“Hmm. More importantly, this is strange. According to my plan, the two of you should have already fallen under my authority’s domination.”
Salesin looked back and forth between Clinton and Lutus.
There was still a faint smile lingering on his face, but those red eyes were colder than anything.
“It’s sad, really. I believed the Crown Prince of Ebelon would gladly become my companion in the new world I will create. Unfortunately, it seems I must personally destroy the Exilion Empire.”
“You think we’ll stand by and watch that happen?”
“This matter has nothing to do with your will. If I decide it will happen, then it happens.”
To speak so casually about destroying a nation—his arrogance was monstrous.
But Salesin had the power to make his words reality.
“Well, I can just choose a reasonably obedient bureaucrat and raise him to royalty, then create a new nation. Just like I did 500 years ago.”
Salesin spoke of wiping out a country as if he were casually removing a pebble on the roadside.
Lutus and Clinton’s expressions hardened.
To the two who were more loyal to the Empire than anyone else, Salesin had deliberately pressed against their reverse scale.
“If you don’t like it, then give everything you have to defeat me. Though I do not believe you can.”
His words were not only for Lutus and Clinton.
They were addressed to the Selmore sisters, Suruna, Alex, and Helia as well.
It was no different from a declaration:
If they failed to defeat him here, they would all die.
Those gathered—each with their own beliefs and goals—charged at Salesin as the battle resumed.
Clinton unleashed countless spells, flooding Salesin’s vision with magic.
As expected of a 7th-Circle Archmage, his magical skill was overwhelming. Every spell he cast was lethal.
What stood out even more was the delicacy with which he controlled mana itself.
Though storms of countless elements filled the air, neither Lutus nor Alex nor Suruna were affected as they reached Salesin.
Proof that Clinton’s mana control had reached the extreme.
Taking advantage of the obscured vision, Suruna, Lutus, and Alex each targeted one of Salesin’s vital points.
But Salesin had already sensed their approach.
A single wide swing of his sword of light scattered all three swordsmen in an instant.
Or—so it appeared.
“Hm?”
The sensation traveling up the blade of light was unsatisfactory.
Salesin realized why.
The three, instead of being hurled into the chamber wall as they should have been, had only been pushed back slightly.
“You diverted my blade in that situation?”
Not one—three of them.
Suruna—fine, that one had adapted thanks to his authority.
But Lutus and Alex were unexpected.
Lutus could have done it—he was the strongest swordsman of the continent, the mightiest knight among living humans.
But Alex?
A young man who hadn’t lived even half of Lutus’s years had diverted Salesin’s sword of light.
A sword of light capable of contesting even 7th-Circle spells head-on.
Its power exceeded even the futility of a human fighting against a tidal wave.
A mere ant could never block the footsteps of an elephant—yet Alex, aside from minor injuries, stood firm.
“A swordsmanship that defies reason. Truly worthy of being called a genius of the blade.”
Come to think of it, among Alex’s techniques was Lutus’s secret sword art, Tempest.
Lutus would never have taught it directly—meaning Alex had mastered it on his own.
That was a level of talent rivaling even Suruna’s authority.
“You are... quite tempting.”
Salesin’s gaze locked on Alex.
“I’ve been needing a suitable subordinate for the new world I’ll build. The former Captains of my Holy Knight Order were all weak and died. I need someone to fill that void. You seem qualified. How about it?”
“Sorry, but I don’t accept love calls from men.”
Alex spat out the blood pooling at the corner of his mouth.
“For someone who says that, you seem awfully obedient to my youngest brother.”
“That’s different. My Leader and I are bound by romance. But you—I don’t feel any of that from you.”
“Is that so? A pity.”
Salesin smiled brightly.
“Well, once I knead your brain a bit with my authority, you’ll listen nicely.”
The sword of light moved.
It sliced forward in a perfectly straight trajectory toward Alex.
Alex lifted Copycat, attempting to divert as much force as possible.
The blade of light—an unbroken straight line—bent ever so slightly, shearing off into a different direction.
He had diverted it again.
But Alex had to give everything he had just to parry that one attack.
For Salesin, it was merely a light probing strike.
Salesin swung the sword of light again.
Alex, posture broken, could not possibly block this one.
At that moment, ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) someone stepped in front of Alex and blocked the sword of light for him.
It was Lutus Wardot.
“Plant your legs firmly, young man. A knight’s strength comes from his lower body.”
With a blade condensed to its limit with swirling aura, Lutus confronted the sword of light and gave Alex advice.
“Captain, sir!”
Alex’s eyes widened—he had never expected Lutus to save him.
More shocking was the blood trickling from the corner of Lutus’s mouth.
Even Lutus couldn’t completely divert Salesin’s attack—he had taken considerable internal damage.
“Young man. Focus. Do not take your eyes off our enemy.”
“...Thank you. I won’t forget this.”
“And you can see it, can’t you? The powerful force wrapped around that Holy Sovereign’s body.”
Alex nodded without speaking.
“It’s frustrating. Such talent—never allowed to bloom properly within the Empire.”
“It did bloom within the Empire. Just not in the sunlight—only in the shadows.”
