Episode 133 Continental Summit (1)
"Then I'll be going to the temple."
"You've memorized the instructions, right?"
"Of course. I'll make sure everything goes smoothly."
"Good, then you're dismissed."
"Yes."
The middle-aged man bowed politely at Mulo's answer and quietly left the office without a sound.
He was Duke Bright, known to wield absolute power in the Talia Kingdom, acting humbly so as not to offend the other person.
He had come for a final report as the representative of the Talia Kingdom for the upcoming Continental Summit.
And as he left, Heinz, who had been sitting quietly in a chair, turned his gaze to Mulo, who was standing respectfully next to him.
"You don't think he'll do anything stupid, do you?"
Since the Continental Summit was a gathering of the highest-ranking officials from each country, including the Main God Church, things could get troublesome if he said the wrong thing.
"Lord, he's a pawn I've been preparing since he was a baby. You don't have to worry too much."
But Mulo just smiled confidently at Heinz's words.
He hadn't used any noticeable mind-affecting magic in case he was exposed like this, but there were various ways to subjugate a person.
Mulo, who had lived for a long time, was well-versed in such methods, and he was a veteran who had never failed in decades, thanks to his accumulated experience.
"Hmm— Okay. If something goes wrong in the current situation, they won't have the time to care about this side. The situation on the continent is too much of a mess."
The Talia Kingdom hadn't suffered much damage from the madness incident thanks to the thorough control of the monster forest, even mobilizing the Brokoslack Clan.
Of course, there were still some casualties because monsters weren't only found there, but it was at a very manageable level compared to other countries.
But other countries couldn't respond as quickly as the Talia Kingdom, and various interests and schemes were intertwined, exacerbating the damage.
'And they also had to worry about the undead unrest outside of the west.'
And the Main God Church was also in a chaotic situation due to support requests pouring in from various places, so even if Duke Bright spoke out of turn, they wouldn't have the time to deal with it.
'Come to think of it, it wouldn't be bad for the clan to come out into the open with this incident as an opportunity.'
The lower-ranking vampires of the Ufersh Clan were already gathering in the Talia Kingdom through Blood Gates.
With two of the three strongest vampire clans joining forces, they were already at a level where they could exert influence comparable to a single country.
Even excluding the Talia Kingdom.
'Six True Bloods and two Sacred Bloods. And nearly a hundred Purebloods below them… Ha, it's an absurd force.'
The blood magic power possessed by a True Blood was equivalent to Level 7-8 by Earth standards.
Freesia was Level 7 before being subjugated by Heinz, and Mulo was Level 8.
'But when I actually fought her, Freesia was much stronger than the Betas on Earth. She would be at least Level 7.5.'
It was the difference between an awakened one who had rapidly grown with all sorts of growth bonuses and unique skills, and a native of another world who had honed their skills over a long time.
If their abilities were similar, there was bound to be a difference in skill.
Of course, it would have been a different story if the Betas had enhanced their unique skills more, but that was what he had experienced firsthand.
'And that was before Freesia was strengthened by "Refined Blood Essence". Now she would be at least Level 8.'
And there were six True Bloods at that level.
No, Mulo and Theodore, the leaders of each clan, should be considered even higher, at least Level 8.5.
'Sacred Bloods are at least Level 9 or higher. It's meaningless to compare them to Earth, where I've never even heard of them.'
Anyway, they had enough power to occupy the capital of a fairly strong kingdom, not just a small and weak country like the Talia Kingdom.
Of course, it would be temporary, considering the full-scale response from the humans that would follow.
But there was no need to do that since they had already taken over a country.
'Anyway, about the Sacred Blood…'
Heinz sank deep into his chair and closed his eyes.
Briki, the other Sacred Blood.
He recalled the conversation he had with her after the battle with the Ufersh Clan.
About what she wanted and her ultimate goal.
"Whew, should I wait and see for now?"
"What?"
"No, it's nothing."
Her fate was already in his hands.
Whether he consumed her or took her under his command.
Everything would go according to his will.
_______________________
Whoosh—
Purple flames blazed in the darkness.
The flames flickered in the middle of a sealed basement, casting eerie shadows of the figures standing around it onto the surrounding walls.
Five grotesque shadows, dancing erratically as the purple light flickered.
And an unidentified man, who had been quietly watching them from the darkness, opened his mouth.
"…It seems like Old Man couldn't attend again."
And so, the secret regular meeting of Oath of Heaven's Defiance began by checking on the absent member.
[Is there no one… who can contact him…?]
[Hehehe~ Since when did we care about each other? The reason is obvious, isn't it? He's probably dead somewhere!]
Some didn't even know about his whereabouts because of the distance of their areas of activity or lack of connection.
But there were also those who sensed something was wrong because they had some interaction with him.
[Hmm, the last message I exchanged with him was that the situation in the west was unsettling. He said that small branches were being attacked by someone.]
[Ah— I also heard that the Church might be involved! Don't tell me the Heresy Inquisitors are moving?]
They were a cell organization, which was advantageous for maintaining security, but it had the weakness of inefficient information exchange.
If something happened to the branch manager in charge, like now, it was almost impossible to quickly grasp the situation and respond.
[Hmm~ I have some information about that.]
