Chương 195: Unicorn Overlord (1)

"My father…" Simon choked on his own outrage.

"My father plotted to have Anna murdered?"

"That was the goal of one of our operations, yes," Shabram confirmed as she reviewed her notes. Simon had asked her if his father had any plans concerning Anna, and to his horror, he did.

"The Academy was scheduled to be bombed in a false flag operation to justify a war with Illusea, with Lady Paimon to be counted among the victims so the state could use her as a martyr and radicalize her father against the elven menace." If Balzam Magnos knew about Anna's potential as a host for the Maiden, then his solution was as elegantly simple and cruel as ever: murder her before she became a problem, and milk her death for all it was worth.

"When was it supposed to happen?" Simon dared ask.

"Sometime during your Academy year. According to my notes, you were to survive but hopefully witness the event to ensure you became 'properly motivated' to join the imperial army." Shabram gave him a sympathetic look.

"From what I can see here, the tombstone, flowers, and condolence letters were already prepaid for." Every time. Every single time Simon thought his father couldn't sink any lower, he found a new way to surprise him. It's a constant race to the bottom. Still, did that suggest Helel couldn't escape her seal at all without Anna? Verney had been looking for a vessel Simon assumed to be the reincarnation of Pharis, so only a certain host might be capable of freeing his mistress from the Light Megalith.

He needed to ask the source directly.

"Obviously, His Late Majesty's death will cancel those plans," Shabram added helpfully,"Unless you wish for me to proceed with it—""No," Simon said immediately.

"Cancel those invasion plans too. You'll have to make sure Anna never leaves the Academy or the Berwick Islands. Keep her out of the public spotlight." His experience so far suggested that only a handful of Cobweb operatives, if not Verney alone, could recognize Anna's gifts with a mere glance. She always fell beneath their notice when he didn't bring her to the capital or pointed the organization to her home. She should weather the year and civil war in peace, especially once he dealt with the spiders.

Assaulting the Attic immediately would demand allies and resources I cannot mobilize without openly declaring myself as Overlord, Simon thought as he considered his next steps. It would actually help to have a tangible threat to mobilize the White Unicorn against rather than my person… Still, approaching them without precautions was begging for a fight. He needed a peace offering and an intermediary and protector open-minded enough to listen. Someone the likes of both Alphonse and Satine would listen to.

He could only think of one candidate. Moreover, he would need to lay the groundwork to counter the Oracle's inevitable backstabbing attempt. She had been willing to ally with the Cobweb and risk releasing the Zodiac Fiends rather than give the Overlord an inch. She would no doubt try to assassinate or seal him. Still, he could use that to his advantage to widen the existing wedge between Illusea and the White Unicorn…

Simon thus spent the next few hours more or less repeating the steps that led him to the Sanctuary. He enlisted Eole and Belzemine, then departed early into the night without leaving a trail. The only real differences were that he had avoided spreading knowledge of the Zodiac Fiends across the world after naming Laurent Linconnu as the heir to buy some time, and he intended to keep constant contact with Shabram to direct the empire in his absence.

"A terrifyingly powerful demon is sealed inside Lore's Light Megalith and might escape in the near future," he told his spymistress.

"Since this would be a disaster of worldwide proportions, I intend to parley with the White Unicorn and see how we can resolve this issue."

"Your Majesty might have an advantage, in that being the new Overlord might offset their distrust of your predecessor," Shabram replied with slight skepticism.

"However, securing your throne by seizing the Light Megalith by force might be somewhat easier. Framing Lore for His Late Majesty's murder could mobilize the empire against them." It said something when a spymaster considered a brutal war of annexation considerably easier than diplomacy, but Simon had the advantage of foresight.

"Leave it to me," he reassured her.

