Chapter 112
Chapter 112
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 112
Chapter Title: The Approaching Catastrophe (1)
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The sun vanished.
Light faded, and darkness alone swallowed the sky. Soon after, stars plummeted, and red dots began filling the heavens.
"What the hell is that?!"
Could it be the whims of the gods?
Faced with a sight none had ever witnessed before, people fell into chaos.
Was it the paltriness they felt before the vast forces of nature?
Terror-stricken, they glanced at one another. Then, a long-forgotten fact resurfaced in their minds.
"N-No way!"
The existence of the calamity that had plunged the continent into terror centuries ago.
They realized that the being dismissed as mere legend had returned.
"Everyone, run!"
The fear etched into their memories writhed to life.
Plunged into pandemonium, people shoved one another in their frantic escape.
Adults clutched their children's hands tightly, but the crowd had already tangled into a hellish melee.
In the midst of it all, a child who had lost its mother's hand wept mournfully.
Yet no one paid it any mind. Instead, the clamor of hurried footsteps only drowned out the children's cries.
This wasn't happening in just one city.
Chaos unfolded across the entire Eldorado Continent.
Meanwhile, just before the strange phenomenon occurred.
Princess Irena swiftly completed her ritual as well.
Though she had sacrificed one of her own fingers for it, she felt no regret when she considered the grand undertaking ahead.
Still, the gushing blood needed staunching.
The princess held her hand to the candle flame.
"Ngh...!"
The fire cauterized her wound.
Pain surged through her.
"Haa... haa."
Her breathing grew ragged and uneven.
The brief agony persisted for a moment before the bleeding finally slowed.
Princess Irena quickly wrapped a bandage around her left hand with her other. She then slipped on an oversized glove to conceal it.
At that moment, the space inside the room warped.
"......"
Having experienced it many times before, the princess remained composed.
A short while later, two figures emerged from the distorted space.
One was the shadow serving as Celia's herald.
The other was someone Princess Irena was seeing for the first time.
"Oh, you had a guest."
His overall appearance was clearly that of an adventurer.
Yet his head was hidden beneath an iron helmet.
A leather armor body paired with an iron helm...
Even as a princess, the incongruity struck her.
But knowing he had come to assist her, she held her tongue.
Instead, she promptly checked the note delivered by the shadow.
"Your name is... Maru. Ah, I'll address you as Sir Maru."
The name was written on the note.
It somehow sounded endearing.
It also detailed what abilities Maru possessed.
- Capable of using holy power.
That alone allowed her to guess Celia's plan.
Having met the herald, it was now time for Princess Irena's preparations.
Princess Irena donned silver armor.
A full formal armoring would require her maids' help, but this was merely for show.
Thus, Irena haphazardly slipped into flashy silver plate that was all shine and no substance.
"From this moment, everything I do is for the kingdom."
She murmured to herself just before leaving the room.
With all preparations complete, the princess led Maru out of the room.
"Your Highness, everything is ready!"
Outside, her escort knight Lennon awaited. He reported immediately upon her emergence.
"But who is that...?"
His gaze fell on Maru behind Princess Irena.
To Lennon's question, Irena offered her prepared excuse.
"This is Sir Maru, here to aid us. He's an adventurer now, but he once served as a Holy Knight."
Had it been a mere adventurer, that might have been one thing, but the mention of former Holy Knight made Lennon bow his head.
He had no idea why this man was emerging from the princess's chambers, but now wasn't the time to question it.
A former Holy Knight would certainly prove invaluable for this mission.
With introductions roughly complete, Princess Irena issued her command.
"Sir Lennon, let us go."
Under Lennon's guidance, Princess Irena headed toward where the knight order had assembled.
The knights stood in formation, awaiting the princess's orders.
Among them were five royal mages as well.
The Church was involved in this affair.
They had brought the royal mages along to prepare for any contingencies.
"......"
Princess Irena scanned the knight order once.
As royal knights, their skills were beyond question.
She could sense the resolve in every knight's eyes.
Above all, the royal knight order was the king's direct force.
A unit that pledged loyalty and acted solely for the royal family.
Princess Irena raised her sword high.
"We will surely triumph! I shall never forget your courage and loyalty!"
It was meant to boost the knights' morale before departure.
"Our first destination is Count Beaton's estate. We depart at once."
The target had been decided from the start.
Count Beaton's estate.
Princess Irena mounted the white steed prepared for her.
"Depart!"
With the knight order's shout, they marched out of the palace.
Once outside, the knights surrounded the princess in a protective formation.
She wasn't there for combat, so there was no need for her to take the vanguard.
Aside from the mages and a few knights, the rest proceeded on foot.
'As expected, missing a finger makes this inconvenient.'
