Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? - Volume 36 - Chapter 4

The Immortal

Sunday, July 10th

The excavation was ongoing at the cemetery where Grevanas was buried. The likely culprit was a circle of his followers—a cult, by most standards. Even if someone else was behind it, unearthing Grevanas’s research would be considered a high crime in Folsaria. Grave robbing was heinous enough, but stealing forbidden magic was tantamount to stealing a fighter jet in modern society. It would be even worse yet if the stolen magic concerned poison, plague, or the ability to completely control another individual against their will.

Now that they were clued in to the situation thanks to Maki’s investigation, Rainbow Heart had decided to take military action. The compromise of potentially catastrophic magic was more than enough to warrant it. The case was so severe that they were deploying Maki, as well as Koutarou and the others. Since they knew about Grevanas’s magic, Kaera had requested their backup. Little did she know they would have accompanied Maki regardless.

“A circle of magicians who worship Grevanas... Darkness Rainbow had a goal, so they never went too far, but I imagine that won’t be the case with these people,” Koutarou pondered aloud with a severe expression on his face.

Grevanas had taken to researching terrible magics, suggesting that his followers wouldn’t hesitate to do the same. Grevanas, however, had pledged himself to Maxfern. Without such purpose and loyalty to guide them, his followers had only inherited the worst of their evil master. That might make them even more dangerous than Darkness Rainbow.

“But why would they make their move now?”

That was what bothered Koutarou the most. He couldn’t understand what had spurred Grevanas’s believers to action all of a sudden. Why hadn’t this come sooner?

“For better or worse, it’s likely because of Darkness Rainbow. Grevanas’s followers couldn’t touch this area before because they wanted to form a united front against the government under Darkness Rainbow,” answered Kiriha, true to form.

When it came to anti-government factions, Darkness Rainbow was the largest and most powerful of its kind. As such, lesser organizations did what they could to stay on their good side. It was no secret that Darkness Rainbow was gathering magic and magical research. Grevanas’s followers had probably avoided excavating the graveyard under their watch to avoid upsetting the balance of power. But now that Darkness Rainbow was gone, Kiriha believed the cult had no reason to hold back anymore.

“Of course, where Grevanas is buried is top secret, so the timing could be mere coincidence if they’ve only just now discovered it,” she clarified.

“So Darkness Rainbow served as a sort of safety...” Koutarou murmured.

Overall, their existence kept other factions from running amok. And in that sense, they’d been a stabilizing force in society. Yet on the other hand, their main goal was to disrupt it... It was hard to say in the end if their presence was good or bad.

“This world is complicated,” said Kiriha. “Things are never as simple as defeating an enemy and securing peace.”

“You mean to say that after Darkness Rainbow comes the next enemy? Huh... we might be fighting forever,” Koutarou replied, his shoulders slumping.

After they’d defeated Darkness Rainbow, another faction had made its move. So even if they defeated the cultists, yet another enemy might pop up to take their place. That prospect put a damper on Koutarou’s mood, and the girls all felt similarly.

“But even then...” But even then, there was one among them who could dispel the gloom. That honor belonged to the beautiful, delicate, and oh-so-fragile-looking Harumi. “We can ensure de-escalation. This cult is a smaller group than Darkness Rainbow, and the next will be even smaller. The threat diminishes every time, and the periods of peace between will grow longer. I’m sure that we won’t be fighting forever.”

Koutarou and the girls fought for those who couldn’t. But as the enemy grew weaker, there would be others who could safely handle the situation. That would allow Koutarou and the girls to go back to their peaceful everyday lives as normal teenagers.

“That’s true... There are other people we can rely on.”

With a small smile, Koutarou looked out the back window of the transport vehicle. Following behind was a convoy carrying soldiers from Rainbow Heart—and Koutarou knew he could count on them rather than shouldering everything himself. Harumi reminding him of that lightened his spirits.

“Watch yourself,” she said. “You sometimes worry that you’re not a perfect hero, but there’s no need for you to be.”

“Sometimes you’re a perfect princess, you know that, Sakuraba-senpai?” Koutarou said with a happy smile.

Whenever Koutarou looked like he’d lose his way, Harumi showed him the path. Just like a legendary princess of the past. Harumi, however, was unhappy with this appraisal.

“Hmph. Then maybe I’ll try being a tyrant once in a while.”

“No way. You don’t have it in you, Sakuraba-senpai.”

“Ooh, I hate this side of you, Satomi-kun.”

“Hey, that sounds a little more tyrant-y.”

“Satomi-kun, you bully!”

A shadow had started to settle in over Koutarou and the girls, but thanks to Harumi, everything was back to normal. Koutarou couldn’t help thinking to himself that she was really the strongest of the group, but it also occurred to him that her princessly strength only came out when she was with everyone. As she sat there pouting, he reminded himself that he’d need to support her too from time to time.

The convoy could only take Koutarou and the others so close to their destination. Military vehicles would be too easy to discover within a certain proximity. They’d stand out like a sore thumb on the road leading up the mountain.

After disembarking, Koutarou got a chance to see Rainbow Heart in formation.

“I didn’t know there were male magicians too,” he remarked, impressed at the sight.

After meeting Yurika, Maki, and Darkness Rainbow, he’d gotten the idea that girls were more suited to magic. But beholding Rainbow Heart’s troops now, he saw both men and women in formation.

“Of course there are. There’re lots of men who take on the job,” replied Yurika. This wasn’t news to her.

“All the magicians I know are girls, so I just figured that was normal.”

Koutarou recalled that there were plenty of male mages in past Forthorthe—Grevanas included. But he’d never met one in the present day, so he’d vaguely assumed that magic had become a woman’s job in Folsaria. It wasn’t until much later that he learned that Folsarians were descended from Forthorthe, so he hadn’t really given the gender ratio much thought before now.

“Ahaha, well, you’re right about the discrepancy,” Nana said, responding to Koutarou. As a former magical girl herself, she understood the reason for the difference. “It’s unique to Folsaria, or rather, how men and women are raised here. You see, in Folsaria, men enter the workforce relatively early, so they tend to see themselves as divorced from the world of magic.”

Magic was an incredibly nuanced art that altered the world via the power of a caster’s will and mana. Thoughts like “magic is silly” or “magic isn’t for me” unironically inhibited that power. When casting spells, the user needed to believe in magic wholeheartedly. Training necessarily started at a young age, and if a potential practitioner got it into their head that they couldn’t use it, then magic would elude them no matter how much mana they might have been born with.

Moreover, the population of Folsaria was small. Labor was in short supply, so children tended to enter the workforce early. In many cases, that solidified for them the idea that they would never be magicians. And, as a result, Folsaria tended to have fewer male practitioners. This was especially true in terms of high-ranking magicians.

