“My stars?!”

“What is that?”

“It’s the Falling-Star Meteoric Iron Demon Sword!”

“Why is that thing there?”

One day, in the midst of the great suppression campaign.

Heralds from the Astreos army and Kyrie’s forces stood within the plazas of the free cities.

These days, hanging the corpses of scholars and Masters in the plazas of free cities was nothing unusual.

“Behold this sword!”

But it was far from common for heralds to raise a blade forged entirely from pitch-black metal, from edge to hilt alike.

“The Falling-Star Meteoric Iron Demon Sword! A black blade that disperses all mana and interferes with the exercise of authority! A relic of the Ancient Empire managed by the Myriad Star Church! A power capable of opposing the direct descendants of the great houses! The Church must explain why the Corruptors of the Hall of Purity possessed this weapon!”

Everyone who saw and heard the spectacle turned pale.

“This can’t be happening.”

“They landed a devastating blow.”

“The Church will never escape this.”

Kyrie immediately dispatched messengers to every Elector Prince.

[…I do not doubt that this was merely negligence in management, yet I also do not doubt that even the lords of faith understand how negligence itself may become a problem.]

The Hall of Purity had possessed the Falling-Star Meteoric Iron Demon Sword.

[Please come to Cophion so we may discuss countermeasures and follow-up actions. Time is urgent, so bring only minimal escorts.]

Surely the Church had not intentionally handed it over.

But even if they had not done so deliberately, that itself was still a problem.

Any Elector Prince of the Empire of Stars would fully understand the implications.

“My heavens.”

“There is no helping it.”

“We’ll need to gather and discuss this again.”

From Tyren of Terra to Narji of Crosel, every one of them arrived with gleaming eyes.

Any blood relative of a great house would lose their minds over such a matter.

The Falling-Star Meteoric Iron Demon Sword.

A relic from the era of the Ancient Empire of Evil, so fiercely condemned by the Church.

A weapon capable of dispersing the authorities of the great houses.

A weapon capable of nullifying Elementalization, the supreme authority among the Six Great Houses.

From the perspective of the great houses, the mere fact that the Church still possessed such a sword was grounds for criticism. But to mishandle it so badly that it ended up in the hands of the Hall of Purity—

“I nearly misunderstood your intentions. I almost thought the Myriad Star Church had secretly joined hands with the Hall of Purity to eliminate us great houses! Surely you understand how deeply mistaken I was. So show us! Show us the sincerity of your hearts!”

“Crosel desires the truth. Truth as transparent as water. Just what happened for the Falling-Star Meteoric Iron Demon Sword to end up in the Hall of Purity’s hands? Did someone carry it there and die before it was stolen? Impossible. I’d sooner believe you sold it.”

“This lady understands. It is easy for lower officials entrusted with practical affairs to waver. However, I hope you understand that we can no longer trust you completely. It seems the great houses’ assistance will now be required in the execution of supply budgets and the administration of the free cities.”

There was no way this had been an accident.

Yet the Church’s administration appearing incompetent was also undeniable.

Naturally, they would now require the “assistance” of the great houses—and the appropriate “compensation” for such assistance.

“They must be going out of their minds by now.”

Inside a free city near the corpse-waste plains where Kyrie had summoned the Elector Princes.

As host of the second conference, Kyrie had arrived early together with Andromeda.

The two sat leisurely in the bar of a luxurious inn, raising glasses with relaxed smiles.

“But they absolutely can’t say a word.”

“Right. They absolutely cannot.”

Andromeda always laughed sincerely.

……I really used my head this time.

For once, Kyrie was sincere as well.

If the Myriad Star Church wants to refute us here, they’d have to admit that Andromeda and I possessed the Falling-Star Meteoric Iron Demon Sword. But even if we did possess it, that’s still negligence on their part. Erica and Vicher will ask the question for us. Then the next question becomes: why was House Astreos holding it in the first place?

The two recalled a scene from several years earlier.

A night without end beneath pouring rain.

The day they drove every Blue Knight of Astreos up toward the Patriarch’s Hall.

