Chapter 352
Chapter 352
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 352
Chapter Title: Throne Determination War: Redburn Territory Explosion Arc - 4
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To speak of the lives of Roderus Redburn and Envers Redburn, one must first discuss the prophecy.
Someday, the duke asked his fable, Foresight Lantern.
"The empire's power lies in swords and staves. My ambitions will inevitably turn toward the empire, so I shall prepare countermeasures. To face those two monsters—the Sword Saint and the Magic Tower Masters—what must I do?"
In response, the soul steeped in dominion replied,
The duke accepted the prophecy of the Foresight Lantern. He began his work to forge daggers for the future, following the path illuminated by the murky light of his own soul.
Countless children were conceived as tools for the duke, raised in the mold of assassins, their souls twisted until only those who survived remained. The rest all died.
Thus, the selected pair were the brothers Roderus and Envers. Roderus awakened the fable Mana Hardening, becoming a fine dagger against mages. The Foresight Lantern had been right.
Envers failed to awaken a fable, but if the prophecy held true, he too would one day become a swordsman-slaying swordsman. For that reason, the duke spared him.
Their lives had been shaped by someone else's schemes and intentions, and would continue to be so.
That is, if not for the walking chaos—the mad mage with a malevolent spirit sealed in his mind—who had twisted all those fates like a storm...
"You're here."
Clop, clop, neigh.
The sound of horses whinnying echoed. An unmanned carriage halted in the midst of a secluded forest, and the cart hitched to it brimmed with children meant as sacrificial offerings.
There was no sign of the Faceless One. But it didn't matter. As long as he had these sacrifices, nothing else was important. The end was near.
Shing.
As Duke Redburn approached them, Roderus quietly drew his rapier. The blade gleamed in the moonlight filtering through the leaves.
Noticing the glint, the duke's movements halted. In the dark forest, only the rustle of branches marked the passing time.
He had planned to ambush during the ritual, but the duke seemed to have noticed. Beneath the hem of his cloak, the duke's hand hovered near the longsword at his waist.
Roderus stared at his back and spoke, his voice as dry as winter leaves.
"Maximus Redburn."
"You're missing your honorifics. I thought your basic training ended a decade ago."
"If there's one thing I learned from you, even a fragment, it's that respect is reserved for things of value. As a noble, how should one show courtesy to a roadside pebble?"
"...Your life was in my grasp. I consulted the Foresight Lantern dozens of times about whether you had betrayed me. If you were a traitor, I twisted fate to expose you. Yet here you stand, bold as brass."
That was why Duke Redburn had trusted Roderus to the end. From the moment of his birth, Roderus had been in the duke's clutches, unable to evade the Foresight Lantern—or so he believed.
But he had changed. Changed so very much.
"Curious? I'm not telling."
"......"
Roderus had lived in nightmares for over a decade, but a mere half-year of sweet dreams had changed everything. Now he knew friendship, love, and courage.
Those layered years of assassin training paled against the weight of a brief tea time with friends. So he didn't waver or hesitate. His life belonged not to his house, but to the side of those he loved.
Thus, now it was time to sever the prophecy and reclaim his stolen life.
"We have just two questions for you, Maximus Redburn."
"...We?"
"I'm here too. I've been waiting. For a very long time. I have a question you must answer."
Rustle.
Parting the underbrush, Envers Redburn emerged from the front. Clad in exotic martial robes, he gripped his longsword low. The duke was now surrounded by the brothers.
Roderus asked first.
"Have you ever felt guilt for the countless illegitimate children you sired?"
"Would you feel guilt toward a tool?"
Envers followed.
"...Did you love our mother?"
"Would you love a tool?"
"......"
So that was it.
If there was truly not a shred of humanity, if he saw others' lives merely as convenient objects...
"Then today, it's not tools killing you—it's humans. Remember that well."
"Your corpse will feed the wild dogs, and your name will be cursed eternally. I swear it. You won't even merit being a tool."
They would kill him here.
Step. Step.
Roderus and Envers slowly closed the distance.
The duke's fable, Foresight Lantern, was greatly weakened. Too many changes had occurred for either brother—changes beyond mere guesswork or inference.
And numerically, the brothers held the advantage. Surrounded from both sides, there was no escape.
Yet the duke remained calm. He said,
"You received assassin training. You learned many ways to move your body. Have you ever wondered whose techniques those were, and how they came to be?"
"......"
"I'll show you. How I killed my siblings and became the Redburn heir."
Swish.
A near-silent sound, like silk brushing skin, and suddenly the duke held his longsword. Crimson mana flowed regally along the blade.
An elegant motion. From that soundless movement, one could gauge the duke's prowess. A bead of cold sweat trickled down his cheek...
Sway.
An invisible lantern swung in an arc. The brothers braced for debuffs, but the lantern illuminated not them—the duke himself.
The duke had prophesied his own victory. The world bent to make it so. The underbrush bowed toward him like supplicants, and misfortune aided him.
"It can be used on yourself too...?"
"Don't worry, brother. I'll use my fable!"
Yes.
Envers's fable, Emperor Sword Form, countered Foresight Lantern. Fable against fable, sword against sword.
Boom!
Envers seized the sky in his sword stance. Immense pressure bore down on the duke, offsetting Foresight Lantern's effect. Roderus thrust his rapier into the gap.
Clang-!
The duke's longsword casually deflected the rapier. Roderus winced at the sharp pain transmitted through his hand. The mana in the longsword was no joke.
Long years and vast wealth had gifted the duke tremendous mana reserves.
Clang, clang-! Clang-!
