396. Dusk (1)
396. Dusk (1)
- 1 -
After the banquet ended, I guided the two archdukes and gave them a tour of the dungeon.
"It was an elegant and beautiful dungeon."
Asmodeus folded her fan and let out an exclamation of admiration. Her voice carried deep, sincere praise.
"Though it holds considerable power, it is also artistic. The establishment of an independent monster ecosystem within the dungeon was impressive as well. A creative approach other dungeon lords would never conceive of."
Hearing her evaluation, I smiled bitterly to myself.
Because her words touched on both my past and the memories of this world.
'Other dungeon lords, huh...'
The other dungeon lords I had seen in the game—that is, the other players—had never understood my style.
They had been too busy focusing on hoarding currency to draw high-rarity characters instead.
The dungeon lords in this reality would likely be no different in their failure to understand my methods.
To them, monsters were objects of domination, not objects of 'development'.
I had always been a heretic.
"Thank you, Lady Asmodeus."
Therefore, her admiration was enough to touch my pride.
But Leviathan's reaction was different.
"Hmm... To the demon tribe, power is what truly matters in the end. Yet why is your power not fully concentrated within the dungeon?"
He stood with his arms crossed, scanning the surroundings with sharp eyes.
Then, he raised his hand and very freely meddled with the dungeon's mana.
"..."
Instantly, a feeling of displeasure surged up my spine.
The mana of my core was directly connected to my own mana.
It was a domain that should not be touched carelessly.
Meddling with the dungeon's mana would not affect me directly, but it was never a benign act.
"The flow of mana is unnecessarily dispersed. I can see the dungeon's mana stretching out so far I can't even tell where it ends. Excessively inefficient."
"That is because of the greatest power I am about to show you."
I smiled with a perfectly composed expression.
"... Hm."
I saw Leviathan's eyebrows twitch.
Displeasure and irritation spread through his eyes.
As expected, this too was a test. Though it was somewhat emotionally charged.
"Evangeline, Saya."
Still maintaining my smile, I called their names.
Whoosh — !
The very next moment, they appeared beside me.
Asmodeus and Leviathan's expressions stiffened simultaneously.
"Monarch-class power...! My goodness, Hecate! I feel like I've glimpsed those faces before, and you've already invested this much in such a short time? Truly remarkable. Enviable children."
Asmodeus voiced her honest admiration.
At the same time, her gaze swept over Evangeline and Saya from head to toe, revealing blatant possessiveness.
"...."
On the other hand, Leviathan stared at the two in silence.
Their outward reactions were opposite, but the same kind of light shone clearly in both archdukes' eyes.
Surprise and greed.
Even for archdukes of the demon realm, the number of monarch-class monsters under their command could be counted on one hand.
'They must want to recruit them.'
But that would not be easy.
When that time came, the two archdukes' surprise would only grow.
That they possessed such strength, and even loyalty on top of it.
"They are my special subordinates. During your stay on the surface, these two will serve as your guides."
I assigned Saya to Asmodeus, and Evangeline to Leviathan.
It was an arrangement made to anticipate their actions and respond accordingly.
"During the two honored guests' stay on the surface, attend to them without the slightest inconvenience."
""Yes, Master.""
Evangeline and Saya bowed simultaneously.
The evaluation by the demon realm archdukes had moved on to Act 2.
The remainder of the evaluation process now depended on this brief journey they would enjoy on the surface.
- 2 -
The capital of the Holy Kingdom, waiting room of the Holy Emperor's Palace.
Adriana, who stepped inside, could not hide her somewhat surprised expression at the sight of the two people already waiting.
"Clementine? Why are you here..."
She had expected Lucia to be here, but she had not known Clementine would appear.
Was this not the very woman who, during the last meeting with Philia Elskopf, had stormed out of the conference hall after revealing her blatant antipathy toward the Holy Kingdom?
Afterward, she had remained silent for some reason regarding the Holy Kingdom's declaration of heresy, but Adriana had thought it did not mean she sympathized with them.
