Chapter 128. Orb of the Undead (1)
If Calia had business with him, it was probably a request.
Since she asked him to come quickly, it did not seem like an ordinary matter. Therefore, there was plenty of reason to interpret it as a high-paying request.
Verden prepared himself immediately.
The location was not Calia's mansion, but the Church of Rines.
After going through an identity check and entering, he looked for Calia. She was with Knight Commander Vespa, and she blinked her eyes when she saw him.
"...I should have contacted you only a little while ago, yet you're already here?"
"It's not such a far distance, is it?"
Still, it wasn't a distance one could cover in just two days.
Unless he had set out immediately the moment contact was made, it would have been impossible.
"Then, what is the reason you called me?"
"Ah, yes. Nothing else, it's about that Mage you and Owl brought. A few days ago, he woke up."
Through the efforts of the bishop of the Church of Luas and several priests, he had barely been saved.
Infections and inflammations could easily be healed, but the curse that rotted his body had been extremely difficult to dispel. Even then, it was not completely removed, merely suppressed with holy power to alleviate the symptoms.
"Because of that, he is awake only for a short time each day. While conversing, he suddenly collapses."
Even so, with time, they had succeeded in extracting crucial information.
"You said before, didn't you, that Mage was a traitor from some unknown black magicians' group. But he was not a traitor."
Calia looked into Verden's eyes.
"That Mage, no, that black magician, is a member of the Magic Tower. He was dispatched from DarkWarton."
DarkWarton, the Magic Tower of black magicians.
The moment he heard it, Verden pieced the information together.
The connection between DarkWarton and the black magicians of the Union.
There was only one conclusion possible.
"You mean that black magician was a spy for the Magic Tower?"
Calia nodded.
"Exactly."
His name was Warrens.
A black magician of the 3rd-tier lower ranks, his mission was to investigate black magicians involved in various crimes.
After that, he would report to the Magic Tower so that they could be eliminated.
'I've heard of this.'
The perception of black magicians had improved compared to the past. Of course, that didn't mean they were viewed positively.
Not only due to the nature of black magic itself, but the black magicians of the Union had already dragged their reputation down with numerous misdeeds.
To remove this stain, DarkWarton itself rooted out evil black magicians and subjugated them.
"Is there no chance this is false?"
"There is no way to confirm with the Magic Tower right now, but judging by the circumstances, I deemed it highly probable. The information he gave me had a good deal of credibility."
Over the course of several days, Warrens had told Calia about the Union, or more precisely, about the black magicians allied with the Third Prince.
And even the name of their group.
"A name? They have something like that?"
"So he said. And it doesn't seem like just an ordinary gathering of black magicians. According to Warrens, they call themselves 'Glory of the Dead.' Have you heard of it?"
Glory of the Dead.
A memory flashed through Verden's mind.
──Infinite glory to the Great Dead!
The cry of the black magician of Mildruen just before his death. Remove the excess words, and it became Glory of the Dead.
It was no coincidence.
But Verden shook his head.
That didn't mean he knew their true identity.
"I have never heard of such a name."
"Nor have I. Perhaps they crawled in from abroad. Well, in any case."
Calia loosened her fingers lightly.
"The important thing is this. Through Warrens, we have discovered the hideout where Glory of the Dead is concealed."
A hideout?
"He said it was the place where the Orb of the Undead was created. That's why I plan to subjugate them. That is why I called you."
"You're saying you want me to join the subjugation force."
"Yes. I'm not the type to waste available power just because it costs money."
It was a clear request.
The payment would certainly be significant. There was no reason to refuse Calia's proposal.
But before that, there was something he was curious about.
The purpose of Glory of the Dead.
The identity and location of the Orb of the Undead.
To Verden's question, Calia only shrugged her shoulders.
"I don't know. I haven't asked yet."
At that moment, a voice came from outside the door.
"Lady Calia, he has awakened."
The timing was just right.
Smiling, Calia rose from her seat.
"Then we'll find out now. Come with me, Asher."
***
The black magician Warrens lay on a snow-white bed.
As a precaution, his wrists and ankles were bound with shackles infused with holy power. His eyes wavered without focus.
Seeing this, Verden tilted his head.
"Is conversation even possible?"
"For now. Right after waking, he is always like this. In a little while, he'll regain enough clarity to talk."
That meant the curse was that powerful.
Even though the rot of his flesh was stopped, the side effect left him half-dead.
Whoever had cast such a curse, one that even a bishop could not dispel, was unknown, but one thing was certain.
If this curse came from a black magician himself, not from some magical artifact, then he was no one to be taken lightly.
After a while, just as Calia had said, the light returned to Warrens eyes.
With a shallow cough, he turned his head.
When his gaze met Verden's, his throat moved.
"...A, a face I do not know."
"This is Mage Asher. He is the one who rescued you and brought you to the Church. In other words, you could call him your savior."
"Ah". Warrens gave a small nod.
"Thank you for saving my life. Thanks to you... cough, cough!"
The cough sounded dreadful.
Blood mixed with spit trickled down his chin.
Warrens hastily wiped his lips with a towel.
When he sat up, his face held more color than before.
"My apologies. Due to the curse, some of my organs are damaged, so I am like this. Fortunately, it isn't enough to endanger my life."
His tone softened.
Now that he could speak properly, Calia resumed the questions she had not managed to finish last time.
That was the reason she had come here.
"Time is short, so let's get to the point. Do you remember the conversation we had last time?"
