The wyvern and eagle didn't seem to have noticed me.
I stood dazed, looking up at the two busy searching for a suitable nesting spot, when Zigor and Tristan shouted at them at the top of their lungs.
[Over here, here!]
[Hey, birdies! Help us out!]
I thought they might be too high to hear, but the wyvern somehow caught their voices and looked down in our direction.
[Hmmm~?]
After making a wide circle in the sky, the wyvern flew straight toward where we were standing.
"Ack, Lady Aneli! It's a wyvern!"
Xenon, who had never properly encountered a wyvern before, freaked out and clung to my arm. At the same time, he spread a hemispherical barrier.
Thanks to him, the strong wind from the wyvern's wingbeats didn't reach us.
"Don't worry, that wyvern hyung-nim is on our side."
"……It's one thing if it's a wyvern, but what do you mean, wyvern hyung-nim?"
I gave a light smile to Xenon who muttered in unconvinced tones, then lifted my gaze.
I didn't know how it ended up flying here, but it would probably be on our side.
Especially seeing how it was calling my name so delightedly.
[A~igo~! A~neli~! Looks like~ we~ were~ meant~ to~ be~!]
[I told you to come with us, hyung-nim!]
The boisterous conversation seemed to attract not just our attention but the hobgoblins' as well.
Above all, the wyvern's massive size made the hobgoblins feel threatened, and they were letting out sharp cries.
Samuel, who was already acquainted with the wyvern, didn't even bother being wary of it and focused on the hobgoblins.
The initially bewildered Dullahans also seemed to grasp the general situation.
[If the wyvern joins the battle, it'll be much easier to deal with them.]
Soana said quietly, assessing the hobgoblins. Certainly, the wyvern could probably send dozens of the small-bodied hobgoblins flying just by creating wind with its wings.
Inevitably, it would end up destroying the few remaining intact buildings in the area, though.
Since the hobgoblins were entangled with past bad blood in the first place, it might actually be better to put in some effort and find and exterminate everything hiding throughout the city.
"Xenon, it might be better to just wipe them all out with large-scale magic."
My mind increasingly leaned toward fighting. Normally, I didn't prefer violent methods, but…… with considerable fatigue from recent events, fighting actually felt more appealing right now.
Perhaps I wanted to relieve the accumulated mental fatigue even in this way.
"Um……."
"I've used almost all my illegal magic tools, so I need your power."
"Um, Lady Aneli?"
While I was pondering how to fight effectively, Xenon suddenly tugged at my sleeve.
Meeting my eyes, he cautiously pointed somewhere.
"That."
"What?"
Following where he pointed, I froze.
Wondering if I was seeing something wrong, I blinked several times, but the scene before me didn't change.
On the road we had come from, meaning the direction of the castle gate, white heads were approaching.
"Lady Aneli, do you see them too?"
"……Those skeletons?"
Watching the skeletons approaching with their bodies rattling, looking ready to fall apart at any moment, I hesitated.
I wasn't certain if they were the skeletons I knew.
If they were the skeleton legion Dasha had prepared for me, they probably weren't enemies.
Anyway, confirming that skeletons really had appeared, Xenon wore an empty expression.
"So it wasn't an illusion……."
Xenon sighed as if regretful. Even Samuel looked bewildered this time.
"Why would skeletons be in a place like this……?"
[Ah, there's the battalion commander!]
[Battalion commander!]
Before I could explain anything to the two, the skeletons who discovered me raised their bony arms and acknowledged me.
[Captain, those bones are daring to call the Captain 'battalion commander'!]
Zigor fumed in a voice loud enough to be heard without being told.
[It's the legion Dasha created.]
The Dullahans who had fought skeletons in the Land of Death recognized them immediately.
Minteh, who had personally disciplined the skeletons, seemed somewhat pleased.
[There are quite a lot of skeletons.]
[But isn't that also a monster visible behind them?]
Nadab said, pointing in another direction. At this point, I thought the hobgoblins weren't the problem.
Did the resumed flow of time in Belladia Castle mean it would be filled with monsters? I could understand beasts, but monsters were a bit much.
How much would they destroy the castle interior fighting over territory?
……Even right now, the wyvern hyung-nim who had greeted me so happily was clawing down a hobgoblin for looking at it impudently.
[Kuek!]
I stared blankly at one hobgoblin flying in an arc after being struck by the wyvern's claws, when this time a commotion broke out from the skeletons' side.