For the princess, walking was actually preferable. Without her pinky, mounting and riding proved awkward.
But she had to endure.
For the greater cause, this pain was nothing.
As the procession moved, Lennon approached Maru.
"Sir Maru. You needn't walk like this."
Lennon offered him a mount.
It was a gesture reserved for valuable assets like a former Holy Knight, not some common adventurer.
But Maru declined Lennon's offer.
He had never ridden a horse before.
What if he clumsily embarrassed himself?
It might expose the lie about his Holy Knight past.
He shook his head, signaling refusal.
"Understood. Just say the word, and we'll arrange it."
Lennon bowed and pressed no further.
Instead, his esteem for Maru rose.
'Now that's a true knight.'
He could have taken the easier path on horseback but chose not to.
Lennon was impressed by his silent dedication to duty.
The knight order's march proceeded peacefully.
Everyone simply pressed forward.
Even as they traveled, Princess Irena organized her thoughts.
'A Titan Priest is there, right?'
She had received Celia's messages and updates via the shadows.
Celia had learned of it through the count's head butler.
Thus, the Church delegation clashing with the count currently included the Titan Priest and Captain Gerard.
A heretic inquisitor-turned Titan Priest. And Captain Gerard, the Church's sword leading the Holy Knights.
'We need to hurry.'
She thought it silently, issuing no actual order.
She was already struggling to grip the reins.
Instead, she pondered how to handle the Church delegation upon arrival, maintaining their current pace.
The next steps were crucial.
First, she needed to speak with the Titan Priest and Captain Gerard as the primary hurdles.
As the delegation's true powers, resolving things through them was priority.
Count Beaton's issue was best settled with the count himself.
If the Titan Priest held the royals accountable too, it would spell trouble.
Princess Irena hoped the count would buy them time until arrival.
Even if not, she wasn't overly worried.
She even felt at leisure.
'By now, the vice-captain should be moving separately, right?'
Liana, the Holy Knight Order vice-captain whom Celia had swayed.
Vice-Captain Liana would be raiding noble estates as well.
With skeletons infiltrated into estates of nobles aligned with the noble faction, branding them heretics was simple.
Of course, not every noble estate had such traps laid.
Long tails get stepped on.
The numbers were fewer than those sent to Count Beaton's.
That wasn't all.
Princess Irena had employed the same tactic on some nobles of the royalist faction.
Direct all connections solely at noble-faction nobles?
Someone might grow suspicious.
A cornered rat bites the cat.
Should the truth come out, some might decry it as cruel.
But Irena had resolved herself for the kingdom's rebirth.
Opposing the crown warranted execution for treason from the start.
Look at the noble faction's actions. They mocked the royals openly.
She couldn't help but seethe at their attitude.
They needed to seize this chance to diminish the nobles' power.
Nobles owned estates in the capital separate from their territories.
Land in the capital belonged to the crown and wasn't permitted, but estates were allowed.
The fact unnerved Irena.
Of course, it wasn't strange on its own.
Other kingdoms and empires had nobles with capital estates too.
It was necessary for swift palace entry in emergencies.
But Sail Kingdom's situation differed.
The distance from capital to palace was short.
Should nobles plot rebellion?
Their capital estates would become swords aimed at the royal family.
'This is our chance to cut their power.'
Thinking of the nobles hardened Princess Irena's expression.
Once this affair concluded successfully, a massive purge of nobles would follow.
Their territories would lose owners, most reverting to crown possession.
Or perhaps granted to those who earned merit here.
'This much for now.'
Princess Irena snapped from her reverie and surveyed her surroundings.
Considerable time had passed since leaving the palace.
As distance from the palace grew, the streets' atmosphere shifted.
No longer neatly ordered, they resembled a monster-ravaged wasteland.
"Kyaaak!"
Suddenly, a man screamed from afar as he ran toward them.
The abrupt situation forced the knight order to halt.
"Halt!"
A royal knight shouted at the approaching man.
The princess was in their midst.
For her safety, they needed to know why he rushed here.
"State your identity!"
Even as the knight drew his sword, the man's footsteps didn't slow.
If anything, more people ran up behind him.
All screaming as they charged.
No, it wasn't just charging.
"W-We survived! Knights!"
"Please, save us!"
They were fleeing.
"What in the...?"
Being chased by whom?
Behind the runners, monsters appeared.
A horde of skeletons.
As the fugitives passed the knight order, Lennon shouted.
"All hands, battle stations!"
As the princess's escort with temporary command authority, he could order it.
With the situation clear, every knight drew their sword.
"Knights, hold the monsters at full strength! Mages, provide support from behind!"
Lennon drew his own blade.
"We must protect Her Highness at all costs!"
He didn't know why skeletons infested the capital. But protect Princess Irena they must.
