The monsters’ heads exploded as if detonated.
Knights and soldiers screamed as they were thrown into the air.
And in the midst of the darkness, the light of Armian shone with an impossible-to-ignore brilliance.
An incredible spectacle, one that Tulwin Esrin didn’t want to believe. He preferred to close his eyes, but denying reality didn’t make it a dream.
The knights and soldiers who had protected him fell quickly, and soon, no one was left around him.
Even the corrupts who had tried to flee had long since abandoned him, disintegrating into a handful of dust.
It was over. Everything.
“…Cruel. Was it really necessary to kill them all?”
None of those who had loyally protected him were spared from Hakon Kaelin’s sword.
Some died from blows, others were pierced or sliced in two by his sword.
The only thing in common was that now they were all simple corpses.
“They had no value in living. Not only did they fail to serve their lord, they dragged him into evil.”
Hakon Kaelin calmly wiped the blood from his sword and sheathed it after decapitating the last monster.
“…What do you plan to do with me?”
“I don’t know, Your Highness. My desire would be to cut off your head right here, but being a foreign noble, that would cause a bigger problem.”
Hakon turned his face. The third prince’s gaze followed him, and there was Fernan walking with the book in hand.
“I don’t yet know what we’ll do with you.”
Killing him right then would be most satisfying, but it wouldn’t be clean.
He first had to speak with the first prince, who had the best chance of becoming Esrin’s next king.
Whether he liked it or not, Tulwin was still his brother and a prince of the kingdom.
“Pray that your elder brother is compassionate, Your Highness. Maybe, with luck, he’ll decide to spare your life.”
“How dare you…!”
Fernan knew that the third prince wouldn’t die.
Or rather, he would die someday, but through an “accident”—not now, and not because of his alliance with the corrupts.
It was the same reason Aria wanted to get rid of Adolf quietly.
If a direct connection between a royal family member and the corrupts were discovered, Fridian’s position would be in ruins.
The same applied here. If it were revealed that a prince of the kingdom had allied with the corrupts and sacrificed his own people…
‘A rebellion could break out.’
It wouldn’t be just an international scandal.
To summon monsters of that level, a few lives weren’t enough.
If the truth came to light, Esrin would fall in a single day.
“Hyde.”
“Yes, young master.”
Hyde tied Tulwin’s body. He only clenched his lips and glared, without resisting. He knew fighting was useless.
“By the way, could you tell us how you met those corrupts and how you ended up allied with them?”
“And why would I do that?”
“Because that might increase, even slightly, your chances of staying alive.”
“What false words.”
Tulwin mocked Fernan, but still opened his mouth.
“Daniel was the first to approach. Ten years ago, at a royal family party.”
At first, he didn’t speak of the corrupts.
He introduced himself as a foreign noble engaged in business, slowly approaching, like someone who filters in little by little.
“And five years ago, he showed his true face.”
At that time, when he had already begun to give up on the throne due to the first prince’s firm position, he realized that his father still wished to see him crowned.
But the situation was already too skewed in his brother’s favor.
The first prince, though not yet officially named heir, was recognized by the majority as the future king.
To break that solidity, he needed a variable.
And then, Count Daniel whispered sweet words.
“He told me, ‘What’s the difference between using nobles and using corrupts? Both are merely tools to reach an end.’”
“So those words of yours were, in reality, corrupts’ sophistries.”
Fernan clicked his tongue. “That’s why it was full of holes from the start.”
“You’re still insolent.”
“Your Highness, it seems you still don’t understand your situation. If this were the Empire, I would’ve killed you by now.”
Fernan looked at him coldly.
“A piece of trash like you can only keep your eyes open and talk to me because you’re a foreign prince.”
“…Perhaps you’re right.”
“Then why are you telling us this so easily?”
“Because I’m already finished. And those who abandoned me don’t deserve to be covered for.”
‘I could betray them, but they’d never dare betray me.’
Tulwin spat it out like chewing venom.
That was the last of it. Fernan signaled, and Hyde silently struck the prince’s neck, rendering him unconscious.
“Wasn’t that a bit much?”
“What do you mean? He fainted on his own.”
“True. Seems our prince is weak after so much rolling around with corrupts.”
Hakon Kaelin let out a rough laugh.
Thus the battle ended.
“By the way, where’s Aint…?”
“Seems he reached a new understanding during the fight with the Rahnas.”
“…That’s good.”
Aint was seated cross-legged in front of the Rahnas’ corpse, eyes closed.
‘Is everyone around him a genius?’
Aint, Luina, Rosalia.
‘Perfect.’
The more they understood, the more celebrations there would be at his table and the more screams from the corrupts.
‘And my money too…’
The more they shone, the more his investment shone.
“…Another understanding? What does he think this is, bread you get every day?”
“Accept it, Verian.”
“Easy for you to say! Are you a mage or something?”
