Chapter 216 : Meryl, the Second Daughter of Praha (9)
A calamity had been unleashed.
The news washed over the continent like a tide of despair. Enoxia, once humanity’s greatest bulwark, had gone berserk. Faced with a truth so bleak, people fell to their knees, crying out to gods who seemed to have forsaken them.
The sentiment was no different among the forces of Artezia.
“…Gods above.”
Once they were clear of Enoxia’s destructive range, the survivors finally allowed themselves to breathe.
They could not comprehend how she was a fellow human being.
“That power… it was more Demonkin than human,” one of the Aura Masters muttered, wiping a sheen of cold sweat from his brow. “The Abyssal Realm, they call it? A far better name for a cataclysm like that.”
It was a disaster on a scale humanity could never hope to withstand. A power none of them could wield, even with the Aspects they’d claimed from the Demonkin.
For a mere human to command the Abyssal Realm…
It was a sight he prayed he would never witness again. Their only consolation was the prize they had secured: the Educator was in their custody.
“You seem pleased with yourself,” a voice purred, dripping with cynicism.
The Aura Master turned to see the Veilwarden, a faint, cruel smile playing on her lips.
“Is that your attempt at conversation, knight?” she continued, her voice a low threat. “Keep your tongue behind your teeth unless you want me to remove it.”
This bitch, the man, the elder of the twin Aura Masters, cursed inwardly.
He forced a strained smile. “My apologies…”
What else could he do? He was a Master, but she was a Thief Master who had claimed an Aspect. In raw power, it was no exaggeration to say she stood on par with a Grand Master.
The others were the same. The Ogre Chieftain had gained the Aspect of Wrath; the Veilwarden, the Aspect of Slaughter; his own brother, the Aspect of Envy.
Only he and the paladin had been passed over. And the paladin was already promised the Aspect of Benevolence.
In the end, he was the only one left with nothing.
He bit his lip until he tasted blood.
Duke… why do you test me this way?
His body trembled with a rage he could barely contain.
“…The mission is complete,” the Ogre Chieftain, their de facto leader, rumbled. His deep voice carried an urgency to be gone from this cursed place. “We’re returning.”
At his command, the Duke of Artezia’s forces began their withdrawal.
The elder twin was no exception. He ruthlessly suppressed the resentment churning in his gut and turned to leave, vowing that one day, his blade would find that assassin’s throat.
* * *
At that very moment, the Demonkin high command watched the cataclysm unfolding in the trading kingdom of Diva with something akin to reverence.
“And that… is a human?”
“Indeed.”
“That?” Demon Prince Khan scoffed, looking down on the distant chaos from his perch high in the air. “Did the definition of ‘human’ change while I was sleeping?”
Humans. A weak, foolish race. That had always been his perception of them—prey to be toyed with and discarded.
But this woman was different. Her very existence was a manifestation of the Abyssal Realm.
“If I’d known she could do this, I might have played with her a little more seriously,” he mused, stroking the monstrous creature beside him.
“Grrrrr…”
Back when she still possessed her human consciousness, she had been pathetically weak. A creature he could have killed with a flick of his wrist, whose mind he could have shattered with a single word.
He’d left her for dead without a second thought.
A pity. He would have brought her along for the fun.
“Crio, how many more humans like that are there?”
“…Such humans are rare, Your Highness. Grand Masters have always been anomalies in human history.”
“Is that a yes or a no? Give me a clear answer.”
“…There is one,” Crio said, his head bowed low. The easy familiarity he sometimes affected was gone, replaced by the deference of a subordinate before his prince. “One other human who approaches that monster’s level of power.”
“Another one?” A bright, predatory smile spread across Khan’s face. He hadn’t expected this. It was like discovering a diamond in a mountain of dust. “Where is he?”
“In the Empire, Your Highness. I believe he is in the northern region.”
“The north… near that Demonic Realm where you lot were hiding?”
“Yes.”
Hmm…
Demon Prince Khan considered this for a moment before his smile widened into a grin. With a lazy push, he began to descend from the sky.
