The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

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Chapter 592: It Seems Like They’re Helping Me (2)

Ghislaine left the divine power that burrowed into her body as it was. It didn’t seem like it would harm her in any way.

The divine power spread throughout Ghislaine’s body. As if checking her entire form, the divine energy eventually pooled at her head.

— Woah! What’s this? What’s going on!?

Dark, present in her consciousness, shrieked in shock. Astonishingly, the divine power had infiltrated her awareness.

Under normal circumstances, she would have resisted it, but Ghislaine let it be.

“Huh…”

She couldn’t help but let out a sigh of amazement. The divine power spread through her consciousness, settling in as if it had always belonged there.

It made her understand how priests could handle and utilize divine power.

“Can… can I use this?”

Ghislaine tried to concentrate her will.

She understood how divine power functioned within her body, but it wasn’t manifesting.

It stubbornly held its ground, as if saying she shouldn’t use it just yet.

“Hmm, a bit disappointing.”

Still, it was fascinating.

Though she couldn’t utilize it, she had gained divine power like the priests.

As she reached a new level of understanding and embraced her dreams, a change finally occurred.

“It feels like the Saint is helping me.”

It had shown her a battle that could be the key to her ascension and even bestowed divine power upon her. There was no way it would provide such assistance for no reason.

“Is it because of Gathros? Or their king?”

It felt like she still had foes to face.

Regardless, she relaxed her mind. There was no need to worry about unknown enemies ahead of time.

All she had to do was strengthen her abilities to crush any situation that came her way. Ghislaine was confident she could do that.

Having gained enlightenment from her dreams, she could certainly grow stronger.

Ghislaine fiddled with the necklace that had aided her and murmured.

“Is this now useless?”

Looking at the necklace, it now felt just like an ordinary piece of jewelry. It seemed the divine power contained within it had transferred to her body.

She had no intention of throwing it away, though. It seemed better to keep wearing it just in case.

While she was busy inspecting the necklace, the door burst open, and Claude rushed in.

“My Lord! It’s a disaster!”

“What’s wrong?”

Claude, who was about to say something, paused. He scanned Ghislaine up and down and mumbled.

“What’s this? Why does it feel different from usual? Something seems off. Did you eat something strange?”

“…”

“It feels oddly divine, even though you’re a human so far removed from divinity. Is it my imagination?”

“…”

“How strange! Why does your presence feel so different? Did you repent to change that terrible personality of yours? Or is there something wrong with your body?”

“…”

Claude, deep in thought, suddenly clapped his hands and exclaimed.

“Ah! You haven’t been able to wreak havoc in the war lately, so that’s why! You’ve fallen ill because of it! Who could fix that personality of yours?”

“…”

Ghislaine leisurely nodded. Claude surprisingly had a good sense for it. He seemed to have intuitively noticed the subtle change in her.

It’s true that things had been a bit easier lately.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

After a bit of commotion subsided from the corner, Claude rubbed his bruised eyelids and said.

“The rift that blocked the influx of energy… has grown.”

“What? The rift has grown?”

“Yes, we’re currently reinforcing the magic circle, but… we still don’t know the cause. We’re checking other areas as well.”

“Hmmm…”

Ghislaine furrowed her brow and crossed her arms.

Normally, rifts grow by sucking in the energy around them. That results in more cracked beings emerging, and eventually, even enormous monsters.

In her past life, rifts had grown in such a manner. If they hadn’t been stopped in advance, even more terrifying monsters would have emerged than now.

But now was different. She had dealt with Equidema and eliminated its territory. Moreover, she had blocked the influx of energy.

Though she couldn’t completely eradicate the rift, she had thwarted its expansion. This method had worked in her past life as well.

So to see the rift growing after having been effectively suppressed bothered her.

‘What’s different from my previous life?’

Ghislaine fell into thought. There had to be a clear reason for the unusual circumstances.

After a long contemplation, she suddenly realized one difference in the present.

‘At that time, the rift had already grown to an enormous size.’

Due to failure in early intervention, the rift had swelled significantly.

Huge monsters known as the Lords of the Rift had appeared in various places. Cracked beings kept surging forth endlessly.

That was why humanity had to endure a grueling fight.

‘I need to verify this.’

A hypothesis came to mind. She intended to inspect the rift directly and confirm the differences.

“I need to see it for myself. Let’s go.”

Ghislaine immediately led a portion of her troops toward the nearest rift.

There were no people living near the rift anymore. Everyone had migrated far away, uncertain of when monsters might jump out again.

