Time passed quickly, and the gears of the Six-Faced World continued to turn. And then a turning point approached.
Across the Central Continent, the news spread that the current King of Asura was gravely ill, confined to his deathbed.
To the common people, that provoked only surprise — after all, kings aged, fell ill and died like anyone else.
But to the truly important individuals, to those with power and influence, it was the sign of the storm about to break.
Despite the Prime Minister's attempts to contain the information, many had already heard about the growing influence Ariel Anemoi Asura held within the Magic Triumvirate, as well as the forces allied to her.
High-ranking nobles knew they had to begin to move, to prepare for the inevitable chaos that would consume the Kingdom.
And, as if to confirm all these expectations, Ariel Anemoi Asura departed as soon as she received news of her father's illness.
She traveled with her retinue, moving with urgency.
Ariel's original plan involved using teleportation circles to arrive quickly in the capital of Asura.
But when they tried to use them, they discovered they had been destroyed. That confirmed to the Dragon God that Hitogami had some apostle inside the Kingdom of Asura.
With no other alternative, Ariel's retinue was forced to cross the continent the traditional way — by road.
Now, inside a luxurious carriage making its way through the lands of the Kingdom of Asura, four people conversed.
"The current political situation of the Kingdom is not in our favor," said Derrick Redbat, Ariel's Guardian Mage, with a worried expression. "Darius could very well be drawing us into a trap this time."
Another voice replied in a somewhat unsettling tone:
"But… is that really that important? If he has a political advantage, we can simply kill him."
That was Rudeus Greyrat, wearing his battle mage cloak.
Sándor, seated near the window, let out a laugh.
"It's not that simple, Lord Rudeus," he replied. "Using force against Darius would be irresponsible. It would be a poorly disguised coup d'état."
"We would probably succeed, but… and then? Lady Ariel would be seen as a usurper who murdered nobles of the Kingdom of Asura while her father was ill, in order to seize power. What kind of Queen would be respected by the general populace after that? Moreover, why wouldn't the other nobles fear the same could happen to them?"
Rudeus thought about it for a moment.
"I suppose you're right… this situation in the Kingdom of Asura is very complicated."
This time, Ariel spoke:
"We still have some allies in the Kingdom we can make use of, especially with the influence I currently possess; the political situation is not completely lost. But as a last resort… a coup d'état may not be the best path, but it might end up being the only one we have…"
Derrick nodded slowly.
"Lady Ariel is right. Darius's influence is simply too great. He lacks neither political enemies nor allies. They balance each other out. If we cannot find a definitive way to deal with him cleanly before the court, we will be forced to initiate a coup."
He looked at Rudeus and Sándor seriously.
"At this moment, we will rely heavily on the two of you, gentlemen."
Sándor let out an energetic laugh:
"Hahaha! Let us hope it does not come to that. The current Water God is rather difficult to face…"
Ariel smiled faintly.
"I don't believe the strength of you two is inferior…"
But, contrary to her light tone, Sándor grew serious.
"Do not trust that too much, Lady Ariel. Everything depends on the right moment. If that old woman has room to activate her ultimate technique, our chances are minimal."
He paused briefly and turned his head to look directly at Rudeus.
"Unless that other guy decides to interfere…"
Rudeus fell into thought for a few moments.
"I do not know what he intends to do. The last thing he told me was that he would deal with the political allies of the Second Prince, Halfaus."
Derrick furrowed his brow.
"We have not had many assassinations along the way so far. Could that be his doing?"
Rudeus shook his head immediately.
"Impossible. He would not do that sort of thing."
Ariel entered the subject, looking out the carriage window.
"As for that, I think I know why we have had so few assassination attempts."
The three waited for her explanation.
"We simply have a very powerful force with us. So far we have had three attacks, but Lord Sword God handled them all in an instant. The others hardly had a chance to act. Besides, we have Sylphiette, Lord Rudeus and Lord Sándor. I believe Darius has some information about our forces, and therefore is preserving his resources for a more important battle. If he risked losing key allies, his own political and military structure could collapse."
