Chapter 22

Twenty days have passed since the declaration of war by Shuu... or rather, the Dark Lord Arklight.

The capital of the Kingdom of Ramza was in turmoil. Terrified citizens fled the capital one after another, and the population visibly decreased. As a result, merchants stopped coming, and the economic downturn was severe.

Troops were called from various regions, high-ranking magicians were summoned, and the church was asked for cooperation, but preparations on the logistics side were delayed.

"How many guilds have we been turned down by now?"

"Forty-six, Your Majesty."

"Is the reward not sufficient?"

"They do not compromise on money, but they also value their lives. Money is only useful if you are alive. Therefore, they chose their lives over helping the royal family. Currently, only a few guilds that have long been on good terms with the royal family are cooperating."

"...I see."

Upon hearing this, the king of the Kingdom of Ramza sighed.

This was not the attitude a king should take in such a meeting, but the other officials and military officers felt the same way.

It was clear that the Dark Lord's declaration of war was having an effect.

To break this, it was necessary to somehow boost the morale of the entire populace. Without providing a sense of security, it would be impossible to secure the logistics needed to fully utilize the gathered forces.

"Is this due to my lack of virtue...?"

The king's reign was, for better or worse, ordinary. He was undoubtedly a good king who ruled well, but he had not done anything remarkable to significantly develop the Kingdom of Ramza.

While the numbers showed improvement from the previous king's reign, it was difficult for the people to feel this.

It was to this extent.

It was not that the king was bad, but simply that the impact of the declaration of war was too strong.

"That is not the case, Your Majesty!"

"Your Majesty's reign has been excellent."

"It was just bad timing."

The ministers tried to comfort the king, but they could not dispel the dark atmosphere.

Everyone in the room knew it was not the king's fault, but knowing this did not change the situation. With twenty days having passed since that day, there was not much time left before the Dark Lord attacked.

Incidentally, a year was divided into ten months, and a month was about thirty-five days.

In other words, the Dark Lord would arrive in fifteen days.

It would be difficult to gather all the food, spare weapons, medical supplies, and other necessities by then.

"To begin with, there are few records of battles with the king's monsters. Will our country's S-rank magician, Ash Frenbar, be enough...?"

"The Seven Great Demons of the eastern Dibro continent and the Undead King Zenon Life of this Slada continent are said to easily defeat S-rank magicians, but the Dark Lord Arklight is newly born. The church says it is not impossible to defeat him."

"Is that what the church in the capital says? What does the headquarters of the Holy Grinia say?"

"There is no response yet. They are probably preparing a prophecy."

In response to this incident, the Kingdom of Ramza had requested reinforcements from the Holy Grinia. More precisely, they had asked the church to send holy knights from the Church of Magic.

The Holy Grinia had multiple S-rank holy knights and special equipped sub-knights. While it would be tough for the Kingdom of Ramza alone, there was hope with reinforcements from there.

"The Dark Lord Arklight is said to control 'death.' We need to think of a countermeasure for that."

"But aside from magic, there is no way to counter it..."

"Perhaps an awakened magician...?"

"I don't think our country's S-rank magician is awakened."

"Lord Ash Frenbar is unawakened."

"If that's the case, we can only hope that an awakened magician is sent as reinforcements from the Holy Grinia."

Without a concrete countermeasure, all the discussions became speculative.

It was a bad trend, but it was inevitable.

The power of the king's monster's magic infiltrates concepts. Death magic itself is just an extension of 'life absorption,' but the magic of death kills by using the concept it possesses. Even if someone had fifty years left to live, touching the magic of death would ignore all premises and grant 'death.'

Even magic and magical equipment would be nullified by 'death.'

That's what it means to act on concepts.

"There's no point in discussing this further. Let's adjourn for today."

The king, realizing it was a futile discussion, declared the end of the meeting. In a few days, if there was no progress, he would have to consider evacuating the royal family. The morale of the army would drop significantly, but it was unacceptable to bring the royal family to a battle with a high possibility of defeat.

As the meeting ended and the king was about to stand up, the door to the meeting room was knocked on violently.

"What is it! The meeting is already over!"

One of the ministers raised his voice, and the knocking stopped.

However, a hopeful response came from the other side of the door.

"A response from the Holy Grinia has arrived!"

The entire meeting room buzzed, and the king's eyes widened.

However, the king quickly regained his composure and declared again.

"The meeting will resume. Open the door. Let's hear the response from the Holy Grinia."

The large door of the meeting room opened, and a messenger from the church entered with a guard. The messenger, dressed as a priest, first knelt before the king and greeted him.

"I am Elenos Fliora, a priest from the Grand Cathedral of the capital. I have come to deliver a prophecy and news of reinforcements from the Holy Grinia's capital, the Grand Cathedral of Magic."

"We've been waiting! Tell us immediately."

"As you wish."

The priest Elenos Fliora took out a piece of paper from his pocket and began to speak about the prophecy and reinforcements.

