54. So You Were Here
54. So You Were Here
"Huk...?!!"
When Zeke Albion opened his eyes in the middle of the night, a weight pressed on his chest as if someone were pinning him down—and someone was looking down at him.
The moonlight was hidden by clouds, so he couldn't clearly see who it was, but he sensed a tremendously eerie aura.
"Wh-Who are you!!"
Sieg quickly reached out and formed a spell formula.
The spell formula was a 4th Circle 'Water Cannon'—a powerful blast capable of blowing away even a heavy golem.
Whoever it was, they had broken in during the night and could be considered an enemy.
"Without fear, you dare... Taste the power of Albion!!"
It took only about 3 seconds for the spell formula—powerful enough to subdue a single infantry squad—to 'complete'.
A large water droplet rose at his fingertips.
"Shh, this is a hospital."
-Pakin!!
A sound like breaking glass echoed through the air.
Albion's magic had formed but wasn't fired.
It hadn't been interrupted during construction; the completed formula simply shattered.
It felt as if the magic itself had been erased.
"Ho-how...?"
"You have a bad habit with your hands."
The moment the magic was erased, a hand clad in a black glove grabbed Sieg's neck.
"Kek?!"
He realized after being seized.
A very... small hand.
The slender fingers were as delicate as fern fronds, like a child's, but the grip was tremendous, as if a machine were pressing down on him.
The contrast between the two sensations was deeply unnerving.
"You barely managed to stay alive. Don't you have something to say to me?"
The moonlight that had been hidden by the clouds now shone through a gap in the curtain.
Blonde hair appeared, illuminated by the pale moonlight.
In his other hand, as he stared down at Sieg with blue eyes as pale as the moonlight, was a black club, just the right size to wield in one hand.
"You're... Atlas?!!"
"Forget it. You're already dead... Don't hold a grudge."
Atlas raised the club.
"Why... are you doing this to me... What grudge do you have against me?!"
"You pulled a shitty trick like that, and you ask what grudge?"
As soon as he heard Atlas's words, Sieg realized what he meant: he had tampered with the dueling arena's settings.
"Did you think I wouldn't know? The place you got carried from... Yeah, you wouldn't remember."
The last thing he remembered was the control room.
Being carted here meant someone had dragged him after he'd stuck a talisman containing a spell formula that manipulates settings in the control room and then collapsed pathetically.
Though he had forgotten due to his incurable injury and Edgar's defeat, he had committed a very serious violation of school rules.
But whether fortunately or unfortunately, Atlas didn't seem to have any intention of taking him to the Headmaster.
"I was curious what kind of bastard made something like that, and my wish came true..!!"
The hand that had been restraining Sieg's neck snatched the pillow, pressed it over his face, and raised the club.
".........!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
He couldn't even see what Atlas was doing, but the moment his mouth was blocked, fear struck him—he realized Atlas was preventing any scream from escaping.
-Peok!!
"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
And lightning struck his back.
The pain that assailed his recovering lower body traveled up his spine and reached his brain.
Instinctively, his back arched like a bow.
He screamed, but it didn't come out properly.
The pillow completely blocking his mouth kept the sound from leaking outside.
"Oh...? What's this."
"Hup... hup....?!"
Atlas lightly lifted the thin blanket covering his lower body.
"What's this, the eldest son of Albion... is missing one ball?"
As soon as he heard that, his face contorted.
The fact that he had one testicle was a classified secret even in the hospital.
"Heuk... heuk.... D-don't... talk nonsense...!!"
"It's so clearly missing, and you call it nonsense."
Once again, an unbearable, tingling pain shot through Albion's waist.
"?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"Ugh, gross.. Just bear with it. I really hate touching another guy's junk too, you know."
With that monstrous grip, Atlas was squeezing the pouch, still wrapped in bandages after Albion's suturing surgery.
He could vividly feel the remaining ball.
At the pain, on a completely different level from anything before, a scream burst involuntarily from his mouth.
"He... heugh..!! You... bastard...!!! I'll never... never let you get away with.... this...!!!!"
Zeke Albion shuddered at the humiliation and pain he had never experienced before.
He would not let Atlas, who had caused this humiliation, get away with it.
He vowed to make him pay the price no matter what.
But Atlas just sneered at the sight.
"If I don't let you get away with it... what are you going to do about it...?"
"I'll definitely... you bastard and your whole family...!!!!"
Even as he swore to mobilize all of Albion's power to make Atlas and his family suffer the same humiliation, Atlas just laughed.
