Chapter 51. Vanished Hope
Chapter 51. Vanished Hope
The Kingdom of Arhen.
A nation that historically stood at the vanguard of the Human Alliance against the Demon King's Army.
That role held true in this generation as well, and the one who had inherited that heavy responsibility in the present era was the young king who had ascended the throne just a year prior.
"Berdia, Shield of the War God Valkarian, seeks an audience with His Majesty the King."
A lavishly attired man with striking blond hair and a distinctive tear mole sat upon the throne.
Facing Arhen Alensia, the king of the Arhen Kingdom, the heavily armored warrior woman knelt before him and began to pay her respects.
The dignity radiating from her resolute and lofty bearing was, in itself, more than worthy of the title of great heroine. A priestess and warrior serving the War God, she was one of Arhen's most cherished vassals.
"Yes, Berdia. I, too, am very glad to see you after so long. If only I could have you call me 'Lord Alensia' in that warm voice you used in the old days..."
"How could a vassal address her sovereign in such a manner? I understand your longing for those days, but Your Majesty is now the one who leads this nation. I humbly advise you to maintain a presence that is not unworthy of that throne."
Berdia remained firm despite Arhen's wistfulness. For the man who had once been a prince, it was a source of regret, but from the king's perspective, her steadfastness was the very picture of trustworthiness.
That very attitude must have served as an example to countless soldiers as she traversed the most brutal parts of the battlefield.
"Indeed, we both have our positions that prevent us from being lost in nostalgia and simple pleasantries..."
Arhen, gazing at her with satisfaction, shook off his regret and quietly closed his eyes, flicking a finger. Only then did a nearby attendant waiting on standby bring the prepared documents to him.
"Very well. Let us put aside trivial chatter and get to the main point. That is... the story of the 'Great Forest Defense Battle,' in which you participated alongside the Hero you have been assigned to guide."
Arhen held the documents out toward Berdia without having read them.
"I have already received the general report. The Demon King's Army attacked the elven stronghold in the Great Forest, the defense battle was concluded successfully, and the army of Balmash, an officer of the Demon King's Army and king of the orcs, was routed and fled the battlefield... This news has spread across human territory and is boosting the morale of the alliance."
For the leader of the Human Alliance, it was a more than welcome result.
Even in this moment, the tidings of their victory were spreading far and wide, and all members of the alliance were praising the victory of the war she had led.
"However, in the end, this is merely the superficial account to be announced to the public."
Arhen tore the report bearing such glory straight in two. The attending vassals were flustered by his sudden action, but Arhen paid no mind to the torn document and merely rested his chin on his hand, impassive.
"Everyone except Darkan, leave us. The story from this point on is a strict state secret."
"...Understood."
The vassals hesitated a moment, but firmly shut their mouths and filed out of the room one by one. The only one who remained was a silent woman leaning against the wall near the entrance of the audience chamber.
Unlike the heavily armored Berdia, she was a woman with a slender sword, dressed in light armor that revealed the curves of her body. Her face was invisible because she wore a helmet, but Berdia could sense that the woman was staring her down.
Was it a competitive spirit between fellow members of the Ten Greats, or was she simply wary of Berdia out of loyalty to her position as Arhen's knight guard?
"Berdia, could you tell me the truth of what happened there, from your own lips?"
Whatever the reason, her loyalty to Arhen was genuine, leaving no cause for hostility. Berdia soon continued her conversation with Arhen, Darkan's gaze fixed on her back.
"Are you certain you wish to hear this?"
"As for the news to give the public, it should suffice that our Human Alliance drove out the orcs... However, as I am a leader, to make proper judgments, I must be exposed to the whole truth, mustn't I?"
To lead the masses, concealment or exaggeration is sometimes necessary.
Even if the current report contained no falsehoods, there were surely many hidden details that could not be revealed to the public.
"You have always traversed the most dangerous places on the battlefield, so you must have witnessed things that even the soldiers who fought alongside you did not know."
And a king always desires the truth.
No matter how unfavorable the testimony might be for the collective. If he listens only to good news, his retainers will become corrupt, and the country's foundation will gradually rot and crumble, leading to total collapse.
"What did you see there?"
"......."
A moment of heavy silence.
Berdia, hesitating to answer, exhaled deeply and forced open her tightening throat.
"It was the sight of the Orc King, Balmash, charging at another officer of the Demon King's Army who was attempting to burn the World Tree."
—Flinch.
Arhen, who had been listening to the report with composure, felt his body tremble, and his gaze shot toward Darkan, who waited at the entrance.
