Chapter 129 - Found It!

Since descending upon Arain, Berge had seen a red blade only once.

Before his regression, just before his death.

The sword that had pierced his heart was red as blood, and its heat had been fiercer than anything.

Since regressing, he had been looking into anyone who used a red sword, focusing on heroes, but nothing much had turned up.

And now it turned out to be in the Empire?

'That makes sense.'

The underlying cause of Berge's death back then had been his kidnapping of the Crown Prince. What if the Empire, enraged by the kidnapping, had chosen an outstanding hero and bestowed its sword upon him?

That would explain everything.

'No, that doesn't mean I can be certain.'

It was only a hypothesis.

'I need to check. If it's the same sword, it will give me a lead that brings me one step closer to that bastard hero.'

The enemy who had mocked Berge and stabbed him through the heart.

"The blade is red?"

"Yes."

"If it's a symbol of the Empire, shouldn't it be gold?"

"Do you know the Empire's history?"

"Must I?"

"When the Empire was founded..."

"Get to the point."

"There were originally five swords, but the others were lost. Only the Red Dragon Sword remains."

So that made it the sole remaining symbol.

"And you're willing to hand something like that over to me? You, who claims he wants to be emperor?"

"A symbol is merely a symbol. The Red Dragon Sword is immensely important, but giving it up is better than losing my life or becoming your puppet outright. In the end, it is only an object."

Was it, though?

Berge doubted that was all there was to it. Still, with Martin insisting he would sooner die than become a servant, and Berge needing to find some way to join forces with him, it was a reasonably suitable compromise.

But the fundamental problem remained unresolved.

"I can't trust you. How do I know you won't simply run away after promising me the Red Dragon Sword? You say you'd rather die than become my servant."

"I understand. I cannot trust you either."

"If you want to live, if you want your sister to remain unharmed, give me something I can accept."

"..."

Martin fell silent for a moment.

He had spoken with Kaede, but his information about the Demon King was fragmentary. He could be certain of nothing: what the Demon King wanted, what he could offer, or even what he should give to minimize his own losses.

"Then let me ask you instead. What do you want?"

"I asked the question."

"..."

Without a word, Martin bit his thumb and dripped blood onto the ring on his left hand.

The ring shuddered, opening a small storage dimension. He reached inside and withdrew a token.

"This grants access to the Empire's secret vault. It is made from a single piece of orichalcum and bears magical engravings and circuits inscribed by an archmage."

Berge took the token. Its intricate magical formulas made his eyes swim.

"Only five tokens were made, long ago, when the secret vault was built. Their number has neither increased nor decreased for centuries. That token is itself a mark and symbol of the Empire. Among the imperial family, only my two elder brothers, my elder sister, and I possess one. The moment I lose it, I become guilty of high treason."

He would not truly become a traitor. But his honor would be tarnished. His standing would plummet, and the disappointed emperor could strip him of the privileges he had granted him.

In other words, he would be eliminated from the imperial succession entirely.

"All over this little thing?"

"It is not a little thing. It is a symbol passed down through generations of the imperial family."

The secret vault held everything belonging to the Empire. Thus, anyone permitted to possess its key had to be the emperor or someone close to him.

It was hardly strange that, at some point, those keys had become tokens granted to imperial family members with a chance of inheriting the throne, signifying their intent to claim it.

Berge glanced at Kaede.

"It's true. It carries that much significance. If my brother betrayed you and warned everyone to prepare because a Demon King had taken it from him, it would become a symbol of his incompetence instead. He would lose everything."

"What if I spread the rumor?"

"The result would be the same."

Hmm.

Kaede did not lie. That trust stemmed partly from her character, but Berge could trust her all the more because the Armani Orb allowed him to monitor her physical condition.

'So this is a key that can bring the Third Prince to ruin.'

A leash of sorts, then.

"... Very well. But..."

"But?"

"Give me your blood as well. Do you take me for a fool?"

Even now, the token in his hand was exerting a repelling force. Berge saw through its formulas. It would only function with the blood of the person registered to it.

