“Oh dear, as expected, a seasoned knight like you is different. But my role is over now. Now, to that person..…”
The young man burst into wild laughter and opened his mouth wide. At the same time, a bizarre black jelly-like substance began gushing out of his mouth like a waterfall.
“Ugh!”
“Everyone, stay calm and hold your defenses!”
Geloic, who shouted at the agitated knights, grasped the gravity of the situation and quickly strengthened the defensive barrier around the building.
Soon, the black substance that had flowed from the young man’s mouth completely engulfed his body.
Boom!
A massive explosion shook the space.
It was as if the black substance had turned into explosives and ruptured violently, sending a shockwave that shook the entire area.
“Ugh, cough…..”
“Commander Geloic!”
Despite the protection offered by the knights’ collective defenses, only Geloic had fully braced for the impact. Single-handedly, he prevented the building from collapsing, shielding the less experienced knights from the worst of the blast.
Seeing the blood pouring from Geloic as a result of the blast, the knights fell into panic.
“H-Hurry, someone get a healer!”
“Commander, Commander!”
“……I’m fine… Everyone, remain calm.”
Wiping away the blood, Geloic steadily gave instructions.
“Contact the Mage Tower… Request an immediate emergency investigation of the remaining debris. Next, you..…”
This was a form of self-destruction unlike anything they had seen before.
The investigations had been thorough; they had confirmed there were no poisons or magical devices in the captured terrorist’s mouth. It had also been verified that he possessed no magical power whatsoever.
Therefore, the tentative conclusion had been that he was not the one who summoned the demonic creatures, and there was another accomplice who had yet to be captured.
And yet, how could one possibly explain that recent explosive suicide without any magic?
The only trace left behind was the pitch-black, sticky-looking substance. Nothing remained that could even be identified as the young man’s corpse. And on top of that, his complete lack of fear toward death. To carry out a suicide bombing without a moment’s hesitation was absurd.
‘Oh, God of Heaven…’
Suppressing a sense of foreboding, Geloic unknowingly called out to God.
Though the young man who caused the whole mess was dead, he had a feeling this terrorist attack was far from the end.
* * *
Gustav, leaning against the bed in the medical room, let out a sigh as he felt the tremor from the distant explosion.
It seemed that the deranged young man he had encountered had finally gone so far as to sacrifice himself to cause the blast.
‘Commander Geloic managed to contain the damage.’
But in the end, ‘they’ had already achieved their goal. This terrorist attack was just a means to an end.
He had heard that such a plan was devised beforehand, as Plan B in case they were caught, but he hadn’t expected they would truly sacrifice lives so easily just to destroy the evidence.
‘Those fanatics…’
Even Gustav didn’t fully understand the true nature of《The Darkness Flowing Through the Sky》. All he knew was that it was a pseudo-religious group secretly supported by certain nobles within the Second Prince’s faction, including Count Rentorich.
The nobles, who had amassed wealth by exploiting a ‘mysterious power’ that rivaled even magic, had one goal.
To weaken the imperial authority, and to place the Second Prince on the throne as a puppet, solidifying the wealth and influence amongst the high nobility.
《The Darkness Flowing Through the Sky》also had a nebulous aim of ‘revealing the foolish world’s true form,’ but ultimately, their interests aligned completely with those of the nobles.
No matter how successfully the attack had been subdued without casualties, the Royal Family would lose its authority due to the sheer audacity of the terrorism.
‘They also have something else in mind, switching bodies with me for magical purposes, but it seems that part has already been achieved.’
Whether Gustav, inhabiting that young man’s body, was captured or not didn’t matter to them from the start. More than the terror act itself, what truly mattered was uncovering the whereabouts of the elusive ‘Phantom Thief Heilbronner’, a figure they deeply feared, and infiltrating the knight order through Gustav.
Even the terror attack that had thrown the entire city into chaos was merely a tool in their greater scheme.
He felt a chill at the thought of how far they were willing to go for their cult-like delusions, but that wasn’t what truly mattered.
