Epilogue

On the northern continent, the Holy East Revlon Empire held domain over the land to

the east.

The imperial capital of Habahren sat at the center of the empire, with numerous roads

leading into and out of the city, stretching off to the farthest reaches of its domain.

Power over all these lands was concentrated in Habahren.

A company of soldiers marched along one of the arteries that supported this great

empire, heading off to the southwest. At their head rode a small number of cavalry,

followed by rows and rows of infantry. Behind them was a long train of horse-drawn

carts.

The massive formation of soldiers outfitted in identical armor was truly a grand sight

to behold. At the center of the formation was a carriage pulled by four horses, a

contingent of guards walking along with it.

The elegantly decorated black carriage carried the crest of the Valtiafelbe household—

the imperial family that ruled over the Holy East Revlon Empire. However, it was

occupied only by two of the emperor's chambermaids, with the emperor himself

nowhere to be found.

At the front of the formation, a young man sat atop a beautiful black horse, leading the

thirty-men cavalry. The man had a distinguished nose and untamed reddish-brown

hair. He was dressed in a form-fitting military uniform, far grander than those of his

fellow soldiers.

His name was Domitianus Revlon Valtiafelbe, and he was the young ruler of the Holy

East Revlon Empire.

Riding off to Domitianus's side was a large, middle-aged man who leaned in close to

the young emperor's ear. The man looked rather worried.

"Are you sure about this, sire? I understand that you're the ruler of these lands, but if

there are any spies or assassins out there, you'd make a marvelous target at the head

of this formation."

Domitianus laughed in response.

"As you said, this is my domain, so there's nothing to worry about. Besides, don't you

think I'd be even harder to spot out here among the men than in that giant rolling box

with my name stamped on the side? Kyahaha!"

"Why, I, well… I mean… Who can say?"

The man was temporarily at a loss for words as he thought over the possibilities.

Domitianus's shoulders slumped at the man's overly serious demeanor.

"It's boring sitting in that carriage. And even if something were to happen, I have all

these men out here with me."

The young ruler shot a mischievous grin toward the older man.

"Of course, sire! We would all happily give our lives for you!"

All of the men riding along with the emperor offered up a salute. The middle-aged man

reached out with his riding crop and gave the emperor's horse a few good strikes.

"Whoa, whoa, cut that out! Are you trying to tell the enemy where I am?"

Domitianus gave an awkward laugh, eliciting a bow of apology from the man.

The man looked back behind them at the massive formation of troops, filling the road

to the brim.

"Counting our supplement troops, the army stands at around 20,000strong. It's quite

a sight to behold."

Domitianus grinned at this.

"With me here, we're going to take the fight all the way down to Tisheng and beyond.

We'll send that old fart in the west running with his tail between his legs. His days are

numbered."

Several of the men around them nodded in agreement with the young emperor's

words.

"First, we'll need to summon Lieutenant General Keeling's Southern Imperial Army."

"Aaah, it's been quite some time since I've been on the front lines. I guess I'll at least

bring Velmoas a gift for sitting back at the palace. The lieutenant general's head,

maybe."

Domitianus broke out in a broad grin and waved his sword about for emphasis.

Apparently, he intended to slay the lieutenant general himself.

The middle-aged man looked off toward the western sky, his mind full of the perils

they were facing—most of which were ignored by the young ruler, filled with the

courage of youth.

"But if they're able to link up with any other forces, even our army may not be enough."

"Hmph. We've leaked information about this expedition to Aspania as well, so they are

almost certainly moving around behind the scenes, trying to look for a way to take

advantage of it. In that case, the west won't be able to move any of their forces for some

time."

With that, Emperor Domitianus narrowed his eyes at the road ahead and smiled.

***

The Hilk religion was the most popular religion among those who lived on the

northern continent.

The country known as the Holy Hilk Kingdom, led by the pontiff, was the seat of the

Hilk religion. It was bordered on three sides by the Delfrent Kingdom, the Nohzan

Kingdom, and the Salma Kingdom. The rest of its border was defined by the Beek Sea,

on the opposite side of which sat the Great West Revlon Empire.

The Hilk capital was located at the base of Mount Alsus, known for its mythril mines,

which was a part of the Rutios mountain range. This range marked the rest of the

border with the Great West Revlon Empire.

