Arwen pulled away from my embrace and savagely tore the skirt of her dress.

RIIIP!

Then she stepped in front of me, a short sword in her hand that she had drawn from who knew where. Karl and my knights rushed over to surround me.

I looked away from them and surveyed the hall. The king and Maximilian were already behind a wall of bodies. The old marquis and Siorin were busy calming the panicked envoys and nobles. The Royal Knights had drawn their swords to protect the banquet guests.

And there was Eli, his hair disheveled and his clothes in complete disarray.

"Damn it. If only I hadn't been injured. If only I hadn't been drinking, at least."

Even in that sorry state, Eli was rambling away. A moment later, the reek of alcohol hit my nose.

"Eli!" I called.

"Where the hell did monsters like that come from..."

"Eli!"

Only after I infused my shout with power did he stop babbling and turn toward me.

"Tell me what happened first."

"I felt stifled in the banquet hall, so I went for a walk in the garden. I sensed something suspicious and followed it, only to be ambushed."

We were in the heart of the kingdom, in the very palace where its sovereign resided. With dignitaries from other nations visiting, security was several times tighter than usual.

And suddenly we were under attack? I hadn't sensed a thing.

"I saw three enemies myself. Only one of them actually attacked me."

He might look a mess, but Eli was still a Master. Even if it had taken all three of them to leave him in that state, it would have been impressive. Yet one man alone had done it.

My face twisted into a scowl.

"Who the hell..."

Just then, I heard faint footsteps.

SKRRRRR.

A noise like sharp metal scraping the floor grated on my ears.

I turned. Someone emerged beyond the shattered doors, clad in armor as black as if it had been coated in darkness, dragging a bloodstained greatsword.

THUD.

He stopped just outside the banquet hall and swept his gaze over the interior.

"Halt!"

The Royal Knights issued their warning, unleashing their fierce auras. The black knight did not so much as flinch before the sharp energy of over a hundred knights.

As I watched him, I used my Authority—and froze.

I could see nothing. No traits, no name, no age. Not a single thing. I checked several times, but the result never changed.

A being whose identity even the Authority of Judgment could not reveal. The meaning was clear.

The black knight's level was by no means below mine.

The black knight smoothly took another step. Despite his heavy plate armor, his footsteps were utterly silent.

SKRRRRR.

The only sound was his greatsword scraping the floor.

"Stop," I warned him. "That's far enough."

An uninvited intruder would not be allowed another step inside.

"That's the one who attacked me. Be careful, Your Highness."

Eli's warning was more tense than I had ever heard him sound. Rather than answer, I glared at the black knight. He, too, stopped and watched me in silence.

There was something profoundly alien about that gaze, as though an empty suit of armor were staring at me. He had reined in his energy so perfectly that I could not sense even a trace of his aura. Despite having beaten Eli to a bloody pulp, he showed not the slightest hostility.

His ghostlike presence faintly resembled that of the dead, but he was certainly not one of them. I could sense none of the deathly energy peculiar to the undead.

He was human, without a doubt—a knight so accomplished that even a Sword Master who had attained a hero's stature could not sense his energy.

I used my Authority once more, but again his identity remained hidden. Narrowing my eyes, I searched for a clue, examining every inch of his black armor. Then my gaze fell on his greatsword.

I frowned. Its edge was far too blunt for a sword, and its dark blade and crude hilt looked strangely familiar.

After thinking for a long while, I finally found the answer.

"It can't be..."

I stared wide-eyed at his sword. But it was. That greatsword was something I knew well.

It was a relic with a long history, though not as long as mine—a cursed demonic sword known in different ages as the Crimson Lunar Eclipse or the Gloomy Darkness.

The sword's first name had been...

"Moonveil (Verfinsterung)!"

The darkness that veiled the moon.

KRRRRR.

The cursed Moonveil rang, as if delighted to hear me call its name.

"God damn it!"

Gritting my teeth, I seized Eli by the scruff of his neck.

"Gack!"

