Chapter 81
Chapter 81
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 81
Chapter Title: 29. The Taker and the Taken (1)
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Jet-black chains burst through the dimensional rift, coiling around the Mountain Duke's arms, legs, and neck before yanking him backward.
-Grrraaaah!
The hollow wail of the man who had once been an honorable high knight but had now devolved into a mad beast echoed through the air.
He flailed and thrashed desperately, but the chains that had even sealed a divine being refused to break. Gradually, his body was dragged back, his fingertips falling short of his sword.
-Grrraaah!
He bellowed in rage, but it was nothing more than futile struggling. Once a safe distance was secured, Raymond yanked the sword from his thigh in one swift motion.
Whether it carried a curse causing excessive bleeding on top of the pain, blood gushed out the moment the blade was pulled free—but he calmly staunched the flow with magic and healed the wound.
"You'd best abandon any thought of breaking those chains. They sealed even the Fallen Divinity, Astaroth... There's nothing you can do against them."
Raymond spat the words in a cold voice. But the ears of the now-maddened Mountain Duke seemed deaf to human speech; he continued his pointless thrashing.
Quietly raising his sword, Raymond stepped forward.
The moment the blade, infused with vivid mana, gleamed sharply, he swung with full force, severing the Mountain Duke's head.
-Gurgle... grrrk!
Even with a mana sword at the pinnacle of mastery executing the beheading, the strike didn't fully detach the head. Raymond had to retrieve his blade and attempt a second slash.
"Is this what monsterfication does?"
Unlike with the Doomsday Society, the setting for monsterfication was described in some detail. He knew a bit about the physical enhancements it granted, but experiencing it firsthand made him realize just how tenacious the life force became.
Raymond's cold gaze fell upon the Mountain Duke's severed head rolling across the blackened ground. Frowning at the half-humanoid, mutilated remains, he muttered,
"What a pathetic end, Mountain Duke..."
He had staged a rebellion, true, but he was still a renowned high knight of the Empire. Losing his human form in the end was pitiable enough to warrant the words, yet Raymond felt no regret.
Sheathing his sword indifferently, he withdrew his gaze. As if taking that as a signal, the "Dangerous Invitation" recognized Raymond as the victor upon the Mountain Duke's death, and the black duel space began to crumble away slowly.
"Dominance...?"
There was no time to concern himself with the spectacularly collapsing space. His near-depleted dominance was recovering in substantial amounts.
'I think I've got the gist of it.'
A clear smile spread across Raymond's lips. It seemed that taking the life of a prominent figure or formidable foe—thus influencing the world—restored this special "resource."
"Not bad at all."
It was unclear whom he was addressing. With that murmur, the silent duel world of just the two knights came to an end.
"Your Majesty!"
A flash of light pierced the air, the space split open, and the blood-soaked Emperor staggered out like a collapsing man. Marquis Blizzard, who had been scattering chilling aura toward the enemies, blinked to Raymond's side in an instant and supported him.
"I'm fine. Rally the Royal Guard and secure our retreat."
"Shall we withdraw like this?"
Marquis Blizzard asked cautiously. He didn't yet know the Mountain Duke had been slain. Raymond grinned at him and replied,
"The Mountain Duke is dead. Look over there."
Where he pointed with his fingertip lay the half-monsterfied corpse. Grotesque as it was, traces of the Mountain Duke's former appearance remained.
"Wh-what in the world..."
In the blink of an eye, the Emperor had become drenched in blood, and the Mountain Duke a bizarre corpse.
Something had clearly happened, but Marquis Blizzard couldn't discern what with his own abilities.
One thing, however, was certain.
"The Mountain Duke is dead!"
That much. Gestain, who had been cleaving through foes with his radiant aura blade at the forefront, announced the death in a mana-infused voice.
"Lord Duke!"
"My lord!"
The Belphian First Knight Order, undeterred even by the Sword Saint's sharp presence and vivid aura blade, faltered.
