CHAPTER 1
GUIDED BY THAT VOICE
A red sky the color of blood filled his vision. This was the sky of another world, where all Voids were born.
This body is so fragile. To be rendered motionless by so little, Leonis lamented bitterly as he lay face up on the soil. The blade of the Demon Sword in his grasp had already lost its luster, its powers and authorities inert. But Leonis hadn’t given up yet. Using Dáinsleif took its toll on him, sapping his stamina and mana. He tried to restrain the sword’s output to an extent, but controlling the Demon Sword was, in the end, too challenging.
“He’s…been destroyed…right?”
Leonis looked around. The area where he’d fought the Spirit King had been rendered into a wasteland. Trees had been swept away and the forest eradicated.
Leonis had felled the resurrected king of Origin Spirits, Elmysteriga Elemental Lord, his old nemesis. All livable land had caved in, and there was no trace of him left.
“Forgive me, proud and lofty Spirit King. I bore you no ill will…”
Once Leonis had drawn the Demon Sword, he’d had no choice but to destroy his foe.
“You forced me into using Dáinsleif. I will pass down your story as one mighty enough to achieve that much.”
A shadow fell over Leonis’s face.
“Lord Magnus, are you all right?” A black wolf peered down at him with golden eyes.
“I’m fine. It’s just the backlash of using the Demon Sword. I can’t move.”
“I see.”
Blackas bit on the collar of Leonis’s uniform and dragged him to an overturned tree. The great wolf laid his friend up against the trunk.
“…You’re being rough,” Leonis groused with a sullen look. “Treat me with a bit more care.”
“Pardon.” Blackas bowed his head a little. “I’ll pursue the Queen of Shadows. We cannot let her escape.”
“Yes, you handle that. Capture her alive and bring her before me.”
The Queen of Shadows—Scheherazade Shadow Queen. She had ruled the Realm of Shadows. Blackas and Leonis had joined forces to banish her a thousand years ago. Recently, they’d discovered she had turned Elysion Academy into her base of operations and abducted many Holy Swordsmen, including Regina and Chatres.
She’d taken Blackas captive and even lured Leonis into a trap, only to have the tables turned on her all too easily. Desperate, she’d played her trump card and resurrected the Spirit King, Elmysteriga, only for Leonis to thoroughly foil her scheme.
“We need to get her to reveal her goal. After that, she’s yours to do with as you please.”
“Understood.” Blackas growled viciously and dived into Leonis’s shadow.
The tyrannical wolf wouldn’t let his prey escape. No matter how far she ran, he would chase her to the ends of the earth.
“…The Spirit King,” Leonis mumbled to himself as he sat up and sealed the Demon Sword in its hilt within the staff.
The whole place had been blown away in the battle, but looking around now, Leonis was confident he recognized the surroundings.
“Even with all the miasma filling the place, there’s no mistaking it. This is the Spirit Forest.”
The Spirit Forest, the place where all Origin Spirits were born. A millennium ago, the elven kingdom flourished here, bordering the Rognas Kingdom.
“…”
Leonis looked up at the bloodred sky.
What was the Spirit Forest doing in another dimension, in the Void world?
And also…
Leonis’s grip on the Staff of Sealed Sins tightened.
“Ahhh, finally. You’ve come to carry out your promise, Leonis.”
When he’d used Dáinsleif, he heard her voice.
Leonis didn’t know enough to reach a clear conclusion, but he was able to come up with a theory about this Void world.
If my theory is correct, this world is—
“My lord! Are you all right?!” A voice cut off his train of thought.
A maid hopped from his shadow in a flustered panic.
“Ah, my lord!” In her rush, the maid ended up bumping into Leonis’s face.
“Guh!” Leonis exclaimed as she hit him.
“M-my apologies! Are you okay?!” Shary said in alarm.
“Y-you nincompoop…,” Leonis grumbled, having nearly been knocked over.
“…Erm. What’s a nincompoop?” Shary asked.
“Never mind. Hurry up and get off me.”
“M-my apologies!” Shary hurriedly hopped back, pinched up her skirt’s ends, and curtsied. “I-I’m glad you’re safe!”
“Hmph. Who do you take me for?” Leonis straightened up and shrugged. “Where’s my minion?”
“Your minion is…safe,” Shary replied, sounding displeased and puffing up her cheeks. “She’s currently occupied rescuing the ones abducted by the Queen of Shadows. I believe she intended to search for you, but I dissuaded her.”
Leonis nodded. “…I see.”
“You always fret over that minion, my lord,” Shary remarked irritably.
“Why do you look upset about that?”
“I am not upset. I—I just wish you’d worry about me, too…” She trailed off, mumbling.
If she says so, then I should refocus…
Leonis needed to link up with the abducted academy students, and the best time to do so was when things were still chaotic. If he tried to join them later, it might make him look suspicious.
“Shary, I can’t move much after using my Demon Sword. We’ll rest here for a time, then rendezvous with Riselia and the others.”