A huge clearing had been clawed out of the mountainside by hand, at the center of

which was a huge building surrounded by an open-air corridor. The entrance was such

a brilliant white that the sunlight reflecting off it nearly blinded those who approached

the awe-inspiring compound.

This was the central Alsus church and home to Pontiff Thanatos Sylvius Hilk, the

highest figure in the Hilk religion.

However, only a select few were ever allowed entry to the holy church.

The outside of the church was magnificently decorated, as if to tell all who set eyes

upon it the power that the Hilk wielded. The grand design did not stop at the exterior,

however, as the interior corridors and rooms were just as, if not even more, grand in

their design.

The vaulted ceilings of the corridors stood around three times as tall as any normal

building, and the floors were decorated with intricately woven carpets. All of the

pieces of furniture filling the rooms were works of art in their own right, made by

master artisans.

Off in one room sat at large, round table, around which sat six figures dressed in

magnificent robes. They were in the midst of an important discussion.

"According to the reports, Cardinal Industria was killed at the hands of an unknown

party down in the western empire's colony of Tagent on the southern continent."

The speaker, a man of around thirty years, with immaculately arranged black hair and

the elaborate uniform of a clergyman, wore a warm smile on his face. His name was

Cardinal Palurumo Avaritia Liberalitas.

After the pontiff himself, the cardinals were the highest-ranking officials in the Holy

Hilk Kingdom. This man was known among his peers as Liberalitas.

However, he was not the only cardinal here.

A well-built, muscular man snorted at this.

"Hmph, Charros was always the weakest of the seven cardinals. What a disgrace to his

rank to be killed off by some nobody. He always was a lazy sloth. Now that the seat of

Industria has opened up, I say we ask the pontiff to assign the role to someone useful."

Cardinal Marcos Invidia Humanitas stood around 190 centimeters tall and sported

blond hair and an unkempt beard. His muscular body was barely confined by the

elegant robes he wore, giving him less the appearance of a man of the cloth and more

that of a military man.

However, he had clear bags under his eyes and wore a deep frown on his face.

Next to speak was the only woman sitting at the table, a smile gracing her face.

"Oh, so are you saying you doubt the pontiff's choice in assignments? In that case, I

suppose you don't trust the pontiff's judge of character?"

The woman—Cardinal Elin Luxuria Castitas—had long, blonde hair and a graceful

face. However, her all-white attire, which left her gently swaying chest exposed for all

to see, seemed completely unfitting in this place of reverence. A long slit ran up the

side of her skirt, showing off the pale skin of her long legs, crossed delicately as she

sat.

She shot an enchanting smile in Cardinal Humanitas's direction. His eyes went wide,

and he struggled for words.

"I… No, I didn't mean it that that way. It's just that Charros was rather unscrupulous

and…"

The heavily built Cardinal Humanitas looked around frantically as he searched for

words. Noticing that Pontiff Thanatos was not in the room, he let out a large sigh of

relief.

An old man with white hair slowly closed his eyes, deep ridges forming on his forehead

as he spoke.

"Hmph. We have only been granted the role of cardinal by the grace of His Holiness.

He makes no mistakes in his choices, though he is limited in his selection. It is simply

a matter of fact that some of us do not live up to our roles."

The old man with arms crossed was Cardinal Augrent Iyla Patientia. A man in his early

fifties, he sported a magnificent white mustache to match his head of white hair.

Muscles larger than even the hulking Cardinal Humanitas bulged against his robes.

Cardinal Humanitas gritted his teeth, barely able to conceal his anger.

"What are you implying?! That I'm not fit to be a cardinal?!"

Cardinal Patientia kept his eyes closed as a cool smile formed on his lips.

"No one said anything of the sort. Perhaps you've simply come to that realization

yourself?"

"Can you just cut it out? Your petty bickering will get us nowhere. Honestly, from

where I sit, there's little difference between you two meatheads."

A tall, lanky man with black-rimmed glasses—Cardinal Baltord Spelvia Humilitas—

butted in to the squabbling in an attempt to end it. The man's head was completely

shaved, and he looked the most priestly of all those in the room. There was, however,

a strange vibe about the man. He cared little about anything that didn't specifically

pique his interest.