He cried out at my sudden action. Ignoring him, I inspected his body. His clothing was rumpled and filthy, but fortunately I could find no sign of a sword cut or puncture.

"Y-Your Highness? What are you doing?" Eli finally asked.

"Do you have any sword wounds?"

Instead of answering, I asked to make certain.

"None. I was beaten up before I could even cross swords... No, I was ambushed without warning. The coward attacked me from behind..."

Normally, I would have rebuked him for rambling at a time like this, but now I felt only relief. Of course, if Moonveil had wounded him, he would hardly have been chattering away so freely.

"What on earth is the matter?"

"That cursed sword cuts through the soul along with the flesh. Even a graze leaves serious aftereffects."

At my words, Eli went pale and began feeling himself all over.

"Well, what brings the master of Moonveil all the way here?"

I turned from him and snapped at the black knight.

"Did you want to attend the banquet? What a pity. Those without the proper qualifications aren't allowed to attend."

The black knight's shoulders shook. I could not see his face, but I knew he was laughing at me.

["Only one person may question my qualifications."]

The black knight spoke for the first time.

["And that person is not you, Adrian Leonberk."]

His voice was dull and muffled, like the rattling of cheap scrap iron. And the hateful language he spoke was one I had thought never to hear again in the heart of the kingdom.

It was the language of the Bourgogne Empire.

"What is an imperial knight doing here...!"

"Surely they haven't disregarded the peace agreement!"

The nobles, who had barely regained their composure, stirred at the revelation of the black knight's identity. The envoys, too, whispered to their companions with rigid faces. They were deeply shaken.

"So you're the emperor's knight."

I spread my energy to calm them as I glared at him.

["I have that honor."]

The black knight remained utterly unperturbed by my challenging stare. He merely drove his demonic sword into the floor with a thud.

["The one and only sovereign of this world, master of the continent, His Sacred Majesty Emperor Orteaga de Bourgogne—that is the name of the man I serve."]

At that instant, an ominous pulse spread in all directions.

RATTLE.

The chandeliers shook.

CRASH!

The banquet hall's windows shattered at once. Wineglasses and plates on the tables burst with a deafening clatter, splattering their contents in a filthy mess everywhere.

"Aah!"

The envoys and nobles screamed.

["A sword directly serving the Imperial House."]

Amid the uproar, the black knight spoke quietly.

["Commander of the Nightmare Knights."]

His once nearly imperceptible presence rose like a tidal wave, crushing the banquet guests.

["Penta Knight, Mort de Mort."]

Strangled screams erupted throughout the hall.

["Does that qualify me to attend?"]

The Commander of the Royal Knights and his knights roared fiercely and unleashed their auras. The force rising behind me surged toward the ceiling—only to strike the black knight's immense energy and crumble helplessly.

TAP.

Amid the pandemonium, I took a step forward.

"What a long, grandiose introduction."

My eyes remained fixed on him.

『Of all the lofty seats and august thrones, not one is mine.』

『Yet there is not one upon which I cannot sit.』

Under my breath, I recited the [Poem of the Overlord].

WHOOOOM.

The kingly stature I had usurped from the Warlord took shape and rose. The chandeliers, which had been swaying as if about to fall, creaked back into place. The screaming nobles and envoys quickly regained their composure.

"The emperor's dog. No words could describe you better."

I spoke as I watched his malice retreat to the threshold of the hall.

"And the emperor's dog has not been granted leave to attend this banquet."

The black knight stood motionless, looking at me. Then he spoke softly.

["I should have killed you then."]

"Then?"

["You only survived your paltry game of playing mercenary because His Majesty showed you mercy."]

This time, even I was surprised. I had never expected the emperor to know that I had fought in Dotrin's war under a false identity.

But surprise was all it was. Nothing more.

I did not know whether he could have killed me back then. But there was one thing I did know.

"You're welcome to try now."

As I was now, I would not fall to him easily.

This was the first Penta Knight I had ever encountered, and his power exceeded my expectations. Even so, I did not think I would lose easily. If he picked a fight, I had no reason to avoid it.