"While you may hear some questionable things coming from the west, I assure you I will return once the threat is dealt with. Follow my instructions, keep the empire at peace, and all will be well." Simon was fully prepared to return to Frightwall and rule in his own name should the meeting with Alcyone go wrong, and he took precautions to ensure that he could escape the Sanctuary should things turn ugly.

Should diplomacy prevail, then Shabram would redirect the hunt for Laurent Linconnu towards Vouivre to ensure House Magnos and the dragons remained occupied fighting each other while he focused on handling the Maiden. Leaving the Mana Sword in Louis' hands didn't sit well with him, but forcing him to relinquish the real one without a fight required Simon to reveal himself as Overlord.

Besides, he had the feeling that leaving such a powerful weapon in the hands of the most bloodthirsty of the Magnos siblings would hurt the Oracle's credibility. Simon half expected Eole to give him the cold shoulder when he revealed his true identity as the new Overlord to her during the trip to the nearest mountain, as she did originally, but to his surprise she seemed almost… interested?

"So, if I gather correctly…" Eole cleared her throat.

"You have foreseen that a great evil will rise in a year's time to bring about a Second Doom upon us all, and that you must gather the Noble Heroes again to defeat it?"

"Those who will listen," Simon confirmed.

"The Adventurer reached your Sanctuary a while ago. I hope she will listen to me and introduce me to the Paladin on friendly terms."

"The Overlord and the Paladin fighting side-by-side… that would be unheard of." Eole stared at Simon with appreciation.

"You would abandon your own throne and empire for the greater good?"

"I lack the power to reform my empire without dangerous compromises, and time is of the essence. It simply must be done." Simon raised an eyebrow.

"Does that surprise you?"

"It does," she replied with the kind of warm smile that had made him fall for her.

"In a good way." He could almost see the stars in her eyes. This was exactly the kind of quest that appealed to Eole's idealistic spirit… and that somehow bothered him. Simon had come to know his friend so well that he keenly understood what to say to move her in a particular direction at the start of the reigns, and it felt… wrong, somehow? He was pushing one of his former lovers and truest companions like a boulder down a slope in the hope of damming the river of time.

I'm not lying to or manipulating her, Simon told himself. This is the entire truth. Afterwards, they simply flew up to the Sanctuary and introduced themselves to Vayan, Juno, and the others like they did when Simon first visited the place without mentioning the Overlord part. By a stroke of luck, leaving in the very first hours of the current reign meant the group arrived before Alcyone had the time to visit the Forbidden Keep. This helped save some time.

"So… A Magnos has found their way up here," Alcyone said with heavy suspicion once he was brought to her and the Sanctuary council.

"Did your airship crash like mine, or did you just decide to enslave the one place your family hasn't despoiled yet?" Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"No, I saw this place in my visions and asked Eole to carry me here. I was looking for you, actually."

"Were you hoping to claim my sky pirate bounty?" Alcyone raised an eyebrow.

"I do have one, right? I must have one."

"Endymion has put a price on your head and Crestone, yes," Simon conceded, "but I didn't come for your head, no."

"Then what for?" Simon held his breath. He had considered and abandoned a thousand potential introductions before settling on a very simple solution. Namely, putting on his Class outfit in front of everyone. He cloaked himself in his blackened armor and miasma, the sheer evil pressure radiating from him briefly stunning everyone present, even Eole, who hadn't expected him to be so forward.

"I am Simon Magnos, the Fourth Overlord," he declared as he offered his hands to be handcuffed to an utterly baffled Alcyone.

"I would like to officially join the White Unicorn, redeem myself for my predecessors' sins, and help you save the world from destruction." Audacity excused everything. His stunt ended as Simon expected it to: with Alcyone arresting him on the spot. Simon didn't resist and asked Belzemine to go along with it. He wasn't privy to the Sanctuary leaders' decision on the matter—though Eole was invited to explain herself—but it resulted in them surrendering him to Alcyone's custody.

