Demon Sword Master of the Holy Sword Academy - Volume 3 - Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

THE CRYSTALIA ESTATE

“The subway tunnel leading to the Central Garden should be up ahead,” Riselia said, pointing at the map displayed on her terminal.

It was a direct route passing right below the linking bridge to the Assault Garden’s administrative ward.

“Can’t we take the subway train?” Leonis asked.

“Leo, it’s not the same as operating other vehicles,” Riselia chided, holding up her index finger with a self-important smile.

Evidently, the Dark Lord had inquired about something strange.

“We’ll walk along the rails by foot,” Riselia decided. “It should save us some time compared to trekking across the surface.”

“By foot…?” Leo asked, visibly fed up.

“Once we get back to Excalibur Academy, I’m going to add more stamina training to your curriculum,” Riselia commented upon noticing his tone. “Okay, let’s get moving.”

“Ah, wait a moment.” Leonis stopped Riselia before she set off.

“…Leo?”

“Miss Selia, there’s something I want to give you.”

“Something…for me?” Riselia cocked her head in surprise.

“Those ghost knights said the souls that were closer to the mana furnace turned into Voids more quickly,” Leonis started.

“…Right.”

“After what happened before, I’m not sure I’ll always be able to safeguard you from harm…” Leonis looked down at Riselia’s legs.

Her Vampire Queen powers had healed the broken limbs already, but one wrong step could have resulted in graver injuries.

“Are you worried about me, Leo?”

“I-I’m just saying you ought to be able to protect yourself, that is all.” Leonis turned away from the young woman gazing intently at him.

Letting out a dry cough, the Dark Lord tapped the Staff of Sealed Sins’s shaft against his shadow. A ripple spread through his ebon reflection, and from the center of those wrinkles, something appeared, shining with mystifying light.

It was a beautiful crimson dress the shade of the Underworld’s blood flowers. It had a very striking design with a daring neck plunge. Its hems and cuffs were embroidered with threads infused with mana.

“…Clothing?” Riselia’s ice-blue eyes widened.

“Yes. It’s called the Bride’s Dress.”

“Huh? B-bride?!” Riselia’s face turned a color that rivaled the outfit’s. “L-Leo, erm… I’m really happy, but.… Wh-what do I do…?” She brought a hand to her mouth, confused.

“Wh-what are you assuming here?” Leonis said hurriedly. “This is an item of the highest grade, one I would only grant to a minion who serves as my right hand. I thought it was too soon to bequeath this to you, but given the situation, I believe I would present it to you now.”

The gown was a hero-class item. Its proper name was the True Ancestor’s Dress. It was one of the most precious things Leonis kept stored in his treasure vault in the Realm of Shadows. He’d stolen the outfit from a vampire castle he’d visited with Blackas.

Leonis had planned to wait until Riselia became more adept at controlling her mana, but this felt like an excellent chance to bequeath it to her.

“The True Ancestor’s Dress will take a Vampire Queen’s mana and use it to reinforce her body. Your strength will skyrocket, but it will also consume your mana rapidly. So do be discreet with its use,” instructed Leonis. He held up his staff and chanted an incantation. The gown quickly folded up and sank into Riselia’s shadow.

“It’s gone?!”

“Merged into your shadow. When you want to call it, just imagine yourself wearing the dress and take in your mana. It shouldn’t be too difficult.”

“…U-understood.” Riselia nodded gravely. “Thank you, Leo. I’ll cherish it.”

“There’s no need for gratitude,” Leonis replied, coughing dryly again. “A minion must always protect her master. While we’re here, I’ll have my elite knights escort you.”

“Elite knights?”

“Yes. Come forth from the Realm of Shadows, the Three Champions of Rognas!” Leonis chanted, an indomitable smile on his lips.

A magic circle etched itself into the ground and then lit up with an ominous glow. And appearing at the center of that array were three skeleton warriors, each of them wielding a magical weapon.

“I am the Gelid Warrior, Amilas!” A skeleton wielding a sword and wearing leather armor struck a pose.

“I am Hell’s Grappler, Dorug!” A heavily-armored skeleton holding an iron ball assumed another pose.

“And I am the Underworld’s Archmage, Nefisgal!” Lastly, a robed skeleton holding a staff took a third pose.

“““And together, we are the illustrious Three Champions of Rognas!”””

The moment Riselia saw the three of them…

“…”

…Her expression visibly clouded over.

“More skellies…?” she asked.

“N-no, no! They’re not like the skeletons you used for training!” Leonis corrected hurriedly.

