Chapter 38

Chapter 38: Shadows of Betrayal

Upon confirming Iris's condition, Shu breathed a sigh of relief at her safety. By completely obliterating Celestar, the seal of magic that had been placed on Iris was lifted. As a result, the immortal magical armor was activated, and Iris, who had been injured, made a full recovery.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm, um, fine. But my clothes are in tatters, you see. Sigh..."

Indeed, Iris's clothes were covered in blood and riddled with holes. It would be impossible for her to return to town like this. However, she hadn't brought any spare clothes.

In resignation, Shu put his own jacket over Iris.

"For now, let's head back to town."

"Oh, Shu-san, you're so kind! Will you take responsibility for turning me into a wreck like this?"

"I'll think about it."

"Huh? Really?"

In response to Iris's unexpected reaction, she leaned forward and asked again. Shu also felt partly responsible for this incident.

Despite the fact that her wounds would easily heal due to her immortality, Iris was still a girl. She wouldn't want to get injured. Moreover, this incident was caused by Shu's carelessness. He felt inclined to consider Iris's suggestion to some extent.

"First, let's go back. Iris needs to change clothes, and we have luggage."

"Yes."

Next, Shu surveyed the surroundings. Among those who survived the Grand Discharge, a few magical knights were lying unconscious. If they were left alive, information about Shu's powers might leak. It was necessary to seal their lips securely.

Since he had used magic power with the death attribute earlier for recovery, Shu decided to use death magic for this as well.

"There are... maybe ten survivors. 'Death Death.'"

Those who had barely survived by the merciless magic met their demise. Their life force was absorbed entirely by Shu. As they were on the verge of death, not much magic power accumulated, but he was able to recover somewhat.

The sight of charred bodies scattered in abundance due to the electric shock brought about a slight sense of fear.

Before long, it would become widely known as a major incident.

However, Shu and Iris intended to leave this country before that happened.

"When you look at it like this, it's quite a spectacle."

"Considering the large number of corpses strewn about, I'm not sure if 'spectacle' is the right word."

Iris was also following Shu with the determination to abandon the human world. Even if the Holy Knights and other humans had become lifeless bodies, she had no regrets.

She understood that this abundance of corpses was created by her use of the "Grand Discharge." Nevertheless, Shu had become her top priority over the Church that had abandoned her. Although her feelings wavered somewhat, she chose Shu, who had picked her up, over the Church that had abandoned her.

That was her true sentiment.

"Let's go back, Iris. Once we have our belongings, we'll head to the Empire's side."

"Yes, indeed."

And so, the two of them vanished into the forest.

◆◆◆

The nest of the former poisonous wyvern, Wyvern, had become empty. Burned corpses, dead Wyverns, and the surrounding scenery consisted only of grass, plants, and ground that had lost their color like ashes. It seemed as if a world exclusive to this area had come to an end.

However, suddenly, a single person appeared in such a place.

"...Well, well."

The person who appeared was a man dressed in the formal attire of a Holy Knight. His conspicuous attire was predominantly white, and anyone could tell he was a Holy Knight.

However, even when he saw the corpses of his comrades, he showed no expression of any emotion.

"Is there no sign of the captain's corpse? It's terrifying, Lord of Darkness, Arklight. Who would have thought you would completely eliminate the awakened mage knight without leaving a trace."

Surprisingly, he praised what the Lord of Darkness had done. Even in the face of the death of S-rank Holy Knight Celestar Altarein, who could be considered the trump card of the Holy Kingdom of Grinia, he didn't even show signs of going mad.

Something was off about this man.

"With this, the Sealed Knights Order is annihilated. And I, as the vice-captain, am the only one left alive. It's eerie to have gone exactly as planned... well, let's just accept it. I suppose it's time to put an end to playing with the Holy Knights."

If someone were listening, they would be astonished and wide-eyed.

