Chapter 148
Chapter 148
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 148
Chapter Title: The Starting Point of the Wave.
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Glazer had fallen.
No, their family head, Hagen, had been felled by my hand. As his head, severed from his body, hit the ground, the eight chains he had forged ceased their movement.
Whoosh—
A post-mortem ability activated from Hagen's body, triggering a powerful spell that resonated across the Glazer territory.
Rumble rumble rumble!
The ground shook as if an earthquake had struck, surging upward and elevating Glazer Castle like a tower rising into the sky.
-Waaaaah!
Cheers erupted from the knights below the castle. They were already grinning as if they had won the war.
"I knew you'd win, Berddin."
Siegfried wiped the tip of his nose and said. I could tell from his satisfied expression.
He, too, had secretly wanted to create a scene that surpassed magic.
It was practically the fate of anyone who wielded a sword.
"It's thanks to you, Master."
"See? I'm amazing!"
In a way, he really was.
"By the way, your swordsmanship seems to have reached a level close to mine now?"
I thought the same.
In my past life, I probably would have acknowledged it and ended the conversation there.
'However.'
I knew he was still hiding the limits of the sword that I didn't yet understand.
"I'm grateful for the high praise. But I still need much more of your guidance, Master."
"Right? Though even I think comparing myself to your level is a bit much."
Brunhilt flew up and smacked the top of his head with her front paw.
Thwack!
"Ow!"
"Get lost, you perverted brat. The reason Berddin won this time is all thanks to me."
"...Thanks to you?"
"Yes, the magic I taught him before the battle started decided the victor!"
"The magic you taught him?"
"That's right. Unlike you, who hides your secret techniques, I recognized Berddin's talent and passed on the most efficient spell from my repertoire."
"I've never seen Berddin use magic."
"Of course not. I distorted space so an idiot like you couldn't see it."
"Distorted space?"
"Yeah, if you don't believe me, ask Berddin. He used it at least ten times from start to finish."
Brunhilt doesn't lie. She's just too loose-lipped to keep truths from others.
'Please shut up.'
Mayer was right in front of me. If I answered that question, and some eavesdropping revealed our tactics to the enemy...
It could put us in a tough spot against the Rothschilds later.
I peeked out without answering to look beyond Glazer Castle.
The tower, thrust upward by the impact, now rivaled a mountain in height, offering a view of the entire surrounding terrain from the top.
Having won the battle, I collapsed onto the ground. Not only had I exhausted all my stamina, but my mental energy was dizzyingly depleted as well.
Thud!
Rox rushed over and steadied my shoulder.
"Good work."
I gave him a small smile as I looked at his face.
"You endured well. Your body must have been itching to fight."
"What endurance? Anyway, that Pendragon guy was impressive. When I got to the spot he mentioned, that bald guy was really there."
Just before crossing into the eastern lands, I'd received word from Pendragon.
He'd hastily returned to Ragnarok, then headed east under someone's orders.
'In that case.'
There were only two places he might go.
To meet Glazer's family head, Hagen, or to the ancient ruins—the starting point of the wave.
Thanks to my past life's memories, I knew this, so tracking him took little effort.
'Anyway.'
If he wasn't with Hagen, the odds were high he'd gone to the ruins.
Coming here alone solved the pursuit.
Thud!
I lightly stepped on the fallen Mayer's face and murmured softly.
"I told you, didn't I? I'd kill you as painfully as possible as a reward."
Mayer clutched the blood gushing from his abdomen with both hands and replied.
"God... will never... forgive you."
"I don't know who this god of yours is. Tell him to try if he can."
"......"
"Looks like I'll have to throw down with that god of yours now too."
If such a being existed and had been trying to block me until now, it didn't matter if it was good or evil—they were all my enemies.
'If they can't join me, I'll kill them all.'
If possible.
"Challenging the exalted one with mere human power!"
"I don't know how exalted this guy is to be screwing with me. We'll see if that story holds up after you face our interrogation back in Strange."
"Interrogation?"
"Yeah, we've got this amazing person on our side. She just joined my party."
Teresia's face briefly flashed in my mind.
"She won't hold out without spilling everything. She's got some incredible techniques."
Mayer spat toward me.
Ptoo!
"Do your worst!"
"...Fine."
Somewhere deep in the tower's darkness.
Timeless smiled as he watched the second hand racing around the clock tower's face.
