< 64 : Black Sky (2) >
The tower in the inner city.
There, Rex was staring blankly at the city.
Even though he had become a count, he felt unreal about his position.
Next to Rex was Palios, the knight who had been protecting Rex for a long time.
When Evan left his post after completing his mission, Palios took his place.
Palios looked at Rex’s back as he gazed at the city and asked.
“Did you really have to go that far?”
There was a hint of resentment in Palios’s voice that reached Rex.
Palios’s words made Rex’s face uneasy.
Even after Rex became the Count of Meyer, Palios swore loyalty to him as promised.
But he seemed to dislike the process.
When Rex ascended to the countship, the Countess of Meyer and Max Meyer were executed.
Thanks to that, Rex was able to consolidate most of the power, but it was inevitable that some resistance would pop up.
“Do you resent me?”
“…I resent myself for not being able to protect the prince then, and the count now.”
“You know it couldn’t be helped.”
“But if you had spoken up… couldn’t you have spared them?”
“How can I leave them alone when Max’s faction is still intact?”
A deal with the devil.
That was a fitting name for this deal.
Rex was able to become a count thanks to the deal he made with the Cult of the Evil God.
And in return, the cult took over the entire inner city of the count’s territory.
The cult’s followers were watching Rex from every place in the inner city.
And in the underground of the count’s territory, a mysterious altar was being built.
“They call you a bishop, but have you become a full-fledged follower of the evil god?”
“It’s just a pretense.”
“Then…”
“They need an excuse to bind me.”
“Are you happy living as their puppet?”
Palios’s sharp question pierced Rex’s ears.
The term puppet was not wrong.
Rex’s decisions required the approval of Roan, the archbishop, without fail.
And yet, he had become a count and was living a comfortable life without the threat of death.
Was he supposed to be dissatisfied with this life?
Rex gave a bitter smile at his own appearance, which had become a fat livestock.
“Palios, I want to tell you something…”
As Rex was about to say something to Palios.
Something strange started to happen around Rex.
Boom——.
A loud noise that tore his ears started to echo.
Rex quickly covered his ears as the noise that seemed to burst his eardrums rang out.
But the unidentified noise that echoed in his ears penetrated his hands and reached him.
“My lord! What is that…!”
“Ah…”
Palios, who also covered his ears, looked at Rex and shouted loudly.
But Palios’s voice was buried by the huge noise and didn’t reach him properly.
Boom——.
The noise didn’t stop and continued to echo in the sky.
At the same time, the sun that rose in the sky also started to turn black.
The repeating noise.
And the darkness that began to descend.
At the same time, people’s screams erupted from the entire inner city as the strange phenomenon occurred.
“What, what is this…!”
“Aa, aaaaah—!”
“Th, th, this is…”
Some people were running away to escape from the descending darkness.
Some people were covering their eyes to avoid seeing the dark sky.
Some people were crying and wailing to the sky with their ears plugged.
“Sn, sniff… save me!”
“The sun, the sun is turning black!”
Boom——.
Boom——.
The irregular noise that echoed under the screams gradually subsided.
As the sound diminished, Rex took his hands off his ears.
Palios also lowered his hands that covered his ears as the sound faded.
But despite that, the darkness that began to spread over the city continued to thicken.
The sun that turned black retracted the light that shone down on the ground.
Rex looked at the sky with a horrified expression as the light slowly disappeared.
“A black sun…”
A black sun rises under the black sky.
The moon and the stars lose their light completely, and the vast sky is filled with darkness.
A disaster that he had never seen before in his life.
The darkness that covered the world completely began to scatter a deep silence.
In the world that lost its light under the dark sky, Rex only felt the presence of Palios standing behind him.
“…My lord. Do you know anything about what is happening now?”
“A black sun. The symbol of the evil god.”
“The symbol of the evil god…?”
“I have a vague memory of reading it in a book once.”
The day when the sun loses its light.
And the day when the mad beasts lose their reason and go berserk.
A long time ago, he had read a book about the evil god.
The thick darkness that he saw before his eyes was a horrific scene that only the evil god could create.
A huge fear of the evil god rose in Rex’s chest as he looked at the sky.
“Palios.”
“…My lord.”
“Do you think we can fight against such a being, as humans?”
A world where nothing could be seen in the darkness.
Only the torches lit by the soldiers barely entered their sight.
There were not many emotions that a mere human could face in a world that had lost its light.
Fear and awe.
There was no room for fighting spirit in that place.
In the darkened view, Palios’s voice echoed towards Rex.
“I think… it’s impossible.”
The shadow of the evil god covered the whole city.
Those who saw the light could not see even in front of them, and those who spoke could only scream with their voices.
A world dominated by thick darkness.
The human world became abnormal.
***
The holy city, Crossbridge.
In the conference room located in the Holy Palace, the Holy Emperor looked around with a dark gaze.
The number of people for the meeting was less than usual.
It was a grand meeting where all the saintesses, elders, and knight commanders gathered, but for some reason, today there were two empty seats.
The saintess of abundance, Serena Ederlant, who represented the Temple of Abundance, the most influential of all temples.
