Reincarnated as the Count's Plum Blossom Swordmaster
Rumble.
Our footsteps, which had been trudging across the mountain range, came to an abrupt halt. The ground was shaking. This was no ordinary tremor. Something was moving beneath the earth.
I lowered my gaze to my feet and activated the Heavenly Eye, peering straight through the soil. A massive earthworm-like magical beast was rising toward us.
“Yuria, Elena! It’s coming from underground!!”
Elena cast her magic. Our bodies suddenly lightened, and we floated into the air. A few seconds later, a colossal earthworm-like magical beast surged up from below. Its skin looked hard as rock, and it opened its maw wide to swallow us whole. But its jaws never reached us. The creature’s body plummeted back down.
Lightning!
Kwa-kwa-kwang!
A bolt from the sky raced along the beast’s elongated form. It worked. The creature writhed and twisted.
Wiiiiing! Wiiiiing!
Something peeled away from its rock-like body. Looking closer, I saw beetles. Ordinary insects they were not—these were magical beasts. Spinning saw-blade teeth whirled inside their mouths.
“Bugs! Disgusting just to look at! I’ll burn every last one!”
Pajijijijik.
I scattered lightning across the swarm. The ones struck by the current tumbled to the ground with a faintly savory smell.
Rumble!
The earth shook again. I glanced downward out of the corner of my eye. The giant rock earthworm was circling, then surging upward once more. It was still after us.
“Impudent worm. All it’s doing is kicking up dust. I’ll handle it.”
Yuria dropped. In a single whoosh she was already on the ground. With my current skill, perfectly tracking her movements was still impossible.
The rock earthworm charged the newly landed Yuria, mouth gaping, thrashing forward in a frenzy. Yuria raised her dagger. The instant I felt her body stretch forward, the fight was already over. The massive earthworm split cleanly in half, soaking the earth with grotesque innards and red blood as it died.
I finished off the remaining bugs and descended. Just as I was about to thank Yuria—
Rumble!
The ground began to roar.
Apparently there was more than one earthworm.
After three days of wandering the Heversite Mountains, we finally found the Dragon Lord’s remains.
They lay underground in a certain spot. The surrounding area was torn up in every direction. It didn’t feel artificial—more like the aftermath of giant rock earthworms rampaging. What had once been on the surface seemed to have collapsed into the depths.
So this is the Dragon Lord’s remains.
Up close, the remains looked like nothing more than hard rock. Only careful inspection revealed the dragon-like shape.
If they’d looked like real dragon bones, people would have noticed long ago.
I approached the rock, clenched my fist, and struck it. Thunk, thunk—the sound echoed from within. Hollow.
This time I put real force behind the blow.
Kwaaang!
The rock shattered, revealing the Dragon Lord’s bones hidden inside. Lightning sparked at my fingertips, lighting the dark space. Perhaps from the long years, the bones had yellowed.
No heart here. Must be somewhere else.
Including this one, there were seven rocks in total. The heart would be among the remaining six. No need to rush. Time was on my side.
I checked the second and third remains. No heart.
“Master. Uninvited guests have arrived.”
Yuria spoke while I was searching for the fourth.
“Uninvited guests?”
I followed her gaze outward. Three men stood there. Two of them I already knew.
“Kyle and Terius….”
Black hair, black eyes, the face of a refined young noble. Kyle had barely changed since the last time I saw him.
Terius, on the other hand, was transformed. His severed arm had been restored, his entire body was packed with muscle, and he stood well over two meters tall. His muscles looked so dense that for a moment he resembled a golem carved from rock rather than a human.
And the flashy blond with blue eyes beside them… that must be Baron Olond Glebet from the reports.
Baron Olond Glebet. A few months earlier he had become Kyle’s subordinate, and the reports said Kyle almost never went anywhere without him.
They had spotted us as well and halted.
I raised a hand and waved at Kyle. We were brothers. For the moment our relationship wasn’t bad. Kyle still saw me as his younger brother, so he would wave back when we met.
“…….”
Kyle gave no reaction. The atmosphere around him was completely different from usual. He looked back and forth between me and Yuria, then drew his sword.
“Kyle hyung?!”
“…….”
I called his name. Silence.
My head went cold. This situation was perfect for an assassination.
Kyle is trying to kill me here? Not Zent—Kyle?
Given Kyle’s righteous nature, assassination should have been unthinkable. If I were his enemy, maybe. But I was a rival for the heir’s seat and his brother. I was never his enemy.
Did the original story change and take Kyle with it?
It was entirely possible.
I clicked my tongue. My plan to use Kyle had just hit a snag.
“Yujin Frucuuuuus!!!!”
Someone was screaming my name. Terius. The former one-armed cripple charged, roaring my name with pure hatred and rage. A massive greatsword filled each of his hands.
“Yuria, Elena. Don’t kill them. I need to find out what the hell is going on.”
“Understood.”
“Do you and I even need to step in? Yuria alone looks more than enough.”
I couldn’t argue with Elena. Right now Yuria was a top-tier Aura Master. She could wipe the floor with them by herself and still have strength left over.
Yuria stepped forward, completely at ease.
“Aaaaaaah!! Yujin Frucus!! I’ll kill you!! I’ll kill you and save Nepia!!”
