Blooming (3)
"The Sea of Souls...?"
Kenis tilted her head. She had never heard of a sea by that name. And the idea that a sea could hold some kind of potential? That made even less sense.
No. 5 and Demonic were deep in grave discussion.
"No. 5, what are you talking about? No matter how hard those damned demons try, using the Sea of Souls? That's absurd."
"...That is true. And yet, Paladin — the continent is drowning in chaos the likes of which we have never seen."
She was right. Demons had schemed across the long history of the continent many times before, but never had they erupted in so many places all at once.
In northern Montegras. Around the Holy City. And now, within the Empire itself.
Chaos and slaughter flaring up in scattered bursts, as if they had been waiting for exactly this moment.
Had the Apostles not intervened when they did, countless lives would already have been lost.
The Sea of Souls. Chaos spreading across the continent... and the demons.
The pieces clicked into place in Demonic's mind, one after another. A single hypothesis surfaced — outrageous, almost laughable.
But even the faintest possibility could not be ignored.
"I see... So that's it... That's why it turned out this way."
"...Yes."
"Huh? Wait — what is?"
No. 5 and Demonic were nodding solemnly over some private understanding, and Kenis pounded her chest in frustration as she burst out,
"Would someone please explain what any of this means?! Talk so I can actually follow along!"
"Ah... So you don't know this story yet. I'll tell you when the time is right."
"...It still seems too early for the Hero. We will explain later."
"The Sea of Souls... Indeed. So that's what it was."
"Urgh!!"
Their maddeningly vague way of talking was enough to drive anyone insane. Kenis felt her sanity fraying at the edges. They could at least have had this conversation somewhere she wasn't standing.
Dangling half-answers in front of her like that — her temper was boiling over.
"Hoo... hoo—"
Kenis dropped her head and took a long, slow breath.
Fine. There had to be a reason they weren't telling her. They would explain when the time came.
Right now, there were more urgent matters.
"So, No. 5. Earlier you were about to say something about the Demon Plague as well, weren't you?"
"...Yes."
No. 5 gave a quiet nod, and her pure white hair brushed past her shoulders, cascading down like a trail of starlight.
"...The Demon Plague was spread by the demon I captured."
Kenis recalled the savagely torn wound at the creature's neck. According to Demonic, that kind of mark only appeared when a throat had been ripped out by overwhelming force.
She tore a demon apart with those slender arms?
They looked so delicate, so fragile. Kenis found herself staring at No. 5 with fresh eyes.
"...After the engagement, I subjected the captured demon to a summary 're-education' process. Fortunately, I was able to extract a small amount of information."
"And what did you learn?"
"...The Demon Plague is nothing more than a means to an end for them. A welcome bonus if it succeeds, a mild disappointment if it fails... that is all it amounts to."
"Planting a curse inside people's bodies is 'just a means'?"
"...Yes. Their true objective is the chaos born from the Demon Plague. The chaos and despair themselves are the goal."
"Chaos and despair are the goal...? Why? Why on earth would they—?"
"...The reason is—"
"Enough. I'll explain later. Even if we told you now, you wouldn't understand."
Demonic cut No. 5 off mid-sentence. Under Kenis's resentful glare he flinched and looked away.
"The Sea of Souls is not a place that exists in reality. Only a handful of people who have crossed the Wall have ever so much as dipped a toe in its waters. You haven't even approached the Wall — you're still a novice. Hearing about it now would mean nothing to you. You couldn't grasp it."
"...Fine."
"And learning about it too early would only get in your way when you eventually face the Wall yourself. The Sea of Souls is something you have to understand on your own. You'll confront the Wall someday — better not to hear the details now."
"I said I understand."
Kenis's sulky expression didn't budge, but what could she do? It was knowledge reserved for those who had crossed the Wall. Her lips jutted out in a pout as she muttered under her breath.
How hard could it be to just tell me about this Sea of Souls thing already.
Her mouth stuck out like a duck's bill. Demonic gave a bitter smile. There was nothing he could do about it either.
The Sea of Souls was a place of another world, comprehensible only to those who had been there — a realm that held infinite potential within itself.
And for anyone who tempered themselves and walked the path of the void, it was the place they encountered the moment they crossed the Wall.
Each person understood that vast ocean in their own way.
Hearing someone else's interpretation in advance would only drag out the time it took to reach true understanding.
But... describing the scenery itself should be fine.
"Hmm. The Sea of Souls I saw was an endless ocean of black water. An infinite night sky overhead, and beyond the horizon, a boundless sea filled with stars."
"..."
Kenis turned her head away, but her ears pricked up, catching every word.
"There's still debate about it even within the Pantheon... but some claim the Sea of Souls serves the role of the afterlife."
"...That remains nothing more than idle speculation."
No. 5, who had been listening quietly, cut in. She clearly did not share Demonic's hypothesis.
Demonic gave a short chuckle.
