A Dark Shadow Over the Imperial Capital (1)

"Uuugh..."

At the sound of them slowly stirring awake, I forced down the turmoil churning in my chest and approached the girls as they gathered themselves and rose to their feet one by one.

"...Huh? Why are we here?"

The place where they had been lying was not what Bret had called his 'factory' — it was the very spot where Bret and I had fought, the place where he had paid the price of his sins with his own life.

I brought out Constellation and Starlight, which I had already collected, and presented them to each of the girls.

Pure-white Constellation, and Starlight, its opposite in every way, cloaked in black.

When I examined the stats of each blade, they turned out to be legendary swords of a staggering grade.

Perhaps because they had been forged by two artisans bearing the title of Blacksmith — a master's honorific — their rank was none other than Legendary.

Forget legendary artifacts; I had rarely even found unique artifacts, even back in the game.

After all that grinding, the strongest weapon I'd ever obtained in-game had been Epic at the very end.

And yet Constellation, Starlight, and Galaxy all stood shoulder to shoulder at the Legendary tier, while the artifact currently sheathed at my waist — Guardian Star — bore a rank of Unique.

As I understood it, the 'Unique' rank was reserved for weapons that existed only once in the entire world, weapons so singular that not even a perfect replica could ever be made again.

And yet, even having obtained such magnificent weapons, I didn't feel particularly happy.

Just how many of the dead had I been forced to look upon to claim these artifacts?

Though, of course — both Bret and Ranya had entrusted their creations to me in the hope that the weapons they forged would save and deliver people suffering as they themselves had suffered.

My inheritance of Bret's hatred meant I had inherited his will as well — the two were one and the same.

Collecting myself, I introduced the swords to the girls.

"These swords are called Constellation and Starlight."

Maybe introducing a sword the moment they woke up was too abrupt — now fully lucid, the girls set the blades I'd raised down on the ground and looked at me.

"Hyuna... you've been through so much, haven't you...? What on earth happened while we were unconscious...? Why is your face like that..."

"It's written all over your face, Hyuna. Can you tell us what happened?"

At this point, I genuinely wondered if the two of them were some kind of sages, at least where I was concerned.

I had buried my emotions as tightly as I could — how on earth did they know?

Not that I'd ever intended to hide it from them.

They had braved countless traps alongside me and reached Bret themselves, after all.

"First of all — the reason Ellie and Yeon suddenly lost consciousness was because of me."

I confessed that, since there was no telling what trauma or terrible memories the scenes they'd witnessed might leave behind, I had exercised the Authority of Purification rather liberally and knocked them out on purpose.

At that, Ellie gave a small nod and spoke.

"Thank you... so it was for our sake... And here I was, thinking I'd suffered some massive mental shock and still had such a long way to go..."

As if answering her, Yeon spoke up as well.

"Yeah, me too... I was mentally bracing myself for how badly Master would scold me when she found out..."

It seemed they had both been blaming themselves, believing they'd simply failed to endure the mental shock — that it was their own weakness.

After soothing their self-reproach, I began, little by little, to speak of Bret.

Why he had set all this in motion.

The detailed reason why he, facing me — the successor of the Azure Dragon — had unleashed such hatred and fury upon me.

Why he had threatened the girls with his blade, and why Bret was the only blacksmith to be found in this place.

And that I had inherited Bret's hatred and Ranya's plea alike, and would fight to lay his grudge to rest — all of it.

According to the game, blacksmiths had mostly lived their lives shunned and ostracized by humanity.

So I had simply assumed they would be living in the Helios Mountain Range, hammering iron in that barren wasteland.

I had even naively believed that if I approached them with a heartfelt apology and a sincere request, I could win an artifact from them.

But reality had been crueler than anything.

The truth was that it wasn't the blacksmiths who had rejected humanity — it was the covetous, desire-driven actions of the 4th Azure Dragon, Vile, that had turned humanity against them.

In the end, they were the ones who bore the damage to the very last, and within endless suffering, the victim became the perpetrator, birthing yet another victim — a vicious cycle of tragedy repeating itself without end.

That vague notion that knowing the game's lore would be enough.

I had believed it unshakably. I had never once doubted it.