Without the Third Prince's blood, it was nothing more than a symbol.

Even if everything the prince had said was true, Berge needed some way to use the token himself, just in case.

"... Very well."

The Third Prince took an empty glass bottle from his storage dimension, filled it with his blood, and handed it to Berge.

"May I ask one last question?"

"To commemorate our new partnership, I'll gladly answer."

"The resemblance has been so striking that I've been itching to ask. Do you know someone named Pale?"

The Demon King's face twisted.

"Do you know someone named Valkasis?"

"No. Who is he?"

"A demon from the Demon Realm."

"How would I know..."

"Then how, or why, should I know some mere human?"

"... I understand."

And so their bargain was struck.

* * *

'I will live.'

Martin Jespine wanted to live.

He wanted to be emperor.

Rather than die a lonely death on a snow-covered mountain, he wanted to become the Empire's emperor and command the world.

But his chances of becoming emperor were slim. The First Prince, the Second Prince, and the First Princess—none of the three was inferior to Martin. The mountains he had to overcome were too high and treacherous.

That was why he had braved the danger and come to Erjest: to distinguish himself and somehow turn the situation around.

He had failed and ended up like this, but his desire had not diminished in the slightest.

"I don't want you to die, Brother."

"Kaede."

Kaede had told him to use the Demon King. She said the Demon King would surely help him.

Her earnest pleas had only fueled his ambition, and so he had accepted.

With one exception: becoming the Demon King's servant.

'If I become emperor only to be someone else's puppet, am I truly an emperor?'

An emperor was supreme, a ruler who commanded all the world. And such an emperor was to be a mere Demon King's puppet?

He would sooner die than tolerate that. He had refused, and fortunately, they had found a compromise.

'The Red Dragon Sword, Barstein.'

There had not been a single lie in his words.

Barstein's blade was red. It symbolized the emperor, the imperial family, and the Empire. Without it, an emperor's legitimacy would be diminished. It lay within the imperial treasury.

It was also true that Martin possessed an access token and could bring a bodyguard knight as far as the entrance.

He had merely neglected to mention that the treasury had been designed and built by the first and last archmage in human history to bear nine engravings, and that it had been continually improved ever since.

Or that, as a result, it was all but impossible for the Demon King to steal the Red Dragon Sword and escape unharmed.

The Demon King would ultimately fail. But Martin would have kept his promise, giving them a basis for continuing their cooperation.

'Cooperating with the Demon King of Hellfire could be a means of enhancing my reputation.'

Humans and demons were enemies.

But precisely because they were enemies, there were things they could give each other.

It was obvious that a secret alliance with the Demon King would be a great source of strength, provided it remained undiscovered.

The problem was the severe backlash if it came to light. But all he had to do was keep it hidden.

"Then please release me now."

Martin's expression was resolute.

* * *

"I will search for His Highness."

"You, Lord Dafner?"

"Yes. They cannot have gone far yet. I can easily catch up. But moving as a group will attract the monsters' attention and slow us down. Sending me to rescue him is our best option."

Their opponent was at least a high-ranking demon. Dafner alone could pursue him and rescue the prince single-handedly.

"No one is faster than I am. Nor is anyone as skilled at finding and pursuing people."

No one could deny it. Jaximus, captain of the Blue Wyvern Knights, who had temporarily taken command of the soldiers in the kidnapped prince's stead, agreed.

Belof nodded as well. Regardless of whether Dafner could rescue the prince, the Empire would plainly object the moment Belof opposed him.

"Please save His Highness."

"I will do my utmost."

Dafner left the search party.

'I'll find it.'

He had promised to bring Martin back, but in truth, he did not consider the prince important. Not the prince himself.

'The prince has been kidnapped. In other words, that demon will certainly take the Third Prince to the tower.'

So if he followed the demon, he would find the tower.

A very simple conclusion.

'I'll find it. This time, I'll find it for certain.'

He could not fail a second time.

