Chapter 87 : Chapter 87

Chapter 87

Krrrrrrrumble-!

Hearing the thunder that rang in his ears, Rob trembled with betrayal.

He was currently gagged, his hands and feet bound, and slung over a burly man's shoulder.

To put it simply, Rob had been betrayed by Blake.

The place the transport ship had arrived at was not the Irvine Post headquarters, but the Minister of Finance's villa.

When he opened his eyes to the sound of thunder, he found himself in this state, and Blake was leisurely walking ahead with the Minister of Finance's aide, Heath Malik.

'That son of a bitch…!'

Rob bit down on his gag and seethed with silent rage.

The conversation between Blake and Heath was a spectacle.

"Anyway, you have to give me the promised money."

"Haha- of course. How could I possibly cheat someone who came covered in bombs? Don't worry."

So that was it.

Listening to their conversation, the puzzle pieces gradually came together.

The fact that he had stopped his exposé at the investigation committee meeting.

The fact that the windows of the transport ship they had ridden were blocked.

Even the fact that the atmosphere of the men who claimed to be Irvine Post employees was unusual.

It was all part of the plan to sell him out.

'When on earth did he make a deal with Heath Malik?'

But this was no time to be angry.

He couldn't die so futilely.

Rob gauged the strength of the man carrying him.

If he could detonate the most powerful attack magic he could muster at his fingertips, he thought he could probably shake him off.

He was anxious without a wand, but if he focused solely on power, it would be possible to create a scene of chaos.

'I'll cause a ruckus and then somehow escape this place with Blink.'

It was short-distance teleportation, but it should be enough to get out of here.

After escaping, Rob planned to head straight for the Imperial Palace.

Now that the Minister of Finance's influence had reached this far, that was the only trustworthy place to expose him.

If he went and told them everything, he would go to jail, but at least he wouldn't die.

'You bastards underestimated me. I will never die so futilely at your hands.'

Rob's eyes, full of determination, flashed.

And the next moment.

Expanding all his muscles, he moved his body with all his might.

Thwack-!

"Ugh!"

As Rob struck the man's abdomen with both his knees, the man groaned and fell forward.

Rob took advantage of the opportunity to roll on the floor and create as much distance as possible.

As he rolled violently, the gag in his mouth loosened.

'Yes! Now all I have to do is gather as much mana as possible…!'

But.

Rob, who was about to cast a spell, was soon at a loss.

"Th-this… what is this…."

He rolled his eyes, his face pressed against the floor.

He realized it the moment he tried to activate his mana circle.

That his mana circle no longer existed in his body.

He was dumbfounded by the unbelievable fact.

'No way… for my mana circle to disappear, how can this be!'

A mana circle was not something that could be physically removed.

Moreover, in any magic he knew, there was no spell that could remove an opponent's mana circle.

Rob was terrified, having no clue what the Minister of Finance's side had done to him.

And while Rob was trembling.

Thump, thump, thump-

With the neat sound of shoe heels, Heath approached him.

Heath looked at Rob as if he were an insect and let out a small sigh.

Then, in a soft voice, he said reproachfully.

"You should have attacked when the Minister arrived. That way, you could have escaped while we were taking care of him."

"You bastard… what on earth did you do! My ma- cough!"

Before he could even ask about the situation, Heath mercilessly broke Rob's jaw and waist with a Swish.

Rob writhed in pain and moaned, then realized.

That Blake didn't know they had removed his mana circle.

Heath had broken his jaw right before he mentioned 'mana circle'.

Heath's sinister smile told him it was intentional.

Why?

'Why is he hiding the fact that he removed the mana circle from Blake? He's on their side anyway, so why would he… ah!'

It was then that he remembered the conversation he had heard a few minutes ago.

Blake had definitely said he came with Mana-burst Stones on his body.

Those were bombs that used mana as a detonator.

If so…….

'You idiot… you're going to meet your end here too…….'

Rob's eyes widened as he looked at Blake and made a sound in his throat.

But only a muffled groan came out.

In the end, Rob gave up on everything and closed his eyes.

At that, Heath smiled in satisfaction and turned back to Blake.

"Don't mind the traitor and let's go, Aide Dancher."

"Y-yes…."

The man slung Rob's body over his shoulder again, and the group walked down the corridor once more.

Rob stared at the swaying floor with empty eyes and thought.

How and why on earth did the Minister of Finance get his hands on a technique that could remove a mana circle?

* * *

Blake waited for the Minister of Finance in the drawing-room, feeling tense.

Beside the table he was sitting at stood Heath and the three burly men who had been with them all along.

And next to the empty chair across from him, Rob was placed like a piece of luggage.

Rob, with blood dripping from his mouth, was staring at him.

For some reason, his gaze seemed to pity him, which made Blake feel strange.

'Why on earth did they bring him here instead of killing him right away?'

He asked Heath with his eyes, but he only gave a meaningful smile.

He didn't give any explanation whatsoever.

'Ha… I just want to get the money and leave quickly.'

Blake shook his head at this draining situation.

Click-

The servants opened the door and a man entered the drawing-room.

A middle-aged man in workout clothes with his hair still wet.

It was none other than the Minister of Finance of the Bernhard Imperial Family, Killian Barrel.

As he walked in with the servants, Blake stood up and bowed without realizing it.

The first time in his life he had come face to face with a high-ranking official of the imperial family.

A pressure completely different from when he had seen the children of high noble families seized him.

"Have you been waiting long, Blake?"

"Ah… no, sir."

"I'm sorry. I was in the middle of a Rancross practice when it suddenly started pouring."

"I-I see…."

