Chapter 49
Apostle Ganish
Guided by Gaf, the knights Campbell and Myra entered the reception room.
“I’ll have some tea brought to you, so wait here and make yourselves comfortable.”
After delivering that blunt remark, Gaf left the room.
Campbell and Myra were left alone.
Myra dropped into a chair.
“Can’t you take that helmet off now? Just looking at you makes me feel suffocated.”
Campbell had not removed his visor once since arriving at the lord’s castle. Even after Johan rebuked him, he had stubbornly remained fully armed.
In truth, he had his reasons.
Campbell slowly raised his visor.
“What else can I do when I look like this?”
The revealed face was hideous. Half of it was covered in burn scars.
The gruesome sight might have made others recoil, but Myra did not show the slightest disturbance.
He spoke calmly.
“That scar is a symbol of your loyalty. You should take more pride in it.”
Campbell grumbled.
“I received it while attacking a prince of Milguk in the middle of the night. What exactly is there to be proud of?”
No sooner had he finished speaking than Myra thundered at him.
“Why must you be so careless? What if someone hears you?”
“We’re the only ones here anyway.”
“You fool. If you keep speaking carelessly, you’re bound to make a mistake one day. Don’t wait until it happens to regret it. Always watch your tongue. Understood?”
At Myra’s rebuke, Campbell muttered under his breath.
“There he goes nagging again… I’m not some three-year-old brat.”
“What was that?”
“I understand. I understand, so please stop.”
Myra glared at Campbell before releasing a long sigh.
His expression softened as he spoke in an extremely quiet voice.
“You merely fulfilled your duty as a knight. Thanks to you, the Third Prince fell from grace, and the Seventh Prince gained an opportunity. You should take more pride in what you did.”
The Third Prince was Gawain, while the Seventh Prince was Count Staviana’s maternal grandson.
A shadow fell over Campbell’s face.
“I still remember that day vividly. His Highness’s eyes after he lost control, his wailing, and even the resentment he directed at me. Sometimes he appears in my dreams and makes my heart seize up.”
Four years earlier, Campbell and several other warriors had disguised themselves as assassins and attacked the Third Prince’s palace.
They had been acting on Count Staviana’s orders.
Their objective had been to make the Third Prince, Gawain, lose control.
The operation had ultimately succeeded, and Gawain had been expelled from the palace under the disgraceful label of an unfilial son who had turned against his family.
He had originally been the prince designated to become crown prince.
Myra lightly placed a hand on Campbell’s shoulder.
“Every undertaking requires sacrifices. One day, when His Highness achieves greatness, he will commend you for your efforts. So hold your head high. Take pride in your scar.”
Campbell buried his face in both hands.
“…Whether the Seventh Prince ascends the throne or not, I can never tell anyone the truth about this scar. Whenever someone asks about it, I’ll always have to make up an excuse. Pride? Ha! This scar will bring me shame for the rest of my life. In the end, it’s nothing but the brand of a traitor.”
Campbell had raised his sword against a member of the royal family. Even if the Seventh Prince ascended the throne, that crime would not disappear.
His achievement would never be publicly recognized.
He might have been a knight, but he was no different from a spy lurking in the shadows—a man to whom honor did not exist.
Myra shook his head as though Campbell were hopeless.
“Tsk. If you can stand proudly before yourself, you don’t need anyone else’s recognition. You still have a long way to go.”
“Yes, yes. You’re always right, Brother. This narrow-minded fool honestly doesn’t like our present assignment either. The young baron, was it? Whatever his title is, I don’t understand why we had to come all the way out to this remote backwater just for some brat.”
The invitation could simply have been delivered by a messenger.
There was no reason to send two knights personally.
Myra’s expression grew considerably more serious.
“I would have agreed with you until yesterday, but I see things somewhat differently now. Did the young baron look like an ordinary child to you?”
“Well, that…”
“I saw something different. He was excessively mature and possessed an aura that was difficult to explain. Leaving that kind of impression on another person is no easy feat—especially for a child barely ten years old.”
When Myra had met Johan’s gaze, he had felt a strange pressure.
It had made him feel as though he ought to show Johan sincere respect.
It was a deeply unfamiliar experience.
“So you’re saying the count has already noticed that there’s something unusual about the young baron?”
“Most likely. He probably sent us here to verify his suspicions.”