But circumstances and fate can change at any moment — and the future is no exception.

Even now, I wondered: had I perhaps still not escaped that dim, dreary room, before I came to this world?

Just as that thought crossed my mind—

"Hyun. I'm going to be honest with you."

Yeon opened her mouth, the air around her turning solemn, as if she intended to make her feelings unmistakably clear.

"The way I see it, that pained expression you keep wearing — it's the suffering that comes from a sense of responsibility."

"That woman Ranya and that Bret fellow entrusted you with a request and even handed us these weapons... so I figure you're telling yourself you have to do even better. That's how it looks to me."

"But tell me — is there a single person anywhere working harder than you, training harder than you, preparing harder to hold back the demons?"

With those words, Yeon glanced down at Starlight, which she had set down moments ago, and continued.

"Of course, I can't truly understand the weight of a successor's duty. I'm not a successor, the way you are."

"Ellie and I only just woke up, after all. We haven't even gotten our bearings yet — how could we possibly understand what you're feeling right now?"

"So the truth is, we're not really in a position to offer you comfort, either."

"....."

"And I think that's only natural. You can only comfort someone when you understand the problem they're carrying — the pain they're in."

"I can't do that hollow kind of comforting, where you know nothing but go through the motions anyway. Least of all with you. But advice — advice I can give."

"Advice...?"

Yeon gave a small nod and pressed on.

"If you keep shouldering a responsibility you refuse to speak of, forcing yourself to bear it to the end... that responsibility will turn to thorns. And one day, those sharp points will come back and pierce you."

"The first time, you'll be fine. The second time, probably fine too. But when it repeats — when the same needle pricks you hundreds of times, thousands of times... do you really think your body will survive it?"

"I'm not demanding you spill everything, unconditionally. All I'm asking is that you share the burden you carry ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with us. If you can't shatter the needle, and you can't control it on your own—"

"—then let us help. You're not alone, Hyun. Ellie is by your side. Seul is too. And so am I. So when the chance comes — when you finally can put that pain into words — share it with us."

"The people striving to bring down the demons and reclaim the laughter that comes after... you're not the only one fighting for that anymore."

At her words... I nodded and opened my mouth to them slowly.

"Thank you..."

With the girls — my lovers, ready to shoulder my burden beside me — the gloom that had settled over my heart began, at last, to lift.

Yeon, determined to dispel the heavy atmosphere she herself had created, deliberately brightened her tone.

"So? Will you explain these swords again? If they went to the trouble of making them for us, we ought to use them well."

Her effort coaxed a soft laugh out of me, and I brought my Status Window into view, pulling up the information for Starlight.

A weapon whose attack power shifts according to its wielder's own sense of justice — I had never seen such an option in my life.

It was that absurd. I couldn't help but wonder how Ranya and Bret had possibly managed to forge it.

That was Starlight for Yeon — next up, Ellie's Constellation.

Constellation was every bit as formidable a blade.

Granted, the effect was temporary and carried a drawback... but being able to wield two swords for thirty whole minutes was an enormous advantage.

There would certainly be moments when an attack that a single blade could never block could be caught between two.

Beyond that, the split blade could be thrown, used as a secondary weapon, or — already sharp as it was — turned against the enemy to seize the tempo of a fight all the more ferociously.

And Ellie could wreath her blade in White Flame, a white fire that was the very bane of demons, so the effect would be doubled or better.

And so, including Galaxy — Seul's weapon — each of us claimed our primary arm, and our party's fighting power climbed to an entirely new height.

We made quick work of our preparations to return to Cumul Territory.

A week, they'd said — but who could say what catastrophe might strike if we truly stayed away for seven whole days?

And as it turned out, our choice proved to be the best one we could have made.

Had we been even a single day later, the 1st Princess might have been in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mortal danger.

But we, in that moment, had no way of knowing.

That the day these weapons in our hands would be needed was drawing closer and closer.

By the time Hyun claimed the artifacts and made ready to return to Cumul Territory—

the Imperial Capital, giving thanks for the peace maintained through the tireless efforts of the Four Divine Beasts' successors, was busy processing the reports and affairs of state that poured in from every corner of the realm.

