Side Story.16

The beast’s corpse was discovered the next morning by a palace maid, causing great commotion.

The fact that a ferocious beast had died with no visible wounds, vomiting blood, shocked everyone.

The shock lasted until the new morning arrived.

“……This is strange.”

Hyperion, inspecting the beast’s corpse with a serious look, said so.

He had examined the corpse countless times, but still agonized over the unresolved mystery.

“It looks like it died from poison.”

“Isn’t it possible it was magic?”

Adelstein, watching worriedly, asked.

“If it were magic, there would be mana residue. But there’s none.”

“How could this happen…….”

Watching their conversation from afar, Maia struggled.

Should she speak up, even now? Should she tell them what she saw?

“Ah, Sir Adelstein! Something terrible has happened!”

It was right then.

“What’s going on?”

A palace soldier of Ilarya rushed over, shouting desperately.

“Ci, citizens, at least hundreds of households…… all died vomiting blood!”

“……What?”

Adelstein’s face grew cold.

Faced with this new shock surrounding the palace, Maia looked at Krshunie Polaris.

There was no expression on his face, but just one thing.

A faint satisfaction sparkled in his eyes.

* * *

“No, this can’t be…….”

Leaving behind those who insisted the Princess shouldn’t see such a terrible scene, Maia went out with Adelstein, only clutching her trembling fingertips.

They were ordinary citizens with families.

Among the gathered corpses were many children.

“There’s no way so many could die vomiting blood all at once. ……What happened to these people?”

Adelstein, barely suppressing his intense anger, asked the soldiers standing nearby.

They bowed their heads, hesitated for a moment, then answered.

“Uperta disappeared…… but all the food and treasures he had hoarded were divided among the palace and nobles, so nothing was given to the starving, exploited citizens.”

“……What?”

Adelstein’s voice, mixed with disbelief and breathless panic, flowed out.

“And though the highborn may not know, the people, sometimes eaten by beasts, would also dismember already dead beasts and eat the meat to survive. Since there were no problems from eating it, it became normal among the people.”

So, lacking food, they ended up eating even the flesh of monstrous beasts.

Maia felt a surge of disgust toward Ilarya Kingdom.

Was driving out Uperta only for their own authority and honor?

“Yesterday was the same. They were chatting happily, so I asked what was going on, and they said many beasts had died in the hills. They said they could feast for the first time in a while. They roasted the dead beast meat together and shared it, and at first, there seemed to be no problem, but now…….”

The soldier, unable to continue, squeezed his eyes shut.

Adelstein looked at the dead with blank eyes.

“So they ate beast meat because there was nothing else.”

A quiet whisper was heard.

“The people of the continent’s richest, strongest kingdom, starving for lack of food…….”

“……Adelstein.”

Hyperion, listening with a grim face, placed a hand on Adelstein’s shoulder as he muttered in shock.

“Let’s go back.”

Adelstein turned.

His eyes, meeting Maia’s, had lost all light and sank.

* * *

“Aeterna, calm down.”

“Do I look calm? I feel like I’ll only feel better if I sl*ughter every last Ilarya royal and noble.”

As soon as Adelstein returned to the palace, he headed for the garden, telling everyone not to follow.

And Aeterna, having heard the whole story, had been raging ever since.

“……You do realize I’m one of those damned Ilarya royals, right?”

At Maia’s words, Aeterna stopped abruptly as if turned to stone.

“……You’re not a real royal!”

He turned to Maia, grabbed her shoulders, and shouted.

“You’re Maria, the one my brother and I saved and accepted, the one who avenged our grandfather, the one we trust…….”

Trustworthy—what was he about to say next?

Aeterna moved his lips, then suddenly blushed and let go of her shoulders.

A faint pain was felt.

Maia looked at the boy with slight dissatisfaction.

“Glad you’ve calmed down. I should go see Adelstein.”

“My brother said not to follow him, didn’t he?”

A puzzled voice came back. Maia glanced at Aeterna and replied.

“I can’t leave him alone forever.”

“……I’ll go too.”

Aeterna looked surprised for a moment at Maia’s words, then lowered his gaze and seemed to think for a moment before agreeing.

