The Blade Hidden in Joy (2)

— The point of view will shift partway through this chapter. I've marked the section where it changes, so please read on with ease!

Khan and Fairie entered the banquet hall and began their formal introductions.

"We met at the council, but allow me to greet you properly once more. I am Plott Khan, Successor of the Third Black Tortoise."

At the same time, the pink-haired woman stepped out from beside Khan and, head bowed toward Ellie, offered her own greeting.

"Hello! Fairie of House Plott, in service to the Black Tortoise, greets the Successor of the Azure Dragon and his contractor."

We welcomed them with smiles, and once I accepted their greetings without a trace of suspicion, Ellie seemed to take courage from that and bowed alongside me.

"A pleasure, Lord Khan. I am Lee Hyeon, Successor of the Seventh Azure Dragon."

"A pleasure. Alice of the house that serves the Azure Dragon greets the Successor of the Black Tortoise and his contractor."

Before either of them had said a word on the subject, Ellie had already noticed that the two were bound by contract.

I knew it myself — in the game, too, those two were a pairing that always, without fail, found each other.

No doubt she'd watched the way they entered together and deduced the rest from that.

As expected of you, Ellie. Sharp as ever.

The moment greetings were exchanged, Fairie closed in on Ellie and struck up a conversation.

"Lady Alice! How did you and Hyeon meet??"

"Wh-What?!"

Even for Ellie, who never allowed anyone near her, the question came out of nowhere — she flinched and asked her to repeat it.

"I... um..."

Her face flushing red, Ellie wavered over whether to answer at all.

Then her eyes met mine, and I gave her a small smile and a nod of encouragement.

If Ellie had truly hated it and wanted it to stop, I would have reined Fairie in myself, or asked Khan to call her off.

Astonishingly, though, Ellie showed no sign of displeasure.

Only a look in which flustered panic and mortification coexisted.

I had always thought Ellie deserved at least one friend she could pour her heart out to, someone she could talk with freely and happily.

And Fairie seemed to be exactly that kind of person, which came as a relief.

To win Ellie over, Fairie traded every common ground she could find between them, all while probing how each of our romances had begun.

And Ellie, perhaps growing accustomed to the mood, was starting to answer her little by little.

Though neither of us — the subjects of all that gossip — had been asked for permission.

Khan, I suspected, was feeling a touch dizzy right about now.

And yet, right in front of the very men involved, the romance talk between Ellie and Fairie began to bloom in full flower.

"I met Khan when he was quite little. Around four, I'd say?"

The Divine Beasts' Successors are chosen from a remarkably early age.

Being chosen at fifteen, the way I was, is a genuinely rare thing.

People grow into their Traits from childhood, and within that process, a Divine Beast's Successor awakens as well.

And it's the norm for them to be born and raised in the territory of the family that serves them.

"Khan at four was quite the little wild beast, you know?"

"Fairie!"

Judging by how hard Khan tried to cut her off, it was clearly the truth.

And with his face turning red on top of it, the credibility of her words was rocketing straight through the sky.

"And even then, he always protected me."

By her account, Khan had been cold and ferocious for as long as she'd known him.

A self-defensive nature, she said, forged in childhood — losing his parents young and fighting off the human traffickers who came hunting for him.

"Which must be why his mouth is so foul! Of course, he keeps his manners with anyone who means him no harm. I worked and worked to shape him into the Khan standing here today... you can't imagine how exhausting it was..."

"S-Stop it...!"

Khan wore black suit trousers, a green jacket, and a deep-green mantle — and he was hiding his face behind that mantle.

"Ugh... khh...!"

Thanks to which, I was fighting down my own laughter beside him.

I did not want to laugh. You have to believe me.

Caught under a glare that promised just you wait, I turned my eyes away and played innocent.

But Fairie's stories were genuinely entertaining.

She had quite the gift for spinning a tale.

Chattering away in high spirits, Fairie grew curious about our story as well, and asked about Ellie and me.

"Might I hear the story of you and Lord Hyeon too, Lady Alice?"

"...Well, since you shared yours, Lady Fairie, I'll share ours."

"To begin with, Hyeon was being chased by bandits through a nameless forest nearby."

That's right.

I remember how brutal it was back then — a body with no training to speak of, and barely fifteen years old on top of it.

