In the end, the Second Prince seized the Imperial Palace. The First Prince was defeated after suffering minor injuries. Currently fleeing west.
Jason read through the report with a dry gaze.
Because it was an event destined to occur, it stirred no particular emotion.
It had been a closely matched struggle between forces with a difficult-to-predict outcome, but to this place—a hub where all information gathered—and to its master, Jason Clarock, the result was plainly visible.
"The Second Prince has seized the Imperial Palace, but failed to reclaim the Imperial Seal......"
Jason set down the paperwork and propped his chin on his hand as if bored.
"It's proceeding exactly according to the Professor's plan. Those foolish royal bastards don't even know that."
A fierce war for the imperial throne.
Could they even dare imagine that a war where one could scarcely see an inch ahead was dancing on the palm of a single Professor?
"What of the damages on both sides?"
The answer to Jason's question came from across him.
"Both sides have suffered severe damage. Having clashed within the limited space of the Imperial Palace, it is nearly miraculous that the First Prince managed to flee with only minor injuries."
"That's part of the plan, too. It would be troublesome if the First Prince died immediately."
After all, wasn't the Professor, who was currently throwing his weight behind the Second Prince, actually aiming to make the Princess the Emperor?
"The ones the Professor brought turned the tide decisively."
They were the very beings who had decided victory between the two evenly matched forces.
The Possessors the Professor had brought.
Individuals far stronger than their known reputations suggested.
Of course, the fact that they were Possessors was information only Jason knew.
"Not handing the Imperial Seal to the Second Prince is likely part of the Professor's plan as well. If the Second Prince obtained the Seal on top of seizing the Imperial Palace, the Royal Knights would move."
They who were called the pinnacle of the Empire's military might.
If they, who obeyed only the Emperor's command, recognized the Second Prince—who held the Imperial Seal—as Emperor, it would be over then and there.
If the Golden Lion sided with any one faction, reclaiming the Imperial Palace would be impossible no matter what means were employed.
"What of the Seal's location? Has it been identified?"
"Its exact location has not been determined. No doubt the Professor is up to his usual tricks again."
"Tch. Even the Professor couldn't manage that much. Find its location quickly."
"Yes."
There were several important keywords in this war, and one of them was the Imperial Seal.
The thousand-year-old Imperial Seal that symbolized the Emperor, that symbolized the nation.
Whoever identified its location would occupy the advantageous high ground.
"And what of the Princess's side? No unusual movements?"
"She is still quiet. However, since Yon Torno is holding the line, approaching closely is somewhat difficult, so we are only monitoring general movements."
"......Only general movements?"
Jason's face contorted into a fierce scowl.
"I apologize."
"The Princess's movements are what we must grasp faster than anything else."
A variable that no one was paying attention to amidst the chaotic situation.
"Of course, the odds weren't zero."
He understood the layout Professor Sylvert wished to set up, but the difficulty was too high.
"Yon Torno and the eastern nobles aren't fools; they have no reason to raise an army. What would they see in the Princess to do something so stupid?"
I'm sure he had thought the same.
If only one person hadn't joined, he would have sold that information for a high price, Professor's plan be damned.
But Hio Pavlenko had truly become part of the Princess's entourage.
"Do the Possessors have some reason they must make the Princess the Emperor?"
Thanks to that alone, a plan that hadn't held a shred of possibility had become one that somehow harbored a strange, inexplicable sense of expectation.
"Find out what is happening in the East as our top priority. No, wait."
Jason rose from his seat.
"I'll just go myself."
The dry expression he had worn was now deeply tinged with delight.
* * *
Sylvia quietly closed her eyes.
"Please rest. I will prepare so that we may depart at any time, whenever you give the word."
Yon Torno's words—that she could flee at any time if she wished.
Those words painfully churned her heart.
It felt as if he were telling her she was unqualified, that she should just give up now.
It hurt terribly... but still, she steeled her heart once more.
"—You'll die soon."
She was going to die anyway.
She had no basis to judge whether those words were true or not, but hadn't she made a promise?
"—Until the moment you die, struggle with all your might."
So she intended to struggle according to that promise.
"If there is something I must do, I will do it."
Whether it would end as a trivial splash, or become a tidal wave that swallowed the sea—was that not something no one could know?
When Sylvia opened her eyes again, her will shone with resolve.
"I will see it through by any means necessary, Uncle."
Silver eyes unshaken, unlike before.
The eyes of one who had firmly resolved herself.
"I will not run away."
Yon Torno quietly gazed at such a Sylvia.
After a brief silence, his mouth opened heavily.
"In two days, all the nobles of the alliance will gather. Let us go to that place together."
* * *
"—I did not know."
Purnell asked Hio, as if only now realizing.
"—Is it true that the only remaining denomination is the one that serves Goddess Ripyue?"
"That's right."
As Hio knew, the only god in the world of Bentayal was the goddess called Ripyue.
She was the sole goddess the Holy Kingdom worshipped.
"—Hehehe. In the era when I lived and breathed as a human, there were countless gods."
An age when countless gods governed the world, and humanity offered them praise.
Then where had all those gods gone?
"—Well... according to a black mage who researched this, the gods are dead."
The war with the Abyss that had occurred in Purnell's era.
It meant that humans were not the only ones who had perished from it.
It meant that even the gods had been unable to escape its aftermath.
"—If Ripyue is the only god known now, isn't that a sufficiently plausible story?"
"......But the Order of Ripyue, at least, is intact. An oracle has recently descended, and a Saintess has even been born."
"—Even so, it is a clear fact that her power has weakened. There are not many priests capable of wielding holy power, are there?"
"One must be at least at the bishop level to handle holy power."