“Ah, so that’s why magicians tend to be on the cuter side,” Koutarou observed.

“I’m not really sure how to respond to that when you’re staring right at me...” Nana replied, fiddling with her hair. She definitely gave off a cute impression.

“Sorry, you were just the cutest one around.”

On the other hand, girls who weren’t cut out for physical work—like Nana—were often picked up by Rainbow Heart before the idea that they weren’t cut out for magic could settle in. That was the societal reason Folsaria had more magical girls than magical boys.

“Gee... Well, anyway,” Nana continued, “that doesn’t mean male magicians are any less valuable. There may not be many high-ranking ones, but they tend to outperform their female counterparts.”

“Why is that?”

“It’s a matter of physique. Men can use larger magical tools, and their bigger bodies naturally mean they can store more mana.”

Men could wield bigger staffs and gear than most women, which gave them an advantage. And since magicians generated mana with their entire body, men could generally use more magic overall. So while female magicians had magical strength, male magicians had physical strength and magical staying power.

“That’s true. I don’t think Nana-san or Yurika could use those huge shields,” Koutarou commented, looking at Rainbow Heart’s troops.

The men on the front line were holding large shields, which were magical tools that enhanced defensive magic. Their primary job was maintaining magical protection over the course of a battle. The female magicians behind them, meanwhile, were in charge of attacking. Rainbow Heart had thus split their troops by gender, assigning them to the roles they were most suited for.

“Huh, so those magic dudes are important...”

The group was talking about magic, yet Sanae had been unusually quiet and attentive. She was repeatedly nodding and mumbling to herself. Seeing this and the look on her face, Koutarou could tell precisely what she was thinking.

That girl... She wants to try to make me one of those “magic dudes,” I just know it...

He couldn’t help feeling like he’d find himself caught up in Sanae’s antics at some point, but he didn’t mind the thought. If he could wield a large magical shield and protect the girls that way, they’d have an easier time attacking. Many of them had specialized talents, so Rainbow Heart’s strategy would be effective for their smaller group as well.

Rainbow Heart was composed of experts in magical warfare. This included specialized teams whose forte was evading magical detection and traps. They scouted ahead of the other troops, disabling and thwarting spells of that nature as they went. Each stealth scout’s ability might have been inferior to Maki’s or Clan’s, but their teamwork elevated them and they worked quickly. They had a path secured for their allies in no time.

“It’s up ahead...” murmured Koutarou when he spotted it.

The cemetery was now just within sight. The stone tomb had a forlorn feel to it at night. The lights set up at the worksite weren’t enough to dispel that impression.

Thanks to the good work of the scouting team, Koutarou and the others had made it to the cemetery much faster than he’d expected. They were now cleared for combat, not to mention supported by Rainbow Heart troops. There would be no retreat this time. The plan was to launch a frontal attack and arrest the tomb raiders.

“So this is where Grevanas and his faction were buried... What a lonely final resting place. If possible, I’d like to transport their remains back to Forthorthe...” Theia whispered piteously as she looked over the graveyard.

Grevanas and his magicians had aided Maxfern in his coup millennia ago, but she believed they’d already been punished enough. They were banished from their home and forced to live out the rest of their lives in this harsh land. And even now, hundreds of years later, they were still exiled from society. That was why, as a Forthorthian royal, Theia wanted to return Grevanas and his mages to their true home.

“Oh, huh? Hmm...” Sanae, who was looking at the cemetery alongside Theia, tilted her head. She narrowed her eyes, opened them wide, then cocked her head to the other side.

“What’s the matter, Sanae-chan?” Shizuka asked worriedly. She was bad with cemeteries, so she took Sanae’s consternation as an ill omen.

“Uh, well, the ghosts are gone,” Sanae said plainly.

That was what had her so puzzled. The ghosts that had been at the cemetery previously were presently missing. This was good news to Shizuka, who threw her fist in the air in celebration.

“Yay!” she exclaimed. She was as pumped as she was before a karate match.

“Also, the spiritual energy around here is decreasing too...” Sanae mumbled.

“Now that you mention it, yeah,” Koutarou agreed.

Folsaria had always been a land abundant with magic and lacking in spiritual energy. That was reflective of its harsh environment; there was little life overall. But the spiritual energy levels in this particular area were lower than they had been before—so much so that even Koutarou noticed.

“Sanae, what could cause something like this?” he asked curiously.

“Dunno. This is my first time seeing it too.”

“Let’s hurry up and get in there!” Kiriha replied unexpectedly. “If there’s less of it here, then it’s probably being gathered somewhere else!”

As an underground dweller, she was experienced with this kind of phenomenon. There were primarily two reasons for spiritual energy dropping in a given area: instances where it fused with negative energy and was exorcised, and instances where it had moved. If the former were the case here, then whatever happened had already passed and there was nothing to worry about. But the latter would be a big problem.

If the spiritual energy in the cemetery had moved, that meant it was being gathered for some purpose. Worse yet, it was known that research on necromancy and mind manipulation magic was sealed in the tomb. Collected spiritual energy could be used for all manner of things, but it had an alarming synergy with such dark spellcraft. That was the reason for Kiriha’s sense of urgency. It was better to act with haste than be sorry given what was at stake.

“Koutarou, hold on to me!” Theia shouted.

“What are you going to do?!”

“This! Assault Red!”

Ping!

Theia’s bracelet registered her call sign and summoned a black disk in the air. It was a hole in space-time, and from the other side came several chunks of metal painted a vivid red. They connected to the armature of Theia’s Combat Dress, granting her considerable firepower and the ability to fly. Of all the accessories Theia had for her armor, Assault Red was her personal favorite.

“Master, I’m bringing out your armor too!” Ruth called.

She tapped away on her bracelet and summoned a black disk just like Theia had. It opened up in a similar fashion, but this one produced Koutarou’s power suit. Seeing it, Koutarou was shocked.

“How did you do that?! It wouldn’t work last time, right?!”

The last time the group was in Folsaria, they’d been unable to use space distortions to transport objects from their spaceship. Because of that, Koutarou and Theia had had to travel with all of the gear they needed. But something was clearly different now, as Theia and Ruth had just done what was previously impossible.

“It’s simple. We brought our equipment and a transport device over to this world. We’re on friendly terms with the Folsarians now, and the situation called for it,” Theia explained.

It was true. At this point, Forthorthe and Folsaria had a diplomatic relationship. They’d also realized a common enemy was after forbidden magic. As a means to counteract that, they were cooperating on a joint operation and had willingly brought in Forthorthian technology—including the transfer gate.

“We brought in your armor and Her Highness’s accessories with us, Master.”

The transporter had been set up in a storage room at the Blue Tower, which was where the equipment had been summoned from. That was what had made the impossible possible.

“You’re as perfectly prepared as ever, Ruth-san.”

