Ghislain allowed the holy power to seep into his body. He didn't think it would cause him any harm.
The holy power spread throughout his body. It moved as if inspecting every corner, eventually gathering in his head.
— Whoa! What is this? What's happening?!
Dark, who resided within Ghislain's consciousness, screamed in surprise. The holy power had unexpectedly penetrated his mind.
Normally, he would have resisted it, but Ghislain chose to let it happen.
"Huh..."
Ghislain soon exhaled in awe. The holy power permeated every part of his consciousness, settling in as if it had always been there.
Suddenly, he understood how priests could wield and manipulate holy power.
"Can I… use it?"
Ghislain focused his will.
He could sense how the holy power interacted with his body, but he couldn't actually wield it.
It stubbornly remained in place, as if forbidding him from using it.
"Hm, a bit disappointing."
Still, it was fascinating.
Even though he couldn't use it, he now carried holy power like a priest.
After achieving his current level and accepting the dreams, his transformation had finally begun.
"It seems the Saintess is helping me."
She had shown him a battle that became a catalyst for his growth and had even granted him holy power. Such aid wouldn't be offered without reason.
"Is it because of Gartros? Or perhaps their king?"
It seemed there were still enemies he needed to face.
Even so, Ghislain remained calm. There was no point in worrying about an unknown enemy in advance.
All he needed to do was hone his skills until he could crush anything that came his way. Ghislain had confidence in his ability to do so.
Having gained insights from the dream, he knew he could grow even stronger.
As he toyed with the necklace that had aided him, Ghislain muttered.
"Is this useless now?"
Examining it, the necklace now seemed like an ordinary piece of jewelry. It appeared the holy power within it had transferred to his body.
Still, he had no intention of discarding it. Just in case, it was better to keep it on him.
As he was inspecting the necklace, the door suddenly burst open, and Claude stormed in.
"My lord! Something terrible has happened!"
"What is it?"
Claude froze mid-sentence, his eyes scanning Ghislain from head to toe. He muttered under his breath.
"What the…? Why do you feel different? Something's off. Did you eat something strange?"
"........"
"There's this weird sense of holiness around you. You are the furthest thing from holy. Am I imagining things?"
"...."
"How odd. Why does your aura feel so different? Did you suddenly decide to repent and fix that rotten personality? Or did something go wrong with your body?"
"...."
Claude, lost in thought, suddenly clapped his hands as if he'd figured it out.
"Ah! It's because you haven't been able to fight in a war lately! You are sick because you haven't thrown a proper tantrum! Oh, who will fix that personality?"
"......."
Ghislain nodded calmly. Claude, that annoying fellow, was surprisingly perceptive. He seemed to have picked up on the subtle changes Ghislain had undergone.
Admittedly, Ghislain had been at ease lately.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
A brief commotion erupted in the corner before calming down. With bruised eyes, Claude rubbed his face and said, "The rift we've been blocking off… has grown."
"What? The rift has grown?"
"Yes. For now, we've reinforced the magic circle, but… we don't yet know the cause. We're checking other locations as well."
"Hmm..."
Ghislain frowned and folded his arms.
Rifts typically expanded by absorbing the surrounding energy. This allowed more Riftborn to emerge, and eventually massive beasts would follow.
In his past life, the rifts had grown in this way. Failing to stop them early on had resulted in far more terrifying monsters emerging.
But that wasn't the case now. After defeating Equidema and eliminating its zone, they had blocked the flow of energy into the rift.
Though they hadn't completely closed the rift, they had successfully halted its expansion. This method had even proven effective in his previous life.
So why was the rift growing now?
'What's different from my past life?'
Ghislain fell into thought. There had to be a reason for the change.
After a long while, he realized a key difference.
'In the past, the rifts had already grown enormously.'
Failing to contain them early on had allowed the rifts to expand unchecked.
Massive beasts, referred to as the rift masters, had emerged from all over. Riftborn had poured out ceaselessly.
As a result, humanity had been forced into grueling battles.
'I need to confirm this.'
He had a hypothesis. He would investigate the rift directly to confirm the differences.
"I need to see it for myself. Let's go."
Ghislain immediately led a portion of his forces to the nearest rift.
No one lived near the rifts anymore. People had relocated to distant areas to avoid potential monster attacks.