Everyone fell into thought.
Finally, Derrick exhaled a sigh.
"I had not given much consideration to that possibility, since that is not Darius's usual style… but it is quite possible, given the current situation."
Rudeus remained silent. Darius's prudent attitude did not match his habitual manner.
This could be due to Hitogami's interference; perhaps Darius really is the apostle after all.
He made a mental note to report this to Orsted as soon as possible.
"Anyway, we still have Lord Perugius as a hidden card." Derrick looked up at Rudeus. "Has he been in contact in recent days?"
Rudeus shook his head.
"No. He told Zanoba that he had some internal matters to resolve at the Flying Fortress. He had not planned to accompany us on the journey… but, in any case, he will be there on the appointed day."
Derrick nodded.
"As long as we have Lord Perugius's support, we can force Darius to reveal his final cards. If he attacks first, fearing the loss of his position, we will have justification to eliminate him. Everything depends on correct timing. So we will have to coordinate with Lord Perugius."
"Of course, we will prioritize dealing with him cleanly first."
Sándor leaned back further in the carriage seat, crossing his arms behind his head.
"And the Beast God?" he asked directly.
Everyone's expressions darkened at once — except Sándor's, which remained impassive.
Ariel answered:
"It is certain that the information must have reached the Kingdom of Gaia. Those communication devices of the Iron Legion are very convenient…"
Rudeus completed her line of thought:
"Furthermore, we have already confirmed that the Beast God has access to the locations of some teleportation circles; by whatever means, he could easily come to the Kingdom of Asura in that time."
Unless Hitogami wanted to block the Beast God as well by destroying the teleportation circles.
Rudeus considered that, but did not say it aloud.
Everyone fell silent for a moment, until Derrick spoke:
"He would be an unexpected variable… but he ought not to be participating this time. The situation in the Kingdom of Gaia has been rather stable lately. But he must have his own problems to deal with at the moment."
Ariel frowned, somewhat uncomfortable.
"We have no choice but to believe that. According to Lord Timothy's report, the Beast God could very well ruin any plan and throw everything into the air with his own strength. If he really comes… I fear we can only count on Lord Orsted to stop him."
Rudeus remained silent for a few seconds. The Beast God had long been a thorn in his heart.
Not only was his younger sister, Aisha, a direct disciple of the Beast God, but he even kept Zenith, Norn and Lilia in the Kingdom of Gaia — under his "protection."
And on top of everything else, he was the murderer of his father.
Orsted had said he would eventually help him bring back his mother and Norn eventually, but Rygar could not be killed. Mainly because his role in the fall of Hitogami was very important.
Rudeus finally spoke:
"The Dragon God informed me that the Beast God had been traveling across the Demon Continent in recent months, subjugating Demon Kings. It is unlikely he will appear this time. But if he does… Orsted will intervene."
Ariel and Derrick relaxed a little upon hearing that.
The conversation continued. The four debated everything that could happen and all possible countermeasures.
On one hand, the few assassination attempts were a sign of temporary safety… but on the other, their scarcity also meant they had little notion of the military power available to the enemy.
That was why discussing alternative plans was essential.
The Sword God, Timothy Britz, could easily participate in these meetings. But he had refused, saying simply that he was not good at that sort of thing.
Typical of a practitioner of the Sword God Style: all that mattered to him was defeating any opponent who appeared in his path.
Even though he was considered weaker than people like Gall Farion and Rygar Adoldia, Timothy still stood at the absolute top of the world of swordsmen — a force no one dared underestimate.
Besides Timothy, Sándor and Rudeus, Ariel still counted on other important allies. Among the main ones were:
Sylphiette Greyrat, known as the Love Fairy, thanks to the power of the Demon Eye of Affection.
Sara Greyrat, the number one sharpshooter of the North.
Satarvos, the Wandering Knight, currently under the command of the former Pope of Milis, Harry Grimoire, now serving as an advisor in Ranoa.
