Ch.163Faith (1)

Thirty days later, at the Astro headquarters.

I was attending a meeting with my close associates.

Everyone summoned was a key figure within the organization.

Only Irene Foxis wasn’t seated in her prepared chair.

It was because of my request for her to remain at the academy.

“I’ll be waiting.”

“I’d like you to return as quickly as possible.”

It was a time when stability was needed.

Besides, now that she had grown into a professor-level powerhouse, having her stay at the academy would be reassuring.

Even if only briefly, an academy without my presence would be concerning in many ways.

In moments like these, I felt the fox had become quite reliable.

Anyway.

‘That’s not what’s important right now.’

I clear away these idle thoughts.

As I return my gaze to the opposite side, my eyes meet with the silver-haired figure who was briefing the content.

Eyes covered with burn scars were quietly looking back at me.

It was the deputy commander.

“The concerns we had have become reality.”

I had asked Neria to investigate matters related to the Venatti ducal family.

Especially since I had received a meaningful warning from Rusca, I thought it was necessary to share opinions with my close associates.

Various documents were neatly arranged on the round table.

These were the results submitted as reports.

I scan the contents with my eyes.

“Commander, the collusion between the Venatti family and the cultists seems certain.”

“Betrayal… It seems they’re plotting treason over there.”

“With this, the enemy forces now consist of Baob, Venatti, and the businessman… three major factions have united.”

“So it’s come to this after all.”

I lament quietly.

Well… the corruption of the Venatti family had been foreshadowed in the original work, so it wasn’t particularly shocking, but I couldn’t help feeling troubled about it.

It was the family Ameila Venatti belonged to.

With mixed feelings, I flip through the documents one by one.

Rustle, rustle-

“……”

As I furrow my brow, someone suddenly poses a question.

It was a middle-aged man with red hair and bushy beard.

The Red Sword Saint, Kyle.

“I can’t believe it.”

“Chef.”

“What happened to the Venatti? I remember them as loyal people.”

“Come to think of it… Lord Kyle, you were acquainted with the previous heads of the family, weren’t you?”

“We fought on battlefields together. They were the best frost mages I’ve ever seen.”

“They must have been exceptional. For a star to acknowledge them.”

“Their frost was truly comparable to the stars.”

His voice sinks quietly.

Perhaps he was reminiscing about the past.

Kyle’s pupils were calmer than ever before.

I tap the documents I was flipping through.

“Malice and scheming can erase even the most brilliant seasons.”

“Commander… do you know what happened to them?”

“Roughly speaking. Of course, I’ll need to look into the details myself.”

“I see…”

Kyle wore an unusually serious expression.

I add a word of reality as if in response.

“Soon, a storm will descend upon the world.”

“It will truly become a great war.”

Kyle smiles bitterly.

He was someone who understood the anguish of war better than anyone.

After all, he was a murderous fiend who always commanded the front lines.

The red-maned lion mutters as if in despair.

“Perhaps an even bloodier wind than six years ago will blow.”

“I can assure you such a tragedy won’t happen. We’ll prevent it.”

“Are you saying we’ll strike them first?”

“Is there any reason to fear?”

“But… what do you plan to do about the Venatti family?”

The star asks quietly.

The light in his pupils was closer to pure curiosity than doubt.

This had been a concern for some time.

Though now it was neatly resolved.

“They’re one of the empire’s three great ducal families, aren’t they?”

“That’s right.”

“If Astro intervenes, wiping them out wouldn’t be difficult… but it would turn the entire empire against us.”

“You can ease your worries about that. The Emperor of the Empire will take our side. If we just complete the minimum preparations to make the situation understandable, we can brand even a great family like that as traitors.”

“If the board allows it, we could even draw support from the imperial family.”

“The Empire has already fallen into my grasp.”

“I’ll trust you, Commander.”

“I’m pleased to hear that.”

Kyle withdraws, satisfied.

The meeting topic naturally moves on to the next agenda.

It was about the security of Gallimar Academy.

