An Entrance
The moment Stanasila Urtega appeared, he seized command of the space itself, radiating the suffocating presence of a transcendent being. It was a colossal, brutal, and crushing aura—heavy enough to knock the faint-hearted unconscious on the spot and leave even the strong-willed unable to twitch a finger. Like a deer freezing in sheer terror before a tiger, the mind went stark white, instinctual dread sending shudders straight down to the fingertips.
"...Do you intend to interfere, Duke Stanasila Urtega?"
Yet even against that terrifying pressure, the Third Princess glared back at Urtega without flinching.
"Your Imperial Highness. Imperial blood or not, I cannot tolerate such disgraceful conduct within the walls of the Duke's Castle."
"Ha! Cannot tolerate? What insolent words to direct at royalty!"
"My apologies."
"Phew...!"
Squeezing her eyes shut, she exhaled raggedly to swallow her rage before slowly raising her eyelids once more. But her attempt to quell her temper had evidently failed. Her platinum-white eyes had completely lost their sanity, burning with a furious madness that flared like a beacon heralding inevitable slaughter. Anyone staring into them couldn't help but tense up.
"Your Grace. I don't think talking is gonna work on that one."
"...Mind your tongue before Her Imperial Highness."
"Come on, a bit late to care about manners, isn't it? Anyway, since you're here, you're gonna have to flex some muscle."
"I require an explanation. What exactly is the situation here?"
"Well... to sum it up simply, I turned down the princess's proposal and she's completely pissed. Looking at her, she's hellbent on killing me no matter what."
Was that not enough of an explanation? Urtega furrowed his brow and glared at me.
"Why're you looking at me like that? Just to be clear, I didn't do anything wrong, alright?"
"Haaah..."
Shaking his head, Urtega turned his attention back to the Third Princess.
"Your Imperial Highness. Please, compose yourself."
"Compose myself... Haha. Regrettably, Duke Urtega, I believe we are long past that point."
With a flick of her hand, dozens of assassins—led by Nazareth Nemeth—emerged from all directions to encircle us.
"I offered him chances. Repeatedly. Lord Aljen is the one who rejected them. Therefore, no matter what happens, I must put an end to his life right here."
Her rolling platinum-white gaze shifted to Urtega, bristling with barbed malice and killing intent like a rabid beast lashing out at anything in sight.
"Naturally, the same applies to you, Urtega. Now that you are aware of my ties to Greenjack, there are no exceptions."
"...You intend to kill me as well?"
"Indeed. As for the charge... let us roughly call it lèse-majesté against the imperial family."
Unblinking, she stared like a porcelain doll stripped of all reason.
Hmm... this definitely fell outside the calculations.
Her brakes were completely blown. I had assumed she’d at least show some restraint in front of Urtega, but announcing she’d slaughter everyone? She had gone completely off the deep end. How did she plan to handle the political fallout? Was it because she was still young, or was her wrath just that unhinged? Frankly, I couldn't fathom what went on inside her head. Who could understand a lunatic? Still, one fact remained painfully clear: the scales were tipping against us.
"No matter how I look at it, we're at a disadvantage..." Having coldly evaluated our respective forces, I tapped Urtega on the shoulder with a grim grimace. "...Father. If the Third Princess gets serious, victory isn't guaranteed. Let's pull back for now."
Twitch.
Urtega's brow twitched faintly.
"Are you claiming... that I will suffer defeat?"
"No, I'm not saying you'll definitely lose, but... hey, is this really the time for wounded pride? It was the exact same during the Demon King raid; seriously, it boggles the mind. Duke Urtega, sir. Stop acting so childish. Is that damn pride of yours going to put food on the table?"
Urtega ignored my jab entirely, taking a brazen, provocative step toward the princess.
"...Your Imperial Highness. I apologize, but numbers of this caliber will not suffice to claim my life. So compose yourself, and let us resolve this through discourse."
"Ha! Hahaha! Ah-hahaha!"
Laughing with biting mockery, pure absurdity, and sheer disdain, the Third Princess drew a small object from her robes—a relic shaped like a miniature cube.
That thing...!
I recognized its function instantly.
"Arrogant. Stanasila Urtega."
Wuuuung—!
The next instant, the room began to stretch outward into an endless expanse, a bizarre phenomenon pulling and distorting the fabric of space itself. In mere seconds, the already spacious chamber transformed into a colossal arena spanning the breadth of dozens of athletic fields.
"The Open Birdcage...!"
Though only a rare-grade relic, it was exceptionally effective when pinning down high demons or elusive monsters with escape mechanisms.
"To think you even recognize this. As expected of you, Lord Stanashila Aljen. Then you must also understand that escape is impossible."
