The king despaired.
Watching his kingdom split apart, he felt his heart tear as well, and the wails of his people seemed ready to deafen him. A king becomes a symbol merely by existing.
What could he possibly do, standing here helplessly while sending his own son to the battlefield? He couldn’t even rebuild a single fallen wall or gather up a pile of collapsed earth.
It was the first time in his life he’d experienced such powerlessness. Powerlessness that struck before fear. If the former kings of Clifford were watching him now, what expressions would they wear?
While the king was lost in thought, May presumptuously grabbed his hem and shouted.
“Your Majesty! You cannot stay here!”
The earthquake’s aftershocks had reached even the royal palace. From the continuing tremors, it was clear that an even greater earthquake would surely strike them. They were fleeing to the palace’s largest garden while surrounding the king.
But where the king turned was toward the castle gate leading out of the palace. Fearing the gate might warp and seal shut, soldiers had left it half-open.
“Your Majesty!”
Clatter clatter!
The king running through that path. Though not very fast due to his portly frame, his subjects couldn’t catch him. They knew what the king was worried about. They followed behind him by bringing out horses.
“Your Majesty! Please ride a horse!”
“This way! The western road! We’ll guide you!”
“Those remaining, protect the princes and princesses!”
“Evacuate to the garden! Not a single injury while escorting them!”
Due to the continuously shaking earth, the horse’s footing was unstable. But the king didn’t let go of the reins, and soon spotted a familiar figure. Ian’s attendant and the red-haired barbarian who had devoured every bit of food in the royal palace.
“Beric?”
“Huh? Why are you here? Stay in the palace.”
The king quickly assessed Efdiram, who was confronting him. Whatever the situation, if she was hostile to Beric, that meant she was Ian’s enemy. In other words, Clifford’s enemy.
As the king’s escort knights stepped forward and gripped their swords properly, Efdiram flicked her eyebrows as if annoyed.
“What? Want to give it a try?”
“You don’t seem to be from Clifford—reveal your identity!”
“Old man, that curly-haired kid is crazy.”
“You’re one to talk.”
Whirrrr. Whirr.
Whoosh!
When Beric intervened and pointed at Efdiram, she charged while swinging her sword as if to cut off that hand.
It was an attack imbued with mana. The heat rising from everywhere grew even hotter, and lava-like sparks flew on those winds.
The king covered his face with both hands and shouted.
“Stop! Stop it!”
At the king’s command, the knights stopped, but the two maniacs didn’t even pretend to listen. They continued their deadly exchanges as if they truly intended to kill each other.
The longer the fight continued, the more Beric seemed to be pushed back, but his matching spirit was evident.
“Your Majesty, doesn’t it seem like the earth shakes more every time that woman swings her sword?”
The knight’s words were correct. Every time Efdiram swung her sword, something within the rift seemed to ripple in response.
The king approached the two fighters and shouted again. Rather than a command, it was more like a pleading cry.
“Stop! I said stop!”
Whoosh!
Slash!
Then something sharp grazed past Efdiram’s cheek. Blood seeped out, clearly marking its trace.
Efdiram rubbed it with her palm and turned her head toward where the attack had come from. It was Captain Hale. He was closing one eye as if aiming at a target.
“What, attacking from behind?”
“Not an attack, but a warning to be quiet. If I’d intended to hit, I would have pierced your skull instead of your cheek.”
“Your nagging is worthless. I was being quiet, you know? The ones making a fuss are this guy and that old man there.”
“H-how dare you! You wretch!”
“H-how dawe you! You wetch!”
When the knight erupted in anger, Efdiram giggled and mimicked him. Was this what mirror therapy was like? Beric looked at her with a slightly shocked face, as if truly seeing a madwoman.
Hale slowly descended from the sky and bowed his head to the king.
“Your Majesty. You must have heard the news of King Damon’s capture.”
“Yes. Thanks to Minister Ian’s efforts, Clifford can breathe easier. But what is this? Is this the rift you mentioned before? But the Ministry of Magic said they would limit its power as much as possible, so how is it…”
“You must have many worries and many questions. Minister Ian commanded me to tell you he’d like to escort Your Majesty to the barrier. Since Ruswena and the Burgos forces, including that madwoman’s subordinates, are still confronting each other, we cannot easily withdraw this way.”
If those standing guard at the front lines withdrew, a small gap would appear. That would be the opportunity. It wasn’t the total annihilation of Burgos forces, but merely King Damon’s single life bound with rope.
The king, immediately understanding Ian’s concern, nodded.
“Let’s go. As Clifford’s king, I can no longer remain only in the palace. Discussing the rift together would be best.”
“Right! Go! I’ll see if there’s anything to eat here!”
The moment Efdiram said this, Beric swung his sword again. Her body reflexively twisted, and the sword passed dangerously close to her side.
When the startled Efdiram looked at Beric, he raised his middle finger and replied.
“I told you. Stay put until Ian gives permission.”
“This bastard wants to die…”
“You’ll have to watch out for frontal attacks too?”
“I keep saying let’s see—!”
“Don’t look, you fucking bitch!”
Clang! Clash!
