Chapter 32
Chapter 32
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: Rescue
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While Pelai and Krash's battle was raging on.
In the arena, seated in the spot with the best view, Second Prince Siphon Epania was clapping enthusiastically.
"Hahaha! You've really outdone yourself! As expected of the Night Raven!"
Convinced that Krash was truly the Night Raven, Siphon grinned broadly, clearly enjoying the tournament.
Beside him sat Evelask, whom he had forcibly dragged along.
Pulled out by the Second Prince against her will, Evelask chewed her lip, her discomfort plain to see.
She had no desire to be in a place teeming with so many people.
"I've gone out of my way to praise you, and you can't even respond? What kind of manners are these?"
At that moment, Siphon glared at her disapprovingly, his ample belly jiggling as he did.
"Ah, y-yes... I was focused on maneuvering the corpse, Your Highness! It brings me such joy to please you, Second Prince!"
"Haha, that's right. A dog of the imperial family suits that role perfectly."
According to Sigrin's plan, Evelask's heart was supposed to be in the Second Prince's possession.
Her flustered response put him in a good mood.
"Heh heh, I should have had someone fetch some champagne. No spectacle like this is complete without a drink."
Siphon let out a greedy chuckle.
If he could showcase the Night Raven's power here and win over the nobles, the throne would be within his grasp.
As he savored this delightful moment.
Sudden footsteps echoed from the corridor connected to his private box.
"Wh-what are you doing?! This is—!"
"Black Dragon Knights. Stand aside. It's an incident."
"Bl-Black Dragon?!"
Panicked voices of maids and servants rang out from beyond the door.
"What the hell?"
Stirred by the commotion, Siphon turned his bleary eyes lazily backward.
At that instant, the door burst open with a loud bang.
There stood knights clad head to toe in black uniforms.
The Empire's Black Dragon Knights.
Unlike the empire's main forces—the White Dragon, Sky Dragon, and Imperial Dragon Knights—they handled incidents and crimes within the empire.
One reason for their infamous reputation: they never left criminals alive.
Their mere appearance meant a criminal was present.
"What do you think you're doing? Do you even know who's in here?"
Furious, the Second Prince slammed his chair back and stood.
To kick open the door to a room housing imperial royalty? Their gall knew no bounds.
"Second Prince Siphon Epania."
A woman stepped forward slowly, calling his name.
Unlike the others in black uniforms, she wore different attire that accentuated her voluptuous figure.
Siphon was so taken that his jaw slackened for a brief moment.
It was none other than Mary Diana.
Though momentarily captivated by her form, Siphon quickly regained his composure and unleashed his anger.
"How dare you call the Second Prince by name without honorifics! Have you lost your mind?!"
"You are under arrest for the suspected murder of Fourth Princess Sizly Epania."
"Wh-what? Sizly?!"
Mary's declaration left Siphon utterly bewildered.
Why would he kill Sizly?
What reason could there be to murder that foolish tomboy who was good for nothing else?
Yet the Black Dragon Knights advanced to seize him at Mary's command.
Siphon scowled at their expressions.
"Have you all gone mad?! Why the hell would I kill Sizly?!"
"A direct order to have the Fourth Princess killed by the Night Raven was discovered."
"Insane nonsense! I never issued any such order!"
The Black Dragon Knights remained silent.
"Y-you, Evelask! Kill these bastards right now! How dare they try to arrest imperial blood on such ludicrous grounds?!"
"Uh, uh, w-well..."
Evelask glanced around in panic.
She had several thoughts along the lines of "Not yet?"
"Who got murdered?"
A scoffing voice cut through the tension.
As the Black Dragon Knights and Mary froze.
Click-clack—
High-heeled footsteps echoed, and someone emerged through the door the Black Dragon Knights had entered.
Her lustrous blue hair swaying, she wore a seductive smile.
Appearing alongside her attendant Sera Betela, it was none other than Sizly Epania.
Facing the stunned Mary and Black Dragon Knights, she reacted with mock surprise.
"Did you just say I was murdered?"
Sizly patted her arms and body.
Then, tilting her head at the Black Dragon Knights.
"How strange. Sera, was I murdered?"
"No, Your Highness. You're perfectly fine. Not even a hint of an assassin."
