Rain Volume 5 prologue

There was only a red carpet spread out before the throne and countless candle stands lining the white pillars supporting the ceiling in the vast and otherwise empty chamber.

Well, there were over ten candle-lit chandeliers on the ceiling as well, but it still wasn't nearly enough to light every corner of the room.

Luminas was standing alone along the wall of the pointlessly large audience chamber, which seemed to reflect its master's personality.

He alone was standing apart from the other military officers who had gathered here today.

Four high generals of the kingdom were waiting by the throne, perhaps because they had been called there by the king, but they simply remained whispering amongst themselves without once approaching Luminas.

They looked over at Luminas' direction multiple times, but no one had bothered to greet him.

Luminas was already dead to them, after all.

Indeed, there was a reason why Luminas was standing there crestfallen.

There was no way that he could be merry, as he was awaiting judgement for his earlier defeat in war.

Several months had already passed since their nightmarish war against Sunkwoll, but for once, King Leygur, who was generally quick to make judgements, had delayed his post-defeat arbitration.

But the day had finally come at last.

Luminas could not help but already feel the cold sting of steel at his throat, which was a far cry from burly.

……It hadn't officially been decided that he would be killed yet, but King Leygur had never once overlooked a defeat so bad that it had ended in a complete rout.

And it was only normal to believe that fault had lied with the commander in that last battle.

"I was only an aide, and I did try to stop the General!"

But Luminas doubted that King Leygur would accept his excuse.

Then, why am I still standing here in stupid obedience? Why haven't I packed my things and fled in the night? Luminas grew defiant as he leaned heavily against the wall, crossed his arms, and smiled faintly.

He would be captured in the end even if he ran, of course——and that was one of the reasons why he hadn't. The large Kingdom of Zarmine was not generous enough to allow a defeated general to escape.

But the biggest reason why Luminas hadn't fled lied elsewhere.

He was making a bet with his life on the line. If he was killed here, then that was simply all there was to it.

But, if I still have even a little bit of luck left, or perhaps it's the opposite……though I can't be too sure of anything in terms of this bet.

That person isn't human——my colleagues don't know of this fact yet, but I do. I've regretted asking a thousand times, but the King answered me readily when I made my inference and asked.

"Indeed, your deductions are correct. I am a daemon," he had said.

I should still be a usable piece for the King……so, logically speaking, there's no reason for him to kill me.

Just as his desperate desires were progressing through his mind.

The guards standing on either side of the double doors heralded the king's entrance as if they were yelling.

Is, isn't he earlier than planned?!

Luminas felt like a prisoner whose death sentence had been hastened as he hastily carried himself before the throne.

They heard King Leygur throw back his mantle as they reverently lowered their heads.

A short moment later, his calm……and wintry voice fell down upon each of their heads.

"I see that everyone's here……. Hmm, you're here too, Luminas?"

"Yes, sire!"

It was only obvious that Luminas, the leading star in today's condemnation, would be present, but he still quickly lowered his head further nonetheless.

……He had lowered it so far that his head was essentially pressed against the floor.

"Stand……Luminas."

"Sire!"

Luminas took great pains to keep his body from trembling as he gently stood up.

He took a quiet breath as he made his resolve and looked to his master.

But the king's decision truly exceeded his every expectation.

"Luminas, starting today you will succeed Garblake as a high general."

"……Pardon?"

Luminas asked inadvertently, unusual for someone as quick-witted as him.

Humans were only capable of reacting in the most mundane of manners when confronted with the truly unexpected.

Luminas stood there in dumb shock before his master, looking as sober as ever, turned his eyes, darker than darkness itself, to the former.

"……Will you make me repeat myself, Luminas?"

"N, no sire! P, please forgive my impudence!"

Luminas quickly bent his knee again before his nerves made him jump.

Moreover, Luminas was not the only one who was surprised. A silent commotion ran through the other military officers.

Leygur purposefully waited for it to die down before opening his mouth again.

"I always have a diligent eye on what ought to be watched. It was easy enough to understand who was responsible for our defeat with a little investigation……. Luminas, your decisions were correct from the very beginning to the very end. It was clear that the fault lied with Garblake for ignoring your counsel."

Luminas quietly expressed his thanks without raising his head.

Leygur laughed quietly in response. And audibly too! Luminas was so surprised that he looked up at his master with his eyes before he knew what he was doing.

"Why don't you show me if you're able to retain your gratitude after hearing what I'm about to say next, Luminas?"

