Ciel Midford, Inas den Proissen Robelium
His proxy, chosen as the representative, was Ciel Midford.
The moment she realized this, while everyone else filed out, Euphemia clung to Ferzen's coattails, halting his steps.
“……”
In the now-empty banquet hall, with the doors slowly closing behind the receding tide of people, Euphemia bowed her head in silence.
She didn't know what to say. She had no words.
And yet, why was Ciel... pitting himself against Ferzen like this?
Yes, she knew the truth. It was for her sake.
To deny it would be a lie.
But mere effort, a vow to do one's best... for a mere kingdom knight, it was a harsh, insurmountable reality.
Their parting had been the worst imaginable, but was there truly a life without regrets or lingering attachments?
The more one forced involvement, the more pain it brought. Better to cherish the good memories and walk separate paths.
Yet Ciel insisted on showing her how even those cherished moments twisted and warped.
Didn't he know that pain would stain those memories, until she couldn't bear to recall them at all?
No... perhaps this was all just her own rationalization, her surrender to reality.
His unyielding spirit, defying the world, seemed almost admirable in its way.
That must be why he could become a royal knight.
But she was different. She had despaired, given up, broken.
Her oath of submission to Ferzen couldn't be called fully her own choice... yet nor was it purely coerced.
“The contents of that oath back then... I’ve never once broken it...”
“……”
Ferzen gazed down at Euphemia as she embraced him, standing awkwardly on tiptoe to rub her lips against his neck.
“So...”
Don't make me sad, as promised.
Euphemia had no intention of stopping Ferzen from entering the duel. If anything, she hoped Ciel would feel the immense wall that was Ferzen, quietly set aside his feelings for her, and forge his own path.
She longed for such a farewell. Yet Ferzen's fierce gaze suggested he might kill Ciel outright, so Euphemia desperately pleaded, dredging up rare coquettishness as she recalled the oath's contents.
“I know... that me doing this because of Ciel might not sit well with you... But he was a precious connection to me. My present and future belong only to you...”
“……”
“Don't... trample my past...”
“……”
“Just push him to despair, make him give up... That should be enough... Yes, surely...”
Euphemia took Ferzen's hand and placed it on her breast.
“Finish quickly... and come back so we can make love. I want a child that looks just like you. I want your cock filling me up inside, pounding against my womb. I want you kissing my nape. You can press on my belly as hard as you like. Your gentle touch feels so good to me...”
Perhaps for the first time.
In the face of Euphemia's most raw, unadorned seduction, Ferzen reached out and stroked her hair.
“Answer me...”
“……”
Did she realize it?
This charade carried no small risk.
If he failed to kill Ciel Midford... it would be a grave blunder.
But if Ciel died by his hand, crumbling her past... how deeply would it wound her?
Ferzen couldn't predict.
Weighing one woman's emotions against his own fate was foolish to begin with.
“Euphemia.”
“Yes... I'm listening...”
Even so...
“Recite the contents of that oath again.”
To Ferzen, at least, Euphemia el Lerenne Ruerg was no mere woman.
He could endure her breaking.
But if she shattered completely and chose death...
“I respect you...”
“Again.”
“I devote myself to my duties as your wife.”
“Again.”
“I share your sorrows and joys...”
“Again.”
“No matter what happens... I will never leave your side.”
“Yes...”
Ferzen lowered his head and pressed his lips to her forehead.
“Nor will I... make you sad.”
He pulled away and opened the door.
Beyond the banquet hall, countless spectators—witnesses to the duel—turned to stare.
Thud... thud...
Ferzen stepped forward with unhurried grace, unflinching.
The wall of onlookers parted left and right.
Beyond them, under moonlight and lanterns, Ciel Midford awaited atop the stage.
A brisk night breeze carried the scent of flowers from the nearby imperial palace gardens, scattering petals in its wake.
Ferzen caressed his pedestal, opened his subspace, and retrieved Isabel's coffin, setting it on the ground.
Ciel Midford walked the path of an Aura Knight.
At the pinnacle, saturated mana leaked outward, taking form even without anti-magic properties.
The transitional body, reconstituted by mana, transcended human limits.
Thus, Aura Knights generally held the advantage over mages in the food chain—but Ferzen felt no fear.
Prince Inas had tossed Ciel Midford as a sacrificial pawn in this play, proof his realm was not yet supreme.
Moreover, breaching Ruerg's snow-capped mountains, suffering all over the body frostbite, healing it with mana, and reconstituting cells... that sequential process left him inferior to a standard Aura Knight's path.
The typical route rebuilt limbs one by one, steadily reaching 10 across the board.
Ciel's stats were evenly distributed across limbs and torso.
The fastest path to the pinnacle, but lacking the specialized threats of others.
Of course, his overall durability could withstand magical might to some degree, so a brute-force charge might prove dangerous... but an unprepared actor never took the stage.
Clunk!
The coffin opened, and the empire's witch rose under control.
Not facing multiple foes, the orthodox approach was maximizing implementation rate on a high-quality corpse.
But Ferzen went further.
Thud!
He produced a large crate, set it down, and opened the lid.
Inside: mercury, the metal that remained liquid at room temperature, in vast quantity.
This mercury would serve as his safeguard in the battle—an absolute shield none could pierce.
“Sir Ciel Midford, are you prepared?”
Unusually, Ferzen drew his glasses from his pocket.
He polished the lenses meticulously, his voice flat and emotionless as he addressed Ciel opposite.
“My preparations... were finished long ago.”
“I see...”
To Ciel's heavy, swift reply, Ferzen donned the glasses, taking in his sharpened form.
“Then receive the honor your lord spoke of—the lesson.”
Ciel Midford gripped his sword and assumed position.
