#133
Continental Summit (1)
“Then I will be off to the temple.”
“You have familiarized yourself with the instructions, I trust?”
“Of course. I will see that everything proceeds without a hitch.”
“Good. You may go, then.”
“Yes.”
At Mulo’s reply, the middle-aged man bowed respectfully and left the office in silence, his footsteps making not the slightest sound.
The man, who lowered himself thoroughly so as not to offend the other party, was none other than Duke Bright, said to wield absolute power in the Kingdom of Thalia.
He had come to make his final report before attending this Continental Summit as the representative of the Kingdom of Thalia.
And once he had left, Heinz, who had been sitting quietly in his chair the entire time, turned his gaze to Mulo standing at his side.
“He won’t do anything unnecessary, will he?”
The Continental Summit was a gathering of the highest-ranking figures from various nations, including the Main God Church, so one careless word there could make matters troublesome.
“Lord, that man is a piece I prepared from the time he was still at his mother’s breast. You needn’t worry too much.”
But even at Heinz’s words, Mulo merely smiled with complete confidence.
He had not used any obvious mind-type magic, in preparation for situations like this where the man might be exposed to outsiders, but there were many ways to make a person submit.
Having lived for long ages, Mulo had mastered such methods, and with the experience he had accumulated, he was a veteran who had not failed even once in decades.
“Hmm— fine. In the current situation, even if something does go wrong, they won’t have the leisure to pay attention to us. The state of the continent is such a mess.”
The Kingdom of Thalia had not suffered much damage from the madness outbreak, thanks to its thorough control of the Forest of Monsters, even mobilizing the Brokoslac Clan.
Of course, monsters did not exist only there, so it was not as if there had been no sacrifices at all, but compared to other countries, the situation was quite favorable.
Other countries, however, could not respond as immediately as the Kingdom of Thalia, and various interests and schemes tangled together to worsen the damage.
‘On top of that, regions outside the west also had to worry about the undead rampaging.’
And with requests for support flooding in from all over, the Main God Church was in chaos as well. Even if Duke Bright were to run his mouth carelessly, they would not have the leisure to do anything about this side.
‘Now that I think about it, this might be a good opportunity for the clan to step into the open.’
The lower vampires of the Yupersh Clan were already gathering in the Kingdom of Thalia one by one through the Blood Gates.
Two of the three strongest vampire clans had joined forces, so that alone was enough for them to exert the influence of an entire nation.
Even without counting the Kingdom of Thalia.
‘Six True Bloods and two Sacred Bloods. And below them, nearly a hundred Purebloods... Ha, even thinking about it again, it’s an absurd force.’
If the blood mana possessed by a True Blood were converted by Earth’s standards, it would amount to level 7 or 8.
If Frisia before becoming subordinate to Heinz had been level 7, then Mulo was level 8.
‘But when I fought her directly, Frisia was far stronger than Earth’s Betas. If expressed in numbers, she’d be around level 7.5.’
That was the difference between Awakeners who had grown rapidly through all sorts of growth corrections and unique skills, and otherworlders who had honed themselves over long years.
If their capacities were similar, there was bound to be a difference in skill.
Of course, the case might have been different if the Betas had strengthened their unique skills more, but at least that was what he had experienced firsthand.
‘And that was before Frisia was strengthened with the Refined Blood Crystal. By now, she should be fully at level 8.’
Yet there were as many as six True Bloods of that caliber.
No, since Mulo and Theodore, the leaders of their respective clans, had to be placed a step higher, they were likely around level 8.5.
‘Sacred Bloods should be considered level 9 or above. Though since I’ve never even heard of such a being on Earth, I suppose it doesn’t mean much.’
In any case, with this much force, they could occupy the capital of a fairly powerful kingdom, not merely a small weak nation like the Kingdom of Thalia.
As they were an elite few, it would only be temporary, considering the full-scale response humanity would launch afterward.