Yet, that very Clementine had come to this council seat of her own accord.
"...You're reacting as if I've come somewhere I shouldn't be. I am also, strictly speaking, a saintess of the Holy Kingdom."
Clementine spoke sharply and awkwardly averted her gaze.
"That's right. You are 'still' a saintess, I suppose."
Lucia's cynical voice poured oil onto the icy atmosphere.
Clementine's face flushed red, and her sharply raised eyes glared at Lucia.
Just before the hostile atmosphere could explode, Adriana quickly intervened.
"No, no. Clementine. I was just surprised because it was so sudden. I am truly glad you came."
"... Hmph."
At Adriana's gentle words, Clementine turned her head away brusquely.
She had nothing to say.
Because she knew very well that coming here was a shameless act.
'But... but I have no choice!'
Her trembling hand clutched the rosario hanging around her neck.
The sharp edges dug into her palm, leaving marks, but even that pain was nothing compared to her current despair.
This beautiful ornament was a shackle fastened onto her.
The one who had fastened it was the captain of her guard knight order, whom she had believed to be a close aide.
And the mastermind behind that scheme was Philia Elskopf, the leader of the present Sun Church.
Now that most of the clergy around her carried the symbol of the sun on their persons, she could no longer distinguish who was foe and who was ally.
The fear of what might happen if she did not cooperate with that woman had relentlessly pursued her ever since.
Even so, she lacked the courage to contact her directly.
So this was the only remaining option.
If she hid in the shadow of Adriana, who was at least Philia's 'collaborator', they would not harm her without reason.
"Let's just leave that woman be and start the main topic quickly. Aren't all three of us busy people?"
As if she had seen right through Clementine's inner thoughts, Lucia urged with a mocking smile.
Adriana looked at Clementine worriedly for a moment, but soon nodded.
Lucia, who had cut ties with Kakia and was seeking a new path with Hysen.
Adriana herself, whose engagement to Rugnisah was effectively undergoing annulment, now bearing the fate of the Holy Kingdom on her shoulders.
And Clementine, who was soon to become the Empress of the Norn Empire and lead it.
All three were in positions where they had no leisure for idle emotional squabbles.
"Then, let us go out."
Adriana led the two toward the grand council chamber.
"Those who act as the hands of the Heavens! The three Saintess Excellencies are entering!"
With the Chief Chamberlain's cry, the massive doors opened, and the archbishops who had already filled the chamber rose to their feet in unison.
Adriana's expression, as she looked over their faces one by one, briefly darkened.
Most of them were figures from the pro-Adriana and pro-Lucia factions who had newly filled those seats after the Anselm faction was purged.
'...The factional strife hadn't completely disappeared, but it would be fine for the time being.'
Now was the time when a major rival had emerged.
Even those archbishops... and Lucia too, would know that they had to unite.
Adriana made an effort to erase her worries and responded with a gentle smile.
"Thank you all for gathering despite your busy schedules."
The three saintesses stood at the podium.
The air in the council chamber grew progressively heavier.
The agenda they had to discuss today was but one thing.
Concerning that very 'rival'.
"Then, from this moment. We shall begin the discussion on whether to formally recognize the 'Sun Church'."
With the moderator's declaration, Adriana opened her mouth.
"First, we will hear everyone's opinion on this agenda. Those in favor, please raise the blue flag; those opposed, raise the red fla..."
It was then.
Kwang!
The door of the council chamber slammed against the wall with a noisy sound.
"Excellency! Excellency!"
The chamber door was violently thrown open, and a cleric rushed in, gasping for breath.
His face was drenched with sweat, and his holy vestments were disheveled in his urgency.
"R-right now... right now!"
"What is the matter? We are in the middle of an important discussion..."
"Your Holiness! His Holiness has awakened!"
"Wh-what did you say...!"
At those words, everyone in the council chamber stopped breathing for an instant.
