Chapter 125
Chapter 125
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 125
Chapter Title: Leviathan (5)
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“What the hell is this?!”
“A coup? Grimal must’ve lost his mind!”
Coup.
That was how the letters from the urgent messengers Antonio had sent to his members described Grimal’s movements.
The people of the floating archipelago took great pride in their peaceful self-governance under an oligarchy, free from any real interference by the Imperial family.
But now that was about to be overturned.
The members gathered once more, all fuming with rage.
They had already confirmed that Grimal was making suspicious moves toward the central temple.
‘This is perfect. I’ll use this crisis to seize complete control.’
Antonio envisioned himself as the “hero who crushed the coup” and shouted with a grave expression.
“All we have to do is stop Grimal, who’s backed by foreign powers, from doing anything stupid. Let’s become their saviors.”
At Antonio’s cry, the Black Skull members nodded solemnly.
They were already puffing up their chests like heroes.
* * *
「This is an announcement! Intelligence has been received of a planned terrorist attack on the central temple. All residents, please calmly evacuate the temple following the guard unit’s instructions. This is an announcement. Currently……!」
Weee-oong!
The siren and warning broadcast blaring in front of the central temple threw the residents—who had been waiting only for Krimhilt’s successor to appear—into confusion.
-What’s going on?
-Yeah, a terrorist attack? Intelligence?
-That means they’re targeting the successor! Oh my god!
-Who’s the bastard we should tear apart?!
And then they erupted in fury.
-Hurry! We need to get out before the terrorists strike!
-Don’t linger!
-Hey! You there! Get out now! Are you a terrorist or something?
The guards herded the residents outward.
Accustomed to the backroom bribes from Grimal, their eyes were wild with the promise of twenty times their usual pay once this was over.
If anyone refused to listen, they made it clear they’d slap them with terrorism charges and drag them out by force.
But there was one thing they hadn’t anticipated.
The residents’ faith in Krimhilt was far deeper than they’d imagined.
-What are you talking about?!
-You’re saying the successor could get hurt by some terrorist?!
-We’ll protect her! She must be exhausted after slaying that evil dragon! It’s our duty to guard her!
-Right! Right!
-Krimhilt has protected our floating archipelago all this time. Now it’s our turn to protect her!
-Everyone, to the central temple!
Waaah!
The residents were ready to surge straight into the central temple.
The guards tried desperately to hold them back, but the sheer crowd made it impossible.
Thanks to that, the flustered ones were now the Grimal family.
“Th-this is bad, Lord Firen! The residents aren’t under control at all!”
“How the hell do you handle things that this happens?! Do you know how much money we’ve funneled to you?!”
The guard captain couldn’t meet Firen’s eyes and bowed his head.
Normally, he’d push back with some defiance.
But now, with the reaper captain standing beside him, his chilling gaze sapped all his will—he couldn’t even look up.
“If any casualties happen because of this, it’s all on you!”
Whether the guard captain’s face turned pale or not,
Firen turned urgently to the reaper captain.
“If the residents don’t clear out, it’ll be hard to carry this out. Maybe we should wait for another chance……!”
“No. There is no next time. Advance as is. Reaper squad, draw swords.”
Shring, shring!
At the captain’s order, the squad members drew their blades in unison.
“N-no! If you charge in like this, there’ll be civilian casualties…… gulp!”
Firen cried out desperately, his face ashen, but clamped his mouth shut midway under the reaper captain’s murderous glare.
“My orders are to secure the successor. Preparing for that was your job, but you failed. Do I have to account for that too?”
Firen could only hiccup repeatedly, speechless.
“The warning’s already been given. Anyone who doesn’t leave will be deemed terrorists. And terrorists……”
Killing intent flickered in the reaper captain’s eyes like will-o’-the-wisps.
“Are to be executed without regard for age or gender.”
Fwaaah—
The reaper squad melted into shadows and leaped forward as one.
-What’s that?
-Terrorists?
-N-no! It’s Grimal! Grimal!
-Why are they charging us…… Aaaah!
-Dad! Dad, are you oka……!
-They stabbed someone! Grimal’s stabbing people!
The crowd turned into pandemonium in an instant.
The reaper squad swung their blades indiscriminately at anyone blocking their path.
「Th-this is an announcement! T-terrorists are t-targeting the central temple! Th-this is a r-real e-emergency! R-residents, h-hurry and e-evacuate! If not, you’ll be c-considered t-terrorists or a-accomplices……!」
The guard captain broadcast the warning in a trembling voice.
But it barely reached anyone’s ears anymore.
-C-casualties!
-Aaaah! My arm! My aaaarm!
-Don’t push! Stop pushing!
-Why are they after us?! We just want to see the successor! Anyone can see we’re not terrorists!
With so many people crammed in, even escaping the scene was nearly impossible.
They shoved and trampled one another, fell, got sliced by swords, bled—disaster unfolded.
Yet amid the chaos, the reaper squad steadily cleared a path and reached the central temple in one go.
“Step back! This is a neutral zone declared by the council! To enter, you must lay down your weap……!”
The head of the knight guarding the temple flew under the reaper captain’s slash.
“Terrorists might be hiding among those guarding the temple. Search every inch.”
An order to occupy, essentially.
They needed to locate Theo first.
“What is the meaning of this—?!”
At that moment, Marty and the temple knights rushed out from inside.
They grimaced upon seeing the bloodshed staining the temple entrance red.
“Intelligence indicates the Spinola family is leading a group in an attempt to terrorize Krimhilt’s successor. We’re here to protect her, so cooperate.”
“Are you saying Spinola is staging a rebellion?”
“Correct. Their guilt was already evident once before the council. They ignored the order to remain confined to their estate until summoned tomorrow and are now attempting to overthrow the regime—additional evidence has led to guards being dispatched there already.”
