Chapter 275 – 27. Heaven in the Mind (5)
The country Brullin, which is made up of dozens of cities, is, so to speak, a confederacy. A tight-knit federation, praised by some as a system for the people. Others criticize that sovereignty is indispensable to a transitional system that is not united.
No one knows which of the mixed reviews is correct.
Originally, that is the spirit that penetrates an era. It’s tricky enough that I can barely follow the clue at the end of the twilight when everything is over. However, Emilien Dior, who believes in human free will, considered our group to be the absolute spirit.
What really matters to those who lead their lives is not the evaluation of future generations. This is the moment. So everyone gave up their wealthy and smooth life path and chose the difficult path of disobeying their father, whom they deserved to be afraid of.
“Oh, I hadn’t thought of this until now.”
If you ask me if I have ever regretted that choice, of course I do. He let out a deep sigh somewhere in the city union of Brullin and added today amidst the many experiences of frustration. Looking bitterly at the corpses and wreckage scattered randomly in the dark magic circle in the basement of a building disguised as an ordinary store.
“It looks pretty troublesome.”
The shadows of the lanterns that illuminated the dim interior fluttered across the stairs and soon came down with a voice. It was Mayor Wilhelm, accompanied by nearly ten bodyguards who appeared to be quite capable.
“Well, even as an outsider, I can see that something is definitely wrong.”
“It’s not that it isn’t, it’s the worst.”
“Can you explain?”
It was not difficult to guess what had happened, judging from the piled up bones on one side, the still unhardened blood, and the unrotten flesh. The problem is the contents of the intelligence received by Emilien Dior and Wilhelm Kohl.
The fourth follower of the millennium after the servant Manuel, the maid Clemence, and the butler Max!
Da-jeong-gong, arms folded, pointed to the center of the magic circle. He winked at the corpses lying there, and opened his mouth. It was to explain the identity of the invoice, which seemed to have a strong and agile impression.
“My father was good at hiding his claws. Speaking of Gallia’s Alexandre Dior, he was the one who led the Religious War to victory and created the present central house of Dior. Actually, that force is not well known to the public, isn’t it?”
“I heard that it is. I’ve often heard rumors about Millennium Gong’s resourcefulness and loyalty, but I haven’t heard much about the skills he puts into his body. Even though he must have been a strong man who came to the continent when he was famous in the past.”
“It was the theory that the more hands, the better. No wonder he was a master at deceiving and taking advantage of the rest of his life. The man lying there as a corpse was a knight of a family hired for the purpose of camouflage in that context.”
Wilhelm clicked his tongue. At first glance, the ill-tempered victim had an expression of astonishment at the end of his life, as many people feel right before dying. After paying tribute to the middle-aged man who left his life without even closing his eyes comfortably, he soon reaped sympathy, saying it was karma.
“What is the author’s name?”
“Enzo Rivera, an expelled knight from the Etruscan Kingdom, his skills weren’t bad. Once a member of the Order of the Holy Emperor, he was exiled from his homeland after being implicated in several crimes. After that, he wandered all over the continent and made a living as a gladiator.”
Emilyen’s eyes twinkled like starlight. Originally, his eyes were on the side of good observation, but as soon as his naked eyes possessed mysterious magical power, he showed off a more colorful eyesight. He showed the power to remember the passing scenery as clearly as if he had been looking at them all day.
“Look at the scene. When using clairvoyance magic, the fine blood vessels in both palms of the corpse’s palms were ruptured with strong pressure. It is true that Enzo was a fairly strong swordsman, but he was not a person who had reached the level of handling an intangible sword.”
“You said you were carrying a real sword. Does the fact that it’s not there mean that someone took it after stealing it or killing it? At the very least, there is a high probability that they were collected for the purpose of destroying evidence.”
“There are also traces of a long cut on the right shoulder. Judging from the fact that only the tendon was cut, the culprit is knowledgeable about the structure of the body. Seeing that there are no detectable ingredients even in the detection magic, we can infer which weapon he used through the elimination method.”
I can’t feel any remnants of magic, so it’s not a spell or a curse. However, there is a very unreliable part about cutting Enzo Rivera’s shoulder tendon with a real object. If you cut a person with a blade, inevitably, fine iron powder must remain on the body.
Emilien Dior is an excellent wizard. Destined to become a multi-disciplinary master in the future, he is an intellect who has mastered many disciplines. He is naturally good at finding traces that ordinary people cannot find, or inferring the truth based on them.
“The shape of the wound is very clean with no superfluities. This is not easy, even with a sharpened knife. Your opponent seems to be at least a master of swordsmanship beyond Enzo.”
The culprit unexpectedly and accurately attacked at a speed that the opponent could not react to. He meant that he judged that if the victim confronted him with a knife, he might be delayed. The knight who was in charge of escorting the Millennial Ball was quite good, even though it was camouflage.
