Even late into the night, the lights of the royal capital did not go out.
Soldiers roamed about, unceasingly searching the surroundings, and even renowned knight orders did not hesitate to gladly assist in the search.
It was an exceedingly rare occurrence, but in a way, it was also a natural phenomenon.
A demon terror attack that struck the Royal Academy.
It was a terrorist attack that occurred today, and the nobles who had sent their children to the academy were unable to contain their fury.
Also, this was a matter of pride.
How dare they invade the academy, the royal capital where the great nobles gathered-?
This was a desecration of the royal family's honor and Pendragon itself, and a provocation against the blue bloodlines that gathered under the Pendragon banner.
If this fact became known to neighboring countries, the kingdom's name would fall to the ground, and before that happened, the culprits had to be rooted out at all costs.
"Search thoroughly, thoroughly!"
"Arrest anyone suspicious! Especially be wary of mages!"
"Those who resist may be shot on sight regardless of the reason!"
Extreme orders were given, and the troops frantically searched every suspicious place like combing for lice.
Especially the royal capital's extraterritorial Parasite Slum.
It was a den where countless criminals gathered, a hornet's nest that would only result in losses if touched normally, but at least for now, they did not hesitate to stir the hornet's nest.
"R-Run!"
"I-I did nothing wrong! I mean it!"
"At least clean up the corpse you're hiding behind you before you lie, you miserable bastard!"
"Argh!!"
A situation where an unexpected purge of criminals was occurring.
I thought it might be a somewhat positive butterfly effect.
Probably, for a while, the royal capital would be bustling, and the criminals would have to live keeping their heads down.
-However, despite such indiscriminate searches and division-sized troops moving about.
"W-We found it! These are the sacrifices used for the summoning!"
"...Crazy bastards, what the hell kind of fucks are they?"
"The trail is cut off. I wonder if this even makes sense, sheesh."
...Unfortunately, catching the [culprits] was a distant dream.
Instead, what they found were traces of summoning magic.
Catalysts.
They discovered the massive amount of sacrifices that would have been used when summoning ancient demons, including ghoul packs.
However, the culprits left no traces, and no evidence could be found.
The reason?
None other than.
"...They killed them all."
Because the building only held tens of thousands of human bones, and not a single piece of evidence was discovered.
However, one thing was certain: they were convinced that the massive number of human bones were 'living sacrifices' offered by the terrorists.
Sure enough.
"T-They're crazy. Every single one of these remains probably belonged to someone who was alive just yesterday."
"What?"
"They carried out the summoning based on the pain and desire of the living, or their anger and vitality. There is a high probability that this place was a 'human sacrifice factory' designed to generate countless resentments. And if it was to summon a demon like the Demon King, there is a high probability they cultivated resentment here for at least three years. ...I don't know who they are, but they must be truly terrible people."
"……."
An awkward silence hung in the air.
If the advisory mage's explanation was true, this was no ordinary matter.
It meant they had crammed tens of thousands of people into a single building in the middle of the royal capital, and steadily gathered energy for the summoning.
For three years, no less.
"Many will be heading to the guillotine..."
There would have been the distribution of food to feed tens of thousands of people for three years, and a large workforce that moved to avoid their presence being detected.
Yet they didn't know this?
This was practically mocking the royal capital openly, a paragraph demonstrating the royal capital's incompetence.
The soldiers who patrolled this district would probably not end with just dismissal, but would be dragged to the torture chamber and then highly likely head straight to the guillotine.
Someone had to take responsibility for this.
Just thinking about how far up the responsibility would go gave him chills already, but on the other hand, it was so terrible it made his teeth chatter.
Just how crazy did one have to be to carry out such a thing?
This might not be simple terrorists, but an organization harboring a massive madness.
Gulp....
The knight could not hide his fear, saying he didn't know what kind of bloodstorm would sweep through the royal capital in the future.
"-Incompetent fools, they still know nothing."
Meanwhile, a high priest who had been leisurely watching all of this did not hide his contempt.
How could they be so pathetic?
"We took on their sins in their stead, yet they do not even know that? How ignorant, so ignorant."
"...Wouldn't it be more surprising if they actually knew that, Captain?"
The other priest spoke as if rebuking him, perhaps finding his superior's remark absurd.
"If they had some skin left I might understand, but accompanied by the question of how one can know if those who are only bones are sinners deserving of death. I wish I had such a skill myself, haha."
"You frivolous bastard! If you have true faith, you can discern that much!"
"That seems impossible..."