“Save your praise for later!” roared Theia. “Let’s go!”

“Already on it!” rallied Koutarou.

Having swiftly donned his armor, he tightly grabbed hold of the booster unit on the back of Theia’s Assault Red. Though Assault Red was an accessory for her Combat Dress, it was essentially the equivalent of wearing a small fighter. Koutarou would be able to move much faster riding with Theia than he could on his own, even with his armor.

“I’m coming too!” Sanae shouted.

“Oh, fine! I’ll go too!” Shizuka shouted as well.

Sanae and Shizuka could fly on their own, so they had no trouble following after Theia as she rose up into the air with Koutarou. Their acceleration was no match for hers, however, so they’d be a little slower getting to the tomb.

“We’ll stay with Rainbow Heart and investigate the worksite as we make our way forward! If you run into any trouble, call us right away!” Clan called out to them.

Strictly speaking, she had the technology to enable flight for the entire group. Under the current circumstances, however, she thought it would be unwise for everyone to go. Rainbow Heart was no normal army—they stood for love, courage, and justice. They had an obligation to uncover evidence that a full use of military force was warranted.

“Got it! I’m leaving things here to you then, Clan!” Koutarou called back.

“We’re out of here!” Theia thundered.

Fwoom!

As hasty as ever, she slammed her boosters to max thrust as soon as Koutarou’s words had left his mouth. The two of them took off like a shooting star.

“Yurika, take care of everyone else! I’m going to go with Satomi-kun!” Maki instructed.

“U-Understood!”

Maki then threw her staff up into the air and jumped onto it sidesaddle. Her accustomed dexterity was an excellent showcase of her mastery with her weapon.

“I’m losing...” Yurika sighed, her shoulders slumping despondently as she saw Maki off.

She wasn’t sure she could take off so quickly and gracefully if she were in Maki’s shoes. She could only imagine herself desperately clinging to her staff. Like Koutarou had said, Maki made for a much more proper magical girl.

“What are you talking about, Yurika-chan? Lots of people have high hopes for you,” said Nana encouragingly.

“What?! Really?!” Yurika exclaimed, perking right up.

“As proof, here. I’ve got something for you.”

There, Nana handed Yurika a gift she’d received from her colleagues while on assignment.

“I-Is this...?!”

It was a new type of gas grenade Nefilforan’s troops had given her as a token of goodwill, hoping to make friends with her apprentice. It included a note that read, “This is a new model we stole from the development department. If possible, we were hoping you could use it and tell us what you think or if it could use any improvement.” It was clear they meant well, but...

“I don’t think I’m worthy of being a magical girl anymore...” Yurika groaned.

“What? H-Hey, Yurika-chan!”

The gas grenade was clearly not meant for a magician. When Yurika realized what the soldiers must think of her, it set her sobbing.

Sanae had said that the ghosts were gone from the cemetery, but the truth was that the people were now gone as well. The place was desolate, so Clan and the others were able to enter without any resistance. Ignoring the graves, they began inspecting the tents set up around the site. Many of them served as storage for excavation equipment, or as sleeping quarters for the workers. Others housed tools for magical rituals.

“These are the materials required for Dispel, and these are for making an anti-magic field. There’re even supplies for Magic Protection. Wait, is this a Void Converter?! I’ve never seen the real thing before!” Nana remarked.

The majority of stored tools were to destroy or nullify seals, barriers, and traps. Nana was surprised by the wealth and variety of catalysts in the stash.

“No way! Isn’t this Saint Karnak’s Holy Hand Grenade?!” she continued in amazement.

“Nana-dono, what are these used for?” Kiriha asked.

“Oh, sorry, uh... I’m sure they’re to unseal Grevanas’s tomb. They wouldn’t need them for the other graves.”

All of the graves at the cemetery were sealed, but the strength of each seal was dependent on how dangerous the material—the mage and the research—contained within was. None were as powerful as the seal put on Grevanas’s tomb. Digging up the other graves would have been a much simpler affair, so it was now clear that their true goal was to excavate Grevanas’s specifically.

“All right. Let’s leave two-thirds of us here to secure the evidence and send the remaining third after Koutarou and the others,” Kiriha suggested.

“I shall inform Master,” Ruth replied.

Based on the number of beds in the tents, Kiriha now had an idea of how many workers there were. And as they were mostly simple laborers, she believed a third of their troop—along with Koutarou, Theia, Sanae, Shizuka, and Maki—would be more than enough to handle them. The more pressing issue at hand thus seemed to be securing the evidence at the worksite. A single high-ranking magician could turn it all to ash in the blink of an eye.

“Kii, wouldn’t it be better if Harumi and I stay behind?” Clan suggested.

“Me too, Clan-san?” Harumi asked curiously.

“Ah, yes, of course,” mused Kiriha. “You two can read the ancient language.”

“Oh, that’s right! Clan-san and I could help preserve the evidence!”

Clan had data on both High and Low Ancient Forthorthian, so she could use her automatic translator to read documents in either language. And Harumi could do the same thanks to the memories she’d inherited from Alaia. Some of the tools and documents gathered in the tents used ancient magic. Folsaria had long modernized its language, so only researchers and specialists were familiar with the older version. A mere handful of Rainbow Heart’s troops fit that bill, so Clan thought it would be better if she and Harumi stayed behind to assist.

“In that case, would you two mind staying here?” Kiriha asked to be sure.

“Not at all,” Harumi replied.

“Just be careful out there, Kii,” said Clan. “Don’t you go losing to something as illogical as mag— Waaaaaaaah?!”

Just as Kiriha and the others were about to depart, Clan let out a wild scream. She went as pale as a sheet and her glasses slid partway off her face.

“What is it, Clan-san?!” Nana asked immediately. Something was clearly wrong.

“Th-The people excavating here aren’t after Grevanas’s research!” she shouted.

“What?!” Kiriha exclaimed.

She then whipped around to see what Clan had in her hands... It was a research note written in the ancient language.

“Their real goal is to revive Grevanas!” Clan continued. “It says here that he’ll be revived as an immortal using necromancy!”

Grevanas’s followers were no mere grave robbers. No, they were after something much grander—they wanted to bring back Grevanas. If they could do that, then they wouldn’t need his sealed research. His revival would be their first step to taking over all of Folsaria.

Grevanas’s tomb was a large stone structure, but only its outward entrance was visible. The rest stretched deep into the mountain, so it was hard to get a handle on its true size. The entryway alone was over ten meters high and wide. Surely the interior had to be even bigger.

Before Clan figured out the true agenda of Grevanas’s followers, Koutarou and the others had already reached the tomb. They’d gotten word from Ruth that the rest of the group was in the process of securing evidence, so the impatient Theia was champing at the bit.

“I won’t let these villains unseal that wretched research!” she bellowed.

