Chapter 254: Lainella's Fate is Decided by Lainella (47)
Chapter 254: Lainella's Fate is Decided by Lainella (47)
Silence descended upon the blood-soaked clearing.
It remained even after the man gave his sword a sharp flick, shaking off the gore.
The result was unbelievable.
Mitram's 'Masterpieces' possessed power worthy of their name. Even Seria, the strongest of the vanguards after Ian, had been struck down in the blink of an eye.
They were monsters capable of regenerating even severed limbs.
Yet, those terrifying enemies had been annihilated by the man's hand before anyone could even process what was happening.
The past struggle, where they had fought a desperate, chaotic battle, felt like a farce in comparison. To make matters worse, the group had ultimately failed to hold their ground and had been suppressed.
In contrast, the test subjects were simply swept away like autumn leaves in a gale before this man.
Even the immortal-like regenerative abilities Mitram had boasted of proved utterly useless.
The butchered bodies failed to knit back together, and Mitram showed no signs of resurrection after his head was taken.
It was clear the man had used some kind of trick.
Nevertheless, no one dared to question him.
The group slowly pushed themselves up, but they only watched the man with eyes full of wary suspicion.
Their instincts were screaming at them.
He was different.
This man was somehow different from the 'Ian Percus' they knew.
In the past, they might have overlooked it.
Back then, their bond with Ian wasn't deep, and even if they noticed something strange, they would have dismissed it as a trick of the mind.
In truth, it was difficult to imagine any other possibility.
How could the body remain the same while the personality changed?
It was a concept they had never even heard of until they encountered Mitram.
Even if they had, it was the kind of story that only cropped up during discussions about the mysterious abilities of demonic creatures or powerful curses.
They were rumors of dubious authenticity. Furthermore, even if they synthesized all the information they had gathered, it couldn't explain the existence of this man.
Sorcery that manipulated the mind usually carried immense side effects.
One would be lucky if even a fragment of the original personality remained, let alone their reason. But the man was not only thinking clearly, he was adapting to the possessed body with terrifying naturalness.
This was why even Celine, who had spent a long time with Ian, hadn't noticed.
At most, she had felt a slight sense of dissonance.
If even Celine felt that way, it was even harder for the rest of the group to harbor suspicions.
But now, they had no choice but to realize it.
The man standing before them was not the Ian Percus they knew.
If it were Ian, the numerous crises they had faced until now made no sense. There was also no rational reason for him to have hidden such immense skill.
Following the Dragon Blood Runes, now there was the existence of another Ian.
The group could not hide their confusion at the secrets being revealed one after another.
The one who managed to pull herself together first was the Saintess.
She was a woman who had survived the cutthroat politics of the Holy Kingdom. Regaining her composure and thinking calculatively in the face of unexpected variables was her specialty.
Of course, even the Saintess hadn't fully recovered from the shock, but she managed to steady her trembling voice.
The Saintess asked the man the most fundamental question.
"……Who are you?"
"Ian Percus."
The answer was incredibly blunt.
No emotion could be read from the man's face as he spoke. His tone was nonchalant, as if he were reciting a very obvious fact.
The man simply turned his golden eyes toward the Saintess.
The moment she met those eyes, the Saintess couldn't help but flinch.
She had treated countless patients throughout her life.
Among them were veteran soldiers who had spent years on the battlefield.
There were demonic beast hunters who had lost family or lovers and lived only for revenge, and there were those who had lost the will to live after repeated betrayals.
Despite that, the Saintess could say with certainty:
No one possessed a heart as worn down as this man's.
Rather than any specific emotion, his eyes were filled with drifting fragments of them. Even then, she could only glimpse negative feelings like regret, a deep-seated grudge, hatred, and despair.
While the Saintess hesitated over what to say, someone else spoke up.
"Wh-what are you talking about… you freak!"
A woman jumped up, venting her fury.
It was a lovely-looking girl wearing a pointed hat.
Her brown hair and blue eyes complemented each other well. Despite her small stature, she was a beautiful girl with an impressive, steadfast gaze.
Her name was Elsie Lainella, a woman who had long claimed to be Ian's loyal dog.
