After the fortress in front of the city was abandoned, Sonata and Genevieve were able to stroll through the city walls with ease. They stopped again in front of the city to make sure there were no hidden traps.
"When you look closely, you can see that there is some sort of force field protecting the city."
"A field of power..."
"It's the same feeling that paladins or priests use. It's what you call Holy magic."
"That's why this city can survive despite being surrounded by the Revarent area."
"Let's go in."
After the invitation ended, Sonata immediately went to push open the city gates. Taking their first step into the city caused chaos. The city's people were shocked by the visitors after they had not had the opportunity to welcome anyone in hundreds of years. The soldiers rushed in, but not with threatening intent. They knew that these guests did not have malicious intent because they were able to safely pass through the holy force field.
"Who are you guys?" asked the sergeant who ran forward to meet them.
"We are from Atezia," replied Genevieve.
"I know you have a lot of questions, but we have one too. Could you take us to meet the person in charge here?" It was a request that sounded like an order. The soldiers of Algrad heard it and thought he must have been someone important. They asked him to wait a moment while someone went to report the matter to the city administrator.
While waiting, both sides interrogated and exchanged information. The people of Algrad were ignorant of the outside world because they were framed in the middle of the city of Revarent. Sonata also learned that the city had survived for hundreds of years because the Holy Maiden sacrificed her life to build a force field against invaders.
"We are fortunate to have Alexandra and the Holy Maidens from the older generations," Gong said with pride. "Even though life can be difficult in the city."
"I can't even imagine myself being trapped in the city. Food must be scarce," Genevieve said, sounding sad. She looked at the children who were standing around, gazing at strangers like them. Each child looked small, thin, and unclean.
"Fortunately, there weren't many people in our town originally. The majority of the population were religious servants and guards. We have very few children born per year."
The atmosphere immediately changed when a young woman appeared. She was a good-looking girl, probably in her late twenties to early thirties, dressed in a bright white gown with many golden ornaments. Sonata and Genevieve immediately recognized her as the Holy Maiden the soldiers had introduced.
"I am Alexandra, the leader of Algrad."
"I am Sonata Di-alno, uh...representative of Atezia," Sonata said as he approached. He thought that if he asked Cerise, she would have given him such a more impressive title.
"I, no, we...um, I'm Genevieve Swans, his follower," Genevieve said.
"Swans?" Alexandra raised an eyebrow, but before she could ask, Sonata fired off a question.
"Do you know where the capital of Revarent is?"
**——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-**
Necropolis, the capital city of Revarent, was originally not a city but a tomb of the Atezia Dynasty since ancient times. To prevent thieves from stealing treasures that were often buried together, the ancestors of the Atezian people hid this mysterious area underground through intricate spells that could not be detected by any tools.
When Revarent came to expand its power in this continent, they managed to find their way into the Royal Tomb and discovered that the tomb was a large area well-protected by strong structures and magic. They underwent major renovations until it became a gigantic city hidden deep underground. Revarents used it as their first base and expanded their influence until they occupied the entire east coast.
"If you want to know where the city is, I can point to a spot on the map. But the way in, I was completely unable to suggest you," the speaker said.
"The way inr?" Genevieve asked.
"As I was told, the city is underground with no entrance. Revarents go in and out with magic that I don't even know their way," the speaker replied.
"Isn't there a way? An air vent, water stream, or something?" Genevieve asked again.
"Undeads don't need to breathe... Even if there is a type that needs to eat, there is plenty of food upstairs," Alexandra explained.
Thinking about Undead, Sonata found it to be true. Revarents didn't destroy the human village; they just seized it. During their journey to this place, they saw many people being taken out of the city and disappearing without a trace.
To hear more stories from Sonata and Genevieve, Alexandra invited them both to be guests in her castle. Since they had been traveling for several days, they accepted the invitation without hesitation. They thought that when they had the chance to rest, they should take it.
Sonata's presence gave the city hope. They even thought that Atezia itself might have already collapsed. Despite being cautious with supplies, Alexandra allowed the entire town to hold a celebration that had not been held for a long time.
It was not just Algrad that had become a big deal. When Doc rushed to report the matter that Sonata had found out to Queen Cerise, she summoned all the nobles.
"We were unable to use magic to contact Algrad since the start of the Revarent invasion. No one thought that the place could survive after being surrounded for hundreds of years," an aristocrat explained why Atezia had never tried to send a spy there.
"Look at the behavior of the previous King. I'm not surprised," Tales said in a hushed tone. He remembered how bad Baldric's era was. Perhaps, even knowing that Algrad was alive, a coward like him feared death and remained silent.
"Based on the information that Sonata sent, we can't expect much from Algrad's combat power," Alkaiser quickly quelled the dreams of many nobles who had hoped to use Algrad as reinforcements.
"It would have been a miracle for them to survive," Cerise said with a grin. "It's proof that we can fight... Even Algrad, isolated in the midst of the Undead, can still be here."
"Extremely astute. Atezia is lucky to have a new queen..." a nobleman hurriedly flattered her. But he had to lower his voice when he saw the hostile gaze sent from Tales, who did not see the logic in that silly remark. Although Tales admired Cerise, he did not think she should come and listen to the flirtatious but useless words.
**——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-**
On the other hand, the undead took Briden's nearly breathless body back to their base in Necropolis instead of eating him. Briden believed that even if he survived his injuries, he would still face death as punishment. The strange thing was that he was not as scared as he had thought. The only thing he felt right now was regret for not having a chance to take revenge.
...that bastard. If there's no him, I'll still be the crown prince...
"What's that smell of resentment?" A giggle rang out from a distance. Briden remembered it very well; it was the voice of the man who had ordered him to fetch Sonata's head.
"D... Dark Jester," Briden said with difficulty. Just speaking made his body feel like it was about to burst.
"Lord Dark Jester. Don't forget to use the word 'Lord'," the other person whispered. The mask with a smile on his face made it impossible to know what kind of expression this strange man, Dark Jester, had. Briden got goosebumps every time he saw the Black Clown.
"I made a mistake. You can do no matter what you want to do - kill me or torment," the former prince closed his eyes as if surrendering his life. His only request was for everything to end as quickly as possible."
Dark Jester let out a repulsive laugh. He had encountered many people who lived solely for the purpose of revenge, and just by looking at Briden, he knew that he was one of them. Briden was willing to sacrifice everything just to destroy his enemy, the kind of person who did not consider the cost because they believed what they had lost was already too much, and what remained wasn't worth keeping.
"I'll give you one more chance..." Finishing the sentence, the clown laughed as if he couldn't control himself.
"You mean you're not going to kill me?" Briden's hopes returned, but only for a moment.
"Heh heh, I said I would give you a chance. I didn't say I wouldn't kill you."
Then a horrible, howling scream rang out. Dark Jester's magic was turning Briden into something non-human. A large scythe was waved back and forth. Briden's body was cut and reassembled over and over again. This was a perversion surgery that even psychopaths would turn away from.
...Don't worry. After I finish converting you, you will gain the strength for revenge…