Chapter 207
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 207
Chapter Title: This is the Truth.
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Yuna Kyung was staring down at London, which had turned into a virtual battlefield, with a dazed expression.
Boom!
[Mommy!]
She barely had time to be startled by something suddenly plummeting from the sky.
Yuna Kyung's eyes widened round.
[Countess sister?!]
A deathly pale complexion devoid of any color.
Her uniform scorched and burned in places.
And above all, one limp arm dangling, along with the fresh blood smeared around her mouth and across her uniform.
Seeing Rose, who looked like she'd fought a brutal battle and sustained serious injuries before crashing down, Yuna Kyung gasped in shock.
At that moment, a heartbroken cry echoed through the air.
"How... how could this happen...!"
Hearing that lament more anguished than a scream, Yuna Kyung looked up and flinched.
An elderly man hovering in the air, his clothes torn and shredded in places—not as badly as Rose, but ragged nonetheless.
His face, horrific like Karl's vengeful spirit, instinctively sparked fear.
"To bring the Twilight Mist back to London after all this time!"
Karl screamed as if he'd witnessed the most heinous atrocity.
The revival of the London Great Barrier, which he'd devoted half his life to destroying, was that devastating to him.
That's why he glared at Rose with venomous eyes.
"Countess Rose, how do you intend to take responsibility for this?"
"I merely made the best decision to protect London."
"You fool—!"
Unlike her battered, injured body, Rose's response held not a shred of hesitation, prompting Karl to bellow in frustration.
Of course, he wasn't blind.
He could clearly see the shadow monsters assaulting London and the ghosts battling them.
So he understood why Rose had helped the witches pull this off.
But even so...
No, precisely because of that, he ground his teeth and shouted.
"Haven't you realized yet? This is all the witches' scheme!"
"What do you mean?"
"They're unleashing monsters to plunge London into chaos, then pretending to resolve it by reviving the barrier—that's their ploy!"
"..."
Rose fell silent.
She was at a loss for words in the face of this absurd conspiracy theory.
Speaking on her behalf was Yuna Kyung, her face twisted in distaste.
[Whoa, that old geezer is seriously shameless...]
Syr let out a smirk as well.
"Heh heh heh. Fools only see folly in others' eyes, don't they?"
Their reactions were understandable.
After all, creating a problem himself and then "solving" it was exactly the tactic Karl had used to corner the Serpent Countess family.
Well, that might be why he was so convinced of this conspiracy.
As Syr said, humans tend to believe others can do what they themselves can.
"Duke Karl, please stop this."
"Stop what? Those wicked witches are trying to toy with London as they please!"
"I told you—this isn't the witches' doing. It's the Liberation Brigade's scheme."
Rose spoke calmly.
Despite her body covered in blood and wounds, her earnest face and clear eyes, unwavering, carried a sincerity that made anyone nod in agreement.
Unfortunately, Karl was not one of those "anyones."
"Liberation Brigade? You think that rabble has the capability for something like this?"
"Conversely, the witches have no motive either."
"Ha! Motive? They've got plenty!"
Karl bellowed.
His blazing eyes fixed on Syr behind Rose... no, on all the witch ghosts around her, as he roared.
"Because I destroyed the Twilight Time! They're terrified of the truth about the London Great Barrier coming to light, so they're doing this!"
"...The truth about the London Great Barrier? What are you talking about?"
"What it was created with as payment!"
The reason he'd harbored hatred for the witches of the 27 magical bloodlines.
And the truth he'd researched since before becoming a lord, trying to uncover through the Twilight Time—Karl shouted it in a tearing voice.
"My daughter Amelia and all those who've vanished into the Twilight Time over the past decades—they were used as sacrifices for the London Great Barrier!"
Magic always demands a price.
The more powerful the spell, the greater the cost—and even the London Great Barrier couldn't escape that rule.
Even the three great witches, absolute rulers of the Silver Age, were said to have succeeded only because a god paid the price for them.
Karl, who had long investigated the London Great Barrier, knew this well.
That's why he grew suspicious.
How could the witches of the 27 magical bloodlines revive such grand magic?
No matter that they were descendants of the three great witches called the Ladies of the Lake—they couldn't ignore magic's price.
And according to his investigations, there was only one payment that could make it possible.
Human lives.
Not just one or two, but hundreds, thousands—an enormous human sacrifice.
"...That's a ridiculous misunderstanding."
Rose's expression remained calm.
But unlike her face or demeanor, her lake-clear eyes had sunk heavily the moment "human sacrifice" was uttered.
As if hiding the turmoil of being struck at her core.
And the shrewd Karl didn't miss that flicker.
"Misunderstanding? Then you answer me. What price did the witches of the 27 bloodlines pay to cast the London Great Barrier?"
