Chapter 308
Chapter 308
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 308
Chapter Title: Master of the Avatar (6)
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"Ignore me one more time, and I'll blow everything away."
Bosun realized the situation was far more dire than he'd anticipated. To cast a spell at one's own parents... he had to be out of his mind.
Orkamp cautiously sat beside Eliza. It was a disgrace to show such a side to the nobles, but he had to prevent the fall of Kazra, no matter the cost.
*Damn it. After all the work it took to build this nation.*
With Orkamp being the last to kneel, Bosun, who had naturally become their representative, turned to Shirone and asked.
"Now, speak. What is it you want to hear? I will do whatever you desire."
"The person who ordered my parents' assassination. Who was it?"
The nobles glanced at each other, exchanging wary looks. Then, their gazes fixed on one person.
Knowing who they were looking at without turning around, Bosun raised his hand.
"I gave the order. If you want revenge, then by all means, take it. However... how about you end it with me?"
"Cut the crap. Do you really think I'm going to forgive you?"
"You may not be able to forgive us. But how about you think about this rationally? In the end, no one died. Even if you kill us, can you fight against Her Majesty, Empress Theraze? Besides, isn't your beloved family staying here as well?"
Bosun immediately targeted Shirone's weakness.
The fact that he was demanding to know who was behind the assassination attempt, even while holding a bomb over their heads, meant his parents still held value as hostages.
Thinking this might be his last chance, Bosun stood up, raising both hands to show he had no intention of approaching.
"I will follow your will. Everyone involved in this assassination attempt, including myself, will take legal responsibility. You should take your family and go home. I, Aimar Bosun, a Grade 4 Certified Mage, guarantee it here and now. So, how about we resolve this with words?"
Shirone's expression softened slightly.
Killing everyone here wouldn't be enough to quell his rage, but if he blew up the royal castle, not only his family but also his friends would vanish from the world.
"Charge! Charge!"
A commotion erupted from outside the Grand Hall. The garrison, having been contacted, had armed themselves and stormed in.
But upon arriving at the scene, their determined expressions turned to bewilderment.
"Wh-what is this?"
The sight was beyond imagination. The Grand Hall, the heart of the royal castle, was in ruins.
What shocked them most was the fact that everyone, including Orkamp, was on their knees.
*Now!*
The moment Shirone's gaze shifted toward the soldiers, Bosun cast Teleport.
By the time he reached Shirone, he had already drawn a dagger from his sleeve.
*This is the last chance! I have to stab him in the heart!*
Shirone was shocked to see Bosun lunging at him. But Bosun, having already steeled his resolve, thrust the dagger forward without hesitation.
With a sickening squelch, the dagger pierced through the resilience of flesh and embedded itself.
Bosun grimaced.
He had expected Shirone to be in a dazed state, but his reaction was quicker than anticipated. He had twisted his body with all his might, causing the blade to lodge in his side instead of his heart.
"Damn it."
Shirone couldn't analyze the emotions he was feeling.
Reason fled, replaced by a beastly rage. The foreign object invading his body was painful, yes, but it also brought an immense sense of shame.
The moment he saw the look in Shirone's eyes, Bosun cast Earth Skin.
Soil rapidly began to accumulate on his skin. The durability of an Earth Skin cast by a Grade 4 Certified Plant Mage was that of solid rock.
A Photon Cannon struck the Earth Skin. Thousands of cracks spiderwebbed across the earthen wall before it exploded into fragments.
Bosun's horrified face was revealed. As if the shock had penetrated through, blood sprayed from his mouth.
"Aaaargh!"
Shirone clutched his stomach, writhing in agony.
Above his head, the Photon Cannon was expanding at a terrifying speed. The faces of those watching the photon sphere, now a meter in diameter, turned pale.
The size, gained at the cost of compression, was no longer something that could be called a Photon Cannon. It was a Gravity Cannon. An anti-materiel cannon aimed not at people, but at buildings.
The Grand Hall descended into utter chaos. The nobles screamed, their faces ashen, while the guards looked left and right in a meaningless display of their helplessness.
"Lady Reina!"
Following the garrison, retainers from the Ogent family stormed in, fully armed. But they too were stunned into silence by the unexpected scene.
"Subdue the nobles! Right now!"
Reina ordered her retainers.
The continuous shocks, strong enough to shake the Grand Hall, meant the entire castle was on high alert. If they didn't subdue the nobles now, they would lose their escape route at a critical moment.
The retainers approached the high-ranking nobles and held blades to their throats.
Just as Reina had predicted, troops from various departments under central command began to pour in. High-ranking officers also rushed over, not even properly dressed in their uniforms.
Screams, wails, calls to kill Shirone, Reina's commands—all the sounds tangled together into a meaningless cacophony. No one could convey any meaning to anyone else; they were all just shrieking.
To Amy, it looked as if they were all laughing. A laugh escaped her as well.
Faced with an event beyond her control, her heart, surprisingly, grew calm.
*If this is the end, what a spectacular finale.*
Piercing through the pandemonium that filled the Grand Hall, a gentle voice reached Shirone.
"Shirone."
As if by magic, a silence fell.
Everyone turned to look at the entrance of the Grand Hall. Olina stood there with a hardened expression, clutching Vincent's arm.