“Yes, understood. I will guard you until you can move, my lord!” Shary declared, clenching her fists.
“That’s unnecessary. I can protect myself even if I can’t move.”
“…In that case, would you like a lullaby? I don’t know too many songs, though.” Shary cleared her throat and let out a clear, sonorous “Ahhh.”
“No need for lullabies. For now, you must take on my appearance and join the others so my absence doesn’t seem conspicuous.”
“Yes, understood.”
Shary bowed politely. Darkness enveloped her, as though in response, and when it moved away, she had become a mirror image of her master.
“Will this do?”
“Yes, that will be fine.”
“Um, I believe the real you is much cuter than I can ever hope to be, but—”
“Hurry up and get going,” Leonis said, exasperated.
“O-okay! I’m off!” Shary quickly sank into Leonis’s shadow.
“Honestly.” Leonis sighed and relaxed his weakened body. “The Void world, huh?”
Assuming his theory about this world held true, the ruins of an important place might exist here.
“…I must confirm it for myself.”
“Lady Selia, I found some here, too!” Regina called over her shoulder.
The light attached to her Holy Sword’s sights illuminated the pitch-black interior of the ruined structure. Elysion Academy uniforms were strewn all over the corridor, the remains of students swallowed up by shadows. Their owners had been abducted and stripped like Regina. Presently, they were being held in the pyramid’s hall.
Regina, Riselia, and a handful of others had regained consciousness and ventured away to recover their lost clothing and communication terminals.
“That’s twenty-seven people’s worth of uniforms. That only leaves eight unaccounted for,” Riselia said, using her terminal to keep tally.
Holy Swordsmen training schools had students’ unit numbers stitched into their uniforms, making it easy to identify who they belonged to. Incidentally, they found Regina’s outfit quite quickly. Hers was the only Excalibur Academy uniform, which made it easy.
“What is this place supposed to be?” Riselia whispered, scanning the hall. “Voids couldn’t have built this place, right?”
“Yeah, I doubt it. I think that elf girl called it a temple,” Regina answered.
“I’d like to inspect it more carefully, but now’s not the time.” The disappointment in Riselia’s voice was obvious.
She was curious about the seemingly ancient structure. However, there were more pressing issues. After all, they were currently on the other side of a Void fissure.
This was the Void world.
An eerie, dense forest surrounded the ruined pyramid. The crimson sky was visible through gaps in the canopy.
“Does anyone here have a healing Holy Sword? We need help with the injured.”
“I can use my Sunlight’s Bell. It’s only an E-rank Holy Sword, though.”
“That’s absolutely fine. Please do what you can to help the wounded.”
“Princess Chatres, we’re back!” Riselia said. She had bundles of uniforms in both arms.
“Thank you. Good work.” The third princess of the imperial royal family, Chatres Ray O’ltriese, nodded.
“Did you find everyone’s clothes?” Chatres asked.
“There’s still a few sets missing. We’ll have to go back to search more,” Regina replied. Her arms were also carrying heaps of attire.
“Very well. For the time being, leave those you’ve recovered and identified here,” Chatres instructed.
““Understood.”” The two girls from Excalibur Academy nodded and made their way to where the abducted students were gathered.
“Lady Chatres is still speaking formally around you,” Riselia commented quietly.
Regina shook her head, her pigtails twisting and bouncing. “It can’t be helped. Everyone’s looking.”
Chatres had recently learned that Regina was the fourth imperial princess of House O’ltriese, her younger sister whose existence had been kept a secret. She’d had her doubts when Regina saved her life during the Holy Sword Dance Festival, but those evaporated when an Origin Spirit loyal only to the O’ltriese bloodline became attached to Regina.
“I’m glad I got to talk to my sister anyway. I always thought she was intimidating, but she’s not so bad.”
Riselia smiled. “I’m happy for you.”
“It’s all thanks to you, Lady Selia. When we got the invitation to the tea party, you were the one who encouraged me to come along.”
“Yes, but look at how things turned out…”
“That’s not your fault.” Regina shook her head. “Did you and the kid get caught by the shadows?”
“Huh? Oh, er, yes…” Riselia nodded awkwardly.
In truth, she and Leonis hadn’t been snared. They’d jumped into the darkness voluntarily to save Regina.
“Leo and I woke up in the middle of the abduction and fought our way out.”
“What are these shadows anyway? Voids?”
“…I don’t know.”
That much wasn’t a lie. Riselia really didn’t know what they were.
I know an enemy of Leo’s is behind this, though.
Leonis had split with Riselia on the way to the Shadow Castle.
“Why did that giant Void disappear into thin air?” Regina said. She gazed in the direction of where a giant monster had been rampaging until a short while ago.
That creature had been a veritable incarnation of the land, like nature itself brought to life. The elf girl who came with Sakuya had called it a great spirit. Armed with that knowledge, Regina and Chatres—who carried the blood of elementalists—had climbed to the top of the ruins and attempted a ritual to calm spirits.
