Chapter 33
Chapter 33
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: The Road to the Tower
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Duff took off his black cloak.
He wasn't just big; from his thick neck down to his toes, massive muscles bulged everywhere.
Especially his two arms, wielding a warhammer as large as his own body, were thicker than an adult's head—a level that surpassed human limits.
"Failure means death. Don't make a single mistake."
Nunez tied her hair up with a grave expression and replied.
"Yes, Captain."
"If you get caught somehow, you know what to do, right?"
"Of course. And... do you think I'd fail? It's just grabbing one little kid."
"Don't get complacent. Pereira went out thinking the same and ended up like this."
"Ha! Captain, don't compare me to that fool."
Duff grabbed both of Nunez's shoulders and pressed his forehead to hers.
"If even you vanish, I won't be able to handle those guys."
Nunez pushed his hands away with a warm smile and replied.
"Don't worry."
The conversation ended there.
As two more men in black cloaks appeared behind Duff's back, Nunez leaped out of the alley, slicing through the rain as she ran.
Tadadak!
As she drew nearer to the auction house, an intense aura washed over her.
Nunez assumed it was the Strange child and came to a halt.
Thud.
She lowered her stance and hid behind a large wooden barrel.
Hoo-
'Good.'
At this distance, escape was impossible.
With that thought, Nunez drew the rifle slung on her back.
At the same moment, a guardian spirit wearing a wide-brim hat materialized behind her.
"Please."
She gritted her teeth, and the guardian spirit pressed close to her side, adjusting the rifle's barrel—as if to say, 'Fire in this direction, and it'll hit.'
Once ready to shoot, she infused aura into the rifle. The muzzle flashed, signaling the shot.
'...Captain Duff.'
Bang!
The bullet spun fiercely, cutting through the raindrops as it flew.
The ammunition she used wasn't ordinary lead but a fusion of qi, something only mid-level knights and above could wield.
'Aura.'
Shiiik-
The bullet's path was dead on.
By the time she lowered the rifle and checked her target, it had already struck the head of the child stepping down from the white carriage.
Thud.
The child, draped in a white cloak emblazoned with a cross, collapsed.
Nunez beamed with joy as she glanced toward Duff, then raised her voice toward the auction house.
"It's starting!"
Her shout echoed, and at that signal, the agents they had planted slaughtered the knights guarding the entrance.
With all witnesses eliminated, Duff summoned his own guardian spirit.
Behind him, a naked old man nodded with a flute in his mouth.
"Well done, Nunez."
As Duff's guardian spirit began to play the flute, the torrential rain suddenly ceased.
Or rather, it slowed to a crawl—as if someone were manipulating time itself.
Thud, thud, thud.
As Duff began to move, the two black-cloaked men waiting behind him melted into the shadows.
Duff strode boldly up to the auction house and seized the fallen Strange child by the nape.
"...What the hell is this?"
Duff peeled off the white cloak with a bewildered expression.
Inside was no little Strange swordsman he had seen before, but a scarecrow of roughly the same height.
"Hello, Duff?"
"You... why are you here?"
"Why I'm here doesn't matter. Take a look over there?"
The scarecrow pointed to the rooftop of the building across the way.
There stood Legion's guardian of the Strange mansion, Butler Dibery, with Berddin holding an umbrella over him.
"...Damn it."
Right before departing for the auction house, a black-cloaked figure approached Berddin.
To prove his identity, he displayed a sword engraved with the Bourbon Knight Order's eagle emblem and a gold-class badge.
"The Bourbon knights are targeting you at the auction house."
Berddin asked with an enigmatic smile tinged with amusement.
"And why are you telling me this?"
A Bourbon knight leaking enemy operations. Berddin had a rough guess as to the reason.
Probably internal politics and faction infighting, or perhaps betraying them to ally with someone else.
But even with that conclusion, doubts lingered.
Why defect when the Bourbon Knight Order was Legion's finest? That was the thought behind his question.
"I want to serve the Young Master."
"Me, personally?"
"Yes."
"Mind if I hear the reason?"
The black-cloaked man removed his mask.
His face was flushed red from severe burns, crossed by five deep scars, with a slave mark deeply etched into his forehead.
"I need great power."
"Power, eh? So it's the Strange Family you need, not just me. You wouldn't betray your organization over one kid."
"Frankly, yes."
Berddin found him suspicious, yet likable.
There were no lies in their exchange so far. That alone was enough to trust the information he'd shared.
Still, this was a stranger, and it could be a ploy against him, so he needed to plan for every contingency.
