──A few minutes ago, at the entrance of the forest──
“A black arrow was shot…!?”
Kachel Miegen muttered in disbelief as he gazed at the arrow that had been released into the sky.
“Zeros… failed the exam!? After all the trouble he put me through!? I… I failed!?”
“That is not the case. He likely withdrew from the exam,” Princess Iris Restia said.
“There may have been some sort of trouble. There is a possibility of a retest. When the three return, we shall hear their story.”
“…I… failed. I… I, of all people! After putting in so much effort!!”
“…Kachel?”
Kachel did not respond to Princess Iris’s voice. He curled up as if he couldn’t hear her, pounding the ground with his fists.
“I was indeed… mistaken. Even after two hundred years, people still do not understand hierarchy. They cannot even distinguish between noble blood and inferior blood. It is impossible to make them understand by rising above them… Therefore… the Sacred Domain Church—!?”
“What are you doing, Kachel Miegen! This is disrespectful to Her Royal Highness!!”
“…Therefore, the Sacred Domain Church—those who inherit their will are ‘──────'”
At the words Kachel uttered, Princess Iris turned pale. That was—an incantation of Ancient Magic.
“Get away from Kachel!”
“‘Wind Spirit Summon’ ‘Fire Spirit Summon’—Twelve beings!!”
In the next moment, birds wrapped in wind and lizards engulfed in flames appeared around Kachel. Twelve in total. They all lunged at the soldiers nearby.
“—Guh, guuuaaaah!?”
The soldier was slashed at his limbs, his face scorched, and he crumbled to the ground.
“……Let us move to the second plan. From the beginning, I should not have relied on the children of rural nobility. Advancing as a teacher is—utterly trivial!!”
“What are you thinking, Kachel Miegen!!”
Princess Iris shouted. She could not believe what was happening before her eyes. It was unthinkable for a magic instructor serving House Glossaria to attack soldiers with Ancient Magic.
“You are the son of the former minister, Longel Miegen. How could you do such a thing?!”
“‘From the dark──who──is’—‘Summon’ ‘Black Beast’”
‘────Oooooooh!’
The birds of wind and the fire lizards vanished, replaced by a magic circle forming in front of Kachel. What emerged was a pitch-black hunting dog. It had two heads, two tails, and eyes as red as blood.
“Protect Her Highness Iris!”
“Form a shield! Do not let the monster approach!!”
The soldiers formed a circle around Princess Iris.
‘Gwooooaah!!’
The three beasts lunged at the formation all at once. The soldiers thrust their spears forward to attack the beasts, but—none of them hit. The difference in reaction speed was too great. Dodging the soldiers’ spears, the hunting dogs pierced through armor and shields with their claws, inflicting wounds on the soldiers.
“Consume them! ‘Ifrit Blow’!!”
The flames conjured by Princess Iris’s Ancient Magic shot toward the hunting dogs. But it missed. The enemy’s movements were far too swift.
“This is strange… Kachel Miegen shouldn’t possess the magical power to control such familiars…”
“Kachel is merely a magic instructor. The lowest rank in the Magic Guild. Just a lowly pawn, or so you think?”
“I don’t think of him as just a pawn!”
“My father, the minister, did not choose me as his successor. Of all things… he chose a bastard child. And the royal family acknowledged it. They acknowledged it!!”
Kachel Miegen shouted.
“I had to demonstrate true power to the royal family. That is why I spent such trivial time in this rural baronial house!!”
‘Gwooooaah!!’
In agreement with Kachel, the three hunting dogs howled.
“Being a magic instructor was truly a boring job. Teaching dull-witted children and the arrogant offspring of bastards. But that is over now. I succeeded in luring the royal family here under the pretense of an exam. Now is the time to raise the signal of revival high!!”
“…The signal of revival…?”
“Yes. The great Sacred Domain Church!!”
At Kachel’s words, the soldiers widened their eyes.
The Sacred Domain Church. It was the organization of sorcerers who first discovered the relics of the Ancient Magic Civilization.
They analyzed Ancient Magic and Ancient Artifacts, transforming them into their own power. They wielded immense strength, driving demi-humans and intelligent monsters away, expanding human territory. And then, kings from various regions fought over that territory, leading to war.
It should have ended as a small war. But the Sacred Domain Church intervened. They used the kings for their power struggles, intensifying the conflict.
The worst war, the Eight Kings War, erupted as eight kings fought over each other’s territories.