However, the monster hadn’t been destroyed by their efforts.
Leo must have done it.
Riselia was certain of it. The moment before the giant creature vanished, she saw an intense flash streak through the sky.
He must have used that sword.
He’d done the same to vanquish the Void Lord that attached itself to the Seventh Assault Garden’s mana furnace and the one that appeared on the Third Assault Garden. The weapon carried incredible power, greater than anything humanity’s Holy Swords could manage.
“By the way, where’s the kid? Feels like he should be back by now…,” Regina said, concerned.
“Y-yeah…”
Riselia had told Regina that Leonis went out to scout the surrounding area with his Holy Sword, but if he returned soon, it would seem suspicious.
“I don’t think he went that far…” Riselia was honestly concerned about him. She couldn’t imagine him losing after using that sword, though.
He’s fine. My instructor went to pick him up.
Riselia wanted to hurry to Leonis’s side, but Shary had told her, “Stay here and ensure no one notices my master’s absence.”
While Riselia and Regina spoke, they walked among the Elysion Academy students lying on the ground. Most of them had only recently woken up. Many were still weak and couldn’t stand. To Riselia’s surprise, she spotted a familiar face among them.
“Sakuya.”
“Oh, Miss Selia…” The boyish blue-haired girl in Sakura Orchid garb looked up at her friend.
The shadows hadn’t taken Sakuya. She’d slipped through a Void tear that had opened during the Holy Sword Dance Festival and found herself here. While she usually wore a cool-looking eye patch out of a teenage attempt to act edgy, she didn’t have it on now.
“What are you doing, Sakuya?” Riselia asked curiously.
“Oh, I’m trying to help the other students with a traditional Sakura Orchid method of infusing others with ki.”
“Oh, right. I’ve heard the Sakura Orchid’s people had special powers like that.”
Sakuya stood behind a weakened student, took a deep breath, and then…
“Tahhh!”
Pow, pow, pow!
…she struck the back of the student’s neck with a hand.
“…I-is that how the Sakura Orchid people do it?”
“Yes, it’s a traditional Sakura Orchid chop. It fixes most problems with people and magical apparatuses.”
“I-it does…?” Riselia sounded confused, but Sakuya continued, untroubled.
Astonishingly, the weakened girl struck by the chop…
“Th-thank you. I feel kind of better now.”
…seemed to regain the strength to smile.
“That’s good. But you shouldn’t move around too much yet,” Sakuya cautioned.
Riselia was slightly agape. “It actually works…”
“Is she using Raikirimaru’s powers to transmit weak electric currents or something?” Regina cocked her head.
Riselia put down the stacks of uniforms she was carrying and looked around. “Sakuya, could you come with me? Where’s the elf girl?”
“Oh, she told me she’s no good at dealing with crowds and wandered off.”
“I guess an elf would feel uneasy around lots of humans.”
Elves were known to dislike large gatherings. That’s why they weren’t seen outside the forest in the special demi-human ward on the Seventh Assault Garden.
“I wanted to thank her for sharing the ritual to calm the spirits,” Regina said, disappointed. “Won’t she be in danger on her own?”
“She’s as strong as I am, so I think she’ll be fine.” No sooner had Sakuya finished replying than she threw a glare at a nearby thicket. “Who’s there?!”
Riselia and Regina furrowed their brows at Sakuya’s aggressive question and turned to look. A small figure emerged from the brush.
“Leo!”
“I’ve finished scouting around,” Leonis said, patting away the leaves clinging to his uniform. “There are no Voids nearby.”
“Oh, it was just you, kid.” Sakuya relaxed and shrugged. “Your presence felt kind of different, for some reason…”
“Oh, thank goodness you’re back, Leo. I was worried.” Riselia ran over and hugged him.
“Wh-what are you doing?!” Leonis cried, flustered when Riselia’s chest swallowed his face.
“…Huh?” Riselia pulled away slightly.
Something did feel off. She squatted to look Leonis in the eye.
“You’re not Leo.” She whispered so the others wouldn’t hear.
“…”
“Is that you, teacher?”
“…D-don’t call me teacher,” Leonis muttered indignantly.
“I knew it…,” Riselia said.
This was Shary in disguise.
“…How could you tell?”
“Hmm. It was something about your demeanor, or maybe it was your scent.”
Riselia hadn’t recognized when Leonis had been replaced with a body double during the Hyperion seajacking incident, but she could now. Perhaps she’d unconsciously learned the subtleties of his gestures and mannerisms.
“Where’s the real Leo?” Riselia inquired.
“He’s a bit tired, so he’s resting at the moment. You have no reason to be concerned about him,” Shary explained.
“O-okay…”
Despite Shary’s insistence, Riselia couldn’t help but fret.
Regina trotted over. “Are you okay, kid? You’re not frightened, are you?”