“But the count has never even met the young baron, has he? Why would he be wary of a mere child, especially an illegitimate one?”
“The moment that boy appeared, the entire situation changed. Krill took his own life, and his forces scattered. And that isn’t all. I hear the people also view the young baron favorably. Apparently, he adjusted the tax rate and dismissed all the noblewomen who had been sent here. Those actions are a devastating blow to the count.”
Count Staviana coveted the Myatro territory.
More precisely, he wanted its treasury—the forbidden archive.
Johan’s existence could not help but be a thorn in his side.
Campbell’s gaze turned cold.
“…Surely we weren’t sent here to dispose of the young baron?”
“You’re getting ahead of yourself. All we need to do is report what we see and learn to the count. However, we should make our report somewhat more substantial.”
“How?”
“Let’s conduct an investigation. The young baron’s upbringing, his relationships, his maternal lineage, and so on. The count will be pleased if we uncover even one noteworthy detail.”
Campbell slowly nodded.
“After hearing your explanation, I finally understand why the count sent us.”
“He likely expects us to exercise our own judgment depending on the circumstances.”
The moment Myra finished speaking, there was a knock at the door.
A maid entered carrying teacups.
Campbell and Myra exchanged glances before changing the subject.
The maid stiffened.
She had seen Campbell’s scars.
***
“If anything feels even slightly strange, close your eyes immediately.”
Johan was surrounded by complex magical equations.
They were part of Ilea’s mental-protection spell—the bare minimum safeguard against an unexpected situation.
“I will, so don’t worry too much.”
“Good. Shall we begin?”
Johan put on the monocle.
Immediately afterward, the world before him transformed completely. Every object in his field of vision became warped, and at the center of that distortion was an enormous rift.
One might have expected him to be overwhelmed by fear of the unknown, but Johan instead felt strangely at peace.
His eyes seemed almost possessed as he stared into the void.
“…This feels peculiar.”
“Johan, are you all right?”
He slowly reached toward the rift.
“There’s no resistance from the rift. Your theory was correct. The rift isn’t forbidden to me.”
Ilea could not even approach the rift.
Johan was different. He felt as though he could enter that void whenever he wished.
He even felt instinctively drawn toward it.
“That’s a relief. Let’s stop here for today.”
They still had no guarantee that the interior of the rift was safe.
Now that they had confirmed the possibility, there was no need to act until they had secured greater safety.
Johan agreed with her reasoning.
“All right…”
Just as he was about to remove the monocle, an immense force of attraction descended upon him.
An irresistible power seized his entire body.
In an instant, he vanished—
Into the pitch-black void.
***
The interior was both bright and dark.
Johan could feel ground beneath his feet, yet it also seemed as though he were hanging upside down with his feet planted against the ceiling.
His vision stretched like rubber before shattering into fragments like broken glass.
A gentle melody and a scream-like ringing assaulted his eardrums simultaneously.
All five of his senses contradicted one another, eating away at his mind.
It was difficult to remain rational.
Just as he felt he was truly about to go insane, an androgynous voice penetrated his ears.
“Now, shall we close our eyes? It will make things a little more comfortable.”
Amid the cacophony, the meaning of the words failed to reach him properly.
“Oh dear. It seems I’ll have to hammer it directly into your brain.”
Johan’s brain began to pound.
『Closeyoureyesyoumustcloseyoureyeshurryitisn’tdifficultifyoujustcloseyoureyesyouwillfeelbettercomeonnowshallweloweryoureyelidsimagineyourselfdriftingintoadeepsleepandgentlyclosebotheyesitisverysimpleeasierthananythingyouhaveeverdone』
At the same time, Johan’s eyelids slowly slid shut.
Every phenomenon that had been destroying his mind melted away like snow.
Surrounded by impenetrable darkness, Johan regained his composure.
The androgynous voice spoke again.
“I will now explain the rules.”
His brain shook once more.
『First: Do not open your eyes.』
『Second: Do not remove the monocle.』
『Third: Do not ask any questions.』
The voice continued.
“Very simple, isn’t it? You must obey them carefully. If you break any of these rules…”
His brain quivered violently.
『Your soul shall lose all reason and wander the Nine Heavens, while your flesh shall be cast underground to become fertilizer for the Abyss.』
The words returned to an ordinary voice.
“I trust you understand. Let us begin with a brief introduction. My name is Ganish. The world knows me as the Second End.”
