Chapter 277
As if a storm had finally passed, silence descended upon Denhelder Fortress.
Tatak, tatak—
The remnants of holy power fell like dust over the burned corpses, causing tiny sparks to fly.
The walls, inside, and outside of Denhelder Fortress were all covered in the blackened corpses of countless monsters.
There were also the bodies of Wadsworth's soldiers and knights among them, but fortunately, the number of dead monsters was overwhelmingly greater.
The surviving soldiers did not even know what had happened to them.
They simply began cleaning up the aftermath.
Clatter, clatter—
The corpses of monsters and their fallen comrades were loaded onto carts and carried outside the fortress walls.
They would probably be used as obstacles in preparation for another aerial attack that could come at any time.
“Terrible……”
“Still, isn't it enough that we survived?”
“We were just lucky this time.”
“Hey, the Young Master is here.”
The soldiers' gazes all turned in one direction.
Standing there was Glenn Wadsworth, the brother of the lord Tris Wadsworth and the Third Saint officially recognized by the church.
Just a few hours ago, he had thrown himself into a disadvantageous battle that was about to become a war of attrition, and he had annihilated the nearby monsters in an instant.
“We will survive.”
Although they looked exhausted, a little joy began to bloom on the soldiers' faces.
Deventer Square.
Only after being surrounded and praised by soldiers, knights, and retainers did Glenn finally get the chance to meet Tris.
“Thank you so much, Glenn……”
“You don't have to thank me, Sister.
Rather, I'm sorry that I arrived too late.”
“Mm.
No, it's fine.
You must be tired, so why don't you rest for a while?
There are also many things we need to talk about……”
Although she was trying her best not to show it, the exhaustion was obvious on his sister's face.
The siblings left the aftermath to Butler Fred and the other retainers and headed toward the conference room of Deventer Fortress with their companions.
Despite being exhausted, Tris wet her throat with a glass of water and began explaining what had happened.
The Demon King had suddenly appeared in Obenu without any apparent reason and started a crazy battle.
The Demon King had broken through Obenu, only to be stopped and killed by Romina.
And immediately after the Demon King's defeat, unidentified monsters had marched into the territory from the direction of the borderlands.
“……”
After finishing her long explanation, Tris lowered her head and fell silent like a sinner.
She seemed to feel guilty about losing Obenu while Glenn had been absent.
“Raise your head, Sister.
What happened to Obenu was beyond your influence and mine.”
The fact that the Demon King had attacked Obenu alone was almost insane.
Unless someone could see the future, there was no way anyone could have predicted such a move.
“But……”
“That's what a fortress on the front line is like.
Sir Jaber and the Gray Wolf Knights must have always been prepared for something like this.”
“……”
“And thanks to their sacrifice, they held out until I arrived.”
If the forces at Obenu had not pushed the Demon King to his limits, Romina would never have been able to defeat him.
Of course, even considering that, Romina defeating the Demon King was still something Glenn could never have imagined.
“……”
Even so, his heart was not at ease.
Jaber, the man who had accepted him into the Gray Wolves when he had been so weak, was dead.
—I've lived a long life, but I've never seen a strange master like the Young Master.
—Do you acknowledge that this man is the blood descendant of Wadsworth, whom we serve!
—He is still unworthy of leading the Gray Wolves!
But someday!
When this man's sword surpasses every wolf in this fortress, will you give him your lives and loyalty!
—Salute!
—It is my sincere pleasure to welcome you to Obenu Fortress, descendant of Wadsworth.
Glenn had spent quite a bit of time with him, but he still remembered the day they had first met.
Jaber Lemarck, who had flashed his wolf-like single eye and laughed heartily.
Until the moment he died, he had been the shield that protected Wadsworth.
He was the leader of the Gray Wolves who had protected his master through an honorable death.
“Sister.
Once everything is over, let's go to Obenu together.”
“Yeah.
Let's do that.
If I could have my way, I'd go there right now, but… we can't, can we?”
Tris gave a bitter smile.
“Unfortunately, the monsters that attacked Wadsworth weren't all of them.”
Glenn looked at Radeo.
Throughout the journey to Denhelder, Radeo had been frowning whenever he saw the unidentified monsters.
“Can you tell us now?”
“Hmm.
I understand.”
After introducing himself to Tris and Romina, whom he had met for the first time, Radeo finally spoke.
“First, we should talk about the beings you fought today.”
The unidentified black monsters.
According to Romina, they possessed demonic energy, but it was an entirely different kind of power from the demonic energy of demons.
And Glenn had never seen such power in Gray Eden either.
“To put it simply, they are artificially created beings.”
“Artificially created?”
“That is correct.
Rather than living creatures, they are tools created for a certain purpose.
To put it more simply, they are closer to dolls.”
“Those things are dolls?
They moved far too realistically for dolls.”
Just as Romina said.
Other than the strange power they possessed, they were honestly no different from ordinary monsters.
“That is understandable.
After all, destruction does not require much intelligence.”
“Destruction……”
“That is right.
If I were to take a brief look at your memories, I would say their principle is similar to the undead controlled by a certain demon.”
Glenn nodded.
Simply put, Radeo's explanation meant that the monsters that invaded Wadsworth today were an upgraded version of the undead.
“Are you sure?”
“Although I have lost much of my power, my eyes can still see through the essence of things to some extent.”
At Romina's question, Radeo showed the golden rings engraved in his eyes.
“You don't have to show me.
Anyway, what kind of person can create thousands of things like that?”
“In this situation, it would be reasonable to conclude that it was Nox.”
Nox, the God of Darkness and the Moon.
Radeo was saying that he was the mastermind behind this incident.
“Wait, Radeo.
Even if he is a High God, I don't think he possesses the power of creation.”
There was certainly no god in Gray Eden capable of doing something like that.
There was a reason Mors had descended to the mortal world and experimented with combining and adjusting various creatures himself.
“I do not know that part for certain.
However, I can tell that Uelos was involved in creating the monsters.”
“Uelos?”
“That is correct.
Besides demonic energy, I could faintly sense the power of fate used by Uelos within the force that makes up the monsters.
I do not know how it was used, but Romina, you called it a strange power, did you not?
That must be what you sensed.”
At those words, Glenn rubbed his forehead.
“Well… I thought something like that was possible since the monsters possessed demonic energy in the first place……
So you're saying this was a joint effort between Uelos and Nox?”
“Of course.
Even so, they should not be able to create something from nothing.
But for now, that theory is the closest thing to the truth.”
“Yeah.
I think that's right.”
Having received an answer that was practically a divine verdict, Glenn could not help but feel uneasy.
“……But something doesn't make sense.”
Glenn frowned.
If Radeo's theory was correct, one huge question arose from the current situation.
