I must find a way to drive Theresa out of Satan's vessel…
Hmm… Lately, the Confessarius seem intent on reviving Theresa through the Sarkaz sea of consciousness.
Too bad her soul isn't there—no, it's clinging stubbornly to my body, refusing to leave.
But how is she managing to stay so vigilant?
All this time, she hasn't given me a single opening. Instead, she keeps trying to attack me with words.
Laughable. Does she really think her hollow rhetoric can shake me?
While she learns about me, I too learn about her.
Her ideals are vast—so vast they sicken me.
Still, the current Sarkaz King Chimera, the War Victor Theresis, the former Sarkaz King Theresa, and the False King Satan…
Shall I push the Sarkaz into an even deeper schism?
---
Back to the present.
Within the grandest venue of Kashchey's duchy, every seat was filled.
"Ladies and gentlemen, it is our great honor to welcome the tireless guardian of the Ursus Empire for over a millennium, the Lord of the Kashchey Duchy, the Eternal Duke of Ursus—Duke Kashchey!"
The host's fervent voice electrified the hall.
The audience sat neatly divided into five sections:
Zone One: non-Infected citizens.
Zone Two: Infected citizens.
Zone Three: residents of the coexistence experimental zone.
Zone Four: visiting Ursus nobility.
Zone Five: outsiders, neither nobles nor citizens.
The investigators of the Blissful Safety Committee made sure no one strayed from their designated place.
Anyone who stepped into Kashchey's duchy was bound to follow its rules. Otherwise, the investigators—rabid and merciless—would tear them apart.
Each investigator bore a Black Snake within their body. That was why Kashchey "trusted" them, granting them unlimited authority within his domain.
Even visiting Ursus nobles, upon entering Kashchey's land, had no choice but to obey the investigators' commands.
For the investigators embodied the will of the Eternal Duke.
---
Kashchey looked down with satisfaction at the roaring crowd.
He had equipped the venue with Oripathy wave modulators—devices designed to stir and control the emotions of the masses.
They were fashioned after Leithanien technology, altered to his own design.
If any hot-headed fool dared disrupt the gathering, the devices would sway them, preventing interference with Kashchey's speech.
Of course, he only planted Black Snake in key enforcers like the investigators who upheld his rule. He lacked the power to seed every subject with serpents.
The Witch-King of Leithanien truly is a genius, Kashchey mused as he watched the crowd, their frenzy carefully orchestrated.
A pity these devices were so costly to build. Otherwise, Kashchey would have declared them civil utilities—mandatory fixtures in every household.
---
But alas… most of today's guests will not approve of such measures.
Kashchey deactivated the modulators.
He knew well: Kjeragandr and Emperor would never condone his methods. There was no need to provoke their disapproval openly.
As for Dusk…
She had simply found the venue too noisy and refused to attend.
Still, it is about time for the so-called 'rebels' to make their entrance.
Just as Kashchey was about to begin his speech, a figure suddenly rose from the audience.
From the section reserved for outsiders, a voice, amplified by Originium Arts, rang out across the hall.
---
"Duke Kashchey, it's time you retired."
A young Ursus noble, dressed in the finery of rank, stood tall and spoke with arrogance.
The investigators maintaining order moved instantly, subduing him and forcing him to the ground.
"Wait."
Kashchey raised a hand, signaling them to stop. At the same time, he gave a discreet order for the cameras to focus on the upstart noble.
The man was a new noble—a freshly minted count, still in his youth.
When the investigators released him, the count rose to his feet. His face twisted with open disgust as he brushed off the spots where they had touched him, as though contaminated.
"Since childhood, I've heard that Duke Kashchey was a master at listening to the voices of others," he sneered. "So tell me, Your Grace—will you stoop to hear a few words from me, here, in front of everyone?"
The entire hall erupted in gasps.
Kashchey, however, maintained his gentle, benevolent smile.
"Silence, children."
With a wave of his hand, the venue calmed once more.
To most of those present, Kashchey still commanded immense respect. After all, he had always been meticulous in curating his image as the guardian of Ursus.
"Very well, child," he said warmly. "Tell me—what dissatisfaction do you harbor against me?"
The young count invoked his Originium Arts, amplifying his voice until it echoed across the chamber.
"My meaning is simple: Duke Kashchey, it is time for you to let go."
"The people of Ursus will find their own path forward. You, an immortal, should step aside and pass the torch."
"Clinging endlessly to power, Duke, only makes you appear undignified."
---
In a hidden chamber elsewhere—
"(Ursus curse)! Who ordered him to do that?!"
A hulking Ursus general in full military regalia was roaring in fury.
The chamber was crowded with masked nobles, hawks conspiring under the guise of the Reunion Movement to stir riots in Chernobog and ignite war.
"We don't know, my lord! None of us gave such an order. It must be that boy acting on his own!"
The nobles around the table broke into frantic debate.
But none could explain why the newly appointed count had chosen to take such a reckless stand.
He was insane—openly confronting Kashchey head-on.
And what of themselves? Why did they hide behind masks, skulking in shadows, moving only in secrecy?
Because they feared the Eternal Duke.
Even with the authority of the Emperor's Blade on their side, none of them dared to openly cross Kashchey. Not when his faction already stretched deep into the Emperor's Blade itself.
The general raged for a while longer, then finally forced himself to calm.
"Damn it… Kashchey is going to make his move against us."
"My lord, forgive me, but I don't understand. There are so many of us here—why should we still fear Kashchey?"
A middle-aged officer, dressed as a field commander, spoke up. He could not comprehend the nobles' panic.
To him, the young count's words had rung with truth.
A relic like Kashchey, clinging to power, no longer deserved to be the symbol of Ursus.
No… ever since Kashchey had stood as an obstacle in his own path, the officer had begun to despise the so-called Eternal Duke.
The general merely cast him a cold glance, then swept his gaze over the arguing nobles. The weight in his chest grew heavier.
"My lord… perhaps we should beg Kashchey for forgiveness? The Duke is magnanimous. Surely he will pardon us if we repent now, before we act."
Another noble, trembling, tried to persuade him to abandon their plans.
"Yes, yes… we cannot possibly hope to fight Kashchey. If we confess, perhaps he'll spare us."
"Silence!"
The general's roar cut them down.
"Do you truly think anyone could stir trouble at Kashchey's gathering without his tacit approval?!"
"If we wish to live, then we must push the plan forward!"
"Our only chance is to gamble that Kashchey seeks only to preserve himself—as he has in every upheaval for the past thousand years."
"But if we falter now, if we show weakness and convince him that we cannot represent the will of Ursus…"
"Then he will strike without restraint—he will butcher us all."
"No one will escape!"