Chapter 202 : The Annihilation of House Berg (1)
The Halo began to spin, emitting a soft light.
Purification.
The act of returning a spiritual entity to the Goddess’s embrace.
And right now, that very act was unfolding in the palm of my hand.
Fissures began to trace their way across the stone. Demonic energy bled from the cracks, only to be cleansed by the Halo’s light.
—Thank you. At last, I can see my father.
The Third Prince’s androgynous voice grew younger, settling into that of a boy in his early teens, echoing in my mind.
—I have passed my power to the daughter of Praha. Be careful she is not consumed by its malice.
With those final words, the Third Prince fell silent.
CRACK!
The stone split in two, its power completely extinguished.
“...Is it over?” Lancelot asked, approaching me.
I steadied my breath and willed the Halo to disappear. “Yes, it’s over.”
“Aww... that’s a shame. I was starting to get a little attached.”
“He has gone to the Goddess’s embrace. It will be better for him than this place.”
“...Do you believe in the Holy Order too, Captain?”
“...Who knows.”
A dry laugh escaped me as my words trailed off.
“I don’t know either.”
If he were asking if I believed in the Goddess as an article of faith, the answer was no. I wasn’t weak enough to put my faith in anyone else, and besides, I knew nothing of their doctrines.
But if he were asking if the Goddess existed...
I suppose I have to say she exists.
Hadn’t I seen her myself?
The girl I’d found in that dream—no, in that state of consciousness—was undoubtedly Anatrasha, the Goddess of Beginnings.
“I don’t believe, but I’ll say I do in front of Mihaila.”
I offered a small smile and turned to leave.
The war in the North was finally drawing to a close.
* * *
Meanwhile, at that very moment.
Hera entered the marquis’s study, holding her breath.
“...Hah.”
The marquis was currently away from the manor on her father’s orders. There would never be a better chance to search his room.
The study door groaned open on old hinges.
A familiar scene. It was the same ordinary study she was always summoned to.
However…
Hera walked forward without a word.
Deeper into the study.
To a space concealed by a massive curtain.
Fwish!
Hera ripped the curtain aside, revealing a safe large enough for a person to fit inside.
“...Found it,” Hera muttered.
She had come to the study for one reason: to retrieve the “ring engraved with a flower petal,” as her father had commanded.
She didn’t know what kind of ring it was.
She was simply fetching it because she was told to.
“...For now, I’ll move as you wish, Father,” Hera hissed, clenching her fist.
Madness and murder glinted in her eyes.
She was the very image of a vicious, spiteful villainess.
Duke Artezia and Louis Berg, the ones who had ruined her life.
If she was to murder those two men, she first needed to bide her time and quietly build her strength.
Hera’s eyes flashed as she moved away from the wall and reached for the safe.
Click. Clack.
As she turned the handle, the heavy door began to move with a groan.
The safe was open.
“Just as she said.”
A grin finally spread across Hera’s face.
The woman who had given her hope, who had restored her sanity.
The mysterious woman had appeared one day out of nowhere. With a snap of her fingers, she had healed Hera’s mind.
“You want revenge, don’t you? Make a contract with me. I’ll give you the power to get it.”
She had urged the contract in a bewitching voice. And Hera, mesmerized, had nodded.
That was all it took.
“The contract is complete. From now on, follow their orders and watch for your chance. When the time is right, you’ll know exactly how to use the power I’ve given you.”
The contract was sealed in an instant, and the woman vanished without a trace.
Like a midnight dream.
At first, Hera had thought it was all a dream. A woman appearing in a windowless, solitary cell? It was impossible.
But her restored sanity insisted that it had all been real.
“I was half in doubt, but this...”
The combination for the safe was exactly what the woman had told her. If this were true, then everything else she’d said was likely true as well.
Which meant she would have her chance at revenge.
“Hah... Just you wait.”
A crazed laugh burst from her lips.
She would tear them both to shreds. Rip them limb from limb and scatter the pieces across the continent. She would mince their flesh so finely that not even a gravestone could be made for them.
“I’ll kill you all.”
Hera stepped inside the safe with gleaming eyes.
And then.
“Found it~!”
A smile was etched onto Hera’s lips.
There it was, the ring her father had ordered her to find.
The ring engraved with a flower petal.
* * *
At the Duchy of Artezia.
“Your daughter wanted me to tell you she found it,” the Veilwarden of Death Veil mumbled, her mouth full of food.
Duke Artezia shot to his feet in silent excitement.
There was only one thing Hera could have found.
The ring engraved with a flower petal.
The ring he had been searching for so desperately had finally appeared.
Duke Artezia’s eyes blazed as he seized the Veilwarden’s shoulder.
“Is it true?!”
“Eh...?”
“I asked if what you said is true!”
“Uh... how should I know?” the Veilwarden blinked, swallowing her food.
“But from the look on her face, it seemed to be the truth...?” she added, tilting her head.