“Take me to him,” he said to Crio, his voice alight with wicked glee.
The great nightmares of the First Great War were baring their fangs at humanity once more.
* * *
Daily life in the Imperial Palace was monotonous. I trained, I ate.
The food was abysmal for a palace, but with a war on and citizens starving outside the walls, it was to be expected. Any funds for luxuries were better spent on military rations or, failing that, distributed as bread to shore up public support.
Not that I cared about the quality of my meals.
“More Mindscape training today, sir?” Lancelot asked as I entered the training grounds.
He was wiping sweat from his bare torso. Despite the looming threat, the palace knights remained engrossed in their drills. In the North, we would have been on a constant war footing.
I don’t know what the First Prince is thinking.
Whatever his plans, he would be sending me to the front lines soon enough. That much was certain.
“Mastery of the Mindscape will be the key to this war,” I said, tossing a dry towel to Lancelot.
“Oh? Thanks.” He caught it and began drying his hair. “Still, for someone who begged for our help, he’s been quiet on the orders. Does he just want us to defend the capital?”
“Unlikely. The First Prince likely assumes they’ll strike at the capital directly.”
“Hmm… I suppose what those Artezia bastards want isn’t to burn the continent, just to reclaim the throne.” Lancelot nodded, accepting the logic.
But I couldn’t shake a rising sense of doubt.
Is that really all it is?
Before my regression, their goal had indeed been the throne. They had sacrificed countless lives to crown themselves emperor.
But their current actions felt… wrong. Declaring war now, with the Demonkin already on the move?
Of course, it would allow them to crush the Empire’s divided military. Not even this great an empire could fight a war on two fronts.
But a truly devastating blow would have been to wait, to strike from the shadows when the Empire was at its absolute weakest, after the war with the Demonkin had bled it dry.
And they haven’t secured the support of the people.
Historically, a successful rebellion was built on popular support. Otherwise, new rebellions would rise from the ashes of the old, draining precious military resources.
Yet Duke Artezia had declared war immediately, as if such considerations were beneath him. It was a suicidal gambit, pitting himself against the Empire, the Demonkin, and any other faction that might rise from the chaos all at once.
No. This felt less like a plan and more like a desire to watch the world burn.
…There’s another reason.
It was possible, of course, that Duke Artezia was simply a fool. But the man I remembered, while undeniably evil, was no fool.
“Tsk. I’ll have to look into this.”
“Sir? Look into what?”
“Just a loose thread. Go wash up. Cleanliness is a virtue.”
I turned from Lancelot, leaving the jab to hang in the air, and focused on the day’s true question.
Just how far could the Mindscape be amplified?
* * *
Days passed in a tense quiet.
Then, the long-awaited news finally broke.
“The rebel army is marching on the capital!” a messenger screamed, stumbling into the throne room.
He must have ridden without rest; he reeked of sweat and fear.
“…So, they have finally come.”
The First Prince heard the report, let out a quiet sigh, and turned his gaze to me.
“…May I ask this of you?”
“Of course.”
“…Thank you. I will ensure you are compensated handsomely.”
“My father would appreciate it if you sent the coin his way.”
He managed a weak smile at my reply and nodded. “As you wish.”
I took my leave and returned to my quarters. If the messenger had arrived in that state, the enemy would be upon us before long. We had to move quickly.
“Oh? Are we finally heading out?” Lancelot asked as I entered.
“Yes. Tell the unit to prepare.”
“Hah! About time. Let’s crush these rebel bastards and get back to the North.”
His words felt like a bad omen, but I let it slide.
“…Young Master, are we the only ones going?” Kai asked, his expression serious.
“Other knights will follow. This is a full-scale engagement. All but a skeleton crew will be deployed. But we will be acting as a special task force.”
At that, the unit’s members exchanged curious glances.
“…We’ll be moving separately?”
“Yes,” I said, my eyes glinting. “Our unit will take several battalions and strike the rear of the rebel army.”
A feint. No, this was a classic hammer and anvil. The knights holding the front would be the anvil.
“And we are the hammer.”