Chapter 634: Last Will (8)
Chapter 634: Last Will (8)
Iris reflexively took a step back. It was a humiliation unlike any she had ever experienced in her life.
Regardless, Celine merely stared at her with hollow eyes.
"You probably didn't feel a shred of guilt, did you? Just as no one feels heartache after stepping on an ant… even after you erased my family and cast us into hell."
"There were circumstances that made it necessary."
"I know."
Sizzle, crackle.
As Celine took another step forward, sparks erupted and scattered from the tip of her longsword as it dragged along the ground. Iris could only watch, her face frozen in a pale mask.
"I have them too… circumstances that make it necessary to kill you."
Revenge.
The most perfect justification—what cause could be more clear or righteous than that?
Facing imminent death, Iris reached into her robes. Tucked away was a teleportation magic scroll keyed to the coordinates of the Imperial Palace. No matter how dire the danger, it was a one-time chance to save her life.
She had observed the battle until the very end, gathering necessary information. If she could just deliver it, a Master might be dispatched to subjugate 'Celine Haster.'
No, I might not even need to request it.
Just as Princess Iris was about to activate the scroll with that thought—
"……Your Highness, you mustn't!"
A man’s shout erupted like a desperate struggle, followed immediately by the clash of steel.
Clang!
It was the last escort knight, the one who had been engulfed in flames. As a powerhouse who had reached the level of High Expert, his body bore several burns, but he didn't appear to have sustained any fatal wounds.
Iris could only look on, stunned.
"Run, now! I will handle things here! You must never tear that scroll near this person… You must get as far away as possible!"
There was no time for questions.
Boom, crash, bang!
As a clash exceeding the limits of her vision unfolded, Iris quickly began to flee. Though she didn't understand the reason, her intuition told her to trust the escort knight’s loyalty.
Having widened the distance after the initial collision, Celine’s gaze turned silently toward the knight. The final knight let out a hollow laugh.
"Those flames… they burn 'Mental Imagery.' That’s why they never went out."
Of course, there was no answer.
Celine simply gripped and released the hilt of her sword, checking her own condition.
"But listen, novice. You don't know yet. The realm of 'High Expert' isn't something you can reach overnight like you did… At the very least, I'm not someone you can take down in a single breath."
The moment the knight’s sword point aimed at Celine again—
Hundreds of swords manifested. The blades arrayed in the air looked like illusions at a glance.
But Celine knew.
When facing a High Expert who could distort reality with their Mental Imagery, the distinction between truth and falsehood didn't particularly matter. They were beings who could turn the false into the real.
The last remaining knight spoke, his breath coming in heavy gasps.
"I am Teon of the Lupemion family. Who are you?"
Celine lowered her stance once more. After a brief moment—
The girl’s silent lips finally moved.
"……'Wrath'."
Whoosh!
Flames surged up along the blade.
The scale was utterly overwhelming.
As if she hadn't been serious until now, the girl’s fire soared high into the sky. The crackling sound was loud enough to make one's eardrums sting.
"That which will burn the whole world."
Immediately after that short addition—
Hundreds of swords and a wave of fire danced together.
* * *
Iris’s vision was blurred.
She was a woman who had barely survived a childhood illness. Her constitution was naturally frail, and she could swear she had never run this desperately in her entire life.
Part of her wanted to just stop and give up.
But hadn't the escort knight, Teon, said it instead of a goodbye?
‘You must get as far away as possible!’
Furthermore, every time an explosion erupted behind her, the entire mountainside seemed to tremble. It was to the point where she wondered why the Academy hadn't sent any reinforcements yet.
"Kyaah?!"
The woman’s body, staggering as she ran, finally reached its limit.
Running in a skirt, Iris eventually tripped over her own hem and tumbled to the ground. The sharp, stinging pain against her skin felt profoundly alien.
To think she would be reduced to such a state.
She could never forgive this. Once she returned, she would gather the maximum possible force and hunt her down.
It was while she was panting, trying to catch her breath.
Step.
Should she call it instinct?
That tiny noise approached with such clarity that it made the fine hairs on her body stand on end. Iris’s gaze, filled with disbelief, slowly turned toward her back.
Golden-brown eyes.
Black hair, black clothes, heat, and the smell of burning.