"Oh, how scary... Then from now on, in the Imperial social circle, there'll be a rumor that Zeke Albion is a one-balled loser."
Zeke Albion's words stopped.
What would happen if his utterly humiliating condition became known to the outside world?
Even without imagining too hard, it was obvious.
A household successor with no balls... What a disgraceful nickname. The mere thought of those rumors spreading made his hands and feet tremble with fear.
Albion had too much to lose.
"It's humiliating to only have one hanging there, right? Maybe it's better to just have them all gone...?"
Atlas applied more and more force.
As that small, machine-like hand gradually squeezed Albion's remaining testicle, he groaned from the intense pain.
It was a completely different pain from the lightning-like pain before.
The breathlessness and the chills were likely from the fear that if even a little more force were applied, the remaining ball would be crushed too.
"S-Stop..!! Please, stop...!!"
Albion begged for mercy with a pale, sickly face.
He couldn't use magic.
Atlas had already shattered his magic head-on and was right in front of him.
Even if he tried to use magic in this situation, Atlas's attack would be faster.
Even threatening with the family's prestige didn't work.
"Stop..? You still don't grasp the situation? With that lack of sense, how are you going to take over a household?"
"What do you mean..?"
As if something hadn't pleased him, Atlas looked very disappointed.
As if to demonstrate, he modulated his voice and said.
"'I was wrong about everything. Could you please stop?'"
Atlas apparently didn't like Albion's way of speaking.
"Now, try it."
Atlas urged him, but the words didn't come easily.
The only situations where Zeke Albion had to request so politely were with his superiors.
He didn't want to submit to a runt who was far shorter than him and merely physically strong.
It was his last shred of pride.
"If you can't do it, then it's goodbye to the remaining one."
But as soon as he showed hesitation, Atlas started applying force again.
"Aaaaargh..!!! I-I'll do it...!!"
Terrified that it would really be crushed, he finally threw away even his last pride.
————————————————————-
It didn't take long after that.
Unlike when he'd gone to educate Phrygia, simply reminding Sieg of 'fear' and the weakness he didn't want exposed was enough.
He wouldn't be able to separately investigate why he became one-balled.
From what he heard, even the household asked to keep the injury a secret, so... he'd want to take it to the grave.
Investigating would also mean telling more people about it.
He retrieved the bullet, which was the biggest piece of evidence that could identify Amy.
Young masters who haven't properly weathered the storms of the world easily submit when their reputation and safety are even slightly threatened.
He seriously considered making him have zero balls, but if it became zero, there would be nothing left to lose, so there was a risk he might do something reckless.
It's much easier to control someone who still has something to lose.
Ugh, I feel gross.
Ultimately, the procedure was effective, but the lingering sensation in his hand was unpleasant.
Maybe I should have just popped it.
But since I've got the day, I should finish things.
Just in case, he came to Edgar's hospital room.
Edgar had received treatment, but if he died it would be troublesome, so Atlas went to see if he was okay.
He was hooked up to IV drips, an oxygen mask, and various equipment, but as soon as he felt my presence, he quickly opened his eyes.
"Seeing you talk, you seem fine."
It looks like the treatment went well.
If the aftereffects of the full-body paralysis subside quickly, he should be discharged soon.
"W-Wait..!!"
"Why?"
When he tried to leave, having no more business there, Edgar grabbed him.
"You... were you still breathing that gas...?"
"That's right."
"Ho-how could you move like that...?"
"If your aura is strong, you can push away that kind of poison gas."
Actually, it's a bit different, but the bottom line is similar.
It's true that as your realm rises, you're not easily poisoned.
Edgar let out a hollow laugh at my answer.
"I... thought I had become stronger, but it was all an illusion..."
It's true that Edgar had become stronger than before.
He must have felt his own realm rising, so the combination of my sluggish movements and his own improvement had made him that overjoyed.
But Edgar, now realizing it was all a lie, looked very bitter.
"I don't know who... but if someone deliberately set the dueling arena to suit your height... I'm sorry."
"Do you have any guesses?"
"..."
"I just beat the crap out of the bastard who pulled that trick, but I wonder if he knows."
He had an expression that suggested he more or less guessed who it was.
"Still, your skills have improved compared to before. Since I won anyway, don't bother me about another duel."
"You..."
It's true your skills improved.
When I praised that part, determination flickered in Edgar's eyes.
It seemed like he was about to say something very annoying, so I steeled myself.
"Not a duel... but is sparring possible..?"
"Ah, I said no."
I have no intention of taking care of you too.