As they listened, the atmosphere in the meeting room gradually became more excited.

After Elenos finished reading, everyone turned their attention to the king.

"Indeed. The prophecy was terrifying, but reliable reinforcements have been sent. They will also bring food and weapons. This will solve the logistics problem. The reinforcements from the Holy Grinia will arrive in a few days. Additional reinforcements will come later, and we will move accordingly! Understood?"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

The meeting continued until late into the night that day.

◆◆◆

Let's go back a little in time.

In the Holy Grinia, far to the north of the Kingdom of Ramza, the princess of prophecy was preparing for a prophecy. Her magical equipment had the power to see the future, but it could not be activated continuously. It consumed a vast amount of magic, so caution was required when using it.

However, this time, it was a significant matter that a king's monster had been born.

The bishop and the pope considered it worthy of a prophecy.

"A great black light is visible."

The princess of prophecy gazed into the void and spoke emotionlessly.

"The conflagration brings destruction, and the frozen world leaves despair."

The bishops gradually began to twitch their cheeks.

"Even a fragment of bone becomes the king's flesh and blood."

Even the pope opened his eyes wide.

"All is a feast offered to the king of the underworld."

With those words, the princess of prophecy collapsed. While the attendant priestess tended to the fallen princess, the bishops and the pope began to discuss.

As the princess was carried to a bed, the pope spoke first.

"...I have never heard such a prophecy before."

The pope was of a certain age. He had heard many prophecies before, including those warning of the destruction of a city.

However, this was the first time he had heard such a terrifying prophecy.

"So this is the king's monster."

If the prophecy's words were taken at face value, everything would be swept away by a terrifying power. The phrase 'great black light' was unclear but did not seem to simply represent ill omen.

"What does 'the conflagration brings destruction, and the frozen world leaves despair' mean?"

"Could it be representing some kind of magic?"

"Could it be a forbidden spell...?"

"The Twelfth Tier of Fire, 'Firestorm,' or the Thirteenth Tier of Water, 'Ice Age,' are likely candidates."

"Can you calmly talk about such things!? It's a forbidden spell! A great magic that is said to kill over ten thousand people with a single activation!"

"It is also said to destroy large cities and change the landscape. However, there is no one in the current human world who can activate it alone. An empire with a great magic corps might be able to activate it as a unit."

"...In any case, the possibility that an army would be meaningless has increased."

The Tiers from the Eleventh to the Fourteenth are called forbidden spells. There is no one in the human world who can activate them alone. They require enormous magic, concentration, and precise control. It is not impossible to activate them with dozens of people working together, but it would take too much time.

Considering that forbidden spells destroy everything around them regardless of friend or foe, the strategic magic of the Tenth Tier is more practical and efficient.

However, this time, the opponent is not an army.

It is the king's monster.

For the Dark Lord Arklight, using a large-scale magic to wipe out everything at once would be more efficient. Conversely, the Kingdom of Ramza, which has to kill only the Dark Lord and the witch, is at a disadvantage in a way.

Gathering too many troops would make it difficult to manage.

"This is certainly a crisis. We have already dispatched reinforcements, but do we need more?"

"We sent only A-rank holy knights and sub-knights. S-rank knights are also needed."

"Then, awakened ones would be better."

"Even if we rush with body enhancement, it will take a month to reach the Kingdom of Ramza from here. Even the holy knights we sent earlier are barely making it in time. I hope they will arrive in time..."

They continued to strategize despite the ominous prophecy because the prophecy was not absolute.

The princess of prophecy's prophecy is an expansion-type magical equipment.

It merely extends the human ability to predict. Therefore, if the premise changes, it is possible to overturn even a dark future. The prophecy shows not an absolute future but the most likely possibility at the present time. Sending an S-rank holy knight who has become an awakened magician would create a chance to change the future.

They have avoided the worst futures in this way, not just this time but in the past as well.

"Well, the number of awakened holy knights is limited."

"Considering their abilities, anyone would do..."

"But the opponent is the king's monster. It is an unknown territory even for us."

The bishops do not actually know the king's monster. They can only rely on knowledge from documents. It is natural to be cautious.

Among them, a few bishops recommended one S-rank holy knight.

"I recommend Holy Knight Celstar Altrain."

"I agree. With his abilities, he can fight with ease even against an unknown opponent."

"He has extensive combat experience and is flawless."

"I see..."

"Indeed, he seems to be the right person for the job."

Feeling that the opinions of the bishops had converged, the pope, who had hardly spoken, raised his voice.

"Then, call Holy Knight Celstar Altrain. Assign his unit a special mission to slay the new monster that calls itself the Dark Lord. Also, send a message to the Kingdom of Ramza, including the prophecy."

It would be impossible to send an awakened magician to the Kingdom of Ramza before the day of destruction declared by Shuu, the Dark Lord Arklight. However, the bishops and the pope had the will to defeat the king's monster at all costs.

And one month later, the day of destruction arrived in the capital of the Kingdom of Ramza.