The Last Dance of the Wicked

Regardless of the consequences.

"P-put out the fire!"

"Extinguish it immediately! My daughter is...!"

The abandoned building, which had been poorly maintained to begin with, turned into a massive campfire in an instant thanks to the oil I’d sprinkled beforehand. The firewood inside consisted of noble ladies and their daughters. Thirteen of them.

"You idiots! Don't worry about the fire, get the people out of there, you morons!!!"

Perhaps the fear of death had forced their brains, previously located in their lower bodies, to return to their skulls. At the shout from Hubel, who had been trembling with a blade at his throat, the knights—who had been stupidly flapping their capes—and the family heads—who had been wailing about their wives and daughters—finally snapped to their senses and began to move.

"Gah?!"

I had no reason to watch them perform a rescue, so I kicked away the knight who was charging straight for the door.

"Y-you bastard! Who are you?!"

Perhaps the lead knight, who had reacted the fastest, was quite skilled. Seeing these fools form a perimeter instead of closing in, despite me being unarmed while they held swords, I plastered a smile onto my face.

"You ask who I am?"

"That's right! You must be the culprit behind this incident!"

"Correct."

"What?"

"I said I'm the culprit. How could that idiot—a mere alcoholic rapist—kidnap thirteen noble ladies and daughters? It takes someone of my caliber to pull this off."

"Aaaargh!!?"

I twisted the wrist of a knight who had been stealthily approaching to swing his blade—much like I did to that nameless student I met earlier—and snatched his sword away.

"Insane..."

"Nice blade."

The only difference from last time was that I didn't need to silence him, so I simply dropped his head. The knight didn't even realize his head had been severed until he died with his eyes wide open.

"Everyone seems so relaxed. In three minutes, everything will be burnt to a crisp. Are you confident you can still love your wives and daughters even when they're charred? Is this the love of a family head?"

"Damn you!! Kill that madman immediately!!!"

The knights rushed forward. They were all Awakened knights, moving at considerable speed, but that was no problem.

"Aaaargh!!!"

"Why on earth do you hold your swords above your heads?"

Were they praying for me to cut off their arms? Carix’s brain generated movements optimized with minimal effort and minimal motion. Meaningless stances, meaningless force. There was no reason why a sword swung clumsily and broadly could ever keep up with optimized movement. Thanks to that, six arms rolled meaninglessly across the ground.

"W-what on earth is this...!!"

"Ugh! Oh! Honey! Save me!!!"

"My wife...!!!"

The screams of women echoed from behind the building I had my back to. Seeing the number of voices gradually increase, everything was proceeding exactly as planned.

"You cowards! Move aside!! I will kill him myself!!!"

Margrave Gilos. According to the information Leng brought, he was a 4th-grade knight, stronger than my father, and in the game's lore, he was an 'antagonist.' But he should have been in a subordinate position to Carix, so why was he pointing a sword at the Duchy? I couldn't understand it at all.

"Next."

Well, I could figure out the 'why' later with the evidence that would turn up. He reinforced his body and charged at twice the speed of the previous knights, so I severed his head at twice the speed. His body crashed into the burning building without even realizing his head had fallen off. His head rolled on the ground until... our eyes met.

"H-ha...?"

The fact that a wheezing sound still escaped even though the connection between his lungs and brain had been severed meant he must have put quite a lot of effort into that charge. It seemed a 4th-grade mage was harder to deal with than a 4th-grade knight. Fantasy settings are always the problem.

"What are you doing? Aren't you going to save your daughters and wives?"

"W-what do you want?"

"Oh. Negotiations?"

It seemed the Margrave was the strongest force here, as everyone, including the knights, lost their momentum. Another noble family head bit his lip until it bled and continued to attempt negotiations with me.

"You're doing this because you want something! I don't know who you are, but I'll give you anything if you just let me save my wife!! Please, let me get her out!!!"

"M-me too!! Please, just let me save my daughter!!! I beg of you!!!"

"Hmm. What to do."

The moment I stroked my chin, pretending to be in deep thought, the burning timber of the abandoned building began to fall like thunder.

"I beg you!!!"

Seeing their masters in such a state, even the knights fell to their knees, performing some sort of chivalrous display. I wanted to pop them all off like bottle caps. Hmm. About 40 seconds left, perhaps?

"The reason you killed Young Duke Deolis."

"!!"

"D-don't tell me. Were you a man of the Valentia Duchy!!"

