Fantasy Novel [Chiaroscuro of Dawn] ep.25 "Chapter 4: Drop the Stones, Raise the Stars"

The Hero's Return

By the time land came into view, the sky was already dyed in madder red.

The capital, Romlea, was still bustling with people, and the street stalls were lively.
Knowing they might be spotted, I had P-chan lower our altitude slightly, but there were no signs of any commotion.

Chiaro and the others nodded at each other, thinking, "At least we're safe for now," and headed for the palace on the mountain. Then, upon reaching the back, they discovered something unusual.

To their surprise, the knights Lilith had shown them in the vision were just about to charge into the palace's back entrance.
Underneath their cloaks, the armor of the Imperial Army was visible.

Scuro turned pale and shouted.

"I get that they managed to reach Romlea in half a day. But there are plenty of elite sentries at the back gate on the mountain side, and guards patrol the grounds, right!? There's no way such a small number could break through..."

"There was an insider on the side of the Theocracy. And someone in a position to command many soldiers."

Scuro gasped.

"No way, Nii-ni?"

"I don't know yet! But surely the anti-Pope faction joined forces with the Imperial extremists to stage a rebellion. Scuro, I'm worried about Gigi and Toto. I want to go to the ancient temple first."

"Of course, that's the plan!" Scuro said, pulling the reins.

As soon as P-chan landed on the roof of the temple, the two of them ran off, calling, "Gigi, Toto!"
They kept calling the twins' names, but there wasn't even a shadow of a servant in the building. The sound echoing in the empty house was eerie, amplifying Chiaro's anxiety.

"This can't be, both of you! Where are you!"

"Hey, Chiaro! They're probably not here."

"Gigi! Toto! Answer me!"

Scuro grabbed Chiaro's arm, which was breaking out in a cold sweat, firmly.

"If Nii-ni is the one pulling the strings of this chaos, he definitely would have evacuated them to a safe place. You said you didn't know yet, but I know... it's Nii-ni's doing."

Seeing Scuro knit his brows in pain, Chiaro came to his senses. He wasn't the only one worried about his family.

"Sorry, I lost my cool. Let's head to the palace too. Should we chase them from the back entrance?"

After thinking for a moment, Scuro replied, "From the hanging garden."

"In the middle of the palace roof, there's a hanging garden surrounded by towers. Let's have P-chan take us there and storm the Pope's room by the shortest route."

Chiaro gulped.
At the palace, they would likely run into the Imperial knights from earlier. But they couldn't just stand by and do nothing.

"Let's go, let's see Michele's revolution through to the end!"

Scuro nodded firmly.

The hanging garden before the sunset was a graceful paradise itself.
Chiaro and the others jumped down into the land where crimson roses were blooming, and hugged P-chan's fluffy chest, saying, "Thanks for getting us this far."

At the same time a voice rang out, "Who goes there!", P-chan charged at the owner of that voice.
The poor guard fainted, foaming at the mouth.

Scuro muttered, "I'll have to prepare a reward for P-chan later," while naturally rummaging through the soldier's pockets to get the key.
The two of them used that key to break inside through the gardeners' service entrance.

They kept running through the corridors adorned with dazzling decorations without looking aside.

There were no guards, nor even any servants, and only the sound of their footsteps and breathing echoed.
However, as they approached the corridor where the Pope's grand living quarters were, there was a servant girl who seemed to have lost her nerve, perhaps because the area hadn't been cleared properly.

"Are you okay!" Chiaro called out, and she replied while trembling.

"M-men with weapons are in the Pope's room..."

The grand door to the Pope's chamber in the center of the top floor was decorated with an emblem consisting of two horns and a crown of white flowers.
Having returned from the Ogre Island, Chiaro and the others now clearly understood where the symbol of this Os Sacrum Theocracy came from.

When the two of them kicked the door open, the Imperial knights were cornering the Pope, who had lost his nerve. And in the center of those men was none other than...

"Scuro... Chiaro?"

It was Michele, dressed in the green cassock that symbolized peace. His gentle, dull green eyes were wide open, looking at the two of them.

Opposite him, the guards who had put down their swords were sitting on the floor.
The fact that they had completely lost their will to fight and were raising their hands showed the Pope's popularity.
But the next person to open their mouth was this hated old man.

"Oh, Scuro! My son! You've come. As expected, I can only trust you, who shares my blood! Please, save Toto-sama. This tanuki Michele has betrayed me by joining forces with the Empire!"

Chiaro was shocked to the point of horror by this transparent lie.
The words "my son," "I can only trust you," and "Toto-sama" did not connect in the slightest with his attitude toward Scuro until now.
Scuro also muttered, "Old man," and shook his fists.