“No. I was unconscious when the shadows swallowed us,” Shary fibbed.
“Are you hungry? I could give you some of my snacks.” Sakuya waved her sleeve, and a few colorful bean paste balls rolled out.
“…P-perhaps just one.” Shary was practically drooling at the sight of the sweets already.
“Hmm. Eighteen people have regained consciousness.”
Half an hour had passed since Riselia and Regina returned with uniforms.
Chatres stood in the forest clearing, looking over the students. Elysion Academy’s Holy Swordsmen stood at attention, listening intently to the third princess.
“Currently, we seem to be in a world on the other side of a giant Void crack. This is quite possibly the bastion of our enemy.”
A stir ran through the assembled students as Chatres spoke.
I can hardly fault them for being frightened, Riselia thought.
They’d been minding their own business on the Elysion Academy campus when they’d been kidnapped. When they awoke, they’d found themselves in an unfamiliar place. No, calling it something so mundane was a disservice. They would have been better off in some unknown location. They were trapped in the world of the Voids.
“Quiet, please!” Chatres’s dignified voice brought the anxious whispers in the crowd to order. “I don’t know why we were taken, but I have to assume the Voids were responsible. Voids are known to eat people, but I’m sure you’ve all heard stories of them taking unfortunate souls instead.”
Such cases were rare, but they did happen. It’s why Riselia had initially assumed Leonis was a refugee taken by Voids when she found him.
One girl sheepishly raised a hand. “Excuse me, Princess Chatres!”
“Yes?”
“Well, um, did you defeat the Voids that abducted us, Your Highness?”
“I did indeed,” Chatres responded instantly.
She’d undoubtedly prepared to field that question in advance. Replying as she did was wise. It would prevent needless worry among the students. And indeed, the abductees appeared to relax somewhat.
Chatres Ray O’ltriese was a two-time Holy Sword Dance Festival winner and regarded as the strongest Holy Swordswoman of her time. Everyone recognized and greatly trusted her strength.
“But even so, this is the world of the Voids. The fact remains that we’re in a dangerous predicament,” Chatres continued. “Our terminals are unusable, and our distress calls are not reaching Camelot. The empire’s knights are probably aware that students of Elysion Academy have vanished, but they lack a means of tracking us down.”
“Oh no…”
Worry entered the students’ expressions again.
“Don’t panic. Thankfully, we know of a way back home.” Chatres turned around, casting her gaze at Sakuya, who was leaning against a tree. “Unlike us, she wasn’t snatched by the Voids. This girl crossed through a giant fissure and emerged in this forest.”
Sakuya nodded and pointed past the trees. Beyond the woods was a tear in space that stretched toward the sky.
“That tear is a few dozen kilorels from here. I came here in a two-wheeled vehicle, but trained Holy Swordsmen can easily cover that distance by foot,” she said.
“R-really?”
“Then we can go home?”
While they were confused, the students’ eyes lit up at the possibility of returning to safety.
“That’s right,” Chatres declared. “So once we rest for a bit, we’ll make for the giant crack. If anyone has objections, speak now.”
“…”
Unsurprisingly, no one had any objections. Everyone believed that remaining here was far worse than making the trip.
“What about those who are still unconscious?” one of the students questioned.
“We’ll wait as long as we can, but we can’t afford to delay for long. Does anyone have a Holy Sword that can be used to transport them?”
“I think my Glutton Holy Sword might be able to carry them all,” a student offered.
“All right, then please handle it.” Chatres nodded and looked at each of the gathered Holy Swordsmen. “Everyone, please report your Holy Swords’ powers and ranks. We’ll assemble the most combat-capable students and march in anti-Void formations. Our departure is planned for fourteen hundred hours.”
“Yes, ma’am!” The Elysion Academy students saluted in unison.
“They’re quite organized. I’d like them for my army,” Shary commented, giving her best impression of Leonis.
“Army?” Riselia asked, confused.
“N-nothing, I didn’t say anything…” Shary shook her head and walked toward the bushes.
Riselia raised an eyebrow. “Where are you going?”
“I’m leaving. My job here is done, it seems.”
“W-wait…” Riselia made to go after her.
However, Shary sank into the shadows without looking back.
“T-teacher?” Riselia knelt and knocked on the shadow, but her fingers tapped only on solid earth.
Not a moment later, the shrubs behind her shook.
Leonis emerged, his staff in hand. “What are you doing down there, Miss Selia?”
“Leo?!” Riselia stood and promptly wrapped her arms around Leonis.
“M-Miss Selia, what are you doing?!”
“Yeah, you’re the real Leo,” Riselia whispered happily. She tightened her embrace and ruffled his hair.
“Th-that hurts…”
“Ah, sorry!” Riselia released Leonis in a flustered hurry.
“It’s not your fault… My muscles are still a little sore.”
“You went and did something reckless again, didn’t you?” Riselia peered into Leonis’s eyes. Her brow furrowed.
