[No Title Provided]
“Your Majesty! Here are the petitions from the residents of the affected districts regarding this incident.”
“The researchers in the relevant fields are doing their utmost to analyze it, but the exact cause has yet to be identified—!”
“Based on documents secured from the distributors' base, we are rounding up everyone in the capital who has purchased or ingested the drug, but we lack space to hold them all—!”
“Haa……”
The emperor's head throbbed. No sooner had one crisis ended than these fools presented him with another. Beyond insulting the imperial family, the parasites of the Heaven God Cult were now poisoning his precious imperial citizens with filthy drugs. The endless reports of their movements made his fury boil over, his fist clenching involuntarily.
“Your Majesty. Perhaps you should take a moment to rest. It's already been two days without a wink of sleep……”
“How can I close my eyes when my empire's people suffer at the hands of these mad fanatics? Enough chatter—request more awakening magic.”
“……Understood, Your Majesty.”
The imperial secretary had no choice but to obey. The Heaven God Cult behind this had targeted noble children who could easily buy the drug, sparking backlash and doubts among the aristocracy. Their frustration was understandable—after all, their children's lives hung in the balance—but with dozens piling on, it felt like death by a thousand cuts for the emperor alone.
Woooong—
“What was that noise?!”
“Protect His Majesty!!”
Suddenly, an unsettling mechanical hum shook the entire palace. Guards rushed to shield the emperor, while petitioning nobles dove under desks in panic. The commotion ended as quickly as it began, and once silence returned, people cautiously lifted their heads, scanning for danger.
“An attack?”
“Doesn't seem so. It was just a massive noise—no signs of intruders.”
Parting the wall of guards slightly, the emperor surveyed the palace. Nothing appeared damaged or collapsed.
“Have the soldiers scour the grounds and check for injuries. It was just loud, but we can't rule out aftershocks.”
“Yes, Your Majesty—”
“Th-there! Look—!”
As the emperor issued orders to the captain of the guard, one noble cried out in alarm. Interrupting the emperor was grave rudeness, but his ashen face signaled something dire, so the emperor let it slide.
“What is it? Is someone badly hurt?”
“Y-Your Majesty……! Look out the window!”
Out the window? Everyone turned toward the direction the noble indicated.
“!!”
“What in the world—!”
Filling the sky above the palace was the hazy silhouette of a colossal figure. Like a giant forged from mist hovering in the air. Soldiers prepared to attack the airborne apparition.
“Hold. Everyone, stand down.”
“Your Majesty?”
Sensing something off, the emperor halted them. It proved wise—the thing was merely a projection. Even a barrage would have done nothing.
“That just now……”
“Yeah. I heard it too.”
The massive illusion visible from anywhere in the academy. The enigmatic man it depicted was undoubtedly the Sub-Cult Leader we'd been hunting.
“Is it what I think it is?”
“Probably……”
The capital buzzed from the Drak rampage days ago in the outskirts. Tied to my own mess, with countless witnesses to users mutating into monsters, rumors had solidified into fact. Victims lived in terror of turning into chimeras at any moment. The palace had summoned experts, but no cure emerged. Polo's survival was a miracle unlikely to repeat.
Into this, the Sub-Cult Leader's broadcast to the entire empire ignited the perfect spark.
“Polite tone, dignified air…… but it's straight-up blackmail.”
Yeah. Blackmail. Holding Drak users hostage. His message boiled down to: betray the empire, or watch them all become chimeras.
Audacious to demand continental treason before everyone—or psychopathic, using lives as leverage. The palace struggled; desperate families would bite anything—throne or god alike. Even cornered rats bite cats.
Even if the palace rounded up buyers en masse, relatives wouldn't stand idle. With no known antidote, dissatisfaction would fester, inviting Heaven God Cult meddling.
“No one's fool enough to miss the implication. It'll spread like wildfire. Parents won't sit by while their kids risk monstrosity—soon, agitators everywhere.”
A parent's worry for their child defies a sword's clean cut. No right or wrong, but parents couldn't just condemn without sympathy.
“They made the drug for this from the start. Not to instill fear, but to sow division and self-destruction.”
The empire was vast, strongest on the continent—but even sturdy walls crumble from undermined bricks. The cult's strike at the base was the fuse to a massive blast.
“Princess. Any word from His Majesty?”
“Can't reach him. Tried since the projection—palace must be chaos.”
“Damn it—”
With the palace in disarray, imperial chaos was inevitable.
“I'll contact Father, request experiments on magic potions easing symptoms. Probably underway, but urgency demands all hands.”
“I'll ask the goddess church to calm people. Never heard of this 'fanatic' god—likely one of our goddess's condemned evils. Emphasize that, persuade under divine authority to resist the blackmail.”
“Yes. We'll leave that to you two.”
The saintess left to soothe via the church, but I doubted much impact. We'd seen holy power fail on battlefield chimeras—borrowing the goddess's name had limits.
“Tch. Damn it.”
What good was Aura use? Lord-level skill? In a national crisis, I was powerless.
……Looks like a solar eclipse.
The moon eclipsing the sun. The empire—our sun—slowly devoured by the cult's moon. The thought lingered.