Chapter 238: Chaos (4)
Cardinal Bruyant, who had been seated, suddenly lifted his head.
“...This is……”
It was an enormous aura, so vivid that it made his entire body tremble.
At the sensation of that aura, he opened the two eyes he had quietly closed.
At the same time, faint sounds drifted in from beyond the tightly shut window.
Roars, screams, urgent shouts.
The chaotic clamor outside, as if the world had turned into a battlefield of carnage, pierced through the thick walls and reached his ears, faint though it was.
“……”
Even so, not the slightest agitation appeared on his face.
He merely murmured softly.
“At last……”
Bruyant’s body began to tremble slightly.
Perhaps it was because of the exhilaration that coiled around him unbearably—there was even a clear, small smile forming at the corners of his lips.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
It was then.
As if to shatter his thoughts, someone pounded urgently on the door with a fist.
“Your Eminence, are you inside? It’s me!”
…Who was it again?
He could not quite remember, but it was certainly the voice of a priest who had followed him under the pretense of attending to him.
In any case, that priest whose name he could not recall shouted in a hurried voice.
“It is urgent! Please, I beg you, open the door!”
“……”
“I urgently request an audience! Your Eminence, are you inside!? Please answer me!”
Bruyant frowned slightly.
Priests truly were a tactless breed.
Soon, he replied in a quiet yet firm voice.
“...I am on my knees in prayer at the moment, so it will be difficult.”
“Pardon? What do you mean by—”
“So I am afraid I cannot open the door. However, I shall listen. Voices have a way of passing through doors.”
“...Understood.”
From beyond the firmly locked door, the priest began reporting the current situation in detail, as if he had resigned himself.
His voice trembled thinly, as though seized by anxiety.
“The Capital has fallen into great chaos.”
“For what reason?”
“They say creatures that look as though they are covered in mire have appeared and are attacking people. In addition……”
He hesitated briefly, then added in a voice that sounded as if he himself could hardly believe it.
“...There are reports from various places that the dead have risen, Your Eminence.”
“The dead?”
When Bruyant interrupted to ask, the priest standing outside answered hurriedly.
“Yes. It sounds so absurd that further confirmation is needed……”
“Confirmation is important.”
“If they were beings revived through necromancy, they should naturally lose their strength before Divine Power… yet there was no particular reaction. The same applies to those mire-covered creatures I mentioned earlier.”
“Hmm……”
“Above all, the power they possess is said to be immense. At first, we suspected that they had merely changed their appearance, but judging from the collected reports, it does not seem to be such a simple deception.”
“I see……”
Bruyant answered in the same calm, quiet voice as before.
Perhaps dissatisfied with that reaction, the priest outside revealed his anxiety once more as he spoke.
“Please make a decision—make a decision at once, Your Eminence.”
“A decision? What decision do you mean?”
At his reply, the priest inhaled sharply.
He had probably barely restrained himself from raising his voice.
“...Countless people in the Capital are in danger at this very moment. At a time like this, should we not—should not the Holy Sun Church step forward and save them?”
Although it was officially classified information, the fact that Cardinal Bruyant, together with Cardinal Bernard, formed one of the two pillars responsible for the Holy Sun Church’s military power was an open secret known to all who had any awareness.
The priest outside the door had also served within the Holy Sun Church for many years, and thus was one of those who knew.
That was why he had come so urgently to seek him out.
“And what is Cardinal Bernard doing?”
At Bruyant’s question, the priest answered.
“He has already left the Academy. Moreover, he has taken with him all the Inquisitors whom he had brought along under the pretext of being his attendants while traveling to the Capital, and has headed to the scene.”
“I see…… Ever as swift as always, that friend.”
Bruyant muttered quietly before speaking again.
“I will not move.”
“Pardon? But—!”
At the priest’s startled reaction, Bruyant responded in a composed voice.
“First, listen to what I have to say.”
“...I am listening.”
“Very well.”
Cardinal Bruyant continued in a quiet voice.
“Whether it is misfortune or fortune, I cannot say, but today is the climax of the Departure Festival. Thus, His Highness Crown Prince Gernot, along with the Imperial Knights who attend him and the elite soldiers, must have been marching.”
“That is certainly true.”
“It would no doubt be a grueling task for those who can be called the Empire’s elite to rescue citizens at the scene while simultaneously fighting the enemy… yet they are men who may be described as the very finest among the finest in this Empire.”
He did not pause as he continued.
“In addition, many of our priests and Holy Knights must have been stationed at the scene as well. For this festival, we selected only the best among our ranks. Though we may be outnumbered, we will not fall short in quality, and in terms of rescuing civilians and guiding evacuations, we may in fact surpass them.”
“……”
After a brief pause, Bruyant spoke again.
