Chapter 82 : Chapter 82

Chapter 082: Endless Learning (5)

You know my weaknesses that even I don’t?

“What nonsense is that, kid?”

“Heehee. Alright, fine. Shall we find out?”

Goooooo―!

It grew larger.

It was as if it swallowed everything around it.

Lightning streaks from the sky and grains of dirt and stone fragments from the ground surged backward, drawn toward the kid’s palm.

“Uwaaa!”

“R-run!”

Even the Archduke’s soldiers nearby staggered and fell.

‘Even if it’s just a kid…’

I couldn’t let this recklessness go on any longer.

Click.

Just as the kid’s figure was about to be obscured by the swirling dust storm, I prepared to leap.

But then, the kid’s voice rang out.

It carried a resonance, likely laced with mana.

“Don’t try anything funny, Bihen Benkou! You don’t know where my Super Triple Elemental Meteor might land~?”

No way…

I turned my head.

Beyond Theodore’s army, the landscape of Ludglen came into view.

Whiooooo!

It grew fiercer.

A mass of condensed mana storm.

It was enough to devastate at least half of Ludglen.

I recalled the magic the Crimson Flame Leader had unleashed in a last-ditch effort.

It had incinerated everything in its lair.

Jayden and Maserin, just the two of them, had barely withstood it.

If there had been even one more factor to consider, safety—let alone proper response—would’ve been impossible.

Even I had collapsed, unable to handle the aftermath.

“R-retreat!”

Declan’s face was ashen with fear.

A commander’s panic spells doom.

The soldiers began to scatter in disarray, but I was too caught in the urgency to do anything about it.

“Darling! Get out of here!”

Bonnie and Clyde rushed toward me, trying to pull me back.

That snapped me out of it.

I pushed them behind me and shouted toward Theodore’s army.

“Don’t go into the village!”

I turned to Bonnie and Clyde.

“That kid plans to blow Ludglen to pieces. I’ll try to stop it somehow, so you two get as far away as possible. Move!”

Bonnie bit her lip and glared at the kid.

“Kid, my foot! That crazy old hag is dead set on causing a disaster!”

“Old… what? Not a kid?”

“You can’t not know the Puppet Witch Iroen. That old monster, over a hundred years old, turned herself like that by offering up mana. They say she’s lost her mind as a side effect…”

Before Bonnie could finish, a roar shook the air above, accompanied by an angry shout.

“You! I can hear everything! You insolent fatso!”

“…Step aside, honey. I’ll kill her.”

I held back Clyde, whose face was red with rage, and slowly approached Iroen.

I nodded reassuringly to the two calling out urgently behind me.

“Ho? Getting obedient now, are we, Bihen Benkou!”

“…I never imagined it. Rejuvenation through mana.”

“Reju-what? Don’t use fancy words!”

I looked up at Iroen, a slight smirk tugging at my lips.

Truly astounding.

“Kana, Iroen. Thanks to you, I’ve learned a lot. It feels like the world just got bigger. I’m grateful for that.”

“Hmph…! What’s with the sudden flattery? You think that’ll calm me down? Surrender first. We’ll talk after!”

I raised both arms.

Of course, I didn’t let go of Zahara Toxeed.

Iroen’s eyes widened as she spoke.

“For real!? You’re really surrendering!? Then what do I do with my Super Triple Elemental Meteor?”

The mana mass had grown so massive it covered the sky.

It was as if the dark clouds rolling in from afar had finally filled the space above.

An overwhelming size.

It struck me as absurd.

To think someone could casually commit such an act just to catch me… If I were powerless, this feeling wouldn’t be exasperation—it would be helplessness.

And that made me angry.

“You really meant to drop it on Ludglen?”

“The Super Triple Elemental Meteor? Yup! Totally! But now I’m wondering what to do with it! Once it’s made, it doesn’t vanish unless it’s launched!”

“…Why? These people have nothing to do with this.”

Iroen furrowed her brow.

“Ugh! Look at you acting all noble. They’re irrelevant, so it’s fine if they die! Look at the pests at my feet! They’re worthless, yet they’re too scared of you to even fight and just try to run. The more I think about it, the more it pisses me off.”

Callence’s soldiers, perhaps thinking it safer to be closer, were huddled tightly beneath Iroen. Every one of them had a terrified expression.

“Bihen Benkou! Let me tell you something. Humans are completely different when they’re hungry versus when they’re full! They’re no better than beasts!”

For a moment, I saw it.

A shadow of gloom passed over Iroen’s eyes.

It was like the fleeting sense of unease I’d felt when I first met this bizarre sorceress in Easton, now taking shape.

“…So don’t lecture me, you naive brat. Life is a battlefield, you know?”

She kept teaching me until the end.

A generous old monster.

‘Clone.’

Swaaaa―!

A purple clone surged upward.

It didn’t look awkward wielding Zahara Toxeed.

Mid-stage mastery.

I could do this.

‘Parallel.’

I kicked off the ground.

In the blink of an eye, I was level with Iroen.

The old monster’s shocked face was a sight to behold.

The key now was the clone’s duration.

Wooong―!

White sword aura formed on all four daggers—two from the clone, two from me.

