At the northernmost border of the Norlangarth North Empire—one of the Human Empire's four great empires—stood a massive mountain range at the edge of the world.
Beyond those mountains lay a realm of darkness that even light was said to be incapable of reaching.
That realm was the Dark Territory.
The creatures inhabiting that land were enemies of the Human Empire. They were monsters who coveted the human world and sought to take everything from its people.
Even humans themselves would become their food.
Although the mountains rose so high that they appeared to touch the sky, someone from the Dark Territory might still find a way across them. For that reason, a White Dragon had once guarded this place and protected the Human Empire.
At least, that was what the common people believed.
The Integrity Knight Order knew the truth.
The White Dragon had died long ago. The Integrity Knights were the ones who now guarded the border.
The truth had been concealed to keep the population from worrying.
At an Integrity Knight outpost within the mountain range, a blond girl stood gazing across the black earth beneath the bloodred sky.
That was the Dark Territory.
The girl was Alice Synthesis Thirty, the newest member of the Axiom Church's Integrity Knight Order.
She was still a novice, and this was her first assignment guarding the northern border.
It would also allow her to reunite with her teacher after nearly a year apart: the commander of the Integrity Knight Order and the strongest of all Integrity Knights, Bercouli Synthesis One.
He was more than her teacher. To Alice, he was like a father.
That was why she affectionately called him "Uncle" in private.
Her assignment here would last several years. It also meant she wouldn't have to remain in Central Centoria and watch the depraved nobility commit one vile act after another.
Alice could hardly bear the sight of them.
On several occasions, she had been unable to restrain herself and intervened.
The result was always the same.
She violated the Taboo Index and was punished with confinement.
Alice simply couldn't understand it.
The rules established by the Axiom Church were supposed to be obeyed. If that was true, why were nobles like them allowed to exist?
The Chief Elder had repeatedly offered explanations that sounded somewhat reasonable. He claimed that Integrity Knights shouldn't interfere in such matters because doing so would only make the situation worse.
He had also said that these events were trials imposed by the gods, and that their true nature wasn't what Alice perceived on the surface.
Even so, Alice always felt that something was wrong.
She desperately wanted to examine the matter more deeply.
Whenever she tried, however, her right eye began to ache.
That pain indicated that she was approaching a violation of the Taboo Index.
If someone contemplated murder, for example, the pain in their right eye would intensify as their desire to kill grew stronger.
It was a punishment imposed by the gods.
Therefore, the more severe Alice's pain became when she thought about the nobles, the more it seemed to prove that her thoughts were leading her down an evil path.
She had no choice but to stop thinking about it, afraid that her wicked impulses would continue to grow.
Yet whenever she witnessed the nobles' behavior, she couldn't stop herself from questioning it again.
Trapped between those two pressures, Alice had grown increasingly distressed.
Then she finally received orders to serve at the northern mountain range.
"Alice, the Knight Commander has returned."
The warning snapped Alice out of her thoughts.
Her right eye had already begun to ache again.
She had started thinking about those things without even realizing it.
Looking ahead, she spotted a silver figure racing toward them beneath the bloodred sky.
It was the Knight Commander of the Integrity Knight Order, riding a flying dragon.
Within a few breaths, he had arrived before them.
"Well, young lady. I never thought I'd live to see you become an Integrity Knight."
"Please don't call me that, Knight Commander."
Alice didn't mind him using the nickname in private, but hearing it in front of several other people was deeply embarrassing.
Flustered as she was, she failed to notice the shadow that passed through her uncle's eyes.
Perhaps he didn't entirely approve of her becoming an Integrity Knight.
"Alice, I am about to give you an order in my capacity as Knight Commander."
"Yes, sir!"
Alice immediately stood at attention.
Had he come here to entrust her with an important mission?
His expression was so grave that she knew this wasn't a joke. Her body instinctively tensed.
"I need you to return to Central Centoria immediately and report something to the Axiom Church. The Dark Territory has been almost completely unified."
Bercouli paused.
"They have an Emperor."
The gravity of his words drained the color from everyone's face.
"Knight Commander, is that what caused all the disturbances in the Dark Territory these past few days? An emperor—no, the Emperor? Either way, they have a new ruler?"
"What exactly happened?"
"Could the God of Darkness have descended?"
That possibility was even more terrifying.
"It isn't the God of Darkness, but the person responsible is still extremely dangerous. According to what I've learned…"
Bercouli proceeded to share the intelligence he had obtained from a captured enemy soldier.
The prisoner had concealed almost nothing.
He had boasted about the Emperor's accomplishments and attempted to intimidate them, claiming that the Human Empire was finished and should prepare itself to be ruled by the Dark Territory.
Several days earlier, a man calling himself the Emperor had suddenly appeared.
With overwhelming personal power, he defeated one faction after another and forced them to submit.
Half a day ago, the unrest within the Dark Territory came to an end.
The Emperor had subjugated every faction and unified them under his command.
Any force that refused to submit was exterminated.
Of the original Ten Lords of the Dark Territory, only five remained.
One might assume that the Dark Territory had suffered tremendous losses during the unrest.
The truth was far more terrifying.
When the Ten Lords still ruled independently, none had been particularly willing to obey the others.
Although the Dark Territory had now lost a portion of its military strength, all its remaining forces had been united under the Emperor's command.
The scattered factions had been forged into a single army.
That made them far more dangerous than before.
Yet the Emperor himself was the most terrifying element of all.
He had appeared without an army or faction supporting him, yet in less than a week, he had forced every major power in the Dark Territory to submit and acknowledge him as their ruler.
Bercouli had personally fought the commander of the Dark Knight Order. He knew exactly how powerful that man was.
If even someone like Shasta had submitted, Bercouli could scarcely imagine how terrifying the Emperor must be.
"That is everything I've learned. Alice, you must return and report this immediately!"
Alice stared at the Knight Commander with wide eyes, biting down hard on her lower lip.
She had only just arrived, yet he already wanted her to return with this message.
Did he really think she couldn't see his other motive?
He was worried about her safety.
This place could soon become the most dangerous frontline in the entire Human Empire.
"I refu—"
"I am giving you an order as Knight Commander of the Integrity Knight Order, Alice! Of course, if someone else is willing to accept this mission, then you may remain here."
Alice's eyes lit up.
She immediately turned toward the others.
Not a single person volunteered.
"Alice, do you truly believe we can afford to waste time arguing?"
Alice bit her lip hard enough to nearly draw blood.
Then, without warning, the Knight Commander's presence became terrifying.
His sword was already in his hand before Alice even saw him draw it.
A moment earlier, he had been facing her.
Now, his back was turned toward her.
The other Integrity Knights reacted a fraction of a second later, drawing their weapons and preparing for battle.
Directly ahead of them, above the mountaintop on the far side of a ravine less than one hundred mel away, the air rippled like the surface of disturbed water.
A throne materialized in midair.
A man sat upon it.
(End of Chapter)
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