That night, Horn was in the Inner Sanctum’s observatory. In her hand was the Holy Grail, and within it sat Babalon, a goddess only she could see. Babalon was palmtop-sized and dressed in a peculiar outfit, but no one else could see or hear her. Only the owner of the Holy Grail, now Horn, could communicate with her.
“Haaaaa. This situation is really messed up...”
“Talk about a miss~ If you had killed the enemy country’s commander, you woulda like, leveled up a whole ton. Y’know? Diablo boy totally stole your kill. It totes sucks~”
Babalon had a tendency of speaking with some strange dialect Horn didn’t really understand. She could only pick up on the gist of what Babalon was saying at any given time. Babalon introduced herself as a Goddess from another world, so maybe it was what was spoken there.
“I think the Boss wanted to...”
“Yeah, yeah, I getcha~ ♪ He didn’t want to let you become a murderer. But if that was true, why let you go to the battlefield anyway, y’know?”
“I just wasn’t ready for this...” Horn shook her head.
“Kyahaha... Totally! Like, why didn’t you finish him off? It’s my first time having an owner like you, lmao.”
“Really?”
“I mean, people offer blood to the Holy Grail to level up, y’know? They like, murder people. Seeing someone hesitate to kill is like, not something that happens with me!”
“Nng...”
Compared to past users of the Holy Grail, Horn was lacking in resolve. And she was probably just as lacking in skill. She only borrowed the Grail from Diablo’s treasure vault because she happened to see it... and needed something to serve as a makeshift toilet.
“So like, where’s Diablo boy?”
“He said he was tired so he was going to sleep in his room... But he’s probably in shock. Ah, Rem and Shera went to sleep in their room, too.”
Rose had gone to Diablo’s room. The only one left in the observatory was Sylvie. She was quite fatigued, too, and was napping. Lumachina had gone with the Paladins and high ranking priests to the prayer room. Apparently, they were trying to come up with some countermeasure against the Magimatic Castle Viovix.
Horn couldn’t help but feel like their discussion would be fruitless, though. How do you oppose something like that castle...?
“Hornie, you should totally, like, turn that frown upside down. Your face could get stuck that way.”
“And that’d be totes bad, right...?” Horn asked sarcastically.
“No! Times like this you gotta, like, be hyper! Stay positive and all that!”
“I don’t understand a word you’re saying...”
“Let’s amp up the music♪ Woo♪”
Booming music started playing inside Horn’s head.
“Huh? Why am I hearing music?! How did you do that?!” Horn looked at her with round eyes.
“Heheh!” Babalon said smugly. “I’m like, a goddess, y’know? Playing my favorite tunes is like, piece of cake for me.”
“What is this weird music?! It’s too loud! I can’t think like this!”
“...Hey, Hornie! You got a problem with my tunes?! Huh?! If you can’t tell how good this music is, it’s because your ears are full of crap! Ah, I’ll clean them out with this dagger.”
For how small she was, Babalon was apparently pretty strong and could pick up Horn’s dagger from the floor with both hands. She even aptly pulled it out of its sheath.
“H-Hey, that’s my poison dagger! Y-You can’t use that!”
“Imma shut you up! Silence, you!”
“Hii?!”
But the next moment, Horn was jolted by the sound of military boots clicking against the floor. The Paladin Tria suddenly appeared before her. She was a strait-laced, pious woman who had sworn fealty to Lumachina.
“What is all this racket?! Don’t you know how late it is?” Tria asked grimly.
“Ugh... Sorry...” Horn mumbled awkwardly.
“She got mad at youuuuu! Ahahahaha!” Babalon rolled around, laughing and grabbing her sides.
Tria looked down at the floor, her eyes narrowed. The drawn dagger was lying there.
“...I understand how you feel, but restrain yourself. These aren’t opponents you could have beaten on your own,” she said.
“Huh? N-No, I...”
How was she supposed to interpret this? Horn didn’t think she could deal with that situation all on her own. She picked up the dagger, put it back in its sheath, and put it into her bag.
“I’ve heard of you from Her Grace,” Tria said thankfully. “She said that the defeat of the enemy commander Doriadanph was mostly thanks to your efforts.”
“Ah?! Oh, erm, aah... I guess you could say that, but not really...”
“Truth be told, I was opposed to including you in the strike force.”
“Ah...”
“As limited as my skills may be, I am still a Paladin. I believed that wherever Her Grace goes, I must follow as her guardian.”
“...Yes.”
“And yet, you have distinguished yourself and contributed to the battle. I likely would not have been able to do that. Using poison is forbidden by the Church, after all... But in truth, that doesn’t really matter. You present yourself as a weak child, but the truth is you are a young woman of distinction and strength. I must admit I am ashamed of my ignorance.”