This man was Celestar's right-hand man and the vice-captain of the Sealed Knights Order. Using an extraordinary magical skill called "Translocation," he handled all kinds of administrative tasks and played a supporting role for Celestar from the shadows. He was supposed to be a man whom every Holy Knight who knew him admired.

However, he revealed his true nature.

To him, even being the vice-captain of the Holy Knights Order was just a game.

"But that magic was dangerous."

While gazing at the scorched corpses, the vice-captain recalled a moment of peril.

Right after he teleported the five Holy Knights who set up a barrier with Celestar using Translocation, an intense lightning strike occurred. It was Iris, strengthened by Shu, using the eighth-level wind magic "Great Discharge." It was indeed a powerful magic, and its destructive power was terrifying. It was impossible to endure it unharmed.

Celestar seemed to have endured it with a magic barrier, but the vice-captain simply teleported away from the scene. Then, he distanced himself and continued observing from that spot.

Of course, he was only observing the spectacle of Shu trampling Celestar.

"We should be cautious of the dark power of the Lord of Darkness, Arklight... shouldn't we? That is probably his trump card. By drawing it out, we were able to protect the dignity of the awakened mage knight."

The vice-captain witnessed the dark power. It was the power of death magic.

Even during the destruction of the capital of the Kingdom of Ramza, the power of death magic was not shown. At that time, it was a single strike with "Gluttonous Black Crystal Berze Material," so in a way, there was no room to use it.

It was not just the death magic that had an instant death effect, but also the death magic that completely eradicated and killed everything it touched. These two powers alone were sufficient reasons to fear the King of the Underworld.

"Now that I've obtained interesting information, shall we disappear around here?" said the vice-captain.

The vice-captain, clad in a holy knight uniform, took it off and folded it, putting it in a bag. Instead, he took out a plain jacket and a creepy mask that partially concealed his eyes.

Wearing the jacket and putting on the mask, he pulled the hood over his head, smoothing out the wrinkles in his clothes.

"As I thought, this appearance is more calming," he murmured.

That figure was none other than the black cat informant known as "Takame."

Manipulating even the underworld and not only gathering but also controlling the flow of information, "Takame" was a vice-captain of the Sealed Holy Knights in name only. He was a man of the underworld from the beginning.

Using the teleportation magic gear, he flew around various places, obtaining information faster than anyone else, regardless of distance. He manipulated the upper echelons of the Holy Knights through information manipulation alone, a man with a taste for controlling the church as he pleased. That was his true identity.

"Next, it would be interesting to join the Empire's army and stir things up. I believe the 'Grim Reaper' mentioned going to the Empire as well, so it works out perfectly. Hehehehe."

After briefly checking the surrounding corpses, "Takame" used the teleportation magic gear once again.

After he disappeared, a hollow wind blew, caressing the silent corpses.

***

"Fool!"

The Magia Cathedral in the capital of the sacred Grinia, which knew everything, was filled with astonishment. More precisely, it was the space among the bishops deep within the cathedral.

"That Altarein is dead?! Please stop with these jokes!"

"Silence. Would anyone joke about something like that?"

"Stop escaping from reality. It is because we underestimated the power of our King of the Underworld."

The bishops hung their heads in despair.

Celshtar Altarein, the Sealed Holy Knight, was a awakened mage, a person who had stepped into the realm beyond humanity. Considering the power of the sealing magic as well, he should have been able to defeat even the King's monsters.

Especially if it was a newborn king.

"So his awakened power was useless?"

"That seems to be the case. According to the prophetess of foresight, they say he was defeated in an instant by a terrifying power."

Among the prophetesses, there were those who could see the future and those who could see the past, among others, depending on the era. In the current era, in addition to the prophetess of foresight, there also existed a prophetess of the past, who was able to learn about the battle between the King of the Underworld, Arklight, and Celstar through her power.

