Chapter 186: The Cathedral (4)

In the office of the duke, located in the Obtos duchy.

There sat the Obtos duke, who had a splendid beard.

He was one of the few great nobles in the empire, along with the Colt duke, but lately he had been having a lot of trouble maintaining his dignity.

The attack of the cult at the auction house, the loss of troops, and the decline of his credit that made some nobles say they would not put up any goods for the next auction.

If it weren’t for the Obtos duke’s reputation, he would have grabbed the necks of those others right away.

But for the Obtos duke, the report that came in this time was something he could laugh happily about for the first time in a long time.

The Obtos duke looked at his subordinate who had brought up the report with a satisfied smile.

“Is that true? The Second Prince Aicliffe revealed the identity of the Colt duke?”

“Yes. According to the report, the Colt duke’s identity was actually a vampire.”

“Haha, I knew he had a sinister side all along, but he was indeed a vampire! This is a great feat by the second prince!”

The hearty laughter of the Obtos duke echoed in the office.

He had been displeased by the Colt duke’s movements to expand his influence in the central region lately, but that Colt duke’s position had plummeted in an instant.

If it was spread that the Colt duke’s identity was actually a monster, the holy land would react in some way.

And the royal family also had to show active movements in this situation.

“Damn! He’s a cold-blooded one who eats people! No wonder! He’s a vampire after all!”

Soon, an expedition force would be organized to send to the Alterias region.

There was a high possibility that Cloud and the heresy inquisitors would move together.

The face of the Colt duke who would panic when he faced the expedition force flashed through the Obtos duke’s mind.

He felt full just by imagining the embarrassed face of the Colt duke.

“So, where is the Colt duke now?”

“He seems to be returning to Alterias quickly under the escort of the Shadow Knights.”

The Obtos duke stroked his beard with his hand as he heard his subordinate’s report.

He felt a good idea sprouting every time he flipped his beard.

He pondered for a moment while intoxicated by the satisfying report content, and then opened his mouth to his subordinate.

“He’s going back to his duchy… We can’t let him go easily.”

“Are you thinking of moving troops?”

“Pick out some elite soldiers and prepare them. We have to lend a hand to the expedition, don’t we?”

The downfall of the Colt duke meant a lot.

It meant that the power of Renglos, whom he had supported wholeheartedly, was weakened.

And it also meant that the balance was strongly tilted to the side of the first emperor, whom Obtos duke supported.

He had to cut off his breath when he had a chance.

It was obvious what would happen if he let go of a vicious beast with a bad temper.

“Yes. I will prepare knights and elite soldiers.”

“As soon as you are ready, chase after him. Tell them I’ll give 500 gold coins to whoever cuts off his neck.”

“Everyone will do their best to uphold your command.”

The subordinate who received orders from Obtos duke bowed his head and left out of office.

He would prepare troops as quickly as possible since he had been told strongly.

It was an honorable battle that brought political benefits.

It was a very satisfying situation for him.

The Obtos duke watched his subordinate leave and muttered with a satisfied face.

“I can’t let those vicious undead run wild. That’s for sure.”

The Abyss, the stronghold of the black mages.

A person came to see Arcrosis, who was drawing a huge magic circle there.

The person who came to him was Kerington, the leader of the Abyss and a black mage.

Kerington had grown at an astonishing speed since he made a contract with Arcrosis.

It was certain that he would become one of the strongest in the empire in a little more time.

Arcrosis also had some expectations for Kerington’s future.

“O ruler of death. A message from the great one has come down through the cult.”

Kerington spoke to him with a polite attitude as soon as he came to Arcrosis.

Arcrosis stopped his hand that was carving a magic circle on the ground as he heard Kerington’s words.

The contact from the cult was likely to be about the trust.

Arcrosis asked Kerington, who had come to him, as he stopped his hand.

-“What is it?”

“They say that human troops will come to the north.”

-“Is it our role to crush them?”

“Yes. To trample on the empire’s expedition force and make our existence known in the north. That is the command that the great one has delivered through the cult.”

Click.

A jewel ring on his finger came into Arcrosis’s sight as he moved his finger.

It was something he had gotten when he was invited to the gathering of those who served the great being.

Arcrosis turned his body and looked at Kerington as he stared at the ring on his finger.

His eyes filled with darkness turned to Kerington this time.

-“Is it your wish to destroy the empire and build a kingdom of black mages?”

“You seem to remember. Our goal is to repay the insults we received from the damned empire and create a world for black mages.”

-“I see.”

Arcrosis remembered the conversation he had with Roan as he listened to Kerington’s words.

He argued that they needed to suppress the empire’s troops if a war broke out with the holy land.

The imperial army coming to Alterias region would also be part of that plan.

Arcrosis, who had been standing still for a while, raised darkness in his palm and spoke.

-“I’ll give you some more power.”

“What do you mean by power?”

-“I’ll lend ten thousand undead to all those who have contracted with me.”

They needed to raise the level of black mages a little more before facing the war.

It was Arcrosis’s decision for that.

Ten thousand was a number that a single necromancer could not reach even if he gathered them for his whole life.

Moreover, the undead of Arcrosis, the lord of the dead, were of unquestionable quality.

Kerington’s mouth curled up as if it would tear as he heard Arcrosis’s words.

“O ruler of death!”

-“Lead the army of death and face the enemies that are coming.”

Not only Kerington, but all the officers of the Abyss were happy with the news.

Arcrosis, who had entrusted them with the army of the undead, turned his body and looked at the magic circle again.

It was not an easy decision for Arcrosis, who was called the lord of the dead, to give ten thousand undead to each of the officers.

But now Arcrosis was confident that he wouldn’t care even if he lost all the undead he had lent them.

After he went down to the abyss and came back, the primordial demon had gained a new enlightenment.

