The plans of revisiting the mansion had become delayed, and I started to feel both restless and anxious. Due to sudden orders, an entire team from all military houses were deployed to the neighboring kingdom. This was quite sudden, especially considering that a month had already passed since the previous monarch’s demise. But, there was something exactly about this time that I felt was odd. As I had heard, it was a direct request from the new reigning monarch himself.

The sight started to change drastically. From the lush surroundings of our Kingdom, all I could see now were droughts throughout with no greenery in hindsight. There were tall mountains, and the train on which we were travelling extended outwards from one of them. In a way, this acted as a natural border.

“We will now arrive at Konigreich Steinmark.” The voice came from the deck. Stefan sat in front of me, with his bag ready. I had only allowed him to attend the matter with me as I knew of his skills well. For the other members I had selected, they had gone for now with their respectively assigned stations.

From the train, we were met by the armymen. A row stood in front of it and their gazes met with ours with suspicion.

“Stefan, it seems the cuckoos suspect the crows of betrayal.” I whispered from beside my shoulder, and a smile revealed on his face. It now makes sense why they have called us at a delayed date. I exited the train, and one of the men took my bags. I had hid the gun. It seemed he did not find it, or ignored its presence. At the least, they were not welcoming.

“Please come here, armymen of the Reich.”

The men behind me were about to fight back as they referred to us by our old name. I did not have the authority to stop them here and now, but I knew that any further step would lead to an issue between supposedly neutral states. In that same moment, one of the seniors signaled us to stop.

“Surely, you have called us for a better reason.” Upon hearing his voice, I remembered it was the Lieutenant’s personal attendant. They now led us to their outpost located in the station. It felt strange as to the choice of their meeting spot. Clearly, we were called upon by the monarch, and it is usually customary to direct special arrivals to the palace. The outpost was on strict security, with armymen covering the perimeter. From the outside, it looked quite damp. Walls were painted with a dull black. On it, crows sat in crowds, although they were likely put out by a magic user of the “Knight” series.

We were guided through the corridor to an inner room of sorts, located far away from the entrance. It felt estranged from the rest of the place as if there was a wall which separated two different realms. Upon entering, we were greeted with a standard layout of what seemed like a war strategy room, and a round table was placed in between. Everyone sat unordered.

A person wearing the Konigreich army crest of the highest order entered the room with a large bag in his left hand. He put it on the table’s center. Now, I felt a strange presence from it, as if I knew of its insides well. The Lieutenant’s attendant signaled me to look inside it first.

“Does a curse really hold the power to estrange oneself of their own identity?” It felt like I was seeing this odd scene through another person’s eyes, yet this feeling of first-hand experiencing it was still true. There, in front of me, I saw the same page which I had seen when I was still Hermann. It was right there, in the person’s left hand.

I quickly snatched the paper from him, and started scanning it with haste as if there was a small chance that he had been saved. I remembered now that he had forgotten his name by the time I went to check with him. No funeral was conducted, and his body was burned instead. On his chest was a discrete pattern: a reversed cross. At the time, I felt it was a mere symptom of insanity. I remembered that was the moment when I started doubting my longest standing belief in reality as I thought it to be.

HIs name was again found to be in the list of deceased. After all, he was burned alive. Without realizing, the person came besides me and whispered:

“We welcome your presence, Oulanem.” Now, it was made clear that the men of the Konigreich were involved in this case as well. The bag must contain a dead body for the sake of witchcraft, and the crows were placed outside for this sole reason.

It seemed it was too late to shout now. I hastily loaded my gun, and tried firing besides, at the person who had brought the bag. But, he was no longer to be found. I looked elsewhere, and found that I was alone. An unknown laughter echoed throughout the room, and the same black-cloaked man which I had seen in the sight appeared before me.

A strange thought occupied my mind. The coffins which I had seen below the statue of the Heavenly Lord came into sight, as if I was unconsciously trying to imply that the man was a resurrected being. I knew I could not beat him in terms of magic ability, judging from the mana that stemmed from him.

My gunfires went nowhere as his speed quickened. Hastily, I approached him, and tried him again in physical combat only for him to disappear, and come from the back. I chanted the same spell from when I was trapped by Barbatos, trying to escape this illusion at the least.

“The Divine will rise on the Hour.” He whispered in my ear. I felt a strong fear at this as if the time of his rising was near. Then, as if my identity was overturned for a split second, I uttered the verbatim of what I had heard from Lieutenant Klaus.

“Remember, dead men are the most free."