Chapter 368: The Knight's Banquet (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 368: The Knight's Banquet (5)
Ten minutes before Kang Hyun-woo, having left the banquet hall, would run into Tristan.
The atmosphere in the hall was electric, heated by the dance between Kang Hyun-woo and Lady Ophelia that had captured everyone's attention.
As alcohol was added to the fervor, the young nobles were busy making passes at one another.
But the expression of Ophelia, the star of the party, was anything but pleased.
“Why does my granddaughter look so unhappy?”
“...I don't know.”
Just moments ago, she had been the center of attention among the young ladies her age. Now, as if that had never happened, she was stuck to the duke's side, pouting.
“Is it because Hyun-woo left?”
“...”
Ophelia remained silent, but the duke knew better than anyone that his granddaughter's silence was an affirmation.
Seeing her looking so downcast, the duke smiled gently.
“Do you like him that much?”
“...It's not like that.”
Ophelia denied it, but her mood had soured the moment Kang Hyun-woo had left the hall.
Knowing this all too well, an amusing thought occurred to the duke.
“Hm? Look over there. It seems Hyun-woo is chatting with a young lady from another family.”
“Wh-where?!!”
A spark ignited in Ophelia's previously listless eyes.
As she frantically glanced around, the duke had to use all his willpower to keep from laughing.
After scouring every corner of the banquet hall for some time, Ophelia saw the duke beside her, head bowed as he stifled his chuckles. Her eyes widened in realization.
“G-Grandfather...!!!”
A merciless assault was immediately unleashed upon the duke.
Thump, thump!
“My apologies, my apologies.”
“I don't care!”
The duke blocked Ophelia's fists with his body while casting a perception-hindering magic.
He had no desire to see cunning gossips slander his granddaughter's adorable behavior as a disgrace.
He was a noble himself, but he couldn't stand the creatures called nobles.
A hatred for one's own kind.
That was the very essence of nobility.
‘...How long has it been since Ophelia smiled so brightly?’
For once, the duke felt it had been a good idea to host a party.
He recalled his granddaughter's face, beaming as she danced with Kang Hyun-woo.
‘It might not be a bad idea to start pushing for a marriage.’
Was it the shock of losing her parents in an unexpected accident?
At some point, Ophelia had stubbornly insisted she would only marry a man stronger than the duke.
At first, he had dismissed it as a childish whim, but Ophelia had gone as far as a hunger strike to make her intentions clear.
The duke had invited Kang Hyun-woo to the ducal mansion and had him meet Ophelia without warning, hoping to break his granddaughter's stubbornness.
He was certain that Kang Hyun-woo possessed the talent to surpass him within a few years, and he believed that would be enough for Ophelia to compromise.
Of course, he wouldn't have done such a thing if Kang Hyun-woo hadn't already been engaged to the Duke of Rutland's only granddaughter.
The last thing the duke wanted was for Ophelia to rush into an engagement.
Fortunately, Kang Hyun-woo had firmly refused the engagement. The duke had been relieved, thinking that a heartbroken Ophelia would drop her stubbornness for a while.
“Haa...”
But now, anyone could see that Ophelia wore the face of a girl in love.
This was no mere extension of her previous stubbornness.
Seeing his granddaughter like this, the duke began to consider it seriously.
What if he took Kang Hyun-woo as his grandson-in-law?
‘...Not bad.’
His relationships with women were somewhat complicated, but he had the ability to back it up, which made it understandable.
In fact, he was far better than other nobles with their sordid perversions.
At the very least, he wouldn't lay a hand on his granddaughter before she came of age.
Moreover, he could be brought into the family as a matrilocal son-in-law, which meant the heavy burden of being the head of the Winchester family wouldn't have to be passed on to his granddaughter.
And that also meant he wouldn't have to be separated from his granddaughter even after she married.
Of course, the Duke of Rutland would raise hell, but since he owed the duke his life from twenty years ago, he wouldn't be able to protest too strongly.
‘The engagement ceremony at the ducal mansion, the wedding at the royal chapel...’
Just as Duke Winchester was smiling in satisfaction, imagining great-grandchildren who hadn't even been born yet...
—Your Grace.
A tense voice echoed in his mind.
Instantly, the duke's eyes grew heavy.
—It's a terrorist attack. Demon worshippers have appeared simultaneously in major cities including London, Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow, and Liverpool, and are indiscriminately attacking citizens. Among them are Van Kruger, the main culprit of the Cairo Terror, and the Noble Killer, who is wanted throughout Europe.
Hearing the informant's report, the duke fell silent for a moment.
“...Grandfather?”
Did she instinctively sense that something was wrong?
Ophelia looked at the duke with anxious eyes.
“Everything will be fine.”
“...”
The duke stroked Ophelia's hair with a benevolent smile.
An ordinary eleven-year-old girl would have tried to stop him from leaving.
But Ophelia did not.
Even though she had lost her parents in an accident, the thought of the duke's death was something she could never even imagine.
The earth may wither in a drought, but the sky, no matter what, will not die.
It was that kind of principle.
“I'll be back soon.”
“...You have to take care of yourself.”
“Yes, thank you.”
Vwoom—
At that moment, a wave of magic power spread out in all directions.
The attention of everyone in the banquet hall focused on the duke.
“I apologize for interrupting the festivities, but I'm afraid the party must end here.”
