Chapter 105
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 105
Chapter Title: Time to Get Out
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Duel Trial.
This was a trial that resolved disputes through combat, but the defendant didn't necessarily have to participate personally.
If needed, people could hire proxies to fight on their behalf, and these proxies were commonly called champions.
And Maximo Dovini was the most valiant and feared among those champions.
For the undefeated warrior he was, the Duel Trial was the essence of his life and identity.
Thus, this [Duel Trial] was a domain magic that perfectly encapsulated Maximo Dovini's very being.
Domain magic was a technique that manifested the unique traits of one's soul into reality, independent of elemental affinities.
It was a realm difficult to reach in mere decades, but not uncommon among blood clans unbound by time.
"Wow."
When Kyle looked up, a massive courtroom had materialized there.
Centered around a backdrop of sunset light flowing with sand-swept winds was a vast dueling arena.
No prosecutors or defense attorneys were needed here.
Before the solemn judge's bench stood only seats for delivering verdicts.
Because testimony, interrogation, and defense—all of it fell solely to the plaintiff and defendant.
Kyle soon wore an incredulous expression.
'What kind of farce is this trial?'
He thought it was quite barbaric, but only for a moment.
'Come to think of it, Dun City isn't all that different.'
If he'd rejected Joseph's plea deal back when he was arrested, he'd have been shipped off to the Gulag that very day.
Probably with no proper defense, just a quick gavel bang and done.
'...Seeing it this way, the Dallas Principality's Duel Trial might actually be better.'
At least it gave you a chance to defend yourself.
Even if that chance came at swordpoint.
"Pretty cool, right?"
Maximo, having cast the domain magic, gazed nostalgically at the crimson sunset, the wasteland, and the towering judge's bench.
"My homeland might be backward in other ways, but it sure knows how to keep the romance alive."
"......"
A wasteland mock trial was romantic to someone, apparently.
"So, what's your plan now, Count?"
His unique domain emerging naturally had been a good start.
But Kyle hadn't yet heard how this would get him and the demons out safely.
"Simple. Like I said earlier? This is a courtroom of sorts. We stake conditions and duel—the loser is deemed guilty and must unconditionally accept the winner's terms."
Because that was the will of the gods... or so the trial's purpose claimed.
"You mean..."
"Exactly."
The count grinned and lightly tapped his rapier against the arena floor.
"The loser must accept the winner's conditions. The rule is absolute."
In other words, if Kyle staked "me and the demons safely escaping the neutral zone" and won, it had to be honored.
"So, we throw the fight?"
"Bingo."
"But doesn't the duel end only when one side dies?"
"Not always."
Count Maximo curled his lips.
"Both sides can agree to change the victory conditions. For example, 'If the defendant survives ten minutes without being killed by the plaintiff, the defendant wins.' Something like that."
"I get that, but won't that raise suspicions?"
Declaring victory after just ten minutes of holding out?
No reason to set such terms if you were actually hostile.
Maximo chuckled.
"Nah, they'll think it's perfectly in line with a great blood clan's arrogance."
He shrugged and continued.
"Not to toot my own horn, but... us great blood clans, especially purebloods, tend to be awfully arrogant."
They saw themselves as the superior lifeform, all other races beneath them.
"Arrogance and pride—it's the curse in our blood, our original sin. Oh, tip for next time you kill a blood clan: their overconfidence from that arrogance is their biggest weakness."
"So you're saying, as a pureblood yourself... setting an arrogant condition like 'survive ten minutes and I'll let you live' won't seem off at all?"
"Quick on the uptake."
Kyle pondered briefly, then held up a finger.
"Ten minutes feels short. How about twenty?"
"No."
"Why?"
"Because I'm strong."
"...?"
In that instant, the count's figure vanished.
"!!"
Kyle's [Super Sense] detected him aiming for his back a split-second ahead, but...
'...Fast!'
Even knowing it, his reaction lagged just a bit.
Locking eyes with him, Maximo spoke.
"See now? This 'domain' is designed to heavily favor me."
It recreated his prime, the legendary era of this trial.
The awe the principality's people once felt toward him was fully reproduced here.
"I'm strong normally, but in front of this judge's bench? Even stronger. By a lot."
"......"
Now Kyle understood why he'd sensed the count wouldn't be easy to kill at first glance.
Of course, his [Bloodsword Arts] were optimized against great blood clans, judging by [Demonbane Dance] alone.
[Demonbane Dance]
[The bloodsword user's blood becomes a potent poison to vampires, inflicting severe slowdown based on the target's resistance.]
As a pureblood, resistance would limit the effect, but spamming it enough would eventually break him down like that viscount.
The issue was how many deaths and kills it'd take.
'Not easy at my current level.'
Probably dozens or hundreds of deaths, long fights.
Until the poisoned blood clan weakened and Kyle could drag out its soul.
