Chapter 105
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 105
“He has Uin, and now he has you. He must be the ‘villain necessary for the Empire’ you mentioned.”
“I suppose you could see it that way.”
“Then see your will through to the end. Even if he is cunning, he uses that cunning for the sake of the Empire. If you are by his side, I’m sure it will lead to a good outcome.”
“You never have anything but well-wishes for me… Enough. You didn’t call me here just for this, Bern. So, what is it? Get to the point.”
“……”
“Do I have to order another round before you’ll tell me?”
“Sturman.”
Sturman, who had been about to offer a playful reply, snapped his mouth shut. Bern’s voice was trembling. The Immortal, the Fierce Commander—Bern, who was practically deified as a flawless hero, was showing a deeply human side.
“Speak.”
“If I die.”
He uttered the heavy words, then corrected himself as if he’d misspoken.
“If, by some chance, I die.”
His voice was gravelly, as if his throat were parched. After wetting his throat with more alcohol, Bern continued.
“Protect the Empire.”
“There you go again, setting such a grim mood just because you’re the Hero.”
“No, listen to me. I said ‘if,’ didn’t I? If. You think I’m crazy enough to go there intending to die? It’s just a precaution. I’m only telling you this because you’re the only one I can trust…”
“And how am I supposed to protect it? What can an old man like me even do?”
“If you can’t do it yourself, then support the one who can. Keep them from falling, just as you did for me.”
“You have a way of making things sound so complicated.”
“Is that so? Then… fine. How about this? Sturman, live out the rest of my years for me, and…”
…In his memory, Bern had been incredibly serious then. As if his earlier drunken leaning had been a lie, he spoke in a clear, steady voice.
“Guide Ar so he walks the right path, and keep Uin’s convictions from being clouded.”
“Easier said than done.”
“I’m begging you. I know I can trust you, of all people, to grant this.”
……
……
“I’m sorry, Bern.”
He had failed to keep either promise.
His hands were numb. The hammer he had been holding had fallen to the ground long ago.
Or had it? He wasn’t sure how much time had passed. He had simply come to his senses and found himself in this state.
Collapsed on the ground, Sturman muttered blankly. Sprawled out on the dirt.
…This was the outcome of the battle.
How long had they fought? How had they fought? He couldn’t really remember. For dozens of seconds—or perhaps only a few—he had fought on pure instinct. It wasn’t that he had lost his mind. His thoughts were perfectly clear, but there hadn’t been time for any normal decision-making process.
Blades had danced, and he had reacted desperately to avoid being swept away by their rhythm. Dozens, no, hundreds of clashes were exchanged, the deafening clangs making his ears ring.
Every attack, though seemingly reckless, was calculated several moves ahead. He had read them, countered, been blocked, and traded blows back and forth.
…In the end, he lost.
He opened his eyes.
The victor’s face looked down at him. Even under the dark sky, the long silver hair that draped down to touch Sturman’s cheek shone brilliantly.
As he’d suspected, the silver-haired monster’s single, glowing red eye was no illusion.
The Blade Maid, straddling the pinned Sturman, swung her blade, her eyes cold and merciless.
Thud!
Guillotine’s Tooth slammed into the ground right beside his head.
Seeing the old knight who hadn’t even flinched, the Blade Maid spoke in a chilly tone.
“Not bad.”
“……”
“Rene has fought many humans… I think you were quite decent. At least, your skills are not common.”
A strange feeling, being praised by the monster about to take my life, Sturman thought to himself as he replied.
“Do monsters have names?”
In response, Rene drew a blade from her pocket and stabbed it into Sturman’s leg.
With a wet squelch, blood splattered. He felt the blade pierce his muscle and scrape against bone.
“…Ugh.”
A groan of pain escaped him. Rene leaned her face closer. Her single right eye seemed to crush his will to fight with a mere glance, binding him in place.
“Human, Rene has a name personally given to her by Lord Swallow. Provoke Rene again, and I will kill you on the spot.”
“Ha.”
Sturman laughed. The Blade Maid frowned but did nothing more. She didn’t kill him.
There could be only one reason she was keeping him alive.
The Blade Maid drew another blade and slashed his other ankle. Now he wouldn’t be able to flee on his own two feet.
“Marmolia and the Homunculus.”
When the Blade Maid spoke, Sturman understood her intent and forced his expression to remain blank.
As if his reaction didn’t matter in the slightest, she continued.
“It doesn’t matter if you pretend not to know. Countless members of the subjugation squads that invaded the Primordial Core thought they could endure torture to the very end.”
“……”
“They all believed that if they kept their mouths shut, Rene would give up and kill them. But Rene is no amateur. Rene is not soft. Rene knows exactly how to make someone suffer without letting them break.”
As she finished her words, a loud explosion echoed from nearby.
Unidentified fire magic had just rained down near the south gate, which stretched along the mountain ridge. The entire area touched by the spell was burned to ash. Flames soared into the indigo sky, brightly illuminating the surroundings.
Sturman’s gaze, which had been fixed on Rene, naturally drifted toward the light.
—Countless people must have died from that single spell.
…He recalled what Ar had said when Sturman first joined the Edelbreas Black Wolf Knights.
Ar had told them that as long as they followed him, they could never become the light.
…He also recalled what Ar had said after the ‘Black Disaster’ descended upon Riaze.
He had told them they would kill tens, even hundreds of thousands. That they would grow numb to killing the innocent. And that for this, they would earn the hatred of many.
And all of that…
…would be a sacrifice for the sake of hundreds of millions of humans, Ar had said.
“Whether you will join me is for you to decide.”
At first, he thought Ar was a lunatic. Even now, he still believed the man was crazy. He didn’t think Ar’s ideology was right, either.
