< 103. The Eye of the Storm >
*
For Fernandez, it wasn’t exactly a pleasant thing to hear, but the fierce battle referred to as the “Clash of Two Heroes” among the tribal warriors had come to an end. The two were surrounded by countless warriors, sharing a cup of wine amidst what could almost be called jubilant chaos.
The night in the Great Wilderness was cool, and the clear sky stretched high above. The countless stars beyond the night sky couldn’t be obscured by the light pollution of bonfires or campfires.
A clear, dry wind blew. It was a lively night filled with the smell of sizzling meat grease and the aroma of alcohol. Fernandez swirled a strong fruit wine in his mouth.
The pungent scent numbed his sensitive sense of smell. Then, his eyes met Daryan’s.
Daryan was buried among the warriors, laughing and chatting heartily. He smiled and pursed his lips.
– Mind if I have a word?
Sure, Fernandez rinsed his tongue with wine and stood up. Watching his retreating figure heading toward the tent, Partak chuckled.
*
“Ugh, I’m dying.”
“You shouldn’t be drunk, though?”
“Of course, if I circulate my magic, drunkenness is nothing. But where’s the fun in that, my friend?”
“Are we friends already?”
“Why not?”
Daryan laughed without malice. They had entered the dimly lit tent. Fernandez poured tea and sat on the side table.
“Drink. It’s not poisoned.”
“Even if it were, what does it matter?”
Daryan laughed heartily and downed the tea in one go. Placing the empty cup on the table with a clink, he slowly opened his eyes. The laughter in his eyes had vanished.
“Tell me your name.”
“Didn’t I say I’d tell you if you beat me?”
“Then, if I guess your name correctly, will you consider it my win?”
“What do you want?”
“To become my sworn brother.”
“…What?”
Daryan looked at Fernandez with a serious expression.
“If my guess is correct, you’re younger than me. You can’t be my elder brother.”
“That’s not what I meant. Are you suggesting we become brothers?”
“Exactly. Alberto.”
Fernandez froze. The air in the tent grew cold. Daryan’s sharp gaze pierced through his eyes.
“Impressive. Can you tell me why?”
“The Great Wilderness is full of rumors, false tales, and wild legends. A barbaric place. You know that. I am the Emperor’s eyes. I didn’t come here for wandering or leisure.”
“Did you come looking for me?”
“Not the goal, but a reason.”
Daryan tilted the teapot to pour more tea into his cup. The dark red tea swirled inside the cup.
“At first, strange rumors reached us. The meticulously crafted empire we built began to falter. The Walker crisis erupted across the Phaeirn Kingdom, threatening the royal family’s existence.”
“And?”
“Just as we managed to calm the Walker crisis, the Elven maritime kingdom abandoned its port cities and gave up its maritime dominance. Gods appeared, dragons appeared. Along with these wild rumors.”
Fernandez silently watched Daryan. His eyes shone brightly. The eyes of a hero. No, the eyes of an Emperor. The intimidating gaze of the Emperor’s executioner and sharpest spear.
But he was still young. Fernandez had faced men with such eyes for decades and survived. At this point, Daryan was still an unripe young man.
But.
A hero is still a hero.
“Our empire paid close attention. The Eastern Kingdom Alliance was on the verge of collapse. With the war against the Sultan dragging on, without the alliance’s support, the situation would become dire. Phaeirn was on the brink of declaring war on the Dane royal family.”
“You know this too.” Daryan poured more tea into his cup. The liquid rippled uneasily, but he didn’t take his eyes off Fernandez.
“The Dane royal family was in shambles. Succession disputes, an aging king who neglected governance. Phaeirn only needed a pretext to bring it down. If not for one man, a young knight who suddenly rose to the Round Table.”
“…”
“Who could it be? Can you guess? In such chaos, who could have maintained the Eastern Kingdom Alliance?”
“King Vicente, the Knight King of the Dane Kingdom.”
“Back then, Vicente was nothing but a puppet who could’ve been ousted at any moment.”
-Slosh.
Tea spilled over the cup onto the side table.
“All our intelligence agencies were dispatched. We needed to understand the situation. Information was scarce. Rumors about a young knight with no known origins spread through the streets. A knight chosen by Shield. The reincarnation of the founding king, a great knight who slew a revived giant and stood shoulder to shoulder with a dragon. And then, he vanished like smoke.”
After a pause.
“Like smoke. We thought it might be high-level political propaganda. Perhaps King Vicente, lacking political standing, fabricated these rumors to solidify his authority? But something was off. The Shield Church sent a protest letter to the Vaitas Church, and the Vaitas Church’s influence rapidly expanded within the Dane royal family, which had previously adopted Shield as its state religion.”
Conveniently, there was a parchment map on the side table. Fernandez had scribbled all over it while strategizing. Daryan dipped his finger in the spilled tea and marked the map.
At the military encampment of the Eastern Kingdom Alliance, *tap*.
“Our intelligence lords proposed a provocative hypothesis. What if this mysterious ‘Alberto’ was a figure from the Vaitas Church?”
And.
“The hidden blade of Vaitas, operating in secrecy. A codename for the Inquisition Office? According to reports, the knight was said to be very young. Young…
A man of overwhelming power, cherished by the Vaitas Church, with ties to the Dane Kingdom. A noble who can fully exploit political situations.
Staring straight at Fernandez.
“About a year and a half ago, rumors surfaced of a saint appearing in a remote mountainous region of the Dane Kingdom. It was too far, and the rumor vanished as quickly as it came, making it hard for our intelligence to fully grasp. We barely managed to learn your name, friend.”
“…Impressive.”
Fernandez smiled genuinely. A slow smile spread across Daryan’s stern face.