As the two clashed again with sparks flying, the king looked at Hale as if requesting help. He cupped his hand near his mouth and shouted.
“Efdiram! If you don’t come, he said all your subordinates in front of the barrier will be beheaded. Don’t cause trouble and shed blood—it would be better to resolve this through dialogue. And he hinted there’s room to consider that secret you want, so go and listen well. Beric! You’re in charge of Efdiram. He said no meat if you lose her!”
“No meat? Argh! For crying out loud!”
It was a perfect mixture of carrot and stick. The stick of threatening to massacre her subordinates if she caused trouble, and the carrot of satisfying her curiosity.
Efdiram gradually withdrew force from her sword pressed against Beric’s and sighed. The rift was blazing right in front of them, for crying out loud.
“I went easy on you. No kidding.”
“Easy on what now? Looking at it, if we fought each other to the end, I’d win. Ah, is this what they call a mental victory?”
“The blockhead knows such words too. Get lost. I have to go meet your master.”
“Let’s go together! Didn’t you hear just now? I’m your supervisor! Me!”
“Ah, I don’t know, I don’t know. Get lost!”
“Let’s go together!”
Dash!
Though they’d swung swords as if to devour each other, their departing figures were no different from friends.
Hale carefully descended and extended his hand to the king.
“Your Majesty. Since the earthquake continues, perhaps other subjects should travel by horse while Your Majesty travels with me? I’ll escort you to the barrier more safely and quickly.”
“Yes. Let’s do that. May!”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Handle the cleanup here thoroughly and send the ministers and others to the barrier.”
“Yes. I shall obey your command.”
“Be careful.”
The king patted May’s shoulder, then grasped Hale’s hand. Even during this, the Dusts creeping out from the rift continued their cycle of birth and death.
May sighed while trampling the magical beast debris that remained as rubble. Clifford was beginning to tilt.
***
“Minister Ian. Captain Akorella is submitting a report.”
Ian turned his head at the sound calling him. The cold sweat had now subsided, and his previously limp body had regained its center.
He nodded as if to say come in, and soon Akorella strode energetically behind the mage. Her first words were quite direct.
“Minister Ian. We’re fucked.”
“Eek.”
The mage covered his mouth and rolled his eyes, but Akorella didn’t back down. There truly was no other way to express the current situation.
“The rift opened. I contacted Clifford’s research team, and they said the aftershocks are gradually getting stronger. At this rate, we can expect another major earthquake within two to four days. But the problem is that the earth has already split and we can see the mana inside.”
Ian slowly flipped through the documents Akorella presented. It was more efficient to focus on experts’ opinions rather than detailed figures and processes.
Akorella pulled over a chair and sat down as she spoke.
“In that case, there’s a considerable possibility—almost certain—that magical beasts with form and consciousness will appear. Dusts have started coming out. That level is still manageable for ordinary people, so it’s okay for now, but if another earthquake comes, everyone dies. Ah, Clifford, not us.”
Inside the barrier, the western region near the royal palace. It was obvious what would happen to the country if magical beasts overflowed from there. A situation where Clifford might disappear from history.
Ian swallowed a sigh. Though it wasn’t intentional, it felt like the bastard Ian’s contact with the pendant had pressed the limit point.
Otherwise, where had all the mana that continuously leaked from him gone? Even if the bastard Ian had drawn it in advance, he couldn’t assert there was absolutely no influence in the eruption and progression process.
“First, the capital—Prodohona should be completely evacuated. The problem is us. What do we do now? The war is essentially over, and we have no justification to stay here. Minister Ian, you’re supposed to leave early tomorrow too.”
Bariel had done what it could. No, more than that. Ian just needed to return to Bariel with Damon and receive the Crown Prince’s praise. Minister Tweller and Captain Jeirutt as well.
“Go.”
Akorella preemptively struck, fearing Ian might say he’d handle the major earthquake cleanup too. Anyway, some mages would remain, so Ian should just withdraw and rest—her eyes said this quite firmly.
Then Ian chuckled and nodded.
“There’s no change to the schedule. I will leave this place immediately tomorrow, and relief from earthquake and magical beast damage is Crown Prince Jin’s will, not mine. How could I move privately without His Highness’s command?”
Relief requests were clearly an area to be handled at the national level. Ian precisely distinguished between what Jin should do and what he should do, and had no intention of encroaching on that.
However, couldn’t he give one last opportunity before returning? To shed a little less blood, for one page of tilting history, to wipe away the tears of those filled with yearning.
“But why are you telling the kids to gather?”
“Akorella, normally that’s called a conference.”
“Am I Beric? Not to know even that? So I’m asking why you’re gathering the King of Ruswena, the northern leader, and even the King of Clifford all in one place.”
Rustle.
Ian fiddled with the paper and muttered.
“Have you ever heard such a saying?”
“What kind?”
“The easiest method is to solve things with money. Next comes violence, and the most difficult is through moral influence.”
Akorella tilted her head quizzically. So now, let’s try presenting solutions to each other through peaceful dialogue methods—is that what this means?
Ian smiled and handed the report to her.
“I intend to try that. Even if it doesn’t work, there’s no need for despair. It was a difficult task from the beginning.”