The chilling politeness in Vierno’s voice made the three elders’ faces go pale.
They were the ones who, a hundred years ago during the Race War, had abandoned the fight and hidden deep within the inner forest.
Though they gave orders to their subordinates, they themselves had never once stood near the front lines.
But Vierno was different.
He had fought in the Race War directly, standing on the front in countless battles—often alone.
The experience he carried was in a league of its own.
“D-do you think you’ll get away with attacking us?!”
They needed to stop Vierno from going on a rampage.
“Do you not care what happens to the Dentis family?!”
“Threats, is it? Perhaps because I always spoke politely and smiled, you’ve mistaken me for something laughable.”
The elders’ intimidation had no effect on him.
They had tried to use his niece as they pleased, and even brought their own soldiers into his family’s territory.
Even as the Three Noble Families, this was a blatant transgression.
“This is treason!”
The Radix elder shouted, veins bulging in his neck.
At that instant, Vierno’s hand clamped down on his throat.
“Ghhk! Grrrk!”
The elder thrashed desperately, but Vierno’s grip was like an iron press, utterly immovable.
“You called this treason?”
Vierno stared calmly into his eyes.
The Radix elder rolled his eyes wildly, silently pleading with the other two elders.
Attack him, do something!
The Crown and Flohim elders, realizing, summoned their spirits and launched their magic.
Spears of flame and jagged ice lances roared toward Vierno.
“That’s better.”
Vierno smirked and raised the Radix ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ elder’s body as a shield.
“W-what!”
“Damn!”
The other two hastily diverted their attacks.
But the spells were too powerful to redirect entirely—some of them still struck the Radix elder.
He convulsed in agony.
The two elders’ mouths hung open. They had never imagined Vierno would use such a tactic.
“Why are you looking at me like that? Is this your first fight?”
Vierno sneered at them.
Elders of noble bloodlines—elves born with exceptional strength.
In elf society, lineage meant power from birth.
And yet, these elders had little experience.
Relying only on inherited strength, they neglected training, never learning to wield power with precision.
Why should they? They never had to fight.
When battle came, they fled instead.
“C-cowardly...”
“In a fight for life, you dare speak of cowardice? Coming from those who schemed endlessly in politics, it’s laughable.”
Vierno hurled the Radix elder at the other two.
Though grievously wounded, he still lived.
Should they dodge? Should they catch him?
Unseasoned in combat, both froze with indecision.
Vierno slid into the gap.
Shielded by the flying elder, he lunged from their blind spot, driving a savage kick into the Flohim elder’s gut.
Kwaang!
Her body bent violently, sent hurtling back.
Were it anyone else, the blow would have caved her torso. Only her powerful protective force saved her from being impaled.
The Crown elder fared no better.
Vierno’s fist smashed into his brow, his philtrum, and his solar plexus all at once.
Blood sprayed as he collapsed backward.
His head rang, his body screamed with pain, and the strength he had gathered for a counterattack evaporated like smoke.
Vierno did not relent.
He kicked the downed Radix elder into the Flohim elder just as she tried to recover.
The two crashed together and toppled.
Then Vierno’s kick shattered the Crown elder’s shin.
“Ahh... ahhh...”
The elder fell to his knees, voice breaking.
His gaze fell on the corpses of his own soldiers, slain in grotesque heaps.
And in that moment he realized—perhaps dying quickly, as they had, was the true blessing.
For to Vierno, their vaunted strength was nothing more than a punching bag—sturdy enough to take his blows, but doomed to be beaten endlessly.
“Why are you spacing out?”
Crack!
Agony exploded in his other leg.
The Crown elder screamed as he crumpled forward.
Vierno blurred, white afterimages trailing.
He reappeared right before the staggering Radix and Flohim elders.
His hands seized their throats. He slammed them both into the floor.
Kwaang!
The reinforced flooring of the private room split with spiderweb cracks.
And still, the elders did not faint—because Vierno had restrained his strength with cruel precision.
“Ending it already would be boring.”
The Flohim elder looked up through Vierno’s fingers clutching her face.
His indifferent gaze bore down on them. He had no intention of ending them quickly.
“Come now, for the sake of those soldiers who went ahead, give me a proper struggle. You are the proud elders of the Three Noble Families, are you not?”
“Mmmph! Hhhk!”
“At the very least, having provoked my temper, you should have been prepared for this much.”
* * *
The long corridor connected to the private room.
Two groups faced off, weapons raised.
On one side, the Dentis soldiers, moving according to the original plan.
On the other, the soldiers brought in by the three elders.
Both sides glared but did not move.
Because standing between them, blocking the path, were Ludger and Alex.
“Leader, what’s the plan? They’re looking at us like they want to kill us.”
“We’re already branded rebels for escaping the dungeon. Whatever else we do now is just more ink spilled on the same page.”
“True. But listen—sounds like things are heating up inside.”
The room Vierno had entered alone shook with thunderous crashes.
They should have gone with him. But before he left, Vierno had begged.
This time, let me handle it alone.
It wasn’t the right choice—but Ludger had seen his face and agreed.
“Why did you let him go?”
“For the same reason you would. I had no grounds to stop him. And sometimes, a man must be allowed to unleash himself.”
“Right? The quiet ones are always the scariest when they finally snap. And that guy—he’s an old elf, whatever he looks like. He’s lived long, and you can tell at a glance he’s seen plenty of battles.”
Boom. Boom.
The corridor rumbled as if something heavy shattered within.
Alex grinned playfully.
“He’s having the time of his life. No need to worry.”
“All we need to do is hold this position.”
The two elf factions glared daggers at Ludger and Alex as they chatted so lightly.
But neither side dared move.