This person is fire itself.
It was a sentiment felt by her heart, not her head. Even while gasping as if her breath might fail at any moment, Iris let a question slip out.
"H-How……?"
A High Expert, defeated so quickly.
Barely ten minutes had passed. Aside from a Master, there was no one capable of suppressing a High Expert in such a short time.
But that Haster girl had done it.
It felt as if the past she had tried to forget had returned as an undeniable sin. As if this entire sequence of events was some kind of inevitability.
Iris began to tremble violently.
"Any last words?"
At Celine’s calm question, Iris shouted, unable to hide her surging emotions.
"Don't make me laugh… Do you think a Princess of the Empire goes outside without any insurance?! My body is protected by forty-eight layers of barriers……!"
Whoosh.
As the flames flared up, they began to eat away at the barriers protecting the Princess’s frail body. Watching the spell formulas melt away like wax along the fire, Iris finally broke into a sob.
She tried to push herself up but fell back onto her backside.
With a tearful face, she pulled out the scroll—her final resort—only for a dry warning to follow.
"It would be better if you didn't tear that."
There wasn't a single ripple of emotion on Celine’s face as she spoke. Unable to grasp the true intent behind that advice, Iris hesitated.
Heave, heave. She panted, slowly loosening her grip on the scroll.
By now, the distance between the two was mere inches.
Iris asked, sobbing.
"D-Did I… Did I do something wrong? But, I clearly… Right! You, aren't you afraid of our Great-Grandfather?! If you touch the Imperial Household, he will never……!"
That was the end.
Thuck.
The longsword pierced through Iris’s solar plexus. Gurgle. Bloody foam rose as the woman’s consciousness began to fade.
"Tell him to come."
Thud. The woman’s body collapsed.
Having finished her revenge, the girl turned and vanished without a word. Once again, to a place where no one would know.
She left without even noticing the pale green liquid leaking from Iris’s robes.
This was the full account of how the Second Princess of the Empire fell into critical condition.
* * *
The Second Princess’s grave injury.
I wasn't the only one who came running upon hearing the news; Senior Sienne was with me as well. In the temple's Concentrated Healing Room, a familiar face greeted us.
"S-Sir Ian!"
Cien, the 5th Princess of the Empire.
She hurried toward me today as well, her face crumpled in tears. Her hands, clasped neatly in front of her chest, seemed to represent her inner turmoil.
"M-My sister… my sister is……!"
"She will be fine."
"But, no matter how much they treat her, she won't wake up……!"
"Your Highness."
I lowered my voice, feigning as much composure as possible.
As I placed my hands on her shoulders, Cien, who had been looking like a puppy caught in the rain, flinched and trembled.
"She will be fine."
"Ye-yes……."
Cien answered in a somewhat dazed voice and stepped aside. Then, the one who rushed to Iris first was Senior Sienne.
"Your Highness!"
I could feel Senior Sienne’s agitation in that trembling voice. She didn't even dare to touch Iris’s body; her hands, hovering nearby, were shaking just as much.
"How, who would dare……!"
In truth, Senior Sienne already knew.
We had heard the general information before arriving here.
The personnel who had been escorting the Princess were currently groaning, plagued by illusions. It was a carbon copy of the victims from a certain previous incident.
It’s Celine.
An unprecedented headache attacked my brain the moment I realized this. A groan escaped through my lips before I could stop it.
Cien likely knew this as well.
That was probably why she was hesitating, not even daring to support me, just watching my reaction.
I muttered in a voice laced with a sigh.
"Just what on earth were you thinking……?"
There were many reasons why one shouldn't touch the Imperial Household.
Because it could escalate into an international issue.
Because the Imperial Intelligence Agency was hidden everywhere.
Because a bounty of millions could be placed on one's head.
But all of these were merely secondary reasons. The reason why everyone on the Continent looked up to the Imperial Household and didn't dare lay a finger on them—
It was because of the existence of a single person.
An individual capable of reshaping the Continent's power structure single-handedly, and the greatest deterrent the Empire possessed.
It was obvious that he would move.
This was the critical condition of a prominent successor vying for the next throne. If he were to leave such an outrage alone, there would have been no reason for the people of the world to fear him in the first place.
This was proven in just a few minutes.
Boom!