Omen of Destruction (3)
The Jestrad Domain's copper mine was practically managed by the Tekas Trading Company. They handled most of the mining, refining, and distribution.
That said, the Jestrad baronial family didn't just sit idly by collecting passive income.
Because the mine was located deep in the northern Jeden Mountains, all sorts of monsters and ferocious beasts often appeared near it. Protecting the miners from these dangers and keeping the paths safe was a key responsibility of the Jestrad family.
In a forest west of the copper mine, about ten soldiers were engaged in combat.
"They're coming!"
"Hold the line!"
Monstrous beasts charged at the soldiers.
At first glance, they looked like large, ash-gray wolves, but they were Snarols—a kind of monster with unnaturally long fangs and claws.
The Snarol pack surrounded the soldiers and roared.
"Auuuu!"
The soldiers braced behind their shields and shouted back.
"Hold fast!"
"Strike with your spears!"
Sharp claws scraped against the shields. Blades flashed through the air, blood spraying as the beasts screamed, shaking the forest.
"Kyaaah!"
The soldiers cheered.
"One down!"
"Stay alert! There are still plenty left!"
Baros, watching the battle, couldn't help but be impressed.
"Wow, everyone's fighting well."
The Snarols' physical abilities weren't much different from ordinary wolves.
They were classified as monsters because of the deadly poison in their teeth and claws. Even a scratch could paralyze a person, making them extremely dangerous opponents.
"I remember back in the day, just a pack of Snarols like this killed so many people…"
But now, most of the soldiers handled the Snarols with ease.
It wasn't that the soldiers had suddenly become more skilled than before.
"Money really does make a difference."
Thanks to the mine's income, the domain's armed forces had improved significantly.
Before the copper mine existed, even the knights had to mix chain mail and plate armor. Soldiers had to make do with low-grade leather armor—or sometimes none at all—armed only with a spear and shield.
Now, the soldiers all wore chain mail with steel bracers and greaves.
The knights were in full plate armor, including the particularly expensive steel gauntlets.
Even if the Snarols' claws and teeth grazed them, there was little risk of poisoning, so they could fight boldly.
"Die, you beasts!"
"Come on, you bastards! We're not worried about getting bitten anymore!"
"No, we still can't afford to get bitten! Even our armor can be pierced by their fangs!"
Baros chuckled as he watched the soldiers in the thick of battle.
One soldier suddenly shouted urgently.
"Sir Baros!"
A Snarol had charged directly at him.
In an instant, the beast closed the distance, swinging its paw at Baros' head.
Then it happened.
A flash of steel, and the Snarol's head flew through the air instead.
The soldiers' eyes widened in shock.
"What just—?"
"What happened?"
Baros hadn't performed any flashy sword technique. He just shifted his body a step and rotated his shoulder, and somehow his blade was already at the target. The strike was so fast that no one even saw the cutting motion.
Wiping the blood from his blade, Baros bowed politely.
"That was close. Thank you, Uncle Gilliman."
"Ah, um…"
The soldier called Gilliman blinked, dazed, before shaking his head.
"Uncle? You're a knight now, aren't you? Please, call me Sir Baros."
Scratching the back of his head with a sheepish expression, Baros laughed.
"How long have I even been a knight? It'd be weirder for me to call you 'uncle.'"
Recently, Baros had officially been knighted, directly appointed by Lord Karnak using his authority.
There was no opposition whatsoever.
His skills were outstanding, he had done much to protect the domain, and his conduct was exemplary.
Even now, having displayed such astonishing skill without showing any hint of pride, the other soldiers who remembered Baros' childhood could only marvel.
"To be that strong at such a young age and still humble…"
"Is that really the same rogue Baros?"
"People really can change that much."
In truth, his opponents were so weak that defeating them wasn't a big deal—but outwardly, it made no difference.
Meanwhile, Baros efficiently finished off the remaining Snarols.
"Kraaak!"
Finally, the last one let out a death rattle, spraying blood across the ground.
"All done."
The soldiers began cleanup.
The beasts' hides, teeth, and claws could be sold as magical catalysts for a decent price, making their collection a nice side income for the soldiers.
Meanwhile, Tolrale, a senior soldier and Baros' subordinate, approached and saluted.
"Good work, Sir Baros."
"You all worked hard as well."
"Still, this is concerning. Snarols weren't this powerful before."
"Really?"
"They're at least twice as strong as before. Didn't you feel that too, Sir Baros?"
Baros wore a sullen expression.
'How am I supposed to know whether they're stronger or weaker?'
In his previous life, the first time he encountered Snarols was when he and Karnak—freshly learning necromancy—were desperately running for their lives.
Back then, he was just a clueless youth and naturally assumed Snarols were monsters straight out of hell.
The next time he faced Snarols, he was already a Death Knight. Just pointing a finger would make them explode and die.
'The gap is so huge that I can't even tell if these guys are strong or weak.'
Of course, he couldn't say that outright, so he subtly changed the subject.
"I wasn't even allowed to participate in battles like this until recently. I don't have the experience you all do, so I wouldn't know."
"True enough."
Tolrale nodded in agreement and continued.
"The state of the monsters has indeed changed. It's just that Sir Baros is so strong, and the skill of our soldiers has improved, so we can handle them without trouble."
