After learning that something had gone wrong in the Royal City, Duanmu Huai brought several people aboard the Valkyrie gunship and flew straight toward it—sending scouts would be far too slow. It was better to see the situation with his own eyes.
However, when the group arrived above the Royal City, the scene before them truly shocked them.
The entire Royal City lay in deathly silence. There was no sign of human activity at all. Black smoke rose everywhere, and many buildings had already collapsed. It looked like nothing more than ruins!
"Th-This… what happened? Could it be a demon invasion???"
Rolex asked in astonishment, while Kriorev shook his head.
"Something's not right. Look carefully. If it were an external invasion, the outer areas should have suffered the heaviest damage. But look here, and here… It's obvious the attack started from the center… So what we should consider is…"
"That doesn't necessarily prove anything."
Kanami muttered in response.
"Back then, Prince Barton of Herman allied with the demons and suddenly appeared inside Lisas' Royal City through a portal. We couldn't mount any effective resistance at all…"
"...…"
Kriorev fell silent.
Indeed, with Lisas as a precedent, if someone insisted it wasn't demons…
"Hm? Now this is interesting."
Just as an awkward silence settled over the cabin, Duanmu Huai's voice suddenly rang out.
"What is it, Lord Inquisitor?"
"I used the auspex to scan the entire city. Inside the Royal City… there are barely any life signs."
"Huh?"
Kanami and the others were stunned.
"What do you mean?"
"Simply put, there are barely any living people left in this city."
Duanmu Huai spread his hands.
"To be more precise, at this moment, there are roughly one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight… a total of seventeen living people."
"That's impossible!"
Kriorev and Rolex were dumbfounded.
"There are hundreds of thousands of residents in the city! Where did they all go?"
"Maybe they fled. Maybe… they died?"
"The Council… what exactly did Stisser do…"
"We don't know. But I think someone here does."
As he spoke, Duanmu Huai opened a holographic map, projecting the entire Royal City. He pointed to several small glowing dots.
"These are the life signals. At present, about twelve or thirteen are located inside the Royal Castle. The rest are scattered around. A few are in the underground sewers. They might be survivors. They might be someone else… but that's not important. Once we find them and question them, we'll know what happened."
He turned to Kanami and Suzume.
"I'll leave it to you. No problem?"
"Understood."
Kanami nodded solemnly, while Suzume grinned.
Soon, the Valkyrie gunship circled downward and hovered over a plaza. Kanami and Suzume slid down ropes and began their operation.
"This is really…"
Although they had seen the city's devastation from the air, standing amid the shattered statues and ruined buildings was still deeply shocking to Kanami.
Compared to her shock, however, Suzume looked puzzled. She glanced left and right, frowning.
"This is strange…"
"Strange?"
"Yes, Kanami. Haven't you noticed? There isn't a single corpse here."
"Now that you mention it… you're right…"
Kanami shuddered as realization dawned. Just as Suzume said, the city had clearly suffered a devastating attack. Logically, even if it wasn't a river of blood, there should at least be bodies strewn everywhere. Yet across the plaza, the streets, even the alleys—there wasn't a single corpse in sight.
The entire city felt like an abandoned dead city.
"W-What's going on?"
Kanami swallowed hard, her hair standing on end.
"D-Don't tell me it's haunted!"
"Now's not the time to discuss that."
Duanmu Huai's voice came through their communication.
"You need to move quickly!"
"Right…"
Kanami nodded and exchanged a glance with Suzume. Lowering their bodies, they dashed forward like the wind.
According to the map, the life signs were in the sewers. Fortunately, Kriorev and Rolex were both veterans familiar with the Royal City. Rolex had once served in the Royal Guard and knew the area like the back of his hand. Under his guidance, the two quickly found a sewer entrance and slipped inside.
Inside the sewer, it was pitch black.
"...…"
A man clutched his daughter tightly, gripping a knife as he hid in a small alcove in the sewer. The cold, foul-smelling sewer was no place to stay, but he dared not light a fire, nor go out to search for food. He knew there were terrifying monsters outside… Though he wasn't sure if they would find this place, he dared not take the risk.
"Papa… it hurts…"
His daughter's voice was so faint it was almost inaudible. He could feel her small body burning with fever, but there was nothing he could do.
Perhaps, in the end, he would die miserably here with his child?
—————!
Just as the man closed his eyes in despair, waiting for death, he suddenly felt his throat tighten. A dagger silently extended from the side, pressing against his neck!
Who?!
"Don't make a sound, meow."
At the same time, a relaxed girl's voice whispered in his ear.
"Y-You… who are you? I set traps at the entrance!"
"Those crude traps wouldn't even fool a rat."
Kanami stepped forward after dismantling the traps, looking at the man.
"Is it him?"
"Yep."
"You… you're not with those monsters?"
Seeing Suzume and Kanami, the man became agitated.
"We're here to save you. And we want to know what happened in this city. Come with us. Your daughter doesn't look well."
Without hesitation, the man nodded and stood, holding his daughter.
For him, this might be his last chance!
They encountered no danger. Kanami and Suzume brought the man and his daughter back to the Valkyrie gunship. The daughter, gravely ill, was taken for treatment, while the man stayed behind to report what he knew.
In truth, according to the man, he didn't know much. He was merely a poor sewer cleaner, responsible for sanitation and scavenging items to sell for a living.
But several days ago, his fate changed.
The Royal City was attacked.
He didn't know the specifics. He had just started work when the Council suddenly declared citywide martial law, claiming rebels were about to attack the Royal City… For someone like him at the bottom of society, such news meant little. Whether rebels or the Council ruled, the sewers still needed cleaning. And he believed no one would compete with him for that job…
He had even chatted with a coworker about it, mostly worrying about rising prices in the coming days.
Then, disaster struck.
A group of terrifying soldiers suddenly appeared and killed anyone they saw!
"They killed everyone—even soldiers of the Herman Kingdom and members of the Royal Guard!"
Recalling it, the man trembled violently. Those soldiers didn't wear the black armor of Herman troops. Instead, they wore strange golden armor, sealing their bodies completely, airtight. They looked more like walking suits of armor than humans.
Worse still, their cruelty was indescribable.
"They were like monsters! They didn't even spare the elderly or children!"
"But we didn't see a single corpse on the streets."
"That's the other strange part. Those monsters took the bodies away!"
"Took them? Where?"
"To the Royal Castle…"
"...…"
Kriorev and Rolex exchanged grave looks.
Now it seemed increasingly likely the Council had orchestrated this. If the man was correct, they had sealed the city under the pretense of resisting rebels before beginning the slaughter. But why? Killing was one thing—but why transport all the corpses to the Royal Castle?
What was the Council planning?
No one knew.
But everyone felt an ominous premonition.
"What do we do next, Lord Inquisitor?"
Urze frowned anxiously at Duanmu Huai.
"Nothing complicated."
Duanmu Huai made his decision decisively.
"Move immediately. Prepare to attack the Royal Castle! Once we're inside, we'll find out what the Council is up to!"
(End of Chapter)