Now, for Arcrosis, human death was infinitely light.

“We will work hard not to disappoint the great one!”

-“The great being will watch over your loyalty.”

“Hehe… Under the name of the Abyss, all humans will bow their heads.”

Kerington left with a sinister smile as he received Arcrosis’s confirmation.

Kerington’s footsteps looked infinitely lighter than usual as he left.

Arcrosis left Kerington alone and continued to draw the magic circle with magic.

The most important thing for him now was the magic circle he was engraving in a deep cave.

-“I have to prepare to welcome the guests.”

The magic circle that Arcrosis was drawing was a thing that connected the surface and the abyss.

It opened a temporary passage between the two places, to bring out the monsters of the abyss to the surface.

The monsters living in the abyss boasted a strength that could not be compared with the life forms on the surface.

The moment those monsters showed their appearance on the surface, humans would run away in fear.

The only thing a mere prey could do in front of a true predator was to run away.

-“Maybe I’ll be able to bring out a lord-level monster.”

Crack.

The ground cracked and the magic circle continued.

The humans outside would not know what was happening in the deep cave hidden in the cold.

Until the monsters that were crouching in the abyss came out to the surface.

***

“It looks delicious.”

In her usual studio apartment, Estasia bit into a rice cake and said.

At the end of Estasia’s gaze, there was a white rice cake on her smartphone screen.

Cuebaerg, the abyssal beast.

He was the one that the smartphone called the lord of the abyss.

I glanced at the rice cake that Estasia was holding, and then opened my mouth to Cuebaerg, who was beyond the smartphone screen.

“Well, he does look similar. But I don’t know if he’s tasty.”

“Have you never tried him?”

“…Why would I eat that.”

Peek.

Estasia, who was looking at me from the side, quickly stuffed the rice cake into my mouth.

I coughed in surprise as the rice cake suddenly entered my mouth.

“I shared it with you.”

Cough, cough.

As the powder of the rice cake stimulated my throat and made me cough, Estasia got up from her seat and spoke with her wings fluttering.

A few feathers fell along with her fluttering wings.

“Cough, cough…”

“Praise is fine with strawberry juice and ice cream.”

The one who created that situation had a proud face and a chest out.

He clearly thought he deserved praise.

I wondered for a moment if I should throw out the white trash in front of me, but I decided to just let it go this time.

I had too much work left to do to care about Estasia.

“Do you want to kill me…”

“Please give me strawberry juice and ice cream before I die.”

“…”

I nodded with a blank eye and turned my gaze back to the smartphone screen.

Cuebaerg on the screen was talking with Evan.

There was only one thing that Evan could say to Cuebaerg in this situation.

Of course, it was about the war.

-“Therefore, the cult is preparing for a full-scale war with the holy land.”

-Kuoooh.

-“You must have recovered some of the power you lost by now. You will be a great help on the battlefield.”

As time passed, Cuebaerg had regained a considerable amount of power.

The cult, which was preparing for war, seemed to want to use Cuebaerg for combat as well.

I didn’t know how much help a rice cake floating on the sea would be on the ground.

But it seemed clear that he would have some influence on the coast or the port.

“Cuebaerg has grown a lot.”

He was Cuebaerg, who had contributed a lot to the karma supply.

Of course, it was hard to expect the same amount of karma supply as before, but he still had some performance to show, as the saying goes, better than nothing.

As I watched Cuebaerg with that thought, he stretched out one arm toward Evan.

And then he opened his mouth and spoke to him.

-Kuoooh. Kuoooh.

-“I’ll fight in the sea. If I can only exert my power in an environment similar to the abyss, it might be better to do so.”

-Kuoooh.

-“I’ll find out the sea route to the holy land myself. It would be better to do that if I get a chance.”

I don’t know if it’s a problem of power or a limit of magic.

But Cuebaerg and Evan seemed to have a normal conversation.

Evan wanted to use Cuebaerg strategically, who was floating on the sea, and Cuebaerg also seemed to accept him.

It was better to use any available power in any way.

A million karma was not a light number.

“He seems to understand the conversation somehow. It’s not bad to have a lot of guys who can do well in various ways.”

As I watched them for a while, this time Buoyto, who brought Evan here, came close to the screen.

Buoyto, who had grown as big as a castle by now, cast a huge shadow over their heads.

It looked very intimidating even on the screen.

Buoyto, who made even the huge Cuebaerg look small, covered the screen and popped up a speech bubble.

-Sniffle.

Under the huge speech bubble that rose up, Evan’s speech bubble popped up, now hidden from view.

Evan looked at Buoyto floating above his head and said.

-“…He seems to have something to say.”

-Kuoooh.

-“I can’t know what the spirit is thinking. It would be better to talk to each other instead.”

It seemed that Buoyto had something to say to Cuebaerg.

Maybe there was something in common between the giant creatures.

Evan waited gladly for them to talk.

And right after that, huge speech bubbles poured out and covered the screen.

-Sniffle.

-Kuoooh.

-Sniffle sniffle.

-Kuoooh kuoooh kuoooh.

-Sniff. Sniffle sniffle sniffle sniffle sniffle.

-Kuoooh kuoooh kuoooh kuoooh kuoooh kuoooh kuoooh.

I couldn’t understand the conversation that was going on at all.

I watched the conversation of the two giant life forms with blank eyes.

What kind of conversation were they having?

No matter how hard I thought about it, I couldn’t guess what it was about.

“What are they saying?”

“He says he wants strawberries and ice cream.”

“…”

The one who answered my question was Estasia, who was next to me.

I put down my smartphone on the table and snatched away Estasia’s stuffed animal that was talking nonsense.

After that, Estasia struggled for a while to get back her stuffed animal that was taken away from me, but that was irrelevant.