Epilogue

Wendly du Brahniey, margrave of a patch of land on the eastern border of the Salma

Kingdom, sat alone in his study, looking down at several books spread out across his

large desk.

He was an older man, muscular for his age, with thinning white hair, a mustache to

match, and a sharp, hawklike gaze.

Though a noble of the Salma Kingdom, Brahniey was disliked by many of the lords

nearer the capital—a feeling he very much reciprocated—so he rarely bothered to

make an appearance.

This land had been taken by force, and a constant military presence had been a

necessity here ever since, to defend against both human enemies and invading

monsters.

Thanks to this presence, the lands of Brahniey were much safer than other regions.

This allowed for more developed land, leading to a greater tax income, which ultimately

fed and bolstered Brahniey's military. It was a positive, self-reinforcing cycle.

However, if Brahniey ever wasn't able to bring a conflict to a quick resolution, profits

would plummet, leading to a rather hefty deficit when it came time to pay his soldiers.

Because of this, the margrave generally had very little time to find a solution when a

new report landed on his desk.

A short time ago, he'd sent out soldiers to deal with a rather serious issue, and was

now waiting on the results. Waiting, however, was not something the margrave was

used to.

Margrave Brahniey's aide knocked on the door and entered the room. He interrupted

her long-winded greeting.

"Did you find those mysterious intruders?"

She nodded, not in the least put out by his brusque demeanor.

"We believe so. However, something more important has come to light. It's about the

monsters we heard about before. Of the six platoons sent out, the second suffered

heavy casualties, the first and third took minor injuries, and the fifth was nearly wiped

out. I have a list of the dead."

Margrave Brahniey's face had grown redder and redder as his aide delivered the

report. He yanked the list out of her hand and skimmed the names.

"According to the platoons' reports, they encountered four monsters in total. Though

they managed to kill all of them, casualties were incurred with each encounter."

"Four?! There were four of those freaks running around my lands?"

The margrave's eyebrows arched almost ridiculously high as he turned his gaze back

to his aide. The expression on his face would have intimidated someone with less

fortitude, but she simply nodded. After a moment, he turned his attention back to the

paper.

"While the fifth platoon was engaged with two of the monsters, they encountered

soldiers of unknown origin. You can find a description of the force and their numbers

here."

The aide pulled out another sheet of parchment and handed it over.

A deep scowl marred Brahniey's face as he yanked it out of her hand.

"A movement of a hundred troops and… What's this? A monster being ridden by a

knight and two others?"

The margrave ran his eyes over the same sentence several times, trying to make sense

of what was written there. "According to the report, this mysterious knight and the

women riding with him assisted the fifth platoon, but there's no mention of the other

troops getting involved."

The woman nodded. "That's correct. Thanks to them, the fifth platoon survived. Or at

least, half of them did. If the troops had attacked our weakened platoon, it would have

been a swift victory."

The margrave nodded. She'd practically read his mind.

"It says here that they were heading north? The mounted troops were probably Count

Dimo's men, but that leaves the mysterious knight. A mercenary, perhaps?"

Margrave Brahniey stood from his desk and walked over to the map pinned to the wall.

He stroked his mustache in silence as he looked it over.

"Let's see… we first lost track of them here. Then they reappeared with even more

soldiers… here. That means…"

The margrave turned his attention back to his aide.

"This is only a guess, of course, but it seems like something has happened in the

Nohzan Kingdom. What it is, I can't say. However, I'd wager a royal was being pursued

by those monsters on their way out of the country. Once they secured the count's

assistance, they returned the way they'd come. The question is, why did they help my

soldiers when they could have just left them be?"

He rubbed his chin.

"Send a messenger to the Nohzan Kingdom with just enough guards so they don't

appear threatening. And send search parties to the capital in Larisa as well."

The aide wrote this all down, well accustomed to how quickly the margrave threw

plans together.

"I want this done as fast as possible. I have a bad feeling about this…"

The aide bowed and left the room, closing the door behind her.

The margrave cast his gaze across the mountain of books piled high on his desk. He

pulled out a single piece of parchment.

On it was a report with a description of a monster that had been spotted entering the

Ruanne Forest on the far side of the Wiel River. The information was shaky, since the

observation had been made from far away and late at night, but it specifically

mentioned that the monster had four arms.

"Dammit! Why didn't I remember this when I saw that report? I don't know what those

idiots in the capital think they're doing, but they could very well be in danger."

He clenched his jaw and crumpled the report before throwing it at the map on the

wall.

***

Of the four countries in the southwest corner of the northern continent, the Nohzan

Kingdom and the Holy Hilk Kingdom were the only ones that shared borders with the

other three.

The capital of the Holy Hilk Kingdom, the center of the most influential religion on the

northern continent, lay on the far side of Mount Alsus, which was essentially a massive

mythril mine within the Rutios mountain range separating the country from the Great

West Revlon Empire.

A huge space had been clawed out of the mountainside by hand, at the center of which

stood a large building surrounded by an open-air corridor. The entrance was such a

brilliant white that the sunlight reflecting off it made it nearly impossible for those

approaching the compound to see.

This was the central cathedral in Alsus, and the home of Pontiff Thanatos Sylvius Hilk,

the head of the Hilk religion. Aside from the pontiff and his cardinals, only a select few

were ever allowed entry to the holy church.

The exterior was magnificently decorated, as if to show all who laid eyes on it the

power that the Hilk wielded. But the opulence didn't stop here. The interior corridors

and rooms were even grander in their design.

In one such room, a man sat in front of a large desk, reading a stack of reports.

The most noteworthy thing about the room was its occupant—a man dressed in

elegant robes and wearing a large miter emblazoned with the symbol of the Hilk

church. His face was completely obscured by a veil.

The man was Pontiff Thanatos Sylvius Hilk.

A hand covered with a white glove made from the most delicate of silks reached out

for one of the papers and brought it up to the veil.

The pontiff nodded with delight as he read the report. It covered the exploits of one of

his cardinals leading an attack on the capital of the Delfrent Kingdom, using an army

of undead warriors.

"Well, well. So, Delfrent's capital has fallen. However, it seems our undead army wasn't

quite the lethal force I'd been hoping it would be. But with the specter warriors, they

were able to pull off a victory."

The pontiff allowed himself a hearty laugh, his raspy voice echoing in the silent room.

"It's almost time to launch our attack on the empire. But perhaps we shouldn't play

our card to the west just yet."

Pontiff Thanatos reached up under his veil to scratch his chin.

"We'll need bigger, more robust warriors if we hope to break through such heavily

fortified walls. Or maybe something with a little punch behind it? But explosive

undead tend to be a huge drain on resources. What about just climbing over the

walls?"

He let out a low, throaty chuckle.

The pontiff picked up another dense report and began paging through it, only half

paying attention, until he came across something curious.

"I'd heard a silver knight was the one who felled Cardinal Charros. How interesting.

Perhaps I should send someone down to the southern continent and cause some

trouble there. But there's no need to hurry. Right now, we must strike while the iron

is hot."

Pontiff Thanatos stood up from his chair and grabbed his holy scepter before making

his way out into the hall, closing the door behind him.

The sound of his sinister laughter continued echoing in the now-empty room.