Ghost of the Past (5)
The flow of the continent had changed.
The decisive event that made the change tangible was when the misdeeds of the King of Grancia, James Grancia, were revealed.
James Grancia had poisoned his father while he was on the throne.
The misdeed itself was not that shocking.
Most people who knew about it were aware of the fact, and there were quite a few who took advantage of his weakness.
What surprised them was the fact that the whistleblower was the very victim of the poisoning.
-I died 25 years ago by the hand of my son. He poisoned me in his lust for power, hid the truth, and I have come today to reveal the truth!
Not only did the dead father return, but he also began to purge all those involved in the conspiracy.
James Grancia was no exception.
He was the first to be executed by his father's hand.
The only survivors were two princes who had sought refuge in the headquarters of the Althea Order.
Morgan II and Adonis were shocked when they heard the news.
If the poisoned Grancia king came back to life, what if the Hupper king also revived to disgrace their honor, what should they do?
Unable to sleep day and night with worries, they eventually consulted Reed about the matter.
Reed reassured them that if they had properly managed the corpse, there was no need to worry.
Reed knew the reason why the king had been revived.
"Their goal is not the downfall of other kingdoms anyway."
"Then what do you think their goal is?"
"It must be to occupy the land. They needed a place to command the ghosts of the past summoned by the hero."
Reed's speculation was accurate.
A small number of people were seen entering Grancia Kingdom late at night.
Although they began to manage the cemetery belatedly, more than 100 corpses of past great figures had already disappeared.
As talented individuals who could threaten the world gathered in one place, at the same time, all the residents of Grancia began to pack their belongings and leave the castle.
It was unclear whether it was because they were useless forces that were being released or because the hero was showing mercy.
All commoners, merchants, and nobles had evacuated from Grancia Castle, which was now shrouded in darkness.
Various defensive magic circles began to cover the Grancia Kingdom heavily.
A round dome-shaped area that even blocked sunlight was created.
People began to call it the Demon King's Castle instead of the Grancia Kingdom.
* * *
* * *
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-The Demon King's Castle, what a nice name.
"How could it be nice? The disaster that once tormented humans has returned."
-It's ironic, isn't it? The one who was once revered as a hero is now a demon king.
"It's not surprising since I took it upon myself."
-But it seems that humans don't know that the culprit behind this is the former hero. Even though those who should know do, there's no mention of it.
"They must have not talked about it, without a doubt."
-Why is that?
"Because they don't want to lose hope. If the one who became the demon king was a hero, then they would doubt the new hero that will appear in the future. Another disaster will appear, and the one who creates the disaster is the hero."
-Hope, huh? I still don't understand human affairs.
And he probably wouldn't try to understand either.
The hero knew that the dark voice had no interest in humans.
The hero closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
Determination is necessary in everything.
Even now, after causing the incident, he had to regain his composure.
All of this was for the sake of good.
It was the strong will of a hero who had traveled across the continent to save it, training and eradicating evil.
* * *
The Demon King's Castle was created.
The rumor of the creation of the Demon King's Castle inevitably led to the birth of the Demon King.
The place that was turned upside down by the spread of the rumor was the Althea Church.
They had suppressed demons with the Stone Garlic Flower, but they failed to prevent the birth of the Demon King, leaving the priests in a difficult situation.
It seemed like a great opportunity for the hardliners to make a big fuss, but they weren't entirely happy either.
It was because they knew that the hero, who they had been advertising as a knight of light, was now occupying the position of the Demon King.
The Empire and Kingdom Alliance, the Tower's mages, and the Church gathered.
It was an unprecedented solidarity that took place for the first time since the appearance of the Demon King 300 years ago, as they judged that the incident could put the continent in danger.
However, the solidarity wasn't properly achieved.
They all had to take care of their own interests, and they continued to argue in order to get even a little more of the pie.
A few hours passed, but the first meeting ended without a satisfactory answer for everyone.
However, they couldn't remain stuck in this state forever.
The hero inside the Demon King's Castle had no reason to wait for them.
The ghosts of the past that the hero had raised began to move.
Their targets were the Hupper Kingdom, the Barchan Alliance, and Escolleia Academy.
"Isn't that Kals Zimmer? The legendary mercenary who was called..."
"Next to him is Grace Rohan, the master of flame magic, right? I've only seen that face in magic textbooks..."
The guards facing the enemies doubted their own eyes.
The figures attacking them were all once famous heroes, or villains, that they had only seen in portraits.
Such admiration was brief, as when the figures from the past revealed themselves, the soldiers immediately went on alert.
Each of their attacks was fatal, with at least hundreds of casualties.
Thanks to the magic circles set up in advantageous positions in advance, the defense was not difficult.
They didn't target the Silence Tower, which had declared war.
The reason was simple.
They wanted to make the people around them suffer rather than themselves.
They tormented Reed maliciously, trying to make him resentful and drive him away.
Reed couldn't even offer help.
If Reed tried to help, they would push him harder and suffocate them even more.