"What's your name?"
"'Gangradra.'"
"Good name. And the one beside you?"
"This woman's name is 'Gangret.' She's walking the same path as I am."
"A woman?"
"Gangret, show your face."
The black cloak beside him placed a hand on her mask but hesitated.
Seeing her trembling hand, I told Gangradra,
"It's fine. She doesn't need to show her face."
Someone of Berddin's caliber could distinguish foes by the flow of their qi anyway.
Having crossed paths like this, he'd recognize Gangret if they met again, so there was no need to force her if she didn't want to.
"But..."
"It's okay. What I really want to know is whether they're truly after me."
"It's true, though hard to believe. So... leave it to me. I'll take responsibility and handle it."
"How?"
"I'll devise a plan to capture everyone involved. During the operation, Young Master need only watch."
"Can you pull it off?"
"Not difficult. They have no idea we've turned."
Berddin rested his chin on his hand, lost in thought for a moment.
"Very well, let's do it."
"You trust me?"
"Not completely, but at least everything we've discussed is true."
Gangradra dropped to one knee and looked up.
"I'm grateful for your words."
A massive shadow crept right up to me before Gangradra emerged from within it.
Shiiik-
"Intruders inside the auction house: nine. Bourbon knights on standby nearby: roughly two hundred. One mid-level knight moving under Duff's command."
I gazed down at the area around Legion's auction house from atop the building and replied to him.
"Are all these Marquis Pierre's soldiers?"
"Yes. A few are mercenaries Duff slipped in without the marquis's knowledge, but most are direct knights from the Bourbon Knight Order."
It was now crystal clear: Bourbon's forces had tried to kill me.
That gave me solid grounds for retaliation.
This incident differed from when Pereira intruded into the Strange mansion and died.
Back then, his motives were unclear, but this time, their intent to assassinate me was unmistakable.
'In that case.'
Whether Pierre himself had ordered it or not, this was grave enough to spark war.
My commands would determine how events unfolded.
I turned my gaze downward to the man called Duff.
"Kill them all."
"...Pardon?"
"I said kill them all. Every last Bourbon knight involved in this operation, without exception."
"Is that wise? It'd be better to leave one as a witness."
"No need."
"Without a witness, Marquis Pierre won't stay silent."
"Doesn't matter. I'll take full responsibility. Kill everyone who dared point a blade at me—if you wish to stand with me from here on."
Gangradra was visibly stunned.
Was this truly an eight-year-old boy? He exuded a hardness beyond his years and unyielding conviction in his orders.
It bolstered not just him, but the morale of everyone under his command.
'Incredible.'
Even a single word carried immense weight. This boy truly bore the Strange bloodline.
'My instincts were spot on.'
Berddin was the real deal.
Though they'd exchanged only a few words, Gangradra was convinced his choice to follow him was right.
"I shall obey your command."
Gangradra vanished into the shadows.
To prove his loyalty, he clashed directly with Duff's knights.
There was no need for Berddin to intervene or mobilize the Strange forces.
Gangradra and Gangret threw their full might against the enemy on their own.
"Kraaak! Gangradra! Why you!!"
Raindrops coalesced into a serpentine form and lunged at Gangradra.
"Didn't you betray me first? When I handed you the knights, we agreed: no entanglements with the Glazer Family."
"Th-that..."
"No excuses needed. A promise is a promise. As you once told me, I'll claim your life."
Gangradra clasped his hands and began chanting.
Viscous mana oozed from his entire body, unleashing a form of sorcery unlike any seen before.
Chwaaaa!
Shadows erupted from his feet in all directions, halting the movements of the water dragon Duff controlled.
Then, a blade shot out from the darkness, spinning rapidly.
Puk!
It severed Duff's neck.
Thud.
Dibery clapped with a satisfied grin.
"Kahaha! Young Master's judgment is impeccable as always. I half-suspected that Gangradra had laid a double trap to catch you."
"I knew he wouldn't betray us, but even I didn't expect him to wrap it up this cleanly."
Gangradra was far stronger than anticipated.
He was so capable it was baffling why he'd served under Marquis Pierre.
Someone of this skill should have been familiar from his past life—yet the name eluded him.
A few explanations surfaced in his mind, but he pushed them aside.
Regardless, Gangradra had chosen to stand with him now and faithfully carried out his orders.
I watched from the rooftop until the matter concluded.
And before departing the scene once the operation ended, I issued Gangradra one final command.
"Please transport the bodies of everyone killed here to Bourbon Castle."