And the vice-knight commander, Lian Crost, who would be escorting her.
The two did not attend the meeting.
The Holy Emperor, Haifright II, who looked around the room, turned his eyes to the elders and opened his mouth.
“Where did the saintess of abundance go?”
“…”
The elders who received the Holy Emperor’s gaze avoided each other’s eyes and remained silent.
They didn’t want to be blamed for the missing saintess, especially when they already had enough headaches from the current situation.
The one who endured the Holy Emperor’s gaze and stepped forward was the knight commander, Revels Ederlant.
The black holy sword, Revels Ederlant.
He looked at the Holy Emperor with a stern face.
And he spoke on behalf of everyone about why the saintess of abundance had disappeared.
“I will explain that.”
“Sir Revels will explain? I see.”
“The saintess of abundance took one of the holy relics and left the holy city four days ago.”
“The saintess left the holy city by herself?”
“It seems that she tricked Sir Lian and secretly slipped out with the holy relic.”
Tsk tsk.
Some of the elders who heard Revels’s words clicked their tongues.
They couldn’t understand the attitude of the saintess who was absent in this emergency.
Most of them were trying to shift the blame to Revels.
The Holy Emperor asked Revels why she had left.
“The saintess did not request any escort, and sneaked out of the city?”
“Judging by the letter she left behind, it seems that she received a revelation about the hero and went to fetch him.”
“The hero of abundance…”
“Even so, Sir Lian is with her, so she will probably return to Crossbridge without any problems.”
One of the elders stood up from his seat at Revels’s words.
The identity of the elder who stood up was the first elder, Antonio.
Antonio rebuked Revels, who had brought up the matter of the saintess of abundance, and said.
“Sir Revels! Aren’t you too protective of the saintess just because she is your daughter? She took out a holy relic and left without permission, this is a serious crime!”
“…Elder Antonio. Bloodline is not very important in handling the affairs of the temple.”
“You may think so, but not everyone here does! Wasn’t it the holy knights who allowed her to take out the holy relic in the first place?”
Ignoring Revels’s attitude that denied his words, Antonio continued to press him.
“The holy relic was taken by Sir Lian for the purpose of strengthening the escort…”
“Isn’t the vice-knight commander also a member of the holy knights!”
“That is…”
“You will also have to take responsibility for this matter, Sir Revels!”
As the atmosphere in the meeting room heated up with Antonio’s rising voice.
A heavy thud echoed several times in the meeting room.
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
The Holy Emperor, who was listening to the conversation, interrupted them by hitting the gavel.
The Holy Emperor’s sharp gaze swept over the knight commander and the elder once.
Antonio, who received the Holy Emperor’s fierce gaze, quietly stopped talking and sat down.
“Elder Antonio. Did I summon this meeting to ask for responsibility?”
“…I was too excited.”
“You should calm down and listen to the story.”
“I understand, Your Majesty.”
The Holy Emperor’s gaze soon turned to Revels, who was across from him.
The knight commander, who received the Holy Emperor’s eyes, had the same stern face as before.
The Holy Emperor spoke to him about the conclusion of the saintess’s runaway incident.
“And Sir Revels. The punishment for the saintess of abundance will be discussed again when she returns.”
“…I understand.”
“Prepare a search party to find the saintess.”
“Yes. Your Majesty.”
“Then let’s end the matter of the saintess of abundance here.”
As the matter was settled, Revels also returned to his seat and sat down.
Only then did the Holy Emperor put down the gavel he was holding in the quiet atmosphere.
And he looked over the faces in the meeting room again.
One of the saintesses who should have attended the meeting was missing, but it was not a matter that could be postponed to the next time.
In the quiet atmosphere, the Holy Emperor spoke to the people who attended the meeting.
“It’s finally quiet now. Then let’s start the meeting.”
“Yes.”
“You all know this, but the black sun, the symbol of the evil god, has risen in the sky again.”
“The black sun…”
The people in the meeting room became solemn as they heard the story of the black sun.
The black sun.
It was the symbol of the evil god that only showed itself when the evil god stretched out his beasts to the world.
Under the blackened sky, one could not see even an inch ahead without a torch, and even the crops did not ripen as they did not receive sunlight.
According to the old records, there was a time when the black sun stayed in the sky for as long as two months.
The black sun that devoured the sky was a big problem for the holy city.
“According to the results of looking through the eyes of the goddess, we estimate that the range of the black sun covers part of the empire, including the holy city.”
“What about the Hegros Kingdom?”
“As soon as you enter inside the border line, the black sun completely hides its appearance.”
The elders began to murmur from all sides as they heard about the black sun.
The dark sky that covered the holy city and part of the empire.
If this phenomenon lasts for months, the crops and fruits in the holy city will not ripen properly.
It could cause a huge food shortage in the whole holy city.
Especially if the black sun also rises in the southern grain belt of the empire, it would be difficult to get food support from the empire.
It was a matter that could lead to the starvation of many people in the holy city.
The opinions of the elders on this matter began to pile up from here and there.
“We need to find out how long the black sun will last.”
