Chapter 14 Auction House (4)
Auction House (4)
Crash!
That was too close.
Because Adel had pushed Lily aside, if I had been even a fraction slower in deploying the barrier, she could have died.
Even though I was clearly preparing to use magic to protect Adel from Luke, why had she regressed?
Why had she recklessly stepped forward like this?
After a moment's thought, the answer came quickly.
'Lily must have died.'
It seemed that in the previous loop, Lily had shielded Adel for some reason and died.
Did she not think I would protect her?
For some reason, my mood soured, and I frowned slightly as I prepared to cast my spell.
Vrrrm...
"Step back."
At my command, Adel took Lily's hand and retreated. The man—Luke—paid no heed, pouring strength into his sword as he tried to slash through the barrier.
His eyes were hollow.
'He's been consumed by the Brand.'
If so, then this massacre was also the Emperor's doing. Glancing around, most of the dead were individuals who had once made deals with me.
Was this his way of disposing of traitors?
I had expected the Imperial House to act aggressively, but...
I hadn't anticipated it would go this far. Even in the original work, Luke had never carried out a slaughter on this scale.
"Grrrh...!"
The amount of aura pressing against the barrier steadily increased. At the same time, cracks began to spread across its surface.
It was a technique utilizing space magic, yet he was trying to brute-force his way through.
Even rotten, the Emperor's Sword still cuts deep, huh?
In raw aura output alone, he surpassed even a Sword Master. But in this state of lost reason, he wasn't utilizing it—just swinging wildly with sheer force.
'I can subdue him easily.'
"Calculation Deployment."
White energy began gathering in the air. Simultaneously, white magic circles formed before me.
Sensing the danger, Luke lunged at me.
Trying to eliminate me before I could activate my spell?
But that judgment was wrong.
"Pierce."
The biggest reason I favored this magic was its incredibly fast activation speed. After all, in a mage's battle, activation speed was paramount.
A white spear materialized midair and shot forward. Luke rolled to the side to evade, but the spear's trajectory curved mid-flight.
Thunk!
The spear pierced cleanly between the gaps in his armor, embedding itself deep into the wall behind him.
"Ghk—!"
Dragged along by the spear, he slammed into the wall with a pained groan. At the same time, the Brand etched into Luke's hand began glowing brighter.
"Hng..."
"Adel."
"Yes?"
"Leave first. I'll leave the door open."
"Understood."
Adel took Lily's hand and exited the auction house. Once they were gone, I retrieved a glass vial from the air.
Crash!
I let it shatter on the floor. As the glass broke, white smoke began spreading in all directions.
The smoke was Oblivion Incense.
An extract harvested from the Oblivion Whales dwelling in the Mist Forest. Inhaling this smoke caused memory loss, ranging from one hour to a full day.
In other words, it was the perfect tool for cleanup.
"Evan."
At my call, Evan appeared from thin air—a spell utilizing space magic to summon others to my vicinity.
One of the personal spells I had developed.
"You called?"
"Why is it that trouble only arises when you're absent?"
He glanced around, then sighed in response.
"Haah... I wonder the same."
Scratching his head in exasperation, he added,
"Then I'll go check on Madam first."
"Call her 'young lady.'"
"Ah, right. I'll go check on the young lady."
With that, Evan sprinted toward the auction house doors. It was always when he wasn't around that things went wrong.
It could just be coincidence... but who knows?
I'd have to keep an eye on the Duke's residence for a while. There might be another of the Emperor's spies lurking.
As I pondered, a voice echoed from the wall.
"Grrk..."
Visible through the gaps in his armor was a Brand burning crimson at his neck—far more intricate than the one on Allen's.
"...One round wasn't enough, I see."
Muttering to myself, I raised my hand.
I couldn't suppress the Brand on his neck. Unlike Allen's, this one was a special creation of the Emperor's.
So the only option was to subdue him with everything I had.
Vrrrm...
"Calculation Deployment."
White energy gathered in the air, coalescing into three spears.
"Pierce."
Bang!
With a sound like tearing air, the spears shot forth. Luke, aura-wreathed sword in hand, unleashed a massive slash.
The slash and spears collided, canceling each other out. Seizing the opening, he charged at me.
"Of course I prepared for this."
Snap!
A flick of my fingers, and white energy transformed into iron chains, binding Luke's body. They began snapping soon after, but it didn't matter.
"Calculation Deployment."
I'd bought enough time now.
Countless white passageways materialized around him. A dizzying array of snow-white magic circles embroidered the space before my eyes.
