Chapter 139 : Chapter 139

Chapter 139

Bronz Heinrich.

The Fifth Prince of the Empire, and a 5-star Magic Swordsman.

When people discussed the talents of the princes, they usually mentioned the First Prince, Crusty Heinrich, and the Second Prince, Isaac Heinrich.

“But my talent is by no means inferior.”

Though he hadn't broken through the wall, his understanding of Ke and Shik was exceptional.

The stamina to wield a sword relentlessly, the imagination to manifest calculated operations into magic. He lacked in neither.

The superhumans who became his teachers even said that if he honed just one of those talents, breaking through the wall was guaranteed.

What foolish talk.

“I am not content with merely competing for the throne. I will become the emperor, no matter what it takes.”

Lacking a strong support base, he needed to become someone more special to survive the war for the throne.

So he trained in both the sword and magic.

He mastered countless Ke and Shik, and stabilized the 5-star at a young age.

When the minor nobles who took notice of his talent began to flock to him, he was certain his choice was not wrong.

With the support of his maternal family and the nobles under his command, he came to operate five knight orders and three magic orders.

He was confident that if he continued to grow and break through the wall, the war for the throne would tilt in his favor.

It was in the all-out battle against Isaac Heinrich that he realized he was mistaken.

“Foolish little brother. You dreamt a dream beyond your station. If you promise to offer everything, I will spare your life.”

He was a monster.

A superhuman free from death, and a usurper who could take everything he had whenever he wished.

Just then, Crusty Heinrich proposed that he come under his command.

“Work for me. If you do, the Empire will remember your service.”

White.

A nature completely opposite to that of Isaac Heinrich, who wielded black mana.

If he had to submit to someone, it was better to side with the one who would more clearly consider his usefulness.

One morning on a day when winter snow was falling.

“I stake the 5-star I have achieved and pledge my loyalty to His Highness, Crusty. My five knight orders and three magic orders will join you.”

He gave up everything and made a pact of lord and vassal.

***

Anger flared on Bronz Heinrich’s face.

Though he was in a position where he had lost the competition and pledged fealty, he was a man who had once dreamed of being emperor.

Not even in the Imperial mainland had anyone ever grabbed his shoulder and turned him around.

‘How dare a mere prince of a country that was a frontier family until recently!!’

Rage boiled up inside him.

The boiling rage took the form of mana.

Ssshhh.

Pure white mana began to rise.

White . The color of mana that bloomed after he pledged his obedience.

Grip.

He grabbed Julian’s wrist and applied force.

“Shall I tear your arm off right here?”

“You, you bastard…”

Struggling to hide his panic, Julian met his mana with his own.

Ssshhh.

Blue .

A mana color matching the name of his knight order enveloped and protected his body.

Fortunately, the two superhumans who had entered with the delegation did not seem to be intervening.

‘Killian will intervene if it gets dangerous… I can’t be pushed back here.’

He had at least a minimum safety measure in place.

If he could just subdue the Empire's prince in front of the esteemed guests, the thoughts of those who followed Demian and Paian would change.

The Fifth Prince’s eyes twitched as they engaged in a power struggle with their mana.

“Daring to challenge me with the level of a mere 4-star? It’s so absurd I can’t even curse.”

“Shut up. Do you know who my tactician is before you run your mouth?”

“You’re talking nonsense. I will shatter your wrist so you can never hold a sword again.”

“Look who’s talking!”

Ssss. Sssst.

5-star and 4-star, white and blue.

The two streams of mana intertwined as if in a power struggle.

At that moment.

Tzzzzzzzt.

The ring on Bronz Heinrich’s index finger began to absorb the mana of the two knights.

“You bastard! So you were acting cocky because you were relying on a magic tool!”

Julian shouted in a triumphant voice.

The opponent was a prince from a rival nation anyway.

He judged there was no longer any need for courtesy.

‘I have to kill this bastard to survive. Seeing his panicked state, it seems there’s a limit to how much mana it can absorb.’

