Chapter 39
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: Rebel Subjugation (5)
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"Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it!!"
The Northern Grand Duke bit his nails with anxious eyes.
"How did things end up like this...!"
This was absurd.
Was this really reality?
The name Calderon, which should have shone honorably as the shield of the North and checked the imperial family, had now become that of a mere rebel.
No matter how much he cried out that it was unjust and that the imperial family's claims were false, it was all in vain.
After all, the evidence of the treason the Calderon family had committed so far was too clear, and their slight 'use' of contact with Pandemonium had been completely exposed.
Above all, they had lost all trust simply from the fact of contact with the demon worshippers who denied humanity—Pandemonium. Only a few northern nobles who had already boarded the same ship followed him, weeping and swallowing their bitterness.
But even that seemed to be over now.
Even the few northern nobles who were clearly execution targets were surrendering.
"That lowly bastard...!"
This was all because of that illegitimate child.
He was certain of it.
The Crown Prince? That idiot was definitely not involved. So naturally, the only suspect was Yujin Banus, that illegitimate child who had always nagged at him.
...It was an emotional judgment without any evidence, but it wasn't wrong.
If Yujin were here, wouldn't he mutter something like, 'Even as a romance novel male lead, his survival instincts are decent'?
But—
"Haha! What are you doing here, Grand Duke?"
"You...!"
Greed appeared before the Northern Grand Duke.
Greed smirked as he glanced at the black potion in the Northern Grand Duke's hand.
"You still haven't used that?"
"Shut up...!"
Greed shrugged.
"You're going to have to use it anyway, right? At this rate, you'll be helplessly killed by that Yujin Banus guy?"
"I said shut up...!"
"Hmm? You're making a fuss even when I'm just worried about you."
The Northern Grand Duke twisted his face.
Worried? Had that demon just said he was worried?
"Isn't this all your fault...! If it weren't for you, things wouldn't have come to this—"
"Hahaha! The Grand Duke must have a talent for comedy. That's hilarious. How is this my fault?"
Greed laughed mockingly.
If you're pissed, you shouldn't have cooperated in the first place. Holding hands willingly and then complaining like this was honestly just funny.
Humans are all the same...
Greed sneered at the Northern Grand Duke for a while before suddenly turning to powder and vanishing.
He didn't forget the message: If you want to live even now, use that thing in your hand.
"Tch...! I guess I have no choice but to use this..."
It was said to be a fine elixir that would raise his realm without side effects.
Of course, he couldn't believe that at face value. There was probably a high chance of side effects.
But...
"It's do or die."
There was no turning back now.
On the contrary, he had no choice but to consume it, raise his realm, kill Yujin Banus that illegitimate child, and then overthrow the empire. No matter what side effects there were, the Northern Grand Duke was confident he could control them.
I'm not someone meant to end like this. I must correct everything and be the one exalted in history.
With that, he swallowed the potion.
And—
Whoosh——!!!!
"Hahahahahahahahaha!!!!"
Explosive power surged through his entire body.
He burst into mad laughter at the omnipotence he felt throughout his body.
"I should have done this from the beginning...!!!!"
Whoosh——
A stronger wind than expected blew across the snowfields leading to the Grand Duchy.
"...This is..."
And faintly, demonic energy could be felt amid the blowing wind.
"I sense demonic energy."
Lucia asked back.
"Demonic energy?"
"Yes."
This was definitely demonic energy.
It felt just like when he had sensed demonic beasts corrupted by demonic energy during the hunting festival.
His instincts screamed that something would appear here.
And—
"Those are..."
As expected, lifeforms corrupted by demonic energy appeared. But they weren't demonic beasts.
Nor were they wild animals.
The identity of those corrupted by demonic energy was...
"...Northern knights. Why have they been corrupted by demonic energy...?"
Lucia muttered softly.
What appeared before Yujin’s group and the imperial army were none other than northern knights corrupted by demonic energy. Even people who appeared to be civilians were corrupted by demonic energy.
...All of them had lifeless eyes and looked deranged.
"Is this the Northern Grand Duke's doing?"
Lucia muttered in a disgusted tone.
"That rebel must have completely lost his mind. How could he do this to his own knights and territory's people...?"
In truth, it was one of Greed's pranks... but that fact was no longer important.
What truly mattered was that the knights filling the snowfields before them, along with the occasional soldiers and civilians mixed in, were all corrupted by demonic energy.
Thus, they were no longer human—they were essentially monsters.
That was the fate of humans corrupted by demonic energy. The demonic humans who accepted demonic energy while retaining their reason were the exceptions.
There was no need to urge surrender.
They no longer had the reason to accept it anyway.
Yujin quietly drew his sword while cursing the Northern Grand Duke for his absurd actions.
However, Irene stepped forward to stop him.
"Yujin. Leave this place to us and go ahead first."
"...Irene."
At that moment, demonic energy erupted from afar, stinging his skin.
It wasn't the energy of Greed that he had felt before.
Which meant...
...Something new has emerged.
Irene glanced sideways at the sky visibly darkening with demonic energy.
"If we delay, the damage will be severe. We don't know what will happen to the innocent territory people in the Grand Duchy. So leave this to us, Yujin."
Lucia also subtly linked arms with Yujin, agreeing with Irene.
"That's right. We'll handle this, so go on ahead. We'll clean up quickly and catch up."
"...Are you sure you'll be okay?"
"Of course."
"Yes."
Irene's eyes were resolute.
It was a determination that would not waver.
After exchanging glances for a while, she smiled brightly.
"...The reason I've learned magic until now has all been to stay by your side."