“Fernandez Sernerd.”
“Correct.”
“Good. Brother, aren’t you curious about what comes next?”
“Next?”
“After identifying you, the plan our intelligence lords came up with.”
Fernandez quietly observed Daryan, who chuckled as he dabbed tea on a map. It was the military encampment of the [Crusader Knights].
“Hard to believe, but we assumed that since the Phaeirn incident until the transfer of the Dane throne, ‘that man’ was at the center of it all. Or at least played a minimal role in connecting these events. Our intelligence formulated a hypothesis: ‘A manufactured saint.’ A ploy by the Vaitas Church to blur the inseparable principles of politics and religion in the material world by pushing someone to the forefront with achievements.”
“Bold speculation.”
“I thought so too. Wild conjecture. But what if it’s true? If he rises as a singular symbol with a presence that encompasses the entire Eastern Kingdom Alliance? If the Eastern Kingdom Alliance fully unites, it could birth a new theocratic kingdom challenging the Empire’s might.”
“So, you tried to assassinate him?”
“There was internal opposition. If he were killed and it got out, what then? Our internal stance was ‘hold off.’ Until one of our intelligence team leaders went rogue.”
“…Angela…”
“Correct.”
Angela. Codename Angela. Selina Kasselhof. Daryan tapped a corner of the Great Wilderness on the map. The City of Mosat.
“The signal fire incident in Mosat was beyond our expectations. The bigger issue is that Selina didn’t achieve what she wanted. She probably wanted to awaken the Pharaoh sleeping beneath. And deal with you in the process. Using the Pharaoh’s power to stab Kirzat from behind and lead the war to victory? A sure promotion. If she had succeeded.”
“Right. If she had succeeded.”
“If you hadn’t dealt with the Pharaoh beneath. The Pharaoh died, the plan failed, and instead, the Empire’s borders were significantly reduced by the provoked Kirzat.”
“And you’re saying that woman tried to awaken all the Pharaohs to cause chaos?”
“Exactly. She’d rather burn the entire Great Wilderness than let Kirzat claim victory.”
As a result, Daryan tapped the map. The side table shook slightly, and the cup trembled.
“Look at this situation. The Crusader Knights are a polite protest letter from the Vaitas Church. They’re burning every district with heretical signs, indiscriminately. The same goes for the Empire’s citizens. And do you know who’s in the Eastern Kingdom Alliance’s dispatch?”
“Did a Knight of the Round Table come?”
“Exactly. Knight of the Round Table, Pafnarmear. The rising lord of Altheis. His knights are marching straight towards Mosat, smashing every obstacle in their path. Utter chaos.”
Finally, Daryan’s eyes met Fernandez’s.
“Do you know about the Vaitas Inquisitors? Under the guise of heresy investigations, they’re tearing through this Great Wilderness like mad. One of the biggest reasons the Imperial Army can’t advance. The Eastern Kingdom, the Crusader Knights, the Inquisition Office. What they all want now is one thing.”
The survival of the saint.
“You’re the eye of the storm.”
“Thanks for the summary. I needed that information. So, what do you want from me? Not some childhood play of sworn brothers, I assume.”
“Let’s make a deal.”
“A deal?”
Fernandez’s eyebrow twitched. Daryan glanced outside the tent and spoke.
“My subordinate is a capable mage. She was shocked when she saw you. Said you’re an incredibly powerful dark mage. Surprising, isn’t it? A saint of Vaitas and a Knight of the Round Table, yet also a high-level dark mage.”
“Did you think you could figure that out and still leave this camp alive?”
Fernandez spoke lightly, but it was a heavy, threatening statement. Daryan shrugged.
“That’s why, brother. I asked to be sworn brothers, relying on your goodwill. I’ve shown all my cards, and you’ve figured out all of yours. My intelligence, my abilities, and my authority as the Emperor’s closest confidant. How about it? Wouldn’t it be bad to have me as a brother?”
“Let me hear the rest of the terms.”
“Stop the war. The Eastern Kingdom’s rampage, the Church’s rampage, the Inquisition Office’s rampage.”
Daryan’s eyes sparkled boldly. He was a man hard to hate. Even though he held cards that could strangle Fernandez’s neck immediately. Even though he held a joker card that could cause massive political repercussions if hidden and returned.
Daryan laid down all his cards to gain ‘goodwill.’ He called it a deal, but it wasn’t. It was a request, relying entirely on Fernandez’s goodwill.
A request made by laying down his advantages straightforwardly. His intention was clear: a simple desire to befriend Fernandez. That’s why he was hard to hate. In fact, Fernandez was now tempted.
‘The strongest in the material world becoming sworn brothers with a destined hero…’
-This is good, isn’t it?
Even Faijashi swallowed hard, seeing the potential in this straightforward man. Fernandez struggled to hide his smile as he spoke.
“So, what does this ‘brother’ get?”
“Revenge, justice, and peace. I’ll bring you Angela. That traitor. Selina Kasselhof’s head.”
“Promise to bring her alive.”
Fernandez looked at Daryan’s outstretched hand for a moment, then firmly shook it. This wasn’t just a promise between two men, two heroes. It was a secret pact with the Empire.
At the same time, Fernandez examined the map. The Great Wilderness’s landscape was drawn more simply. Even the small cracks within.
The path the Federation of Beastmen Nobles would take. The hunting season. Chieftain Kirhas. A new icon rising in the western wilderness.
Fernandez smiled slowly and deeply. Good. I’ll play along with that board. But he doesn’t commit to just one move at a time.
Even on a larger chessboard, he doesn’t commit to just one move. He was one of the fifteen villains who brought the world to ruin.
The hero who shook hands with that villain was laughing boldly.
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