A flower petal from the gardens drifted on the wind, dancing lazily before falling powerless to the ground...
Crackle!
Vivid azure flames ignited, consuming it as they beautifully enveloped Ciel Midford's body.
* * * * *
Surpassing light speed in a human body was impossible.
Thus, Ciel had assumed he'd endure any explosive currents Ferzen unleashed.
His body would suffer, but high-output electricity consumed mana exponentially—a worthwhile trade.
Crackle...!
But contrary to expectation, his body withstood the currents without severe backlash.
A mere fraction of the frostbite pain from Ruerg's mountains—tolerable.
So Ciel gripped his sword and eyed Ferzen.
Strange liquid orbited Ferzen, circling protectively, exuding eerie chill—but it didn't seem uncuttable.
Whoosh—!
He drove force into his heel, lunging forward, closing the distant gap in an instant.
Even a balanced reconstitution outstripped superhuman norms, paling only against peer Aura Knights.
Hummm—!
But before reaching Ferzen, upon entering a certain range, Ciel felt a violent repulsion shoving him back, halting him as if frozen.
The clash's rebound stirred a sharp gust, tousling Ferzen's coattails and hair.
“The ignorant think in such simple terms.”
Meeting the eyes of Ciel halted before him, Ferzen adjusted his slightly slipped glasses and indifferently watched him fly backward.
“What good is speed and weight without substance?”
Mercury (Hg). At a specific negative critical temperature, it became a superconductor—electrical resistance zero, repelling magnetic fields.
In this world, knowledge known only to Ferzen.
Lee Seojin, intrigued by maglev trains, had gleaned the info—but superficially, so Ferzen had researched the critical temperature alone.
Integrating that discovery.
‘Mana consumption exceeds estimates... but...’
The effect was certain.
Currents in wires—straight or circular—naturally generated surrounding magnetic fields.
Ciel's armored body couldn't serve that role easily, but mana-transformed currents obeyed the mage's control; directing flow and polarity was simple.
‘I expected some special ability... but this is all?’
Both had brought their best to the stage, yet the overwhelming gap in prowess snuffed out tension before it built.
Hummm—!
Ciel rose desperately, aiming his sword tip—each time, Ferzen amped the current, expanding the field.
If fire sparked civilization's dawn, electricity drove its advance.
“From time immemorial, man has been powerless before nature.”
Crackle!
Azure flames sputtered feebly as Ciel was repelled again, collapsing to bite his lip savagely.
Raising his gaze... Ferzen stood aloof, gazing down from impossible heights—no threat in those eyes.
* * * * *
He would not fall.
He would not break.
He would not bend.
He would not yield.
Truly, seven falls, eight rises.
Despite repeated repulsions, Ciel charged Ferzen relentlessly.
Desperate, urgent, fervent... yet...
Thud—!
The outcome never changed.
“Tch.”
The imperial knights clicked their tongues, averting eyes from the pathetic sight.
An Aura Knight toyed with by a necromancer using an elemental mage's corpse? Absurd.
Bringing shame to all Aura Knights, they hoped Inas would concede quickly.
His resolve was admirable, but the spectacle too pitiful to honor.
Yes, Ciel fought with desperate determination... but no one was moved.
Life is tragedy up close, comedy from afar—apt for this moment.
Boom—!
The ground erupted beneath Ciel, launching him airborne.
Superhuman prowess or not, midair limited movement.
As Ciel righted his landing, Ferzen conjured a massive ice cube.
Unique: hollow inside, with small holes top and bottom—sized for torso and head.
Altering internal-external pressure...
Whoosh—!
Airflow equalized naturally, sucking Ciel into the ice.
“Guh!”
His head poked through the top hole, jamming out the bottom—Ferzen filled the void with viscous fluid.
High viscosity resisted movement; no force reached the walls to shatter them.
A perfect elemental mage's corpse subduing an Aura Knight—some watching mages applauded in awe.
‘...’
Most would deem the duel over here.
Inas pondered the natural concession moment.
But Ferzen wanted more.
Mana-rebuilt bodies endured, but heads resisted magic poorly.
He yearned to burst it, murder-lust leaking... but seeing Euphemia clasp hands pleadingly, he swept his face, suppressing it.
‘Euphemia... do you realize, coming this far, you're not deciding my fate yourself—but gambling it on Ciel Midford's odds?’
She couldn't know.
He'd hidden it well, but the anxiety of a dagger growing unseen to stab his heart had stressed him greatly.
With souls merged, if Lee Seojin's goal was survival... Ferzen von Schweig Brutein's was the one woman letting him ignore severe OCD: Euphemia el Lerenne Ruerg.
Thus, the compromise was singular.
‘Ciel Midford, you...’
What thoughts kept him here?
To gauge full power once?
‘Or...’
Staking life, resolved to die.
To slay the villain who stole the heroine.
Unknown.
But Ferzen hoped the latter, advancing Isabel Ron Pierre Genova.
Crack!
Chill sustaining ultra-low mercury temps vanished; all but 10% mana freed.
Isabel raised her hand—intense sparks danced at her fingertips...
Crackle—!
Brilliant current bundles branched like leaves and limbs, scattering omnidirectionally, soaring skyward.
Crack!
Concentrated, that high-voltage would pulverize Ciel's head—easy to imagine.
But Ferzen flaunted, wasting mana lavishly.
Flashy, beautiful, elegant, refined... electrical artistry.
In darkness devouring light, the currents formed a tree, banishing night.
The binding ice shattered.
Shards and viscous fluid decomposed instantly, steaming glitteringly.
Truly... a dreamlike scene.
Thud!
From the steam, Ciel plummeted gracelessly, shattering the spectators' immersion.
At that moment, Inas den Proissen Robelium's voice echoed softly...
“You’ve lost...”