Following Emperor Amadeus II, I walked through the Imperial Palace of Adoastera.

　I don't know the inner workings of the palace, but since the walls of the passageway have been devoid of windows for some time now, I assume that the emperor is moving inward into the building.

　There are no maidservants or courtiers in sight. The last people I saw were a pair of knights, who looked at me with a mixture of alarm and surprise as they followed behind the emperor.

　The emperor gave a wave of his right hand and the pair let their guard down, but I think the surprise remained. Perhaps this area was off-limits only to the royal family.

　While I was thinking about this and that, the emperor continued to walk. In the previous room, I had felt that the man in front of me was aging strongly, but now I see him standing tall, his gait steady, and he is indeed hale and hearty.

　Soon the emperor began to descend the stairs, his steps unhurried. He didn't seem to need my help at all.

　The stairs were gently spiraling downward, inviting users to go downward. Even if we looked into the central part of the stairwell, we could not see the bottom of the stairwell because of the shadowy darkness.

　For a moment, I was horrified to see the emperor walking in front of me, looking like a demon trying to drag his prey into the depths of the earth.

　Of course, it was just my imagination, but there is something about this underground air that chills me to the bone.

　I once had a feeling similar to this somewhere before. It wasn't that long ago. I think it was ......


"The Sky".


　As I was searching my memory, I suddenly came back to myself when the emperor called my name. Before I knew it, the stairs were over.

　My eyes, now accustomed to the darkness, slowly began to see the scene in front of me.

　Then I realized that I was standing in a huge underground space. It seems to be as big as the Lord of the Flies' nest that he uses as his base in the forest of Titis.

　And in the center of the huge underground space, there was a huge hole that looked as if the ground was opening up.

　The moment I saw it, I felt a shiver run down my spine. At the same time, I found the answer to the question I had just asked.

　That's right, this chill I've been feeling ever since I started descending the stairs is similar to the one I felt when I discovered the dragon pit in the deepest part of Titis. Compared to the dragon cave in Titis, this one is much smaller and spews out only a little more power, but I still feel that they are of the same quality.

　As if to affirm my idea, the emperor said in a solemn tone.


This is the Dragon Pit. You who defeated the illusions in the forest of Titis already know about it.


　I hesitated for a moment, deciding whether to nod or not. I've only told a few people about the dragon pit I found in the deepest part of Titis. This does not include Princess Sakuya, and naturally, the Emperor cannot know about it through her.

　I suspected that the Emperor's words were some kind of a trick.

　However, since the dragon pit was right in front of him, it was not hard to imagine that the emperor had a deep knowledge of dragon pits. That's exactly what happened to Lascaris in the Catalan Desert.

　It's still too early to judge that the Immortal King has told the truth, but at least there's no doubt that he knows more about the situation than I do. And it wouldn't be surprising if the emperor of the Ad Astera Empire, which has close ties with the Hokage religion, possessed knowledge equal to Lascaris.

　Right now, the emperor is trying to tell me something, perhaps a secret related to the demon gate. If I respond with falsehoods and lies, he might change his mind and I might miss out on valuable information.

　Or, more simply, if I were to offend the Emperor here, I would not be allowed to pass through the gate.

　Therefore, I affirmed the other side's words.


"Well... It is true that we found a large hole similar to this one in the deepest part of Titis, Your Majesty.

"Hmm. A dragon pit is a spout of primordial power flowing through a dragon vein. You could say it's the power of the earth itself that we step on. The total amount of power cannot even be measured in human flesh.


　It's just infinite.

　The emperor let out a dry laugh and stared at me.


"It is with this infinite power that the species of illusion is born, sky. To hunt us humans.

"To hunt humans, sir?

Yes. Didn't you feel it when you confronted the illusionary species?　Without exception, the species known as illusions have a fierce hostility towards humans. Whether that hostility is directed only towards humans or towards other species as well, that differs from individual to individual, but only the hostility towards humans is common to all individuals. They are natural disasters that hunt humans.


　At these words, I think inwardly.

　The fantasy species I've faced so far are the Hydra of the Titis Forest, the Onijin of Onigashima, the Behemoth of the Catalan Desert. And my anima, the Soul Eater, is also included in this list.

　As for Hydra, the Emperor was right, it was a natural disaster.

　The demon gods and behemoths were different from Hydra, but they were still hostile to humans, I think. As for these three, it was not an exaggeration to say that they were natural disasters that hunted humans.

　--But I've never felt any hostility toward humans from soul eaters. My Anima would often say, "Feed me that," but only to my "enemies. More specifically, it is only against "my enemy". The expression "natural disaster that hunts humans" does not apply.

　As I ponder the implications of this fact, the words of the emperor flow into my ears.


