The nobles did not gather as often as one might think. Unless it was for a special occasion like a ball held by the Imperial Family, or a tea party hosted by a powerful figure in high society, they generally avoided one another. The reason was simple.
Few of them were on good terms. They knew that if they met, they would only waste their energy on sharp, bloody conversations. So, they all generally held the thought, ‘It’s better to just not bother each other and get on with our own work.’
In other words. Today, with over fifty nobles gathered, was a very strange day.
“What in the world is all this!”
Bang!
The head of the Rigdan family, Roilac, who was chairing the meeting, grit his teeth and slammed his fist on the round table. The teacups placed before each noble rattled and clinked. It was an incredibly rude act, but no one protested.
No, instead, they grit their teeth even harder and shouted.
“My daughter was kidnapped! What in the seven hells were the knights guarding the canyon doing! I will see to it that every person responsible is executed!”
“You useless sons of bitches, are you telling me the fact that you still haven’t found a single clue is some kind of excuse!”
“The Imperial Knights are still reviewing our request for support? They must not understand the gravity of this situation! Fine! I will dispatch my family’s knights to the capital! Even if my house is destroyed, I cannot lose Hyuins!”
“…Ahem.”
At this point, Roilac, who had been the first to show his anger, cleared his throat and took a step back. The fury of the parents who had lost their children was so intense it seemed they might start a rebellion. If they weren't calmed down, something truly terrible could happen.
“Everything you sirs say is correct. The situation is urgent. But if we let this grow out of control, we will only make things worse! For the sake of your children, I implore you to calm yourselves so we can begin this meeting.”
“Is a meeting like this really necessary?! We’re short on time as it is, we should be doing something right now!”
“Of course. But we have already used that precious time to do everything that needs to be done. I have sent requests for support to every magic tower, and I have just received a report that the Imperial Knights have joined us. We have now employed every means available to us.”
Every magic tower. The Imperial Knights. And the knights of every family present.
It was a force capable of destroying a small country in less than a day. Any more than this would mean mobilizing the army, which would not be very helpful for a search.
“I know this is agonizing, but please trust me. If anything happens to the children, I will atone for it with my old life.” …
The words of Roilac, an ancient monster with connections to the Council of Elders of every family, held not a shred of bravado. At his sincerity, the nobles, still trembling with rage, sat back down. They realized that directing their anger at him would only be a hindrance.
Looking around at the slightly calmer nobles, Roilac stood and flicked his finger, causing a stone slate in the center of the table to float up.
Grind…
The stone was instantly carved, creating a map of the canyon.
“First, we must know our enemy. Hyugen. Tell us what you heard.”
“Yes.”
A middle-aged man sitting relatively off to the side stood up with a sorrowful expression.
“…My daughter, Professor Nia, said that they called themselves the Red Lotus.”
A stir went through the room.
“Red Lotus? What’s that?”
“…Ah, perhaps from a few hundred years ago…”
“I see. Are you talking about that group described as a bunch of mad mages?”
“…Isn’t that just a legend?”
Even when all the opinions were combined, one thing was certain. They were a group that seemed to exist only in fairy tales. The nobles’ expressions naturally soured.
“No, that has to be a bluff!”
“You mean to tell me she believed something like that?”
“As a professor, she should have been protecting the children!”
As criticism poured down, Roilac shouted loudly.
“Everyone, be silent! Professor Nia gave her all to protect the cadets until the very end. When the knights found her…”
“It’s alright. I am content just knowing my daughter is alive.”
Hyugen, in turn, calmed Roilac and continued.
“One thing is certain. His heart-realm had fallen. That much is for sure.”
“This has been confirmed through cross-verification, so please refrain from speculation.”
Fall.
The nobles were dumbfounded at that word.
“A heart-realm mage… you say?”
“Do such things even exist these days?”
“Even if they do, how are they still alive? Don’t mages who have fallen to the heart-realm usually die within a month?”
“One thing is certain.”
Roilac gripped the table and answered.
“The Red Lotus of the past was also a group composed entirely of fallen ones.” …
The theory was elevated from nonsense not worth considering to a hypothesis with a slight possibility. Roilac continued speaking before the quieted nobles.
“It doesn’t matter if they are the Red Lotus, or just some psychopaths borrowing their name. They have been lying in wait and preparing for this day for a long time. This wasn't a random act of terror, but a meticulously planned event.”
“How do you…”
“The moment I heard the name Red Lotus, I used my connections to buy all the information from the underworld. Surprisingly, there have been dozens of mentions of a group called the Red Lotus in the last three years.”
“What?!”
