༺ A Staged Entrance ༻
Gloria Grace.
Although she was described as formidable, the protagonist had never had a direct confrontation against her in the game.
Instead, she played a supporting role, lending her strength to the protagonist when subduing a specific boss.
However, as with any game, when a former enemy became an ally, they were significantly nerfed.
On the contrary, if an ally suddenly turned into an enemy, their strength seemed to gain an unexpected boost.
At this moment, she was the latter case.
Gloria Grace was ominously blazing a crimson mana like the three pronged flame I had seen in the game.
“Have you betrayed us, Archmage?”
“Ahem.”
Ropelican awkwardly scratched his neck and shook his head as she met his gaze.
“It is not so. If His Majesty wishes, I am more than willing to strike down Deus.”
Hearing that, Deia and Darius were startled and immediately assumed a combat stance.
Ropelican asked in doubt, his arms crossed.
“However, has His Majesty truly decided to execute Deus? No, even if he did, he ordered you to do that?”
“Yes, I personally received His Majesty’s order.”
“Hmmm….”
Ropelican was dumbfounded. He probably had realized that if the current King was the same Orpheus he knew, even if the King chose to abandon me, he wouldn’t seek assistance from others.
The King wouldn’t have been struggling with such dilemmas until now if he could simply toss me aside so decisively.
“Deus, do you have any thoughts?”
Ropelican asked for my opinion. Having met Gloria’s gaze directly, I answered while slightly shifting my gaze.
“His Majesty is currently possessed by an evil spirit. It’s a serpent-like entity that has slithered throughout the long history of the Griffin Dynasty.”
“….”
Ropelican solemnly listened to me and then glanced towards Gloria.
The only reason Gloria’s knights still hadn’t moved yet was because of this old man, Ropelican.
It was because they hadn’t confirmed his stance in this situation.
Ropelican met my eyes once again before tapping the ground with his staff and responded.
“Well, I owe you a debt, so I’ll believe you this once.”
“….”
“However, if this turns out to be a lie, I will personally take your life before surrendering myself to His Majesty for judgment.”
“Be my guest.”
An intense mana began to emanate from Ropelican, who stood beside me, wildly surging to the extent that Gloria, biting her lips, felt her own mana was insignificant in comparison.
“I never imagined you would turn traitor, Archmage.”
“Gloria, you should remember that all my actions stem from loyalty and affection.”
The ground began to quake. Soon after, the Archmage’s mana permeated in all directions.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Thick and sturdy tree roots swarmed in from all directions, attacking the knights.
The knights could not react quickly as they were wearing armor, but they didn’t suffer significant damage either.
At most, a few of them were knocked unconscious from direct hits to the head.
Gloria swiftly wielded her sword and shouted,
“Retreat! Fighting against the Archmage underground is unfavorable!”
The Royal Knights pulled back as swiftly as an arrow. It was truly an amusing sight but an effective tactical maneuver.
In the end, we had no choice but to leave this place. The underground prison had only one passage.
I could already predict that the Royal Knight would immediately surround us the moment we stepped outside.
“Is there any other way out?”
Our footsteps were truly heavy as we slowly made our way outside. Despite Ropelican’s question, I kept my mouth shut before I eventually opened it again to answer him honestly.
“My powers won’t be of much use here.”
[There are too few spirits in this place.]
The Dark Spiritualist added her concerns from behind.
Since the Griffin’s ancestors were dark mages, there were no traces of lingering ghosts in the Royal Palace. And with the malevolent being occupying King Orpheus’ body now, something suspicious seemed to be at play.
‘Even the spirits who are supposed to be resting peacefully are absent.’
When people died, they closed their eyes and fell into a deep sleep. That was what resting in peace meant.
However, even the spirits at rest were scarce. Although unsettling, it seemed unnecessary to awaken them with Lemegeton. Considering their meager quantity, it felt like borrowing a cat’s paw.
‘Did they completely obliterate all the spirits? Or absorb them like the Human-bone Centipede?’
According to the Dark Spiritualist’s testimony, the entity bore a resemblance to that of a demon. Thus, there was a significant possibility.
In the end, even the Necromancy Stone, Lemegeton, was useless without spirits that could lend their power to wield it.
“Hmm, Tyren seems to be outside as well. Wouldn’t you be a match for Tyren? Didn’t you already defeat him overwhelmingly?”
It was already apparent that the powerful mana faintly felt from outside belonged to Tyren.
So, I answered honestly,
“It’s not completely impossible, but achieving overwhelming victory like before is far-fetched. It was only possible then because of the numerous spirits asleep in the execution ground.”
“I see.”
Ropelican, who said he understood that, turned his head towards Darius this time.
“What about Margrave Norseweden?”
“….”
Darius looked away awkwardly. Even as the Margrave who protected the border, he was no match for the Royal Knight Commander or the Mage Tribunal Judge.
“Then what about you…”
Ropelican turned his gaze to Deia and asked. Deia took out a magic gun from her waist and shrugged.
“I modified this Republic product to function with mana. However, I doubt it will even be able to scratch the people outside, right?”
The Scrapyard Nomads’ Trio behind them had nothing to add.
“…Phew.”
We were considered to be elite, even among the kingdom’s elites. But now, we found ourselves in a situation where we were bitten by the tiger and trapped by its strong jaws.
“This is really depressing.”
However, Ropelican did not loosen his grip on the staff.
