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“Hmm, Strabenher has been quite eventful too.”

Sophia let out a hollow laugh as she sheathed the longsword she had been holding. Thinking about how she had been moving alone for a while, she never expected something like this to happen in the rear.

She had left her first disciple, who needed a period of secluded training in a safe place, and her second disciple, whose martial power was still far from mature, at Strabenher, simply following her intuition. But even Sophia couldn’t have predicted that this decision would become the key to preventing Strabenher from being reduced to ruins.

If she had known, she would have hesitated more or sought another way. She wouldn’t have let the enemy approach so carelessly. Even though she was known for raising her disciples to be strong, there had to be limits. Leaving them in danger without being able to watch over and care for them nearby wasn’t raising them strong—it was just abandonment.

Well, in the end, Conra managed to break through and reach the realm of “Initial Transcendence,” and Maria, though she faced a life-threatening crisis, survived and received proper treatment. Among all the chaos, that was a stroke of luck.

After all, someone like Sophia had countless ways to restore someone’s body and mind as long as they weren’t completely dead. As long as they were breathing, that was enough. Just breathing.

“By the way, that kid. He finally broke through.”

Sophia nodded with pride upon hearing that Conra had stepped into the realm of Initial Transcendence. It was a joyous moment to see her disciple finally transcend the limitations of his own body and fully control it.

The realm of the Heart-Generating Qi Method was a transformative stage, where the difference before and after was like that between a helpless infant and the greatest athlete. This was why it was called “Initial Transcendence”—a term born from such a vast gap.

Once one reached this realm, they became flawless in handling their physical body. Further, their energy manipulation and mental training would expand beyond the limits of their limbs, unleashing infinite potential that could lead to anything.

Just like Sophia’s past life, Lee Beom-seok, who had once faced countless death gods representing various cultures on Earth and achieved unparalleled feats, this was the first step toward divine power. Sophia couldn’t help but feel proud of her disciple, who had barely stepped into this realm. She couldn’t wait to return and witness his achievement.

As Sophia stood there, feeling a mix of emotions, a massive, bizarre creature lay at her feet, its blue-tinged skin, four muscular arms thicker than a seasoned warrior’s thighs, a broad chest, and a sturdy waist. Its lower body resembled that of a centaur, but instead of a horse, it was a large feline animal.

Where a human face should have been, there was the head of a lion with a lush mane. The head wasn’t purely that of a lion but a mix of lion, tiger, and leopard features. Hidden within the mane were the heads of countless venomous snakes.

If this creature had been standing tall, it would have been a sight to behold—a majestic blend of warrior and beast. But now, it lay sprawled at Sophia’s feet, tongue lolling out, in a pitiful state.

The shattered remains of two black greatswords scattered around the creature clearly showed how its wielder had ended up in such a state.

“Unbelievable. To think that ‘Ariok, the Demon King,’ would be taken down in a single strike…”

“That massive sword illusion that fell from the sky earlier—what was that?”

The murmurs around her didn’t faze Sophia. She had already lost interest in the demon’s corpse and turned her gaze elsewhere.

Sophia’s eyes landed on the ongoing battlefield cleanup. The cityscape, turned into a battlefield by the rampaging demons and the ensuing conflict, was in complete disarray.

The aftermath of the demon Coronzon’s chaotic energy was evident everywhere. Majestic stone buildings, refined brick structures, and smooth marble edifices were either entirely or partially transformed into grotesque, pus-filled monstrosities. Twisted tendons and veins pulsed around the pus, making the stone structures seem like living creatures.

Streetlights had turned into menacing carnivorous plants reminiscent of those from the Dark Continent. Each leaf was jagged and sharp, baring teeth, while roots and branches writhed like tentacles, adding to the grotesqueness.

The ground wasn’t spared either. It had turned into a purple, jelly-like substance. Stepping on it, one could feel its strange elasticity and sheen. White mold, like wool, covered the ground like a carpet.

The mold looked soft at first glance, and indeed, it was soft to step on. But the softness was far from the comfort of a well-dried blanket.

The damp, unpleasant softness of the mold released a foul, slimy smell and emitted a greenish spore mist that rose to ankle height. Left unchecked, the mist would cause the same mold to grow everywhere it touched, necessitating immediate purification.

The corrupt energy of the demons, which had tainted the transformed creatures, required skilled spellcasters or clergy proficient in light power to purify.

“Tsk, demons are truly a useless bunch.”

The clergy, working carefully and skillfully, grumbled about how demons contributed nothing to the world. From their actions while alive to the aftermath of their energy and the negative effects of their corpses, demons were nothing but a nuisance.

Even the spellcasters, who sought the truths of the world, agreed. To them, the existence of demons, which eroded and corrupted the mysteries of spells, was nothing short of sacrilege. After all, any valuable magical resource touched by demons became utterly useless.

For spellcasters, economic value was a serious matter. The practice and execution of spells couldn’t be separated from the issue of money. In the end, spellcasters were human too.

