221. Hilash (1)
221. Hilash (1)
- 1 -
On the highway leading to Hylash, one week before Libertas's return.
In the foggy dawn, a number of shadowy figures were moving at the boundary between the royal capital and other territories.
"The magical durability does look excellent."
Evangeline's assessment flowed out calmly.
A mana barrier that had been maintained for hundreds of years was laid over this place.
A wide-area protective shield installed as a stronghold of powerful humanity to prevent the invasion of monsters and Dungeon Lords.
It was the pride of the Haisen Kingdom, which no monster had been able to breach for centuries.
'Of course, piercing it permanently is impossible.'
This magic had already become a naturalized phenomenon thanks to settling in place for such a long time.
Punching a hole in it and making it stick was akin to building a dam in a region that suffered frequent floods.
It wasn't impossible, but it was a difficult task requiring immense time and effort.
However, temporarily poking a hole was entirely possible—and without the other party ever knowing.
"The truth is, there simply hadn't been any monsters capable of reaching this place. But look at this looseness, as if it's been 50 years since its last maintenance."
A sneer bloomed at the corner of Yuran's lips.
From the tips of her three tails, a faint purple flame flickered up and then subsided.
Her fingernails were extended to the point where they were nearly touching the barrier.
"Our Master would have told us to exploit their arrogance like that."
Evangeline grabbed that hand and pulled it down, continuing in a calm voice.
Her gaze shifted toward the figure beside her, whose hood was pulled down deep.
A woman whose voluptuous figure, impossible to conceal even in a baggy robe, was visible beneath her cloak.
Her hand was green.
"Are you ready, Bergrisa?"
The daughter born between Zarkra, one of the three Dungeon Lords who had attacked Libertas in the past, and her cherished partner.
Unlike her kin who possessed massive frames, this special troll boasted a figure that exuded an extremely human-like sexiness and voluptuousness.
Aside from her tall height and blue skin, it was difficult to find any of the troll's typical characteristics in her appearance.
Her facial features, no different from a human's, harmonized with the blue skin to create a sense of otherness and mystery.
"Yes, Consul."
But her attitude, unlike her figure which certainly advertised herself, was extremely polite and quiet.
This was because she never forgot that she was the daughter of one who had antagonized her master.
"I will conceal our presence. You two focus on the sorcery."
"Don't worry, Evangeline. No one will be able to notice our sorcery."
After Evangeline nodded and moved away with a few Skeleton mages, the two shamans began to move.
Standing still, Yuran moved her tails while covering her mouth with a fan.
Bergrisa moved the tip of her wand with great care.
The characters they drew on the ground were incomprehensible, grotesque, and bizarre.
"Your over-naturalization is excellent. It shows that my husband was right to spare your life."
"Thank you."
The tip of Bergrisa's eyebrow trembled as she calmly bowed her head at Yuran's assessment.
It was because of the sorcery circle drawn on the ground.
This was her specialty, where she had extremely naturalized one small aspect of sorcery. Yet, Yuran's level did not seem that much lower than her own.
"You seem to have a question. You may ask."
When the troll's questioning gaze fell upon her, the Black Fox dipped her chin.
After bowing her head once more, the troll shaman carefully opened her mouth.
"How does the Chancellor... know about otherworldly magic? I clearly heard she only mastered the sorcery of this world..."
"Hmm."
Yuran's golden eyes pierced through the troll's eyes.
Her eyes, flickering with purple and gold flames, were not only highly mysterious but also cold and rational.
Contrary to the relaxed attitude she projected.
"I simply went to see the future and came back."
A preposterous answer flowed out as if it were nothing.
Bergrisa was speechless and stared at her face, but Yuran didn't seem inclined to say anything more.
'Could she have seen a distant future through the precognition of sorcery?'
The troll harbored such a question for a moment, but soon shook off her thoughts to focus on the sorcery before her.
A troll's unique regenerative ability was a factor that strengthened the mana circulation of a shaman, and Bergrisa possessed the purest bloodline of them all.
"I will check the axis. Chancellor."
At Bergrisa's words, Yuran nodded.
The troll's eyes turned white.
If magic was the power of 'stacking' onto an axis, sorcery was the power of 'borrowing' what was already stacked upon it.
It was for calling upon things from the spirit world and the otherworld.
And after a moment.
Krrrrrk...!
