Chapter 259. Leonil (1)
Captain of the Royal Guard, Kazen Druit.
He was publicly known as the representative sword of the Royal Family, a strong man who, though a step below Leonil, possessed one of the finest skills in the Kingdom of Estiria.
For over thirty years he had kept his position, and with that, his power was immense.
But stagnant water, sooner or later, is bound to rot.
Kaaang!
After the sharp metallic clash, the low cry of swords resonated.
As the two swordsmen, each displaying different movements, collided, the air exploded with tearing sounds.
After repeated exchanges of blades, the nearby buildings collapsed, and on the ground, dozens of deep sword scars were engraved.
Kazen Druit.
Marquis of Esperanza.
Their blows returned to nothing.
In the way of the sword, to continue chained strikes without movement is disadvantageous. With that same judgment, both men simultaneously kicked off and broke the flow.
"Haaah, haaah..."
Kazen's breathing had already turned rough.
He tried to calm the violent pounding of his chest, but it was no use. It was the weakness brought by the flow of years, by neglecting training.
In contrast, the Marquis of Esperanza was calm.
As if this level of effort was nothing to him.
If it were a brawl between back-alley thugs, it might not matter, but for two men in the realm of the strong, the difference was stark.
"Marquis, your skill was once no different from mine, then why...!"
"Much time has passed."
The Marquis wiped his cheek with the back of his hand.
Dust smeared there was wiped away.
"In all that time, I have never once laid down the duties of a noble. I made many preparations, all for this very day. But Kazen, just what have you been doing?"
His cold gaze pierced Kazen.
"Since the war with the Republic, all you've done is cling to the Royal Family like a leech. You never refrained from reckless violence, you accepted bribes, and even when you violated and killed women, you hid behind authority to avoid responsibility."
"Th-that, how could you...."
"And under the command of the Royal Family, you massacred and eradicated the Ducal House of Rubinelian. And yet you still question why you stand where you are? With that thick layer of fat beneath your armor?"
Kazen's eyes quivered.
"I...! Unlike you, a traitor, I remained loyal to the Royal Family. The great sword of the Estiria Royal Family! To follow their commands is my duty, and fulfilling it, what is wrong with that!"
"A so-called sword of the Royal Family, shifting the blame for your vile desires onto them? Have some shame, Kazen Druit."
The words were thorns, stabbing straight into his lungs.
Unable to refute, Kazen's face flushed red.
The sword in his grip shook violently. Losing control to furious agitation, he stomped the ground and charged.
"Shut up! You know nothing, you hypocrite!"
It was true.
The Marquis was ignorant of the kingdom's darkness.
He was worse than the unsuspecting citizens enjoying their dreadful peace. For he not only lived blindly, but believed himself to be walking the righteous path.
What did the princess and the victims of human experimentation think?
Looking up at the Marquis crying for justice, trampling over mountains of corpses, never glancing down at them... to them, there could be no greater hypocrite.
'That is why I will atone.'
Jjeojeok.
Strength exploded from his forefoot.
Shooting forward head-on, the Marquis gathered white aura into his sword, and Kazen too drew in all of his energy.
Condensed sword aura turned into martial technique.
At the moment of collision, one of them would surely die.
At least, that was what Kazen believed.
He wielded the heavy bastard sword, specialized in a crushing strike that no ordinary strength could block.
'Even if my stamina has declined, my strength surpasses his!'
The ground cracked beneath his firmly planted step.
From above to below, his blade came down, a powerful technique falling like a guillotine.
The image of the Marquis being split in half rose vividly. Inside his helmet, Kazen smiled.
Then it happened.
Kaaang.
A feeble metallic sound compared to the force.
The Marquis abruptly withdrew his aura, diverting Kazen's strike like the passing wind.
White Shadow. The Marquis became an afterimage, his foot gliding smoothly. His sword slipped into the opening, brushing against Kazen's neck beneath the helmet.
"Eh."
A white line was drawn.
Chwaaak!
Kazen's head, cleanly severed, flew through the air.
When it hit the ground, the helmet rolled off, revealing his face. His eyes, still gleaming with killing intent, refused to accept death.