The Silence Tower became literally isolated.
It was the hardest thing for Reed, the tower master.
It was impossible to even receive news through Leto.
As he could only stand by while being attacked, he felt powerless and his heart weakened. He became anxious, wondering what the people around him were thinking.
For now, he waited.
With naturally nothing to do and Dolores' visits diminishing, Reed began to pay attention to Rosaria.
Noticing that it was a good time to ask for attention, Rosaria brought a stack of books and entered the office.
The girl who once held a Crepas and drew pictures was now holding a pen and writing in a fancy handwriting.
"Is it fun?"
At that question, she quickly turned her head and smiled with a face that still had a hint of baby fat.
"Yes. It's fun when I do it with dad."
"Even though dad doesn't teach you well?"
"Yes!"
Reed had once tried to teach Rosaria like Dolores, about the things she lacked.
He thought it would be possible since he had regained some of his memory and knew theories about magic.
However, it was more difficult than he had imagined.
He had the knowledge, but it was hard to express it in words, and it was even more difficult to make someone understand it.
Teaching was such a challenging task.
'What will happen to her if I can't protect her?'
He had poured everything into the revival of the tower and becoming a father Rosaria could be proud of.
The moment when all of that seemed to disappear had arrived.
The disaster was threatening everyone.
'Even without me, there's Phoebe and Dolores... They will definitely protect her.'
Even if they were not there, Rosaria was a girl born with everything.
Dolores, who had been teaching her, knew this well.
'If she learns magic through her senses alone, it won't even take a year.'
It was what Dolores, the genius of the century, had said after analyzing Rosaria's tendencies.
Thinking about it, it must have meant her ability, "Master of Adaptation."
A trait that doubles the speed of all education.
If she were to learn through her senses alone, would that trait be activated?
'If her “Magic” reaches 7, almost all living creatures on the continent will kneel before Rosaria.'
If she gains such power, the problem will surely be solved easily.
But what about Rosaria?
Would she be happy if she gained that power?
Adults can't even control their own magic, so can she perfectly restrain herself?
'Rosaria is a genius.'
As a genius of senses, she must also have the power to control rationally.
Reed's worries, staying in the realm of possibility, could undoubtedly be overcome by Rosaria.
But Reed was her father.
If the moment came when he used his daughter and she got hurt, he wouldn't be able to forgive himself.
"Rosaria."
"Hmm?"
"Shall we sleep together tonight?"
It was a suggestion Reed wouldn't have made normally.
Perhaps because of that, Rosaria's pomegranate-like eyes sparkled brightly.
"Yes! I want to sleep together!"
"Go wash up, brush your teeth, and change your clothes before coming."
Rosaria was so excited that she even forgot to take the books with her.
Reed got up from his seat and tidied up the books she had left open.
And he wondered.
'Why did I say that?'
The answer was simple.
It was because he was anxious.
He wanted to keep Rosaria as close as possible.
Unaware of his concerns, Rosaria was smiling happily.
Rosaria jumped onto Reed's bed and pretended to swim.
Reed turned off the light and lay down next to her.
Rosaria snuggled up to him.
"Why isn't Unni been coming lately?"
"It's because there are bad people running around outside."
"Is it because of the Demon King?"
"......"
"Unnis and Oppas said the Demon King appeared. She can't come because of him."
"That's right. They say the Demon King has appeared."
Rosaria's arms, which were wrapped around Reed, tightened.
Knowing she was scared, Reed hugged her too.
"But don't worry. We will definitely defeat him."
"Dad too?"
"Of course."
He brought up the story he had once told her and reassured her.
"Your dad is your little hero, right?"
"Yes."
Hearing that answer, Rosaria began to doze off.
With a more relaxed expression, she fell asleep.
* * *
They had to wait and see how the continental solidarity would be achieved.
'It's been a month with no word.'
Reed called Phoebe and asked her roughly how the situation was outside.
"They held the second meeting two weeks ago, but it seems they are still stuck."
"So the unity is not being properly achieved."
There was no sense of crisis since the places they tormented were limited.
"What should we do?"
After pondering for a while, Reed raised his head and spoke.
"I think we can just stay still."
"Really?"
Phoebe tilted her head with a puzzled expression.
And Reed's judgment was accurate.
When the third meeting was held, not only Helios, the representative of the Tower's mages, but also Freesia appeared together.
She, with her immortal body and strength equivalent to a nation's army alone, laid down a warning.
"Stop bickering like children and resolve the issue quickly. Before everything is destroyed."
Although a month of meetings had not reached a conclusion, the problem was resolved like a lie when Freesia stepped in.
A dramatic unity, like Alexander the Great cutting the Gordian Knot, was achieved.
The whole continent designated the Grancia Kingdom as their enemy.
The Grancia Kingdom, sensing their movements, did not remain idle either.
As if taking out a hidden bomb, the ghosts of the past began to move throughout the entire continent.
The continent plunged into chaos in earnest.
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