256. The Beginning of the Eclipse
256. The Beginning of the Eclipse
- 1 -
It was just when Shue was fighting in the north.
Snow was falling upon Leophere, the duchy built west of Hysen.
White flakes drifted down over the Leopherum Citadel, the heart of the duchy.
Adelaide stood by the window, gazing out at the sight.
It was a scene rarely witnessed even in this region, especially at the tail end of winter.
- Hey, I'm gonna throw it...!
- Aaaah! It's cold!
Watching the children of the territory frolic brought a faint smile to her cold face.
Tok-tok.
"Come in."
When Adelaide answered the knock, a female knight with dark brown hair entered.
"Sister."
Elena. Her younger sister and collaborator.
Adelaide felt her own stiff expression soften gently.
It was something she had found herself feeling often in front of her younger sister lately.
"What is the matter?"
"I would like to say I came because I missed you, sister..."
Elena's face was hardened and cold.
Much like Adelaide's usual expression.
"I came regarding the matter of our Leophere's independence, sister."
"Has that not already been decided?"
At Adelaide's words, Elena nodded.
"Now that we have decided on independence due to mistrust of the Hysen royal family, many nobles are in turmoil. It seems someone is attempting to seize power amidst the chaos."
"Who? Surely not..."
A rival flashed through Adelaide's mind, and her eyes turned icy cold.
Leyhart. Her competitor—the second son, yet the eldest among the siblings.
Elena nodded as if she had read her thoughts.
"Our brother is raising an army in the northern territory."
"That was already an ongoing matter."
"The scale is far too large."
The documents Elena handed over detailed matters related to him.
Indeed, the private soldiers Leyhart had personally cultivated now numbered several times what had been reported.
"Secession of a nation requires a greater military force than one might think. Did Leyhart not already submit a report that he would be reinforcing his troops?"
However, Adelaide shook her head.
It was true that Leyhart was aiming for the position of lord and king.
Since he was competing against her for the right of succession.
But she could not believe he would pull such a stunt while their father, Duke Frederick, was still alive.
"But sister, if more than half of the current Leophere army has been turned into private soldiers, then the matter changes."
Elena insisted strongly to Adelaide.
"He intends to seize the Duke's seat of succession through military force. After pushing you aside."
"But..."
Adelaide hesitated. To which Elena whispered to her,
"In that case, issue a command through father to assign a portion of that army directly under the duchy's control. We can simply observe whether he accepts it or not."
"...You are right."
When Adelaide gave her assent, Elena smiled inwardly.
'It's done.'
It was true that Leyhart had mobilized an army.
It was also true that its numbers had grown.
Furthermore, it was obvious that he would use that army for the new Duchy of Leoper.
However, the scale of the army written in the documents was very slightly exaggerated, and it was Elena who had exaggerated his intentions.
'With the master's army present anyway, suppressing such a large force would not be difficult.'
Moreover, Elena's own martial strength was no longer inferior to Leyhart's.
She would suppress Leyhart by force, make him fall from power, and then make Adelaide the Duke of Leophere.
And once Adelaide fell into her hands...
Elena approached her sister and wrapped her arms around her waist.
"You, sister, are the one suited to be king. Leyhart's frenzy cannot be placed in a position to rule a nation. He will lead the whole country into flames."
Elena's whispering voice continued.
Each and every word seeped into Adelaide's ears.
"Father, and all the people, know this well."
Within the Duchy of Leophere, a movement began.
- 2 -
Along with the dawn bell, the new temple built in Hylash opened its doors.
The temple, standing tall beneath the blue sky, followed the architectural style of the existing Holy Kingdom, but there was one clear difference.
The marble of the building was not all white, but black.
And its interior, with its warm-toned wallpaper, was a space that felt like a resting place to all who entered.
"Many people are visiting again today."
Esther, lately the subject of the most sensational rumors among the Holy Kingdom's saintesses, stood by the temple window and breathed in the dawn air.
The morning of the first day of March.
A long line was forming in front of the temple where the saintess herself served as archbishop.
Regardless of whether they were nobles or commoners.
"Saintess."
A mimic-type monster serving as her handmaid approached and whispered.
"Just yesterday alone, over three hundred people converted to the 'true faith.' Among them were even priests of the Holy Kingdom."
"I am aware."
Esther's white eyes sparkled with conviction.
"What they knew as darkness was, in truth, a new light. They simply came seeking that light."
She turned and headed inside the temple.
In the prayer room designated solely for the saintess's personal use, purple daffodils and black lilies adorned the altar.
Sarak.
Esther knelt before the altar.
'Oh Lord of all creation. And... my Lord.'
Her prayers were directed not only to the Goddess proclaimed by the Holy Kingdom, but also to her 'true' master.
The existence of a saintess who wielded both holy power and mana, two forces at once.
The point of her prayer was that neither faith was false.
"Your Excellency. The nobles have arrived."
The handmaid's voice came again.
Esther rose slowly from her place.