“Don’t you think we should wait for backup first?” argued Koutarou.

There was no sign of anyone around at the entrance to the tomb. That meant it would be easy to get inside, but it also meant Grevanas’s followers were likely already inside as well. Kiriha had apprised them of the urgency of the situation, but these circumstances were... unexpected, to say the least. Koutarou’s gut told him it was safer to wait for reinforcements.

“Don’t lose your nerve,” Theia scolded. “This concerns both Forthorthe and you.”

“Yeah...” he relented.

Koutarou wanted to avoid a reckless charge, but Theia had a point. This whole mess was caused by Koutarou and the royal family two thousand years ago, so it only made sense that they should be the ones to clean it up now. And considering the black vials the demons had been banished with, this could be a full-on crisis. The thought of any one of those vials having survived intact was horrifying.

“I think we’ll be fine on our own,” Sanae said, dispelling Koutarou’s doubts.

“What makes you think that?” he asked.

“Well, there don’t seem to be that many people inside.”

Sanae believed the odds were in their favor, as she could only sense a few auras within the tomb. Maybe a dozen or so. Even if they were powerful magicians, it was unlikely that Sanae, Shizuka, Maki, and Koutarou himself wouldn’t be able to handle them.

“Okay, then let’s go,” Koutarou decided. He believed if Sanae was right, they should prioritize protecting the seal.

“That’s more like it! Combat Dress change—Command Green!”

Ping!

With a grin, Theia switched out her accessory again. Assault Red specialized in flight and heavy firepower—neither of which could be used indoors. Command Green, which came equipped with information gathering tools and a variety of weapons that could be switched out depending on the situation, was a much better choice given the environment.

“Satomi-kun, I’m not sure what to make of there being so few people here,” piped up a worried Maki.

If they were here to rob the tomb, it would’ve made sense to have as many hands on deck as possible to get the job done quickly. The fact that this seemed to be a small operation was troublesome.

“That’s true,” agreed Koutarou. “It might be a trap.”

He had to wonder if this was some kind of ambush setup. Ruth had reported that there were fewer of Grevanas’s followers than there were Rainbow Heart soldiers, so it would be a smart tactic for the enemy to use.

“Aika-san, can you keep an eye out for magical traps or any attempts at concealment?”

“Understood.”

“Same goes for you, Sanae, Theia.”

“Aye aye!”

“I know that, obviously. I’ve grown too, I’ll have you know.”

Maki would be in charge of magic, Sanae spiritual energy, and Theia technology. The three of them would work together to survey their surroundings via their respective areas of expertise. Anything could happen in this unknown place. There was no such thing as being overly cautious when it came to magic.

“I’m not good with this kind of hide-and-seek game...” Shizuka squeaked.

Be it ghosts, hidden traps, or ambushes, she hated anything that made her jump. She couldn’t help the heavy sigh that left her lips as she followed close behind Theia and Koutarou. Then, all of a sudden...

Bwoo, bwoo, bwoo! An alarm rang out.

“Yeeeeek!”

The startled Shizuka screamed and ducked low. The surprise noise had come just as she was trying to pump herself up, and the effect had been disastrous. The alarm, however, was really just a call from Kiriha. It was apparently urgent, so she’d used the alarm function to draw attention to it.

“Satomi Koutarou!”

“What’s up, Kiriha-san?”

“Charge in immediately!”

“Got it!”

Kiriha’s instruction was clear. And the moment Koutarou received it, he took off running. He had no reason to question her, so if she said to go, then he was full speed ahead.

“Nightwalker!”

Maki charged right after Koutarou. She would follow him wherever he led, even if it was a mistake. That was why she was so quick to take action, including transforming her staff into a greatsword. She’d judged a weapon would be better than offensive magic in the battle to come.

“Come, Sanae, Shizuka! Let’s go too!”

“Yeah!”

“Jeez, don’t scare me like that, Kiriha-san...”

Theia, Sanae, and Shizuka took off as well. All three were ready for battle—Theia with a large gun in hand, Sanae with Saguratin, and Shizuka in her half-dragon form.

“So what’s going on, Kiriha-san?!” Koutarou asked as he ran.

He used his armor’s AI to relay the call to the four girls as well so that they could all hear the conversation in real time.

“We figured out what Grevanas’s followers are really after,” Kiriha reported.

“What do you mean? Aren’t they after his research?”

“No, they want Grevanas himself! They’re trying to revive him!”

“What?!”

This news left Koutarou and the girls utterly dumbfounded.

Yet at the same time... things started to make sense. That would explain why Kiriha had issued the order to charge without any preamble. If the believers were only after Grevanas’s research, they could have easily played things safe and waited for backup. Even if the followers had already undone the seal, it would simply be a matter of defeating them and securing the material.

But if they were looking to resurrect Grevanas, that act needed to be stopped immediately. His followers were likely prepared to do the deed as soon as the seal was broken. Koutarou and the others had no information on their enemy and they had no idea what traps might lay ahead, but time was of the essence. The ritual had to be interrupted.

The underground tomb was large, but Koutarou and the girls managed to make their way through it without encountering a single enemy or trap. All they saw along the way were the sarcophagi of the mages buried with Grevanas. They eventually reached a massive door leading to the inner sanctum of the tomb where Grevanas and his research were enshrined. This was it—the destination for Koutarou and the girls, as well as the cultists.

“It seems the seal is already broken. But what is this? There are no traces of it being destroyed...” said Alunaya through Shizuka’s mouth.

In their hybrid form, he was also using her eyes to stare scrutinizingly at the door. He could tell it had been protected by a powerful seal based on its condition. The passage of centuries had weathered the surrounding walls, but not this door. It was as pristine as the day it had been constructed, as the magic of the seal repelled all manner of attack and interference—including the wear and tear of time.

“What does that mean, Alunaya-dono?”

“It would be hard to explain with my vocabulary. Maki, you take over.”

“Okay... Based on the traces of mana here, it’s clear that the cultists tried several different spells to undo the seal. These traces are all around us, but not on the door itself... I can’t sense any mana on it at all. It’s like there was never a spell on it to begin with. This shouldn’t happen even if they used the right magical key to unlock it. It’s very strange.”

Even if the seal had been opened in the proper way, the mana concentrated in the door wouldn’t simply disappear all at once. Just like how hot things cooled over time, the mana should have gradually dissipated. But the door had no trace of mana on it whatsoever. It was like the surroundings were hot, but the door itself was ice cold. It was truly bizarre.

“If they’re going to revive Grevanas, maybe they opened the gates of hell like Dark Purple,” Koutarou suggested.

Dark Purple had been researching how to bring back her dead lover. By using magic to open the gates of hell, she drew on the whirlpool of chaos’s power—the same whirlpool that totaled Blue Knight in the decisive battle against Vandarion. Koutarou had a hunch the same thing might have happened here.