With a delicate smirk, she reached into her garments once more. What materialized this time were not weapons, but a myriad of musical instruments. A harp, violin, piano, oboe, timpani, horn... dozens of instruments floated weightlessly through the air, circling around her like celestial bodies.
...She's really going all out.
Breaking into a cold sweat, I mentally checked the Absolute Ring set on my fingers.
"Wendy."
"Yes."
"You don't have a weapon. Can you protect me?"
"...I will do everything in my power."
"Phew... I'm counting on you."
As I sighed and pressed myself close to Wendy, the princess locked eyes with Urtega.
"Duke Urtega. It seems ascending to the realm of a Demi-God has made you overly arrogant. Allow me to shatter that conceit."
All at once, the floating instruments began to play in unison as if liberated from gravity. As though possessed by living wills, they plucked, blew, and struck themselves, weaving a rich, thundering harmony reminiscent of a grand, breathtaking opera. No, it was an opera in its purest form—orchestrated solely for the Third Princess.
I gritted my teeth, ratcheting my vigilance to the absolute limit. Every instinct screamed to activate the Absolute Ring of Taunt immediately, but the timing wasn't right. If I wanted to wipe the enemy out in a single sweep, I had to let the princess unleash her 'voice' first.
Before long, the princess's soaring, piercing soprano joined the orchestral movement. Like a master vocalist utilizing her entire body as an acoustic chamber, her voice resonated exquisitely, defying distance to enthrall every corner of the distorted space. Yet it was far more than an alluring melody. It was a massive blessing empowering her allies while saddling her enemies with a crushing debuff.
"Tsk...!"
Clicking my tongue as strength bled from my limbs, I funneled my focus into the Absolute Ring of Taunt. If simple buffs and debuffs were the end of it, there would be no need for such tension; Urtega could clean up a parlor trick like that on his own. But the true terror of Third Princess Galante von Kerkion Arpe lay in her unique skill.
Forced Awakening.
A ridiculous, game-breaking ability that elevated the combat realm of its targets by an entire tier. That was the state secret the Empire desperately concealed—the true authority of the Third Princess.
"Damn it all, it's a miserable existence being weak...!"
The collective auras of the assassins swelled like overinflated balloons, chaotic and suffocating, bearing down heavily across my flesh. Yet towering above them all was a presence that sent an icy chill straight down the spine: Nazareth Nemeth.
"...Oho, how entertaining."
Even with the situation turning this grim, that lunatic Urtega chuckled, his battle lust flaring. He could likely sense that Nazareth Nemeth's realm had skirted right on the edge of a Demi-God thanks to the Forced Awakening.
If this were the game, our defeat would have been sealed right here. In the game, every scrap of combat prowess was dictated by numbers printed on a screen. But the world I stood in was reality—a place where intangible concepts like 'enlightenment' exerted tangible weight. Unlike game mechanics, the princess's Forced Awakening shouldn't be able to turn a Sword Master into a true, complete Demi-God.
...It had to be that way. Only then could Urtega overwhelm them even if my gambit failed.
Fwhoooosh!
Craaaash!
Fwoooom!
"Are you insane?"
I would have held onto that optimism—if three of the assassins hadn't ignited vibrant Aura Blades at the exact same moment. One assassin hovering on the brink of a Demi-God, and three at the Sword Master tier... To make matters worse, even the foot soldiers were radiating menacing, unhinged intent.
"...Maybe I should've popped the skill before she sang."
A flicker of regret crossed my mind, though it was pointless. Even if I had struck earlier, the princess's buffs and healing would have patched them up in an instant. No, right now was the optimal window.
"Father. I'll light the fireworks, so you handle the cleanup."
Whoosh!
A crimson light erupted from the Absolute Ring of Taunt, permeating the ranks of the assassins in an eyeblink.
"Aaaaaagh!"
"Dieeee!"
"Wh-what is this?!"
"My body isn't obeying...!"
"Damn it!"
Headed by Nazareth Nemeth, dozens of assassins charged forward like a tidal wave of bloodlust. Their panicked expressions made it obvious they were horrified by their own limbs moving against their will.
"Wendy. Hit the dirt."
"Y-Yes...!"
The instant I barked the command, a violet glow enveloped my entire body.
Slick! Shhk! Whirrrr!
Nazareth Nemeth's imperfect Mind Sword—discernible to the naked eye, proving she had not achieved true Demi-God status—alongside three streaking arcs of Aura Blades, and a storm of throwing daggers and hidden weapons blanketed my vision. It was a terrifying onslaught, yet not a single attack could graze my contorted, spatial silhouette.