The characters drawn on the ground began to wriggle as if they were alive.
They were characters that spat out growls like demonic beasts or monsters.
Evangeline, who had returned to her spot and looked down at it, narrowed her brow.
Because it had been in place for so long, to circumvent magic that had become like a single naturalized law, otherworldly magic was the best option.
But that didn't mean it was to her liking.
"Otherworldly magic always lacks an aesthetic sense."
"How about this?"
Fwoosh!
With a flick of Yuran's wrist, a purple blaze ignited over the characters that were squirming like tentacles.
It wasn't simply a case of hiding the superficial ugliness; her power had begun to dominate the sorcery itself.
"That's a bit better."
An application method the future master had taught Yuran.
At the sight of it, a smile lingered on Evangeline's lips.
It was a memory, if one could call it that.
"Now, let's go in."
"Bergrisa. You may return."
"I pray for your good fortune. Both of you."
Under Bergrisa's send-off, the two people's footsteps calmly continued as they headed into a nameless mountain.
- 2 -
Inside the royal castle of Hylash, a banquet hall where a ball was in full swing.
The golden light of the chandeliers was illuminating the nobles' dance moves.
'The sloth of humans is truly...'
Yuran sent praise to the vices of her adversaries.
Infiltrating the noble society of Hylash was not very difficult.
Its long history soon led to a proliferation of countless bloodlines, and more than half of those bloodlines had walked the path of ruin.
Some of those ruined bloodlines were simply reported to have gone into seclusion.
Yuran had mimicked one of those bloodlines.
- The lady and the knight seem quite unusual.
- They certainly seem to belong to a very storied family.
- I heard they even had a certificate of guarantee from the old royal family.
A faint purple luster softly emanating from black hair grown down to the waist, and coldly shining golden eyes.
A mixed-race noblewoman with an exotic appearance from the western continent.
Calmly settled golden hair, warmly shining green eyes, and an immaculately neat expression.
A beautiful knight escorting the noblewoman.
It was perhaps a natural thing that the two, who looked as if the beauty of East and West had been gathered into one, drew the eyes of many people.
- Did you hear? They say the Saintess is coming today too.
- Ah, you mean Saintess Esther?
- That's right. They say Duke Astermark is making special efforts...
Small talk continued among the nobles gathered around the two.
On the surface, it was peaceful conversation, but beneath it lurked a sinister interest.
Everyone knew.
The dangerous and dirty interest the Duke harbored for the Saintess.
Some of the nobles here were already preparing to help him.
Because that was all just human nature.
"Nev."
"Madam."
Amidst such conversations being heard, the two took each other's hands and advanced to the center of the ballroom.
The beginning of the first dance, recognizable at a single glance.
"Wow..."
"Oh my..."
As the gazes of those who liked that sort of thing gathered,
"Are all the preparations complete?"
"Don't worry. The two of you have more than enough ability."
the conversation the two were exchanging was strictly business-like.
In less than a week, they had succeeded in digging into the heart of noble society.
Yuran's alluring beauty and cultivation, and Evangeline's elegant dignity made it impossible to doubt that they were nobles.
Added to the information network of Talhan and the assistance of Haley, they were now a part of Hylash's high society.
"Then all that's left is to prepare to escape after rescuing the two."
A smile spread across Yuran's lips.
The reason they had come to the royal palace of Hylash was to save two people.
The darkness of the Holy Kingdom filled with light and glory, and the thorny path to open the way for the master they currently served.
The women who had placed those two before them.
Everyone was waiting for the moment when Libertas's intervention would be necessary.
"That's right. If necessary..."
Evangeline's eyes shone coldly.
"Even if we have to turn the royal castle upside down."
- 3 -
Swish.
Late at night, a figure crossed the underground corridor of the royal castle.
Even though she was clearly passing through a place illuminated by torchlight, her form cast no shadow.
'It's here.'
As her fingertips sparkled for a moment, the massive wooden door opened without a sound.
By delicately applying mana, she had burrowed through a gap in the barrier and opened the lock on the other side.
'No guards... huh.'
The place she entered was an underground library filled with old books.
There was no reason to station someone in a place where no one had any reason to look.
Her platinum-blonde hair, hanging down under her hood, glinted in the dim torchlight.
'Found it.'
She was also able to find the book she was targeting immediately.
《On the Recovery and Preservation of Dungeon Cores and Dungeon Lords》
A tome stamped with the royal seal.