He was swiftly brought to her Freedom Bird airship, and then secured him in an isolated brig. It was hardly comfortable, and he was under constant watch by the resentful crew, but it was still more comfy than Endymian cells. Eventually, Alcyone arrived to interrogate him, at which point Simon told her basically everything.

"Alright, so, if I understand correctly…" Alcyone gathered her breath.

"Your brother Louis killed your father, the Third Overlord, with the real Mana Sword, which was itself smuggled in by an elf agent disguised as the Merchant. Yet you're the one who ended up with the Overlord Class for a reason you can't explain yourself." When she put it that way, it did sound rather needlessly complicated.

"I'm pretty sure my father gave me the Class because I risked becoming the Paladin otherwise, but I can't really confirm it."

"Uh huh. Of course that's why. Same reason why he framed you by having our last Paladin's assassins pretend you hired them for the deed?"

"My father was a dick."

"That much is true." Unlike everything else, her tone suggested.

"And when you received the Class, you inherited some of the memories and skills of its previous wielders, while also gaining a foresight ability. Using them, you learned that the Zodiac Fiends of legend are actually real and will bring about a Second Doom in a year's time because a huge comet of solid miasma will approach Brimir and break all of their seals. Did I get that right?" Simon began to answer in the same sarcastic tone that Alcyone used at this point. Two could play that game.

"You can ask the one sealed in the keep you were planning to explore to repair your airship, if you find a way to communicate, but he'll most likely just sing a torture song at you. He's a creep."

"Right, right, and the worst of them is sealed inside the Light Megalith. Our culture's most valuable and sacred artifact is actually compromised by an evil angel monster. That's rough."

"You're telling me."

"And of course, the Oracle knows all of that, but doesn't tell us because she hopes these demons will harm Endymion more than us."

"I have no idea what she's plotting, honestly, but that's the least baffling answer I could come up with."

"Uh huh. And Volto joined a demonic cult masquerading as a slave ring and criminal syndicate in the hopes of finding me, because he can't tell where I am and can't unlive without me."

"You have such a beautiful friendship," Simon deadpanned.

"He really, really misses you."

"Of course he does. And to top it all off, that demonic cult is led by Count Verney, a war hero of the White Unicorn, who is actually secretly a criminal mastermind and demonic host."

"It's always the ones you least expect." Alcyone took a deep breath and steepled her fingers.

"What made you think, even for a second, that I would believe any of this bullshit?"

"Because I'm telling you the truth," Simon argued.

"I told you how to fix your airship. You can leave this place and fact-check my tale at any time. Or you can ask one of the kish to ferry you out of the barrier, teleport around to verify what I said, and then come back."

"Yeah, right, so your army can invade this place as soon as I'm gone."

"I could already take this place on my own if I wanted to." Well, he wasn't entirely sure he could defeat Alcyone's crew on his own, but he had a decent chance of doing so with Belzemine at his side.

"Besides, why would I surrender to you rather than straight up attack with my army? The strongest creature on these islands is weaker than my retainer." Alcyone had no answer to that point, which annoyed her.

"Suppose, for the sake of argument, that I believe anything you just said. Why are you here? The real reason?"

"I told you," Simon replied.

"I want to ally with the White Unicorn and save the world from the Zodiac Fiends."

"What, so you can conquer it yourself?" Alcyone scoffed.

"You can't even join the White Unicorn! Opposing you is literally one of its core tenets."

"I know the White Unicorn's vows: to never knowingly harm an innocent, to never violate an adventurer contract, to pay the guild's dues on time, to never wound a fellow guild member without special authorization from the guildmasters, to answer the Paladin's call to arms, and, of course, to never be a friend to the Overlord." After all, Simon had forged his way into one of their guilds once.

"Nothing there explicitly forbids the Overlord from joining your movement."

"Screw you, Lawyerlord! That's violating the spirit of the vow and you know it!"

"Well then, you should inform your legal counsel of their oversight. Besides, I haven't personally harmed anybody, unlike my father and his predecessors."

