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Chapter 155

"Why is that name coming up all of a sudden here?"

"No matter what I think about it, it\'s morning right now. Even if I\'m mistaken about the time...."

Ian, who was still staring at the sky, shrugged his shoulders.

"It should be brighter than this."

"Are you saying the sun... isn\'t rising...?"

"Rather, it looks more like the sun is being blocked."

Philip, with his mouth hanging open, looked up at the sky.

Mev, who had been listening, spoke up. "For the Count to be behind this, the scale is too large."

"That\'s right."

"Was it the death of that vampire that made them realize...."

"Who knows? It seemed like even the Empress couldn\'t completely monitor the clan."

Ian clicked his tongue briefly and added.

"It wouldn\'t be strange to have issued an order to report immediately if anything unusual happens in the territory. That would also roughly explain why the Count isn\'t following.”

Naturally, the count would want to avenge his son\'s death. However, the fact that no attack has occurred yet is likely due to the Empress\'s influence. She must have deemed it a suicidal act and forbidden it.

Nodding in agreement, Mev looked at Ian with a vacant expression as Philip added.

"Ultimately... it\'s just speculation, right?"

"Yes."

"Then it could simply be that today is particularly cloudy, and the Count is just delayed because he\'s requesting support from other vampires... right?"

Your optimism is quite detailed.

Ian chuckled through his nose and replied.

"Yes."

It was clear that his answer didn\'t provide much comfort to Philip.

Philip also knew that his words were merely wishful thinking.

"Ha... Oh, Lu Solar..." Philip sighed as he climbed out of the carriage seat.

Ian shrugged as he handed over the reins.

"We\'ll know for sure if we keep watching. Don\'t lose hope."

***

Of course, even after several more hours, nothing had changed. The sky was still gloomy. The surroundings were still dark. It felt as if time had stopped somewhere between night and morning.

"...I simply cannot understand it."

Philip muttered, his expression as dark as the weather.

"No matter how you look at it, this isn\'t a change that\'s happened only around here. It\'s likely that all of Lu Sard has been affected. Such a vast demonic realm... it\'s unbelievable."

Charlotte, who was lying on top of the carriage roof, chuckled softly.

"Why is it unbelievable? The Black Wall does exist, after all."

"...Ah." Philip\'s face froze as he was struck by the realization.

"We can just confirm if a demonic realm has opened." Ian, who was sitting on a chair spinning an empty bottle between his fingers, muttered.

Philip turned to him with a questioning look.

Ian nodded his chin. "You have a holy artifact, and Sir Riurel has the sacred mark."

"Aha...!"

"I\'m no longer useful in that regard. My sacred mark only resonates with the vow of vengeance." Mev said.

Philip, who had turned sharply to look at her, clasped his hands together and spoke.

"Don\'t worry. I\'ll confirm it."

Phillip soon bowed his head and recited a prayer. It was the most common prayer, something about illuminating the darkness and shining brightly on all things in the world. But the effect was clear. A faint light emanated from Phillip\'s grasp.

...He might become a paladin at this rate.

An absurd thought popped into Ian’s mind.

"I can feel it...!" Philip, having finished his prayer, opened his eyes wide, as if the earlier pious demeanor had been a lie.

"It\'s much fainter than usual, but the Goddess\'s touch is here. The holy power is also present in the relic."

"Then either the demonic realm hasn\'t fully formed yet, or this could be some kind of barrier," Ian muttered, recalling the darkness that followed Tahumrit.

Philip blinked.

"A barrier is magic, isn\'t it? Is it possible to cast it over such a large area?"

“Not sure. But the opponent is a demon. This is their territory. What they can do within this place, only the Empress herself would know for sure.”

Nodding in agreement, Mev spoke up. “Even so, it\'s surprising. Doing such a thing would surely reach the ears of the order. ...Well, I suppose they must be prepared for that to face the Dragonslayer.”

That damn Dragonslayer.

Ian clicked his tongue and added.

“They might have a backing that allows them to do this.”

“Backing...?”

“You mentioned that there are people supporting them from behind.”

Mev\'s brows furrowed. “Someone to stop the order... So, you\'re saying there’s an insider within the order?”

“There are quite a few corrupted ones posing as priests,” Ian added nonchalantly.

