by Fuse
Now they were at the Inner Cloister, a sacred mountain looming in the center of the Holy Empire of Lubelius. The Holy Church headquarters was at the foot of it; proceed straight through its grounds, and you’ll find the Holy Temple, which houses the cathedral that connects to the mountain’s entrance. Beyond it and up the path, the Inner Cloister loomed ahead.
This was the holiest and most forbidden place in all of Lubelius, even more so than the Holy Emperor’s official chambers.
Relaxing there was the demon lord Valentine—or rather, Luminus—as she recounted the previous night’s events, clearly peeved.
“So that’s all of it. That annoying dragon simply insists on getting in my way at every possible moment!”
Hinata’s first reporting of Roy’s death only added to her anger. “Such a stupid child,” she murmured in reply, betraying no emotion whatsoever as she entered the Inner Cloister, just as regal as always. She seemed coolheaded enough as she described the Walpurgis Council, but when she reached the point where Veldora revealed her true identity, her well-defined, beautiful features reddened with anger. It was overpowering to her audience as she let out all her pent-up emotion.
“And look at Roy, too! I could’ve revived him as long as I was within sight of him, but noooo…”
“My brother is happy, Lady Luminus. That is all that needs to be considered—”
“Silence! This sounds like I practically led Roy by the hand to his death!”
“No, my lady. It is my brother Roy’s fault for failing to live up to your expectations.”
“But…”
If any one factor was involved, it was bad luck. Everyone in the Cloister knew it wasn’t their fault.
“I apologize,” Hinata said. “I let that intruder go, and Roy…”
“So be it,” replied Luminus, face tightened as she looked at her and Louis. “You merely followed my orders. I am the one who deserves the blame. But we don’t have the time to mourn for him now. The dragon is revived, and we have a new demon lord in Rimuru. That is the undeniable truth, and we must decide how to handle it.”
“Yes, my lady.”
“I understand.”
Hinata and Louis nodded. This question would decide the entire direction the Holy Empire would go in the future.
“I would like to defeat Veldora for you,” Hinata offered.
“Hinata,” Luminus coldly replied, “you have grown stronger, yes, much stronger than when you fought me. You are well past the Seven Days and on your way to equaling my level. But even if you can defeat the demon lord Rimuru, you will never defeat Veldora.”
“She is right, Hinata. That is how fearsome a presence the dragon is. A true Catastrophe.”
Louis, who was there for that dragon’s previous rampages, agreed readily with Luminus.
“He is that powerful? But didn’t the Hero seal him away?”
If a human did it once before, Hinata reasoned, it could always happen again. Luminus and Louis immediately brushed it off.
“Look, Hinata. That dragon is a form of natural energy in itself. Perhaps you could use magic to quell a raging gale, yes, but that dragon has its own free will. It cannot be cut with a sword or affected by magic. When he flies into a rage, the shock waves will ravage the earth, far more so than any of our puny magic.”
The thought seemed to genuinely dismay Luminus. Louis nodded in agreement, his face pale as if he had just recalled an ugly memory.
“It was truly a nightmare,” he said. “Ah, that ever so beautiful Nightrose Castle, turned into an unrecognizable pile of ashes…”
“Don’t remind me of it, Louis. That castle was the culmination of vampire knowledge and science, and now it exists only in our memories. There is no use in craving what we cannot have.”
“Quite true.”
The exchange taught Hinata just how dangerous this Veldora was. But…if it comes to it, she quietly swore to herself, I will kill him.
Then she realized something else. The whole reason the Inner Cloister was atop this holy mountain. It was to prepare for a potential Veldora attack, wasn’t it? So she could constantly observe the skies and stop him before he arrives. Nightgarden, the main city in the Holy Empire, was located entirely underground for that reason as well—to prevent dragon invasions, to keep the casualties to a minimum in a fight. That was how wary Luminus was of this Storm Dragon.
“Hinata, please restrain yourself. I do not wish to lose you, too.”
