Chapter 38: Chapter 38
Chapter 38 - Sealed Vault
The underground prison beneath the Imperial Palace of the Arken Empire.
Soldiers dressed in guard uniforms shouted.
"Hey, it’s shift change!"
"Ah, damn it... Why are you so slow? Hurry up!"
"What are you talking about? I got here before the shift horn even sounded."
"You little bastard. One of these days, I’ll pay you back exactly the same way."
The off-duty guard clicked his tongue in annoyance as he completed the handover.
"More importantly, this prison actually has some inmates again for the first time in a while."
"Come to think of it, you were part of the deployment, weren’t you? Are these guys really Demon Followers?"
The man asked about what he had been wondering while on duty.
No matter how he looked at them, they seemed more like starving beggars than Demon Followers.
"I don’t know about the ones we captured, but they were together with Demon Followers."
"Seriously? Actual Demon Followers? I thought that was just a label they slapped on agitators before beating them up."
"These ones were the real deal. We caught them in a surprise raid."
"So real Demon Followers have finally appeared. Guess the nation really is headed for ruin."
The relieving guard glared at him.
"Don’t go around saying things like that. If I report you, you’ll be arrested as a Demon Follower yourself."
"Ooh, scary. Enough already. Let’s finish the shift change. I’ve got a date with Ashley today."
"I’ll never understand why you’re so obsessed with that tavern girl..."
As the relieving guard checked the inmate roster, he suddenly stopped clicking his tongue.
"Hey, you idiot. You couldn’t even count properly?"
"What are you talking about?"
"The report says twelve prisoners were captured."
The relieving guard pointed at the total number.
"So why does it say thirteen here?"
"What do you mean? There were thirteen when we brought them in."
"What the hell are you talking about? We personally escorted twelve prisoners inside. You think we’re the ones who got it wrong?"
"And you’re saying I’m wrong? I counted them one by one while putting them in! Come take a look yourself!"
"Oh? Want to bet one Golden?"
"I’ll bet ten Golden, you idiot!"
"Deal! Better have those ten Golden ready."
Both men, completely convinced they were right, walked toward the cell holding the heretics.
They pointed at the exhausted prisoners lying on the floor and counted them one by one.
"One, two, three, four..."
After counting from the far right all the way to the far left, the winner was decided.
"There are twelve, you moron!"
The relieving guard smacked the other guard on the head.
"What? No way..."
Unable to believe it, the guard counted them himself.
"Huh?"
Just as the other had said, there were only twelve.
"You idiot. You almost caused a huge incident. Were you drinking on duty?"
"I-I only had a little..."
" ’A little,’ my ass! Damn it. If you don’t want to end up in the brig for drinking on duty and neglecting your post, you’d better prepare those ten Golden, got it?"
"Damn... That’s weird..."
Tilting his head in confusion, the guard looked through the bars.
The powerless beggars could do nothing except wait for the day they would die.
***
Meanwhile, inside the Imperial Palace—
"As expected... this wasn’t easy."
Brown hair, a square jaw, and sharply defined features.
Rather than calling him handsome, most people would probably say he looked like a man who had made plenty of women cry.
Zed Swallow.
Avoiding everyone’s gaze, he entered a restroom and stared into the mirror.
"So much for only needing two eyes. Yeah... right."
He was in an extremely foul mood.
Getting into the prison and getting back out both required skills that only people familiar with such situations could pull off.
’This isn’t just anywhere. This is the Imperial Palace.’
The moment anyone realized someone had escaped, the entire palace would go on high alert.
And once that happened?
The strongest Knights and Mages on the continent would come hunting for Zed.
At that point, there would be no escaping.
That was why he had to appear and disappear as naturally as flowing water.
It was anything but easy.
So Zed relied on his own experience to devise a method.
’Just like ditching your partner at a party...’
The trick was to quietly disappear while the other person was still swept up in the atmosphere.
That way, they would doubt whether they had really seen anything at all and only realize the truth after everything was already over.
The process itself was easier than he had expected.
