Traces Beneath the Stone
"Is this the place?"
"Yes, it is."
The red leopard answered Granbipra's question, its mind a tangle of rage and fear. They were among the few survivors of the massacre, the youngest and most spirited of their kind. Though surrounded by Granbipra and Duru Satal's soldiers, none of them had fully escaped the terror of that day.
"But there's nothing to see around here."
They had arrived at the site where Hilde's slaughter had taken place, yet all that met their eyes were ordinary landscapes. There were no traces of the massacre, nor any way to guess its cause.
"Focus more carefully."
Granbipra saw things differently. He slowly moved toward a cluster of rocks. The moment his eyes glowed with blue light, the stones began to tremble. At first they resisted, merely quivering under the force, but soon they yielded and split apart to either side.
A wide gap appeared, revealing a staircase descending into darkness.
"Go."
At Granbipra's command, his duplicates crawled swiftly down the stairs. Through their eyes he examined the interior with meticulous care. Scrape marks lined the ceiling, as though something had been dragged across it, and patches of the steps had lost their natural luster in unnatural ways.
The massive serpents descended rapidly at their master's bidding until they reached a colossal black iron door. At its center, a great beast was embossed in relief, surrounded by countless grotesque shadows that spread across the entire surface.
Granbipra had his duplicates inspect the surroundings once more. Desperate claw marks covered the walls and floor, as if something had been dragged inward. Every single mark belonged to someone he knew well.
"Togas."
"Yes. Those are definitely Togas's marks."
Though slower than Granbipra's duplicates, some of Duru Satal's soldiers finally reached the bottom of the stairs. They too recognized the claw marks as Togas's.
"But how could anyone drag him away like this?"
Togas's body was enormous. Known as Resuwi Kato, the Tree-Feller, his massive frame could topple centuries-old trees with ease and swallow even the largest beasts in a single bite. For such a being to leave behind such pitiful marks while being dragged away was unthinkable. Duru Satal could scarcely picture it.
"We'll find out soon enough."
Granbipra's duplicates approached the iron door. Though it was tightly sealed, that posed no real obstacle. Strange energy gathered around their bodies and slammed into the door, which slowly began to part. The moment a gap opened, an ominous aura seeped out.
"……"
Duru Satal—or rather, the soldiers connected to his mental network—instinctively shrank back. The aura leaking from the door and the faint, sinister scent it carried made their minds struggle to flee, even under Duru Satal's influence.
"…They've already left."
That was all. The ominous energy and scent were merely remnants of those who had been here. Even after the door fully opened, nothing remained inside.
Granbipra's duplicates moved inward. Their movements held neither tension nor haste. While the spells on the door had previously blocked his senses, now that it was open he could feel everything within. The chamber was empty. Only faint traces remained.
"There were several of them. And powerful ones at that."
He had sensed it from the moment the door opened. The lingering auras and scents alone told him how formidable the beings who had gathered here must have been. The intense smell, like that of many beasts gathered in one place, and the sinister energy permeating the room explained why Togas had left such desperate marks.
Like the entrance and stairs, the space beyond the door was vast. It was not empty, however. Enormous flasks and glass tubes lined both walls, every single one of them shattered or empty.
"What are these?"
Duru Satal studied the flasks and their shapes. Though he had seen artifacts made by humans and other races over his long life, he had never encountered glass vessels of such grotesque size and structure.
"It seems they were trying to create something new."
Granbipra, by contrast, easily inferred their purpose from the structure, arrangement, and the faint symbols still visible on the walls. Though the forms and patterns were more complex than anything he had seen before, the symbols and spells inscribed upon them were familiar.
"Let's go deeper."
They proceeded further in and came upon a room filled with crystals as large as Granbipra's duplicates. Though clearly artificial, the crystals still radiated mana even after their target had vanished, so precisely had they been calibrated.
Deeper still, a short phrase carved in demonic script caught their eyes on one wall. Roughly translated, it read:
"If it cannot increase, it shall multiply."
Even Granbipra, who understood the demonic tongue, found the meaning ambiguous. Still, the fact that it had been carved so prominently made its importance clear—it had been the purpose of those who once occupied this place.
"What does it mean?"
"I don't know. They were definitely trying to make a great number of something, but I can't tell what."
