Chapter 113: Dream Road (2) A strange rumor rippled through the Sentinel Knights.
To the other knights, Maximilian was a man of terrifying, icy composure. He was a bird of prey that had quietly sharpened its talons within the shell of Empire Point, only to reveal its true nature far later than anyone expected.
However, the sight of him looking uncharacteristically disheveled when he visited Chiron's office, followed by Chiron storming out in a matching state of fury, was enough to put the entire order on edge.
"...Tiana. Do you seriously not know what's going on?"
In the office of Tiana, a first-year Sentinel knight, Leon nudged her shoulder and asked.
"Damn it, I told you I don't know. How would I—no, not there. Please install it on the window next to that one."
Even as Tiana directed the air conditioning engineers, Leon kept chattering, his hands clasped behind his neck.
"The seniors and even the rookies keep coming to me, asking what's up with Max."
"...Rookies? The zero-years are only one year behind us, you know."
"Some of them are two or three years younger these days. You know how it is."
"I don't care."
Tiana's eyes remained fixed on the window-mounted air conditioner. Leon pursed his lips.
"Tiana. But isn't that thing way too expensive?"
It was the latest invention from Lorenzo Technology. The design was sleek and sophisticated, and the performance was guaranteed, but the price tag was staggering.
"It's a bit pricey, but... the staff says they're dying of heat. I have to install it. Everyone else is doing it, so I can't be the only one who doesn't."
Knock, knock—
The door opened. Several senior knights were peeking in from behind.
"Um, Tiana. By any chance, did Maximilian—"
"I don't know either."
Tiana answered immediately. They turned away with awkward expressions.
Leon smirked.
"They all ask you too?"
"Yeah. I guess we look close because we're in the same year."
Even so, they couldn't exactly be called close. They certainly weren't on terms where they could bare their souls to one another. Nevertheless, their positions within the order were unique; they were the only ones who dared to call Maximilian 'Max.'
"Installation is complete."
In the meantime, the air conditioner was finished.
"Oh... is it all set?"
"Yes."
The engineer began packing up his tools.
"Leon, did you get yours installed?"
"Ours is coming next week. The orders are completely backed up right now."
"Why? I thought only we used the window-mounted ones."
"Hey, what do you mean only us? Look at it. It doesn't ruin the interior."
Existing cooling units were clunky. They required drilling through walls to connect the indoor and outdoor units, and they took up a lot of space. They were eyesores usually reserved for places like banks or government offices.
But this window-mounted air conditioner was different. It was thin and stylish, looking more like a piece of decor.
"They say if you pay extra, they'll even customize it with crystals or something. The nobles are going crazy over it. Apparently, they're bribing people just to get them installed in their mansions first."
"Ah... I can see why."
"Tiana, how did you get yours so early?"
"I asked Max, and he made it happen. I even got a discount. He'd probably do it for you too if you asked."
At Tiana's words, Leon finally realized.
Ah, so this is why everyone comes to us whenever something involving Max happens.
"Starting operation now."
The engineer pressed a button on the remote.
Whirrrrrrr—
A cool breeze rushed in with a soft hum. Before long, the air in the office became pleasant.
"Ooooh!"
The clerks and administrative officers, who had been exhausted by the heat, began to clap. Tiana's eyebrows twitched with a sense of pride.
"...Huh?"
Suddenly, Tiana's administrative officer muttered while looking out the window.
"Are the knights back?"
Maximilian's state-of-the-art 'private' transport ship was seen landing outside.
"Seriously, why does he change planes like he's swapping out a bicycle?"
Tiana was dumbfounded. It seemed the cutting-edge model she had seen last time had already become obsolete.
* * *
Berkina. A secret VVIP private room in a newly opened club.
The 'Triad Meeting' was underway—an emergency gathering of the heads of the three largest factions that divided the territory of the Parmano Cartel.
"...I wonder if there's really a need for us to gather like this."
Costa grumbled as he looked at the man sitting across from him.
The boss of bosses, Pellier.
Though he sat there now in a calm suit, his notoriety for soaking Berkina in blood was the stuff of legends. Even Costa, known as the 'Iron Boar' and the madman of Berkina, couldn't help but feel tense in his presence.
"Hey, Pellier. Is there a problem?"
At Costa's question, Pellier's expression hardened.