"Of course. For me, it is as if we just had that conversation a moment ago."
Calia nodded her head.
"In that case, I will ask. What is the purpose of Glory of the Dead?"
Warrens let out a faint groan.
"I too spent about two years within their ranks, but I could not discover it at all. I only lived as a low-ranking member, and even the leadership, I only ever glimpsed from afar."
"The leadership?"
"I heard it consisted of one woman and one old man."
A woman and an old man.
"You don't know their names or appearances?"
"I never got anywhere near them, so that is all I know. I apologize. But I do know what they intend to do in the Kingdom."
"It must be related to the Orb of the Undead, right?"
At Calia's words, Warrens nodded.
The Orb of the Undead.
It was a mass of death energy and magic power, and by its mere existence, it turned its surroundings into a land of death, a most dangerous object.
On top of that, a powerful curse had been overlaid. If a 3rd-tier black magician so much as touched it, he would die instantly.
But Warrens had used a magic item from the Magic Tower to dispel the curse, and had been able to suppress part of the aura the Orb of the Undead radiated, which was why he had survived.
Though, he had nearly died.
Anyway.
"The reason they created the Orb of the Undead is only one. To give birth to a powerful Undead."
"What kind of Undead are you talking about?"
"I do not know. But it is certain that it is nothing someone like me could dare to fathom. And they intend to hand over command of that Undead to the Third Prince."
All for the sake of succession to the throne.
Calia furrowed her brow.
To bring an Undead into the Kingdom for power, and that by someone of the royal family.
She made no effort to hide her disgust at the Third Prince.
"...Where is the Orb of the Undead now?"
"I had intended to bring it to the Magic Tower, but with a no-flight order in effect, and with relentless pursuit upon me..."
Warrens hesitated, then continued.
"I threw it into the 'Cave Without Light', at the center of the Zion Forest."
"What?"
The Cave Without Light.
A place that no citizen of the Kingdom was unaware of.
But that was not the real problem.
"Did you not say that the Orb of the Undead creates a land of death by its mere presence? If that is so, then in the Kingdom, Undead..."
"I know it was irresponsible. But at the time, I had no leeway to think of the future. I was..."
Cough, cough!
Vomiting blood, Warrens collapsed onto the bed. His time was up.
His eyes slowly closed, and, clutching to consciousness, he spoke with effort.
"If, if the Orb of the Undead is used, dark clouds will hang over the Kingdom...!"
That was the reason Warrens had given the information without hesitation to Calia, rather than the Magic Tower.
He knew of Calia.
She was that famous. Especially as a righteous noble who eradicated the villains that festered throughout the Kingdom.
Therefore, he did not hide it.
The item the evil black magicians had poured their hearts and souls into was far too dangerous. Warrens was grasping at straws.
The Orb of the Undead.
Before Glory of the Dead could reclaim it, it had to be purified.
Absolutely.
He gasped heavily for breath.
"It must... be stopped..."
With those words, Warrens lost consciousness.
***
Silence fell over the room.
Calia, gazing at the unconscious Warrens, fell deep into thought. Then, beside her, Knight Commander Vespa spoke firmly.
"Lady Calia, you must not."
"...What do you mean?"
"Whatever the case, I cannot allow you to head to the Cave Without Light. You know well how dangerous it is."
"I know as well, Vespa. And besides, I cannot leave Rines in the first place. You know I was given a disciplinary order by my father."
Calia's actions had been right.
By raiding Count Plishr's villa, she had exposed their corruption, and succeeded in saving those who were to be sold as slaves.
But she had been reckless.
She had stolen and used the heirloom of a marquisate on her own. Because of that, she had no choice but to be placed under disciplinary confinement for about two months.
With no room for excuse, Calia had accepted it without resistance.
In the midst of this, Verden asked.
"What is the Cave Without Light?"
"Hm? You don't know that famous place? Ah, right. I suppose you would not, since I heard you came from another land. The Cave Without Light is one of the two great forbidden places of the Kingdom of Estiria."
The Cave Without Light.
It stood on equal footing with the Eastern Marshlands, a forbidden land, a cavern so deep its depth could not be measured.
No, more precisely, it was caves, plural.
"It is a bizarre place where hundreds of caves have merged together. The passages are countless, and its scale immense... almost no one who ventured deep has ever returned alive."
The strange abnormal species that inhabited the caves.
The underground, untouched by even a single ray of light, was nothing short of horror itself. So much so that even adventurers fond of rare materials avoided it at all costs.
"This has become, quite the problem."
Calia propped her chin with her hand.
"The entrances of those caves mostly slope downward, so the Orb must have rolled into some unknown depth. Even if I risked sending in knights to search, there would be little result."
Well, not that she had any intention of doing so anyway.
Calia treasured her knights.
Unless she herself went in, she could never send only the knight order to their deaths.
'But, I cannot simply leave it be either.'
If Undead began to swarm in the Cave Without Light.
If corpses erupted from the countless passages, it would be unmanageable.
At the very least, the cities and villages nearby would be finished.
'What should I do.'
Calia pondered and pondered again.
But she could think of no one suitable.
It was not simply a matter of skill.
No matter how much they obeyed Calia, who would willingly march into certain death, to retrieve an object too dangerous to even touch.
Outside of the knights, there was no one who would risk their very life for her.
It was then.
"I will retrieve the Orb of the Undead."
Out of nowhere, Verden declared.