They didn’t look too different from the usual fare, so Riselia’s reaction wasn’t much of a surprise. However, not only were they stronger than any skeleton soldier, these three were elite combatants that surpassed even the Death Knights Leonis had summoned aboard the Hyperion.

“These are my comrades in arms. Seasoned warriors that accompanied me on the battlefield.”

“…Th-they are?” Riselia blinked at the three skeletons dubiously. “They look, uh, kind of tangled.”

“Nnng! Dorug, get away from me!”

“Mmm! No, Amilas, you get away from me!”

“Both of you, stay still! You’re cracking my old bones!”

The concerning sound of snapping echoed through the underground passage.

What are these fools doing?! Leonis massaged his temples.

“Hold still,” Riselia instructed as she carefully separated the trio’s tangled bits. “Erm, it’s like this… And like this…” Eventually, she separated the three skeletons from each other.

“Oooh! You have our thanks, beauteous princess!”

“We shan’t forget this debt. We shall protect you with our lives!”

“The undead have no lives to give, though. Ka-ka-ka!”

Amilas, Dorug, and Nefisgal all rattled their skulls in laughter. Riselia turned a worried glance at Leonis that seemed to ask if the three were truly up to the task.

“Th-their skill is guaranteed!” Leonis said evasively.

“I am most honored to be able to serve a Vampire Queen, the noblest of undead!” Amilas exclaimed.

“Indeed, for only chaste virgins are said to be able to become Vampire Queens,” Dorug needlessly appended.

“Vir—” Riselia blushed.

But then…

Bang!

Leonis beat Dorug, the grappler, over the head, sending his bones scattering over the ground.

“Mm, that hurt, Lord Leonis!” Dorug exclaimed without a hint of pain as his bones reassembled themselves.

“…B-be quiet! Do not drag my name through the mud any longer!” Leonis brandished his staff in anger, throwing the three skeletons into Riselia’s shadow.

After walking for roughly fifteen minutes, Riselia and Leonis reached an abandoned terminal. There were several small rail cars lined up in an abandoned port.

“This looks good,” Leonis said, tapping on the flank of a black-dyed one.

“That’s a special carriage for royalty and nobles. I traveled in it a few times when I was little,” Riselia said, rubbing the surface of the car nostalgically.

“Then how about we take it?”

“Huh?”

“Savel!” Leonis chanted before the silver-haired girl had time to react.

Whoosh! A blade of flames formed in front of Leonis and slashed the train car’s coupling apart.

“Wait, Leo, what are you doi—?”

“Walking for hours is a bit too tiring, I think.” Leonis pointed his staff at the ground and began to intone a bit of summoning magic. “Dead Carriers That Perished on the Battlefield, Rise Forth From the Realm of Shadows, Ye Steeds of War.”

The darkness beneath Leonis rippled, and something crept out from within it.

“Sssss… Ssss…!” Crimson eyes shone eerily in the gloom. Two massive, skeletal war steeds appeared, their bodies wreathed in blue flames. These were fearsome horses that galloped across the battlefields—bone mares, high-level undead familiars employed by Leonis.

“Bony horses?” asked Riselia.

“They usually come with a war carriage.” Leonis shrugged and shook his head.

His personal conveyance had large scythes attached to each wheel, but it had been destroyed in the last battle of the war, along with the Reaper who rode it, by the Six Heroes’ Swordmaster, Shardark.

The two bone mares neighed loudly and walked ahead a few steps. The blue flames burning around their bodies wrapped around the train car.

“With this, the metal carriage can be towed by my bone mares,” Leonis stated, tapping a door into the thing and chanting an unlocking spell.

The frame lit up and obediently swung open. Even these advanced magical apparatuses functioned on the basic principles of sorcery. Simple ones could be easily operated, even by ancient spells.

“Let’s get on, Miss Riselia,” Leonis said, offering his hand. The young woman stood still in shock.

“This thing looks like it can still move, Miss Elfiné. Any way we can get it to run?” Regina leaned forward, examining a military vehicle’s wheels.

“It’s got an authentication lock on it. I’ll see what I can do,” Elfiné replied, deploying the Eye of the Witch to try cracking the seal.

Arle watched the two of them, still gripping her sword. Her long ears would twitch now and then as she listened to the exchange. Elves perceived the voice of the wind and possessed far greater hearing than humans. Eavesdropping afforded Arle some information.

It looks like they really are here to investigate the city, she concluded silently.

