Chapter 312: Unearth (32)

"Isn't he wary of traps?" I asked.

"He's confident enough in himself that he doesn't need to be," Rena answered.

"Then we'd best hurry."

The sun was starting to set. By the time we arrived at the Seventh Nameless Cemetery on the outskirts of the capital, the world lay in complete darkness. The stars and moon were absent. Only the faint cries of night insects broke the silence as though they were devouring the last flicker of light clinging to the skeletal gravestones.

"I'll stay hidden."

Naneow Tropin pulled a thin mask over her face and slipped into one corner of the graveyard. I could sense the trees, stones, and fallen leaves, but she had vanished completely.

"..."

I hid myself among the nearby undergrowth. There was no telling how the marquis might appear. He might bring Wizards of Azure or arrive with the Blue Lion Knights in force. So, I concealed myself as best I could and waited.

Time stretched on until even the insects fell silent, lying still among the dead. The graveyard was hushed.

A lone man walked into that silence, slowly and deliberately, toward the appointed place. He wore only plain clothes with a sword at his waist. He had no helmet or armor. Yet, with each step, it felt as though the air grew colder around the graves. That was impossible, of course. He was a man of flesh and blood.

Still, unease stirred in me. I swept my surroundings with the Detection skill I had activated long before his arrival. There were no other presences. He was alone. I didn't see any messages or knights, and there was nothing suspicious in sight.

The man stepped into the clearing at the cemetery's center. He folded his arms and stared into the empty air, his sword still fully sheathed.

A sudden wind tore through the clearing, shaking the undergrowth and flaring his cloak.

I left the brush, still cloaked, but before I could close within twenty paces, his eyes fixed directly on me. There was no mistaking it as a coincidence. He held his gaze steadily.

Unfolding his arms, he let one hand fall slightly at his side. "So you're the one... trying to pull my strings from the shadows? An undead."

Leandro's tone was flat, devoid of feeling or force. He didn't sound forced or contrived. As though he had spoken this way all his life, it sounded natural. It was different from when he had pursued me aboard the ship. Perhaps this was his true self. His eyes, heavy-lidded and almost languid, regarded me with disinterest.

I nodded. "I have things to tell you."

Although he knew I wasn't a human, Leandro did not draw his sword.

"Then let's hear them."

I felt no killing intent or pressure. Perhaps a real conversation was possible.

So, without a preamble, I pleaded, "Marquis Leandro, stop the war the imperial family is raising."

Leandro tilted his head slightly. "

Hmm

."

His head tilt was enough to be taken as incitement to rebellion. Yet his reaction was far less violent than I had expected.

Does he already suspect something?

As an inspector and one of the Empire's Four Swordmasters, he surely knew more than I ever could.

"Do you know that Duke Lawrence's ghosts are assassinating those who oppose the war?"

Leandro nodded. "It's a common struggle for power. Even if it leads to war, that's no reason for me to intervene. I am the Empire's blade."

I found it strange that he didn't mention Emperor Clemens II, the one driving this war.

I pressed further. "If it were only a conflict between men, maybe. But did you know they are backed by the Demon King?"

Leandro's brows twitched upward. "What?"

"The duke is an agent of Botis. She bears the blessing of Biblio."

The epithet slipped out unintentionally, yet he seemed to understand immediately.

"Duke Lawrence... carries the Demon King's blessing?"

It struck home. He was hunting Botis' agents to drive out the darkness from the capital, and what he hated most were the Demon King's followers.

So I pressed my advantage. "For now, it may seem like the duke is on your side, but in the end, she cares only for herself. You know this as well as I do."

"

Hm...

"

His lips twisted, not in mockery, but in thought. I was reaching him. He knew.

"Before you gained Ilien's relic, you couldn't detect the ghosts, could you? That concealment was granted by the Demon King's blessing."

"..."

"If Biblio threatened to revoke that blessing, the duke wouldn't hesitate to kill you on the spot."

I recalled the effeminate duke lamenting over Leandro, but none of that mattered. What mattered was the fact that she had killed him.

"That's mere circumstance. You bring no evidence, yet you would have me oppose the duke?" Leandro coldly snapped.

The atmosphere darkened, but I steadied myself. It was time to reveal what I had prepared.

"I know the future."

"You're a prophet?"

"Something close. A regressor."

Leandro fell silent. "..."

His expression betrayed nothing, but at least he was listening. Perhaps he was more willing to hear me out than I thought.