Then, his heavily armored body collapsed.
"Hoo."
The Marquis shook his sword.
Blood, still warm, scattered.
By piercing Kazen's weakness, a single strike had decided the duel.
'Only his spirit body is dead.'
Though not truly killed, Kazen's mind must have suffered an immense shock.
With his weak willpower, he could never endure it. It was no different from death itself.
Twinge.
The Marquis examined his upper body.
Blood seeped from a rather deep cut near his shoulder.
As expected, to completely deflect the martial technique of the Captain of the Guard was impossible. Later, this too would convert into mental damage.
And even that would be eased by the witch's magic.
The result was the same, Kazen had suffered a complete defeat. For the so-called sword of the Royal Family, it was a paltry end.
"Your Excellency, are you unharmed?"
"Hahaha, even Kazen is no match for Your Excellency."
Melzard approached, sword marks carved across his armor.
Beside him, Edmon poked Kazen's corpse with his staff.
Behind the two, the knights of the Red Conviction Order stood, and beside them, the spirit bodies of the Royal Guard and the decimated Court Magicians filled the space.
"Seems everything has gone according to plan."
"Yes, only one remains."
The last, of course, was Leonil.
If
Because it was Leonil.
'Still, his spirit power must be heavily eroded.'
After killing all the other high-ranking Court Magicians who had fallen into madness, his magic power would also have been depleted. They had more than enough strength to face him.
Once the nightmare dissipated and he was slain, it would be over.
Just then, a small airship approached.
Next, it was time to head for Princess Silis.
Suddenly, a psychic message resonated.
Its sender, a pitiful victim of experiments, Lorian.
───Your Excellency, a problem has arisen.
───What is it?
───The connection with Her Highness the Princess has been severed.
───...!
An unforeseen situation.
It was no mere coincidence.
So judged, the Marquis boarded the airship with his knights. Straight away, they flew for the topmost island, Eznoren, where the princess was.
And there, at the heart of the castle, they saw them.
The sneering Leonil, and Silis, strangled in his grasp, struggling in pain.
***
Silis was as powerless as a child.
The witch's magic tried to shake and shatter his mind, but the pulsation of the heart canceled it all out.
She desperately tried to manipulate the twilight world to kill him, but the result was the same. She could not overcome the fierce flames.
She had to admit it.
There was no way to prevail against the Transcendent before her.
"Keuk... kkeuuk...!"
A wrinkled left hand gripped Silis's neck.
The tightening breath was painful. The witch's physical ability was no different from that of an ordinary person, and so she could not resist his strength.
If Leonil wished it, Silis would die.
Of course, he bore no killing intent. Naturally so. What mage would attempt to kill the last witch left in the world, this unknown treasure trove?
"It still seems unbelievable to you, that I have reached the Transcendent realm."
Silis forced her voice out.
"H-how did you amplify the tier... that should be impossible...!"
"Oh? Is that doubt based on the ancient memory the witch possesses? Yes, in the distant past it may have been so. Even I, with the full support of the Royal Family, took decades to complete it. But you, though a special mage, seem to know little of what mages truly are."
Leonil twisted his lips.
"A mage is one who doubts and explores, who finds a path none have ever trodden, and walks it, a pioneer. What was impossible in the past, in the present and the future, a mage will force into possibility."
"..."
"See clearly with your own eyes, Princess. This is a mage. And the magic they pursue is ever progressive. Only those buried in the memories of the past are the ones who wither away."
He loosened his hand for a moment.
"Once again, I will offer, Princess Silis. Join hands with me. If you do, I will rebuild the lineage of the witch for you. Yes, I will even grant you this kingdom. The capital of Estiria, the First Prince, you may have as you will."
"If you give me your life as well... I might consider it───kuuk?!"
"My, even in this situation, your eyes are blinded by revenge? Over what has already passed. And all I did was follow your father's order, dissect the queen, and study her heart. The first, perhaps, you could not accept, but the latter? That is rather unfair. It would have rotted away regardless, I only sought to use it more usefully."
Leonil tilted his head.
It was not mockery, but sincerity.
