Chapter 20: Those Who Stand in the Way
──This place lies beneath the First City of Levian.
The branch of the Dragon God Cult spreads outward from a single colossal chamber, its corridors extending in all directions like veins from a heart. Countless cultists hurry back and forth through the passageways, their ceaseless movement giving the entire complex the unsettling resemblance of an anthill—orderly, frantic, and alive in a deeply unnatural way.
In one corner of this underground labyrinth stood a chamber where the concentration of magical energy was abnormally high.
Several researchers surrounded an incubation apparatus installed at the center of the room. At their feet lay numerous empty orbs, scattered carelessly across the floor, each one now nothing more than a hollow shell.
How many people’s worth of magic power had been compressed into a single orb?
Watching the orbs—each painstakingly crafted at the cost of vast time and enormous sums of money—be consumed at a torrential pace, the executive Crow spoke up, if only to be cautious, and questioned the researchers.
“Will the magic power be enough?”
“…We cannot be certain. If it proves insufficient, we will draw it directly from the sacrifices. And if even that fails, we will proceed as planned and siphon it from the lower-ranked believers.”
“It is a precious ancient dragon that will become my partner. Grind up as many cultists as you like.”
“Understood. That, too, is the will of the Dragon God.”
Crow snorted inwardly, a silent laugh curling in his chest.
(Hah. ‘The will of the Dragon God,’ indeed… Idiots like these are so easy to manipulate. It’s almost comforting.)
──At that moment, the egg twitched.
It was not the rhythmic motion of a heartbeat, but something unmistakably different—a movement that carried the undeniable breath of life.
Crow’s eyes caught it clearly. Bathed in the blue glow emitted by the incubation device, the interior of the egg was faintly visible, and within it, the infant ancient dragon writhed. …The moment of hatching was near.
“The orbs alone should suffice for the magic power.”
“Yes. The shell cracking is only a matter of time now.”
“Ku-ku-ku…”
Crow lifted the corner of his mouth in a triumphant grin.
(Once the ancient dragon matures, perhaps I’ll start by having it reduce the Levian manor to rubble.)
…However.
A cultist suddenly burst into the room.
“Emergency!! The Duke’s army is attacking!!”
Crow clicked his tongue in irritation.
“Tch… Any particularly troublesome enemies?”
“Y-Yes! Um—there’s one mage who uses plant magic, one mage who wields magic that causes unconsciousness, and one female knight who employs a strange sword style! Those three!!”
(Plant magic… that must be Estella. And the female knight is likely the Duke of Levian’s daughter, recently inducted into the royal guard. …But this ‘unconsciousness’ magic—I don’t quite grasp that one.)
“Unconsciousness, you say. So those struck by it aren’t dead?”
“Yes. Everyone was still breathing, so it was less like they were knocked out, and more like… they were put to sleep.”
Crow narrowed his eyes.
“Sleep… dream attribute, then. Which means two court mages and one royal guard knight.”
He rose to his feet.
“Very well. I’ll handle this myself. You—give that to the two designated sacrifices and unleash them on the intruders. Move. Now.”
“U-Understood!!”
The cultist rushed off at once.
(If only the hatching were complete, I could have taken the ancient dragon and retreated via shadow movement…)
“Continue the incubation process. I will eliminate the enemies swiftly and return.”
With that, Crow swept his jet-black robe behind him and headed toward the vast central chamber.
◇◇◇
Seles spoke as she swung her sword.
“To think there’d be a branch this huge beneath the city!”
“There sure are a lot of Dragon God cultists. No matter how many we take down, they keep crawling out like ants.”
“Kah-hah-hah! My grass-attribute magic is roaring today!”
“If it actually roared with fire, everything would burn, you know…”
The three of them cut down the endlessly surging enemies with ruthless efficiency.
Seles cleaved through foes with her blade, while Estella manipulated massive vines like whips, controlling them freely as though they were extensions of her own limbs.
Al had yet to draw his sword, instead calmly rendering each approaching enemy unconscious one by one.
Yet one cultist they had already defeated—blood-soaked and barely clinging to life—suddenly grabbed Seles by the ankle.
“W-We are… the ones who serve… the D-Dragon God…”
“Hey! That’s dangerous! Just stay down and lose consciousness already!”
Panicking, Seles forcefully kicked him away.
Only after confirming that he had finally stopped moving did she glance at him again and mutter,
“Haa… haa… These really are the worst kind of enemies to fight.”
