Chapter 17 - Collective Punishment
Logram, a northern territory of Marpein.
What transpired there was immediately reported to the Holy State Alliance by Marquis Rabit, the lord.
"That Yuru completely wrecked this place! She even took the Crown Prince! The Blue Magic Tower has rebelled against the Holy State Alliance!"
Strictly speaking, the term "rebelled" wasn't entirely appropriate since Magic Towers and the Holy State Alliance were separate entities.
However, this was an era where the continent was governed by the Holy State Alliance.
Yuru's actions as Tower Master of the Blue Magic Tower were, in fact, an act that courted death.
***
And what happened in Logram quickly spread to Iser.
"...Your Majesty, Holy Kratia has convened a Grand Council."
Grand Council.
Holy Kratia had prepared council chambers in each nation.
They had a system connecting individuals in their respective chambers through an enormous magic circle.
A priest from Kratia absolutely had to infuse holy power for the divine artifact to operate and enable communication.
Since this divine artifact only functioned with holy power, the priests' authority was truly formidable.
And naturally, the power of Kratia, the nation these priests served, was beyond words.
"..."
Tia sat in her chair, silently gazing at her aide who had delivered the message.
What was bound to happen, had happened.
Tia rose with a hardened expression and headed to the Grand Council chamber.
Click.
The maids pulled open the double doors of the Grand Council chamber.
Tia went and sat in the corner of the long table, in the seat assigned to nations not part of the Holy State Alliance.
"Tia de Mezzeler, Empress of Iser. I will participate in the Grand Council."
It was the moment she raised her hand to express her intention.
Instantly, the empty seats filled.
Those participating from each nation's Grand Council chamber began to appear as if gathered around a single table.
"This is unbelievable."
Erbain, the young King of Marpein, spoke with a pale face, as if they had already been conversing.
"Kidnapping the Crown Prince of Holy Kratia? It's impossible unless the Magic Towers conspired and rebelled."
The Crown Prince of Kratia had been kidnapped.
Tia, hearing this, remained silent, listening intently to the conversation.
"This insults the dignity of the holy nations. Emperor Lutan will wage a Holy War against the Blue Magic Tower."
He seemed considerably flustered by the Crown Prince of Kratia's kidnapping.
In a situation where all blame could potentially fall on Marpein, he was desperately trying to shift all responsibility to the Blue Magic Tower.
"We also did not expect the Blue Magic Tower to commit such an act."
Yoka, the elderly King of Guhan, a nation to the left of Holy Kratia's territory, groaned in response.
"To come all the way to the northernmost part of Marpein—it's not as if she alone broke through right under Kratia's nose."
At his words, those seated at the table glanced at each other, gauging reactions.
"...The problem is being breached by just one Tower Master in the first place."
Uthor, the King of Yapheon, a nation to the right of Kratia, spoke without showing proper etiquette.
"If she had come our way, we would have stopped her easily before the Crown Prince was kidnapped."
Uthor, dressed in stitched lion hides instead of splendid clothes, flexed his brown muscles, gazing at Erbain.
"Erbain, it's practically your fault."
"Wh-what did you say?!"
Erbain cried out, startled and flustered.
"Why is this my fault? The Tower Master herself invaded! And the Tower Master of the Blue Magic Tower! The strongest mage, powerful enough to be part of the Hero's party, came in with a plan—do you think you could have done any better?!"
"I would have done better."
Uthor glanced at the axe beside him.
"Our weapons, inscribed with runic magic, are made to resonate with a powerful body. We don't easily lose to mere bookworms who rely solely on magic."
"Uthor!"
As Erbain shouted, Yoka stretched out a hand, his white eyebrows twitching.
"Everyone, stop! What would Emperor Lutan say if he saw this?!"
At his shout, Erbain stopped moving.
So did Uthor.
"Tch!"
Erbain, who had risen from his seat, quickly sat back down.
"Please choose your words carefully!"
"If I was excessive, I apologize."
Even as he said this, Uthor did not hide his grin, baring his teeth beneath the lion-face hide on his head.
From Yapheon's perspective, having always been called barbarians and ignored by Marpein, the more embarrassed Erbain became, the more enjoyable it was.
"Lutan, the Emperor of Kratia, is entering."
The Imperial attendant from Kratia, standing at the end of the table, spoke.
Thud.
At that, everyone attending the Grand Council rose from their seats.
"All glory to the Holy State Alliance!"
A sign of the cross followed the slogan.
It was, in effect, a salute.
Directed not at a god, but at the single man who had just entered the Grand Council chamber.
"It's been a long time, everyone."
The man, clad in gold-adorned armor, possessed a body more imposing than anyone else in the Grand Council chamber.
Without the cross insignia embedded in the greatsword he held, no one would have recognized him as the Emperor of Holy Kratia, the leader of all priests, so martial was his appearance.