Granbipra ordered his duplicates to return and severed the connection. There was nothing more to learn below.
"Any trace of Hilde nearby?"
The members of his clan growled openly at the mention of Hilde's name, yet none of them could find her trail. Hilde had always been the most exceptional among them, unmatched in combat, hunting, and tracking alike.
Neither Duru Satal, whose network could no longer extend far from the Ancient Forest, nor Granbipra himself could track Hilde or the beings who had been here any longer.
"…Let's head back for now."
Rowell and I remained in the village until Bagloros arrived. The market master's vacant seat was temporarily filled by the captain of the guard and the council secretary. Rowell and Aegina comforted the victims' families and received those who came to see them. Relatives from neighboring villages also arrived one by one after hearing the news, so dealing with them kept everyone quite busy.
"Lord Anak."
And I was no exception. The summons I had called forth during the execution seemed to have planted a seed of fear among the people. Contrary to my expectation that few would seek me out for a while, more people came to see me than before.
I had momentarily forgotten—fear often inspires awe at the same time.
Of course, their attitude toward me differed slightly from how they treated Rowell or Aegina. They approached me cautiously, as though I were a wild beast kept on a leash, offering small requests or gestures of respect. The victims' families, though their eyes held fear, tried to offer food and tokens of gratitude, expressing their sincere thanks.
I accepted none of it, of course. Rowell and Aegina were present, but even without them I had no desire to take anything from these people, no matter how weak I was to material temptation.
Thanks to the constant stream of visitors, I had no choice but to postpone my plan to visit Rofena until the very moment before sleep claimed me.
"Thank you, Lord Rowell. Lady Aegina. Lord Anak."
Comforting others had always felt awkward to me. From my relatively innocent academy days to the great war, when the title of Second-Best Strategist became widely known, my attempts at consolation had never reached anyone's heart. They merely echoed inside my own mind.
Rowell and Aegina, however, warmed people's hearts simply by being there. Even without saying anything special, the sincerity in their eyes and expressions reached others like a gentle light, illuminating the darkness within—just as Lauti's holy power did. That was the power and talent of those who shone like the sun.
At last, Bagloros arrived.
"Welcome back, Bagloros. You must be tired."
"No, I'm fine."
He had clearly run at full speed the moment Jane's carriage reached the estate, yet he showed no sign of exhaustion. We could tell he was quite fatigued, however. He hadn't even bothered to don his night cloak, and one sleeve was slightly torn.
It meant he had replenished his strength through means other than eating, and that he was truly exhausted. We stayed one more night so he could recover before finally leaving the village.
Though we had stayed far longer than planned, the villagers were reluctant to see us go. Unlike them, however, I was worried about something else.
A new market master would soon be elected to replace the temporary officials. Unlike before, there would be no extra budget for populist spending. No matter who became the new master, people would focus only on the shrinking benefits before their eyes.
Moreover, while the former market master had been sent to the capital for trial, his family and relatives still remained in the area. Countless variables and problems lay scattered about, heads bowed. Just thinking about each one gave me a headache.
There were many ways to solve them, of course, including the simplest methods. But the things that needed to be done to resolve everything, and the things required to maintain that resolution…
That was why I disliked politics. Imperfect people governing imperfect people, forced to continue a fight with no true enemy.
Sometimes one's own conscience became the enemy. One created countless political rivals and victims with one's own hands. Even when maintaining the most righteous situation, people would never feel grateful. No matter what answer one gave, opponents would raise their voices in protest.
Imperfect people offering imperfect answers, dividing into factions, endlessly swapping places—it was nothing but loathsome and futile.
Only absolute rule by a truly righteous being could be right. Either the greatest gods should lead, or if that was impossible, then people like Rowell and Aegina—those who shone like the sun—should govern.
They should be granted eternal status and life, forever guiding the foolish and imperfect, shining true light upon insignificant fireflies, just as they were doing for me now.
That alone would be the most righteous and certain form of rule.
"Hm? Anak, what's wrong?"
Rowell and Aegina asked after seeing the look in my eyes.
"No, it's nothing."
I must have sunk too deep into thought without realizing it. No matter what I thought, they would never seek to rule, nor did they want to.
"According to the map, we'll reach a teleportation array in a few more days. From there we can go straight to the Ayman Kingdom's border."