Chapter 57 - Sovereignless State, Seronia
Just as he approached the hallway leading to the king’s bedchamber, Jae spoke seemingly to empty air.
“There are three more people in front of us. I’m not going to play around this time, so be ready to follow up the instant I go in. If you don’t think you can handle it, leave it to me.”
Although he moved alone through the palace, he knew that was far from the truth. Sensing an almost imperceptible magical reaction emanating from the inconspicuous shadow beneath his feet, he understood the slight darkening of the shadow’s hue as acknowledgement.
No more than thirty seconds later, a certain few individuals entered his sight. With the three of them wearing full sets of plated knight armour and all donning a royal captain’s insignia on their chests, there was no need to question their identities.
“...He’s arrived.”
Spotting Jae, one of them muttered, his tone dire. Another mimicked similarly, “Then, does that mean...!?”
Pausing for a moment, only able to imagine what had happened just prior, the third nodded gravely. Janlar, Captain of the Royal Knights’ First Division, had been defeated. Now, it was the time for the rest of the Royal Division Captains to step up.
“Tsk... I told him it was a bad idea to take on the intruder alone. We should have grouped up from the beginning.”
“Don’t badmouth the first captain. Focus.”
As the three royal knight captains eased their breaths and watched for any movement from the intruder, Jae looked at one of them in particular; his eyes narrowed.
She looks familiar...
The sole female knight of the three, with eye-catching scarlet hair and a large, diagonal scar over her face. Somehow, Jae could have sworn he had seen her somewhere before.
“...Ah.”
That’s right... It was back when I was wandering around the palace, looking for any way to escape. I happened to run into her at that time...
Camilla herself also seemed to somewhat recognise Jae's face from somewhere, but failed to completely recall him. Considering the only time they had ever met was once almost a year ago, it made sense; and especially if you took into account that Jae had aged numerous years since then.
Of course, just because they once had a brief conversation, didn’t mean there was reason for mercy.
None of them are as strong as the last guy, but it’s close. If it’s a 2v2, I can probably hold back just enough to spare their lives. I don’t want to waste too much strength if I can help it, though.
Assuming the king would possess a level of strength that was as equal to the royal knight captains, Jae couldn’t afford to take it as easy with these three as he did with Janlar.
Toying around is only fun for so long, anyway. Let’s just get it over with quickly and return to the castle.
Drawing the dragon tooth greatsword from thin air, Jae pointed it at the three captains.
“Amy.”
Then, he called someone’s name, and right at that moment―
“W-what...!? I can’t see!”
―The world turned pitch black.
As if all natural light had been suddenly devoured by shadows, the royal knight captains’ vision was shrouded in utter darkness.
“Don’t get distracted! Stay in formation, and listen to your aura instead of your eyes!”
Standing with each of their backs pressed into the other, using their aura rather than their physical senses, one might have ordinarily thought the knight captains were in a fine position despite the blindness.
Bang...!
But of course.
Bang...!!
“What’s going on!? Where are you, intruder?!”
Bang...!!!
With less vision than if you were to close your eyes, and unable to sense the slightest hint of an aura anywhere around them, all the knight captains could hear was a loud banging reverberating throughout the area.
Bang...!!!
As the unsettling noise echoed endlessly within the darkness, increasing in volume with each occurrence, the captains could only tighten the grip on their blades in tense unease.
But then...
“......”
The noise stopped.
“...?”
Their vision was still stolen from them, and no one had been attacked, yet only silence prevailed. Feeling hot, perhaps due to the intensity of having to deal with an unknown threat while blind, not one of the three didn’t feel the desire to wipe the sweat from their foreheads. At the same time, however, none of them had that luxury.
After all, such an action would provide the enemy with an opening.
The three of them knew; they knew their current triangular defensive formation was effective against a swordsman. If it happened to be that the intruder was, in reality, a mage using the greatsword as camouflage, they would simply be able to hear his spell incantation or sense the shift in magic, and disperse before damage could be sustained.
