Kuro No Maou

Chapter 561 – Great Lighthouse of Selene

On the 10th day of the New Sun month. Since our arrival, time has quietly passed without incident. To be honest, it felt like there might no longer be any Chaotic Rim at the Great Lighthouse.

Just in case, the Avalon army has been accurately tracking Chaotic Rim’s presence using magic like mana detection and clairvoyance.

That creature, maintaining an eerie silence, simply stayed holed up on the top floor of the Great Lighthouse.

“Master, here you go.”

“Ah, thanks.”

As I gazed up at the still quiet lighthouse again today, Sariel handed me a cup of coffee. It was café au lait, already mixed with just the right amount of milk and sugar.

Seeing Sariel diligently serving even on quests made me feel like I was slacking off a bit as an adventurer. Though she wasn’t wearing her maid outfit, she still had on an apron.

Sariel’s attire was her usual nun’s habit, with the infamous succubus armor Prim Mail worn underneath. So, visually, there was no issue.

“Lady Fiona, here’s your refill.”

Without taking her eyes off the open book, Fiona accepted a large mug filled to the brim with black coffee, noticeably bigger than mine.

Since the attack was set to start tomorrow, all we could do during these five days was wait in silence. We had already completed the exploration of the surrounding area and gathered most of the information on the first day of arrival. Bored, Fiona spent most of her time reading the books she brought with her.

“Lady Christina, for you as well.”

“Thank you.”

And of course, in the camp where we were staying, there was Christina, the lady who was both one of Avalon’s dragon knights and a cursed weapon enthusiast.

“Hey, Chris. Don’t you have work to do?”

“I’m off-duty today.”

“Didn’t you say that yesterday too?”

“I’m off-duty today as well!”

Sipping her coffee with a loud slurp, Chris lazily responded. She had become quite accustomed to the taste of coffee by now.

The reason why she was brazenly hanging around as if she were a member of our party was none other than Maximilian the Tyrant’s Armor.

To avoid being clung to again, which was quite unbearable, she wasn’t wearing the armor.

“Hyah!? N-no, you can’t touch there!”

“Hehehe, it’s fine, isn’t it? Just fine, isn’t it?”

Instead, she had placed a soul vessel inside the Maximilian the Tyrant’s Armor, allowing it to act autonomously, and Christina spent her days at our camp playing around with the armor, enjoying every bit of contact with her admired armor.

Seeing each other every day like this, it’s hard not to warm up to each other. Now, even I call her “Chris” as a nickname.

There was a bit of a commotion when she first clung to me, but as long as she didn’t bother Fiona, Fiona basically ignored Chris. No one was there to stop her. Honestly, someone from the Dragon Knights should come and put a stop to Chris’s constant playing.

When I looked up, I could see her fellow knights zooming overhead as usual. Maybe Chris had already been fired.

“Hey, Chris, is that guy really inside the lighthouse?”

“Yes, there hasn’t been any notable movement today either.”

I don’t just dismiss Chris because she shares various pieces of information that the Avalon army has. Although some of the information is available to adventurers through official announcements, the details I get directly from a knight are far more comprehensive. Of course, she probably wouldn’t be careless enough to spill any classified secrets.

“Is there any chance it’s just a dummy?”

“It would be difficult to fake a response that large. Besides, we’re not amateurs here.”

Even if it creates slime clones or vanishes like the Predator Coat, the Avalon army has the means to see through those deceptions as well. Moreover, with both equipment and personnel fully prepared here, there’s no chance of anything slipping by.

“Lord Kurono, are you all set with your preparations?”

“If you’d let go of my armor, my combat preparations would be complete.”

“That’s an impossible request, my dear. Ohohoho!”

“Masterrr! I don’t want to deal with this weird person anymoreee!”

“Just bear with it for one more day. Hang in there.”

Think of Chris as an esteemed guest, and do your best to entertain her. I can easily offload the handling of troublesome people onto my capable maid, which is quite convenient.

“By the way, I heard that in the finals of the knight selection tournament, Lord Kurono’s alma mater, the Royal Spada Seminary, made it to the top.”

It’s accurate to call it my alma mater, though it still feels unfamiliar to my ears. After all, it’s been less than a week since I graduated.

“Yeah, it’s splashed all over the newspapers too.”

I bought a copy of the Avalon newspaper from a merchant for some light reading—or rather, for information gathering. Lately, every day’s front page has detailed reports on the knight selection matches, so you can’t help but notice them, even if you aren’t interested.

“Their opponent is Princess Nell’s Imperial Academy, right?”

