Their Purpose
It was well past midnight by the time Schwarz set foot on solid ground once more.
"You idiot—!!"
"I'm sorry!! I'm so sorry!!"
And inside the lodging where the two of them were staying, a furious shout shattered the quiet of the night.
"Do you have any idea how worried I was when you just vanished like that!? You told me to wait a little, so I waited—and then you don't come back even when it's late, and when you finally do show up you're covered in bruises from head to toe!!"
"Well… it's not as if I'm completely battered…"
His clothes hung in half-rags, and bruises mottled his entire body. Strictly speaking, it wasn't anything truly catastrophic.
"…"
"I'm sorry. I suppose I really am a wreck."
But under the razor-edged glare Milia fixed on him, eyes blazing with murderous intent, Schwarz could only duck his head and avert his gaze. All he could do right now was nod along to her words and beg forgiveness.
"I… do you have any idea how worried I was!?"
"Uh… eh? M-My Lady?"
In that instant Schwarz saw tears welling at the corners of her eyes, and his voice cracked with flustered surprise. Before he could even react, Milia rushed him, threw her arms around his waist, and buried her face against his chest.
"I was so scared something might have happened to you…!!"
"…"
Hearing the way she forced back her sobs, Schwarz felt something sharp and pointed jabbing at a corner of his heart. Whatever he said right now would be little comfort to her. Looking down at her with a bewildered face, he offered a faint smile and gently stroked her hair.
They stayed like that for a good ten minutes or more.
"Have you calmed down a little, My Lady?"
"Mm…"
When the sniffling finally stopped and the arms around his waist loosened, Schwarz asked. Milia nodded, released him, stepped back, and wiped the tear tracks from her eyes with her sleeve.
"I'm sorry. I got so caught up in the idea of catching that guy that I…"
"Wait a second. Come to think of it—what happened to him?"
Schwarz scratched his cheek as he spoke, looking at her. Milia's expression shifted to sudden realization as she turned the question back on him.
"Well… that is… um…"
"Don't tell me you let him get away?"
"…"
Faced with Milia's look of pure disbelief, Schwarz could only nod in silence. She stared at him as if she couldn't believe her ears, then pressed a hand to her forehead and shook her head as though it ached.
"But it wasn't a complete waste."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, when I followed him, this is what happened…"
Watching Milia tilt her head in confusion, Schwarz began to recount everything that had taken place in the sewers: how he had trailed the man through the tunnels, how he had swum a long way along the waterways, how the current had swept him by chance to the place where God's Nail lay, and finally the story of the demonic beasts that had appeared there.
"That's impossible… demonic beasts were there?"
"Yes. Hard as it is to believe, it's the truth."
Schwarz nodded firmly at Milia's incredulous question. He would never lie to her, yet she still stared at him as if she couldn't accept it. The tale he had told simply defied all reason.
God's Nail was the very thing that had purified the sea once teeming with demonic beasts and sealed them all away in the deep abyss. It was the foundation upon which the Riel Coalition could exist—the very symbol of the nation. For deep-sea beasts to appear right beneath it made no sense at all.
"Wait. Don't tell me…"
Then a thought flashed through Milia's mind and froze her in place. The anomaly unfolding at God's Nail… and somewhere in Bianca Arca right now, a presence capable of causing that anomaly was lurking in the shadows, waiting for its chance.
"We have to go see Councilor Wagner right away. Get ready."
"Yes, My Lady."
Milia's face had gone deathly pale as she spoke and began preparing to go out. Schwarz, for his part, headed to his own room.
A heavy silence hung over the study of the Wagner manor.
"Is that… really true?"
"Yes. I'm certain of it."
Schwarz nodded at Andrea's disbelieving face. It was only natural. Even Milia had struggled to accept it—how much more so for Andrea? Had the man not already known something of the situation, he would likely have thrown them out for spouting nonsense.
"Demonic beasts appearing at God's Nail…"
"We need to prepare countermeasures at once."
"I understand. Still… it's bewildering. Even for me, this is a first…"
Andrea let out a low groan as if his head ached, facing Milia's firm tone. Of course the reaction was understandable. But right now even that moment of hesitation was time they could not afford.
"We have to move quickly. Time is most certainly not on our side."
