At a private library in the administrative buildings. One that only the imperial family and Headmistress Lux had access too.
"It should be here somewhere..." Evelyn muttered and then swiped across the holographic display sorting the information in the library.
It had been a familiar location.
Evelyn remembered the place that the trial had recreated.
Edelweiss. It had been a tragic Gate outbreak. A place where it was thought to be perfectly safe and thus filled with only defenseless civilians was turned into ashes overnight as monsters emerged.
From what Evelyn remembered, that had been all. It had been an incident that just happened too quickly for any proper response, and so when the Imperial knights arrived along with the Heroes, there were no survivors.
But that had to be a lie. From how Alex had reacted, and from what they all saw there...
"Edelweiss had not been a simple Gate outbreak." Evelyn murmured and continued filtering the information in the library. First by date. Then by subject. Then area...
The name itself brought up only information Evelyn already knew. So she changed her tactics and instead searched around it. News from that general vicinity, around that time period...
Still, as Evelyn did that, she could not help but wonder.
To the public, it had been another simple Gate outbreak. A time where monsters overflowed and caused harm before a proper countermeasure could be mounted. Although tragic, that was routine in this world. Ever since the Skyfall incident, it was just a hazard that came with living.
Or so Evelyn thought. And yet...
'That had been hell itself. Not just a simple Gate outbreak. Not just an ordinary surge of monsters.'
A true dragon that inflicted Dragon Fear. Monsters that were all Rank 5 or above. Streets drenched in blood and riddled with the corpses of Heroes and Imperial knights alike...
Evelyn paused as the memories flickered through her mind once more and she subconsciously murmured. "Just what was that? What we witnessed...?"
'The truth behind this rotten Empire.'
Evelyn flinched and looked around the room with wide eyes.
Nothing. No one.
But Evelyn had clearly heard it.
A sinister voice that sounded all too much like hers. Yet one that was softer, alluring. Almost intoxicating.
"...I must be hearing things." Evelyn shook her head and murmured. "It must just be my anxiousness..."
Just like back in the trial. It had to just be the stress, surely...
Evelyn continued filtering the information and then found the original report for aid from Edelweiss. Dated roughly three years ago, it detailed the sky shattering and monsters pouring out. But...
"Strange." Evelyn murmured and stared at the report again, carefully rereading it. "...There is something missing."
The report was short, as expected. But, if what they witnessed in the Gate was true. If Alex's memories were correct...
Evelyn stood up and then walked over to the shelf where the physical report should be located. And when she did, she saw that there was a small paper book. Not just the single sheet of information that she had read in the holographic display.
"...Was it redacted?"
Evelyn pulled the book out and hesitated.
It had a simple title. 'Report on Edelweiss.'
But the cover... it was riddled with markings. 'For Imperial Use only.' 'Penalty of death if read.' 'Burn if found outside secure location.'
Evelyn had a bad feeling. A sinking feeling in her stomach that told her she would not be able to go back if she opened the report and read its contents. But...
"...This is what happened to my Alex."
Yes.
No matter what ugly truths were revealed... they were ugly truths that her dear Alex had undergone.
And so Evelyn had to accept them, no matter what they were.
Taking a deep breath to compose herself, Evelyn nodded and then opened the cover.
A simple white page with normal printing. The date of the incident, the location, and general background information about Edelweiss itself. How it was a peaceful civilian town for the middle class. A place that Imperial citizens could safely relocate to and raise families.
Reading that, Evelyn's heart ached even more for Alex, considering how the incident must have been so sudden and out of the blue. But she continued.
...And as she continued, Evelyn's stomach twisted by what she read.
...It had not been a simple Gate outbreak. In fact, it had not been a Gate outbreak at all.
"Descent of Demons...?"
Evelyn murmured and instinctively felt a shiver run down her spine.
Stop. She should stop. Knowing more than this would ruin everything.
Evelyn instinctively knew it. That if she read more, everything she knew would be turned upside down.
But she swallowed and persevered.
'I have to understand. To know.'
What had happened to her dear Alex. The events that led him to be so desperate as to throw his life on the line just to defeat the enemy in front of his eyes. What had happened to his lovely sister Betty...
Evelyn needed to find out.