From the start, he could not understand cherishing the keepsakes of parents. If something had value, he would sell it, if useless, he would discard it.
From a pragmatic and efficient view, that was correct.
"And if you die as well, the witch's lineage will be utterly severed. Would that emptiness not be an act of unfilial impiety toward the mother who is here?"
The heart's light licked across Silis's face.
This time, it was simple mockery.
Unable to restrain her rage, Silis bit her lip. The witch's blood flowed down like tears.
It seemed breaking her spirit would take some time, but Leonil was unhurried.
Time was on his side, and nothing that could happen posed any threat to him.
"Mm?"
Then he saw, in the distance, a small airship approaching.
'Reinforcements from the Marquisate?'
He was busy persuading the witch.
An intrusion was not welcome.
Fwoooosh!
From his staff burst a beam of flame.
The airship in its straight trajectory was instantly pierced through. The protective magic circle of a mere small vessel was nowhere near enough to withstand it.
At the last moment, the ship twisted, and the power source was barely grazed. The burning vessel tilted, sinking down below the island.
At that moment, three shadows fell from the sky.
───Shwik!
Two sword auras rushed in.
Leonil ruthlessly flung Silis aside, countering with a fireball. When the flames subsided, familiar faces stood by Silis's side.
The Marquis of Esperanza, Melzard, Edmon.
The Marquisate's greatest power.
"To see you again like this, Marquis of Esperanza, it is truly delightful. Thanks to you, I was quite flustered at the coronation. That the bearer of the crown would arrive carrying an artifact linked to the witch."
"Then I am glad."
"Yes, and not only that. It was you who destroyed the secret laboratory in the First Prince's castle, who wrecked my laboratory abroad, where the third successor, Brick Medwor, vanished while sent to clean it up. You even banished me, who had used spatial teleportation, into the kingdom's forbidden Cave without Light... mm, I have indeed suffered much at your hands. Who could have imagined the lofty Marquis of Esperanza would be roaming in secret."
Leonil recalled the irritation of that time.
Then, with a smile, he shrugged.
"Well, what is past can be let go. Whatever it is, none of you are witches, none of you hold special traits, and so I will simply dispose of you here."
Leonil manipulated the witch's heart.
The world twisted, unprecedented power descended upon the three. It was preparation to materialize their spirit bodies, to kill them here in certainty.
But Silis did not stand by.
Borrowing the power of the Crown of the Witch's Thorn, she resisted Leonil's ploy. Barely, she prevented the forced materialization.
"You still had magic left to resist? Pointless."
Leonil's complaint faded behind.
Once more, Silis gathered magic, opening an exit from the mental world.
"Your Highness? This is...."
"Haa, haa... right now, Leonil is a Transcendent. There is no time to explain, do not ask, just leave at once. With your strength, you cannot endure him."
A Transcendent?
For a moment they faltered, but only briefly.
"Then, Your Highness, you must leave first."
"If I leave, this world collapses. If we return directly to reality, we cannot escape Leonil. So, while I buy time... you must hurry, leave the kingdom."
This was Silis's mistake.
She had never foreseen Leonil would transplant the witch's heart. And to minimize the cost, there was no other method.
Leonil, hearing all of this, took no action.
"The Marquis of Esperanza, fleeing? That would be a spectacle beyond efficiency. If you wish to leave, I will not stop you. After all, prolonging life by even a little is all you can manage."
Leonil urged them to flee.
It was the arrogance of a Transcendent. Then, the three revealed their aura and magic as if to protect Silis.
As though it were only natural.
"Hahaha, a life-or-death duel with a Transcendent of magic. As a Magus, I cannot miss such an experience."
"Your Excellency, I will take his right side."
Their resolve was unwavering.
Silis's eyes shook violently.
With red glowing eyes, the Marquis declared.
"Your Highness, wait for a moment. I will cut him down and return."
The exit to the outside closed.
At the heart of the royal castle, there remained one Transcendent and only four humans.
"Very well, if that is your choice, I will respect it. No matter how foolish."
Seeing courage and loyalty soon to vanish, Leonil flicked his finger.
"Now, let us hear, when you burn alive, what screams you will give."
How very delightful it shall be.
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