Uninvited Guests
The only inn in the Weinstein Viscounty.
A place that barely saw ten guests a year was unusually crowded today.
Of course, "crowded" didn't exactly mean lively.
"..."
Janice, the innkeeper, nervously watched the guests who were in the middle of their meal.
Each of them had their faces hidden under black hoods, eating in silence without exchanging a single word with each other.
The fact that nearly twenty people were gathered together without a single conversation created an inexplicable sense of dread.
"I'm scared to death..."
However, she couldn't turn away the guests who had finally arrived.
The inn she ran was her own business, but it was also supported by the Weinstein Viscounty.
Even if it was a small territory, there had to be a place for visitors to stay, right?
If her inn didn't exist, visitors would have to sleep on the streets or borrow barns from the villagers.
That's why her inn could operate with as few as ten guests a year.
Anyway, as she was wiping the dirty glasses while observing the guests she didn't like, it happened.
-Clang.
Along with the sound of the doorbell announcing the arrival of a guest, a man entered the inn.
A dark-colored cloak, different from those worn by the people inside the inn.
Underneath it was a striking man with black hair and red eyes.
The eyes of the group in the hall momentarily turned towards the man, but he walked towards the counter as if he didn't care.
The group in the hall kept a close eye on the man, but soon went back to their meal as he acted as if he wasn't interested in them.
"Welcome."
Why were all the scary-looking guests coming today?
With that thought, Janice greeted the man.
"What can I get for you?"
Following her question, the man handed her a gold coin and a small metal token from his pocket.
A metal sculpture of a book, a shield, and wings.
It was none other than the seal of the Weinstein Viscounty.
Janice flinched and looked at the man, but soon pocketed the items as if nothing had happened.
"Apple Soda."
Then, the man said in a heavy voice that seemed to put pressure on the listener.
It was an embarrassing order for a grown man to make, but there was a hidden meaning behind it.
Rudell's favorite drink was Apple Soda.
In other words, Rudell was involved in this matter, and the gold coin meant that he would pay for any financial losses incurred at the inn in advance.
"Please wait a moment."
Realizing the meaning, Janice opened the trapdoor on the inn floor and went down to the basement...
Only the clock hanging on the wall of the inn broke the silence with its ticking.
'Just as the Young Master said.'
Meanwhile, Kyle, who had taken a seat at the counter, looked at the other guests who were eating.
They were silently eating with their faces hidden under black robes and hoods.
If you think about it, one might wonder if it was unnecessary to be suspicious of them.
The northern part of the Weinstein Viscounty was full of dangerous monsters, and sometimes hunters would come in groups to hunt them.
In fact, experienced hunters often gave off a similar vibe to those who were currently eating in the hall.
However, if that was all, Kyle wouldn't have reported it to Rudell separately.
'The token the Young Master mentioned...'
The ornament visible under their cloaks.
The ornament, based on a cross shape with a red eye in the center, was the same as what Rudell had told Kyle about before.
[You want me to report if I see anyone with this mark?]
[That's right. Never approach them alone.]
[Understood.]
For Kyle, Rudell's orders were absolute.
Since Rudell was the one who saved Kyle from a life of slavery, Kyle was ready to accept it without hesitation if Rudell ordered him to die.
'For the Young Master, I, Kyle, will even give my life.'
Thinking thoughts that would make Rudell horrified if he heard them, Kyle waited for Rudell's next signal.
* * *
Meanwhile, on the roof of a house a little away from the inn.
Even the moonlight was hidden behind the clouds, and only pitch-black darkness filled the surroundings.
And Rudell was on the roof, observing the inside of the inn.
"Just from what I can see, there are about twenty, and about five waiting around..."
The pitch-black darkness obscured his vision, but it wasn't a big problem for Rudell.
In this world, there was something like magic...
No. There was real magic.
As if to prove it, Rudell's eyes were emitting a faint light.
It was magic that allowed him to see clearly even in the pitch-black darkness, as if it were broad daylight.
As a bonus, it was also magic that allowed him to sense the energy of living beings in his field of vision.
"I don't think there are any more."
Twenty-five...
A number that could be considered large or small.
After completing his final check, Rudell said so and lightly stretched.
"This day has finally come."
Their identity was the religious group known as the Death Eater Cult.
Long ago, in an age so distant that it's difficult to express in numbers, there was a time when gods walked the earth.
The Mythological Age.
An age when countless life forms flourished under the guidance of the gods.
An age where life and death were transcended, and all beings enjoyed unimaginable abundance through their faith in the gods. It was an age that could be likened to paradise, but...
As is often the case with stories related to paradise, true paradise cannot exist.
The gods were not perfect beings either, and discord began to arise among them.
The discord that arose eventually led to discord between the gods and the beings under them, and this discord escalated into a great war that engulfed the entire world.
The War in Heaven.
The unprecedented war swept the world with death, and when few living beings remained on earth, the gods realized one thing.
The war they had waged for themselves had ironically led to the weakening of the gods, who had been fueled by the worship of living beings.
The gods, who had lost their worship, realized that they had driven themselves to ruin, but by the time they realized this, the world had long since become a land of death.
With belated regret, the gods tried to restore the world, but they had consumed a considerable amount of power in the war, and the worshippers who would replenish that power had also dwindled.
Faced with the possibility that their very existence might be extinguished due to the depletion of worship, the gods' decision was to sow the seeds of life back into the world and leave.
Their intention was to avoid extinction by withdrawing from this world and to regain their power based on the worship of living beings once they flourished again after some time.
Up to this point, it was just one of many common myths, but...
In fact, there was a hidden mastermind behind this war.
It was the evil god Thanatos.
He, who gained power from negative events such as death, chaos, and destruction, was gradually losing his power in a world that had become a paradise thanks to the other gods.
Facing the extinction of his existence, he was enraged at the other gods who left him to die and secretly spread distrust and hatred among them and their followers.
And as he intended, the gods waged the War in Heaven and lost their power, while Thanatos, who gained power from death, was able to accumulate a considerable amount of power.
In other words, Thanatos could exert his influence on the world one step ahead of the other gods, and he desired to become the absolute and only god.
Thus, he began his activities much earlier than the other gods, and that point in time was the present.
"I can't let him have his way."
Frankly, Rudell didn't care about the gods' circumstances.
However, he didn't want a world where Thanatos reigned as the main god.
In the original novel, the atrocities committed by the Death Eater Cult were beyond imagination.
They would sacrifice an entire city of tens of thousands of people as a mere offering to their god, instigate conflicts between nations to start wars, and create and spread deadly diseases as if it were nothing.
They were a bunch of bastards who would commit acts that would make you sick to your stomach just by thinking about them.
A world where the god they served reigned as the main god would be no different from hell.
At least, for Rudell, who desired a peaceful life, that was something that absolutely could not happen.
"Now, shall we begin?"
Muttering so, Rudell stood up and took a short breath, focusing his mind.
At the same time, the surrounding air began to change...
"Trash belongs in the trash can."
Muttering so, Rudell covered his face with a mask.
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