His eyes tracked the demon's trail.

* * *

After Dafner departed, the search party settled on its course again.

The Empire wanted to rescue its prince, and the kingdom wanted to find the tower.

Ultimately, the two groups shared the same objective, and Belof could not let this opportunity slip away.

'If we fail again, we might never find the Tower of Hellfire.'

Now, with the Empire throwing itself into the effort, was their chance. The Third Prince had been kidnapped, but their fighting force was relatively intact. Finding the tower would solve everything.

They had to find it, whatever losses they suffered.

Then Jaximus made a rather enticing suggestion.

"Your Highness. There is a place where Lord Hillen found Princess Kaede's necklace. Why don't we go there first?"

"A necklace?"

Belof brightened upon hearing the story. To his mind as well, the place where the necklace had been found could only lie along the route to the tower.

"... I will guide you."

Without hesitation, Hillen began leading them in the exact opposite direction from the tower.

* * *

"My lord. They are heading northwest."

"Hillen is doing well."

Having provided the necklace as a lead, Hillen was bound to become involved. Berge had therefore already told him to head in the opposite direction without fail if he was asked to guide them.

Deeper into the mountains, where stronger monsters dwelled.

Their forces were formidable, and they had Hillen with them, so they would not be wiped out. But they would suffer considerably.

"Krutu, first take the mana cannons back to the tower with Logger and Kaede. Then move immediately to keep the other two kingdoms in check."

"Yes."

Korzen was not alone in this search. Search parties from Dormund and Horton, allied with the Empire, were also climbing into Erjest.

Berge had initially devoted everything to holding back Korzen, the closest of the three. Now that he had some breathing room, he needed to check the other two kingdoms as well.

"Yesica Horton is personally leading Horton's effort. You will go there, but you must not underestimate her."

"I will remember that."

Originally, he had known nothing of the composition of Horton's and Dormund's forces. This was valuable information he had gained by kidnapping Martin.

"Ernyan. Come with me."

"Are you planning to follow the search party?"

"This isn't over yet."

He had merely checked their momentum. Nothing had been definitively settled.

The sequence of avalanche, mana cannons, and monsters had thrown them into chaos, but their actual losses had been smaller than expected.

That was how skilled they were.

"We won't let our guard down until they descend the mountain."

There was something he had learned since coming to Arain: the moment he relaxed, something blindsided him.

It had happened when he kidnapped Ernyan and gleefully believed he had taken the Thirteenth Princess.

It had happened when he returned to Logger's workshop for the Mana Ghost after kidnapping him, and when he obtained the Phoenix's corpse.

Trouble always followed, forcing him to run around cleaning up the mess every time.

He could not repeat the same mistake.

And right now, one possibility was the most likely.

'The Third Prince might encounter a monster and die before rejoining the others. I have to prevent that, at least.'

If the prince known to have been kidnapped turned up dead in the snow, there would be no undoing it.

It would truly end only when either the Empire or Berge was destroyed.

"My lord, here it is."

"Hurry up."

Krutu brought over an enormous frost wolf. Ernyan climbed onto its back, then patted the spot behind her.

"... I can't tell who's the Demon King here."

He should have taught her her place at the outset.

He acknowledged that things had gone wrong from the moment he had asked her to fend off the heroes herself.

* * *

"..."

Dafner Philiain gradually slowed his steps. He quieted his breathing and lowered his body.

Blending completely into the white snow, he peered out.

Down below, he could see monsters moving about.

Poil Orcs. Hundreds of them, each carrying something on its shoulder.

'What are those?'

He channeled mana into his eyes, bringing the scene into sharp, close focus.

'Mana cannons?'

Unless his eyes deceived him, those enormous barrels belonged to mana cannons.

'Orcs are handling mana cannons?'

Impossible.

He could not believe it, even as he saw it for himself.

'Demons are intelligent too. But even so, I've never seen a Demon King use mana cannons.'

Mana cannons were products of magical engineering created by dwarves. And although many demons were proficient in magic, they were certainly not proficient in engineering.