Taking in the sight of Shirone, covered in blood with a dagger embedded in his side, Olina swayed, feeling dizzy.
Vincent supported her, but she pushed her husband away and walked into the Grand Hall on her own.
People parted to make way for her. Her lips trembled as she approached Shirone.
"Don't go."
At Eliza's words, Olina stopped.
"Shirone is insane. If you go to him, you'll die."
Eliza didn't want Olina to go to Shirone.
Shirone had tried to kill her. If the outcome was different for Olina, her pride as a blood relative would not allow it.
"Haaaaah."
After a long exhale, Olina turned and walked straight toward Eliza. Seeing the queen's dazed face, as if she'd been bombed, a fire ignited within her, and her vision went dark.
Smack! Olina's palm struck Eliza's cheek.
The nobles couldn't believe what had just happened. No parent would remain rational after seeing their child with a knife in their stomach, but the person she had struck was none other than the Queen of Kazra.
Eliza didn't understand what had happened.
When she turned her stinging face back, Olina was crying. That was strange, too. Why was the one who did the hitting crying, not the one who was hit?
"My son... What have you done to him?"
The pain hit her belatedly, and tears welled up in Eliza's eyes. It hurt so much.
And that became a convenient excuse not to answer Olina's question.
Orkamp did not reprimand Olina. No, he postponed it for another time.
She was, without a doubt, the one who had stopped Shirone's rampage. For now, he had no choice but to place his hopes in her.
"Stop Shirone right now. The fall of Kazra's lineage..."
Olina shuddered as if struck by lightning and turned to Orkamp, her eyes sparking.
Under the illusion that a slap was coming, Orkamp squeezed his eyes shut. But the king's authority was not ultimately trampled.
When he opened his eyes, Olina was gripping her own wrist, trembling. Then she turned away coldly and started walking toward Shirone again.
"Shirone."
Shirone didn't answer.
Seeing Olina's face, he felt afraid of everything, like a child who had done something wrong. He had caused an irreversible disaster. It was the unavoidable instinct of a child, for whom disappointing their parents is the greatest fear.
He had seen Olina's stern gaze a few times when he was young. But today, she wore a smile more gentle than anyone's.
And for some reason, that made Shirone's heart ache even more.
"Shirone, do you know how lovely you were as a child? Your smile was as cute as a little girl's. Whenever you smiled, your father would make a silly face. And that would make you laugh even harder."
Olina told him stories of the past.
"You were such a gentle child. Even when you were angry, you couldn't express it well or hurt others. When your friends got mad, you'd just stand there silently, then come home and fret about it."
Olina's eyes grew distant. Yes, there were times like that.
But so much time had already passed. The newborn who had come to them like a blessing had grown into such a fine young man.
"But I was never worried. To know how to understand another's heart is a truly noble thing. I can't tell you how happy I am that you grew up to be so kind."
Olina cupped Shirone's cheeks with both hands. Her handsome son looked so weary today.
"You're so soft-hearted and kind, you don't even know how to be angry. You get so furious, but you can't bring yourself to hurt others, so you have no choice but to let it out by hurting yourself."
Olina gently pulled Shirone into an embrace.
"Seeing you hurt this badly... my son must have been very, very angry today."
Shirone's vision blurred. Salty, clear tears, different from the tears of blood he'd shed until now, streamed down his face.
His eyes ached with a heavy pain. It felt as if a poison that had filled him to the brim was draining out through a hole. His chest was so full he could barely breathe. All his emotions converged in his eyes, and words squeezed out of him.
"Mo...m..."
It was the voice of a lost child, desperately calling for his mother in a strange place.
Tears bursting forth, Olina hugged Shirone's face to her and stroked his back.
"Yes, my son. Let's go home with Mom. I'll take you home. Don't worry about anything, let's just go."
"Mom... Mom..."
Overcome with sorrow, Shirone gasped for breath and said.
"They tried to kill you. Those people... you..."
"It's okay, Shirone. You protected me. I'm not scared at all. For you, I'm not even afraid to die."
Holding the arms of the sobbing Shirone, Olina gave a beautiful smile.
"Shirone, a child is a parent's future. That's why, for you, I can do anything."
The immense rage that had controlled Shirone until now began to sink rapidly, like a collapsing building. The aura of hatred descended endlessly—Level 10, Level 9, Level 8.
The Level 1 Deep Sealing Array was restored.
On the Archangel statue, Shirone's avatar appeared as a bright light. From it, Behemoth emerged and returned to the Sealing Array. The pillar of light vanished, and the Guffin's security system was deactivated.
Shirone returned to his pure self.
His physical body in reality was hit by a sudden backlash. Before he could even feel the pain, his consciousness faded. As his eyes slowly closed, the Spirit Zone dissipated, and Ataraxia vanished.
Olina sank to the floor with her collapsing son.
She could die for her child, but she could not save him. She looked back at the enemies who had tried to kill her son and said.
"Please save my son. I'm begging you."
No one affiliated with Kazra stepped forward. But Amy and Reina moved quickly.
First, they confirmed that Shirone was still breathing. He might be brain-dead, but the biggest problem was the bleeding. Without an immediate blood transfusion, it seemed he wouldn't last an hour.
"Amy, I'll take Shirone. You go ahead with the retainers and help prepare for surgery. We need to start with a transfusion, so his mother should come along and tell the doctor his blood type."