CHAPTER 4
APOSTLES OF THE GODDESS
“—You’re still looking with your eyes. There’s no point unless you sense them with mana.”
“O-okay!” Riselia replied energetically under the blazing sun.
She and the others were at a large, anti-Void weapons training facility, part of the Shangri-la Resort and thus owned by the Phillet Corporation.
The exercise was quite simple. Leonis unleashed mana spheres, and Riselia had to dodge them. At first, she could keep up, but evading became more challenging as the number of orbs increased. While she escaped direct hits, she quickly grew exhausted.
“Haah, haah, haah…,” Riselia panted.
“Is this as far as you can go? If this kind of training is enough to make you throw in the towel—”
“…N-not yet! Give me more, please!” Riselia called out, wiping the sweat off her jaw.
“Well, you’ve got the right attitude, if nothing else. This time, I think I’ll get serious.”
“Huhhhhhh?!”
It was only then that Riselia understood. Leo’s been holding back this whole time!
“Go, go, Lady Selia! Keep it up, Lady Selia!” a voice encouraged from nearby.
Riselia turned around, only to find…
“R-Regina?! What are you doing?!”
“I’m cheering you on, Lady Selia! Go, go, Lady Selia! ”
Regina jumped around energetically with pompoms in her hands. For some reason, she’d changed into a cheerleader outfit and appeared to be enjoying it thoroughly.
“S-stop it, this is embarrassing…!” Riselia chided her.
“If anything, I’m the one who should be embarrassed…,” Regina replied.
“Then apologize and stop it!”
“Turning your back, are you? Let’s add some more balls, then,” Leonis said, producing countless mana spheres that sped at Riselia.
Sometime later…
“Here, Lady Selia. A drink.”
“Thank you, Regina.”
…Riselia, lying faceup on the ground, accepted a sports drink from Regina and gulped it down.
Leonis shrugged. “That should do for morning training.”
“M-morning training…?”
“That was just a warm-up. Our session later will be even more demanding,” Leonis stated mercilessly.
“Huh…?” Riselia whimpered. “Real Leo, please come back already…”
It was quite unusual to hear Riselia whine aloud.
“Kid, I want to rest a bit. I’m exhausted from all this cheering,” Regina said.
“Very well. Use this break to rest up.”
Immediately, Riselia sat up. “Why are you so soft on Regina?!”
For some odd reason, this fake Leonis seemed to hold Regina in high regard.
“We’ll be meeting up with Miss Finé and Sakuya during the afternoon, right?” Regina asked.
“Yes, that was the plan, but…”
Sakuya had turned down the offer to train together, claiming she needed to do some independent practice. Her methods were unique, so that made sense. Typically, she spent her mornings in the woods behind the Hræsvelgr dorm, cutting falling leaves before they hit the ground or jumping between the trees.
Normal training probably doesn’t cut it for her.
Camelot’s Area VI—the undeveloped sector. It was originally a generic expansion module for construction of the Third Assault Garden’s industrial production plants. However, the Third Assault Garden’s destruction six years ago had put that project on hold.
At present, it was used only as a dumping site for construction material. The Linear Rail ran to it to transport supplies. People hardly ever went out there.
Area VI appeared deserted, save for several Artificial Elementals made by the Phillet Company, which patrolled the area.
However, that was only on the surface. Deep below the undeveloped section was an entire underground world. Area VI’s bowels served as a home for smugglers, criminals, hooligans, anti-royalty terrorists, and even heretical sects that worshipped the Voids.
“Why doesn’t the empire’s army crush all these underground organizations?” a girl wondered as she walked down a tunnel illuminated by mana lamps.
Her name was Arle Kirlesio, an elf warrior with beautiful, pointed ears and jade hair tied in a ponytail. Outwardly, she looked pretty young, but she was, in fact, a seasoned hero. And through some twist of fate that even she couldn’t explain adequately, she’d become part of a criminal organization.