Surrounding the still-unstable hole were numerous magic circles and defensive measures. A few wizards were stationed there, monitoring the rift and observing the flow of mana.

They were blocking the surrounding energy to prevent the rift from growing further.

“Hmmm…”

Sure enough, the rift was slightly larger than before.

That meant it was growing regardless of the surrounding energy.

‘Is this not enough to contain it?’

Ghislaine began to block the surrounding energy as she knew how. But that was only part of the solution. It merely prevented expansion.

The actual methods to reduce the rift had been researched separately by Jerome and the wizards. As Ghislaine didn’t have insight into that, she was relying solely on temporary measures.

Even though she had thought there would be no further expansion, it was growing after all.

‘It seems the rift itself possesses some inherent power to grow.’

She didn’t know where it was absorbing energy, but the surrounding energy likely only sped up its growth.

In her past life, the rifts had grown to their limits, and even the wizards might not have fully understood how.

“Phew…”

Ghislaine sighed as she scrutinized the rift. Other areas had likely grown slightly as well.

The influx of energy had slowed their growth rate, so they had gone unnoticed.

The rift wasn’t yet big enough for the Lords of the Rift to emerge. However, if things continued like this, it would only be a matter of time before the Lords of the Rift appeared.

“Gather the wizards. We need to prioritize researching methods to contain the rift.”

The wizards played the most crucial role in stabilization. Magic greatly aided construction.

But stopping the expansion of the rift was even more urgent. Though slow, if left unattended, it would eventually erupt.

“I’m glad to have Jerome around.”

With the war’s end, Jerome could begin rift research faster than in her previous life.

He had made some considerable progress before, so he would surely be able to halt the expansion.

The news spread quickly. Since the Allied Forces consisted of major nobles from each kingdom, the message was easily conveyed.

Everyone was well aware of the dangers of the rift. No one opposed it.

Thus, all the mages of the High Circle began researching methods to contain the rift.

*

In a certain part of the Kingdom of Grimwell, Duke Reinster anxiously awaited the war’s outcome.

Before him, a man sat casually sipping wine.

Duke Reinster asked the man before him.

“Aren’t you worried, Duke?”

“What do you mean?”

“If we lose the war, we will never recover. There will be no army left.”

“What does worrying change? I just trust those who went to war.”

The man smiling leisurely was none other than Erlhardt.

Having fled the Ruthania Kingdom, he was now with Duke Reinster.

Unlike Duke Reinster, who was fidgeting anxiously, Erlhardt appeared unaffected by any situation.

“Ahem…”

Duke Reinster coughed awkwardly and leaned back in his chair. Seeing the relaxed man made him feel less significant amidst his worries.

Though he tried to act calm, internally, he remained restless.

Perhaps sensing his unease, Erlhardt smiled and asked.

“What will you do if you win, Duke?”

“Of course, I shall seize the dominance of the continent and govern it!”

Duke Reinster’s eyes sparkled with ambition. His true dream was to dominate the continent and establish a vast empire.

Until recently, he had been entirely confident that he would achieve it. After all, things had been progressing as planned.

That was until the advent of Duke Penris.

Duke Reinster continued in a slightly chastising tone.

“It would have been better if you had seized Ruthania quickly. Ultimately, Duke Penris has grown stronger, hasn’t he?”

“Hmmm… I suppose. Duke Penris is indeed a fascinating figure.”

Even in the face of his rude comments, Erlhardt replied unfazed, displaying an expression that said it didn’t matter to him.

There was no sign of anxiety in his eyes, just a subtle smile on his lips.

Duke Reinster found this quite unpleasant.

“Tch, how can he be so carefree after failing in his endeavors? He should have acted more decisively from the start!”

To him, both Duke Delphine and Gathros were nothing but frustrating individuals.

That so-called ‘Shadow Knight Commander’ had scared them into hiding for too long. Even afterward, he had suppressed the civil war to minimize harm.

He couldn’t fathom why they were so obsessed with the Forest of Monsters.

Compounding their problems were various misfortunes.

The remarkable figure known as Marquis Branford opposed the duke faction, and one of the lords they had nurtured even stabbed them in the back.

In the end, all these coincidences piled up, leading to the emergence of the monstrosity known as Duke Penris.

“Tch, if it weren’t for Gathros, I would never have had to endure this disdain. He isn’t even a noble anymore, just a fallen aristocrat.”

So, understandably, Duke Reinster had no fondness for Erlhardt.

He was only here because Gathros was a significant figure in the clergy and needed proper treatment.