And at the heart of it all sat the ruler and master of the Holy Empire, Emperor Solaris II, who passed his days as always buried in his duties.

Peaceful days were the last thing the Emperor had known of late.

His youngest son — the child who had once been as dear to him as his own finger — had been brought to repentance by the successor of the 7th Azure Dragon, who had gone so far as to dig up the boy's past and hold it before his eyes.

And today marked exactly one month since that same youngest son had set out on his training journey, traveling from territory to territory, steadily building upon the swordsmanship he had been taught and the experience he had gained.

"Your Majesty. The hour has come to convene with the ministers and deliberate on the new policies to be announced."

"Has it, now... Have the 1st Prince and 1st Princess already arrived?"

The Emperor had taken to summoning them from their councils and deliberations — those two most likely to succeed him — and sounding out their opinions directly.

His reason for doing so was simple.

By asking for their views on matters one by one, he could observe — a kind of test, really — just how each of them intended to govern and run the nation.

The 1st Prince was twenty-five. The 1st Princess, twenty-two.

Now that they had both come of age, a small part of him had even begun to wish to pass down the imperial throne and step away from it himself.

Moving according to the schedule his butler laid out for him, the Emperor entered the council chamber alongside him.

Within, the ministers who managed every great and small affair of the realm had already taken their seats.

The only difference from any other day was that every last one of them was terrified.

And small wonder — for at this very moment, a being who should never have been present occupied the room.

"...What took you so long?"

A figure with azure hair and pale blue eyes of a shade close to that same hair sat upon the throne, waiting for the Emperor.

And atop his head grew horns — something no ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠human could possess — leaving no doubt as to what he was.

"How did you get in here?"

Fear flared through him in an instant, but the Emperor steadied himself and put the question to the demon seated in his place.

"...Oh... not afraid, are we? These whelps all tremble like leaves the moment they so much as glance at me. Is that what sets a leader apart, I wonder?"

"Answer me. How is it that a demon can exist within the Imperial Capital — within its very heart, no less?"

"Ha... fine. I didn't come here to attack this time, so I'll let it slide. But first — introductions."

"I am Morax, Ranked Twenty-First."

Rank 21.

Why would a demon wielding the twenty-first strongest power among the seventy-two demons be standing in the Imperial Capital?

"The thing is — a woman has come forward wishing to serve as a concubine to our Lord Taotie's successor. So I came to fetch her."

At the word concubine, the Emperor's composure nearly cracked, his brow almost knotting in a scowl.

He barely swallowed it and pressed on.

"You have not yet answered my question."

"Ah... I'm not a terribly patient sort, you see...? Must you keep interrupting me?"

With those words, Morax unleashed a crushing pressure — the full weight of his power — upon everything around him.

The emanation of a higher-ranked demon's aura proved too much for the ordinary soldiers and ministers to bear, and one by one they began collapsing where they stood.

The Emperor alone managed to endure, for it had been long since his swordsmanship had carried him past the level of any common soldier or knight.

The elderly butler who had served at his side and guided his steps was already sprawled unconscious on the floor, and at present, not a single successor capable of standing against the demon remained in the capital.

Even if he himself died here, the 1st Prince and 1st Princess had to be protected — they were the seeds of the Holy Empire's future, himself included.

Gritting his teeth, the Emperor remained standing on both feet before the demon.

"Hoo... I see. A concubine, you said. Whom exactly do you intend to take, that you would show your face so boldly in the very heart of enemy territory?"

"Pfft! Hahahahaha!!! Truly, is there nothing alike about the leaders of men?"

"Even those humans over there — younger-looking than you — are face-down and senseless on the floor... and yet the Emperor himself stands on both feet..."

"....."

"Fine. Fine. I'll tell you. Offer up your daughter as the successor's concubine."

The Emperor half-wondered if he had misheard, and nearly turned to the others to ask whether they had heard the same—

but the space around him was already drowning in the unconscious.

"Am I... hearing things? You demand I hand over my daughter? Not even a marriage of state... you simply... demand her?"

"You heard me right. Hand her over. Your daughter. If you don't — I won't attack you now, mind you, but who knows what the successor of Taotie might do."