It’s the most prestigious school in Avalon. Mia also attended it… I should ask her about it sometime.

“Yes, they say it’s quite a valiant performance.”

“…Seems like it.”

Unbelievably, the newspaper’s been making a big deal out of Nell’s overwhelming streak of victories. Though these articles tend to exaggerate, the undeniable fact remains that she’s defeated all her opponents so far in a single blow.

With exaggerated headlines like “The Strongest Princess in Avalon’s History”, Nell’s strength seems to be no lie.

To me, Nell is just an ordinary healing priestess. She has incredible magical power, such as when she healed my right arm injured by a magic eye or when she withstood Greed Gore’s plasma breath. But that doesn’t necessarily equate to combat strength in my mind.

I heard that on that day, she class-changed into a battle priestess and underwent various training… But seeing her featured in newspaper articles like this makes me really curious about how powerful she’s become.

“This year, I thought Student Council President Arclight would once again lead the team in the quest for consecutive victories… But now, the Imperial Academy is practically Princess Nell’s loyal knight corps. It seems Princess Nell has finally shown her mettle as a true princess.”

Nel is now a person far beyond reach. With her remarkable performance in the knight selection, her already high popularity seems to have soared even further.

“Yeah, that’s right… She can’t remain just a student forever.”

Even though we parted in one of the worst ways possible, it’s not like I hate her.

If Nell is walking the path of a respectable princess, then nothing could make me happier. So the slight sting of loneliness or sadness I feel deep in my chest is just a silly, sentimental notion.

“It was because you were both students that Lord Kurono and Princess Nell were able to grow so close… Isn’t that right?”

“Yeah, exactly. But hey, you definitely had some weird misunderstanding during the Curse Carnival, the cursed sword tournament, didn’t you?”

“Saying ‘don’t misunderstand’ would be an impossible request, wouldn’t it?”

Chris let out a laugh—oh-hohoho—that was almost like mocking a bittersweet youth romance, and it was a bit irritating. Damn it, I might just confiscate that Maximilian the Tyrant’s Armor.

“There was really nothing between Nell and me.”

“I know, yes, I absolutely, completely understand.”

Damn, this girl definitely thinks I got dumped.

Well, whatever. Honestly, the way things ended was far more tragic than just being dumped. It would’ve been much easier to accept if I’d recklessly charged in and got crushed because I didn’t know my place.

Besides, it’s because Chris has her misunderstandings that we can sit here and chat so casually like this. If I were seriously considered a shameless scoundrel aiming for Princess Nell, she’d probably treat me with pure hostility, just like when she barged in before. And it’s not just Chris; any Avalon knight serving the royal family would naturally react that way.

“Seriously though, what about you?”

Look, I’ve got Fiona, a great girlfriend. Sure, she’s currently engrossed in her book and completely ignoring her boyfriend, but still, we’re a lovey-dovey couple. At least, I think we are, right? We’ve been pretty close, or so it seems.

“Huh? M-Me?”

“Yeah, haven’t you got any romantic stories of your own?”

Well, considering Chris has already graduated from the Imperial Academy and become a dragon knight, she’s at an age where being married wouldn’t be surprising. She certainly looks like a typical beautiful young lady.

“N-No, such things… Well, at the moment, there’s nothing really.”

“At the moment? Does that mean you’ve never been involved in that kind of stuff at all?”

“H-How rude! I, Christina Damned Spiralhorn, was known as the Black Rose of the Imperial Academy in my school days, and day after day, I was burdened with turning down suitors left and right!”

“Wow, that sounds kind of fishy.”

“It’s not a lie! I’d even wager my virginity on it!!”

“Uh… R-Right, sorry. Didn’t mean to… yeah, sorry.”

Chris, looking a bit teary-eyed. Oops, maybe I went a little too far with my teasing.

Sniffling a little, with tears pooling at the corners of her eyes, Chris buried her face in the sturdy chest armor of Maximilian the Tyrant’s Armor. She looked every bit the wounded maiden.

“It’s fine… I have this Maximilian the Tyrant’s Armor with me.”

“No, that’s mine, actually.”

“Don’t go claiming it as your own.”

“Hah, I bet you were too caught up in collecting cursed weapons—”

“Master.”

A voice called out from right behind me, so silently that I didn’t sense her presence at all.

“What is it, Sariel?”

She didn’t reply immediately. Instead, she slowly raised her hand, pointing upwards, indicating the top of the Great Lighthouse of Selene.

“It’s moving.”

