I sat Epherene in the office chair and looked into her eyes. I shone a light across her pupils.
“…Hic.”
Epherene hiccupped.
“Is there a problem?”
Then she pouted her lips.
“…You are too close.”
“…”
Since the examination was over anyway, I sat back a bit.
“Epherene, I’ve detected dark energy in your pupils.”
“Yes?”
Dark Energy. It was a substance that drove me wild, even with the smallest particles. It was the biggest enemy of the constitution ability I learned before, but I didn’t worry too much about it. Deculein’s wrath – although he spoke a bit harshly, it was his nature to freeze in the end.
“Oh, um…”
Epherene hesitated, avoiding my eyes.
“Tell me.”
“…That is. My father came into my dream.”
I stared at her without a word.
“But… it wasn’t my father. I was deceived.”
I put those words together. Dream. Father. Deceit. Dark Energy.
“Did anything happen in the dream?”
“Yes? Oh, I…”
Epherene opened her eyes wide. Her face was blushing as she wriggled her hands and feet like an octopus. It was strangely disgusting.
“Keep your hands still. Before I cut them off.”
“What?! Cut them?!”
“…”
“…Something happened.”
As I continued to stare, she slowly began to explain, and I listened quietly. She met Kagan Luna in her dream, but it didn’t seem like he was her father. If she had approached him, it would have been a disaster. She lived thanks to the mental power class…
“It must have been a demon.”
“…Demon?”
“Yes. Of the five senses, what do people forget the most?”
“Hearing.”
“Right. It’s easy to deceive because you can’t remember the sounds of a distant past.”
People forgot voices the fastest. Therefore, it was the most deceptive sense.
“Do not be fooled by the voices you hear in your dreams.”
In a world where recording methods weren’t common, the voices of people who had already died were easily forgotten and disappeared. The Voice was the demon that dug into that opening.
“His name is Voice.”
“Huh! I’ve been there too! It was a ruin.”
Epherene shouted. I nodded.
“He’s a concept and a phenomenon that embodies a world. In those ruins, people’s memories, dreams, wishes, and hopes are embodied. They sell strange things there.”
“…Oh, right. They did. I have this too. One day, Roha… um, that old man gave it to me.”
Epherene took out a brass coin from her pocket. It was ten cents.
“But why did I have such a dream?”
“…”
I examined Epherene’s head without responding. The crown, temples, forehead. Suddenly, Epherene narrowed her eyes.
“Why, why are you looking at my lips like that?”
“…Are you crazy?”
“I beg your pardon?”
I leaned back against my chair.
“Anyway, you have been officially invited. Perhaps all the memories of Decalane, Kagan Luna, and others in your head have flowed to him.”
“Then what will happen?”
“In the ruins, the door of your memory will be opened. He’ll give that coin to those who challenge and clear it.”
I pointed to the brass coin.
“Clear… clear? Clear~?”
Epherene’s expression became strange as she thought about it.
“Clear what, my memory?”
“It’s like a dungeon. The villains of your memory will appear, and so on.”
“Aha~, the villains of my memory… Glitheon and Rollu, Lucia and Deculein…”
While mumbling like that, she stiffened.
“…Deculein is now neutral, so he’s out”
“Enough with your silly play. In any case, the difficulty of your memory is probably the highest.”
“Ahem… but why is the demon doing this? For what purpose?”
“Domination of the continent.”
I answered simply. Epherene blinked a few times.
“…Is that possible?”
“There’s no reason for it to be impossible. The more people are passionate about the ruins of the Voice, the stronger his power will be. If he comes to a dream and manipulates your memory, he can control people.”
Its purpose was to control the world through people. However, it wasn’t a complete disaster. Rather, it provided an opportunity to be strong.
“Then… if I was invited, what about you?”
“I have already been invited.”
“…How do you know you’ve been invited?”
“Shoulder.”
“Shoulder?
I lowered the hem of Epherene’s robe with Psychokinesis, exposing her shoulder and collarbone. Of course, Epherene made a fuss.
“Ahh! Why, why! Why are you doing this?”
“There.”
“This professor went crazy—!”
“…”
I clenched my teeth and waited for her to calm herself.
“Look at your shoulders.”
“…I beg your pardon?!”
“There will be a tattoo.”
Epherene made an opaque magic wall before checking.
