Chapter 61
The top floor of the Hanson Theater was discreetly hidden away, inaccessible even by the stairs. It had once been used by a revolutionary group in Gallia, but had since been forgotten by the course of history.
“Heh heh heh….”
A man in a black robe chuckled there. He had changed his name countless times and moved through the shadows of the world.
The mastermind behind it all.
He currently called himself the ‘Master of the Triangle,’ the one who ran the Triangle of Desire.
“Heh heh… This is sudden, but it must be another variable. I should use it as a stepping stone for what comes next.”
Countless treasures and heaps of gold glittered in the darkness around him. But the Master of the Triangle had little interest in them. His desires couldn’t be satisfied with ‘mere’ things like these.
Desire is perfect when it is cold.
To achieve the true ‘liberation of greed’ that ensnares all humanity…
There was no time to waste on trash like this.
“Heh heh heh….”
The Master of the Triangle dreamed of a grand cause.
That was because he was the ‘Bishop of Greed,’ a leader of priests and believers within the Black Temple. Aside from the three ‘Archbishops,’ he had risen to the highest position.
That was why he had no intention of investing much effort in this matter.
‘The other factions within the Temple have apparently succeeded in infiltrating even the Gallian royal family…. There isn’t much left for us, the liberators of ‘greed,’ to do inside Gallia.’
He considered where to go next.
“….”
After thinking of countless places,
he suddenly spoke of one in particular.
“…Perhaps I’ll go to the academy.”
The place where a foolish cardinal had botched things.
A place where even now, he had no idea what was happening.
‘They probably can’t imagine the Black Temple returning to the place where all that commotion took place.’
But that was precisely why he could pursue his grand cause.
“The academy, Ar’en Academy. Heh heh heh, that sounds good, too. Gradually liberating the Hero through greed would be a fine achievement for a devout believer.”
And it would be even better if I turned him into a puppet of greed while I was at it.
‘It would be a blessing indeed to see the most innocent and noble people liberated by greed, and finally behold their true selves.’
The Master of the Triangle smiled.
Having decided on his next destination in his heart,
he started to leave the Hanson Theater.
“Heh heh heh…. I should head toward the storeroom where the commotion took place. They’ll never dream that I’m going back to a place they’ve already passed.”
And while I’m at it,
I’ll retrieve the most valuable merchandise, too.
“Heh heh heh….”
He moved.
Like a shadow….
But
he had no choice but to stop.
The floor exploded.
Boom—!
“?!”
With a tremendous impact,
the floor shattered, and a thunderous crash rang out.
The shockwave made the entire building seem to shake.
Rumble—!
The Master of the Triangle froze for an instant.
“What in the world is this?!”
Through the thick cloud of dust, a bunny girl emerged from the floor. She had a small mage on her back and shouted.
“Radiana! Over there—!”
“Where do you think you’re running?!”
The brown-haired mage on her back shouted the words to activate her magic. Red thorns wove tightly together like a fence around the room, leaving no way out.
They were trapped in an instant.
The Master of the Triangle was flustered.
“Guh?!”
‘I left at least a hundred puppets in the corridor leading up here. When did they…? Did they kill every last one and come straight up?!’
The bunny girl and mage had made it up.
Lydia and Morgan had used paralysis magic, avoiding a fight. That gave Morgan time to calmly survey and analyze their surroundings.
-Now that I can see it, this entire building is connected like a single living creature through a barrier…!
-Even though it looks like it was laid out haphazardly, was it all meant to keep this situation under control…?
-It was designed to activate as soon as the banquet began. That’s why we didn’t notice it before.
-Can you undo it?
-There’s no need to force it open. Since it’s a device meant for someone to control, if we trace it back in reverse…!
-We’ll find out where that bastard is.
After tracing the barrier magic back to its source, they found a dead end. The trail clearly led upward, but a solid wall and ceiling blocked their way.
-It’s blocked?
-Then I’ll break through.
So they went straight through.
Not by taking the stairs, but by force.
They reached their destination by breaking through in a straight line.