The stairs leading outside came into view.
“It seems like this old man will have to give it a shot.”
Ropelican sighed. His deliberate attempt to appear unconcerned seemed a bit pathetic as his own apprentices might be present outside.
If this didn’t work out, there was still another way. But that was a fail-safe that needed to be saved until the very end.
Therefore, I held onto Lemegeton tightly and told the Dark Spiritualist.
“We don’t know how the situation will unfold. So, stick close to me.”
[Got it.]
“Huh?”
An unexpected response came from behind the Dark Spiritualist. When the Dark Spiritualist clung to me, Deia, who had been hidden behind her, came into view.
Deia, who couldn’t see the Dark Spiritualist, thought I was talking to her.
“Come on, seriously?”
Deia turned to face me for no reason, expressing her irritation but still took a step closer to me.
Well, this was for the best.
Considering that Deia might lose her life at any moment during this confrontation, it was safer for her to remain by my side.
“Ahem, it was quite touching.”
Deia and I turned simultaneously and looked behind upon hearing the ridiculous sob.
Moved to tears, Darius was attempting to hold back his emotions as he gazed at us.
“That’s right. This is what a family should be like. This is how the Verdi Household should be. Even if our Household’s long history ends today in this place, I have no regrets. My siblings, we have finally become one.”
“I’ve never become one with you.”
“Don’t overreact; it’s embarrassing. And we’re not going to die here today, alright?”
Even though Deia and I both denied it simultaneously, Darius, still unable to hide his emotions, cleared his throat, moved towards us, and slipped in between us.
Then, he wrapped his arms around us, and with his strength, it wasn’t easy to shake him off.
“What do you mean by feeling embarrassed?! That’s right! What’s there to fear when we, the three siblings, unite!?”
“Sigh.”
“I told you not to do that, you jerk.”
I involuntarily sighed. Deia kept hitting Darius’s side, but he didn’t even flinch.
“We may not have been born on the same day, but we will die on the same day. Do you know how terrific that is? It makes me want to recite a poem.”
“Stop spouting nonsense. You haven’t even read a single line from a book; how can you speak about poetry so confidently?”
“You should be applauding the fact that at least I understand the concept of poetry, you know.”
Despite our protests, Darius, reciting a clumsy self-composed poem, immersed himself in his own sentimentality. Deia buried her face in embarrassment, and I decided to stay silent.
I could feel the weight and warmth felt on my shoulders.
It was my first time in such a situation, and it was annoying.
However, deep inside my heart, it felt like it gave me another clear reason to live.
Bickering, fighting, and even if we said we didn’t like each other, in the end, we still supported each other.
Was this what family was supposed to be like?
It wasn’t too shabby.
It was incredibly refreshing to see the moon in the late-night sky after stepping outside.
If the knights in red armor and Mage Tribunal judges in golden robes lined up before us weren’t present, I would have raised a glass under the moonlight while enjoying some snacks.
“Be on your guard. The opponent is an Archmage.”
“I never expected that we would be pitted against each other again so soon, Deus.”
The Royal Knight Commander, Gloria, and the Mage Tribunal Judge, Tyren, stepped forward to greet us.
Their hostility was extraordinary from the beginning and just standing there made it extremely intolerable.
Deia was barely able to hold up against the killing intent, staggering to the point where I had to support her from the side.
“Put the strength into your legs. There’s no need to confront them head-on.”
“Fine.”
Deia listened obediently, as it was quite burdensome for her. I took a deep breath and stood in front of her.
Although I already knew that it wouldn’t end easily, witnessing them directly, in reality like this, made it appear to be genuinely challenging.
“I can deal with at least one of them. What do you think? Can the three of you deal with the other one?”
Ropelican asked while slightly brushing his beard and glancing at me. I let out a sigh before nodding.
“I can deal with them myself.”
Plans were meant to be changed.
The moment I brought Lemegeton near my heart, with the thought of pouring everything into it and giving my all right from the start…
Crash!
Something fell from the sky.
The intense dust cloud obscured our view, and Tyren immediately dispersed his mana, thinking this was a ruse by us.
Likewise, Gloria swung her massive greatsword to clear the dust as well.
As the visibility improved, two individuals confidently appeared between us and them.
Long, flowing black hair. It belonged to Aria Rias, the protagonist of this world, and right now, she was looking at me with a smile.
“Professor! I just arrived!”
“Aria…”
I unconsciously felt a sense of relief when I saw her face. And I wanted to honestly express my gratitude.
However, Findenai, dressed in a maid uniform, intervened while puffing smoke from a cigarette on the side.
“That is nonsense. She’s been eagerly awaiting the ideal dramatic moment in a critical situation to make her appearance and make you fall in love with her, Master Bastard.”
As a result, I swallowed back the words of gratitude I was about to say.
“Wow! Oh, shit! You promised not to tell him, didn’t you? I even shared the strawberry from my cake with you!”
“Did I? I thought you didn’t like strawberries.”
I stepped forward upon listening to their conversation.
“So, it seems like you two managed to enjoy the cake and had a really leisurely time.”
When I gave the two of them a sharp stare, both Aria and Findenai turned toward the enemies at the same time.
“We just have to deal with those, right?!”
“Findenai, the assassin maid of Master Bastard, ready for action! It’s going to be a blast!”
Aria drew her sword while Findenai shouldered her axe.
“Sigh.”
And I could only let out a sigh.
