The palace was thrown into chaos. The court attendants began to rush through the corridors.

Meanwhile, a black shadow was slowly creeping out from beneath the door.

When the attendants hurried to the Grand Temple, they witnessed something strange. In the center garden of the temple, there was a pitch-black sphere.

“Wh, what is this…?!”

But there were no priests to explain the situation to them. Each was running around, preparing for the purification ritual.

“The cursed objects brought in…!”

Not only the tree in the garden but also the cursed objects stored with the holy relics began to emit malevolent energy.

“Where is the High Priest…! Right now, the Emperor…!”

“The High Priest is struggling to contain the cursed objects that have gone rampant in the temple…!”

“But the Emperor is in danger!”

“We cannot allow this to grow any larger!”

It was best for the High Priest to suppress the two increasingly growing energies alone to prevent them from expanding further.

At that moment, one of the priests approached the round sphere to place a holy relic for the enhancement of the purification ritual.

Suddenly, his arm brushed against the sphere.

“Uh…?”

In an instant, the priest who brushed against the sphere opened his eyes wide. And soon after.

Crack.

It shattered like sand and scattered. A scream erupted.

“What is happening…!”

“Everyone, do not go near that!”

“We must enhance the purification ritual! Inform the High Priest!”

“Understood!”

The attendant from the palace could only stand there dumbfounded, watching the back of the priest who had rushed away, leaving them behind.

Then they suddenly remembered. There was someone in the palace with power equal to that of the High Priest.

“I must inform Her Highness the Crown Princess of this.”

They left the disordered Grand Temple behind and began to gallop back to the palace.

☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓

Carlothian was preparing documents to be delivered to the Crown Prince. Everyone in the palace was aware that the emperor’s condition was strange.

The number of dead servants had exceeded a hundred in just one day, and politics had become oppressive and violent, as if he were a tyrant.

The one responding to this was Crown Prince Luciano. If his position as the next emperor were not secure, he would not have been able to respond until now.

“If it’s broken, it needs to be replaced.”

Carlothian said matter-of-factly. The current emperor was malfunctioning. Therefore, replacing him was the right thing to do. He dared to think of what no one else would.

At that moment, someone came rushing up the stairs and burst into the room.

Bang!

When the door opened, Ariadeline stood there, panting heavily.

“Carlothian…!”

Her face was pale and drenched. Carlothian was startled and rose from his seat to approach her.

“What’s wrong?”

“The energy…!”

Ariadeline grasped the collar of Carlothian’s clothes.

“I can feel the malevolent energy…!”

“Malevolent energy?”

“It’s the energy of dark magic!”

Ariadeline, with a pale face, was at a loss for what to do. Carlothian immediately realized that the situation was unusual.

“How exactly does it feel?”

“There are two from the Grand Temple and one from the palace, but the energy from the palace is so…”

It’s enormous. Her grip on Carlothian’s clothes tightened. It was as if she was afraid of something.

“I need to check it out. This energy is not normal…!”

Carlothian looked down at her and then commanded his attendant.

“I will head to the palace.”

“Understood.”

“Ariadeline, calm down.”

She nodded. Carlothian slowly closed his eyes. Thanks to his long time with the Deathrotea, he could distinguish most dark magic, but he wasn’t at the level of sensing something distant as keenly as she could.

However, he took her words seriously and immediately prepared a carriage to head to the palace.

The two hurriedly climbed into the carriage and set off toward the palace. Ariadeline couldn’t hide her anxiety.

“What on earth is happening?”

As they headed toward the palace, a horse adorned with the palace emblem brushed past their carriage.

The rider, recognizing the emblem of the Duke of Denaves, quickly turned his horse to chase after the carriage.

“Please stop the carriage for a moment…!”

Creak.

The carriage slowly came to a halt, and the man who dismounted received a letter bearing the royal seal. It was a request for help from Dorothea.

[The Emperor’s palace is filled with dark energy. We need help. Ariadeline.]

It seemed the palace was indeed in a dire situation. After exchanging glances, Ariadeline and Carlothian climbed back into the carriage and headed toward the palace.

Upon arriving at the palace, they felt a terrible, malevolent energy that was almost painful. In the distance, a black dome was visible. It was undoubtedly the location of the emperor’s palace.

Ariadeline felt a sense of suffocation as she looked at the enormous dome. She had not felt anything like this even when facing a cursed object.

When the carriage reached the dome, all the knights, attendants, Crown Princess Dorothea, and Crown Prince Luciano were there.

“What is going on…?!”

Ariadeline jumped out of the carriage and asked. Carlothian steadied her by holding her swaying waist.

She grasped the hem of her dress and rushed toward them anxiously.

“Ariadeline…!”

Dorothea greeted her urgently. Ariadeline took her hand and looked up at the dome once more.