Feeling the growing displeasure radiating from Duke Reinster, Erlhardt asked again.

“What happens when you find the king of the Salvation Society? There can’t be two kings, can there?”

“That person will become the spiritual leader of our church. It’s only natural, isn’t it? The title of king is merely symbolic.”

The secular world would be ruled by him, the great sovereign. That was only to be expected.

He viewed the king of the Salvation Society as barely above that of a saint.

Erlhardt merely nodded in silence. Clearly, the other party had no idea what they were talking about.

The two continued exchanging meaningless small talk, passing the time idly.

While they awaited news of the war’s outcome.

Kwaaaah!

A darkness engulfed the space they occupied as the wounded Gathros appeared.

“Cough!”

Gathros, drenched in blood, looked severely battered. Duke Reinster gasped in shock.

“N-no! What’s going on? What happened to the war?”

If Gathros showed up in such a state, it meant the situation was dire. A sense of dread crept into Duke Reinster’s voice.

“Quick! Tell me! What happened?!”

While Duke Reinster was frantically urging for an explanation, Erlhardt remained seated, his expression still relaxed.

Gathros, with a weary face, looked at the two before painfully opening his mouth.

“We lost the war… You must escape immediately.”

“What, what do you mean? We lost!?”

Duke Reinster’s face turned pale. Wasn’t that equivalent to losing his army, which he needed to conquer the continent?

That meant even his elite White Silver Knight Order had been wiped out. Duke Reinster slumped into his seat.

“How… How could this happen? Then what am I supposed to do…?”

With his identity now a public matter, how could he survive without an army?

From behind him, Erlhardt’s languid voice floated.

“So, it has come to this. They weren’t strong enough to defeat Duke Penris. My rival has truly become something formidable.”

Erlhardt’s nonchalant tone regarding another’s plight irked Duke Reinster.

“You! If you had handled things properly in Ruthania, this situation wouldn’t have arisen!”

“Quite so. It’s truly regrettable.”

“What do you mean by that? Just how can you remain so carefree at this moment? We are practically dead men walking!”

“Time.”

“What?”

“Given time, all problems will resolve themselves. That is the natural order of things.”

“Shut up! How long are you going to keep spouting such fanciful nonsense? Take responsibility for this!”

Duke Reinster lost his composure in the wake of such shocking news. He needed someone to blame, and Erlhardt fit that role perfectly.

Erlhardt merely stared blankly at the frenzied Duke Reinster. After a moment, he raised a hand and gestured toward the back.

“We likely no longer need this one. I see he may become a hindrance to our journey, so take him away.”

“Yes.”

A small, elderly man who had been standing behind Erlhardt stepped forward.

There were several butlers in the Delphine faction. The old man was the head butler leading them.

He had already packed essential items and fled before Ghislaine seized the castle.

Duke Reinster shouted with bulging eyes.

“You insolent fool! Gathros! Kill him! Now!”

In the blink of an eye, the old man disappeared.

Whoosh!

“Cough…”

Suddenly appearing before Duke Reinster, the old man drove a dagger into his heart.

Duke Reinster turned his head in shock to look at Gathros.

Gathros stood silently with a serious expression. Even the remaining guards didn’t move.

Duke Reinster finally understood.

“These… How dare you…”

That he and his faction had merely been used by the Salvation Society.

Thud.

Duke Reinster collapsed, breathing his last.

Erlhardt, taking a sip from his wine while gazing at the fallen body, rose from his seat.

“How unfortunate. Had we won the war, we could have been good friends.”

There were indeed many excellent people under Duke Reinster. If they had won the war, it would have been much easier to achieve their desired goals.

Regrettably, failure was the outcome again. Now there was no choice but to follow the natural order.

“The pursuers will be scattered everywhere. We should remain hidden for a while.”

And so, Erlhardt and Gathros left the Kingdom of Grimwell.

As they moved secretly for days, Erlhardt suddenly glanced at his hand.

“Hmmm… Already?”

There was a different power coursing through him. The energy that had silently permeated the world was thickening.

It was an energy only they could feel.

Swoosh.

Suddenly, black energy flared from his hand.

The power he had lost so long ago was returning.

This also meant that the ‘king’s’ power, which intervened in the natural order of this world, had grown stronger.

Erlhardt smiled.

“Duke Penris has surely been trying to block the rift, but it has likely grown ever so slightly.”

That was the nature of things.

No matter how hard Duke Penris struggled to stop them,

in the end, what was meant to happen would happen.