Ever since the attempt to poison Ivar, a heavy shadow had settled over the imperial capital.
Addicts high on drugs roamed the streets, and passersby darted wary glances around them. The city guard dragged people away daily, and the temple—meant to offer solace—had locked its doors tight.
Laughter had vanished.
Through these desolate streets, Elizabeta walked alone.
“It’s hard to believe,” she muttered. “That the capital could come to this…”
She removed her mask, shedding the guise of the Black Knight to become Elizabeta once more.
Changing her hair and eye color, no one recognized her true identity. Besides Ivar, almost no one knew the Black Knight was a woman, so outside the palace walls, no one could guess who she really was.
With this freedom, she moved through the empire, assessing the situation firsthand.
Her thoughts were grim.
“The empire has completely fallen into his grasp.”
The rampant drug abuse was eating away at people’s minds, making them easy prey for dark magic.
Elizabeta lifted her gaze.
In the heart of the capital, a black tower soared into the sky.
No one knew when it had appeared, but that tower was brainwashing the people.
First the addicts fell under its spell, then ordinary citizens followed. Now, every imperial subject within the capital was affected.
They obeyed the emperor’s orders without question and would not tolerate any acts of rebellion.
The empire’s black army had surely been forged through this very process.
What terrified her most was that such towers had been erected in every city across the empire.
It was no exaggeration to say that dark magic ruled the minds of the empire’s people.
Yet, a small number still resisted.
Elizabeta stopped before a quiet alley. From the shadows, a man rose.
“You’ve come.”
“Sorry I’m late.”
“No problem.”
They opened a rusty iron door tucked away in the alley and stepped inside.
Descending a staircase, they entered a surprisingly spacious underground chamber. A long table stretched across the room, where people sat absorbed in their work.
Elizabeta said, “Everyone’s busy.”
“There’s work everywhere,” the man replied.
“Not enough hands, I suppose.”
“Yes. That’s why we recently made a pact with someone named Gorio.”
“The one from Briole?”
“Exactly. A gangster, but a capable one.”
As Elizabeta scanned the room, her eyes suddenly stopped on a large portrait hanging on the wall.
Ragna.
Though officially said to have died from a fall off a balcony while drinking, few believed that story.
The people here had once followed Ragna.
Noticing her gaze, the man spoke.
“Lord Ragna was killed while uncovering the secrets of the dark magic lurking within the palace.”
“He was a good man.”
“Yes. That’s why we still carry on his will.”
Guided by the man, Elizabeta entered another room deeper inside.
There, waiting for her, was the person she had come to meet.
“Long time no see.”
“Yes.”
It was Vlad. Even after the war between the empire and the Holy Kingdom, Vlad had remained in the capital.
Though they had met as the Black Knight and a comrade, this was the first time they met with Elizabeta’s mask off.
Vlad smiled at her.
“I never imagined you looked like this beneath the mask. You’re beautiful.”
“Thank you.”
“I never thought the emperor had a hidden daughter. And that she was the Black Knight…”
“I kept it well hidden.”
Elizabeta shrugged.
“So, why did you call me here?”
“How did it look when you surveyed the empire?”
“A den of dark magic.”
“Yes, that’s right. Dark magic is flooding the empire. It’s a tremendous effort just to keep the minds of those here intact.”
The resistance groups were using every method to shield themselves from the dark magic.
With Vlad’s help and the temple’s support, they wielded holy magic to fight back.
Vlad’s expression darkened.
“But there’s a bigger problem.”
“What is it?”
“We’ve received intelligence that the empire is preparing human sacrifices. To be precise, they’ve already conducted one and are preparing a second.”
His voice grew heavy.
“How so?”
“In the nearby city of Zbeta, suspicious activity was detected. We sent people there, and they found foreigners imprisoned in camps thrown into pits for rituals. All of them died.”
“That’s horrible…”
“And now, they’re digging an even larger pit. They’re moving all the foreigners from other camps to Zbeta. It looks like they’re planning an even greater ritual. The number of people they’re gathering is staggering.”
Elizabeta sighed.
She had known the empire was corrupted by dark magic, but not to this extent.
Vlad placed his hands on the table.
“So, Black Knight—no, Elizabeta—I’m here to ask for your help.”
“My help?”
“We’re going to Zbeta to stop the ritual.”
Elizabeta frowned.
They were an underground group, lacking the manpower and resources to face the imperial army head-on.
“How? Are you planning a war?”
“No. There aren’t many dark mages who can wield the magic directly. If we kill the dark mage in Zbeta, we can stop the sacrifice.”
“An assassination. So that’s why you called me.”
“Yes.”
Vlad nodded solemnly.
He wanted Elizabeta to take on this mission.
He continued in a calm voice.
“I always thought you’d reach out someday, Black Knight—Elizabeta. You know what’s right. I never believed you’d stand by and watch the empire fall.”
“…”
“So when you finally did contact us, I was overjoyed. You’re the one who can provide what we lack most. I believe this is divine intervention.”