“The weapon is probably an intangible sword. At least it will be a blade wrapped in sword spirit.”
“I think that reasoning is a bit hasty. I heard that certain types of magic and alchemy can erase traces of magic. Could it be that the culprit used that to confuse our investigation?”
“That is a reasonable enough opinion. However, judging by how dizzy the crime scene was, the criminal was running out of time. He must have been alive just three or four hours ago, judging by the body temperature not dropping too much.”
It was a valid logic indeed. Even the part about respecting the face of Wilhelm who raised the question was perfect. It was a part that could explain why many people in Gaul praised and loved him and gave him the nickname of “Dajeonggong”.
“Then, at least the criminal’s personal information is that he is a strong man who is good at swordsmanship…”
“He must have been someone who for some reason was feeling the urgency. My guess is that it was because they knew about our pursuit.”
“But it was Max von Marx who passed on the information about Millennial’s fourth follower.”
Very few people know about Alexandre Dior’s resurrection plan. They are inevitably a necromancer, practicing necromancy and other blasphemous arts that are rejected by the Celestial Church. Therefore, even Max, who was the butler of the Dior family, was aware of only part of the overall plan.
“As you can see, he is now heavily restrained. He will have no way to contact the outside…”
“Sorry, but I don’t know that much either. What is certain is that Enzo Rivera, a former knight of our family, was slaughtered during a necromantic ritual. And judging from the scene and the traces of the body, three things can be known.”
There was not a single bit of flesh left in the tower built of white bones. The amount of blood that was covered around was also very small compared to the number of bones. Above all, the magic circle, which should have powerful magical power, had already fulfilled its role, and only residual power was circling around like a burnt flame.
“First, Max’s intelligence was true. Enzo was here conducting some necromantic ritual at the behest of his father. And it’s hard to believe, but it seems to have worked.”
The dead are back With a very hard face, Wilhelm ordered the soldiers who were guarding me to shut up. It was because the topic was so sensitive that even the most trusted aide could not help but feel an old woman.
“The other followers, Manuel the Servant and Clemence the Maid, said they committed suicide shortly after revealing their identity to you.”
“Yes, there was no bird to dry it.”
“Is it not from loyalty and reverence for the master, but from the belief that it can be revived?”
“But there is something strange about it. The magic circle of the necromantic ritual is a little different from what I thought.”
Resurrection of the dead has an absurd side even for a magician like Emilian. Even if it is not a perfect regeneration, it is almost impossible to rewind the dead consciousness intact. So he came up with a rough inference after all sorts of assumptions.
“Although not as good as you, I also have basic magical knowledge. But I don’t know where in the world you are looking at this magic circle, so you’re so puzzled. Isn’t it a pattern that perfectly satisfies the physical composition requirements?”
“That’s right. As you said, it’s typical. However, I believe that the Necromantic Ritual is, in the end, nothing more than an act of duplicating the memory of a dead person.”
The act of re-injecting memories stored by magic or witchcraft into a body that has been restored and matured with the genes of a specific person, that was the false resurrection of necromancy that Emilien Dior saw.
In short, the identity stones of those who have been resurrected do not last. His conclusion is that it is nothing more than a plausible collection of ideas from his previous life and imitation.
“But this isn’t a magic circle that reconstructs the body of a dead person. It is a magic circle that creates a whole new body. It seems that he is a boy who is far from the average age of his father and other members of the millennial group.”
“Wait a minute! Did someone, now resurrected in the body of a boy, knock down the lying knight over there? With a mechanical sword or an intangible sword?”
“It’s hard to believe, but it is.”
Enzo Rivera is a follower of Alexandre Dior. As long as he follows the Millennium Gong’s plan, he has no reason to kill his subordinate. Wilhelm, furrowing his thick eyebrows, sensed that a terrifying possibility was emerging.
“What is the second?”
“The culprit is using a custom sword from northern Gaul. It is more memorable because I witnessed the war that took place in the far north not long ago. It is certain when I have verified it with various clues.”
Finally, the lifelong mayor of Brullin remembered a man’s name. It was a short relationship, but I felt like I now understood why my collaborator, who was never flustered, muttered that it was an unexpected result.
“What about the third one?”
“The fact that the resurrected culprit killed Enzo, who brought him back to life, suggests an act of treachery against his father. Then, the number of cases left is one. Someone who belonged to the Millennium Gong faction had the courage to turn around.”
It was a transfer. It meant that a person who could not be unaware of Alexandre Dior’s tyranny joined another force under the judgment that it was a fight worth fighting for. Also, inevitably, the force had to be a group involved in the religious war.
Because those who don’t even know the existence of the relics in the ancient empire couldn’t make plans for resurrection or eternal life.
“Mayor Cole, you will remember the story I told you in the past. And why my father chose something as extreme as death.”
“Uhm, obviously, I said it was to break the life-and-death contract that my wife, an occultist, was designed so that we couldn’t betray each other.”