Neither Mev nor Philip could deny it. After all, the person they suspected to be behind the corrupted ones was also a priest.

Finally, Mev spoke again. “You mentioned before that you had a guess about who was behind the vampires. Now, would you tell us?”

“Do I really need to tell you now?”

Mev nodded. Philip, too, looked at him, seemingly trying to forget his anxiety. The sound of Charlotte\'s growling breath followed. Indeed, this was something even Charlotte hadn\'t been told in detail before.

Ian, licking his lips, spoke.

“The Empress herself hinted at the existence of the one behind it. Of course, I did throw out the bait, but anyway. And the ones presumed to be behind it, their names were given to me by the Platinum Dragon.”

“Lu Solar... My goodness.”

Philip sighed, hurriedly covering his mouth, and added. “I\'m sorry. I never imagined that name would come up here. I’ll keep quiet. Please continue.”

“...There are those who believe that instead of restoring the balance of a tilted world, it\'s better to destroy it completely and start anew.”

Mev\'s eyes narrowed. She spoke cautiously. “Sorry to interrupt, but did they perhaps call it a new order?”

“I didn’t hear that specifically, but there are some similarities.”

Mev and Philip exchanged glances. It seemed like an unconscious act. Then Mev turned back to Ian and added with a thirst in her voice.

“So...?”

“They call themselves the Round Table Parliament. They never reveal their identity to the outside world, but their reach extends everywhere.”

Although I was the one who mentioned it first.

Thinking this, Ian casually continued. It was much easier to attribute his knowledge to Archeas than to make up a lie about how he knew that name.

“Round Table Parliament....”

Mev murmured, repeating the name, then looked at Ian.

"Then, the mission you\'re carrying out must also be related to them."

“Yes.”

Ian shrugged and added. “As I said, it’s presumed that one of their members or their lackeys is supporting the vampire clan. Although there’s no evidence. If we succeed in killing the Empress, we might find something. Maybe... even more than that.”

“...You said something similar before. Do you think there’s an agent of the Round Table Parliament here?” Philip asked hesitantly.

Ian replied calmly. “I don’t know. I just thought the Empress might have sought their help. If that’s true, it would be great. We might get to hear directly about them.”

“...They wouldn\'t be ordinary dangerous individuals.”

“Obviously.”

“...”

While Philip swallowed hard, Mev added, “Do you know anything about their scale or members?”

“Not at all.”

“I see... Well... It’s possible that we are chasing the same thing. I have a feeling that at the end of the connections Philip and I are following, there may be someone directly associated with them.”

“I have a similar thought.”

At Ian’s indifferent response, Mev nodded.

“There’s one more reason for us to work together. We might get important information about the corrupted ones’ backers.”

“Again, it’s just speculation. They might be a completely separate faction.”

“Even so, it doesn’t change anything. Even if it’s unrelated to my fundamental revenge, as a paladin, it’s not something I can ignore.”

“If you say so.”

At least the motivation is clear.

While Ian nodded, Philip also let out a peculiar smile.

“I don’t know if this is something someone like me can handle, but at least I know now is not the time to be dazed. In that sense....”

He pulled out a map from his bosom.

“I’ll do what I can. We should re-examine the route to Glumir.”

“Do you know where we are?”

“Didn’t the vampire mention Dalrihol? We have enough clues. I’ll do my best to ensure we reach Glumir safely.”

Finishing his words, Philip unfolded the map and turned his gaze to it. Ian, who had been watching Philip’s back for a moment, chuckled and took out the Magic Stone Lamp from his pocket dimension. The dim light from the magic lamp illuminated Philip\'s map.

***

The group\'s journey continued without pause. Since they couldn’t tell the time, they decided to consider the time until the horses were exhausted as a day. Almost two days had passed this way.

“I hope today passes without any trouble as well.”

Philip spoke as he tied the horse, separated from the carriage to a tree. The edge of the forest, not far from the stream, was their campsite for the night. Ian, instead of replying, threw a small flame onto the pile of wood. A gentle warmth spread with the light. The group started the campfire again.

Considering that the Vampire Empress was likely aware of their intrusion, they saw no reason not to light a campfire. If she wanted to find them, she would do so regardless.