This was magic I'd prepared specifically for confronting a Sword Master.
Huuuung...
As mana rapidly drained away, pristine white spears began taking shape before me.
Unlike the weapons I'd conjured earlier, these radiated an overwhelming density of mana.
Gripping the shaft of one spear, I leveled its tip toward him.
"Pierce."
With that brief incantation, I hurled the spear with all my strength.
Thunk.
The spear pierced through Luke's pauldron before vanishing into one of the passageways.
"Ghk—!"
Even as the weapon transfixed his opposite shoulder, he charged toward me without hesitation.
Pre-positioned iron chains manifested anew, coiling around Luke's limbs.
Though their durability left much to be desired, they served adequately for restraint purposes.
Thunk!
"Cough...!"
The spear ricocheted between interconnected passageways, repeatedly impaling Luke's body.
By warping space to create makeshift portals, I'd engineered a theoretically infinite assault vector.
Crude as the technique was, it proved remarkably effective at whittling down an opponent's stamina—even when that opponent was a Sword Master.
'...This wouldn't have worked if Luke hadn't lost his rationality.'
Creeaak—!
Deflecting a spear with his sword, Luke glared at me through labored breaths. The Brand visible between his helmet and armor was gradually weakening.
Huuuung...
When I released the spell, he stood glaring at me, body riddled with wounds. A vivid crimson aura began erupting from Luke's form.
'...Rotten as he is, he's still a Sword Master.'
"Calculation Deployment."
Four immaculate white swords materialized around me.
Simultaneously, all his wounds and injuries began regenerating under the aura's influence—a feat only achievable by Sword Masters of considerable caliber.
"Slash."
"Ugh...!"
Luke dispersed the swords with an aura-powered slash before immediately lunging at me. Within the blink of an eye, his blade nearly reached my face.
Huuung.
The surroundings warped instantaneously. Now visible before me was Luke's completely exposed back. One pre-positioned sword aimed directly at his spine.
"Impale."
With that terse incantation, the sword plunged deep into Luke's back.
"Ghhhaaak—!"
Coughing blood, he collapsed to his knees. Whether from lost rationality or sheer desperation, he'd failed to recognize even basic traps.
Luke gripped the sword blade with his left hand and began applying pressure.
Craaack—!
The white sword fractured before shattering completely. The wound it had inflicted immediately began healing under the crimson aura's influence.
'Brute force methods...'
Yet undeniably effective ones.
"Grrugh..."
Luke glared up at me while attempting to rise. Or more accurately, he tried to rise.
"Ghk—?!"
Barely managing to prop himself up using his sword, he swayed unsteadily before collapsing completely. Had he been relying entirely on the aura's regenerative properties?
No amount of aura-based healing could restore blood already lost.
Not that a martial artist of Sword Master caliber would die from this. He simply wouldn't be moving anytime soon.
Exhaling deeply, I began reclaiming the expended mana.
'Thank the stars he lost his rationality. Who knows how this would've gone otherwise...'
The Emperor's Sword doesn't normally fall this easily.
Especially not Luke—the one regarded as having the highest potential among them all.
But between his lost rationality and inability to properly wield his aura, this outcome became inevitable.
"Sleep now."
A snap of my fingers sent Luke sinking into the earth. Crushed beneath some invisible weight, his pained groans gradually ceased as all movement stopped.
"Whew... That wasn't easy."
This encounter had drained a considerable amount of mana.
In a world where mana potions don't exist, accurately gauging remaining reserves becomes an essential skill.
I'll never understand why HP potions exist but mana potions don't.
It's not like they're persecuting mages or anything.
"Now for cleanup..."
The auctioneer already lay dead—likely struck by debris when Luke crashed down from the ceiling earlier.
Though grotesque, the sight didn't trigger my gag reflex. I've grown accustomed to such scenes.
Doesn't make it any less unpleasant, though.
"Conflagrate."
Flames blossomed in my palm with the incantation.
I set the auction house's far corner alight. A small flame now, but given the wooden ceiling, it would soon grow.
The reason for arson was simple: to make those who inhaled the Oblivion Incense believe their memory loss resulted from smoke inhalation.
After all, such substances often accompany actual arson cases anyway.
No doubt imperial newspapers would blame some anti-noble faction for massacring the aristocracy here.
Whooosh.
Of course, some might burn to death in the process...
But that's no concern of mine. I've never once considered these people human like myself.
Using magic to levitate Luke's unconscious form, I strode leisurely from the burning auction house.