Chapter 19. Symbol and Idol (8)

The magic stone, moved with strict security, was placed on the ground.

A massive magic circle was drawn around it. It was the implementation of Emely’s research by other mages.

Yuri was among them.

“Actually, I can’t say there’s absolutely no possibility of failure.”

Emely said again, something I had already heard.

“We couldn’t create a gate in the middle of the city, after all. We don’t know what’s on the other side.”

It was impossible to research it outside. The magic stone had already been targeted for theft once.

Ah, for your reference, the holy relic I gave instead of the magic stone is still being researched. Unfortunately, proving its principles is much more difficult than proving magic… no, they said there was almost no clue.

“It truly is the power of God,” the research director said with a hearty laugh.

Holy relics are scattered everywhere here too. Because the ones I’ve been consistently making were everywhere.

All the weapons and ammunition held by the soldiers were blessed by priests, and the swords held by the Inquisition knights surrounding me were all directly blessed by me. They were already holy relics that wouldn’t be out of place in a museum.

Emely gave me a light nod and went to where the mages were gathered. Gloria, Faina, Perti, Yuri. All of them were there.

“…….”

Ria subtly reached out and lightly touched her hand to the back of my hand.

My heart calmed down a little.

A little distance away from us, Si-yoon, hunters, and some clergy members were positioned. The judgment was that it would be better to spread out and disperse the enemy’s forces if the opponent attacked. Our side also had a considerable number of people.

“…It’s starting.”

I said softly.

The giant magic circle drawn on the floor glowed. The color of the light was, ironically, black. A light that couldn’t exist naturally, as if darkness itself were moving.

That black light soon created a real form and slowly pooled in the center of the magic circle.

And, a tall gate rose above it.

It could only be called a ‘gate.’ Normally, gates looked like the surface of a lake filled with mercury, but this one didn’t even have the slightest tremor. Perhaps because it was man-made, its shape was a perfectly tall rectangle.

Although it was tall, it wasn’t so tall that a vehicle couldn’t enter it.

“…….”

Click.

The knights nervously gripped their swords and took their positions. The soldiers also raised their guns.

This was the kind of behavior that people who remembered the gate incident, or even those who had seen footage of something emerging from a gate, would exhibit.

However, even after standing like that for a while, there was no sign of anything emerging from the other side.

I couldn’t see what was beyond. That made it even more frightening.

“……Advance.”

As agreed beforehand, the knights walked forward first. Ria and I, who were being escorted in the middle, also walked forward slowly.

Ria’s father was walking with a group of hunters at some distance from the knights, and Si-yoon’s group was walking beyond them.

As we approached the gate, the mages guarding the area joined us.

“You don’t need to be too scared. We’ve crossed gates many times before, haven’t we?”

Ria’s words made me nod.

I took a deep breath.

The surface, which had been motionless, continued to ripple as people entered.

As if the people going ahead were sinking into it.

The surface that slowly approached me also swallowed me up.

I didn’t even need to hold my breath. Just like when I crossed other gates.

Beyond that- there was nothing.

The soil on the ground felt a little softer, but that was all.

“…….”

We walked in silence for a while.

The surroundings were a rather large open space. Perhaps it was where the gate had been.

“Ria, perhaps-“

“I know.”

Before I could finish speaking, Gloria moved quickly.

She approached a nearby knight who was walking, whispered something in his ear, and the knight quickly left the formation.

And soon, that knight returned with Gloria.

David naturally followed Gloria. Although his face was pale.

“Gloria, is this perhaps where the gate originally was?”

“……Yes, it is.”

Gloria seemed to recognize the place, with only an open space and forest around, without needing anything else.

“But, are they just going to let us be?”

“It’s a bit far from the royal palace. Also, this forest is owned by the royal family, so other elves can’t easily enter… and most importantly, there’s no path.”

But even so, it was a little strange.

Even if it’s royal property, they drove out the royal family, so doesn’t it belong to them now?

“Perhaps they didn’t expect the gate to open again.”

