Chapter 197
Chapter 197
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 197
Chapter Title: After the Curtain Falls (3)
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First Prince Isaac.
The first time I heard that name was from First Princess Luriel. She told me her older brother was a paranoid lunatic, an utter bastard.
"If you asked me to describe my brother in one word, I'd pick 'psychopath' without a second thought."
A madman obsessed with power.
A man who wouldn't hesitate to kill his own blood for it. That was the First Prince as I'd heard from Princess Luriel.
'In other words, that's all there is to it.'
Thinking back, yeah, that checked out.
All I knew about the First Prince came from Luriel's mouth. Even if I'd been totally indifferent to the royal family, this felt a bit off.
"Isn't the First Prince the heir to the throne?"
Knight commissioning ceremonies.
Speeches on the battlefield.
Or ceremonies honoring the Hero's achievements.
You'd think the crown prince would show up at least once in those public events... but I'd never laid eyes on him.
'Something's weird here.'
I hadn't thought much of it before, but once the doubt crept in, it snowballed. The clincher was this letter in my hand.
A letter from Kellrhalhm.
A letter supposedly sent by the First Prince.
It carried a faint trace of demonic energy. Barely there, but the residual aura lingered. Sure, it could be dismissed as a tiny amount left over from my encounter with Skeval.
But still, it was odd.
I felt like I was missing something. I frowned. I had no intention of getting dragged into the royal power struggles if I could help it. My involvement would only complicate things, one way or another.
'But...'
This changed everything.
If the First Prince was tangled up in this chain of events and there was even a suspicion of demonic ties... I couldn't just let it slide.
The heart of humanity.
The pinnacle of the palace that rules over mankind.
If demons had wormed their way in there, they had to be rooted out completely. I muttered under my breath.
"...Should I just burn it all down?"
"Burn what down? You don't mean the palace, do you? Do you really want to see me keel over from shock, Senior?"
A horrified voice responded to my mumbling. I turned to see where it came from.
"I've got a mountain of stuff to deal with already. One more incident here and I might actually drop dead from overwork. For real."
On the sofa in the corner of the faculty lounge.
My favorite sofa, where Kalt sat straddling it, glaring at me with wide eyes. His stare was so sharp I averted mine.
'I do kinda owe him from this incident...'
I glanced up at Kalt's face—or more precisely, the eyepatch covering one eye.
"...How's your body holding up?"
"Muscle pain hit hard, but I'm better than expected. Kinda weird, honestly."
"Weird how?"
I tilted my head.
"What about it?"
"They said they injected me with this, right?"
Kalt pulled a test tube from his pocket.
The red liquid sloshed inside—it didn't look like any normal drug at first glance.
"It's a serum they're developing to enhance superhuman physiques. Side-effect testing isn't even done yet... Honestly, I braced myself when they used it."
Figured one limb might end up useless or something.
He muttered as he shook the test tube.
"But I'm fine."
"...Fine?"
"Yeah. Just the muscle pain—otherwise, perfectly fine."
"Maybe it didn't inject properly?"
"No, the effects kicked in fine. I even moved like a superhuman at times..."
Whoosh.
Kalt swung his arm like he was slashing with a sword.
"That final blow felt like I'd become a superhuman myself."
"...Really?"
I narrowed my eyes.
Taking Kalt into my sight, I raised my hand.
"Hey, Kalt."
"Yes?"
"Mind dodging this?"
"Huh? What do you m—Gah!"
Snap.
I flicked my fingers.
The spell formed in an instant and glowed. I'd toned down the power to a stinging level... but the speed was full throttle.
The spell headed straight for Kalt's forehead.
But it hit the faculty lounge wall instead.
"Wh-what?!"
Kalt had jerked his head aside, staring at me with wide, panicked eyes... but I was just as shocked.
"...You dodged it?"
"What do you mean?"
I pointed at Kalt, who was giving me a "have you lost your mind?" look.
"How'd you do that just now?"
"Huh? Do what...?"
"Dodge the spell. No motion, no mana flow—you shouldn't have read it. How?"
