Chapter 112
Chapter 112
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 112
Chapter Title: Duel with the Emperor's Thought Body
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Lucas von Edbalt.
The Emperor.
Describing him with any words beyond these would be an act of insolence.
“Father Emperor…”
Erewin and Dallas’s mouths fell open simultaneously. They had never imagined Lucas would appear there.
But the feeling was distinctly different.
Unlike the occasionally seen slack-jawed impression, Lucas before Damian was sharp enough to split a veil.
And.
‘Somehow…’
The aura he exuded was similar to Damian’s.
“This is His Majesty the Emperor’s thought body. More precisely, from his days as Crown Prince. To think it would come to this… Is this fate as well?”
Kallrag, who had returned to the banquet hall, explained the situation. He also mentioned that Lucas had served as chairman of Enricasil for a single day.
“How strong is he?”
Neither Dallas nor Erewin had seen Lucas fight much.
It was said he had toured the entire Empire during his time as Crown Prince, and that he had briefly stayed in the Mage Tower.
“Who knows. Since it’s a thought body recorded when His Majesty was in his mid-twenties… Probably a bit stronger than Lady Rubia.”
“Lu-lu-lu, Lulu?”
Erewin startled in shock, and the faces of those around her paled.
Even accounting for Damian’s recent rapid growth, he was still evaluated as below Rubia.
“Being a thought body, it’s a degraded version of the original. Still, among the possible opponents, it’s on the quite difficult side.”
Unlike the others holding their breath as they watched the screen, Kallrag smiled lightly.
When else would one witness such a matchup? A father in his prime against his son in the bloom of his talent. The son could even lose his life.
‘My judgment wasn’t wrong.’
And those two were definitely alike. Not just in appearance, but in the aura they gave off.
He could assert this because he had served at Lucas’s side back in those days.
“Now. Let us all pray for our brother’s victory.”
On the screen, Damian and Lucas rose from their seats. At the same time, Kallrag raised his empty glass.
* * *
As Damian rose from his seat again, Lucas followed suit.
It was the first time seeing him in his youth. Lucas from this era had left not a single portrait behind.
‘A bit.’
He did resemble him. It couldn’t be helped. Half of Damian’s blood came from that detestable man.
Being a thought body, no emotions showed on his face. His hollow eyes reflected only Damian’s own image.
‘Is he yielding the first move?’
There was no sign of preparing to cast magic. He remained completely defenseless.
But charging in blindly posed a great risk for Damian too. He had zero information on the opponent.
Thus, a probing battle was needed first. And there was no reason for Damian to do it himself.
Shaaaa. Black smoke flowing from Damian’s body coalesced into a human shape. Revenant—Imur.
With its excellent durability and ability to turn received damage into its own power, it was perfect for testing the waters.
“Grooooar!”
The revenant let out an eerie cry as it charged at Lucas. Still, no particular reaction.
Whoosh. A massive fist flew toward Lucas’s face.
It was an order Damian had given deliberately.
He had long wanted to smash that face at least once.
Crack! But that wish went unfulfilled.
Imur’s fist halted midway, and with the sound of shattering glass, the air cracked like a spiderweb.
Lucas stood beyond the shattered space. As he impassively extended his hand—
Kagagagak! The air, cracked like glass, swallowed Imur’s arm.
The space, writhing like a living thing, refused to release the revenant’s arm easily, and in the end, it tore it off.
Fwoooo. At the same time, heat emanated from above. A massive serpent-shaped flame opened its maw toward Damian.
Damian leaped back with the now one-armed Imur, deploying a Stone Scales barrier to defend against Lucas’s flames.
Stone Scales modified with Ezekiel’s magic. Ordinary flame spells couldn’t even scratch it.
Soon, the heat faded. Damian created a gap in the Stone Scales barrier to check Lucas’s response.
‘Didn’t expect him to use that.’
Lumps of light gathered at his fingertips split into dozens of rays and shot out.
Déjà vu hit immediately. It resembled the magic Ezekiel had used to target Stone Scales in the past.
‘A lot more, though.’
One or two could be handled with black magic—Devour, but evasion was the better play now.
Fortunately, the projectiles weren’t that fast.
Most dissipated before reaching Damian’s body, and the few that did were erased by black magic—Devour.