"Awakening is to deviate from the laws of the world. However, it doesn't change the fact that the Demon King's monsters are also beings that deviate from the laws of this world. It's not surprising for them to be defeated. Everyone, calm down for a moment."

At this unexpected moment, the Archbishop admonished the bishops. With his calm tone, the bishops fell silent, feeling ashamed of their pointless arguments.

Observing this, the Archbishop began speaking slowly to organize the situation.

"I believe you all know, but Awakening is said to occur only once in millions of Magic Knights. It is the right of those who surpass the predetermined limits of their innate growth and acquire infinite strength. Awakened Magic Knights are those who have reached the realm where efforts truly bear meaning."

Magic Armor is the power of talent.

It is known that one is born with predetermined limits to their growth, and no matter how much effort is put in, they will stop at that limit. The growth of magical power and the enhancement of magic armor's output also have their limits.

However, those limits are shattered upon awakening.

At the stage of awakening, magic armor grows rapidly, and magical power increases tremendously. With effort, further growth becomes possible.

"Above all, Awakened Magic Knights have the ability to naturally recover their magical power... We humans can replenish our strength through meals and rest to recover magical power. However, Awakened Magic Knights can recover their magical power infinitely without doing anything. Therefore, they never run out of vitality and can obtain infinite lifespan."

This was the greatest advantage of Awakened Magic Knights.

Infinite recovery of magical power.

Ordinarily, energy must be replenished through meals for recovery to occur. This is because the law of energy conservation is absolute. However, Awakened Magic Knights, who deviate from the laws, can naturally recover their magical power, ignoring this principle.

As a side effect, the newly arisen magical power is automatically converted into life force, leading to an existence that does not age.

Although not immortal, they can obtain eternal lifespan without ever growing old. That's why Shuu's death magic didn't work.

Within their long lifespan, it is said that by refining their awakened magic armor, they can obtain power surpassing that of the Demon King.

"Celstar was too young. I believe it was six years ago when he awakened, right?"

Perhaps it was because they heard the words of the Archbishop.

There was no longer any bishop showing a panicked and disheveled appearance.

In other words, this is what they wanted to say.

We had mistaken the king's demon and ended up killing Celstar. The bishops here are not fools. They fully understood the meaning of the words the Pope intended to convey.

In the heavy atmosphere, the Pope continued.

"The king's demon is classified as Catastrophe Disaster-level or higher. However, we should have considered the possibility of it being a Ruin-class creature, given the severity of the devastation."

"But Your Holiness, Catastrophe Disaster-level is defined as being capable of destroying a major city. Considering the collapse of the capital of the Kingdom of Rhamza, we assumed it to be at that level."

"Are you saying it's not the case?"

The Pope admonished the questioning bishop.

"Catastrophe Disaster-level, capable of destroying a major city. It is merely a minimal indicator for measuring the Dark King Arc Light... It offered no assurance beyond that. We were naive."

"Ah..."

Only then did we realize.

Although we were aware of the existence of the king's demon, we did not truly comprehend it. We did not accurately understand the significance of its existence beyond reason.

Thus, the bishop bowed his head and spoke.

"What we must do promptly is to measure the power of the Dark King Arc Light... We shall make use of the powers of the Divine Children and ensure a thorough understanding of the Dark King's existence."

"That's right. I'm counting on you."

Following that, detailed adjustments were made, and the meeting concluded.

As a result, the existence of a new king's demon was announced to the entire world.

Dark King Arc Light:

Ruin-class: Unsubjugatable by military forces.

This is a realm where sheer numbers no longer matter, and its strength is determined by whether multiple S-rank Magic Knights, absolute powerhouses, can subdue it. Even this level of strength is only provisional.

The Holy Grinia, having lost their awakened Magic Knights, began strengthening their forces in preparation for the Subarokia Empire in the West. While countering the Dark King was crucial, they could not entrust the threat solely to that.

With the birth of the Dark King, the balance of the world had begun to crumble.