“What is this?!”
She yelled when she checked her shoulder. The magic wall disappeared again, and Epherene, with a slightly red face, looked at me.
“Why is this…?”
“The tattoo can set the timing of entry. There is still not enough time for the Voice, so the entrance is only once a week. I’ll let you know later, so be on time with me.”
“…”
Epherene scratched the back of her neck and nodded, avoiding my eyes.
“Yes, yes. Yes, professor.”
* * *
Winter at dawn.
“…!”
Julie awoke.
“Pant, pant, pant, pant….”
It was hard to breathe. Her whole body was covered in a cold sweat, and voices still echoed in her ears.
—Captain, please take revenge for me.
—Captain… I…
They were the voices of Rockfell and Veron, respectively. Rockfell asked for revenge, flailing with his missing limbs, and she could see Deculein’s wood steel lodged in Veron’s heart. She had a nightmare.
“…”
She calmed her pounding heart, forcing herself to meditate. But time wasn’t on her side.
-Knight! This is trouble!
Julie immediately stood. She wiped the sweat from her body with a light cleanse, then equipped herself. She tied back her hair and swung open the door. Immediately, Reylie approached.
“This is a disaster!”
“What happened-“
“Hurry! You can see it for yourself!”
Reylie led Julie to the conference room. There were many knights already meeting inside.
“Hey~, you’re here, Julie?”
“Sit down.”
Gwen welcomed her, but the Imperial knights wouldn’t even make eye contact.
“…This is the landscape described by a scout who made it quite far into Annihilation.”
There was a picture on the board in the conference room. As soon as Julie saw it, her eyes widened.
“The demonic beasts are advancing toward Annihilation. Their number is currently unknown. Their goal is, of course, this barrier.”
Julie couldn’t believe it even as she looked at the picture, but there were too many to count. The Imperial Knight Delric spoke.
“Professor Deculein was right.”
Even though they gathered in this place, they remained skeptical of Deculein’s prediction.
“…What will you do? In a week or so, this mad horde will arrive, and by then, they will be even more starved and ferocious.”
Julie frowned. She knew the meaning behind Delric’s words.
“I am leaving.”
“…Sir Delric.”
Julie stood to restrain him, but Delric shook his head.
“Corrupt knight, be still.”
“…”
She clenched both her fists. A fire blazed inside her.
“It is pointless to hold on at Reccordak. Of course, the Knight Deya will naturally say to endure.”
“No. If things are that bad, at least I’ll tell them to leave with the people of the mountains—”
“Okay. Whatever it is, it’s fine. Anyway…”
Creak-!
The door to the conference room opened again. Everyone jumped up and bowed as Deculein strolled in. He glanced around the conference hall.
“Is this a meeting of only the knights?”
No one answered; there was only silence and stillness. Deculein walked between them and sat down at the table’s head.
“The Knights of Reccordak will soon become empty, too, because there are so many people leaving.”
As he said that, he looked around. Delric, meeting Deculein’s eyes, opened his mouth slowly.
“Are you not going to leave, Professor…?”
“I think I said that from the beginning.”
“…”
Delric turned his head, hiding his expression. A moment later, he glanced back at Deculein with a carefree look.
“But look at this report. Hundreds of knights and thousands of prisoners are not enough. This time it’s different from a Great Tiger. The wave will grow as time goes on, and if it is like this from the first wave, it will be a battle every waking hour.”
Delric was desperately trying to persuade him.
“It is also a quality of life issue. To defend this wall, we will be fighting for a whole month. Even if we don’t die physically, mentally….”
His speech went on for quite some time, listing off his reasonable excuses.
“Hmm. That was a good reason to listen to, Delric.”
Deculein nodded. Delric’s face turned pale, as did the other knights who sympathized with him.
“How many people want to leave?”
At first, no one raised their hand.
“Don’t be afraid to raise your hand.”
But when he spoke the second time, they raised their arms, starting with Delric. Deculein looked at them all and smiled.
“Good. Leave.”
“…”
Delric was relieved. After all, did Deculein feel it was impossible too?
“Yes. If that is the case, then after considering the opinions-“
“But.”
Suddenly, Deculein’s face hardened. No, he was still smiling with his mouth, but his eyes were hard.
“I predicted this with the concept of collision values.”
Deculein spoke in a low, deep voice.