Sakuya, who walked beside Arle, replied, “It could stomp them all out together, but it would mean suffering losses. Plus, having them far from the capital’s center and gathered in one place makes them easier to handle. The army has quashed a few criminal sects before, but it only made them break into more extreme factions and spread to other Assault Gardens.”
“…I see.”
Arle recalled that the group she’d fallen in with, the Demon Wolf Pack, was originally an anti-royal terrorist organization.
“Looks like that’s the place.” Sakuya looked up from her map and pointed ahead.
An intense neon mana glow shone at the far end of the tunnel.
“Are we really going to charge in?” Arle asked.
“Yes. No offense to my upperclassmen, but normal training isn’t enough for me. I’m more suited to learning through live combat.”
“Er…I see. But why did I have to come along, too?” Arle eyed the other girl, pouting.
This was the first time Sakuya had contacted Arle via her terminal. The elf hero still wasn’t sure why.
“I figured I’d get lost on my own, and you looked like you had time on your hands,” Sakuya reasoned, shrugging.
“I—I do not have time on my hands. I’ll have you know I’ve been very busy investigating the Dark Lord’s identity!” Arle countered.
Unfortunately, the Dark Lord Zol Vadis hadn’t contacted the Demon Wolf Pack in the last few days, so her efforts had turned up little.
“Besides, you’re the only friend I have who knows this side of me.” Sakuya pulled a fox mask from her chest and smiled.
“Wh-what do you mean? W-wait, friend?” Arle’s ears perked up.
Sakuya cocked her head. “Aren’t we friends?”
“Huh? Hmm… W-well… Yes, I suppose? I guess we are…friends.” Arle mouthed the word awkwardly, a blush creeping over her cheeks.
A friend. In all her life, she’d never had anyone she could address as such.
Arle had been chosen at birth by one of the Arc Seven to shoulder the duty of saving the world. Her elf village had left her in the care of the Swordmaster of the Six Heroes.
“W-well, if you need me my help that badly, I suppose I’ll escort you…”
“Thank you. I don’t know if it’s appropriate compensation, but…” Sakuya grinned, pulling a ticket from her pocket and handing it to Arle.
“…What’s this?”
“A spectator ticket for the Holy Sword Dance Festival. They gave them out to the participants.”
“I can have this?”
“Yes. I’d be glad if you came to watch.”
“H-hmph…” Arle eyed the ticket. “I-I’ll take it. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to attend, however. I mean, I am busy… But we’re f-friends…and all…”
The pair continued toward their objective while discussing the upcoming event. They came upon a metallic door blocked behind a few stacked crates of supplies. Loud music, clattering, and shouts were audible from beyond.
“Let’s go in…”
Sakuya donned her festival fox mask and stepped inside. The room past the door was much more spacious than either girl had expected. At one point, it had likely been a supply warehouse. A melody boomed, and a throng of rough-looking people shouted over the noise.
Arle frowned, her long ears flicking. “What a racket. It makes my ears hurt.”
Sakuya pushed straight through the crowd, approaching the center of the chamber. There, she and Arle saw a large fighting ring illuminated by many overhead lamps.
This was an underground arena where the city’s criminals gathered to test their mettle.
“Oh, what’s this? I don’t think girlies like you belong here.” A werewolf man with sharp claws grabbed Sakuya by the shoulder as she approached the ring.
“I want to fight, too,” she replied. “It’s open to anyone, isn’t it?”
“Stop fooling around, girl! The Black Fangs run this place!” the werewolf snarled at her.
“Activate.”
Argent light flashed through the darkness. Sakuya’s Raikirimaru cut the werewolf’s whiskers short.
“…What?!” The beastman froze, his eyes wide with astonishment.
The crowd broke into an uproar. Sakuya peered into the ring, Raikirimaru still crackling with lightning.
