Chapter 252: The Devil’s Choice (2)

Eliza brought her hands together and recited the spell. From here on out, the magic Eliza was using was so great that she herself didn’t know how many more times she would be able to use it in her lifetime.

The conditions that had to be met for it to be used were tricky, but more than that, a large amount of human sacrifice was necessary. It needed at least 10,000 and if she wanted to use it safely, then about 30,000 were needed. But, any random sacrifices weren’t enough. The sacrifice itself required its own preparation. 

Currently, the elixir causing the madness in the berserkers was purely fueled by their souls. They had abandoned all the goodness as a human and were focused only on their slaughtering instincts. The resentful spirits left behind when the berserks died was the perfect offering and Eliza had been steadily collecting their souls throughout the war in order to use them for this magic spell’s offering.

Having finished reciting the spell, Eliza raised her hand into the air and shouted.

“King of the Unblessed! Lord of the savages! Please grace us with your presence and bless us!”

Right after she shouted that…

“H… Huh? What’s that?”

“There… something’s coming out of there!”

Both the Lester Kingdom and the Republic’s soldiers were startled. 

Even the berserkers, who had lost their volition, ducked and covered their heads as they trembled in fear. It seemed as though they could feel it in their bones just how great Eliza’s summon was. 

What was summoned right in front of the Lester Kingdom’s capital was a demon that was more than 10 meters tall. He held a fire whip in his hand and his face was a strange form that humans couldn’t recognize.

As soon as he showed up, he spoke to Eliza.

[I have received your sacrifice. What do you want?]

Eliza broke out in a cold sweat just listening to him, but, she gritted her teeth and responded.

“Please get rid of the enemies standing before me.”

He looked at the Lester Kingdom’s walls and spoke with displeasure.

[You called me to intervene in a war between men? You called me, Ballock, someone who sits on the 12th seat of the Zodiac for this?]

When the Republican officers heard this, they were shocked.

“Bal… Ballock?”

“The demon in the myths?”

“Oh my…”

They were all shocked and simultaneously turned to look at Siegfried. They knew how cruel and unkind their Fuhrer could be if necessary. They followed him even after knowing all that. They believed he would shed light on the Republic’s future, that’s why they were following him.

And yet…

‘Ballock? The demon? What?’

‘Does that mean he sold his soul to the demon?’

They couldn’t accept this. How could they be happy with a victory when they got it by relying on a demon? No, how could they be happy with a deal with the demon himself...

[I will help you only as much as I have received in sacrifice.]

Ballock spoke with displeasure. Then, he raised the fire whip high into the air. 

***

“What is that?”

“What the hell… just what the hell are they doing now?”

Not yet knowing Ballock’s identity, the Lester Kingdom’s soldiers were muttering loudly amongst themselves on the walls. And the moment Ballock’s whip came down…

“Your Majesty!”

Duke Palan shouted loudly as he yanked Queen Leila away.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!

There was a tremendous sound and an explosion big enough to block everyone’s view.

One blow. Ballock had only struck once with his whip, but the consequences of it were shocking.

The front portion of the Lester Kingdom’s castle was completely demolished. Both the thick gates and the solid walls were torn down, leaving only traces of complete destruction. Absolutely destructive power that was beyond human power.

Having done that, Ballock turned to look at Eliza with an unpleasant expression.

[With this, payment is fulfilled.]

“Wait… wait a minute… Just one blow… keugh…”

Eliza planned to say that it wasn’t enough, but she couldn’t continue. Ballock was staring at her as if he was looking at a bug, but just that was enough to make it difficult for Eliza to breathe.

‘This is… the Zodiac’s strength…”

“Keu… k… keugh…”

Eliza was suffocating from the pressure he was exuding. Ballock looked at her as he spoke.

[Know your place.]

And with that, the great demon slowly disappeared.

Despite the tens of thousands of sacrifices of the humans who had died as berserkers, it was only enough payment for one strike. For someone as great as Balloc, the war between men was worthless. To begin with, him entering a war between humans was a foul. 

And Siegfried who had fouled…

“Now’s our chance! Attack!”

Had no intentions of missing this opportunity.

“Your… Your Excellency. What just…”

An officer was about to ask for clarification on what had just happened, but…

Siegfried looked at him sternly.