After all, they had done exactly that many times in the past.
They all understood well the basic tactic of deceiving the enemy to make them think one action was being taken when the reality was something different. That’s why they were able to quickly realise that the intruder’s intention of blinding them and making them focus on a particular noise was only a distraction.
After all, the royal knight captains, no matter their age, sex, or social origin, were far too experienced to fall for something so cheap.
When the loud noise suddenly ceases, the enemy would proceed to maintain a period of silence for however long would be enough to invoke substantial doubt; to convince them that they had no idea what was coming; to trick them and catch them off guard.
It was instinctual deception, drilled in through many layers.
The first layer was to take away their sight.
The second was to distract their hearing.
The third was to make them think they would be suddenly attacked from the darkness.
The fourth was to not attack, but to halt the sound, allowing their thoughts to properly converge, but only serving to confuse them further.
And the fifth... Well, it was up to the enemy to decide.
To attack.
To maintain that silence for an even longer period.
To run away.
There was no telling what might happen, and no amount of brainstorming, experience, or battle theory would change that.
That’s why, despite the intentional confusion established by the opponent, they would not falter.
They would not fall for petty tricks.
They would only maintain their concentration, their focus, and correctly counter whatever move the enemy makes.
―At least, that’s how the thought process always starts.
But, in reality, when the inability to see, combined with the overpowering silence and the lack of an incoming attack all continue for an immeasurable period of time, one’s tension only climbs at a faster and more rapid rate.
Their perception of time could only distort, and their ability to grasp the situation could only falter.
And as that doubt begins to creep into their minds, taking it over, their thoughts grow predictable.
What’s going on?
Why hasn’t he attacked yet?
Is he still waiting for an opening?
For us to tire?
Or... Has he run away?
No, that can’t be.
Thoughts like these, endlessly spiralling around and around as their mental fatigue builds and builds, and the sweat on their backs, necks, and foreheads pool.
Even for one with obstinate mental fortitude, in a strained situation like this when your life is on the line... It wasn’t something one could simply keep up forever.
“Haah...”
At some point, the three knight captains’ shaky breath hastened, though they themselves didn’t realise it.
Their bodies sweat and sweat under those thick, incredibly insular metal plates and that chainmail underbody.
Their parched throats drying up, there was no way those gradually desiccating tongues could effectively wet their cracking lips.
Simultaneously, their minds turned hazy due to an impossible heat infecting them all over, mind to toe.
Enduring an already tough situation was one thing, but all of this additional weight was far too much, and the royal knight captains’ tight grasp on their conscious mental focus rapidly began to loosen by the second.
Of course, by this point, it was far too late for any amount of resistance to mean anything.
As if realising this, the shadow that seemed to eat the sun retreated, returning all light to the world and revealing a man clad in black, sitting atop a stump of raised rock with his arms lightly folded.
"......"
Unable to physically or mentally bear the sweltering heat any further, the three royal knight captains collapsed unconscious, their bodies and blades crashing to the floor with a series of ‘thuds’ and ‘clangs’.
“You can come over now.”
Turning his head just an inch to the side, Jae called out, beckoning a flat response from the girl approaching from behind.
“I know.”
Amy, walking over from the end of the hallway, halted next to Jae as she stared pitifully at the knight captains lying on the ground.
“It’s the same as what you did outside... How did you know they wouldn’t be able to do anything?”
“What? Oh, well, you might not be aware, but it’d be quite rare to find someone among humans with the sense to react to an attack like this.”
After all, not even the wyverns, drakes, salamanders, basilisks, and cockatrices of the Pride Dungeon could all prevent a slow-burning magical assault of this degree. Slowly nodding her head, Amy muttered “I understand.” Then, as if something just occurred to her, she asked.
“Don’t they get suspicious if you don’t attack them for so long? What if they all came at you?”
“They’re the ones who keep insisting on standing still and taking it. Well, they’re knights, so they’re probably only used to sitting and reacting to whatever attack comes their way first. Anyway, I was confident they wouldn't do something so reckless when their job is to protect the king.”
