Chapter 55: Retribution (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 55: Retribution (2)
Deep within the Aslan Grand Duchy’s territory, the castle where the eldest son, Damian Aslan, resided was under exceptionally tight security.
Of course, the duchy had no shortage of healthy, capable men, making it easy to mobilize military resources at a moment’s notice. But security was even tighter now, with everyone on high alert.
“What are her movements?”
The “her” in question was his younger sister, who, even now, was watching for an opportunity to slit his throat.
When he posed the question during their regular meeting, one of the retainers glanced nervously at his peers before quickly presenting a document. As Damian scanned it with a stone-cold gaze, the man who had handed him the paper stammered out an explanation.
“A coward’s response. Typical of Liza.”
Considering Damian’s personality, this reaction was only natural.
He was a capable commander and an excellent military officer, but in exact inverse proportion to those traits, he possessed a horrific degree of arrogance and self-righteousness. He was the troublesome type of tyrant whose skills actually backed up his bravado, making him all the more difficult to handle.
“So, what is the plan for the attack?”
At his question, the retainers immediately exchanged anxious glances.
Setting aside his brazen willingness to turn this family feud bloody without a moment’s hesitation, the retainers had a more immediate concern.
“…Young Lord, the Night of the Hunt is nearly upon us. Is this truly wise? If our military forces are dispersed, the main territory will be at risk.”
“Even if the demonic beasts attack, they won’t be able to breach the inner castle.”
“But the civilians in the outer castle—”
The retainer who tried to speak cut himself off immediately.
The expression on Damian’s face made his thoughts crystal clear.
Why should I care about them?
Even if the civilians were attacked, it wasn’t as if all of them would die. To Damian, the lives of commoners held no value beyond that. Whether the people died or lived, he could just replace them once peace returned. They were like livestock—mere numbers to be repopulated.
But if he failed to inherit the title of Grand Duke now, he would never get another chance.
“While Liza is lying low, we have our chance. We will wipe out her entire foundation in one fell swoop.”
“…We obey.”
“Ensure it is carried out flawlessly.”
Just as Damian and his retainers were exchanging these words, someone burst through the office doors in a panic.
It was a soldier covered from head to toe in dust and soot, looking as though he had stepped right off a battlefield.
Damian frowned at the sight.
“…What is the meaning of this disgraceful state? What happened?”
“The territory is under attack!”
“…”
Every face in the room went blank.
An attack? What attack? In the middle of the duchy?
“What in the world are you talking about? An attack? Who would dare?”
“Well, that is…”
The soldier hesitated, looking profoundly embarrassed to say the words.
“…It’s two women and one man.”
“…”
“They are about to breach the inner castle as we speak, Young Lord.”
A dreadful silence fell over the office.
“…So.”
Damian blinked, dumbfounded, barely managing to squeeze the words out.
“You’re telling me the entire duchy is being smashed to pieces by just three people, and the inner castle is about to fall?”
“…”
Unfortunately, the soldier’s silence was a resounding affirmation.
* * *
“Halt, halt, halt! Move and we’ll open fire!”
The soldier shouting while aiming his rifle took a fist-sized rock to the forehead and collapsed on the spot.
Noel had casually kicked a stone from the road, flicking it with impossible speed. The soldier must have felt safe, standing a hundred meters from an enemy with a sword, but for the Empire’s greatest knight, even a pebble was a lethal weapon at that range.
“Raise your shields! Do not let them enter the inner castle, no matter whaaaaat—!”
The squad leader, shouting encouragement to his men, was suddenly launched into the air along with his entire unit. Caught in a fierce tempest of flame summoned by Katya’s Divine Power, they were sent tumbling into the distance.
What was even more absurd was that while pulling off such a feat, she hadn’t incinerated them, but had merely ‘pushed’ them away without causing a single casualty. One couldn’t help but wonder what absurd, master-level control was required to accomplish such a thing.
“Emergency! Emergeeency—!”
Bells clanged in alarm. Desperate screams and shouts echoed from all directions.
And strolling casually through the middle of it all were three people.
Noel, Katya, and Aiden.
“Oh. The powder magazine blew.”
Katya muttered in a flat tone as her flames scattered. The fiery tempest that pushed the soldiers back hadn’t caused any casualties, but by its very nature, a supernatural ability of that attribute was inherently incompatible with explosives.
…Though considering Katya’s personality, there was a very high chance she had done it on purpose.
The explosion was massive enough to rival the Hellfire Bombs he had seen a few times before, and the sound rang loudly in his ears.
People scattered like madmen, fires erupted everywhere, and some were so paralyzed by terror they could only lie on the ground and scream.
It was complete pandemonium. A living hell. The air hung thick with a chaos that defied description.
And yet.
“I’ll rate that a 20. Looked like quite a few got caught in the blast, right?”
“Not a chance. 10 points at best.”
“…Did you win the title of Lionheart by being stubborn? Even if you give that a 10, I still have 5 more points than you.”
“…We haven’t even breached the lord’s castle. The real competition starts then.”
Their casual banter drifted lazily over the backdrop of desperation, shrieks, and chaos. To any onlooker, they would have seemed like rival athletes rating each other’s performance during a match, their composure utterly tranquil.
Hmm.
Well, this was still within reasonable bounds, right? Nobody died, after all.
“…”
…For some reason, it felt like his sense of reality was slowly turning to mush.
Aiden thought bitterly.
