If it had been just one person invading or forcibly taking something, the Church and the Magecraft Association might have chosen to let the matter slide... They would have offered the Einzbern Family some compensation, made an announcement, and called it a day.
But a full-scale invasion involving a large number of Dead Apostles...
That was another matter.
The Church couldn't just sweep through Germany to crack down on vice and crime, could it?!
After all, Germany was one of White Winged Duke's most important territories. Whether or not he had caused this mess, he'd still end up taking half the blame.
Rimuru even suspected that if not for that, Altrouge might not have been willing to accompany him on this trip. Still, he had to admit that, just like finding someone or tracking down their secret hideout, Altrouge's influence had saved him a lot of effort.
At that very moment, as the barrier shattered, the current head of the Einzbern Family, Acht—who had inherited the title of the Eighth Ancestor, Jubstacheit—had already sensed something was wrong. He looked sharply toward the silent forest and activated the system that would alert all the Homunculi.
In an instant, the Homunculi throughout the castle stopped whatever work they were doing. Their vacant eyes lit up with the automatic Magecraft counterattack system, putting them on alert. A few of them even rushed straight into the forest to search for the intruders.
Though the Einzbern Family had long since lost most of its information about the Third Magician and gradually faded from public recognition, it still had ambitions to recover the Third Magic and win the Holy Grail War. To fund those ambitions and build some prestige, it had no choice but to rely on its particular expertise in Homunculus technology to gather money and influence around the world.
Thus, aside from the Homunculi needed to keep the castle running, the Einzbern Family actually possessed a large number of combat automatons and Homunculi as part of its defenses, much like Yggdmillennia. Though this hadn't been shown in the original story, the castle itself was renowned as Acht's Magecraft workshop.
At least... no Magus had ever breached Einzbern Castle.
Acht was quite confident about that.
After all... in the eyes of the truly powerful, the Einzbern Family had nothing to do with the Third Magic anymore—and nothing worth paying attention to.
But five minutes later, Acht, who had been so confident, began to feel that something was wrong. The Homunculi who had entered the forest still hadn't reported back.
A humanlike frown appeared on his aged face. He slowly stood and walked out of the room.
And then he saw them... in the forest.
A flood of bizarre figures surged toward him. Some had pale faces, some were horribly deformed, and some... were beasts. They were Dead Apostles!
M78 Nebula
P.S. I said I wouldn't disappear, and I won't! (Assuming the results are decent, I muttered under my breath...)
Ahem. I've graduated, after all, so I won't be held back by a busy school schedule.
The Beginning of Wickedness
A cold wind swept across Acht's aged face, which was lined with wrinkles, carrying with it a faint smell of blood. It wasn't the Homunculi who had brought that scent, because even when they were given human qualities, the puppets had no blood.
As Acht stepped out of the door, Rimuru, the intruder, no longer bothered to hide. He walked along the path his subordinates had torn open, looking coldly at the broken parts and severed limbs scattered across the ground—and at the maid who was still pinned beneath a beastlike Dead Apostle, struggling as her eyes slowly dimmed. Her face was expressionless.
"I told you not to kill anyone." Rimuru looked helplessly at the scattered debris and Acht, who stood ready for a fight, and spoke softly.
"But, my lord... they aren't human," a scarred Dead Apostle with a savage face replied darkly.
Rimuru raised an eyebrow and fell silent for a moment, looking somewhat displeased.
It was true that, strictly speaking, there were no humans in the Einzbern Family. But he hadn't expected a Dead Apostle to quibble over the wording—like a boss telling someone to pour water for a guest, only for them to ignore the tea and go pour a glass of plain water from the dispenser instead.
Had he truly failed to understand what Rimuru meant, or was he deliberately being a nuisance because he resented the order?
Regardless, just as Rimuru—who was used to resolving things through reason—was about to speak, a streak of black light flashed. The Dead Apostle who had spoken screamed as blood gushed from his arm like a fountain. The severed limb dropped to the ground.
The scent of blood mingled with the wind. Even Acht's usually unruffled heart faltered, and his pupils contracted. In the shadow behind Rimuru, a graceful figure was slowly approaching, her beautiful eyes cold.
The moment she appeared, every Dead Apostle lowered their head. Not a single one dared breathe too loudly—
"But regardless, who gave you the right to talk back to him?"