To restore the city’s landscape, multiple clergy had to take turns channeling light power, and numerous spellcasters had to strain their ethereal brains to cast spells.

In some cases, like the building walls dripping with pus, mere purification spells and light power weren’t enough. Warriors and knights had to step in, cutting open the pus to drain the corrupt energy before purification could begin. Even the swordsmen couldn’t rest.

If it weren’t for the combined efforts of Vienna’s three major spell towers, over twenty noble families, three nearby mercenary groups, the adventurer’s guild, and Vienna’s six great churches—St. Stephen’s Cathedral, St. Peter’s, St. Rupert’s, Minoritenkirche, St. Charles’s, and Votive Church—restoring the city’s original landscape from this devastation would have been nearly impossible.

“By the way, that guy’s progress is quite impressive.”

The one who impressed Sophia was none other than Brantley Somz, the northern court poet. His act of embedding runestones and flags throughout the city streets to create a large-scale purification barrier using the nearby ley lines was pivotal in making the purification process smoother.

“Originally, rune mages of the Skald lineage were skilled at immediately reusing exhausted spells through runic letters. By adding the principles of formations, he managed to create a vast barrier that controlled the entire space. I only taught him the basics of formations, but he’s already showing incredible applications. Truly a talent.”

As Sophia watched Brantley Somz’s lion-like performance, she began calculating future plans in her mind. Only two high-ranking demons had rampaged here, but the aftermath was severe. If it weren’t for talents like Brantley, restoring the battlefield-turned-cityscape would have required endless sacrifices of people and resources.

“If the war with demons escalates, we’ll need to focus on more than just replenishing our forces.”

While gathering fighters was undoubtedly important, preparing for and dealing with the aftermath of battles was equally crucial.

Humans and tools couldn’t fight endlessly. Machines needed timely maintenance to keep running, and predators needed long rests to succeed in hunts.

The war with demons was no different.

To fight, one must first survive, and for humans to survive, many elements were necessary.

Humans couldn’t live without food, rest, and, most importantly, personal bonds. The same applied to battles. Those deprived of food, rest, and bonds for too long would inevitably lose to those who weren’t.

And war was the perfect event to strip away all these conditions. Of course, in a war zone, all production activities ceased. Regular soldiers, deserters, and stragglers alike engaged in scorched-earth tactics, forced migrations, looting, and arbitrary requisitions.

Moreover, the damage from battles with demons was far more severe than human conflicts. Just this battlefield, ravaged by only two demons, nearly saw endless casualties.

If it weren’t for talents like Brantley Somz… The more Sophia thought about it, the more she realized the gravity of the situation and let out a quiet sigh.

“By the way, it’s a shame we let that one escape.”

“Indeed. It would have been better to finish him off here for the future.”

As Sir Hermann Lingeck and Sir Karl Hector Meyer lamented while assisting with the cleanup, Brantley Somz, who had been directing the formation’s operation, retorted sharply.

“Don’t say such things. Driving him off this time was more than enough.”

Shuddering with genuine disgust, Brantley Somz shook his body.

While Sophia was swiftly dealing with the tumor-like growths spreading within Vienna, the Count of Schwaben and the Austrian Archduke’s camp, caught in a trap set by demon worshippers, had to engage in a life-and-death struggle against two high-ranking demons that suddenly attacked.

While Sophia dealt with Ariok, a powerful demon even bearing the title “Demon King,” the rest had to hold off the other demon, Coronzon.

Originally, Sophia could have finished Ariok in one strike, but she seemed to have decided to stall for time, seeing this encounter as a perfect opportunity to uncover the demons’ schemes within the empire.

That brief moment of delay, however, was a harrowing experience for the spellcasters assigned to Coronzon. Brantley doubted whether the muscle-headed knights could understand this.

“Compared to Krampus, who attacked before, Coronzon was far superior as a pure spellcaster. Fortunately, this time, we had more spellcasters, and I had learned the Qi Men Dun Jia techniques from Sir Chazel, allowing us to barely maintain control by restraining him across all directions in a single space…”

If Coronzon hadn’t decided to flee upon seeing Ariok being overwhelmed by Sophia, he would have surely been hunted down by her. But by then, the spellcasters and warriors holding him off would have been in dire straits.

How many casualties had there been just from facing him? Many spellcasters had pushed themselves so hard that their ethereal brain’s spell sockets had burned out. Brantley grimaced at the thought.

“Compared to Sir Chazel, our human forces are too weak. Given the situation, a full-scale war with the demons seems imminent. If things continue like this, the forces we’ve gathered as our strength will only end up holding back the true powerhouses. This is a problem. We need to find a way to resolve this situation.”

To Brantley, the most critical issue was humanity’s profound ignorance of the demon threat. Even he wouldn’t have considered this problem if not for the recent events he had experienced.