Listening to Jae’s explanation, Amy studied the passed-out knights quietly.
“...I already saw what you did to the others through a shadow, but it’s a lot more impressive in person... Ah. It’s really hot, though.”
“It takes a while for your senses to even realise it, right? That’s what magic’ll do to you. Here.”
As Jae materialised a chunk of ice and stuck it on Amy’s forehead, the flush in her cheeks seemed to visibly decrease. Exhaling a small breath, she gently closed her eyes and took in the refreshing chill.
“Thank you.”
It’s nice...
Then, something occurred to her about what Jae just said.
”...Oh. When you say magic, do you mean it’s like an illusion?”
“What do you mean?”
“As in, the fact that my brain doesn’t register the temperature of the atmosphere around me. I know it's hot now, but I wasn't aware for almost two full minutes.”
For Amy, who stayed out of the range of the area of attack, she naturally would have an easier time detecting the heat when coming straight from a place of normal temperature. For that reason, she could understand how it must have been extremely difficult for those knights, who were in this heated area from the very beginning, to realise it.
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Just like a frog in a pot of slowly boiling water... Although, that's only a myth.
“Oh. Well. It’s not the specific kind of illusion you’re thinking of, but... Mmh, it’s hard to describe in a way you’ll understand, but well, it’s not exactly wrong to call it an illusion.”
“I can’t say I understand it completely. It sounds complicated.”
“Yeah, a lot of the topics below surface level are like that; that’s exactly why the human understanding of magic is so flawed; on a fundamental level, it's misunderstood. Anyway, you did well with the blindness; I didn’t think it’d be so powerful.”
I was ready to deal with them being able to see me, but it turned out so well there was no need to worry about it. She definitely can’t be underestimated just because of her Level. Even if I can deal with the darkness just fine, I’m pretty sure Night Vision isn’t a skill humans can normally acquire.
Thinking back to how utterly devoid of light the immediate vicinity had become in a matter of moments, Jae couldn’t deny that it impressed him considerably.
Without a doubt, it was powerful. If I wanted to do something like that with dark magic, I’d have to split my focus between multiple magics at once, making each individual one that much weaker; in that sense, her skill is undeniably useful since it’ll allow me to focus on other elements.
“What are you going to do about the king?”
All of a sudden, Amy asked.
“The king...?”
For a moment, Jae was puzzled. Of course, he would abide by Leon Midas’ request and do what was asked of him, but was still there a need to ask what he would do?
Eventually, he simply stated.
“...I’ll end it in a single go. There’s no need to drag things out unnecessarily.”
“......”
The air fell unusually quiet after those words, but neither paid any mind to it. After thirty seconds or so more, Jae broke the silence and opened his mouth.
“Well, that should be enough rest for now. We’re almost done, so let’s get this over with.”
Since all four captains of the Royal Knight Divisions were defeated, there was no longer anything to prevent them from confronting the king―and so long as there wasn’t some anomalous random who showed up, similar to Leon Midas from before, business here would soon be finished.
With no more than a single nod, Amy wordlessly discarded the still-frozen block of ice and put up her hood before following just a few steps behind Jae as he continued calmly down to the end of the hall, where the king’s bedchamber was located.
Stopping just before the grand entrance, Jae placed one hand on the door.
“Step back for a moment.” He called out.
Amy was not senseless enough to ask why, and simply did as instructed; once she had backed off to a safer place, Jae honed his focus.
And just two instants later―
Crashh...!!
―Something like exploding glass resounded.
If judging by no more than one’s eye, it would appear as if nothing had happened, but even to Amy, who already began to re-approach, she could tell something had changed in the much-too-quiet atmosphere.
Still, with an expression as if everything was normal, Jae did something Amy couldn’t comprehend and seemingly absorbed the gilded entryway that stood between them and the king into the space just inches in front of his outstretched hand.