At that moment, a sticky female voice echoed, and everyone's attention turned towards it.
She exuded a strange charm despite her grotesquely twisted shadow and slowly opened her mouth, seemingly enjoying the attention.
[They say the immortal army is attacking underground organizations. And strangely enough, they're mainly targeting those under our control.]
A momentary silence fell over the surroundings at the information she revealed.
It wasn't good news.
[…Why…?]
[How would I know~?]
They knew she had an ability user specialized in information gathering under her.
They had benefited from it quite a bit, so there was no need to doubt the reliability of the information now.
[Hmm, none of the Immortal King's movements we predicted so far have been right. Everything is beyond our expectations.]
It didn't make sense that the Immortal King, who should have been consumed by the 'death' of the abyss and focused solely on covering the continent in death, was hiding for so long and not appearing openly.
It was a development they hadn't even imagined when they first heard about the Immortal King's resurrection.
The fact that he was attacking underground organizations was even more perplexing, to the point where they had to discard most of their plans.
"Then should we assume that Old Man was also defeated by the Immortal King?"
[Wouldn't that be the most logical conclusion? He wouldn't have been taken down so quietly otherwise.]
The Immortal King wouldn't consider them an obstacle to conquering the continent and try to eliminate them.
In this case, it was more likely that he was doing this to properly utilize them, judging them to be useful.
But either way, it was a troublesome situation for them.
[Ha! Nothing is going right because of those idiots! After Marcos and Nurabe, now Old Man?]
And in the serious atmosphere, the large shadow grumbled in frustration.
[We've been preparing for over ten years, and you're ruining everything before we can even use it! And you guys are the same! We haven't achieved anything since I opened the abyss and released madness!]
[Pfft! Hehehehehe~ That's true. Hehehe…]
[Shut up before I rip your tongue out!]
[Ah, sorry, sorry! Hehe—!]
The large shadow started to rant, but the frivolous one couldn't stop laughing.
And as the atmosphere became increasingly tense,
"It's true that we've been too cautious lately, trying to benefit from the Immortal King and just watching."
Everyone's gaze turned to the voice that suddenly interrupted their argument.
The one who had been lost in thought after the mention of the Immortal King spoke again, and those who had been chattering noisily all shut their mouths and focused on his next words.
"Everyone knows about the Continental Summit that's being held soon, right?"
[Of course, it's so noisy, how could we not know?]
"The thing we've been preparing is also complete. If we prepare now, the timing is perfect… it'll be right during the summit."
[Hmm? You were… Ah— I see.]
They didn't know the details because their areas of activity were different, but they had shared general information while planning.
But the decision on the exact timing, scale, and location was entirely up to the individual, so they didn't even know when or what would happen…
[Hehe! Ah— I'm curious to see the faces of those gathered to discuss countermeasures! It's a shame I can't see it directly! Hehehe!]
[Is there anything we can do to help?]
"No. It's something we've been working on for a long time."
He looked at the grotesque shadows focusing on him and added in a firm voice.
"And that time, will be the beginning of the collapse of the current ruling system."
And after a while, when the meeting was finally over,
The purple flames illuminating the darkness subsided, and only thick darkness remained in the space.
Swoosh—
The man, who had been standing silently in the darkness, climbed the basement stairs without a sound.
Light started to enter the surrounding space, and even as the interior gradually brightened, his steps didn't stop.
And finally, he reached the window and…
Flung open the curtains that were blocking the outside.
Bright sunlight and the bustling cityscape poured in at once.
"…This will be the last time I see this."
Now that they knew the Immortal King was targeting them, there was no time to relax like this.
Once they unleashed everything they had prepared, they would have to cut off all contact and go into hiding for a while.
'Fortunately, Old Man doesn't have much information about us. He has a restriction, but the Immortal King might do something, so it's better to be prepared. …I'll have to be wary of the others from now on.'
And he continued to stare blankly at the scenery outside until sunset.
The high-ranking executives of Oath of Heaven's Defiance, a cell organization, were seemingly equal on the surface, but there was a de facto leader among them.
And the man was undeniably the most influential figure in the organization.
To the point where he could even place restrictions on some of the executives.
The place he was currently at was Rohan Duchy, which was constantly at war with monsters because it was located north of the Empire and surrounded by the Northern Mountains on three sides.
____________________
Envoys from various forces started to arrive at the Roselia Cathedral one by one.
High-ranking officials who had been entrusted with full authority from their respective countries, representatives from groups like the Magic Tower Alliance and the Mercenary Guild.
It was difficult to coordinate beforehand to gather them in one place, but once that was resolved, the actual movement itself was quick and easy through the temple's gate.
Of course, that included the non-human races from the Enamel Continent. They were able to quickly cross the sea and join the meeting through High Elf Rapori's 'Forest Path', as agreed upon with the Church.
Fortunately, the Elven Kingdom understood the gravity of the matter, and they were able to easily obtain their cooperation because they had become closer after the Cecily incident.
And so, those who led the world of Auterica gathered in one place.
Right here, in the holy land, the center of the continent.
If something happened to those gathered here, it would inevitably cause great chaos worldwide.
They were that influential in their respective forces.
And that meant…
'Just by making a strong impression here, my Karma will skyrocket!'
This place was a gold mine.