“You should have known that, too.”
One of the characteristics of the villain in novels, and many, many worlds.
“However, the cost invested in the acquisition and development of this prison is astronomical. If you had said you wouldn’t follow me, I wouldn’t have spent it.”
First, he especially hated sunk costs.
“Of course, the extent of the damage is irrelevant, but my title of Chairman is hanging on this wall.”
Second, he was obsessed with honor and power. Wealth was always the ultimate goal of a third-rate villain.
“Of course, I don’t need to be the chairman, but… if there is a knight to leave.”
Third.
“It will be better to think that you won’t be returning to good graces.”
His resentment lasted for years and was strong enough to kill people.
“…What do you think?”
Conversely, this was the advantage of the villain. He could mobilize the manpower he wanted to without the need for forced persuasion like Julie.
“Are you going to leave anyway?”
The smile on Deculein’s lips deepened. In the eyes of the knights of the Imperial Palace, that smile was as evil as a snake’s.
“Or do you want to at least gain honor in death by fighting here?”
Deculein buried himself in his chair. He always maintained the noble and constant dignity of his household, but his next words were quite bloody.
“Think for a day and make a decision. There is no corner of this Empire beyond my reach. There might be an accident on the way to the continent if you leave right away.”
Deculein laughed and stood. All the knights were looking at him, but they didn’t dare to say anything. They only watched his back.
Creak-!
The door closed again, but silence remained heavy over the conference room. Each of the knights looked at the scout’s report with mixed feelings.
[There are too many to count. Roughly speaking, a full march across the horizon of Annihilation.]
“Sigh…”
Delric’s deep sigh filled the air like cigarette smoke.
* * *
Meanwhile, Sophien received a book from Deculein about Go.
“This guy wrote it well.”
She nodded. It was placed on her desk, next to Keiron’s Snow Globe.
“More importantly, Your Majesty. Is it true that the Professor hunted a Great Tiger?”
Sophien stared intently at Kreto sitting before her. This guy came out of nowhere asking about the rumors in the north these days.
“Yes. That’s right.”
“Whoa! As expected!”
“Why are you asking that?”
“Haha. I am currently writing a biography about Professor Deculein.”
“Did you go nuts? The Imperial family writing such things? I’ll tear it apart.”
“Oh~, of course, it’s under a pen name. They won’t know it’s me.”
“…Eh. Moron.”
Sophien shook her head with a dissatisfied expression.
“Oh. Rumors of the wave coming soon are circulating. How’s Professor Deculein?”
“How is he? He must be doing well. I’m busy with the Demon Blood.”
At that, Kreto smiled bitterly. Carefully, he glanced at her.
“But, Your Majesty, why do you hate the Demon Blood so much?”
“…”
Sophien was silent for a moment. She stood still and stared at Kreto.
“There is a reason for my hatred.”
“…Yes. Well, you must have one. Your Majesty is wise. Anyway, didn’t the Professor predict that this wave would be pretty dangerous?”
“Right. He said that it’d be significantly harsher than in previous years. I wonder if that will be true or if he will be dishonored.”
Sophien grinned.
“I like the Professor, but… I hope that prediction will be wrong this time.”
“Be quiet.”
Tap-!
Sophien handed Kreto some documents.
“Deliver these to the Minister of the Interior on the way. You read it too.”
“What is it?”
“It is a policy related to the Demon Blood in the future.”
Kreto read the document with a bitter feeling welling inside him.
“…!”
His heart stopped for a moment.
─Gas chamber resolution. Established from the Bethan concentration camp.
─The matter of the annihilation of the Demon Blood Village.
─Unreported Demon Bloods will be consistently treated as a kill on sight.
“…Also, as the Emperor, I have a letter to deliver to a certain minister.”
Kreto raised his head.
“Yes, yes? A letter?”
“Yes.”
Sophien realized that her letter was a little off. Aside from her writing skills, it was too old-fashioned.
“Give me some help with it and go.”
“…Yes.”
Kreto put the papers he was reading down and nodded. Then, he asked without thinking:
“But, to whom are you sending it?”
“That you don’t need to know!”
“…What?”
But Sophien reacted quite violently.
“It’s the Emperor’s matter, so you don’t need to know!”
Kreto was a little curious, but he quickly answered.
“Yes, yes. All right…”