The Holy Emperor, who had been in an unconscious state due to a curse of unknown origin, presumed only to be Anselm's doing.
News that he had awakened, after even the combined efforts of the saintesses to break the curse had failed to wake him with any holy magic.
The color drained from the archbishops' faces, and the saintesses read the same agitation in each other's eyes.
It was a celebratory event. But at the same time, it was also an event whose future consequences were unknown.
Because the current selection of archbishops had been decided solely by 'vote', without the Holy Emperor's approval.
Still, there was only one thing to do now.
"Excellency! You must go at once!"
"Adriana! Pull yourself together!"
At the archbishops' cries and Lucia's urgent voice, Adriana snapped back to her senses and raised her voice.
"Let us go to His Holiness immediately!"
"The council will be adjourned indefinitely!"
"...Just what in the world is happening...?"
Amidst uncontrollable chaos, the saintesses desperately tried to sort out the situation as they dashed toward the Holy Emperor's bedchamber.
- 3 -
At the same moment.
Mid-slope of Mount Saint Andrew, the highest peak of the Culenese Mountains, the holy ground of the Holy Kingdom.
A lone figure was climbing the high slope bathed in the evening sunset.
Half-gray hair and a once benevolent impression.
However, his narrowed eyes were now filled only with an ominous crimson glow and a spine-chilling obsession.
It was the former Central Archbishop, Anselm.
"The One who dwells in the Heavens... arranges my path... Heok...!"
The moment he received the 'revelation', he had secretly slipped out of his residence.
The surveillance had been strict, but miraculous luck followed him, protected by 'God'.
The guards changed shifts or briefly vacated their posts whenever he passed by.
In moments of crisis where he almost encountered someone by chance, someone would appear and buy him time.
After that, he headed straight for the 'holy ground', and now, he had continued this agonizing climb, akin to a life-or-death struggle, for four hours.
"Heok... Heok... O Lord...!"
Kung, kung, kung.
A pounding heartbeat filled the inside of his head.
The faint smell of iron pushed up into his throat.
His lungs felt like they were tearing every time he inhaled, but his steps did not stop.
He could not use the gate leading to the summit.
Partly because he no longer had the authority, now that he was no longer an archbishop, but also because he could not choose such a 'comfortable' path.
- You are doing well, my child.
Because the sweet voice ringing in his ears was affirming his suffering.
"O Lord... save the foolish lambs... from all this pain...."
He endlessly recited prayers.
The burning thirst in his throat and the screams of every muscle in his body.
To him, all of it was a sacred 'ascetic practice' to prove his faith.
As the asceticism continued, the pinkish light in his eyes deepened into blood-red, and his nails and teeth grew sharper like a beast's, but he did not perceive it.
And by the time he would realize it, everything would already be too late.
- 4 -
A man was looking down on Anselm's figure with cold eyes.
"...."
The red-eyed spirit mage, Rodrick.
One of the thirteen most powerful adventurers on the continent, and a monarch-class superhuman who was originally supposed to be stationed at the coast keeping Astaroth in check.
- I don't know why you do this, Master. Isn't he a useless person now?
On his shoulder, the wind spirit Sylphid whispered in a regretful tone.
"... No, that's not true."
Rodrick shook his head.
He had missed out on all the wealth and honor he should have gained as a reward for saving Anselm.
But such things had never mattered to him from the beginning.
Because his objective had been Anselm himself from the very start.
"Regrettably, my contractor is very much looking forward to what he will do."
- You must break the contract with that demon, Master...
Sylphid's face darkened.
Spirits did not concern themselves with the good and evil of their contractors, but they did not like seeing them walk a clear path of self-destruction.
"I will, someday. But not now."
The contract with Astaroth.
As Rodrick recalled the reason for that contract, sparks flew in his red eyes.
'Kaira....'
What he desired was only one thing: power.
And what he sought to achieve with that power was thorough 'revenge'.
Before that goal, neither good and evil nor justice held any meaning.