These girls were apparently this era’s equivalent of knights. They fought those distorted monsters. Their strange powers, which they called Holy Swords, operated differently than magic.

Compared with sorcery, it’s significantly less versatile, but… Arle winced, holding her aching side. If only one of them could use holy magic, they’d be able to heal me… She increased her mana circulation to hasten her body’s recovery, but the wound would still require time to heal.

I let the enemy get the better of me. So shameful…

Arle had never imagined that something as powerful as that large angel-like monster could exist. Of course, she was also aware that her skill with the blade was a far cry from what it had been in her heyday. Arle had spent a thousand years sleeping inside the Elder Tree, after all.

If I could at least fully regain my intuition… She held tight to Crozax’s hilt. More than anything, Arle wanted to know who that man who had summoned the abomination was.

A guardian of the goddess’s vessel?

The Elder Tree, who had given Arle her mission, had considered the possibility that the Goddess of Rebellion might have a guardian. Some adherent of Roselia Ishtaris, perhaps, who would wish to see her resurrection come to fruition.

The missing Dark Lords were likely candidates for such a role. For example, the so-called Undead King, Leonis Death Magnus. He was known for being more powerful than his peers. When all the other Dark Lords had fallen, he alone had continued the fight.

It was said the Undead King left behind a foreboding prophecy before Necrozoa’s fall: “So long as darkness exists in this world, I shall rise again and again to cast everything into terror.”

Leonis was a ruler who had overcome death. If any of the Dark Lords had managed to be resurrected, it was likely him.

Or perhaps Azra-Ael, the Devil of the Underworld?

However, there was another Dark Lord who hadn’t been confirmed as deceased. Azra-Ael had been sealed in the throne room of his Otherworldly Castle by the Archsage Arakael Degradios. Of the Eight Dark Lords, Azra-Ael and Leonis had been the most loyal to the Goddess of Rebellion.

Was that man a lackey of the Dark Lords, or does he serve someone else…? Arle pondered, her gaze cast on the ground.

“Does it still hurt?” the blue-haired girl squatted down and asked.

If Arle recalled correctly, her name was Sakuya. She had a cool-looking expression and beautiful features.

“…Yes,” Arle replied curtly and looked up. This one had been designated as her guard.

“I’m sorry. If we had a medical expert, we might have been able to help more,” Sakuya said, eyeing Arle’s bloodstained bandages.

“It’s not a serious wound. It’ll heal soon enough,” Arle replied, though she averted her gaze.

Sakuya took a seat next to Arle and looked her over. “That’s a fine weapon. Does it have a name?” she asked, her eyes falling to Crozax, cradled in Arle’s arms.

“The Demon Smiting Sword.”

“That’s quite the grand title,” Sakuya remarked, her curiosity growing.

“Yes…,” Arle said curtly, and then she asked, “Why did you stop your blade when we fought?”

“I just did, I suppose. Crossing swords with you made me realize that you weren’t a bad person.”

“…What does that mean? Do you possess some kind of insight ability?”

“Something like that. My intuition is usually right.” The blue-haired girl smiled sardonically.

“You’re strong,” Arle stated. “Not as strong as me, though.”

“Am I?”

“What country’s sword style did you use?” Arle asked, her curiosity piqued.

Sakuya fell silent for a moment before answering, “The Sakura Orchid. It was a style passed down in my family called the Ultimate Blade Technique. My older sister and I were its only successors.”

“I’ve never heard of such a place.”

A country by that name hadn’t existed in Arle’s native era.

“Hardly matters. It no longer exists,” Sakuya admitted quietly. “My home was destroyed by the Voids.”

“…I see. Forgive my tactless question.” Arle hung her head, coiling her ponytail around a finger. “My nation is gone as well.”

Sakuya’s blue eyes widened in surprise.

“It was in a forest. The sanctuary of the elves and the spirits. A silent, beautiful place.”

“…Was it the Voids?”

“No.” Arle shook her head. “Dizolf Zoa, the Lord of Rage… I suppose that name means nothing to you, though.”

Dizolf Zoa had reigned over the Saag mountain range and was the cruelest of the Eight Dark Lords. The armies of ogres he unleashed on the forest trampled and destroyed everything.

I won’t let that happen ever again, thought Arle as she looked down at her sword. The weapon’s sole purpose was to destroy the source of all calamities—the goddess Roselia Ishtaris.

“Ah, looks like that’s got it working.” The blond girl waved over Arle and Sakuya. Apparently, they’d managed to get the vehicle running.

