The night sky over the capital is devoid of stars and the moon. The smoke pouring out from various factories near the capital always hides the night sky under a pale mask. Would the bare face spread below truly be as beautiful as ever? Fernandez couldn’t be sure.
A sky full of stars always brought him new inspiration.
Not in an emotional sense, but from a magical perspective. The vast flow of magical energy beneath the constellations had something that made him imagine dozens of circuits and magical formations just by looking at it.
But now, under the heavily clouded sky, he was witnessing something new. The flow of magical energy was tangled.
-Kurururung.
The smoke mixed with magical energy let out a low cry.
Some kinds of chaos, though seemingly irregular, often share a common thread within. The sky above the capital was exactly like that.
The smoke rising indiscriminately from each factory tangled in the sky, and the fragmented atmosphere, leaking magical energy, interfered with each other’s flow, creating a pattern intertwined with the warm climate unique to the southern hemisphere of the empire, forming a certain regularity.
But now, tiny threads were slowly unraveling, creating vortices within the flow. Five vortices. Drawn over the capital’s map, forming an inverse pentagram. A strange encirclement centered around the imperial palace, created numerologically.
He couldn’t be the only one who noticed this. The emperor, preparing for his own grand scheme, would also be acutely aware of this.
So, this was a kind of very polite declaration of war.
We know your thoughts, and we won’t let you do as you please. And we have both the ability and the motivation to stop you. Roughly that kind of meaning.
A warning delivered to the supreme ruler from below the throat. There’s no way he wouldn’t have noticed.
In the distance, the grand avenue of the imperial palace came into view. The massive gate that had not allowed anyone to enter since the sealing of the palace was visible.
“Is this the first time walking this path?”
-Back then, there was no path left.
In her past life, Rene Philippa had ultimately lost the defense of Paltennoia. The armies of the five Great Demons had surged in, turning the ancient roads of Paltennoia into ruins.
When Fernandez was a wandering mage, there was no reason to walk this path, and when he marched among the conquerors, this road was nothing but ruins. So, walking this intact road was a new experience.
‘A city that has never been destroyed in history.’
-Destroying it twice would feel pretty amazing.
Looking at the castle stretching long and dark under the sky, Fernandez paused for a moment.
In the distance, torches burned lonely. Below them, knights in shining armor stood guard.
Just as he was watching them, they were surely watching him too. It felt like staring at a beast lurking in the darkness. A chilling killing intent creeping up to his throat.
But it wasn’t just the guards watching him. Through their eyes, another presence was observing him.
The emperor. The palace itself seemed to pulse, breathing like a living being.
The imperial palace wasn’t just a den of beasts—it was the beast itself. A beast baring its fangs and growling at him. A creature moving organically under a single will.
By tradition, only a king should behead another king, and an emperor should fall only to someone of equal standing.
Simply disrupting his magic to reveal his presence is the way of an assassin. But Fernandez approaching the main gate now wasn’t here for assassination.
A being capable of summoning a Great Demon. The mage closest to summoning a Great Demon. When facing such a being, the respect and courtesy due to them must be observed.
At this moment, Fernandez wasn’t here as an Inquisition Officer. He came thinking as a mage, acting as a mage, to display the dignity of a mage.
Thus, the declaration of war had to be made with proper decorum. Fernandez reached out and raised his finger. Straight toward the sky.
-Whoosh!
A black halo ignited behind his head. The magic circuits of the Bronze Throne heated up, and divine energy flowed from his hand to his fingertips. A precarious line, as if it might scatter at any moment, and he grasped it—
-Kurururung!
As if in response, lightning struck through the clouds. The magical clouds swirled above, beginning to form a strange spiral. Five directions, synchronized with the vortices controlled by the Maledika, a complex pattern emerged above.
Like a hand. The shape of a massive grasp.
-Now, go.
‘Yes, this should be enough.’
-Splash!
Rain began to pour. The raindrops falling under the black sky were tainted with a murky color, mixed with magical energy and smoke. As the rain fell, Fernandez walked down the center of the road.
-Kururung! Boom!
Lightning struck.
-Creak…
The gate opened.
The imperial palace is a singular structure of seven intertwined fortresses, so complex that it’s hard to find its equal not just in the empire, but in all of civilized society.
Having seen the ruins of destroyed or crumbling imperial palaces, Fernandez had never walked through such an intact palace before, so finding his way wasn’t easy.
But his senses were screaming. He’s there. He’s calling us. He’s waiting.
“Arrogant.”
Fernandez smirked. The emperor’s attitude was like that of a knight accepting a challenge. He even showed the demeanor of a knight, kindly guiding him to the dueling ground, polishing his weapons, and waiting.
Not typical of the Urcasians. They prefer more meticulous and sticky traps. So, this was closer to the arrogance unique to the title of emperor, rather than a mage.
The arrogance of an absolute ruler. A very familiar kind. Fernandez chuckled and stepped forward.
At the same time.
-Whoosh!*
The torches in the darkened corridor all ignited at once. The bl**d-red torches lit up the path.
Noises like rats and insects rubbing against each other began to echo from every corner of the corridor, from every shadowed direction. Flapping wings, sporadic squeaks, the rustling of exoskeletons, the clacking of jaws—
All these sounds intertwined to form a voice.
[Who are you?]
“You always ask the same question.”