I pressed forward with the flow. "I've seen you die meaningless deaths unworthy of your strength, again and again. But if you join hands with me, you'll gain more than you imagine. To start with..." Perhaps it was a weak lead, but I continued, "I'll show you proof first."

I twisted the prepared wire into twelve knots and held it out toward Leandro.

"This—!"

"You remember what you promised Isabelle? That if you had something to deliver, you'd show her this first?"

Only the two of them knew about this token. I had caught his attention.

Leandro's eyes shook violently as he stepped closer. "So it's true."

"Would I have called you here for nothing?"

"Very well. How should I oppose Duke Lawrence, then?" He took one more step and asked another question. "And besides the duke, what other factions serve the Demon Kings? I want to know."

The conversation was going well.

Where should I begin?

I thought first of those who served Purson: the stags, serpents, and harpies.

Didn't T&T clear them out, though? Should I ask Naneow?

"That would be..."

Just as I began to answer, Leandro closed to within five paces, and without a change in expression, he drew his blade. No stance, no step to gather strength, no hint of killing intent—just an attack that came with no warning. There was no ring of steel, no sound of air split by the swing. Yet, his blade was suddenly by my temple.

It was as if he had used some transfer magic upon the weapon itself. The sight was absurd, because it was too late to raise my sword, and too late to duck. The edge would split my helmet and skull in a single stroke. All I could do was stare.

Clang!

Two bullets struck the tip of his sword. The sounds came so close together that they fused into one. Whoever had fired, they had done so faster than the swing itself. Otherwise, blocking it was impossible.

"So, you're

there.

"

Leandro stepped back two paces, this time grasping the hilt with both hands, bringing the blade down in a diagonal arc. His confidence was palpable. No matter how many bullets were shot, he would cut them all aside. Leandro had calculated a follow-up after anticipating the first deflection. Though his sword was scarcely more than a meter long, the pressure it exuded covered the entire sky. All of it pressed down upon me alone, enough to freeze my limb bones rigid. Yet, I oddly felt like I could block it.

Just once...

Even without the bullets, I could see the path of the descending blade and the distribution of force. The marquis should have been shaken since his ambush had been thwarted. I didn't need skills. With pure swordsmanship alone, just once would be enough.

I drew my sword and raised it to meet the blow. The clash came with such force that even sound could not keep pace. The impact shot from my wrist flooded all my bones at once.

The moment I blocked his strike, it felt as though the quiet cemetery had become the open sea in a raging storm, with the seawater surging between my bones.

His blade darted again, to the side, below, and to the center with all near-simultaneous thrusts. I blocked them all. No longer powerless as I once had been, forced to stand and watch. Each strike was too swift to measure with rhythm or breath, but my counters were faster than sound itself.

I recalled the sister who gave up repairing the beetle.

No... no...

I struck aside Leandro's blade as effortlessly as brushing away rain from the deck of a storm-wracked ship.

Klang! Klang!

The blade sliced through the air with a faint hiss, steel clashing against steel. However, the sound arrived too late, because both the attack and parry had surpassed the speed of sound.

Clatter.

Although the shock reached me belatedly, my bones were groaning under the strain.

In the midst of it, I saw Leandro's astonished expression. "My... swordsmanship?"

Swoosh!

A white scythe cut between us, intercepting his next strike. Blue aura clashed against pale radiance, the collision sending a shockwave rippling outward. Gravestones toppled, and the earth split and flew apart as if an explosion had gone off.

After the first exchange, Leandro had stepped back three paces, Naneow two. Considering the leap she'd taken, her skill was impressive indeed.

Leandro drew his blade back, lowering his stance slowly. It felt like standing before a bowstring drawn taut, or the muzzle of a cannon already lit.

"What... trick is this?" he asked icily. "It's Isabelle's token. Not something the likes of you should ever see. Whatever your scheme, I'll learn it after you're dead."

"Really... you guys were getting along so well, and now you sour the mood?"

Leandro turned his eyes to Naneow. "Bullets and a scythe. You must be the fiend my men spoke of, the one who left every tail I set on Rena unconscious."

"Then maybe stop tailing women like a creep?" Naneow replied.

Leandro smirked with an oddly satisfied expression. "Good. If not for Biblio, I'd have sought you out myself to see your strength. Since you've come this far, let's finish it."

"

Hah

. I didn't expect you to be so interested. But I'll decline your confession. You've done plenty of good already. You've got more work ahead, so why end it now?"

Leandro did not reply. He simply brought his blade up forcefully to close the distance. Yet, with Naneow between us, it was as if the distance would never shrink. She leaped lightly into the air, aimed down her scythe, and snatched me up with one arm.