"Why does the illusory species born from the dragon pit have hostility towards humans?　There are those who say that it is because the earth itself contains hostility towards humans. Man is a creature that sees God in the thunder that roars in the sky. They see God in the earth that gives birth to the illusory species. And they worshipped them as messengers of God, sometimes even obstructing their defeat. Because of this, they were initially ostracized as heretics, but after a certain period of time ......, this teaching began to spread rapidly.


　The emperor says that this period is the Old Age.

　As I have mentioned before, the old age refers to the time before the war between humans and demons three hundred years ago. And there are few records of the Old Era. This is because many records and documents were lost in the war.

　However, as one would expect from the great nation of Ad Astera, there is said to be a considerable amount of documents from the old era in this imperial palace.




"If you look into the existing literature of the old times, you will find many records that refer to illusionary species. It seems that in the past, there was an incomparable number of illusory species appearing on the continent.

So that situation became the basis for people to accept the teachings of the heretics.

Exactly. Those who believe in a righteous God will not be attacked by the illusory species - many people gathered to seek salvation from these words. In the end, those people not only worshipped the illusions and obstructed their defeat, but they even began to imitate them.

"Imitating," sir?

They began to hunt those who did not take refuge in their gods with their own hands.


　If all the humans in the world followed the true God, His wrath would be lifted and the illusionary species would no longer appear. In turn, peace and stability in the human world would be achieved.

　There may have been a sense of releasing the resentment of those who had been ostracized as heretics. However, it is also true that many of the powerful people at that time continued to fight for power and territory without paying attention to the fantastic species.

　This fact gave strength to their uprising.

　Positioning their battle as a holy war for the purification of the world, they challenged the existing society and the existing power.


　--Under the name of Koushinkyo.


　When the name came out of the Emperor's mouth, I reflexively raised my eyebrows.


I was told by His Holiness that it was the forerunner of the Pope's religion. He also said that a faction of them sided with the demon tribe three hundred years ago.

"Oh. It was written in Sakuya's letter that you had contact with the Pope, but did he reveal any more secrets to you?


　The Emperor raised his right eyebrow. The Emperor raised his right eyebrow. His expression was strange: surprised, satisfied, or alarmed.

　After a moment, the emperor nodded, as if regaining his composure.


The Pope is right. The Light Religion has a great deal to do with the demon race. And that's also the reason why the demon gate was born in your hometown. When the secret of the demon gate is revealed, the human world will be shaken. Sky, it is the role of the Miken family to prevent that from happening.


　If it is the role of the swordsman to block those who come from within the demon's gate, it is also the role of the swordsman to block those who enter the demon's gate from without. That is what the Emperor said.

　When I heard this, I remembered the emperor's question earlier and nodded secretly inwardly.

　The demon gate is not just a place where demon gods are enclosed. There is a secret hidden there that will shake the current world. The emperor wanted to make sure that I knew that before I entered the gate.

　And since he judged that I didn't know about it, he's telling me the other side of the story in front of the dragon pit.

　I don't know why he would go to such lengths for me, whom he had only met once before. It's true that my power to wield a mind-armor is attractive to those in power, but an emperor who can even move a sword saint if he wants to doesn't need to defer to me.

　The Emperor may or may not have been aware of my inner thoughts, but he gave me one last confirmation in a voice that was full of compassion.


"The sky. Once you pass through the gate, whether you want to or not, you will be confronted with three hundred years of grudge and revenge swirling around the land. Then there will be no turning back. Not only you, but also those around you may be caught up in it. Knowing this, do you still wish to pass through the gate?　You have no interest in the truth of what happened 300 years ago, as far as I'm concerned.


　I nodded silently at the emperor's words. It's true that I have no interest in the events of three hundred years ago.

　However, considering what happened to Pope Noah and Lascaris, I know that it would be dangerous to remain ignorant.

　Besides, my purpose is clear from the start. In response to my sister's wish to save my missing brother, I'm going to fight the powerful demons that roam beyond the gate to gain strength.

　You can think about the light religion and the grudge and revenge after you are actually confronted with them.

　Above all, there is no way he can say to Kreia, who brought him to the Imperial Capital, "I'm not going to help Klimt after all. It's not even cool!


　--If the emperor were to be so shallow, he would not be able to help Klimt. If the emperor says, "I will not allow you to pass through the gate with such shallow determination!　I'll think of another way. That's what I thought.

　But the emperor listened to my words until the end. And when he finished, there was no anger on his face. No disappointment. What was there was a look of satisfaction, as if to say, "I knew it.

　As I puzzled over the meaning of his reaction, the emperor said softly.

　Very well, I give you permission to pass through the gate.