A hidden hobgoblin had attacked a skeleton only to be counter-attacked instead.
Skeletons wielding weapons or their own arm bones surrounded a hobgoblin and began beating it.
At the skeleton's attack, boldly pressing with numbers, the hobgoblin cried out piteously.
Naturally, the hobgoblins didn't just take the beating.
The killing intent that had been focused on us dispersed instantly, and chaos erupted everywhere.
"There's no need to confront them directly."
Samuel, who had been flustered, apparently concluded there was no need to step in, as he put away his sword entirely.
Xenon also nodded as if agreeing with his opinion.
"Hobgoblins can't share territory with other monsters, so they'll inevitably clash."
[Listening to such lively scenes reminds me of old times!]
At Tristan's cheerful voice, I turned away.
I didn't know exactly, but it seemed the castle was returning to its former appearance. Perhaps in the old days too, this was a space where such…… lively fighting and screams had run rampant.
Thinking that way was better for my mental health.
* * *
Climbing to higher ground, I could see the scenery of Belladia Castle, now a world of monsters, more clearly.
Even far in the distance, more seemed to be pushing their way in.
Judging by the trend, the hobgoblins that had probably originally claimed this territory would naturally be exterminated as they fought with the incoming monsters.
It was certainly convenient, but I couldn't figure out why such a situation had occurred.
Not only monsters living in the mountain range had gathered, but skeletons and wyverns were monsters that inhabited completely different regions.
If they had come here, they couldn't have avoided being seen by someone. So I contacted Heinrich.
―Ah, right. I received reports of large-scale monster migration.
"Large-scale monster migration……"
―I was going to tell you about this anyway. I was waiting for your contact, so this works out well. Monsters across the region are converging on the Trebi Mountain Range. We're controlling adjacent areas, but do you need military support?
At his question laced with worry, I answered no for now.
The news that monsters were converging on the mountain range was bewildering, but I didn't think deploying imperial forces would be particularly helpful.
The monster battle visible below looked like it left no room for humans to intervene.
―While I'm contacting you, I'll share some news. Roam's trial is coming up soon.
And then, a name I had forgotten for a while slipped from Heinrich's lips.
―It seems certain he'll be judged a heretic.
"I see."
―Rumors are circulating that this large-scale monster migration is also due to heretics appearing. The empire's citizens' resentment is deep, so it won't pass easily.
"Yes."
―The mad crown prince was bewitched by heretics and raised arms against His Majesty. There's a high possibility he'll be punished along with those who supported the crown prince. The crown prince will soon be deposed.
"Yes."
As I continued answering calmly, Heinrich paused briefly. Then he spoke carefully.
―I assume you know the fate of a traitor who threw the empire into chaos.
Of course, I did.
"……."
Gripping the communication magic tool, I quietly lifted my gaze.
The monster battle visible in the distance, and the Dullahans waiting for me a little further away, Xenon with his worried face and calm Samuel……
Standing here, listening to Roam's fate felt very strange. Like hearing news about a stranger.
―To appease public sentiment, we plan to proceed with a public execution. Do you intend to come watch?
"Me?"
―The magic tower took authorization for a private warp gate installation. I assumed it was at your request.
Instead of answering Heinrich's words, I fiddled with the innocent magic tool.
Public execution……
Honestly, this was within the range I had expected. Heinrich's goal was to depose Maxel, and to do so, he was charging him with treason.
To bring down Roam, I had tied Maxel, who would become a traitor, with Roam, and with Lilia there, Roam could never escape.
However, Maxel was royalty, and the imperial family wouldn't stand him before the enraged imperial citizens. For the imperial family's dignity.
So wouldn't they need another scapegoat?
Another criminal who had thrown the empire into chaos with treason and heresy. A sacrifice to be offered to quell divine wrath.
Heinrich was right. It was me who had installed the private warp gate through Xenon.
I had made that decision when I sensed the shadow over Roam growing darker.
―The date will probably be set in about a week. Contact me again then.
Heinrich was certain I would witness their end.
But a week later would likely be after the final authority was exercised, and I myself wasn't certain what would happen to me after that.
Working my lips, I forced myself to ignore the tangled emotions and answered.
"I'll…… contact you after seeing how things go."
If I still exist on this land after the final authority is realized.
That would mean I have the right to see the fate of those who abandoned me.