Not everyone shared that luck. Verian clenched his teeth in frustration.
***
Meanwhile, the Rahnas had proven to be a formidable opponent.
Its style was simple, but fast and powerful, like a wave of swords.
Even the light of Armian, which devoured darkness, felt pressured by its weight.
Clang!
Every clash left him breathless.
‘And this is while it’s weakened? What would it be like at full strength?’
It wasn’t strange that it was considered a rank 1 demon, a commander of legions.
Two at once? Thinking he could handle both had been pure ignorance, arrogance, and pride.
— Focus!
Gardner shouted.
Yes, Rahnas is strong, but that doesn’t mean you have to lose.
— Remember when you fought the emperor’s chimera.
That fight had seemed impossible to win. Aint fell countless times, but never broke.
Rahnas was stronger than that chimera.
But Aint had also grown since then.
He couldn’t lose.
Another image appeared in his vision—that of the Royal Knight overwhelming Rahnas with sublime mastery.
‘…’
Beautiful.
Cleaner, more fluid, faster and heavier at once. Brilliant.
In Hakon Kaelin’s sword was the essence of the illusory blade, confusing Rahnas until, by the time it regained clarity, the blade was already pierced into its body.
It was different from the Armian family’s swordsmanship, but every technique at the pinnacle had something to learn.
Aint followed his movements with his eyes.
Clang!
Slash!
He repeated the trajectories. The beginning was similar, but the end was different—adapted to himself, to the Armian school.
— …Is he doing it right now?
With each clash, with each gasp, with each drop of sweat and blood, his sword became softer, heavier.
— Incredible… It’s like watching the former emperor.
And that difference, growing greater and greater, changed the course of the battle.
Rahnas shrieked, unable to comprehend. But that was only the beginning.
Crack!
At last, Aint’s sword pierced through the dark magic.
Clang!
He deflected Rahnas’s strike and pierced its armor.
The chained attacks gave it no room to breathe, tearing its body apart until it was nothing but a rag.
Even as life faded from his enemy, Aint didn’t stop.
For a moment longer, he continued drawing trajectories in the air.
And then, finally.
“Ah.”
Aint, seated beside the decapitated Rahnas, closed his eyes and began to contemplate himself.
It was a long while before he opened them again.
“……”
By then, the battle had completely ended.
Everyone was watching him.
“…Ah.”
“Congratulations. You’ve overcome the wall.”
“Thank you.”
The first to congratulate him was Hakon Kaelin.
“Well done.”
“It was thanks to you, sir.”
Next was Fernan, and everyone celebrated his growth.
“Aint, congrats.”
“Damn it, why is it always you? Why always you?”
Even though something odd slipped in among the voices, it was still recognition.
“Congratulations. Now I’m looking forward to the jousting tournament.”
But what brought Aint the most joy was the look of anticipation in Luina’s eyes.
In the last tournament, he hadn’t even been able to share the stage with her.
But now it was different.
The competitive spark in Luina’s eyes made that clear.
“This time, I won’t lose.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to think about qualifying first?”
“Eh?”
“Kidding. I’m looking forward to it too. But don’t think it’ll be easy for me to lose.”
Luina smiled sideways and returned to Fernan’s side.
Luina, joking?
The surprise left Aint with a dazed expression.
“Accept it, Aint.”
Aria placed a hand on his shoulder and shook her head.
“Look at that. You don’t stand a chance.”
The way Luina smiled naturally when talking to Fernan was clearly different from how she did with him.
“…Did you know?”
“Obviously. It’s way too obvious.”
“…I just keep it in my heart. That’s not a problem, right?”
“I know. Feelings never follow logic.”
Aria smiled mischievously and whispered:
“But if it were me, I wouldn’t mind.”
“…Don’t joke.”
“I’m not joking.”
She was.
Maybe before, she might’ve said it half-seriously, but for some time now, another man had caught her attention more than Aint.
“I need to reach an enlightenment too… me too…”
“Ugh, is he still on that?”
It was true—even annoyances became familiar over time.
Aria sighed as she saw Verian sitting cross-legged, forcing his eyes shut like he was trying to achieve some sort of awakening.
“…What’s going on? So Luina isn’t Aint’s heroine?”
Gismond, who had overheard nearby by chance, tilted his head, confused by the unexpected situation.
“Wow, this is a real headache.”
Too many things had changed from the prophecy book—and it was all Fernan’s fault.
The good thing was, those changes weren’t negative.
‘If I’d kept going alone, without Fernan finding me, I probably would’ve already gotten into trouble and died.’
Though Fernan sometimes felt like an overbearing boss, at least it was better than dying like a fool.
‘Better to move slowly but surely. Slowly and surely.’
As the saying goes—not too good, not too bad—stay in the middle.
That would be Gismond’s place in Fernan’s faction.
With that resolve, he reaffirmed his goal.
____
Join the discord!
https://dsc.gg/indra