“That’s correct. You’ve learned well, Blue Knight,” hissed a decrepit voice suddenly.

“Who’s there?!” Koutarou demanded, a chill running up his spine.

“Grrr!” Alunaya growled, baring his fangs.

Both of them recognized the old voice. Koutarou was surprised, but Alunaya was livid. His eyes burned with rage.

“Grevanas...” Koutarou gasped.

“Don’t think you can show your face to me again and live to tell the tale, old mage!” the Fire Dragon Emperor roared.

“I’m glad you remember me, Blue Knight. And could this be... Alunaya? What a strange turn of events! Do come in, you two! We have much to discuss!”

The door to the chamber slowly opened with a heavy grinding sound. Darkness lay beyond it, but when it opened fully, a light came on that faintly illuminated the interior of the chamber. It must have been a few dozen meters wide. The circumference was lined with research equipment and bookshelves. In the center was a two-meter sarcophagus with the lid already removed. Standing before it was a lone man covered in a robe. His hood hid his face, but Koutarou knew who was beneath it. He recognized that robe and that posture...

“Incidentally, Blue Knight, I seem to have misplaced my staff, Encyclopedia. You didn’t happen to take it, did you?” Grevanas said as Koutarou stepped into the room.

That was something only the real Grevanas could have known, and that was more than enough to convince Koutarou of his identity. There was no doubt about it—this was Grevanas.

“I did, but I gave it to an acquaintance of mine. I don’t have it anymore.”

Koutarou had first given Encyclopedia to Yurika. Then when they were making Nana’s prosthetics, they’d used it in her left arm in order to restore her ability to use magic.

“I suspected it was left behind in Forthorthe when I was exiled... No wonder I couldn’t find it when I searched here. Hweh hweh hweh.”

“...”

While Koutarou was sure this man was Grevanas, something felt wrong. It was his laughter that tipped him off. Had Grevanas always laughed like that? Moreover, was he the kind of man who enjoyed making such trivial conversation?

“Well, the staff matters not... It’s been some time, Blue Knight, Alunaya. Around seven hundred years, I believe.”

“Enough drivel! I hope you’re prepared to be incinerated!”

“I understand how you feel, Alunaya-dono, but please restrain yourself. We still don’t know what he’s planning.”

“Grrr!” Alunaya growled, baring his fangs again.

As a former victim of Grevanas’s mind control magic, Alunaya was extremely hostile toward him. He would’ve attacked already if Koutarou hadn’t been there to stop him.

“I thought it was strange, but it appears Alunaya has inhabited a person,” Grevanas remarked, taking a few steps closer.

When he did so, the shifting angle of the light shone up underneath his hood.

“Kyaaaaaaaah!” Shizuka screamed when she saw his face.

“Grevanas, you—” Koutarou gasped in surprise, reaching for Signaltin.

For Grevanas’s face... was dried up like that of a mummy.

“Ah, I apologize for startling you. This is part of the price one pays for raising the dead... I am a magical being in the form of an animated corpse.”

Grevanas was a necromancer who’d been researching how to bring the dead back to life as a means to assist Maxfern in his plans for domination. As expected, the greatest obstacle in the way of the would-be king of the world was his own mortal lifespan. Even if he managed to conquer Forthorthe and the rest of the world, he would only have a finite number of years left to enjoy his rule... unless he was undying. Ultimately, Maxfern had sought to use the sword of kingship to grant himself eternal life, but that didn’t invalidate all of Grevanas’s research. He’d now been revived by it... and perhaps he could use it to bring Maxfern back too. All’s well that ends well, he thought.

“I may have my intelligence, but I am not much different from a zombie or golem. In magical terms, I am what you would call a lich.”

There were multiple ways to raise the dead, and Grevanas had taken the avenue of magical life. The method involved infusing a corpse with magical energy and bonding it with the soul of the deceased. This had three distinct advantages.

First, it wasn’t a complete resurrection, meaning the hurdles were somewhat lower. Second, becoming a magical being was akin to gaining immortality. It also meant that he no longer needed to breathe or eat to sustain himself, and that he was resistant to poison and disease. Third, as he came into his own as a magical being, his magical abilities would improve drastically. He was essentially making his own body a high-level magical relic.

Those three advantages made this revival method a very attractive option to evil magicians. History was blackened with many a disaster that such immortalizing had caused in the past.

“You said it’s part of the price you pay...” Koutarou said in a low voice.

He’d picked up on the sinister, unspoken meaning of that sentence—there had to be at least one more part.

“Indeed,” Grevanas replied. “But I’m sure you already have a feeling about the second.”

“Yeah. There’s something off about you.”

“Is there really? I had expected as much, but I could not quite see it for myself.”

Koutarou felt like Grevanas’s personality had changed. And if Grevanas could be taken at his word, it seemed that was the second sacrifice.

“You were a little more rational in the past,” Koutarou remarked. “I’d say you’re acting more like Maxfern now.”

“No one in this day and age knew me back then... Perhaps if you had been the one to perform the ritual, it would have turned out better.”

Grevanas seemed amused by the change in his personality, despite the horror of it. Koutarou’s gut was telling him that Grevanas had lost his rational mind and that madness filled the void.

“You’re saying... that the image of the people who revived you is what supplemented your soul?” Maki questioned.

“That’s right, young lady. It appears Maxfern-sama is not well known in Folsaria, and so the people here believe that I was the leader of the rebellion. This is how they imagined me, and how they revived me.”

Turning someone into a lich involved conjuring the soul of the dead and magically fixing it to their corpse. But because souls deteriorated over time, much of Grevanas’s was worn away after several hundred years. It was possible to supplement that with residual thoughts, but only so much. The rest was filled in by the ritual holders. In Grevanas’s case, his followers imagined him as the Grand Wizard, mastermind of the rebellion, thus giving him a personality similar to Maxfern’s.

“Strictly speaking, the power of chaos had something of an effect as well. Chaos blurs the boundaries between all sorts of things... including Maxfern-sama and myself. That said, I welcome this change.”

“Why? You’re losing yourself.”

“I admired Maxfern-sama. I wanted to be like him. And now I’ve been revived in his image. What is there to complain about?”

“There’s something wrong with you.”

“If not, I never would have risen up. Although... I suppose I only aided in the rebellion back then.”

“I should’ve known...”

With that, Koutarou clasped Signaltin and slowly drew it. Grevanas looked on in a daze.

“Done catching up already, are we?” he asked with a smile.

“Yeah. If you’ve revived a bit more like Maxfern, you can only have one goal, no?”

“Yes. If possible, I would like to revive Maxfern-sama and continue our rebellion. But I am alone at the moment. I’m glad I had the chance to speak with someone who knew my old self... though I suppose we must move on.”