But Gloria’s answer was quite simple.

“……It’s not like there’s no way.”

Yes.

Gates are not ‘destroyed.’

Whether it’s sealed by this side or the other side, it’s sealed using magic. Of course, if it’s sealed by only one side, the path closes, so that method is very effective.

However, if that’s the case, shouldn’t they properly manage this side so that the gate doesn’t open again-

“……Ah.”

And then, I realized.

“Yes.”

Gloria replied in a slightly subdued voice.

“Perhaps, there was ‘no need.’ It means there is no one who wants to open the gate again.”

There was only one royal who escaped.

David was not royalty, and in the first place, he was in a position where he wasn’t even properly treated as a person.

The being that would call those two people back would be someone who was extremely loyal to the royal family and would summon a symbol to this side, or the royal family itself.

If the opponent had definitively eliminated all those beings, there would be no reason to pay attention to this side.

“……Alright.”

Although not particularly good, I said so for now.

“We need to observe the situation. Gloria, can you cooperate?”

“That’s what I wanted.”

When I said that, Gloria replied with a face as stiff as a board.

It was the angriest face I had ever seen on Gloria.

*

First, we set up a base camp. A field command post was set up again so that we could escape quickly in case of any situation, and more people arrived.

All sorts of equipment too. Quite a lot of heavy equipment that could pass through the gate also arrived.

Among them were things that could clearly be called ‘cannons.’ Like towed artillery or self-propelled artillery.

Originally, it would be wrong for me to be at the very front, observing the opponent.

Although I can’t call myself a commander in good conscience, this act is being accepted as a kind of religious crusade by the church. And I am the person in the middle of it.

However, I cannot be absent either.

Because I was the one who could reliably protect the people who went ahead when they encountered immense magical power.

In the end, we compromised: we brought artillery capable of fire support to the very edge of the forest, and the knights were put on standby.

Anna and Maria remained at headquarters, and Si-yoon, Yuri, Gloria, and David joined us.

And Verena, a knight of the Inquisition.

“……Alright. For now, let’s just go as far as the royal palace. According to Gloria, there is a symbol in the royal palace, so confirming that should be enough.”

The borders of this world are often looser than the borders of our world. If forces could be perfectly projected onto the entire border, that boundary would be clear, but many countries cannot do that.

The Elf Kingdom is also like that.

And even if the opponent is dealt with almost perfectly, a year is a rather short time to resolve internal political chaos. Not only around the royal palace but also the backlash from provincial lords must be considered.

The means of transportation we chose was a car.

It had large wheels- no, it was a large military vehicle overall. Perhaps it could withstand small arms fire that infantry carry.

Several such cars lined up.

It would make noise when moving, but we couldn’t walk 20 kilometers back and forth.

I would probably be exhausted by the time we returned.

What appeared as we exited the forest was, literally, a plain.

There were no mountains visible in the distance, just a wide-open plain stretching out. Beyond the plain, only densely packed trees were visible.

“There are no trees around the royal palace. They were all cleared hundreds of years ago. Even for elves, who were born in the forest.”

……Well, humans did the same.

The royal palace was visible without going that far.

We deliberately chose a time when it was dark, but even so, the royal palace, illuminated by magic in the distance, was clearly visible in its color.

Red.

And black.

The colors of the flags lined up on the royal palace walls were like that.

“……Red is the Grand Duke’s family. Actually, I’m not sure if that Grand Duke’s family is loyal or not.”

Gloria was simply ‘caught up’ in it.

“However, yes, it’s understandable that it’s the Grand Duke’s family. They were a very ambitious family.”

“What about black?”

“……I’m sorry. I don’t really know. The red flag clearly bears the symbol of the Grand Duke’s family, but the black flag… has nothing on it.”

“What flag was originally there?”

“White, of course. Because that is the color of the power bestowed by the God we believe in.”

We all fell silent.

Without obtaining any further information, we immediately turned back.

A black symbol.

A color that perfectly contrasts with white.

No one present here would be unaware of what that meant.