A tremendous presence crashed down from above, slamming the scarred Dead Apostle to the ground. He fell to his knees with a thud, clutching his wound, his face slick with cold sweat. When he looked up, he saw Princess of the Black gazing down at him, cold and imperious. Dark aura emerged behind him as the Black Knight raised a chillingly gleaming blade. The killing intent locked onto him, making him hold his breath. He didn't dare utter another word.
Rimuru was left speechless for a moment by the scene. "I thought you were still in Norsk Town eating ice cream."
"I was gone for only two days, and they were already about to rebel." Altrouge shot Rimuru a light glare at his teasing, then said coldly, "I told you before: if anyone refuses to obey you... just kill them."
To Altrouge—or to the Dead Apostles—strength was what earned someone the right to speak. In the already infamous Black Princess's eyes, showing disrespect to one's lord was a grave sin.
Even so, Altrouge didn't order the Black Knight to execute him. After all, she had temporarily recruited this group of subordinates and entrusted them to Rimuru. She didn't want to interfere too much; that was the most basic respect she could show him as their leader. Altrouge understood that well. She would simply show Rimuru what to do in a situation like this, then leave him to it. She had stayed behind him the entire time, never stepping forward, and she hadn't said a word until now.
In her eyes, Rimuru was still thinking from a Magus's perspective, and his way of doing things was steeped in what she called "seeking approval"—considering the opinions of those around him and his subordinates. But to the Dead Apostles, none of that mattered.
Most Dead Apostles worshipped the strong. The main reason they followed them was for protection from the Church and the Magecraft Association.
So... there was no need to be overly courteous to followers. You protected them, and they offered their blood and obeyed your orders without question. It was a fair exchange, nothing to do with faith, much less some grand cause.
"..." Rimuru didn't entirely agree with her view, but he didn't know enough about the Dead Apostles' society to argue. Instead, he turned to Acht, who had been watching them silently without so much as a reaction to his family members' deaths, and said, "He seems to recognize you..."
"Hmph. If he couldn't recognize me, then the noble name of Einzbern would be nothing but a sham." Princess of the Black was no longer paying attention to the unfortunate Dead Apostle. She wrinkled her nose and spoke proudly.
In truth, though, Princess of the Black wasn't all that famous. Since she rarely fought herself, the Black and White Knights, who did the fighting for her, had become her defining symbols. Rimuru had also noticed that Acht's expression had only changed when the Black Knight revealed his Magic Blade. But seeing Altrouge looking so pleased with herself... he thought better of correcting her.
"Indeed. I know a little of Her Highness the Black Princess's reputation." Acht's contracted pupils relaxed slightly. He slowly closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, he seemed to have become calm and untroubled. But Rimuru knew that this was simply because Acht, much like the Great Sage, was an extremely precise operating system. Once the humanlike simulation associated with fear had been switched off, he could return to a state of absolute rationality.
"Now then, what brings the illustrious Black Princess to the Einzbern castle in the middle of the night?"
His throat moved as he opened his eyelids and gazed at them expressionlessly. He asked calmly, "If it's Homunculi you want, I could certainly spare a few as gifts—"
The surviving Homunculi began to close ranks and gather behind Acht. At the same time, Princess of the Black keenly sensed the entire castle beginning to stir. The flow of magical energy surged, activating more powerful combat automatons. One after another, they opened their eyes and emerged from their cultivation units.
Acht assumed that the Black Princess had no interest in their Homunculus technology, so their visitors had come with hostile intentions... He had to prepare for every possibility.
Princess of the Black simply lifted her head and smiled at Rimuru. Then she lightly hopped backward again. "I'd love to explore the Einzbern family's Magecraft workshop, but unfortunately, I'm not today's main attraction."
"The one who wants to cause you trouble is right in front of you."
The one in front of him... Acht turned his ancient gaze on Rimuru again and studied him. His long, pale blue hair was tied into a neatly styled ponytail, and his slender figure was perfectly set off by a pure white knight's uniform patterned with red. In terms of bearing, if Rimuru hadn't been standing beside the Black Princess, Acht would have mistaken him for a young aristocratic Magus from Britain, not... a Dead Apostle.
Even though he had recognized at first glance that this young man was the leader, he hadn't expected him to be connected to someone like the Black Princess. The mask, which was nearly the equal of a Noble Phantasm, concealed more than just Rimuru's face, scent, and aura. It even made his strength hard to gauge, leaving it indistinct and elusive—as if he were weak.
