Chapter 21
Chapter 21
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Heaven's Punishment
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“Heaven's punishment upon the filthy and ugly bloodline!”
With a shout of unknown meaning, one assailant charged toward the stairs where the Fifth Prince was descending.
His movements were remarkably swift.
He appeared to be a knight who had reached a certain level of proficiency.
Puk! Puk! Puuk!
“Ku, kugh...!”
Before he could climb even half the stairs, more than ten swords pierced into the assailant's body.
He had charged in with such momentum, only to be stopped immediately.
‘...What the hell is that guy?’
Jeon, watching the scene, felt a question rise in his mind.
He had thought it suspicious, but he never imagined the man would attempt something as insane as lunging at the prince.
And to be thwarted so futilely after charging like that?
‘No matter how I look at it, something's off.’
They had gone through cryptic codes and exchanged notes to set this up.
For it to end like this, the conclusion felt far too anticlimactic compared to the preparations.
‘Silver, stay put for a moment.’
Jeon stopped Silver, who was just about to emerge from the assailant's pocket with the note in its mouth.
His instincts told him the assailant's end wouldn't be this pathetic.
“What a foolish fool.”
Meanwhile, the knight who had pierced the assailant's heart shook his head pityingly at the man.
This was royalty, after all.
Over twenty knights guarded him 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, never leaving his side.
To attempt an assassination so sloppily.
“Heh heh... Is that, what you think?”
But gazing at the knight, the assailant—who should have died from the heart wound—lifted his head and flashed a chilling smile.
“We... are completed in death.”
“...What?”
Puhwaak!
Before the knight could even respond, the body of the man—who rightfully should have been dead—swelled up in an instant.
“Th-this!”
“What is this all of a sudden?!”
The speed and scope were so tremendous that every knight who had stabbed into his body was engulfed by the expanding flesh.
And it wasn't just that.
As the body ballooned, the mana aura emanating from it swelled violently, as if ready to detonate at any second.
“Pr-protect the Prince!”
“Block it! We have to block it!”
At the abrupt turn of events, those around hurriedly formed a barrier in front of the prince.
A few even rushed to intercept the swelling assailant's body.
But the explosion struck a beat faster.
Kwaaaaang!
Without giving the prince's protectors any chance to act, the assailant's body erupted in a massive explosion.
The boom was powerful enough to rattle the entire banquet hall.
Yet, surprisingly, the blast's force wasn't as devastating as it sounded.
-Kyaang!
Flash!
Just before the body detonated.
A massive silver fox had appeared out of nowhere, emitting a burst of light that absorbed the majority of the explosion.
“Kugh!”
“Ugh!”
Thanks to it, the blast's effects didn't reach the prince's location.
Even the knights buried in the body and directly caught in the explosion suffered severe burns but managed to cling to life.
“Wh-what is that fox?”
“Did it... protect us?”
The surviving knights and nearby onlookers stared in awe at the silver fox that had suddenly appeared and neutralized the blast.
But their attention on the fox didn't linger.
“Terror! Suicide terror!”
“Everyone, protect the Prince!”
The silver fox vanished from sight as suddenly as it had come, and right now, the prince's safety mattered far more than some mysterious fox.
The knights unscathed by the blast swiftly encircled the prince.
The injured ones pulled themselves together as best they could, scanning their surroundings warily.
“What the hell? What just happened!?”
“C-crazy! Terror! There's been a terror attack!”
“Who the hell dares terrorize the Prince?!”
“What? Who did it?”
“What is Celleron doing!? Didn't they swear security was airtight?!”
The nobles assembled in the banquet hall unleashed a barrage of panicked reactions at the sudden explosion.
But before they could even comprehend what was happening.
Kwaaang! Kwaaang! Kwaaang!
Three consecutive blasts rocked the interior of the banquet hall.
These full-powered detonations were more than enough to plunge the entire venue into pandemonium.
“Kyaaaaak!”
“Ua! Uaaak! Uaaaaak!”
“S-save me!”
“You insane bastards! Who the fuck are they!?”
“O-outside! Run outside!”
Dozens perished or were gravely wounded in the trio of explosions.
In the ensuing chaos, a handful of nobles who had miraculously survived bolted for the entrance to flee the hall.
And the instant they reached the doors.
Kwaaaaaang!
As if on cue, another explosion detonated just outside the banquet hall.
“Kwaaaak!”
“S-save... save me...!”
Hell unfolded.
With even those trying to escape outward caught in the blast, no one left in the hall could hold onto their sanity.
Terror and despair—of not knowing when death would claim them—devoured their minds.
“R-run! Everyone run!”
“This is insane!”
Desperate to survive, they cast aside all noble decorum and flailed wildly for any chance at life.
