Episode 163: Marshal of the Underworld

“I see… You’re not just some small fry, are you?”

A faint glimmer of interest flickers in Lugdura’s eyes as he fixes his gaze on Siegfried.

“But I’ve fought countless so-called strong opponents four hundred years ago. And every single one of them—I’ve buried them all.”

White flames of the underworld rise around Lugdura, swirling fiercely. They whip up a tempest, blending with a swarm of bones to form a raging storm.

“Now—how long can you hold out? If you manage to entertain me… I might keep you as an undead pet after I kill you.”

The storm of underworld flames and bones surges toward Siegfried. The silver-haired youth swings his sword, cloaked in crimson blood. The slash cleaves the storm in two, its aftermath shattering the throne room.

“Guh… Gaaah!”

Slammed against the wall by the storm’s force, Luverios groans in pain. Though he only caught the shockwave, its destructive power surpasses any magic he’s ever known.

“—Next, this.”

The moment Lugdura mutters lowly, the entire palace trembles. Then—from beneath the throne room’s floor bursts a colossal skeletal hand. Yet, it’s merely a fragment of something far greater.

As the palace crumbles, a monstrous skeleton of towering stature emerges from the earth, its form piercing the heavens.

One of Lugdura’s six chief lieutenants, the ‘Hexa Thanatos,’ stands revealed: ‘Marshal of the Underworld,’ Filgreia.

“Gwaaaah!”

Caught in the collapsing palace, Luverios screams.

And in that moment—he sees it. The silver-haired youth, laughing with gleeful abandon.

“Hahaha! Not bad! A super-sized evil lieutenant, huh? Pretty impressive. —It’d be a waste to crush you too quickly. I’ll let you rampage a bit before I take you down!”

 

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The scene shifts to the northern ramparts of the capital, Kirchherion. Kingdom soldiers remain stationed here, watching the battle unfold with bated breath.

Under normal circumstances, they’d take action. But not long ago, an order came from Chancellor Joachim: ‘If the enemy’s main force doesn’t move, hold your position.’

“…What was that sound?!”

It was the sound of the palace collapsing—a roar that reached even the ramparts.

As the soldiers’ gazes snap toward the castle, the symbol of the kingdom, Kirchhen-Almas Castle, crumbles. And then—a massive skeleton, as if stabbing the sky, rises into view.

“W-What… is that monster?!”

Bathed in moonlight, its form leaves the soldiers breathless.

“No way… Did Count Kreving summon that thing?!”

The moment someone mutters this—a crimson slash blazes from near the giant skeleton’s feet, severing its arm in an instant.

“What?! That slash…!”

“Is that the forbidden vampire art, Bloodcraft?!”

“Hold on. Isn’t Count Kreving the one with vampire powers? So… is he actually fighting that monster?”

The soldiers murmur among themselves.

An older knight, the commander of this post, speaks up to silence them. His name is Saimos, a knight battalion leader.

“Most likely, yes.”

“S-So… that means Count Kreving didn’t summon the bone monster, right? Then what the hell is that thing…?”

“…Seven years ago, I felt a similar presence from an undead. It was at the northern royal villa, where the royal family was vacationing.”

“Seven years ago? You mean…?”

“Yes. The incident where the late king and the first and second princes lost their lives.”

Everyone in the kingdom knows of the tragedy: undead suddenly attacked the royal family vacationing at the villa, claiming the lives of the king and many others.

“I was on guard duty in the villa’s gardens at the time. The undead appeared right in the center, so I couldn’t protect His Majesty… but I joined the battle to defeat it. Lord Zefard delivered the final blow. The undead back then and this one now… their magical energy and presence are on different levels, but the aura they give off is eerily identical.”

“W-What does that mean…?”

“It means the same person likely summoned the undead both seven years ago and now—King Luverios himself…!”

Seven years ago, Luverios gained the most from the tragedy. With his father and brothers dead, he ascended to the throne.

And now, Siegfried is clashing with an undead. The one opposing Siegfried can only be Luverios.

“Of course, someone else—like Chancellor Joachim—might have actually summoned the undead. But even so… the one who gave the order was almost certainly His Majesty.”

Knight Commander Saimos clenches his teeth in frustration.

“Your Majesty… I believed in you…!”

He had always convinced himself that the events of seven years ago were a tragic accident—that Luverios wasn’t responsible for his father’s death. He wanted to believe it.

But now, with an undead eerily similar to the one from seven years ago appearing before him, that hope shatters. He can’t deny it any longer: Luverios was pulling the strings behind that tragedy.

Of course, the similarity alone isn’t enough to convict him.

Saimos had long felt unease about Luverios’s behavior.

The king always conferred secretly with a select few—Joachim, Ignas, Zefard, Karlheinz, Julius—excluding even high-ranking ministers from their circle.

He also displayed an almost paranoid wariness toward the Holy Church.

These oddities, the doubts Saimos had ignored until now, all connected into a single, undeniable truth in this moment.

“King Luverios… You’re despicable…”

One soldier mutters under his breath. Another beside him reacts in a panic.

“Hey, you! Watch what you’re saying!”

“But come on… Wasn’t Luverios behind the incident seven years ago? Doesn’t that make him a king-slayer? And undead are forbidden magic, right? Is it okay for a king to use that kind of power? Plus—”

His gaze turns to the scene ahead, where the colossal skeleton rampages, mercilessly destroying the capital’s heart. It almost seems to revel in the destruction.

“—There are people out there, you know? Not just soldiers like us… civilians.”

The destruction is centered in the noble district, home not only to aristocrats but also to their servants.

“Even if it’s to defeat Count Kreving, can he really wreck everything without hesitation like that? Are the lives of us citizens worth no more than insects to His Majesty? —I mean, we all knew he wasn’t exactly a beloved king. But using forbidden magic to kill his father and now destroying the capital like this… Isn’t he just pure evil?”

“…”

They don’t know. They can’t know that the situation has long spiraled beyond Luverios’s control.