The elderly knight, who called himself Ansbach, maintained a calm and composed demeanor. With clear logic and an orderly narrative, he got straight to the point and presented the intelligence he had painstakingly gathered to Queen of the Full Moon, Rennala.
This intelligence included his past contributions and service as a pureblood knight to Mohg and the Mohgwyn Dynasty, as well as a series of events that followed Mohg's secret abduction of the Empyrean Miquella into the depths.
"I believe that Lord Mohg came under the influence of Lord Miquella's enthralling power after that," Ansbach said carefully. "Although the control was not absolute, there's no doubt Lord Mohg's thoughts were heavily impacted, and he was ultimately defeated and killed by an unknown individual."
"Is Miquella still at the location of the Mohgwyn Dynasty?" Rennala asked.
"According to my later investigations, Lord Miquella was no longer there," Ansbach replied. "Or perhaps, Lord Miquella's physical body never existed inside that cocoon to begin with. It was all an illusion that Lord Mohg, under control, was deceived into believing."
"After Lord Mohg's death, the remaining pureblood knights and I abandoned our tasks and rushed back to the Mohgwyn Dynasty," Ansbach continued. "Unfortunately, Lord Mohg's body had already been stolen."
"Stolen? A demigod's corpse? What use could it possibly have?" Rennala asked, puzzled.
"At first, we didn't understand either," Ansbach explained. "But based on documents preserved in Leyndell, which our insiders accessed, we formulated a theory."
"Lord Miquella might be trying to use Lord Mohg's body to create an artificial King," Ansbach said cautiously. "Any Empyrean in the Lands Between who wishes to become a true god must have a corresponding King as an anchor to return from a place known as the Divine Gate back to the Lands Between."
This time, the one most surprised wasn't Rennana, but Ranni, an Empyrean herself. In the past, she had indeed planned to choose a king and ascend to godhood together with him, using the laws of the moon and stars. But the concept of the Divine Gate was entirely new knowledge to her.
"What exactly is the 'Divine Gate'?" Ranni asked. "Why does Miquella need to return from it?"
"We don't know," Ansbach shook his head. "But judging by what's documented in Leyndell's archives, this so-called Divine Gate lies within an ancient land once called the Shadow Realm."
"And now, with the burning of the Erdtree," Rennala added, "that land has reappeared."
"Exactly, Your Majesty the Full Moon Queen," Ansbach nodded. "All we pureblood knights seek is to reclaim Lord Mohg's body. No matter what, that should not be his final fate."
"I understand your point," Rennala said. "But why would Caria help you with this?"
"Lord Miquella's law," Ansbach raised a finger. "Though he is a gentle Empyrean, his law is that of enthrallment—an ability capable of completely overriding individual will. Even a demigod like Lord Mohg could not resist it."
"If Lord Miquella succeeds in becoming a god and spreads his law across the Lands Between," Ansbach said calmly, "then regardless of what kind of rule he implements, the people of this land will no longer have any free will. Even Caria, under the law of stars and moon, will not be spared."
Rennala and Ranni didn't respond immediately, but there was no doubt that what Anpah said was something even they could not refute. If Miquella became a god, it was entirely possible that he could achieve such dominance—this was not new information to Ranni.
However, Ranni had believed that only through the approval of the Two Fingers could one of the three Empyreans become a "New God." Now, it seemed...
"...Caria will send troops," Rennala took a deep breath and decisively responded. "Caria didn't submit to the Golden Order before, and we will not surrender our minds to this 'New God' now."
"...Thank you for your assistance," the old knight Ansbach replied, giving a standard knight's salute without arrogance or servility. "We will deliver all documents related to the Shadow Realm that we find in Leyndell."
The negotiation between Pureblood Knight Ansbach and Queen Rennala of the Full Moon ended swiftly. While the Kingdom of Caria had not yet dispatched troops to the Shadow Realm, it was clear that military mobilization had already begun.
As a nation founded on glintstone sorcery, most of Caria's military forces were composed of mages, along with many warrior-mages. Among them were the elite Carian Knights, only twenty in number.
Although most of the Carian Knights had died during Rennala's mental breakdown, the few remaining were the most elite—among them, the Troll Carian Knight and Dragon Carian Knight.
Under the royal command, these knights began regrouping, leading enchanted soldiers and even some defected Cuckoo Knights and Cuckoo soldiers who had turned to the light.
Aansbach, meanwhile, hurried to contact his fellow pureblood knights and used their insiders in Leyndell to smuggle out even more detailed data on the Shadow Realm for the Carian royal family.
And with such large-scale changes shaking the Kingdom of Caria, it was impossible that Aoko and Touko—immersed in academic research—would remain unaware. The two immediately sought out Ranni.
"Whoa, godhood and all that," Aoko exclaimed. "When we were in the Shadow Realm, we did read about this Divine Gate in the records of Shadow City."
"What?!" Ranni looked at her in shock. "Why didn't you say anything earlier?"
"Well, back then, the place where the Divine Gate was located was still sealed by something called the Shadow Tree," Aoko shrugged, feigning innocence. "As for Miquella wanting to use it to become a god? We had no clue."
"Then what do you know?" Ranni asked seriously.
"The Divine Gate was built in a place called Enir-Ilim," Touko finally spoke. "It's inside the city of the Horned Folk, known as the Tower Town. But all the Horned Folk were slaughtered by Messmer, under Queen Marika's orders."
"You'll join our Carian army in the Shadow Realm," Ranni told the Aozaki sisters. "We'll need guides who understand the area, and Mother's previous expedition force already left with Messmer's troops."
"You do know what we are, right?" Aoko scratched her head, putting on a troubled look. "Just a couple of magic scholars from another world. You want us to go to some 'Divine Tower' and fight a god or something...?"
"Has anyone ever told you your acting sucks?" Ranni interrupted, annoyed. "Whatever it is you want, Caria will give it—just name your price."
With that assurance, Aoko and Touko—who had originally planned to return to the Nasuverse Earth—smiled and eagerly agreed to help their friends in the Lands Between through this unprecedented crisis.