Chapter 59
“You only managed to bring back one?”
“Sorry, Lord.”
“You need not apologize. From your condition it looked like you had fought — what happened?”
“There was interference during the kidnapping.”
The Lord cocked his head.
“How strange. Our existence had never been discovered until now. Besides, the plan was proceeding slowly and perfectly without being exposed — how could there have been interference?”
“We do not know that either.”
The Team 2 leader spoke on behalf of the others.
“We felt it was odd as well. The man who interfered with us seemed… to have completely seen through our plan. It was as if he knew exactly when, where, and whom we would kidnap.”
“Who was that man?”
“We do not know. He was a man none of us had seen before. A student of Lysquare Academy, and white-haired.”
“A white-haired male student?”
The Lord tilted his head again at that.
He, too, could not place who the white-haired male student might be.
“Is there a traitor in the organization? No, that cannot be… then how could he know our plan?”
The Lord thought for a moment and then shook his head.
“In any case, did that white-haired student interfere with you alone?”
“No. A daughter of the Balmuth family helped him.”
“Of all three dukedoms, one had to meddle — that must have made things difficult for you. Was there no tailing on your way here?”
“We confirmed there was none.”
“Then that is fortunate, but it is worrying. A male student you do not even know knew our plan… That could mean our base was already discovered.”
“Shall we abandon this place?”
“We will abandon it after the ritual.”
A huge cave on Greif Cliff, about an hour’s distance from Skedum, was Rhaineus’ base.
“We cannot perform the ritual elsewhere.”
With those words the Lord glanced behind him.
A gigantic rock stood behind him.
More precisely, it was a rock shaped exactly like a huge egg.
“To awaken the Great Falcon, noble blood was necessary. In that sense… you said you succeeded in kidnapping one noble, didn’t you?”
“Yes. Here — bring her out.”
At the Team 2 leader’s words, the team members behind him dragged out the fainted schoolgirl.
She was bound with ropes and gagged.
“Despite being obstructed in every way, she was the only one Team 3 managed to bring.”
“I will check her.”
The Lord approached the brought girl and took a blue gem from his pocket.
The gem began to shine very brightly as it neared the girl.
“You brought a fine offering. With this level of light… it seems one of this woman’s ancestors had personally received power from the Great Falcon. She is perfect as a sacrifice for resurrection.”
The Lord nodded with satisfaction and looked at the leader of Team 3 who stood behind.
“Raon, you were the one who brought this woman, were you not?”
“Yes, that is correct.”
At the Lord’s words the Team 3 leader opened his mouth.
The Lord looked at him and gave a faint smile.
“You brought a good offering. Even beyond expectations. When this is over, I will grant you a great reward.”
“Th-thank you, Lord!”
“Do not be thankful yet. As I said, I will give it after this is finished.”
The Lord turned and gazed at the enormous egg.
He pretended to be calm, but in truth he was nervous.
After decades of living like mice in hiding, the organization was on the verge of realizing its long-cherished wish, and even the Lord could not help but feel tense.
“All the necessary pieces were gathered. If the ritual succeeded, the Great Falcon would resurrect. And if we made the Great Falcon ours… we would reclaim what should originally have been ours.”
Rhaineus — the organization that had hidden like rats for decades.
The time had finally come to bring their long ambition to a close.
“Prepare the ritual. Make ready to use this woman as the sacrifice.”
“Yes, understood!”
“And until tomorrow morning increase the guards — no, except for the minimum number required for the ritual, everyone else must focus on guarding.”
“Everyone?”
“Yes, everyone.”
The Lord looked out of the cave.
This place had never been discovered for centuries, but for some reason today it felt as if this sacred place might be exposed.
“That white-haired student you mentioned. A person unheard of who knew our plan. If such a worthless brat knew of us, perhaps our location had already been discovered.”
“Then shouldn’t we run away quickly?”
“What a foolish question. The moment we abandoned this place, the meaning of our suffering for decades would vanish.”
The Lord spoke to the Team 2 leader who had asked, pointing at the gigantic egg behind him.
“The instant the Empire discovered that, all our efforts would be for nothing. And above all, we were now in the final stage. If we held out just tonight, our long desire would be fulfilled. We cannot give up here.”
After a brief pause the Lord looked at the two leaders and spoke again.
“I hope there is no assault, but if there is… for tonight, put your lives on the line to stop it. If we survive this night, we can begin our rebellion in earnest.”
With the Lord’s words, every member of the rebel force ‘Rhaineus’ began to move.
Those who were to guard took up their posts; those preparing the ritual assisted the Lord.
And things proceeded very smoothly.
‘Was it all an unnecessary worry?’