"Hmm, Sera says otherwise. But for me to die without either of us noticing? Something's off."
She said this with a slow smile that suddenly dropped.
"Black Dragon Vice-Captain Jencal."
The moment she pointed out one of the knights, Sera vanished from her side.
"Seize him."
Thwack!
"Gahk!?"
A sharp punch echoed roughly, and the vice-captain crumpled.
Sera was originally from the Imperial Dragon Knights, a vice-captain herself.
Superior in skill, he had no chance to react, caught off guard by Sizly's sudden appearance—whom he thought dead.
And he was one of the pawns Mary and Sigrin had planted in the Black Dragons.
'How!?'
Mary maintained a poker face while reeling inwardly.
She couldn't comprehend the situation.
She had killed Sera with her own hands.
And Evelask was supposed to turn the corpse into a puppet to behead Sizly.
Yet both Sizly and Sera stood unharmed.
It was a string of incomprehensible events.
Then, Sizly's eyes met Mary's.
Snerk—
Sizly let out a brief scoff.
Mary realized what it meant.
The Fourth Princess knew everything.
With a genius intellect surpassing all others, that's why Sigrin had tried to eliminate her preemptively.
If she had uncovered the entire plot and acted on it, she would be a massive obstacle moving forward.
Moreover, failure to carry out Sigrin's orders here would be unforgivable.
As a knight serving Sigrin, a lord's command was absolute.
'I have to kill her.'
Mary's eyes flashed.
But not with her own hands.
Then.
'Traitor.'
Whatever trick had revived Sera, it had to be Evelask's doing.
She would use Evelask, who had dared betray Sigrin.
Without hesitation, she crushed the heart in her pocket.
"Urk, ugh?!"
Evelask clutched her chest, eyes widening as Mary imprinted a command on the heart.
"N-no."
Evelask's face drained of color.
Sweat poured down as pain constricted her, control slipping away.
Krash had only prepared Black Hood back then, not activated it.
Without a heart, Mary or Sizly would notice something amiss.
So her heart was still with Mary.
Mary clearly intended to use her to kill Sizly here, then dispose of her afterward.
"Hahk, hak! Kr-Krash!"
She thrashed to break the command.
But she couldn't stop the imprint etching into her heart.
"Kyaaaaaaaah!"
Rumble-rumble-rumble!
Her scream triggered earthquake-like tremors.
As the Black Dragon Knights belatedly drew swords and Siphon panicked, corpses erupted from beneath her feet.
Mary's eyes gleamed.
This would end it.
"Wh-what is this?! Evelask! What are you doing?!"
"Monster! Kill it! Protect the Prince and Princess!"
As the Black Dragon Knights shouted and charged the corpses.
Halt!
The surging corpses froze in place as if petrified.
The knights, mid-swing, stopped too.
"What?"
Confusion slipped from Mary's lips.
Lifting her gaze, she saw Evelask collapsed, collapsed in a heap.
Tears streaming down her face, Evelask realized the pain was gone, her expression slackening.
She had imprinted the command to kill Sizly.
Why had it stopped?
As Mary frantically reached for the heart again.
She belatedly realized her pocket was empty.
'Th-the heart's gone?!'
The heart she had been holding had vanished.
Her eyes bulged in shock at the unforeseen turn.
Her mind raced.
Sizly assassination: failed.
Siphon downfall: failed.
Evelask's heart: lost.
These three linked factors shook her thoughts.
And it triggered her bad habit.
When things went awry, she acted first and thought later.
That habit led straight to her top priority: killing Sizly.
Sera was occupied subduing the Black Dragon vice-captain, leaving Sizly alone.
Even Sera couldn't stop her.
Fragile Sizly stood no chance.
Thud!
Her thrust kick shattered the floor, her form blurring.
Explosive aura poured from her in waves.
The leg strength that earned her the title Strongest Spear pulverized the ground, propelling her forward in an instant.
'Accel.'
Her body accelerated once more.
World-topping speed atop her leg power.
For a moment, the world seemed to crawl to a halt.
Sizly noticed late and tried to dodge, but to Mary, it was slower than a worm wriggling.
Divine Spear
Proving the moniker from her past.
'Die, Sizly Epania.'
