Gambit (1)
The Holy Kingdom of Elysium bore the epithet "the land where the sun never sets." Even without mana-powered lights or any other illumination, the nights remained as bright as day, which was how it earned the nickname. It seemed borrowed from the British Empire's title, yet knowing the source of that radiance was the rotting, putrid mummy of the First Saint left a distinctly bitter aftertaste.
"I couldn't find any entrance or passage leading underground in Elysium either, Lenardia."
"It was only ever passed around as rumor. I don't know the truth of it myself."
After stepping out of the carriage, I relayed the results of my contact with Moonshadow's informants. Officially, the Holy Kingdom of Elysium had no underground. No matter how much we asked around, the response was always the same: were we confusing dreams with reality? Even with maps and Luna's magic for clairvoyance, we couldn't find the slightest trace of anything beneath the surface.
"Perhaps the people in the Papal Office would know whether Elysium's underground truly exists."
"Ah, those old men who have no idea how the world works?"
"...Please watch your words. This is the Holy Kingdom, not the Empire. Blasphemy here could lead to immediate execution as heresy."
"So what? Isn't that exactly why you became the Saint in the first place—because of those old men's approval? You already know the First Saint's remains exist, don't you?"
"Shade, just how much do you know about me?"
"Who knows."
Probably almost everything. Unlike my past-life girlfriend who was drawn to the hero named Demian, I had started the game because I was captivated by Lenardia's appearance—the very first character I pulled. A blind saint with golden hair, her eyes hidden behind crow-feather veils and a lace covering, dressed in black latex that barely qualified as priestly robes, full of seductive details. I hadn't known she was already paired with Demian when I began playing, and discovering that the gacha character I'd spent money and time on had already been NTR'd by the hero had been deeply unpleasant. That forced me to dig deeper into the game's lore.
"We're being followed, Shade."
At that moment, Demian glanced around and let out a small chuckle. The hero who knew the future seemed to find the current situation amusing.
—Tap, tap, tap.
While we walked the streets inquiring for information about Elysium's underground, footsteps echoed from a distance. They maintained a steady distance at first, then began slowly tightening around us like a net drawing in fish.
"Huh? What are you talking about, Demian?"
"You have no instincts at all! We're being tailed."
"I-I can feel an enormous amount of mana nearby... It feels like the Holy Knights. Why would they be coming after us...?"
Isabella, Calliope, and Luna each reacted to Demian's words, growing wary. This wasn't the Valtrea Empire—this was the domain of the Pope, its polar opposite. They had every reason to be suspicious of us. A hero's party that should have been heading to the Demon Realm to slay the Demon King had instead turned back to dig up their homeland's dirty secrets.
"White Lion Holy Knights! Show proper respect to the Saint and the Hero!"
"Yes, sir!!"
—Tap, tap, tap.
From the encirclement of knights that had sealed off every escape route, the man who appeared to be their commander drew his sword and raised his voice. The White Lion Holy Knights spoke pretty words, but their actions formed a perfect encirclement.
"...Quite the flashy welcome. Cardinal."
I directed a pointed look at the unpleasant violet-haired figure mixed among the encirclement.
"I simply couldn't fathom why the King of Shadows himself would visit the Holy Kingdom of Elysium."
With a cloying voice, Cardinal August revealed himself. In the time since we'd last met, he'd clearly indulged heavily in food and women—his face gleamed with oil. The fact that he insisted on calling me, the underworld's leader, by that cringeworthy epithet "King of Shadows" suggested he wasn't in the best mood. After all, the higher one's position, the more inevitable it was to know exactly who I was, given how much information I held.
"I came to see Elysium's underground."
"The underground? Haha, such shadows couldn't possibly exist in this land blessed by the Heavenly God."
"I received something like a divine revelation."
"A thief who doesn't believe in God speaks of divine revelation before me, a Cardinal..."
I mentioned meeting Yuho in a nightmare, but Cardinal August showed no trust whatsoever.
"Hero Demian, aren't you supposed to head to the Demon Realm with the mission of slaying the Demon King? Then why does Shade hold the Holy Sword?"
The Cardinal's gaze shifted to Einherjar at my waist. So that was the source of their wariness. The hero's proof granted by the chief god being held by the underworld's leader must have been an extremely troubling sight for the Holy Kingdom.
"Because we're weak. How could you send brand-new adventurers who just formed a party into the Demon Realm, a land of death?"
"Hoho, but you are still apostles chosen by God. Trials are meant to come with hardship, are they not?"
Cardinal August chuckled as he refuted Demian's words. In truth, every hero throughout history had repeated the cycle of fighting the Demon King, only to have their names erased from the world as payment. Hearing such a noble word as "sacrifice" from the mouth of a clergyman filled with nothing but greed was utterly repulsive.
"No matter how much you claim it's to save the world, what good is it if you lose your own life? Cardinal August, what do you think a person's life can be exchanged for?"
A verse from Matthew 16:26. I twisted the biblical passage slightly and delivered it to the corrupt heretic. It was something I'd learned thanks to An Yuho's influence.
"Oh my, even a sewer rat who knows no God can speak pretty words."
August sneered with open contempt the moment he heard me. Sewer Rat Shade. That was the name the thugs had given me right after my reincarnation, because my hair color resembled a rat's fur, to distinguish me from the other orphans.
