The Eclipsed Order

Chapter 129: Chapter 129: Between Allies and Enemies

The gates of the kingdom were already visible by the time the Hero Party emerged from the forest.

The journey back had been considerably quieter than the journey in. Nobody spoke much, and even the usual sounds of equipment shifting with every step seemed unusually loud in the silence between them.

Lemuel walked at the front, his sword still hanging at his waist.

The weapon had barely left his side since they entered the forest.

Now, however, his hand remained away from its hilt.

There was no need.

They were safe.

At least for the moment.

The guards stationed at the gates recognized them almost immediately.

"The Hero Party!"

One of them stepped forward in surprise.

"Open the gates!"

The heavy gates began to rise.

Several people gathered nearby as word spread quickly through the streets. The sight of the Hero Party returning was enough to draw attention, especially after they had been gone for so long.

Normally, Lemuel would have acknowledged them.

Today, he barely looked at the crowd.

Helena noticed.

She glanced at him before quietly speaking.

"We should report immediately."

"I know."

His answer was short, but there was no confidence in it.

They entered the city.

People continued watching them from the sides of the street, whispering among themselves as the five made their way toward the royal palace.

They had returned alive.

But none of them felt victorious.

The palace guards opened the doors without question.

The Hero Party was led directly into the royal council chamber, where several high-ranking officials were already waiting.

At the center of the room sat the kingdom’s minister of military affairs, along with several senior knights and court mages.

One of them stood as soon as the party entered.

"You’re back."

His eyes moved across the five.

"Report."

Lemuel stopped before the council.

"We reached the deeper regions of the forest and confirmed that the corrupted creatures were not appearing naturally."

The minister nodded.

"Continue."

"They were being drawn toward a specific location."

Helena stepped forward.

"There was a Demon General waiting there."

The room became silent.

One of the knights frowned.

"A Demon General?"

"Yes."

Lemuel’s expression remained serious.

"One of the Four Generals serving the Demon King."

A few officials exchanged glances.

The minister leaned forward.

"You’re certain?"

"Without a doubt."

Lemuel placed his hand on the table.

"We fought him."

There was a brief pause.

"All five of us."

The minister studied his expression.

"And?"

Lemuel didn’t answer immediately.

Mortar lowered his gaze.

Roland remained silent.

Even Helena seemed reluctant to speak.

Finally, Lemuel said:

"We couldn’t defeat him."

The room fell completely silent.

The minister’s expression changed.

"You mean you were forced to retreat?"

"No."

Lemuel shook his head.

"We fought him until we could no longer continue."

The minister stared at him.

The Hero Party had defeated powerful demons before. They had survived battles that would have killed ordinary adventurers several times over.

Hearing that the five of them had been unable to defeat a single opponent was difficult enough.

But Lemuel wasn’t finished.

"We were exhausted before we reached him. The corrupted creatures had been continuously attacking us for hours, and we later discovered that the Demon General had deliberately allowed them to do so."

Helena continued.

"His ability allowed him to absorb energy from living creatures and magical attacks. The more we fought, the stronger his position became."

The court mage’s expression hardened.

"An absorption-type Authority?"

"Something similar."

Helena shook her head.

"It wasn’t ordinary absorption magic. He could take energy directly from the environment, including the residual mana from our own spells."

The minister looked toward the Swordmaster.

"Roland?"

Roland nodded.

"His physical abilities were also considerably beyond what we expected from a Demon General."

He paused.

"I managed to land several direct attacks."

His eyes lowered slightly.

"They barely slowed him down."

That statement caused another silence.

Then the minister asked the question everyone had been waiting for.

"How did you survive?"

Lemuel looked toward the others.

Nobody answered.

The memories of the forest returned immediately.

The demon standing before them.

The pressure of his aura.

Mortar’s shield breaking.

Helena’s magic being consumed.

Roland being forced to his knees.

And then—

That sudden impact.

The appearance of two young women.

The strange barrier.

The battle that followed.

Lemuel finally spoke.

"We were saved."

One of the knights frowned.

"Saved?"

"Yes."

"By whom?"

Lemuel’s expression became complicated.

"Two women."

The minister waited.

"Who were they?"

"We don’t know."

"Adventurers?"

"No."

"Knights?"

"No."

"Then who?"

Lemuel took a breath.

"They belonged to an organization called Eclipse."

Several officials immediately began whispering.

The minister raised a hand, silencing them.

"Eclipse?"

Helena nodded.

"We had heard the name before, but we never knew whether the organization actually existed."

The minister’s eyes narrowed.

"What did they do?"

Lemuel looked directly at him.

"They killed the Demon General."

Nobody spoke.

The silence that followed was far heavier than before.

One of the knights finally broke it.

"You’re saying two people defeated a Demon General after the five of you were unable to?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"We don’t know."

Lemuel’s answer came immediately.

The minister stared at him.

"You don’t know?"

"We couldn’t properly understand their abilities."

Helena stepped in.

"One of them used an ability that appeared to interfere with perception. The Demon General became completely disoriented, despite possessing enough power to overwhelm us."

She hesitated.

"The other..."

Her expression became serious.

"She barely moved."

The minister frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"She simply stood there and watched."

Helena remembered the scene.

The calm expression.

The complete lack of hesitation.

The way the Demon General had begged for his life.

"She wasn’t intimidated by him."

Roland finally spoke.

"Neither of them were."

His voice remained calm.

"They acted as though fighting a Demon General was nothing unusual."

The minister leaned back slowly.

"How old were they?"

Lemuel answered.

"Young."

"How young?"