'I could kill the count eventually that way.'
But that was just "with every trick in the book, eventually."
'Not for nothing he's lived so long.'
Purebloods especially weren't pushovers.
To handle them easier, he'd need to raise his own tier purely.
"Not about pride."
Maximo said.
"Just... if you catch the barons' eyes more than this, it'll be trouble."
"What?"
"If you fight me here and last past ten minutes—twenty, thirty—the duke might notice you."
That'd mean he went all-out and still couldn't kill you.
The count added,
"I'm one of the duke's three knights, under a lot of scrutiny."
His face hardened.
"There are monsters among the blood clans worse than me. Can't have them noticing you yet."
"Been thinking this since earlier..."
Kyle narrowed his eyes at him.
"You hoping I'll kill great blood clans for you?"
"...Who knows."
Maximo's expression grew enigmatic.
"Even if so, not the time now. You lack reason or leisure for it."
True enough.
The count walked to the opposite side.
"Dragging this out will make the barons suspicious. Stake the conditions and start the trial."
He aimed his rapier at Kyle.
"My condition: if you die or surrender in ten minutes... yeah, I'll drain your blood and make you my minion. Fits my image."
"Then mine: if I survive ten minutes, I'm acquitted, and I escape the neutral zone safely with the demons."
Plaintiff, do you accept the defendant's conditions?
"I accept."
Plaintiff accepts; defendant is deemed to accept plaintiff's conditions.
'What the hell kind of nonsense is that?'
Kyle looked incredulous.
The count shrugged nonchalantly.
...Apparently, his advantage here went beyond just getting stronger.
At that moment, clang-! A bell tolled, and massive stone pillars rose on either side of the judge's bench.
The conditions they'd just stated were crudely engraved in text there.
Another clang-!
The shadow atop the bench slammed down a gavel.
Very well! In the name of His Great Excellency the Duke, this sacred trial now begins!
WAAAAAAAAH-!!
Invisible cheers erupted from all directions, as if they were truly in the heart of a real Duel Trial.
The two faced each other, swords at the ready.
'Sudden thought.'
Kyle wondered.
'If I die here, does this domain count for death settlement too?'
Curious, but he couldn't just ask to be killed outright.
He clicked his tongue briefly.
'Plenty of chances soon enough.'
This was the lower levels, after all.
Some demon knights might have the real deal.
With that thought, the two clashed lightly on stage.
Back at the Conventus Hall.
Boom-! With a massive explosion, the count's domain shattered, its shockwave sweeping through the crowd.
"Urk!"
"What the hell?! What's going on?!"
A thick dust cloud billowed up.
Eyes fixed on the now utterly collapsed conference hall, unrecognizable from before.
"...W-Who?"
"Who won?"
Guen gripped Kurtz's nape tightly, teeth gritted, amid the hazy view.
The blood clans opposite stood arms crossed, indifferent.
The guards watched cautiously, guns still trained.
Their eyes narrowed.
"The one still standing at the end..."
Blood clan or butcher?
Then, through the settling dust, their figures emerged.
Just like before the domain unfolded—facing off, unmoving.
The only difference: their clothes were torn from fierce combat.
The guard soldiers looked baffled.
"Wh-What?"
"Both still standing?"
"What happened to the fight?"
The demons were the same.
Relieved Kyle was alive, but tense, swallowing hard with trembling eyes.
The barons sensed something wrong, their composure cracking.
In the heavy silence, Count Maximo suddenly burst into laughter.
"Hah, hahahaha! Hahaha!!!"
As if the situation was hilariously amusing, he waved it off like it was unstoppable.
"Well... looks like I underestimated you."
"Wh-What do you mean?"
"Underestimated?"
Rnen widened her eyes.
"No way..."
The count spoke.
"Hah, to think a mere human would so splendidly withstand my blade within my own domain."
"......!!"
Everyone, blood clans included, gaped.
"Your conduct is insolent, but those who stand above must honor their words. Rejoice, human."
He raised his rapier briefly.
Then gripped it reverse and slammed the hilt-first into the ground, as if forfeiting.
"By the rules, this trial deems you not guilty."
"?!"
"!!"
"What...!!"
The unbelievable surrender froze blood clans and demons alike.
Not just any, but a great blood clan.
A pureblood count, no less.
Known for unmatched arrogance.
And he admitted defeat so readily?
The shock surpassed even the demon knight's loss.
"Insane..."
"What the hell does that mean?!"
"Wait, so right now..."
Kurtz Shuleman's voice trembled.
"That human... beat a blood clan?"
In a domain heavily favoring the blood clan?
"...!!"
Guen stared at Kyle's back, dumbfounded.
Incredibly, it had really happened.
No—he'd made it happen.
A miracle that shouldn't have been possible.
'It's like...'
He was a true hero.
Then, Miki's voice reconnected in Kyle's ear.