"Whatever, I'm not letting you make a mockery of the very heroes fighting against your family's oppression," Alcyone replied.

"Frankly, the only reason we haven't executed you yet is the risk of your Class moving on to one of us or one of your bastard siblings."

"You would slay the only Overlord who actually tried to make peace with you?" Simon shrugged.

"I told you everything you need to know. The Second Doom is going to tear the world apart, and the Maiden has already begun to subvert the Light Megalith. We have to stop her." Alcyone scowled.

"Do you have any proof of that?" Simon took the fact she asked for some rather than blowing him off on principle as a good sign.

"Would you allow me to cast a Prayer spell?"

"A… Prayer?" Alcyone blinked in utter disbelief.

"You think there's a god out there that will answer you?"

"Yes." Simon met her gaze." Yours." Alcyone squinted at him, but her curiosity and doubts prevailed over her annoyance.

"Okay, I'll bite." Simon removed his Class outfit and began to repeat the words he had uttered so often.

"Lightstone, burn that which offends thee! Kindling! The glint of doubt began to creep up onto Alcyone's gaze when she saw the holy fire manifesting; a confusion that only grew as Simon then cast Cleanse, Megaheal, and other Prayers.

"How do you explain this?" Simon asked.

"Either the Light truly favors me in spite of my Overlord Class, or the Light Megalith itself is so corrupted it will fulfill an Overlord's Prayers."

"You could simply be deceiving the Light Megalith somehow or… mimic…" Alcyone didn't even finish her sentence, hesitation taking over her heart. She pondered what to do for a moment before rising up.

"You stay here." Simon nodded and watched her leave while locking the brig's door behind him. He spent the next few hours meditating and practicing his miasma control until Alcyone returned at dusk. She looked utterly grim.

"You said Verney is possessed?" She contacted Voltobauta. Simon guessed she had indeed taken his advice and asked a kish to ferry her out of the barrier so she could teleport to her friend's side for a moment.

"Yes, by the Twins of the Zodiac. They're seeking to free the Maiden from her prison by providing her a suitable host."

"The vestals and priestesses he keeps interviewing as wife material?"

"Yes." Simon met her gaze.

"I take it you've started to believe me?"

"I don't, but some details worryingly line up a bit too well, so I'll have to investigate." Alcyone scowled in anger.

"I can't believe Verney's a slaver. A war hero like him?" She shook her head.

"That almost makes the demonic possession sound plausible."

"He and his allies have thoroughly infiltrated the White Unicorn," Simon warned her.

"It's why I came to you rather than directly approach Alphonse in Valne." Alcyone's expression darkened.

"You know who he is."

"Yes, though my family doesn't. Not yet, at least." Simon let out a heavy breath.

"I swear to you I wasn't involved in either his uncle's or master's death. I hoped to clear up this misunderstanding somehow."

"Is that why you brought Firewand with you?" Alcyone inquired with suspicion.

"As a peace offering to Frea?"

"Sort of." While he distrusted anyone working directly for the Oracle, Frea had helped Alphonse try to prevent the Maiden from escaping and seemed to have been in the dark about the Zodiac Fiends in past reigns. He was willing to extend her the benefit of the doubt.

"Agnes is… well, let's just say spending four hundred years as the Overlords' slave did terrible things to her mental state. She'll need a lot of time and support before she can even consider living for herself rather than serving me." Alcyone assessed for a moment, clearly weighing her options before deciding, "Alright." Simon's head perked up.

"Alright?"

"I'm not letting you join the White Unicorn… but I will let you into my crew as a guest. A tightly watched guest." Alcyone moved to the cabin's door and addressed the guard on the other side.

"Ben?"

"Yup, captain?"

"Tell Lizzorc to apply the engine fix as soon as possible. Vacation's over." Alcyone let out a sigh of annoyance.

"We're going home to kick some demon's ass."