And if Luminus put it that strongly to her, she had no option but to nod back.
Now, her mishandling of that encounter with Rimuru was sticking in her throat like a sewing needle. Labeling him a monster and ignoring his attempts at conversation were both mistakes. Not in terms of what her faith taught her, or so she wanted to think, but still, her actions had led directly to this current situation. If that was what the Eastern merchants had wanted, then Hinata had fallen for it hook, line, and sinker.
How distasteful. Giving me that information when they knew exactly how I would react. Or perhaps they have an informant of their own?
It was hard for her to believe, but Hinata could imagine someone in the Church working with those merchants. They may know all about their preparations for the angels by now—and maybe that was why they pointed her in Rimuru’s direction, to take him out for them. A mole in the Church had to be something for consideration—but for now, such a thought had to be left to simmer. There were other problems to deal with.
“Very well. But…what will we do about Rimuru now, as demon lord?”
“We have no choice but to let him be. The Church has yet to declare him a divine enemy yet, fortunately.”
“No, but…”
“Is there a problem?”
“…There is. I fear the city and highways the monsters are building could cause the angels to invade more quickly.”
“Ah yes, there was that. Having those little insects flitting around is annoying enough, although making the demon lord Rimuru and the Storm Dragon Veldora our enemies would be much worse. But if they attract more attention for us, they’ll become the angels’ main target, I imagine. Either way, not much point thinking about it now.”
To Luminus, the angels were all but worthless. Hinata, understanding that, voiced her agreement.
Beyond that, there was another problem:
“There is also the fact that their town… It turns the concept of monsters being humanity’s common enemy, one of Luminism’s core tenets, on its head.”
The question made Luminus visibly scowl. She mulled it over a moment. This was no longer an easily quashed threat, but if they let their religious tenets be defanged like this, they would lose their validity—and their appeal to the masses. The faith they had spent the last thousand years building would be lost, and that could not be allowed to pass.
“Perhaps,” Louis suggested, “he could serve as a useful accomplice for us? As an evil demon lord?”
It was a thought he had shared with Hinata earlier—let Rimuru serve as a propaganda heel, much like how Roy acted as demon lord. But as Hinata expected, Luminus was less than enthusiastic.
“That could not happen. Rimuru, this new demon lord… He just wants to have fun living in his own little nation. That’s all. He’s going right up to our faces and declaring that he’ll give the humans all the protection they want. Because he needs their help. He said it himself. ‘Anyone who gets in the way of that, whether a person or a demon lord or the Holy Church, is my enemy.’”
She let out a forlorn sigh.
“If only he wasn’t mingling with the human race all the time, Louis, that would be such a good idea,” she said with frustration.
And Hinata realized, once and for all, that Rimuru wasn’t lying. He really was a transfer from another world. But it was too late to act on that.
She was fully aware that she had acted on incorrect assumptions, fueled by her lack of interest in listening to others. It was a bad habit, and it just blew up in her face big-ti
me. At least nobody seemed to know that the god Luminus was the same person as the demon lord Valentine yet. If worse came to worst, only her own life would be forfeit.
“For now, then, all we can do is sit and watch.”
“You’re right. Simply hold ourselves as we always do. No brash moves. The more excuses we make, the more we may entangle ourselves. Our only responsibility is giving our faithful across the world the truth—Veldora, the Storm Dragon, is back.”
“And what about Rimuru?”
As Hinata brooded, Luminus and Louis were already deciding on their future policies.
“Yes… Well, Rimuru seems the sort of leader open to political exchange. We could deceive the Western Nations easily enough. Are you fine with that, Hinata?”
It was a question, but Luminus meant it as predecided policy.
“…I am.”
“Would he bear a grudge against you?”
“…A little. I did try to kill him.”
“Ah yes, you did. But Rimuru is not stupid enough to hold that against us to the point of becoming enemies.”