After all, it had been targeted by cultists and the Venatti for some time.

My gaze turns to the deputy commander across from me.

“Gallimar… we need someone to take charge of its defenses.”

The academy wasn’t safe.

I was well aware of the dangers of the underground labyrinth.

The intricately woven maze would likely be used as an infiltration route by cultists.

However, I couldn’t close down what had become a symbol of peace that now held great meaning for the empire’s citizens.

This was a battle of wills with those despicable evil sprouts from the empire’s perspective.

Therefore, instead of closure, I had to seek a way to block off the labyrinth.

After much deliberation, I chose the right person.

“Miss Neria.”

None other than the deputy commander.

I ask quietly.

“Would you accompany me to the academy?”

The role I wanted her to play was singular.

To be the gatekeeper guarding Gallimar’s labyrinth.

Though the faculty was already keeping watch, the enemies we would face later would clearly be stronger than them.

As we were approaching the final chapter, the other side would also deploy their core executives.

Especially if top forces like the Conductor, the Dreamer, and the Gravedigger started moving, it would be overwhelming for the faculty.

In battle, the defending side is always at a disadvantage.

‘I need someone trustworthy.’

Neria is strong.

Chosen by the stars from birth, she carried unprecedented radiance in her vessel.

She was the second strongest among Astro’s members, right after Kyle.

Although most of her starlight was currently sealed, she was more than capable of protecting the academy.

I made my request to the girl.

“If your star illuminates hardship, nothing would please me more.”

“Everything is according to your will.”

The girl didn’t add any further words.

She merely expressed her obedience.

I responded with a faint smile.

“Thank you.”

The agenda was settled.

The unusually long meeting concluded.

I shake off my fatigue with a faint sigh.

Until then, I hadn’t anticipated at all.

That the day’s problems were only just beginning.

“Commander!”

Bang-!

Following the urgent voice, the meeting room door opens roughly.

Beyond it, a member was calling for me.

It was none other than Rena.

“Miss Rena…?”

The space magician.

An executive who helps members move with her [Portal] ability during every operation.

The black-haired woman wore an unusually flustered expression.

She speaks with her mask, which usually covers her lower face, lowered.

“Commander! There’s been an attack at the academy…!”

The urgently delivered news.

I stood up from my seat before her sentence was even finished.

It was the only day I had been absent from the academy in the past fortnight.

Of all times, it had to be today when I was away.

‘Damn it.’

Something had happened.

***

Approximately 30 minutes earlier.

Suspicious figures draped in blood-red robes were walking along a darkened path.

The Gravedigger, leading the group from the front, shakes off his hands.

Plop, plop-.

Dark red spots mark the floor.

Drenched blood was dripping from the man’s sleeves.

The suspicious figures all looked like they were wrapped in evil.

“Hmm.”

The Gravedigger hums briefly.

At his feet lay several corpses.

The pieces of flesh were damaged in a miserable state, as if they had been mauled by something.

Only by the patterns on their collars could one tell they were faculty members of Gallimar.

Four skulls were scattered on the floor.

“Poor. Little. Lambs.”

They were professors standing guard.

The exit leading to the academy.

Seeing them blocking it, it seemed the faculty was also wary of the labyrinth.

Four faculty members had been stationed at that point alone.

The Gravedigger fiddles with the squishy pieces.

“Fleeting. Life. Return. To. Original. Form.”

They were educators called the best on the continent, but before the funeral dirge, life crumbled futilely.

The suspicious figures, who had been walking without pause, soon reach a dead end.

More precisely, the exit of the labyrinth was waiting for them.

The Gravedigger quietly extends his hand.

Creak-

The exit opens as if responding to his signal.

The darkness that had settled lifts.

“……”

The scenery visible outside was the academy grounds.

The Gravedigger spreads a barrier around them, suppressing the group’s presence as much as possible.

As he slowly steps into the academy, he mutters.

It was a message delivered to his subordinates following behind.

“Everyone. Fulfill. Your. Mission.”