Whoosh!

No sooner had Grevanas finished speaking than a large group of people appeared from the darkness. Though whether or not they were human was questionable...

“Eek!” Shizuka reflexively yelped when she saw them.

“Grevanas! How dare you!” Alunaya howled with fiery rage.

“Koutarou, only about a third of them are actually alive!” Sanae warned.

“The others are skeletons or zombies,” Maki explained. “I can see magic hanging over the ones who are alive! They’re being controlled!”

A third of the crowd that had appeared, about ten enemies, were walking skeletons with clubs and shields in hand. They were clearly melee fighters. Another third were zombies. They had no weapons, but they were fleshy and therefore sturdier than the skeletons.

The final third were humans being manipulated like puppets. They were all carrying guns, which they had the dexterity to use as living beings with articulate bodies. They were also spread out across the room. This was to discourage Koutarou and his group from using explosives and the like.

“And this was the third sacrifice...” Koutarou said in a whisper.

“Correct. They were trying to bring back the dead, after all. Living sacrifices were necessary. I simply reused them as zombies. Efficient, don’t you think?”

Grevanas’s followers weren’t gathered here just to excavate the tomb... Once they discovered the tomb and opened the door to the deepest chamber, they were sacrificed. Then once Grevanas was revived, he recycled them as zombies. Truly three birds with one stone.

“I used the bones lying around to create skeletons to bolster the ranks as well.”

“This kind of extreme method is just like something Maxfern would do...”

“You’re right there, Blue Knight. My old self would have hesitated. What a pleasure this is.”

In Koutarou’s mind, Grevanas was always the more rational of the two men. Even at the bitter end, he’d tried to stop Maxfern from resorting to the black vials... Yet there was none of that compunction left now. The sacrifices of his resurrection and the taint of chaos had warped his soul.

“There’s no way you’re getting out of here, Grevanas. We’ll put you back to eternal sleep,” Koutarou declared, leveling his sword at the crazed mage.

Signaltin had the power to dispel magic, meaning it should be especially effective against a magical being like what Grevanas had become. He was already dead—magic was the only thing holding a simulacrum of his former self together. Koutarou was sure of that after talking to him. He wouldn’t hesitate to use Signaltin against him now.

“Is that so? I believe you’ll make way soon enough,” Grevanas taunted, raising his staff on high.

There, his zombies, skeletons, and puppets gathered around him. It seemed they’d be putting up a fight.

“You won’t get past us so easily! Let’s do this, Grevanas!”

“My, my, how impatient. The young never learn...”

Grevanas specialized in necromancy and mind manipulation, and his soul had now been twisted through his resurrection. If he got away, Koutarou was certain he would take up Maxfern’s quest for world domination... and he didn’t even want to think about the lengths Grevanas would go to in order to achieve it. That’s why Koutarou was determined to settle things here and now.

True to form, Theia was the first to attack. She was the very definition of trigger-happy. By the time Koutarou took off running, gunfire was already ringing out.

Bang, bang, bang!

Command Green’s primary weapon was an assault rifle, and Theia put it to good use. She’d fired a precise three-shot burst at the skeleton in front of Koutarou, hitting its forehead, chin, and neck. The monster then clattered to the floor in pieces.

“It seems its weak point is its head!” she called out.

Theia had suspected that the skeletons’ weakness would either be their head or their heart. If magic had functionally taken the place of their brains, then the head would make sense. But there was also a chance that they used a magical core corresponding to where a human heart would be. That was why she’d aimed for the head first—the heart would have been her second guess if that hadn’t worked.

“To think there’s anyone more hasty than the Blue Knight. Now...” Grevanas thrust his staff out in front of his chest and began a chant. It was an incantation from Ancient Forthorthe, so he recited it in the ancient language. “Heed my call, spirits of light and darkness! Blend together! Mix and drown out the colors of this world! Come forth, Gray Army!”

The spell he cast was an illusion, and a simple one at that. All it did was give his soldiers a murky, uniform appearance. As a result, even though he’d disguised thirty or so targets, the spell hardly taxed him.

“Theia, don’t fire at random!” Koutarou shouted.

“I know that! I’m not interested in killing any civilians!” she shouted back. With an annoyed look on her face, she adjusted her weapon selector and switched over to nonlethal rounds. “So we’ll try this on for size instead!”

Bang, bang, bang!

Theia fired off another three-shot burst. Just like before, she targeted the gray soldier closest to Koutarou, but this time she was aiming for the chest. Regardless of the ammunition she used, a high-powered blow to the head from an assault rifle would kill a normal person.

“No good! It’s not enough to take out the inhuman ones!”

Unfortunately, it seemed she’d hit either a zombie or a skeleton. As they all looked the same now, there was no way to distinguish between them—and the nonlethal rounds Theia was forced to use wouldn’t work on the monstrous soldiers. Weapons that relied on pain, shock, and trauma were virtually worthless against the undead.

“Aika-san, is there nothing we can do?!” Koutarou asked in desperation.

The current situation put everyone but him and Sanae in danger. Thanks to Signaltin, he was equipped to fight both the living and the dead, and Sanae could see through Grevanas’s illusion thanks to her psychic powers. But without either of those, Theia and Shizuka were in trouble. If Maki couldn’t assist them in some way, they would be in a tough spot.

“I have an idea! True Seeing!”

Maki thus cast a spell on herself, Theia, and Shizuka that would likewise allow them to see through the illusion. With this, the gray soldiers reverted to their original forms.

“Oh, so the young lady is a magician too. You must have studied quite hard. However—”

“Watch out, everyone! The enemy is behind us!” Sanae warned the group the moment she noticed.

Theia, Shizuka, and Maki were all distracted temporarily by Maki’s spell and their new sight, leaving them slow to react.

“Kyaaah!” they all screamed out in unison.

A skeleton had ambushed each one of them, and the three stunned girls took the surprise attacks at full force. Thankfully, the skeletons’ decayed weapons were practically just sticks. If not, the girls could have been seriously injured or worse.

“You still have a long way to go in combat, young lady. You must study even harder,” Grevanas said, full of confidence.

This had all been part of his plan. Of his puppets, the skeletons were the fastest. He’d used his large-scale illusion spell to allow them to sneak into the shadows while leaving illusory copies of themselves behind. Koutarou and the girls had been so occupied with their current predicament that they hadn’t noticed. If Grevanas had one thing over them, it was decades of experience.

“Koutarou, this is bad!” Sanae shouted.

“I know,” he replied.

Grevanas wasn’t about to let the two of them go unchallenged. While the other girls tangled with the skeletons, he set the remaining twenty-six gray soldiers on Koutarou and Sanae.