Such was the will of Luminus—a leader who didn’t even mind if Rimuru knew her true colors. But Hinata was unconvinced.
“…I will keep that in mind,” Hinata said, attempting to hide her real thoughts as she left.
A little over a month passed. Hinata spent it tirelessly at work. Her paladins were busy building a line of defense against Veldora, while the Imperial Guard was out gathering intelligence for her. Those merchants from the East, once a vital part of this spy network, could no longer be trusted, and so she decided to rely only on info she could personally gather herself.
Now it was time for the empire’s monthly conference between both major groups of the Papacy—the Crusaders, the paladins under Hinata’s direct control, and the Master Rooks, the Imperial Guard forces serving the Holy Emperor. They were both the pride of Lubelius, with Hinata Sakaguchi standing at the very peak.
She served as the conference speaker—Hinata, chief knight of the Master Rooks and captain of the Crusaders, not to mention the strongest knight in the nation. A high seat was prepared for her; all the other attendees’ chairs were situated in a semicircle around her.
To her right were six people representing the Crusaders. First was Vice Captain Renard Jester, known as the Noble of Light, a paladin with a soft, plaintive expression. Next to him was Arnaud Bauman of Air, the man lauded as second strongest only to Hinata. He stood head and shoulders above the rest of the troop leaders, serving as a sort of assault-team specialist for the Crusaders.
Following Arnaud were four other commanding officers: Bacchus of Earth, a large brooding man gifted at smashing his magic-infused Holy Mace into his foes; Litus of Water, a beautiful healer and elementalist who employed the holy spirit Undine on the battlefield; Garde of Fire, a tall knight and conjurer who wielded his flaming Red Spear; and Fritz of Wind, a magical fighter as talented in wind magic as with his twin swords. He was a tactical trickster, a rarity among the high-minded Crusaders he served alongside. Fritz never wore his uniform up to the prescribed code of perfection, but no one admired and respected Hinata as much as he.
Each of these commanders led a team of twenty or so paladins, while Arnaud served as their overall leader. The five seated here were the best among the hundred and ten or so paladins, and there was no doubting their talents.
Contrasting with them, on Hinata’s left side, were the Master Rooks, a much more ragtag assemblage in a motley variety of uniforms and armor. They numbered a mere thirty-three but still formed their own division, for each one was a powerhouse in battle—rooks, as the Holy Emperor proudly called them. They all ranked at least an A on the charts, and a few of them were even champion level, a Calamity on the threat scale.
A few were particularly notable. There was “Blue Sky” Saare, who looked like an innocent boy but was older than anyone else in the room. He was the chief knight of the Imperial Guard before Hinata took the role.
Then there was “Giant Boulder” Grigori, Saare’s right-hand man, whose Impervious skill granted him astonishing physical resilience. His muscles were his weapon, and they were harder than most types of metal, making him an impregnable fortress of a man.
Last but not least was “Raging Sea” Glenda, who was newer to the fold than Hinata but had made a serious name for herself in recent years. Notable for her spiky red hair, she was a wild woman, an ex-mercenary whose fighting skills were still veiled in mystery. Only Rama, the person who had ceded his post to Glenda after she defeated him, knew about her full strengths. This trio was known as the Three Battlesages, and they sat together opposite the six paladins.
The nine were all literal superhumans, far beyond the framework one would think the human body could provide. They all were certified Saints, a sort of complement to a demon lord, and with Hinata, they were collectively known simply as the Ten Great Saints.
Whenever a person engaged in grueling training in one subject or another, they would occasionally evolve into a higher form of existence upon completing such a trial. Accomplishing this made them Enlightened, greatly extending their life span and transforming their physical bodies into something like a half-spiritual life-form. They were released from flesh and blood, in other words, and thus the amount of energy Enlightened individuals could work with was enormous. Their brute and magical strength was powered up to levels beyond compare, letting them be the equivalent of potential demon lords.