“They’re fanatics who welcome death itself if it’s for their Dragon God. Best to think of them as a horde of zombies.”
The number of enemies steadily dwindled, until at last the path ahead opened.
“Leave this to us! Please, you three—go on ahead!!”
“I’m counting on you all!”
Leaving the rest to the Duke’s army, the trio sprinted deeper into the passageway.
Far ahead, another enormous space came into view.
“What is this place?! How big is this branch supposed to be?!”
“That chamber may be the heart of the branch—where all the corridors converge.”
“Mmm! We must hurry!”
──But then, two new figures appeared from around the corner.
By coincidence, inevitability, or perhaps a cruel joke of fate, they were faces that Seles and Al knew all too well.
“Well, well, well!! That demonically muddied voice—could it be my dear Selestaria, who betrayed me?!”
“And that stench of livestock unique to rural nobility… It’s you, isn’t it? Al Dragals!! The one who took everything from me!! Isn’t that right?!”
Both sides came to a halt, glaring at one another.
“…Barnes Berry.”
“And you are… who was it again?”
“Gust Noir…”
“Oh right, Gust. That idiot heir from the medal ceremony.”
(Neither of these two seems like the type to willingly join the Dragon God Cult. Considering there are other branches in the Noir Marquisate and near the kingdom’s border, they were probably abducted while weakened. Not that I know—or care—what they were meant to be used for.)
Burns and Gust were clearly no longer sane.
Their eyes failed to focus, their steps wavered, and their magical power far exceeded the limits of an ordinary human.
“That’s not your magic, is it?”
“Definitely not. Dream attribute doesn’t boost magical power like that.”
Estella’s eyes sharpened with an apothecary’s insight.
“That condition… it’s what happens when one consumes the Spirit Elixir of Obliteration.”
“What kind of unnecessarily intimidating name is that?”
“As the name implies, it’s a forbidden drug that grants power beyond human limits for a short time, in exchange for one’s lifespan. If left alone, they’ll die on their own in a few minutes, but…”
“They won’t go down without taking someone with them.”
Burns drew the sword at his waist, while Gust leveled his staff at Al.
“Estella, leave those two to us. This is… something we have to cut off ourselves. A kind of curse.”
“Hmph. Sounds like there’s history there. Very well—this place is in your hands.”
Estella hurried onward alone.
“Aaaaah, my dear Seles!! I’ll carve you apart with my beloved blade!! Show me your face twisted in agony!! Then I’ll grant you a merciful death!!”
“Ugh… You really are persistent.”
“Al Dragals!! With my magic, I’ll crush your limbs!! I’ll make you crawl on the ground like a true animal!! Cry, beg, and plead for my forgiveness!!”
“You’re way too obsessed with livestock. And for the record, right now you’re far more pathetic than any animal.”
Sighing, the two faced the grudges that bound them.
◇◇◇
──Around the time that the battles of fate erupted.
Estella stood within the immense chamber in question.
Before her stood a masked man clad in a jet-black robe identical to her own.
She glared at him.
“That court mage’s robe… that overwhelming magic… Why are you here, Crow?”
“It’s been a long time, Estella. We once fought side by side on countless battlefields, entrusting our backs to one another. …But now, we are enemies. You serve the empire that betrayed me—the empire I loathe.”
“Do you still hold a grudge against the empire after all this time?”
“A grudge? You, of all people, should know how deeply I loved that empire. This is rightful vengeance. That is why I stand here now, as an executive of the Dragon God Cult—to destroy this country with my own hands…!!”
“Then why do you still wear that robe? ──Because somewhere in your heart, you still love the empire. Let it go. Live out the rest of your days in another land. I will let you go… just this once.”
“Silence!! …Then let your death mark the opening act of the empire’s end!”
Crow’s magic surged.
Estella swallowed hard.
Her opponent was the former chief court mage—once the strongest man in the empire. As a former colleague, she understood his power all too well. That was why she had tried to awaken him with words.
She had failed completely.
If battle was unavoidable, then there was no need for restraint.
“Estella. You cannot defeat me, even if heaven and earth were overturned. You know that better than anyone, don’t you?”
“Fool. I have not been idle all these years. And besides… the one who hates you most in this country—”
A towering tree giant, a treant, emerged behind her.
“—is me.”
“Oooooooo!!”
Rather than faltering, Crow removed his mask and flashed a vulgar grin at her.
“Ah yes… now that I think of it, the crown prince I nearly killed—he was your fiancé, wasn’t he, Estella?”
──In truth, this too was a battle bound by fate.