In that instant, my sixth sense detected an overwhelming surge of magical power. It was less a presence and more of a colossal wave—

“Kurono.”

“Yeah, battle stations. That bastard’s making a move.”

Fiona tossed aside her book, grabbing her staff as she leapt to her feet. Sariel, already prepared, held the Rebellious Cross, which she had drawn from somewhere.

The abnormal surge of magical power was emanating from the top of the Great Lighthouse of Selene. The Chaotic Rim, which had remained silent until now, was finally taking action.

“Come, Hitsugi!”

“Yessir, Master! I’m back!!”

Hitsugi was the only one still cheerfully upbeat in this tense situation. The Maximilian the Tyrant’s Armor immediately cast off Chris, dashing to my side.

Meanwhile, Chris, who had been tossed aside, didn’t stumble clumsily; instead, she bolted straight for her wyvern, which she had parked nearby.

“This feels rather ominous! Kurono, do be careful!!”

“Yeah, you too!”

With a powerful flap of wings, Chris the Dragon Knight took to the skies, stirring up gusts of wind. Around us, others were also beginning to stir frantically, reacting to the unusually intense surge of magical energy.

“What the hell is this…? The magic power I sensed from that thing before wasn’t anywhere near this level.”

During the Pride Gem subjugation, we fought Chaotic Rim, albeit briefly. Its magical presence was already overwhelming and oppressive, surpassing any monster I had encountered before… but there’s no way it should be creating a pressure strong enough to shake an entire mountain.

This feels less like the magic of a powerful monster and more like the mountain itself is brimming with magical energy.

“This is definitely due to the ley lines being activated. Sariel, did you find anything?”

“Yes.”

Sariel, who had been crouched with her ear to the ground, stood up and said,

“The magic flowing through the ley lines is converging towards the Great Lighthouse. I suspect there’s some ancient magical device at the top that gathers and utilizes the power of the dragon veins.”

“Whoa, whoa, no one ever mentioned anything like that.”

If it existed, it would be famous. The Great Lighthouse of Selene has been thoroughly investigated from the entrance to the roof, and no ancient relics have been found. Because of that, it’s been used as a low-risk dungeon for beginner adventurers, where only low-rank monsters appear.

“Perhaps it was never discovered, or it was assumed to be completely broken.”

“And now, a monster has activated it?”

“It’s hard to believe, but…”

Even Fiona, usually unflappable, looked up at the Great Lighthouse, a bead of cold sweat rolling down her face in surprise.

In her line of sight, the ancient lighthouse, as if finally remembering its purpose after thousands of years, began to light up brilliantly at the very top.

“…There should be a fragment of Slothgill in Chaotic Rim’s head. With its powerful parasitic abilities, it might be able to access ancient systems.”

Lily had used telepathy to take control of that Taurus. She easily manipulated ancient technology she’d never encountered before. Slothgill probably did the same, operating the lighthouse’s device.

At the very least, it seems more likely that Chaotic Rim accidentally activated a hidden power switch that no one had discovered before, rather than having purposefully turned it on.

“I see… So, what do we do now, Kurono?”

“What can we do? It looks like it’s not going to stop.”

The lighthouse was accelerating its brilliance, and soon it wasn’t just glowing but also emitting crackling purple lightning.

In response, vivid purple patterns began to appear on the lighthouse’s walls. Similar to the crimson lines on the Head Cutter and Maximilian the Tyrant’s Armor, these patterns radiated a dense magical aura, shining brightly.

“The absorbed ley line magic is being converted into pure lightning magic within the tower.”

Sariel gave a description that matched the appearance. However, with her superior sixth sense, she could clearly perceive this with certainty.

“Kurono, I recently saw something similar to this.”

“Funny, so did I.”

The massive lightning power converging at the top of the lighthouse—what on earth could it be used for? Surely, the ancient people didn’t intend to use this extraordinary lightning power to illuminate the sea with a giant light bulb.

Seriously, who named this thing a lighthouse? There’s something similar right next door.

This is not just a large lighthouse.

“It’s like the Battle Tower Pharos, an ancient cannon.”

The Battle Tower Pharos is Spada’s secret weapon guarding the Galahad Fortress. It’s an incredibly powerful magic cannon that can destroy even a Taurus with a single shot. This Selene Great Lighthouse, or rather, the Selene Great Cannon, was even taller than Spada’s Battle Tower, by twice the height.

“Damn it, this power is uncontrollable…”

The magic cannon, having gathered a tremendous amount of energy, unleashed its power the next moment. It enveloped the world in a dazzling light—