Even the Church Order, the organization most prepared for demon warfare, had clergy with no experience facing demons, aside from those specifically trained for it. While understandable, it felt dangerously precarious to those who had felt the threat firsthand.

“In the end, the problem is that knowledge and power are too scattered, and even then, they’re passed down secretly and exclusively from individual to individual, family to family.”

Why were such rare powerhouses so common in the Church Order? Brantley thought it was because it was a worldwide organization with a clear purpose.

“We need a system with a clear purpose, managed integrally, accessible to anyone qualified, and strictly excluding the unqualified. A system independent of any power, with both legitimacy and authority!”

Brantley’s thoughts eventually reached what was needed to realize this conclusion. What was needed was achievement, authority, legitimacy, and, above all, power that could be exerted continent-wide under specific circumstances.

Coincidentally, he knew of a group closest to such achievements, authority, legitimacy, and power—the essence of martial strength close to the leadership of such a group.

It was the moment Brantley Somz, who would later be called the first chancellor of the Academia, decided his next move.

+++++

In any case, the situation gnawing at the empire had reached a turning point.

The information Sophia had gleaned while countering the demons’ schemes and finally facing Ariok was shocking.

The demons’ reason for wanting to seize the empire, the existence of the Omphalos in Vienna, and, most importantly, the fact that two of the three candidates for the empire’s next Kaiser, the Griffin King, had long been replaced by demons or turned into puppets through sorcery—this was weighty information.

While the information about the Omphalos had to be kept secret, the revelation about the Griffin King candidates alone was enough to shake the empire’s political landscape.

When the demons’ machinations against two of the three candidates were exposed, the reactions of those who learned the truth were roughly as follows.

At first, most were completely stunned and bewildered. For those who had lived with the pride that the Holy Griffin Empire was the most legitimate nation since the era of the Great Ancestor, the shock of the sacred imperial succession being violated was indescribable.

The next reaction was fierce and vehement anger.

“How dare they! The empire’s highest dignity…!”

“Did they think so little of our empire?!”

The citizens of Vienna, unable to contain their rising anger, reddened their eyes and eye sockets.

“Did they realize that they, who thought themselves players of the game, were actually just pawns in someone else’s game?”

Those in positions of power within the empire tended to see themselves as players managing the continent’s game board. It wasn’t an unreasonable assumption. After all, the powerful on the continent were nobles, and such nobles would naturally respect the empire’s legitimacy.

But when the lid was lifted, what was revealed? This world was home to races hostile to humanity. Across land, sea, and the underground, malevolent races with cunning intelligence schemed against humanity, showing no respect for human traditions or values.

Especially the demons, who were inherently opposed to humanity.

Sophia watched from a distance as those who realized the truth grappled with fear and anger.

As a player herself, Sophia had always treated herself as the most decisive and lethal piece she could control. Having lived her entire life this way, she had no reason to be shocked if others treated her as a chess piece.

However, Sophia was a chess piece that could, at any moment, strike down the hand of another player.

‘If the fear and anger they feel are genuine…’

Then they, too, must act as she has.

In any case, the news that all but one of the Griffin King candidates had fallen into the demons’ hands carried significant implications. The empire would have to twist itself to steer the impact of this shocking revelation in a positive direction.

At least, the fact that only one legitimate successor remained was good news. The next step was to quickly inform the lords who hadn’t yet grasped the situation and secure their recognition.

Of course, the lords wouldn’t accept this news immediately. They had too much at stake. But they would have no choice but to accept it eventually. If the Church moved to prove the demons’ schemes, they would have to acknowledge it.

Once the imperial succession gained momentum, the rest would be straightforward. Count Friedrich of Schwaben would formally ascend as the Griffin King, and with the Church’s support, the empire would mobilize its resources to clean up and punish the demons who had dared to meddle with the empire.

There was also the major task of purging the undead and the necromancers, witches, and demon worshippers who controlled them, rampant across the empire. Restoring the disrupted public order, reviving the dysfunctional imperial administration, and comforting the empire’s people were also necessary.

But these were tasks for the empire’s people, who would continue to live on this land. For Sophia, her immediate duties in the empire were now complete.

“Well then, shall we head back?”

To Strabenher, where her adorable disciples awaited.

She still had preparations to make for the impending full-scale war with the demons. The final preparations were to take place at Aarhus Cathedral on the Jutland Peninsula. If she didn’t want to miss the deadline, she needed to hurry.

‘But first, there’s a place I need to stop by.’

Suddenly recalling a place she needed to visit before completing her tasks, Sophia slowly turned her steps.

That evening, when the maid entered the room Sophia had been staying in at the Count of Schwaben’s mansion to clean, she found it empty. Sophia’s horse, tied in the stables, had also disappeared. Only then did people realize she had long since left Vienna.

However, Sophia wasn’t the only one to leave Vienna that day. Guest Knight Karl Hector Meyer and the Nordic court poet Brantley Somz also vanished from the prince’s city of Vienna.

 

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