With a force of that level, they could even take an entire country by force. But the conflict in Asura was unpredictable.
Gradually, the carriage approached the capital.
Some lesser assassins tried to attack along the way, but none posed any real danger.
Thus, after a long journey, the retinue finally arrived at the Asura Capital — Ars.
Shortly after arriving in the capital, most of the group remained idle. Meanwhile, Ariel, Luke and Derrick went to visit their old allies.
They needed to understand exactly where they stood in the minds of the Noble Houses of the Kingdom.
And after several days, seeing that Minister Darius and his faction would still not attempt any assassination, Ariel made her move.
The reserved location was one of the great reception halls of the Silver Palace, used primarily for large meetings and parties.
The hall was so richly decorated that one would never suspect the entire event had been organized in only ten days.
Sándor and Rudeus stood near the entrance to the waiting room, studying the faces of the attendees as they arrived.
There was a kind of pre-party happening there, with guests circulating among the refreshment tables.
Most of the conversation in the waiting room involved speculation about what Princess Ariel would say and how Prince Grabell's faction might react.
The majority of the first guests were minor nobles who would not be greatly affected regardless of who took the throne.
The first major player arrived a little late. It was Pilemon Notos Greyrat, accompanied by his eldest son.
Pilemon stopped at the entrance to stare at Rudeus with undisguised hostility.
"Hmph. Do you really think you can return to the house of the Notos Greyrat after all these years?"
Rudeus was surprised that he addressed him.
"I never planned to do that, actually."
"Remember this, boy: by all rights, you should not even be allowed to call yourself a Greyrat."
Rudeus remained apathetic.
"...And do you think I care?"
After the confused attempt at insult, Pilemon studied the faces of the guests in the waiting room and then disappeared into a private room reserved for the high nobility.
Sándor merely laughed at the interaction.
After Pilemon's arrival, the rest of the important guests began to appear.
The heads of the four houses and the heads of the great noble houses of Asura arrived one after another.
Finally, after everyone had appeared, the Prime Minister Darius arrived. His only companion was a single bodyguard.
Darius looked at the two with visible hostility, then a grimace of fear crossed his face. But the bodyguard came toward the two.
He was dressed casually, his hair made him look like a poisonous mushroom, and there were four swords at his waist.
"It is a great pleasure to meet you, Lord Rudeus. I am the North Emperor Auber Corbett, although I am commonly called Peacock Sword."
"The pleasure is mine. I have heard much about you. My name is Rudeus Greyrat."
The North Emperor nodded and then turned to Sándor, kneeling on one knee.
"It is a pleasure to see you again, Master! I would have liked to meet you in a less complicated situation, but even so, I must thank you once more for your teachings."
Rudeus was a little shocked — Auber was a student of the Second North God?
Sándor smiled amiably.
"Do not worry about small details, disciple, just follow the path you have chosen."
Auber rose again and smiled.
"I heard there were some assassination attempts; I hope you have a fair dispute next time."
Auber smiled lightly, but his eyes did not look amused at all.
In fact, Rudeus's theory about the assassinations was wrong. The reason Darius had not made any serious assassination attempt was Sándor's reputation.
They said one could not catch the Second North God, Kalman, by surprise.
Ready for combat at all times, even if you attacked him from behind, he would turn as if he had eyes at the nape of his neck and end the threat before it struck.
Auber warned him about that before he committed any foolish act. That was common knowledge among swordsmen.
For just a moment, Auber's face grew strangely serious. Then he turned and left.
The most important guest, the First Prince Grabell, would not go to the waiting room. Instead, he was expected to appear directly in the main hall once the party began.
The nobles entered the hall in a specific order and took their seats along the enormous central table.
Ariel had arranged for almost no palace guards to be on duty, so most of the nobles had brought their own.
Ariel stood behind the place of honor at the head of the table. As soon as all the guests took their seats, she stepped forward.