“Are you planning on disobeying my order?”

“......”

“Right now, think only of victory!”

“What are you doing? Charge! Charge!”

“Don’t stop! Obey his command!”

The Republican officers roused the soldiers who were still in a daze. And so, the Republican soldiers began climbing over the fallen walls of the Lester Kingdom.

***

“...Retreat! Retreat to the inner city!”

Only after hearing Duke Palan’s urgent voice did Leila come back to her senses.

“Duke… What just…”

“Are you back with us, Your Majesty?”

“What happened?”

“The walls have collapsed and the Republican soldiers are charging towards us, Your Majesty.”

“What do you… Duke! What happened to your body?”

“It’s nothing, Your Majesty.”

“......”

Queen Leila was speechless.

Duke Palan was missing one of his arms now. The blow from Ballock; the moment it had swung down, Duke Palan had quickly yanked her away. He had managed to get her out of range, but one of his arms had been struck.

“Your Majesty! You must retreat. You must go back into the inner city and wait for His Highness the Grand Duke to return.”

“...Alright.”

For once, Leila followed Duke Palan’s suggestion without being stubborn. Even if she stayed, in their current situation, it would be meaningless. Instead, the soldiers’ morale would fall even more if she was captured.

“Retreat! Retreat!”

“Retreat to the inner city!”

The command to retreat to the inner city could be heard all over the walls.

***

“Chase after them! The Lester Kingdom’s Queen is over there!”

“Capture her!”

“Don’t let them escape!”

The Republican soldiers soon got on the walls and chased after Leila.

“Stop them!”

The Royal Guards cut them down and escorted Leila into the inner city.

On her way, she was joined by Sophia.

“Sophia, what about the children?”

“They’re all safe.”

Sophia pointed out to Elizabeth and William in the back. When she saw them, Leila let out a sigh of relief. 

“You managed to get the children.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Count Pate helped me.”

“Count?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Count Pate appeared from behind Sophia to speak to Queen Leila with a sense of urgency.

“Your Majesty, if you go into the inner city, your escape will be completely blocked. You still have a chance, you must retreat now.”

“It’s impossible to retreat now…”

“I’ve already secured a way out for you, Your Majesty. Duke Palan, if you and the knights will stop the Republican Army, I will guide the royal family out.”

Saying that, Count Pate tried to pull Leila by her wrist, however.

“No, I will hunker down with the rest of them in the inner city. I will not retreat.”

“Your Majesty. Do you plan to be stubborn in a time like this? You must retreat as soon as possible, Your Majesty.”

“......”

Leila was silent.

What he was saying was all correct… If it was possible for her to retreat, then it would be better to do that than to take shelter in the inner city.  At least, if it was truly possible to retreat safely.

‘Something’s not right.’

As Leila looked at Count Pate, she realized something.

“Are those your men in the back?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. They are.”

“All the soldiers of the nobility should have been conscripted.”

“......”

For a moment, Count Pate was speechless. He had never thought she would reprimand him about that in a situation like this.

“So why do you still have men following you? Answer me, Count Pate.”

“...Well. Manpower was needed to secure your retreat, Your Majesty.”

“You needed to have me retreat, so you went against a royal command? Why? For what reason?”

“......”

When Count Pate couldn’t answer her, Leila was sure and spoke confidently.

“Tell me who you are.”

At that, Count Pate gritted his teeth.

“What a frustrating b*tch. God, that f*cking Milton Forrest bastard was annoying, but damn, the two of you are just so frustrating.”

“You dare?”

“He’s dangerous!”

The Royal Guards who were escorting Leila drew their swords and pointed them at Count Pate. However…

Clang!

They were blocked by men who turned out to be Count Pate’s soldiers. They were the Royal Guards, but their attack had been blocked so easily by the so-called normal soldiers. 

Count Pate began to speak.

“You should have just quietly come. Now you made me get all rough with you.”

“Are you a Republican spy?”

At Duke Palan’s question, Count Pate began to peel off his face. His true face appeared. He was…

“I’m David of the Republic. How wonderful to meet you.”

“You bastard…”

David was a spy disguised as Count Pate.