‘Clara…’
Gustav had stepped into this dangerous world through Count Rentorich for one reason only, to make Clara Weyburn his.
But Clara…
She was getting engaged to Ludger Kassen.
His lips bled as he bit down hard, the bitter taste flooding his senses.
How naïve he had been.
He thought he knew Clara Weyburn better than anyone. He believed that a proud woman like her would never surrender herself to another man, even if it was a noble.
In the end, she would have no choice but to return to Gustav Mayr.
She had been in love with him for a long time, but had continually denied those feelings.
‘But Ludger Kassen is the greater shock.’
Though Gustav was a fool for being manipulated by Count Rentorich, Ludger Kassen was still a high-ranking noble. And yet, for him to be engaged to a commoner knight without any sense of reality was truly baffling.
This engagement situation was truly absurd.
Gustav’s violet eyes darkened sharply.
‘Clara, you may have disappointed me, but I will not let you go.’
The fact that she had decided to set aside her pride and become engaged to the Young Duke Kassen was incredibly shocking and disappointing.
But he would never give up.
His love for her was too deep and genuine.
Whether Clara Weyburn had become materialistic, rebellious, or even corrupt…
Gustav Mayr’s love for her would not waver.
‘I can’t turn back now, regardless. This might even be a blessing in disguise.’
Count Rentorich would soon make his move to reclaim the Dukedom of Kassen.
In that process, Count Rentorich’s nephew, Ludger Kassen, would either lose his life or, at best, fall into ruin as a useless shell with neither money nor power.
Their engagement would become meaningless.
‘Before that, I hope you’ll return to me, Clara. But even if you don’t…’
Ludger Kassen’s downfall was a foregone conclusion.
If Clara suffered more in the process… it would be his responsibility to shield and comfort her.
Where else could one find such a profound and devoted love?
Gustav chuckled to himself.
* * *
‘He really was insane…..’
The incident of the imposter, who had been captured and then committed suicide, left a ripples throughout the kingdom.
The madman’s final words were enough to be interpreted as the mindset of a subversive criminal, attempting to overthrow the Empire. It seemed that the higher-ups would not let this matter slide.
The Diamond Knights would soon form a dedicated task force to investigate and dig deeper into the matter from now on.
Needless to say, the aftermath had become even more of a mess because of that madman. Our knight order also took turns staying up all night, putting in every effort and sifting through the evidence.
However, nothing that could serve as a major clue came up. Even the Mage Tower thoroughly investigated the remains of the demonic creatures, and the traces left by the terrorist, but it seemed there was no sign of magic whatsoever.
‘Of course, because it’s black magic.’
A vague memory of the original story surfaced. Though called ‘black magic’, it was said to be entirely different in structure from modern magic. Much like how healing power used by healers is distinct from actual magic.
To put it metaphorically, if magic was chemistry, then black magic was on the level of physics, a completely different category. Trying to identify something caused by quantum mechanics with a litmus test would be pointless. It was the same principle here.
But the events had already unfolded in plain sight.
An immense power with unknown principles always had a way of driving fear into people. The Royal Family was bound to pressure the Mage Tower, desperate to uncover the cause by any means necessary.
Even though the perpetrator was gone, there was no way something this enormous didn’t have a hidden agenda behind it.
‘And in truth… that’s probably exactly the case.’
The Diamond Knights were likely in for some rough days ahead.
“Everyone, go home early today… You’ve all been through a lot.”
“Are you sure that’s okay, Captain?”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. I double-checked the reports, and the higher-ups haven’t said anything. Leaving a bit early today won’t kill anyone.”
“Uwahhh… I’ll see you tomorrow, Captain.”
“Clara, you take it easy too.”
“Got it.”
Well, anyway, since our knight order didn’t get hit as hard as the Diamond Knights, we were at least able to regain some semblance of normalcy within a week.
I stretched and grabbed my cloak. Even though I had said I was going to rest, there was something more pressing.
Today was the day… the day I had promised to sign the engagement contract with Ludger.
‘Once I sign it, there’s no turning back..…’