Around the undulating void, numerous magic circles and defensive structures had been erected. Several mages were stationed there, monitoring the rift and its flow of mana.
They were tasked with blocking the surrounding energy to prevent further rift expansion.
"Hmm..."
Sure enough, the rift had grown slightly larger.
This meant it was expanding independently of the surrounding energy.
'This isn't enough.'
Ghislain had implemented all he knew to cut off external energy, but it wasn't sufficient. This only slowed the expansion.
Reducing the rift required methods that Jerome and other mages had researched. Ghislain didn't know the specifics, so his current measures were only temporary.
Still, he hadn't expected the rift to grow further despite these efforts.
'It seems the rift itself has an intrinsic force driving its expansion.'
He didn't know what the rift was drawing energy from, but it was likely that external energy merely accelerated the process.
In his previous life, the rifts had already grown so large that the mages might not have fully understood the expansion process.
"Sigh…"
Ghislain sighed as he examined the rift. Other rifts would likely have grown slightly as well.
Without external energy, the expansion was slow enough to go unnoticed for now.
The rifts weren't yet large enough for their owners to emerge. However, at this rate, it was only a matter of time before they did.
"Gather the mages. We need to prioritize researching methods to suppress the rifts."
The mages played a vital role in stabilizing the rifts. Magic was immensely useful for such work.
But more urgent than construction was stopping the rifts from expanding. Even though the growth was slow, leaving it unchecked would lead to disaster.
"Thankfully, we have Jerome."
With the war over, Jerome had begun his research on the rifts earlier than in the previous timeline.
Since he had achieved some results in the past, Ghislain was confident they could find a way to halt the expansion.
The news spread quickly. With key nobles from various kingdoms in the Allied Forces, communication was efficient.
Everyone understood the dangers of the rifts, and there was no opposition.
Thus, high-circle mages began their efforts to study and suppress the rifts.
***
In a certain location within the Kingdom of Grimwell, Duke Leinster anxiously awaited the outcome of the war.
In front of him sat a man sipping wine leisurely.
Duke Leinster asked the man before him, "Are you not concerned, Duke?"
"Concerned about what?"
"If we lose the war, there will be no recovery. We have no more troops left."
"And what would worrying change? We can only trust those who went to battle."
The man, exuding an air of ease, was none other than Ernheart.
Having fled the Kingdom of Lutania, he was now with Duke Leinster.
Unlike the anxious Duke Leinster, Ernheart seemed utterly indifferent to everything.
"Ahem..."
Duke Leinster cleared his throat and leaned back in his chair. Compared to his restless demeanor, Ernheart's calmness made him feel foolish.
Though he tried to appear composed, inwardly he was still consumed by anxiety.
Perhaps sensing his unease, Ernheart smiled and asked, "What will you do if you achieve victory, Duke?"
"Naturally, seize control of the continent and dominate it. What else?"
Duke Leinster's eyes gleamed with ambition. His dream was to rule the continent and establish a great empire.
Until recently, he had been confident in achieving it. Everything had been progressing as planned.
Until Duke Fenris appeared.
With a tone of reproach, Duke Leinster continued.
"It would have been better if you had seized Lutania earlier. Now, Duke Fenris has grown too strong."
"Hmm… Indeed, Duke Fenris is quite an intriguing individual."
Ernheart responded without the slightest hint of offense. His expression remained indifferent, as if none of it mattered.
His gaze held no trace of agitation, only a subtle smile playing at his lips.
Duke Leinster found this unsettling.
'Tch, how can he remain so carefree after failing? He should have acted decisively earlier!'
To him, Ernheart and Gartros were both exasperating individuals.
For a long time, they lived in fear, hiding because of that so-called "Shadow Knight Leader." Even afterward, they suppressed the civil war to minimize damage.
Why they were so obsessed with the Forest of Demonic Beasts was a mystery.
On top of that, many other misfortunes piled up.
A brilliant figure, the Marquis Branford, stood against the ducal family, and one of the lords they had nurtured stabbed them in the back.
All those coincidences compounded, and the monster known as Duke Fenris emerged.
'Tsk, if it weren't for Gartros, I wouldn't have to deal with this person. Isn't he a noble already ruined and disgraced?'
Naturally, Duke Leinster had no fondness for Ernheart.
He only tolerated Ernheart's presence because Gartros was an important figure in the Salvation Church, and he was obliged to treat him well.