“Kahahaha! But you’re actually like, super weak!”
“Right... I mean, no!” Horn corrected herself, remembering only she could hear Babalon. “I’m not distinguished or strong!”
Responding to Babalon’s teasing made her response come out wrong. She would have to be conscious of replying to Babalon.
“We’ve received word just now that the Imperial soldiers occupying the castle have surrendered,” Tria told her.
“...Huh?”
“The Imperial invasion force has lost its commander, and it seems Emperor Gelmed is ignoring them. He isn’t replying to any of their attempts to make contact.”
“What?! That’s horrible!”
“They’re currently being unified under Corps Commander Aira Arjana. You’ve met her, yes?”
“I... know what she looks like, yeah...”
When she left the castle’s courtyard, Aira had stood straight and saluted at her.
“Didn’t she, like, tell you something?” Babalon asked.
“...She said, ‘We all owe you for our freedom.’”
“I agree with what she said,” Tria nodded. “Lady Aira has supplied us with information regarding the Magimatic Sols’ workshop.”
“Their workshop?”
“And she also told us of Alicia Cristela’s current whereabouts.”
“Really?!” Horn raised her voice so suddenly that Babalon fell off her seat on the Holy Grail’s rim.
Tria raised a hand, signaling Horn to keep her voice down.
“She was forced to board a Magimatic Sol called 《Goldinus of the Gold》. Apparently, she is compatible with it. I do not know the details, but it seems she has some sort of rare, unusual talent.”
“I don’t really know about any talent, but...” Horn frowned.
Apparently, the interior of the Magimatic Sol was part of Emperor Gelmed. Opposing him would result in the pilot being devoured. She’d never seen her, but Toaha’s final scream was still fresh in Horn’s memories.
If she’s inside that thing, do we even have any hope of saving her...?
“Oh, right, I saw a golden Magimatic Sol fly to Viovix. That could have been Goldinus.”
“There’s a good chance Miss Alicia is in a state where she can’t resist their orders.”
“Yeah, probably.”
Alicia was actually a Demon Lord worshiper, and hated the Kingdom of Lyferia from the bottom of her heart. There was the possibility she defected to the Empire. But still, Horn wanted to believe in her. She was only captured because she tried to save Rem’s life, after all.
“I understand that you acknowledge me, but why are you giving me all this information?” Horn asked.
“Her Grace held a council with the priests regarding Viovix...” Tria said with a mixed expression.
“Right.”
“And the conclusion they came to is that we have no way of dealing with it. All we can do is pray.”
Horn fell silent.
“Ahaha, I totally could have told them that before they even had their stupid meeting!” Babalon cackled, pointing at Tria mockingly.
Horn flipped the Holy Grail, placing it with its mouth against the ground.
“Mmmmf?!”
Ignoring Babalon’s muffled complaints, Horn started thinking. The Church’s soldiers had no way of resisting that castle. In which case, the only reason they’d give Horn information despite that...
“...You’re hoping the Boss can handle it.”
“Right. As pitiful as it is... We can only rely on the Paladin Captain. If nothing else, Her Grace has no intention of handing Miss Rem over to the enemy.”
“Of course not!”
“Don’t worry. Everyone is in agreement with regards to that. That man destroyed a town altogether as a threat with little to no discussion... How are we to trust him?”
“We can’t!”
“We’ve also heard that lands occupied by the Gelmed Empire were subjected to terrible treatment. In which case, we can’t know that Her Grace’s safety is guaranteed. We must avoid surrendering to the Empire at all costs.”
Babalon appeared on top of the flipped Holy Grail at some point, lying languidly as if exhausted.
“Kill anyone who resists. Gradually kill anyone who obeys. Peeps like that are pretty common...”
“I’ll let the Boss know,” Horn nodded.
“Please do,” Tria said.
But did Diablo even know what to do about this...?
Horn saw it. The barrier on the castle deflected Diablo’s magic. It was the same as the barrier around Faltra. And the attack Emperor Gelmed launched was probably some kind of magic too, but one of never-before-seen magnitude and power. Having studied the basics of magic made Horn all too aware of how irrationally powerful the Magimatic Castle Viovix was.
“I’m sure the Boss will come up with something!” Horn exclaimed, as if to cheer herself up.
†
In a forest, some distance away from Castle Sevenwall...
Normally, at this time of night, the forest would be filled with the chirping of birds and insects. But at this moment, a sense of pressure hung over the area, silencing everything inside. It felt as if even the trees were holding their breath.
Hidden between the trees of this forest were the minister, Noah Gibun, and her Order of Palace Knights. But of course, with the King of Lyferia dead and the castle in enemy hands, it was doubtful if anyone even acknowledged the existence or authority of the Order of Palace Knights.