"Sigh..."
He silently smoked a cigar, glaring at Costa. The pressure and unique atmosphere emanating from his silence remained unchanged.
"The problem is what you did," Pellier said, exhaling smoke. His eyes held a mixture of coldness and rage.
"What problem?"
Despite the tension, Costa responded nonchalantly. He even spread his arms wide in an exaggerated gesture, looking around.
"What kind of problem could there be? Are we dead? Is this place heaven? Well, it certainly feels like heaven. I never thought a club like this would open in Berkina."
Pellier's lips twisted silently. For a brief moment, his mana surged threateningly. The mercenaries standing behind Costa reached for their weapons. Pellier's guards likewise gathered their mana.
A suffocating bloodlust filled the VVIP room.
"Whoa, whoa. What's with everyone? Calm down."
The third power, 'Kunta,' waved his hands.
Costa's eyebrows twitched.
"...Fine, Pellier. You know very well who our backers are. It's the Imperial Guard. The Guard! Those bastards are in bed with the Palace using our money."
He lowered his voice and let out a sneer.
"But that dead knight was a commoner. Just a commoner with no pedigree playing at being a knight. He was a small fry you could kill without any consequences."
"..."
Pellier listened to Costa's words in silence.
"And do you know where that information leaked from?"
Heh, heh, heh. A fishy laugh escaped him.
"It was the Imperial Palace. The information leaked through the Palace. The high and mighty didn't like that pathetic commoner poking around their cash flow either. We just acted as the cleaners."
Despite this, Pellier's complexion remained calm. Costa hated that face—that arrogance that suggested he knew everything, that Costa was merely dancing in the palm of his hand.
Costa's brow furrowed.
"So, the real problem right now is, why the hell have you been staring at me like that?"
"...Where is the body?" Pellier asked back.
Costa's expression froze.
"I heard the body disappeared."
"...I confirmed he was dead. It wasn't a wound anyone could survive in the first place. He was only being kept alive by drugs."
A lump of meat that had been kept alive by drugs while its skin was flayed, its bones carved, and its eyes gouged out.
"It's no big deal. What would anyone do with a corpse like that? He's a guy the Palace threw away anyway."
"..."
Tap, tap. Flicking the ash from his long-burning cigar, Pellier reached a conclusion.
"This month's tribute will be doubled. Costa. If you have a conscience, your side will shoulder more of it. If you cause a mess, you have to pay the cleanup costs."
"What? You son of a..."
Costa spat out a curse, but Pellier stood up without listening further.
As he left the VVIP room, a mercenary asked him, "Boss. Will this be alright? An Imperial Knight—"
"It's fine. Everything he said is true. The Imperial Guard won't want the fact that they've been taking money from us to be discovered."
Ashton. Because of that man, Pellier's plantations had suffered significant damage. Costa's methods were certainly premature, but they were at least satisfying.
"A brainless beast like him is actually easier to use."
Costa had done the deed for him, saving him money, time, and men.
"If anything happens, I just have to discard him."
"...Yes, Boss."
Pellier adjusted his sleeves as he walked down the stairs.
Step. Step.
With every stride, his shadow stretched long. Muscles rippled beneath his neat suit, and a bloodlust that no one could easily face flowed from his dark eyes.
Step. Step.
A man who had climbed a mountain of corpses, trampling over thousands, tens of thousands of rivals.
That was Pellier Crucio, the man who ruled the nights of Berkina.
* * *
From the moment the four knights returned from their top-secret mission, a secret 'Special Team' was formed under the leadership of Chiron and Maximilian.
It was a matter of such high secrecy that even high-ranking knights were not briefed, causing a tense atmosphere of impending war to hang over the entire Sentinel headquarters.
While everyone—knights, clerks, administrative officers, and even janitors—was curious about the matter...
"Me? You want me?"
Leon looked at Maximilian, who had come to find him, with wide eyes.
Maximilian, sitting across from him, gave a short reply.
"Yeah. You."
"What's the mission?"
"Top secret. If you don't want to participate, quit before you hear it. But from the moment you hear it, you can't refuse."
Leon blinked blankly for a moment before nodding.
Next was Tiana.
"Me? You want me?"
Tiana asked back just like Leon had.
"Yeah. You."
"What's the mission?"