"Light shines upon the righteous, and joy belongs to those with upright hearts. Countless people have willingly offered their lives for God, Shade."
"That doesn't include you, though. Do I need to spell it out?"
"Hoho, hahaha, hahahaha...!"
Cardinal August answered with a line from Psalm 97:11, his face shadowed.
"You speak such wounding words so freely. It's an argument that wouldn't be strange to send straight to the Inquisition... but I'll endure it."
—Snap!
When August snapped his fingers, the White Lion Holy Knights moved in perfect unison, as if they were a single body. Just how thoroughly had he broken them in to produce this display? The thought flashed through my mind.
"Today is a joyous occasion, after all. It's the day before the First Saint's birthday. I'll overlook this disgraceful behavior."
"Hah, pathetic bastard."
I spat the curse as I felt the Cardinal's gaze lingering on Lenardia, the Saint, like a snake. The one who had tormented Lenardia and the other children to resurrect the First Saint had been August. The mastermind who had forced Lenardia to consume fragments of the First Saint's corpse—hair, fingernails—and even crow eyes and feathers was standing right before me.
"How dare you speak such insolence to the Cardinal!"
"You have the Saint, who outranks you, standing beside me. Why are you pointing swords at us just because some mere Cardinal gave the order?"
I sighed deeply at the White Lion Holy Knights, who openly displayed their anger and wariness. The Saint was essentially God's representative, nearly equal to the Pope. For a mere Cardinal to threaten me and my companions was already insubordination.
"Ah, is it because you've skimmed so much off the top? Or maybe the White Lion Holy Knights are just empty shells filled with idiots now."
—Creak, creak, creak—!
The man who seemed to be the commander thrust his sword toward my neck, but I copied Calliope's strength and easily bent the blade.
"A monster...?!"
"You're the monsters. What exactly are you hiding underground that makes you so afraid of me and my companions? Even someone with no sense would figure it out at this point."
I slowly raised my hand and copied Luna's magic to immobilize them. A simple third-circle spell that restricted movement by exploiting the mana difference.
"Ghh...!"
But there was no easier way to deal with these fools who relied only on divine power and swords.
"Look at that. Does it make sense for knights to not even know basic aura manipulation? And as clergymen, they didn't even protect their bodies with divine power."
—Thud!
I copied Isabella's aura and kicked the man's leg hard, producing the sound of his sturdy greaves shattering.
—Crash!
Like bowling pins, the knights' formation toward the Cardinal collapsed along with their commander, who went flying into the distance. They had no basic countermeasures against magic. This was clear proof that the White Lion Holy Knights before me weren't filled with proper believers, but only with idiots easy for the Cardinal to manipulate.
"...What's the point of Holy Knights this weak?"
I smiled thinly at the Cardinal, whose face had gone pale.
"Shade, what on earth are you thinking, acting like this?!"
Lenardia was more concerned about the Holy Knights I'd taken down with a single kick than about me. Her favorability was negative, and she was from the Holy Kingdom, so her reaction was understandable, but it still stung a little.
'The one who made you suffer all this time is the Cardinal. It's only natural you'd react this way since you don't know...'
I swallowed the words I wanted to say, my expression sour beneath the mask. Revealing the cruel truth—that she'd consumed the First Saint's mummy—without any preparation would be too great a shock for Lenardia. She might have her suspicions, but she probably didn't know the Cardinal was the one pulling the strings behind it all.
"Very well. I'll show you Elysium's underground, just as you wish."
"You should have done that from the start."
Realizing that further resistance would be pointless, Cardinal August raised his hand to stop the knights.
"However, only the Saint may enter the underground. I consider the rest of you a hindrance. Besides, Shade isn't even from Elysium, is he?"
"Oh? So that's how you're going to play it?"
I sneered beneath my mask. It was no different from saying he intended to use Lenardia to resurrect the First Saint. The boss of Chapter 2 was Cardinal August, who transformed into a giant flower to block the player's path.
"Wouldn't it be better than sending you all to the Inquisition to meet the Inquisitors? We can't reveal the First Saint's holy relics to outsiders, after all."
"No. Everyone goes, or no one does."
I spoke firmly to August, who was trying to change the subject with a flimsy excuse. Elysium's underground was a place even the original story hadn't revealed. I didn't know what dangers lurked below either.
"Cardinal, guide us underground before I expose all your dirty secrets right here. I know your Eden is down there."
"H-How do you know that...?!"
Eden. When I uttered the word the Cardinal had mentioned at his death in the original story, his face went deathly pale. He was probably referring to the place beneath the surface.
"Why? Should I also mention the bribes you took or what you did to the nuns? The Holy Kingdom has plenty of my eyes and ears as well."
I approached the Cardinal and whispered so only he could hear. Moonshadow's information network was second to none, and that held true even in the Holy Kingdom blessed by the Heavenly God.
"...Understood. Follow me. I'll bring the Holy Knights along as well. That should be acceptable?"
"Fine."
At my words, August's expression hardened completely. His hands trembled with rage as he began guiding us.
"Elysium's underground is a place I've arbitrarily named R'lyeh. I haven't reported it to the Papal Office yet."
Cardinal August spoke as if hiding some scheme, turning his back and continuing in a quiet mutter as he walked ahead.
"That place is my Eden. I'm glad to meet someone who knows of it."