129. Found It!
After descending to Alein.
Berge had laid eyes on that red-bladed sword exactly once.
Right before his death, beyond rarity.
It had been red like black blood piercing his heart, its heat scorching beyond measure.
Since his regression, he'd been investigating whether anyone among the heroes wielded such a red sword, but nothing had turned up.
And yet it had been in the Empire all along?
'Plausible.'
The root cause that had driven Berge to his death back then was the kidnapping of the crown prince.
If the enraged Empire had selected an outstanding hero and bestowed upon them the Empire's sword?
Everything fell into place.
'No, that doesn't mean I can be certain.'
It was just a hypothesis, after all.
'I need to confirm it. If that sword is the sword, it'll be a crucial clue to getting one step closer to that hero bastard.'
The enemy who had mocked Berge and pierced his heart.
"The blade is red?"
"Indeed."
"Shouldn't the Empire's symbol be gold?"
"Do you know the Empire's history?"
"Do I need to?"
"When the Empire was founded..."
"Get to the point."
"There were originally five, but after losses, only the Crimson Dragon Sword remains."
Thus, the sole symbol.
"And you're boldly offering that to me? You, who aspire to be emperor."
"A symbol is just a symbol. Vital as the Crimson Dragon Sword may be, it's preferable to death—or becoming your direct puppet. In the end, it's merely an object."
Hmm.
It didn't feel like that was the whole story. But between Martin, who flatly refused subordination even unto death, and Berge, who desperately needed to ally with him, it was at least a reasonable compromise.
But the fundamental issue remained unresolved.
"I can't trust you. How do I know you won't promise the Crimson Dragon Sword and just bolt? A guy who'd rather die than become my subordinate."
"I understand. Nor can I trust you."
"If you want to live—if you want your sister safe."
Produce something I can accept.
"..."
Martin fell silent for a moment.
He'd spoken with Kaede, but his intel on the Demon King was fragmentary. He had no certainty about what the Demon King wanted or what he himself could offer.
Nor what would minimize his own losses.
"Allow me to ask in turn. What do you want?"
"I asked first."
"..."
Martin bit his thumb wordlessly. A droplet of blood fell onto the ring on his left hand.
The ring pulsed, opening a small subspace. He reached in and withdrew a single plaque.
"This is a pass granting access to the Empire's secret vault. Forged from solid orichalcum, inscribed with enchantments and circuits by a grand mage."
Berge took the plaque. Complex magical formulas made his eyes swim.
"There were only five made long ago, when the vault was created. For centuries, neither more nor fewer. It is, in itself, an emblem and symbol of the Empire. Among the imperial family, only my two elder brothers, my elder sister, and I possess one. Lose it, and I become a traitor."
He wouldn't truly become a traitor. But his honor would plummet. His reputation would tank, and the disappointed emperor could strip away the privileges he'd granted.
In short, total elimination from the line of succession.
"Just for this?"
"Far from 'just.' It's a symbol handed down through generations of imperial kin."
The vault held everything of the Empire. Thus, only the emperor or those close to him could hold its key.
It wasn't strange that, over time, this key had become a mark bestowed upon imperial heirs with viable claims to the throne—a token of succession intent.
Berge glanced at Kaede.
"It's true. That's how significant it is. If word spreads that my brother betrayed the Demon King and lost the pass to him as a precaution, it'd brand him incompetent and strip him of everything."
"And if I spread the rumor?"
"Same result."
Hmm.
Kaede didn't lie. It aligned with her nature, but Berge could trust it even more because Armani's Orb let him check her physical state.
'So it's a key that could drag the Third Prince to ruin.'
A collar of sorts.
"...Fine. But."
"But?"
"Hand over your blood too. Who do you think you're fooling?"
Even now, the plaque in his hand resisted him. Berge pierced the formula with his gaze. It wouldn't activate without the inscribed owner's blood.
In other words, without the Third Prince's blood, it was just a symbolic trinket.
Even if everything the Third Prince said was true, Berge needed a way to use it himself in contingencies.
"...Understood."
The Third Prince pulled an empty glass vial from his subspace and filled it with his blood, handing it to Berge.
"One last question, if I may?"
"As commemoration of our partnership, ask away."
"You've resembled him so much it's been itching at me, but do you know a man named Pale?"
The Demon King's face twisted.
"Do you know a certain Valkasis?"
"No. Who's that?"
"A demon from Ma-gye."
"How would I..."
"Then why the hell should I know some human?"
"...Understood."
And so the deal was struck.
* * *
'I'll live.'
Martin Jespain wanted to live.
He wanted to become emperor.
