‘…Professor?’
It was Professor Sirvert, who had been so busy that it was hard to even see his face for the past few months. He was the person who had brought her directly to Enmenia through Hio’s introduction and was known to the world as the Master of Telekinesis.
That very Sirvert was entering the palace with dozens of people under the watchful eyes of countless knights. Only then did the rumors suddenly come to mind. Various words like expedition, Sirvert, and Saint of Black Wings combined, making something feel almost within her grasp.
Thinking about it, her first meeting with Sirvert had been extraordinary. ‘Hadn’t he come to find her directly through a large-scale teleportation just because of a word from Hio? Hadn’t he frequently shown a close relationship with Hio after that?’
‘There’s something.’
She had a strong intuition. The meeting happening now, the expedition. This was a massive current. She didn’t know exactly what it was, but it was a great river where giants like Hio Pavlenko, Sword Saint Vitalianus, and Sirvert were deeply involved.
An irresistible flow that even all the elite knights gathered here couldn’t hope to oppose. And she had coincidentally reached the edge of it.
This might be an opportunity that would never come again. If she couldn’t resist the flow, she should at least ride it as it led her. If she couldn’t, she would have no choice but to stay far behind and run until her legs gave out.
‘…I must.’
Claire’s red eyes, filled with fire, turned toward the distant, high interior of the Grand Envoy Palace.
The residents of this world all possessed innate skills. It was only a matter of whether they manifested them or failed to do so until they died.
Even if they discovered and manifested their skill, that might not be the end. They might manifest one skill and train it desperately, but in fact, it was impossible to know how many innate skills they might have.
Usually, one was the limit, but skills could exist in twos, threes, or even fours. Those who used two or more skills were called multi-skill users. They held a slightly more special position than ordinary skill users.
However, having many skills wasn’t necessarily a good thing. What mattered most was how well they synchronized with one’s traits. Only then could one develop the skill further in connection with those traits.
A person who had evolved their skill to a very powerful stage—someone capable of exercising a high-ranking skill by the standards of a Bingija—was called an ‘Awakened One’ here and was treated with awe. High-ranking skills were so difficult to obtain that even Bingija, who grew very quickly, could only raise one or two in three years.
When one entered the realm of high-ranking skills, like Sirvert’s ‘Telekinesis’ or Airlights’ ‘Enthralment’, the power and variables of that one skill were so immense that they were called by such a name.
Then what was a ‘Trait User’? This referred to those who used both a sword and skills simultaneously. One couldn’t be called a Trait User just by swinging a sword.
If a knight at least at the 4th tier, capable of emitting aura from their sword, could also use skills above a certain level, they were called Trait Users and were evaluated as high-level combat assets alongside the Awakened Ones.
A knight who controlled aura was a strong weapon and the core of strategy by their existence alone. Now imagine such a knight also using a medium-grade skill or higher. That would be nothing less than a Great Catastrophe on the battlefield and a terrible nightmare for the enemy.
As such, Trait Users were not very common, and individuals like the Royal Knight Damon Lieefte or the former 2nd Knight Order Commander and Bingija, Antipus Praman, were called top-tier Trait Users.
But this place was a location where such common sense of the world did not apply. It was a place where one could see multi-skill users, Awakened Ones, knights on the verge of becoming superhumans, and even Trait Users just by turning one’s head.
“The Abyss Gate will be officially announced to the world under the name of ‘Demon Realm’. As the hegemon of the Continent, the Empire informs all nations to prohibit entry into the Demon Realm and requests cooperation in times of crisis.”
“The Adventurer’s Guild and the Empire will engage in the conquest as a single expedition. The official commander is Vitalianus Mahel, but as an independent organization, the direction must be decided by coordinating opinions with each other. That is all. Are there any objections?”
This was the conference room where the Bingija who had participated in the expedition on the 52nd Floor and the Empire’s most elite figures were gathered.
At the head of the table sat Sylvia Verden, exuding the dignity of the Empire’s Empress, and behind her stood the Death Knight, Theodore, with his black aura drifting like a haze.
Even so, they didn’t stand out excessively. The ones sitting on either side of Sylvia were Vitalianus Mahel and Antipus Praman. Starting from them, among those sitting in order, there wasn’t a single person who could be taken lightly.