"And I was the one who saved him."

Even now, the image of her sweeping off her helmet and annihilating the bandit horde to a man is burned crisp into my memory.

If five years haven't dulled it, that moment must have seared itself into me pretty deeply.

"After I saved him, Hyeon couldn't take his eyes off my face. He just stood there, staring."

.....

She's actually telling them that?

"Is that so?? Well, Lady Alice's beauty IS every bit as breathtaking as all that!"

"Th-That's not... that isn't what I meant..."

Ellie cleared her throat with a prim ahem—! and started her story over.

Right about now... it's just about time for my own embarrassing history to surface...

Back when I first took up the Sword of the Azure Sky and roamed the battlefields with Ellie to cement my claim as the Azure Dragon's Successor.

There was a moment, mid-swing, when I caught my foot on an orc's leg and went sprawling.

The orc — despite realizing full well that I'd come to kill it — found the sight so hilarious that it forgot all about bringing its axe down and simply guffawed.

And of course, I had to fall in the one patch of mud for miles, ending up drenched head to toe in filthy brown water.

I did vent my fury by slaughtering every last one of those snickering orc bastards, mind you.

But when Ellie heard the story afterward, she abruptly found herself locked in a life-or-death struggle to keep a straight face.

Then again, she was entitled to laugh at this one — at least her embarrassing history was nothing on the Black Tortoise's Successor's scale, right?

There was a time I thought so, too.

Namely, Ellie — the one who subjected me to death by embarrassment, singing my charm and my looks for everyone to hear.

"He's handsome, isn't he?"

It came in the middle of her telling how she'd confessed first and I'd accepted — Fairie had asked which of my charms had moved her to it, and this was the answer.

No, but why would you even want to know that?

And Ellie? Why on earth would you answer it?

"Uuugh..."

Only now did I understand what Khan's behavior had meant.

God, this is embarrassing.

Then I glanced slightly aside — and there was Khan, grinning at me.

They say a gentleman's revenge is never too late, even after ten years... this guy hadn't even waited ten minutes.

Naturally, this exchange kept up until both Khan and I were red to the ears and worn out.

At some point, the head of House Ignite and Rare, the Vermilion Bird's Successor, had joined the banquet.

Khan and I hadn't noticed — apparently they'd slipped in while our lovers traded questions and answers.

The Vermilion Bird's Successor, and the family head of Ignite Territory.

Coming in behind them were Gerald, lord of House Crystal, and his wife.

Gerald, dressed in a white jacket and white suit trousers, approached me and offered his hand.

"Successor of the Azure Dragon."

"It has been some time."

At my words, Gerald smiled.

"Thank you for remembering me. What an honor, truly, to have lingered in the Successor of the Azure Dragon's memory."

"Was it that significant...?"

At my question, Gerald spoke with the fond smile of a father.

"You stopped the White Tiger's Successor. Surely remembering one's benefactor is only natural."

It was that bad?

No, seriously — what the hell did that bastard Florence do in his territory to earn Gerald's repeated declarations of utter revulsion?

As a lord, he'd always seemed mentally tough and unshakable to me.

Yet even he had been sickened — Florence's reputation seemed to sink lower with every passing day.

"Were his deeds truly that vile?"

"Don't even ask. They were so atrocious that every last servant of our house clicked their tongues at the mere mention of him."

Judging by his words, Florence had committed acts so criminal that people counted themselves fortunate I'd put a stop to him.

Rape, murder, plunder... and this was supposed to be a Successor?

No wonder they were glad I'd intervened.

However formidable Gerald's own strength, he could never have shouldered the storm that would follow cutting down the very Successor sworn to protect his own territory.

At his side lingered his wife, Ashia Crystal.

And she was nodding along to Gerald's every word, earnestly confirming each one...

Apparently, before his visit to Cumul Territory, Florence had even made moves aimed at the man's wife.

From where Gerald stood, I had to look like a hero who had saved him, saved his wife, and saved his territory all at once.

Sunset, head of House Ignite, and Rare were drawing near to greet us as well.

With their steps toward me, all four Great Families had finally gathered in a single place.

Perhaps to reflect her station as a Successor despite being a woman, Rare wore not a dress but black suit trousers and a red jacket.

