Chapter 38

Shuu, having checked on Iris, felt relieved to see that she was unharmed. By completely eradicating the Celstar, the seal of magic that had been placed on Iris was broken. As a result, the immortality magic armor was activated, and the injured Iris was fully revived.

"Are you okay?"

"Uu—. I’m fine. But my clothes are in tatters. Haa—"

Indeed, Iris's clothes were bloodstained and full of holes. In this state, she couldn't return to town. However, Shuu hadn't brought any spare clothes.

Reluctantly, Shuu draped his jacket over Iris.

"Let's head back to town for now."

"Oh. Shuu is so kind! Would you take responsibility for me being damaged like this?"

"I'll think about it."

"Eh? Really?"

Surprised by Shuu's unexpected response, Iris leaned in to ask again. Shuu also felt guilty about what had happened this time.

Even though the immortality magic armor would heal any injuries easily, Iris was still a girl and wouldn't want to be hurt. Moreover, this incident was due to Shuu's carelessness. He began to consider Iris's suggestion.

"First, let's get back. You need to change, and we have to pick up our belongings."

"Okay!"

Next, Shuu looked around. He saw that several magic armor users who had survived the "Great Discharge" were lying on the ground. If left alive, they might leak information about Shuu's power. It was necessary to ensure their silence.

Since he had already used death magic to counteract the magic power, he decided to use it again to recover.

"The survivors... there are less than ten. 'Death'"

The merciless magic caused those who had barely survived to die. Their life force was absorbed by Shuu. Although not much magic power was accumulated due to their near-death state, he did recover a little.

The sight of numerous charred corpses was somewhat terrifying.

It would soon be known as a major incident.

However, Shuu and Iris intended to leave the country before that happened.

"Quite a spectacle, isn't it?"

"Calling it a spectacle with so many corpses around is a bit much, don't you think?"

Iris was prepared to leave the human world and follow Shuu. She had no regrets about the fallen knights and other humans, even if they were now corpses.

She understood that the mass of corpses was the result of the "Great Discharge" she had used. Still, Iris's top priority was Shuu. Despite some hesitation, she prioritized Shuu, who had picked her up, over the church that had abandoned her.

That was her true feeling.

"Let's go, Iris. Grab our belongings and head to the empire."

"Okay!"

The two disappeared into the forest.

◆◆◆

The former nest of the poison dragon, now devoid of life. Burned corpses, dead poison dragons, and withered plants and ground, as if the world had come to an end in this area.

Suddenly, a figure appeared in this desolate place.

"…Well, well."

The figure was a man dressed in the official uniform of a holy knight. His prominent white attire made it clear to anyone that he was a holy knight.

However, his face showed no emotion as he looked at the corpses of his fellow holy knights.

"Is the body of the leader here? How terrifying, the Dark King Arklight. To completely annihilate an awakened magic armor user without a trace…"

Surprisingly, he was praising the Dark King's actions. There was no sign of madness in his reaction to the death of S-rank holy knight Celstar Altrain, who was a trump card of the Sacred Grinia.

There was something off about this man.

"With this, the Sealed Holy Knights are destroyed, and only I, the deputy, remain. It's too perfect, almost eerie, but… let's call it a good thing. Perhaps it's time to end my playtime with the holy knights."

If someone had heard this, they would have been shocked.

This man was Celstar's confidant and the deputy of the Sealed Holy Knights. Using the teleportation magic armor, he handled all administrative tasks and supported Celstar from behind the scenes. He was a man praised by all who knew him.

However, his true nature was different.

Being the deputy of the holy knights was just a game for him.

"But that magic was dangerous, wasn't it?"

While looking at the burned corpses, the deputy recalled the moment when he narrowly escaped.

Immediately after teleporting Celstar and the five holy knights who had set up the barrier, a terrifying lightning strike occurred. The "Great Discharge," the eighth tier of wind magic enhanced by Shuu, was indeed powerful. It was impossible to withstand with the naked body.

Celstar seemed to have endured it with a magic barrier, but the deputy simply teleported away. He then observed from a distance, watching as Shuu overwhelmed Celstar.

"The Dark King Arklight's dark power should be feared… That was probably the Dark King's trump card. Just by drawing it out, the awakened magic armor user's honor was preserved."

The dark power the deputy saw was the death magic power.

Even during the destruction of the capital of the Ramza Kingdom, the death magic power was not shown. At that time, it was a one-hit kill with the "Gluttony Black Crystal," so there was no time to use it.

The death magic power, which not only caused instant death but also completely erased anything it touched, and the death magic that killed everything, were enough to fear the Dark King.

"Well, I've gained some interesting information, so let's disappear for now."

The deputy took off his holy knight uniform, folded it, and put it in a bag. He then took out a plain jacket and a creepy mask that covered his eyes.

After putting on the jacket and mask, he pulled up the hood and smoothed out the wrinkles in his clothes.

(Still, I feel more at ease in this form.)

He looked exactly like the black cat information broker, "Hawk Eye." The one who manipulated the underworld from behind the scenes, not only selling information but also controlling the flow. The deputy of the Sealed Holy Knights was just a facade; he had always been a man of the underworld.