The death of their lifelong liege was enough to make them drop their swords. Having lost their will to fight, they withdrew to recover the mangled corpse of their Mountain Duke—but Richard, Baron Sidington, and the Doomsday Society's combat unit were different.
"Sir Richard! The Mountain Duke is dead!"
The Belphian First Knights had lost their will, and the territory's mage unit had ceased their barrage.
The Emperor was using the lull to prepare a retreat. Baron Sidington didn't spell it out, but Richard, surveying the battlefield, could see the tide had drastically turned with the Mountain Duke's death.
"To think the Mountain Duke would lose..."
Richard's trembling gaze fixed on the corpse. Beheaded—it was undoubtedly dead.
The unbelievable part was how Raymond had defeated a high knight at the exalted realm. As far as he knew, Raymond was merely at the "advanced" level, so his reaction was natural.
'The intel was wrong. If he slew the Mountain Duke, the Emperor is no mere advanced realm.'
Cold light gleamed in Richard's eyes.
"You've been hiding your power, Emperor."
The thought slipped out unbidden.
"The Mountain Duke received the Doomsday's blessing. He heralded humanity's end and gained new strength. Only someone at the exalted realm could stand against him."
Baron Sidington added. He was convinced Raymond had surpassed the exalted barrier into high-tier. Otherwise, he couldn't have beaten a high knight blessed by Doomsday.
"We have a high sword-mage and even a Sword Saint. This exceeds the Society's expectations. We must retreat now."
"Baron Sidington. Do you think opportunities like this come often?"
"Even the Mountain Duke's men are withdrawing."
"Then deploy the Society's combat unit for pursuit. The Emperor is gravely wounded, and the Sword Saint must be fatigued from facing the Belphian First Knights."
His repeated advice fell on deaf ears. Richard held firm.
Raymond was visibly severely injured, but the unexpected Sword Saint's prowess kept the Royal Guard intact. With even the Mountain Duke dead, there was no guarantee pursuit would succeed.
Raymond's forces far exceeded the Doomsday Society's predictions; their prepared unit couldn't handle it.
Who could have foreseen a Sword Saint and high sword-mage!
"I order you once more, Baron Sidington. Deploy the Society's combat unit."
"Understood... We'll move immediately."
Deep hatred laced Richard's voice. With his superior pressing so insistently, Baron Sidington had no choice but to comply.
At his signal, the Doomsday Society's hidden combatants stepped forward.
"Your Majesty! Hidden troops are on the move!"
Silvia warned urgently. Monitoring the battlefield via wind spirits, she spotted the stealthy enemies first.
"Gestain! Return at once!"
"As His Majesty commands!"
The one-armed Sword Saint, sweeping through enemy lines, returned. The Belphian First Knights, bereft of their lord and will, did not hinder him.
"Royal Guard! Assemble!"
Marquis Blizzard, grasping the Emperor's intent, issued the rally once more. The scattering Royal Guard converged beneath the imperial banner.
"Gestain! Secure the vanguard retreat path!"
"As His Majesty commands!"
Raymond ordered in an exhausted voice. Gestain, instantly reading the gravity of his injuries, abandoned his stubborn resolve to stay by the Emperor's side and took point.
"Royal Guard! Support the vanguard and clear the way!"
Marquis Blizzard deployed tactics swiftly.
"Silvia!"
"Yes! I'll take the lead!"
Silvia dashed ahead, her black cloak—ill-suited to an elf—billowing. A fresh grassy scent spread through the chaotic battlefield.
She had memorized Count Denitz's secret map over the past days. With wind spirits aiding as guides, they could escape Belphian territory even if all hidden foes revealed themselves.
"Gestain! Protect Silvia at all costs!"
Raymond shouted. Had he been uninjured, he'd have gone with her himself, but the wound from the Mountain Duke's vile "monsterfication" variable was worse than expected.
"By His Majesty's command, they won't even approach her!"
"Protected by the Sword Saint? That's more than I deserve."
