Chapter 99: An Unexpected Turn
The outer outskirts of the capital were even more desolate than the southern ones.
The south, though abandoned, was at least home to a few bands of mercenaries, or rather, bandits, like Sugg’s group.
It had a certain… rough charm.
But the outer outskirts were truly a wasteland, technically outside the capital’s jurisdiction, even more remote than where Bai had encountered Sugg.
There were no major roads, no fertile land, and the terrain was difficult, not worth the effort to develop.
So, it was a place even the mercenaries avoided, a quiet, forgotten corner.
And it was here, twenty meters underground, in a secure facility, that the “Capital’s Large-Scale Detector,” or rather, the Demonic Rune Energy Detector, was housed.
Concealed, secure, close to the capital, and protected by the difficult terrain—a predictable, yet easily overlooked, location.
This detector, capable of covering the entire capital, had been retrieved from Vikarn at a great cost to the North Empire, a sacrifice of several Gatekeeper rings.
It was the one device they had chosen to retrieve, after much debate among the capital’s high command. The “miracle” of the festival, the resonance device, had been left behind.
Partly because the resonance device, though powerful, was less effective if used too frequently, its range and amplification diminished. It was better to use it once a year, to maximize its impact in a large-scale offensive.
But the Demonic Rune detector, recently, hadn’t been of much use…
Now, however, with a demon assassin on the loose, the device was running at full power, day and night, guarded by ten Crown Guards.
No one in the North Empire knew how it worked, only how to turn it on and off, and how to interpret its warnings.
It was early morning, and Bai had predicted that nothing would happen until at least noon, so the guards were a bit… bored.
But as one of them dozed off, an alarm blared, jolting him awake.
Beep… beep… beep…
A Demonic Rune energy reading!
He sat up straight, the other guards rushing in, their gazes fixed on the map of the capital on the screen. Several small dots were moving rapidly.
This meant that unlike Sasha and Ice Lily, who had used [Absolute Negation] to evade detection, these demons had been locked on.
But why were there more than two…?
“They’re heading towards the Clock Tower Cathedral,” the squad captain said, his voice low. “Inform the capital immediately! The situation has changed!”
“Yes, sir!” the communications officer replied, grabbing a communication stone and quickly etching a message.
Another piece of Vikarn technology, though one the North Empire had mastered. Two linked stones could transmit messages, though their range was limited.
But they were cheap, affordable even for wealthy commoners.
As the officer finished his message, he heard a series of soft thuds behind him.
“Hmm?”
He turned to see the captain’s smiling face, spattered with blood.
“C-Captain?”
Before he could react, the captain asked, “Is the message sent?”
“Yes…”
“Good,” the captain nodded, a look of approval in his eyes. “You can join them now.”
Shlick—
A blade pierced through his flesh, and more blood splattered across the captain’s face. He was still smiling, a strange, almost ecstatic look in his eyes.
“You’re… not the captain…” the officer gasped, his eyes widening as he fell, seeing the bodies of his comrades scattered across the floor, the room awash in blood.
The screen itself was undamaged. The “captain” hadn’t touched it.
Or perhaps… there was another reason.
After killing the last knight, the captain’s smile faltered, his face contorting in a grimace.
But his voice was strangely lazy. “Humans are so fragile. They break so easily… oh well, the job is done.”
His body went limp, his face pale, as if his soul had been ripped away.
He looked at the bodies around him, a look of dawning horror on his face. “I… I killed them?”
“No, not me. Someone else… a demon…”
“Could it be… I am the demon…?”
The memory of the past few moments flashed through his mind, shattering his sanity, a cold dread filling him.
He raised the blade, the one he had used to kill his comrades, and brought it down on his own head.
…
“Latest report, Commander Bai,” a Crown Guard said, handing her a communication stone. “The detector has picked up Demonic Rune energy fluctuations, approaching the Clock Tower Cathedral.”
“And there’s more than one.”
“More than one?” Bai’s expression hardened as she took the stone, the message confirming the knight’s words, but also deepening her confusion.
How could there be more than two? She had just encountered Sasha and Ice Lily yesterday. They were the assassins.
But regardless, she had to act.
“There’s no time to waste. Let’s go,” she said, standing up. The stone also provided the location and speed of the fluctuations. They would reach the cathedral in about fifteen minutes.
She had to intercept them.