“But don’t you think it’s a bit strange? If so, how on earth could my mother force her to enter into such a contract? How did she build herself up enough to keep her father in check?”
Millennium Gong is a great man with no gaps. No matter how much he had to share the information in order to entrust the deciphering of the artifact, he was also a wife who had to marry for that reason. Why did he not choose an easier way instead of a method avoided like death?
“… Sun King!”
Simple. Because he was a person who couldn’t be.
“Was Angelique Aquitaine from the side of the Sun King?”
The secret that Alexandre was able to assassinate Joseph and rob his relics was thanks to his enlisting his son, Eugene, on his side. However, even so, it is somewhat incomprehensible that the Sun King, who had the determination to wage a diplomatic war for his own ambitions, died so futilely.
“Scholarships such as magic, sorcery, and alchemy are not something that can be easily learned by a person with no general knowledge just by hitting the ground. Presumably, my mother was to be by Joseph’s side, advising him to study the artifact.”
Wouldn’t it be better if there was an assistant who could get closer to his daily life, which he had been living in seclusion all the time?
“Aquitaine is the illegitimate son of Eugene… !”
“Besides, my mother was young at the time. She was just a genius girl who excelled in the occult.”
She said, “Since she was a granddaughter by bloodline, it is no wonder that she is not wary.”
“She was always curious. Why did his father have to risk death? But now I know. The problem wasn’t just him. The greedy Sun King and the original sin stemming from you are trying to destroy this continent entirely.”
Wilhelm swallowed his saliva. There is only one reason why he, who is capable of tens of thousands of soldiers under my command, does not hastily invade Gaul even after knowing the truth. This is because, as Emilian told us, a necromancer can resurrect the dead.
As the number of dead increases, they become the enemy’s forces intact.
Moreover, Alexandre Dior is a thorough man. It is so to the extent that I planted my own person in the center of power across the continent under the promise of reuniting the bereaved. It is too risky to go to war without knowing when and where betrayal may occur.
“If you do, the aspect of the royal court battle must be a proxy war.”
Each faction must minimize the loss of life. We must wage a bloodless war so that the Millennium Ball, who will return soon, does not command an enormous army of dead. Therefore, what the monarch belonging to the Grand Alliance or the Empress of the Rus Empire are aiming for is a political conflict that will shake Gaul.
It is to support the ambitious and induce them to destroy each other, finally stopping the enemy’s plans and implementing justice in a land where only ruins remain.
“You must have heard that your brother won the duel trial against the Duke of LeBlanc, right? Now the eastern run is over. The south, which was the next hegemonic runner, will not be able to stand up for the time being because the lunatic Albenis ruined it, and all that remains is the western wilderness and the northern frozen land.”
“The Wilderness seems to have undergone a recent power shift. A group of assassins called the Seokhwadan were on the rise. To the point of sending a member to kill Rom.”
“You’re a fearless woman, can I just pay attention to her actions from now on?”
Emilyen shook her head. She herself thought so too until recently. Because of the current situation, she has no choice but to end up as a powerful family. She assumed that the next thing she needed to pay attention to was the West, until she discovered this scene according to her old butler’s spies.
“We will have to wait and see if the duel trial in the east will lead to the downfall of the Duke of LeBlanc.”
It wasn’t. The Baron forces all over the place only briefly faltered or changed their masters.
“Moreover, older brother Arsene in the center is still strong, and older brother Charles has gone to the south, so he won’t be easy either.”
“Also, the movements of the mad king and the esthetic queen these days are unusual. I’ve heard that even Nasr Sultan doesn’t show up very often in public. If I were them, I would have indirectly supported Princess Marian and Crown Prince Jacques, draining Gallia’s national power.”
Nowhere in the east, west, south, or north suffered irreparable blows. Therefore, there was a very high possibility that the frozen land, which should be the resting place for his sister and his younger brother, would be embroiled in a war with them again.
“You better not relax. In addition, the name of the man who was resurrected today will be highlighted. I don’t know why it has to be a boy’s body…”
The war begins now. Dajeonggong’s mission has been further strengthened. Millennium Gong, the Sun King, and their factions will all set out to find the artifact. It will create disturbances and cause internal and external chaos, costing as many lives as possible.
If necessary, the good-looking wars of the past will be fought again and again. In that sense, it is also a sad news that the powerful forces of the four directions are still alive.
“Sword masters who can implement millennials who use standard swords in northern Gaul, mechanical swords, or even intangible swords…”
“It must have been the person who always hated his father to have switched to the side of the Sun King.”
“There must have been fear. But he must have been the one to stand up to it. Then, after all, he is the only one.”
The more warlords there are, the more conflict there is.
“Yes, Mayor Cole.”
This is a foreshadowing.
“This is Gerard Lemoyn.”
It was a sign that gave us an idea of the scale of the upcoming war.
“The Marquis of the North has returned.”