The balance was too precarious.
Yet Ludger had no intention of waiting forever.
“Alex.”
“Yeah?”
“This time, it’ll have to be you.”
“Again, me?”
Instead of answering, Ludger let a cloak of shadow cascade down his back like flowing ink.
With one hand, he lifted a fold of the cloak and drew something out from within.
Elemental swords, defensive bracelets, rings etched with magic, gloves that boosted strength, cloaks with special enchantments.
All manner of artifacts spilled out, making Alex whistle.
“Whiiiew. You’ve been keeping all that on you?”
“Yes.”
Before disembarking from the airship, Ludger had devoured every artifact stored in the cargo bay.
Or rather, his shadow familiar, Ater Nocturnus, had.
Through the shadows, that creature contained another space, swallowing the cargo hold full of artifacts like a bottomless maw.
“Don’t tell me... you’ve been keeping that familiar summoned all this time? Since we stepped off the airship?”
“To store artifacts, the familiar must remain summoned.”
“And your mana? Isn’t maintaining that thing a massive drain?”
“It would be, if it consumed my mana.”
As he said this, Ludger pulled out a small ring-shaped artifact from the cloak.
He tossed it lightly into the air, like flipping a coin.
Part of the cloak on his shoulder warped into a massive bird’s beak and snapped the ring up, swallowing it whole.
The ring, made of pure mana stones, vanished into Ater Nocturnus, which shivered with satisfaction before resuming its cloak form.
“...You’re feeding it artifacts to maintain it?”
“Even now, the number of artifacts sealed inside the cloak decreases one by one.”
“Ha. That’s one hell of a gas guzzler. Just existing eats artifacts?”
Alex rubbed his chin.
“Still, when you consider that one man is keeping this many artifacts at once... I guess it makes sense. How long can you sustain it?”
“If I only maintain it, more than long enough. But...”
“The moment you enter battle, the consumption skyrockets.”
“Correct. That’s why I cannot fight—unless it’s a decisive moment.”
“So, I do the fighting instead. That’s the deal.”
Alex shrugged, resigned.
“Well, with all this support, I suppose I can at least pay my share.”
He began donning the artifacts Ludger handed him.
They weren’t gaudy suits of armor, but pieces meant to layer over what he wore: a single-shouldered cloak draped over his coat, a decorated sword at his waist, rings, and bracelets.
When fully equipped, he looked more like a knight than a conman.
Gripping his own sword in one hand and the artifact blade in the other, Alex advanced toward the elves.
At that moment, the rumbling from deeper inside ceased.
The battle between the three elders and Vierno had ended.
Which side had prevailed?
The elves, ignorant of the result, itched to rush inside.
“What are you all waiting for?”
Alex slipped effortlessly between them, the Dentis soldiers behind his back, his swords pointed at the Three Nobles’ troops.
“Your masters are already down. Shouldn’t you be next?”
It takes only a final drop to make a brimming cup overflow.
“You lowborn human dares—!”
“Oh. First time I’ve been insulted like that. Almost refreshing.”
He had been cursed for being a commoner before, but never for being human.
It wasn’t even insulting. It was funny. So Alex grinned wide.
He hadn’t even meant to provoke them.
But that reaction scraped raw the pride of the Three Nobles’ soldiers.
“Kill that human!”
Archers behind the front spearmen raised their bows.
The arrowheads shimmered with the blessing of spirits, trained on Alex’s vitals.
Yet he still stood unmoving.
Fool. Is he just waiting to die?
They sneered inwardly—until their eyes bulged.
The arrows bounced away.
Three layers of defensive magic circles had sprung around Alex, shielding him.
The elves’ arrows pierced through two, but the final one held.
“As expected. Expensive toys are worth it.”
Alex admired the glow of the cloak’s mana circuits.
Even elven attacks, renowned for their strength, had been stopped cold.
It was a performance worthy of an artifact designed to withstand tank shells and mortar fire.
Satisfied, Alex spun both swords once and bounced lightly on his feet.
When he leapt, his figure blurred and vanished like a mirage.
His speed was so extreme that even the elves couldn’t track his movement.
Even Alex himself nearly lost control, almost smashing headfirst into a wall before adjusting midair.
‘Whiiiew. Lightweight enchantments stacked with mana body reinforcement—this is insane.’
With artifacts, even a normal person could graze the realm of superhuman.
But if wielded by one already standing at the gates of mastery, what then?
Alex steadied himself, instinct and talent aligning to match his new speed.
“Now, let’s see how sharp these blades really are.”
The elves only realized he was behind them when they heard his voice.
They turned, scrambling to defend—
But a gray slash cut through their formation.
“You filthy lowborn!”
A tall, handsome elf with long hair charged Alex, wind spirits billowing behind him, his spirit-infused sword flashing.
Alex met the blows head-on, parrying several strikes before giving ground.
The elven warrior sneered.
“For a lowborn human, your swordplay is impressive.”
“And for a dead man, you talk too much.”
“What—?”
Before he could finish, his vision spun.
The last thing he saw was his own headless body.
“No...! That was Flohim’s champion—”
“One strike... impossible!”
The soldiers stared at Alex in horror.
Some commanders, quicker than the rest, pointed their weapons at Ludger.
“Kill his comrade!”
Trained well, the elves rushed Ludger at once.
Even Alex hadn’t anticipated it.
But before they could reach him, they were sent hurtling back faster than Alex had charged forward, smashing into the walls.
The weapon that struck them down—a spear of solid steel.
“Wh-what...”
The soldiers of the Three Nobles stared, trembling.
Around Ludger, who stood calmly with his black cloak draped, floated cubes of metal, orbiting silently in the air.