“…Where are we going?” Arle asked.

“The city’s administrative ward, the Central Garden. We’ll regroup with our comrades there.”

“So it’s not just you three here?”

“That’s right.” Sakuya nodded and showed Arle a small device.

Projected on its screen was the image of a girl with silver hair. Even by elven standards, she was beautiful. Next to her picture was that of…

“…A child?”

It was a boy with fair features.

“Yes, this is Leonis. A ten-year-old boy we found in different ruins a while back,” Sakuya explained. “His power as a Holy Swordsman is vast, though.”

Even a boy of such tender years has to fight against these terrible monsters? The situation must truly be dire. But that aside…

“Leonis?” Arle furrowed her brow. “What an inauspicious name for one to bear.”

“…?”

“That name is greatly hated in my homeland—”

A shrill roar interrupted Arle. The vehicle was ready to go.

“Great job, Elfiné. You broke through military authentication like it was nothing,” praised the blond.

“It’s easy compared to the capital’s security. Regina, can you show us the way?”

“Yeah, leave it to me. Sakuya, let’s go.”

“All right.” Sakuya got to her feet and extended a hand to Arle. “Can you stand?”

“…I’ll be fine on my own,” the half-elf insisted. She rose and picked up Crozax.

Trtrtrtrtrtrtr!

The metallic rails spat sparks as the sound of horseshoes clicking against the ground echoed. The improvised bone train blitzed through the underground tunnel, leaving a cacophonous rumble in its wake. Altogether, the sounds became a terrible roar that seemed to herald the end of the world. The bone mares’ crimson eyes illuminated the darkness like searchlights.

Sitting inside the train car’s furnished interior, Leonis composedly sipped from a can of coffee. It was standard canned coffee sold in Excalibur Academy’s school store.

“It’s a bit loud, but otherwise quite convenient.”

“Yeah…” Riselia, who sat opposite Leonis, gazed at him fixedly.

“What’s wrong, Miss Selia?” Leonis asked, furrowing his brow.

“Ah, erm… Sorry.” The young woman waved her hands apologetically.

“If it’s the speed, going any faster risks derailing the carriage…”

“No, that’s not it. I just thought that you’re…” Riselia paused, as if carefully choosing her words. “You’re kind of like…a Dark Lord.”

“…?! Pfha, pfft!” Leonis gagged on his coffee.

“Ahhh! Are you all right, Leo?!” Riselia hurried over, taking out a handkerchief to wipe his trousers clean.

“…Wh-what did you just say…?” Leonis asked between coughs.

True, he had shown Riselia a bit of his Dark Lord power, but he hadn’t revealed the true nature of his identity. Riselia should have still believed Leonis to be an ancient sorcerer who’d lost his memory.

“It’s a fairy tale my father told me when I was still little,” Riselia explained, folding up her handkerchief. “Looking at you reminded me of the Dark Lord from that story.”

“A fairy tale…?” Leonis patted his chest, feeling no small sense of relief. She hadn’t discovered his secret.

“A Dark Lord riding on a skeletal horse lives in a castle of bones with his many retainers. He could make lightning fall from the sky and breathe fire.”

“Fire breathing?! That’s absurd!” Leonis refuted despite himself.

“R-really? But Father said the Dark Lord could breathe fire…,” Riselia stated, cocking her head quizzically.

Hmm…

Riselia’s story didn’t seem more than a harmless children’s tale, but it was amusing in its own way. As far as Leonis had researched, much of his era’s knowledge had not survived to the present day. However, there was a chance that legends of gods and Dark Lords remained in folktales.

“Oh, but when I said you remind me of that Dark Lord, I didn’t mean it in a bad way.”

“…There’s a good meaning to ‘Dark Lord’?” Leonis questioned, slightly astonished.

“Father would always tell me that a scary Dark Lord would come to defeat the Voids.”

“…”

Silence hung over the carriage, save the sound of the bone mares’ hooves. Said Dark Lord was indeed sitting right in front of Riselia. Yet, it hardly meant anything. Leonis was confident that the story about the frightening savior was just a kind lie a father had told to soothe his daughter.

“I’m sorry. That was a strange thing to say,” Riselia admitted while peering out the window. “I just thought, ‘What if that scary Dark Lord really did appear?’”

“No, I’m honored. A mere sorcerer like me being called a Dark Lord,” Leonis replied with a composed smile. “By the way, what becomes of the Dark Lord in that story?”

“The same thing that always happens. A hero defeats the Dark Lord, and everyone lives happily ever after.”