In fact, it was even easier than abandoning a partner at a party.
At least no one here would scream the alias "Zed Swallow" while charging at him with a weapon.
’Maybe I really do have a talent for this.’
After escaping, Zed secretly slipped into the servants’ changing room, just as he had planned beforehand.
At first, he worried there might not be a uniform in his size, but that concern proved unnecessary.
The room contained uniforms tailored to fit every possible size.
’Looks like people die here all the time.’
Lives as insignificant as flies.
Dozens died as a matter of course, and the moment one did, another immediately took their place.
Only a place that treated servants as little more than disposable tools could operate that way.
Zed found it distasteful.
Because it wasn’t someone else’s story.
’Ferda Valdrova.’
He found himself thinking deeply about his superior.
’What am I to that man?’
His manner of speaking was so blunt that it bordered on rude.
Yet even that rudeness carried no malice.
Perhaps others wouldn’t notice, but Zed could clearly sense the nuance behind Ferda’s words.
’He feels like someone who’s interacting with people for the very first time.’
Someone who had never truly communicated with others, only engaged in one-sided conversations.
When such a person tried to communicate, certain unmistakable traits naturally appeared.
Ferda had shown those exact traits.
Zed first realized it before the tea party, when Ferda had come to him for advice.
"How does one talk to women?"
Never in his wildest dreams had Zed expected someone of Ferda’s age to ask such a question.
Delighted, he gave Ferda advice based on his own experiences.
After finishing the tea party, Ferda’s response had been—
"It’s fortunate you have that face."
To this day, Zed still couldn’t tell whether that had been an insult or a compliment.
In any case, for this operation, Ferda had claimed there were documents related to his younger sister.
If that wasn’t a lie, then Zed would finally learn where things truly stood between them.
"Whew... All right. Time to get to work."
After checking himself in the mirror a couple more times, Zed began carrying out the plan.
The moment he stepped into the Imperial Palace—
"You there."
Someone’s voice echoed down the corridor.
And Zed was the only one in it.
"Who are you?"
Zed muttered under his breath.
So much for only needing two eyes.
***
Ferda placed his hand upon the Orb of Truth, and it spoke to him.
"Do you swear that you do not worship the demons and do not follow their cause?"
Hearing the question, Ferda thought to himself,
’The Orb of Truth... what a joke.’
He sneered inwardly.
The Sealed Vault contained records explaining exactly how the vault itself had been created.
The so-called Orb of Truth was not a tool capable of seeing through people and distinguishing truth from lies.
’What truly matters is the voice reciting the oath.’
That voice infused with Mana.
The moment one’s attention was drawn to the orb, that voice subtly disturbed the listener’s consciousness for just an instant.
That was the entire trick.
The orb merely judged whether one’s mind had wavered upon hearing those words.
’You just have to twist the interpretation.’
For Ferda, who had spent his life hating everything, that was second nature.
"Do you swear that you do not worship the demons and do not follow their cause?"
The voice asked again.
"Your Excellency the Regent? Is something wrong?"
Even Yuren found Ferda’s silence strange.
It was time to answer.
Ferda needed the demons’ grimoire.
But his heart did not belong to the demons.
It belonged to Valdrova.
"I swear."
The second question followed.
"Do you swear that your purpose in entering this vault is not motivated by personal desire?"
Everything he was doing was for Valdrova.
There was no need to hesitate.
"I swear."
"Do you swear your loyalty to the Empire?"
’The Empire...’
...Must fall.
"I swear."
A moment later, the blue glow of the Orb of Truth began its judgment, and its color changed.
"Verified."
The light turned green.
Ferda removed his hand from the orb.
’So this is the screening process for entering the Sealed Vault?’
It seemed laughably crude.
But if you didn’t know how it worked, it was a trap impossible to avoid.
Even now, thinking about it made Ferda snort in disbelief.
"Quite an amusing object, isn’t it?"
As Ferda quietly looked down at it, Yuren spoke up.
"Indeed. A rather amusing object."
