Part 1
A few weeks after Ulises's visit to Mermur, the king of Valdheim convened a royal audience to address the matter.
In the throne hall gathered the kingdom's most influential nobles, the high clergy, the three remaining generals, and the regents of the other territories under the crown.
The monarch, as always, carried himself with the air of an arrogant man, clearly annoyed to be there. To him, all of this was nothing more than a waste of time.
"My dear guests…" he began in a lazy drawl, as if the topic wasn't worth his energy. "I wish to discuss the matter of Arkenfel."
At once, the hall fell silent. All eyes turned toward the king.
"As you all know, our military bastion has fallen into the hands of an unknown enemy."
He paused to sip his wine before continuing.
"To be frank… the fall itself doesn't trouble me. That place was nothing but a drain on the treasury. But…" his gaze hardened for the first time, "it is still Valdheim's territory. And that does trouble me."
"General Montero, the floor is yours," the king said, gesturing with his wine cup before taking another sip and slumping back into the throne.
General Ulises Montero rose solemnly, bowing to those present.
"Thank you, Your Majesty. Good afternoon, everyone."
He adjusted his cloak before speaking again, his voice firm.
"As you know, a few weeks ago I traveled with a detachment to verify the words of the heroine Nanami Chiba—apparently the last survivor of Arkenfel's defense."
He paused, letting his gaze sweep across the audience.
"While we lack confirmed information about Junya Mori and Yui Kamishiro, we can presume they are dead."
A murmur spread through the hall like wildfire until the High Pontiff stepped forward with a rasping voice.
"Losing two heroes is hardly the end of the world…"
Ulises met his eyes with grave seriousness.
"You're right, Father Giovanni. To you, they're just numbers. Just like Balliard."
An uneasy silence fell across the chamber. And then Ulises delivered the strike he had prepared.
"But tell me—what would you think if I said that city no longer worships Yoru? They've abandoned the faith of the kingdom… to devote themselves to an entity called Celestia."
"Blasphemy!" Giovanni roared, slamming his staff against the floor. "There is no one left who worships the light!"
"Think what you will, Father," Ulises replied, his voice calm and icy, "but the High Pontiff of that city has them eating from the palm of her hand."
The nobles stirred uneasily, some paling, others exchanging looks of disbelief.
"And that's not all…" Ulises lowered his tone, forcing them to listen. "There is something disturbing about the one who governs Mermur. She calls herself 'The Duchess of Ludbridge.'"
The silence was immediate. None of those present recognized the title or the name. The nobles exchanged puzzled glances, and for the first time, even the king straightened in his throne, intrigued.
"And what is so noteworthy about this woman you mention?" he asked, his curiosity faint beneath a veil of boredom.
"The hero tried to attack her, believing he could reclaim the city by force…" Ulises said gravely. "But she stopped us cold—with nothing more than a snap of her fingers."
A murmur rippled through the hall, swelling quickly into open debate.
"Are the heroes not as strong as they claim?"
"Who is this woman?"
"Zvukograd must be behind this!"
The voices overlapped in growing unease until the king struck the arm of his throne with his palm.
"Silence!" he thundered, and the entire hall obeyed at once.
In a dry tone, he continued:
"Let's not panic. What is the current state of the heroes?"
A blonde woman wearing glasses rose with unhurried composure, a stack of documents in hand. In a clear voice, she began to read—
"In general, they're at Rank A. Some have reached Rank S, and only two have managed to achieve Rank SSS… one of them being Kazuki Hayama."
The murmurs rose again, this time laced with relief and confidence.
Ulises, however, refused to be swept up by such hollow optimism.
"Now do you understand?" His voice rang out, firm, slicing through the air. "This is a threat we must take seriously. No matter how much we train our heroes, there is something we are not seeing."
The king exchanged a glance with the High Pontiff, as if they were resuming a conversation already had in private.
"Thank you for your report, General Montero," the king said dismissively. "We'll take it under consideration."
He leaned back into his throne, adding in a dry tone:
"In any case, the invasion of Zvukograd will proceed. We must secure their territory before clashing with Noria. They say the Demon King rules those lands."
Ulises could feel himself being brushed aside. Against all his military instincts, he raised his voice again.
"Forgive my boldness, Your Majesty… but if we ignore Mist Valley, the demons of Noria may prove to be the least of our concerns. And besides… our heroes are still far too weak."
The king's gaze grew colder. Not only was Ulises contradicting his plan, he was challenging his authority.
"And if they weren't weak…?"
The words came from somewhere among the gathered crowd.
The king's head snapped around.
"Who said that? Speak."
A blond man with glasses and a hunched back rose, wearing a twisted smile. His appearance resembled that of a mad scientist—one of those self-proclaimed "geniuses" that no one could quite explain why they tolerated.
"My name is William Spencer Stein," he said in a voice so unsettling it seemed to crawl into the mind of everyone who heard it.
"Yes, I recall," the king answered with bored disdain. "Head of the scientific division. You were researching methods to enhance our soldiers, weren't you?"
"Precisely, Your Majesty. I was once a researcher in Zvukograd… until their foolish queen had me cast out."
"Yes, yes, fascinating," the king cut him off impatiently. "What is it you want to say, Stein?"
The man began pacing with erratic steps, like a clumsy dance that followed no rhythm.
"The heroes have yet to reach their true potential. Training them to the level of a general would take years."
He paused dramatically.
"Unless…" From his coat he produced a test tube filled with a glowing red liquid. "…we find a way to shatter that limit."
Murmurs rippled across the hall like a spreading wave.
"I present to you: Supernova," he declared with theatrical flourish. "A chemical compound that will rewrite the rules of power."
The king raised an eyebrow.
"So that's what you've been working on? And how do we know it actually works?" he asked with disbelief.
Stein drew the liquid into a crystal syringe and plunged it into his own arm without hesitation.
"What better proof than to test it on myself?" he exclaimed, his tone teetering on the edge of madness.
The compound coursed rapidly through his veins. His mana aura swelled violently, his posture straightened as if decades had been peeled off his body, and his muscles swelled, hardening in seconds.
"The S-01 compound works effectively," he announced, now in a deeper, firmer voice stripped of his earlier hysteria.
"Of course… I'm not a hero. My improvement is nothing compared to what it would grant someone like Hayama—or even General Montero…"
He raised his fist and slammed it against the marble floor. The impact blasted a crater into the stone, scattering dust and fragments as though a catapult had struck the hall.
"Even so… you can see the results."
The onlookers exchanged stunned glances. Just moments ago he had seemed like a frail, hunched old man; now, thanks to his compound, he stood tall like an elite warrior.
"Magnificent!" the king applauded, wearing a satisfied smile. "Lord Stein, prepare as many compounds as you need. You'll have the funds, I assure you."
Everyone celebrated the revelation as if it were a triumph. Everyone except Ulises, who remained silent. To him, it was nothing but madness. Shortcuts like that always demanded a price far higher than anyone was willing to pay.
"On another note," the monarch continued, "General Montero will take charge of the Mist Valley and Mermur affair. I will not assign the Mirash heroes, so they are free to accompany him on his mission."
"Thank you, Your Majesty," Stein said with an exaggerated bow.
Ulises, however, only nodded, concealing his frustration.
The king rose from his throne, followed closely by the High Pontiff, and left the hall without further explanation.
No one in that chamber knew it yet, but soon they would learn—by force—what Ulises feared most: they should never have tampered with powers they did not understand.
Valdheim's days were numbered… and no compound would ever change that fate.