Chapter 28: The Beheading Priest Approaches
Not long ago, the corpse of Baron Hog Melros—who had torn a black-magic scroll in the audience chamber and turned into a demon—was rotting at an alarming rate due to the influence of malevolent magic and curses.
To secure as much evidence related to black magic as possible, Kain had ordered Marquis
Damien Pavel, a grand mage of the Meister class, to preserve the demon’s body.
Depending on the type of black magic used for demonization, certain curses could make the corpse vanish without a trace or decay beyond recognition.
The forces controlling the demon had countless ways to erase their tracks.
Thus, to pursue the tail of the masterminds or reveal the lingering traces of black magic on the body, Kain judged that he needed the assistance of Grand Mage Pavel.
And as expected, his judgment had been correct.
Even among all the mages remaining in the citadel, Damien Pavel stood at the highest realm.
He had slowed the curse that was eating away and rotting the demon’s corpse while simultaneously beginning “analysis.”
Black magic had not appeared for hundreds of years—so long that it was said its lineage had been severed.
Almost no records remained of black magic or curses.
Yet, as befitted an experienced grand mage, Pavel had succeeded to a certain extent in deciphering the black magic and curses used in Hog Melros’s transformation.
That was why he had come to report to Kain: the preservation of the body was complete, and they could now proceed to the next step.
“Excellent news. Since the demon’s corpse has been preserved, as promised, I will ensure that every future demon corpse secured by the imperial house is delivered to Marquis Pavel for research.”
A deep smile spread across Kain’s face at the tidings brought by Damien Pavel.
I never imagined this would actually work… Damien Pavel truly is remarkable.
Interpreting the black magic and curses used in demonization was no easy task.
Even when Kain had first ordered it, he had prepared for the possibility of failure.
Yet, true to his setting as a “magic otaku” and a mad grand mage who pursued truth, Pavel had pulled it off.
By leaving traces of black magic, the first condition is fulfilled.
The Ellington Holy Alliance—a coalition of religious orders that worshipped the ancient Star Thrones.
Relations between the Felberg Empire and the Ellington Holy Alliance were far from cordial.
There had once been a time when the state religion of the Felberg Empire was literally “the Emperor.”
The Alliance tolerated religious freedom to a degree, but it could never accept the doctrine of the Emperor’s Cult that deified a human emperor—even one of Star Throne blood—as divine.
Of course, that did not mean they could treat the Felberg imperial house, legitimate descendants of the Star Thrones, as enemies, but sanctifying the Emperor’s bloodline was equally unacceptable.
Yet there was one thing the Ellington Holy Alliance hated and opposed almost unconditionally: black magic.
Records from the mythic-age War of the End stated that some Star Thrones had fallen or perished to black magic.
On that basis, the Alliance had designated black magic as one of the primary heresies to be eradicated.
They loathed and despised “heresy” that lay far beyond their standards to an unimaginable degree.
They had established the Sixth Diocese—dedicated to the inquisition, judgment, and extermination of heretics—and scattered specialists across the continent, frequently showing real effort in purging heresy.
Given their stance, Kain’s aim was to summon inquisitors from the Holy Alliance, warn them of black magic’s resurgence, and tie it to the Five Pillars.
If even a single piece of evidence emerged linking the Five Pillars to black magic, the Ellington Holy Alliance—infamous for stopping at nothing to eradicate heresy—would inevitably extend a hand to the imperial faction.
“Has a reply arrived from the Ellington Holy Alliance regarding our magic telegram?”
Kain asked Damien Pavel.
He had previously instructed that, upon successful preservation of the demon’s corpse, a magic telegram be sent to the Alliance’s official communication coordinates.
“Yes, a reply came just moments ago. They say they will dispatch inquisitors and executors.”
Inquisitors and executors belonged to the Sixth Diocese and were tasked with tracking and eliminating heresy.
As Kain had predicted, the reemergence of black magic after centuries of silence was more than enough to mobilize the Sixth Diocese.
Yet at that moment, Kain felt a faint, strange sense of incongruity.
It was good that contact had come, but…
Too fast.
It was as though they had already known black magicians were creeping out of the shadows.
“No special remarks? The reappearance of black magic after hundreds of years—did the Holy Alliance not express any suspicion?”
At Kain’s question, Marquis Pavel slowly shook his head with a faint smile.
“None at all. Those usually cautious, slow-moving fellows reacted with unusual speed.
When the reply arrived, it seemed the Sixth Diocese had already finished selecting the inquisitors and executors to dispatch to us.
As if… they had predicted something like this would happen somewhere on the continent.”
Marquis Pavel also voiced reasonable suspicion.
As he said, the Holy Alliance was normally a heavy-hipped bunch.
Especially since black magic had vanished so thoroughly over the past few centuries that it was considered extinct, the archbishops’ hips had grown even heavier.
