"The Astrology Academy of Celestial Mysticism" — commonly shortened to the Astrology Academy — was one of the public institutions within the Empire.
Zebuldia also had other bodies: the Relic Investigation Institute, which conducted Mana Material–related research including the Treasure Hall and Phantoms; and the Academy of Magical Sciences, which oversaw magic and its technological applications. But the Astrology Academy of Celestial Mysticism was known as something quite distinct from these prestigious institutions.
What the Astrology Academy oversaw was all the arcane mysteries that fell outside the research scope of the Academy of Magical Sciences and the Relic Investigation Institute.
It was one of the oldest institutions in Zebuldia, and simultaneously one of the smallest.
In principle, the institution dealt with all manner of mysteries, but what it primarily studied was, as its name suggested, divination — the art of knowing the future and fate in advance.
Throughout history and across the world, research into foretelling disasters and similar events had been conducted in various places, but most of these arts still relied heavily on individual talent. Unlike magic, no clear theoretical framework had been established.
Most divination arts, unlike magic, did not consume mana. Those who called themselves astrologers largely predicted the future through personal ability and sensibility that could not be judged from the outside. As a result, there were plenty of frauds, too.
There were many who publicly declared that all forms of divination were fake and that no art of knowing the future truly existed. The Astrology Academy's remarkably small scale, despite its long history, was likely because it researched and managed something extremely difficult to evaluate.
Of course, the practitioners and researchers affiliated with the Astrology Academy had been vetted through multi-faceted examination and certified as genuine. The institution survived on its small scale because the techniques it oversaw were ones that Zebuldia could not afford to ignore.
However, it was undeniably true that the Astrology Academy of Celestial Mysticism was regarded as something of a heretic among the Empire's institutions. Those who belonged to it were eccentrics, every last one.
"A catastrophic premonition, is it... At a time like this, when we're swamped with the counter-Fox operation..."
"The Astrology Academy's premonitions never miss, after all. Besides, they manage the 'Tears of Truth' over there too — we can't exactly ignore their warning."
At Franz's words, the commander of the Third Knight Order — responsible for imperial security and summoned to this meeting — gave a shrug.
The Astrology Academy's duties consisted of researching arcane techniques and sharing information obtained through divination. Among these, the sharing of premonitions held special significance within the Empire.
The Astrology Academy rarely issued premonitions. Recently, they had been unable to foresee the assassination attempt on the Emperor, the conflict between the "Abyssal Fire Annihilation" and the Tower of Akasha, or the activation of the Earth Key.
But conversely, this meant that when they did foresee something, it happened one hundred percent of the time.
In Zebuldia, when the Astrology Academy issued a premonition, it was established rule for all the nobles to unite in preparation.
With that in mind, Franz furrowed his brow and let out a sigh.
"But the premonition itself — 'A black shadow covers the Imperial Capital' — doesn't tell us much of anything."
"Judging from the imagery, it doesn't seem like a natural disaster, but..."
The premonitions issued by the Astrology Academy were not necessarily specific. Most astrologers did not actually see visions — they obtained glimpses of the future through some form of abstract imagery.
Even so, this particular premonition was excessively vague.
Franz nodded in agreement with the Third Knight commander's assessment.
"If it were a natural disaster, it wouldn't be limited to the capital. And the likelihood of a pandemic is low."
This premonition told them almost nothing, but the one thing it did have was a limited scope: the Imperial Capital.
If it were a major earthquake, the effects would extend well beyond the capital, making such a prophecy impossible. If it were a plague, there should have been some precursor signs.
Moreover, above all — Thousand Transformations was already in motion.
Whatever was serious enough to make that man set the Fox aside and focus on it had to be connected to the Astrology Academy's premonition. But even for someone like him, dealing with a natural disaster on his own was surely impossible.
Unaware of Franz's thoughts, the Third Knight commander let out a low growl.
"Could it be suggesting sabotage operations by that organization within the capital?"
"...No, that's impossible. The Astrology Academy has never foreseen criminal organization activities, and the scale is different. Besides, if the information from our informant is accurate, the Fox has already withdrawn from the capital."
"I see..."
And moreover — Thousand Transformations had said he didn't have time to bother with the Fox.
The man was reckless and irresponsible, but annoyingly, even Franz — the definitive anti-Thousand Transformations hardliner — had to acknowledge that extraordinary intuition of his.
But no matter how capable he was, you couldn't lean on a single individual over and over. That would amount to abandoning one's duty as an imperial noble.
Franz's responsibility was to protect the Empire. If he couldn't match Thousand Transformations' divine stratagems and ghostly schemes on his own, then he had to surpass them through the strength of an organization. He couldn't keep being blindsided time and again.
But that man — to receive the premonition before Franz, no less. Did he have some inside connection at the Astrology Academy? Or perhaps — there was a possibility that his abilities themselves were close to those of an astrologer.
Come to think of it, that man's eccentricity bore a striking resemblance to the self-important astrologers who postured and preened without rhyme or reason. Not a trace of sanctity, though.
"I'll order the Knight Order to strengthen patrols within the capital. But we're already short-handed as it is. We need to narrow down the timing and content at least..."
