Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest Volume 5.
PROLOGUE.
A single man’s footsteps echoed loudly through the palace’s grand hall. Everyone he passed by was startled by the grim expression on his face.
“Lord Freid.” A strained voice called out to him. Though the man was clearly in a hurry, he turned around.
“Mikhail.”
“Lord Freid. Is-Is Cattleya really dead!? I heard from the others when I returned from my mission. Tell me it’s not true! Cattleya can’t possibly be dead! She had your greatest monster, Ahatod, by her side, so she can’t have—”
The man Mikhail had addressed as Lord Freid put a trembling hand on his subordinate’s shoulder. The strength he put into his grip told Mikhail everything he needed to know. It was true. Freid’s beloved Cattleya truly had perished during her mission to conquer the Great Orcus Labyrinth.
“Why… How? Was the hero just that strong? If they’re strong enough to kill a monster of that caliber, then our hopes of winning are…”
“Calm yourself, Mikhail. Our investigations were thorough. The current hero is nowhere near as strong as Cattleya.”
“Then… how did she die!?” Mikhail clung to Freid, despair filling his eyes. Freid just shook his head and changed the topic.
“The plan to subjugate Ur ended in failure as well.”
“Wha? Did the target not betray his allies like we expected?”
“No, he did. He raised an army of 60,000 monsters and should have had no trouble burying the ‘Fertility Goddess’ along with the town. However, his army was crushed by an unforeseen opponent.”
“Unforeseen opponent?” Mikhail tilted his head in confusion. Freid’s eyes narrowed, and he gazed sharply at some unseen enemy.
“A small band of four crushed the entire monster army. Reiss, who was in charge of the mission, even lost his arm. He had to use his emergency teleport to escape, and likely won’t be able to return to the front lines.”
“No way, even Reiss lost? I know the monsters there weren’t strengthened by your ability, Lord Freid, but can four people really take down an army of that size? Surely you jest.”
Freid returned his gaze to the shaking Mikhail.
“I wish I was… At any rate, it seems that insane party of four rushed off to the Great Orcus Labyrinth after they finished at Ur. They must have reached Cattleya around the same time she made contact with the hero party.”
“So you’re saying they were the ones that killed Cattleya?” A tiny red droplet fell to the floor. Mikhail was clenching his fist so hard his nails had broken skin. Anger welled up within him.
His hand still on Mikhail’s shoulder, Freid warned him in a stern voice.
“The enemy’s strength is beyond measure. I’m planning on heading to the volcano next. We must gain more ancient magic, no matter the cost. It’s our only hope of balancing the scales.”
“Lord Freid…” Mikhail couldn’t believe their strongest general would ever admit to being outmatched. He shivered, and Freid gave him a look that chilled him to the bone.
“Everything we do, we do for His Majesty, and the god which we serve. Hold down the fort while I’m gone, Mikhail. The war will begin in earnest soon. Polish your skills with what little time we have left.”
“Ah. Yes, sir. I swear I will avenge Cattleya.”
Freid nodded to him and turned on his heels. He saw Mikhail salute to him out of the corner of his eyes as he walked to where his partner was waiting.
When he was finally out of sight, his stern expression crumbled. He’d been holding his anger back in front of his subordinates, but there was no one to see him now.
“I don’t know who you are, but you’ll pay dearly for interfering with my holy mission. God is with me. The day we finally meet will be your last. Heretics have no right to live.” He muttered darkly to himself for a few more minutes before summoning his horde of monsters and leaving the castle.
The castle that lay at the heart of Garland, the demons’ capital.
Freid was the demon who had single-handedly destroyed the delicate balance between the humans and demons. And as fate would have it, he was headed to the very same place the monster of the abyss was.
Who would the goddess of victory smile upon when they finally met?
Diamond. diamond. diamond.