The knight guard still stood there loftily, arms crossed.
But the gaze that should have been directed at Berdia was now fixed on him.
It meant she was also considerably shocked.
A warrior considered to surpass even fellow members of the Ten Greats like herself or Berdia in single combat had shown open hostility toward an officer belonging to the very same faction.
"...Elves and orcs have maintained a long-standing historical enmity."
Arhen furrowed his brow, trying to quell his confusion.
Soon, he bluntly voiced his doubts to Berdia.
"But the current report could almost be interpreted as the orcs having brought their army to protect the elves."
"No, that is not the case."
Berdia immediately shook her head at Arhen's words.
"In reality, the Orc legion was hostile to both the elves and the Human Alliance. Their objective was simply to stop what the other officer was trying to do... That is our current assessment."
"...I knew that the officers of the Demon King's Army did not view each other favorably, but I never imagined they would engage in such a fight right before the eyes of humanity, outside their own territory."
It was not an entirely impossible occurrence. The Demon King's goal, after all, is to bring about the apocalypse in this world.
In effect, siding with him is no different from condoning that apocalypse, but in truth, not many within the Demon King's Army actually desire the end of the world.
Some join because they harbor hostility toward humanity, others to seize personal gain during the war, or simply because they have nowhere else to go...
Naturally, they often act for their own benefit rather than out of loyalty, and the Demon King's Army is an entity where even allies are easily betrayed if they become an obstacle.
"So you're saying these internal relations have escalated to the point of boiling over right in front of humanity..."
The situation was taking a strange turn from the very first report. Sensing this, Arhen quietly asked Berdia.
"Who was the officer?"
"The Succubus Queen, Garbonia. She infiltrated the Great Forest, ordering the humans she had charmed into a near-suicidal operation to burn the World Tree."
"...Those charmed humans are essentially all dead, then."
"It was unavoidable. This generation's Succubus Queen views people as nothing more than expendable commodities."
Succubi are beings with a unique constitution among the demon races, living by consuming the vitality of other species.
Because of this, some try to form friendly relationships with beings that periodically produce vitality, but this generation's Succubus Queen had a tendency to treat humans with blatant contempt.
She handled human lives carelessly, on the grounds that humans are overflowing, so why bother conserving them.
"Do you know why she tried to burn the World Tree?"
"I do not."
"Then why did Balmash show hostility toward her?"
"That is also unknown. We only became aware of the hostility between the two officers when they clashed before the World Tree, and after that battle ended, both vanished without a trace."
It was disconcerting that there was no information on such an important matter, but it could not be helped.
Unlike the demon races, the Human Alliance is built on solidarity, but this conversely means it is inevitably closed off to those outside the collective.
Only what was superficially revealed during the war could be known.
Infiltration is impossible due to the nature of humans, who stand out starkly from the members of the Demon King's Army, so the critical lack of information about the Demon King's Army was unavoidable.
"To continue with what happened next, we succeeded in protecting the World Tree, and the orcs retreated from the Great Forest the moment the Succubus Queen vanished. Our objective from the start was to defend the Great Forest, so we did not pursue them, but..."
"But?"
"...It was only after they had withdrawn that we discovered one elf had gone missing during the battle."
One elf...
On the whole, it seemed a trivial matter.
Of course, a life is precious, but the battle she had just fought, though small in scale, could rightly be considered part of a war that involved two officers and a member of the Ten Greats of the Continent.
Yet she deliberately emphasized an individual, not the damage to the force.
"If she went missing, she was abducted."
But Arhen did not dismiss it lightly. There was no way her words, always so serious, were without meaning.
"Yes, that is our speculation as well. That either the Succubus Queen or Balmash abducted her and took her away after the battle ended."
She would have met a terrible fate either way—whether she fell into corruption under hypnosis or was reduced to a breeding tool for the orcs.
"Who is this single individual?"
"......."
A heavy silence.
With that, Arhen's expression gradually began to take on a chilling hue.
"...You don't mean..."
"Yes. It is the person you are thinking of right now."
Only then did Berdia remove her helmet and reveal her bare face.
What was exposed was a gaze that radiated charisma and gravity, but the weight within it was incomparably heavier than ever before.
"The elf who has gone missing is Melia. A divine archer who served the Previous Hero a century ago, and who was selected to attend the current Hero in recognition of that achievement... Like myself and Darkan, she is a personage known as one of the Ten Strongest of the Human Alliance."
One of the three pillars meant to uphold hope had vanished during the battle in the Great Forest. The fact of her disappearance would bring about a fatal outcome to the tautly maintained balance of the front lines.