Only then did Kalt turn to look behind him. A faint scratch on the lounge wall. The mark from the spell he'd dodged.
"Uh..."
Kalt blinked.
"Something prickled up my spine...?"
"Hey, that sounds like..."
I said it.
"Super senses?"
An instinct bordering on precognition.
A hallmark sense for sword superhumans.
And something Kalt had never had before.
"...For real?"
"...Wanna test it again?"
"P-please do."
Kalt stiffened up, staring at me.
I slowly brought my index and thumb together, facing his slightly crouched, come-at-me stance. He gulped hard. Somehow, I was tensing up too.
"Here... goes?"
"Y-yes, sir."
Snap.
I flicked my fingers.
A bit more power this time.
Smite.
A thin beam lanced toward Kalt's forehead. If he dodged this too, he'd have truly touched superhuman territory.
Snap!
And Smite hit home.
With a crisp, resounding smack.
"Gah!"
Not the wall—Kalt's forehead.
His head snapped back with a smack.
2.
"The path to superhuman is long and treacherous..."
"They say you can't reach it without discarding or breaking something."
I gave a wry smile as Kalt rubbed his reddened forehead.
"Still, you're almost there."
"Feels like it. Dodged five or six out of ten shots."
It was true.
After that one success and failure, I'd fired off about a dozen more Smites, and he'd dodged five or six.
"Not perfect, but it feels like I've taken another step toward superhuman."
"Honestly, you've had experiences that wouldn't be out of place for one already."
"Really?"
"Think about it."
I spread my fingers wide.
"You spent years on the battlefield, crossing the line between life and death over and over. Experience? Check."
Thumb.
"Trained swordsmanship under Kuntel, the sword superhuman. Technique? Solid."
Index finger.
"And... you faced Death's Blade and Skull Branch and lived. That's the craziest part to me. How'd you survive?"
I folded my middle and ring fingers.
Then wagged the last remaining finger in front of Kalt.
"All that's left is breaking something or letting go."
"...Yeah, that's the condition for becoming superhuman."
"Well, old Galatric sword superhumans ascended differently... but that's beyond me."
I smiled.
"Congrats, Kalt."
Touching superhuman realm.
It was what Kalt had dreamed of for so long. Seeing my old subordinate take a step closer felt pretty good.
"That eye."
I pointed at Kalt's eye.
The left one lost in the Skeval fight.
"I'll fix it somehow, so don't worry."
Kalt touched his eyepatch and smiled wryly.
"You don't have to."
"It's on me. I got you into this."
I waved it off.
"Anyway, we got sidetracked."
I picked up the letter from the table.
"So, what the hell is this First Prince guy?"
"No idea."
"...What?"
I blinked.
"You're Royal Guard."
"True. Hounds is the name that sticks."
"Doesn't it sound weird that the king's closest guards barely know the prince?"
"Here's the thing."
Kalt let out a short sigh. He had a lot to say but didn't know where to start.
"The First Prince is... extremely unique. That's my conclusion from a few encounters and observations. How do I even explain it?"
Ah, he sighed.
"He doesn't feel like one person."
"...Not one person?"
"Yeah. Just... off. Heterogeneous."
Tracker.
A class that reads actions, grasps patterns, and 'tracks' targets. Kalt, with his unparalleled talent in it, had astonishingly keen insight into people.
And he was saying the First Prince felt alien. Unfathomable.
"There's that side obsessed with power. Spiderwebs everywhere in the palace, purging dissenters like a tyrant."
But, Kalt continued.
"Watch him from the shadows, though, and it's different. Ghostly. He avoids the spotlight. Like he's lurking backstage, observing..."
Two distinct faces.
"The divide between them is crystal clear. Like they're not the same person."
So, what's the problem?
I was about to explain the situation to Kalt when something glowed in my pocket. My magic communicator linked to Princess Luriel.
"...Hold on."
I pulled out the communicator.
The royal network must've been restored—letters were etching onto the glowing paper.
「Professor, the royal network's back up.」
And I wasn't the only one whose device rang.
