Chapter 109: Thinning (5)

Chapter 109: Thinning (5)

The red glowing eyes caused by the Devil’s Blood made anyone who saw them feel a dreadful horror.

Due to the incomprehensible situation, the princess was frozen still, unable to even move.

Even though she was seeing it with her own eyes, the princess could not believe that the one in front of her was her escort knight.

No one there could have, except for the Empress who had been informed beforehand.

Of course, she was also shocked.

She believed that everything the leader had made her do was ultimately for the sake of the princess.

According to the will of the great darkness, the princess would soon be reborn as an even greater existence.

That’s why she had chosen a day when Carlyn was absent.

“Th-the non-believer...”

How did he know... The words she was about to spit out could not continue. Because Carlyn had twisted the wrist that held the sword.

The strength left the Empress’ body. Only then could the princess move her body.

“Schurtafen!”

The princess’s scream-like cry was only met by the red glow. The creepy, terrifying eyes looked complicated.

Carlyn was also not feeling good.

‘This is...’

It was still an act to save the princess, but the situation was not ideal.

Hearing about an incident is different from seeing it. People believe what they want to believe.

It might have been better if the princess hadn’t seen it.

Since he had said earlier that he would cause an incident, Carlyn was blamed.

Even if that wasn’t the case, the psychological rejection could have been weaker.

Either way, it was a hopeful observation.

“...”

Carlyn wanted to say something, but he couldn’t.

The explanation for this situation was too long to say out loud, and the knights and agents were rushing at him.

The moment their eyes met was short, but it felt quite long to both the princess and Carlyn.

But they couldn’t hold a conversation with their eyes.

Without sharing the same feelings, the words conveyed through the eyes have limits.

Moreover, the princess was currently in shock.

“Sword!”

The escort knights who had been standing by nearby were the fastest, followed by the empire’s agents.

They could not rationally understand this situation either.

How could the empire’s war hero attack his own troops and mother? Who would have known?

The Imperial Intelligence Agency had suspected Carlyn but only wondered if he was someone from the Haisen side.

Attacking the princess and empress on a day off was something no one had imagined.

Carlyn pulled out his sword. The empress collapsed.

‘...I should go.’

He had already wasted unnecessary time because of the princess. Even if it was just a few seconds, it was precious.

While knights rushed at him, Carlyn deflected their swords and looked for an escape route.

The situation was changing so quickly that he had entered without thinking properly. He had to make decisions quickly.

A delayed best could be worse than a hastily made fist.

Moreover, the Sword Master was coming. Carlyn had come with all his might. The mana around him was fluctuating.

Of course, the Sword Master would have noticed this commotion too.

Carlyn took one last look at the princess. Her shaking eyes. He turned his body. It was the opposite direction of the palace.

With nothing to fear now that his limits and Devil’s Blood had been unleashed, Carlyn could feel the Sword Master’s movements through his Winds.

The anomaly happened then.

‘What?’

There was light. Carlyn saw the darkness in front of him fade away because of the brilliant light emanating from behind him.

Gradually, only his elongating shadow remained in front of him.

The light source was the princess’s right wrist. It was the light emanating from Teme’s Spear which had turned into a bracelet.

In the blink of an eye, the bracelet transformed into a spear.

After many years, the spear used by the founding emperor revealed its form within the palace.

It was the spear that slayed devils reacting to the blood manifested by Carlyn.

‘...Is this?’

That brilliance was far beyond the thoughts of the culprit.

The overwhelming spectacle made Carlyn, who had been running, the escort knights who had been chasing, and even the agents unable to move.

No, they were unable to move their bodies would be a more accurate way to put it.

Until just before killing the leader, the east had been the escape route, so this was a complete reversal.

I used the Winds to throw the bombs I had prepared in advance towards my original direction.

It was to cause some confusion, even a little bit.

At the same time, I shrank my magic field and used the Winds to block any trace of my presence.

But the effect was not enough. The Sword Master immediately turned around and chased after me.

‘This is bad, can I escape?’

No matter how much I thought about it, it wasn’t optimistic. The distance was still narrowing.

When the western wall drew near, I entered the Sword Master’s range of vision.

“Schurtafen! Halt!”

The one chasing after me was Rudehrn. His angry voice echoed through the white city.

Instead of stopping, I released the remaining bombs under my coat. The Winds guided the bombs.

The bomb that flew near Rudehrn landed in front of his feet.

Boom! Crash!

Despite the consecutive explosions, Rudehrn’s speed didn’t decrease significantly. He was still charging toward me.

I didn’t expect much, but it wasn’t very effective. The last bomb fell at Rudehrn’s feet.

‘A dud?’

I felt a slight fluctuation of mana from Rudehrn, and then an explosion occurred.

Boom-! As Rudehrn passed by, a momentary malfunction worked in my favor.

Though I didn’t land a hit, just buying a few seconds felt satisfying.

I leaped over the city wall.

“W-What!”

The surprised screams of the soldiers guarding the wall grazed my ears.

I leaped straight over the moat. Now, a moonlit expanse of blue plain lay before me.

Rudehrn also cleared the city wall. Perhaps he was angered by the recent explosion; his demeanor was menacing.

At that moment, something flashed in my mind. I made a decision.

‘Yeah. I can’t shake him off anyway.’

He was the Sword Master, after all. Officially there are 7. Including some unofficial ones, about 10.

Fighting in my current exhausted state would be bad rather than good.

Moreover, I was injured. Stopping at an appropriate place would be better. I dashed across the plain.

Once again, the warning from Death Avoidance came to mind.

‘The most dangerous time might be now.’

When Erendil threw the spear, I truly thought it was the end.

Even without the warning from Death Avoidance, the visible spear was overwhelming.

But anyway, since I passed that point...

The leader, the empress, Erendil. Now, having overcome all that, the biggest variable of death was the Sword Master.

After running for a while on the plain, I stopped. Compared to the capital, it was some distance away.

Even the empire’s elites would take some time to arrive.

It was suitable here to face the Sword Master according to my plan.

Seeing me stop, Rudehrn slowed down as well. He drew his sword and glared at me as he approached.

It was an icy gaze I had never felt before. The momentum was the same.

Is this the Sword Master’s true nature?

It felt like I was standing in front of a predator. Even before fighting, my muscles seemed to stiffen slightly.

“Is it really you... Carl Schurtafen I know?”

The following question must be because of the eyes and atmosphere. However, having an identical twin is not impossible.

There might have been a fleeting thought that it could be someone else.

“Yes, it’s me.”

As if he had guessed, Rudehrn looked at me with unwavering eyes.

“Carl Schurtafen, do you admit to assassinating Her Highness the Empress?”

“Yes.”

Upon my immediate answer, Rudehrn closed his eyes for a moment. He looked regretful. Did he hope I would say no?

“Why did you do that...”

I showed an intentional smile.

“Would you believe me if I said it was for the empire?”

“No.”

Was it because I mentioned the empire? Rudehrn looked furious as he answered decisively.

He pointed his sword at me. And when he closed then opened his eyes, the sword was right in front of my nose.

Author's Thoughts

Want to read ahead of the scheduled release? You can check the Novel page on the website (or press the next chapter button) and buy an advanced chapter with only 20 Honeys! (100 Honeys is only 5$! So you can basically read 5 advanced chapters ahead of schedule!)