“I wouldn’t call it reckless.”
“You were the one who beat that monster, right?”
“Well, yes. I had to exercise a bit of force to accomplish it…” Leonis grimaced as though pained.
“Do you want me to get a compress? Oh, there are a few students who can use healing Holy Swords. Should I ask them for help?” Riselia was all but running off to call for them already.
“No, I’m fine!” Leonis grabbed her sleeve and looked in Chatres’s direction. “Forget that. What’s everyone doing?”
“We’re getting ready to return to the capital.”
Riselia explained that Sakuya and Arle had arrived through a fissure in space that was still present. The group intended to use it to return to their world.
“Really?” Leonis placed a hand over his jaw. “That’s fortunate…”
“Fortunate?” Riselia parroted, confused.
“Yes,” Leonis said. “I think I’ll stay here for a while longer.”
I’m sorry, Sakuya, but I’m just no good at handling crowds.
A ponytailed girl moved through the forest, distant human voices at her back. She was Arle Kirlesio, an elven swordswoman known as a Dark Lord–vanquishing hero.
She had no intention of getting along with humans. She’d planned to come here alone.
Dealing with their questions would only cause trouble.
Presently, she was a bodyguard for the anti-imperial organization called the Demon Wolf Pack. The group had provided her with a fake registry in the civilian census, but if anyone looked into her too closely, the lie would likely be exposed.
What happened here? Arle pondered as she took in the miasma-polluted scenery of the Spirit Forest.
The forest had been torn up by a gigantic earth monster—the Spirit King, Elmysteriga. The grand ruler of the elementals was once an ally to the elves. Why had the deceased Spirit King returned? And why did he take the form of the terrible monsters the humans of this era called Voids?
Arle inspected the wreckage left in the monster’s wake. There was no surviving trace of the Spirit King. She only found felled trees and a massive crater.
“Did the ritual to calm the elementals return him to the Spirit Realm? No, that can’t be.” Arle shook her head, her ponytail swaying.
She glanced back and turned around, gazing at the ruined pyramid. That place was a temple for the spirits. In Arle’s era, it was where elven priestesses conducted rituals to quell the wrath of raging elementals.
That couldn’t have been enough, though…
The two girls Arle taught the ritual to did carry the talents of elementalists, but even if they’d summoned the temple’s power, it shouldn’t have been enough to completely subdue a being on the magnitude of the Spirit King. Especially not after it had turned into a Void monster.
More importantly…
Arle stopped in her tracks and looked up. A sky as red as blood peeked through the openings in the treetops.
“Why did the Spirit King manifest here?”
This wasn’t the same world. It was the Voids’ domain.
Just what is this place? The Elder Tree never told me of this.
Arle’s mission was to slay the Goddess of Rebellion, Roselia Ishtaris, who was supposed to be reborn after a thousand years.
That’s why I was given Crozax, one of the Arc Seven.
Arle gripped the hilt of the Demon Smiting Sword. The world had become unrecognizable compared to what she remembered.
I should investigate this place.
Thankfully, Arle wasn’t completely without hints—the resurrection of the Spirit King and the presence of his temple were clues to build upon.
If the ruins are here, then this world must be…
Arle had no definitive proof. That’s why she had to go and confirm it for herself.
Unless I’m wrong, it should be there…
Arle fixed her gaze in one direction and disappeared into the forest.
“…You want to stay here and check something?” Riselia asked. Her eyes betrayed her incredulity.
Leonis nodded. “Yes.”
The two of them were alone, having moved a good distance from the rest of the group. Leonis had also constructed a barrier to keep others away, just in case. No one would disturb them.
“Leo, this is the Void home world. Do you have any idea how dangerous this i—”
“I’ll be fine. You know how strong I am.”
“Y-yes, but… No, I can’t. I won’t leave you here.” Riselia shook her head firmly.
I never expected her to go along with it, but she’s still being too obstinate. Leonis shrugged, exasperated at his minion’s overprotectiveness.
“I’m going, no matter how much you tell me I can’t,” he asserted, trying to come across as commanding as possible.
“L-Leo?!” Riselia stiffened as though a shock had run through her. “Are you entering your rebellious phase?”
“N-no!”
“Then why…?”
“I think the person I’m searching for might be here.”
“…Huh?”
Riselia’s ice-blue eyes widened slightly at Leonis’s admission.
“The person you’re looking for? You mean…?”
“Yes. The one who’s…very special to me.”
Leonis had once told Riselia that his goal was to find someone very important to him.
“And that person is here, in the Void world?”
“I don’t know for certain,” Leonis conceded as he met Riselia’s gaze. “But this world might have clues about her.”
“…”
Riselia was speechless for a moment, but she eventually found her words. “All right. I understand.” She shrugged and nodded. “I know you have your reasons, and I understand how stubborn you can be.”
You’re one to talk, Leonis thought. He nearly said as much aloud, but he kept quiet.