Not to die lonely in the snow-blanketed mountains, but to rule the Empire as its emperor, commanding the world.
But his chances were slim. The First Prince, Second Prince, and First Princess—all surpassed him. The mountains to climb were too high, too treacherous.
So he'd braved the danger and come to Erjest. To rack up achievements and turn the tide.
He'd failed and ended up like this, but his ambition hadn't waned a bit.
"I don't want my brother to die."
"Kaede."
Kaede had told him to use the Demon King.
That he would surely prove helpful.
Her earnest plea had only fueled his desire, leading him to accept.
All but one condition: becoming the Demon King's subordinate.
'A puppet emperor? Is that truly an emperor?'
An emperor was supreme. Ruler over all under heaven. For such a figure to be a mere Demon King's marionette?
Better death than that. He'd refused—and fortunately, found compromise.
'The Crimson Dragon Sword, Barstain.'
Not a word of his had been false.
Its red blade.
Symbolizing the emperor, the imperial house, the Empire.
Its absence tarnishing legitimacy.
Sleeping in the imperial treasury.
He had access rights, could bring a guard knight to the entrance.
He'd simply omitted that the treasury—designed and built by humanity's first and last grand mage with nine engravings—had been steadily reinforced ever since.
And that the Demon King safely claiming the Crimson Dragon Sword was nigh impossible.
In the end, the Demon King would fail. But Martin would have kept his word, providing a basis to continue their alliance.
'Cooperation with the Flame Demon King could boost my reputation.'
Humans and demons were enemies.
But as enemies, they had things to offer each other.
A secret honeymoon with the Demon King would be a tremendous boon—if undiscovered.
The backlash if exposed would be massive, but avoidance solved that.
"Then release me now."
Martin steeled his expression.
* * *
"I'll go search for His Highness the Prince."
"Lord Daphne?"
"Yes. He can't have gone far. I can catch up easily. But moving as a group draws monster attention and slows us. I'm best suited to retrieve him alone."
The foe was at least a high demon. Only Daphne could pursue the escapee and rescue the prince solo.
"No one is faster than me. Nor as skilled at tracking and pursuit."
No one could deny it. Jaximus, interim leader of the Blue Wyvern Knights after the prince's abduction, nodded in agreement.
Belloph did too. Opposing now would surely provoke the Empire, prince's rescue aside.
"Please bring His Highness back."
"I'll do my utmost."
Daphne slipped away from the search party.
'Find him.'
He'd sworn to rescue Martin, but truthfully, he didn't value the prince much. The prince himself.
'The prince was kidnapped. In other words, that demon must take the Third Prince to the tower.'
So pursuing that demon...
Leads to the tower.
Simple logic.
'Find it. This time, definitely find it.'
Two failures were unacceptable.
His gaze tracked the demon's traces.
* * *
After Daphne vanished, the search party reoriented.
The Empire sought the prince; the kingdom, the tower.
Their goals converged, and Belloph couldn't miss this chance.
'Another failure, and the Flame Demon Tower might elude us forever.'
With the Empire fully committed, now was the moment. The Third Prince was taken, but their forces remained largely intact. Find the tower, and all resolved.
No matter the cost, they had to find it.
Then Jaximus tossed out a tantalizing lead.
"Your Highness. Lord Hillun found Princess Kaede's necklace. Shall we head there first?"
"Necklace?"
Belloph brightened at the news. A necklace found there had to be en route to the tower.
"...I'll guide you."
Hillun led them without hesitation—straight away from the tower.
* * *
"Demon King. They're heading northwest."
"Hillun's doing well."
He'd fed them the necklace clue, ensuring Hillun's involvement. Thus, if they asked him for directions, he'd been instructed to point the opposite way.
Toward the deep heart, teeming with fiercer monsters.
With solid forces including Hillun, total annihilation unlikely—but they'd suffer plenty.
"Krutoo, take Roger and Kaede first. Haul the mana cannons back to the tower, then immediately harass the other two kingdoms."
"Yes."
This search wasn't just Corzen's. Dormut and Horton had allied with the Empire, scaling Erjest too.
He'd poured everything into blocking nearby Corzen, but with some breathing room now, time to check the other two.
"Especially Horton—Jessica Horton herself leads them. You head there, but don't underestimate."
"I'll keep it in mind."
He'd had no intel on Horton or Dormut's compositions. But kidnapping Martin had yielded this valuable info.
"Ernan. You're with me."
"Following the search party?"
"The situation isn't over."
He'd merely blunted their momentum; nothing was conclusively ended.
The avalanche, mana cannons, and monsters had wreaked havoc, but actual damage was lighter than expected.