Pang!

The air cracked. Instead of bullets, a burst of flame erupted from her scythe's edge, hurling us far to the opposite side.

[Health decreased by 3.8%.]

The reckless force of the maneuver drained my Health, but Leandro, wreathed in the fire from Naneow's strike, pursued without a change in expression.

Naneow shrugged a little, adjusting her grip on the scythe's shaft. "Tough bastard."

Whoosh!

A cascade of silver flames flew toward Leandro.

***

Naneow Tropin leaned against a wall, breathing hard. "

Whew...

that was rough."

"Thanks... for saving me."

We had fled, but in that brief clash, Naneow did not exchange a single blow with him. Without her, it would have ended there. To face one of the Empire's Swordmasters and not be driven back... she had reached a higher realm than I imagined.

Naneow said to me, "No, you were the impressive one. I could feel how shocked Leandro was."

"..."

"And I'm not even sure saving me was the right thing to do. He's the sort who won't let this go after one night. As he said, someday it will come to an end, either by persuasion or death."

Did I make a mistake by forcing this meeting? By provoking him, the outcome is spinning out of control.

We used the wards laid in advance to finally shake him off, heading to the rendezvous with Rena. Even before hearing the result, I could see relief on her face as she leaned against the wall.

"How did it go?" Rena asked.

"Failure. I couldn't... persuade him properly."

"That's unfortunate."

Rena didn't seem disappointed, however.

"I'm sorry. I've dragged you both into danger."

Rena shook her head with a smile.

"No. Even if he said otherwise, it shook him. That's enough. And... he won't have time to care about us, not while Biblio still breathes. A single night is more than enough."

Rena looked up. Darkness was giving way to dawn, birdsong piercing the misty blue of the morning. We lay hidden at Rena's chosen site for a day. No messengers arrived. Perhaps she was right. One night was all Leandro could spare while hunting Biblio.

Should I try persuading him again? But with what?

I glanced at my inventory, hoping for Isaac's counsel, but he was still asleep.

[Immersive Calculation...]

[Converting spirit particles...]

[Measuring...]

I still saw meaningless words in the system messages, but there was one new message.

[Entering Spatial Distribution Processing...]

It still meant nothing to me.

Another day passed, and Leandro's shaken resolve bore fruit in an unexpected way.

Rumble...

Rena opened the underground passage and raised her head, exhaustion written across her face.

"You can come out now."

"What of the marquis? What happened?"

"He's as good as dead."

I wanted an answer. "As good as... dead? What do you mean?"

Rena shook her head and explained, "He... publicly requested the duke's cooperation in an investigation."

Good news. Perhaps he had taken my words more seriously than I thought. If he reflected on them, he'd have found more than enough suspicion in the duke's actions.

Yet, before I could voice it, she continued, "And the duke challenged him to a duel. He accepted without hesitation."

It suited his nature. Even when he was split into dozens of larvae, he only faced me one at a time when I demanded a duel.

"A duel? Where?"

Her lips twisted. "That's the problem. To avoid damaging the capital, the duke proposed fighting underground. In the imperial reserve."

"The imperial reserve..."

"He's walked to his death like a hound without a leash, charging straight into a den of traps."

"We're going after him."

"What?"

Rena blinked at me in disbelief, but I had already made my decision.

I rose to my feet. "We're going to save him."

Rena moved quickly to block the door. "No, you can't. It's far too dangerous."

"I won't let him die so cheaply. Besides, if the duke invited him, then the reserve's barrier may be open. Isn't this the chance to enter?"

Truthfully, the thought of stepping into the imperial reserve outweighed saving Leandro. I had never seen it.

I recalled what the ghosts in Erast said and my conversation with Isaac.

I'm surprised the tale written in the imperial reserve is true.

Did I not tell you? It is Seiron's blood, won by tearing apart the Apostles. Of course, it would rest in the imperial reserve.

Breaking the barrier by force was impossible. Even if I died, such an opportunity might never come again. If the duke had invited someone inside, there had to be a gap for an uninvited guest as well.

Naneow, who had followed us up from below, nodded. "I agree."

"Founder!" Rena exclaimed.

𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

"This chance won't come again. The barrier must be open, and we don't know when it will close. I'll go with him."

"Then I'll..."

Naneow and I spoke at once.

"No."

"Not you."

"What?!"

Naneow explained, "Director, you must stay. We don't know how long we'll take or what will happen. Someone has to manage the guild in our absence."