Chapter 176
Chapter 176
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 176
Chapter Title: Rubia (1)
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“Ah…… Hnng…….”
On a night when the full moon hung high in the sky.
At a time when everyone should have been asleep, Athena writhed in agony, clutching her ankles.
Cloth was wrapped around both her ankles. The fabric, originally white, was now stained red.
It had happened on the day Athena was imprisoned, in the evening.
Claire brought a few mercenaries back to the prison.
-There’s a risk of escape, so cut the tendons in her ankles.
The mercenaries were taken aback by Claire Fowler’s order. No matter that she was a suspect in the incident, Athena was of holy blood.
-Claire…… This prison is made of rare metal that absorbs mana, so it can’t be broken easily. Besides, Lady Athena is wearing mana-sealing restraints right now……
-We can’t let our guard down against that girl’s skills.
-But……
When the mercenaries hesitated to the end, Claire slapped one across the cheek.
Slap.
The sharp sound filled the prison. Claire spoke irritably to the mercenary, who wore a shocked expression.
-If you’ve heard the order, just follow it quietly. Why are you talking so much?
-C-Claire…… That’s not……
-Didn’t you hear who’s in command of the mercenary corps now? Should I call Ulrik over to whip you until you get the picture?
From those words, Athena learned who had taken her father’s proxy position.
It was Ulrik Hopper, Claire’s son.
It wasn’t all that surprising. Ulrik Hopper was a master-class fighter, the unparalleled strongest in the mercenary corps.
-If you understand, hurry up and do as you’re told!
At Claire’s shout, the mercenaries had no choice but to surround Athena. But they still couldn’t bring themselves to carry out her order right away.
-I’m fine.
Athena knew what kind of man Ulrik Hopper was. Honest and reliable, but utterly incapable of defying his mother’s commands.
If Claire really called Ulrik Hopper, the mercenaries would be helplessly flogged.
The Fafnir Mercenary Corps wasn’t overly strict on discipline, but their punishments were brutal by way of compensation. In severe cases, it could cost a life.
-So do as ordered.
The mercenaries bit their lips. In the end, they drew their swords and sliced into Athena’s ankles.
The tendons at the heels were incredibly thick. The pain when they snapped was beyond imagination.
But Athena only trembled finely, not uttering a single scream.
-What a tough bitch.
Claire left the prison in irritation. The mercenaries vanished along with her.
Only then could Athena let out a groan. She clutched her ankles, finally able to show her strain.
“……It hurts.”
Several hours had passed since then, but the pain hadn’t lessened in the slightest.
Athena leaned her back against the wall and closed her eyes. Hoping, even if just a little, that the agony would ease.
How much time had passed?
The prison’s iron door opened, and someone entered. Athena opened her eyes and checked the visitor.
Claire Fowler stood before her.
-You look pathetic.
Claire said, looking down at Athena. Because her ankle tendons had been severed, Athena had no choice but to look up at her.
-You’re resorting to childish tactics.
That didn’t mean she could lower her attitude. Athena spoke to her in her usual tone.
-Childish? What can be done about it? Every time I pull one of these childish stunts, it feels so damn refreshing.
Claire smiled brightly as she spoke. Athena shuddered slightly at the ugly emotions emanating from her.
-……Why are you doing this to me?
Athena asked the question that had long puzzled her.
No matter how much all the factions disliked her, Claire’s animosity stood out especially.
-Good question. I’ve been wanting to vent to someone.
Claire bent her knees, matching Athena’s eye level.
-What do you think of your father?
Athena had no choice but to shut her mouth at the question of unknown intent.
-Your father, Karl…… was a lecher among lechers. He’d switch women every day, or force himself on any that caught his fancy…… A truly vile man.
Athena knew it well. Just how promiscuous her father was.
-But not a single woman who fell into Karl’s arms ever had complaints. How could they? Where in this world is there a man as handsome, strong, and high-status as Karl?
Mercenary King Karl Hopper was a man who had everything.
Wealth, fame, personal prowess, and even striking good looks.
-On top of that, Karl doesn’t age. I’m no knight, so I don’t know the details, but apparently he’s so strong he overcame aging itself? So of course no one could hate Karl. That was the problem.
Karl Hopper didn’t age. He was always handsome, always dashing.
But women were different. They aged with time. Their skin lost elasticity, their eyes sagged. Their feminine beauty withered day by day.
-Do you know how old women are treated? Karl completely ignores them. As if the favors of their youth were a lie, he never visits them even once.
Claire’s voice rose slightly in agitation.
-At least the ones who bore his children got off lucky. The ones who couldn’t even manage that were chased out of the mercenary corps. After devoting their entire youth to Karl. Without a shred of reward.
Even the women who bore the Mercenary King’s children weren’t much better off.
They weren’t expelled from the corps, but they received no attention from Karl all the same.
-Can you even imagine how it feels to have the man you loved to death stolen by other young women?
Claire’s eyes darkened deeply. Athena swallowed dryly and asked.
-……What does that have to do with me?
-Ah, right. We were getting to that. You may or may not know this, but…… your mother was the woman Karl searched for endlessly.
Athena had heard it directly from her father in the past.