Exchanges continued in rapid succession. At a glance, Roderus seemed pushed back by force. Yet his rapier was microscopically faster. The duke was suppressed by Emperor Sword Form.
Snap-!
Roderus's rapier shattered, unable to overcome the mana disparity. But.
He condensed mana to forge a new rapier on the spot. He pressed forward bit by bit. As if ready to die, Roderus swung and thrust his rapier madly.
All-out offense inevitably creates openings. The duke's eyes calmly read the timing, countering in the breath between Roderus's strikes. The duke's blade flew toward his throat.
Slash-!
Screech!
He deflected it with a shield of hardened mana. Roderus plunged his rapier into the duke's wide-open chest—
Rumble-!
A pitch-black wall erupted before the duke in an instant. Roderus's rapier was blocked by its thickness. And then.
Kaboom──!!
An explosive orb cast from beyond the obscured wall blasted Roderus away along with it.
Amid acrid black smoke, Roderus rolled across the ground until his back slammed into a tree, finally stopping.
"...Cough."
He survived because he had 'hardened' part of the duke's spell in that brief moment, reducing its lethality. The destructive power was unnatural.
Drip. He spat out a mouthful of blood surging up. Through blurred vision, Roderus glared at the duke. The duke walked toward Envers, sword in one hand and a magic circle hovering in the other.
The duke was a magic swordsman.
Envers tracked his flying brother with his eyes before glaring back at the duke. This was no time to look away. "Earth and fire magic from other schools... I thought one couldn't achieve mastery that way? But that power..." "Seems you've forgotten I'm a black mage." Master many schools' magic for versatility. Supplement lacking power with others' souls. Thus was born.
"Damn, nowhere to dodge...?!"
A monster who unleashed all schools' magic with lethal force while wielding precise swordsmanship.
Envers released Emperor Sword Form. He needed a better way. He squeezed his eyes shut and pulled a vial from his bosom. High-proof liquor sloshed inside.
"I swore I'd never use this unless I had to... Heavenly Demon, possess my body!"
He downed it in one gulp.
The alcohol was a psychological trigger prepared in advance. As intoxication clouded his mind, the Heavenly Demon attribute from the Illusion Tower incident resurfaced in his consciousness.
His expression grew solemn, arrogance gleaming in his eyes.
Whoosh.
Envers left afterimages in all directions as he evaded, slipping toward the duke like silk. Blades clashed.
Clang-!
From the first clash, martial arts blossomed from Envers's hands. Mysteries unknown to this world unfolded—parrying, blocking, swinging.
The duke was outmatched in technique. He knew this bizarre swordplay was devouring him.
"Grown a bit from that fool, have you, Envers?"
"This one is Heavenly Demon Namgung Cheonghwi. Bow your head to the pinnacle of the martial world, duke!"
"Mad as ever. Crimson Lotus Sphere."
Kaboom──!
The duke detonated magic at point-blank range. Envers formed a sword barrier to defend, but the blast's shockwave launched him airborne.
No evasion midair.
The duke gathered dense mana and unleashed it. But Envers naturally pooled mana and kicked off the air. A motion honed hundreds of times.
"Air Stride!"
"Pointless tricks."
This would drag on awhile. But victory was his. Envers's swordsmanship and fable were impressive, but ultimately, no counter to magic.
The duke was certain of triumph.
"......"
Roderus rose. His hands trembled. Astonishingly, not from rage, anguish, or sorrow. The vibration stemmed from shame. He held the transformation device, Dreaming Mirror. Magical girl mode had many advantages. Even now. Nothing beat it for bolstering defense and creating variables. He knew that. He knew, but... He didn't want to transform, even if he died. Truly, not even if someone held a sword to his throat. He wanted to win as a man. How perfect would that be? The tall, handsome youth Roderus Redburn proudly avenging himself, earning a happy ending. But he had to. A inner voice suggested waiting until Envers was beaten senseless and fainted, but no. The duke's power exceeded expectations. They needed to fight together. Damn it all. Fine. For returning, marrying Lulu, and living happily ever after, he had to. Roderus gritted his teeth, mustered manly courage, raised the transformation device, and shouted.
"—Transform!" Ping! Beeping-beeping-beep♪ Prismatic light enveloped Roderus's body. His clothes dissolved in the glow, replaced by mystical radiance. At that bizarre noise, the duke and Heavenly Demon Namgung Cheonghwi halted their fight and turned. They witnessed the magical girl's transformation. Shalala~!! Gaudy effects burst forth—stars scattering everywhere, light converging to reshape Roderus's form. His height shrank, the lost mass shifting to chest and hips. His hair turned sky-blue and lengthened, blue ribbons tying at wrists and ankles. Pure white gloves, what gossips called "pumpkin pants"—drawers, a tunic covering budding breasts. Over it, a feathered hat and cape evoking the Three Musketeers, a fluttering skirt half-covering his thighs. A rapier hung at his waist.
"...Magical Girl Pure Knight, arriving..."
The manifestation of the Blue Rose vigilantes patrolling Crown Hall.
"......"
"...Wha-what, bro...?!"
Envers's massive shock snapped Heavenly Demon mode. The duke reeled as if the cosmos collapsed. More shocking than learning his loyal tool Roderus had betrayed him. Now the puzzle pieces fit. Why Foresight Lantern failed. How could anyone predict the family heir, raised as an assassin, dashing about the capital in such attire as a woman in a vigilante group? Only a god could foresee that! The duke shrieked hysterically.
"Know your shame, Roderus!!"
"Shut up and die, duke—!!"
Magical Girl Pure Knight charged, brimming with murderous intent beyond usual, clutching her lethal magic wand. The second round began.