On the way out, Rebecca pulled me aside.
“Where.”
“Just follow me.”
She led me into a strange, tucked-away space in the royal castle, where a great curtain hung between two tall pillars.
“What’s that?”
“Setian’s sanctuary.”
“Setian’s sanctuary?”
Rebecca’s face twisted in distaste.
“It’s the place where Setian prays for the kingdom. When I was little, I went there once and got scolded badly by him.”
Even now, two high-level shadow guards stood watch at the front. In addition, a top-grade Reaper Seal Ω [Stigma] was rooted there. A place completely immune to [Illusion] or [Stealth].
“If we’re going to confront Setian, we’ll need to know what’s inside.”
Every time we entered the royal palace, I had cloaked us in top-level [Illusion], but there were some places even my illusions did not work. The King’s sickroom, for instance. This sanctuary too.
“Why tell me only now?”
I’d been to the palace with Rebecca several times, so the fact she was only now mentioning this crucial place was strange.
“......”
Rebecca stared at me.
“......”
“......”
“...What. What.”
“Rebecca.”
“...What. It’s fine as long as you know now, isn’t it...”
I was about to question what she meant when she shifted the subject.
“But is this really okay? I’m not sure Father can handle that two-horned demon.”
Rebecca having something to hide was nothing new. For now, I just stored away the matter of [Setian’s Sanctuary] and answered.
“His Majesty will...”
Chamberlain Lutemin convened the Elder Council. But word came back from Setian that his health was too poor to attend. When Lutemin told Hiaka III, the King said, “Have him come.”
It was the first time in years Setian had heard such a firm voice. At least since His Majesty had taken to bed.
“The problem I’m talking about is physical. If Setian were to attack Father, I’m not sure he could endure it.”
“He can.”
“What makes you so sure? Father is...”
I looked into those red eyes and said,
“Princess. Who do you think your magical talent came from?”
Glory and Eve were orphans. Adele Mouin was the daughter of the previous Cross Constellation. The assassin, whichever is chosen, is the child of a Constellation. Rebecca’s parents too.
“This is little known, but from what Betelgeuse dug up, His Majesty reached Challenger at the age of twenty-three. He only stopped updating his rank after that.”
Hiaka III drew a sword. National Treasure No. 1, the weapon that had raised Hiaka, one of only three in the world that bore a double [Stigma].
「Shadowblade⚉○」
Then he ordered Lutemin to bring the “Pink Drug.” A ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ drug made to expose those pretending to be human—something the King had long turned his eyes from.
“Here it is, Your Majesty.”
At the same time, Lutemin said, “The full Elder Council has assembled.” Which meant Setian had reluctantly come too.
“I will go.”
In the corridor leading to the council chamber, the King’s steps were heavy. Four of the royal household’s elite knights walked with him. At last, he reached the chamber.
“His Majesty the King arrives!”
At the command, thirty-three elders rose from their seats, kneeling and bowing their heads to the ground. Among them was Setian, his hair gone white.
Crunch. The King put the Pink Drug in his mouth and chewed.
At that moment, something astonishing happened.
Horns began to sprout from the heads of half the elders.
“......”
The King’s gaze swept them, then turned to the chair, Setian.
A two-horned monster knelt with its whole body pressed down, then raised its head to look upon him.
“But even if all this settles, there’s still cause for concern.”
Rebecca seemed to think the same, nodding with a face full of worry.
“Mm.”
In a gloomy voice, she said,
“I’ve hated His Majesty all my life. He broke apart my life with my foster father. Dragged me into the royal house against my will. And when everyone around said I was useless, Father began to neglect me too. But then recently... he couldn’t recognize me. That felt strange.”
Srrring –
The King drew the sword at his hip and walked toward him. Setian did not move. He only opened his mouth.
“Your Majesty. Why do you draw your sword?”
Other elders peeked up in surprise, but the King gave no answer, just advanced, and then lifted the blade.
“Do you know what Father said to me...? He said....”
“...That I’m his daughter....”
The next instant, Hiaka III’s eyes lost their focus. The gathered gazes went blank. He stared vacantly into the distance.
The corners of the two-horned demon’s mouth curled upward.
“Your Majesty?”
When he asked again, the dazed King lowered the sword and placed it on Setian’s shoulder.
“I hereby appoint you knight of my house.”
Then he laughed.
Setian laughed too.
“Your Majesty, you already did that fifty years ago.”
“Oh? Oh, did I? When?”
The King laughed and reached out to his friend. Setian took the hand and rose.
“Ah, the campaign for Gilbion was well done, Setian.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty. It was all thanks to our feint operation.”
“Their faces were a sight. Ha ha.”
“Ha ha! They nearly fainted before Your Majesty!”
As the two old men laughed and praised each other over a siege that had ended fifty-five years ago, the elders and retainers froze stiff.
Hiaka III’s trousers were growing wet. The stream trickled down, pooling on the floor.
“Hold me...”
***
|ㅂㅇ)
|ㅂ♥]
< Expecting a kiss. >
< But does not do it.... >
|ㅅㅇ) ....
|ㅅ♥] ....
***
There was a man who had been born a tool, became a master, and then once more became a tool by his own will.
His name was Betelgeuse.
In truth, working under someone else had always been tiresome. But if that someone was Dante Hiakapo, whom all the world’s Constellations now watched, it was another story.
Whether tool or master is determined by a man’s stature. And Betelgeuse willingly accepted becoming a tool. Because the one who would wield him was a being whose future reach was unknown.