“Divine intervention…”
Elizabeta gave a bitter smile.
Her faith had been shaken recently. Watching the empire’s collapse made it hard to hold onto belief.
“Of course, that’s just my perspective. You must have your own divine help arranged for you. Maybe you’ve already received it without even realizing it.”
At those words, Elizabeta thought of someone—the prince of Briole who had recently defeated her.
What would he have done?
Putting herself in Yuri Briole’s shoes, her doubts didn’t last long.
She nodded.
“Alright.”
Though she felt uneasy about being used, now was not the time for such feelings.
She had to do what was right.
Otherwise, dark magic would consume everything.
“Thank you.”
Vlad bowed his head.
“Truly, thank you.”
“It’s just what needs to be done. No thanks necessary.”
“We have people to assist you with this. I’ll bring them to you.”
“Who are they?”
“Gorio and Gott Barkvar. They’ll guide you to Zbeta.”
After a great victory on the eastern front, Yuri was leading the anti-empire alliance’s forces in a full advance toward the empire.
It was an enormous army.
Having wiped out the empire’s eastern troops, the alliance’s morale was higher than ever.
Amid it all, Yuri personally took the lead as a scout, driven by her strong will.
But no matter how closely she looked, there was no sign of the enemy. It was as if the imperial forces had vanished.
“Hmm…”
Yuri frowned.
“Why is it so empty?”
“They must have fallen back.”
They passed through imperial towns and villages, all deserted.
It felt like a ruined land.
Jared, who accompanied Yuri, spoke.
“If it’s this empty, they’re probably gathering somewhere behind us, looking for a way to strike. To those empire bastards, humans are just resources—resources to be sacrificed to dark magic.”
“That’s true.”
Yuri nodded.
“Filthy scum.”
The dark magic Cedric wielded was nothing short of inhuman sorcery. Forcibly draining life force to fuel magic was nothing less than demonic.
“I can’t even guess what they’ll do by killing people like this.”
Jared shook his head.
“Truly, the empire is…”
Suddenly, Laurent, who had been quiet beside them, put a finger to his lips.
“Shh.”
They both looked at him.
Laurent’s sharp gaze fixed ahead.
“There’s something there.”
“Huh?”
Yuri looked forward.
A deserted village lay a short distance away. Through her telescope, it had seemed empty, but now she thought she saw movement.
Laurent said, “There’s something there. Watching us.”
“Who?”
“Not human.”
He spoke with a sharp expression.
“Probably a monster created by dark magic. That’s what it looked like.”
“Is that so?”
Yuri checked the main force’s position.
The forces of the Anti-Imperial Alliance were advancing slowly. Amid the swirling dust kicked up by the soldiers, countless flags fluttered in the wind.
“We’re way ahead, so we’ve got some time. Shall we check it out?”
“I think it’s better if I don’t go…”
“Come on, let’s go.”
Yuri moved without hesitation. Laurent and Jared followed silently behind.
Both of them had long understood that Yuri was the kind of person you couldn’t stop once she set her mind to something.
Riding swiftly, Yuri soon crossed the village entrance.
As expected, it was empty—eerily so.
“This is really unsettling…”
Where had all the villagers gone?
Had they migrated deeper into Imperial territory?
Yuri glanced around. Whatever Laurent had mentioned still wasn’t in sight.
She summoned the energy of her Soul Slash technique, closing and then opening her eyes.
Entering the realm of the soul, her vision shifted.
Now, she could see a more fundamental landscape.
Amid the blinding white glow, Yuri spotted traces on the ground—stains that looked like blood, smeared and trailing.
She called Laurent and Jared over.
“Follow me. Over there.”
The bloodstains stopped dead in the middle of the village.
What had once been a square or gathering place was now just a large, empty patch of earth. Yuri stood on it, scanning the surroundings.
Laurent’s mysterious clue was nowhere to be found.
“What is this?”
But something felt off. Yuri tapped the ground lightly with her toe. A disturbing energy seemed to rise up from beneath.
“Should we dig?”
“Dig the ground?”
“I feel like there’s something down there.”
“Maybe it’s a hot spring or something.”
“No, not that…”
Suddenly, the earth trembled.
“Huh?”
The three staggered, momentarily losing their balance.
Yuri drew her sword, Guilty.
“There’s something down here.”
“What do you plan to do?”
“Dig it up.”
“With a sword? Shouldn’t we use a shovel…?”
At that moment, a surge of sword energy shot up along the blade.
Yuri slammed it down into the ground.
With a loud explosion, dirt and debris scattered everywhere.
As the earth in the clearing was torn open, what had been hidden beneath began to reveal itself.
Corpses.
“Oh my god…”
Even though only part of the ground had been unearthed, several bodies were tangled together.
“Did they bury all these people here?”
Yuri looked around.
“If that’s the case, then this means…”
It was then that the ground rippled again, and something wrapped tightly around Yuri’s ankle.