“Lastly, you said Cardinal Bernard advanced with his Inquisitors under his direct command.”
“…Yes.”
“At the center of the incident, the Imperial Household and the Empire’s army hold their ground, while on the outskirts, our forces bring order… In a manner of speaking, it could be said that we have instead encircled them.”
“Ah!”
At his words, the priest outside let out a short exclamation, as if something had dawned on him.
Bruyant thought how fortunate it was that the one who had come to him was a priest and not a Holy Knight.
Even by his own standards, the words he had just spoken were utter nonsense.
“In a situation like this, if we were to move as well, we would only cause greater chaos. To recklessly push allied forces into an urban battle is hardly a wise course of action. As you know, in such circumstances, confusion among allies is no different from self-destruction. Therefore… since we are a step late, it is all the more correct for us to wait and observe the proper timing.”
At Bruyant’s words, which flowed without pause like a steady stream, the priest standing outside had already fallen silent.
“Ooh……”
He could only murmur in admiration.
If the one outside had been a soldier rather than a priest, he would surely have refuted every word Bruyant had spoken as absurd and baseless.
But the one outside was merely a priest, wholly unrelated to strategy or tactics.
“…Then, Your Eminence, what should we do now?”
The priest asked in a voice calmer than before, tinged with admiration.
“That is simple.”
“Please instruct me.”
“Gather the remaining personnel so that they may be dispatched at any time, but have them remain within the Academy. Observe the situation and, if support is needed, send support. If this place must be defended, then defend it… Keep them on standby so that manpower may be sent wherever appropriate.”
“Understood, Your Eminence.”
I shall obey your command!
The priest answered in an overwhelmed voice before hurriedly departing.
Tap, tap, tap…
The sound of urgent footsteps gradually faded into the distance.
“Phew.”
Contrary to his claim that he was kneeling in prayer, Bruyant had been sitting leisurely at his desk. Only then did he let out a small sigh.
‘I thought the plan might have twisted at the very end…’
He exhaled again.
“…But it seems to be flowing well enough.”
Muttering so, he scratched at his neck with a grating sound.
Then, as if something had just occurred to him, he lowered his hand and placed it over his solar plexus.
Beneath his robes, at the very center of his chest, a chilling Iron Needle was embedded deep within him.
“Hmm.”
Feeling the touch of the Iron Needle, he let out a faint breath.
‘I said I would show the Princess a miracle… how regrettable.’
She would have made an excellent sacrifice.
Bruyant shook his head repeatedly, as though lamenting the loss.
And not only Princess Velita, but also Lian Gwendil and several others he had been keeping an eye on—how truly unfortunate that he had not been able to claim them.
“……”
Though deeply regretful, he nodded slightly as if accepting that nothing could be done.
What had passed was past; it was time to consider what must be done now.
‘Judging by the aura I felt earlier… it seems the other side has failed.’
If so, then naturally he would be the one chosen.
That fact alone once more filled Bruyant with indescribable exhilaration.
To be honest, he felt as though he might leap to his feet and dance on the spot, forgetting his age and dignity.
‘No more of that useless business of gathering orphans and kneading corpses.’
Even thinking of how he had gone so far as to extend his hand to the Black Market made him shudder in disgust.
The Black Market.
To conduct transactions on equal footing with those who deserved to be seized and burned alive without exception—such a thing would have been unimaginable to his former self.
‘…Come to think of it.’
Lancia Jintia.
That woman had disappeared while investigating the Black Market.
Recalling the contents of a report that had come up a few days ago, he smacked his lips twice, as if tasting bitterness.
It was a pity that a useful chess piece had vanished.
‘She was quite convenient to use as I pleased…’
As a sacrifice, she had been somewhat ambiguous, but as a hunting hound, there had been no one who could match her at present.
Had she not cleanly dealt with Archbishop Rahma just a few months ago?
For that reason, in consideration of her past merits, he had intended to grant her mercy at the end and personally show her a miracle…
‘Well, this too must be the will of Ilionel.’
In the end, she had burned her lowly body for the sake of that Lord’s world until the very last moment. Surely, that too had been what she desired.
With that thought, he suddenly gathered the documents on his desk, tore them apart, and began to burn them.
They were ledgers detailing the families and forces that cooperated with him. As always, he would incinerate them, but considering what was about to unfold, he needed to settle his affairs and prepare in advance.
As the papers burned, numerous names of families and factions were written upon them.
Each was a name either widely known or capable of exerting considerable influence.
Count House Cxeles.
Marquis House Lavendar.
Artium Merchant Group.
Berillon Mercenary Company……
And finally, upon a scrap of paper being devoured by flame and turning to ash, one name surfaced clearly—one that would be all too familiar to someone.
Gwendil Count family.
That name, written plainly upon the document, quietly burned as well.