"Do you have time to be surprised? Look at the state of the building. There's about 35 seconds left, I wonder when the answer I want will come out. 31 seconds."

As I began to count down, the burning building helped me. The second-floor timber kept falling to the floor, and the structure began to shake with a thunderous roar.

"I-I don't know!! It was led by Marquis Gilos!!!"

"I don't know anything either...!!"

"Oh dear. That's not the answer I wanted. 23 seconds."

It would be too late even if they went in now. But what must the hearts of parents feel, knowing their wives and daughters would burn to death before their eyes? I chuckled and flicked my sword. Whether they truly didn't know, or judged that it was better to rush past me than to keep talking, they raised their swords and swarmed me again.

"!?"

But there was only the dull sound of their swords clashing against each other and the dying screams of Hubel, who had been struck by the sword I threw. This time, I didn't engage them; I simply stepped aside and opened the path.

"Honey!!!"

"My daughter!!"

Seeing the path cleared, a few knights rushed into the burning building, but—

"Oops. Oh dear."

"Aaaargh!!!"

"No... Ah, ugh... Ah...!!"

The abandoned building literally became a burning sandwich, flattened and grilled. Knight meat is tough, so it probably wouldn't taste good.

"Ah!! Noooo!!!"

"Kill that bastard!!! Kill himmm!!!"

"You're angry, aren't you?"

The knights who were the rescue party had now become vengeful spirits like me, charging without fear of death. In that case.

"Time to run."

"Catch him!! Catch himmm!!!"

"You damn bastard!! Stop right there!!!"

The charge of knights who had lost their masters, mistresses, and children in an instant was truly spectacular. Honestly, I felt I could have outrun them easily with optimized movement even without mana, but some of them had veins bulging from their necks to their faces, looking as if they were staking their very lives on catching me.

"Damn it!!"

"What the hell is going on!!"

"How can he be that fast without even using mana!?"

The problem was that while they were prepared to die and were going berserk, I was simply running at full speed. A few who seemed to be truly risking their lives managed to close the distance for a moment, but mere life-risking resolve couldn't bridge the gap between us, and they soon fell behind.

'Now then.'

Today's last dance. It was time to present a middle finger to the dopamine-addicted princess who was giggling while watching this spectacle.

"Ahahaha! Did you see that!? Did you see! That Marquis Gilos just dropped in one stroke! Wow~ he was incredibly strong!"

Princess Lilit was truly enjoying the fire. However, Jena, standing beside her, couldn't enjoy it at all.

'What did he just do? The sword... how did he swing it?'

What is swordsmanship? It is a technique accumulated to fight, survive, and subdue the opponent. It is the history of struggle built up by humanity. It is a mysterious realm that countless pioneers called geniuses have devoted their entire lives to, yet it is still evolving. And yet, the movement the Young Duke showed just a moment ago was—

'Lower body, waist, shoulders, arms. Everything... it was swung perfectly and minimally, like a single line.'

Perfection. A word that a swordsman should never speak. In a world of swordsmanship where infinite refinement ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠is possible, just like magic, perfection can never exist. All swordsmanship is countered the moment it is born, and it grows from there. That is common sense. And yet, if that were the case—was there a way to counter the Young Duke's sword I just saw?

"Y-Your Highness..."

"Hm? Jena, what's wrong?"

"W-we... *gulp*. We must flee."

There is no way. It cannot be countered. Not to mention Jena herself, even her master—the greatest swordsman she had ever seen in her life, a sublime existence she wasn't sure she could ever reach—she didn't think he could withstand a single swing from that man.

"What are you suddenly saying? You said you'd catch the criminal. Wait...? Hold on, Jena, did you just say flee..."

"We can't catch him! That is impossible! Y-you must flee from here immediately!!"

Her voice trembled. Her hand gripping the sword, her heart. Everything was dyed in fear, and she had given up on resistance. That is not swordsmanship. That man is not a swordsman. Even if he stood there holding a sword, he isn't swinging a sword. Even if he had been holding a table knife, the Marquis's head would have fallen. That is not a sword; he is swinging death itself.

"!!"

That death began to run, leaving the burning building behind. The direction was... for some reason, exactly the low hill where they were lying in ambush. It was as if death itself had donned a human body and was running toward them, knowing they were there.

"Huh? Why is the Young Duke coming this way?"

"Protect Her Highness! We are leaving here at once!!"

"Jena!?"

He was moving at an incredible speed, as if he could see them. Even though the Royal Knights reacted to Jena's scream and began to move immediately, his direction didn't change at all. As if he had known from the beginning that they were watching from the high ground, he began to pursue them, changing his path without a moment's hesitation.