“You fool! Did you think this would be enough to defeat me, Sanae-chan?!” Sanae crowed, sounding a bit like a villain as she radiated a wave of spiritual energy that pulsed through the room.

“Hey, don’t attack me alongside them, Sanae!”

“Aw, don’t you worry! Love will keep you safe!”

Sanae had synchronized her aura with Koutarou’s so that her wave would simply pass through him. Effectively, she was only attacking the enemy soldiers.

“This is completely absurd, but well done, Sanae!”

“Ohoho, let’s keep it up!”

But clever though the move was, Sanae had pulsed her aura in all directions. That greatly diminished the force of the attack, so it did little more than keep the enemies at bay.

“I’ll take it from here!” Koutarou rallied.

And with a swing of his sword, he began blowing the gray soldiers away with shock waves. The human ones fell to the ground unconscious, whereas the zombies and skeletons were dispelled of their illusions, if not altogether destroyed . Though Sanae’s attack had appeared random at first, she’d read the room and set Koutarou up for success—a sign that even she had grown a little.

“Of course I wasn’t expecting this to be enough to defeat the Blue Knight and his allies... I’ve prepared plenty for you,” Grevanas said, raising his staff with his right hand while gesturing a symbol with his left. “Oh, restrained spirits of fire! Now is the time to unleash your power!”

Kaboom! The chamber was instantly rocked by a powerful tremor.

“Koutarou, we’re being attacked by magic!”

“I know, but from where?!”

Koutarou looked around and laid eyes on a nearby stone pillar over a meter wide. It was one of many that was supporting the ceiling of the chamber... and it was now falling toward them.

He set off that explosion to topple the pillar!

Still locked in a fight, Koutarou and Sanae could hardly move. The pillar leaned dangerously over them. Koutarou could only see the one, but there was actually a second just behind it. Grevanas had knocked down two pillars to cover a wider area.

“I can only hope this will kill you, Blue Knight,” he hissed.

Everything had gone according to plan so far. Grevanas had waited to get Koutarou in just the right place, then set his soldiers upon him. And while Koutarou was occupied with that, he toppled the pillars for the clincher.

Koutarou wielded Signaltin, so magical attacks were practically powerless against him. But a stone pillar was a different story. This was the nefarious plan devised by someone who’d faced the Blue Knight firsthand before. Grevanas had waited for Koutarou to come find him in the sepulcher precisely for such a trap.

Whoom!

The two pillars, weighing well over ten tons each, collapsed upon Koutarou and Sanae. Grevanas stared intently at the scene. He wasn’t going to let his guard down against the Blue Knight for even a moment. He knew better than anyone what would happen if he did.

“Don’t think you’ll ever be able to outwit me again, Grevanas...”

Crash!

The pillars that should have crushed Koutarou and Sanae were slowly shoved to the side. It appeared to be Shizuka’s handiwork, but because this was an emergency, Alunaya had taken control of her body. The ten-ton pillars were nothing before the strength of the Fire Dragon Emperor.

“Alunaya... I suppose you would catch on.”

Despite Alunaya foiling his trap, Grevanas still seemed confident. With Alunaya present, he’d guessed as much might happen. Alunaya truly lived up to his majestic title. He was also naturally resistant to magic. Grevanas had only been able to control him in the past with sinister traps and tricks that compromised him. Alunaya, however, was on guard for them this time, which was what had allowed him to save Koutarou and Sanae.

“Thank you, Uncle Dragon!”

“You really saved us, Alunaya-dono.”

“Be careful, Blue Knight. Magic is not his only weapon.”

“I can see that now...”

Grevanas used magic as powerful as Yurika’s and possessed a mind as clever as Kiriha’s. Assuming anything less would be a deadly mistake. Two thousand years ago, he’d been focused on controlling Alunaya. Koutarou had never truly seen what Grevanas was capable of until now, where he was fighting with everything he had. He was not to be underestimated.

“Sorry I was slow to respond to that ambush,” Theia called as she regrouped with the others.

“I will focus more on the magic around us,” Maki said, shortly behind her.

As long as they fought calmly, they would never lose to a couple of skeletons. But they had to stay vigilant about their surroundings. Theia held her gun at the ready and Maki cast a spell to detect mana in the area. The ambush leading up to the stone pillar trap had thoroughly spooked them, and they were determined not to make the same careless mistake twice.

“It’s fine. We escaped unharmed...” said Koutarou. “But so did he.”

“What do you mean, Blue Knight? I’ve lost fourteen soldiers,” Grevanas replied.

Theia had shot two at the beginning of the fight, and Koutarou had defeated four. Theia, Maki, and Shizuka had also taken out the three that attacked them. And lastly, the stone pillars had crushed five. In total, Grevanas had indeed lost fourteen fighters... and yet, somehow, his army still numbered thirty. It seemed the bones lying around the chamber were rising up as more skeletons.

“With the way you’re replenishing your soldiers, I’d say you haven’t suffered any casualties,” Koutarou retorted.

“You could call it a home advantage. That said, my mana is not unlimited. It’s not as though this is at no cost to me.”

“If you’re willing to say all that, I imagine it’s still close enough.”

“You’re more clever than you used to be, Blue Knight. Experience makes people smarter. But you are indeed right... Given the expected length of our battle and the rate at which I can restore them, my resources are hypothetically infinite.”

Resurrected as a lich with a plethora of magical tools at his disposal, Grevanas’s overall mana had increased drastically. There was no telling how many skeletons he could raise if given the chance. There were plenty of bones to go around in the tomb. Moreover, the battle at hand wasn’t likely to last long. That was the heart of Koutarou’s point—given what Grevanas had left to spend, he’d barely suffered any losses.

“If we go all in, we’ll be playing into his hands. But if we take things slow, there’ll be no end to it. What would you do, Theia?”

“Simple. Snipe Grevanas.”

Bang!

No sooner had those words left Theia’s mouth than she fired a shot. If Grevanas was going to continue making skeletons, then in her eyes, all they had to do was take him out. Alternatively, interrupting his spells would also work. It was an aggressive and rash play—just like Theia.

“I see the princess of today makes quick decisions. These modern weapons are also quite menacing.”

Grevanas wasn’t quick on his feet, partly because he was old and partly because he was undead. Liches weren’t physically much different from zombies, so he could only move about as fast as one. So with no other recourse, he switched to chanting a defensive spell while he issued his soldiers the order to attack.

“Good job, Theia! Keep it up!”

“Leave it to me! Your liege is more than capable!”

Grevanas tried using a few gray soldiers as shields, but Theia was a crack shot. She was easily able to fire between them. It was all Grevanas could do to cast a quick, albeit weaker, defensive spell to protect himself. He would have been wide open otherwise. The incantation to summon his skeletons was long and complicated, making it tricky for him to use under fire.

“Sanae, Aika-san! Keep an eye on Grevanas! Don’t let him do anything strange!”