'Then...'

Was someone helping the demons build mana cannons?

He could only conclude that they were.

'What kind of crazy bastard...!'

There were hundreds of cannons. No one could have built all of them in a day or two, which meant the help had been ongoing.

'Mana cannons are important strategic weapons. Only the dwarven kingdom, the Empire, and the Kingdom of Akan can build them properly.'

Even then, Jespine's and Akan's cannons were markedly inferior to those of the dwarves.

'It can't be the dwarven kingdom. Those dwarf bastards pour their hearts into their mana cannons.'

They kept them under strict control to ensure none ever left the country. There was no chance these cannons had come out of the dwarven kingdom.

'Then it's either the Empire or Akan...'

Geographically, Akan was closer. And...

'Those cannons definitely fired at us earlier.'

The explosions that had shattered the ice wall and blasted their formation apart. He had thought them fire magic, but they had been mana cannons. He was too dumbfounded for words.

But surely the Empire was not stupid enough to send mana cannons to be used against its own people?

'That's... not entirely impossible... '

Akan was more likely, but the Empire was in the midst of a struggle for the throne.

What if another prince, displeased by the Third Prince's attempt to gain renown, had plotted to eliminate him?

'No, even so...'

Just then, the demon urging the orcs onward from the rear turned his head. Dafner hastily ducked.

'Whoa. Almost got spotted.'

Lost in thought, he had allowed a little of his presence to slip. For now, he pushed his questions aside.

'I can't miss this opportunity. It's my first and last.'

Whoever had supplied the mana cannons, one thing was certain: following them would lead him to the Tower of Hellfire.

'But those up front don't look like orcs.'

The head of the column was too far away for him to make them out clearly.

Dafner began moving again.

* * *

"... What?"

『Dafner Philiain broke away to rescue the Third Prince.』

Berge looked at Ernyan. She shook her head.

"He wasn't there."

Indeed, he had not been. They had been following the Third Prince and his bodyguard, whom they had released on the snowy mountain, and had found no trace of Dafner anywhere.

A profound sense of foreboding flashed through his mind.

Hillen had directed the search party away from the tower.

The Third Prince and his bodyguard were following the search party's tracks.

Berge and Ernyan were staying close to them to protect the prince.

In other words, all three groups were naturally traveling in the opposite direction from the tower.

But what if Dafner Philiain had correctly picked out the direction of the tower?

What if that was why they had not detected him?

'Surely not... '

And what if...

Just what if...

"... What if he found the orcs transporting the mana cannons?"

"... Surely not."

Mana cannons were heavy. That much weight would hardly trouble the orcs, but it would leave deeper footprints.

Dafner Philiain could easily discover and follow those pronounced tracks.

If Dafner was following the orcs...

If he really was...

How many days had passed since the operation?

Four? Five?

At the Poil Orcs' estimated pace, that was ample time to reach the tower.

"Why are you only telling me this now!"

Berge's eyes flared. His fists trembled.

Had Hillen Cargill been standing before him, he would have ground his face to a pulp.

『I'm in the middle of enemy territory. Security has tightened since your attack, my lord. It's difficult to communicate with anyone outside without caution.』

『Even for this call, I barely managed to make an excuse to come outside...』

Hillen protested the unfairness of it, but Berge heard none of it.

"The Third Prince and his bodyguard are not far from your camp. Go get them."

『What...? What do you mean...?』

Berge cut off the connection without waiting.

"We're going."

"To the tower?"

"Yes."

He seized the wolf's reins. It turned and began running swiftly.

But even that felt far too slow to Berge. He lifted Ernyan up. Startled, she instinctively clung to him.

"Hold tight."

"What?"

RIIIP!

The back of his clothing tore open.

Black wings revealed themselves to the world.

"... A dragon?"

Ernyan's murmur went no further. They were no longer there.

A hollow echo filled the space they had left behind.

* * *

"Found it...!"

He had found it!

At last, that goddamn tower!

"I've found it!"