Chapter 87
“The Third Elder has been captured.”
“Hah, that foolish old man. I knew he’d mess up the moment he started acting out.”
“The Founder has entered the ritual.”
“Ugh, thanks to that, our workload has skyrocketed. Do we really have to worry about Crescent too?”
A man and a woman, visible only as dark silhouettes, conversed in a dimly lit space.
They were the First and Second Elders of the Nameless Organization.
This was their first meeting since the major incidents had begun.
Although the Third Elder had been captured, he had at least fulfilled the bare minimum of his objectives.
The four artifacts had been gathered somehow.
Now, if the Founder could complete the ritual without incident, the long-dreamed revolution would finally begin.
“How’s your side of things?”
“I’m always ready. I could start as early as tomorrow.”
“Then start with your end first.”
“What about the O’Neill Kingdom?”
“Once the Kingdom’s investigation team digs a little deeper, we’ll launch all at once.”
“Then, what about Crescent?”
“Hmm.”
Their conversation paused briefly.
It was a tricky issue.
Under normal circumstances, the Third Elder would have completed his tasks and initiated the next steps first.
“…Fine, I’ll wrap things up tomorrow and head to Crescent immediately. We can’t afford to abandon it, not with the Undead there.”
“Alright. I’ll leave it to you.”
With that, the First Elder disappeared abruptly, as if signaling the end of the meeting.
The Second Elder sighed involuntarily at the sight of the First Elder vanishing without a word of thanks.
This organization truly lacked any semblance of teamwork.
Still, the Second Elder remained optimistic.
Though they had lost the Third Elder, the plan was progressing as scheduled.
And by tomorrow, black magic would make its grand reappearance in the world.
“Tomorrow will mark the end of hiding, hoho.”
The massive incidents across the continent.
The four events were the work of the three Elders and the Founder.
The Founder personally dealt with the Church.
The First Elder orchestrated the O’Neill Kingdom’s chaos.
The Second Elder was responsible for the western continent.
Finally, the events at Crescent Academy fell under the Third Elder Randgar Bayel’s jurisdiction.
Black magic was clearly at the heart of these incidents, yet the nations were desperately suppressing any related information.
It was understandable.
If news spread that traces of black magic were appearing simultaneously worldwide, the entire continent would descend into chaos.
“Hohoho.”
The Second Elder chuckled in satisfaction before vanishing from the dark space.
By tomorrow, the resurrection of the black mages would be unveiled to the world.
***
“Captain, over there.”
“Yes?”
The western region of the Arkaria Continent.
A place where countless small and medium-sized kingdoms coexisted and often quarreled.
In recent decades, the western continent had achieved a measure of stability.
The territorial disputes and wars that had once been constant had finally ceased.
Yet, after so long, the winds of war had returned to the western continent.
The key players in this war were the Kingdom of Flora and the Kingdom of Lorelai, two kingdoms traditionally at odds with each other.
They were the most influential powers in the west.
It began with the sudden death of the Second Princess of Lorelai.
The princess was found dead in her chambers, poisoned.
The poison was one commonly associated with the Kingdom of Flora.
The evidence didn’t stop there.
A Flora spy was conveniently captured within the Lorelai royal court.
Flora’s insignia was discovered in the princess’s room.
All signs pointed to Flora’s involvement, but Flora vehemently denied any wrongdoing.
Tensions between the two kingdoms escalated until the situation boiled over due to a retaliatory incident.
The assassination of Flora’s First Prince.
To make matters worse, the prince’s chamber was draped with Lorelai’s flag, and the word “revenge” was scrawled in blood.
Enraged, Flora declared war first, and Lorelai wasted no time in responding.
Thus began the war between the two kingdoms.
A war sparked by the deaths of two individuals was now on the brink of claiming countless more lives.
“What’s this? A delegation?”
Lorelai’s attack captain observed a group slowly approaching from Flora’s side and murmured to himself.
Around twenty people, cloaked in robes, carried Flora’s flag as they approached.
For a brief moment, Captain Hans entertained a hopeful thought.
Could Flora finally be admitting fault and coming to apologize?
If they were here to apologize, Hans was willing to listen.
After all, the King had instructed that any signs of diplomacy from Flora should at least be heard.
As the robed group neared Lorelai’s camp, Hans stepped forward and shouted at them.
“What business do you have? Let your representative step forward!”
“…”
“If you’re here as a diplomatic delegation, show proper decorum!”