He paused.

"Young enough that, if I had seen them anywhere else, I wouldn’t have considered them experienced fighters."

The officials exchanged uneasy looks.

The minister’s expression darkened.

"Then we have a problem."

Nobody asked what he meant.

They already understood.

The existence of a secret organization capable of producing fighters strong enough to kill a Demon General was not something the kingdom could simply ignore.

The minister then looked back toward the Hero Party.

"Did they identify themselves?"

"No."

"Did they tell you why they killed the Demon General?"

Lemuel shook his head.

"They only said they had other work to do."

The minister’s brow tightened.

"Other work?"

"Yes."

"What kind of work?"

"We don’t know."

Another silence followed.

Then the minister looked toward Lemuel.

"You understand what this means."

Lemuel nodded.

"Yes."

For the first time since entering the chamber, he looked directly at the people surrounding the table.

"We thought the Demon Kingdom was the greatest threat we had to deal with."

His hand slowly tightened.

"But after what happened in that forest..."

He glanced toward his companions.

"I’m no longer sure that’s the case."

Nobody responded.

Outside the chamber, the kingdom continued as usual.

People walked through the streets.

Merchants shouted their prices.

Children played near the fountains.

None of them knew that, only a few hours earlier, the Hero Party had stood before one of the Demon King’s strongest warriors and nearly lost their lives.

"Either way, we should be prepared."

The minister’s voice broke the silence that had settled over the chamber.

"Whether Eclipse is an ally or an enemy, we cannot simply allow an organization possessing that level of power to operate without knowing what they intend to do."

Several of the officials nodded in agreement.

"They possess extraordinary strength," one of the senior knights added. "Those two women were able to overwhelm a Demon King’s General after the Hero Party had already been pushed to its limits."

"And that’s not the only problem."

The minister’s expression grew heavier.

"The Demon General warned them that an attack on the human kingdoms was only a matter of time."

Lemuel’s eyes narrowed.

"Which means the war we’ve been trying to avoid may no longer be avoidable."

The military commander standing beside the minister slowly nodded.

"Especially with the situation involving Ramwel."

At the mention of the neighboring kingdom, the atmosphere in the chamber became even more serious.

"Yes," another official said. "We’ve already sent a diplomatic envoy to Ramwel, but we’ve received no indication that they intend to withdraw their forces from the border."

"They haven’t formally declared war either," the minister replied.

"Not yet."

The commander folded his arms.

"But their troops continue to gather along the frontier. Whatever their intentions are, they’re preparing for something."

Lemuel listened quietly for a moment before speaking.

"Then wouldn’t it be easier if we received support from Eclipse?"

Several people immediately turned toward him.

"What are you talking about?"

Lemuel remained composed.

"I mean exactly what I said. If those two women alone possess enough power to defeat a Demon General, then having even a small number of Eclipse members assist us during the coming war could change the situation considerably."

Nobody immediately answered.

Lemuel continued.

"We don’t know how many members they have, but judging from what we witnessed, there’s a possibility that those two weren’t even their strongest fighters."

That possibility was precisely what made the room uncomfortable.

The minister leaned back in his chair.

"You have a point."

He paused before continuing.

"But we cannot simply ask an unknown organization to fight alongside our army."

"Why not?"

"Because we don’t know their intentions."

The minister’s gaze hardened.

"They operate without the authority of any kingdom. They conceal their identities, their headquarters, and the extent of their military strength. Even if they’re currently helping civilians, that does not give them the right to operate wherever they please."

Lemuel frowned slightly.

"Helping civilians is illegal?"

"That’s not what I said."

"You said their operations are illegal."

The minister remained silent for a moment.

Lemuel continued.

"They’ve apparently been protecting villages, helping civilians, and now they’ve killed a Demon General. If they’re doing all of that without demanding anything in return, then I don’t see how we can simply treat them as criminals."

"We aren’t treating them as criminals."

"Then what are we treating them as?"

The minister’s expression tightened.

"An unknown power."

Lemuel looked toward him.

"One that happens to be protecting our people."

"That does not make them trustworthy."

"Neither does wearing a uniform."

The room went quiet.

Lemuel’s voice remained calm, but there was a firmness behind it now.

"Forgive me, but are you suggesting that every organization operating under the kingdom’s authority is automatically trustworthy simply because they have permission to do so?"

The minister stared at him.

Lemuel glanced around the chamber.

"We’ve all heard stories about corruption among nobles, knights, and even officials. There are organizations with legal authority that have abused it for their own interests."

He paused.

"So if Eclipse is considered dangerous simply because they operate outside the law, then shouldn’t we also question the people who have the law behind them?"

The minister had no immediate answer.

One of the older officials finally spoke.

"That’s different."

"How?"

The official opened his mouth.

Nothing came out.

Lemuel didn’t press him.

Instead, he turned his attention back toward the minister.

"I’m not saying we should trust Eclipse."

His expression became serious.

"I’m saying we shouldn’t make an enemy out of them simply because we don’t understand them."

Roland, who had remained silent until then, finally spoke.

"I agree."

He looked toward the minister.

"Whatever Eclipse is, they’re not a group of reckless people playing with power."

Helena nodded.

"And they didn’t ask us for anything."

"They didn’t even seem interested in recognition," Elara added quietly.

Lemuel looked toward the minister once more.

"If a war really is approaching, then we may need every ally we can find."

The minister lowered his gaze, thinking.

After several seconds, he finally spoke.

"Perhaps."

He looked toward the other officials.

"But before we approach Eclipse, we need to know exactly what we’re dealing with."

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