Chapter 8
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: Overflowing Aura
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I slowly spread my aura, as if circulating it deliberately.
Releasing aura outside the body required reaching the Expert level at minimum, and precise control was the domain of Sword Masters. Yet right now, far more aura than I intended was overflowing automatically, beyond my conscious will.
Moreover, I'd practiced control so exhaustingly that reining it in was hardly a challenge anymore.
'But they can't sense this aura at all.'
[All energy bodies you possess follow trajectories different from standard energy bodies.]
Was it because I'd accumulated it through my own unique method, or because of the special environment of Labyrinthos?
Either way, their carelessness made things easier for me.
I wasn't leaving this place immediately because there was something I needed to confirm.
'Archivist.'
[Confirmed.]
'Do you remember the reports on those business operations in my room?'
[All contents memorized.]
'What about the personal details and family info on the merchants listed there?'
[All details memorized. Cross-referencing verified personnel.]
That was enough.
Just confirming that nearly all the kidnapped hostages were here made the visit worthwhile.
Of course, I'd need to check if there were others held elsewhere.
"Right. Now that I think about it, I could just ask directly."
Did my muttering irritate him?
The knight guarding the prison scowled and suddenly unlocked the cell door, stepping inside.
It was the same guy who had threatened me at Berus's house.
"Hm? Being released?"
At my question, he lunged forward without a word, grabbing my collar and slamming me back.
His Aura User-enhanced strength lifted my body effortlessly.
"What the hell have you been mumbling to yourself? I'm already pissed guarding this damn prison."
"Hey, what are you doing?!"
His fellow knight shouted in alarm, but the man gripping my collar ignored him completely.
"What's it matter? He's dead soon anyway. Let me vent a little."
Unlike what Bishiri Cascadia, Tibel's son, had said, it seemed they had no intention of sparing me either.
That sparked my curiosity.
Why did this man harbor such rage toward House Cascadia, my family?
Could Father have acted differently when I wasn't around?
He'd always been a man of good character, which only made me wonder more.
Beep!
[Verification complete. All individuals imprisoned here match the listed personnel.]
The results had come in just in time, and I no longer had reason to stay in this cell.
Lost in thought, I didn't resist, so he slammed me harder against the wall.
"How about putting up a fight?"
"Do you have some grudge against House Cascadia?"
If Father had done something vile behind my back, how should I accept that?
"Grudge? Yeah, a deep one. Spouting nonsense about integrity while choking off all our money flows."
He scowled and pressed harder against me.
"So don't hate me too much."
"You plan to kill everyone else here too, excluding me?"
"If the orders come down, sure."
"Hmm... No qualms about that at all?"
"Why would I care? We get paid to follow orders. Pretending to chase honor doesn't pay the bills."
Suddenly, he gripped my throat and squeezed with all his might.
It was force enough to snap a normal person's neck without issue.
But...
There was one thing he didn't know.
The overflowing aura—so excessive it leaked from my body—was protecting my flesh without me even lifting a finger.
His pressure couldn't even pierce the aura I unconsciously emitted.
No more than trying to strangle a steel pillar with bare hands.
"Hm? Why is this...?"
"Good. Father is the man I knew him to be."
The grudge stemmed from being blocked from dirty backroom deals.
"What?"
Crack!
In an instant, I twisted and snapped the arm that had been choking my neck.
"Huh?"
Snap!!
With fluid, natural joint techniques flowing like water, I wrenched his body. The moment his neck fell into my grasp, I broke it.
Naturally, the knight with the shattered neck collapsed without even a scream.
A message about reacquiring some technique flashed by, but I brushed it off lightly again.
"?!"
The knight waiting outside was understandably shocked. His perfectly fine comrade had just died suddenly.
The startled knight fumbled for his sword too late—my hand was faster, snatching a dagger from the dead knight's belt.
Thud!!
The dagger flew like a streak of light, infused with faint aura, piercing the knight's skull.
A heavy impact echoed as the man's body crumpled.
Only Experts could infuse aura into weapons and launch it.
Even attempts often saw the aura evaporate at tremendous speed.
But if evaporation had a speed limit, cramming in excess aura would pierce the target before it dissipated.
It demanded exquisite control, but against mere Expert-level foes? Trivial.
Having dispatched the two knights in a flash, I slowly stepped out through the open cell bars.
Shing!! Clang!!
"What the hell?!"