In fact, David had infiltrated the royal palace with Ghost Groups 11 and 12 and had been looking for an opportunity to capture the royal family while carrying out his duties as a spy. The original plan had been to capture Queen Leila, or report to Siegfried, when she was retreating when Siegfried attacked the capital.

However, that plan had fallen through when Queen Leila remained inside the walls, insisting on fighting back. And even after that, he had sought numerous opportunities to kidnap her, but he had never found a chance because Duke Palan stuck closer to her side as he was a sucker on a tentacle.[1]

He had constantly been looking for an opportunity and had decided this was his last chance to kidnap Queen Leila and the royal family by saying he had secured a retreat for them. However, that had failed.

“You dare…”

Duke Palan bared his teeth as he stalked forward. He might have lost an arm, but he was still a Master. However…

“Don’t move!”

Having said that, David looked towards the Ghosts and gave them an order. Before they knew it, the Ghosts held Elizabeth and William hostage. 

“You don’t need me to tell you what happens if you move, right?”

“You bastard…”

Duke Palan glared at David with bloodshot eyes. 

“If the queen follows me calmly, I’ll preserve the lives of the royal family. How about I put my honor on the line and promise you this?”

“I don’t trust you!”

At Duke Palan’s words, David thought, ‘of course’, to himself. 

However…

“Then what shall we do? Shall we keep fighting like this? In this situation, who do you think will have the advantage as time goes by?”

“Guh...”

The gates had already collapsed and the Republican soldiers were storming inside. They had to quickly retreat to the inner city, but if they couldn’t…

‘It’s over.’

No matter how hard he thought about it, time was against them. Duke Palan looked at Queen Leila. If she made the tough decision to abandon her children, he would accept it and follow her. However…

“......”

She had the most agonized expression on her face; he had never seen it before. 

Even when she had lost her mother and brother when she was young and could only trust him, she had never looked this weak.

‘Perhaps it can’t be helped.’

Even if she was Queen Leila, she couldn’t let go of her feelings as a mother.

“Hohoho… Choose. Will you follow me? Or do you want to see your children die before your eyes?”

“......”

“I’ll tell you in advance. I have two hostages. It doesn’t matter if I kill one of them…”

“Ack!”

With a shout and a bloodbath, David’s speech was interrupted. 

“Now’s our chance! Secure the princess and the young lord!”

“Marquis Catel!”

Duke Palan was so happy to see Marquis Catel suddenly appear. And then…

“You f*cking son of a b*tch! How dare you take them as hostages!”

“I’ll kill you!”

Rick and Tommy were alive as well. 

Duke Palan had thought most of the troops who had been stationed in front of the gates had been killed by Ballock’s attack. But they were alive. In fact, at that moment in time, they hadn't been waiting in front of the gate. They had been at a different location to check on the troop’s arrangement. Thanks to that, they luckily survived.

They had rushed to join their fellow soldiers when they discovered David’s hostage situation and had ambushed him.

“Attack!”

Having recovered the hostages, Duke Palan ordered the Royal Knights to attack the Ghosts. And they did, aggressively.

“Die!”

“Guuhhhh!”

The Ghosts Groups 11 and 12 who had been dispatched alongside David were skilled in infiltration and disturbing public sentiment, so they were the weakest out of all the Ghosts. 

They might have been stronger than regular knights, but when compared to the Royal Guards, they were severely lacking and collapsed.

They drank the elixir and tried their best to fight back, but in the end, it was too much.

“Damn it.”

David tried to escape before things got worse. But…

“At the very least, I won’t let you escape.”

Duke Palan blocked David’s way. He held his sword in his arming hand and stared at him with a killer’s glare. 

He had failed to protect Leila’s mother, Queen Irene. She had been the woman he loved, but he hadn’t been able to protect nor was he able to stay by her side. And so, he had vowed to do his best to protect her daughter. But, he almost hadn’t been able to protect Leila’s family.

“I will never forgive you.”

“Damn it. Don’t f*ck with me! You old…”

Slash!

Before David could finish spouting his vitriol, Duke Palan’s cut off his head.

David, he was one of Siegfried’s hidden aides and alongside Eliza, had played on the dirtiest and shadiest of roles.

Having killed him, Duke Palan spat on his head as he spoke.

“Go to hell.”

1. Added the tentacle bit so there’s no misunderstanding that he isn’t a sucker-fool