Frontline knights unsheathed swords.
Rear guards nocked arrows and drew bowstrings.
Mages gathered mana, chanting spells.
Moments later, the knight order clashed with the skeleton horde.
"Clack clack clack!"
(Pressing forward!)
The first to invade Sail Kingdom was Necros.
Clutching a thick notebook, he shuffled along slowly.
"......"
Trailing silently behind him were the dullahan 'Berter' and the rest of the skeletons.
Necros's initial allocation had been one dullahan and fifteen skeleton knights. But his current horde far exceeded that.
Thanks to one of his skills, 'Corpse Resurrection'.
While a 4-star lich could merely explode corpses, a 5-star arch lich could raise them as skeletons.
Low-grade skeletons though they were, they excelled at swelling the horde's numbers.
"Clack."
(Humans ahead.)
Just then, more humans came into view.
At Necros's command, the skeletons lunged toward them.
"Kyaaak!"
Total Administrator Celia had said they were saving the kingdom. And spreading the master's will was the ultimate goal.
But the Church had already infiltrated Sail Kingdom.
Avoiding them was impossible.
To confront the Church, their assigned monsters alone fell short.
Thus, Necros killed humans and turned them into skeletons.
His horde grew ceaselessly even now.
And without fail, he recorded every detail in his notebook. Even as a floor guardian, he continued his inspector's duties.
- Necros, saved humans by converting to skeletons. Grounds for commendation.
- Death Knight still unseen. Tardiness is grounds for demerit.
Necros nodded.
He planned to bulk up a bit more before facing the White Church.
That had been the plan.
Boom!
A massive explosion roared.
The vanguard skeletons were caught in the blast and obliterated.
"Clack?"
What was this?
Necros assessed the battlefield.
Knight figures lay ahead.
"Clack!"
And amid them, he spotted Maru.
(This wasn't anticipated.)
Celia had called Maru the key to this operation. Yet they met far too soon.
"Clack clack!"
(All units, withdraw!)
Necros acted swiftly.
Evacuation took priority now.
At his command, the remaining skeletons began retreating.
"Th-There... the Dark Sword's master-"
The dullahan shut its mouth at Necros's glare and fell back.
- Obsessive tendencies toward the dark sword observed. Requires correction.
Even in this tense moment, he didn't cease logging in the notebook.
- Maru, as befits a knight serving the great master, excels at infiltration. Grounds for commendation.
- Death Knight, still absent. Grave disqualification as mid-boss.
As Necros diligently recorded, the sky darkened.
Moments later, red dots filled the heavens.
Necros sensed it.
A feeling akin to when he first became floor guardian.
He even felt the power's origin from the sky.
Necros nodded.
- Death Knight, performing admirably. Grounds for commendation.
"Filthy traitor! So it was you who betrayed humanity!"
The Titan Priest clutched his wound, glaring at Count Beaton.
"No, that's not-"
"No excuses!"
The count tried to speak, but the priest wouldn't allow it.
"Priest! We must withdraw now!"
Captain Gerard urged the Titan Priest from the side. Yet the priest held his ground.
Moments ago, the Church had the advantage.
But now, the situation had drastically shifted.
Most of the Church's Holy Knights lay slaughtered.
The count's knights had suffered similarly.
It began with the banquet hall's lights extinguishing.
Then darkness fell over the sky. Stars plummeted, replaced by countless red dots.
The Titan Priest and Captain Gerard knew full well what omen that was.
No—everyone present knew.
The great catastrophe of old had revived.
But by the time they realized, it was too late.
"Why...!"
The Titan Priest lamented in anguish.
His gaze fell on the figure beside the count.
'Dangerous... Beyond my power to oppose.'
Death emanated from the being standing next to the count.
Its appearance had felled the Holy Knights.
Instant deaths, every one.
"Ngh...!"
Merely beholding it drove him to the brink of madness.
Lose focus here, and death would claim him instantly.
"To think you awakened the catastrophe..."
The 7-star monster that terrorized the Eldorado Continent centuries ago.
The Dark Empress, Salestra.
The being beside the count wasn't her, but it rivaled her—that much was certain.
How had the count known to unleash this?
No amount of pondering yielded answers.
"Goddess...?"
What is to become of your lost lambs?
The priest murmured blankly.
The horrific entity, words failing to capture its terror, wielded a pickaxe.
But that was trivial.
The sword slung across its back.
A chilling power prickled his skin from the blade.
How much blood must it have drunk to exude such dread?
Could the entire Church stand against it?
He shook his head.
No certainty.
Then his eyes turned to the shield in its opposite hand.
A maid outfit, as if for a servant girl, adorned the shield.
"Oh... Goddess...?"
Have you truly forsaken us?
Even now, the Titan Priest fretted over humanity's future.