‘Next…’
Shaaaa. A massive ice spear formed above Lucas’s head.
Its structure was unusual.
Hellfire could melt it easily. But it was prepared to shatter into multiple shards upon destruction.
“…….”
Damian hadn’t anticipated it launching.
“Grooooar!”
Imur, under separate orders, seized Lucas from behind.
Kadududuk! Just like before, the air cracked like a spiderweb and swallowed Imur’s remaining arm.
But the massive ice spear also vanished mid-formation.
He didn’t have the leeway to operate multiple spells.
‘He forms a barrier around himself to use offense and defense simultaneously.’
The spatial distortion resembled Ezekiel’s barrier.
The light clumps from moments ago were nearly identical to what Ezekiel had shown.
It was rumored in society that Ezekiel and Lucas had some connection.
But rather than being close, they were linked through Marian.
Even so, they weren’t without points of contact. Lucas’s magic was deeply influenced by Ezekiel.
But he wasn’t a greater mage than Damian’s teacher.
He couldn’t use other magic while distorting space. That was the gap differing from Ezekiel.
Damian had his measure. He unsummoned the revenant—Imur. The shorty with both arms torn off was no longer needed.
“Alright, now let’s get serious.”
“Kyaa!”
Bone shards detached from Damian’s hand and positioned themselves in front. The flickering flames somehow looked confident.
This was another reason Damian had accepted this trial: to test the bone shards’ power to its limits.
There were no suitable opponents for that within the capital. And he couldn’t test it against Elgana.
The bone shards were a demon born from Damian’s power, but not Damian himself. Nor were they perfectly controlled like revenants or undead.
Essentially a separate entity. Though people commonly thought of the bone shards as a familiar, they were more like a comrade.
In other words, their synergy was crucial. They had trained constantly since the bone shards’ creation, but this was their first real combat.
“Kya aaaah!”
Roar. Hellfire opposite to the cute voice filled the space. Even Damian’s throat stung from the heat.
“…….”
The wave of Hellfire surged toward the still impassive Lucas.
Did thought bodies lack emotions entirely? He wanted to see that expression twist.
Kagagagak! Once again, space distorted without fail, severing the Hellfire’s flow.
The range was wider than Damian expected. The opponent had been focused on analyzing his full power until now.
Kwachik. Damian also fired Stone Scales boulders. With the bone shards handling Hellfire, he only needed to bear the cost of using Stone Scales.
The massive boulders crumbled under Lucas’s spatial distortion but didn’t stop there, branching into various forms. Together with the bone shards’ Hellfire, they pressured Lucas.
Pop! Pop! Pop! Added to that, remote Hellfire ignitions.
Though weaker and slower than when using Molech’s right arm, the power was still not negligible.
‘Let’s see how long you hold out.’
Even as a thought body, its mana wasn’t infinite. Like black magic, spells had costs.
This was mana. Especially for powerful spells like Lucas’s, the consumption was significant.
A prolonged battle favored Damian.
The bone shards were nearly infinite in output, and Stone Scales could now be used more efficiently thanks to training.
‘Got it!’
Lucas finally showed an opening. The spatial distortion no longer controlled every direction.
Pop! Pop! Close-range remote ignitions exploded. He deployed a mana barrier, but the damage wasn’t light.
Damian didn’t miss the gap. A Stone Scales spear at maximum intensity pierced Lucas’s shoulder.
The distortion had weakened, unable to withstand Damian’s black magic any longer.
“Grrrr! Heh heh heh.”
A scream and a smile spread together.
His joints felt like twisting from the cost of Stone Scales, but seeing Lucas’s shoulder soaked in blood was pleasurable.
His feelings toward Lucas weren’t revenge. The man wasn’t worth it. Venting was enough.
‘End it like this…!’
Ziiiiing! Damian could no longer maintain the Stone Scales boulders. A metallic ring echoed in his ears, and his vision shook violently.
“Kya… Kya…”
The bone shards writhed in pain too. The Hellfire dominating the area weakened greatly, and the main body’s flames flickered feebly.
‘Yeah… If it ends like this, I won’t be satisfied.’
Looking up, he saw Lucas soaring into the air.
The true clash was about to begin.
* * *
“How’s it going? How’s it going, brother!”
“See for yourself with your own eyes.”
“I can’t, I can’t! If something happens to Damian, if it does, what am I supposed to do!”