He danced gleefully, waiting for the door to open. After well over an hour, the hinges creaked, and the clock tower's door began to move.
Creeeak—
Mist slowly flowed out from within. Timeless stopped dancing, straightened his clothes, and adjusted his twisted mask.
"Well done, Lord Asabragg."
Step, step, step.
Asabragg emerged from the clock tower. No one knew how long he'd spent in that space, but the boy who once looked Berddin's age at eight had grown to an adult's height.
Asabragg stroked his long beard and cracked his neck side to side.
Crack, crack.
"How long was I in there?"
"A hundred years."
"A hundred?"
"Yes."
"...Not bad. It got boring after a point, but from the moment I reached the state you mentioned, time suddenly felt like it was flying by."
Timeless suppressed a laugh in his voice as he replied.
"Time is truly wondrous. Even in the same space, some feel it crawl, others race, depending on the situation."
"...Timeless."
"Yes, Lord Asabragg."
"In your view, between the current me and Berddin—who has the edge?"
Rooooar!
Asabragg erupted with aura like a volcano spewing lava. His presence chilled even the apostle Timeless.
Grasping the meaning of the question, Timeless answered cautiously.
"Just my personal opinion, but you're either equal or have reached a slightly higher realm."
"Really?"
"Yes."
Asabragg tilted his head, then asked flatly.
"How long was that guy in your space?"
"...Ten years."
"Ten years? So I spent ten times longer and only reached equality or surpassed him. That means our talents differ by that much."
Timeless waved his hands in the air as he replied.
"No! That's not what I meant at all."
"Enough. Whether you did or not, the fact that I've matched or surpassed him remains. I'll win this fight."
The conversation ended there.
Asabragg de Rothschild, bearer of divine blood, left the tower. Once he was gone, Amon tore through space and asked Timeless.
Shooo—
"...Why lie? Timeless."
Amon raised one eyebrow.
"Me? Lie about what?"
"You downplayed Lord Asabragg. His aura is far superior to Berddin's. Why add 'equal' to it?"
Timeless shrugged and stepped toward Amon.
Clack, clack, clack.
Though the space was empty, it sounded like heels on a corridor floor.
"I didn't lie. I said it was my view, didn't I?"
"So you think Berddin could beat Lord Asabragg?"
"Quite possibly."
"Quite possibly?"
"...Yes, quite. You never know until the fight ends."
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Mayer thrashed wildly inside the iron-barred cell, trying to escape. But his eyes were blindfolded, and the shackles binding his neck and limbs bore powerful binding spells.
Clang!
"If the Rothschilds learn of this, they won't stand idly by!"
He shouted threats at the guard. But the knight at the bars replied with a stern expression.
"This is Strange. And Maria Theresia will arrive soon, so wait patiently."
"Maria Theresia?"
"Yes, you should know her. Lord Berddin explained it."
"...He told you about Maria Theresia? Wait, how is she handling interrogations in Strange?"
The guard smiled at him, turned his head, and tapped the bars with his scabbard.
Clink, clink.
"Fair warning: if you don't want to go insane, answer quickly, no matter what they ask."
"Go insane?"
"Yeah, no one's left Lady Theresia's interrogation with their sanity intact so far—"
Clang!
The iron door above the underground prison opened. Footsteps descended the stairs.
Thud, thud, thud, thud.
Blindfolded, Mayer couldn't see who approached. But as the cell door opened and a man's and woman's voices rang out, he knew.
"Lady Theresia, I'll handle the questions."
One was Berddin.
"Yes, but can I really do as I please with him?"
The other was Maria Theresia.
"Of course. He's tough in body and mind, so handle him roughly."
"Even the strong ones you said that about cracked in half a day."
"Then we'll gag him so he can't speak and proceed."
"Oh? Is that okay?"
Berddin looked down at the trembling Mayer.
"If that's what you want, Lady Theresia."
Overhearing their talk, Mayer shouted defiantly.
"Theresia, you serve the holy one's will—how can you do this? God will never forgive you!"
Theresia smiled sweetly at him.
"Trials are also gifts from God. Give thanks and pray on this day."
"Ah...?"
"Then let's begin."
Crack!
The whip snapped against the floor.
The conversation ended there.
Thus began Mayer's interrogation, and in less than an hour, he spilled everything.
"...Your mother, Verdandi, is not in the tower. She's in Ragnarok."