As Acht watched, Rimuru's emotionless Ghost Mask slowly turned to meet his gaze. Acht was taken aback by the cold golden eyes. Then he heard a clear voice, accompanied by what sounded like a faint laugh. "We meet for the first time, head of the Einzbern Family. You may call me... the White Knight."
"The White Knight..."
Acht's aged face creased slightly as he murmured the words, as if considering something.
Watching him, Rimuru chuckled. "It doesn't matter if you can't find any information about me, Lord Acht. My purpose here is actually very simple. I just want to borrow something from you."
"You don't look as though you've come to borrow anything."
Acht's eyes finally shifted to the broken Homunculi. He glanced at them, clearly thinking, You killed my people and now you want to borrow something? Do you really think the Einzbern Family has no dignity?
Rimuru noticed and felt a little helpless. "I'm sorry. I already told them not to kill anyone..."
"Then I have a proposal." Acht spoke calmly. "I don't know what you want to borrow, but for the princess's sake, I'm willing to trust you. However..."
"Would you be willing to hand over the ones who killed my family members? You yourself said they disobeyed your orders first..."
Rimuru was momentarily stunned. The few Dead Apostles who had kept their heads bowed while killing the most enthusiastically suddenly broke into a cold sweat and began to tremble.
Every Dead Apostle knew that falling into a Magus's hands was far worse than falling into the Church's. The Church would simply kill you, but a Magus would... make you wish you were dead! Research, live experiments, dissection while still alive, or even preservation in formaldehyde.
"I see."
After a brief pause at the proposal, Rimuru chuckled softly. "As compensation, that would be entirely reasonable..."
"But your automatons are indeed too fragile. If they're so easy to break by accident... that's a real headache for me." Rimuru narrowed his eyes at the growing number of automatic puppets behind Acht. His voice beneath the mask grew even more helpless and flippant as he spread his hands. "Looks like negotiations have broken down."
He was displeased that his subordinates had killed the other side's people without permission, but they were still... his subordinates.
Acht understood that a leader could purge his own ranks, but could never hand his subordinates over to the enemy. So what he'd said had been more like a provocation.
But Acht also understood that as a Magus family legally recognized by the Magecraft Association, if he really did hand over the item for them to "borrow," it would be no different from making a deal with Dead Apostles. It would amount to treason. That was why he'd refused before even asking what they wanted.
At the same time... Acht glanced again at the Black Princess and the Black Knight, watching the spectacle with amused smiles. He sighed inwardly, weighed down by the thought. If there was no way to defeat them, he wouldn't truly resist to the death. After all, as the Einzbern Family's final control unit, his reason for giving the Homunculi humanity was merely... to achieve the Third Magic.
For that, anything could be abandoned.
So if what the other side wanted was something they could afford to give up, then they couldn't offend the Magecraft Association, and they couldn't beat the Black Princess's side. Their only option was to... shed some blood and let the item be taken.
It was a miserable choice, but unavoidable. This was the only option available to the weak.
So he nodded heavily again. The Homunculi behind him prepared for battle. Acht spoke coldly. "Before we fight, allow me to ask: what is there in this fallen family of ours that could possibly be worth coveting?"
"It's nothing particularly important. Just a scabbard with a long history."
Rimuru could guess what Acht was thinking, so he answered quickly. He could always find another relic. Artoria wasn't the strongest of all the Sabers, either. But once his life was gone, he would have nothing left. He believed that once Acht saw the overwhelming difference in their strength, he would make the right choice.
What Rimuru hadn't expected was for Acht to look confused at the mention of the scabbard. He asked, "A scabbard?"
Rimuru was disappointed, though not surprised.
The Holy Grail War was still seven years away. Although the Einzbern Family, as one of the Three Founding Families, had already begun preparing for the next war, finding a relic wasn't easy, and they couldn't simply pick one out in advance. If so, then Rimuru would have to find it himself.
Although the Black Princess could now help him suppress his Blood-Sucking Impulse, he couldn't rely on her forever. Even he couldn't accept that. Besides, now that Acht had been tipped off, even if he found the scabbard later, he would immediately inform the Magecraft Association. And if the Association got hold of it, Rimuru didn't have the authority or influence to take it from them amid all the political maneuvering. The relic that represented King Arthur would be out of reach.
