Chapter 135
Chapter 135
The Howl of the Wolf (4)
It was a gentle destruction. It was a technique I had never once seen in the game. The golden wave swallowed not only the Vice-Commander, but me as well.
“Uh.”
When my vision barely returned, what I saw was a vast expanse of land. As if possessed, I looked around. There was nothing around us.
Only we remained unharmed—while the once-lush forest, the poisonous fog that filled it, and even the monsters had all completely disappeared.
“It doesn’t deal any damage to humans.”
Seeing my dazed expression, the Vice-Commander added an explanation. Still holding her sword, she tended to the Imperial Princess, who was kneeling.
I hurried over to the Imperial Princess as well. Whether she had lost consciousness or not, her body hung limp without the slightest movement.
“Is Her Imperial Highness, the Imperial Princess alright?”
“Yes. She’s just sleeping. Of course, that’s the biggest problem.”
With a lonely expression, the Vice-Commander placed the Imperial Princess’s head on her lap. When she lightly tapped the chest armor, the piece covering her face disappeared.
The Imperial Princess, quietly closing her eyes, looked peaceful.
“Student Davide.”
“Yes, Vice-Commander.”
“What do you plan to do about Her Imperial Highness, the Imperial Princess’s request?”
The Vice-Commander asked as she took out a handkerchief and wiped the Imperial Princess’s face.
“I should go. Isn’t it a summons from Her Imperial Highness, the Imperial Princess?”
“Hehe. That’s right.”
Seemingly pleased with my answer, the Vice-Commander let out a small laugh. I briefly turned my gaze and looked at the wasteland.
I tried to estimate the size of the Poison Swamp. Was it about 40 km? Of course, the entire Poison Swamp hadn’t been destroyed.
The Imperial Princess’s attack had focused on the center. Even if it was only about 10 km, that alone was absurd enough.
“My clothes are fine.”
“It’s because of sweat. Not only humans, but anything that comes from humans takes no damage. Blood or sweat are the same, and even clothes soaked with them are unaffected.”
The Vice-Commander answered my question. So that was how it worked. Just hearing its effects made it seem like an incredible ability.
Of course, it wasn’t something I wanted. Passing out for a month after using it once—at least for me, the risk was far too great.
“Shall we head back?”
“Let’s. We still need to eliminate the remaining poisonous fog.”
I carried the Imperial Princess on my back instead of the Vice-Commander. I left any monsters we might encounter to her, since she could intercept them from a distance.
Perhaps because of the armor, she felt heavier.
“Are you alright?”
“Yes. Hearing that, I think it was the right decision for me to carry her instead of you, Vice-Commander.”
“……That’s something Her Imperial Highness, the Imperial Princess would be pleased to hear.”
***
“Hmm~”
Canis tilted her head repeatedly as she followed behind Black Robe. She simply couldn’t understand his actions.
“Why did we come here~?”
The place Black Robe led Canis to was the chapel of the Anaye Order.
Despite Canis’s drawn-out question, Black Robe gave no answer. When he placed his hand on the chapel door, fierce sparks erupted.
Crackle.
The electric current reacted violently as if it would burn his hand, but Black Robe showed no particular reaction and opened the door.
“So it’s here.”
The inside of the chapel was messy. Thanks to Canis and Winter rummaging through it earlier, it was more disordered than usual.
Black Robe slowly scanned the interior as he stepped inside.
“What is the name of this god?”
Black Robe asked while looking at the largest Emblem of Anaye on the innermost wall of the chapel.
“Anaye~ nim~”
“Anaye. Is that the name.”
Nodding slowly at Canis’s answer, Black Robe walked toward the work desk that Winter usually used.
“Is there something you’re curious about~? Even if I look like this, I’m also part of this Religious Order~”
“Now that you mention it, that’s true. Is it alright for you to betray it? A god’s revenge can be quite terrifying.”
At Black Robe’s words, Canis shook her head.
“It’s fine~ something like that~”
“You’ve got quite the nerve.”
At Canis’s reaction, Black Robe let out a faint chuckle. He picked up one of the documents on Winter’s desk and read it.
“Do you know the password to the safe?”
“That~ I don’t know~”
His gaze then lingered on the safe. Canis didn’t know. She answered while rolling her eyes.
“It doesn’t seem to be here right now.”
After staring at the safe for a moment, Black Robe turned his body. Canis faced him as he turned around.
Was it an artifact? Even at this close distance, the inside of his robe was filled with darkness.
“Let’s go.”
As if entranced, Canis followed after Black Robe. After that, he moved all across the Academy grounds.
The fact that he even entered the chapel within the Academic Department said it all. The Academic Department building was currently under the Academy Director’s spatial isolation barrier.
An absolute space that no one without permission could enter or leave. There might be artifacts, magic, or techniques that could bypass it, but Canis was certain that Black Robe was the Traitor that Davide had mentioned.
“This time~ you’re not taking any artifacts~?”
“Artifacts? I have no need for such things.”
At Canis’s question, Black Robe scoffed. Canis tilted her head. The Academy had many remarkable artifacts.
“But still~ there are a lot of impressive ones~?”
“If you can’t use them, they’re useless.”
With that reply, Black Robe continued walking. The surroundings were noisy.
“Oh. The Imperial Princess, is it.”
From the direction presumed to be the Poison Swamp, a massive light burst forth. Even from this distance, it was bright enough to force one’s eyes shut.
Looking at the gentle light, Black Robe spoke with interest.
“……At that level~ that’s practically grand-scale magic~”
When she closed and then opened her eyes, the center of the Poison Swamp had turned into an empty wasteland. Seeing that, Canis swallowed dryly.
