# Chapter 51: 51
—Long ago, the door to the underworld opened and monsters invaded the earth, marking the beginning of the age of darkness.
The story told a brief summary of the founding of the empire.
When darkness spread across the continent, Dantes Arpend, a royal prince of Cardia when it was still a kingdom, received a divine revelation from the supreme deity, Airum, and set out in search of three brave knights.
Those three knights were the Spear of Light, the Shield of Eternity, and the Sword of Fire.
Radis pointed to the knight who was holding a flaming sword in his hand.
—Is this Alexis Tilrod?
-That's how it is.
Allen smiled widely as he responded, then pointed at the knight holding a shining shield.
—And this is Sir Verad Russell, the predecessor of the Marquis Russell.
It was interesting.
Although those events occurred five hundred years ago, two knights with the surnames Tilrod and Russell joined forces and fought together.
Now, their descendants argued over simple dresses.
Shaking off the wandering thought about dresses, Radis pointed to the other knight.
—And what about this person? What kind of knight was the Spear of Light?
At his question, Allen shrugged.
—Not much is known about the Spear of Light.
—Oh... Is that so?
—Even if there were records, half a millennium has passed. The founding of the empire is now told only through folk tales or songs, so it is not unusual for information to be omitted.
Prince Dantes traveled across the continent with the three knights and fought monsters.
However, an epic journey was always followed by great sacrifices.
The Fire Sword, who was always the first to enter battle, was also the first to fall. And the second one that followed was the Shield of Eternity.
The Spear of Light also disappeared.
—Did he disappear?
—There are many interpretations about that part. Some say he died, but certain literary arts fans say it is a metaphorical expression of his betrayal.
—Aha…
In the illustration, the Spear of Light—the knight—seemed to disappear, leaving the spear behind.
In the foreground, Prince Dantes was bent over as if in despair.
—But throughout their adventures, they managed to expel the monsters from Cardia and restored the territory. The door to the underworld was also sealed, and the monsters retreated to their forest.
The last illustration of the story was a drawing of the territory of Cardia.
The Empire of Cardia, as shown in the illustration, looked like a fried egg with a black yolk in the center.
The blackened part was Monsterwood.
—And so, Prince Dantes proclaimed that no one should go deep into the forest.
Allen closed the book after reading the last part of the story.
—It's a lesson for children.
Deep in the forest.
The extermination squad had a term for that place.
The forbidden region...
Radis smiled bitterly.
If you had read this story before, would you still have gone to that place?
The forbidden region was a place where even the members of the extermination squad, even if they knew the way in Monsterwood, should not approach hastily.
But near the end of his past life, Radis went there.
As if she were being guided by the hand of destiny.
───── •????️• ─────
—Vice-captain!
—…
—The captain went to the capital to receive the seal of a wizard knight. It's true? He should have told you, right, vice-captain? —
When Rusty asked that question, Radis was sharpening his sword on a whetstone.
He sharpened the blade and sprinkled water on it to make sure there was no dust left.
Only after that did he agree.
The knights around him exclaimed.
—I knew it!
—No, but is it true? What's wrong with the Imperial Family?
—The captain became a mana user years ago. It was time.
Behind the sword he held, Radis smiled silently beneath his helmet.
She was happy too.
It was an honest emotion, and for once, he even wanted to hug those rascals from the extermination squad.
Captain Robert came from the Roderick family.
He was so talented that his mere existence threatened his older siblings, so he was kicked out of the house.
However, wherever he went, Robert gave his best.
He made a brilliant contribution as captain of an extermination squad that was in terrible condition, a nominal squad under the command of the empire. Now, he finally got recognition from the world.
Radis was as happy as Robert that he was getting a stamp.
Laszlo, with a face stained with dirt, approached her smiling.
—Vice-captain!
—…
—Won't you be next, vice-captain?
—…?
—The vice-captain is also a mana wielder. They are both very strong! The idiots in the capital won't stand a chance!
When Radis was about to open his lips, Tez came running over.
—Vice captain, we have problems!
Radis stood up and received a note from Tez.
—The imperial inspection team told us to wait until the captain returned, but now they have gone to the forbidden region.
Theirry, who was working on his weapons nearby, stood up the moment he heard the words 'forbidden region'.
—Are those idiots crazy? Why do they go there?
—Vice-captain, what do we do?
—If they seem crazy enough to want to die, let them do it.
While holding the note, Radis's jaw tensed as he clenched his teeth.
The imperial family, which previously showed no interest in hunting monsters, recently began to act suspiciously.
Robert, the captain, received the seal of a wizard knight in recognition of his merits. And now, an investigation team was being sent to examine the state of Monsterwood.
However, those two events coincided.
Robert delayed delivering his seal as long as he could, and the investigation team was dispatched too early, causing things to go wrong.
Since the investigation team entered the forest recklessly, they demanded to be escorted by the extermination squad even without Robert. And they planned to head to the forbidden region.
Even so, Radis firmly rejected the escort mission, judging that it would be too dangerous to go to the forbidden region with the captain absent. They would also have to protect the investigation team.
That marked the beginning of his tragedy.
Valiz