No, I was almost eager to start one myself.

Fresh vigor coursed through a body grown somewhat listless from tedious daily life. A fierce will to fight surged in my chest.

I desperately wanted to know. How powerful were five Rings, something I had never experienced? What strength did he conceal, to chatter so easily even as our auras clashed? Was he worthy of wielding Moonveil?

My skin tingled. My heart pounded wildly. My feet twitched as though ready to kick off the floor at any moment.

"Whew."

But I had to force my boiling battle lust down. This was the heart of the royal palace, and behind me were people I had to protect. Fighting here with all my strength would be madness.

For now, at least.

Just as I managed to calm my fighting spirit, the black knight spoke.

["Much as I wish to, regrettably, I cannot. His Majesty has no intention of rendering his own kin's promise meaningless."]

"Bold words from someone who sneaked in like a common thief and beat one of the kingdom's Silver Lions to a bloody pulp."

I ignored Eli's tactless, indignant insistence that he had not been beaten to a bloody pulp.

["I assure you, had I intended him harm, he would be not a bloody pulp, but something less than a scrap of meat."]

Eli again demanded to know when he had ever been reduced to a bloody pulp, hurling curses and telling the coward to stop boasting after attacking him by surprise.

Naturally, the black knight did not answer.

Instead of taking Eli's side, I questioned the black knight.

"Then let's hear it. Why has this glorious emperor of yours sent you here, if he cherishes his own kin's promises so dearly?"

["My business is not with you, but with others."]

The self-appointed messenger swept his gaze over the banquet hall, his helmet rattling.

["You who dare refuse to bow before the master of the world."]

His gaze settled squarely on the gathered envoys.

["The vain dreams your masters dreamed shall end in nightmare."]

The envoys shrank back in fear.

["And the nightmare has already begun."]

Every envoy present understood the imperial language. None was so foolish as to miss the meaning of the black knight's words.

"Your civil war isn't even over! Are you declaring war on the entire world?" one of the envoys shouted desperately.

["There is no reason we cannot."]

The black knight's reply was casual.

His gaze passed over several of the envoys.

["You had best pray fervently that you still have a home to return to."]

Those who met his eyes went deathly pale.

["Yet it seems to me that you will not even have that chance."]

The black knight's shoulders shook again.

["Hand them over. Do so, and the Leonberk Kingdom may enjoy a tomorrow no different from yesterday, at least while the peace lasts."]

I snorted.

"Before that, you had best devise a way to save your own life."

I sneered, mimicking his manner of speech.

Despite my crude provocation and warning, his confidence did not falter.

["If you stand in my way, at least half of those gathered here will die."]

With the outcome uncertain, a clash between us here would indeed kill many people, just as he said. That was an undeniable fact.

It was also something that would never happen.

"You have far too much faith in yourself. That was your mistake."

But he needed to understand. The kingdom was no longer the feeble nation the Empire had once entered and left whenever it pleased. Nor was the Royal Family so easy a target that it would allow the heart of the kingdom to be violated twice.

CLATTER!

A harsh noise rang out. Dented, shattered lumps of black metal tumbled across the floor. They were corpses clad in plate armor slightly less ornate than the black knight's, but identical in basic design.

Behind them appeared a middle-aged knight in black plate armor.

"We're cursed. Thoroughly cursed. Otherwise, how could this happen every time we hold a banquet? At this rate, merely hearing there's a banquet will give me nightmares."

"Count Walloden!"

The nobles cheered at the sight of the Iron Lions' leader.

The black knight stared at me in silence. His gaze seemed to ask what difference one more mere Quad Chain knight could make.

So I told him. Many honored guests had yet to arrive. The banquet prepared for him had only just begun.

Even now, mighty presences were racing toward us. Unlike the sinister intruder, they made no attempt to hide their power—the majestic energy unique to knights who had attained mastery.

Needless to say, the banquet's first honored guests were the kingdom's Silver Lions.