“The contents are as follows. Mages with strange talents, who don’t seem to be nobles. They have been using their bottomless funds to buy up natural bodies…” … …
The nobles’ faces gradually turned deathly pale.
“Did they, did they make any demands?”
“No.” “Don’t tell me…”
“…It’s probably what you’re thinking. The purpose of the kidnapping is to increase their numbers.”
“Gah…”
A few of the more faint-hearted nobles fell back in their chairs. Roilac watched them and grit his teeth. All the noble children had been kidnapped.
It was, of course, an unbelievably horrifying event. The biggest and most terrible of all incidents in the last several decades. But for some reason.
He couldn't shake the uneasy feeling that this was only the beginning.
Underground prison.
Watching the sea begin to stain, I muttered quietly.
“This is dangerous.”
Pars, was it? I don’t know how he does it, but… that guy is interfering with my world. To be precise, blood is spreading through my sea.
Like a drop of milk falling into a cup of water, it spreads in an instant. With blood in the sea, the deep sea fish reacted. But it was completely different from when I had spread my own blood.
They approached out of curiosity, but that was all. It wasn’t the movement of a predator searching for prey. Feeling uneasy, I used the currents to push the blood away so it couldn’t reach me.
But no matter how much I pushed it back, it continued to cover the sea.
I frowned.
‘I’m definitely going to run into him…’
The blood in the sea getting thicker must mean he’s somewhere nearby. Do I even stand a chance? I recalled the scene of him fighting the mages.
His method was so bizarre that I couldn't forget it. He used his own blood like a whip. I’d never even heard of such magic.
“Hmm…”
I couldn’t see any possibility of winning. Even with the help of the mummies, he was a man who held his own against two 3-Star mages.
Me, win?
It would take several miracles stacked on top of each other. Even so, there was no other way… It was time to design the first miracle.
“Could you wait just a moment?”
I scanned the surroundings with Tide Sense. And in one cell, I found the tool I was looking for. …
‘…Don’t come in. And don’t look.’
I stopped the children who were trying to peek into the cell after me. If the children saw this, their minds would crumble to dust. Near a corpse, I picked up a pair of sharp pliers that had been used for torture.
It was dirty with dried blood, but now was not the time to worry about such things.
“Elysia.”
“Yeah?”
“Can you use this to get this shackle off my neck?”
“Ah, okay!”
Elysia took the pliers and tried to cut the shackle with all her might.
“Ughh…!”
It was hopeless. It was too hard. No matter how much she used the tool, it was too much for a child’s strength.
“…I’m sorry. I can’t do it.”
“It’s okay.”
Only after patting the dejected Elysia’s head did I realize I had naturally used informal speech. I worried that Elysia, who knew I was a janitor, might be offended, but the look on her face as she rubbed her head against my hand didn’t seem so bad.
This time, I brought out a chisel and a hammer from the torture room.
“This time, hit it with this.”
“That seems a bit dangerous, doesn't it? If you move even a little…”
“Really? You guys help out too. You just need to hold my body so I don’t move.”
“Yes, sir!”
Hyuins and the other children came and held me tight. Elysia, who seemed to have grown fond of me, concentrated and struck my shackle.
Clang! Clang!
Every strike felt like I was being hit in the head, but at the same time, I could see small cracks forming.
“S-stop. This should be enough.”
I staggered to my feet and used the pliers to cut the cracked part.
Screech… Clang!
The broken shackle flew off and rolled across the floor.
“Phew…”
I created a wind. A strong gust blew through the windowless prison.
“Alright. Gather around.”
Looking at the gathered children, I snapped my fingers. The sealing spheres that couldn't be cut by the currents were severed with ease.
“Wow…! It, it’s working!”
“Finally…!”
In an instant, the inside of the prison shone colorfully with the signature spells of the children testing their magic. I calmed them down and explained in a soft voice.
“An enemy has been caught in my… detection spell. It’s the man who kidnapped us.”
At those words, the atmosphere turned icy cold. Among the terrified children, Hyuins, the only one with a confident expression, looked at me with a gaze full of infinite trust.
“But you can beat him, right?”
“Of course. A guy like that is no match for me. But you all could get caught in the crossfire, so I’d like you to help me out just a little.” …
I lied.
The children needed confidence right now. It seemed to work, as their expressions brightened in an instant.
“You won’t have to fight directly, just do this. You’ll be able to get out safely.”
“Yes!”
After explaining the plan, while the children were preparing, I called Elysia into the cell separately.
“Lady Elysia.”
“Yes! I mean, yeah!”