Proof of their high caliber.
"No letting our guard down until they descend the mountains."
Alein had taught him: relax, and the blow lands on your nape.
Like when he'd kidnapped Ernan and gloated over the Thirteenth Princess too—
Or returned to the workshop for Mana's Phantom after grabbing Roger, or obtained the phoenix corpse.
Problems always followed, forcing frantic fixes.
No repeating mistakes.
And right now, the top threat was one.
'The Third Prince fails to link up, encounters monsters, and dies screaming. That we must prevent.'
A kidnapped prince's corpse rolling in the snow? Irreversible.
It'd force either the Empire's all-out war or Berge's death to end it.
"Demon King, here."
"Hurry."
Krutoo brought a massive frost wolf. Ernan mounted, patting the rear seat.
"...Hard to tell who's the Demon King anymore."
He should've set boundaries early.
From asking her to block heroes personally, he'd known the buttons were off.
* * *
"..."
Daphne Philian slowed deliberately. He held his breath, crouching low.
Blending fully into the pristine snow, he peered out.
Below, shambling monsters.
Frost Orcs. Hundreds of orcs, each shouldering something.
'What's that?'
He infused mana into his eyes, zooming vision.
'Mana cannons?'
The massive barrels—no mistake, mana cannons.
'Orcs handling mana cannons?'
Absurd.
He could scarcely believe his own eyes.
'Demons have intelligence too. But I've never seen a Demon King use mana cannons.'
Mana cannons were dwarven magitech masterpieces. Demons excelled in magic, but not engineering.
'Then...'
Someone aiding demons in crafting mana cannons?
No other conclusion.
'What mad bastard...!'
Hundreds of them. Not made overnight—ongoing support.
'Mana cannons are key strategic weapons. Only the Dwarf Kingdom, Empire, and Akan Kingdom produce them properly.'
Even Jespain and Akan's paled against dwarven quality.
'Not the Dwarf Kingdom. They pour their souls into mana cannons—no exports.'
Impossible for any to slip out.
'Empire or Akan, then...'
Geographically, Akan closer. And.
'Those are definitely the ones that fired on us earlier.'
Shattering ice walls, shredding camps. He'd thought flame magic—mana cannons? Mind-blowing.
But would the Empire, no fools, supply weapons to use against themselves?
'Unlikely... but not impossible...'
Akan more suspect, but Empire's throne strife raged.
If a rival prince, irked by the Third's fame grab, schemed his elimination?
'No, even then...'
Then, a demon urging the orc rear turned. Daphne ducked hastily.
'Close call.'
Lost in thought, his presence had slipped. Daphne shelved worries for now.
'Can't miss this chance. First and last.'
One thing certain: whoever supplied the cannons, tailing them led to the Flame Demon Tower.
'But that front figure doesn't look like an orc.'
Too distant to confirm.
Daphne resumed tracking.
* * *
"...What?"
Berge eyed Ernan. She shook her head.
"Wasn't there."
Right. They'd followed the Third Prince and his guard's tracks in the snowy mountains—no Daphne traces anywhere.
A thick premonition chilled him.
Hillun had directed the search party elsewhere.
The Third Prince and guard chased search party signs.
Berge and Ernan guarded the Third Prince nearby.
All three groups naturally veered away from the tower.
But if Daphne Philian had correctly oriented toward the tower?
And they hadn't noticed?
'No way...'
And if.
Really if.
"...What if he spotted the orcs moving the mana cannons?"
"...No way."
Mana cannons were heavy. Orcs wouldn't struggle much, but the weight left deep tracks.
Traces Daphne Philian could easily spot and follow.
If Daphne tailed the orcs.
If so.
How many days since the operation?
Four? Five?
At Frost Orc pace, ample to reach the tower.
"Why speak now?!"
Berge's eyes blazed. His fist trembled.
If Hillun Kargil were here, he'd grind his face to paste.
Hillun protested innocence, but it fell on deaf ears.
"The Third Prince and his guard are near your camp. Bring them."
He cut the link unilaterally.
"Let's go."
"To the tower?"
"Yeah."
He gripped the wolf's reins. It wheeled, bolting fast.
Even that felt agonizingly slow to Berge. He scooped up Ernan. She instinctively clung, startled.
"Hold tight."
"Huh?"
Riiip—
His back tore open.
Black wings unfurled into the world.
"...Dragon?"
Ernan's murmur cut short. They were gone.
Echoes filled the empty space.
* * *
"Found it...!"
Found it!
Finally, that damned tower!
"I found it!"
< 129. Found It! > End