Now, with the reinforced magical barrier utterly shattered, and even the magically enhanced set of doors that protected the king’s bedroom stolen by Sloth, there was nothing at all to stop them from waltzing right into a place no one should be allowed to set foot.
Amy, half-astounded that she could look directly into the king’s bedroom from the hallway outside, didn’t know what to think. She glanced over to Jae, who was also looking somewhere in the room.
“Hey.”
Rather, at someone in the room.
“You didn’t run away, huh.”
“......”
Amy watched the king, who she had only ever glimpsed once with her own two eyes before, glare at Jae, who so half-heartedly initiated a conversation that one might have thought they were pals.
Gaius Antavau de Seronia II was an extraordinarily rugged-looking man for a king. Supposedly boasting a body so tough it could be said to withstand even the blow of an incoming sword, Amy clearly recalled the class’ old tutor teaching them how the current king was even not averse to fighting on the frontlines.
That very same king, standing upright and facing Jae with a look that seemed to claim it had never seen laughter, let out a calm, deep voice.
“Preposterous.”
Amy, sensing something foreboding from the king’s unafraid tone, glanced at Jae’s face. Still, the latter appeared as if watching something unrelated to him.
“Answer.”
At that moment, the king reached a hand down to his waist, not taking an eye off Jae for even a second.
“Do you think I would flee from my own home just because a rat snuck in?”
Unexpectedly, he didn’t draw the weapon hidden within the golden sheath at his side, but rather slowly shifted his feet as if to prepare himself to strike at any moment.
“Because I’m growing old? Because I’m royalty? Do you think I would have lived such a sheltered life that something dirty like blood never once reached my feet?”
Facing the king, whose voice contained a clear hint of pride in the fact he hadn’t led a cushiony life despite his lineage, Jae could only think about what he had been told about the man until now.
Gadeun’s story. Leon Midas’ story. Even the story of his own summoning.
Gaius Antavau de Seronia was not an innocent man―reminding himself of this fact once again, Jae looked directly ahead at the king with a frigid gaze.
“...Amy.”
Like earlier, he called out someone’s name. This time, however, it was not to instruct an attack, and that could be felt through the sheer tone of his voice; belatedly realising what Jae wanted, Amy plunged into the shadow at her feet, her presence vanishing entirely.
Confirming her retreat, a thought of how convenient it was to have someone who recognised and understood exactly what he was thinking without having to state it explicitly passed through his mind, but that lasted only a second as he focused on the situation at hand.
With a steady, wintry breath, Jae slowly held out a hand to the side, the king watching his every move with an eagle eye.
Sloth.
At that moment, Jae’s hand grasped the invisible air. And he pulled.
“...!?”
All of a sudden, a fierce blast of energy consumed the area like a tyrant, and the king’s eyes instantly widened. Moving his hands rapidly, he seemed to inject mana into the golden sheathe, causing a dense magic barrier to surround him.
Jae, seeing this, didn’t bat an eye. Instead, he was far too concentrated on dealing with the object filling his hand.
At first, it was only a black rod of some unknown material, red veins coursing throughout. Then, as the end of the rod came through the empty space, something else immediately began to emerge.
Its body almost entirely crimson, an orb appeared, after which a black and red curved blade soon followed.
The three parts when together formed a scythe so large it was more than twice Jae’s height, and with sinister patterns of blood encroaching over every inch, it was hard to even imagine something more ominous-looking.
Still, it wasn’t over yet; seconds after realising it had returned once again to the open world, the scythe ‘woke up’. The central orb split open, revealing a golden eye, its jagged, sable-black vertical pupil gazing down on him.
[Jae? Jae?]
Finally, a distorted voice spilled out into the air.
[Jae? Jae. Master? Master?]
Of course, Jae had not forgotten about his promise with the Death God’s Scythe. However, this was most definitely not the time to be having that conversation.
[Master? Help. Help. Promise.]
He could only hope that the scythe would listen just this once.