“…What a sorry excuse for a fairy tale.”

“Huh?”

“Never mind.”

“Hiiiiiiiiiiiiii!”

The bone mares let out a loud neigh that echoed through the tunnel, fitting their name’s resemblance to the word nightmare.

“It seems we’ve arrived.”

Leonis tapped his staff on the floor, and the car gradually decelerated before coming to a complete stop. The door opened, and Leonis and Riselia disembarked at the terminal. Part of the carriage was jutting out of the station, but Leonis shrugged it off as being within an acceptable margin of error.

The bony horses that towed the train car exhausted their mana and fell apart. Leonis’s shadow swelled up and swallowed their scattered remains. He’d considered taking the car along with them, but…

“The Realm of Shadows’ vault is already filled to the brim!”

…Thinking back to Shary’s angry chiding, Leonis decided against it.

“How does your shadow keep doing that?” Riselia asked, cocking her head. She gingerly stepped over Leonis’s dark reflection—nothing happened.

“I think you’re better off not knowing what goes on in there,” Leonis replied with an indomitable smile.

Riselia couldn’t imagine that it contained the entirety of the Realm of Shadows. And in truth, even Leonis wasn’t sure of all that occurred in the depths of that place. The graveyard located in the deepest recesses of the realm was where his strongest minion was sealed, but Leonis had no plans of awakening it for the time being. That one was beyond Leonis’s ability to control, at least for now.

As the pair advanced through the dark underground, they discovered an elevator that led up to the surface.

“This one isn’t usable, right?” Leonis asked.

“Yeah. Let’s take the stairs,” Riselia answered.

“…Yes, I assumed as much.” Leonis sighed, making his disgruntlement known.

Climbing so many steps was hard on the untrained body of a ten-year-old.

“Think of it as stamina training, all right?” Riselia said, patting Leonis on the head as she set off cautiously.

Only the sound of their footfalls filled the silence. Leonis ascended the staircase with Riselia leading him by the hand.

Wouldn’t blowing off the ceiling and using a flying spell speed this up? Leonis wondered as he struggled for breath.

“This kind of reminds me of when I first found you,” Riselia suddenly whispered during their climb.

“…Yes, it does,” Leonis agreed.

Back then, Riselia had held his hand as they’d departed the Grand Mausoleum. Shortly after, Voids had attacked, and Riselia had sacrificed herself to protect Leonis.

At the time, I only saw her as a source of information, Leonis recalled with a bittersweet smile.

“…Back then, the door opened on its own, and I was able to save you, Leo.”

“A door?”

“Yeah, the one to the room you were trapped in. It had ancient letters etched on it, and while I was trying to decipher them, it just…”

“…Oh, yes. Right.”

That was something Leonis was curious about, as well. The door to the underground crypt that housed the Undead King’s casket was heavily sealed to keep everyone out. For one thousand years, that deterrent served its purpose perfectly. So then, how had Riselia managed to break it so effortlessly?

I doubt it was due to some flaw in the spell…

“We should reach the surface soon,” Riselia encouraged.

And after five more minutes of tiringly pushing up steps, they finally reached the surface. The pair were now in the Central Garden train station of the Third Assault Garden’s administrative ward.

“The estate should only be a short distance from here,” remarked Riselia.

“M-more walking?” Leonis whined, clearly fed up.

“Just a little longer.” Riselia smiled softly and ruffled Leonis’s hair.

The gate to the Crystalia home was broken, and the garden inside was in a sorry state. At this point, calling it such was wrong. The miasma had caused all the flora to shrivel up and die, leaving only a devastated wasteland.

Riselia entered the premises, the gravel crackling under her feet.

A homecoming for the first time in six years, eh? Leonis followed the silver-haired girl wordlessly. Usually, she matched Leonis’s pace when she walked, but this time she didn’t have the presence of mind to do so. Beyond the ruined garden was a large building that was evidently the mansion itself.

It reminded Leonis of the Hræsvelgr dorm, in the sense that it was designed after the architectural style of the old kingdom of Londirk. It was likely what passed for retro-culture in the eyes of this era’s nobility. It certainly stood out when compared to the laminated buildings that surrounded it.

Walking along the paved road leading up to the mansion, they reached the front door.

“It doesn’t look like the lock is operating,” Riselia observed, and then she nodded once. “Hyaaahhh!” She filled her fist with mana and punched through the reinforced door, reducing it to splinters.

“That’s barbaric, Miss Selia,” Leonis chided her.

