1.
Lactea was contemplating.
“How dare you…!! How dare you behead the Calamity of Twisted Mischief! You will be struck by divine punishment!!”
“…That sure woke me up.”
How should she deal with these two fools?
Of course, cutting their throats before even having a conversation was a mistake, but she had no other choice.
And the reason was simple:
‘They’re unnecessarily strong.’
If the three of them had attacked at once, one side would have surely perished.
Fortunately, since she had been hiding her strength, the enemy had let their guard down, and now that she had cut one down to establish dominance, the situation wasn’t too dangerous.
Suppressing her anger, she asked the two Calamities who had entered battle stance.
“The reason you came?”
“Ha!! Do you think we’ll just answer because you asked!?”
Lactea’s hand swung once more.
Swoosh.
Thud.
The head of the Calamity of Misguided Faith rolled to the feet of the Calamity of Whispering Nightmares.
“…That really woke me up.”
“Reason.”
“There was an order from the higher-ups to assassinate the saint protected by <Black Wolf>. Due to restrictions, I cannot provide details about the organization, but if you spare me, I will share every piece of information I know. For the record, I tried to stop the Calamity of Twisted Mischief when they provoked you.”
Lying flat on the ground, the remaining one spilled information as if they had just been waiting for the question.
“…I see.”
Feeling a strange reluctance to kill, Lactea sheathed her longsword and called for Luna.
Luna, who had just finished training with Han-Ryang, came bounding over like an excited puppy.
“…Ugh.”
Stopping in her tracks at the scene of carnage Lactea had created, she crumpled her expression and asked:
“Sister…? What is this mess so early in the morning…?”
“We’re about to find out.”
“Aha. So that’s why you called me?”
Her emerald eyes curved loosely in amusement.
At that moment, the Calamity of Whispering Nightmares, a lower elder of <Eclipse>, realized something.
‘The Calamity of December was wrong.’
It wasn’t just that Han-Ryang, the one they thought was merely a wandering swordsman, was exceptionally strong…
‘…All of these are monsters that I wouldn’t dare approach.’
Even the members visible right now seemed on par with the high-ranking elders. Then just how strong was the leader, the Black Wolf himself…?
Suppressing the overwhelming dread rising within, the Calamity of Whispering Nightmares immediately bowed their head.
“Please, spare me. If you let me live, I will cooperate fully. No, I will grovel like a dog and serve you for the rest of my life.”
“Sure! Let’s do that!”
“…What?”
Thus, it was during one early morning that the members of <Black Wolf> would come to learn about the existence of <Eclipse>.
“…? A dog… is speaking human words?”
“…Woof.”
It was early in the morning.
2.
A few days later, at the estate of Duke Halorand.
Since it was closely attached to the Babylonia Empire’s capital, it was so well-developed that it was hard to tell where the capital ended and the duchy began.
Having accepted Asha Mirabelle’s request, Nahan looked at the Duke of Halorand before him and pondered.
‘That guy is really the mastermind?’
Ever since his possession, Nahan had assassinated numerous corrupt nobles, and as a result, he had become able to recognize their distinct behaviors.
Among them were those who were openly evil.
Those who pretended to be good while being evil.
And even those who were ambiguously in between.
But—
“Thank you for preparing the refreshments.”
“Duke…! I told you, you must speak formally in front of guests…!”
“Ah, my mistake. I appreciate the reminder.”
“There you go again…!”
—This was just a good person.
It seemed like he was hiding something, but his nature was undeniably good.
“Anyway…! Let’s talk again after the guests leave, Duke…!”
“Alright, take care.”
His past life experiences and his experiences in this life were both telling him that this man was not the mastermind.
However—
【Bad Ending 8 – <The Hero’s Death> is set as the fate of this world.】
【Bad Ending 9 – <The Empress’ Death> is set as the fate of this world.】
【Bad Ending 10 – <The Collapse of Light> is set as the fate of this world.】
【Bad Ending 11 – <The Hidden Mastermind – Duke Halorand> is set as the fate of this world.】
【Bad Ending 12 – < The Rise of Eclipse> is set as the fate of this world.】
—Since the system window did not lie.
‘…Let’s observe first.’
Feigning indifference, Nahan maintained his act as ‘Ian Red’ and looked at the duke.
“I must apologize, having done nothing but get scolded in front of such esteemed guests.”
“Not at all. Thanks to that, I’ve learned how good of a person you are, Duke.”
“To hear such words from a priest… I am truly honored.”
Duke Halorand smiled warmly and offered the refreshments prepared by his maid.
“Anyway, as you’ve heard from the explanation, this matter is of utmost importance.”
“Of course. After all, lives are at stake.”