"...Would've been nice if they just dropped dead from this, honestly."
Muttering under my breath, I shifted my focus to the Absolute Counter Ring. In that exact fraction of a second, an explosive wave of pitch-black energy erupted in all directions, reflecting the full assault back toward its origins with double the kinetic violence. An unavoidable, unblockable counterattack blasted the converged mob of assassins backward like exploding fireworks.
"Kaaagh?!"
"Guh...!"
"Cough...!"
Gruesome ruptures and sprays of crimson blood painted the arena. Every time I triggered the Absolute Ring set, the sheer rush of borrowed supremacy felt intoxicating. But the emotion clawing at my throat right now was pure dread.
Because not a single assassin had died.
Are you kidding me?
I had reflected the attacks of elite assassins at double strength, attacks that had already been inflated by the Third Princess's buffs and Forced Awakening—and yet nobody was dead? Just how absurdly high had their stats been boosted to make them this sturdy?
Suddenly, the hurried cadence of the Third Princess's song shifted, mendicant melodies weaving over the fallen assassins to mend their flesh. While it couldn't match the miraculous divine restoration of a specialized healer like Cecilia, it was disgustingly fast all the same.
"Damn it, we're completely screwed...!"
"Step back, Lord Aljen!"
Wendy, who had managed to snatch a discarded blade from the floor, planted herself before me. Meanwhile, Urtega, unable to rein in his surging battle fever, was already trading ferocious blows with the barely recovered Nazareth Nemeth.
"If this is the extent of your strength, I am sorely disappointed."
BOOOOM! Craaack! Bzzzzzt!
Violent concussions and shockwaves tore through the space like a localized natural disaster.
"Khh-urk?!"
"That is not how one wields the Mind Sword."
"Tsk...!"
"Support Lady Nemeth!"
"Don't get close, drown him in thrown blades!"
Urtega drew the aggression of the Sword Masters and nearby assassins in the process, but unfortunately, one man couldn't hold the attention of the entire room.
"Follow me! Stick to the primary target!"
One Sword Master-tier assassin and roughly twenty operatives broke away, setting their sights squarely on me. It was a force far beyond what an unarmed, battered Wendy could withstand.
"Out of the way!"
"Agh...!"
"Wendy!!"
The moment I saw Wendy sprayed with blood as she was swallowed by an Aura Blade without buying even a fraction of a second, fury tore out of my throat.
"You bastards!"
Just as I prepared to tear away the Silk of Atonement and unleash my demonized left arm, regardless of the consequences—the scent of death crashed over me.
The Aura Blade, sharp enough to cleave through stone, was already poised right between my eyes.
...Damn it.
Was I going to loop here? I didn't know how far back the regression point would fling me, but I prayed it wouldn't be too far. Instead of a flashing reel of memories, my perception of time stretched into eternity as I quietly resigned myself to fate.
"...I feel rather jealous. Getting this furious for a woman other than myself... that is a side of you I have never seen."
KABOOM!
"Guh?!"
The instant I braced for death, a sudden surge of pitch-black Aura Blade slammed into the descending attack, deflecting the lethal strike intended to split my skull.
"It seems I arrived slightly late, Lord Aljen."
A crisp, immaculate maid uniform fluttered, deep navy hair swaying gracefully as she stood between me and the enemy. Glancing over her shoulder, she offered a faint, sensuously teasing smile. Even in this chaotic mess, my heart skipped a traitorous beat.
"...Did you wait for the dramatic timing on purpose?"
"Perish the thought. A mere coincidence."
"Some coincidence. Haaah..."
Sinking onto the floor with an exhausted breath of relief, the tension drained from my limbs, leaving me limp.
"Right... Seeing you here, I take it you cleared your trial safely."
"Indeed. It was truly, truly exhausting, you know?"
"We'll talk about that later. You have potions on you, right?"
"Yes."
Reaching into the Subspace Pouch tied at her waist, she produced an elite potion crafted within the Duke's Castle and handed it over.
"Wendy. You still breathing?"
"Kh, urgh..."
"Good. If you died, I'd never hear the end of it from Cecilia."
Pouring the concoction directly into her gushing wounds, I fed her the remaining drops. As Wendy's ragged gasps steadied and her condition visibly improved, I turned to look at Muriel's dependable back.
Fwip!
Flicking a spark to my cigarette, I took a deep drag and slowly exhaled a thick cloud of smoke.
"Muriel."
"Yes, my lord."
"Show me what you've got."
"As you command."
Igniting twin daggers with a pitch-black Aura Blade, Muriel flashed a confident smile and stepped forward to block the assassins.