Michele took a step toward the Pope.

"You, who tried to assassinate the Emperor and make the Empire your own, have no right to slander me!"

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!! Everything is going according to your plan, isn't it! You were waiting impatiently for the day I would strike down Guido, weren't you?"
"Using the assassination as an opportunity, you teamed up with the Imperial princes behind the scenes to stage this rebellion against me!"

"What blind ravings! I stopped the Emperor's assassination! You were the one who wouldn't listen!"

"Ha-ha-ha-ha! You're quite the actor, Michele! That's right, you've always been like that. You seduced me, wormed your way in, and climbed all the way to Chief Cardinal!"
"Do you have any idea how much groundwork I laid with the nobles and other cardinals to push you, a young man, as the next Pope? You low-ranking noble scum, returning evil for good..."

As if to cut off the Pope's verbal abuse, the field of vision exploded in white.
A roar deafened them, and a sound like a giant tearing up the ground, a loud cracking noise, echoed.

Chiaro instinctively covered his head against the light, the shaking, and the shock of the sound. Transparent shards fell from his arms, and he realized that the window glass had shattered and blown in.

Everyone except Chiaro and Scuro held their breath, unable to understand what had happened.

"What seduction! Don't blame your own filthiness on Nii-ni! If you insult Nii-ni any further, I'll drop the next one on you."

Chiaro nodded at Michele, who muttered, "No way."
Chiaro's horns were hot and numb. Anger had been transmitted from Scuro's horns, becoming lightning that struck the palace's spire.

Even though it hadn't struck the main building, all the window glass had shattered from the shockwave.
Realizing the terrifying power of the transmission, he understood the power of the transmission force. A smell like something burnt drifted in the air, and a cold wind blew in from the night sky where the madder red had faded.

The Pope opened his trembling lips.

"Drop it on me, you say...? Scuro, is this your doing? Even though the power of your long-cherished wish has awakened, are you going to use that power to turn against me, your father!"

Michele drew his sword without a sound. He inched toward the Pope as if to say, "You are my opponent."

"Come to think of it, you didn't know my true origins, did you?"

There was some distance between Michele and the Imperial knights waiting behind him. They probably couldn't hear his lowered voice.

The Pope cursed at the guard who was crawling away on his knees, but there was nothing more he could do.
Michele approached to within a step of the old scoundrel and whispered low.

"I was taken in by a noble family, but I am originally from Ogre Village."

Chiaro was surprised by the unexpected confession, but the Pope's astonishment was beyond comparison.
He widened his dull-colored eyes and said in a dry voice.

"Ogre Village...? That, then you are..."

"Yes, a child of atonement."

Michele looked down at the now pale Pope with icy eyes, knelt down, and brought his lips to his ear.

"How was it? What was it like to be held by a filthy Ogre man?"

He could see the Pope's eyes, which were wide open in the void, tighten.

Chiaro could hear Michele's words clearly.
But seeing Scuro tilt his head in confusion, he realized it must have been due to the power of reception.

Michele, having moved away from the Pope, gripped his sword with both hands.
It was a stance worthy of a knight, with no wasted movement.

The Pope closed his eyes, thinking it was all over.
Just when it seemed everything had been settled, several heavy footsteps echoed.
Heavily armed knights had rushed in all at once.

"Your Holiness! We have come to your aid!"

Learning that the Pope's faction had arrived, the old man showed a look of blatant relief.

"Darn it, you're late! Do it, kill everyone, including those children there! Especially the one with blue hair, you must never let him live!"

The Imperial knights intercepted the charging Pope's faction.
A chaotic melee between friend and foe unfolded, but they were all warriors who valued chivalry. No one laid a hand on Chiaro and the others, who were children.

"What are you doing! End that brat's life! Hey, you there, kill the one in the navy robe!"

"Your Holiness... b-but."

We should withdraw for now. Thinking that, Chiaro pulled Scuro's hand.
However, Scuro shook his head, saying, "I can't leave Nii-ni behind."

"If you don't have the guts to kill them, then restrain them! Hurry, those brats are dangerous!"

A young knight, who looked like a son of the nobility, grabbed Scuro's arm, saying, "Sorry."
However, Chiaro threw his body into him to get in the way.

The young knight, showing his anger, struck the back of Chiaro's head with the pommel of his sword. His vision swayed, and he fell forward.
But at that moment, Chiaro screamed at Scuro.

"No! Not now!"

Scuro, who had been about to use the power of transmission, shook his eyes, asking, "Why?" At that moment, he heard a voice swallowing a scream, "Ugh!"

The owner of the voice was Michele. He was on his knees on the floor, bleeding from his left arm.

