Chapter 102
In the midst of clashing head-on with Gula, I sensed a massive aura heading straight for this spot. Who in this place could harbor such a monstrous energy? I instinctively felt him charging toward us and deliberately dragged out the duel with Gula. Honestly, if I'd pushed myself, I could have ended the bastard right then and there at my level—but the one who'd suffer the most stress from this incident wasn't anyone else but the Grand Duke, so I focused on neutralizing him instead.
Luckily, my final strike pierced his tough hide, punching a massive hole in his gut. He couldn't muster any more strength after that.
"Perfect timing. I've got him ready for you."
"This the one?"
The Grand Duke didn't give a damn about his disheveled hair or his wrecked clothes. He came straight at me with questions. It was a curt reply, but anyone picking up on the emotions packed into it wouldn't have dared meet his eyes, let alone answer him. The barrage of killing intent stabbing through me like needles was almost too much even for me to handle.
Normally, the Grand Duke could control that level of bloodlust with ease, but right now, it seemed his overflowing murderous urge had gotten the better of him.
"...Sorry about that."
"No worries. I get it."
Thankfully, he noticed his slip at my reaction and reined in the killing intent. Only then did I feel like I could breathe easy again.
"As you asked, this is the guy who tried to kidnap Lady Prazia. Well, to be precise, someone higher up commissioned it, but he accepted the job and acted on it."
The root cause of this war—the one who dispatched Gula to abduct Prazia Auros—was no doubt the Heaven God Cult's Sub-Cult Leader. But this creep reeked of bloodlust too; he was an undeniable villain. A guy who treated people like ingredients? That said it all.
"...Pfft! Puhehehe!!"
Suddenly, Gula burst into that nauseating laugh. We paused our conversation and stared at his bizarre behavior, but he kept stringing words together through his ragged breaths.
"You all... are gonna die... He will... end everything!!"
"Madman."
The Grand Duke gripped his axe tight, like he couldn't be bothered to hear more, and approached Gula. Even as the man exuded waves of killing intent with his heavy steps, Gula just lolled out his tongue and grinned like he was having the time of his life.
"Any last words?"
Gula smirked at the Grand Duke's question about final words.
"I wanted to taste your daughter's tender, juicy fles—"
Splat—!
Before he could finish, the Grand Duke brought his axe down. A crushing sound echoed as Gula was flattened. All that remained where he'd been was his lower half, a deep crater, and scattered blood and flesh.
His final words could be seen as a taunt toward the Grand Duke, but the emotion pouring from his eyes as I saw it? Pure, unadulterated gluttony.
"Well done."
Just as disgust welled up at Gula staying true to his filthy cravings until the end, the Grand Duke praised me without even looking my way.
"Uh... you mean me?"
"Who else?"
After treating me like an enemy all day, his praise felt awkward. I scratched my cheek sheepishly. What can I say? Being acknowledged by the Grand Duke was unfamiliar, but it didn't feel bad.
"I sensed something off while holding back the enemy forces at the barrier. Having fought those snowfield monsters for years, I could tell they weren't going all out. Then I felt the power surge from here and knew trouble had brewed, so I rushed over."
That explained it. A diversion, huh? Makes sense—the Heaven God Cult didn't have the numbers to throw everything away just to snag dragon blood. If I hadn't been here, it probably would've worked.
"Without you, I'd have lost my daughter, my precious family, friends, and blood kin."
Swoosh— The Grand Duke turned, bowed his head toward me.
"Thank you. As the guardian of the North, I promise to be your shield."
"!!"
I couldn't gauge the full weight of a duke's word in this kingdom, but at least it meant I'd gained a major asset in him.
"Just one promise from you. When I need it... help me. Just once."
"...Once, eh. I get it."
The Grand Duke wasn't a fool; he'd sensed the Heaven God Cult might kick off something huge off this fiasco. I was asking to borrow his strength against them.
"I promise. When you need me, I'll be your absolute power—just once."
