's persuasion, he would never have participated in the previous expedition.
'It's fortunate that the persuasion about possibly gaining new insights on the battlefield worked.'
The Knights of Scorpio continued their march toward the border region of the Holy Kingdom where the Emperor's soldiers were stationed.
Soon the highway ended and as they crossed over a hill, they saw tens of thousands of soldiers camped in the border region plains.
Silver wolf flags symbolizing the Emperor were fluttering everywhere.
Calito gulped and entered the Emperor's camp.
'Why is it so quiet?'
When Calito arrived at the camp, he felt something was strange about the atmosphere.
It was impossible for a camp with such a large army to be this quiet.
No matter how disciplined the army was, there should have been sounds of camp construction, cooking, or at least soldiers chatting, but there were no such sounds at all.
The silence, as if no one was there, brought an eerie sense of foreboding.
Calito dismounted and looked around the camp.
Glancing at the tents where soldiers stayed, there were signs of life inside.
However, the soldiers were either sitting blankly without saying anything or lying down mumbling.
The soldiers who were whispering to themselves with lifeless eyes fixed somewhere, completely devoid of vitality, were certainly not normal.
'Damn, what's this. Are they all in some kind of soma addiction?'
Just as Calito shuddered at the horrifying sight, suddenly a magician in black robes appeared before him.
"EEK! What, you startled me!"
Calito stepped back upon seeing the suddenly appearing magician.
Though his face was hidden by a deeply pulled hood, his black-dyed lips like a corpse and pitch-black fingernails were noticeable.
Moreover, the magician's skin had a bronze tint, and though moving, didn't feel like that of a living person.
"His Majesty calls for both of you."
The mage’s voice was also deeply cracked, making one's skin crawl throughout listening.
Calito suddenly remembered the bloodline ability users of the Nostra family and the black mages of the Abyss whom he met while working with Jiemens.
Though he had thought they were really strange too, he now felt they were more human than the Emperor's army and magician he was facing.
'They say the Emperor mastered all sorts of dark arts for immortality. So he even keeps such unholy and dangerous looking fellows by his side.'
Although Calito deliberately participated in this battlefield to preserve his position, he couldn't help feeling anxious.
In fact, he had tried to grab onto Julius's side who was connected with Jiemens, but when that didn't work out, he had no choice but to try connecting with the Emperor's side by participating in this expedition.
Due to various unfavorable rumors about the Emperor's personal condition and other matters, other knightly orders were reluctant to participate in this expedition.
Eventually, the Emperor set out on the expedition leading only his personal guard and soldiers.
Watching this, Calito, who had been contemplating until the end, persuaded Gillian to follow the Emperor.
'I hear the target of this expedition is not monsters but the Holy Kingdom. If the Emperor overcomes this crisis and maintains imperial authority while expanding territorial warfare starting with the Holy Kingdom... I can definitely seize an opportunity for advancement.'
Calito was someone who prided himself on having an excellent eye for opportunities.
The fact that he, the second son of a low-ranking provincial baron, could rise to this position was because he had seized opportunities well, so he had reason to be confident.
Although the situation was somewhat like gambling, he thought that if he could just get through this moment properly, he could envision a new future.
He composed his troubled mind and entered the Emperor's tent with Gillian.
However, upon entering the Emperor's tent, Calito regretted his decision for the first time in his life.
The inside of the tent was unspeakably horrific.
Groups of cultists with black lips and black nails were extracting blood from living people and mixing various drugs with the blood to make strange potions.
The cultist mages were like demons who casually performed even more evil and terrible taboos than dark mages.
Such cultists were endlessly making terrible elixirs using people as ingredients in the Emperor's tent.
‘URGH.'
Even Calito, who prided himself on having a strong stomach, felt dizzy and nauseous from the bloody smell and strong drugs permeating the Emperor's tent.
Gillian, who had been keeping his eyes tightly shut, had now opened them and was staring at the horrible scene.
Then the mage who had guided them gestured to them and said.
"This way, please."
Calito and Gillian passed through the tent that looked like a scene from hell and entered further inside where the Emperor was staying.
The Emperor's tent was strewn with numerous medicine bottles, magic circles drawn with blood, and scrolls scrawled in unrecognizable languages.
Incense was continuously rising from the censers, and just smelling that bizarre fragrance felt like it could drive one mad.
The Emperor was lying in bed, surrounded by over a dozen cultists.
His appearance was hidden behind curtains around the bed, but the tubes connected to dozens of medicine bottles clearly showed how poor his current condition was.
“The Knights of Scorpio have arrived?”
Suddenly, a voice came from beyond the curtain.
Calito was startled by the Emperor's clear and dignified voice and immediately knelt down.
"Greetings to Your Majesty! I am Calito Luciano, serving as the Vice Commander of the Knights of Scorpio. Following Your Majesty's command, I have arrived here leading the knights of Scorpio together with Commander Gillian Apex!"
The Emperor was silent for a moment after hearing Calito's words.
Then he spoke again in the same clear voice.
"Calito. Yes, I remember. You were the righteous one who volunteered for various difficult tasks on behalf of Gillian, who cannot speak."
In fact, Commander Gillian was mute.
But very few people knew this fact.
They simply thought Gillian was just taciturn, and Calito handled most external affairs.
He was surprised that the Emperor remembered this fact.
"Y-Yes, Your Majesty! You remember me?"
"Yes, I remember. You were a young man with clever and wise eyes. It has been 20 years since I granted you your title."
Calito was nearly moved to tears at the Emperor's words, remembering his name and even when he had granted the title.
Then he suddenly came to his senses.
'Has the Emperor's illness improved?'
Although his face was hidden behind the curtain, there was no trace of illness in his voice.
Rather, it carried more power and dignity than the voice he had heard at his knighting ceremony 20 years ago.
'If the Emperor's illness is getting better, a great opportunity will come to me.'
He had long forgotten the horrific scene he had witnessed earlier.
Calito was only interested in how to maximize his own benefit.
Then the Emperor said to Calito.
"Calito, my old friend. Could you, together with your companion Gillian, eliminate the monsters threatening the Holy Kingdom and save the suffering holy citizens for me?"
At the Emperor's words, which casually mentioned salvation, Calito came to one conclusion.
'Though his physical condition may have improved, the Emperor is still insane.'