Chapter 97: Cleanup

Cleanup

“......What the hell did I just hear?”

I was dumbfounded.

It felt like I had been hit with a hammer.

I thought about why Elise had just spouted such bizarre words, and ah.

It could be misunderstood.

Borrowing ten minutes. Waiting in the dressing room.

More than that, isn’t it dangerous to let Elise go now?

I hastily stuck to the window.

Outside the Palette Theater, there was already a waiting magic carriage limousine. Near it, I could see a knight and a wizard.

“The escort...... is solid.”

I was slightly dumbfounded.

After all, how much does a magic carriage experience cost? Naturally, it’s not just Elise going alone, so it’s normal for the magic carriage to provide an escort.

Then, was Elise not the original target of Berhalsi’s kidnapping?

But Noah definitely said ‘a big shot close to me’. He also added that it was related to the play.

No matter how much I think about it, other than Elise-

“......Wait a minute.”

A thought that suddenly crossed my mind.

Other than Elise, a big shot who left before the play ended.

There is one.

There is, but......

I came out of the dressing room.

“Isn’t it too late?”

“Ugh!”

Noah was standing in the corridor. I almost punched him in the face.

“Surprise...... What the hell? Where do you keep appearing from?”

“The play was fun. I was almost moved. I love revenge too, don’t I?”

Noah said that and handed over a bouquet of flowers. A note saying [Duke’s Fan] was stuck in the lush roses.

“Are you crazy...... No, more than that, you. What was your intention in casting voodoo? It could have been a big deal.”

I asked that first. Noah raised an eyebrow.

“......For your entertainment.”

Is he really crazy?

Anyway. Thanks to Noah coming here, I definitely know who the big-shot Berhalsi is targeting.

I mistakenly thought it was Elise and something strange and annoying happened, but.

“Let’s not see each other again.”

I said as I passed Noah.

“Where are you going?”

“I have to go to the big shot you mentioned.”

Strictly speaking, there’s no ‘need’ to go. Even if I don’t go, it will be resolved on its own.

But opportunities to score points are rare.

Noah asked in a tone of surprise.

“It seems a bit late already. What are you going to do when you get there?”

“What to do. I have to clean up.”

“......Alone?”

I didn’t answer. I just left the Palette Theater. There happened to be a delivery rider nearby.

“Excuse me. Can I borrow your bike?”

“......Yes?”

I got on the bike. I immediately stepped on the accelerator.

“No, excuse me!”

The speed seemed slow, but whether I arrived late or early won’t matter much.

“Hey, come back! Hey, you son of a bitch!!!!!”

The big shot Berhalsi is aiming for is probably that son of a bitch, no.

It’s probably ‘Jade’.

* * *

Jade’s Setablex was moving along the deserted highway. The destination was Libra’s Aerial Garden. Perhaps because the magic festival was in full swing, the area was quiet and calm.

On that leisurely journey, Jade leaned back in his seat, listening to classical music. The melody from the high-end speakers was quite elegant.

“Sir Jade, we’ve been going in circles.”

At some point, the chauffeur spoke up. Jade slightly opened his eyes and looked at the scenery outside the window.

It was too silent.

And too deserted.

Even if it was due to the festival, it would be normal to see at least a person or a car.

“I see.”

In fact, Jade had already noticed. Quite some time ago, he had detected unknown magic particles.

A towering superiority.

“Ha...”

Berhalsi let out a hollow laugh.

Why was such a monster unknown until now?

Why did I have to find out?

“──You vermin.”

Jade threw a punch. The surface of the glove made contact with Berhalsi’s forehead.

Hard.

Or perhaps, just a touch.

In that instant, Berhalsi’s consciousness disintegrated.

The shock at his forehead spread throughout his body. The skin closest to his head tore apart, and his internal organs and bones crumbled to dust.

Just one punch.

Berhalsi exploded, scattering a spray of purple blood.

I detected a very suspicious barrier in the suburbs. A 「Barrier Magic Spell: Distortion」 that cunningly twists the inside to prevent escape.

I peered into it with the SZX-9500, and sure enough, Jade was inside.

“......It will be over soon.”

──Fine. Just give me 30 million Ren. I don’t ask for more. There’s a very useful app called Darkweb these days. Once you deposit the money, I’ll step aside.

Berhalsi was threatening Jade.

It wouldn’t work. What they’re doing is a suicide robbery. Not self-harm, but suicide robbery.

Jade is a unique human.

As I’ve said before, if he had been involved in gangster activities rather than business, he would have become an enormous force, wouldn’t he?

We, no, the continent, should consider it fortunate that Jade is obsessed with unnecessary formalities and ceremonies and the ostentatious nobility.

Why?

Because he’s strong.

Extremely so.

Among the Libra clan, no, in the half-millennium history of Edsilla, he is one of the few, dare I say, the greatest of the current era.

A monster capable of taking on an entire family lineage single-handedly.

Simply put a truly overwhelming force.

The reason his strength, which is beyond normal standards, has not been revealed so far is simple.

Due to the Libra tradition of not revealing oneself to the outside world, and more than anything, because Jade himself is obsessed with dignity.

He doesn’t create situations where he has to use his fists. If such a situation arises, he ‘definitely’ kills the other party.

Therefore, until the internal strife of Libra, half of the people didn’t know that Jade was the strongest.

Even I was one of them.

However, the person Zia, who later rose to power and swallowed up Libra, had the most trouble with, and the person who almost killed her was not the eldest son Derek, nor was it the eldest daughter Johanna.

It was the second son, Jade.

Jade, Siloi Libra Geden.

Crack─!

Just then, Berhalsi’s body burst. He was literally blown up by Jade’s fist.

Even if you stuffed a magic particle bomb into his mouth, it wouldn’t explode like that.

───!

Soon after, the barrier vibrated.

It was due to Jade’s speed, which had broken the limit. The ‘sonic boom’ caused by his movement, surpassing Mach speed, was shaking the barrier haphazardly.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

A spectacle beyond my ability to follow with my eyes.

Just the sound of something bursting for precisely 3 seconds.

The barrier was already broken, and on the asphalt, not even a piece of flesh was left, only cells of what had once been living beings remained.

“......Impressive.”

As always, he’s tremendous. I murmured quietly, capturing the spectacle.

Jade, far away, looked back at me.

Probably a distance of about 10 kilometers.

I looked at him from there, and he looked at me.

───Whooosh!

Immediately, a gale swept through. When I came to my senses, my body was glued to the ground. I blinked up, stunned.

Jade was standing there.

“.......”

He looked down at me. Not a drop of blood was on his clothes.

“Nothing happened.”

He took off his glove and threw it at my chest. I immediately understood what he meant.

“......Yes.”

Then he raised an eyebrow, and whooosh──!

Another gust of wind blew.

“Ugh.”

This time, my upper clothes were completely torn, and Jade was gone.