“Good, there are other Holy Swordsmen here…”
Sakuya’s gaze settled on a hulking man with a large broadsword alight with flames. Using Holy Swords in urban spaces was strictly forbidden outside of emergencies. This man may have been a member of some anti-government organization, or perhaps just a combat junkie who wanted the chance to wield his Holy Sword to his heart’s content.
Whoever he is doesn’t matter to me.
Sakuya stepped onto the ring and readied Raikirimaru. “Now, which one of you wants to try me first? Or maybe…” She looked down on the people waiting to get into the ring. “You all want to come at me at once? I don’t mind…”
A cybernetic Assault Garden, made up of electronic terminals—the Astral Garden. In this infinite space formed by a grid of geometric cubes, the Queen of the Night spread her wings, sailing elegantly through the air.
She wore an alluring black dress that boldly emphasized her cleavage, giving Elfiné an appearance that would shock those who knew her. Elfiné herself had designed this avatar.
I can’t let Riselia and the others see me like this.
While she’d worn a witch costume during the Holy Light Festival, Elfiné wanted to don bold, sexy outfits like Riselia and the others more often. How would that boy react if he saw her as the Queen of the Night? Would his heart skip a beat, like when he saw Riselia’s provocative costume?
What a silly idea…
Before long, she discovered what she was looking for within the vast sea of information, a black cat hopping from grid to grid.
“Good work, Cait Sith.”
It was an Artificial Elemental that Elfiné had created from one of the Eye of the Witch orbs. She’d asked Leonis to slip it into a Phillet-owned casino so that it might infiltrate the establishment’s main network. The Phillet Company’s base of operations was situated in Camelot’s Central Garden, and was supremely well-defended. Accessing records on the business’s Artificial Elementals would be challenging, even for Efliné.
Hopefully, this confidential data from my brother’s casino will give me a way in, though…
Elfiné cradled the black cat in her arms and accepted the information cube it held. She used the Eye of the Witch to scan it for any viruses, then accessed it carefully. The geometric cube opened up, and data on casino patrons poured into an Eye of the Witch orb.
Elfiné sought information to explain her brother’s, Finzel Phillet’s, connection to the Demon Sword Project. That wasn’t all, however. She was also after anything related to Deinfraude Phillet, her father and the man who killed her mother.
“What’s this…?” There was something unusual within the list of customers.
Apparently, priests from the Human Church had visited the casino multiple times. The religion advocated for eliminating the Voids, and although it didn’t preach abstinence from vice as it once had, it still felt unusual for a priest to frequent a gambling establishment.
Records indicated multiple people coming and going from the casino, but the names used were clearly aliases.
Is it possible they’re all the same person? I might have to look into this.
Elfiné was already aware of the army’s involvement in the early stages of the D Project. If the military, the Phillet Company, and the Human Church were all wrapped up in this…
I can’t imagine taking this on alone…
She’d set herself up against a massive conspiracy. But was it right to drag Riselia and the others into such a dangerous battle?
Elfiné thought of someone, and she saw a ten-year-old boy’s face.
Leo…
By now, Elfiné was confident that he was no mere refugee child. She still had data on him that should have gone to the administrative bureau.
Back when the Void Stampede descended on the Seventh Assault Garden. When the Void Reef vanished. When they engaged that mysterious Void Lord in the Third Assault Garden. And when the Void hive in the ancient ruins was abruptly eradicated…
That ten-year-old boy was always involved somehow. Elfiné didn’t know who he really was or what he intended.
Still, he might be able to…
Somewhere, deep down, she carried a kind of expectation of him. Was he this world’s hope? Or perhaps he was…
Elfiné’s older sister had told her about them way back.
…a Dark Lord. An incarnation of destruction and chaos that burned the ancient world.
“Find anything interesting?” a voice inquired, disrupting Elfiné’s contemplation.
“…?!” The girl’s eyes widened.