This wasn't limited to northern Yustil Kingdom. Across the continent, monsters and beasts were becoming more frequent, and the dangers were growing by the day.
"So the rumors are true, it seems."
Baros' expression grew serious. He, too, had heard what rumors Tolrale referred to.
"You mean… the goddess' prophecy that the world will be destroyed?"
A few years ago, an event shook all the religious orders across the continent.
The great goddesses who protected the world and safeguarded humanity had issued the same prophecy to all seven orders.
The void opened its mouth and vomited a fate that was not meant to be permitted.
It is darkness that erases the light, death that claims life.
Calamity will come.
False beasts shall gain false power, and the dead shall rise to walk the corrupted land.
The King of Death shall descend, washing the world with blood and tears.
This shall be the herald of destruction.
Clerics who received the prophecy were horrified and secretly alerted the nations of the continent, preparing for the coming calamity.
Sure enough, anomalies began occurring across the land.
Monsters appeared more frequently, necromancers wielding forbidden power emerged, and ordinary people were corrupted, spreading evil across the world.
At first, the existence of the prophecy was hidden to prevent public panic and unrest.
But it became impossible to keep it secret.
As chaos grew, all sorts of rumors spread. Eventually, the seven orders publicly announced the goddess' prophecy:
"At this rate, the world will be destroyed! Fight against the end in the name of the goddess!"
The prophecy of destruction spread rapidly across the continent, and even remote regions like the Jestrad Domain heard of it.
In the Jestrad manor's study, Baros and Karnak sat with their heads together, frowning.
"What is this, my lord? There wasn't any prophecy like this before."
"No, there wasn't."
"And yet, with the copper mine and all, why does it seem like the past keeps changing?"
Karnak shook his head with a serious expression.
"I don't know. There's simply too little information to make any inference."
Baros asked suspiciously,
"...This has nothing to do with you, does it, my lord?"
Calamity is coming? The dead are rising? The King of Death will wash the world in blood and tears? The world is heading toward destruction?
"This… this is basically what we've done, isn't it?"
"You think it looks like that too, huh?"
He hadn't entirely dismissed the thought himself.
"But the timeline doesn't match. We only returned a year ago, after all."
It had been several years since the goddess' prophecy was issued. The exact timing was unknown, but it was certainly long before the two of them had performed their time-space regression.
"I'd say it was roughly four or five years ago."
It coincided roughly with the sudden appearance of the copper mine, which hadn't existed before. Perhaps this was related as well.
"That explains why the Sir Randolph incident went by so easily."
Over the past few years, individuals practicing necromancy had been appearing across the continent.
Not just oppressed commoners or shady criminals. Even noble knights, mages, and occasionally high-ranking aristocrats had been found corrupted, wielding dark powers.
"So I guess the Randolph case seemed like just another ordinary incident to them."
"That's fortunate for us, but…"
Baros asked with a worried expression.
"Shouldn't we look into this? The world is supposed to be ending!"
Even if it wasn't directly related to them, the magnitude of the situation was undeniable.
"What's the point of coming back to live a decent life if the world itself collapses?"
"I'm worried too, but there's nothing we can do for now."
Karnak snapped back sharply.
"What do you want me to do now? Go ask the Seven Goddess Orders who issued the prophecy?"
"But didn't you say that with Chaos Magic, your identity wouldn't be detected?"
"And what would we say if we went? 'We're people who've regressed through time, so we know a little about the future, but now history has changed. Can you explain why?'—How do you think that would go over?"
Baros' shoulders slumped.
"Uh… yeah, that doesn't sound right."
A brief silence followed.
It was broken first by Karnak, speaking quietly.
"I don't think it's a big problem. The goddesses even gave us a warning to prepare for the destruction."
"Exactly. The world isn't going to collapse that easily, right? You, my lord, only succeeded because you quietly built up your strength and pushed things along step by step."
"And even then, how hard we had to work to try and conquer the world… the world wasn't easy."
"Not easy at all. The Three Archmages, the Four Great Martial Kings, even the Dragon Emperor Grateria…"
The former Necromancer King and the former Death Knight Lord glanced at each other and forced smiles.
"They'll manage on their own, right?"
"Of course. There's no way that so-called King of Death is as ruthless as my lord."
It was settled.
Trust the strength of the world!
Humanity will surely overcome the coming calamity!
The great dragon races, the great elves, and… well, all the other great beings will surely combine their strength as well!
So let's just mind our own business and live quietly!
…Though it still felt uneasy.
'Ah, damn, I feel uneasy…'
'If we ignore it, we might end up screwed.'
No matter how much one hides away in their domain, the turmoil of the world is not so easily avoided.
Even the remote Jestrad Barony in the north was affected by the prophecy of destruction.
About a month after the rumor spread, priests from the Church of the Sun Goddess Latiel arrived at the domain requesting cooperation.
"One necromancer, who had been operating secretly in the County of Chad, has been discovered fleeing to your Jestrad Barony. They seem to be hiding somewhere near the Jaden Mountains, so we request the assistance of Baron Karnak."
Karnak agreed without hesitation.
"How could I refuse the service of the goddess?"
The Latiel Church only asked for a few local guides familiar with the surrounding geography.
It would take some effort but allow them to claim much of the credit—there was no reason to refuse.
For Karnak personally, it was also a good opportunity.
'Good. If I can capture that guy, I might be able to find some clues.'