“However, I have one condition.” Riselia held up an index finger.
“And that would be?”
“I’m coming along,” she stated.
“No. You need to go back with everyone else, Miss Selia.”
“Why?”
“It’s dangerous. I don’t know if I’ll be able to protect you.”
Riselia pouted. “I’ll be the one protecting you, Leo! I’m your guardian.” She crouched to bring her face close to his.
“…?!” Leonis went red in the face. Riselia was so close that their noses nearly touched.
She gazed straight at Leonis’s face. “Leo…you can hardly move right now, right?”
“W-well…” Leonis struggled to answer.
He couldn’t deny that he’d only just found the strength to walk on his own. He could invoke spells, but moving quickly was a challenge. Judging by past instances when the Demon Sword’s power had enervated him, it would take him two or three days to fully recover.
“You always spend a long time in bed after using that sword. I know you’re strong, but you’ll be in trouble if you run into danger in your current state.”
Hearing the truth hurt. Leonis wasn’t undead anymore. He had the body of a ten-year-old. One poor dodge and a Void’s claws would kill him. Blackas normally guarded him, but he was away pursuing the Queen of Shadows, and the Three Champions of Rognas were guarding Excalibur Academy. Leonis had intended for Shary to guard him.
However, I’d rather have Shary manage the Dark Lords’ Armies.
With Leonis—or rather, the Dark Lord Zol Vadis—absent, Shary needed to watch over the Demon Wolf Pack and the others in the newly formed Dark Lords’ Armies. Annexing many of the underground organizations in the capital had recently bolstered the ranks, and with the present chaos, Leonis couldn’t afford to let his new recruits go out of control.
Leonis eyed his minion.
Compared to the ranks of my old forces, she’s basically like an undead corps commander.
Thanks to Shary’s training and the Holy Sword Dance Festival, Riselia had grown stronger than Leonis had remembered. She’d learned to fully draw out the power of the True Ancestor’s Dress and was more than capable of keeping the weaker Voids occupied while Leonis chanted spells.
Maybe I would be more at ease with her by my side.
The Queen of Shadows had already attacked Elysion Academy. Camelot wasn’t safe just because one attack had come and gone. In which case, having Riselia within arm’s reach meant she’d be in less danger.
Besides, it’s almost impossible to change her mind when she gets like this. Leonis sighed internally.
“Very well, then. You may come with me, Miss Selia.”
“You can count on me!” Riselia nodded with a smile and patted Leonis on the head.
“No, I can’t let just you and the kid stay behind!”
Regina’s reaction was predictable enough. She lifted her golden pigtails up with her hands, holding them like horns.
Evidently, this was how she expressed her chagrin.
“I’m coming along!”
“Y-you can’t! It’s really dangerous. Besides, you’re still fatigued from what happened, right?” Riselia argued.
“I’m fine now! See?” A pouting Regina hopped up and down a couple of times.
This made her skirt flap, and Leonis had to avert his eyes uncomfortably.
“Besides, if it’s that dangerous, then that’s all the more reason I can’t leave you here! Duke Crystalia asked me to look after you, and if I abandon you here, I’d never be able to face His Grace again!”
“B-but…”
“No buts. I’m coming!” Regina said firmly, placing her hands on her waist.
It was like a repeat of Riselia’s exchange with Leonis earlier.
“Besides…” Regina turned to face Leonis. “This is connected to your memories, right, kid?”
“Yes…” Leonis nodded earnestly. “The things I see in this world are familiar somehow.”
When he was rescued, Leonis pretended he’d lost his memories. Since Riselia was the only one who knew of his search for Roselia, he told Regina this world might hold hints about his past instead.
“I’ll help you, then. You’re one of my precious teammates. ” Regina patted Leonis affectionately on the head.
“…Very well. You can come along, too, Miss Regina.”
“L-Leo?” Riselia turned around to face him, flustered.
“I won’t be able to talk her out of this,” Leonis communicated to Riselia telepathically.
“…Okay. I understand.”
“Lady Selia!” Regina gave her best friend an appreciative look.
Riselia smiled. “Honestly, having you around will be encouraging…”
“Then surely you have room for one more,” Sakuya interjected. She’d been listening with her arms folded.
“You want to come along, Sakuya?” Riselia asked.
“I willingly came to the Void world to fight. I would’ve remained even if I was the only one left.” Sakuya nodded, as if to say this was all a natural conclusion.
“Then please join us, Miss Sakuya,” Leonis said.
“Thanks. I’ll be counting on you three to watch my back.”
“…Fine.” Riselia shrugged. “I just hope Miss Finé won’t worry about us too much… Let’s get ready to go, then.”
“Wait, Lady Selia.” Regina stopped her. “There’s someone else we’ll need to persuade.”
“You want to stay behind and investigate?”
Chatres Ray O’ltriese cocked an eyebrow and glared at Riselia sharply.