"E... Emergency!! The hostage escaped!!"
How I'd escaped didn't matter—they panicked seeing me out in the open.
The silver lining: none bolted immediately.
They were confident they could take me down.
At minimum, the knights here were Aura Users.
Meanwhile, I was publicly known as the frail young master of a noble house, incapable of even handling aura.
I pulled the dagger from the corpse.
Then retrieved the one from the second body, lightly gripping one in each hand.
And without a sound, I accelerated forward.
Slash!! Slice!!!
With each movement, another man fell.
Knight Balcom realized something had gone terribly wrong as he watched his comrades collapse without even screaming.
The only sounds were the metallic slice of flesh parting and brief cries.
The narrow underground passage was already a sea of blood.
It was unmistakably Leon Cascadia slicing through knights like an acrobat in a flash.
Blink once, and his position shifted; track him once, and a life vanished.
The dullard of Count Cascadia's house. Synonymous with incompetence.
Absurd.
Knights who had tempered their bodies with aura and honed swords for years were being torn apart without a chance to react—dullard?
No hesitation in killing, no wasted motion.
The knights tried counterattacking, but Leon seemed to anticipate every strike, dodging with casual steps before carving them up.
"Ugh... Uwaaa... Uwaaaah!!"
Most soldiers and knights guarding the underground prison were dead. Only he and a few remained.
Overwhelmed by creeping dread, Balcom dropped his sword and fled madly backward.
That thing wasn't human.
The rumors were way off. Not a dullard—a monster hiding its power!
His sole thought: escape this basement. He ran without looking back.
Splat!! Slash!!
But Leon ignored him, expressionless and silent, turning the area into hell.
Even the dazed prisoners in their cells paled in terror.
Just a bit more.
A little farther, and he'd escape!
As the exit door loomed closer, his sprint quickened.
The moment his hand reached for the firmly shut underground door—
Whirr!! Clang!!!!
A dagger from behind pierced his right arm, pinning it to the door.
"Gaaaaah?!!"
No sword aura used.
Just handling aura like them, yet the power, speed, technique—everything defied common sense.
"Guhhh..."
Agony begged him to collapse, but pinned like a trophy, he screamed desperately.
"S... Spare me! Please!! I was wrong!"
Tears and snot streaming, Balcom begged.
The pain in his arm paled against Leon's impassive gaze, which had unleashed hell in seconds.
Leon approached slowly and yanked the dagger from the wall with force.
Squelch!!!
"Guhhh!!"
Utterly broken, Balcom huddled on the floor, trembling.
"Are all the people you captured here?"
Leon finally spoke.
"Th... That is..."
"Answer slow, and things start flying off one by one."
Flying off? What?
Slice!!
"Gaaaaah!!!!"
A sharp sting, and a finger flew—Balcom rolled screaming on the ground.
"All of them?"
"Y-Yes, yes! Everyone captured is here!!"
"Where's Bishiri Cascadia?"
"Th... That..."
"It'll sting."
Slice!!
"Gaaaaah!!!"
Another scream echoed, but Leon gave no time for it.
"Where did Bishiri Cascadia go?"
"T-To the count's estate! The main house! I swear!!"
The count's estate he meant was House Cascadia's main residence, where Melissa was.
He could do nothing but spill what he knew.
"I see. And the nobles aiding Tibel Cascadia—who are they?"
"Th-That..."
Slice!!
"Guhhh!!!"
Cruel monster—could words capture it more? No hesitation from this mere boy.
Like a veteran who'd fought countless life-or-death battles, merciless.
The third question exceeded a mere knight's knowledge.
"P-Please... I really don't know... Please."
"No. You can know. Think hard."
Slice!!
"Guhhh!!!"
How to answer what he didn't know?
Bloodshot eyes gasping ragged breaths.
Face consumed by terror.
A brutality, a savagery absent from the previous count or Melissa.
Leon hadn't been like this, but the dream world, Labyrinthos, was enough to change a man.
"Guess you really don't know."
"P-Please..."
"This much, and no lies left. I'll hear the rest directly."
Thrust!!
The sword piercing his chest let Balcom smile at last.
Fear of hellish survival outweighed death.
Now he could escape...
With that thought, his consciousness faded to black.
Processing all the knights, one thing stood out: technically, I was just an Aura User.
But pure combat ability? Realm meant little—it felt trivial.
"Definitely not normal."