Ganish, the Second Apostle of the End.
He was a great demon who governed every form of corruption and was a familiar figure to Johan.
“I invited you here. You appeared intent on wasting time discussing safety, so I used a somewhat forceful method. I hope you’ll understand.”
Ganish continued.
“You’re wondering why you were invited, aren’t you? Ah, but you mustn’t ask. Don’t forget the rules. I’ll tell you everything without your having to ask. Why did I summon you? It’s simple. I wanted to help you. By some miracle, a bridge formed between us, allowing us to communicate for a short while. If an opportunity presents itself, shouldn’t we make proper use of it? Taking advantage of this opportunity, I intend to give you what you need most. Can you guess what that might be? A piece of the Great Saint’s corpse.”
A fragment of the Great Saint’s corpse was necessary to corrupt the Holy Spear Espada.
“Espada was a fourth-grade holy relic, was it not? Haha! Goodness, the container is more valuable than its contents in this situation. Sacrificing a first-grade sacred relic to corrupt a fourth-grade holy relic—anyone who heard of it would burst out laughing. I won’t laugh, of course. I understand perfectly well that you have no other choice.”
Johan had no alternatives.
Sacrificing a single person implanted with the sacred relic was preferable to offering two thousand innocent people.
“Here, take it. Be careful—it’s slippery. Don’t squeeze too tightly, either. It might burst. Haha!”
Something soft and squishy settled into Johan’s hand.
“Can you guess what this unpleasant object is? No, you probably can’t. These are the Great Saint’s intestines!”
Naturally, Johan already knew.
Five hundred years ago, Ganish had pierced the Great Saint’s abdomen and torn out his intestines. The demon had preserved them as a medal of honor ever since.
“You don’t seem particularly surprised.”
“I don’t feel much of anything.”
“Ahem.”
Ganish sounded slightly embarrassed.
Johan spoke.
“I don’t know why you’re helping me, and you’ve forbidden me from asking questions. That leaves me with only one thing to say. I’ll put these intestines to good use.”
“Yes, you certainly should. Do you realize what an extraordinary sacred relic they are?”
In truth, the Great Saint’s intestines were among the most useless parts of his body.
The effect gained from implanting them was utterly trivial.
Was it the automatic elimination of feces?
One could call it a clean and sacred power, but it was entirely worthless to Johan.
Still keeping his eyes closed, he spoke.
“If you’re finished, I’d like you to let me out now.”
“…You’re rather impatient.”
“I want to end this one-sided conversation as quickly as possible.”
Johan had countless questions, yet he could not ask a single one.
His instincts warned him not to break the “rules.”
“I understand. I truly understand from the bottom of my heart. However, there is one more item I must give you.”
“Bring it here.”
“Do you think you left it in my keeping?”
“You said yourself that you would give it to me.”
“…Very well. Take it.”
The sensation of tough leather passed into Johan’s hand.
“A mortal wearing this collar can enter and leave the rift just as you can. You need a living sacrifice to place within the corruption circle, don’t you? Snatch anyone you like and bring them here. I’ll draw the corruption circle for you. For reference, the Holy Spear Espada and your corrupted body are both inside this place.”
A living sacrifice was still required to activate the corruption circle, but ordinary mortals could not enter this place.
Even if Johan obtained a sacrifice, he would be unable to place that person within the circle.
This collar solved that problem.
Johan was quite pleased.
“You’re a remarkably good fellow.”
“And you’re far more shameless than I expected.”
“Either way, thank you. I’ll put it to good use.”
“Think nothing of it. It will all return to me one day.”
Nothing in the world was free.
Johan knew that better than anyone.
One day, he would have to pay the price for what he had received today.
“Understood. Now let me out.”
“You truly are… an unusual person. We’ll meet again soon.”
At that moment, Johan’s vision flickered.
He slowly opened his eyes.
Something suddenly threw itself into his arms. Silvery-white hair pressed against his face.
Raguel stumbled toward him and released a relieved sigh.
The ball of fur in Ilea’s arms sprang upward and shouted,
“O Great End! Did you vanquish the entity from another realm? Are those objects in your hands the spoils of battle?”
Johan held a milky-white lump of flesh in one hand and a pitch-black collar in the other.
“…I was worried. Thank you for coming back.”
Ilea’s voice trembled faintly.