“Yes,” Riselia replied unflinchingly, enduring the full pressure of speaking to royalty. “While we were brought here against our will, this is a precious chance to gain information on the Voids. As such, Excalibur Academy’s eighteenth platoon intends to stay and learn what we can.”
“The empire’s knights are already organizing a survey unit. This isn’t your responsibility,” Chatres replied sternly, her tone as cold as ice. “I know your actual abilities are higher than your ranking within your school implies. I’m sure you’d be able to handle highly dangerous Hive investigations with ease. But this world is unknown to us. We lack the information to send out teams like yours.”
“But if we wait for the administration bureau’s investigation results, it might be too late.” Riselia refused to back down. “Sitting by and ignoring the signs of a possible Stampede could mean the capital’s destruction.”
“Hmm…”
Riselia’s eyes were so resolute that Chatres went silent for a moment. The princess knew that the Third Assault Garden, Riselia’s home, had been destroyed in a Void attack. And there was no denying that a massive Void fissure yet loomed over Camelot, meaning an invasion could begin at any moment. Riselia could very well be right. They didn’t have the leisure to wait for a detailed report from the administration bureau.
“Please, big sis.” Regina bowed her head.
“You’re going, too, Regina?” Chatres asked.
“Yes,” Regina replied. “I’m Lady Selia’s maid, after all.”
“I see…”
Chatres crossed her arms pensively and eventually let out a sigh.
“I may be the third princess, but I’m still a knight trainee and student. I have no authority to order Excalibur Academy students like yourselves. Do as you will.”
“You have our thanks, Your Highness,” Regina said.
“Big sis, thank you,” Regina added.
“But don’t do anything reckless under any circumstances. Treat this as a reconnaissance mission, nothing more.” Chatres’s attention focused on Regina, and her tone became concerned. “I would’ve liked to come along with you, but I have a duty to see the other students safely returned to the capital.”
Regina nodded. “I understand. Please be careful.”
“…” Chatres cleared her throat. “I-incidentally, Regina Mercedes.”
“…?”
“Could you, erm…”
“Huh?”
“…call me big sis…one more time?”
“…” Regina’s eyes widened in surprise, and then she whispered into Riselia’s ear, “Lady Selia, what do I do? My big sister’s too cute.”
The eighteenth platoon waited for the Elysion Academy students to recover and watched them leave. While Riselia and the others helped care for the weakened students, Leonis snuck away from the camp and examined the interior of the pyramid ruin.
“As suspected, this really is a temple the high elves built to worship the Spirit King.” Leonis brushed his fingers over the magical text carved into the walls.
If these inscriptions were activated properly, the temple would function, even after all this time.
So this suppressed the Spirit King’s power…
During Leonis’s battle with Elmysteriga, an elven magic circle appeared when Regina and Chatres performed a ritual. The two were descendants of elementalists, but it was this place that allowed them to stall the Spirit King’s wrath briefly.
Arle Kirlesio must have activated the temple.
The Swordmaster’s apprentice and elven hero, Arle, had come with Sakuya. Leonis didn’t know where she was now but had to wonder why she’d come at all.
Someone’s definitely pulling her strings.
Leonis had once tried to use mind control sorcery on her and found his spell rebuked. He’d also sensed someone observing him. Curiously, Arle hadn’t seemed aware of that.
“Is now a good time, my lord…?”
The shadow at Leonis’s feet wavered, and Shary’s head emerged from it.
“What is it, Shary?”
“Your minion is one thing, but won’t taking all those girls with you just make for a burden?”
“I had no choice but to agree. Refusing would’ve made me look suspicious.” Leonis shrugged. “Besides, they won’t hold me back, not when I’m weakened.”
Leonis closed and opened his hand to demonstrate.
“My limbs feel heavy like lead. Just standing up is a challenge right now.”
“Should I stay to protect you?” Shary asked, concerned.
Leonis shook his head. “No, I need you to command the army in my stead. You’re the only one who can masquerade as Zol Vadis. Besides, I need to make sure someone keeps an eye on the emperor’s younger brother, Alexios. Ally or not, I don’t fully trust him yet.”
“Alexios…,” Shary said, bringing a finger to her jaw pensively. “Who is that, again?”
“The one who had an audience with me the other day,” Leonis said, glaring at her reproachfully.
“Oh. The one who brought all that junk as tribute.” Shary brought her fist down on the open palm of her other hand in a show of realization. “My apologies, my lord. I was simply so disinterested in him that I’d forgotten.”
“…He is related to the most powerful person among the humans,” Leonis said, exasperated. “Inform him about Chatres so as to ensure they regroup.”
“Understood.” Shary nodded. “What will we demand in exchange for that information?”
“…Hmm, well, perhaps some weapon provisions… Actually, no. We demand no recompense.” Leonis changed his mind.
Since they’d made an alliance of friendship and goodwill, there was no need to demand payment for something this insignificant. It hardly made for a debt, even. The Undead King was a magnanimous Dark Lord, after all.
