308. The Ultimate (1)
308. The Ultimate (1)
- 1 -
"Aaaaaaack—!!"
A tearing scream filled the interrogation chamber of the Ice Citadel.
The blood flowing from her deathly pale skin showed no sign of stopping.
Upon the transparent ice floor, pools of it bloomed like dark blue flowers.
The temperature inside the room hovered near zero.
With every breath, white plumes of vapor rose, but strangely, the mermaid's blood and wounds did not freeze.
"...Why, Wepar? I have surely never treated you unkindly."
From behind the mask, a cold, impassive gaze turned toward her.
It was a look that seemed to say not even death would let her flee from him.
In the vast interrogation chamber, there were only Dantalion and Wepar.
Even his loyal adjutant Botis had withdrawn.
Wepar looked down at her own chest.
Three spears that had thrust through from behind were gouging through her body.
The otherworldly power of Dantalion, which had always lent her mighty strength, was now the very thing rendering her helpless.
And yet, she smiled.
"Your Highness."
"Speak."
"I... loved you. But you did not. ...That is all."
Dantalion's eyes narrowed.
His magic power, contained within the doll-like form of a small boy, drove the room's temperature even lower.
"Was that woman worth anything to you? Enough for you to betray me?"
Meeting those eyes, two loyalties inside Wepar's heart were tearing each other to shreds.
The icy lord she had served for over a hundred years.
She had lived under his shadow for more than a century.
That loyalty was like a habit etched into her heart.
But the new ruler who had given her a suffocating thrill had shown her a different world.
A being who had set her soul alight in a single meeting.
Caught between those two conflicts, a transparent tear slipped unknowingly from the corner of her eye.
Step. Step.
Dantalion approached her without expression.
The sound of his footfalls produced a static echo across the ice.
"I trust no one. But you... alongside Botis, you were a being to whom I gave a small fragment of faith."
A restrained emotion could be felt in his voice.
Anger? Sorrow? Disappointment?
Even Wepar could not clearly distinguish it.
Dantalion's hand moved toward the flower exposed near Wepar's collarbone.
A black flower.
"Libertas."
His expression twisted minutely.
"I cannot forgive you."
Still in a cold voice, Dantalion raised his hand.
A thick, sharp spear of ice rose into the air.
The blasphemous glow flowing over it announced that the power filling it was no mere chill.
"Farewell, my confidant."
Looking up at him, who even in this moment did not call her 'fated one', Wepar sensed that no regret was welling up in her heart.
Rather, she even felt a sense of cool relief.
Immediately, the ice spear pierced her chest.
"Keuk...!"
Wepar's scream shook the interrogation chamber.
And at that very instant, the black rosemary swaying at her collarbone emitted a dark light.
"This is..."
Just as Dantalion furrowed his brow, Wepar's body began to transform into light.
As if her physical body was disintegrating piece by piece, breaking apart into fragments of light.
Despite her fading consciousness, Wepar opened her eyes and looked at Dantalion.
His eyes were still cold.
The ice-filled interrogation chamber blurred, and her awareness gradually slipped away.
"Wepar..."
Dantalion stared at the empty space where she had been.
From behind his mask, a gleam that could not be defined by the colors of reality seeped out faintly.
It was otherworldly power.
He slowly knelt and touched the remnants of magic power left on the floor.
His fingers traced the purple traces.
A spell cast in such haste could not avoid leaving traces behind.
"Botis."
The door opened immediately, responding at once to the low summons.
Botis, horrid scales glittering beneath a mask similar to Dantalion's, promptly knelt.
"Your Highness. Did you call?"
Dantalion rose and turned to him.
Upon his hand, the purple traces of magic remained faintly.
"The enemy... I have located Libertas's position."
"As expected of my lord. What should I do?"
After a brief moment of thought, he quickly reached a decision.
"We attack Hysen and Libertas simultaneously. Summon the spies."
Ku-deu-deu-deuk...!!
As Dantalion's magic power stirred, the entirety of the Ice Citadel began to stretch and awaken, like a living organism.
As if a colossal beast that had slumbered for hundreds of years was rousing.
War was approaching.
- 2 -
The conference hall of the Ice Palace was filled with a strange, powerful energy.
A map formed of rock displayed the target region at its center, and around it, projections of the servants who had pledged loyalty to Dantalion rose up from various places.
They were humans, but upon closer inspection, each and every one possessed a foreign trait.
Whenever one noble breathed, blue lines of light flowed beneath his skin; a sorceress's pupils continuously shifted shape, writhing as if alive.
A knight clad in massive armor did not breathe, and the exposed mouth of a figure wearing a golden mask was filled entirely with sharp fangs.
All were ones who had accepted the otherworldly power that Dantalion possessed.
At the same time, they were individuals acting as nobles in several nations of the North.
"The Dungeon Lord called Libertas appears to exercise strong influence over Hysen."
The tall man with the golden mask spoke.
His voice was bizarre. A grotesque voice that sounded like an old man, yet also like a young man.
"The estimated location of the dungeon is the south of Hysen, or the north of Orbis. Given the position, the Orbis Duchy, which reportedly gained independence in the south, is likely also under her influence."
What was drawn on the map was the central region of the Eastern Continent.
Numerous red markers indicated the presumed locations of Libertas.
"We must avoid a direct attack. If I move myself, the balance of power among the Archdukes will crumble."
Dantalion lightly tapped his fingers on the table as he stared at the map, which was continuously writhing and sculpting itself from rock.
"Should I sustain damage in that process, the other archdukes will covet my territory. Kimaris cannot be trusted either. The bastard would try to seize the seat of an archduke even if it meant handing over a portion of my power to do so."
