Chapter 95
Chapter 95
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 95
Chapter Title: Villainess: Peria Alperatz (5)
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The night over the Alperatz Marquisate, shrouded in darkness.
There, a band of mages was slipping out of the marquisate under cover of night.
Chief Mage Kallife Variant of the Magitech Corps.
He and the other mages of the Magitech Corps had begun their midnight escape from the marquisate.
Clop, clop—
The hurried sounds of horses being driven echoed in every direction.
Kallife, at the head of the fleeing procession, issued urgent orders from beneath his robe.
“Hurry! We have to get out of here right now!”
His face, speaking in a trembling voice, was already deathly pale.
Moreover, he didn’t stop there—he kept glancing back warily, as if guarding against something.
Swish—
Kallife’s gaze lingered on the gates of Barthus Castle for a long while.
Only after putting some distance between them and the walls did he finally relax.
‘Did we at least manage to escape the city!’
It didn’t look like the marquisate’s soldiers were pursuing them.
It seemed no arrest warrant had been issued for Kallife.
Even so, the chilling exchange in the marquisate lingered in his mind.
Was it concern that an incident in the city would cause political fallout?
Or had they planned to deal with Kallife via poison or an accident?
Either way, it was clear they had no intention of letting him go quietly.
‘If I stay in the marquisate any longer, I’ll die! I have to get out as fast as possible!’
He needed to return to the capital as quickly as he could.
Failing that, he needed protection under someone of cardinal rank at least.
Visiting the marquisate ahead of the cardinal had been a foolish decision.
The marquise’s young lady was far more dangerous than Kallife had imagined.
Without a proper shield, even his own survival was in jeopardy.
“Everyone, stay alert! We don’t know when they might come for us!”
Another warning to his subordinates spilled from Kallife’s lips as he gripped the reins.
Moreover, Kallife’s actions didn’t end there.
Swish—
He pulled a gleaming crystal orb from within his robes.
It was ‘Polaris No. 1,’ the one he always carried to communicate with his comrades in the Magitech Corps back at the capital.
‘Please, pick up soon— as soon as possible!’
At this hour, a mage on duty should answer.
Whummm—
As his rough hands manipulated the crystal orb, waves of mana began emanating from it.
“……”
The orb vibrated in Kallife’s grasp several times.
Static, crackle—
Soon, amid the noise, he could make out the figure of someone on the other end.
The heavy static made it hard to discern the exact voice or shape.
But it was clear the other party was wearing a Magitech Corps robe.
“Can you hear me? This is Kallife Variant, Lead Magitech Disaster Investigator dispatched to the Alperatz Marquisate!”
- “Chief Mage Kallife, what’s the matter at this hour?”
The robed mage’s image.
A faint smile crossed Kallife’s face at the sight.
With the crystal orb, he might just request reinforcements from headquarters—
That thought flashed through his mind.
“It’s an emergency! Requesting support from headquarters immediately! Urgently dispatch the corps forces stationed in the west here!”
- “Support? What do you……”
“The Alperatz marquise’s daughter has betrayed the Empire! Peria Alperatz has joined hands with a doctor from the Magic Research Society!”
The truths he had uncovered poured urgently from Kallife’s mouth.
Peria Alperatz’s true identity.
And the collusion between Begerton Antares and the marquis’s house.
He began relaying it all to headquarters.
“From our investigation in the Alperatz Marquisate, Peria Alperatz is a member of a secret society threatening the Empire!”
- “……A member of a secret society?”
“Yes! She’s no clueless noble girl! Moreover, she seems involved in the recent disappearance of one of the Seven……!”
Information threatening the marquis house’s very existence flowed from Kallife’s lips.
The duty mage listening to all this fell silent.
- “……”
Was it because Kallife’s words were so shocking?
Or perhaps the drowsiness hadn’t worn off yet.
The Magitech Corps mage simply stared back in silence.
Watching this, Kallife raised his voice in frustration toward the mage beyond the orb.
“You idiot, relay my words to the higher-ups right now! With this info, they’ll move forces immediately!”
Every minute counted.
He needed reinforcements as soon as possible.
Thus, Kallife’s voice echoed loudly through the darkness for a moment.
- “Ha… I see.”
Soon, the voice of the robed Magitech mage returned from the orb.
- “Chief Mage Kallife, you’ve uncovered valuable intelligence. It couldn’t have been easy.”
“Yes, if you understand my efforts, report to the higher-ups immediately——”
- “But why should I?”
“What……?”
Kallife’s bewildered eyes stared blankly at the orb.
Something was wrong.
This was not a response a Magitech Corps duty mage would give.
“What did you just say……?”
A trembling voice escaped Kallife’s lips as he stared at the orb.
Right then, the noisy screen cleared up again.
Static, crackle—
Beyond the now properly displaying screen.
The duty mage’s hand suddenly swept back the robe’s hood.
- “I asked why I should listen to you.”
“……”
- “The young lady of the marquis is doing splendid work. Why would I file such a pointless report?”
The figure revealed by the pushed-back hood was a middle-aged mage with a rugged face.
Only then did Kallife’s eyes properly note the insignia on the other’s robe.
Lead Mage.
The robe worn by the mage on the screen was one granted only to lead mages in the Magitech Corps.
“……Who the hell are you.”
Facing the unknown lead mage, Kallife finally grasped the situation and spoke in a subdued voice.
Something was gravely amiss—
There was a traitor in the Magitech Corps.
A lead mage whose face he didn’t recognize had intercepted the transmission meant for central command.
