A small spark became the power to command lightning.
A small ember became a blue sun with a will of its own.
Attribute magic evolves into the highest-tier skill of the same attribute.
Then what of the Necromancer spell, Vampiric Touch?
Would it not evolve into a highest-tier skill befitting Necromancy?
It was a thought that flashed by briefly, yet it latched on and dragged out, continuing the thread.
Necromancy deals with the energy of death.
Vampiric Touch is a Necromancer’s spell that steals the opponent’s life force and converts it into my mana or stamina.
The point is this.
It steals the opponent’s ‘energy’ and makes it mine.
Its final evolved form is… perhaps the energy of death.
And might it not be able to control all energies as well?
Meaning, could the energy of death deeply permeating Sylvia’s body not be made to follow Hio himself rather than Sylvia?
“What do you think, Purnell?”
— Hm? What are you asking?
“…Never mind.”
Even if he asked this talkative ghost, he’d just put on airs and say nothing more than, “Hm, that sounds plausible.”
Subtly useless.
— You… somehow just had a very unpleasant thought…
In any case, it was a plan with sufficient possibility.
However, to do so, he needed to raise his Endurance to the target value.
[Hidden Trait: No Violence Allowed! (Endurance 398 / 1000)]
The road ahead was far—too far.
Even with the Endurance Catalog, it was impossible to know how long it would take to reach the target. It seemed unlikely Sylvia could hold out that long.
But since he couldn’t just sit back and do nothing, Hio lay down obediently on the floor.
“Hit me. Hurry.”
Clutching the Endurance Catalog tightly to his chest.
He had fully confirmed that enduring pain raised Endurance when the pattern was engraved upon his heart.
However, he wouldn’t be able to raise it as smoothly as back then.
Unlike that time, when he felt only extreme pain to the point of fainting without any physical injuries, pain caused by physical attacks couldn’t be endured every day.
Hio would die before Sylvia did.
“I’m ready.”
At Hio’s grim words, Teordo asked again with an uncomfortable expression.
“Really… is this the way to save Her Highness Sylvia?”
“Yeah. This is really the last one. If this doesn’t work either…”
He didn’t bother finishing the sentence.
Because Teordo’s expression already looked unbearably sorrowful.
“…Understood.”
Teordo raised his hand.
“Didn’t you say I just need to maximize the pain while minimizing physical damage?”
“Yeah.”
A grim expression.
“Then here I go.”
A similarly grim answer.
“Yeah. Come at me!”
The dead of night.
Strange sounds leaked through the crack of the door.
It was fortunate, if nothing else, that no one passed by Hio’s room.
* * *
Silbert activated the artifact with relief, as if exhaling a sigh.
— User 4: We’ve overcome the greatest hurdle.
He had received a report that the Princess of the East had begun moving her troops.
Everything was proceeding according to plan.
— User 1: The victory is certain, right?
— User 4: Certain. Neither faction is paying any attention to the Princess. Even if they detect the East’s military movements, they’ll assume it’s because of the Monster Wave.
— User 3: Certainly, even on our side, there’s almost no talk of the Princess. Just absurd rumors about her being found as a corpse or sold off to some kingdom.
— User 4: What of the Royal Knights’ mood?
— User 1: The Second Prince went to find the Sword Saint, but obviously. He was rejected and sent back.
— User 4: That’s enough. There are no variables.
There are no variables.
Silbert declared so confidently.
The superiority in information lay here as well; the two factions that had excluded the Princess could never imagine.
The Princess’s army appearing at the end of the battle.
— User 3: By the way, what is Airights doing and where?
Airights, the player who had maintained 3rd place among the Five Rankers.
By artifact standards, User 2.
Airights had never been particularly sociable to begin with, but these days it was especially severe.
— User 4: Well, he is a bit peculiar, but he’s never caused problems… He must be busy.
Don’t I know, since we often met in the game?
A bit… no, actually quite peculiar, but a good-natured and entertaining fellow.
Of course, he hadn’t met him since being possessed, but wasn’t Airights someone who kept in steady contact and followed their words well?
Something… felt a bit uneasy.
It was probably needless worry.
Nothing would go wrong.
* * *
First Prince, Alenbert Verden.
A man whose greed was beyond words.
Coupled with such a nature was the background of imperial royalty.
On top of that, the position of Crown Prince acquired merely for being the eldest.
Rough, arrogant, and one who must possess whatever he set his eyes upon.
That was the kind of man Alenbert Verden was.
And such an Alenbert.
The Crown Prince, revered his whole life as a noble being.
“Heok. Hek!”
Was crawling across the floor.
Panting with his tongue hanging out, exactly like a dog.
“So, what Your Highness the Crown Prince is curious about is this, right?”
And atop such a Crown Prince sat a woman with her legs crossed.
A seductive outfit and a gorgeous appearance to match.
Yet despite standing out so flamboyantly, no one noticed her presence.
Because the pupils of everyone nearby were unfocused.
“Whether that’s really the Supreme Heavenly Demon or not. You’re curious, right? Right?”
The woman asked, gently stroking the Crown Prince’s silver hair.
To that, the Crown Prince answered.
“Hek! Hek!”
The woman stood up, her crimson eyes sparkling.
“Well, we’ll know once we check.”
* * *
Wilco was an informant belonging to the Information Guild.
A small stature that was innate, if ever there was one.