"Top secret. If you don't want to participate, quit before you hear it. But from the moment you hear it, you can't refuse."
"...Well, I'll do it then."
Thus, the two most reliable members of the first-year class were assigned to the team, and three members from the zero-year class were also recruited. They had selected knights who had 'as little connection to the Imperial Guard as possible.'
—And today.
A rainy summer evening, with a heavy downpour tapping against the windows.
"What? You again?"
Lois and Dare Tan, both zero-years, furrowed their brows at the entrance of a certain building.
"What about it?"
It was because of Hannah, who appeared across from them.
Dare Tan stroked his chin and muttered, "Seeing as she's here, maybe it's not that important of a mission..."
They had all gathered very cautiously in civilian clothes, but why Hannah all of a sudden?
"It's definitely not a war, that's for sure."
The meeting place was not the Sentinel headquarters. Discussing it there risked information leaking to the Palace. Instead, they had been invited to Maximilian's building under the guise of a banquet.
"Is this really just dinner? Otherwise, there's no way she'd be here."
"I guess so."
"Hey. You guys get lost."
As Lois and Dare Tan chattered, Hannah raised her middle finger and walked inside.
"But honestly, I have to admit. For a commoner, her skills are..."
Lois's chatter, as he followed Hannah, was cut short.
In the dim light beyond, a round table was visible.
"..."
It wasn't just Chiron and Maximilian there.
There were more than twenty knights whose names were famous enough to be recognized on sight, and whose mana could be felt even while they stood still. Their presence filled the vast interior. To describe it, it was as if hundreds of tanks had gathered in a single space.
In an instant, their hearts tightened.
"What are you doing? Come and stand."
At Chiron's words, the three zero-years hurried to stand in a corner.
"Well then. It seems everyone is here."
They were the last to arrive, despite being mere zero-years. The trio squeezed their eyes shut.
Chiron looked around at the faces and nodded.
"Maximilian. Will you explain?"
Nodding, Maximilian stepped forward.
He placed several photographs on a panel next to the round table.
"There was a knight who joined the Sentinels about ten years ago."
Egillon.
A handsome young man wearing the Sentinel uniform.
"His future was bright. As a knight of the Sentinels, he could have enjoyed a life of abundance recognized by all, but he resigned for a greater cause. To devote himself to the less fortunate in the lower depths of the Empire."
Not because he was an Izenheim.
Not because he was a spy who had stolen an identity to join.
And not because he had been discovered by Julian.
But as a pure Aran, to look after the weak and the suffering.
"However."
Maximilian placed a large duffel bag on the table. He unzipped it immediately, before the other knights had a chance to prepare themselves.
At that moment, gasps erupted.
A corpse with eyes gouged out and skin flayed. Signs of horrific torture, with the chest crushed and the heart and internal organs completely torn out.
"He returned to us in this state."
Maximilian's voice dropped low. The knights' faces hardened into masks of cold fury.
"The Cartel dared to do this to a knight of the Empire."
Their gazes shifted to Maximilian. His face was etched with deep, beast-like lines of rage. It was likely a face that everyone gathered there was seeing for the first time.
"He was undoubtedly our brother."
Every note of his voice was sharp. It was thick with bloodlust, as if it could cut like a blade.
"I, Maximilian, as a knight of the Sentinels and an Aran of the Empire, believe that we must never overlook this insult—"
Maximilian clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white.
"I wish to argue this most strongly."
...Silence descended.
Aside from intermittent sighs and the sound of teeth grinding, not a sound could be heard.
One knight reached out and placed a hand over Egillon's empty eye sockets. Another knight closed his eyes and made the sign of the cross.
Amidst this, Chiron stepped forward.
"Operation Name: 'Dream Road.' This is a large-scale decapitation operation against the Parmano Cartel, who dared to touch a knight of the Empire."
In effect, it was a deployment of force where an entire pillar of the knight order was moving as one.
"We will..."
Chiron circled several points on a map. They were the hideouts of the cartel capos stationed along the borders of Berkina.
"Crush them all in a single moment."
Freid, a sixth-year knight, raised his hand and asked, "Then, assuming the operation time limit is about a week—"
"The time," Maximilian answered instead.
"Is one day."
Everyone froze at his words.
"We will finish them all off within twenty-four hours."
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