“I’m counting on you. You’re the only one I can rely on in my absence.”
“Leave it to me, my lord.” Shary bowed her head respectfully and began sinking back into his shadow.
Recalling something, Leonis said, “Wait.”
“What is it, my lord?”
“Take care of these.”
Leonis snapped his fingers, and a group of six girls appeared from his shadow. Each had black hair and wore a uniform similar to Shary’s. Perhaps they were sextuplets, because they were all mirror images of one another. They were all sealed in place by a spell, blindfolded and unmoving.
“My lord, did you pick up more girls from the street without permission again?” Shary asked, looking a bit flabbergasted.
“These were the Queen of Shadows’ assassins.”
“…?! They’re from Septentrion?!”
“Yes. They tried to kill me, but I defeated them.”
Septentrion was an assassin society affiliated with the Realm of Shadows. Shary herself was a former member of the group.
“Do you recognize them?” Leonis asked.
“No…” Shary shook her head and glared at the girls coldly, her dusk-colored eyes glinting dangerously. “To make an attempt on a Dark Lord’s life… You should be sentenced to death.”
“Wait, don’t get carried away. These assassins serve the Queen of Shadows because of a Seal of Servitude spell. They were forced to obey her. I’ve destroyed the marks already.”
Leonis snapped his fingers again, and the mana chains binding the girls disappeared. The six fell to the ground, sound asleep.
“I task you with training these six. Septentrion assassins are bound to be of aid.”
“…Very well. I will do my best to educate them accordingly.”
“Good. I expect favorable results.”
When Shary returned to Leonis’s shadow, she took the girls with her.
Several orbs of light with countless letters and numbers running across them floated in a data analysis room in Camelot’s Central Garden. They were a Holy Sword, the Eye of the Witch, and they belonged to a girl with sleek black hair— Elfiné Phillet.
Despite attending Excalibur Academy, she was temporarily dispatched to the data analysis department to analyze the Void tear that had appeared over the capital. At present, she had three orbs deployed to collect data on the other side of the rift.
No Voids detected in the areas around the entrance…
While Elfiné’s spheres gathered data, a map of the world through the fissure slowly took shape. This chart would eventually be used by investigation teams when they were deployed.
Bzzt, bzzzt…
Suddenly, static ran through the Eye of the Witch. The Holy Sword’s power was growing unstable from the Void miasma.
At least, it seemed that way initially. There was actually another reason. A Holy Sword’s power was greatly influenced by its user’s mental state.
Elfiné’s fingers stopped tapping on the terminal’s keyboard, and she closed her eyes. She leaned against the chair’s backrest. Her hands trembled slightly. Even with her eyes closed, she saw him.
Her brother.
I killed him…
The mastermind of the D Project, Finzel Phillet, had been consumed by the power of his Holy Sword and became a Void. He’d tried to murder Elfiné, his own sister.
I did what I had to as a Holy Swordswoman.
Elfiné hadn’t seen the moment of his death, for during his final moments, he was swallowed by a Void tear. However, his body had been on the verge of a breakdown. There was no way he survived in that state.
I thought I was prepared for this…
Elfiné sighed heavily. She’d taken the life of her brother—of someone who once human. She often played the part of a reliable older sister for the rest of her unit, but she was still only a seventeen-year-old girl.
I’m weak. And I still have an enemy to exact revenge on.
The head of the Phillet Copmany—Deinfraude Phillet. The man who took her mother’s life. Undoubtedly, he was behind the D Project. Elfiné clenched her trembling hand into a fist.
I need to become stronger.
She couldn’t defeat that monstrous man yet.
When Elfiné opened her eyes, she saw a message waiting on her terminal.
“From the bureau?” She furrowed her brow as she read. “Elysion Academy students went missing?”
Elfiné couldn’t hide her shock as she read through the report from the administration bureau. Roughly three hours ago, forty students had suddenly disappeared from the girls’ dorm block of Elysion Academy, the capital’s Holy Swordsman training school. All of the academy’s security cameras had been damaged, meaning there was no record of the event. The bureau concluded the incident was the result of Void miasma.
“…Voids in the center of the capital?”
Elfiné chewed her lip. The Eye of the Witch orbs stationed above the capital hadn’t detected any Voids, but there was that giant fracture in space nearby.
Anything could happen now.
There was also the possibility another Void tear had appeared within Elysion Academy itself. Had the students been swallowed and sent to the world on the other side?
The message from the bureau also had an attachment regarding the increased spatial distortion rate detected at the same time as the abductions. Elfiné sent a reply acknowledging the information, but she paused as she remembered something.
Come to think of it, didn’t Princess Chatres invite Selia and the others to a tea party…?
She checked her terminal, suddenly feeling more worried.
I knew it…
She’d remembered correctly. Elfiné hadn’t been able to attend because of this data analysis assignment; however, her teammates had gone to Elysion Academy at the same time as the incident.
“Selia…!”
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