"Thank you."
I inwardly rejoiced at the Grand Duke joining as a key card for the massive war looming on the horizon. Oh yeah, the Empire sent reinforcements to help us, right? The Grand Duchy would be busy cleaning up this mess, so he could head back with our Imperial forces.
"Hero of the harem, huh... Even with four women already smitten, you just had to snag another. Tsk. This time, I'll allow it with my magnanimity."
"...?"
Hero of the harem? Smitten? I shot the Grand Duke a quizzical look at his words. But he stared back like I was the crazy one, as if wondering how I couldn't understand.
"You've already promised a future with those four women, haven't you? You're asking to include our Prazia in that future too?"
"???"
"Don't tell me... you didn't even realize those women are into you?"
* * *
"Gula's down too. That's a big loss..."
Mist, the Sub-Cult Leader's direct subordinate, confirmed his death from afar and turned away.
Under orders from the one he served, Gula had infiltrated the Grand Duchy with his men, hiding their auras with artifacts. They already knew of a wastrel sub-viscount from the Auros branch family drowning in gambling debts—a lowlife whose selfish heart they exploited by force-feeding him a stored artifact.
He'd initially balked in fear, but stoking his inferiority complex from being compared to the main family and his terror of debt mountains? He folded quick.
Beyond that, the sub-viscount had a peculiar fetish: he was genuinely smitten with his cousin-ish Prazia. Her stunning looks made a passing fancy understandable, but as an adult, he'd failed to bury it—instead fanning it into grotesque desire.
"Disgusting human, but thanks to you, we got this far smoothly. If those guys hadn't shown up..."
The man who kept ruining Heaven God Cult plans. Mist hadn't expected him to show up in another country, so even as the scout assessing the situation, he was thrown.
Is that guy the Foretold One...? Ruining His cause like this.
His master's grand cause crumbling to some punk kid didn't seem to faze the Sub-Cult Leader much, but as his loyal subordinate, Mist wanted to rush in and sever Mars's head on the spot. But that'd disappoint his master, who seemed to welcome Mars's existence like a new toy, so he held back.
Besides, he knew how strong Gula was after absorbing his comrades' power in rage—no need to intervene.
To pierce enhanced Gula's skin like that.
Not just pierce—obliterate it into a hole. That power was insane. Against regular dark mages, it'd have wiped out a hundred in one blow, Mist was sure.
"We planned to kidnap some bloodkin, test the blood's purity for chimera experiments... but as long as the samples don't die, it'll do."
Mist glanced at something sprawled on the ground.
"Mmph!! Mmmph!!"
"You played your role decently... but failure means it was all worthless."
Seizing the chaos, Mist had extracted Nicholas. He grabbed the ropes binding him, ready to drag him off. Branch family or not, there'd be some dragon blood—worth researching if handled right.
Thud! Something tumbled from the thrashing Nicholas's pocket.
"What's this...?"
Clearly no ordinary item—valuable at a glance. Normally, Mist would've ignored it, but instinct screamed not to pass it by.
He picked it up: a small box. But laden with locks and even magic traps, it was no mere box.
What the hell did he hide to warrant this?
Mist manipulated mana to disarm the locks and traps. Pinning the flailing Nicholas with one foot, he slowly pried open the lid.
"...Ha!"
Unable to contain himself, Mist let out a scoff. Inside was the last thing he'd imagined.
"Hair... nails... a handkerchief?"
Perverted, spine-chilling obsession. Twisted possessiveness toward Prazia had warped him this much? Mist didn't care. Useless creep or not, right now, he was a golden goose.
"Good... very good. I approve. You did well. Very well."
One man and one box from this war—but it was a vital cornerstone to shake the foundations of the coming conflict.
"As a special treat, you'll be the first test subject for this research. With the immense power you'll gain... you can finally have what you truly crave."
Mist hoisted Nicholas over his shoulder and vanished into thick mist. When it cleared moments later, only barren snowfield remained—no trace of humans.