The data cube fizzled away into particles of light and changed shape. Now it looked like a fairy just large enough to rest in Elfiné’s hands if she cupped them. It took flight and fluttered over her like a butterfly, its black wings sprinkling luminous motes as they beat.
“What?!” Elfiné called out in alarm.
Did the information cube conceal a backdoor access point?!
“Heh-heh, it’s nice to meet you, miss. I’ve been dying to!” The fairy stopped in midair and regarded her with a cherubic smile. “My name is Seraphim. I’m a messenger that conveys the voice of the goddess.”
“Seraphim…!” Elfiné froze from shock.
She knew that name. She’d been working to discover the truth behind it for some time. An entity called Seraphim had appeared to some of Excalibur Academy’s Holy Swordsmen, including Liat Guinness, the captain of the seventh platoon, Elfiné’s old unit. Seraphim granted them the power of Demon Swords.
Evidently, Seraphim was a Phillet Company mass-produced Artificial Elemental.
“Oh, you know me already. I’m so happy to hear that.” The fairy girl giggled.
“You’re the one who gave Liat and the others their Demon Swords, aren’t you?”
“Me? No! I’m incapable of producing or granting Demon Swords,” Seraphim replied. “All I do is relay the goddess’s voice to those who seek power.”
“…Goddess?”
Many students who wielded the Demon Swords mentioned hearing the voice of some goddess, but Elfiné had assumed it to be the Artificial Elemental.
“What do you mean? Aren’t you the one creating the Demon Swords?” Elfiné questioned.
Seraphim sneered. “You humans know nothing about the Holy Swords. You keep telling yourselves that lie that they come from the planet’s power, wielding them without knowing what they actually are.”
“What…? Wh-what are you saying?”
“Holy Swords and Demon Swords are the same, in essence.” The fairy smiled alluringly and peered into Elfiné’s dark eyes. “Tell me, Elfiné Phillet. Don’t you desire strength?”
“…What?”
“Open yourself to the goddess’s words. If your Holy Sword were to be reborn as a Demon Sword, you’d wield the power of a true witch. And with it, you’d surpass your brother, and even that monster, Count Deinfraude Phillet.”
The seductive whisper tickled her earlobe. Was it the fairy who spoke? Or was this irresistible, overwhelming voice perhaps…?
“Stop looking inside my head!” Elfiné glared at the Artificial Elemental. “And don’t think you can trick me that easily!”
Her Holy Sword, the Eye of the Witch, loosed a flash that destroyed the grid forming the space around them and triggered a loud alarm.
“Demon Swords can’t be allowed to exist, and that goes for the people who create them, too!” Elfiné declared.
“That’s a pity,” the fairy replied from someplace unseen. “You would’ve made an excellent witch—maybe even an apostle. Let’s meet again someday, shall we? In the goddess’s world—”
A single black feather fluttered down to Elfiné’s feet.
An upside-down palace floated in the infinite void. This was the Otherworldly Castle, a structure that belonged to one of the eight Dark Lords, Azra-Ael, the Devil of the Underworld. This mobile fortress was the only base in the Dark Lords’ Armies’ command capable of moving between dimensions.
At present, its owner was absent, and it couldn’t travel between planes, but it was still a sturdy bastion. This castle’s reception hall, a temple chamber that stood upside down, with a ceiling serving as the floors, was filled to the brim with gigantic eyes.
No, not eyes—jewels. Black gems polished like mirrors. The many eyelike stones reflected the lone visitor to this bizarre chamber. He was a tall man in a classy suit. With such handsome features, one could even call him beautiful.
However, dark madness burned in his eyes.
This was Count Phillet’s second son, Finzel Phillet, the leader of the Demon Sword Project and a traitor to humanity.
“Rejoice, ye sly fool of a short-lived race, for your accomplishments have marked you worthy of attending this banquet,” declared one of the eyes above him.
“I am honored, apostles of the goddess.” He fell prostrate, regarding the echoing voice with awe and respect.