Leaving the amusing artifact behind, Ferda and the Magic Investigator proceeded deeper inside.
They descended the stairs for quite some time.
After making their way down an endless spiral staircase, they finally reached the first section of the Sealed Vault.
Rows of cabinets filled the room, each containing sealed copper pipes.
It was the Archive of Sealed Records.
Here were stored the Empire’s darkest secrets—records that could never be allowed to reach the outside world—or accounts of catastrophic events that had nearly destroyed the continent.
It was these records that Ferda had used to lure Zed.
’By now, he should have arrived... or perhaps not yet?’
There was no way to contact him, so Ferda had no idea how things were progressing.
All he could do was trust that Zed would handle everything on his own.
’Perhaps this operation could have worked even without him...’
The thought came to him, but it was nothing more than a joke.
Zed was absolutely indispensable to this plan.
"There’s nothing interesting here anyway. Besides, they’re all things you’re better off not knowing."
Though Yuren spoke dismissively, his words carried an unmistakable warning not to touch anything carelessly.
Of course, Ferda had no intention of doing so.
Instead, to lighten the mood, he asked a question.
"Have you never been tempted to read any of these, even once?"
Yuren nodded.
"Of course I have. Despite appearances, I do have the temperament of a Scholar."
"And have you ever actually read any?"
"I have never once done so. There’s no reason to burden myself by learning things I have no need to know."
He was a man with genuine professional conviction, something rarely seen in the rotten Empire.
That was precisely why he was qualified to be a Magic Investigator.
After taking only a brief look around, the two of them immediately proceeded to the next destination.
What truly mattered lay even deeper—the second Sealed Vault.
Yuren led the way down.
As they descended, Ferda sensed it.
’A familiar smell.’
The groans and seductive whispers emitted by concentrated masses of malice and curses.
They circled around Ferda like eels surrounding a corpse lying at the bottom of a lake.
Noticing that they were going deeper and deeper, Yuren asked,
"Are you all right?"
The correct answer here was not, ’Of course.’
"What do you mean?"
"It’s nothing. Haha."
Suppressing his suspicion, Yuren continued walking.
Ferda could not let anyone know that he sensed anything.
His priority was to deceive them by appearing completely insensitive to it all.
The darkness grew denser.
The candlelight struggled to illuminate their surroundings, yet it seemed impossible to drive away all that darkness.
To an ordinary person, it radiated such a strange aura that instinct alone would make them recoil in disgust and fear.
Yet Yuren walked forward without hesitation.
Ferda followed him.
It felt as though he had passed through a massive curtain.
His vision suddenly opened wide.
"...Ha."
A gasp escaped him involuntarily.
Calling this place a Sealed Vault almost felt inaccurate.
It resembled the secret treasury of demon worshippers.
Among the countless objects inside, one immediately caught Ferda’s eye.
Unlike the other artifacts, it rested alone upon the central display pedestal.
A book with a black cover darker than the surrounding darkness itself, bound tightly by silver chains.
’Barbatos’s Shadow Arts.’
Although Barbatos was known as the Hidden Demon, he was still one of the Seven Great Demons of Hell, which explained the unusually powerful seal placed upon it.
"What do you think of this place?"
Yuren asked, and Ferda answered almost instinctively.
"As expected of a place belonging to demons. It reeks of something truly repulsive."
"Haha. There’s no need to force yourself to sound so formal. Rather than revulsion, most people are filled with awe."
Awe.
Yes.
It truly was awe-inspiring.
The dense Mana emitted by the cursed grimoires and books of ritual sorcery.
Anyone would feel intoxicated while enveloped in it.
It whispered that if one accepted even a little of it, overwhelming power would surge through their body.
Like rain after a drought.
Like a release more intoxicating than the fulfillment of every worldly desire.
"No."
"It’s nothing but repulsive."
Ferda answered firmly.
Even during the days when he had lived consumed by hatred, he had never once considered this Mana to be desirable.