The day Patriarch Peleus, marked with a stigma, took the Falling-Star Meteoric Iron Demon Sword in Kyrie’s place.

The day two people who had believed body and soul would remain together forever were forced onto separate paths.

Kyrie spoke words he ordinarily never would have allowed himself to utter aloud.

“This is revenge for Father, you sons of bitches.”

“Yeah. Revenge, you sons of bitches.”

As always, Andromeda repeated the profanity naturally while refilling Kyrie’s glass.

“Go on. Tell them that sword belonged to the cathedral knights sent to kill Peleus of Astreos.”

“And then Erica will ask, won’t she? ‘Why exactly were you trying to kill Peleus? Are you planning to kill this lady next?’”

“And we’ll ask too. We’ll ask if those bastards seriously think that’s something they can just say with a straight face.”

“Well, who told them to attempt an assassination in the first place?”

The two burst into identical laughter and clinked glasses once more.

“Kyrie.”

“Yeah?”

“Sister really likes you. You know that, right?”

“I really like you too, Sister.”

The exhilaration of successfully trapping the Church and the exhilaration of avenging their father together overflowed at the same time.

The Papal See.

“What a cunning and despicable scheme.”

A man seated upon the Holy Seat before a statue shaped like the World Tree beneath a magnificent crystal dome.

“It is all the more so because there is no opening through which to escape. Severing the heads of one or two bishops will not solve this. It has been a long time since we were struck this hard.”

Saint Soleil let out a booming laugh.

Even the Pope himself had been genuinely shaken by the trap laid by Kyrie and Andromeda.

Don’t know? Then you deserve to get hit.

This was a world where ignorance itself became justification for punishment.

The Church could not claim ignorance regarding why the Hall of Purity possessed the Falling-Star Meteoric Iron Demon Sword.

Because ignorance itself was the crime.

“Y-Your Holiness.”

“It might not be such a bad idea to go all the way. We could claim Peleus had already been corrupted by the Hall of Purity, and because no one noticed, we had no choice but to intervene.”

“However—”

“I know. It runs contrary to the grand design.”

Yet at a time when they still needed the strength of the great houses to fight the Hall of Purity, they could hardly insist that Peleus truly deserved death.

“We have finally seized the tails of vermin with corrupted faith. If we do not kill them now, we may never get another chance. Unlike the great houses.”

At the very least, Astreos, Rikenta, and Flammerios would withdraw from the suppression coalition immediately.

Especially because the archbishop of Astreos held a lifetime appointment and had risen through internal promotion and Peleus’s approval rather than appointment by the Papal See, making direct pressure from the Vatican difficult.

Rikenta could be controlled to some extent since its archbishop had been appointed by the Papal See, but even there matters were not simple.

The geography of islands, mountains, rivers, and swamps hindered centralization not only for the great houses, but for the Church as well.

Even if the Archbishop of Rikenta pressured the Patriarch, it meant nothing unless the entirety of Rikenta’s Church acted in unified solidarity.

As for Flammerios, there was no need to even mention them.

That was the house of the mad twins who burned their own minor house head alive with their own hands and seized the title of Guardians of the Realm for themselves.

The Myriad Star Church’s moral condemnation and the resulting collapse of public opinion was already occurring.

Of course, they were confident they could invade Flammerios militarily.

But stabilizing it would require at least ten years and staggering amounts of funding.

Now that they had finally found the tail of the Hall of Purity, it was far too wasteful a time for that.

And he did not even wish to contemplate the fact that this would only be possible if Astreos and Rikenta quietly watched their ally being beaten down.

“But if we satisfy all the demands of those greedy wretches, we may end up selling even this Holy Seat.”

“W-what dreadful words are these, Your Holiness?”

“But it is true, is it not? Tens of thousands of troops will devour resources without restraint and spend as they please. The great houses will seize control of the administration of the free cities, so we will not even be able to recover the bare minimum. We shall be stripped clean.”

They could not simply admit fault.

The Empire of Stars was ruled not by the laws of men, but by the morality of the Holy Seat.