"Still, I thought it would be a bit embarrassing for the host to be in a soaked state when there are two guests at the villa. I hope you understand."

"Y-yes… of course……."

Blake nodded eagerly, then cautiously raised his gaze to look at Killian.

He really had just roughly dried his hair, as water was dripping from it.

So a person like the Minister of Finance could greet a guest like him in workout clothes.

Feeling how relaxed Killian was in this deal compared to himself, Blake became tense again.

"So, is that all the evidence you've brought?"

"Y-yes! That's right. If you don't believe me, you can use discernment magic on me and the mayor!"

"That's enough. It's a matter of life and death, so you must have taken good care of it."

"Ah, th-yes……."

"I hear you came with Mana-burst Stones plastered all over your body?"

“……!”

Blake's body stiffened at Killian's straightforward question.

Of course, it was true.

He had 12 Mana-burst Stones attached to his body, and they had enough explosive power to blow the entire villa to smithereens.

'To be so calm even knowing that.'

Killian chuckled at the bewildered Blake.

Then he shifted his gaze to Heath and said.

"I'll show you something more interesting than Mana-burst Stones. Bring it."

"Yes."

Blake was relieved at the thought of finally receiving the promised money.

But that relief vanished with Killian's words as he stood up from his seat.

"Before I give you the promised money, there's something I want to show you and Rob. Take a look."

"Pardon? What i-is that……."

Drrrrrr-

Drrrrrr-

While Blake was flustered.

The door to the drawing-room opened, and servants wheeled in two metal beds on wheels.

On the beds were objects with the silhouette of what appeared to be a person, covered in a white cloth.

In this bewildering situation, Blake looked back and forth between the beds and Killian.

'What is this? What is he plotting?'

Killian, paying no attention to the flustered Blake, walked towards the beds.

Blake hesitated for a moment at Killian's gesture to follow.

His nerves were on edge, wondering if it was a trap.

But he soon remembered the Mana-burst Stones and obediently followed.

'Right. If this thing explodes, he'll be the first to die since he's closest. He wouldn't do anything foolish, would he?'

With that thought, Blake stood in front of the metal bed.

Up close, what the white cloth was covering really looked like a human body.

One body was small, and the other was so large it looked fat.

'Judging by the lack of movement, it doesn't seem to be a living person…….'

While Blake was speculating about the bodies.

Killian grabbed the end of the cloth covering the large body.

Then, with a pleased expression, he said to Blake.

"You grab the cloth on that side. It will be more impressive if we see them at the same time."

"Yes……?"

"Hurry."

Killian smiled brightly as he had Blake grab the cloth on the smaller side.

He even looked somewhat excited.

It was an incomprehensible situation, but Blake did as Killian said for now.

After all, he was the subordinate here, and besides, he had a last resort to use if things went wrong.

As Blake grabbed the cloth, Killian said to Heath.

"Heath, count to three for us."

"Understood. One, two……."

As the numbers were counted, Blake gripped the cloth tighter without realizing it.

"Three."

Flap-!

And the moment he pulled off the cloth.

"Huh… gasp…!"

He stumbled backward in shock.

What had been covered by the white cloth was none other than Blake Dancher, his own body.

"Th-this… what is this…!"

That wasn't the only surprising thing.

Under the cloth that Killian had pulled off lay Rob's body.

With the same face and body, a literal clone of himself and Rob was right in front of him.

Blake, pale as a sheet, stumbled backward.

But.

Thud-

Soon, his back hit something, and his escape route was blocked.

A large man who had come right behind Blake.

It was the same man who had carried Rob all the way here.

'This… something is wrong.'

The realization came with Killian's laughter.

"Hahaha- isn't it a perfect match, even to your eyes? Now, once we inject the mana circles we collected from you on the way here, a perfect Rob Dixon and Blake Dancher will be created."

“……!”

Blake was surprised and quickly checked his own mana circle.

And he realized the same thing Rob had realized: that his mana circle had been stolen.

"H-how… when!"

"You shouldn't have so carelessly put a dangerous-looking person behind you."

“……!”

"You were with people carrying Blood-qi Stones for hours, so you probably didn't even know you fainted and woke up in the middle. Not to mention that guy who fell asleep on his own even without the Blood-qi Stones."

"Bl-Blood-qi Stones! Th-then those guys… they weren't knights…."

"Do you think all well-built men with disciplined actions are knights?"

"Ugh!"

Blake bit his lip at the thought of being had.

Heretical sorcerers!

He, who had a lot of useless knowledge, also knew about dark sorcery.

Since the operation of Blood-qi Stones used sorcery, not mana, it was only natural that he couldn't have noticed.

Of course, he still didn't know how they had extracted the mana circle even while he was unconscious.

But what did it matter?

'Now me and that damn mayor are finished.'

Blake then realized why Rob had been looking at him with such eyes.

So Rob must have realized it first when he tried to escape earlier.

Thinking that he was the bigger fool in the end, Blake closed his eyes.

At that, Killian gestured with his head to the man standing behind Blake.

Crack-!

Blake's neck snapped, and his small body fell to the floor.

And Rob, looking at the dead Blake, met his end at the tip of Heath's wand.

* * *

Two hours later.

In the drawing-room where the two corpses had been cleaned up.

Killian, who had changed into a neat uniform, was tilting a teacup with the person sitting across from him.

"I'm sorry for leaving my seat earlier. I wanted to see the match through to the end."

"It's fine. I've remembered the score, so let's settle it at Shainborough next time."

A middle-aged man drinking tea with a relaxed smile.

He was Killian's first guest, who had arrived at the Barrel family's villa before Blake.

Furas von Kirhausen.

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