Fwoosh.

The enhanced blue mana was continuously sucked into the ring.

Unable to hide his panic, Bronz Heinrich stepped back.

‘The ring my brother gave me… at this rate, the Shik will activate on this goddamn bastard…!!’

The First Prince had said he had engraved his mana into the ring, and that if used on Demian Eurasia or Killian Eurasia, his mana would harm the opponent’s Mana Heart.

To inflict an unhealable wound on the two prominent knights of Eurasia.

It was the First Prince’s own sort of gift after the incident in the Holy Nation.

However.

‘This isn’t my brother’s mana.’

The moment a question arose on Bronz Heinrich’s face.

Saaaaaaah.

A large amount of mana poured out from the ring.

Unlike when it was absorbed, it was dyed red and took the form of a mist.

“Your, Your Highness?”

“Prince Bronz, what is this…”

The two superhumans who had accompanied him as guards voiced their confusion.

The red mist instantly enveloped their bodies.

A moment later.

“I must become the emperor.”

Bronz Heinrich muttered.

“I must become the king.”

Julian Eurasia spoke as if in response.

“I… will become the emperor…”

“I… will become the king…”

Their gazes were hazy, as if drunk.

Not their original mana, but a red energy shimmering like a heat haze enveloped them.

It looked as if the blood-tinted mana was connecting the two bodies as one.

“What is this now?”

Paian, who had been watching, muttered with a dumbfounded expression.

“Don’t go near them. Something is strange.”

“I know that much. Wait, those things…!!”

The mana condensed in the Fifth Prince’s hand took the shape of a sword.

And the Fifth Prince swung it at Julian, who stood before him.

Clang.

Julian, too, instinctively manifested a sword and blocked the attack.

The clashing mana scattered.

“I will become the emperor!!”

“I will become the king!!”

With that, the two knights began to exchange blows.

But the difference in their levels was clear.

After a few exchanges, Julian was seen rolling on the floor.

“Protect Prince Julian!”

The Red Knights, having belatedly grasped the situation, drew their swords to protect Julian.

The knights, who had moved the guests to the back, surrounded the prince.

“How dare you nobodies from a weak nation!”

“In whose presence do you draw your swords!”

Yusram Hibupope released his mana, and the other man beside him emitted his Haki.

Thud.

“Ugh…”

Ten Red Knights were sent flying by the momentum of the two superhumans.

“You crazy bastards!!”

Raising one’s voice and swinging a sword were clearly different matters.

“Wait.”

Demian held back Paian, who was about to charge forward.

“Are you telling me to stand still after seeing this?!!”

“Don’t act rashly. We haven’t fully grasped the situation yet.”

Demian, too, was struggling to understand the current situation.

Even so, Julian and the Fifth Prince were still shouting and clashing swords.

“Crusty! Isaac! I will make you all kneel before me!!”

“Demian! Paian! Killian! You must address me with respect!!”

Julian was now coughing up blood due to symptoms of reflux.

Killian’s face, who was watching, contorted into a frown.

‘This is the Curse of Blood Mist.’

A curse that destabilized the minds of those touched by the blood-red mist, driving them into a frenzy.

The lower one’s level, the higher the chance of them going berserk.

‘Why is a Curse of Grotesquery…’

It was definitely a Curse of Grotesquery, but the energy he felt was different from the two pieces he had absorbed before.

Was its power halved?

‘No…’

Unlike magic, curses, while having difficult conditions, had the characteristic of being fully realized once activated.

He recalled the pieces of Grotesquery he had encountered so far.

Agnil, sealed in the basement of the Brussels main castle, and the hybrid goblin sleeping in the Flask Mountain Range.

‘Every single one was dwelling within a living creature.’

On the other hand, the Curse of Blood Mist was activated through the bodies of the Fifth Prince and Julian as a medium, but it was clearly engraved on a tool.

‘They’ve refined a piece of Grotesquery into the form of a magic tool.’