Like Khan and me, she wore a dark-crimson mantle draped over her right shoulder.

Rare and Sunset offered their greetings.

"Hey there. Lee Hyeon, was it?"

I nodded in answer to her.

"Yeah. It's been a while."

"Had I known we'd get to talk like this, I would have come sooner."

At her words, I turned my head lightly toward the rest of the hall.

And there, descending from the level above us, the imperial family began to come into view.

With all three Successors gathered in one place, the Emperor entered the banquet alongside the Imperial Consort, two princes, and the princesses.

The moment the Emperor appeared, the nobles stopped mid-conversation and turned toward him.

The spot where the Emperor stood could only be met eye to eye by climbing a long flight of stairs.

It was a device, plain as day, proclaiming just how much authority and power the man possessed.

Which was exactly why every noble in the hall fell silent the instant he entered, all eyes fixed upon him.

The Emperor raised a goblet of wine in one hand and spoke.

"We extend Our gratitude to every noble and every Successor gathered in this hall."

"The reason We have held this banquet is that the Successors and family heads of all four directions have seized victory in the Tide of Corruption."

"Once more, Our thanks go out to every Successor, and to the family heads who led them. Tonight is set aside to celebrate that victory — We hope you will each enjoy it to your heart's content."

When the Emperor finished, the whole hall erupted in applause for him — and for us, the Successors.

And so the banquet began in earnest.

As time passed... something ominous began to creep in.

I wondered at first if it was just the main quest playing games with me...

But my instincts were screaming at me to run.

...No way. In the middle of the banquet?

I chalked it up to nerves and enjoyed the party along with everyone else.

But thirty minutes on, the feeling hadn't faded — it lingered, and if anything it was only getting worse.

Even as we danced together, traded news of the months behind us, and kept the conversation flowing...

Something was off. Wrong.

Nothing had happened, and yet my instincts insisted this place was dangerous — that I needed a weapon in my hand, now.

I even wondered if we were under attack, but no matter how I swept the hall, I could find no trace of demonic energy, no clear point my instincts latched onto.

Even with the banquet in full swing, Ellie and the Princess seemed to sense something amiss and started asking me about it.

I had been careful to keep my expression in check so no one would notice, but they'd caught on anyway.

Ellie, fine — she'd watched me for years, and we were lovers. But how on earth did the Princess?

"I'm fine. Just a little on edge, I suppose. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠My apologies for worrying you, Your Highness."

At my words, Ellie and the Princess smiled and nodded.

Before long, a crowd clustered around the Princess eager for conversation, and her attention — Ellie's with it — turned back to them.

But somehow, I couldn't bring myself to just let this feeling pass — this unease, swelling larger by the minute.

Time crawled on, the dread kept growing — and my instincts were shouting.

Draw your sword. Now.

And exactly as my instincts had foreseen, every pane of glass in the banquet hall exploded outward.

— KRA-KRA-KRASH-SHATTER!!! —

The Successors — myself included — tore their weapons free in haste.

The Sword of the Azure Sky cleared its sheath, its weight settling heavy into my right hand.

Khan, the Black Tortoise's Successor, held a spear of blue light.

And Rare, the Vermilion Bird's Successor, a fan of deepest crimson.

And pouring in through the shattered windows — Mid-tier Demons and Lower Demons.

The hall that had shimmered with nothing but joy was now drowning in pain and terror.

"Kyaaaaah!! Wh-What is that thing!!"

"Run!!"

"Move! Me first!"

It was chaos upon chaos — but we were the ones who had fought on four separate front lines.

Naturally, we sized up the situation with cool heads, exchanged a glance, and scattered to every corner of the hall.

"Ellie!"

"Got it!"

I snatched a ceremonial sword off the floor and hurled it to her.

Catching it from the air, Ellie was already cutting down the demons lunging at the guests.

Beside her, Fairie had taken up the green spear Khan had handed her earlier and was calmly carving through the demons that charged her.

The family heads were hardly pushovers themselves, so they'd manage fine.

"Kyaaah!!"

Then a woman's scream tore out behind me.

I dashed over and found the young lady of House Rozel — the one who had thanked me earlier.

I hurled my sword into the throat of the goblin leering down at her with a vile grin.

