Chapter 181 - The End and The Beginning (3)

Chapter 181 - The End and The Beginning (3)

Henry emerged with the lightning.

There was no one that recognized Henry besides Von.

Von called out Henry’s name in a cheerful tone.

“Henry!”

“...!”

“...!”

Everyone seemed shocked by Von’s shout.

“That young guy is him?”

“...I see.”

“Henry?”

Everyone had different reactions.

In the case of McDowell and Valhald, they had heard of Henry beforehand from Von, so they had an idea of who he was.

However, this was not the case for Arthus’ knights.

Crowell, in particular, was the most surprised out of all of them.

‘Henry?’

Henry was a name he couldn't forget.

In a situation like this, a man with the same name as the great Archmage had suddenly appeared with a bolt of lightning, so of course Crowell was nervous.

With a murderous aura, Crowell demanded, “Who are you? Are you a wizard from the Magical Spire? Reveal your identity and what your affiliation is!”

“I don’t want to.”

“What?”

“What’s the point of answering that? You’re going to be dead soon anyway.”

“W-what did you just say?”

Henry’s response to Crowell’s questions was blunt.

Crowell couldn’t help being bewildered by such a confident response.

Seeing what was happening, McDowell burst into laughter while holding his stomach.

“Hahahaha! Hey Von, it’s just like you said! That guy’s seriously out of his mind.”

“See, I told you. He’s crazier than the Grand Duke.”

Henry turned his back and moved toward Von’s direction. He bowed slightly and said, “Nice to meet you. My name is Henry Morris.”

“I’m Valhald Gerakan.”The source of this content can be connected to n0v3lb!n★

“I’m McDowell Curgs. Hey, but are you really the one and only disciple of the late Grand Duke?”

“That’s right.”

“Wow, I never expected the Grand Duke to have a secret disciple as talented as him! Even though he’s right in front of my eyes, I still can’t quite believe it.”

McDowell and Valhald had already heard the whole story from Von.

Henry smiled at McDowell’s unchanged personality.

‘McDowell is still the same as always.’

McDowell was as cheerful as the way he talked. He was a man who hated useless formalities and troublesome things.

Henry turned his gaze toward Valhald.

Valhald was the first sword in the empire and the first-ever Knight King. He usually displayed a serious countenance and had a solemn character. However, he now smiled warmly as he looked at Henry because he was genuinely happy that the late Grand Duke had nurtured a secret disciple all along.

Henry politely thanked them, “First of all, I’d like to say thank you for accepting my offer, but first, why don’t we deal with the uninvited guests before we get into details?”

“Good idea. You just wait here and watch. We’ll deal with them.”

Henry gladly complied with McDowell’s request.

McDowell sent Henry behind him and stretched his neck.

“Von, you handle the big guy over there. Valhald, you deal with Crowell. I’ll have to show them that fools rush in where angels fear to tread.”

“Huh?”

“What? Did I say something wrong?”

Contrary to his playful comment, McDowell had a sharp gaze and a fierce determination to fight.

Lupin frowned at being called a fool and placed his hand on the hilt around his waist.

“It feels weird because I keep calling out the Grand Duke’s name, but... Henry! Watch carefully. We’ll show you the true strength of the real Imperial Ten Swords, not those fake ones,” said McDowell.

“I’m looking forward to it.”

Henry followed McDowell’s suggestion and decided to sit back and observe the skills of the real Imperial Ten Swords for the first time in a while.

Henry took a step back and watched the Imperial Ten Swords take their fighting stance, all of them looking vicious.

Incredibly furious, Crowell yelled, “Karas, step aside!”

“B-but, Sir Crowell, I can fight as well!”

“I told you to step aside!”

Although he had been blown away by the storm of Aura, Karas was still able to fight. However, because Crowell was genuinely angry, even Karas felt discouraged.

Karas kept his mouth shut and stepped back.

“McDowell, you’ve always looked down on me like that,” said Crowell, gritting his teeth.

“What do you mean I looked down on you? I was merely stating facts. Come to think of it, what sword were you back then? Were you the eight sword?”

“I was the seventh sword!”

“Right, you were the seventh sword! But either way, seventh or eighth, they’re both pretty insignificant.”

“Shut up!”