Dallas had no choice but to furrow his brow.
In an already distressing situation, his scatterbrained little sister was throwing a tantrum too.
‘What’s going on between those two?’
Erewin’s attitude was definitely odd. It was closer to how one treats a lover than a half-sibling.
‘No way they have those kinds of feelings for each other… No, even so, that’s impossible.’
Immoral feelings budding between them? Abigail would gouge out their eyes while alive and then her own.
‘Do well, little brother.’
The relentless exchange continued. At first, Damian seemed dominant, but now the situation had largely reversed.
The opponent was a thought body.
Being a degraded copy, it didn’t possess all human traits. This became an advantage instead.
It didn’t falter from wounds, nor tire from prolonged combat.
It operated at peak condition until fully destroyed.
Meanwhile, Damian clearly looked fatigued. Wounds accumulated one by one, slowing his movements noticeably, and his attack power had visibly decreased.
He’d heard Damian used swordsmanship supplementally in battle, but today he had no sword.
He hadn’t anticipated this situation. It was impossible for anyone in Enricasil.
“That, that…”
“It’ll be fine, right? He’s Damian Renekht, master of the green flames, rising star of the Mage Tower, disciple of the eccentric.”
Everyone watching felt anxious. Still no word on rescue. They truly had to stake everything on Damian.
“How do you see this fight, Chairman Kallrag?”
“Well, both sides are certainly high-level. Heh heh. A rare experience.”
The other members couldn’t respond amid the tension, but Dallas found Kallrag’s reaction deeply irritating.
His attitude, as if it were none of his business. Like watching a fire from across the river.
He’d never liked the man.
The future father-in-law to Dallas, yet he’d never once sided with his son-in-law.
“It’s working! It’s working!”
“Just a bit more! Just a bit more!”
“Da, Damian! Damian!”
The battle raged on. Once again, Damian pinned Lucas’s thought body to the ground.
A massive boulder had dragged him down.
He’d heard it was a spell applying Ezekiel’s mana barrier.
For some reason, its power had risen to incomparable levels.
‘Did I see something sword-blue?’
Others hadn’t noticed, but Dallas saw something emanating from Damian’s necklace.
Thanks to that, he securely bound the thought body.
“…….”
It tried resisting with magic somehow, but even that was blocked by the green flames’ familiar.
Damian clenched and unclenched his fist before leaping toward Lucas. That hand aimed for the head.
‘That magic that devoured the mental world!’
Erewin anticipated what he would do.
The thought body had impressive recovery and durability.
But it couldn’t withstand the magic shown at the Mage Tower’s banquet.
“No! No!”
As everyone sighed in relief, thinking escape was finally at hand.
Suddenly, Dallas screamed. His face drained of color, lips turning blue.
The magic the thought body was preparing. Dallas remembered seeing Emperor Lucas use it exactly once.
Thinking they had the momentum now would be the end. That magic looked insignificant on the surface, but its power far exceeded imagination.
“Why, why are you like this, brother?”
“Damn… It’s already too late.”
Others, examining the screen closely, also noticed something off. A faint halo of light extended from Lucas.
By the time Damian realized, it had already risen to his neck.
Kwachik! Like slamming a palm on a bug, the halo compressed and crushed Damian. Not a drop of blood left behind.
“Da… Damian…”
No one could open their mouth properly at the shocking sight. Erewin’s legs gave out, and she collapsed.
‘What now…?’
Dallas pressed his temples. Damian’s loss was secondary; escaping Enricasil was the issue.
External rescue was impossible. They had to find a way from within on their own.
If not? Redo what Damian attempted. Then who steps up? Himself?
He didn’t want to throw away his life on an unknown thought body.
His life held more value than anyone else here. He had to ascend the throne someday.
“It’s over.”
Kallrag stated calmly. The screen showed only the thought body and the green flames’ familiar.
“Members of Enricasil.”
Roar. The green flames encircling the area condensed behind the thought body. Its shape vaguely resembled a person.
No, it was a person. A hand emerged from the flames and grabbed the thought body’s head.
“Please welcome our new chairman, Damian Renekht.”
Crunch crunch! Nom nom! With eerie sounds, Lucas’s head crumbled like a cookie.
Behind him, Damian smiled in satisfaction as the thought body fell.