Light gathered at her spear tip, thrusting toward Sizly's throat.
Tak!
Claaaaaaang!
A storm-like strike kicked up fierce dust.
Amid the swirling dirt, bewilderment clouded Mary's eyes beneath her whipping black hair.
The spear hadn't felt flesh parting.
The resounding clash was metal on metal.
Mary's eyes wavered.
Though her realm had regressed from her prime, it was the spear that had slain even Masters.
Someone had blocked it right before her.
A boy spewing pitch-black flames from his sword.
The half-lidded-eyed youth was the very corpse Evelask had controlled.
The boy's lips parted slowly.
"Same old simpleton brain as ever."
He sneered fully at Mary before him.
But unlike his relaxed demeanor, his body trembled violently.
Proof he'd strained to block her spear.
As the momentarily rigid Mary recovered her spear for the next thrust.
"What are you waiting for?! Seize her now!"
Sizly's sharp command rang out.
Meanwhile, Sera—Berserk mode activated—charged like lightning.
The Black Dragon Knights followed suit.
Suddenly cornered, Mary bit her lip.
She had messed up.
Even if the plan was exposed, she should have made an escape.
Panic had narrowed her thinking.
Kill them all? Madness.
Even if she did, the empire's blades would hunt her down.
Later, maybe—but at her current level, she'd die by their hands.
'Fleeing...'
Not an option either.
That would bar her from even entering the academy.
She could still talk her way out of this incident.
But fleeing meant permanent exile from the empire and academy.
In the end, she abandoned the fight and dropped her spear with a clatter.
The Black Dragon Knights swiftly bound her.
'Lady Sigrin, Sir Arthur.'
Head hung low, Mary was dragged away by the Black Dragon Knights, grinding her teeth in rage.
'Evelask, Sizly Epania.'
Vowing to kill those two who had thwarted her plans.
'Idiot bitch.'
Krash clicked his tongue at the retreating Mary.
She hadn't pierced his disguise, harboring grudge only toward Evelask.
'Naturally.'
She never suspected Krash had regressed in Arthur's stead.
She had long erased his existence from her mind.
To her, he was just a tool for curses and theft.
"You okay?!"
Sizly shouted at Krash.
Seeing her expression, Krash sighed lightly.
"Fucking hurts."
Krash's arms were a mangled mess.
Even drawing on Extreme Blood Poison Infusion's power, she'd wrecked them just by blocking.
His favored sword was bent too.
True to Divine Spear.
A fitting moniker.
Had she targeted him from the start instead of Sizly, he'd be dead for sure.
He was still far from matching her.
"Exactly! Why pull such a crazy stunt?!"
Sizly steadied her pounding heart while scolding Krash.
"I was wearing the imperial protective necklace anyway!"
Krash belatedly noticed the necklace around Sizly's neck.
So that's what she'd been sneaking around for.
'Always so prepared.'
Though he thought he'd overstepped, Krash lowered his arms.
"As long as you're alive."
Sizly's eyes widened briefly.
"Evelask!"
The moment Krash called her name.
Black liquid rose around Evelask and her feet.
Realizing he meant to leave, Sizly hurriedly shouted.
"Wait, at least let us treat you!"
She knew it.
Lingering here would mean interrogation for both Evelask and Krash.
Yet her mouth moved on its own.
"Don't worry. I'm used to the pain."
But Krash vanished into the black liquid with a crow on his shoulder.
Evelask gone in an instant too, Sizly blinked in stunned silence.
"What kind of bullshit goodbye was that..."
Even her sharp mind couldn't parse those parting words.
He could have said something more fitting for a farewell.
Sizly let out a long sigh and looked up.
Beside her stood Sera, guilt-ridden.
As her attendant, she hadn't shielded her from Mary's spear.
"Sera."
Gazing out the window, Sizly spoke.
"I think it's time I enrolled at Raheln Academy."
"I'll make the preparations."
Though Krash hadn't said it, she knew he was headed there, and she smiled her own smile for the first time in ages.
"He said it hurts, so we should treat him, right?"
With those words, she turned, anticipating their next meeting.
"E-Evelask? Wh-what the hell is going on!?"
Only Second Prince Siphon's bewildered scream echoed alone.