"You know that a divine relic vanished from London at the time, Duke."
"Hah! You think that could serve as the barrier's price? At best, it was just used as a core!"
"..."
If a price that small could power magic on the scale of the London Great Barrier, the Silver Age wouldn't have fallen so easily.
Karl said coldly, sneering at the silent Rose.
"Well? Will you admit now that the London Great Barrier is a product of black magic?"
"...I admit there's room for misunderstanding. But I swear on my honor—the London Great Barrier is not black magic."
"Nonsense! How can magic that uses humans as sacrifices not be black magic?!"
Rose fell silent.
She could tell just from Karl's convinced eyes.
He'd already decided the answer himself, twisting all logic to fit it—persuasion wouldn't work.
Only one option remained.
Using means other than words.
As she hesitated, unable to decide, a voice reached her ears.
"Hey, Countess. Why not just show him?"
"...!"
Rose whipped her head around.
A black-haired young man leaning against a chimney, arms crossed, watching her—who knew how long he'd been there—left her flustered.
"Why are you here?"
"Well, I came to check because this old hag Syr was taking forever."
"This place is too dangerous!"
"I can tell that much from your state, Countess."
"That's..."
She'd been so composed moments ago.
But under Rimon's gaze, Rose suddenly became self-conscious of her appearance and flushed.
She hastily pulled her coat to cover her tattered uniform and exposed skin.
But Rimon paid her no mind.
He just said casually.
"Anyway, from what I overheard, that senile coot's got some ridiculous misconception. Since it's come to this, just lay it all out and show him."
"Show him what?"
"What price was paid to deploy the London Great Barrier during the Demon God War."
Hearing that, Rose's face hardened.
"...You knew too?"
"Yeah."
His frank affirmation darkened her expression.
Rimon spoke plainly to her.
"I get how you feel, Countess. I'm not thrilled about it either. But if you don't show him, that old fool won't accept it."
"It's not something I can show just because I want to. Without the consent of the 27 bloodlines..."
"To get that, you need to decide first."
I'm not forcing you.
This is just my opinion.
I'll respect your choice.
After a moment of silence, watching Rimon's stance, Rose turned to Syr.
Her eyes held complex meaning, and Syr smiled gently before speaking.
"I'm not one of the 27 bloodlines, so I can't give an opinion. But the others say they don't mind if you're okay with it."
"I see..."
Was that why this consent felt so bitter? Because deep down, she'd hoped the witches of the 27 bloodlines would object.
Her bitterness at her own irresponsibility in trying to shift the decision lasted only a moment.
Rose nodded.
"Show him."
"You sure?"
"Yes. It should have been done long ago."
If she'd revealed the truth from the start, maybe this crisis could have been averted.
But there were reasons she hadn't until now—not just the pact with the 27 bloodlines.
Not just the Blue Dragon Clan's tendency to see others as weak and handle everything themselves.
The biggest reason was one.
It was an enormous disgrace.
Especially if known to other clans—enough to drive many in the Blue Dragon Clan to ritual suicide.
Syr smirked at Rose, who steeled herself knowing that, deciding to reveal everything.
She took out a blood-red pearl, rolled it between her fingers, and murmured a low incantation.
"Kidari keDiru Akidr."
⟨ Revelation Spell ⟩
Rumble...
As Syr rolled the pearl in her hand and it crumbled to dust, scattering into the air, a crystal pillar suddenly rose from the center of the magic circle.
Seeing it, Karl's eyebrows shot up.
"What wicked trick are you trying now?"
"Don't be on guard. This is merely an answer to your question, Duke."
"An answer to my question?"
Karl looked puzzled.
Rose spoke calmly to him.
"You asked what price was paid to cast the London Great Barrier during the Demon God War."
"What does this have to do with—!"
Karl, about to argue incredulously, suddenly froze.
He belatedly noticed something inside the slightly translucent crystal pillar rising from the magic circle.
Snap!
As if to help him see better, Syr smirked slyly and snapped her fingers.
The translucent crystal gradually cleared, becoming fully transparent to reveal the interior.
And the moment the contents of the crystal pillar were exposed...
Karl's eyes bulged.
"...This is."
An ornate suit of armor.
Gently lowered eyebrows.
A statue-like beautiful face.
Karl swallowed hard at the sight of the woman's corpse, peacefully enshrined within as if merely asleep.
Even though she was a stranger, her strangely familiar appearance, the pure yet noble aura felt even through the crystal...
Above all, her vivid blue hair filled Karl's eyes with shock.
"She couldn't be...!"
"This is the secret our clan has hidden."
Rose said calmly.
She revealed the identity of the corpse in the crystal pillar—what Karl hesitated to voice even in suspicion.
"The Blue Dragon Princess of my ancestors, who offered her life herself to become the price for the London Great Barrier."