Compared to Iroen’s magic mass, it was a mere handful, but that was fine.

It was more than enough.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The sound was like thunderbolts exploding.

It came with every swing of the four daggers carving their paths.

Long flashes of light tore through the magic mass. Before one streak faded, three more layered over it.

The overlapping afterimages etched a radial pattern in the air.

Patter.

Mana fragments, finely shattered, scattered alongside Iroen’s torn body along the paths of the sword aura.

The translucent remnants of light faded before touching the ground.

From below, it might look like the sun’s flesh scattering like snow.

I hoped it reached the stablemaster, who was probably with the people in the slash-and-burn village on the hillside.

In this life, I fervently wished.

To be someone who could make a flower bloom in another’s heart.

* * *

“Kuhn! Are you there?”

The Second Son, Killian, shouted into the air.

It was a forest cloaked in deep twilight.

Splash―!

Killian flinched.

Instead of a reply, the sound of waves answered.

It had been some time since he’d taken refuge with the Solari Order, yet he couldn’t get used to the thunderous crash of those waves.

“Damn it…!”

His handsome face twisted.

When he turned, he saw the horizon through the dense trees.

The moonlit sea made him inexplicably afraid.

It felt like something was writhing beneath its calm surface.

“Come out already…”

Killian sank to the ground, pulling his knees close.

Then.

Sssss―

“…!”

A sound like a snake slithering through leaves.

It echoed all around, eerie yet oddly welcome.

“Kuhn!”

She appeared suddenly from somewhere among the scattered shadows, as if she’d always been there.

“Young Lord.”

“You wretched woman! How dare you keep me waiting!”

Long, dark hair flowed like waves, stark against her pale skin.

“Perhaps lower your voice. The inner defenses may be lax, but the Solari priests always keep their eyes and ears open.”

“This…! Fine, I get it.”

Killian took a deep breath and scanned his surroundings.

The coastal cliff behind them was a sheer drop, impossible for anyone to climb.

A natural barrier.

They were in a forest between the Order’s building and the cliff’s edge, a blind spot where the watchtower’s surveillance and the outer magic formations were weaker.

“Where have you been all this time? Tell me what’s happening outside. Hurry! I’m sick of hearing news from that beggar’s mouth. It’s driving me insane. How long do I have to stay here?”

“Calm yourself, Young Lord.”

“Calm? I’m about to lose my mind. Please, get me out of here. I miss the scent of a woman’s skin so much…”

Killian sank back down, sobbing.

Kuhn looked down at him, her ruby-red lips curving slightly.

“It won’t be long. There’s been a slight hitch in the plan, but it’s not a big issue, so don’t worry.”

She extended her wrist.

Under the moonlight, it gleamed even whiter.

“Ah!”

Killian lunged like a starving dog, burying his nose in her wrist and sniffing.

His anxiety gradually subsided.

“Ah, now I feel alive.”

“….”

“Right, about Zephyros. Even if they were a disposable pawn, wasn’t dismantling them a bit much?”

“They would’ve been taken down by Bihen Benkou or the Archduke anyway or merged. Neither outcome would favor us, so I eliminated the problem early.”

Killian narrowed his eyes.

“Bihen Benkou… That guy’s the problem, isn’t he? Popping up out of nowhere, so annoying. Didn’t you say last time he wasn’t worth worrying about?”

“At the time…”

“Eh, forget it. I don’t want to dwell on the past. You can make mistakes too, right?”

“….”

“So, did you find the Gunbel Trading Company?”

“Yes.”

“Oh…!”

Killian clenched his fist, barely containing his laughter.

“What did they say? Did they agree to cooperate?”

“I haven’t received a reply yet.”

“Heh, it’s only a matter of time. What merchant would dare defy the imperial family’s orders?”

“Young Lord.”

“Alright, alright. I get it. Don’t be so uptight.”

Killian sniffled awkwardly and spoke again.

“As you said, Kuhn, Adeline is secretly in contact with Jewelina Gunbel.”

“Did you confirm it yourself?”

“Not yet. Too many pests around Adeline. They’re watching her like hawks.”

“Then, the meeting place?”

“There’s a secret passage in the Order leading to the coast. That’s where they’re making contact, no doubt.”

He grew emotional.

The trials and humiliations he’d endured to uncover this much.

He was treated like an unwelcome guest.

Adeline’s subordinates gave him endless side-eyes.

He had to be cautious even breathing.

For the Second Son of the Conwell family, it was a disgrace.

“Ugh… Those bastards, I swear I’ll have my revenge someday.”

“As soon as we get a reply from the Gunbel Trading Company, I’ll break the Order’s magic formation.”

Killian’s eyes widened.

His heart raced.

“It’s starting!”

“I’ll inform you in advance. You must be at the meeting place on time.”

“Of course! No need to worry. They’re starting to let their guard down. Soon, their suspicions will ease. I’ll seize the chance. I’m an expert in that area.”

Killian had grand, ambitious plans.

The end wasn’t Conwell, but the pinnacle of the Kingdom…

And the beginning was exile to the Empire.

All he needed was his and Adeline’s safety.

“Hahaha…”

Killian laughed leisurely, visions of imperial women’s scents and skirts fluttering in his mind.

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