Riselia hurried inside, not paying Leonis’s words any mind. Thick layers of accumulated dust danced through the air, making her cough a little. Past the entry was a lobby. There were staircases on both sides, leading up to the second story.

“This place seems comparatively untouched,” Leonis observed, conjuring an orb of light at the tip of his staff.

“Yeah. We’d evacuated the estate by the time the Voids got here.”

The abode seemed almost oppressively quiet. The only reprieve was the sound of Leonis and Riselia’s footsteps.

No sign of any ghosts here.

According to the Crystalia Knights’ ghosts, the dead souls that wandered along the Central Garden had all been turned into humanoid Voids.

“I’ll check the inside of the mansion. Want to come with me?” Riselia asked.

“It’s better if I remain outside. Regina and the others might show up,” replied Leonis. He wasn’t that gauche. Riselia would undoubtedly want to be alone at a time like this.

After igniting a light on a portable device she’d brought with her, Riselia ascended to the estate’s second floor.

The door to the study swung open, its hinges letting out a shrill creak. Taking a deep breath, Riselia stood in the doorway for a moment. The room wasn’t large. Its walls were lined with shelves stocked full of ancient magical apparatuses and texts excavated from ruins. Six years had done little to alter this chamber. It was as if time stood still here.

When she was little, Riselia would often sneak here to read. Thinking back on it, she realized that perhaps her interest in investigating ancient ruins had been fostered by her father.

And thanks to that, I saved Leo from that underground crypt.

Trodding on layers of dust, Riselia moved past the entryway and into the study. Inside were a large work desk and a chair. She strained her eyes, but of course, Duke Edward’s ghost was nowhere to be seen.

Was her father’s soul still wandering this city? Or was he…?

Riselia shook her head to banish that terrible thought from her mind. She then noticed a tome sitting on the desk. It had a leather binding but no title.

“…A book? What is this? Ancient writing?”

Sweeping the dust off the old text, she started leafing through the pages.

I’ve never seen this language before…

Riselia’s primary focus of study at Excalibur Academy was old cultures and ruins investigation. She was one of the more knowledgeable students when it came to ancient languages. However, whatever was written in this book, it used a system that was unlike anything Riselia had seen before. It seemed wholly alien.

The last book Father researched…

With her interest piqued, Riselia picked up the volume.

This is a memento…

Leaving the study, she headed for her old bedroom. That was when…

“I was wondering who trespassed on this city, but aren’t you the lovely little lady?”

“…Who are you?!” Riselia wheeled around, sensing a presence from behind her.

It was a slender young man with peculiar facial features. He wore an anachronistic white robe and looked to be in his twenties. He had a pleasant smile on his lips, but something about it filled Riselia with an eerie sense of dread.

Filled with an instinctive sense of danger, Riselia jumped away at once.

“Holy Sword, Activate!”

The Bloody Sword manifested in Riselia’s right hand. The young man watched her with interest in his eyes.

“So you’re a Holy Swordswoman, after all. I’d hoped to carry on in secret, but I suppose humanity’s technology has advanced to the point where we’re beyond caring for appearances.”

“…Who are you?” Riselia demanded again. “What is a human doing here?”

“…Human? Oh, you mean me?” The young man flashed Riselia a gruesome smile. “I daresay that’s the biggest insult I’ve ever heard.”

“…?!”

“You’ll find I’m not as magnanimous as those who command me. The debt of your insult shall be collected in blood.”

The man dressed as a priest held up his hand, and a helix of crimson flames burst from his fingers.

“Farga!”

Leonis went out to the estate’s courtyard and took a seat on one of the garden rocks, polishing a dragon’s bone. It was one of his hobbies. Well-polished bones added to a skeleton’s dignity when put into use. As the Undead King, Leonis regularly made use of skeletons.

It wouldn’t do for my enemies to mistake my soldiers for those used by the average necromancer or lich.

This was something of an obsession of Leonis’s. Further complicating things was that bones were seemingly harder to come by in this era. Leonis was unsure whether dragons even existed in this day at all.

I might have tens of thousands of troops slumbering in the Realm of Shadows, but I should be frugal…

“…id… Can you hear me, kid?” The Eye of the Witch sitting next to Leonis lit up, emitting a crackling voice.

“Miss Regina?” Leonis replied, his hands stopping.

“Ah, great. Where are you right now?”

“We’re at the Crystalia estate.”

“Huh? How did you get there so quickly?” Regina raised her voice in surprise.