Seeing Duke Leinster's displeasure, Ernheart asked again, "What happens to you if we find the King of the Salvation Church? There can't be two kings, can there?"
"That person will serve as our church's spiritual leader, of course. Isn't that obvious? The title of king is merely symbolic."
In his view, the worldly realm would naturally be ruled by himself, the great sovereign.
He regarded the King of the Salvation Church as little more than a saint-like figure for the church.
Ernheart simply nodded without much comment. As expected, Leinster knew nothing.
The two men spent the rest of their time idly chatting about trivial matters.
While they waited for news of the war's outcome—
Boom!
Black darkness surged into the room, and a wounded Gartros appeared.
Cough!
Gartros, bleeding heavily, looked as though he had been through an intense ordeal. Duke Leinster cried out in shock.
"N-no! What is this?! What happened to the war?!"
For Gartros to appear in such a state, the situation must have been dire. Fearful of the implications, Leinster's voice trembled.
"Speak! Quickly! What happened?!"
While Leinster was beside himself, Ernheart remained seated, his expression calm and composed.
Gartros looked at them with a weary face and managed to speak.
"The war… was lost. You must flee immediately."
"W-what?! We lost?!"
Duke Leinster's face turned pale. It meant that the army he had envisioned conquering the continent was entirely gone!
It also meant that his elite White Knights, his escort knights, had been completely annihilated. Leinster collapsed into his chair.
"H-how could this happen…? Then what am I supposed to do now…?"
He was a fugitive, despised across the continent. Without an army, how could he possibly survive?
From behind him, Ernheart's languid voice rang out.
"So, it has come to this. Even with such strength, you couldn't overcome Duke Fenris. My nemesis has truly grown formidable."
Leinster, enraged by Ernheart's detached tone, lashed out.
"You! If you had handled things properly in Lutania, this wouldn't have happened!"
"Indeed. Quite unfortunate."
"How can you be so nonchalant?! We're as good as dead now!"
"Time."
"What?"
"With time, all problems resolve themselves. That is the natural order."
"Shut up! How long will you spout such nonsense?! Take responsibility for this!"
Leinster, overwhelmed by the shocking news, lost his composure. He needed someone to blame, and that someone was Ernheart.
Ernheart calmly stared at the frenzied Leinster, then raised a hand and gestured behind him.
"I think he's no longer necessary. He'll only be a hindrance to the journey ahead. Remove him."
"Understood."
From behind Ernheart stepped an elderly, diminutive figure.
Duke Leinster recognized the old man as the head butler of the Delphine Duchy. The butler had fled with essential items before Ghislain seized the castle.
Leinster, his eyes bloodshot, roared.
"You insolent bastard! Gartros! Kill him! Now!"
In an instant, the old man disappeared.
Thunk!
Guh…
The old man reappeared in front of Leinster, plunging a dagger into his heart.
Leinster, his expression one of disbelief, turned to Gartros for help.
But Gartros remained silent, his face impassive. Even the remaining escort knights did not move.
It was then that Leinster realized.
"You bastards… You dare use me…"
He and his faction had been nothing but tools for the Salvation Church.
Thud.
Leinster collapsed, lifeless.
Ernheart, watching the fallen body, took a sip of wine and stood up.
"Such a pity. If he had won the war, he would've made a fine ally."
Leinster's faction had boasted many exceptional individuals. Had they won the war, Ernheart's ambitions could have been achieved more easily.
But once again, they had failed. Now, Ernheart had no choice but to follow the natural order.
"Pursuers will soon be everywhere. We'll need to remain hidden for the time being."
With that, Ernheart and Gartros left the Kingdom of Grimwell.
As they moved discreetly over the next few days, Ernheart suddenly looked down at his hand.
"Hmm… already?"
He sensed a change in his power. The energy subtly spreading across the world had grown stronger.
It was a force only he and his kind could perceive.
Fwoosh.
Black energy erupted from his hand.
The long-lost power he had once forfeited was returning.
This signified that the "King's" power, which meddled with the laws of this world, had grown stronger.
Ernheart smiled.
"It seems the rifts that Duke Fenris worked so hard to suppress have expanded further."
Such was the way of the world.
No matter how hard Duke Fenris struggled to stop them,
What was destined to happen would come to pass.
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