“What about me, Satomi-kun?!”

“We charge together!”

“You got it!”

“It’s finally my turn to shine!”

There was no telling how many more traps Grevanas had in his sepulcher. Sanae and Maki thus had to stay on their guard, leaving Koutarou and Shizuka to deal with the enemies. Fortunately, the gray soldiers were weak. With sword and fist alike, Koutarou and Shizuka steadily whittled down the enemy army.

“A fighting princess and Alunaya... What a troublesome situation.”

Grevanas’s confidence was now shaken. He felt his chances of victory were incredibly low—even with effective use of his traps. He’d only just revived, and he’d misjudged his enemy. Grevanas was guilty of two major miscalculations.

The first was not getting a proper read on Theia’s abilities. He had seen Clan fight before, but Theia was on a different level. She was physically primed for combat, and she was quick with an accurate attack. He simply hadn’t made plans against a fighter of her caliber.

The second miscalculation, the presence of Alunaya, further backed him into a corner. Grevanas had never imagined he’d find the Fire Dragon Emperor in this day and age. Even weakened in human form, he still had explosive power. Though Grevanas was now a lich, there was no guarantee that he’d be able to block Alunaya’s attacks.

“If I continue fighting like this, I’ll end up right back in my coffin. I wonder...” the necromancer mumbled.

“You’re not getting out of here, Grevanas!” Koutarou shouted.

“Let’s do this, Blue Knight! I never dreamed I’d have my chance for revenge here and now!”

Koutarou and Shizuka were closing in on the necromancer as they cut their way through his army. With Signaltin, Koutarou could incapacitate the soldiers without worry, be they skeletons, zombies, or living humans. Shizuka had Sanae supporting her from the rear line, so she could fight without killing anyone. The biggest danger were the traps in the chamber, but Maki had collected herself and was now giving effective orders to avoid them. The battle was proceeding to their advantage. Within seconds, Alunaya would have his claws within Grevanas. But then, all of a sudden...

Beep, beep, beep!

A loud alarm began blaring. It was coming from Koutarou’s armor and the girls’ bracelets. A comms window promptly opened, and a familiar voice rang out.

“Terrible news, Master! We’ve received word that a horde of zombies and skeletons is headed toward Thorthe!”

Ruth was practically screaming, conveying just how panicked she was. Nana and Yurika could also be heard frantically talking in the background. It seemed the whole group was in quite a panicked state.

“What?! Then Grevanas is—”

“That’s right, Blue Knight. You fell for my diversion.”

Grevanas’s voice echoed through the chamber, but he was no longer anywhere to be seen. He’d been quick to seize the opportunity to meld into the shadows while Koutarou and his cohort were distracted by the call. If anyone had been watching, they would have seen his body shrouded in a gray mist or smoke, but they’d completely missed it. By the time they looked up again, only Grevanas’s gray soldiers appeared to remain in the room.

“Didn’t you find it strange, Blue Knight? Where did the people who were excavating this place go? Why was I the only one here? And where might those black vials responsible for our exile be?”

The signs had been there from the start. The worksite had been populated with over a hundred laborers, yet only twenty were accounted for between the humans and zombies here in the sepulcher. Where had the other eighty gone? And Grevanas was right—where were all the black vials that had been sealed with him? Now that he was a lich, he himself was practically immune to disease. Why hadn’t he used them already?

“Are you planning on destroying Folsaria?!”

“That’s correct, Blue Knight. Do you not remember my and Maxfern-sama’s ambition? Folsaria as it stands would be a terrible impediment, so I will send it plummeting into ruin.”

Grevanas’s, or rather Maxfern’s, goal was to rule Forthorthe. But if Grevanas were to have his followers rise up against Forthorthe, Rainbow Heart wouldn’t take it lying down. Eliminating such opposition early would be key to his success—ideally right now, before Rainbow Heart was aware of his return and the terrible black vials he had at his disposal. That was why Grevanas had sent his main force to march on Thorthe while he diverted Koutarou. He had guessed that Koutarou and Rainbow Heart would let their guard down if he waited for them at the tomb—and he was right.

While Koutarou, his allies, and Rainbow Heart were all mired at the graveyard, Grevanas’s real army was closing in on the capital. The city still had soldiers to guard it, but all Grevanas needed was one zombie to get inside with a vial. That would accomplish his mission to deadly effect. He would love to destroy Folsaria completely, but just crippling the nation for months or years as it tried to recover would do. That would give him plenty of time to stage a revolt in Forthorthe.

“Now what will you do, Blue Knight? You can stay here and try to find me, or you can run to Thorthe. Choose wisely. Folsaria exists because of you, after all. Its future rests on your shoulders.”

Grevanas’s voice continued to echo through the chamber. It was possible he’d already escaped the tomb and was simply communicating via magic now. The group might be able to hunt him down and capture him, but disaster might befall Folsaria in the meantime.

It was unclear if the guard left in Thorthe was enough to prevent all of Grevanas’s soldiers with black vials from getting inside. This could be the end of the nation. That said, even if Koutarou and the girls fled for Thorthe now, there was no guarantee they’d make it in time. In the worst case scenario, Grevanas would get away and Folsaria would be ruined.

“We don’t have time to play around here... Let’s head back.”

Even so, Koutarou didn’t hesitate. Folsaria was a long-lost part of Forthorthe, so he would uphold Alaia’s ideals here. Nothing mattered more than the citizens—not even justice. Koutarou had to prioritize saving lives over defeating Grevanas.

“Are you sure?” asked Sanae. “Mummy man’s going to get away.”

“I know. Something even worse might happen in the future if we let him go, but that doesn’t mean we can stand by and let Folsarians die right now.”

If Grevanas got away, he could make more vials of black liquid. He could make more zombies, living puppets, and other horrors. But right now, those were far-off hypotheticals while the people of Thorthe were in very real, imminent danger. Koutarou decided that once they’d saved Folsaria, they’d come up with a plan to capture Grevanas.

“Are you fine with that too, Uncle?”

“We have no other choice. Seeking personal revenge at a time like this isn’t befitting an emperor. That would be the behavior of a tyrant.”

Alunaya couldn’t help grimacing. His vendetta with Grevanas was indeed personal, and in truth, it burned him to let the necromancer get away. But he also agreed with Koutarou. The lives of the people were far more important right now.

“So you make way at last, Blue Knight...” Grevanas’s voice hissed from the shadows.

“I’m not making way.”

“Oh?”

“I’m just moving a little further down the road. I’ll still be there to stand in your way at every turn.”

“Then I shall take preventative measures for our next encounter.”

With that, Koutarou and the girls exited the tomb. Truth be told, nobody was happy about the retreat, but it was necessary. They had to stop the undead army marching on the capital no matter what.