For now, that was the only way he could think of to explain the difference in the curse's power.

‘Their shouting means their reason, which would normally control their desires, is disappearing.’

If left alone, they would fall into Oblivio, and it was obvious that their end would be death by reflux.

Julian and the Fifth Prince weren't the only ones in danger.

Saaah.

The blood mist enveloping the two men was spreading throughout the entire banquet hall.

As the blood mist approached, the knights guarding the hall spread their mana, but the mist ignored the mana and encroached upon them.

Demian’s white mana only momentarily slowed the mist’s spread.

Saaaaaaah.

It began to spread throughout the banquet hall once more.

“Killian, do you know about this?”

“It’s a type of curse.”

He explained simply in response to the question.

“Is there a way to break it?”

“You have to kill the medium and the caster.”

“……”

Demian’s eyes gleamed as he looked at the Fifth Prince and Julian.

“I see… is that so.”

“Are you saying we have to kill Julian?!!”

Ignoring Paian’s shout, Demian ordered the knights.

“Knights of Eurasia, deploy your mana!! Not a single scratch will be permitted on the bodies of our esteemed guests!!”

Thump.

The Red Knights stomped their feet and simultaneously deployed Carpe.

The Carpe deployed by twenty knights neutralized the mist in the form of a Sword Membrane.

“Carpe.”

“Carpe.”

The Carpe deployed by Demian and Paian blocked the Curse of Blood Mist.

Within the range of the Carpe, separated from the guests, only the four princes and the prince’s party remained.

Demian spoke quietly.

“There are two problems.”

“Is this the time to be concerned about such things?”

Ignoring Paian, Demian continued.

“One, cutting down the prince, unlike before, will provide a justification for an all-out war with the Empire. Two, the prince’s two superhuman guards won’t stand by and let it happen.”

Glance.

Demian observed the berserk Julian and the Fifth Prince.

The Empire’s superhumans also seemed not to have expected this turn of events, their faces unable to hide their bewilderment.

‘The puzzle is finally coming together.’

The reason the Imperial envoy visited Eurasia.

The reason Simon, who deliberately held a long banquet, allowed them into the castle despite knowing the danger.

And the reason he had Killian attend the banquet.

Julian’s sword suddenly turned towards Paian.

Crash!

Paian deflected Julian’s sword using his prosthetic arm.

“This guy, he’s exhibiting the power of a 5-star.”

Because he had gone berserk, it was harder to save him than to kill him.

Paian shouted as he restrained Julian’s movements.

Over there, the superhumans were in the process of subduing the rampaging prince.

‘Did His Majesty foresee this as well?’

If this went wrong, everything they had built up until now could crumble in an instant.

“A knight speaks with his sword.”

The thought was brief.

“The medium is the Fifth Prince, and the caster is brother Julian.”

Which meant.

“We have to make brother Julian cut down the Fifth Prince himself.”

The one who became the caster cuts down the one who became the medium.

“It’s similar to the principle of Eurasia Style, Yeokhae.”

“You’re certainly taking your time. Don’t you think those guys have reached the same conclusion?!!”

Paian shouted as he blocked Julian’s sword.

Putting aside the subjugation of the prince, the two superhumans were walking towards Julian.

“I will handle the two superhumans. Brother Paian, please subdue brother Julian.”

“Got it!”

“The prince is my share, then.”

“You’ll have to be careful. The prince is no different from a medium for the curse right now.”

“So it seems.”

Demian, who had materialized a sword, walked towards where the prince was.

Paian, who had materialized a shield the size of his body, deflected Julian’s sword.

Sshhhk.

A sword made of blue mana materialized in Killian’s hand.

He channeled his Haki into his Carpe, drawing the attention of the two superhumans.

The grand banquet hall where Eurasia’s New Year celebration was taking place.

“For Eurasia.”

“For Eurasia.”

“I will become the king!!!”

“For Eurasia.”

The four princes each swung their own swords.