The Third Knight commander wore an expression like he was chewing on a bitter bug.
Over the past few months, incident after incident had shaken the Imperial Capital — starting with the conflict between the Tower of Akasha and the Demon Staff, and continuing all the way through the Crimson Dragon's assault. They had already been on heightened alert, and now they were being told to prepare for a disaster of unknown timing and nature. No wonder his head ached. Fending off an attack didn't resolve anything — the fact that the capital had been struck in the first place was the Knight Order's failing.
The Third Knight commander was a renowned warrior of formidable strength, but his face clearly showed fatigue. It even seemed as though his white hair had increased.
"We have no choice — I'll have to borrow people from the Sword Saint again... It's not ideal to keep doing that, but we simply don't have enough hands with regular members alone. And we can't exactly summon other houses' knight orders to defend the capital..."
Thorn Rowell, the Sword Saint — the most powerful swordsman in the Zebuldia Empire — was on intimate terms with the Empire.
He had repeatedly lent personnel for Knight Order training, and numerous disciples of his served in the various Knight Orders. He had once been notorious for various things, but he had since matured as a person, and there was not a single imperial noble who did not acknowledge him.
At that moment, accompanied by a knock, a subordinate who had been dispatched to investigate returned.
"Commander, we've gathered past precedents from the Astrology Academy and the Imperial Library."
"Well done. Honestly, if the Astrology Academy's practitioners would just give us more detailed premonitions, we wouldn't have to go through all this trouble..."
There were no incompetents in Zebuldia's knight orders. Under the Emperor, who valued substance and strength, generations of work had gone into improving operational efficiency.
The Astrology Academy perceived the future through vague visions, but all past premonitions and the events that actually occurred had been compiled. If similar cases could be found, the contents of this prophecy could be inferred.
If you didn't know something, there were still ways to figure it out. This was precisely the strength of a nation's accumulated history — something even Thousand Transformations could not replicate.
At Franz's urging, the subordinate began his report in a matter-of-fact tone.
"I'll prepare a full report later, but — this occurred outside of Zebuldia — it appears that a premonition of a 'black shadow' was issued in another country in the past. At that time, an extremely powerful curse was unleashed over a wide area, resulting in tens of thousands of casualties."
A curse. Tens of thousands of casualties. At these unexpected words, Franz's eyes went wide.
He turned the words over in his mind. Looking closely, a faint trace of doubt was visible on the face of the subordinate delivering the report.
The Third Knight commander had been frowning, but soon spoke in a voice that was practically a growl.
"An emergency situation, they say... But before that, it's a rather hard-to-believe story. I can't imagine curse magic killing that many people, whether human or Monster."
Franz agreed with this assessment.
Curse magic was a type of spell triggered by powerful emotions. It was primarily known for acting upon humans and living creatures, and it was indeed a fearsome art that could be used for assassination — but it was not suited for killing large numbers of people.
The key to using curse magic to harm others was the emotion of deep hatred. To kill tens of thousands of people, one would need grudge energy on a corresponding scale — something beyond the capability of even a moderately skilled curse mage.
Above all, if the goal was simply to kill large numbers of people, there were far more straightforward methods than curse magic.
"What did that country do?"
"...They desecrated the tomb of an ancient mage."
"The resentment of the dead, then. Well, that figures."
Stories of people being cursed to death for ransacking mages' tombs had been common in the past. The emotions held by the living softened with the passage of time, but curses left by the dead did not fade and tended to grow ever more powerful.
But this likely had nothing to do with the current premonition. Tomb-robbing had long been taboo, and more importantly, the tombs of mages powerful enough to leave behind such potent curses had been plundered long ago. At the very least, there were none remaining within the country.
The Third Knight commander rose to his feet. Franz followed suit.
"Let's investigate whether any signs of curse activity have been detected, just to be safe. And continue confirming whether similar premonitions have emerged from other causes."
"If anything comes up, contact us immediately. I'll dispatch people from the Zeroth Knight Order as well — His Majesty would surely want that."
He clasped hands firmly with the Third Knight commander.
There was much to consider. It seemed impossible at first glance, but if a curse truly capable of killing tens of thousands was indeed underway, it had to be stopped at all costs.
Contact the Academy of Magical Sciences to discuss countermeasures — have the Astrology Academy accelerate their detailed analysis — notify His Majesty as well.
And for good measure, he should probably check with Thousand Transformations too. The man would likely try to brush it off again, but that was that. For the sake of the Empire, Franz would endure with a smile.
"Commander Franz — it appears that a disciple of the Sword Saint has been possessed by the curse of a demonic sword and gone on a rampage."
"What... did you say?"
§ § § Peace and quiet really was the best. Come to think of it, it might have been quite a while since he and Lucia had spent time together like this, just the two of them.
He was usually free, but his capable sister was busy with one thing or another.
He stopped eating and looked at Lucia across the table.
"I've got a feeling something good is going to happen today."
"Brother... Has anything you've said like that ever actually come true?"
Lucia spoke in her usual displeased tone, her words as cold as ever.