"Thank you all very much for taking time out of your busy schedules to attend this party."
At first, her welcome speech was fairly conventional. She began by mentioning the king's illness, made some observations about the state of affairs in Asura, and spoke about how she felt watching events unfold from afar during her studies abroad.
However, her offensive soon began.
Tristina Purplehorse was dead. That removed an important piece to use against Minister Darius.
So Ariel had to look for other weaknesses; she managed to cooperate with the Whitespider family to 'create' a victim.
If there is no evidence, then simply create it yourself. There was also a young woman allegedly kidnapped by Darius from House Whitespider, but she had been dead for a long time.
But that did not mean she could not be used; House Whitespider was an old ally of the Princess's faction and wanted to overthrow Darius, so they decided to help her with their lie.
She presented the young woman as young Beatriz Whitespider, who had escaped and forged her death after living for years as Darius's sexual slave.
The young woman bore a strong resemblance to the deceased, and told a fairly convincing and moving story.
Several nobles began to cry during the tale.
But many others, especially Darius's allies, wore clear expressions of shock and dismay on their faces.
Particularly, the members of House Whitespider were pale and sweating visibly.
Darius himself maintained a placid expression. At no moment did he appear to lose his composure, at least apparently.
When the young impostor Beatriz finally finished her speech and stepped back, Ariel advanced.
"Now," said the princess, wearing her usual bright smile. "This is all quite surprising, Minister Darius. I certainly did not expect such shocking revelations to be revealed in front of everyone like this. It is truly hard to believe… could you really have abused your power so blatantly? Kidnapped a noble-born girl and treated her as your personal slave?"
Her tone, calm at first, began to heat quickly as she advanced in her speech.
"Is this how a Prime Minister of Asura behaves? Is this truly the conduct of a man who manages our entire kingdom? Shameful. Do you have anything to say in your defense, sir?"
With a disdainful snort, Darius slowly stood.
"Princess Ariel, today you took your games a little too far."
His narrow eyes gleamed with malice. He turned to stare at Beatriz.
"I hardly expected you to pick up a woman in the street and insist on calling her a member of House Whitespider. Ah, I know my enemies delight in spreading malicious rumors of this sort behind my back, but, in truth, this is the first time someone has thrown these lies directly at me."
Laughing loudly, he turned to face everyone around the hall, intuitively encouraging the other nobles to agree that Beatriz was indeed an impostor.
"You claim her story is false?" Ariel asked.
"Of course. Now, I have a question for you, Princess Ariel. Do you have any proof that this… Miss Beatriz is indeed the second daughter of House Whitespider?"
"Beatriz."
At Ariel's request, Beatriz slid her hand into the bodice of her dress and took something out.
It was a ring. It had a beautiful white jewel at the center, with the image of a spider carved on its surface.
Obviously, she had procured that ring from the Whitespider family to collaborate with the ruse.
"Ah! A diamond with the image of a spider. Certainly that is what members of House Whitespider use to prove their identity."
Darius admitted all this quite easily, yet his face did not lose composure. On the contrary, his smile became even clearer and more hateful.
"I understand, I understand. Since this lovely girl bears that ring, it seems that she is indeed a Whitespider…" Pausing for effect, Darius looked at Ariel and Beatriz.
"Or so one might believe at first."
In that moment, the smug smile on his face was sickening to behold.
"By chance, I have news to share about Beatriz Whitespider. I am afraid she has been recently identified."
"Identified?" Ariel tilted her head slightly to the side, a clear sign of doubt.
"I am sure everyone remembers, ladies and gentlemen, a certain operation we carried out in the capital about a month ago," said Darius. "Its objective was to find all the members of certain criminal organizations that had rooted themselves in the royal capital. During that operation, I regret to inform you that Miss Beatriz's body was discovered."
Ariel drew a deep breath at that.
A month ago? He had been preparing for this in advance?