“Lord Cain! Lord Cain!”
“Aa... Sir Holton! Sir Holton!”
Knights who lost their lords, or those who sacrificed themselves to shield nobles, wailed in grief as despair spread like wildfire.
Even nobles steeped in rigorous education.
Even the knights sworn to protect them.
None had ever faced suicide bombings of such absurd power and scale.
Amid the hellish inferno of fear and despair.
Jeon alone remained calm, untouched by the panic.
‘This isn't random terror—it's targeted: the prince first, then the hall, and now the entrance. All planned.’
Unlike the others gripped by the dread of the unknown.
Having sensed the suspicion early, he could stay level-headed and assess the situation.
And furthermore.
-Kyaang!
Silver, whom he'd sent to the assailant, had not only blocked the explosion near the prince but also retrieved the note from the pocket—securing vital evidence.
“Thanks, Silver.”
Jeon swiftly examined the note's contents.
Of course, it was written in their private code, illegible to outsiders.
But such ciphers held no meaning for Jeon.
‘Explosion trigger: “Heaven's punishment.” Shout it and end your life—the blast triggers instantly. Sequence: Klein, you're first. From there, comrades will turn the castle into their tomb with ten heavenly punishments. Judgment upon the filthy, ugly bloodline.’
The note was longer than expected.
And even decipherable, it wasn't entirely straightforward.
Jeon decided to distill the key details first.
According to the note, there would be ten explosions total.
‘Klein's one, three inside the hall, one at the door.’
That left five more blasts incoming.
“Lena, Risar! More explosions are coming—don't move recklessly!”
“M-more explosions?”
“Jeon, is that true?”
At Jeon's warning, Lena and Risar—who had been lost in the same panic as everyone else—snapped back to reality.
Regaining composure from mere words in this madness was no easy feat.
But knowing Jeon's silver fox had thwarted the first blast near the prince.
They barely clung to reason through his assurance.
‘Where's the next one?’
Having first curbed the rash movements around him.
Jeon drew the artifact 'Manastone' from his bosom and gripped it tight.
Then he rapidly scanned the surroundings to pinpoint the next detonation.
After the five successive blasts.
The area was chaos, but no further explosions had followed yet.
‘They're spacing them deliberately—to maximize casualties once confusion peaks.’
Suddenly, the note's final line flashed through Jeon's mind.
‘With ten heavenly punishments, turn this castle into a grave... then!’
With the realization, Jeon jerked his head upward.
Sure enough.
A shadowy figure scaling the central chandelier caught his eye.
“Heaven's punishment!”
Locking eyes with Jeon in that instant, the man let out a brief shout and plunged a dagger into his own throat.
Kwaaaaang!
His body detonated the moment life left it.
The explosion engulfed the chandelier and tore into the ceiling, bringing it crashing down.
The ceiling's materials transformed into massive projectiles, raining down amid the blast.
Staying put would sweep away Jeon, Lena, and Risar alike.
But with the Manastone already in hand.
At Jeon's single word, the debris plummeting toward him disintegrated into dust and scattered in an instant.
“J-Jeon? Was that you just now?”
“Jeon, what in the world...?”
“No time to gawk. We need to get out before more collapses!”
Lena and Risar gaped blankly as the falling debris vanished above them.
But Jeon ushered them along while quickly surveying the area.
He had blocked only what threatened them directly—the rest was beyond his immediate reach.
‘Four more explosions to go.’
That meant bracing for successive blasts.
And not just the hall—the entire castle could crumble.
‘Which way? Where's safest?’
Kung! Kung! Kuung!
The ground trembled from the fallen ceiling, thick dust billowing everywhere.
Amid it, survivors scrambled in all directions for escape, but Jeon held back from rash action.
Blind flight was perilous.
With no clue when or where the next blast might hit, a wrong turn could bury them under the collapsing fortress.
If moving at all, it had to be along the safest route possible.
‘Safest bet would be... Ah!’
Suddenly, Jeon recalled who had been at his side.
Celleron family second daughter, Ivy Celleron.
She knew the castle's layout better than anyone.
Jeon's gaze shifted to where she'd been.
Thanks to pulverizing the debris, nothing had fallen on her spot.
But Ivy was already gone.
‘Where to?’
Jeon hurriedly scanned around.
He remembered her outfit well.
Even through the choking dust, her ornate dress stood out easily.
‘...She ditched alone?’
Not far off, he spotted her dashing somewhere—without a single attendant in tow.
It looked suspicious, but there was no time for deep thought.
“Everyone, this way!”
Escaping the crumbling castle was beyond urgent.
Jeon led Lena and Risar in pursuit of Ivy.