"To be honest, the story is hard to believe… yet given that I myself asked the two of you for this favor, I can hardly refuse to believe it."
Andrea exhaled a short sigh, rose from his seat, and approached his desk. There he began scrawling something across a sheet of letter paper.
"Deliver this to the other councilors. Once they see it, they'll understand what it means."
He neatly folded the note, slipped it into an envelope, and handed it to the attendant waiting behind him. The man nodded and left the study at once.
Silence settled over the room once more…
Andrea walked with heavy steps to the window and gazed out at Bianca Arca beyond the glass.
"Given how things have turned out, the two of you ought to know about it as well."
"About… what?"
Milia tilted her head at Andrea's words. He looked at her, his expression hardening as if he had reached a decision, and nodded.
"About the being that sleeps in the deep sea beneath Bianca Arca…"
Returning to his seat, Andrea slowly leaned back against the sofa, let out another short sigh, and began to speak.
"Long ago, the seas of the Riel Archipelago were a place where no human could live. I trust you both already know that."
"We do. We saw it in the play at the museum."
Milia answered, recalling the performance they had watched.
"In truth, that was the work of a single demonic beast."
"A single beast? What do you mean…"
Milia spoke as if she could not grasp it. It was only natural. Monsters were unpredictable creatures, yes, but they still belonged to the realm of living things. Yet a being that could spawn countless demonic beasts and, by its mere existence, summon storms and tidal waves—that had already stepped beyond the category of monster.
"Its name is Focalor. The one called the Devil of the Deep Sea."
"A devil…"
Milia knew of the existence, at least in outline. Detailed information was sealed as taboo even within the kingdom, so knowledge was limited—but the simple fact that it existed was something anyone with a modest interest in history would have heard.
"The true purpose of God's Nail is to serve as the key that seals Focalor so he can never awaken again."
"I never imagined God's Nail played a role like that…"
"Then doesn't that mean the seal is in danger?"
If God's Nail truly sealed the beast called Focalor, then the appearance of deep-sea monsters directly beneath it could only mean the situation was growing grave.
"That is possible—but it is equally possible that it is not."
"What do you mean by that?"
Andrea shook his head at Schwarz's question, and Schwarz tilted his own head in turn.
"There is something absolutely necessary in order to break the seal."
"Something absolutely necessary?"
"The life of one who belongs to the royal bloodline."
Andrea answered while looking at Schwarz.
"Do you remember the story of how the Avarizia royal family sought the power contained within God's Nail?"
"Yes."
"I remember."
There had indeed been such a tale. Both of them nodded at the recollection.
"Have you ever wondered how that was possible?"
"No."
It was only natural. She was the daughter of a Count's house, not a scholar. She had no need—nor any reason—to know the history of a foreign land, whatever the case might be for her own homeland.
"It was black magic."
"Black magic…!!"
Unlike ordinary sorcery, it was the general term for magic that employed blood and demonic rites. Naturally, its dangers had led every nation to outlaw it. Of course, lawless types who cared nothing for statutes sometimes dabbled in it—but most of them ended with a noose around their necks on the gallows.
"In the past, the Avarizia royal family tried to seize the power of God's Nail by offering countless lives and souls as sacrifices. After a long civil war they were driven out, but I suspect their bloodline has continued to this day."
"What does that story have to do with the present situation?"
The claim that things might not be so dire, and the tale of the Avarizia royals attempting to steal the power of God's Nail through black magic—there seemed little connection between the two.
"And the blood they must offer as sacrifice includes the blood of the royal house itself."
"…!!"
At Andrea's next words, both of them caught their breath.
"The only confirmed descendant of the Avarizia line still living is Marcello. Unless he offers himself as the sacrifice, there is no way to break the seal."
"…"
The reason Andrea still appeared so composed was clearly his conviction that Marcello would never sacrifice himself. Looking at it that way, it made perfect sense. A man who claimed to seek the restoration of the monarchy would cut off the royal line entirely if he offered himself—so Andrea's reasoning held solid ground.
Except for the one fact he did not know.
"Hm? What's wrong? You both look unwell."
"We need to go there at once."
Andrea tilted his head at Milia as she rose from her seat with a deathly pale face. Just as she began to move toward the door—
From the window behind them, a bone-chilling crimson light came pouring in.