"Of course, her ring had already been sold on the black market, so it was difficult for us to establish her identity conclusively. However, Miss Beatriz's body had a distinctive feature that only her family knew: a birthmark…"
"I believe the head of House Whitespider can confirm all of this for us. Isn't that right, Lord Fabius Whitespider?"
If the head of House Whitespider supported that, the falsehood would become the truth. And if Darius then demanded that Beatriz expose her skin, he could "prove" she was an impostor.
A man who appeared to be the head of House Whitespider rose silently.
Darius appeared completely confident. Ariel's faint smile had not left her face.
"M-My daughter…"
Slowly and hesitantly, Fabius began to speak.
"My daughter was stolen from us… by Minister Darius…"
"Lord Fabius!" Darius shouted. "What are you saying?!"
"That woman standing there is my daughter, Beatriz Whitespider! There is no doubt in my mind! Princess Ariel, I beg you, give this man a just punishment for the kidnapping and abuse of my daughter!"
Ariel stepped forward.
"Then now, Prime Minister. Given this testimony from the head of House Whitespider…"
She still wore her smile.
"It seems you really kidnapped, imprisoned and raped an innocent noble-born girl. Regardless of your importance to this kingdom, such crimes cannot be excused. I hope you are punished according to our laws."
Darius's face contorted horribly in fear and rage, and his eyes scanned the entire hall. However, he no longer had a single ally sitting at that table.
All of the Prime Minister's former allies, the men and women who had eaten from his hand for years, abandoned him in the blink of an eye.
But suddenly, another person entered the hall.
It was a middle-aged man with blond hair and blue eyes. The First Prince.
Grabell Zafin Asura walked straight to his younger sister without averting his gaze from her.
"What is the meaning of this shameful commotion, Ariel? Have you forgotten that our father is gravely ill?"
"What commotion? I am simply defending the honor of our nobility as a whole."
"I'm saying there are times and places for this sort of thing," said Grabell, shaking his head irritated. "With our father incapacitated, the Kingdom of Asura can hardly afford to lose the many talents of our Prime Minister."
"Maybe yes, maybe no. In any case, his crimes are real."
"Even if these accusations are true, Darius is a high noble, and the members of House Whitespider are mid-level. It should be obvious which of them is more valuable to our kingdom."
"I do not dispute that, Grabell, but I repeat: his crimes are real. As a kingdom ruled by laws, we cannot simply ignore them."
"So he must be punished? I understand. You are not entirely wrong, Ariel… But you know as well as I do that there are many others in this room whose deeds should be exposed and judged. Do you intend to throw each of them into a prison cell?"
"Of course. If necessary."
Reading between the lines, Ariel was promising she would not punish anyone she deemed "necessary."
No one cared about that, of course.
That was how rotten and fetid this kingdom truly was.
Practically every noble in that Hall had their share of heinous crimes, some even worse than Darius's.
But so long as they were useful and did not become too important in the grand scheme, the truly important people simply kept them around for convenience.
"Hmph. So you are convinced punishing Darius is necessary. And I believe otherwise."
With a small laugh, Grabell smiled condescendingly at his sister. "It seems we are at an impasse!"
"I believe so," Ariel replied.
Shaking his head theatrically, Grabell finally turned his attention to the others in the room.
"According to tradition, we must put the matter to a vote. Conveniently, it seems we have almost all the main men and women of Asura in this same hall. Would you be so kind as to decide which of us is right?"
There was an implicit threat in that speech. Anyone who voted against Grabell would be added to his list of enemies and likely purged from power at the first chance.
But Ariel simply spoke with a bright smile on her face:
"That sounds very reasonable, Grabell. But before we come to that, there is another person I would like to present to everyone."
"What?"
Ariel snapped her fingers. Taking the cue, Rudeus casually raised his arm toward the roof.
With a deafening roar, a huge column of fire spiraled into the air.
It was the Intermediate spell Pillar of Flames, but Rudeus had amplified it greatly with mana. The flames rose unceasingly into the air, burning the palace walls as they climbed.
"What is the mea…?!"
"What…?!"