Even wearing a baggy monastic habit, her 'presence' swayed, utterly impossible to conceal.
"Please guide them in."
What she had to do was clear.
To those who knew nothing, a new faith.
To those who knew all too well, a space through which to deliver secret whispers.
That was the vital task Libertas had entrusted to her.
"Welcome, everyone."
When Esther opened her mouth, all the nobles held their breath.
The sacred light emanating from her eyes still shone truthfully.
"Today, I will help you all purify the delusions filling your hearts and gain peace of mind."
While Esther's voice rang out, a strange silence enveloped the temple.
Her every word burrowed into the hearts of the nobles.
"Everyone. Where there is light, there is a shadow; where there is day, there is night. That is the principle of the world."
Esther's white eyes shone. Her holy power brightly illuminated the surroundings.
Yet within that light, a subtle darkness was permeating.
"We must not turn our eyes away from the truth."
The saintess smiled softly.
Her words were heresy, yet at the same time, they were so natural that no one felt inclined to voice an objection.
'Master.'
Esther thought of Libertas in her heart.
What she was doing in this temple was a betrayal of the Holy Kingdom, but at the same time, it was a service to her own greater truth.
"Now, I shall hear your confessions."
The light imbued in the saintess's eyes was still sacred.
But within it also lay deep loyalty toward the Lord of Darkness.
The beginning of a new faith that would cover Hysen.
Outside, the dawn bell was still ringing.
- 3 -
"Do you feel the power of a newly rising lord?"
The sound of Dantalion setting down his teacup echoed through the room.
The lips smiling beneath the silver mask belonged to a boy, but his eyes shone coldly, as if compressing thousands of years of time.
- That tiny little dungeon Lord, Your Highness?
The skull face of the demilich with flashing black eyes turned toward the grand duke.
Kimaris's eyes flickered ominously.
His black armor exuded a thick miasma, but neither of them showed any sign of their view being hindered by it.
"Yes. Is it not remarkable?"
Among the six surface demon grand dukes, the one bearing the name of 'Secrets' clasped his hands together and placed them on his stomach.
His eyes glinted insidiously.
"I hear she has become an elite-grade dungeon Lord."
The growth of a dungeon Lord meant the expansion of a demon realm.
And that power could never escape the eyes of humans.
At least, until now.
Up to the advanced level, it had been possible somehow. For it was Dantalion and Kimaris who had made it possible.
But the issue was something else.
"Yet no one knows her location... That alone is already something worth paying attention to."
The fact that the location of the demon realm she had spread had not been properly known to humans, let alone other dungeon Lords.
- It is very intriguing.
The black demilich chuckled as he spoke.
- I know not through what method, but it is said she has gained the indirect support of the Wrath Duke's faction and Her Highness the First Demon Queen.
Intuitively sensing the fighting spirit flashing in his eyes, the masked grand duke spoke calmly as ever.
"Do you know anything more about that existence?"
- I have only heard rumors.
At Kimaris's nonchalant response, a smile graced Dantalion's lips.
As if finding the marquis's attitude of feigning ignorance amusing.
"The other day, two bugs took a look around our territory and left."
- Ah... you mean those troublesome humans.
Dantalion nodded.
Their ominous yet familiar energy was something he could not help but sense clearly.
Because he, a demon more absorbed in otherworldly power than mana, could feel the same otherworldly power more sensitively.
"It seems they came to investigate the death of the green petty thief."
At Dantalion's words, Kimaris's eyes deepened.
"Since you drove that petty thief to his death, you will take responsibility for this matter, yes?"
- ...Tch.
The marquis clicked his tongue openly.
His annoyance and irritation were clearly evident in his attitude.
It was behavior an ordinary dungeon Lord could not exhibit before a grand duke, but his position allowed it.
Even so, he was still Dantalion's subordinate.
- Understood. I shall take responsibility and... try to make use of them.
"I expect results."
Kimaris, who had risen from his seat, vanished as if melting into the shadows.
Where he had been sitting, one pitiful human slave who had been having the essence of their soul wrung out just moments ago lay dead.
Soon, maids entered and began clearing the corpse, and the masked grand duke set down his tea and looked out the window.
"Libertas, was it?"
Murmuring the name he had only properly come to know recently.
"Before she grows further..."
Dantalion's eyes emitted a dim light.
Contained within those eyes were a terribly obsessive vigilance and the hideousness of an old noble.
"I must trample her."
He had no intention of tolerating the existence of a new lord who was not under his command.
- 4 -
The palace where the First Demon Queen of the demon world resided was still in full bloom with countless types of flowers centered around black irises.
However, the flowers that usually spread their petals toward the red sun or moon were now bowing their heads somewhat sullenly.
It was because their master's mood was not very bright.
'I miss her.'
Bellastella leaned against the window and gazed into the void.
As if the surface world, reachable only through transmigration magic, lay somewhere out there.
「Stella, sister. I hope you are well. I have recently accomplished a great undertaking and am settling the aftermath of it...」
Beside her lay a letter sent by her half-sibling.
