Chapter 287
Chapter 287
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 287
Chapter Title: Therese's Proposal (4)
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“Weren’t you following me because you were expecting something? Do you have any idea what a great honor it is to enter my bedchamber?”
“I believe I made it clear that I am not interested.”
“Hmph, how arrogant. You don’t know your place.”
Zion ground his teeth, but then his smile returned as if he’d had a brilliant idea.
“Fine. In that case, I shall issue a command as a member of the royal family. Attend to me tonight.”
“I refuse. Your Highness may be royalty, but I am a noble of Tormia. I do not follow the orders of another nation.”
“Is that so? You think you’re so high and mighty, is that it? Then how about this? If you do not lie in my arms tonight, I will declare war on Tormia.”
Amy stared at Zion with a look of utter disbelief.
“You think it’s impossible? Kazra is destined to fall into my hands anyway. When I become king, the first thing I will do is conquer Tormia. Your country will fall because of you.”
It wasn’t an entirely impossible scenario. If Zion became the king of Kazra, Therese would spare no expense in helping him expand his influence.
Zion took Amy’s slowly lowered head as a sign of resignation and gave a vile smile.
But at that moment, a cold voice flowed from Amy’s lips as she stared at the floor.
“Do it, if you can.”
“What?”
“If you want a war, then by all means, let’s have one.”
“This is absurd. Are you just going to throw all caution to the wind?”
How dare a mere noble speak to the First Prince without using honorifics? But compared to her willingness to face a war, it was hardly the most shocking thing.
“Don’t tell me you thought I was joking? If so, you will surely regret it.”
Amy couldn’t hold it in any longer and burst out laughing.
“What nonsense. You, become king? Don’t flatter yourself. Your position as First Prince is shaky as it is.”
“You little…!”
“Yes, if it were Empress Therese, I might have trembled a little. But it’s not like you’re going to be the emperor, right? Do you really think I’d be scared of a half-wit brat like you?”
A murderous glint appeared in Zion’s eyes. It was the first time in his life he had been so disrespected.
He changed his mind. He would never kill Amy. He would leave her just barely alive.
And he would most certainly reduce Tormia to ashes and watch the tears of blood stream from her eyes.
“You… can certainly take responsibility for those words, can’t you?”
“Responsibility? No, I won’t take responsibility for anything. Not even if a war breaks out because of me. If you invade our kingdom…”
Amy’s red eyes began to glow.
“Then I, as one of its citizens, will risk my life and fight.”
Zion flinched upon seeing the killing intent radiating from Amy’s red eyes.
His blood ran cold. He never imagined the girl who had been blushing in the banquet hall possessed such an extreme spirit.
‘They say mages are eccentric…’
Amy’s eyes widened as she stepped closer.
“What are you plotting? Why did you bring me to this room?”
Judging by the circumstances so far, Zion hadn’t brought her here simply to take her body.
Going so far as to mention Shirone’s parents for such a petty reason didn’t fit his personality.
‘In the end, he has business with Shirone, but what on earth…’
Finally realizing, Amy’s lips trembled.
Zion wasn’t the important one. Therese’s faction was determined to settle things once and for all tonight.
She had to find Shirone as quickly as possible.
Entering the Spirit Zone, the location of the door was transmitted to her through synesthesia.
‘Was it designed to be opened from the inside?’
She could open it, but she remembered locking it. Deciding she had no choice but to break her way out, Amy finished charging a Fireball and waited for an opportunity. The moment Zion’s face twisted like a beast’s, she ran for the door.
“Armand!”
The magic sword flew through the air, defying inertia, and landed in Zion’s hand. Without a second glance, Zion swung his arm and threw the sword.
Sensing the sword’s trajectory through the Spirit Zone, Amy twisted her body. With a thud, Armand embedded itself in the door. If not for the Spirit Zone, she would have died.
‘He really intends to kill me. So he wants to see this through to the end…’
Zion’s relaxed expression was grating. From a practical standpoint, cornering her should have been a golden opportunity, yet he didn’t look rushed.
Amy soon realized why.
Armand. From the sword stuck in the door, she felt a sinister aura she had never experienced before. It was as if something grotesque was clinging to the door, and the mere proximity to it was horrifying.
“Do you think you can get away with this? I’m quite a well-known figure in my kingdom, too.”
“The Carmis family. They are indeed troublesome. But once Shirone is dead, everything will be over.”
Assassination was the most efficient means of overthrowing power.
It wasn’t because the dead person held any significant value. It was because the dead could not speak.
If Shirone died, the living could create hundreds of different narratives. Shirone’s soul might cry out from the netherworld, but there would be no way to protest his unjust fate.
‘I have to get out of here, no matter what.’
Amy bit her lip and collected herself. As her teeth sank into her flesh and she tasted blood, the repulsive feeling of the magic sword subsided slightly.
‘I’ll get out on the count of three.’
As she counted in her mind, Zion extended his hand, and Armand returned to him.
Amy frowned at the unexpected turn of events. It was strange for him to retrieve the sword after he had gone to the trouble of blocking her escape route. She also didn't think Zion could possibly face her with a sword.
Amy watched Zion with a wary gaze.
There was no tension on his face as he stood there holding the sword. Could it be that he had been secretly training in swordsmanship?
But his next words held no promise of such a high-level twist.
“What a shame. You could have had the most thrilling night of your life. To die a virgin because of your petty noble pride.”