Of course, since they had already taken over one country, there was no need to do that.
‘That said, Sacred Blood...’
Heinz sank deep into his chair and slowly closed his eyes.
Another Sacred Blood besides himself, Briki.
In his mind, the conversation he had had with her right after the battle with the Yupersh Clan came back to him.
About what she desired, and her ultimate goal.
“Hoo, shall I watch a little longer for now?”
“Pardon?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
In any case, her fate was already as good as being in his hands.
Whether he devoured her or took her under his command.
Everything would be carried out according to his will.
***
Whoosh—
A violet flame flared up in the darkness.
That flame, burning in the middle of a sealed basement and scattering an eerie gloom, cast the shadows of the figures standing around it onto the walls in every direction.
Five grotesque shadows flickered wildly in accordance with the trembling purple light.
And the unidentified man who had been quietly watching them from the darkness opened his mouth.
“...As expected, it seems Oldman was unable to attend.”
Thus, with the confirmation of the absent one’s recent circumstances, the secret regular meeting of the Oath of Reversal began.
[Is there... no one who can reach him...?]
[Kehihit~ Since when did we care about one another? The reason’s obvious, isn’t it? He probably just went and died somewhere!]
While some had no grasp of his movements at all due to the distance between their areas of activity or their relationships.
[Hmm, the last contact I exchanged with him was about the situation in the western region being unusual. Something about small branches being attacked by someone.]
[Ahh— I believe I also heard talk that the Church might have moved! Could the heresy inquisitors have acted?]
There were also those who had detected something strange through a small amount of contact.
As an organization made up of cells, they had an advantage in maintaining security, but they also had the weakness of not being able to exchange information smoothly.
If something happened to the branch chief overseeing that branch, as it had now, it was nearly impossible to quickly grasp the situation and respond.
[Hmm~ Excuse me, but I happen to have obtained some information about that matter.]
At that moment, a sticky female voice echoed around them, drawing everyone’s attention in that direction.
Though her shadow was grotesquely twisted, it exuded a strange charm. Enjoying the attention focused on her, she slowly opened her mouth.
[They say the Immortal Army has been attacking underground organizations. And strangely enough, mostly the forces under our command.]
At the information she released, silence briefly settled over the surroundings.
Because that was by no means good news.
[...Why...?]
[How would I know~?]
They knew that she had someone under her who specialized in gathering information.
They had benefited considerably from that so far, so there was no need to doubt the reliability of the information now.
[Uhm, somehow, not a single one of our predictions about the Immortal King’s movements has been correct so far. From beginning to end, everything has gone beyond our expectations.]
To begin with, it made no sense that the Immortal King, who should have been eroded by the Abyss’s “Death” and devoted only to dyeing the continent in death, had hidden himself for so long and not appeared on the front lines.
It was a development none of them had imagined at all when they first heard of the Immortal King’s resurrection.
In fact, the news that he was attacking underground organizations was so alarming that most of the plans they had made until now would have to be discarded.
“Then should we assume Oldman was also done in by the Immortal King?”
[Wouldn’t it be reasonable to think so? Otherwise, he wasn’t someone who would be taken out so quietly, without anyone noticing.]
It was unlikely that the Immortal King regarded them as obstacles to conquering the continent and was trying to eliminate them.
In this case, he had probably judged them useful and done this in order to make proper use of them.
But from their perspective, either way, it was a troublesome situation.
[Ha! Nothing ever goes right because of these fools! After Marcos and Nurabe, now it’s Oldman?]
In that grave atmosphere, a large shadow spat out a complaint as if frustrated.
[We prepared for more than ten years, and before we could even properly use that preparation, you’re making a complete mess of things! The same goes for all of you! Since I opened the Abyss and brought out madness, not a single thing has been accomplished!]
[Pfft! Kehihihit~ That’s true too. Pukeke...!]
[Shut your mouth! Before I tear out your tongue!]
[Ah, sorry, sorry! Puhi—!]