"Nii-ni!"

"Scuro! Hold it!"

Chiaro shouted, accepted the knight's restraint, and stood up slowly.

On Ogre Island, the two of them had received several pieces of advice from Lilith.
"The power of transmission consumes more than reception" was one of them.
The two of them still didn't know how much sacrifice would be required of Scuro by causing intense weather changes one after another.

And Lilith had also said this.
"An immature practitioner cannot bring down too great a life from the heavens."

When asked, "What kind of command is too great?", the goddess replied, "Dropping a star, for instance," which now didn't seem like a coincidence.
At that time, Chiaro had innocently blurted out, "Then, it's fine if we change the direction the star is falling!"

The young knight, while still holding Chiaro, twisted Scuro's arm in an instant.
Scuro, while grimacing in pain, cursed at Chiaro, "What the heck is that supposed to mean?"

Just before taking a blow to the back of his head, Chiaro had received an image of light cutting through the night.
It was a swarm of light falling like rain.

"Stars are going to fall soon. Not just one or two. From the direction of Leo, like rain, a lot of them. So, let's synchronize our breathing."

Scuro gasped and nodded, looking as if he understood everything. The two of them pressed their foreheads together and closed their eyes.
The young knight who was restraining them both looked uneasy, asking, "Hey, what are you two doing?"

Amidst the intense sword fighting, the time they spent synchronizing their breathing was strangely calm.

The sparkling stars flowed across the deep night celestial sphere, laughing.
Each trailing its own tail, the brother stars compared their lengths.
Before long, as each one returned to the darkness, they saw a blue fireball that was shining ever more brightly.

"Scuro."

"I know."

When a vibration that numbed even their skulls was transmitted, the surroundings shone white again.
A roar struck their eardrums, and Chiaro was blown away. As sound returned to the world, the screams of men began to be heard.

When Chiaro opened his eyelids, he saw that the ceiling and wall on the window side had collapsed, and the night sky was spreading out.
Outside, comets with white tails were falling one after another.

Scuro had transmitted a wish for the largest fireball among them to graze the palace.
The knights were flustered, saying, "Did a star fall?" "How could such a thing happen?"

As the dust settled, no one could help but look at Scuro, who was standing tall.
His blue hair, which should have been tied up, flowed to his shoulders, and Ogre horns towered on his head. And those horns were shining with a divine golden color.

"You guys, are you still going to try it?"

When Scuro said that in a low, threatening voice, screams of "Eek!" leaked out from all over.
Michele was staring intently at Scuro with eyes that swayed in complex colors.

Scuro approached and held out his hand to Chiaro. The moment Chiaro took that hand, the meteor shower raced across the sky even more spectacularly.
With the sky where the stars were leaving silver ribbons behind them as a backdrop, the two of them smiled at each other. Suddenly, a voice cried out, "What is that?"

When they looked, a large rainbow was appearing on the ground.
The knights of the Pope's faction began to murmur, "It's a child of God." The sound of swords falling to the ground followed.

"Please... please forgive us! We were foolish and misjudged who we should believe in!"

An elderly knight who seemed to have been leading the Pope's faction prostrated himself before Chiaro and the others. The others also began to bow their heads one after another amidst the rubble.
The Pope, having lost all his followers, had no choice but to stare at the scene in a daze.

Michele stood in front of the Pope like an angel of death.

"This is the answer to your life."

Just as he readied his sword again to settle everything, a cool voice rang out.

"Please put away that sword, Your Eminence Gentili."

"Lady Valmorana...!"

Chiaro and Scuro gasped at the same time.

The hand that had grabbed Michele's arm took off its own helmet and dropped it to the floor.
What appeared was brunette hair waving to the shoulders and the face of a slender woman.
Her eyes, like the sea catching the morning sun, captured Michele and said.

"You are the person who will become the next Pope; you must not stain your hands with blood. You, who will be spoken of in later ages, must be a pure, righteous person who fought to protect the Pope from the Valmorana family of the Empire."

"But to push the dirty work onto you...!"

Valmorana's rich hair swayed from side to side.

"Please, let me strike down the Emperor's enemy. Your Eminence."

After a moment of silence, Michele looked away regretfully and nodded. The Pope raised a weak voice.

"S-stop, don't come near me! Dog of the Empire... and... aren't you a woman!"

From the collapsed ceiling, P-chan flew down toward Chiaro and Scuro.
The moment the large wings blocked Chiaro and the others' view, Valmorana's shout went up.

"Long live the Emperor!!"

After the shock of bone being struck and cut, a dull thud echoed.
It was the moment the dark era of the man who had wielded power as he pleased came to an end.