Chapter 19

Cassie's vision turned out to be true. Far in the west, they indeed found a vast, ruined city surrounded by tall walls, with monsters wandering its narrow streets. In the center of the city, there was a hill with a magnificent castle standing on its top.

Miraculously, the castle was full of people. However, they weren't Awakened, as the three of them had hoped. Instead, every one of them was a mere Sleeper.

There was no Gateway in the castle.

Hundreds of humans—those who had managed to survive the lethal hellscape of the Forgotten Shore due to their strength or luck—were stuck there with no hope of ever returning to the real world. It was nothing but a graveyard of hope.

Unsurprisingly, such a society didn't function properly. At the top of the food chain stood Gunlaug, the third Brigh Lord and penultimate ruler of the Bright Castle. He had managed the city for many years since he arrived eight years before Kiyotaka and the cohort.

He ruled the Bright Castle with an iron fist, killing anyone who dared to disobey him. Most Sleepers viewed him as a Mad Ruler. But Kiyotaka viewed Gunlaug as a Mad Genius. To operate and ensure the semblance of society in the harrowing reality of the Forgotten Shore was no simple feat.

His method of rule could be interpreted as a necessary evil. Who knows what the fate of the Sleepers would have been without his tyranny?

Most of the inhabitants of the castle directly served Gunlaug. They were Guards, Hunters, Pathfinders, Artisans, and Handmaidens. Ruling over them were five lieutenants who answered directly to the lord himself, each responsible for their own aspect of the day-to-day life of the fortress.

Castle guards were led by Tessai; Hunters and Pathfinders were led by Gemma; Artisans were led by Kido; and Handmaidens were led by Seishan.

There was also a fifth lieutenant, the Executioner Harus. He was the Bright Lord's hidden blade.

The last hundred people in the castle were those who paid tribute but didn't serve Gunlaug directly. There was no real name for this group, so Sunny simply called them "tenants." There were two types of tenants: a smaller number of them were those who were able to make a decent living by providing Gunlaug's men with various services, mostly involving craftsmanship and entertainment. For example, there was a man who created something akin to a music lounge, another who operated a small theatre troupe, and even an entrepreneurial girl who owned a gambling den named Aiko.

Kiyotaka utilized his combat abilities to quickly join the castle guards and then the Hunters. As he continued to display his powers, he was soon elected as a vice-lieutenant.

Nephis and Cassie settled inside the castle, secretly raising their own power faction and returning hope to those who were hopeless. The Bright Lord knew about it but strangely didn't take any measures to prevent it.

As for Sunny... Sunny was "exiled." There was the matter of him killing someone innocent. Currently, Kiyotaka speculated Sunny was in Dark City, in a den of many Fallen creatures.

Kiyotaka felt a strange emptiness as the previously united cohort was divided. From a political standpoint, he and the girls were now de jure enemies on two sides of a looming war. Of course, Kiyotaka had no thoughts about fighting them if things came down to that. Not because he considered them friends, but mostly because Changing Star was no easy opponent.

As he strolled around the outside of the Castle, killing unfortunate Nightmare Creatures that happened to be in his way, he walked towards the walls from where they originally came. It was a habit of his to gaze at the Crater and ponder about the future.

Suddenly, a tall and attractive young woman approached him while munching some meat. She had hazel eyes and beautiful brown hair tied in a simple braid. Her build was extremely athletic, with perfect lean muscles rolling under her dewy olive skin with each movement.

"I see you are zoning out again, Kiyopon!"

Ayanokouji calmly looked at the woman and relaxed.

"Effie."