Then I was sprinting again, wrenching the blade free as I charged the goblin pack.

Bolting forward to shield the young lady, I slipped left past a crude weapon slick with something foul, lopped off the arm that wielded it, then booted the body away like a man kicking a ball.

Drove my sword into the back of another one stalking the lady from behind, freezing it mid-motion — and my heel followed through.

"Kyeeeek!"

With that single shriek it went sailing, never to rise again.

I slipped past another hurled hand-axe and called on Blaze.

Flames bloomed from the empty air around me, then spread outward — and the ten-odd goblins were roasted whole.

The humans the fire touched came away unharmed, exactly as I'd expected, while the demons writhed and died within the flames.

The Princess, the First Prince, and Sion had taken up swords as well, felling Lower Demons of their own.

?!!!!

The voice sent a chill crawling up my spine — I summoned my sword in an instant and thrust it behind me, only for the blade to be caught mid-air.

"What?"

"What...?"

A mid-ranked demon... here? Why...?

While my mind wandered, Khan hurled his spear — had it not driven the demon gripping my arm back, I would have taken a grievous wound.

"Snap out of it. I don't know what's going through your head, but don't you lose your focus in front of a demon."

Khan — who had only ever addressed me with formal courtesy — dropping into casual speech meant the situation had turned truly dire.

I answered him with a nod.

But.

Two demons...?

"Ugh!"

A blow that would have kept me down for good slammed into my side; with no room even to think of a counter, I was smashed into the wall.

"Hyeon!"

Rare's voice calling my name jolted me back to my senses.

Fighting through the crushing pain ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in my side, I rose and raised my sword.

"Haah... ugh!"

Even with Dragon Scale blunting it, the pain was this fierce.

By the time I looked up, Rare — the one who'd called my name — was already squared off against the demons, trading blows.

How on earth did she get all the way here...?

Questions later. Action first.

With that thought, I shot forward.

Two hours before the banquet hall came apart.

Five figures were on the move, carving a path toward the Imperial Palace.

"Yes."

"That's correct. Take this route, and you'll be able to move through the palace far more easily."

Two men trailed after the guides.

But they were not figures anyone could have called human.

Horns sprouted from both of them — ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠inhuman to any eye.

Worse still, they were demons of tremendous strength.

And the ones guiding them, too, wore shapes unlike ordinary folk.

Yet in their folly, they were scheming to shatter and defile their own homeland.

Even after the Azure Dragon's Successor had exterminated a staggering number of demons in Sky Village, those who had been running their operation outside it nursed a grudge against him.

And when word ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠reached them that the Azure Dragon's Successor was at the Imperial Palace, they found themselves in the same boat as the demons plotting to assault it.

They were, respectively, the 33rd Ranked Demon, Gaap — and the 34th, Furfur.

They killed, then deliberately displayed the corpses of the slain — all to serve up despair and helplessness.

They were the demons who had stormed in to kill the Second Prince.

In the end, neither knights nor guards could withstand their overwhelming power, and the Second Prince was murdered at their hands.

The Fifth Vermilion Bird's Successor had carved Gaap half to ribbons, but Furfur's power let the two of them barely slip away.

"Halt! Who goes there!"

A guard spotted them, and the demonkin played at being human, smoothly turning the guards' eyes aside.

But the guard wasn't so easily put off.

Unable to stomach the tedium a moment longer, Furfur revealed himself before them.

The guards, seeing him, thrust their spears forward with everything they had — to bar the way and buy time for reinforcements.

But their heads struck the dirt faster than their spears could fly.

The headless bodies crumpled forward, limp.

Those who had meant to call for aid died without so much as a chance to resist.

All told, seven guards — and less than a minute had passed since the pair's identities were laid bare.

The demonkin who had watched the whole spectacle from beginning to end — far from crying out in horror or reaching for their swords — were busy marveling at the two of them.

And so, with ease, those bound for the heart of the Holy Empire set foot upon its soil.

The deaths of the seven guards came to light thanks to the suspicion of the man due to stand the next watch.

When his relief failed to arrive on time, the guard's instincts pricked — and he went and found the scene.

A full thirty minutes had passed since they had all gone cold.

Those who confirmed the breach called at once for reinforcements to eliminate the intruders — but by then, it was already far too late.