Using the teleportation magic armor, he traveled to various places, obtaining information faster than anyone else, no matter the distance. He manipulated the upper echelons of the holy knights and controlled the church to his liking. That was his true identity.

(Next, it might be fun to join the imperial army and stir things up. I heard that "Death" is also heading to the empire. Perfect. Hehehehe.)

After a quick look around the corpses, "Hawk Eye" used the teleportation magic armor again.

After he disappeared, a desolate wind blew, caressing the silent corpses.

◆◆◆

"Ridiculous!"

The Magia Cathedral in the capital of Sacred Grinia was enveloped in shock. More specifically, the room where the bishops gathered in the back of the cathedral.

"That Altrain is dead!? This is a joke, right?"

"Shut up. No one would joke about something like this!"

"Stop running away from reality. It's all because we underestimated the Dark King's power."

The bishops hung their heads.

Celstar Altrain was an awakened magic armor user, a being who had stepped into the realm of the inhuman. With the sealing magic armor, he should have been able to defeat even the king's monster.

Especially a newborn king.

"Even the power of awakening was ineffective?"

"That seems to be the case. According to the past-seeing maiden, he was defeated in an instant by a terrifying power."

Among the maidens, there were those who could see the future and those who could see the past. In this generation, there were both future-seeing and past-seeing maidens, and their powers allowed them to know about the battle between the Dark King Arklight and Celstar.

"Awakening means stepping outside the laws of the world. However, the king's monster is also an existence outside the laws of the world. It's not surprising that he was defeated. Everyone, calm down."

Surprisingly, the pope admonished the bishops. His calm tone made the bishops fall silent, ashamed of their pointless arguments.

Seeing this, the pope began to speak slowly to organize the situation.

"I believe you all know that awakening is said to occur in only one in several million magic armor users. It is the right to gain infinite strength by breaking through the predetermined growth limit set at birth. An awakened magic armor user is one who has reached the realm where effort truly has meaning."

Magic armor is a power of talent.

It is known that there is a predetermined growth limit set at birth, and no matter how much effort is put in, it stops at that limit. This applies to the growth of magic power and the enhancement of magic armor output.

However, with awakening, that limit is broken.

At the stage of awakening, the magic armor grows rapidly, and magic power increases dramatically. With effort, further growth becomes possible.

"Most importantly, an awakened magic armor user can naturally regenerate magic power. We humans can only recover magic power by eating and resting. However, an awakened magic armor user can regenerate magic power infinitely without doing anything. Therefore, they do not run out of life force and gain infinite life."

This was the greatest advantage of an awakened magic armor user.

Infinite regeneration of magic power.

Normally, energy must be supplied through food to regenerate, due to the law of conservation of energy. However, the awakened magic armor user, who is outside the laws, can regenerate magic power naturally, ignoring this principle.

As a side effect, the generated magic power automatically converts to life force, leading to immortality.

While not truly immortal, they can live forever without aging. This is why Shuu's death magic was ineffective.

By polishing the awakened magic armor over a long life, it is said that they can even surpass the power of the king of monsters.

"Celstar was too young. I believe he reached awakening six years ago, right?"

Hearing the pope's words, the bishops no longer showed any panic.

In other words, this is what he meant.

They had underestimated the king's monster and killed Celstar. The bishops here were not fools; they understood the pope's meaning.

In the heavy silence, the pope continued.

"The king's monster is classified as a disaster level or higher. However, we should have considered it as a destruction level."

"But, Your Holiness. The definition of a disaster level is the ability to destroy a major city. We assumed it based on the collapse of the capital of the Ramza Kingdom."

"That's not what I'm saying."

The pope admonished the bishop who asked the question.

"A disaster level that can destroy a major city is only the minimum standard for measuring the Dark King Arklight. There was no guarantee that it would be less. We were too lenient."

"Ah..."

Only then did they realize.

They knew about the existence of the king's monster but did not understand it. They did not fully grasp what it meant to exist outside the laws.

Therefore, the bishop bowed his head and spoke.

"The first thing we need to do is measure the power of the Dark King Arklight… We will use the power of the maidens to understand the existence of the Dark King."

"That's right. I leave it to you."

After making fine adjustments, the meeting ended.

As a result, the existence of the new king's monster was announced to the world.

Dark King Arklight

Destruction Level: Impossible to defeat with an army.

A realm where numbers are meaningless, and it is uncertain whether even multiple S-rank magic armor users can defeat it. This strength is provisional.

The Sacred Grinia, having lost an awakened magic armor user, began to strengthen its forces to prepare for the Western Subarokia Empire. It was important to prepare for the Dark King, but the threat from the empire could not be ignored.

The birth of the Dark King had begun to upset the balance of the world.

In fact, the true identity of "Hawk Eye" was one of Celstar's subordinates.

The deputy who was skilled in information manipulation was the black cat information broker.

Well, this concludes Chapter 2 of the Ancient Era. I'll post Chapter 3 when it's completed, so we'll be taking a break for a while. If you're interested, I hope you'll enjoy the other works I have posted in the meantime.