"—Doesn't that make it all the more credible? In my era, even a humble village priest could wield holy power."
To summarize Purnell's words: most of the gods had perished, and the only one remaining was Ripyue; yet even she had weakened to an incomparable degree.
"—The number of gods has decreased, and their power has faded."
Purnell asked in a whisper.
"—Then who do you suppose would be happiest?"
Even though only his voice could be heard, it was somehow easy to imagine him smiling cunningly.
"—Black mages. Those who deny the gods."
Wizards who defied the will of the gods.
Since Purnell's era, even before, they had been madmen researching ways to evade the gods' eyes.
What was born from that was the method of handling the energy of death. Black magic, which cast spells using it.
"—Many black magics were born. Among them were many that evaded the gods' eyes, that blocked divinity. Of course, back then they did not have the slightest effect."
Perhaps if one had reached the level of Archmage through black magic, things might have been different. They said black magic was powerless because the gods' strength had permeated every corner of that era.
"—But what of the present era? Even if you wash your eyes and look, you cannot find the gods' power. Meaning that black magic can exert its full might."
"Does that mean there is a future for black magic?"
"—Where would there be merely a path? You need only try. Simply do as I recite to you."
"......What magic is it?"
Purnell began to cluck his tongue as if amused.
"—Darkness. The dark magic that obscures divinity."
* * *
Darkness.
Originally, it was a 1st-Circle black magic that simply blocked an opponent's vision.
Although it was classified as black magic, in truth it required no death energy; it was merely a simple 1st-Circle spell.
"—But the Darkness researched by this black mage is a little different."
The initial idea had indeed started from there.
However, after research upon research, the completed magic's effect had transformed from blocking sight to blocking divinity.
"—Fortunately, as a magic inspired by a 1st-Circle spell, the rune pattern itself is not complicated."
The pattern was not complicated.
What Hio had already carved as circles was sufficient.
The only problem was...
"—It requires far more death qi (死氣) and mana than you can imagine."
Because the pattern was simple, a great deal of something else was needed instead. In a sense, it was quantity over quality.
"I've never handled death energy before."
"—Don't worry about that. With your talent for handling mana, you will easily control death qi as well. Not to mention you possess our school's ring and the Ghost's Eye."
"Is that so...... I'll grant you that, but the question is whether that magic will actually work."
He roughly understood the reasoning.
The idea that since the gods' power had weakened beyond comparison, their gaze would not reach inside a magic that blocked divinity.
"—Of course, I cannot guarantee it either. The only way to be sure is to try. It is simply a matter of covering eyes, after all...... it seems quite possible."
"......Fine. I have no choice but to try."
Sitting still and worrying whether it would work or not would yield nothing.
If they tried, they would know the answer.
"Then I should conduct some experiments."
"—Exactly. You must master the Darkness spell in advance, and plan how to prepare that immense mana and death qi."
"I have some idea about that......"
While they were heads together, busily making plans.
Knock, knock—
After a brief knock, the door opened at once.
"Hio Pavlenko."
Teodoro, the knight with the same stoic expression as ever.
And following behind him, Princess Sylvia.
Sylvia, who had gone to the reception room to speak alone with Yon Torno, had returned.
"Huh? Finished talking?"
As soon as she entered the room, Sylvia's rigid expression quickly relaxed.
"Yeah......"
"Did something not go well?"
"He told me to personally persuade the eastern allied nobles. It's only natural, but...... no matter how much I think about it, I can't come up with a way to persuade them."
Sylvia's face crumpled like she was about to cry.
Well, it was only natural.
If the conversation had ended at just this, it seemed there was a willingness to cooperate with her, so it wasn't the worst-case scenario.
"In two days, all the nobles of the alliance will gather here. Leading soldiers to stop the Monster Wave. I have to somehow persuade them then......"
Unlike Sylvia, whose expression was grim, Hio's eyes gleamed.
"This is it."
"Sylvia."
Since they were going to experiment with the Darkness spell anyway, wouldn't it be better to do it spectacularly?
"Let me go with you to that meeting."
And make it truly spectacular.
* * *
Two days later. Yon Torno's castle.
Thousands, tens of thousands of soldiers entered through the castle gates.
In the East, it was akin to an annual event, so it was a fairly familiar sight, but to anyone seeing it for the first time, it was a military force vast enough to think a war was about to break out.
And the heads of each house leading them gathered in the meeting hall without even time to relieve their travel fatigue.
It was to hold a conference regarding this year's Monster Wave.
And it was only after entering the meeting hall that they faced an unexpected person.
"......Your Highness, the Princess?"
The unexpected figure sitting in the seat of honor.
It was so abrupt that they were unsure, but such a striking appearance, shining silver hair, and dignified bearing were hardly common.
"How is Your Highness......"
The allied nobles took their seats while bewildered.
And then they discovered yet another strange thing.
Yon Torno sitting beside the Princess.
And the large knight standing behind the Princess were still within the bounds of common sense.
But what in the world was that jester beside them?
As everyone's gaze focused on him, that jester... no, Hio sprang up from his seat.
"Greetings, everyone."
Grinning broadly, he looked around the assembly.
Adjusting his comically large hat, he grabbed the large staff leaning against the wall.
"I am Hio Pavlenko, the magician in charge of explaining the strategy for this Monster Wave."
A jester-like appearance and
a swindler-like tone.
A man who clearly did not belong in this solemn meeting hall.
The allied nobles were flabbergasted, yet Yon Torno and the Princess sat perfectly still.
"Now then, allow me to briefly explain the strategy. First, the name of this operation is..."
Even as they exchanged glances, wondering what on earth was happening, Hio's words continued.
The operation name he explained with a confident expression was.
"Blind the Eyes of God."
Outrageous.