The Duke burst into a manic laugh, his mouth splitting into a wide grin.
“Pft... hah... Ahahaha!”
Finally! He had finally found it!
The keepsake she had left behind had finally surfaced.
“Go to Hera at once and tell her. If she brings it to me, I will free her from the marquis.”
“...Now?”
“What, you don’t want to go?” Duke Artezia asked, his eyes flashing with a menacing light. A tremendous wave of demonic energy rolled off him, making the air tremble.
Faced with the Duke’s sudden shift in demeanor, the Veilwarden sighed and rose from her seat.
“...Even dogs are left alone when they’re eating, you know. But fine. I’ll go.”
The Veilwarden shoved the remaining food from her plate into her mouth and forced it down her throat. Then, grumbling, she melted into the shadows.
<Aspect of Slaughter - Moonshadow>
In an instant, the Veilwarden’s presence vanished.
The Duke’s lips curled into a smile.
“...At last, you come to me.”
It was a vile smile, yet for some reason, his expression held a trace of sorrow.
* * *
Meanwhile, at that very moment.
A great feast was underway in the Praha Duchy of the North.
The war wasn’t over, but a long and arduous battle had ended in victory. Moreover, they had even vanquished the Demonkin who had killed the Emperor.
Surely, the end of the war was not far off.
“Khahaha! Drink up!”
“You got it!”
Soldiers and knights gathered together, raising their cups.
Amidst the celebration, I lit a cigarette and looked down upon the battlefield.
I stood on a hill overlooking the barracks where the feast was being held. From this vantage point, I could see both the camp and the battlefield at once.
“...So many died.”
Two of the Twelve Nobles had appeared in the North. Each one was a walking catastrophe, and two had come at once.
As a result, the North would be unable to rebuild its infrastructure for some time.
Resources. Manpower. Even food.
Everything was in short supply.
“Hahh…”
War grinds a person down.
Victory was not sweet, and survival did not bring happiness.
The loser and the victor, both are left miserable.
Is that not the true face of war?
“And they know it, too.”
My gaze shifted to the men laughing and shouting below.
They knew. Their hearts were in agony, and the loss of their comrades and families was wearing down their minds.
But they could laugh for one simple reason.
Because this is how they survive. Because they know that weeping will accomplish nothing.
They had learned it firsthand, with their own bodies. They knew that even if it was an act, it was the only way to save one more person in the next battle.
To save one more comrade.
To save one more family member.
They knew they had to put on this act now.
“...What a goddamned mess.”
I clicked my tongue softly and ground the cigarette out on the ground. The acrid smoke dissipated.
Just as I was about to leave, a familiar voice spoke from behind me.
“You seem to have a lot on your mind.”
“...You’re here.”
“How are you feeling?”
My fiancée, Lea.
She sat down beside me as she asked. Now that I thought about it, we hadn’t had a proper conversation in some time.
“I’m fine. And you?”
“Me? I’m perfectly fine. Thanks to the ring you gave me, I think I feel even healthier than before,” Lea said with a gentle smile, holding out her hand.
A small stone was set in the ring on her finger.
A contingency left by the Third Prince. An artifact containing a fraction of the power of the Marquis of Envy.
The moment the Third Prince vanished, I had given the artifact to Lea. She had accepted it, deeply moved.
“To think this is an artifact... It’s amazing. But are we really allowed to use this?”
“His Highness the Third Prince gave it to us, so it should be fine. If worst comes to worst, we can always seize the throne ourselves.”
A small laugh escaped me.
At my playful remark, Lea’s eyes went wide.
“Are you crazy?! What if someone hears you?!”
She quickly covered my mouth with her hand.
I could feel the warmth of her skin.
“No one heard, did they?” Lea whispered, glancing around nervously.
I watched her, the corners of my mouth twitching.
It was a feeling I had continued to deny, but now I knew.
I was in love with her.
I reached up and gently pulled her hand away from my mouth. Then, looking her straight in the eye, I spoke.
“...When this is all over, I will tell you everything.”
“Pardon?” Lea asked, a bewildered look on her face.
But I continued, undeterred.
“So, will you wait for me until then?”
Lea’s eyes darted back and forth, trying to discern the meaning behind my words.
But soon, as if deciding it didn’t matter, she smiled faintly and nodded.
“I don’t know what this is all about... but yes, I’ll wait. Whatever it is, I’m sure you have your reasons.”
“...Thank you.”
“If you’re thankful, then come down from here. Father has been looking for you for a while now.”
Lea stood up, her smile remaining. Her hand was holding the sleeve of my coat.
“...Alright.”
I rose to my feet and took her hand in mine.
A cold wind blew.
In the midst of the biting gale, all I could feel was Lea’s warmth.
A moment later.
“Sir... Sir Louis!”
A messenger, having navigated the northern mountain range, shouted for me.
“House Berg... has been annihilated!”
And so.
My worst nightmare began to repeat itself.