Maia nodded lightly, and they headed for the garden together.

* * *

Since Adelstein had given orders, only they seemed to be in the garden.

In the quiet surroundings, only the sound of their clothes brushing the bushes could be heard.

“—Everything started because beasts exist.”

Adelstein’s voice was heard.

Aeterna and Maia stopped as if in agreement.

A little distance away, Adelstein sat on a fallen old tree.

Before him……

“Adelstein.”

Hyperion was there.

Realizing this, Maia was seized by a strange certainty.

“The endlessly overflowing beasts devour people and gain power, so everyone is divided, and prosperity never comes. Peace is just a joke that appears only in delusions.”

In the sight before her, the coming covenant of light.

“So at this moment, I, Adelstein, swear.”

For the first time, his face was expressionless, but his red eyes, filled with unwavering determination, stared straight at Hyperion Luar.

Adelstein gripped the dagger hanging at his waist, hidden beneath his cloak, with both hands, holding it so the blade pointed downward and bringing it close to the center of his chest.

The sharp blade looked as if it would split his skin and tear his heart apart.

“When this heart is shredded to pieces, until I can no longer move even a single toe. Only after driving out the children of the fissure that devour all life will I finally rest.”

The words of an oath that would mark a new era spilled from the boy’s lips.

“So you, the infinite and perfect transcendent born from the providence of fate after pain, the path of duty filled with hardship and sorrow, yet something that cannot be exchanged for anything else. Though all future generations may call my path a song of sorrow, in the end it will finish as a song of praise……. I earnestly ask you to walk with me.”

Adelstein, realizing the truth that peace would never come unless the overflowing beasts were eradicated, recited the beginning of his oath, ready to throw himself into danger and risk his life.

“—If you wish it.”

The great transcendent, Hyperion Luar, who was already captivated by him, answered his call.

Hyperion’s pale hand grasped the dagger that Adelstein had raised as if to split his chest.

Red blood flowed from his grip, soaking the dagger.

The blood, a vivid red so intense it hurt the eyes, dripped from his hand and left spots on the ground.

“I will be with you. Through all your hardships, fears, and moments of sorrow, I will always be by your side. In that fleeting moment when you experience joy and glory, my eyes will record it fully.”

Hyperion’s noble voice echoed through the stillness.

He spoke slowly, his gaze swirling with unknown emotions.

“Combining all of that, I grant you my eternity.”

Hyperion extended his hand, drenched in blood.

Adelstein grasped his hand tightly.

It was a moment in history announcing the beginning of a new era.

* * *

“Uh…… What are those two doing right now.”

Unlike Maia, who instantly understood what their conversation meant, Aeterna stared at Hyperion and Adelstein reciting their vows with a blank look and spoke without hesitation.

“Be quiet……!”

Maia hurriedly clamped his mouth shut, preventing any disturbance to the covenant between the First Emperor and the Master of the Mage Tower.

Her gaze, tinged with sharp green, trembled slightly.

Aeterna looked at Maia with an expression full of things he wanted to say.

But Maia had no words to explain.

The predetermined fate had finally begun, and she realized what she had to do before it.

* * *

“Polaris.”

Krshunie Polaris turned around at the voice calling him.

There stood the Princess of Ilarya Kingdom, accompanied by dozens of maids.

Well, she seemed to have been avoiding him, but now she was here.

“Princess Seiya, it’s been quite a while since we’ve met like this…… May I ask the reason?”

Still, it wasn’t a bad thing.

Even though he had Hyperion Luar and Adelstein in his grasp, the one who truly held the most power was the beautiful and fragile princess standing before him.

To achieve his goal, he had to have every card in his hand.

[My beloved boy, what wouldn’t I do for you? Soon, the law of this world will drive out the beasts from the seat of rulers. A great transformation will come like an unstoppable storm of fate.]

‘That’s an interesting story. Then, what should I do to claim a place in that destiny?’

When he was young, a mermaid who loved him approached, gave him a name similar to his, and poured unilateral affection upon him, telling Krshunie many secrets of the world.

The secret that captivated Krshunie the most was the fate of the boy who would overturn the beast-ruled world and usher in the age of humans.

His interest soon turned to desire.