Chapter 157

Chapter 157

Crebin’s Subjugation Battle (8)

Kakang! Kang!

By the time ‘Conviction’ rolled across the floor, the outcome was already decided.

Kwadangtang! Kukung!

Arwen, pierced by Ed’s dagger and slammed to the ground, coughed up the blood she held in.

Ed sat atop Arwen, adding more force to the dagger plunged into her shoulder. His hand tightened around the hilt, and the force driving it into the ground intensified.

“Keuh... Keug...”

Arwen was a swordsman of exceptional skill but not of overwhelming physical strength.

Once overpowered by Ed’s might, she found it difficult to escape. Ed, aware of this, kept his grip on the dagger, pressing Arwen into the ground.

“Kuu... Ugh...”

Arwen tried several times to muster the strength to rise, but as the bleeding continued, her energy gradually waned.

Eventually, her struggles ceased, and her flailing arms quietly rested on the stone floor.T/his chapter is updated by nov(ê(l)biin.co/m

Ed, who had been clenching his teeth to subdue Arwen, slowly began to relax. He realized that she no longer had the strength to resist.

Arwen, eyes tightly shut, spoke.

“Finish it.”

“Arwen, sister!”

Just then, Tanya, having barely managed to get up, shouted out.

Behind Ed, who pinned Arwen down, Tanya staggered closer.

“We don’t need to go this far.”

Tanya’s face, teary-eyed, pleaded.

Just having burst onto the battlefield, Tanya did not fully grasp the situation. Yet, she clearly knew that the gruesomely transformed girl before her was the same Arwen who’d once held and comforted her.

“I don’t know what you had to endure...”

Tanya was one of those who knew Arwen up close.

She had been celebrated as the fitting heir to the Rothtaylor family and deeply understood Crebin’s innermost thoughts.

As the first appointed heir, it was likely that Crebin had mutually shared his thoughts and feelings with Arwen openly and without reserve.

If so, she probably grasped the darkness within Crebin quicker than anyone.

Yet, Arwen had not denied him. Tanya could not believe this fact.

“... We can start over. Let’s just talk for now.”

“One thing is certain...”

Even with blood in her mouth, Arwen made herself clear.

“If I am free, I will raise my sword again. By my own will.”

“There must be a reason for you to do this!”

Tanya, teary, rushed over to plead with Arwen.

“Look at what’s happening now. The mansion is destroyed, there are monsters in the sky, and people are dying... Is this really what you wanted? This isn’t what you wished for!”

“Ed.”

Arwen, with eyes shut, spoke.

“Finish it.”

Before Tanya could say more, Arwen cut her off.

“I need to rest now.”

Hearing those words, Tanya was lost for words.

Arwen, crushed on the floor, barely breathing, was far from being in good shape.

Though Mebuler’s power had partially restored her body, it had been nearly a half-corpse to start with.

She had endured immense pain while partaking in Crebin’s research and survived to the end. She knew that if she died, Ed and Tanya would be next.

In the end, she fought with such a body. She was stabbed with a sword. The agony was indescribable. Arwen herself had said that the power of Mebuler came with a terrible pain.

“It’s been a hard life. You’ve suffered a lot.”

“Was it worth it?”

Arwen just gave a thin smile in response.

She had followed Crebin all her life. As his eldest daughter, the glorious heir, the single sympathizer indulging in his wickedness as if embracing pure evil.

In affirmation, she turned away from morality, bowed to departing siblings, and dismissed the objections of her vassals.

Then, the only question Ed had for Arwen was whether it was worth it.

No answer came back. The answer lay in seeing Crebin for himself.

Ed closed his eyes once, then opened them and lifted the dagger—a ceremonial dagger for various ceremonies at the Rothtaylor mansion. One of the few tools Ed had when he first started living in the wild.

The blade, hardened by many battles, glowed in the moonlight.

It was the end of someone’s long journey.

* * *

As I charged full-tilt into the domain, the mansion grounds grew nearer.

Princess Phoenia clung to her steed, galloping down the path, and her escort knights spurred their mounts to keep up.

Even at such a gallop, the monstrous entities floating in the sky were becoming visible.

The grotesque flesh-covered eyeball monster looked unmistakably like the evil deity Mebuler from mythic times.

It was inconceivable that there was another monster engaging it in a one-on-one battle.

Kwaang! Kwang!

Despite Mebuler’s appearance being incomplete, it’s not a foe an average human can handle.

Yet, there was a disaster on the ground to match that in the sky.

The numerous high-rank magic circles carving through the air are each an endeavor a skilled magician must exert their full effort on.

But the sorcerer firing them off as if they were expendables. A silhouette visible at the edge of one’s vision, small as a bean, but Princess Phoenia recognized it instantly, due to familiarity.

Lucy Mayrill, known throughout Sylvania as a rare genius.

That she was facing Mebuler so directly was clearly to aid Ed Rothtaylor.

Lucy Mayrill was known to be peculiarly favorable towards Ed Rothtaylor, and Princess Phoenia was very aware of that fact.

Tadak! Tadadak!

The knights were taken aback, unprepared. After all, who in the world would brazenly enter the hellish estate grounds?

Yet, Princess Phoenia spurred her horse on, following the spirits. Leaping over the rubble of the broken wall, she ran alongside the perimeter wall of the estate and finally saw what the spirits were aiming for.

A sparrow fluttered its wings and perched on the tip of the girl’s finger, chirping away. It was as if it was a subordinate reporting everything it had seen.