"Fair enough. It's closer to fantasy than fact. Let's leave the idle talk there."
He clapped his hands once, sharp and clear, resetting the mood.
"Even if everything No. 5 said is true, what we have to do doesn't change. We clear out the Plague Rats' nest, and we treat everyone infected with the Demon Plague."
Kenis spoke carefully.
"And if... the seed germinates before we can cure them..."
The atmosphere grew heavy. The worst-case scenario — the one everyone had been deliberately avoiding.
"In that event..."
Demonic's voice dropped low.
"If the seed blooms before treatment, the patients will turn into demons. They'll slaughter civilians and plunge everything into chaos. If it comes to that—"
"...We would have no choice but to kill them."
No. 5 finished the thought quietly. It was a merciless conclusion.
To kill people who had once been someone's beloved son, someone's family — simply because a curse had turned them into monsters.
Was that truly the right thing to do?
Kenis bit down hard on her lip.
"Who gave you the right to decide those patients die?!"
Caesar burst through the tent flaps. Their conversation must have carried outside.
The holy knight standing guard at the entrance was floundering helplessly, having dared not bar the Emperor's way.
Caesar strode in and gripped his scepter tight.
"Not a single one! Not one patient will be allowed to die! This is the Empire, and they are subjects of the Empire! As Emperor, I will not permit it!"
His voice rang out, fierce and impassioned. Demonic tried to calm him with steady reason.
"Your Majesty, please compose yourself. This is only the worst-case scenario. Even now, Priest Ruel and the finest physicians in the Empire are working tirelessly. We must place our trust in them."
But—
"We must always prepare for the worst. That is the only reason this was raised."
"Ha! How cold-blooded. They only wanted to live when the plague took them. Is it a crime to have been deceived by demons who preyed on that desperate hope? Were they supposed to simply stand by and watch their own flesh and blood waste away?"
"..."
"Even in the worst of circumstances, I will never allow them to be killed. There must be a way. I will never give up."
"Please, Your Majesty, calm yourself. I understand your will — for now, regarding the nest suppression—"
The tent dissolved into brief chaos as they tried to soothe the inflamed Emperor. No. 5 quietly furrowed her brow at the noise filling the small space.
Just as she opened her mouth, unable to endure the clamor any longer—
"Uh— excuse me?"
A man pushed aside the tent flap and stepped inside. He had a somewhat vacant look about him, sweat stains smudged across his clothes, and a massive shield strapped to his back that immediately drew the eye.
After days of hard riding, swapping horses along the way, Iscal had finally arrived in the Empire.
"So, uh... Great Priest Antonio sent me to the Empire, but—"
Iscal's eyes rolled around the tent.
For reasons unknown, a thoroughly enraged Emperor. Standing beside him... one of only three Paladins in the Holy City. And next to him... the Hero herself.
The people crammed into this little tent were anything but ordinary.
Right. Time to leave.
Iscal made a swift bid for escape.
"Haha, looks like I've got the wrong tent. I'll just be on my—"
"The Great Priest sent you? Come here."
And just as swiftly, the attempt failed.
Iscal turned back with the resignation of a cow being led to slaughter.
"The Great Priest sent you, you say?"
"Yes, that's right. He said that until now, no one who received a divine weapon had ever been given a shield..."
Iscal slid the enormous shield from his back and held it out. The ease with which he handled a shield the size of a door drew a glint of interest from everyone watching.
"He said there must be a reason the gods bestowed a weapon so different from the rest... and he sent me to the Empire."
"I see. To my knowledge as well, a shield is a first."
Demonic nodded. Under the Pantheon's direction, the Apostles who had received divine weapons were undergoing training — and the vast majority had been given bladed arms of one kind or another.
"There must be a reason the Sixth God granted you a shield at a time like this. I'll be counting on you."
"Haha..."
Demonic clapped him on the shoulder. Iscal's eyes were full of the weight of expectation.
He had virtually no combat experience to speak of. The hopes of these strangers pressed down on him like a lead cloak.
"...Your Majesty. We are running out of time."
No. 5 whispered softly. Her voice was small, yet it lodged itself in every ear that heard it.
"...The patients afflicted with the Demon Plague have little time left. What's more, the demons are using the chaos sown by the plague to set a far greater scheme in motion."
"A greater scheme? What do you mean by—"
"Your Majesty!"
A soldier cut Caesar off, bursting into the tent in a panic. Sweat poured down his face; his eyes were wild with dread.
An ominous premonition flashed through every mind in the room.
Caesar hurried to help the soldier up.
"What is it, soldier?"
The man could not lift his gaze from the ground. Sweat dripped steadily from his chin. His eyes trembled violently, as though terrified of the words he had to deliver.
"Soldier, steady yourself. What on earth has happened?"
Caesar soothed him again and again. At last, the soldier forced his mouth open.
"The patients — the patients' bodies...! Their bodies have started to change!"
At last, the seeds had begun to bloom.