Upon the scythe’s full body being brought into the real world, the already harsh storm of magic energy intensified, growing into a tempest as the dragon-like eye opened.
As if the gravity of the surrounding area was increasing, the weight of the air began to spike. As if a mountain was pressing down on his back, Jae’s feet dug into the floor; and he wasn’t the only one.
Tables, chairs, the bed―every piece of furniture within the king’s chamber was being crushed under the sheer pressure of the dense magic energy.
Even the king himself, shielded by a luminous, white magic barrier, was already down on his knees; despite the barrier itself being in seemingly pristine condition by preventing a portion of the scythe’s energy from penetrating it, that did not mean the things within could withstand what did make it through.
Soon, the roused magic energy, which had become so dense as to turn visible to the naked human eye, shrouded the whole of the king’s bedchamber, and even the royal palace itself, in utter darkness.
By now, there was no doubt that the knights, nobles and students of the Noble Sector, and perhaps even those clueless citizens residing in the Common Sector, could glimpse an overwhelming shadow rise above the palace, devouring it.
[Jae. Master? Help.]
Throughout all of this, the anxiety-wrought scythe ‘requested’ Jae’s help.
‘Ah...’
Although the magic energy was so wild and concentrated that his voice couldn’t seem to leave his mouth, Jae knew the weapon was able to hear him.
‘I’ll keep my promise, so help me out too from time to time.’
[Help?]
Well, even if the scythe didn’t want to give its help, it didn’t have much of a choice.
As a tool, it must do whatever its wielder desires.
Grasping the handle of the scythe properly, Jae took one last glance at the king’s face looking up at him with an expression of untold wonder, as if gazing upon a god.
You’re not wrong to wear that face.
Finally, he swung.
Because that’s exactly what it is.
And in the subsequent moment.
-----!!!
The unbridled energy of a divine being erupted in silence.
----------------------------------------
Beneath the overshadowed sky of Revel, the capital city’s citizens immediately knew something was wrong.
Whether it was those commoners shopping amidst the pouring rain, the nobles sitting comfortably within their extravagant homes, or the guards and city knights patrolling the dampened streets.
In the same instant, everyone, without exception, experienced those same few seconds of utter silence.
The world moved as though in slow motion, and as if a higher existence had pressed ‘mute’, all noise and ambient sound had concurrently ceased.
For the following moments, Heaven and Earth shook violently in a quake of unprecedented proportions; it lasted no more than ten seconds, however, and as the panicked city began to recover, sound having seemingly returned to their ears, someone muttered.
“What... happened...?”
Something appeared off.
Even for the commoners who had never once set foot in even the Noble Sector, they, who had always gazed up at the grand, proud-standing palace of their king every day of their lives, naturally noticed it.
Something was very clearly wrong, and as one, two people realised they weren’t mistaken, that understanding rapidly spread.
This day, under an ominous, blackened sky.
Seronia’s royal palace was erased from the world.
And in the centre of that disintegrated rubble stood a man.
You have reached the maximum level limit
Due to reaching the appropriate level, one skill of ■■■-grade is applicable for a level up process
Skills applicable for level up process: 「Wrath」, 「Gluttony」
“......”
Are you sure you want to level up Skill: 「Gluttony」?
Proceeding to level up Skill: 「Gluttony」
Skill 「Gluttony」 has levelled up [Lv.4]→[Lv.5]
Usage of the 「Essence Absorption」 System has been authorised
In the corner of Jae’s eye, he noticed a row of dozens of unconscious bodies, including all four of the Royal Knight Captains he had previously defeated. Considering everyone lying there was a knight, they were most likely those patrolling the halls of the palace until now.
“Thanks.”
It might have seemed as if he had thanked the empty air, but unexpectedly, a voice responded.
“You could have given me more time to make sure no one else was caught up in the attack. Rather, you should have told me you were planning to do that from the beginning. There was only a slight gap for me to save both them and myself.”
Amy popped out of a nearby shadow and dusted something off of her arms.