Finzel felt like a cold blade hung above his nape. His life meant nothing to the courtiers of this place.
“You have asked to bask your flesh in the goddess’s blessing. To become a Void.”
Another spoke from the eyes. It was the clingy, viscous, and stagnant voice of a woman.
“Yes. That is my true wish.”
“Should you lend your ear to the goddess’s voice and bask in her blessing, you shall cease to be a man and become part of the emptiness that covers all in this world.”
“Ooh, what a glorious fate. There is no higher honor for me!” Finzel raised his head and cried out in craving, his eyes fanatical.
“Will you become a traitor to humanity and consign your homeland to be burned away by the Voids?”
“The capital was nothing but a prison to me. My father, my brother, the Holy Swords—none of them acknowledged me. The Assault Gardens, my world, even this despicable human shell! I cast them away without a single regret!”
“Very well.”
The eyes overhead gazed down upon the man, and loud laughter filled the inverted chamber.
“Finzel Phillet, he who the goddess guided to betray humankind. We shall grant you the privilege to advance into the deepest depths of the hidden temple to meet our goddess.”
“Ohhh…ohhhh! You have my everlasting thanks, gracious apostles!”
“However…” An eye swiveled above the man weeping in gratitude. “That will only come after you have completed the task the goddess has assigned you.”
Finzel Phillet hung his head. “Yes. Of course. Preparations for the Pseudo-Goddess Creation, the D Project, and the Void Shift are complete. I shall be as your hands and feet, great apostles, and exact the goddess’s will.”
“The will of the goddess. For this world to be reborn in emptiness.”
“The will of the goddess. For this world to be reborn in emptiness,” Finzel Phillet echoed, chanting the words as though they were from scripture.
The air around him bent and warped, and his body seemed to fold up and vanish. Silence reigned in the chamber until one of the floating eyes deigned to speak.
“Will he really be of use, old one?”
“Worry not. Even rusted swords have a use. That man would not have advanced the Pseudo-Goddess Creation and the D Project had he lacked devotion.”
“But there’s still the matter of the rogue Swordmaster. That ceaselessly evolving monster still wanders about, seeking to spill our goddess’s blood…”
“The Divine Dragon is tracking Shardark Void Lord.”
“The Swordmaster isn’t our only problem. There is another out there, an unknown element. They’re trying to gather the Dark Lords before we can.”
“The fourteenth apostle, Zemein, went to the Undead King’s resting place, yet found that his old master was already missing. And Zemein was slain shortly afterward.”
“Deviations are appearing in the prophecy.”
The space in the center of the room warped, and a figure appeared, a white-haired young man wearing the garb of the Human Church. Nefakess Void Lord, the thirteenth apostle.
He grinned, tapping his staff against the floor. “I just saw your last guest on the way back. He was quite overjoyed at having been granted an audience with the goddess.”
“How go your preparations, Lord Nefakess?” a viscous, womanly voice inquired.
“Perfectly. I’ve already taken care of everything within the Human Church.”
“Oh? Good. You can leave the rest to us.”
“Of course, Lady Iris.”
As Nefakess bowed his head respectfully, one of the eyes overhead changed into particles of light, spreading around the upside-down chamber like grains of sand. The luminous specks coalesced together, assuming the form of a woman.
The stunning beauty had crimson eyes and sleek black hair that trailed to her waist. She wore a pitch-black dress adorned with skulls and a dark robe over it. This was the ninth apostle and leader of the Dark Lords’ Armies’ Necromancy Unit, Iris Void Priestess.
She had been a commander directly beneath the Undead King, Leonis Death Magnus. And as a dark priestess, she had been entrusted with Roselia Ishtaris’s oracle.
She licked her crimson lips and smiled alluringly.
“Heh-heh…I look forward to the moment when a celebration of humanity’s hope becomes the day all hell breaks loose.”
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