Lutan, the man, slowly turned his head, his face showing the fatigue of prolonged battle, and looked around with eyes that shone fiercely, a stark contrast to his disheveled hair and haggard beard.
"Forgive Me for not observing proper attire due to battle with monsters."
CRASH!
Lutan plunged his sword into the floor and immediately took his seat at the head of the table.
At his gesture, those who had been standing quickly sat back down.
A terrifying silence had fallen over the Grand Council chamber, which had been bustling with noise before his arrival.
'Lutan.'
Tia swallowed dryly, her gaze fixed on the table.
'The Emperor mad for Holy War.'
He was the kind of person who was obsessed with physically eliminating everything deemed unholy.
Under the banner that only Holy War represented true faith, he considered himself the strongest force, and believed that no one else but him had the makings of a hero.
If the so-called Hell Pit hadn't appeared in Kratia, from which monsters periodically poured out, he probably would have actually stepped forward as the hero.
But the fact that such a thing existed in Kratia, and that he was continuously waging Holy War, was not widely known.
This was because if the Demon King had aimed to create a Hell Pit to strike at the enemy's heart and actually succeeded, it would tarnish his honor for failing to prevent it.
He hadn't even properly informed the Crown Prince of these matters. Despite being his son, he didn't trust the Crown Prince.
Rather, he would trust the individuals in this Grand Council chamber, who were completely controlled by the logic of power.
"I hear the Blue Magic Tower's mage, Yuru, has run wild."
At his words, everyone in the Grand Council chamber held their breath.
No one dared to explain the situation.
"I hear My son was kidnapped; is that true?"
A simple question.
It was merely stating the agenda, but the expressions of everyone present instantly hardened.
"Y-Your Majesty!"
Just then, Erbain, the King of Marpein, quickly rose and prostrated himself on the floor.
"I am sorry! An unspeakable incident occurred in the nation I govern!"
He seemed unable to bear Lutan's gaze directed at him, and bowed his head to the ground.
"I will do my utmost to quickly find His Highness the Crown Prince! Please grant me one chance!"
Erbain was the King of a nation.
As a representative of his country, he should have maintained at least a minimal level of dignity.
Nevertheless, upon seeing Lutan, he reacted with a guilty conscience.
'Erbain...'
Tia clenched her hands tightly, observing Erbain, who was not a particularly responsible person—he had just tried to shift all blame to the Blue Magic Tower—now unable to speak freely in front of Lutan.
'Enough.'
Erbain's attitude made her feel awkward too.
Yuru had caused this incident.
She was confused whether it would be advantageous to apologize preemptively like Erbain, or to feign complete disassociation.
"King of Marpein, do you consider all of this your fault?"
"Pardon?"
"The one who kidnapped My son is Yuru, one of the most powerful mages. I am asking if you truly had the power to stop Yuru, even with stringent security."
Gulp.
Erbain swallowed, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
His eyes darted up and down as if trying to discern Lutan's intentions.
"N-no, I didn't!"
His true thoughts spilled out from his mouth, as he had no time to deliberate.
"Yuru was too powerful a mage! I apologize, Your Majesty! For speaking beyond my capacity..."
"You,"
Lutan's gaze directed towards his head.
"Have repented."
It was as if a god had forgiven a sinner.
"Despite there being individuals here who truly need to repent, you prostrated yourself and confessed, taking all responsibility."
All eyes in the chamber quickly turned.
"Tia de Mezzeler."
Everyone was looking at her.
"I wish to ask what you think of the monstrosity that emerged from your land."
"..."
"Do not worry. I have more than one son."
He candidly admitted that he wasn't asking out of concern for the Crown Prince, without caring about anyone's reaction.
"I am asking what you think of a 'disbeliever' challenging the Holy State Alliance emerging from your land."
Tia's lips trembled.
She struggled to speak, then finally opened her mouth.
"I..."
"Whatever you are about to say will only be an excuse."
Lutan cut her off.
"However, I will trust you, who are so devout that you executed an old friend with your own hands."
He raised his hand.
"Go find Yuru and engage in Holy War. Then I will remain silent."
She gritted her teeth.
Lutan had caused her to shed too much blood with her own hands.
Even though it left her with crimson memories that brought nightmares disturbing her sleep every night, he seemed to care nothing for such pain.
Again, everything was about to begin under the name of Holy War.
'Yuru, this is all because of you.'
Just like Clay, Yuru had also walked into hell on her own accord.
Thinking that, her chaotic mind quickly cleared.
She released her grip on her clothes, unclenched her teeth, and said:
"I will do my best to atone."
A sense of calm settled in her eyes.
♧
"Clay."
The Demon King's office.
"The gargoyle that Goet sent has returned."
Hearing the news that the gargoyle sent for reconnaissance had returned, Clay rose from his seat.