Mobilizing his old connections in the search for information on “Abraxas” and the “Lord of Eternal Return,” Betelgeuse at last came face-to-face with a man.
“...We’ve met before.”
The man brushed back his elegant long hair and smiled leisurely. But inside he was not at ease. Because he had not sought the other—rather, the other had sought him.
“...When I heard an unknown Constellation wanted to meet me, I came eagerly, and look who it is.”
Betelgeuse narrowed his eyes.
It was a boy far too familiar.
Standing before him.
Eyes slanted, curved in a crooked smile.
“Quan... that was your name, wasn’t it.”
“Use honorifics. My age, rank, position, power, and wealth are all above yours.”
“...So be it.”
The man was Quan of the Dormant Dragon cadets.
Betelgeuse stared silently, then pulled a cigar from his breast. With a flick, flame lit on his finger. Smoke began to billow.
“You were a Constellation...”
“That’s right. From the Empire.”
“A Constellation wouldn’t meddle in children’s games for nothing.”
“Who knows.”
“Are you perhaps a star who enjoys peeping unseen?”
“It’s a secret! Heh. Just call me an unknown star.”
Whoosh—smoke rose again. Quan coughed.
“Unhealthy! Quit it!”
“...Before I hear why you sought me, I want to ask one thing.”
“Go ahead.”
“Why did you vanish?”
“My role is to watch in secret. After the Bomiteka battle, there was no more need to watch him in secret, was there?”
“That’s true.”
Until then he had kept himself hidden, but afterward Dante Hiakapo became known, a superstar overnight—the genius professor who saved Count Kahla’s territory from an absurd crisis.
“I belong to no one. Take no sides. Yet even I have a wish. To watch a more entertaining situation, for longer.”
“Indeed. That is just like you. Bringing despair to many. Granting blessings to many. For no reason at all.”
“There is a reason. Because it’s fun.”
Quan said it plainly.
“In that context, I have something to say to Professor Dante Hiakapo.”
“So just another whim of yours?”
“Similar, but different. This one, rarely, is also for him.”
Then Quan smiled.
“Don’t search for Abraxas.”
“......”
It was a message for Betelgeuse too, since he was the one digging into Abraxas.
“Why?”
“Do you know the end is coming?”
“The end. You mean the Lord of Eternal Return revives?”
“Half right. And all the Constellations know it. They have brains in their skulls, don’t they? They’re thinking. Ah, what should I do?”
“......”
“Surprisingly, Constellations are trending toward staying put.”
“Why?”
“Because their rank might drop!”
“...You’re serious? The world might be destroyed.”
Betelgeuse sought a counterexample.
“From what I know, in Professor Dante’s faction, the Dominion❆—one Constellation has chosen to follow Kaiser.”
“That’s me. There’s so much fun there. Do you know what those lunatics are about to do!? No... never mind. I shouldn’t say this...”
“......”
“You look confused? That’s why you never made Constellation and dropped to the bottom of Challenger. You don’t understand their greed. That grotesque lust to rise.”
He jabbed right at Betelgeuse’s sore past.
“If it’s not about their rank, they’re just bystanders. They’ll pretend to be sad, of course. Oh dear, everyone died! So sad! But they won’t act. Why?”
“......”
“They think the world will only half collapse. That they’ll still have their flocks, their ranches. Only because there’s the Hero Party, and if an assassin joins it, they can profit. So for now it’s just Black Star⚉ faction versus Shadowless Star○ faction.”
“Constellations are always disgusting.”
“Exactly. And in all history, only one person refused this flow.”
I thought I knew.
“Abraxas.”
Quan flung out his arms like an actor on stage, shaking his head dramatically.
“Correct!”
Then he laughed loudly.
“All this will reach Professor Dante, right? Then here’s advice. At the gathering to decide the Hero Party, there’s not only the matter of the assassin. There’s one more problem—very important, very dangerous.”
A very important, very dangerous problem.
From here, Betelgeuse knew nothing. But Dante Hiakapo would be hearing this conversation right now. Which meant Quan was speaking to him.
“When the trigger is pulled soon, watch what happens.”
***
......And so, all the events began at the announcement of the Obel Prize winners.
Together with Gyulgyul and other national candidates, I sat in the Imperial Obel Prize Council, anxiously awaiting the declaration.
– This year’s Obel Prize in Illusion Studies goes to Chief Professor Lion. Congratulations.
Out of nowhere, an Imperial professor was named Obel Prize winner.
“Huh?”
“What the hell...?”
Every professor present was stunned.
One after another, they turned to me, offering congratulations, saying I deserved the Obel Prize.
Even Chief Professor Lion himself wore a baffled look as he climbed the stage to accept the award plaque.
At that moment, I wasn’t the least displeased. Because I had expected it.
The Pink Drug, the Curse of Pettiness—every step of it, I was involved.
‘So the Empire is finally moving to check me in earnest.’
Awarding an Imperial professor the prize fit right into that pattern.
And then it happened.
A man with a sword began walking heavily from the far end of the hall.
“Huh? Who’s that?”
“A sword...?”
An assassin.
“Hey! Grab him! Grab him!!”
“Seize him at once!”
But they could not.
A [Challenger]-class [Assassin] burst like lightning through the crowd, scattering countless rankers, then leapt onto the stage.
And drove his blade into Chief Professor Lion.
“Keuk!!”
The hall erupted into pandemonium.