[Kyle! Wh-What happened?! Everything cut out suddenly...!]
"Uh..."
Kyle recalled the count's words just before the domain collapsed.
'Oh, forgot one thing.'
'What?'
'Our conversation, everything in this domain—take it to the grave. Got it? No loose ends.'
Scratching his head, he replied.
"...Just stuff happened."
[Stuff?!]
"I'll explain later."
Meanwhile, the barons rushed to the count.
"Count, not guilty? What do you mean?!"
"Exactly that."
Turning as if exiting stage left, Maximo said,
"I staked he'd live if he lasted ten minutes, and surprisingly, he did."
"...!!"
"Dissatisfied? Ten minutes from me settles any debt to the demon knight."
"Th-That's..."
The barons fell silent.
True, a count deploying his domain fulfilled any obligation.
Except that human lasting ten minutes was the outlier.
Incredulous, the barons eyed each other.
"Anyway, sharing blades made me want him more."
"Pardon?"
"Haven't seen a human worth turning into a minion in ages."
The blood clans' eyes widened.
He hadn't said such a thing in a century.
"A m-minion?"
"Yeah. Kyle Clark, was it?"
The count twisted his lips.
"I've marked him—don't blab to any purebloods but the duke. Clear?"
His cold gaze swept them.
"If one of you slips and another pureblood claims him first..."
"N-No such thing will happen."
"...Best not regret it."
Passing the frozen group, he added,
"From now on, escort Kyle Clark and those demons safely out of the neutral zone with your lives. That's the trial's ruling."
"!!"
The barons paled.
Not purebloods, but still great blood clans.
Escorting lowly humans? Thunderbolt from clear sky.
But no choice.
A pureblood count's command was absolute.
"Urk...!"
'The verdict's power...!'
Even on the count's minions, the Duel Trial's force compelled them.
Biting back humiliation, they bowed.
"...We obey."
Finally, locking eyes with Kyle, Maximo said,
[One last thing, Kyle Clark.]
'What?'
[Did you save the demons to kill the Demon King?]
"......"
'Dunno yet.'
He was just following the prophecy stone gate's vision.
Heading to the Demon King for clues on Lena Clark and Iris.
[Then advice:]
'Advice?'
[Just a hunch.]
Turning with his fluttering cloak, the count said,
[To get what you want... you'll probably have to kill the Demon King.]
'What?'
[Just like the Progenitor must die.]
Progenitor—the vampires' ancestor, lord of the great blood clans.
He had to die?
'What do you mean, Count?'
[Don't pity the Betrayer Demon King. That's all.]
He added,
[I'll visit soon; we'll talk then.]
With that, the count faded like a mirage.
Kyle frowned unwittingly.
'Does that guy know something?'
About Iris?
'But no clues for him to guess my goal.'
Then, [Clairvoyance] flashed the count's intense hatred.
- I'll shatter it, that damned pact...!
Kyle recalled earlier.
'...The Demon King said something similar.'
- Please free the lower levels, us, from the pact.
He sighed softly.
'Pact, pact.'
George Brockett called it the "non-aggression treaty" or "defense pact."
But something felt off beyond that.
Kyle intuited.
'No idea why, but...'
His eyes narrowed.
'The pact and Iris... feels like there's a deep connection.'
Suddenly, sharp blood spikes erupted from the floor.
Clang! Clang-clang-clang!!
"!!"
The demons' restraints snapped in unison.
The blood clans before the wide-eyed demons raised their heads and shouted.
"By the verdict of the [Duel Trial]! We great blood clans will now escort Kyle Clark and the demons safely out of the neutral zone!"
"......!!"
The guards gaped.
"Any who interfere—even neutral zone guards—will face death!"
The hall plunged back into chaos.
"Gr-Great blood clans what?"
"Escorting who?"
"What's going on?!"
Kyle stepped before the dumbfounded demons.
"What're you waiting for? Get up."
"...!!"
He smirked at their trembling gazes.
"Time to get out. From here."
"!!"
Meanwhile, outside Brahman Sector, Kshatriya and Vaishya buzzed with murmurs, boundaries ignored.
A massive glacier loomed visibly right up to Brahman Sector.
"What the heck is that?"
"Heard Brahman got attacked?"
"What?!"
"Guards supposedly pulled everyone from the walls into Brahman."
"Heavens. Who'd dare attack Brahman?"
"...Not invaders from another district, right?"
"This is the neutral zone! With the pact, no way!"
Kshatriya Sector, home to many tycoons, was the same.
"Any info?"
"Nope. But alarm definitely went off in Brahman."
"Heard there was fighting."
"District office?"
"Nothing. Lines are jammed from the emergency."
"What's happening inside?"
"Our business safe?"
As attention fixed on Brahman's inner gates...
Rumble-!
The long-silent Brahman gates finally creaked open before them.
"...!!"