Chapter 369
Chapter 369
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: EP. 77 – After He Departed (3)
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...He respected him.
"Ed, our little brother. What brings you here?"
"Brother!"
"This fool. I told you to call me Your Majesty, not brother."
"Brother? Your Majesty?"
"Kahaha! This guy's making me laugh."
No, even now, he respected him.
The greatest sovereign of all.
A wise ruler who prioritized the kingdom over himself.
A genius who never shunned innovation and always showed progressive insight.
He was a man who earned the title of War God in a mere human body, and Edmund respected him from the bottom of his heart.
Having witnessed his achievements right before his eyes since childhood, more than anyone else...
Thus.
"...Could I become like that too?"
As his brother, someone who had seen him closer than anyone.
Could he become like his brother, like the War God?
...It wouldn't have been strange for such a thought to take root in Edmund's heart at some point.
Because he respected and admired him more than anyone.
It was only natural to want to emulate that admiration.
So...
'I'm not wrong. I... I'm the brother of the War God!'
What he was doing couldn't possibly be wrong...-.
-Puk!
"Gaaaaah!"
"You're lost in thought. Indulging in pointless fantasies? Or mistaking this for a dream?"
"Aaaah...!"
"Then let me wake you up. This is reality, you vile beast."
Hwaruruk!
"!!!"
Edmund couldn't even scream.
Pain?
No, this wasn't something that could be defined by a single word like that.
It was something far more horrific, far more terrifying and chilling.
"I'm grateful to that knight. How could I forgive you with mere death? You should suffer far more horribly, far more painfully before you go."
Puuk!
The blade piercing between Edmund's brows, and the flames, were drawing something out of him.
It was none other than—
Chwaruruk!
......Edmund's soul.
* * *
'...To think I was such a fool.'
Blake wore a self-mocking sneer.
A bitter smile at his own foolishness.
He thought he was a smart, wise man, but in truth, he was realizing now just how foolish he was.
'How did I not know this?'
He had suspected the royal family.
Twenty years ago, those who killed his wife were clearly no ordinary faction.
A force that targeted the lady of Galahad and broke through her ironclad guards to kill her.
The royal family was undoubtedly among those he should suspect.
But at the time, his father, the War God, was still alive, so his suspicions toward the royals had been somewhat quelled.
He believed no one could escape his father's control.
...But he was wrong.
At the banquet some time ago, when he heard that Edmund was the one who had effectively revived the Blood Cross Crusaders thirty years prior, it hit him like a hammer to the head.
A man who had deceived and betrayed the War God's very eyes.
Family, blood ties—none of that meant they could be trusted.
So after the banquet fell apart, Blake had investigated relentlessly.
He probed all of Edmund's retainers, dug into their backgrounds, and didn't hesitate to capture and extract information from anyone suspicious.
And in just ten days.
In a mere ten days, he learned the truth.
That Edmund had been involved in the death of his beloved wife...!
The Blood Cross Crusaders had undoubtedly killed her directly, but Edmund's indirect involvement was clear.
"—You hid it well. Your loyal retainers were made to die as if from illness or accidents, and you even slaughtered their families to prevent any leaks. Such cruelty... But unfortunately for you, this kingdom has a family that can see souls."
[...Modred!]
"Thanks to helping them the day before, I got their cooperation easily."
[Damn you mystic fools!!]
The vengeful spirits of those unjustly slain.
Blake had been prepared to bow his head to Modred to meet them, but they willingly helped.
- Modred does not forget grudges, but neither do we forget favors.
It was fortunate.
That he had helped them.
Thanks to that.
"I could uncover the truth."
[Ugh!]
"The vengeful spirits said they want you to suffer the most horrific, filthiest death. I intend to keep that promise."
The retainers and their kin killed by Edmund to cover up information had one wish.
Revenge!
And that was...
"Exactly what I want too."
[Blake!!]
"Shut up."
Hwaruruk!
[Aaaah!]
Edmund tried to lunge forward with a voice full of rage, but it was a dream that could never come true.
And for good reason.
Wung-.
"Your soul is now 'bound' to this demonic sword from this moment on. Do you think a wretch like you can resist?"
He was nothing but a [slave] bound from this instant.
The Mystery of Subjugation.
One of the five Mysteries held by Galahad's demonic sword, Lancelot—and one of the most difficult to wield.
Subjugating a superior being was nearly impossible, and its manipulation resembled sorcery so closely that it was rarely used.
If Edmund had achieved a higher rank than average, he might have resisted this Mystery, but it was impossible for him.
His rank, at best...
"Is lower than an ordinary soldier's. Well, you wouldn't have had chances to build rank. No training to grow stronger, no risking your life, no accumulating knowledge or good deeds. A worm like you, surviving only through 'shortcuts'—how could you have any rank?"
[You bastard! What do you know? Do you know how hard I tried? How hard I tried to catch up to him! To my brother! You, blessed by a Mystery's choice, how could you understand my pain...!]