The massive dome that seemed to consume the Emperor’s palace appeared alive. She could feel it pulsing. It was even slowly expanding its size.

“…Everything that touches that dome crumbles to dust.”

“Crumbles to dust?”

“The servants who couldn’t escape and the knights who went inside to save His Majesty disappeared into dust in an instant.”

Dorothea said with a serious expression. Ariadeline grasped Dorothea’s hand tightly as she stared at the black sphere with a pale face.

“What can I do to help?”

Then Dorothea replied.

“…My power can only prevent that dome from growing any larger. However, to remove it…”

Ariadeline continued, as if she understood.

“So we need to eliminate the source of the problem.”

“……That’s correct.”

“Right now, the High Priest is in the Grand Temple, and I am unable to move from here, so we need someone else.”

“I understand perfectly.”

“I cannot leave this place. I need to keep managing it to prevent it from growing.”

Dorothea looked at Luciano.

“So please work with Luciano to find a solution to this situation.”

Ariadeline nodded solemnly.

“……Understood.”

Luciano looked at Dorothea with a worried expression.

“Are you really okay? You won’t be able to sleep properly or even eat.”

“Luciano.”

Dorothea said firmly.

“That is my responsibility regarding the power I possess.”

“Dorothea….”

“If it’s something that can help, I will do anything.”

In the end, in front of the Emperor’s palace, only Dorothea remained, while the Crown Prince, Ariadeline, and Carlothian gathered at the nearest place they could find to stay.

The palace attendants busily carried books. The books brought from the temple were piled up like a mountain.

“Carlothian, are you okay staying here?”

“The aides will take care of the mansion for a while.”

“……Thank you.”

The words of gratitude felt unexpected. Carlothian thought that he must always be present wherever Ariadeline was.

Carlothian’s hand approached the ends of Ariadeline’s hair, but then—

“……It’s not something to thank me for.”

It quickly retracted as if he couldn’t touch it. Ariadeline quietly stared at the tips of his fingers before suddenly grabbing them. She gently kissed the tips of his fingers.

“No, it’s definitely something to be thankful for.”

Ariadeline smiled. Carlothian felt his fingertips grow warm. He slightly curled his fingers and nodded.

“……Yeah.”

Thus, the three of them worked hard to gather books related to cursed objects and dark magic to uncover the cause of the mysterious dome.

It was only natural that the books related to dark magic from the Denaves mansion were pulled out.

The crown prince, Luciano, spoke incredulously.

“……You had this many illegal books?”

“Is that really important right now?”

Carlothian’s attitude was confident. Given the circumstances, Luciano couldn’t argue against it and ran his hand through his hair.

“……I can’t deny that we need these books right now, so I’ll pretend I didn’t see this. But once this is all over, I will have them all burned.”

“I’ll think about it.”

Luciano glared at him, but Carlothian merely continued to turn the pages of the book in silence.

Days passed like this.

☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓

The Emperor was sitting in his reception room. He thought he was awake. The dimly lit reception room came into view.

But the Emperor’s eyes were closed. The darkness served as his vision, revealing what existed and where everything was.

The Emperor had become the darkness itself. He was consumed by the name of the demon and had become it. Yet, the Emperor was unaware of this.

‘The bloodline of the one who pitied you still remains.’

‘And thus, that bloodline continues to pity you still.’

‘Let’s kill and eliminate it. How dare it pity you?’

‘Or…….’

The voice chuckled.

‘Let’s make it suffer more than anyone else. Let’s mock it for pitying what has fallen to the ground.’

‘You have the power to do that.’

‘Because of me.’

He believed that the tremendous power enveloping him and the horrific malice rising from his heart were solely his own. It was arrogance, pure arrogance.

“……The son of that thing is outside.”

The Emperor lifted his head. Even as he looked out at the pitch-black window, he seemed to perceive something.

His lips curled into a grin, stretching painfully wide. He recalled his brother, that name he hated so passionately.

“……I’ll make your bloodline follow you foolishly into the abyss.”

A voice filled with malice echoed. Following his darkness, the enormous dome grew larger. It fed on the remnants of malice created by its host, expanding its size.

‘No one will ever love you, brother.’

The words he had spoken came to mind. Love, what a ridiculous thing to be so full of oneself about.

The Emperor was gradually consumed by the darkness. Foolishly believing that everything was his own power, he was unaware that his limbs were being gnawed away.

The Emperor’s vision grew darker, and his thoughts were swallowed by the shadows. A voice, known as the demon, whispered in his ear.

Those who feed me.

Dark and ominous.

Foolish ones who nurture me.

In the darkness, the Emperor’s eyes soon opened. His eyeballs had turned pitch black, and from his parted lips came a voice that was not his own.

“The eternal calamity you create has returned once more.”