“What? Your Grace, what do you mean...?" a nearby noble asked in surprise, but the duke continued without answering.
“Those demon-worshipping bastards are causing terror all over England, so I must take my leave. Those who wish to return home quickly, please ask a nearby servant for a carriage.”
“T-Terror...?”
As the duke's words fell, the nobles' faces turned pale in an instant.
For them, who each had their own territory to govern, the word "terror" was like an allergy that their bodies reacted to before their minds could even comprehend it.
“Now, if you'll excuse me.”
“W-Wait a moment, Your Grace! Please, help my territory!!”
“I-I'll pay any amount! Please send mages from the Blue Magic Tower to my domain!!”
“No, my territory first...!!”
The banquet hall descended into pandemonium as the panicked nobles clamored.
The duke ignored them and walked out of the hall.
Someone appeared at his side.
“What's the situation?”
“The Duke of Rutland is dealing with the terrorists centered in London. The Round Table, the Magic Towers, and the Church are coordinating to respond in the other cities.”
“The location of the ringleaders?”
“Both Van Kruger and the Noble Killer have been confirmed to be in London. However, due to some unknown ability, we are having difficulty pinpointing their exact location.”
The duke nodded at his subordinate's report.
There was no more time to hesitate.
—!!!
As Duke Winchester raised his staff, a brilliant radiance burst forth, enveloping his entire body.
Dozens, hundreds of layers of multi-structured circuits activated simultaneously, twisting and distorting the space around him.
Soon, all that remained was an alien scene, as if space itself had been torn apart.
Thud—
In the aftermath of the large-scale spatial magic, a book fell from a bookshelf.
The cover was somewhat faded, but the title was still legible.
「Thieves of the Lair」
It was a children's story about a blue dragon, the ruler of a mountain range, who had his eggs and treasure stolen by humans while he was briefly away.
Gurgle—
Suddenly, a puddle of mud bubbled up from the floor and swallowed the fallen book.
A foul stench, like that of a rotting corpse, filled the room. A decayed, withered arm emerged from the center of the mud puddle.
Then came a face hidden by a mask, a body hunched like a hunchback, and bizarrely short legs, one after another, crawling out of the puddle.
“F-finally... the time... has come...”
A grotesque voice, like fingernails scraping a chalkboard, echoed softly.
Gurgle, gurgle—
Following the grotesque figure, two more silhouettes emerged.
“Ptooey! I got mud in my mouth! Did you do that on purpose, Kargasan!”
“...Is this the Winchester ducal mansion?”
The one who appeared from the mud puddle was Van Kruger, the Mage Slayer who had caused the terror attack in Cairo.
And beside him stood a man in a crow mask.
“Be quiet, Kruger. If you have a complaint, you can make it later.”
“Don't order me around.”
“Is your brain capable of processing only two concepts: orders and requests?”
At the words of the man in the crow mask, Van Kruger unleashed his aura.
—!!
For a moment, their killing intents clashed in mid-air.
A pressure so intense that the formless energy took shape began to crush the space.
But it was only for a moment.
THUD!!
The hunchbacked man, Kargasan, slammed his staff on the floor, stopping them.
“S-stop... Have you... forgotten... that speed... is what's... important... for this p-plan...?”
“...Tsk.”
Van Kruger seemed displeased but said no more.
The Crow Mask also gave a slight nod.
“Still, this is quite impressive. To think you not only disrupted the barriers cast by an archmage over the ducal mansion but also sealed the entrance to Avalon.”
The Winchester ducal mansion was originally protected by hundreds of barriers.
They were protective barriers meant to stop intruders and protect the family and servants.
Depending on the situation, they could also become security barriers to repel invaders.
Of course, those registered as guests were an exception.
“A 'Holy Relic' is certainly in a different league.”
“In... exchange... it's now... junk...”
“Isn't that a small price to pay compared to breaking through the mansion's barriers with our bare hands?”
Kargasan nodded.
“I... will return... now... You two... proceed... as planned...”
“Are you sure you'll be alright? Even for you, facing two dukes alone should be impossible.”
If Duke Winchester was an archmage who had reached the pinnacle, the Duke of Rutland was a monster called the incarnation of Hercules.
Though classified as an S-rank Hunter, he was clearly a monster beyond that category.
“Don't worry... The... organization... has deployed... the Tenth Apostle... to the scene... And if it's... just a matter of... buying time... there's no problem...”
“Well, if you say so.”
The Crow Mask shrugged at Kargasan's words.
“Do not... forget... What's important... is securing... 'it'...”
Gurgle—
With those final words, Kargasan vanished, as if sucked back into the mud.
“Shall we rendezvous with Sir Tristan quickly? No matter how specialized he is in long battles, he won't be able to hold out for long against two monsters.”
“What about humans other than the target?”
“Kill the nobles. Do as you please with the rest.”
“Excellent.”
At the Crow Mask's words, Van Kruger let out a chilling smile and unleashed his killing intent.
“Then, let us begin," the Crow Mask murmured.
Kwwaaaaa!!
At that moment, an immense amount of demonic energy spread like a storm, threatening to engulf the entire mansion.
Behind the mask of the man who had unleashed the power of the demon he had contracted with, green eyes twisted with vile hatred and madness gleamed.
“...Abominable nobles. Every last one of you will rot and fester.”
As the Apostle of Marbas, the Noble Killer, an S-rank villain wanted throughout Europe, began to move.