"Pathetic. Calling cheats 'effort.'"
His hatred for Mysteries born from jealousy over not being chosen?
Ridiculous. No, revolting.
If he knew the agonizing years Blake had endured after being chosen by the demonic sword, he wouldn't dare say such things.
Yet his refusal to understand, burning only with envy—it was utterly repulsive.
Wooduduk!
"Enough. More talk is pointless."
But Blake didn't voice his disgust.
There was nothing more meaningless than conversing with a delusional patient.
Blake pressed down on Edmund's soul and body simultaneously, notifying him in a low voice.
"I'm not the least bit curious about your sob story. Why you betrayed the kingdom, why you hate me—it doesn't matter. It's all the same foolish reasons from a wretch like you. You foolish, incompetent king who sullied the Pendragon name."
[!!]
"I plan to give you nothing but 'pain.' In life, and in death, forever."
[W-Wait!]
If anyone else said such words, they might be dismissed as a joke.
But he was the master of the demonic sword.
And the demonic sword.
Wuuuuung-!
Spared no brutality to fulfill its master's command.
Huwuk!!
The Mysteries within the demonic sword reacted to its master's fury and assailed Edmund, who tried to resist.
Wuduk!
[Kuhuhuhuuk!!]
But resistance was impossible for him.
[N-No! I... I'm...!]
Edmund pleaded amid his fading, flickering consciousness.
Hoping this was all a dream, that a saving hand would come soon.
But...
Kwajik! Kwajijik!
Wagwak...!
[Aaaaaah!]
The pain did not release him.
It bound him thoroughly, inflicting even greater torment.
[B-Brother...]
Edmund reached out a hand.
Recalling the one who always lifted him up with a warm touch.
But alas.
Huwuk-.
...No such hand was there to grasp.
Wujijik!
Thus, the one once called king was 'dismantled'.
......Like a lump of meat.
* * *
Hwarurururuk!
The burning castle came into view.
The White Silver Castle, with its glorious history, was ablaze.
"C-Call the mages!"
"Irene! Get Irene Windler here! We need her magic!"
"D-Damn it...!"
The flames wouldn't go out easily.
Even dousing them with water did nothing; they only burned fiercer in real time.
"Aaaah!"
"N-No!"
The flames seemed like hunting dogs.
They picked out and burned only a select few—those who had faithfully carried out King Edmund's orders.
This was no coincidence, and those who recognized the flames' nature clicked their tongues with half-lidded eyes.
"So this is the demonic sword's fire. Terrifying."
"Kahaha! Brother doesn't look terrified at all!"
"It's no lie. It is dangerous."
"I want to test myself against it!"
"Calm down. I haven't lost a reliable brother yet."
Black-haired men.
The lords of the North and their champions were spectating the burning castle.
As if at a festival.
"Looks like we're not the only ones watching."
"Shall I invite them to join?"
"No need."
Besides Magnus, Grand Duke Lionel, and Maximus, several others were watching the inferno, each sensing the others' overwhelming presences.
"That's Tristan over there, and Gawain and Modred. And those... Ho, Bedivere and Percival? It's been a while."
"Not just them. All the great nobles have gathered."
The ancient houses that had opened the Pendragon era alongside the Knight King had all assembled.
Those now called great nobles or grand houses.
Even rising grand houses like Gawain, along with Howard, Cavendish, and Gulliver, had joined.
The title of great noble, held by only twenty-one houses in the kingdom.
They had gathered, and Magnus clicked his tongue at the sight.
"No one's thinking of saving the king."
"Who would save trash like that? He sold out the country and ruined what the War God built. Impressive, really—less than twenty years since the War God passed, and he wrecked it this badly! It'll go down in history as evil karma. Kaha ha ha!"
"Agreed."
In a way, there was one reason these houses had gathered.
Today was the day their [chains] were broken.
The royal house of Pendragon, blessed by the White Silver Dragon and heirs to the great Knight King's blood, was finally crumbling.
And that meant the oath binding the great noble houses to the Knight King was no more.
Even if Edmund survived, Pendragon had first broken the oath, the 'honor of knighthood,' with their treachery and villainy. They no longer needed to bow to the Pendragon name.
It also stirred the ambitions of those who had been content ruling mere provincial castles despite their immense power.
"—The dawn of war."
Those with power and will would rise.
- The age of warlords!
Now, who would claim this continent blessed by Mysteries and fairies?
Indeed.
"Kahahaha! Why don't we declare for the North too? House Lionel as kings! How grand!"
"......"
"...Brother?"
Magnus, who would normally have scolded him by now, did not.
Instead.
"Not a bad idea."
"...Ho."
He was smiling.
"Kings, huh."
—Not a bad ring to it.
Hwaruk-!
In the fireworks of the fire demon, the heroes freed from their chains gleamed with fierce eyes.