“……!”
Marty clenched her fists.
Now she fully understood the reaper squad and Grimal’s scheme.
Grimal was exaggerating the charges against Spinola to seize real power by force!
If Theo succeeded in sealing the Sea King, Troyvan’s intervention would lose all pretext.
Grimal was surely next on the purge list.
So they were rushing to act before that.
‘Right now, even Spinola would be caught off guard…… Securing the successor and parading her before the council would solidify their position.’
If they could link the previously neutral Romelin—who had stayed silent—to Spinola, the archipelago council would effectively fall into Grimal’s, no, Troyvan’s hands.
“All members of the Krimhilt Knights, listen up.”
Marty steeled her resolve, drew her sword, and shouted.
“Keep them from setting one foot in the altar area. They dare to tarnish Lady Krimhilt’s innocence.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
“Yes, ma’am!”
“Spinola accomplices here too. Eliminate them all.”
Fwaat—
Clang clang clang!
The temple knights clashed with the reaper squad.
Marty stood before the reaper captain.
“It won’t go as you wish.”
“Finally, I get to test that Krimhilt or whatever’s sword. Krimhilt, Krimhilt—been hearing it so much since we got here, my ears are callused. Nobody in the outside world knows the name anyway. Just curious what a backwater swordsman’s blade is like, the one only you hicks worship.”
Blatant mockery.
But Marty ignored it completely and struck fiercely with her sword.
As befitting upper-class swordsman level, her blade work was swift.
Clang clang clang—
The problem was that the reaper captain led an entire unit.
In Ragnar terms, Dragon Gate swordsman class.
“Nothing special. Stale country bumpkin swordplay.”
With curt criticism, the reaper captain slammed down hard.
Clang!
Marty’s sword snapped in half and spun into the air.
The reaper captain twisted his blade toward her frozen, horrified neck.
“Marty—!”
At that instant, several trajectories dropped from above, targeting the reaper captain’s back.
His sword whipped around, deflecting them all effortlessly.
“You lot……!”
“We’re here to save you!”
“Details later!”
The Black Skull members instantly recognized the reaper captain as the most dangerous.
They exchanged glances with Marty and launched a joint assault.
“Like kids playing house.”
But to the reaper captain, it was laughable.
Would he bat an eye at a few brats playing friendship?
Whoosh whoosh whoosh—
Slash! Slash! Slash!
His fiercely unleashed sword aura cleaved four members’ heads in one breath.
“Sladi!”
“Helen!”
“You bastard……!”
“Annoying. Die, all of you.”
In that moment, the reaper captain’s eyes flashed blood-red.
Blood Light Harmony.
The cult’s secret art activated, amplifying his presence dozens of times over.
It crushed Black Skull’s momentum in an instant, and he swiftly slit the throats of the remaining members, whose bodies stiffened.
Among them was Antonio, the self-proclaimed Black Skull leader.
“Guh!”
“Gurgle……!”
With no time to resist, their necks severed, injustice brimmed in Antonio’s eyes as he collapsed.
The ambition he’d thought within reach slipped away like a sandcastle.
Thud!
“Nooooo!”
“Dieee!”
Unaware of the reaper squad’s overwhelming prowess, Black Skull collapsed the moment their leadership was wiped out.
The temple knights fared no better.
No matter their claim to Krimhilt’s orthodoxy, they couldn’t compare to the battle-hardened reaper squad.
‘No……!’
Marty screamed silently at the deaths of comrades and friends she’d shared over a decade with.
Screee—
The reaper captain leisurely crossed the pandemonium and reached the interior, where a powerful aura had pulsed since earlier.
“Here?”
With a cold smirk, he opened the door—something sinister lunged at his nape.
Claaang!
He casually parried it and glanced inside.
Selphard was smiling.
“Aw, man, no dice. Timing felt perfect.”
“That dagger…… Ragnar after all?”
“Wow, you recognized it?”
“So you dug up the Dragon Slayer Sword’s info and made it here? Tried to hide it, but looks like it didn’t work. Black Dragon’s handiwork is as good as ever.”
“What’re you muttering about alone? Got an imaginary friend only you can see?”
“Wonder if that mouth’ll keep flapping after I cut your tongue off with it.”
Selphard sneered back while calmly tracking the reaper captain’s movements.
Opponent: Dragon Gate swordsman class.
No mere combat swordsman could take him lightly.
Fwaat, paat!
Arin and Ray joined to support him.
Pin formation.
A tactic to trap and assassinate a superior foe: three in a unit, boxing them in.
‘Theo, you jerk! Hurry up and finish! I’m dying here!’
Selphard had desperately sought Theo, who’d tormented him all night from Krimhilt’s colossus to the central temple.
No matter how they struggled, they couldn’t handle the reaper captain alone.
“There.”
The reaper captain spotted the altar and kicked off the ground fiercely.
Tired of these small fries grabbing at his ankles.
All he cared about was grabbing Theo by the scruff and getting back ASAP.
With Ragnar’s involvement confirmed, he needed to probe how much they knew about the Dragon Slayer Sword.
Selphard and his group’s eyes darted urgently that way as they rushed toward the altar.
Taat—
Ray moved fastest.
The lightness skill his mother taught: flee at the first sign of danger.
But the reaper captain had already landed atop the altar.
Just then, the gate’s glow spread as Theo slowly emerged.
Wearing Aegir, holding Balmunk in one hand.
“Got you.”
As the reaper captain swung down to subdue him,
Claaaang!
For the first time, his full-force strike bounced off.
“Who said so?”
From under the helmet, Theo sneered and swung the Dragon Slayer Sword viciously.
Dragon blood boiled.
A scorching gale blasted forth.