After several hours passed without incident, the Lord thought perhaps everything had been his anxiety.
‘Nothing happens. No intrusion, ritual preparations are smooth. If this continues, we can resurrect it before sunrise.’
He stared at the massive egg before him.
The beast sleeping in this egg had been a being that protected the Empire hundreds of years ago.
But for some reason it had lost its power and fallen into an eternal slumber within this great egg.
‘I will awaken the Great Falcon and quickly inject this poison. Then I can make a beast that once guarded the Empire my subordinate.’
The Lord looked at the small vial in his hand.
It contained a green liquid — the same kind that had been splashed on Gideon.
‘It was an extremely poisonous substance to humans, but it allowed handling monsters, especially beings called familiars.’
All preparations were complete.
The Lord rose and walked to the altar set before the enormous egg.
On that altar the schoolgirl was tied up and sobbing.
“Wh-where is this? Wh-what are you going to do to me?”
“Do not worry. No, consider it an honor. You will forever have your name recorded as the stepping stone of a new history.”
“Pl-please untie me. What do you want? If it’s money, I’ll pay any amount…….”
“We do not want anything else from you. What we need is only your blood and your life.”
“Please… please don’t—”
“Are the preparations complete?”
Leaving the sobbing schoolgirl behind, the Lord looked to the cult member nearby.
“As soon as you are ready, we may begin the ritual in earnest.”
“Almost done. If I tweak this a little more…….”
The cult member kept casting magic toward the altar where the girl lay.
A short while later the altar began to glow faintly.
A large magic circle then appeared over the girl.
“Good work. Now we will begin the ritual in earnest. You there — go outside and inform them. Tell everyone no one is to be let into this place while the ritual is ongoing.”
“Understood.”
“How smooth. Very smooth indeed.”
The Lord drew a dagger from his robe and approached the girl.
“What is your name?”
“Hu, huugh, uuhh.”
“Answer me.”
“Ba-Basher Kirilight…….”
“Basher Kirilight. I will remember your name. And I will make sure your name is written into history. As one of the great people who became the stepping stone of a new age.”
The Lord raised the dagger and moved toward Basher.
Basher thrashed and strained to run, but the ropes held her — it was useless.
“Consider it an honor.”
The Lord brought the dagger to Basher’s wrist.
But at that moment—
Kwahang―!
A sound like an explosion echoed from the cave entrance.
“Stop them! Hurry, stop them!”
Startled by the sudden assault, the cult members scrambled but quickly formed a defensive line.
It was no use.
The line collapsed from a single strike.
“Of all times… we were just about to start……”
The Lord clicked his tongue and turned his head.
The ritual required a quiet, stable atmosphere.
So his first instinct was to suppress the intruder.
“First, determine the size of the attacking force. How many came?”
“One person.”
“…One person?”
“Yes, just one.”
Hearing that, the Lord looked carefully toward the cave entrance.
As the member had said, only a single figure advanced into the cave.
‘Red hair, a greatsword, and a red aura surrounding the body. The daughter of House Balmuth?’
The Lord found himself trembling without meaning to.
He had been puzzled when told the attacker was only one person.
But if that one person was a member of the Balmuth family, then the situation was different.
That one person could be enough to destroy this organization.
“Stop them by any means. The enemy is one person. Charge together or fire arrows — do whatever you can to halt them.”
With those words he turned back toward the altar.
He wanted to proceed according to plan, but hesitating now could ruin everything.
Therefore the Lord planned to use a part of the power contained within the great egg by an illicit means.
“…So that was the one.”
Meanwhile, as Lisa advanced deeper into the cave she noticed the Lord immediately.
She realized he was the head of this organization and likely held the antidote for the poison that had been used on Gideon.
“I will finish this with my own hands.”
She cleaved aside those who stood in her way with her greatsword and pressed on.
On the surface she seemed to advance without hindrance, but……
‘…Thirsty.’
Instinct told her that her body would not hold out much longer.
It had been quite some time since she had properly fed on Gideon’s blood.
Because of that, the more she used her Blood Energy, the more intense her thirst grew and the more strain she felt in her body.
‘But I will kill them all. For Gideon. I must.’
Her pupils glowed redder than ever as Lisa surrendered to her rage and continued onward.
The members of Rhaineus kept rushing at her to stop her.
Meanwhile, at the same time.
Inside a hotel in Skedum.
Specifically, in the room where Gideon was staying.
“Wah! Kkiing, nggh.”
Siri, a small Hellhound, took a small vial from Gideon’s bag.
Siri struggled with her mouth to open the vial’s cap.
Then she took the vial and slowly poured its contents into Gideon’s mouth.