“No. If it were for the empire, I would gladly sacrifice this insignificant life a hundred times over… but this matter is different.”
The Imperial Purge List.
An assassination list containing the names of anti-imperial faction members, including Duke Halorand.
From what Nahan had learned, those on this list weren’t just opponents of the Empress but also key figures in upholding the empire’s stability.
Count Gardner was also on the list, and Duke Halorand insisted that if the purge succeeded, the empire would be greatly shaken.
‘Honestly, he’s right.’
If the purge were successful, power would be centralized in one place, and the empire’s security, defense, and battlefronts would all collapse.
If Reina Babylonia swiftly reinforced her personnel, it wouldn’t be a major issue, but—
“Her Majesty… has lost her clarity of mind, swayed by treacherous officials. Even if the purge succeeds, she will be manipulated by them. That is why we must prevent it at all costs.”
Because of this, his goal was to thwart the assassination and maintain the balance of power.
Thus, the task Nahan was given was to use his first divine authority (which wasn’t actually divine authority) to monitor the nobles’ lives and deaths and relay the information quickly.
If someone was killed, the plan was to immediately storm the scene, capture the assassins as hostages, and use them to apply pressure to stop the Empress’s purge.
“Therefore, I ask for your utmost cooperation.”
A luxurious wooden box held various extravagant personal belongings that were visibly expensive at a glance.
‘If I sold these, I could buy a small mansion.’
Saliva unconsciously pooled in his mouth, but he suppressed it and checked the names written on the back.
– Duke Halorand
– Margrave Tehelan Gardner
– Baron Halbert
.
.
.
As he meticulously organized the list and compared it with the items—
– Viscount Richmond.
A familiar name caught his eye, and as his expression twisted, Asha Mirabelle, who had been quietly beside him, stepped closer and called out.
“Priest? A-Are you alright? Did I burden you with this request…?”
“No, it’s not that…”
…Click.
Nahan muttered as he picked up a high-quality handkerchief with Richmond’s name embroidered on it.
“Ah… This person is already dead.”
“What!? Viscount Richmond, you mean?!”
“Yes.”
Because—
.
.
.
“Doggy, is this the guy?”
“Woof!”
“You’re sure? The human trafficker who handed over children to <Eclipse>?”
“Woof!”
“Alright! Then bite him!”
He was a nasty bastard, that one.
3.
A little earlier.
As usual, <Black Wolf> was carrying out their “garbage cleanup”.
After capturing the Calamity of Whispering Nightmares…
“Doggy! Paw!”
“Woof!”
…Correction.
Due to Luna’s strong insistence, they had ended up raising ‘Doggy’ and had ramped up their cleanup efforts.
“As usual, following Captain’s orders: Han-Ryang and I will monitor the <Hero Party>, Peter and the rookie will watch the Imperial Palace, and Luna, you take that thing and continue the cleanup.”
“Got it, Sister! But wouldn’t it be better if we all went together and took them down at once?”
“I told you. That’s Captain’s order. No questions. Just go.”
“Okay, Sister!”
Unlike before, this time they were employing a hit-and-run guerrilla strategy.
As Luna suggested, a swift, all-out assault was one option, but Nahan had stopped them.
A few days ago, they had learned from Doggy’s confession that <Eclipse> was far larger than they had imagined.
Not only were they spread throughout the empire, but the strength of their elders was also an unknown factor.
Moreover, there were far too many people unknowingly connected to them.
Thus, Nahan carefully compiled a list of the most vile individuals and those whose deaths could yield more information about <Eclipse>.
“…What do you want?”
“Do you know anything about <Eclipse>?”
“…I don’t.”
“Then you’re useless.”
“Woof!”
“You crazy—at least ask twice before—!!”
Crunch!
And one of them just so happened to be Viscount Richmond.
Kidnapping,
Human trafficking,
Organ harvesting—
He had committed only the kinds of crimes Luna despised the most.
There was no chance to explain himself before he was executed.
Like with Viscount Gapelt before him, eliminating such a key figure in advance might alter the future, but Nahan had no regrets.
‘He deserved it.’
There was no benefit in letting irredeemable scum live any longer than necessary.
However—
“…Who died, you said?”
“Well—”
“Never mind. I’ll confirm it myself.”
【Warning.】
【Great Mage – <Marin Blue (SS+)>’s rage has surpassed the threshold.】
【High-rank magic – <Small-Scale Spatial Shift (SS+)> has been activated.】
“…Well, Doggy, we’ve been found out.”
“…Ugh, I don’t know what’s happening, but please, have mercy. It really wasn’t me.”
“Oh?”
This… was an unexpected turn of events.