“I have no intention of dying by your hand, but if I do become a vengeful spirit, I swear I will kill you first. If you see me in your dreams, you can believe there’s an afterlife.”
Zion’s face contorted.
Mages were all talk, so winning a war of words was nearly impossible. In the end, a show of force was the most effective remedy.
He soothed himself by imagining Amy’s miserable future, then held Armand vertically close to his body and murmured.
“Adamantine Armament.”
With a *clang*, the sound of striking metal rang out as the blade of Armand fractured, splitting open like a spider's legs.
The hilt slid out, and the pommel and grip separated. Following the skeletal frame, which now looked like the structure of a building, red, fibrous matter, like the very essence of a living creature, oozed out like oil.
Amy was seized by a feeling more sinister than what she had felt in the Spirit Zone. Centered on the red jewel, Armand transformed into a shape reminiscent of a giant spider.
The scene that followed was even more alarming. The blade, now split into dozens of legs, began to envelop Zion, starting from his head.
Amy winced, but after a fleeting moment, the monstrous sight gradually materialized into a form more pleasing to the human eye.
The part that had been the handle transformed into a helmet protecting his face, and the blades that went over the crown of his head flowed down his back, adhering to the core muscle groups to form a basic frame.
From that frame, more metallic material spread out, forming a suit of armor.
The metal that reached his wrists formed into gauntlets, and the metal that descended past his legs to the soles of his feet became pointed metal boots.
Once the armor protected his vital organs, the red, fibrous tissue wrapped around his joints, tightening seamlessly around his body.
Finally, a massive amount of fibrous tissue seeped out from the neck guard, transforming into a cloak that billowed behind him.
From Amy's perspective, it all happened in an instant, as if he had undergone a transformation.
His face obscured by a cruciform helmet, Zion lowered his arms and clenched his fists.
As if on cue, an extremely fine needle pierced the nape of Zion’s neck and connected with his spinal cord.
There was no pain, but electricity flowed down his spine.
-User cerebrum copy. Share. Linguistic cognitive ability activated.
Armand’s voice echoed in Zion’s mind, and it immediately began to regulate his biological signals.
-Muscle enhancement. Bone density increase. Endoskeleton reinforcement. Nervous system transmission speed maximized. Metallic proliferation complete. Weapon generation and transformation enabled. Specialized for killing. Advantageous in close-quarters combat.
*Shing! Shing!*
Thirty-centimeter-long blades shot out from both of Zion’s gauntlets.
Amy swallowed hard. Except for his eyes, visible through the slits of the cross-shaped visor, Zion’s entire body was concealed by the magic sword. From the looks of it, the fibrous tissue covered most of his body, with the armor layered on top.
‘How is that possible?’
This made no sense. A rough estimate of the metal's weight suggested it was far heavier than the original magic sword. And while armor was one thing, what was that fibrous material?
With tough muscles protecting the joints, not only his durability but also his mobility would be maximized. Perhaps that was why Zion, despite wearing heavy armor, appeared far more agile than before.
Zion was pleased to see the bewildered look on Amy’s face.
‘Hmph, of course. As if a little thing like her has ever seen anything like this.’
was an S-Class Object with the contradictory characteristic of being a metallic lifeform.
Its functions could be broadly divided into two categories: the first was Precision Control, which allowed the user to freely manipulate the sword according to their will, and the second was Adamantine Armament, which merged with the user to maximize their combat abilities.
In Precision Control mode, its metallic properties were prominent, while in Adamantine Armament mode, its biological traits came to the fore.
Adamantine Armament, in particular, could even perform intellectual tasks because it shared a brain with its user.
“Did you see me as some half-wit prince who just throws Therese’s name around?”
Zion took a step forward.
*Clank!* The grating sound of his steel boots on the floor echoed eerily, and Amy instinctively pressed her back against the door.
“Of course, you might have. But what does that matter? Before the name of Therese, everything else is insignificant. Your family, your talent—I’m not the least bit envious. Because I am…”
Zion extended his palm toward Amy.
“Of great royal blood.”
The fibrous glove twitched, and a tentacle shot out from the center of his palm, hurtling toward Amy.
Even in the urgent situation, Amy saw the tip of the incoming tentacle hardening into a sharp point and hastily threw herself aside.
*CRASH!* The tentacle embedded itself in the door. Simultaneously, the part of the tentacle connected to Zion’s palm snapped off as if a lizard had shed its tail.
Amy looked at the door, horrified. Wherever the tentacle seeped into the surface, something like fine tree roots spread out, completely sealing the door.
Amy bit her lip with a look of despair.
She didn't know how tough the fibrous material of the tentacle was, but it seemed impossible to break with ordinary force.
“When are you going to use that fire you’re holding?”
Zion slowly approached. The pressure he exuded was on a different level from the Zion before the Adamantine Armament. It was as if Armand’s sinister aura had been draped over him.
“Then again, you don’t really think something like that will work, do you?”
Zion held the blades extending from his gauntlets vertically. The smooth surface of the blades reflected the face of Amy, who was glaring at him.
5. All Sorts of Variables (1)
Even as he ran toward Zion’s gallery, Shirone couldn’t shake the strange images from his mind.
He told himself it was impossible, yet a scene he never wanted to witness filled his thoughts.
‘What on earth am I thinking?’
He had to think rationally.
First, there was Amy’s motive for following Zion. She wasn’t the type to act rashly, but she was also the same person who had willingly walked into danger in Galliante out of concern for Jis’s safety.