Eternal as lightning. Free as wind. Unchanging as earth. Burning as flame…

Countless slogans proclaimed as much.

And in a world ruled by morality, admitting fault meant death.

Whether it was the will of the Myriad Star or the will of the Guardian Stars, those who broke their promises to the stars awaited only death.

Collection rights, territory, revisions to ecclesiastical law, gold coins…

It was obvious they would be stripped of everything that could possibly be stripped away until utter ruin followed.

“Gather the Inquisitors.”

“Your Holiness?”

Saint Soleil made his decision.

“Since their logic is that they shall lead the suppression campaign in our stead, there is a limit to how long they can delay under the excuse of preparing for war. Long-term interests may be stripped from us on paper, but they will never actually be enforced. We shall ensure that.”

“A truly brilliant judgment.”

“We will stall until the suppression campaign ends, yielding small amounts of cash and material goods along the way. And afterward, we renegotiate through force.”

For now, he retreated one step.

“Send a letter to Saint Sirius. Tell him to reduce the damages however he can at the front.”

As a politician, the Pope’s decision was excellent.

But as the great representative of the Myriad Star who viewed the world from everywhere at all times, it was a decision he should never have made.

By compromising his own absoluteness, he had lowered himself into something negotiable.

It would have been better to insist to the very end that Peleus truly deserved death and fight everyone openly.

At the very least, Kyrie would have done so.

The Elector Princes gathered in Cophion.

Because the encirclement still had to be maintained, each had arrived swiftly with only several hundred to a thousand guards.

Naturally, the attendees themselves were the same as before.

“…….”

“…….”

“…….”

But the atmosphere of the meeting could not have been more different.

Andromeda, Erica, Vicher, and Vichera looked openly triumphant.

They wore extravagant hair ornaments, fur shawls dusted with gold powder, and leather jackets decorated with gleaming metal insignia.

Meanwhile, Valherios, Severic, and Saint Sirius wore plain uniforms without a single decoration.

“His Highness Kyrie, royal brother of Astreos, Grand Duke of Wind of Rikenta, Protector of the Church, and Imperator of the Great Suppression Campaign, now enters!”

Step. Step. Step.

Then Kyrie entered.

Wearing gauntlets, carrying the Wall-Breaking Longsword, and letting a deep blue cloak billow behind him, he looked ready to march directly onto the battlefield.

Saint Sirius waited for Kyrie’s first words with the heart of a prisoner awaiting execution.

We’re completely trapped.

He feared what impossible demands Kyrie might make.

He had lived for three hundred years and experienced countless things.

His imagination for disaster surpassed anyone’s.

“I am pleased to bring joyful news to the Elector Princes. We have discovered the headquarters of the Hall of Purity.”

Yet even Saint Sirius could never have anticipated Kyrie’s opening words.

“What did you say?”

“What?”

Saint Sirius and Erica asked at the same time.

The headquarters? Now? Why?

This is the perfect opportunity to shove every war expense onto them. So why…?

Both had assumed Kyrie would begin by talking about responsibility.

“The capital of the Ancient Empire, the imperial city of Soletaraon. It lies at the very center of the corpse-waste plains. The twelve free cities around the outer regions of the plains provide manpower and materials, while the actual experiments and research are conducted in Soletaraon.”

“If it’s the corpse-waste plains, then enormous numbers of skeletons must be wandering there…”

“Apparently they can command the corpse armies through mental waves. Considering the corpse armies themselves use powers similar to mental waves, it’s possible the corpse armies were creations of the Hall of Purity from the beginning.”

No.

Instead of drawing a blade, Kyrie drew out a map.

“Right now, the main forces of each house are positioned here, here, and here…”

Instead of speaking about blame, he began discussing the suppression campaign.

Surely not.

Saint Sirius suddenly trembled.

For the first time, he wondered whether Kyrie had not launched this public-opinion war merely to seize the Myriad Star Church’s interests.

Perhaps Kyrie had started this public-opinion war to target the Myriad Star Church itself.

Chapter 226

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