“It’s actually more unsettling because nothing’s happened,” Philip added as he sat by the campfire.

Mev, who was oiling her freshly sharpened sword, nodded slightly. “Don’t waste your energy on things that haven’t happened yet. Focus on resting while you can.”

“Yes. Ah, are you two planning to sleep first again tonight?”

“That would be...” Mev stopped speaking abruptly.

Charlotte had suddenly placed a finger in front of her own lips.

Staring intently downstream, Charlotte murmured. “We have visitors tonight.”

Philip, who was chewing on jerky, froze. Ian, who was organizing the inside of the carriage, turned to look at her.

“Is it them?”

The corrupted magic mixed with the dark clouds was disturbing Ian’s Intuition. Charlotte’s detection ability was the best among the group at the moment.

“Judging by the breathing, it seems to be animals. Not many.”

“Hungry wild beasts, perhaps....” Mev murmured.

Before long, Ian also began to hear faint footsteps and breathing.

“...?” He tilted his head slightly. Even if they were starving, the fact that they were running straight toward a campsite with a campfire was peculiar. The question was resolved the moment three pairs of red eyes appeared beyond the grass by the stream.

“They’re not just wild beasts,” Ian muttered.

Seeing the three wolves charging through the grass, Philip quickly strapped the shield to his arm. Charlotte, who had drawn her sword, sprang up like a spring.

“Stay and rest. I’ll handle this.”

Without waiting for a response, she launched herself forward. The wolves were cut down by Charlotte\'s sword before they could reach the campsite. It happened in the blink of an eye.

Charlotte, returning and shaking the blood off her sword, murmured. “They didn’t even glance at me. Didn’t even let out a groan.”

Philip, chewing on his jerky, responded. “Do you think they were sent to locate us?”

“...More like they were sent to die by our hands from the start.” It was Ian, sitting beside the carriage, who answered.

He stood up and, passing the campfire, added. “Looks like someone has something to say to me.”

“What do you mean...?”

Philip’s gaze followed Ian\'s direction. At the edge of the darkness, where the firelight barely reached, something wriggling and oozing came into view. He furrowed his brow for a moment.

“...!?” Philip\'s eyes widened as he realized what it was. The guts of the wolves Charlotte had killed were writhing and gathering as if alive.

“What is that?” Mev murmured, watching the intestines clump together.

Since Ian was approaching, she just observed. Otherwise, she would have rushed over and stomped on them immediately.

“It’s the Empress,” Charlotte answered.

As Mev turned to look, Philip, who had been standing dumbfounded, finally sighed.

“The Empress... you say...?”

“She used to communicate with Ian in a similar way. Seems like she has something to say again.”

“Something to say...” Muttering, Mev turned her head back to the darkness where the sticky sound was spreading.

By now, the intestines had formed a large, grotesque mass. Looking closely, it was a horrifyingly sculpted face. The entire face kept writhing, and the sticky sheen on the surface glistened with each movement. The intestine-formed lips twitched next.

“You’ve come all the way here, Ian.”

“Oh, Lu Solar...” Philip muttered, closing his eyes at the voice that scratched at his eardrums.

In contrast, Ian’s voice remained calm and indifferent.

“We’ll see each other face to face in a few days anyway. No need to be troublesome.”

“That’s precisely why. We might meet in a few days.” The head, smiling, paused for a moment. It was a gentle smile, but to the observer, it was simply disgusting.

“First, I must say I’m impressed, Ian. I was so surprised at first. To come this deep while avoiding my sight. How did you even find my location?”

“I didn’t know. I just had a suspicion. Seems like I was right, wasn\'t I?”

“You moved without certainty...?”

A sound like bubbles popping emanated from the head. Mev realized it was laughter.

"You were planning to wander around until you found me. Your confidence is still impressive. Well, that\'s why you came here with only four people, right? Even though you knew I would be ready to meet you."

"You have no idea how disgusting your voice sounds right now. Get to the point. Unless you want your head to explode again."

"...I\'d rather that not happen. As I said before, the preparation for this spell takes quite a long time. Anyway, fine. I\'ll get to the point."

The head, wearing another grotesque smile, added, "How about we call it a truce here, Ian?"