-Beeeep.
A shrill noise blared from Kalt's coat. He grimaced and fished out his communicator.
"...Let's check first, then talk."
"Good idea."
Kalt and I focused on our respective messages. I read the letters forming on the paper.
「I have much to tell you, but this comes first.」
A brief hesitation.
Then I narrowed my eyes at the next lines.
「My brother has vanished from the palace.」
「Gone overnight.」
And.
「In the Crimson Palace where he resided...」
The moment I read the continuation, I caught my breath. I tore my eyes from the paper and looked at Kalt. He seemed to have gotten the same info—his gaze wavered.
"...I'm heading there now."
Kalt sent a transmission to his men, while I replied to Luriel's letter. Then we both stood at once.
The curtain had fallen on the stage.
Something writhed in the aftermath.
3.
First Princess Luriel.
She walked the palace corridors alone. Her thoughts refused to settle. Whenever her mind grew tangled, she'd wander the palace solo.
'My brother is missing.'
The crown prince himself, vanished.
Panic gripped every department, yet the Crimson Palace—his residence—remained eerily unchanged. Luriel couldn't fathom it.
Servants without a master.
Underlings unable to locate their lord.
Those who should be most frantic tended the Crimson Palace as always. Like soulless dolls. Same as ever, yet grotesquely so.
'They're hiding something.'
She was certain.
'What, exactly?'
Luriel frowned as she paced the royal halls, lost in thought. How long had she walked when she sensed the air shift?
"......"
Luriel looked up silently.
It was broad daylight, sunlight pouring in—yet the surroundings darkened like night. Not natural shadow. Shadow cast by light on objects.
Thud.
Footsteps echoed from the darkness.
Luriel stared toward the sound. A figure approached, dragging shadows. He spread his arms dramatically toward her.
"Oh, Luriel."
Gaunt build.
Platinum hair faded to near gray.
Clothing of only black and white.
Luriel named the man peering from the shadows.
"...Brother Isaac."
First Prince Isaac.
Luriel's eyes narrowed as she regarded him.
"I heard you'd gone missing."
"Who knows."
Isaac shrugged.
"Just returning where I belong. This was never my place."
"...You're certainly no fit for the throne. Good you know it yourself. Guess my barking wasn't wasted."
"Haha, sharp as ever, Luriel."
Dry laughter echoed down the hall.
Isaac's eyes curved into crescents. A mocking smile lingered in her ears.
"I can still see that scared little girl running away."
A light threat. Luriel hid her trembling fingertips in her sleeve and pressed on.
"...What do you plan to do?"
"Something more worthwhile."
"More value than the last decade-plus clawing for the throne?"
"Oh, Luriel. Does something you can take anytime have value?"
Luriel winced.
"...Are you saying it's 'worthless' now?"
"What else?"
"Then you slaughtered your siblings, your own blood, for something worthless...?"
As Luriel began, Isaac cut her off, finishing her thought with his own words.
"It wasn't sacrifice for nothing."
He smiled.
"I needed stimulus in my boring life. Humans thrashing to survive are always beautiful. As they were a century ago, a millennium ago."
The shadow tilted askew.
"Long life breeds hunger for excitement."
Luriel stared at Isaac wordlessly.
This was the brother she'd hated, facing her. But the Isaac she remembered didn't smile like that. Didn't relish that tone.
Different.
Something was off.
"You're not my brother."
Luriel spoke.
"Who are you?"
Isaac's lips twisted at the question. The shadows warped with them. He approached her amid the twisting shadows.
One step, another.
Something wearing human skin closed in. Yet Luriel couldn't move. Forgetting to breathe, she watched the approaching shadow.
Thud.
The shadow halted inches away.
It slowly lowered its head.
"That's not your question."
The shadow whispered in her ear.
"The one who asks is Stella's role."
Leaving those words, the footsteps faded. Only when they vanished entirely did Luriel exhale.
"Hah, haaah..."
Gulping air, wiping cold sweat from her nape, Luriel turned.
"......"
No one was there.
As if there never had been.