Chapter 125

Muel (3)

Blackjaw had captured the Archmage Lumina.

Everyone was stunned by Holy Radiance Azbal’s testimony.

“Th-The Apostle captured the Archmage?”

“Sir Azbal! What in the world do you mean by that?!”

“Please explain what happened in detail!”

Every clergyman in the grand assembly hall was staring at Azbal.

Azbal looked somewhat uncomfortable. All the attention made him feel pressured.

“Ah, well, y’see... How should I explain this...?”

Seeing his discomfort, Director Rohagen spoke up.

“We can hear the details later. For now, let us deal with the crisis at hand.”

Rohagen raised one hand.

Several paladins immediately rushed over and arrested the fallen Archmage.

Azbal spoke again.

“That’s right. We need to stop the summoning ritual first. The ritual’s catalysts haven’t been destroyed yet.”

Rather than listen to every minor detail, they had to deal with the immediate problem first.

Now that the Archmage had been captured, the Church should be able to stop the summoning ritual with relative ease.

Once the ritual was halted, the kingdom’s people would no longer have to abandon their homeland.

The Apostle had made that possible.

Everyone gathered in the assembly hall was utterly bewildered by the situation, but they set their questions aside and sprang into action.

They headed straight toward the center of the ritual array.

The operation to destroy the catalysts began.

They had approximately forty minutes left before the deadline.

***

The sky gradually brightened.

The capital had been bustling since the early hours of dawn.

As always, everyone was moving about in a frenzy.

There was only one difference.

The reason they were so busy.

Ordinarily, people were busy from dawn because of their livelihoods. Today, however, everyone was scrambling because of what had happened the night before.

Once the evacuation order was rescinded, the residents who had fled began returning to the capital one by one.

Besides the capital’s residents, countless nobles and clergymen continued to arrive from every corner of the kingdom.

It was because an emergency session of both the Royal Council and the Council was being convened.

The area before the city gates was packed to bursting.

Things were just as chaotic inside the capital.

Priests, recruits, inquisitors, bishops, paladins, and more—regardless of rank or status, every member of the clergy was participating in a massive operation to remove the remnants of the summoning ritual.

In addition, the Church assembled a special task force to pursue the Apostle who had appeared the previous night.

Of course, no trace of the Thirteenth End could be found anywhere.

He had already transformed back into a human.

Johan was just as busy as everyone else in the capital.

As soon as the sun rose, he went straight to the royal palace for a private audience with King Roderick.

Inside a reception room in the royal palace, Roderick’s eyes trembled as he stared at Johan.

Johan had yet to utter a single word.

He had merely been staring intently at Roderick.

Roderick felt as though he were sitting on a bed of thorns.

Unable to endure the discomfort any longer, the king spoke first.

“...Watcher of Narak, just what are you?”

The fake Johan—Ilea—had undoubtedly been dragged into another dimension by Lumina’s magic the night before.

The moment he disappeared, the Apostle appeared before the king, and Muel’s summoning ritual commenced soon afterward.

Absurdly enough, the one who had stopped that catastrophe was the Apostle himself.

After that chain of events, Johan had returned to see Roderick.

Roderick could not understand a single thing that was happening.

The king was nothing more than a puppet.

After silently watching him, Johan slowly opened his mouth.

“Roderick, I see there is still some life left in those eyes of yours.”

Roderick’s aged mind and body were being sustained by Muel’s pure-white demonic energy.

Even now, after Lumina—Muel’s contractor—had been arrested, demonic energy remained within Roderick’s body.

It was probably being maintained because Lumina had not yet died.

The instant Lumina died, Roderick would lose his vitality as well.

The king would inevitably return to being a feeble old man.

Roderick said,

“This vitality belongs solely to me! Abandon any thought of taking it from me again!”

The night before, the fake Johan—Ilea—had temporarily extracted the demonic energy from Roderick’s body.

The experience had been utterly horrifying for him.

The king would rather die than lose Muel’s demonic energy.

He did not want to return to being a foolish, frail creature.

Johan gave a faint laugh.

“You will not be able to keep Muel’s demonic energy anyway. The instant Lumina dies, that vitality will disappear as well.”

The interrogation of Archmage Lumina would soon begin.

As the mastermind behind the previous night’s incident, she would have to pay the appropriate price.

She would probably lose her life after a brutal round of torture.

Naturally, Muel’s demonic energy would vanish as well.

Despair clouded Roderick’s eyes.

“No. I do not want to return to how I was before. Watcher of Narak, you should be able to help me. Please protect Lumina!”

Johan’s lips curled into a long smile.

‘He is sharper than I thought.’

The king knew exactly what he had to do to survive.

He needed to join hands with Johan, the one holding all the leverage.

Johan already had Count Staviana’s power behind him. If the authority of the royal family were added to that, he could undoubtedly prevent Lumina’s death.

“Why should I save Lumina’s life?”

Roderick spoke with a desperate expression.

“We know each other’s secrets. Both of us have joined hands with demons. Do you think you will remain unharmed if I fall? I will never die alone.”

The king believed that Johan was the Apostle’s subordinate.

Roderick’s conjecture was wrong, but Johan saw no reason to correct him.