The two priests were having a peaceful conversation, sitting on the building's rooftop observing the people.
As if, no matter how many troops there were, they would never be caught.
"Well, they'll find out sooner or later anyway. That a massive number of prisoners have gone missing. ...If they don't even know that, maybe we're overestimating the kingdom."
"They're not that incompetent. If they were, it would have collapsed long ago."
"Hmm, is that really so?"
The lower priest seemed to disagree.
An expression full of distrust.
Normally, the high priest would have yelled, but he only looked at his subordinate's face for a moment and fell silent.
After some silence flowed.
"Captain. Ultimately, we failed today."
"Hmm."
"The reprimand will probably be substantial."
"It will."
"But, if we keep taking steps forward like this, won't the day come when we reach 'salvation'?"
"Of course it will."
"Is that so? Then that's enough, hehe!"
The lower priest knew that the captain he knew was a man who did not spout lies.
Therefore, his words would surely come true.
So.
"Then that's enough. I'll only trust you, Captain."
The priest conveyed his feelings with a refreshing smile, and the next moment.
Bzzzt-!
Space distorted.
The 'Mystery' set up by the lower priest had been destroyed.
And the intruders who destroyed the Mystery from the outside and entered surrounded them.
Thud, thud!
Dozens of shadows appeared, displaying stealthy movement techniques.
Whoosh!
The aura they emitted created heat hazes, and the hazes overlapped to form iron bars.
Materialized aura.
It proved that all fifty-plus people were strong individuals called the Champions of their territories.
There were as many as fifty capable people who could easily serve as captains or vice-captains in knight orders led by ordinary high nobles, a force that could annihilate a Margrave's territory in half a day.
One might wonder who in the kingdom could possibly cultivate such a large number of capable individuals, but the kingdom actually had two factions capable of raising such powerhouses.
And the one leading one of those factions personally revealed himself.
"-19 years. For a whole 19 years, I've been looking for you."
The one revealing himself was a handsome young man.
Young.
However, he only looked young on the outside; his age had long passed sixty.
A swordsman who inherited the noble dragon's bloodline, whose youth and spirit were still not senile, and who had never let go of his sword for his entire 60 years of life.
At the same time, he was the one who rejected the dragon's bloodline and inherited the Guardian of the Sacred Lake.
"-Duke Blake."
The high priest murmured his name low.
Blake Vivian de Galahad.
The current head of the Galahad family, and the most outstanding 'Compatible One' among the successive Dukes Galahad.
The head responsible for one of the three major powers of the kingdom had personally appeared here.
"You didn't even show your nose when your adopted daughter was in danger, and now you finally show yourself?"
"You are nothing but incompetent. Well, that's why you lost your woman so incompetently."
However, the two priests merely scoffed even though such a duke had appeared.
No, they were mocking him.
It was a scene that made one doubt they had any sense of fear, in a situation where it wouldn't be strange if they died at any moment.
Wooooong!
The aura of the shadows grew even fiercer.
Their remarks, which dared to insult their master and furthermore the deceased madam, were enough to boil the anger of the loyal shadows.
But on the contrary.
"Right, I must be an incompetent bastard."
The duke showed no emotional change.
He was just overly calm.
"I am an incompetent bastard who couldn't even protect my woman, a ruthless father fated to doubt and test even my own daughter. Also, I am nothing but an 'avenger' obsessed with revenge, who might go mad at any moment...!"
Creak!
...However, only his expression was cold; the aura he emitted was by no means cold.
Rather, a fearsome killing intent that seemed to burn everything around him burned and melted even the building.
"I will uncover the truth even if I have to bet everything I have."
Crack, crunch!
"……."
"...Keuhk."
As if their earlier provocations were a lie, they did not open their mouths.
No, they couldn't.
The pressure like a Fire Demon emitted by the duke didn't just crush them, but was tearing their flesh and breaking their bones.
It was a scene created merely by his aura, and the two priests finally realized it.
That the opponent....
"...They said his aptitude was the highest among the Compatible Ones of the Demonic Sword, and it was no lie."
Was the strongest Galahad in history.
Wooooong!
The heat haze visible around the duke was more powerful than the combined aura emitted by the fifty-plus people, and that aura continued to soar.
And at some point, a sword was held in the duke's hand.
A longsword with no decorations, only a blue glow lingering around it.
However, this longsword was precisely.
"I have a lot to ask you."
The Demonic Sword said to grant the power to destroy a nation.
The Demonic Sword of the Lake breathed out sinister ghostly flames.