At first, Elsie had been dazed by the appearance of the Dragon Blood Runes and the man's unbelievable martial prowess.
However, as time passed and she reflected on the situation, she realized there was a grave problem.
If that man wasn't her 'Master,' then where had the real 'Master' gone?
She had been fretting over this when the man's half-hearted answer reached her ears.
Elsie finally snapped.
Any sense of gratitude for him saving her life had long since vanished. Elsie was far more concerned about her beloved Master's well-being.
Soon, a voice soaked in rage poured from Elsie's dainty mouth.
"G-give our Master back right now! Ian Percus?! Don't give me that bullshit! Our Master is way cooler than someone like you! And he's kinder, and crueler, and more merciless……!"
"Shut up."
His voice was chilling.
With just those two words, Elsie's expression went blank.
Elsie was someone who hadn't heard a harsh word from anyone in years.
Of course, she had been mistreated as a child and insulted at the Academy.
It was just that Elsie had personally paid back those debts with interest later on.
After that, people who dared to provoke Elsie became rare.
At most, Delphine would respond if Elsie picked a fight first.
It had been a very long time since she had been told to shut up so abruptly.
After a moment of her mind going white, a fire burned in Elsie's throat.
The girl's eyes instantly turned fierce. If left alone, Elsie's famous tongue-lashing might have made an appearance.
It was then that the man added in a weary voice.
"I was planning on giving him back anyway… If you want the 'Ian' you know back quickly, get ready to leave. There's still a mountain of work to do."
His attitude was surprisingly cooperative.
Elsie flinched, her body trembling as she was forced to put the brakes on what she was about to say.
Part of her wanted to spit out every foul word lingering in her mouth to feel satisfied.
However, since he said he would return her Master, she found herself at a loss for words, and a fear arose that provoking the man might put Ian in danger.
For now, even if it was suspicious, following the man's words was the best course of action.
Fearing the man might change his mind, Elsie hurriedly began packing her things. The rest of the group did the same.
On the contrary, the one who paused for a moment was the man.
He turned around, casting a rare look of disbelief.
His furrowed brow testified to the fact that he was not in a pleasant mood.
"……By the way, 'Master'?"
"Wh-what! Why!"
Elsie stopped packing and shook her small fist at him.
Her growling posture suggested she was ready for a fight.
Against a man who had single-handedly slaughtered ten test subjects, each possessing power beyond the Expert level.
It seemed she really didn't like the man who had temporarily taken her Master away.
However, the part that shocked the man seemed to be something else.
He stood still, staring blankly at Elsie, before shaking his head and swallowing a hollow laugh.
"……Ha."
After that, the man didn't speak to Elsie again.
He only looked at her a few times with a complex gaze.
Once they finished preparing to return, the Magic Corps of the Lainella family was tasked with cleaning up the carnage in the clearing.
Reynold, who was the first to enter the clearing, stiffened his face.
He could tell just by looking at the quantity and quality of the fallen test subjects.
The fact was that the Mitram's test subjects they had faced were merely decoys.
"This was the real deal… How did you take them down?"
The man silently tapped his scabbard.
It was a wordless signal, but the meaning was clear.
The only question remaining was whether that word could be trusted.
Regardless, Reynold didn't have the luxury of verifying the truth of the testimony right now.
He hesitated for a moment before finally letting out a deep sigh.
"……I see. I'll hear the details later. We'll handle the cleanup here for now."
The journey then continued toward the Percus Mansion.
For the half-day it took, an awkward silence hung between the man and the group.
Even Celine, who was the most socially adept, was intimidated and merely watched his every move.
The man's performance had been that astonishing, and there was something even more chilling about it.
If he put his mind to it, it wouldn't be impossible for him to turn the entire group into a handful of blood.
Since they couldn't accurately gauge the stranger's identity, the group's anxiety was inevitable.
Surprisingly, the one who couldn't stand the subtle tension was the man.
"……Aren't you curious how I killed them?"
As always, it was a question devoid of emotion, making even his intention unclear.
It was a rather poor conversation starter for a dialogue that transcended time.