Johan chuckled.

“You fool. Our situations are entirely different. The difference lies in whether evidence exists. Your name will undoubtedly come out of Lumina’s mouth, but what about mine? Do you truly think she will speak about me?”

In practical terms, Johan had nothing to do with this incident.

Even if Lumina mentioned him, there was no evidence connecting him to it.

King Roderick was different.

Muel’s demonic energy was undeniably flowing through his body.

No matter how thoroughly refined it was, the Church would inevitably discover its true nature if they examined him closely.

“Y-You will still have to accept some degree of risk.”

Johan shrugged.

“Well, it is a risk I can easily handle.”

“But...”

Johan clicked his tongue and abruptly cut him off.

“Roderick, you witless king. This is not the time for threats. You should bow your head and ask to negotiate. I am the one holding the knife by the handle. Do you truly think your intimidation will work on me?”

Roderick swallowed dryly.

“N-Negotiate. Yes, let us negotiate. We should help each other. First, save Lumina’s life.”

“And what can you give me in return?”

The king’s eyes darted about.

After a brief moment, he spoke.

“From this moment onward, the royal family will support House Myatro at every turn.”

It was not a bad offer.

If Johan, who already had the count’s power behind him, also gained the authority of the royal family, he would become truly omnipotent.

No one in the kingdom would be able to resist him.

Johan replied with an indifferent expression.

“That does not particularly appeal to me. Why don’t you make a more generous offer?”

Johan intended to strip the king of everything while he had the chance.

“T-Then tell me what you want.”

Johan pretended to contemplate the matter.

In truth, he had already decided upon his answer.

After deliberately pausing for a moment, he said,

“Instead of merely supporting me, why don’t you become my hands and feet?”

The king’s expression stiffened.

He stared blankly at Johan before suddenly slamming his fist against the armrest.

“Do you truly possess not even the slightest sense of propriety?!”

Johan showed the king no respect whatsoever. Ever since gaining leverage over him, he had spoken down to him without hesitation.

Now he intended to make him a slave.

No ruler in history had ever treated the sovereign of a nation in such a manner.

At the very least, they would offer him the bare minimum of courtesy.

Johan was different.

He did not even consider the king to be a king.

Johan spoke with a calm expression.

“If you refuse, then so be it. Roderick, lose that vitality, waste away in sickness, and die. Future generations will remember you not only as an incompetent king, but also as an apostate who bargained with a demon.”

Roderick had been driven into a corner.

If he did not join hands with Johan, he could not protect Lumina.

Roderick had no choice.

He had to become Johan’s slave.

Yet he could not bring himself to accept so readily.

It was because of the pride he held as royalty—someone born as the most exalted of men and treated more preciously than anyone else.

Roderick glared at Johan, trembling violently.

Tears pooled in his eyes.

The king had never felt so humiliated.

“...One day, I will repay you for this humiliation.”

Johan chuckled and rose from his seat.

“I will give you some time, so think it over carefully. Your deadline is the Royal Council meeting this evening.”

All the initial decisions concerning the previous night’s incident would be made during that meeting.

Johan also intended to determine his future course of action based on its outcome.

He rose fully from his chair.

Roderick spoke in a hoarse, burning voice.

“O-Our discussion is not over yet. Where do you think you are going?”

Johan gave a mocking smile.

“Unlike you, I have many people to meet. Send a messenger once you have made up your mind.”

He immediately left the reception room.

King Roderick stared at Johan’s retreating back, his body convulsing with rage.

Count Staviana had departed for the capital as soon as he heard the news.

The matter was so urgent that he had not even taken a carriage.

He had ridden hard alongside several knights.

Exactly ten hours later, the count arrived in the capital.

The moment he entered the city, he headed for Baron Myatro’s residence.

Every eye in the capital followed the count’s movements.

Whispers arose from every direction.

“He went to meet the baron before even requesting an audience with His Majesty.”

“There must indeed be something between His Excellency and the Watcher.”

The count did not spare them so much as a glance.

Ignoring everyone who approached to greet him, he went to see Johan.

The count entered the study of the baronial residence.

Johan glanced at him before returning his gaze to the letter in his hands.

The count spoke first.

“You have caused quite a commotion. Was all of this your doing?”

The entire capital had been turned upside down.

In the count’s mind, Johan was the only person capable of planning something like this.

Johan muttered expressionlessly,

“Well, not exactly. It would be difficult to call me the mastermind when I was also a victim.”

It was an exceedingly difficult situation to explain.

The count furrowed his brow slightly.

“What in the world are you talking about? Explain it in a way I can understand.”

Johan merely continued staring at the letter in silence.

“Hmm.”

When Johan let out a thoughtful hum, the count sighed and stepped closer.

“What have you been studying so intently?”

Johan casually held the letter out to him.

—I accept all of your terms.

The royal seal had been stamped at the bottom.

When the count tilted his head in confusion, Johan chuckled and said,

“The king has become my slave. Count, in addition to your power, I now have the king’s authority behind me.”

The count stared at the letter for a moment before saying expressionlessly,

“Then the day I see Yeriyan again has drawn much closer.”

Johan nodded.

“That is correct.”