Chapter 58
－Emperas Kingdom, 1st Knight Order Commander's Perspective－
Twenty-five mages, escorted by the 2nd Knight Order.
The 5th Knight Order, for exterminating monsters.
I look over those gathered.
The members of the 2nd Knight Order seem somewhat tense.
The commander doesn't seem nearly as tense, though.
The 5th Knight Order is a combat group whose strength has been enhanced by magic stones.
They seem a little excited at the prospect of hunting.
"They say we're going to burn the forest."
My friend stands beside me.
It is unusual to escape punishment after a failed mission, but it must have shocked the king that much.
The magic power of the magic stones, which had been considered absolute, had been overcome.
It has been several days since the 4th Knight Order returned.
The castle was shrouded in an eerie silence.
And now the mages and the 5th Knight Order had been assembled.
It seems the king has decided to abandon the forest.
It is said that magical power has accumulated in the forest.
Since we can't enter and investigate it, we don't know whether that's true.
There is still far too much we don't know about the forest.
Is it really all right to burn the forest?
"You look worried. If we eliminate the cause, the problem will be solved, right?"
My friend seems to be questioning my attitude.
If the problem lies at the forest's center, they'll burn it away and eliminate the cause.
It sounds perfectly reasonable, but in reality, it's an extremely frightening decision.
How much do the people gathered here actually understand?
"If the king is responsible for the forest's anomaly, it might be somewhat effective."
"You said that before, but the mages gathered here possess considerable power."
That's right—the mages gathered here are the group with the greatest magical capacity in the kingdom.
They must be confident they won't fail; even the king seems to have regained his confidence.
"Indeed, they possess remarkable power."
In the human world, their magical power is considerable, and their power is frightening.
I've heard that this time, they will combine their strength to burn away the forest's barrier.
The force they unleash will probably be unlike anything seen before.
But that's only in the human world.
"Can humans really contend with something greater than a king?"
"Uh... about that..."
Ever since I heard they were going to burn the forest, I've been gripped by an indescribable unease.
Quietly, but surely, something is happening.
"Commander, the sky..."
I hear my deputy commander's voice from behind me.
At those words, I look out the window, my eyes widening.
The sky had been clear today.
We had even conducted training.
But then...
"What is that cloud...?"
The sky visible through the window is gradually becoming covered in unnaturally black clouds.
BOOOOOM
Rumble, rumble... BOOOOOM
The entire room shakes with a tremendous boom.
Along with the noise, I hear screams rising from all over the castle.
The deafening roar echoes again and again.
The room shakes each time.
Even the knights don't know how to respond.
Amid it all,
With a crash, all the windowpanes in the audience chamber shatter.
BOOOOOM
Lightning surges through the window...
In an instant, the room becomes hell.
The whole thing probably lasts a minute or two.
It must have been brief.
Fires break out all over the castle, and people rush about putting them out.
Lightning coming through a window into a room is not something that happens under normal circumstances.
I look toward the king.
Then I shift my gaze to the king's feet.
There, the floor is blackened and scorched where lightning struck.