“Waaaaah!”
Border region, Media.
Armed soldiers charged forward with roaring battle cries. The flags of many nations whipped violently in the wind. Sunlight burst through the gloomy clouds and spread across the earth, glinting brightly off armor and weapons.
But the sound of clashing blades faded in less than a moment.
A massive shell swallowed the soldiers of the Setoran Kingdom like a tidal wave. Black smoke spread thickly like fog. Lives that could not even scream were turned into ash and blood in an instant.
The aura of death devoured Media.
The sound of swords dropping rang out everywhere. Pale, terrified faces stood frozen inside the black smoke like wandering spirits.
The Hero, who had been charging ahead while commanding the soldiers, halted as though mourning the dying lives before him.
“Geloman!”
At the shout of his name, the Hero adjusted his grip on his sword. Shells flew at him without pause, but they burst apart as his massive blade cut through them. The shockwaves mercilessly hurled aside the fragile human bodies.
Blood spread from the wounds beginning to open across him one by one. Like endless crashing waves, enemy soldiers surged toward him, but he swung his sword through them. Dozens of golden spears rained down, protecting the man from the longswords that threatened to pierce his body.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Among the shattered blades scattering through the air, yellow fragments of light drifted like fireflies.
With a single step that crushed the earth beneath him, the man shot forward like a flash of lightning. Violent winds tangled around their bodies.
In an instant, the man surged into the center of the enemy forces and drove his greatsword into the ground.
The man’s enormous shadow trapped the earth beneath the trembling greatsword, and a dark crimson aura seeped downward like blood. The soldiers retreating with pale faces glanced at the silent ground and tightened their grips on their weapons.
But before even a moment passed, the soldiers regretted it.
They should have run.
Without warning, the earth exploded upward, opening its jaws and swallowing the soldiers whole. The screams of those who vanished without a trace were trapped forever beneath the ground.
Just as bombardments had swept away their army, the enemy nation’s forces were swallowed by the man wielding the greatsword.
Silence spread over Media as though time itself had frozen.
But the battle was not over yet.
A figure that looked like a black shadow slowly revealed itself atop the ruined ground. Leaping high through the dark crimson smoke, the figure descended and swept a longsword sideways—
A blue flash exploded outward and crushed hundreds of lives.
Light that roared like a beast.
As though they had heard the cry of some monstrous creature, terror spread across the faces of everyone standing upon the land of Media.
“How can this even be called war...?!”
More and more soldiers abandoned the battlefield and fled. Too many lives had vanished without even a groan for this to be called a human war. Lives cut down without swinging their swords even once. Creatures that no longer seemed human commanded overwhelming powers. Soldiers from both sides died helplessly.
The bulging eyes atop severed heads rolling across the ground did not even realize they were dead.
“What are you doing?! Advance! Cut off the enemy commander’s head!”
The knight commander shouted hot-bloodedly to rally the troops, but the soldiers, paralyzed with fear, barely moved.
They feared the beings before them more than the enemy nation itself.
Distant gazes turned deathly pale.
A forgotten terror carved names into their souls.
The names of the king’s Seven Stars.
The names of the Reapers of Death.
“Monsters...!”
Rumble.
Kugugugugugu.
The blood-colored earth groaned as power crashed down. Things vanished beneath the collapsing ground.
Tens of thousands of lives were disappearing.
***
At someone’s gesture, the dim room brightened.
The faces of those guarding Giselle’s room were full of life. It seemed true that Verdi, who had nearly stopped breathing, was recovering. The attendants greeting Giselle with bright expressions kept glancing at the boy in his arms.
“Um, who is the person you’re carrying? Shall we move him to a bed?”
At one attendant’s question, the servant who had gone to fetch Giselle looked visibly hopeful.
“No.”
Giselle refused without further explanation.
The attendants did not dare ask more and bowed their heads. As he walked deeper inside, the black curtain blocking the way like a wall opened on its own.
A much warmer room spread out before them.
Still carrying Ren, Giselle approached the bed. The physician examining Verdi’s body noticed his arrival and rose respectfully.
“How is he?”
“He is recovering. This... this is a miracle. His wounds have begun healing on their own.”
“When do you think he will regain consciousness?”
“At this rate of recovery, he should wake within a day or two.”
“Please continue your efforts.”
“Yes. Then I shall take my leave.”
The physician turned to go, but Giselle stopped him.
“One moment. Could you examine this boy as well?”
Giselle showed him Ren, still in his arms.
“Yes.”
The physician readily agreed, but did not move. Looking flustered at Giselle standing there motionless, he awkwardly began examining the boy while he remained in Giselle’s arms.
Turning Ren’s head slightly, checking his pulse, then pricking his finger with a needle, the physician eventually frowned in confusion.
“His vitality is greatly weakened, and he has an extremely frail constitution.”
When Giselle said nothing, the physician hesitated.
But even after examining him again, there were no obvious signs of illness. He was simply weak.
“Anger and resentment have built up in his chest, causing coldness in the stomach. He must eat carefully and nourish his body properly.”
“You may go.”
“Yes.”
Since Giselle showed no particular reaction, the physician relaxed and turned away.
He glanced at the boy in Giselle’s arms. The boy did not move at all, as though he had fainted. The physician stared openly for a moment, but once his eyes met Giselle’s, he hurried out of the room.