The Sacred Domain Church was destroyed when a single sage stood up and stopped the church’s rampage. The Ancient Artifacts were scattered, and many forms of Ancient Magic were lost, but the war came to an end.
After the war, the Sacred Domain Church became a forbidden organization, and its members were executed. Now, it had faded into the shadows of history, leaving nothing behind.
“The great Sacred Domain Church cannot possibly be destroyed, can it? Those who inherited their Ancient Artifacts are right here!! To provide me with the magical power of a sacrifice!!”
Kachel Miegen held up an amulet adorned with a black stone.
“You should consider yourselves fortunate. You are witnessing the revival of the great Sacred Domain Church!”
‘Gioooaah!!’
The beasts lunged at the soldiers.
“Gyiiiaaaah!!”
The claws of the beasts tore through shields, and their fangs bit into a soldier’s arm. In the meantime, another soldier thrust his spear into the body of a beast, but—there was no effect. Blood did not flow from the beast’s wounds. The immense magical power sealed the wounds almost instantly.
“Originally, I intended to send Zeros Glossaria to the Magic Guild and use him as a tool for the revival of the Sacred Domain Church… But that useless brat!”
Kachel laughed.
“Children are simple beings. Once I manipulated him with my words to make him trust only me, he was easily deceived. Unaware that he was merely a tool to be used! But he served his purpose well. He brought Princess Iris here. Using the princess, I will turn this baronial house into the base of the Sacred Domain Church—”
“‘Ifrit Blow’”
A voice came from the direction of the forest. When Iris turned her gaze, she saw a small shadow running out from the woods.
“Yuuki Glossaria!!”
“He’s back! That brat. But fire magic from that distance—”
‘Gigiiy! Kiikii! Kikiikii!!’
There was a sound overhead. Looking up, she saw a swarm of bats soaring through the sky. They flew in formation, heading straight for Kachel’s familiars.
Princess Iris’s eyes widened. It looked as if a red emblem was drawn on the wings of the bats.
“Letters? Symbols? No! That is the mark of ‘Ifrit Blow’!?”
Fwoosh.
A red light ignited on the wings of the bats. And then—
Dududududududududududududududud!!
Countless fireballs shot from the bats’ wings, raining down upon Kachel and the black beasts!
“Gyiiiaaaah!!”
Kachel and the beasts screamed.
“Is that really ‘Ifrit Blow’!? Why is it coming from the wings of bats!?”
‘Ifrit Blow’ was an Ancient Magic that Princess Iris had just barely mastered. For bats to unleash it in rapid succession was impossible.
“Gwoooaah! Stop it! Stop it, noooow!!”
‘Giiiiiiaaaaaaaah!!’
Dududududududududududududududud!!
The barrage of flames did not cease. Kachel created a barrier with magic, managing to fend off the flames.
However, the beasts took the brunt of the fiery rain. They were pierced by fireballs, burned, and vanished without a trace.
“Now! Everyone! As soon as the fireballs cease, charge! Subdue Kachel!”
Princess Iris shouted.
“Do not interfere.”
Yuuki Glossaria’s voice halted the movements of the princess and her soldiers. The moment they heard his voice, goosebumps rose on Princess Iris’s arms. His voice was filled with an anger so terrifying, it sent chills down her spine.
“H-Hahaha! A bastard child?! A bastard child of the Baronial House using Ancient Magic?!”
The fireball came to a halt. Kachel Miegen, clutching his scorched robe over his wound, raised his voice.
“Impossible! This must be some kind of joke. A filthy bastard from a filthy Baronial House—Giiiaaaaaaa!!”
“Shut up.”
When did I draw my blade? When did I strike?
Before I knew it, the boy had dashed past Kachel, a dagger in hand. Blood erupted from Kachel’s left arm.
“…Did you see that?”
Princess Iris turned her gaze to the soldier beside her. The soldier shook his head.
“I didn’t see it. The boy’s movements…”
“Too fast. Who is he…?”
Both Princess Iris and the soldier were frozen in place. The scene was completely dominated by that boy, Yuuki Glossalia.
“I’m going to kill you.”
Yuuki Glossalia declared.
“You called my family tools. You tried to hurt my family. I will kill you.”
It was as if this outcome had already been decided. Yuuki Glossalia proclaimed it with unwavering certainty.
Today, there will be two updates. The next update, Chapter 18, is scheduled for this evening.