Back then, Ferda had been the kind of man who destroyed whatever he could not possess.
And this Mana was never his.
Nor could it ever become his.
"...Is that so?"
Yuren tilted his head.
"That’s rather strange... A Mage of your caliber should have been tempted, at least a little..."
He turned his gaze toward Ferda.
His eyes were completely different from before.
It was not because of the sinister atmosphere within the Sealed Vault.
He was finally revealing his true nature.
"Well, it doesn’t really matter."
"The important thing is that the two of us are alone."
Yuren set Gamigin’s necromancy grimoire onto the floor and turned to face him.
The murderous intent he had hidden until now completely filled his face.
It suited this room perfectly.
"While coming here, I wrote a little scenario."
"Let’s hear it."
"I accompanied the Regent into the Sealed Vault at his request."
"The Regent fell under the corruption of the artifacts sealed here."
"And with no other choice, I was forced to eliminate him."
"What do you think?"
"Doesn’t it sound perfectly believable?"
As Ferda listened, he stroked his chin.
Rather than fear at the declaration that Yuren intended to kill him, what arose first was curiosity.
"So if someone falls under the influence of Black Magic here, they’re executed without hesitation?"
"There are no exceptions when it comes to Black Magic."
"Beneath the omnipotent Light, there is no mercy."
A sinister smile spread across Yuren’s lips.
"Even if that person happens to be the Regent of the Grand Duchess."
What an unnecessarily strict country.
"If I die, you won’t be leaving this place alive either."
"You needn’t worry about me."
"Unlike you, I have quite a few escape routes prepared."
An escape route after murdering the Regent of the Grand Duchess.
Ferda had no interest in how Yuren planned to escape.
The important part was that the man intended to kill him.
What benefit could possibly come from that?
’He acts as though he fully understands what will happen if I die...’
Unlike before, when he had merely been Valdrova’s prospective fiancé, Ferda was now officially engaged.
He had become part of House Rosnova through Valdrova.
He was practically family to the Red Dragon.
Killing a member of that family would undoubtedly invite revenge.
And that revenge would be directed toward the Empire itself.
This was on an entirely different level from those members of the Extermination Squad who came merely hoping to seize a bit of wealth.
’Could it be... that’s exactly what he wants?’
Someone inside the Imperial Palace was willing to commit an act that could throw not only the Empire but the entire continent into chaos.
Suddenly, Ferda recalled the Orb of Truth he had passed earlier.
Yuren had passed every single oath.
The reason he could do that...
’So he knows the secret behind the Sealed Vault as well.’
From the moment he entered this place until now, Yuren had done nothing but lie.
’As expected. There’s not a single decent person in this Empire.’
Even cornered as he was, a smile appeared on Ferda’s face.
"Why are you smiling?"
"It’s nothing."
"I just never imagined that the childish little scenario I’d written would actually come true."
"The scenario you wrote?"
Still smiling, Yuren tilted his head.
"I envisioned a scenario in which I stopped a deranged investigator who lured the Regent into a trap."
"Unlike yours, mine happens to be unfolding exactly as I imagined."
Ferda needed Barbatos’s Shadow Arts.
And to obtain it...
He would have to kill the Magic Investigator.
Whether Yuren was truly righteous or utterly corrupt made no difference to him.
"Thanks to you, I no longer have to worry about feeling guilty."
"I can simply think of it as taking out the trash."
The smile vanished entirely from Yuren’s face.
"You actually believe someone like you can kill me?"
To any ordinary Mage, Ferda’s words were an unimaginable insult.
Yuren had reached the Fifth Circle.
He was a Master Mage.
A figure renowned across the continent and powerful enough to hold a high-ranking position even within the Empire.
Meanwhile, Ferda possessed only the Third Circle.
He was merely a Magic Walker.
"If you don’t believe me..."
Mana gathered in Ferda’s right hand.
"...Then see for yourself."
A spell shot forth from Ferda’s hand at incredible speed.
A projectile far faster than any Mage could have anticipated hurtled straight toward Yuren.
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