“What about wrapping the holy city with a holy barrier?”
“How can we solve the problem by covering only the holy city when the black sun covers the empire as well as the holy city?”
“If that doesn’t work, we can ask for food support from the Hegros Kingdom…”
A plan to create a holy barrier that covers the entire Crossbridge.
A plan to research the duration of the black sun.
And a plan to receive food support from the Hegros Kingdom across the border.
All kinds of measures came out in the conference room of the Holy Palace.
As the conversation leaned towards food support from another country.
Revels, who had been listening quietly, looked at the elders and opened his mouth.
“It’s difficult to get support from the Hegros Kingdom.”
“Sir Revels.”
“Even if we put aside the food situation of the Hegros Kingdom, there is the beast rampage phenomenon under the black sun.”
The phenomenon of beasts going berserk whenever an eclipse occurred.
The elders who attended this meeting also knew it well.
Revels’s words also seemed to be expected, and the elder who brought up the food support answered.
“Can’t the elites from the holy city take care of the food transportation?”
“It’s hard to transport enough food to feed the whole holy city with that manpower.”
“What’s the point of having the holy knights if they can’t even do that?”
“The holy knights are the force for the defense of the holy city. We can’t allocate all of them to the transport operation.”
As before, an argument began between the elder and the knight commander.
The elders and the knights, who were so hostile to each other that they were called enemies.
It was very common for a dispute to arise between the two organizations over the same issue.
The elder frowned at Revels, who brought up the defense of the holy city.
“You always talk about expanding the holy knights, but you haven’t even secured enough power yet.”
“There is a limit to the size that can be maintained with the current budget of the holy knights. If we lose our core force, the defense capability of the holy city will decline.”
“Can’t the elites from the Holy Land take care of the food transportation?”
“That’s not enough to feed the entire Holy Land.”
“Then what’s the point of having the Knight Order if they can’t even do that properly?”
“The Knight Order is the main force for the defense of the Holy Land. We can’t assign all of our personnel to transport operations.”
As before, an argument started between the elder and the knight commander.
The elders and the Knight Order were not on good terms, to say the least.
It was very common for them to have disputes over the same issue.
The elder frowned as he saw Revelz bring up the topic of the defense of the Holy Land.
“You always talk about expanding the Knight Order, but you haven’t even secured enough manpower yet.”
“There is a limit to how much we can maintain with the current budget of the Knight Order. If we lose our core forces, the defense capability of the Holy Land will decline.”
Revelz shook his head as he brought up the budget of the Knight Order in response to the elder’s words.
The elder’s face grew redder as the conversation dragged on.
He had thick veins on his neck as he spoke to Revelz.
“Then how do you propose we solve this situation?”
“If we don’t find a way to deal with the Black Sun fundamentally, we will eventually suffer huge losses.”
“Do you know how to solve the Black Sun fundamentally, Revelz?”
“Isn’t that a problem that the theologians of the Holy Land should research?”
“If that was possible, why did The Great Famine come in the war 200 years ago?”
“It’s been 200 years since then. There are many elders who are from brilliant theologians, so there must be many good solutions.”
The Knight Order and the elders started to pass the buck to each other about the problem.
Whew.
Holy Emperor sighed as he watched the two people arguing in front of him.
He had seen this scene many times before, but he couldn’t help feeling uncomfortable seeing them fight even in an urgent situation.
They were races that could never be bound by one name if it weren’t for their faith in the goddess.
His deep voice echoed in the conference hall as he let out a sigh.
“Enough! Be quiet.”
“Yes, Holy emperor-nim.”
“Yes, I understand.”
As soon as they heard Holy Emperor’s voice, the elder and the knight commander who were quarreling closed their mouths.
Holy Emperor’s gaze turned to the knight commander who was nearby.
He had stepped forward to settle this matter himself.
He gave a new order to the knight commander Revelz, who faced him.
“Lord Revelz.”
“Yes.”
“Make sure you prepare the troops to transport the food.”
“But, for the defense of the holy land…”
“That’s an order.”
“…Yes. I understand.”
The emperor’s gaze turned to the elder.
The elder who had been arguing with Rebels was a scholar who had gained fame before becoming an elder.
He looked at the emperor with an anxious expression.
The emperor gave him an order as well.
“Also, gather the theologians of the holy land and conduct research to solve the problem of the black sun.”
“…Your Majesty.”
“This is also an order.”
“Ah, I understand.”
“Elder Antonio, you need to prepare an envoy to send to the Hegris Kingdom.”
“I understand. Your Majesty.”
The noisy meeting came to a halt with the emperor’s words.
The emperor, who had organized the situation, looked at the elders with a serious face.
There was a mountain of work to be done, as he had convened the meeting for an urgent purpose.
They could not afford to waste time arguing over the same thing.
The emperor’s stern voice echoed in the meeting room again.
“This is a serious matter, so I will consider any plausible suggestions even after the meeting is over.”
“Yes.”
“Then, for now… let’s deal with the next agenda item.”
Under the rising black sun.
The meeting at the imperial palace continued without a pause.