Mayer said there was something strange about me, too…
He was aware that his mindset was gradually straying from that of an ordinary person. Mayer had pointed it out once before, hadn’t he? He was becoming desensitized to pain and fear, his plans against his enemies grew bolder, and his mind became colder and sharper.
It wasn’t as if his emotions were dying or he was going insane, but… how to describe it? The speed at which his mind was transforming from that of an ‘ordinary person’ to ‘someone accustomed to crisis’ was simply too fast.
Time-wise, it hadn’t been long since he got involved with Noel, but comparing his current self to the timid commoner he was before meeting her, the difference was already staggering.
There was only one reason he could think of.
…I’ll have to ask the Shrine Maiden when I see her later.
It was highly likely due to the influence of the Outer God attached to him. Nothing else could explain why his personality was changing so rapidly.
Still, at least it was helpful for now.
After all, storming an entire territory with just three people wasn’t something anyone in their right mind would do.
“…By the way, Dame Noel.”
“Yes?”
“You know, for someone who initially asked what on earth I was thinking, you seem to be getting quite into this yourself.”
“…”
Surprisingly, Noel, who had been aghast at first, now seemed to be enjoying herself immensely. Aiden, however, had a good idea why.
“The troop deployment is far too sparse,” Noel said, her eyes narrowing. “It’s clear they had no intention of protecting the people of this domain from the start.”
That was true. Their complete lack of concern for the impending demonic beast attack was evident in their military positioning.
“I can definitely enjoy beating some sense into a man like that.”
“…”
…Well. He was reminded once again that even an exemplary person like her could turn utterly ruthless toward someone who shirked their responsibilities.
“—By the way, Aiden, what have you been doing this whole time?”
Thanks to that…
Even while causing chaos and sending soldiers screaming, Noel still had the presence of mind to observe Aiden and ask the question. Amidst the Pure White Qi bursting from her own body and the streams of Divine Power pouring from Katya, a distinctly different aura of light hovered around Aiden.
“I’m trying a little experiment.”
“An… experiment, you say?”
Noel tilted her head, but for Aiden, it was a matter of utmost seriousness.
I feel like my growth has hit a wall lately.
Thanks to getting thrashed by Mayer in his dreams every night, his combat proficiency was rising faster than expected. His skills, however, had stagnated. He had a mysterious skill called Remnants of the Lord Protector, but it felt like something he could only unlock after Chapter 2 was finished.
In that regard, while Aiden’s greatest advantage was copying skills through affinity, he had another—
— Skill Info
■ Omnipotence [Level 1]
You can combine two or more supernatural abilities to produce a more powerful effect than before.
▶ Currently Discovered Combinations
〓 Guardian’s Flame (Pure White Heart ↔ First Vow)
Combining supernatural abilities involved quite a few conditions.
This is it.
A special ability that others couldn’t even manage—one unique to Aiden, recognized even by the strict Mayer.
He was currently attempting to combine other abilities, but…
…It’s not working as well as I thought.
Divine Power and Qi had somehow combined when he tried it on a whim, but Dharmic Power was stubbornly refusing to mix with anything else. No matter if he pushed Qi or Divine Power into the glowing aura, it refused to budge.
“Hit a roadblock?”
Standing before him, Katya tilted her head and asked. Somewhere in the distance, a sniper who had tried to shoot her was rolling on the ground, screaming as his upper body was scorched by the Divine Power that flared up around her in an instant. What was more amazing was her control; she had adjusted the power so precisely that the man wasn’t severely injured, only having his clothes lightly singed.
While Noel often displayed near-godly mastery over her abilities, Katya sometimes demonstrated a delicate precision that surpassed even Noel’s. After all, the martial path Katya mastered focused on precisely controlling Divine Power rather than fighting with a weapon.
If that was the case… someone so versed in manipulating supernatural energy might be able to offer some help.
“…No. It’s something I’ve done before, but changing the conditions slightly seems to be messing it up.”
“Is that so? How did you do it back then?”
“Pardon?”
“I asked what the situation was when it worked before. How did you succeed then? Couldn’t you just try matching those conditions?”
…Huh?
Aiden blinked, staring at Katya.
When he thought about it, it was an obvious approach, but one he hadn’t considered.
Back then, it was…
It was an urgent situation right before a battle. His supernatural ability had become corrupted when his attempt to communicate with his god to enhance his power went awry.
If he needed to replicate those conditions, then the ability he had to corrupt now was…
— Skill Info
◆ Dharmic Power: Savior’s Oath
※ Unique – Only this character possesses this skill!
First Restriction: Save the world.
Second Restriction: Protect the subjects of the Empire - Protect the helpless.
He narrowed his eyes, staring at the window floating before him.
He couldn’t corrupt the First Restriction right now even if he wanted to. Nothing unfolding here was a big enough event to pose a threat to the world.
That meant he had to focus on the Second Restriction.
Naturally, he had zero intention of corrupting it by harming helpless people. He couldn’t make a mockery of the Lord Protector’s will—entrusted to him—with such a filthy act.
Which meant he needed a slightly different method…
“…”
Protect the helpless. Protect the helpless, huh…
“Hmm…”
Aiden stroked his chin, his gaze turning toward the inner castle where Damian, the young lord of Aslan, was located.
Let’s think.
A way to make progress in Chapter 2 smoother.
A way to beat the crap out of a lazy good-for-nothing who doesn’t intend to protect his own people.
A way to raise Grand Duke Aslan’s affinity as a bonus.
And a way to corrupt the Restriction on his Dharmic Power…
…That guy inside fits the bill perfectly.
There was one. Most definitely.