There was no mistaking it. Leygur let out another delighted chuckle.

His laughter was devoid of any signs of warmth, but it was Luminas' first time witnessing it.

Before the laughter faded from his lips, Leygur declared,

"now listen, the rest of you —particularly the generals. I am about to tell you something I mean to proclaim to the people of the kingdom in advance. Today will be the day that the curtain rises on a new era for Zarmine……no, for this entire continent."

Luminas' shoulders jerked.

No way……no way no way no way no way……is he about to tell them himself——has he given up on hiding his identity?

Luminas' fears were proven correct.

In cool composure, Leygur continued,

"listen well. I, the man standing before you——I, who succeeded the throne after overthrowing the previous king, Aramis Dinadahn Guvis, am not human. In other words……I am a daemon."

You have all been in the service of a daemon until today,

he added for good measure.

He cast his blade-like gaze down on Luminas and the other generals.

They paled as if the chill had permeated through their bodies and raised their voices one after another.

"Im, impossible! I knew that there were whispers of such rumors going around……but I was sure that…"

"Indeed! Please stop this, Your Majesty. Your jest has gone too far."

Sarai and Volniet——two generals with many battles to their name who had supported the large kingdom of Zarmine, stood up with their faces red.

They were so shaken that they had forgotten their respect for their liege, though they couldn't be blamed for it.

While no one remembered the large war that had broken out between humans and the daemons in the past —in other words, the Hegemonic War—, their reactions were proof that people had still retained their hatred of the daemons in their hearts.

Leygur's reply, however, was both callous and undeniable.

"I do not pull senseless pranks. I am most certainly a daemon. There is no greater verification than this, as I am the one declaring it. No?"

This time, the audience chamber fell into deathly silence.

When looking back on this incident, Luminas would later come to realize that this proclamation —this stone cast by the king— had created the ripples that would one day shake the whole kingdom.

"——I told you this truth because I wanted to know your resolve. ……So what will you do now that you know of my identity? Will you swear your loyalty to me even still?

"I will continue to use you as I have been if you do. But if you won't, then now is the time to speak up. I don't mind if you refuse. I've prepared more than enough replacements for you."

There was one person who moved immediately.

Ganoa, who had been relatively inconspicuous until then, ran up to the throne and knelt down before it.

He lowered his head deeply to the ground and said,

"Your Majesty! Though I never made it known, I, Ganoa, have long since uncovered Your Majesty's true identity. I give you my sincere congratulations for finally making your identity known to all!"

"……Hmph,"

Leygur let out a faint wry chuckle.

"I see, so you don't mind even if I'm a daemon. ——And?"

Leygur turned his gaze back to the generals who were standing around in dumb shock. He continued,

"what about the rest of you?"

"It's only obvious!"

Volniet, the high general who boasted the longest military record, took a deep step forward.

He drew the sword at his waist and pointed it at King Leygur. The others, too, drew their swords one after another as if to assist him.

They had all made their decisions.

"How dare you deceive us all this time! I know that what I'm about to do will bring me shame as a warrior! But how could I possibly continue serving under you?!"

Luminas did not have the time to stop him.

Dozens of military officers rushed at Leygur, who had been their liege until mere moments ago, as one.

They left Luminas behind as they charged at the king. Everything had begun to unfold mercilessly before Luminas' eyes.

Leygur did not move and stayed calmly seated on the throne instead until Volniet, the head of the charge, reached it.

However, just as Volniet began to swing down his sword, the black shadow vanished from the throne and, a moment later, a fountain of blood erupted from Volniet's throat.

The king had stood up at some point.

From a seated position to a standing one——an afterimage flowed between those poses and belatedly overlapped with its creator. Leygur slowly lowered his sword —when had he drawn it?— from its upward diagonal slash. One of the best upper-rank knights of Zarmine had been drowned in a sea of blood without even getting in a single slash. Judging by how his empty eyes were staring up at the ceiling, it was easy to tell that the high general had not even realized what had happened to him.

Stop, everyone! You'll only get yourselves killed!

Have you not read the old legends? There's no way that mere humans——can stand a chance against a daemon!

Luminas wanted to scream this loudly, but all he could do was gulp.

——I can't let myself die here……I absolutely can't.

Leygur stepped over Volniet's corpse and advanced with his magic sword, enveloped in a crimson aura, hanging languidly at his side. He was moving so laxly that his extreme speed from just earlier seemed like a lie.