From that first time in the alley, to meet you again after you vanished without a chance for me to even say thank you.
"...Of course, it's a shame I can't go all the way to the Grand Duchy with you... but I'll catch up soon. So I want to help like this at least."
"Hehe. Same for me, Yujin. We're not weak, and neither is the imperial army, so don't worry and go on ahead."
Feeling their sincerity, Yujin nodded instead of replying verbally.
He then patted each of their heads once before leaping high into the air in an instant, charging toward the Grand Duchy where the demonic energy was exploding.
Boom——!!!
Yujin, who had crossed several kilometers in an instant, landed in the capital of the Grand Duchy.
The surroundings were a total mess, as if swept by a typhoon.
And above all,
...It's all demonic energy.
There were no humans here.
...Only demonic humans who had lost their reason existed.
Yujin clicked his tongue softly at the unimaginable devastation and began running toward the Grand Castle at the center of the capital, where the demonic energy was still surging.
"Hahahahahahahahahaha!!!"
The Calderon Grand Duke was laughing as if he had lost his mind. Yujin quietly drew his sword upon seeing it.
Noticing his presence, the Calderon Grand Duke stopped laughing and looked at him.
...His eyes...
They no longer looked human.
In place of the Grand Duke's blue eyes were inverted irises and pupils, resembling a demon's gaze.
To make matters worse, only demonic energy emanated from his body.
As if he had become a demonic human.
"You... you've finally come, Yujin Banus."
"...How did you end up like that?"
"Like this...? Ha. It's all your fault."
—Yes... it's all your fault. So if I just kill you...
The Northern Grand Duke no longer used polite speech as before. It was too late for formalities now that things had gone this far.
Both Yujin and the Northern Grand Duke felt that bone-deep.
"Your territory people and knights have all turned into mindless demonic humans. The answer is obvious, but I'll ask anyway. Was that your doing?"
"Turned into demonic humans...?"
The Northern Grand Duke stared as if hearing nonsense before suddenly realizing something and twisting into a smirk.
"Ha. That guy must have pulled a prank."
"That guy?"
"Doesn't matter now."
Suddenly, the Northern Grand Duke vanished from Yujin's sight. As if he himself were a Sword Master, he had slipped out of Yujin's senses in an instant.
And—
Kaboom——!!!!
Yujin drew his sword and blocked behind him.
Screeech——!!
"...Your realm has risen. No, was it forcibly created?"
"Hahahahaha!!!"
The Northern Grand Duke didn't bother answering.
He planned to kill Yujin here and then seize the empire.
After clashing swords for a while, Yujin suddenly exploded his sword aura.
With a deafening roar, the area collapsed. The Northern Grand Duke, who dodged the attack, landed far away. Yujin swung his sword toward him.
"How about this!!!!"
Suddenly, the ground split, and sharp black ice surged toward Yujin.
Crunch——
"......?"
"Fool! You've fallen for it...!"
But his ankle and legs were now encased in black ice, preventing him from dodging. With no choice, he swung his sword to destroy all the ice.
Shatter——!!!
Crumble——!!
And taking advantage of the moment when his legs were bound by the ice, immobilizing his movement, the Northern Grand Duke swung his sword ferociously.
Bang—!!!
Kaboom——!!!!
Thud——!!!!
Yujin shattered the forcibly binding ice on his legs and exchanged blows, launching slashes.
Due to the sword strikes swung at speeds no ordinary person could follow and the immense auras of the two, the capital was soon reduced to an unrecognizable ruin.
Bang—!!
Bang——!!!
Bang—!!!!
As Yujin clashed swords with the Northern Grand Duke again, destroying several more houses, he thought.
...He occasionally slips my senses, so he's certainly at a level worthy of being called a master of the same class.
But his attack patterns, techniques, and handling of demonic energy all felt somehow clumsy.
As if only the hardware had been forcibly upgraded, but the software couldn't keep up.
...
So that's how it is.
Yujin continuously offset the endlessly sprouting sharp ice and spurting demonic energy while deliberately taking minor hits from small attacks.
Pretending to be struck, he allowed the Northern Grand Duke to approach and lower his guard.
"You're starting to struggle, aren't you, Yujin Banus...! In the end, you're just a mortal compared to me!! Kuhahaha!!"
And finally, seeing Yujin with half his body bound by black ice, the Northern Grand Duke grinned slyly. He then thrust his sword at Yujin's eyes at a speed most wouldn't even perceive.
...Unaware it was a trap to swiftly end his life.
"Die, Yujin Banus...!"
"No, you're the one dying."
Shatter——!!
The Northern Grand Duke's sword, which had approached right before Yujin's black eyes, shattered like glass.
His eyes widened in disbelief at the fragments of the floating blade.
And—
Crunch——!!!
Yujin's sword, enveloped in black sword aura, pierced the Northern Grand Duke's heart. He then detonated the sword aura, shredding his body from within.
Slash—
As he withdrew the sword, the Northern Grand Duke staggered backward. Blood poured from the massive hole near his heart as he knelt on the ground.
His head drooped downward.
Is it over?
For the Grand Duke who had commanded the North and the empire's worst rebel in history, it was an utterly pathetic end.
Step—
Step—
As he approached to finish him off and sever his head for certain,
"Hahahahaha!!!"
Suddenly, the Northern Grand Duke raised his head and burst into mad laughter.
...
No, it's not him.
This was no longer the Northern Grand Duke.
As if someone else had taken over his body, the aura was distinctly different.
...Those inverted eyes, the same yet utterly different, now gazed at Yujin.