Humans had been managing Dungeon Lords for a long time.
They had utilized them as material supply sources, throwing in humans as feed appropriately and controlling them so they wouldn't die while still spawning monsters.
It was the reason the current royal family and high nobles were able to amass enough wealth to afford any luxury they wanted.
That wasn't all.
'As expected.'
Evangeline's eyes, which had been scanning the document, sank coldly.
The things in her memories were recorded here exactly as they were.
Human desire was endless.
It is human nature to want more profit if one has made an investment.
Humans hadn't merely domesticated Dungeon Lords as livestock.
Sometimes as sex slaves. Sometimes as experimental material.
To modern humans, a Dungeon Lord was no longer an enemy.
It was something one could enslave without a guilty conscience.
"Who goes there?"
Evangeline's form was swallowed by the darkness and vanished.
The surrounding shadows wrapped around her body as if moving alive.
"Strange..."
An elderly patrolman furrowed his brow.
"Didn't you just see something?"
A young patrolman grumbled beside him.
Behind them, the patrol captain sighed.
"Drink in moderation."
"Captain. You've got to let loose when you can, right?"
"Is now the time to let loose? Huh?"
The patrolmen inspected the library, but nothing registered in their eyes.
Evangeline's darkness magic was as stealthy as its master.
Once the soldiers had left, Evangeline focused on the document again. All while keeping her presence completely hidden.
'I had wondered if things had changed but...'
They hadn't.
The contents of the document still dealt with a horrific past.
The human royal family had 'crossbred' some Dungeon Lords with humans.
To create hybrid humans capable of dominating monsters, to inherit their special powers, or to obtain cores that humans could use.
Most of them had failed.
But some had succeeded, and those test subjects were probably still hidden somewhere in the royal castle.
"If we can get them..."
Their master would be able to gain an even more powerful force.
A smile of anticipation spread across Evangeline's lips.
Strength flowed into the hand that held her sword.
The royal family's secrets would soon be in their hands.
- 4 -
A commotion broke out in front of the main gate of Hylash.
"You say you're a noble of the Kingdom of Rugnisah?"
"They say it's your first time coming to Hysen..."
Curious gazes gathered toward the main gate.
A black carriage with a large and sturdy presence was slowly, yet majestically approaching the castle gate.
Although not a single high-quality metal ornament was visible, a noble grace lingered around the carriage.
A woman's silhouette was faintly visible beyond the window.
"Your invitation has been confirmed. Countess Elskopf. Welcome to Hylash, the royal capital of Hysen, the wealthiest nation in the central continent."
The guard checked the documents he had received from the white-haired knight. There were no problems.
The seal was also accurate, and a noble family currently famous within Hylash had even vouched for them.
The two noble ladies and the knight who had recently become famous were not only beautiful, but also honorable and elegant.
If they were the ones vouching, there was no reason to be suspicious.
'A noble from the Kingdom of Rugnisah is even more trustworthy.'
The guard nodded inwardly.
The scar engraved on his left arm throbbed.
It was a wound he had received 5 years ago, while working as a mercenary in the lands of Rugnisah, fighting against Astaroth's invasion.
The Kingdom of Rugnisah in the eastern continent.
They were protecting the Holy Kingdom while surrounding it.
From the ceaselessly pressing demon realm of Astaroth.
Furthermore, the nobles and royalty of that place never hesitated to step up and fight on the front lines.
A country that had served as a shield protecting the Holy See despite countless attacks from sea monsters.
'A truly honorable country.'
The guard unconsciously stroked his arm.
A gentle smile lingered on his lips.
Because he didn't know what the Kingdom of Rugnisah was receiving from the Holy Kingdom in exchange for that defense.
"Pass through."
The gate opened, and the carriage entered Hylash.
The sound of a festival could be faintly heard from somewhere.
A common occurrence in the royal capital. Other nobles were holding another ball.
As the carriage passed through the square, cutting through the sound of music,
Clop, clop...
"Ha."
The moment the carriage passed through the castle gate, a faint smile appeared on the lips of the woman beyond the window.
Inside the shadow-draped carriage, a pair of purple eyes shone coldly.
Just like a predator eyeing its prey.
"It's too easy."
None knew.
That the lady was a being who had been in the Demon Realm until just last week.
And the chaos her footsteps would bring to this castle.