The agility and stealthy gait that came with it were tremendous talents for an informant.
The mission currently assigned to him was monitoring the First Prince’s camp and regular reporting.
As it was an extremely important mission, even those classified as special grade in the Information Guild—
In other words, it was a mission with multiple Skill Users mobilized.
Wilco was not a Skill User, but was recognized for his experience and skill and thus assigned to this mission.
“Nothing out of the ordinary.”
First Prince Alenbert Verden was marching back toward the capital after joining Count Norton, a great noble of the West.
The force was quite formidable, but it was unrelated to Wilco’s mission.
Monitoring their movements from far enough away to avoid detection.
Even that was being done to perfection by numerous informants unknown even to Walter, reporting from various locations.
More detailed intelligence would be handled by the special grades.
“I should report as is.”
Wilco quickly left his position to make his report.
He had to report at set times on their current whereabouts, even when there was nothing particular of note.
A flash of crimson light briefly passed through Wilco’s eyes.
“…Huh?”
Because it had passed by in an instant, Wilco stopped and turned around.
“What?”
But all he saw was the path he had come down.
Nothing crimson was found, and just as he turned his head again, thinking he had imagined it—
“Hello, Wilco?”
A feast of red filled Wilco’s eyes.
Wilco’s pupils unfocused in an instant.
“Let’s see.”
When the woman extended her hand, Wilco naturally placed the paper in his hand into hers.
The woman gave a fox-like smile, briefly checked the paper, and handed it back to Wilco.
“You’re doing well, aren’t you? Our Wilco.”
At those words, Wilco’s face broke into a broad grin.
“Good. Let’s keep doing just that, shall we?”
His mouth hanging open dumbly, he nodded.
He nodded over and over, unaware of the drool trickling from the corner of his mouth.
Before he knew it, the woman with crimson eyes had vanished, and Wilco wiped the drool from his mouth and moved to report again.
Another flash of red flickered in the distance, but this time he didn’t even look.
As if nothing, nothing at all had happened.
* * *
Thanks to Jason, they had been able to gather intelligence on both factions.
They were obtaining accurate information in real time.
“Hmm… It’s not good to take sides like this…”
From Jason’s standpoint, it was a losing business.
He should be selling information here and there, driving up the price.
The moment he sided with one faction, who would trust and use the Information Guild?
“I’ll just think of it as an investment.”
Jason, who had been grumbling, reached a conclusion on his own.
If this matter ended in the Princess’s victory, the Information Guild’s credibility might drop, but they would gain far more in return.
“Stop grumbling and answer me. Is it certain they promised an all-out war on the Wyldley Plains?”
“Certain. Leading that many troops, if another war broke out in the Imperial City, the capital would truly become ruins this time. They have their own reasons.”
The First Prince and the Second Prince.
An all-out war between the two factions had been promised on the Wyldley Plains.
“The chance of one of them backstabbing?”
“None.”
Jason answered decisively.
“Movements to head to Wyldley have already been detected, and there’s no reason to refuse. Each side will think it’s more advantageous to them.”
“They each think it’s more advantageous?”
“The superiority in knights lies with the First Prince. With Count Norton of the West joining, the elite knight orders under his banner have joined as well.”
On the other hand, the Second Prince had failed to restore the knight orders he lost in the struggle for the Imperial City.
The capital’s nobles were already divided, and those remaining were maintaining neutrality, but the very fact that they maintained neutrality meant they were already powerful enough not to be shaken by external pressure.
The Second Prince had applied pressure but failed to secure much support, and anticipating this, the First Prince’s side believed they would win.
“The Second Prince has Skill Users. He believes in those who have Awakened among them.”
The number one contributor to the struggle for the Imperial City.
The possessors Silbert had recruited in his place.
The Second Prince believed in them.
Since they were possessors optimized for Skill use, the power of just a few of them could overturn the tide of war.
“But they won’t participate in this all-out war. No, they’ll pretend to participate just enough, then withdraw.”
Maintaining just enough balance before pulling out.
So that the damage between them grows even greater.
So that the chaos deepens.
“And that’s when we strike.”
“That’s right.”
This was Silbert’s plan.
“We must definitely take the heads of both princes. Once their deaths are confirmed, Her Highness the Princess becomes the sole successor. It’s the cleanest ending.”
The two princes wouldn’t know even in their dreams, but every situation was pointing toward Sylvia’s victory.
At least Jason was convinced of that.
Because even this man, said to know the most in the Empire, was unaware of Sylvia’s impending death right before his eyes.
“But did you get hit somewhere? You look like you’re in pain.”
“…I didn’t get hit. Forget it, let’s move.”
Going down the castle stairs and looking below, he saw countless soldiers lined up so densely the ground could not be seen.
Only now was the war truly ready.
“Open the gates!”
The massive gate swung wide open with a thunderous noise.
Sylvia mounted her horse with a haggard face.
Hundreds of knights mounted behind her.
“March out!”
Yon Torno’s thunderous shout.
Tens of thousands of soldiers began to move.
The Princess’s Legion.
“The destination is Wyldley!”
Watching that majestic deployment, Sylvia thought.
Let’s go. To the Imperial City.
Let’s go. To where I rightfully belong.
“Advance!”
Let’s go to end this tiresome fight that has continued for years from the shadows.
[Hidden Trait: No Violence Allowed! (Endurance 463 / 1000)]