“When you get outside, the knights will surely be looking for you. Find them somehow and tell them to come rescue me.”
“Okay… but rescue you? Aren’t you going to win?”
Elysia had a puzzled look on her face. At least Elysia needed to understand the gravity of the situation, so I explained seriously.
“Of course that was a lie. I can’t possibly win. He’s skilled enough to hold his own against two 3-Star mages, and I’m just a 1-Star beginner.”
“…What? You’re 1-Star? …Oh, right. But you use telekinesis!”
“I can’t explain the details, but it’s more of a trick than actual telekinesis. If the knights don’t come quickly, I might die.”
“Really…?”
“Yes. I’m counting on you.”
“…B-but why?”
Elysia’s eyes wavered. She lightly grabbed the collar of my shirt, as if she was seeing something she couldn’t understand.
“Why are you going this far? You… you could have escaped on your own, right? You’re a janitor in the first place, you didn't even have to get caught. Are you trying to die?”
“Our deal is still on. I haven’t received my payment yet.”
“I can’t give you anything…”
She looked quite confused. I gently took her small hand off and said.
“You can put aside your worries about not being able to pay. I will bill your father for the price.”
This was an event that would allow me to skip the trust-building phase. That wasn’t the only reason I came, but. In any case, I had to save Elysia.
“And I’m telling you this just in case— Lady Elysia’s magic interferes with or blocks the manifestation of other magic.”
“…Huh?”
“That Hyuins fellow found the right cause. When you get out, tell your father.”
“Eh, w-wait a minute. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You don’t have to know now. Oh, and to correct one thing.”
I met the flustered Elysia’s gaze.
“I have absolutely no intention of throwing my life away.”
It was always like this. After we made eye contact for about ten seconds, Elysia, whose face had turned red for some reason, nodded.
“…Okay.”
And so, with the final preparations complete. All that remained was a boss battle where survival was the only objective.
The damp hallway of the first basement floor.
“Ah, fuck. He’s so damn strong…”
Pars sighed as he looked down at his blood-soaked right hand. It didn’t hurt that much. He lived in ‘that kind of world,’ after all.
But he had lost too much.
“If I can’t make them Fall, I’m gonna be screwed.”
The hundreds of mummies he had received after explaining the plan were all cut down. He had, of course, expected the knights’ strength and the professor’s skill to not be easy. But what he hadn’t expected was how much more heavily guarded the nobles’ children were.
Of course, the mummies weren’t given to him for free. If he failed to produce clear results, he would be disciplined. And discipline in his current situation would be a fate worse than death.
‘…It probably won’t be a problem.’
But Pars thought of it as no big deal. He had succeeded in kidnapping as many children as possible who had just suffered from the divine fever. That was the most important fact.
How fragile is a child’s world? A little push would be enough to make them Fall in an instant. He had never tortured children before, so he might lose control and kill the first few, but even considering that, he should be able to make at least one of them Fall.
Pars hummed as he walked down to the prison. Though his body was exhausted, the work had gone well, so his mood was rather good. Until he saw a child in the hallway.
“…Huh?”
Black hair, black eyes. A young kid, not even half his height, was staring at him with emotionless eyes. Pars, unable to understand the situation for a moment, blinked and stared.
Those were strange eyes. Beyond being unfocused, they were like a deep sea…
“…No, no, what the hell is this kid? How did you get out?”
That wasn’t what was important. Pars shook his head and glared at the child. The atmosphere was strange, but he was one of the kidnapped nobles, and the fact that he had escaped was clear.
He should have been locked in a cell with shackles that sealed elemental spells, so how?
“Hey, come here while I’m asking nicely. If you don’t want to die.”
Regardless of the facts, he couldn’t just leave him be. Pars flicked his finger, splattering blood on the floor. The few drops of blood instantly multiplied and filled the floor.
It was a horrifying sight that would make a weak-hearted person faint. It was also dangerous. Not even a command was needed.
With one flick of a finger, a spear of blood would tear that child apart. … … However, the child was not flustered in the slightest. From within his clothes, he took out a shackle that was broken in half and rolled it on the floor.
Clink…
The rolling shackle hit Pars’s foot and fell. The child looked at it and smiled. The meaning was clearly one of mockery.
“Hah, this little bastard…”
Pars laughed.
Not with anger, but with glee. He escaped the prison and broke the sealing sphere. He avoided numerous traps to arrive here.
And now he stood before him. Was it because he was clinging to some reckless confidence? No. He did so because he knew it was the only path to escape.
“You’ve got talent.”
Pars licked the corner of his mouth. It seemed he was going to get a pretty amazing new comrade today.