“Then, with this, we shall conclude the meeting.”
The Abyss Gate would be proclaimed as a Demon Realm that appeared on the Continent, and the expedition to destroy it would be officially known.
The Bingija and the Empire would first join forces and move together, but they would have separate leaders and conduct individual operations.
The Empire did not trust the Bingija, and the Bingija did not want to entrust their lives to the Empire’s orders, so this was a naturally reached conclusion.
After discussing other detailed matters, the meeting, which had lasted until late, came to an end. Sylvia and Theodore were the first to leave the conference room, and Vitalianus remained in his seat until the rest of the members left the palace.
“Good work. I’ll see you during the upcoming conquest.”
When the last person finally left the conference room, Vitalianus was truly alone. In the vast conference room where all sorts of psychological warfare and invisible energies had clashed, only a cold silence remained, and he sat there by himself.
Vitalianus, who had been sitting like that for a while, reached into his robe and pulled out a piece of paper. The reason he remained alone in contemplation was largely due to the influence of this paper.
– Regarding the appointment of the 2nd Knight Order Commander.
Since the position of the 2nd Knight Order Commander, which Antipus Praman had originally held, had become vacant.
Of course, this was an expected occurrence. When he heard from the Magician that there were people who had crossed over from another world, he had been preparing for it from the moment he received the list directly from Sylvia and saw Antipus’s name written on it.
So, it wasn’t something to worry about much. However, the problem was that the talent suitable for the vacant Chief of the Capital Knights position was one of the ten Royal Knights. Thus, that person eventually left the Royal Knights to become the new head of the 2nd Knight Order.
The Royal Knights were the strongest martial group on the Continent. They held no special power or official positions, but as a direct knight order that followed only the Emperor’s orders, they were honorable members who could be free from all other external pressures.
But now, only five members remained. Out of a total of ten, five had left the Royal Knights, including the one who had recently departed for the appointment as the 2nd Knight Order Commander. It was quite a meager number to be called the strongest group on the Continent. There were various reasons for that… but in any case, this was a settled fact.
“Things keep changing.”
The times and his surroundings kept changing, and Vitalianus himself was also gradually changing. A fairly cold wind blew through his heart.
“I should get up.”
Had his thoughts been too long? Before he knew it, there was almost no sign of presence around him. He stepped outside, accompanied by the brilliantly rising moon.
It was a night of many overlapping thoughts. It would probably be difficult to fall asleep.
Well, it didn’t really matter. He possessed a body and mind that remained perfectly fine even if he stayed up for several nights. It was the only advantage of a body that did not age and was still alive.
Outside, it was fully night. A chilly late autumn night where darkness had settled deeply. Perhaps because his solitary contemplation had been quite long, the knights who had been bustling and making a fuss had all dispersed, leaving the place deserted. He walked slowly in front of such a palace.
“The weather is quite chilly.”
The weather had become very cold. The season had arrived that reminded him of an old friend who used to excitedly talk about how they spent winters in their hometown. The Continent’s worst villain, Atawolf. His old friend who had been condemned by his motherland and mocked by the Empire.
Now, he was experiencing even a little of that cold wind his friend must have felt when even the family he relied on became cold corpses.
“Is it not a truly lonely and solitary season?”
***
After such a long time, tears did not come in front of the bloodless corpse of the friend he had reunited with. His heart did not seethe. In his cold heart, there was no fuel left to burn hotly as before. Only emptiness mixed into the blowing wind.
“Winter is coming.”
Winter is coming. It meant the arrival of a season where the nights were long and dark, and the wind was cold and biting.
“Do you know?”
Vitalianus’s gaze turned toward the clear night sky.
“Winter nights are also the season when the stars look the brightest.”
The stars in the winter night sky shone exceptionally bright. Vitalianus lowered his gaze and slowly turned his body. He felt an intense presence from the moment he stepped out of the palace. A heart burning hotly, something he could no longer possess.
A girl who was like summer began to enter his sight.
“Child with fire in your heart.”
What filled his empty gold eyes was a girl in red.
“What do you desire so much?”
An autumn night where a cool wind blew. It was the moment just before winter.