Terius, mid-charge, suddenly pitched forward. A shadow hand had seized his ankle. He tumbled grandly down the slope, rolling end over end. Covered in scrapes, he sprang back to his feet.
Pak!
Yuria’s spinning kick smashed into the back of his skull. Terius blacked out and collapsed. Shadow chains immediately coiled around his body. Subduing him was finished.
“Yuria. You’re strong. I always thought you weren’t ordinary… but to hide power like this.”
Kyle approached her as he spoke. His gaze and the air around him toward Yuria were strangely wistful. He seemed to be laboring under some profound delusion.
“There’s no longer any reason to hide my strength. Kyle-nim, you seem to have changed quite a bit since we last met.”
“Yuria. You’re being deceived by Yujin.”
Kyle said it out of nowhere.
“…Excuse me?”
Yuria tilted her head. I was just as confused. Was there something I was hiding from her? There were things I hadn’t told her, sure, but nothing I was deliberately concealing. The person I trusted most was Yuria.
“Yujin is using you. Look even now—he’s putting you out front to block me. He must be toying with you at night as well. Step aside, Yuria. I’ll kill Yujin and free you.”
“…Kyle-nim. You appear to be under a serious misunderstanding. I have dedicated everything to Master. It is only right that Master uses me. Even if Master were to deceive me, it would not matter. I have already given him both body and heart.”
“…Just as Baron Glebet said, you’ve been thoroughly deceived by Yujin. It’s all right—don’t worry! I’ll save you!”
Kyle tried to push past Yuria toward me. Red aura flared along his blade, condensing into an Aura Blade. His Aura Blade burned the deep red of plum blossoms.
Yuria flung a dagger at him. Kyle, mid-charge, flinched and raised his sword sideways. Clang! Dagger and sword collided. The rebounding dagger buried itself in the earth, and Kyle’s body was driven back.
“T-to think you possessed such power…! Yuria! Step aside! I don’t want to fight you!”
“Kyle-nim. Something is clearly wrong. Far too many of your words make no sense. Did you injure your head? Or… has someone been filling your ears with strange talk?”
“You’re the strange one, Yuria! Why follow Yujin? He’s only using you! Listen to me!”
Yuria let out a quiet sigh. Rare irritation flickered across her face. Simply dealing with Kyle seemed to grate on her.
“Kyle-nim. There is no need to dress up your true feelings with empty words. Simply admit that you want me. Your desire for me and your jealousy toward Master are plain to see.”
“N-no. I’m doing this for you…!”
“I have never once regarded Kyle-nim as special. If anything, dealing with you was a nuisance. Yes—if not for Master’s order, I would not even wish to face you.”
Kyle faltered at her words. Then, abruptly, he whipped his head toward me. His killing intent locked onto me. A chill ran down my spine under the murderous aura of an Aura Master.
“How presumptuous.”
The cold voice rang out. Instantly Kyle’s body trembled. He looked at Yuria with eyes that held a flicker of fear.
“Yuria. Don’t you want freedom? I can kill Yujin and give it to you.”
“Freedom without Master…. Just imagining it is dreadful.”
“Huu…. Yuria. I’ll confess honestly. I… Yuria, I love you. I want you to be happy. I’ll make you happy.”
“I dislike Kyle-nim. If not for Master’s command, I would have killed you already…. How unfortunate.”
“Y-you dislike me? T-that can’t be. You’ve been waiting for me.”
Kyle was visibly shaken.
From a distance, Baron Glebet bellowed.
“Kyle-nim!! Snap out of it!! Yuria is brainwashed by Yujin! You must kill Yujin and break her brainwashing! Kill Yujin!!”
“Baron Glebet…. You’re right. I’ll kill Yujin and free Yuria from the brainwashing.”
Kyle charged me. Yuria’s kick caught him square and sent him flying; he tumbled across the ground. Expressionless, she watched him for a moment, then shifted her gaze to Baron Glebet.
“I sense demonic power in your voice. Have you been bewitching people with a demon’s strength?”
“Bewitching people? What a vicious insult. I have merely offered appropriate counsel as Kyle-nim’s strategist!”
“Your voice is truly repulsive. First, I’ll deal with—”
Yuria cut herself off and swung her dagger in a flash. A plum blossom flying toward her shattered with a sharp clang.
“Yuria…. If you keep interfering, I’ll defeat you and kill Yujin. That would be for the best.”
Kyle’s skin turned purple. His pupils burned red. No matter how you looked at him, he was closer to a demon than a martial artist.
Qi deviation…? Kyle has fallen into qi deviation?
Purple plum blossoms bloomed around him.
The blossoms formed of sword qi spun, scattering petals. Yuria cut them down one by one with dagger and shadow. The scent of plum blossoms was foul.
“Yuria! I’ll kill Yujin and save you!!”
Yuria’s face remained blank. Her dagger shattered the sword with which Kyle had been painting plum blossoms. Shadow chains snared his legs; small throwing knives from her hand sank into his shoulder and arm. Kyle lost his balance and collapsed. Yuria planted her foot on his head. Bang! He went limp at once.
Leaving the unconscious Kyle behind, Yuria sprinted toward Baron Glebet. The startled baron spun and tried to flee, but he hadn’t covered ten meters before she caught him.