"Hum?!"
"It cannot be!"
The nobles rose to see the flames.
Something enormous moved across the night sky, lit by the fire. And it was something not seen every day, even in a city like Ars.
"That is the flying fortress?!"
"When did it arrive in Asura?!"
The flying fortress Chaos Breaker had arrived.
Perugius's majestic castle approached at an absolutely terrifying speed, flying so low it seemed likely to crash into the castle.
The floating fortress hovered in the sky just above the Silver Palace.
The hall fell completely silent.
After a while, footsteps were heard approaching. From the sound, it seemed there was only one person out there.
But twelve others accompanied him silently.
The footsteps stopped outside the door.
"Our guest has arrived," said Ellemoi.
When the door finally opened, the atmosphere changed immediately.
"Oh! Oh! It's him! It really is him!"
A man with gray hair and golden eyes wearing a white cloak entered the hall.
He did not look exactly like his portrait, but his overwhelming presence and the twelve servants who followed him left no doubt.
Some who saw him trembled or shrank back in fear. Others looked with deep respect and admiration in their eyes.
Indifferent to all of this, he crossed the room, parting the crowd of nobles as he walked.
Finally, he reached Ariel and Grabell.
His twelve spirits split into two groups of six and positioned themselves on both sides of the hall. One group now stood beside Ariel's bodyguards; the other beside Auber, who served Darius.
"My thanks for your kind invitation, Ariel Anemoi Asura… but it seems I may be a little late for the party, no?"
"Not at all. The guest of honor should always be the last to enter."
Perugius had a small smile on his face, and Ariel glowed with delight.
Grabell, on the other hand, appeared at a loss as to what to do with himself. He simply stared at Perugius with wide eyes.
Turning, Ariel spoke in a confident tone:
"Everyone, allow me to introduce you to the Armored Dragon King, one of the legendary Three God-Slayers!"
Perugius did not bow, but simply swept his gaze across the crowd like a true lord.
When the nobles met his eyes, they hastily knelt and bowed their heads in respect.
"Greetings. I am Perugius Dola."
"Now, everyone, please raise your heads. I join you tonight as a guest, nothing more, nothing less."
At these words, the nobles rose uncertainly. Soon, all the guests had taken their seats once more.
"Oh?" said Perugius, looking around the table with curiosity.
Only three seats remained empty: the seat of honor at the head of the table and two others beside it. Three participants still stood. Ariel, Grabell and Perugius himself.
"Well, that is a problem. It seems we have only three available seats. Tell me, Ariel Anemoi Asura, Grabell Zafin Asura, which of them shall I take?"
Grabell inhaled sharply, and others at the table audibly swallowed.
"By all means… please take… the seat of honor, Lord Perugius," said Grabell in a trembling voice.
He could not have said anything more at that moment. Perugius did not have the authority to decide the next ruler, or to assign himself a seat at that table.
Someone at the table could have pointed that out. Normally, someone would have. But at that moment, most of the guests were incapable of considering the matter with such calm and coldness.
Perugius spoke in an almost casual tone, and no one dared interrupt him.
"No, I think not. I have spent many years away from this country to put myself in the place of your next ruler."
Extending his hand, he gently pushed Ariel's back while speaking the words "next ruler."
"Ariel, you take it instead. I will content myself with the seat beside you."
In that moment, all the nobles in the hall knew Ariel would be queen.
Of course, in that kind of situation, everyone imagined that all the pieces had been set and that nothing could shake the final outcome.
Ariel had triumphed.
But no one there expected that, even with the people present, the main characters of this event had not yet entered the scene.
And at that moment, the first hint of that was revealed.
"Lord Perugius!"
As Sylvaril shouted those words, the ceiling of the hall gave way.
A large chandelier fell to the floor, crushing a noble beneath it. Fragments of stone and metal flew, injuring several others.
The scale of the damage was not particularly large. It was only the part of the ceiling above the central table that collapsed.
And among the rubble was an elderly woman.
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