And that lead mage looked at Kallife with a mocking smile, as if amused by his panic.
- “Allow me to introduce myself, Count Kallife. I am Lead Mage Creighton LukeBart.”
“Creighton… LukeBart……!”
- “You could say I’m one of the close friends of that Peria girl you’re so wary of.”
Lead Mage Creighton LukeBart.
Kallife ground his teeth and glared at him upon learning his identity.
This mage named Creighton was undoubtedly part of the secret society, just like the marquise’s daughter.
Otherwise, there’d be no reason for that attitude.
The secret society’s roots had already burrowed deep into the Magitech Corps.
“How can a Magitech Corps mage serve such an organization—!”
- “Hmm… That’s rich coming from you, isn’t it? Neither of us seems particularly clean.”
“You son of a bitch—!”
Curses immediately poured from Kallife’s mouth at Creighton’s words.
But Creighton paid no heed to the insults.
If anything, he seemed to enjoy the reaction, gazing at Kallife with a leisurely smile.
- “It’s truly unfortunate for you, but you’ve caught the eye of a very troublesome man.”
“……”
- “Well, what can be done? A mere lead mage of the Magitech Corps can’t hope to interfere in the Secret Society’s affairs and live.”
Creighton’s sneering face burned into Kallife’s memory.
Mere, lead mage—
It was the first insult of its kind Kallife had ever heard.
Yet the other man stroked his goatee with casual ease, as if it were the most natural thing.
- “Understand this. Our lady tends to be quite demanding, so think of it as bad luck this time.”
“……You plan to kill me.”
- “It seems that way, doesn’t it? The Doctor wants it too, so no helping that.”
Kallife’s eyes, filled with myriad emotions, fixed on the orb.
The mysterious secret society that called itself the ‘Secret Academy.’
No matter how he thought about it, it made no sense.
He couldn’t comprehend what drove them.
A continent-shaking criminal, a grand lord gripping the west’s breadbasket, a commander in the Magitech Corps— all moving for a single goal.
Their declaration of his death was no bluff.
He had already seen the ‘monster’ nestled in Peria Alperatz’s arms back in the lord’s reception room.
“Who is it! Who’s pulling the strings that I have to die here?!”
- “……”
“Is it Peria Alperatz? Is that woman commanding you all……!”
- “Of course not. The lady and I—we merely follow His will.”
It was incomprehensible no matter how he looked at it.
What manner of extraordinary figure was behind them, commanding even a grand lord ruling vast territories?
Who was this ‘He’ they spoke of—
Countless questions echoed within Kallife.
And as if bidding them farewell, noise spread across the crystal orb in his hand.
- “Time’s up. Farewell, friend.”
Crack!
Cracks spiderwebbed across the noisy orb.
The orb that had just shown Creighton’s face was now shattered beyond repair.
Thud, roll—
It fell limply from Kallife’s grasp.
“……”
In its place, as Kallife rode on, something entered his field of vision.
Whummm—
Beneath the sky with its pure white full moon.
There hovered another ‘blue moon.’
A shimmering azure glow.
The moment Kallife quietly raised his head to the impossible second moon.
“Ah—.”
He realized it wasn’t a moon at all.
It wasn’t the moon pouring out clear moonlight.
It was an artificial magic tool, meticulously crafted to mimic the moon’s blue light.
Whirrr—
And directly below that magic tool stood a figure with gleaming purple eyes.
- “……”
“……Blasphemer, Sirius.”
Even at first sight, Kallife instantly recognized the foe.
Blasphemer—Sirius.
The black-armored knight who had recently shaken the continent gazed down from beneath the blue moonlight.
Gleaming eyes greeted Kallife and his comrades.
One of the Seven—
One of the Seven had appeared before Kallife.
And right on schedule with Creighton’s death sentence, descending to earth in the form of a ferocious knight.
“You came yourself… to kill me……?”
- “……”
“You moved one of the Seven just to kill me—!”
It was the executioner.
The emissary sent by the self-proclaimed ‘Secret Academy’ to carry out Kallife’s sentence.
Kallife’s trembling hand moved frantically.
Grip—
He seized the grimoire at his waist, glaring at the knight in the sky.
“This… This makes no sense……!”
He knew it was futile resistance.
Yet his hand clutched the grimoire at his waist for dear life.
The mages following Kallife also scrambled for their grimoires, faces pale with terror.
Shudder—
Arms heavy with fear raised, Kallife looked up at the Blasphemer and spoke.
“Moving one of the Seven at will, even dooming and burning another of the Seven… How could such things be permitted for a mere secret society……!”
- “Kallife Variant. Is that your last word?”
“I can’t die like this! I didn’t strive all these years to die in a place like this—!”
Snap—
The strap holding the grimoire tore free.
At the same instant, Kallife’s eyes flooded with red mana light.
“—[Grimoire] activation……!”
- “Multi-combat support spell, [Procyon] activation.”
Sirius’s gaze looked down upon the ground.
Shing—
From behind Sirius, twelve swords reflecting moonlight emerged.
Each blade a treasure brimming with immense mana, flawless blue edges.
The twelve swords traversed the sky freely, as if possessed of will, adorning the heavens.
Beneath the starlight, the radiant swords pulsed.
Facing the absurd sight, Kallife raised his hand toward the sky.
“—Flames of hell, consume the foe……!”
Slash—
Azure light sliced through the air.
Immediately after, Kallife’s vision, hand outstretched to the sky, tilted.
“Ah—.”
Thud, roll—
That was the last scene Kallife remembered.