The large one began to rage, but the frivolous one’s laughter showed no sign of stopping.
And just as the atmosphere was growing increasingly hostile.
“That is certainly not wrong. Recently, we have been too cautious, merely watching for a chance to benefit from the Immortal King.”
At the voice that suddenly cut into their argument, every gaze in the surroundings gathered in one place.
As he, who had fallen into thought after the mention of the Immortal King, stepped forward again, even those who had been noisily chattering closed their mouths and focused on his next words.
“All of you know about the Continental Summit that will be held this time, I assume?”
[Of course. With such a commotion, how could we not?]
“The matter we have been preparing has also just been completed. If we begin preparations immediately, then in terms of timing... it will fall right during the summit.”
[Hm? That side was certainly... Ahh— I see.]
Since each of their domains was different, they did not know the detailed circumstances, but while making their plans, they had shared rough information.
However, coordinating the exact timing and deciding the scale and location had been entirely up to the person in charge, so even among themselves, they had not known when or where something would happen...
[Kehit! Ah— I’m curious what faces those bastards will make after gathering to discuss countermeasures! What a shame I won’t be able to see it in person! Kehuhut!]
[Is there anything we can help with?]
“No. This is a task I have worked on for a long time.”
He slowly looked around at the grotesque shadows whose interest was focused on him, then added in a firm voice, as if making a declaration.
“And that moment will become the starting point of the collapse of the current ruling order.”
And a short while later, at last, all the meeting came to an end.
When the violet flame that had lit the darkness died down, only deep darkness remained in the space.
Ssssk—
The man, who had stood still in the darkness for some time, climbed the basement stairs with soundless steps.
Light began to enter the surrounding space, and even as the room gradually brightened, his footsteps did not stop.
Swoosh—
At last, when he reached the window, he flung open the curtains that had been blocking the outside.
Bright sunlight poured in all at once, along with the sight of a bustling city.
“...This will be the last time I see this sight as well.”
Now that he knew the Immortal King was targeting them, he no longer had time to take things leisurely like this.
Once he poured out everything he had prepared in one go, he would have to cut off all contact and go into hiding for a while.
‘Fortunately, Oldman does not have much information about this side. There is a restriction placed on him, but if it’s the Immortal King, who knows what method he might find? It would be best to prepare for the possibility. ...After this, I’ll have to be wary of the others as well.’
And after that, until the sun set, he continued to stare endlessly at the scenery outside.
The high-ranking executives of the Oath of Reversal, a cell organization, were all outwardly equal in status, but among them, there was bound to be a practical leader.
And no matter what anyone said, the man was the one who held the greatest influence within the organization.
Enough that he could even place restrictions on several executives.
The place where such a man currently was—
A land attached to the northern side of the empire, surrounded on three sides by the northern mountain range, where war with monsters broke out every single day.
The Principality of Rohan.
***
Delegations from each faction began arriving one by one at the Great Temple of Rosellia.
From high-ranking officials entrusted with full authority by their respective nations, to representatives of organizations including the Magic Tower Alliance and the Mercenary Guild.
The prior coordination to gather them all in one place had been difficult, but once that was resolved, the actual travel itself proceeded easily and quickly through the temple’s gates.
Of course, this included the nonhuman races from the Enamel Continent as well. As agreed with the Church, they were able to quickly cross the sea and join them through High Elf Lafori’s “Forest Path.”
Fortunately, the Elven Kingdom had recognized the importance of the matter, and thanks to their relationship becoming closer through the previous incident with Cecily, it was easy to obtain their cooperation.
Thus, those who led this world, Auterica, gathered in one place.
Here, in this sacred land at the center of the continent.
If something were to happen to those present here, global chaos would inevitably arise.
That was how influential these powerful figures were within their respective factions.
And that meant...
‘Just by leaving a deep impression here, my karma will skyrocket!’
In other words, this place was no different from a gold mine.