They were the guardians of humanity, the servants of divinity who evolved the correct way—even if this was only by the standards of certain people.
They all sat there quietly, awaiting Hinata’s arrival. Several paladins were stationed behind each commanding officer, the rest of the two divisions remaining on their feet in their assorted gear.
Soon, the heavy door creaked open.
“Sorry to keep you. Let us begin.”
With that, the meeting commenced.
Behind Hinata, shaded by some bamboo blinds, the Holy Emperor Louis was taking in the joint conference at his seat. But just as proceedings were set to begin, Saare immediately threw them into disorder.
“Whoa, whoa, where do you get off being late? Not only did you fail to keep Veldora from waking up, you even let a new demon lord be born. And you’re the fool representing us? If this is a joke, I’m not laughing.”
Even though Hinata was the acknowledged leader, not all her soldiers were particularly enthusiastic about the orders they carried out. Saare, having lost his position as their leader, was the head of the anti-Hinata faction.
Over the past month, both divisions had been sent off worldwide by Hinata on a wealth of missions, bringing back assorted intelligence and confirming that the rash of recent cataclysmic events were all connected. The ascension of Rimuru, the Storm Dragon’s revival, the Walpurgis Council, and the recent turbulence in the Kingdom of Farmus—all these happenings had their origin in Hinata reaching out to Rimuru, and Saare wasn’t shy about implying as much.
“You are being rude, Sir Saare,” a bemused Renard coldly stated.
Arnaud nodded to his fellow paladin. “He’s right, boy. If you have an issue with our captain, I’d be happy to work it out with you.”
“Oh,” Grigori fired back from his seat next to Saare, “you fancy-pants knights wanna start a fight with us? Awfully pretentious of you, considering you only act that way around opponents polite enough to lose on purpose!”
“What?”
“You seem interested in a quick death.”
The meeting had grown almost immediately intense. Hinata took the opportunity to cool it down.
“Enough foolishness. Now’s not the time for allies to be squabbling with each other. Saare, if you’d like to take my place up here, you’re welcome to my seat anytime. I’ll need to test you out first, though, keep in mind.”
That was enough to bring silence back to the room. Her words went beyond mere frustration and well into the realm of murderous inte
nt—if they kept carrying on, she was fully prepared to start slashing away. The audience was smart enough to pick up on that. It was rare for her to show that much emotion, forcing even Saare to admit that any more prodding would be dangerous.
Instead, he just glared at her in frustration. “Pfft! I’ll keep that in mind.”
He had already lost to her once—a battle he never should have botched. In his eyes, Hinata was the clear underdog, but the results proved the opposite. The memory of that day kept him from making any unwise moves. Until she could probe and reveal the secrets of Hinata’s strength, he knew victory would never be his. So he did her bidding for now, uninterested in waging a war he couldn’t win.
With Saare calmed down, the joint mission finally began.
“Reporting,” said Litus, freshly returned from field work around the Forest of Jura. “The forest was a perfect picture of peace. Despite Veldora’s resurrection, I spotted groups of merchants entering and exiting the area.”
The caravans from Blumund were streaming into the Tempest capital of Rimuru on a near-constant basis. The nation’s trademark healing potions were hot sellers, but merchants were also standing in line for rare goods like silk fabric and weapons made from monster-derived components.
“How is that working? Are they engaging in trade with the demon lord?”
“We should think about Veldora first. The records say he is extremely belligerent, causing a swath of destruction wherever he goes, but I haven’t seen any sign of that yet.”
Hinata raised a hand to wave the questions off. “Let us hear the report to the end.”
“Very well. I spoke with the merchants, and they said the kingdom of Blumund had declared full and open relations with Tempest. This includes a security guarantee, and Blumund’s citizens are allowed to come and go as they please. The highway connecting them to Tempest was also kept in neat and clean order; even the animal droppings are briskly disposed of. There was no sign of monsters nearby, and overall, I believe this security agreement is legitimate and active.”