"Wise, my lord."
Botis bowed his head loyally.
The silver mask, resembling Dantalion's own, gleamed.
"Therefore, we shall move in two directions."
Dantalion extended his hand and carved a piece of ice upon the map.
"First, a direct assault using elite troops. After declaring war on the dungeon, we shall pin down her main force."
Upon the red marker indicating Libertas's dungeon, a spike of ice embedded itself.
"Second, you shall move and begin the attack on Hysen. This will sow chaos, prevent the humans from noticing the movement of our forces, and allow the dungeon to be attacked from the outside."
Dantalion shifted his gaze to Botis.
"Botis."
"Command me, Your Highness."
"I shall grant you the chance to devour her."
Wepar had clearly betrayed him.
But that must be Libertas's trickery—it could not have been because Wepar saw her true ability.
Therefore, he would crush her with overwhelming force.
So Dantalion thought.
"She is currently an elite-grade Dungeon Lord. For you, who have long since entered high rank, you will be able to devour her and prepare to ascend to the lord grade."
Botis's pallid blue eyes blazed with excitement.
"As my proxy, you shall gather our might and strike her down."
"It is an honor. Your Highness!!"
An irrepressible ambition filled his voice.
A Dungeon Lord consuming another Dungeon Lord was the fastest method of growth.
Especially if he could devour an unusual entity like Libertas, it would be a tremendous leap forward.
As Dantalion rose from his seat, his shadow stretched long across the chamber.
"Move. My servants who have received my power. Move Kakia, strike Hysen."
The nobles rose in unison, knelt upon the floor, and bowed deeply.
""We shall execute it at once, Your Highness.""
The dark hands that Dantalion had cast over the human world began to move, each having received its duty.
- 3 -
In the underground of Clarent Citadel, I gazed at Wepar, who floated within a life-support tank.
Submerged in blue liquid, she slumbered quietly, but the wounds on her body were still vivid.
The internal organs that had spilled out through the holes pierced by Dantalion's ice spears were slowly retreating back inside.
'It's a relief the black rosemary worked properly. For you, and for me.'
I raised my hand and lightly swept it across the surface of the crystal structure.
From beyond it, a faint life force could be felt.
Her return had, in truth, been planned for. There is no such thing as an eternal secret, after all.
One of the truths I realized having lived through two worlds.
At the same time, this spell did not activate unconditionally.
It was only possible because the feelings Wepar held toward me had become greater than those she held toward Dantalion.
"How is her condition, Mure?"
The blue-haired baron inclined his waist slightly.
"Is this not the mana tank created by the Lady herself? Recovery is a matter of course."
"I see..."
I let my magic power flow through my fingertips.
My purple magic passed through the liquid and burrowed into Wepar's body.
It began to envelop her wounds, bolster her life force, and reshape her flesh according to my will.
Whether she would remain a mermaid upon waking, or become something else, I did not yet know...
But it was self-evident that some change would occur.
"You bought me sufficient time. Well done, Wepar."
Her eyelids fluttered minutely.
It seemed she had recognized my voice even in an unconscious state.
She had not originally been one of deep loyalty, but perhaps she might be a little different after she woke again.
The door opened, and the sound of footsteps was heard. I could tell who it was by the sound alone.
It was Evangeline, Shue, and Yuran.
Without turning around, I sensed their presences. Tension was evident in each of their gaits.
"Master."
Evangeline called out to me in a firm and clear voice, offering counsel.
"With Wepar's return, Dantalion will have pinpointed our location."
I slowly turned my body to face them.
"The timing isn't right."
Shue, in her ever-languid voice, spoke.
"The Eclipse Plan still isn't fully prepared..."
Worry had also risen in Yuran's eyes.
What they spoke of was the preparation for the ritual of the ultimate, my ascension from the elite grade to the high rank.
I withdrew my hand from the tank and approached them.
The hem of my dress silently brushed my legs.
"Judging by his patterns of behavior so far, Dantalion won't move personally. He'll use a method like fostering Botis or keeping Kimaris in check."
If he sent Botis, it would be to have him devour me. If he sent Kimaris, it would be to pass his own losses onto him.
Hearing my words, Yuran relaxed the tension at the corners of her eyes and spoke.
"It is clear he still underestimates my lord husband's power, so surely only one of the two will come."
"At the level of a marquis, wouldn't that be trustworthy enough?"
The other women were tense as well, but not frozen.
Even though Botis was a marquis and a high-grade Dungeon Lord, their attitude showed they did not even consider that he could be a match for me.
It was faith in me, and faith in themselves.
"Though the Eclipse Plan is not fully complete, the bare minimum preparations are done. Most adventurers won't even notice me rising to a higher rank."
Even if there were a few who happened to notice, the handling of their cases could be managed with improvisation.
I cast my gaze out the citadel window.
Though I could neither see nor feel it, I was certain that Dantalion's attack would not end merely within the dungeon.
Since it was possible for me to operate in secret among humans, I could not rashly assume that the Archdukes of the Demon Realm had nothing of their own.
At the very least, it was right to assume that some of the nations in the Northern Continent would attempt something against us.
That was why Esther was not present here. To inform Yurena in advance.
"Bring the sacrifices."
I turned to the women and smiled faintly.
The plan had not been executed perfectly, but a plan is always the first to die on the battlefield.
Having lived a long life of struggle, I knew that well.
"Today, I shall ascend to the seat of high rank."
The certainty in my voice kindled a heat within their eyes.
A weight heavy as prophecy.
The enemy marquis who came for me would become a fine sacrifice for my dungeon.
Or a new servant kneeling at my feet.
Either way, they were no more than a single stair-step for my future.