Crowell finally got fed up with McDowell’s ridicule.

However, McDowell was telling the truth. The only reason Crowell had managed to become the fifth sword was because Valhald and McDowell had given up their positions in the Imperial Ten Swords.

Henry had climbed all the way up to this point only with the thought of revenge against the emperor and the Central Aristocrats. Right now, he had reached the point where he could kill the emperor with a single motion of his hand.

However, now that Silver was right in front of him, Henry felt very uncomfortable, like he was about to go insane.

‘Golden...’

Henry kept seeing a glimpse of Golden in Silver’s face. Silver was Golden’s only son, so it couldn’t be helped.

However, this was also the reason why Henry couldn't hate Silver as much as he wanted to.

‘I’m partially at fault too.’

Henry and Golden had been old friends. Thus, Henry had a responsibility to guide his friend’s child in the right direction before he was too far gone.

However, Henry hadn’t been able to do that.

At the time, Henry had been crazy about moving up to the next Circle after founding the empire, so he had spent most of his time in the spire.

Henry closed his eyes, and after much consideration, he came to a conclusion.

‘...All the more reason for me to put an end to this.’

Henry had ventured too deep into his errors, reaching a point of no return. Consequently, it was up to him and only him to rectify his mistakes.

Although the emperor, too, had played a part in this mistake, Arthus Highlander was the root cause of all of this.

Snap!

Henry snapped his fingers.

The emperor woke up due to the magic.

“E-eh...?”

Silver drooled as he regained consciousness.

His body and cognitive functions had deteriorated because he hadn’t been able to smoke while unconscious.

McDowell and Valhald frowned as they watched Silver.

“What the hell is wrong with him?”

“I heard he was addicted to cigarettes. I guess it was true.”

“...”

Each of them looked at him judgmentally.

Henry quietly raised his hand and quieted them down.

Snap!

He then snapped his fingers again, and emerald-colored mana surged forward, gently wrapping around Silver.

Silver fell asleep again, feeling as if he was being wrapped in a soft blanket.

Henry snapped his fingers again.

“Huh?”

Silver was back to normal and awake.

“W-where am I...?”

Henry had prepared healing magic for the Pink Swamp just in case there would be a situation like this.

Of course, this wasn’t a perfect cure. No matter how skilled Henry was, he was a wizard, not a priest.

Instead, he could get the heavy addict to act normal for a while.

Still floating in the air, Silver queried, “Valhald? McDowell?”

Silver recognized Valhald and McDowell and called out their names. However, the two stayed silent and just watched Silver.

The emperor was confused.

After he belatedly realized that he was floating in the air, he floundered and ordered to be put down.

“What are you doing?! How dare you do this?! Where’s Batz and Kinless?! Where’s Arthus?!”

However, Henry kept quiet and snapped his fingers.

Henry bent his head forward and then slowly raised it back up again.

“Y-you’re...!”

The emperor made eye contact with Henry.

What the emperor saw was none other than Henry Morris, an 8th-Circle wise old man who had stared at him at the execution site.

“H-h-how is this possible?!”

“Silver.”

“H-ha!”

Henry quietly called out Silver’s name.

Silver turned pale and started to tremble like an aspen tree being blown by the wind.

“T-this, this can’t be. I must be seeing things...!”

The emperor was not afraid of anyone in the empire except for two people. The two were none other than his father, who had passed away a long time ago, and Henry Morris, a wise old man who resembled his father.

“Silver.”

“Stop, this can't be!”

Henry called out Silver’s name once more, to which the latter shut his eyes tight, continuing to deny reality.

Henry quietly summoned the Colt Sword. There was no point in having a conversation anymore, since Silver acted like a complete lunatic despite having returned to a normal state of mind.

“Ha...”

Before swinging his sword, Henry let out a deep breath.

Silver’s death didn’t mark the end, but Henry believed that killing Silver would at least ease the sorrows of his comrades who had died first.

“Continue atoning for your sins in the afterlife,” said Henry.

Splat!

When Henry swung his sword, blood sprayed like a fountain.

Silver’s body dropped from the air.

“I’m sorry, my friend.”

Henry lowered his head and prayed. He didn’t pray for Silver, but for Golden and his comrades who had died first.