Beyond the broken outer wall, Princess Phoenia saw the girl who had escorted the guests out and was contributing to minimize casualties by commanding the army of spirits.

Surely, she was single-handedly covering for the multitude of gremlins surrounding them.

She had managed to save every one of the numerous high nobles single-handedly.

It was a feat worthy of royal commendation and possibly even a small title, but the girl seemed indifferent to such honors. To begin with, she hardly ever revealed herself before others.

She looked busier than ever, as if there was something more pressing at hand, pacing back and forth impatiently.

“Yes, I understand. Clearing misconceptions is important, but right now, preserving lives is more imperative... I need to go to Ed’s side first... persuasion can come later.”

The girl, conversing with the spirit under the moonlight, looked hurried.

It was then she seemed to realize the presence of Princess Phoenia.

“Ah-uh!”

Startled by the sight of Princess Phoenia, the girl appeared clumsy and incongruent with the formidable power she wielded.

She seemed flustered, not knowing what to say as tears welled up and she flailed her arms in panic.

“You protected the guests, Yenika Faelover.”

“I just did what Ed asked me to. Now, I need to go to him.”

Yenika didn’t elaborate much. While she had succeeded in minimizing casualties, Crebin’s plan had not been completely thwarted.

The most crucial task was capturing Crebin. He was the mastermind behind all these events and the catalyst for the advent of the evil god Mebuler.

“Ed... Rothtaylor?”

“Your Highness. You should not listen to those guests. I understand the desire to bring down the Rothtaylor family, but...”

Yenika addressed Princess Phoenia directly.

“Ed is now trying to stop Crebin Rothtaylor. Please believe me. Ed may be a direct descendant of Crebin but at least he has not taken part with him. Even if he is a member of the Rothtaylor family, Ed has always been on his own...”

“I believe you.”

Relieved by Princess Phoenia’s quick response, Yenika lowered her head.

Yenika hadn’t expected Princess Phoenia to trust Ed so readily.

She thought she would need to present more logical arguments to convince her, but Princess Phoenia had never doubted Ed in the first place.

In fact, if he truly thwarted Crebin, instead of a gallows, he would be hailed as a national hero.

“Just, I need to confirm it for myself. Where is he now?”

As Princess Phoenia spoke, Yenika pointed towards the annex of the estate.

There, on the rooftop, Crebin Rothtaylor was positioned.

* * *

The sound of footsteps grew louder as they ascended the staircase, reaching the rooftop.

―Clang, clang!

A greatsword was dragged across the floor, hitting every step along the way.

The blond youth, drenched in blood, made his way up the stairs that led to the rooftop.

He held a dagger in one hand, reversed, and in the other, the hilt of the greatsword ‘Judgement,’ a relic of Arwen.

The holy sword of Luden, equipped with all sorts of protective spells and even augmented by acceleration magic, was now in Ed’s possession.

Arwen’s other greatsword, ‘Dawnbringer,’ was heavier than expected, and the elemental spells infused into it were within Ed’s own repertoire, so he hadn’t bothered to collect it.

After all, Ed had never trained in greatsword skills. Therefore, even if he picked up a greatsword, even a powerful weapon, he couldn’t fully harness its capabilities.

Clang, clang!

However, he had another reason for bringing the sword.

Ascending the stairs, the sound of the greatsword clanging against the steps repeatedly resonated on the rooftop.

Crebin Rothtaylor had an inkling. Ed Rothtaylor was approaching.

All respect for the family had burned away, leaving only the blood-soaked beast, hellbent on the hunt for Crebin, coming his way.

Though the estate grounds had nearly turned into a living hell, the annex that Ed had swept through remained eerily silent.

Tanya sat slump beside Arwen’s corpse, gripping her cold hand and resting her face on her shoulder. Ed had left Merilda as a guard for Tanya while she collected herself and now, he was heading to the rooftop alone.

Clang! Clang!

The sounds of the greatsword clashing against the stair steps slowly ceased, replaced by the sound of it scraping across the rooftop floor. He had reached the top.

Under the open sky, the blood-drenched boy walked forward.

Dragging the greatsword along, he stared down at Crebin, who was seated nonchalantly on the shattered parapet.

Crebin recognized at once the identity of the greatsword in Ed’s hand.

“You’ve arrived.”

At Crebin’s words, Ed remains silent. He merely draws the greatsword he brought with him, Arwen’s sword, and impales it into the floor.

Crash!

The blade buried in the floor was soaked with blood.

He had brought this sword to demonstrate clearly whom he had slashed through to make his way here.

Ed’s path had always been a thorny one. Crebin was aware of that fact.

From his seat like a throne upon the spread parapet, Crebin quietly stood up. The magic circle meant for the sacrifice was still operational. Though far from completion, its target was already clearly aimed at the nobles.

The VIPs themselves are unaware that the magical sights are trained on them at this very moment.

“It’s been a long journey.”

Crebin spoke softly.

“Let’s put an end to it.”

Standing beside the impaled greatsword, Ed quietly raised his head.

This was the end of his lengthy and disheartening connection with the Rothtaylor family. He bowed his head in silence and began to ready his full strength. His fierce eyes, between his bloodied face stared down Crebin, as he summoned all the magic within himself.

The wind blew.

Around Ed, at the rooftop of the Rothtaylor family’s annex, a whirlwind rose up.

As the rising wind calmed, a mighty wolf’s howl resounded.

Awoooo, the howl of Merilda cut through the night sky above the Rothtaylor estate.

From any point within the estate, one could clearly see the overwhelming presence of the colossal wolf squatting over the annex rooftop, growling softly.