From Lydia’s back, Morgan cast barrier magic in reverse, then tucked the catalyst she had used, the ‘Cursed Staff,’ back into the bundle.
Swish—
The Master of the Triangle saw it and was horrified.
“!”
He glared furiously at the ‘merchandise’ in the mage’s arms. It was the item he’d meant to retrieve before heading to the academy.
“Y-you! That’s…?! Why do you have that item—!”
“You left these valuable items in a storeroom, so I took them to put them to good use. I’ll distribute them to the right people and make sure they’re used well from now on.”
“Damn it! What a pointless thing to do…!”
The Master of the Triangle stopped fuming and began to laugh calmly again. His ‘scheme’ wasn’t over yet. He subtly turned the bracelet on his wrist as he spoke.
“Heh… Hah. Heh heh heh, well, well. There’s no one else within the Temple who could push me this far. Daisy, you’re almost worth remembering….”
“If you’re planning to stall for time so you can blow up the Hanson Theater, forget it. We dismantled everything related to the explosions downstairs before coming up. Thanks to that, the barrier is gradually fading, and the drunken guests are safely leaving the theater.”
“?!”
He flinched!
The Master of the Triangle faltered.
‘When did they do that? I hid everything so discreetly that no one could notice until it was activated…. Damn, were they the ones making the barrier tremble earlier?!’
But…!
He once again laughed nonchalantly.
His scheme wasn’t over yet.
“H-heh, heh heh, heh heh heh… I see. Very clever. I’ll commend you for driving me this far. You deserve my praise. This is the praise of greed I bestow upon you—!”
The Master of the Triangle flicked his sleeves, throwing golden ornaments set with jewels. They gave off a blinding light as they flew toward the bunny girl.
Morgan was horrified.
“W-watch out!”
“!”
Lydia quickly dropped Morgan onto the floor, almost throwing her down. Morgan rolled across the floor while clutching the bundle.
“Urgh?!”
In the process, her necklace came off. Morgan saw that her hair had turned red again. Then she hurriedly looked at Lydia.
“!”
Golden, rope-like strands were wrapped so tightly around Lydia’s slender body that they looked ready to burst. She stood perfectly still, glaring at the Master of the Triangle.
The Master of the Triangle laughed, his black robe fluttering.
“Heh heh heh! You can feel the mana protecting your body disappearing, can’t you? No matter how far a knight has advanced into the realm of ‘Ignition’…. Once caught by that artifact, you’ll never be able to draw upon the mana inside your body again. It’s a treasure passed down by only a handful of people in the distant past.”
“…!”
“Now you’ll pay the price for making me use such a precious item…!”
But.
“P-pay…?”
His words never made it to the end.
Flame-like mana was pouring from Lydia’s bound body. And the artifact necklace disguising her had run out of power, causing her hair to return to its original color as well.
A golden light that shone even in the darkness.
Eyes that gleamed even in the shadows.
“Phew….”
Lydia muttered.
“Good grief. You ruined my disguise artifact by throwing something so strange at me. It was rather expensive, so now I’ve had to spend money for nothing.”
“….”
The Master of the Triangle spoke, stunned.
“P-Princess? Lydia de Gallia?”
“That’s right.”
“The princess is wearing a bunny outfit…?”
“…That’s right.”
“Why…?”
“….”
Lydia couldn’t answer and sighed.
“…Phew. Since I’ve already surprised you, I’ll tell you one more shocking fact. It was the last thing the cardinal at the academy learned before he died.”
“What…? That Albert? He’s dead?”
“It seems you knew him. Thank you for answering.”
Lydia tensed her slender arms.
A dreadful ‘crrrk’ sounded from the golden ropes. They were stretched taut and slowly beginning to snap.
The Master of the Triangle was horrified once more.
“W-what?! No…?! How can this be…!”
Then he realized.
“The Aurora, a Sword Master…! A member of the Gallian royal family is a Sword Master…! You’ve been hiding your identity and interfering with the Black Temple’s affairs all this time!”
“It seems my companions were surprised, too. Thank you for explaining.”
“Guh…?!”
“So die.”
“?!”
Lydia snapped the ropes.
Snap—!