In his youth, he’d been saved by her mother from a mortal wound inflicted by a powerful foe. Thanks to her nursing, he’d survived.
After that, he’d searched for her mother ceaselessly, but with little success.
-In the end, Karl found your mother. By then, she was old, sickly…… utterly worthless. So I paid your mother no mind at all. Karl couldn’t possibly like a woman like that.
Crunch.
Claire ground her teeth.
-But do you know what actually happened? Karl only searched for your bitch of a mother. He clung to that woman alone until the day she died. Why? He wouldn’t touch me because I was old, ignored me completely. Why only your mother! Only that woman!
Claire punched the iron bars with her fist. Her skin tore, blood flowing, but Claire only glared at Athena.
-……I wanted to kill you so badly, but everyone kept blocking that.
Claire sighed, as if truly regretful.
-I plan to expel you from the mercenary corps tomorrow. Don’t ever come back to the Fafnir Mercenary Corps.
Claire turned to leave. Before exiting the prison, she added as if it had just occurred to her.
-Oh, that man named Demian is dead.
Athena’s eyes widened at the sudden declaration.
-What are you talking about? Why would Demian be dead!
-I don’t know. The guard went in to bring dinner and found him dead from a heart attack.
Athena dragged her arms along and approached the bars. Gripping them, she shouted.
-Don’t lie! You expect me to believe that?
-Believe it or not, I don’t care. But why would I lie to you?
With that, Claire left the prison.
* * *
“How did you know I was lying?”
Demian readily admitted to Rubia’s words.
It had only been a lie to locate the Mercenary King anyway.
He’d achieved his goal, so there was no need to cling to the deception.
-My master contacted me. He said he heard your plan from your master and wants the Mercenary King’s soul. If he’d sent you, there’d have been no need for him to contact me separately.
Demian let out a wry chuckle. Of all times, contact from Sla now. His luck couldn’t get any worse.
-Come to think of it, there were more than a few suspicious points.
Rubia continued, glaring at Demian.
-Black mages never refer to ‘Him’ by name. He’s far too great for that, and it risks the Empire learning his identity.
Demian had called Dorgo by name for no special reason.
He simply couldn’t bring himself to use honorifics for the likes of Dorgo.
-Besides, it was odd that He ordered us to kill Garrot. He cherishes and loves us so much—He’d never order us to kill each other.
Demian nearly burst into laughter at that.
The reason Dorgo cherished black mages was simply that they were valuable assets for the war of annihilation.
-Not content with fooling me, you even killed Cardak…… Do you know how useful he was? How hard it is to find a poison-specialist black mage of that caliber!
Rubia wasn’t angry that ‘Cardak’ had died. She was furious that a useful ‘tool’ was gone.
It was exactly like the Rubia he’d seen in his previous life.
She didn’t care much for men. She saw them as tools to use and discard. The complete opposite of her master Sla.
-Don’t think you’ll die easily. I’ll make you suffer every torment life has to offer, then seize your soul and torment it forever.
-You’re overly confident. Forgot how you’ve already lost two to me?
Rubia scoffed at Demian’s words.
-Comparing those two to me? That wounds my pride a bit too much.
Grand black mages were divided by levels of forbidden magic.
Those who’d only recently become grand black mages were naturally overwhelmingly outmatched by those who’d long researched and refined their forbidden arts.
Rubia wasn’t just a grand black mage—she was the disciple of Great Evil Sla.
The forbidden magic she researched was leagues beyond those two.
-Well, what would an empty-headed knight like you know? I’ll show you directly, so even you can understand.
Black mana surged from Rubia’s body. The dense black mana rampaged.
Crack.
Rubia’s shoulder blade jutted upward.
Crack crack.
Soon, her neck twisted sideways.
Crunch.
Her bones and muscles began twisting wildly throughout her body. Bones elongated, tearing through skin and protruding. Hundreds of muscle fibers enveloped the bones.
A colossal height of three meters.
Muscles swollen excessively, like tumors.
A grotesque form where gender was indeterminable.
No longer was there a beauty worthy of the name in that spot. Only a monster that inspired terror just by being seen remained.
-Ah, this feels refreshing.
Contrary to her hideous appearance, Rubia’s voice remained as beautiful as ever. That made it all the more repulsive.
-This sense of liberation always feels so good.
In this world, only one school of black magic transformed the body for battle.
The Frenzy School.
Specialized in close combat, they boasted the highest combat prowess among black mages.
Like Great Evil Sla, Rubia too belonged to the Frenzy School.
The pheromones she emitted were produced by deforming her organs.
-Resist with all your might. I want to savor this feeling as long as possible.
Rubia lifted a leg as thick as a beam.
She stomped the ground with all her force, causing an explosion as the earth sank.
Rubia’s body shot forward in a straight line. Appearing right before Demian, she swung her hand blade in a massive arc.
In that instant, Rubia’s forearm stretched long and whipped like a lash.
The supersonic strike sliced through Demian’s body.
* * *
Just before the attack connected, Demian swung his sword. The released aura cleanly severed Rubia’s forearm.
-……Huh?
In the moment Rubia faltered in surprise, Demian swung from below upward.
Aura exploded outward. A massive slash rent through Rubia’s body and reached the sky.