Sarai, who had reached the throne a moment later, stopped in his tracks as if he was being pushed back by the intangible pressure being emitted by the king. And, of all things, he retreated backward with every step Leygur took.

He looked to the corpse that had once been his colleague, who was laying down blankly with his sword still in hand. The others were shaken too. None had ever imagined that Leygur was this strong.

"……What's wrong? Have you already lost your nerve? I suppose this is all there is to you, then, though knights you may be. I wasn't expecting any of you to be as capable, courageous, or resourceful as Rain, but I'd thought you'd at least be better than this."

Sarai looked up at the unexpected mention of an enemy knight from a small kingdom. His anger cleared away his cowardliness and he shouted from the pits of his stomach.

"Shut uuuuup!"

He slid in toward Leygur and brought his sword down on the latter as hard as he could.

——However. Leygur did not parry the attack, and nor did he evade it……but lo, he had intercepted it with by raising the palm of his left hand.

He had stopped the vigorously swung sword with only the open palm of his hand. He had used the flesh of his bare hand as if it was a sturdy shield. There was a shallow bleeding cut on his skin, but normally, one would have at least lost all of their fingers.

"What——"

Sarai's astonished words were abruptly cut off.

Leygur had ruthlessly thrust the magic sword in his right hand into Sarai's chest just when the latter had stopped moving.

Sarai had been a knight with a long military history to his name, but he readily slumped down without being able to take a single step toward Leygur.

"……Hmph. He wasn't a valuable pawn, in any case."

Leygur did not spare Sarai, who had collapsed on his side, a second glance as he fiercely jumped into the group of the remaining military officers.

——Once again, he had transitioned immediately from stillness to motion.

The officers, who were standing stock still has if they had rooted themselves there, tried to scatter, but they were too late.

The next thing that Luminas heard was the sound of Leygur whipping through the air——and screaming, so much screaming. The screaming was accompanied intermittently by the moist sound of the magic sword rending through flesh and bone.

You would normally hear the sound of metal clashing against metal during a swordfight, but Luminas did not hear any of this at all. In other words, no one had managed to score a hit on Leygur.

Blood sprayed as Luminas' former comrades fell one by one. They had all been defeated with just one blow, and Leygur had no need to bother with a second attack against anyone.

Leygur ran like the wind from one to the next, leaving behind only trails of crimson slight and sprays of blood in his wake.

At this point, it wasn't even a matter of victory or defeat.

Besides, how could any normal human oppose someone who could stop a sword with just his bare hands?

It's no use, we aren't even a match for him…… He's too strong.

Someone stumbled in front of Luminas, who was beginning to grow sick from the stench of blood.

It was Gravitz, one of Sarai's aides.

Even Luminas could not help but steel himself and speak out upon seeing the vivid fear etched on his face.

"Your Majesty, he's already lost the will to——"

"Gah!"

He was too late.

Leygur had closed in on his like a tempest gale and sliced his blade once across the defeated officer's back.

Gravitz's body fell, and his forehead hit audibly against the stone floor.

Luminas adverted his eyes before he knew what he was doing.

"……Did you say something just now?"

"No……not in particular."

Luminas had no choice but to answer thus.

Moreover, he had just to happened to catch Ganoa, who was wiping the blood off his longsword, at the end of his gaze. Ganoa had, of all the things, emulated his master and decided to kill of his former comrades.

He had finished off about three military officers. Luminas, who figured he should have been surprised by his abilities, found himself growing nauseous because of Ganoa's character instead.

In any event, the only people who had finally been left standing other than the guards were Luminas, Ganoa, and Jagil, the prime minister who had been standing stock still all this time……and King Leygur, of course.

The prime minister, who hadn't drawn any attention to himself until then, posed a question in a stifled voice.

"……Your Majesty, putting your announcement just now aside, I believe that killing the high generals might have been overdoing things. It'll affect on our ability to wage wars in the future——"

Luminas gained a better opinion of the old retainer, who was not as flustered as Luminas had thought he would be.

Or, perhaps, the prime minister had already had an inkling about the king's true identity as well.

"There's nothing for you to worry about, Jagil,"

Leygur returned to his throne and replied curtly to the prime minister's candid advice. He continued,

"Like I said before, I've prepared more than enough replacements for them."

Leygur snapped his fingers as some kind of signal. Luminas felt a spine-chilling dread once again right when he did. They entered the audience chamber one after another at Leygur's signal.

——Don't tell me they're…

Chapter end