“Sorry... But, it was cool to see, wasn't it?”
Pausing for a second, she glanced at him.
“...It was. What happened to that thing?”
“The scythe? I put it away immediately. It’s annoying, so better to keep it from being out as much as possible.”
Examining the surroundings―that is, the utterly ruined ground that used to be where the royal palace stood―Jae couldn’t help but admire the sheer force of the Death God’s Scythe that was unleashed, obliterating absolutely everything around him.
I wanted to test it out, and I knew it belonged to a god, but I never thought it would be so powerful... I’m surprised it didn’t kill me to use it, but I guess that’s only because my body’s grown used to enduring extreme amounts of magical pressure.
With no exaggeration, the entirety of the palace was wiped away, leaving nothing left.
Amy only managed to save the knights’ lives by hiding them in shadows before spitting them back out afterwards, and she was certainly right in being angry about not being given a lot of time. If she hadn’t sensed the intensity of the growing magical energy quickly, many more people could have perished other than just the king.
They did try to cut me down, sure, but they’re only doing their jobs. It’s only people like the king who took lives and punished innocent people however they pleased who I won’t feel sympathy for. I've never heard of the knights doing something like that, so I'll leave them for now.
The one piece of guilt Jae could admit to was that the home and workplace of many was destroyed.
“Well, at the end of the day, they still tried to kill me first... Just build a new one I guess?”
Anyway, now that I’ve done everything here I need to, I guess the quickest way back would be to―
“Jae...?”
Before he could even finish the thought, Jae heard someone call his name. Thinking it was Amy without clocking the male tone of the speaker, he thoughtlessly turned his head.
“Hm?”
Only then did he realise it was not Amy at all.
Oh... What are they doing here?
People he already greeted had come to face him once more.
“What... What is this...?”
His pupils subtly trembling, Chris Rowe’s gaze flickered between Jae and the surrounding crater. The rest of the former classmates did the same.
The rain, which had calmed down considerably following the erasure of the royal palace, was light enough that they could see from one end to the other. Because of that, it was even easier for them to understand.
Let alone a brick.
Let alone a slab of gold or a lick of paint.
There was not even an inch of anything ‘royal palace’ remaining.
And as the one who stood in the centre of it all, there was no doubt in their minds.
“You... How could you do this...?!”
Chris’ voice quivered, and his body shook, but something in his eyes shone faint.
Slowly, and perhaps without even consciously realising it himself, Chris drew the golden sword at his waist, previously gifted to him personally as the Hero’s successor.
“...Answer me.”
Pointing the legendary weapon towards Jae and demanding a response, Chris’ breath tightened. His heartbeat quickened, but it was firm.
Meanwhile, Jae’s expression as he quietly observed his old acquaintances became increasingly uncomfortable. Granted, there were not as many as there were before, but it still made a decent crowd.
...This is looking troublesome.
“Jae!”
Suddenly, Chris yelled.
“Please, say something... Why are you doing this?”
“......”
There’s a lot of them. I could use the same technique I did with the knight captains, but it doesn’t look like these guys will be as willing to stand still and wait for me to move. Besides, even though they’re all weak, they have Unique Skills I don’t know anything about; engaging them just like this is dangerous.
Of course, there was always the option of fleeing, but running away here wouldn’t solve anything. Instinctively, Jae realised he would need something else to deal with the situation.
“...I’m not going to repeat myself. If you continue to stay silent...”
He couldn’t seem to get the words out, but there was no need.
Because, although Chris’ words were that of someone who didn’t want to cut down someone who was once a fellow classmate...
“......”
His eyes gleamed with the light of a Hero facing evil.
Noticing this mysterious, almost magical glint, Jae’s brows furrowed slightly as he glanced to the side.
Skill 「Greed」 has activated
Finally, it was time for a proper reunion.
A reunion between the foolish Hero and his former classmate.
Usage of the 「Covetous Predator」 System is authorised
This time, there would be no one to intervene.