So Rimuru couldn't wait. On the contrary, for the upcoming Holy Grail War to go smoothly, Acht couldn't die. If Acht didn't die, the word "scabbard" was bound to reach the Church and the Magecraft Association! If Acht already had some leads on the scabbard or Cornwall...
He had to speed things up and get Avalon as soon as possible!
Beside him, Altrouge watched with an amused smile. Seeing Rimuru suddenly lose his motivation, she reminded him softly, "Hey, White Knight."
They had agreed that he wouldn't call her by name in front of others.
"Don't forget, getting what you want isn't the only reason we're here. This is also your debut as the White Knight..."
"I know." Rimuru nodded. "Even if I've failed to achieve my goal, I promised you..."
He would use this invasion to ignite the undercurrents stirring throughout Germany.
He pointed at Acht and the castle behind him, and spoke softly:
"Go on, my children. I command you in the name of the White Knight—"
"Destroy and slaughter—"
"Tell the world, no matter the cost."
"A new Eighth Ancestor has arrived!"
As soon as Rimuru finished speaking, he lowered his eyes. There was no emotion left in his voice beneath the mask. He raised a hand lightly, and thick fog began to spread. The Dead Apostles surged forward like a tide, charging straight into the army of Homunculi!
Rimuru himself transformed completely into a black phantom. Countless blood-red blades blossomed like flowers within the white castle.
Chapter 38: I Bloom Amid the Slaughter, Just Like...
A cold wind gently stirred the fallen leaves. Shadows swayed like ghosts, letting out eerie wails. Above the dark night, lightning flashed and the clouds gathered. The pressure of the wind over the entire city grew oppressive.
Rimuru floated quietly in the air, watching the Dead Apostles clash with the Homunculi. Puppets shattered, blood sprayed, and severed limbs lay everywhere amid the bloody gale.
Suddenly, as he looked at the earth stained red, magic stirred and raindrops began to fall. They washed over the ground, mingling with the blood... Then the rain grew heavier and heavier—until, with a rumble, lightning struck!
In the torrential downpour, the blood suddenly surged into a roaring flood. It swept toward the people at their feet, flowing past like a river. Rimuru lowered his eyes, coldly raised his azure arm, and clenched his magic-illuminated palm!
"Rumble!"
The entire flood abruptly erupted into layer upon layer of oceanlike curtains, making a deafening crash as they surged forward. One Homunculus after another, unable to escape in time, was swallowed and crushed. The blood slowly gathered together, forming a gigantic crimson flower bud. Blood flowed like a river at its base, and its petals rose like sheets of water, forming lovely ripples whenever raindrops fell.
Acht's pupils contracted at the sight. He frantically ordered all the Homunculi to retreat at once and take refuge inside the castle...
Was this a variation of the Water Flower? Damn it! What kind of lunatic Magus would study this Magecraft—and modify it into such a massive... battlefield spell?!
He should have run much earlier.
Rimuru watched as the retreating Homunculi hurriedly gathered together. He slowly shook his head—
The next moment, the crimson flower began to bloom. Tens of thousands of threads of blood formed a true scarlet storm, sweeping through the entire space!
It pierced the castle and eroded its magical formations. It tore through all the Homunculi and Dead Apostles, while blood spread into every corner of the castle and stained every inch of the barrier... red.
At the edge of the forest, the tremendous bursts of energy scattered the pattering raindrops. The rain fell once more, now mingled with the filthy blood of the Dead Apostles. The Black Knight silently gathered a mass of black flames capable of instantly vaporizing any liquid and held them over Altrouge's head like an umbrella.
Princess of the Black simply rested her cheek on one hand, her scarlet eyes fixed on the blooming blood-red flower. An unfamiliar glint shone in her eyes as she murmured, "His Magecraft is beautiful, isn't it? Especially after it's combined with blood—"
"I don't see the point of something being beautiful for its own sake." The Black Knight couldn't understand. "I'm not particularly skilled with large-scale Magecraft, but even I know that such a flashy display must waste a certain amount of magical energy."
"You don't understand." At that, Princess of the Black suddenly giggled. "What you think is unnecessary is simply the standard someone sets for themself when pursuing perfection. There's nothing wrong with pursuing perfection, and beauty can't be evil."
"That's..."
"His response when a student argued with him." Princess of the Black lowered her eyes and chuckled. "It was the first time I'd heard that kind of theory."
"Interesting, isn't it?"
Before you continue