The letter detailed the achievements Libertas had made in Hysen, a nation on the continent that served the Goddess.
"Now, that child will no longer be able to hide even if she tries."
She had become an elite dungeon Lord and had even revealed herself by offering a 'good opportunity' to another grand duke.
Considering that information known to one grand duke would soon be known to the others, Libertas would now be subject to the scrutiny and attention of the six grand dukes of the surface.
'Dantalion, Astaroth, Eligos, Agares, Gaap, Andras...'
Stella, who had been reciting the names of the six surface grand dukes inwardly, let out a sigh.
She was in a state where she had torn apart and absorbed the forces of Semira, the former First Demon Queen, but Stella's own faction was still not stabilized.
This was because Stella had built her power from nothing with Libertas's help.
'I want to help her quickly, but...'
Stepping forward to help her now would instead be an act of exposing herself to the attacks of other grand dukes.
It was far too dangerous an act for Stella, who did not yet have a suitable method to respond to their attacks.
It was also something Libertas would not wish for.
'If I request it, father would help her, but...'
The help of the Gluttony Duke inevitably meant bearing the burden of providing a great price in return.
So, in the end, that was also a last resort.
To help Libertas safely and completely, the best course for now was to observe the situation and continue building strength.
"Haa..."
Ultimately, the face of Stella, who let out a sigh, was filled with dejection.
- 5 -
"Master."
Talhan reported on his knees.
"A report has arrived from Lady Shue that she has completely subdued Hinnes in the north. Daniel and the mercenary corps are currently returning."
"Good."
I nodded and looked at the map before me.
A violet light was spreading faintly over the map.
"My lord husband."
After placing the dungeon core Yuran had brought onto my hand, I lightly drew up my mana.
There were many dungeon cores collected from Hysen.
Even if some of them were used for the resurrection of dungeon Lords who had become mine, there were more than enough to spare.
This was because, while a dungeon Lord could die, the core was an existence closer to a 'high-grade magic stone' in which mana was simply accumulated.
"How goes the preparation of spaces beneath each city?"
"In all cities of the central region, the underground prisons have already been expanded as you, Master, commanded. Only the northern and border regions remain."
Listening to Talhan's answer, I pointed my finger at the cities on the map.
Many cities were already dyed in my color.
The stronger a dungeon Lord grew, the stronger the dungeon core also grew, and the range of the demon realm gradually expanded.
Because of this, I used a method of first seizing control of the humans in order to hide the presence of that demon realm from them.
Upon ascending from advanced to elite, I seized land amounting to the area of the current Orbis Duchy while the humans were at war.
"But the presence of ascending to high rank cannot possibly be hidden."
The range under actual influence was currently about the size of the Orbis Duchy.
But the range over which the presence spread easily surpassed a single nation, and there was still room to spare.
Even those who had become grand dukes now would have found it difficult to hide even the presence of reaching the elite grade, had they not grown up in the chaotic era of old.
Although there were cases where there was no need to hide it because there were too many dungeons back then.
"But what would they think if surrounding nations sensed it, yet they felt nothing within Hysen itself?"
"They will assume a small-scale dungeon has grown and will scour the area for the dungeon that has grown nearby, as if catching rats."
Eve answered my words.
Meeting her eyes, we exchanged the smiles of schemers.
"For this, I will spread my demon realm beneath all the cities of Hysen."
To that end, I would plant cores imbued with my mana beneath all the cities, creating small-scale dungeons and demon realms there.
So that all detection magic would malfunction. So that human eyes and ears would not see me.
"I will be covering the eyes and ears of the adventurers."
Adventurers who explore and conquer dungeons were not completely separate from human authority, but neither were they existences subordinate to any nation.
Their demon realm detection system was independent.
To paralyze it, I would indeed have to seize control of all cities.
'However, if I try to forcibly gather them in one place or make them "disappear," it will inevitably provoke a backlash someday...'
Of course, simply killing all the humans who rebelled would also be a simple matter.
But that was something I, who wished to absorb humans as gently as possible, had to avoid.
I would not hesitate to kill if necessary, but neither did I wish to actively carry out slaughter.
Even without me trying to kill them, the humans were already too good at killing each other.
"Let us name this plan 'Eclipse.'"
Eclipse.
Something that also signified the black sun, the symbol of the Demon King.
The surroundings would feel the presence of the demon realm flickering like a corona, but its center would remain dark—impossible to see.
And then...
"Above that demon realm, all humans will come to feel the boundary between demon and human blurring."
Sunlight seeped through the window.
Bathed in that light, I gently closed my eyes.
The first dawn of March was rising.
And my own era, too, was approaching closely.
'...? This presence is...'
I suddenly sensed an unfamiliar presence.
From the depths of the dimension, someone was staring at me.
That existence neither spoke to me nor revealed their form.
But that gaze was unmistakable.
Something flickered beyond the dawn sun.
Beyond the dawn of a new era, something was waiting for me.