And so she read.
And with every page she read, she only felt growing horror and disgust as her world began to slowly crumble.
There had not just been civilian deaths. Scores of Imperial knights and Heroes had died as well. But their deaths had been silenced and removed from the record, along with any traces of their existence.
For the Imperial knights, they were written off as traitors and executed, their bodies not even left for a proper burial.
For Heroes, their entire families were erased down to the last. Executed or branded as criminals with planted evidence so that they could be 'justly' executed.
Evelyn read the numbers and names listed there in stark black ink. Her hands trembled, but she forced herself to continue.
It had not been arbitrary.
In Edelweiss, a corrosive dark energy had lingered behind in the corpses of those slain by the monsters. Even a few who had been wounded had been struck by that corrosive dark energy as well.
The report deemed this energy 'D-Force.'
Evelyn could only read on in horror as the book clinically discussed the potential benefits and drawbacks of the energy before listing how the 'test subjects' and 'research samples' were disposed of. And the meticulous procedure in how everything would be reported as a simple Gate outbreak while containing all samples of 'D-Force' and witnesses.
'See?'
That sinister and alluring voice again that sounded too much like Evelyn's own voice returned and whispered once more.
'This is the Eternal Empire you know and love. This is what you spent your whole life training for. This is what has been prepared for you to inherit.'
"No..." Evelyn felt the book slip out of her hands and then took a step back, bumping into the shelf behind her. "It... This cannot be. These must be... this must be..."
A lie. A mistake. It had to be.
Evelyn took a breath to compose her self and then bent down to pick up the book again. At the least, she had to finish skimming the report. To gain enough information to cross-reference and verify.
Because surely it was a lie. Surely this was a mistake. The Empire she knew and love... the father who was such a kind Emperor... the brother who loved her so dearly...
It couldn't be... could it?
"Yes." Evelyn reached out to the book with trembling hands and flipped it over. "This must just be some cruel joke..."
The report had flipped to a different page when it fell. A few ahead of where Evelyn had stopped reading.
Evelyn reached out to the page to flip it back. But then she saw it. An all-too-familiar name.
Alexander Smith.
Evelyn froze and slowly shifted her silver eyes over to read the information properly.
===
[Report on survivors]
Number: 1.
Name: Alexander Smith.
A young civilian teenager was found with bloodshot eyes and countless wounds. Holding a monster fang in his right hand and burning his blood as mana, he was taken into treatment before he could be processed by Imperial forces.
There was debate on whether to eliminate the survivor. However, it was determined he lacked traces of D-Force as well as any talent as a mage or a warrior.
Conclusion: Release into civilian life.
Any reports from the survivor will likely be deemed as the delusions or ravings of a young man gone mad from tragedy and despair.
===
Evelyn dropped the book. Her heart shattered. "No... No, no, no. This... it cannot..."
Half-remembered memories and impressions came to mind. Of how Alex had gone to the casino and played the machine that granted winnings when you killed previous Emperors. How he had been so cold towards her initially. How he was always lukewarm about Heroes in class.
Evelyn hadn't thought much of it. She thought that Alex was just the sort to take time to warm up to people. And yet... all this time...
'Look.'
That alluring voice whispered once more.
'Even the one you love with all your heart... They would have killed him. Erased him just for witnessing the Empire's failure. He only lived because he was useless to them. Too weak to crush. Like an ant let free because it was more effort to eliminate than not.'
Evelyn covered her ears and shook her head. "No. No, no, no. This... It cannot be. I... My Empire... everyone... they could not have... not to Alex...!"
Anger. Guilt. Sorrow. Fury. Despair.
Evelyn wanted answers. She wanted to march back to the capital and meet with her brother. To ask if he knew about this D-Force. If he had authorized these trials and experiments.
And she wanted to demand her father explain himself. How he could let so much innocent blood run just to cover the Empire's failures. How, if this was true, it went against everything he taught her and promised her.
But more than that...
Evelyn felt her heart shattering.
Because what she had been willing to give everything for... had hurt the one she loved more than life itself.
'Yes. So... break it then. Embrace the darkness. Accept me.'
Evelyn let out a shaky breath and lowered her arms. "Yes... if this is true. Then the Empire... I should..."