Then she rushed forward in an instant,
and swung her fist at the Master of the Triangle.
A tremendous force gathered in her fist, aimed at his stomach.
Boom—!
A gust of wind rode on her flame-wreathed fist.
Against a force like a small typhoon,
the Master of the Triangle flew away like an ant.
“Urgh…! Aaaagh—!”
He flew straight into the opposite wall and crashed against it. Red thorns pierced his body, pinning him helplessly to the wall like a bug on display.
But he didn’t give up.
He still had one last scheme.
“Grrrgh! I can’t die like this! Lord of Greed! Gather all the gold in this room and grant me your power!”
[…I grant it.]
“Heh heh heh, hahahaha!”
The Master of the Triangle let out a crazed laugh.
His body gradually began to turn golden. His eyes and teeth gleamed like jewels in the shadows. A breath steeped in desire poured from within his hood.
To a will that resembled golden thread,
every jewel and treasure around him resonated.
Whummm!
“Awaken! Spirits of the curses sleeping in every treasure! Release every curse dwelling in greed! Blind the eyes of humanity with desire—!!”
“!”
At the wave of power that poured from his body,
all the treasures inside the Hanson Theater began to move.
A tide of gold
A wave of jewels
Even the desires hidden within people….
Golden threads spilled from his body like a spider’s web.
Every desire writhed and answered his will.
“Heh heh heh…. Princess, thank you for giving me information I can pass on to the Archbishop. You’ll regret what happened today for a long, long time in Saintroix, which will become a living hell…!”
“I don’t think that will happen.”
“What…?”
Lydia stepped back slightly.
Then a tremendous force glimmered as it pierced through the floor.
It was a light like sunlight sparkling on a lake.
[Holy Sword Manifestation!]
At the boy’s sword strike,
the golden threads were cut without resistance.
The power of the Dark Realm vanished. At the same time, the jewels obeying his command dropped helplessly. Jewels rained down inside the room.
Plink!
Plink!
The Master of the Triangle stared in shock.
“?!”
But the sword strike wasn’t over.
-Artie! Next, it’s my turn—!
-Yes!
Another sword strike rose from the floor.
This time, it shone blue like a wintry sky.
[Holy Sword Manifestation!]
Once again, the threads were cut,
and his power was greatly diminished.
The Master of the Triangle trembled in pain.
“Guhurk…?!”
“Good grief… Neither you nor I ever seem to get what we want.”
“W-what…?”
The Master of the Triangle lifted his head.
His hood fell back,
revealing his face completely.
“….”
It was a familiar face.
Seeing it,
Lydia murmured.
“I see. So that’s what it was.”
“…?”
Then she clenched her fist. Flame-like mana flickered around it. Without her sword, she couldn’t draw out all her natural power, but it was more than enough to kill him.
“Farewell, Merchant of Darkness. I’ve paid you plenty in gold over the years, so I’ll make good use of your equipment.”
Lydia thrust out her fist.
Boom—!
The Master of the Triangle’s face was blown away just like that.
As his body scattered like jewel dust,
he asked, stunned.
-How did you know that name…?
“….”
Lydia didn’t answer.
When she turned around,
Morgan approached, looking slightly surprised.
“Lydia….”
“You must be quite shocked. I’ll explain everything.”
“….”
She shook her head.
“…You can take your time.”
“Thank you.”
Silence returned to the room.
“….”
“….”
But the silence was broken almost immediately.
From beyond the blocked wall,
they heard Artie and the others’ voices.
-The sound came from over here!
-I’ll break through the wall. You guys charge in right after me!
-I’ll help, too!
Lydia and Morgan jumped in surprise.
“?!”
“?!”
Bang!
Artie and the others broke through the wall and rushed in.
“Don’t move!”
“You guys, I’ll—I’ll….”
Lydia, wearing a bunny outfit, and Artie’s group met one another’s eyes. They all knew each other well. An awkward atmosphere began to settle over them.
“….”
“….”
“….”
Aria was the first among them to regain her composure.
“A-Artie, cover your eyes.”
“…What?”
“Hurry!”
“Hurry!”