“We used the underground railroad network to get directly to the Central Garden.”

“I mean, yeah, but the underground linear rail can’t move, right?”

“We got it to move,” Leonis answered curtly, not feeling inclined to explain further. “Enough about that, though. Where are you?”

“We’re just heading for the linking bridge.”

“I see. We’ll wait for you here.” Given how the Third Assault Garden was broken up, Regina, Elfiné, and Sakuya would arrive within the hour.

“Yeah, please. By the way, where’s Lady Selia?”

“In the mansion. I assumed I should give her some time for herself.”

“That’s pretty mature of you, kid.” Leonis got the feeling Regina was smiling on the other side of the call. “Ah, do you want to see my room? I’ll let you in once we get there.”

“Oh, not really…”

“…D-don’t you want to see a girl’s room, kid?”

“Erm…”

But just as Leonis was about to answer…

Boooooooooooooooooooooooooom!

Every window on the second story of the mansion burst out with a rumbling blast.

A roaring explosion echoed as crimson flames consumed the corridors, reducing everything they touched to ashes.

“I may have overdone it against a mere human. A third-order spell is capable of killing a giant.” Nefakess smiled, not a speck of soot on his robe. “Now then, how many more uninvited gnats must I sweep away…?”

The man turned to leave, waving his hand to ward off the smoke, when…

“…Hmm?”

He stopped in place. His brow furrowed with suspicion. There, between the cinders flitting through the air, was a robed skeleton.

“…What…?”

“Hmm, this is quite taxing on my old bones,” the bony figure admitted, sticking out his staff and forming a glowing, blue magical barrier.

Pho Rias, the magic barrier spell, was fourth-order defensive sorcery, only usable by high-ranking sorcerers.

“…A skeleton?”

“Ka-ka-ka!” The undead thing gave an eerie, rattling cackle. “Don’t lump me in with other gutless skeletons, whelp! For I am a high-ranking undead! An Elder Lich!”

“What…?!” Nefakess whispered.

The robed skeleton waved his staff, which lit up and produced dozens of mana arrows.

“…It can’t be!” Nefakess exclaimed as he quickly chanted a defensive spell and blocked the conjured projectiles. “Why are there undead here…?!”

“Hmph, insolent fool. To make an attempt on our mistress’s life!” a new skeleton, this one wielding a sword, declared.

“Just who is behind this…?!” Nefakess demanded. No sooner had he done so than a third warrior made of bones attacked from behind. This one was a hulking brute carrying an iron ball.

“…?!”

“I am the Gelid Warrior, Amilas!”

“I am Hell’s Grappler, Dorug!”

“And I am the Underworld’s Archmage, Nefisgal!”

The three champions stepped forward as one.

“““And together, we are the illustrious Three Champions of Rognas!””” they cried in unison, each striking a unique pose.

“Wh-what’s going on…?!” Nefakess’s eyes darted about in confusion. “What are these creatures doing here…? How…?!”

The way they carried themselves was unquestionably absurd, but they were far stronger than ordinary undead. Nefakess could tell these were all seasoned warriors that rivaled heroes. Behind those three skeletons, a shadow rose to its feet. Its silvery locks wavered in the surging fire. Nefakess had thought he’d obliterated the Holy Swordswoman with his spell, but he couldn’t have been more wrong.

“…Thank you, you three. You saved me,” she said.

“Do not mention it, milady!” the archmage Nefisgal replied with a flourish of one hand. “You are dear to our lord’s heart, after all! Now then, mistress, do you know who this ruffian might be?”

“…I have no idea.” Riselia shook her head, her eyes fixed on Nefakess.

“Hmm. But he does look skilled,” the warrior Amilas remarked. “It is best you retreat, my lady.”

“No, I’m afraid I can’t let you do that,” Nefakess declared. “I thought you were nothing but an insignificant worm, but a human who commands such high-ranking undead is rare. You’ve piqued my interest, I’ll admit. Just who are you?”

All at once, Nefakess’s demeanor had changed. He pointed a finger at Riselia and began chanting. The air crackled at his words.

“This is a sixth-order spell—sorcery that’s more powerful than anything a mere human could ever achieve.” Nefakess’s handsome lips curled up in cruel mocking. “Can you block this?”

“Get behind me, fair princess…!” Dorug, the grappler, called before leaping forward.

At the same moment…

“Miss Selia!”

“…!”

A boy’s shout filled the room, and a fire spell lanced forth from behind Riselia. The magic flames quickly consumed Nefakess.