"What? Does he really know we're here? Did that escort knight tell him our information...?"

"Your Highness! That's not the important thing! If that man intends to kill us all here, we cannot protect you!!"

"Uh...?"

Seeing Jena shouting in despair, Lilit finally understood that something was going terribly wrong. Could it be that the Young Duke was targeting them? Why? Because they watched what he was doing? No, is that a reason to kill someone? Why on earth is he doing this?

"N-no! What did we do to deserve being killed!?"

"I don't know! I don't know, but that man will kill us! And we can't stop him! Even if my master... the former Knight Commander were here, I don't know if he could even buy us time...!!"

"Ah...?"

Lilit, who was being carried at incredible speed in Jena's arms, saw it. The red glint in the eyes of the man, who looked like a black wolf, as he caught up to them and passed over their heads. The sight of him clearly looking down at her and sneering.

"Peek-a-boo."

That voice, pulling up the corners of his mouth to tease her, felt like a dream.

"Now! Valentia Knights! Defeat the enemy!!"

"What!?"

"Ugh?!"

The enemies pursuing from behind. The idiots fleeing from the front. At my command, they all stopped in surprise and looked at each other.

"Ugh!!?"

"Fire again...!!"

"Damn it! You bastards from a crumbling Duchy!!"

I had no intention of giving either side time to think calmly. The flames I had prepared began to burn through the forest spectacularly. The Princess wouldn't have known, but I was certain she would be waiting on this hill. 'The best way to watch a fire is from the best vantage point.'

If it were that woman, she would have been giggling and laughing from a high place, excited by the sight of her inferiors showing off their strength and fighting. That was why I had harassed Leng—who had told me the truth only today—into sprinkling oil all over this low hill in advance. And the reinforcements who lit the fire for me were the assassination group [Silver Teeth]. They were the kind of people who would do anything for money, so I could utilize them for this as well.

But I'm in real trouble. I need to make money. All the money I saved for over 20 years as the second son of the Duchy is gone.

"Kill them!! Kill all the bastards from the Duchy!!!"

"Are you crazy!?"

"We aren't the Duchy's knights...!!"

The humans of the Duchy they wanted to kill were shouting, and the familiar fire-play began. They had run at full speed while coughing up blood, so there was no reason for them to have the capacity to recognize that the knights wearing hoods, who were lying in ambush before their eyes, were not the ones they thought. Since I was standing behind them laughing, and the Royal Knights were drawing their swords to protect the Princess and blocking them, they had no choice but to think the Royal Knights were the Valentia Duchy's knights.

"Your Highness!! Please step back!!"

"W-what is this..."

"Gah!!"

"These crazy bastards!!"

"They're overloading their mana! These bastards intend to commit suicide here!!"

"Protect Her Highness!! Protect her even if you have to sacrifice your lives!!"

"You idiots...! We are the Royal Knights!!"

The bastards who were watching the fire began to get mixed up in the pit of fire. Since the surroundings had become a sea of fire, I had to keep the Princess safe. The lunatics who had lost their minds were charging in, overloading their mana, not caring even when told the opponents were the Royal Knights. This was the completion of a world where only I don't get hurt.

"Young Duke Carix!!!"

"Nice to meet you. Princess Lilit Valkart."

I greeted the woman who had rushed over, screaming without realizing her noble blue hair had become disheveled, while pursuing elegant and gentlemanly etiquette.

"W-what is the meaning of this!! Who said we were the Valentia Knights!!"

"Well. Who knows?"

When I lifted my head and smiled by pulling up only the corners of my mouth, the Princess raised her palm roughly, huffing.

"W-what are you doing!!"

"I didn't want to get hit?"

Even if I did something that deserved to be hit, whether I let myself be hit was my choice. After lightly blocking her palm with my own, I even teased her by kissing the back of her hand.

"You brought the knights to help, so I thought that was the meaning. If that wasn't it, were you perhaps watching me play with criminals?"

"Y-you crazy bastard!!!"

"Yes. I am a crazy bastard."

"What...?"

As I dodged the Princess's swing once more—she had tried to hit my mouth by waving the back of her hand as if my kiss were filthy—I raised my index finger in front of her eyes.

"Now you know. Anyone who touches what's mine ends up like this. You threatened Leng, didn't you? This is the return gift."

"Y-you, you're truly insane, aren't you? Do you think you'll be safe after doing something like this!?"