It was an incredible level of power. She wasn’t even a mage—how could a warrior display such force? Pure curiosity arose.
“We will leave the Academy immediately.”
“Huh~ wasn’t this a diversion~?”
Black Robe turned back and looked at Canis, as if questioning how she knew that.
Canis shrugged playfully.
“You didn’t think I wouldn’t know~? Aren’t you underestimating the Imperial Knight Order and the Academic Department~?”
“That’s true. As expected, the Academy is full of talented individuals.”
Hearing Canis’s answer, Black Robe slowly nodded. At his quick understanding, Canis’s eyes gleamed.
“So what’s your goal~? Isn’t it about time you told me?~”
“You’re the one who brought up the capabilities of the Imperial Knight Order and the Academic Department. You couldn’t figure out even that much?”
Canis asked casually as she walked with light steps. Black Robe scoffed in response.
“No~ no~ not the organization you belong to~ I mean your goal~ Your actions right now~ how should I put it~ it feels like you’ve got a slightly different intention~”
“…….”
At Canis’s words, Black Robe fell silent. At this different reaction than before, Canis formed a fierce smile.
“Even now~ you won’t tell me~?”
“How much do you know about us?”
“What?”
At her prodding, Black Robe finally spoke. But at his question, Canis couldn’t answer easily.
“Not much, I assume. Then how much do you know about this Empire?”
“Hmm~ that doesn’t sound like an ordinary question~”
Black Robe immediately followed up with another question. Canis pondered why he would ask such a thing.
“Just in case~ this isn’t some cringey sob story, right? Like~ the Empire massacred a certain clan in the past~ and now you’re out for revenge~ that kind of boring story?”
“…….”
At Canis’s sly question, Black Robe shut his mouth. Thinking it might be the case, Canis asked again.
“That’s not actually it, right? I was just rambling~ it’s not real, right?”
“……The Empire was flawed from the very beginning.”
At how obviously he was dodging the question, Canis shook her head side to side. She had only said it on a whim, but judging by his reaction, it seemed she had hit the mark.
“Isn’t there~ some more interesting reason~? If it’s something that dull~ I might just hear what I want~ and then betray you right away~”
Canis felt slightly disappointed. A group that had brazenly attacked the Academy—where the Imperial Princess resided—not once but twice. They couldn’t possibly be lightweights, yet they were moving for nothing more than such a reason.
In this harsh world, everyone had a story. Having an entire clan wiped out was certainly significant, but it still felt insufficient to justify acts of terror on this scale.
“We simply seek reform. We only wish to correct the deeply rooted evils of the Imperial House that have persisted for so long.”
The interest gradually faded from Canis’s eyes. This one man did not represent the entire organization.
Still, it felt too insignificant. At least, that was how Canis saw it. She even had a premonition that if she joined this organization, she would quickly rise above people like him.
“More importantly, there’s a rat.”
Black Robe suddenly drew a shadow-like blade. Canis immediately looked around. At the path leading out of the Academy and toward the forest,
she saw familiar faces among them. Soloven with her purple ponytail, and Rama with his red hair and calm demeanor.
“Miss Canis. Would you care to explain?”
With a face frozen cold, Soloven asked.
“As you can see~”
The moment Soloven heard Canis’s answer, she immediately raised her shield. Taking a firm stance, Rama also drew the sword he favored.
“Davide will be saddened.”
“Well~ Dabi is~ cold-blooded~ so he might be fine~”
Even at Soloven’s words, Canis stepped forward boldly. As Canis began to draw up her magic power, Black Robe stepped forward instead.
“I’ll handle them.”
Holding his shadow blade forward, Black Robe stood in front of Canis. She obediently stepped back. If he was going to fight in her place, she was rather grateful.
“So you’re the one behind this.”
“You could say that.”
The moment he answered, Soloven charged forward. At some point, flames fierce enough to blaze had begun wrapping around her shield.
Black Robe swung his sword toward the oncoming shield as she rushed at him. For a sword only about 1.5 meters long, the arc it traced was far too long.
“Ghk.”
Charging forward with a shield was an extremely threatening attack. When used by someone with a powerful physique like Soloven, it became even more formidable.
Even Davide had focused on evasion against that attack, yet Black Robe simply swung his sword and broke through it. Having poured so much force into the charge, Soloven was pushed back in the same stance.
“Rama Kargula. A sharp attack.”
In that brief moment, Rama rushed in. But Black Robe easily blocked Rama’s curved blade, which bent in a peculiar arc.
Without even properly setting his stance, he received both of their attacks head-on from where he stood.
“He’s beyond a Fiendbeast.”
After stepping back briefly, Soloven said that to Rama beside her. Rama’s expression hardened as she readjusted her stance.
Not only his skill, but his physical power was tremendous. It was hard to believe he was even human. Soloven glanced at Canis.
From the circumstances, she had completely defected. The magic Canis had shown in the Ulla Desert was remarkable. If those two fought together, victory could not be guaranteed.
“Can you hold him off?”
“No.”
At Rama’s question, Soloven answered firmly. Since the question had been asked with the intention of calling for reinforcements, Rama swallowed dryly.
Even Soloven, who specialized to the extreme in defense, could not guarantee enduring his attacks. It was troublesome in a different way from Davide’s lightning.
“It’s impossible alone.”
“Then we strike Canis first. I’ll handle that.”
Soloven made a cold, objective judgment. Hearing that, Rama steeled her resolve.
Cutting down a junior was a painful matter for someone like Rama, who valued duty above all else.
“Are you ready? Then let’s begin.”
The aura of Black Robe, who had been focused solely on defense, suddenly turned sharp. Soloven and Rama swallowed dryly as they tightened their grips on their weapons.