"....."

"Judging by the situation here, you won't be giving me a clear answer, will you?"

"I'll grant you ten days. When I return, you will bring me your answer."

"....."

"Ah, right. Should you refuse the successor of Taowu's demand... you will have no choice but to face him in open battle."

"He's utterly smitten with that girl, you see. When did he even lay eyes on her, I wonder. Truly..."

For now, letting him leave was the best course — and after that, devising a plan to prepare against him had to come first.

Otherwise, he might be forced to watch his daughter reduced to a madman's plaything, weeping before his very eyes.

"Oh, and — you asked earlier, didn't you? How I got in here. My authority is... rather special. Have no fear. I swear upon the successor's name that I will leave the Holy Empire without taking a single life."

With that, Morax's form slowly turned translucent, and then vanished entirely from sight.

Some time passed after he disappeared.

The Emperor, standing alone and dazed in the empty chamber,

opened the council room's doors, called over a passing soldier and a maid, and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠gave his orders.

"Summon the 1st Princess and the 1st Prince at once. As quickly as possible!"

The maid and soldier took one look at the Emperor's face — at the state of him — realized the gravity of the matter, and rushed off to deliver his summons.

Then the butlers and maids who poured in after them were thrown into utter panic at the sight of the ministers and soldiers lying unconscious across the council floor.

"All of you, be calm. Where is my butler?"

At the Emperor's command, the elderly butler at the front of the group lowered himself to one knee, bowing his head to receive his master's words, and the Emperor relayed his orders without a moment's delay.

"Issue the Summons Decree — to the heads of House Cumul, House Sunset, House Plot, and House Crystal, and to every one of the Four Divine Beasts' successors."

The Summons Decree.

A special right usable only by those who carried the blood of the founding Emperor, the one who had made covenant with the Four Divine Beasts.

Even the Emperor himself held the authority to invoke it but once in his entire lifetime.

Yet once invoked, none could refuse the summons — not the heads of the great houses, nor even the Divine Beasts' own successors.

"The... the Summons Decree, Your Majesty? Your servant hears and obeys the command of His Majesty the Emperor — I shall carry word of this decree to the heads of each house without delay!"

The old butler, who knew exactly what the decree meant, understood at once just how dire the situation must be for the Emperor to invoke it, bowed his head, and accepted the command.

The Emperor immediately turned to another servant and issued his next order.

"Bring the 1st Princess to my study."

"At once, Your Majesty!"

The Emperor felt as though he might faint at any moment — but he knew all too well what might become of his daughter's fate if he collapsed here and now.

He overcame the state that threatened to fell him where he stood, and on sheer willpower alone made his way to the study, where he waited for the 1st Princess.

How much time had passed?

Roughly thirty minutes later,

the 1st Princess appeared at the study door — and the moment she saw the Emperor's face, she froze in horror and rushed to his side.

"Father! What— what is wrong?!"

Cold sweat poured down him as though from a summer downpour, making it plain to anyone that his body was in anything but a normal state.

But the Emperor paid his condition no mind and spoke his words to the 1st Princess.

"My daughter."

To be called my daughter — when by all rights she should have been addressed as '1st Princess' or 'Your Highness' — told her at once that something was terribly wrong.

And as if her intuition had not failed her, she heard from her father's own lips the fate that had come for her.

"Do not be afraid, my daughter. I have already issued the Summons Decree to all four houses."

She could only stare, stunned, at the news that her father had invoked the decree for her sake.

She knew all too well how heavy the Summons Decree truly was — and she made no effort to hide the eyes gone wide with shock.

"Do not be afraid... my daugh...ter. I will protect you... even if I must stake... everything... I have...!"

— THUD!

"F... FATHER!!!"

The Emperor, who had tried to step toward her, had endured the crushing stress of recent days and the demon's terrible pressure — but that had not been enough.

Though his strength had reached its absolute limit, he had forced out his commands in rapid succession, and having at last spoken the truth to his daughter — the very one the decree was meant to save — his willpower finally gave out, and he collapsed where he stood.

And so the dark shadow gradually descending upon the Imperial Palace began, ever so slowly, to move — hungry to swallow the palace whole.