However.
However, seeing a sight like this…
“……”
After looking once more at the flames swallowing the city, Sturman slowly opened his mouth.
“Blade Maid.”
Her eyes narrowed. Her dark pupils dug into Sturman’s expression, as if trying to pry out the truth.
“It is your victory.”
As if he had no intention of resisting her gaze, Sturman admitted defeat. It was a belated, almost sudden admission, enough to make one wonder why he was only now accepting the outcome.
And at the end of his words, the old knight added a faint smile.
“But you spent far too much time on this old man.”
—Yes, the time had come.
“……!!”
Only then realizing something was wrong, the Blade Maid yanked Guillotine’s Tooth from the ground and spun around.
Behind them, in the empty lot where only the blood-soaked ruins of the Teleportation Hub remained, a presence had suddenly appeared.
The Blade Maid threw Guillotine’s Tooth the moment she turned. The blade, extending dozens of meters on its wire, sliced through the air with a sharp whoosh!
But she felt no sensation of cutting flesh.
The presence was drawing closer.
The uninvited guest ducked under the attack, closing the distance to stand right before the Blade Maid.
I’m going to be attacked.
She had missed her chance to strike first; now it was time to counter. The Blade Maid’s thoughts raced in that split second.
She had two choices.
Take a large step back to create an opportunity to counter, or dodge sideways to escape the attack range entirely.
Trusting her instincts, the Blade Maid sidestepped to avoid the rushing intruder.
And in that fleeting moment, she took in her opponent’s appearance.
First, messy sky-blue hair fluttering into her vision.
Next, a slender build.
Finally, navy-blue gauntlets.
“Shatter!!”
A tempest raged forth with a thunderous shout.
It was a simple punch, yet the power condensed at its tip exploded outward in layered shockwaves.
Kaaaa-boom!
The shockwave alone tore through the air for several meters. The screeching of the compressed energy erupting was a testament to its sheer power.
Dangerous.
The Blade Maid made a split-second decision and was about to swing her blade to cut down the intruder.
But in that infinitesimally brief gap—
Thud!
A sharp spear plunged into the ground right where she was about to step. Losing her balance from the sudden variable, the Blade Maid withdrew her blade and hastily retreated.
Only after putting a safe distance between them did she warily scan her surroundings.
“Humans…”
Immediately after the sky-blue-haired intruder appeared, multiple presences had multiplied around them.
They were all human.
Ten were in her line of sight, including Sturman, and she could sense two more faint presences nearby.
All of them wore white coats adorned with the same insignia.
“……”
Silence hung in the air. Amidst the quiet, the Blade Maid’s eyes flashed.
The sky-blue-haired intruder was in a league of her own. A single blow was enough to confirm that she was a powerhouse who far transcended the limits of her species.
Rene had fought countless A-rank subjugation squad members in the Primordial Core, but she had never seen a human unleash such destructive power with a single, explosive punch.
And even setting that intruder aside…
What are these humans plotting…?
Every single one of them was a high-caliber expert.
“……So you want to fight.”
Staring at them with eyes full of hatred, the Blade Maid—Rene—sliced her cumbersome long skirt to above her knees.
*
“Even the great Captain makes mistakes like this.”
“……You.”
The temporary hub was about half-filled with mana. Ar was sitting on the ruins of the collapsed Magic Tower, lost in thought.
Footsteps drew closer, and a shadow fell over him. When he looked up, Garot—someone who should not have been there—was standing before him.
Ar’s mouth twitched as if to ask, Why are you here? but he changed his mind, speaking only after a brief silence.
“If you are here, that means…”
“Yes.”
Garot knew Ar all too well. She knew exactly what he wanted to ask and didn’t hesitate to answer.
“The entire Edelbreas Black Wolf Knights have arrived.”
Phase. 7
At Garot’s blunt words, all the nearby magic scholars froze. They seemed utterly flustered. Only Ar remained calm.
Quietly lowering his head at her report, Ar let out a soft sigh before speaking to a nearby scholar.
“Everyone, please step back for a moment.”
Only after a single magic scholar remained to inject mana into the hub did Ar raise his head once more.
He had many questions.
In a sharp, piercing voice, Ar demanded of Garot:
“……How did you find out and get here?”
“The Tower Master of Magic Tower Polaris sent a direct message to the Imperial Family. There’s a long-distance communication tool that only Tower Masters can use.”
Garot added that the message stated they needed reinforcements because the Knecht had been annihilated.
Since Ar’s plan shouldn’t have led to the village’s destruction, Garot had sensed something was wrong and inquired about the situation. After receiving a detailed explanation, she became certain that a problem had arisen.
“……So they caused trouble after all.”
“It’s a relief I intercepted that message. Otherwise, this whole affair would have been exposed. Or was me receiving the message also part of your plan, Captain?”
Garot sneered. Few people dared to provoke Ar like that.
Ar didn’t react and continued his questioning.
“What about the report to the higher-ups?”
“I only reported that Swallow attacked the Knecht. I figured that would make it easier to clean up the situation.”
“This will be a pain to deal with when we get back.”
“Everything happened within minutes, and the reporting was handled informally. The Imperial Family likely knows next to nothing.”
Garot’s decision to specifically mention Swallow was a wise one.
Those with much to lose are always cowardly, and the Imperial Family was no exception. They were probably shaking in their boots at the mere mention of Swallow’s appearance.
It was easy to picture them ordering, ‘Stop him at all costs,’ without even bothering to investigate the details of the incident.
“What happened to the Tower Master after that?”
“He hung up after delivering only the necessary information. He was already out of his mind by the time he sent the message.”