Gestain replied from the front, aura flaring, while Desia prepared defensive spells with gleaming eyes. And so the escape began.
"This way!"
Guided by the wind spirits' whispers, Silvia led Gestain to a weak point in the encirclement. As the one-armed Sword Saint swung his aura blade, Society combatants crumpled powerlessly.
Thanks to Silvia's memorized secret map, they escaped the lord's castle swiftly—but the Doomsday Society pursued relentlessly.
They hounded doggedly. Silvia guided them via shortcuts, but the combatants trailed too closely for it to matter much.
"Shouldn't we intercept them?"
Viscount Illusion asked Marquis Blizzard, but no immediate reply came. After brief deliberation, he spoke.
"His Majesty is in critical condition. We must rendezvous with Sir Cassius's Imperial Army posthaste."
At Marquis Blizzard's words, Viscount Illusion glanced at the Emperor.
Raymond's face was deathly pale. The bleeding had stopped, but his condition had worsened steadily since earlier.
"Your Majesty, it seems you've been poisoned."
"Damn it all!"
The attending Royal Guard ventured cautiously. Raymond cursed in sudden irritation.
'To think it carried poison too.'
He hadn't anticipated that.
"It's not a lethal toxin, but you should rest and focus on recovery soon."
The Royal Guard urged respite, but with pursuers closing in, halting even briefly was impossible.
"Something ahead!"
As they spurred their mounts relentlessly, Silvia sensed enemies ahead and warned. Sword Saint Gestain drew his blade with sharp killing intent.
"Come! You won't pass me!"
Aura erupted toward the front like an explosion.
"Argh!"
"Gaaah!"
Screams rang out. The Doomsday combatants' bodies burst apart—their final death cries.
"In His Majesty's name!"
The Royal Guard cheered victoriously, but not all foes were down. Five black-masked figures burst through the dust cloud, charging Gestain.
"Come on!"
Gestain boldly recalled his sword. As the five elite Society combatants tied down the Sword Saint, more dropped from the sky, clashing with the Royal Guard.
"Your Majesty!"
A clear yet sharp, urgent voice—Silvia's. She had sensed a sinister shadow slipping through the pinned Sword Saint and chaotic Royal Guard formation toward Raymond.
Thanks to her warning, Raymond hastily drew his Soul Sword, and Desia erected a defensive spell.
Dozens of poison-blackened darts embedded in Desia's mana shield.
"You should show yourself, assassin."
"Poisoned and half-dead, yet your mouth still works, Emperor..."
Emerging slowly from the shadows beneath a tall tree was Baron Sidington.
"The Society has decreed your end. Regrettable, but it's time for you to exit stage left."
"Royal Guard! Protect His Majesty!"
At Viscount Illusion's command, two guards by the Emperor rushed Baron Sidington. But the outcome was grim.
"Guh!"
"Argh!"
The two Royal Guards collapsed spewing blood. It happened so fast even Desia couldn't track the Baron's movements.
"Damn it! Marquis Blizzard!"
Viscount Illusion called, but the Royal Guard and Sword Saint, locked in combat with over a hundred Society fighters, couldn't aid Raymond. The melee was utter chaos; the near-perfect escort had shown vulnerabilities.
"Doomsday Society, are you?"
"Call it that. No matter—you and your men won't leave here alive anyway..."
A chilling killing intent tightened around his throat.
"Lady Desia! Retreat with His Majesty! I'll buy time!"
Viscount Illusion stepped forward. But with a flick of Baron Sidington's wrist, daggers flew from nowhere, piercing him through.
"Guh... ack!"
As he crumpled lifelessly, Desia's eyes wavered. Maintaining her mana shield, she turned to Raymond.
The once-stalwart Emperor was exhausted from the poison.
"Your Majesty..."
No one left to help. Then...
"I'll have to protect you myself..."
Facing the encroaching dark shadow—Baron Sidington's blade brimming with malice—Desia released the taboo.
A forbidden act permitted to sword-mages with robust bodies, but denied to mages.
Mana rampage.