“…Leo?!” Riselia spun around to see Leonis with his Staff of Sealed Sins in hand.

“L-Leo…,” Riselia said, her ice-blue eyes wide with shock.

The boy was standing at the end of the corridor. “You’re all right…” He sighed in relief.

The Three Champions of Rognas had kept Riselia safe.

“What happened? Who was that…?” Leonis asked.

“I don’t know…” Riselia shook her head.

Leonis peered down the burning hallway. He’d fired a third-order explosive spell, magic that should have been enough to reduce any ordinary person to ash.

How untoward. I neglected to restrain myself, Leonis chided. When it came to this minion of his, the Dark Lord tended to lose his cool.

“Keh-heh-heh-heh…” Laughter could be heard from within the blaze.

“…?!”

“So you’ve brought someone else with you. That spell just now packed a bit of a punch. I’ll grant you that.”

A figure rose in the swaying flames. A young man clad in a priest’s garb stepped out of the fire, brushing soot off his shoulders while wearing a composed grin. Leonis’s eyes went wide with disbelief.

What?! How can it be? Why is he here?!

The man didn’t regard Leonis’s reaction with much interest, however.

“Ah-ha-ha, surprised? Yes, I suppose that sort of magic would have been enough to kill most.” Nefakess extended his arm to gesture at the surrounding conflagration, misinterpreting Leonis’s shock. “I’m sorry to disappoint, but an attack of that magnitude cannot kill me.”

He chanted another spell, forming a ball of intense flame in his fingers.

Sorcery. I knew it. It really is him…

Just as Leonis was about to tell Nefakess to wait…

Voom!

The floor they were standing on started shaking on its own.

“What?” “Huh?!” Leonis and Riselia exclaimed at once.

Vrrrrrr! The trembling grew stronger. The tremors were so intense they rocked the manor’s very foundation, causing Leonis to lose his footing and stumble.

“Wh-what is this?!” “’Tis a cataclysm!” “Protect the mistress!” the skeleton warriors shouted in panic.

An earthquake? It can’t be. We’re on the ocean.

Was it that man’s doing? Leonis placed a hand on the wall to steady himself and looked up.

“Heh-heh-heh… Heh-heh… Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha, ha-ha-ha!” The man was laughing. He spread both hands as his face contorted with joy.

“…What’s so funny?” Leonis asked suspiciously.

The question brought the man’s ecstatic guffawing to an eerily swift halt. “She has awakened. Of course I would rejoice.”

“…She?”

“Yes, the great goddess has awakened from the Holy Woman’s vessel!” The priest turned his eyes toward the heavens, his expression still frozen in manic excitement.

“…Goddess? Did you just say goddess?” Leonis took a step forward, demanding an answer.

Crack…!

Before he could get any reply, however, a fissure ran across the man’s face.

Crack… Crack… Crack…!

What?

The fractures expanded across his body, as if…

“…Hmm, I suppose the time is right. Fine, then,” the mysterious person in priest attire remarked calmly, even as his body was splitting apart. “I admit I’m a bit disappointed that I won’t be fortunate enough to see the goddess’s resurrection with my own two eyes, but that is simply how things go. My job here is complete…”

Crack… Crack… Craaaaaaaaaaack…!

Breaks ran all over the young man’s body, and the emptiness between them quickly overtook him.

“…Wait!”

“Stay where you are!”

Leonis and Riselia both broke into a run to catch the man, but…

“You shall serve as the first sacrifices offered up to the goddess.”

By the time the pair reached him, his form had vanished, leaving only emptiness in its wake. The priest’s disappearance hadn’t brought an end to the quaking, however.

“Just who was he…? What goddess…?” Riselia was at a complete loss.

“…I don’t know.” Leonis shook his head. Internally, his mind was racing with contradictory thoughts and doubts.

What’s going on here? Leonis had recognized that slender man in white robes. There’s no mistaking it. That was…

Nefakess Reizaad. A confidant of Azra-Ael, the Devil of the Underworld, one of the Goddess of the Rebellion’s most loyal servants.

I saw him a few times at the Gatherings of the Eight Dark Lords. He always shadowed Azra-Ael, not once setting foot on the battlefield. It looks like he didn’t recognize me in my present form, but…

Why would a Dark Lord’s confidant be at a place like this, in this age…?

And he definitely said “goddess.” Leonis fell deep into contemplation.

“Leo, look at that!” Riselia pointed out the window.

A gigantic shape was beginning to rise from the Central Garden’s heart.