After the Heresy Extermination Wars—when they had chased black magicians to the ends of the continent and wiped them out—the successors of those black magicians had lost most of their secrets over time and grown weak.
The infamous reputation of the Sixth Diocese had become a thing of the past.
Thus, neither Kain nor Pavel could easily comprehend the Sixth Diocese’s unusually swift movement.
“Who is the selected inquisitor?”
Knowing the dispatched individual would reveal how seriously the Sixth Diocese viewed this matter—whether it was a mere investigation or full-scale extermination forces.
“Podric Kendal of the Sixth Diocese.”
“Podric Kendal… the Beheading Priest of Ellington. This has grown far larger than I expected.”
Kain put on a troubled expression, but inwardly he was shouting with joy at the news that Podric Kendal would be coming.
Podric Kendal.
Better known as the “Beheading Priest of Ellington,” he was an inquisitor of the Sixth
Diocese and reputed to be Meister-class.
A hardliner against heresy, the moment the Five Pillars were judged heretics through analysis of the demon corpse, he would instantly switch to hunting-dog mode.
He had considerable screen time in the main story of Empire Heroic Legend, so the moment Kain heard the name, all sorts of related information flooded back.
“When did they say he would arrive?”
“They will use the Holy Alliance’s secret routes. They estimate arrival in Granada within a week.”
At Marquis Pavel’s explanation, Kain’s face hardened.
The Felberg capital Granada was quite far from the Holy Alliance’s sacred ground.
Yet to cover that distance in one week in a world where warp magic was heavily restricted?
Kain roughly knew what secret methods the Alliance used, but even so, this speed was abnormal.
It could not be explained unless they had prepared in advance.
Moreover, with the visit scheduled so soon, the situation became even more troublesome for Kain.
Right now, on the eve of contact with the assassination cell Nightmare, the xenophobic and inflexible Beheading Priest was coming to the capital?
Though unintended, this was more than enough to cause misunderstanding on Isabella’s side.
It seemed he would have to move faster than planned.
Thus, Kain summoned Baron Denver, who stood behind him.
“Baron Denver.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“I believe we must move the secret meeting forward. Send word to Count Landerck.”
At Kain’s declaration to advance the schedule, Baron Denver looked slightly startled.
“Will that be all right?”
Count Landerck always reacted like a nervous wreck over Kain’s safety.
Worried about the count’s fierce opposition, Denver asked again, but Kain waved it off.
“He already agreed to the secret meeting itself, so he will not strongly oppose merely changing the date.”
And even if he did oppose, it could not be helped.
At this point, a clash between Isabella and the Beheading Priest had to be prevented at all costs.
Later, once more time passed and the Legions of Evil following the Primordial Hatred began full-scale activity, Isabella and the Beheading Priest would become allies.
But not now.
If they met now, they would bare hostility toward each other, and it would be irreversible.
This had to be stopped.
Count Steiner Landerck, tasked with rebuilding and commanding the imperial “Five Knight Orders” that had lost most of their strength in the Founding Day Catastrophe, believed that to restore the Felberg Empire to its former glory, the most important thing was to protect Kain—who had awakened a Sigil unseen for centuries—at all costs.
Only days ago he had been horrified when Emperor Kain insisted on personally meeting the leader of an assassination cell that had once been subcontracted to the Hassassin, but in the end he failed to break the Emperor’s stubborn will and proposed a compromise instead.
When going to meet the assassination cell’s leader in person, Kain must bring a sufficient escort, and the meeting place must be chosen within the inner citadel so that the imperial army could provide rapid support in case of external threats.
But Count Landerck was not simply being unreasonable; the Emperor’s safety was indeed that critical.
In truth, it was Kain—who wanted a private audience with the leader of an assassination group of uncertain allegiance—that was making the abnormal demand.
Yet given the circumstances, even Landerck understood there was no choice.
Thus his compromise was reasonable, and since Kain partially shared his concerns, he accepted most of the requests.
For example, designating the inner citadel’s grand plaza—where the imperial army and capital knights could respond swiftly if trouble arose—as the meeting place, and bringing a sufficient escort.
However, since it was not an official event and unnecessary attention had to be avoided, Kain formed a small elite guard.
As a result, heavyweights such as Baron Heinrich Denver, the Emperor’s Cult holy knight Sir Aaron Valerian, Meister-class Grand Mage Marquis Damien Pavel, and Grand Chevalier-class high mage Viscount Philips Grey all gathered solely to protect the Emperor—an astonishing sight.
Yet even with such a small but overwhelmingly powerful group assigned to close protection, Count Landerck still could not relax.
He stationed numerous elite knights and mages at key locations not far from the appointed meeting place.
Truly the behavior of a man said to be obsessed with Emperor Kain’s safety.