He played with the dulled silver ring on his finger as he turned the conversation back

to the person who'd killed Charros.

"I'm curious about this knight dressed in silver armor. Charros was a cardinal after all.

I'm quite surprised to hear that someone out there could kill him."

The cheerful tone in Cardinal Humilitas's voice drew angry looks from the two

bickering men.

"Like you're one to talk!"

"Hmph!"

Cardinals Humanitas and Patientia skulked in their seats at being reproached by

Cardinal Humilitas. Cardinal Castitas merely shrugged at this, the large mounds of

flesh beneath her robe heaving as she sighed.

She turned her attention to the ring Cardinal Humilitas wore on his finger as she

steered the conversation in a new direction.

"Where did you get that, if I may ask? You've been playing with it the whole time."

She cast him a seductive glance—almost everything she did would cause men to do

her bidding. However, Cardinal Humilitas paid little attention to this and responded

with a cheerful smile.

"Oh, this? I made this back in the east empire. This item, an employ ring, can be used

to control monsters."

Upon hearing this, Cardinal Castitas recalled where Cardinal Humilitas was assigned.

"Ah, that's right. You were sent to the Runeology Cloister in the Holy Revlon Empire."

Cardinal Humilitas shrugged his shoulders dramatically and glanced admonishingly

at the other members of the table.

"Everything's going just fine for me. I really think we should limit these meetings to

those who aren't doing their jobs."

The atmosphere in the room grew even more hostile, though he seemed to pay it no

mind. His gaze stopped on one person.

"Are you just going to eat throughout this whole meeting?"

Cardinal Humilitas adjusted his glasses and shot a look at a small boy busily shoving

food into his mouth. He hadn't said anything so far.

Judging by appearance alone, one might guess that the young boy had perhaps

stepped into the wrong room. But he was, in fact, one of the seven cardinals—Cardinal

Tismo Ghoula Temprantia.

The only response he offered to Cardinal Humilitas's question was a shrug before

returning to eating.

The other cardinals sighed in response.

"It seems like you're all here." A low voice filled the room. All six cardinals stood up

from their seats and immediately kneeled down.

"We are honored by your presence, Pontiff Thanatos."

It was as if the man had suddenly appeared in the room. He bowed to each of the

cardinals before sitting down in the elaborate seat placed on a platform overlooking

the table.

He was dressed in even more elaborate garb than those of his cardinals, and held in

his hand the holy scepter, a highly decorated rod and sign of the pontiff's status.

Atop his head he wore a large hat on which the holy symbol of the Hilk was inscribed,

a hat reserved for the pontiff himself. His face was covered with a veil that hung from

the brim of the hat.

The veiled man who could bring six cardinals to their knees was none other than the

head of the Holy Hilk Kingdom, Pontiff Thanatos Sylvius Hilk.

Pontiff Thanatos looked out over the assembled cardinals before speaking through his

veil. No one had ever seen his face.

"I see that you're all here. As I'm sure you must already know, Charros, Cardinal

Industria, has been killed by an unknown party after being sent to the southern

continent."

He paused for a moment and looked at each of his cardinals one by one. They hung on

his every word, and not a single person dared interrupt.

Satisfied, the pontiff continued.

"However, we should be happy that he did his job… at least to the best of his abilities.

The west empire's colony of Tagent has suffered a great blow. Though it would have

been nice if the town had fallen entirely, that would have been a bit much to ask of

him."

A faint laugh could be heard from behind the veil.

The cardinals' eyes went wide at this. It was an incredibly rare occurrence for the

pontiff to laugh in front of them.

Undeterred by his audience's surprise, the pontiff continued explaining his plans.

"Up until now, the war between the two empires has been leaning in favor of the east.

I would like you to focus your efforts on our plans with Nohzan, Delfrent, and Salma.

These are your orders."

The cardinals nodded in unison.

"As you wish."

The pontiff gave a satisfied nod, stood from his chair, and left the room.

He walked alone down the corridor. The only sounds accompanying him were those

of his own footsteps. A faint laugh once again escaped his veil.

"Great things are about to be put into action. It's been a long while. A truly long while."

A bird sitting on the windowsill in the corridor watched the pontiff curiously before

hopping out to ride the winds high above the mountain range.

Dark clouds filled the sky over the Rutios mountains.