"Yes. I will be safe. Without a single scratch, without even going to the tribunal. Even the Royal Palace won't have any reason to call me in personally."

The Princess's golden pupils widened like lanterns, as if surprised by my answer. I'm not a fool like them. Does she really think I'm acting without calculation? Truly pitiful intelligence.

"The noble ladies and daughters who were in the burning house earlier were all taken out and sent home this afternoon. You heard women's voices on the way, right? That was the signal."

"Uh...?"

The assassination group Silver Teeth. They do anything for money. And they even perform such acting. To begin with, there were no noble ladies or daughters in the burning house. The reason they thought they were their own wives and daughters was simply because other women were sitting there wearing the dresses their daughters and wives had worn. They just mistook them for their own.

"I have already gathered more than enough circumstantial evidence that the Margrave was one of the figures who plotted my brother's death by investigating Hubel's movements and accounts, which I brought today. I told my father in a letter, so by now, he must be raiding the Margrave's mansion, which has become an empty house, along with the knights. It's a case that will lead to the confiscation of his peerage. But in that process, he died while pointing a sword at me, the last successor. Who could possibly punish me?"

"......"

The Princess began to tremble her golden pupils, gasping with her red lips as if speechless at my continued words.

"Lastly, do you have any physical evidence that I requested a kidnapping from an assassination group?"

"That is..."

"If the Royal Knight who threatened me along with you, Princess, even steps forward as a witness and makes a fuss with all his might, I think I might be able to enjoy a walk at the tribunal, but I promise you. Even if you do that, it won't take two days for the dismissal verdict of 'insufficient evidence, no charges.' I'll be back home before I even see the tribunal."

"D-don't make me laugh! You put the Royal Knights and me in danger...!!"

The Princess, unable to overcome her temper, shouted. But when I placed the index finger that had been in front of her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠eyes onto her lips with a movement she couldn't perceive, she shuddered and closed her mouth.

"This is private property. Without any evidence, and without the King's permission, you invaded the Duchy's private property by bringing the 'Royal Knights.' The moment I testify to that in court, what do you think will happen?"

The Princess's pupils shook as if there were an earthquake. I thought she was stupid, but it seems her political brain works a little bit. That's why you should have chosen your opponent carefully. I have the brain of Carix, who was supposed to be the most wicked villain in this world. And I am using it more efficiently with the knowledge of my 21st-century past life. Even if Leng had told me about the Princess 5 minutes before the operation started, even if the Royal Knights were annihilated here, I am confident that I could make it so that even the Royal Family wouldn't dare touch me without being prepared to bleed.

"Your Highness. There are many kinds of strength. And the martial power I possess is just the tip of the iceberg."

"You... what on earth are you."

Two answers ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠immediately came to mind. One was the villain Duke Carix. Like I did with Leng, reciting them one by one to see if you can understand. And the other answer was just to tease her. But my choice was—

"A vengeful spirit."

"......"

A list of truths. "The ones who killed my brother. The ones who helped in the killing. The ones ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠who tried to cover it up. I will ruin and kill everyone, including the ones who interfere and their families. There might be some collateral damage in the process, but I don't care because I'm already the victim. ......That is me."

Perhaps she didn't like the smile I plastered on. The Princess sat down on the ground, flapping her skirt. The girl who had been chasing strength and even pestering the players seemed to have felt fear in the face of unknown strength she didn't know.

"Your Highness. Please, don't act up. If you get caught again, it won't end with a prank like this."

"Hic...!"

Seeing the last enemy fall at the hands of the Royal Knights, I dropped down in front of the Princess. And as if they had been waiting for this timing, the dark-skinned female knight and the Royal Knights raised their swords and pushed me away as if keeping me in check. But funnily enough, the ones who were afraid were not me, but them.

"My, my. This is not the attitude toward a successor of a Duchy who was on the verge of being assassinated."

"W-what, what did you say?"

"Now. Please choose a knight to escort me home. I'm tired, so I want to wash up and sleep quickly. Otherwise, the liability for you all will become quite complicated."

"......"

Now I have to go home and send additional money to the Silver Teeth assassination group who worked hard today. Look at the clean job they did, burning only the battlefield so the fire wouldn't spread further. This is true customer-satisfaction service.

"Come on, come on! Work hard until the end. That's why you get paid with the people's taxes."

"......"

The Princess and the Royal Knights, who were speechless, realized it. That man is a type of madman who shouldn't be dealt with by law or by sword.