“…”
Despite Hans’s demands, the Flora delegation remained silent.
Instead, one figure from the group stepped forward slowly.
The robed figure walked forward without a word, their steps measured and deliberate.
Lorelai’s soldiers raised their spears in response, readying themselves.
Yet, the figure continued to advance, undeterred.
“It’s fine. It’s just one of them.”
“Yes.”
“Alright. Why did you seek me out personally?”
Hans felt slightly relieved as he observed the envoy, who appeared unarmed and showed no signs of drawing mana.
Perhaps they truly were a delegation for negotiations.
Flutter—
“Hm?”
As Hans entertained the thought, the robe of the figure began to writhe unnaturally.
Something was off.
Could a robe really ripple like that, with its back bulging upward?
“What… what is that?!”
The soldiers seemed to notice it too.
Instinctively, they pointed their spears at the figure, ready to strike at any moment.
Wriggle— Wriggle—
“U-uh… Captain?”
“What on earth is that?”
The robe now squirmed and fluttered in all directions.
At this point, it was clear.
Whatever was inside the robe could not be human.
It had walked here on two legs, mimicking the shape of a human, but…
Ripppp—!
“Ah—ahhh!”
“What the…?!”
The robe tore apart, revealing the creature’s true form.
Hans widened his eyes, focusing on the grotesque sight before him.
What emerged from the robe was a bizarre and monstrous entity.
It was clearly alive, but it was far from human.
Its body resembled a black orb with four stubby legs, and a massive single eye was embedded in its body.
“What… is that…?”
Whirr—
As Hans muttered, the grotesque spherical creature suddenly lunged toward them.
Chills ran down his spine as he watched the creature charge toward their formation.
It wasn’t just its grotesque and repulsive appearance.
This thing was dangerous.
Shhh—!
“Aghhh!”
“Everyone fall back! Mages, to the front! Deploy barriers!”
The spherical creature sprinted forward on its four stubby legs, launching black spikes from its body.
The spikes pierced through the soldiers’ armor with ease.
In an instant, several soldiers fell to the ground, struck by the spikes.
“Poison! It’s poison! Everyone, be careful!”
“Aaaaagh!”
“Stay calm and stab it!”
Hans enveloped himself in protective magic and was the first to charge at the spherical creature.
He infused his sword with mana, locking onto the rapidly crawling target.
Then, he swung his sword.
Swish—
“You’ve cut it down!”
“Captain Hans has taken it out! Wait… huh?”
“What… is this…?!”
Hans stepped back quickly, muttering in disbelief.
The spherical creature, which had been cleaved cleanly in two by his sword, did not die.
Sssss—
Instead, the two halves began to wriggle and reform, emitting unsettling sounds.
The large orb split into two smaller ones.
Each half sprouted legs and resumed moving as separate entities.
What was one creature had now become two.
“M-mages! Get the mages here now!”
Hans realized the severity of the situation as he watched the two new creatures emerge and move.
The soldiers struggled to handle even one of these creatures, and cutting them only caused them to multiply.
If they were split again and doubled in number…
“Form ranks! Shield-bearers, to the front!”
At Hans’s command, the soldiers of Lorelai quickly reorganized.
Shield-bearers moved to the front, raising their large shields, while the remaining troops retreated to safer positions.
Whirr—
The two spherical creatures hesitated momentarily as the shield-bearers appeared.
In the short time since their emergence, these two creatures had already caused at least 30 casualties.
“Wait for the mages’ barriers! Those attacks won’t penetrate the barriers!”
As Hans shouted orders, the mages finally arrived, panting as they rushed into position.
“What are those things?!”
Whoooom—
The mages hastily began constructing barriers as Hans shouted in frustration.
“Black… black magic…”
“What…?”
“Creatures created through black magic!”
Flutter— Flutter—
Someone screamed in horror as more figures behind the initial group of cloaked individuals began writhing.
Just like the first robe had transformed into the grotesque black orb.
“Surely… no…?”
Everyone, including Hans, turned their attention to the group of robed figures.
Ripppp—!
The dreadful thought that had crossed their minds became reality.
The twenty or so robed figures all tore apart, revealing the same spherical creatures as before.
It was a grotesque and horrifying sight.
The black orbs with legs twitched and moved unnervingly.
“Everyone, be cautious!”
At Hans’s command, the twenty newly revealed spherical creatures all turned their single eyes toward the soldiers.
Then, they charged.
—
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