Watching the physician leave, Giselle beckoned to a servant.
“Bring another bed.”
“Yes, Lord Giselle.”
The servant answered immediately and rushed off. Few people ever questioned Giselle’s orders.
Soon, four servants entered carrying a bed. It was a luxurious wooden single bed. It seemed they had tactfully guessed who it was for.
The servants cautiously placed the bed near Verdi’s and laid out the bedding before retreating. Only then did Giselle move.
He transferred Ren onto the bed and covered him with a blanket.
To look this peaceful after suffering a seizure... if he had not witnessed it himself, he would never have believed it.
This time, Giselle looked toward Verdi. He too appeared peaceful. Color had returned to his once-ashen complexion.
After quietly watching them both in turn, Giselle turned away.
Deep within the royal palace.
The knights guarding the room recognized Giselle and bowed. Giselle merely inclined his head before entering.
No one was inside.
A long coffin standing in the center of the room caught his eye. Giselle walked toward it and opened the lid. Dust that had gathered inside scattered into the air.
A black sword radiating fierce energy.
Dell Belkerman’s sword.
Without hesitation, Giselle picked it up. His sharp gaze swept across the blade before he finally left the room.
Creeeak.
“Lord Giselle! You are taking the sword?”
One of the knights guarding the door stopped him.
Poison coated that sword, making it extremely dangerous. Many had tried to uncover the nature of the poison, but every attempt had failed, and those who investigated it died one after another. Eventually, the investigation had been abandoned altogether.
But Giselle behaved as though he were simply moving an ordinary object.
“Do not worry. I am only relocating it to my room.”
“But...”
“Understood.”
Within the royal palace, Giselle’s authority was absolute.
The knight watched Giselle’s retreating figure, then nudged the knight standing guard beside him.
“Shouldn’t we report this to His Majesty?”
“What are you talking about? This is Lord Giselle. He has surely already informed His Majesty.”
“I’ll go myself.”
“What? We’re on duty! If it’s discovered you abandoned your post, you’ll be in trouble.”
The knight patted the shoulder of the man trying to stop him and walked off regardless.
The man paired with him had only recently ceased being a trainee knight. Which meant he probably did not know how many things happened in this royal palace without the king’s knowledge.
Ragniel, the young boy king.
Though he was a grown man now, everyone still remembered him as the young boy king. A king once controlled by the regent king, and now manipulated by the noble council. A king who relied upon the Heroes and could not stand properly on his own.
Outside the royal castle, he held some measure of authority. But within the palace, his position remained the same as ever.
The knight himself did not particularly respect Ragniel’s authority either. Still, he wanted the man to stand properly as the ruler of a nation. Perhaps because the coronation of the young boy king remained vivid in his memory.
The knight headed for the king’s second office. Judging from the number of knights and attendants lined up outside, the king did not seem to be there.
“Where is His Majesty? I have something urgent to report.”
The expressions of those guarding the entrance darkened. At the mention of the king, fleeting looks passed across their faces—troubled, perhaps even disdainful.
After saluting, the knight asked again, and one of the guards answered dryly.
“I believe he is in his bedchamber.”
“Thank you.”
He immediately headed for the bedchamber. Sunlight streaming through the hallway windows forced the knight to squint.
At this hour?
When the king should have been working?
The knight regretted searching for him at all. Then again, Ragniel was usually either in his bedchamber or atop the castle tower Giselle frequented.
Had he really expected the king to change after dispatching troops to the borderlands?
The hope lingering in the knight’s heart collapsed without a trace. Even that troop deployment had likely been ordered by Giselle.
He had already reached the king’s bedchamber before deciding to turn back.
The room where the king officially slept changed constantly, and an ordinary knight could never know its location. But there was a separate chamber the king used outside official hours after finishing all state affairs.
Crash!
“Again?”
“Careful. His mood is especially sharp today.”
“What’s wrong with him? He refuses to call for a physician... Shouldn’t we at least summon a priest?”
“How should we know? What can we even do?”
“Shouldn’t we hide the mirrors or something?”
“Did you forget? It’s better to leave them out. If His Majesty has another fit...”
“But this can’t keep going on. I should at least say something. Ask for help...”
“Don’t! Last time you did that, he slapped you. He probably wants to hide it.”
“But I’m afraid something terrible will happen if this keeps up. Wouldn’t it be better to tell someone? Maybe Lord Giselle...”
“And who will deal with the aftermath?”
Hearing the voices, the knight stopped at the corner of the corridor.
Unaware of the knight’s shadow stretching toward them, the maids who had stepped out of the bedchamber huddled together and whispered quietly. Their voices were very soft, but unfortunately for them, the corridor was silent enough for the knight to hear every word.
Their complexions were dark, and the objects in their hands glittered in the light.
Broken mirror shards.
“What is it His Majesty wishes to hide?”
“Eek!”
The maids flinched violently at the knight’s sudden appearance and looked up fearfully.
“W-We cannot tell you, sir knight.”
“Now that I’ve heard this much, I can’t simply walk away. I’ll report it to Lord Giselle myself. What is happening?”
“Th-That is...”
“No. We cannot say.”
One maid tried to speak, but another who seemed older and more experienced stopped her at once.