“If we return, I should personally clean out those instructors in the cadet training division. I’ll drag every last one of them out by their tails and find out how much they’ve ruined.”
“Sir, that’s something to talk about after we return safely.”
He’s coming.
Without needing to speak, the two split to the left and right.
The arc carved by the sword of light swept through the space they had just occupied.
Salesin rolled his eyes, searching for Alex—but his opponents were not going to let him.
“Aren’t you underestimating me too much?”
Clinton prepared his next spell.
Salesin answered with a smile.
“No way. For a bug, you’ve been quite entertaining. No need to feel discouraged.”
“Haha. Such flattery. But if you lower your guard that much, aren’t you afraid a bug might sting you?”
“Can that even happen?”
“That is precisely what makes mages so troublesome.”
Salesin stretched out his hand toward Clinton.
Invisible force swept across Clinton’s body.
“Kh—!”
Clinton’s body bent forward.
Salesin’s authority had shaken his brain violently.
“I’m not going to go easy on you just because you’re old.”
He was just about to dominate Clinton’s mind completely and force him to self-destruct—
When Clinton tapped his own temple lightly with his index finger.
His trembling body settled, and his eyes regained clarity as he stared at Salesin.
“Hm. As expected, this authority of yours is quite difficult to deal with.”
“What did you just do?”
His authority should have worked perfectly—yet Clinton had resisted it through his own means.
“Oh, nothing much. I simply pushed mana into my brain and temporarily twisted its structure to prevent the brainwashing.”
He said it casually, but the act itself was anything but simple.
A single mistake would have left him a permanent idiot.
That he could execute such a reckless method on himself without hesitation proved why he had achieved 7th-Circle.
Blood dripped from Clinton’s nose.
“Hm. It seems there are... side effects. I’ve grown far too old.”
Clinton clicked his tongue.
“That’s why I’ll need help from younger people.”
Above Salesin’s head, a pink magic circle formed.
Beneath his feet, a dark red magic circle bloomed.
“This is...”
He hadn’t sensed such massive mana forming?
Salesin realized that Clinton had deliberately drawn his attention for this exact moment.
The pink and dark red magic circles connected, exerting crushing pressure upon Salesin.
It was pure magic—nothing elegant—just overwhelmingly powerful.
A manifestation of concentrated, physical force that squeezed its target to death.
Elisa and Caroline.
A spell created by the two joining hands for the first time.
Even a knight with a superhuman body would be compressed down to a finger joint the moment they entered.
Yet Salesin, though slightly surprised, remained unharmed.
No—he was utterly calm.
“Have you forgotten? Even the Elemental Lord of Wind couldn’t harm me. An attack this simple can’t even scratch me.”
Even raising the surrounding atmospheric pressure by hundreds of thousands of atmospheres did nothing.
Pure physical attacks held no meaning for Salesin—who was no longer bound by the laws of this cage.
“Wow, seriously. He’s just standing there fine after that?”
“If you have the time to mutter, focus your mana.”
Caroline marveled, while Elisa frowned and scolded her.
Salesin sparked light to shatter the imprisonment magic.
Just his intent to escape caused the mana of Caroline and Elisa to shake violently, cracks appearing in the magic circles.
Clinton quickly poured his own mana into the circles, reinforcing them.
But that only bought a moment.
The magic circles shattered, exploding outward. Clinton, Caroline, and Elisa were all thrown back.
From above, a waterfall poured down.
Casey Selmore drenched Salesin in water.
“This again?”
Salesin opened his mouth to complain, when—
Crack-crack-crack—
Beneath his feet, a giant tree burst forth.
It transformed into a basin, capturing both Salesin and the falling water.
Salesin tried to break free, but it was harder than expected.
This was no ordinary tree. The water Casey used pulsed with immense mana—and so did the tree.
Magic of a mage of Color.
The water inside the wooden basin began mixing with a green liquid.
Sssssss—
The green-tinged water released white smoke just from touching the air.
A deadly toxin that reacted violently with oxygen.
A dissolving agent strong enough to melt even glass—capable of melting anything it touched.
But not Salesin.
“Any ideas?”
Clinton asked Ludger, who had landed beside him at the perfect moment.
“I’ve thought of a few possibilities.”
“Probability?”
“Extremely low.”
“How about showing that power you used back then?”
“If I use that, we won’t be able to deal with the aftermath. And that thing won’t sit still and let me. Buy me some time.”
“Using an old man shamelessly...”
Clinton didn’t argue.
“We’ll talk later.”
Elisa spoke with a complicated expression before moving with Caroline.
Ludger laughed quietly. Given the situation, it was uncertain whether “later” would exist at all.
‘Creating that possibility is our task.’
Ludger drew his swordstick and slid it across his palm.
Blood pooled from the cut.
“I know it’s shameless to ask for help after coming this far, but I beg you.”
Ludger flung the blood in his hand into the air with all his strength.
* * *
The safehouse of Rederbelk.
There, a girl shaped like a doll lay motionless and silent as if dead.
Pale skin. Beautiful golden hair.
If her chest didn’t faintly rise and fall, anyone would mistake her for a corpse or a crafted doll.
She opened her eyes without any sign or warning.
Grander slowly raised her upper body.
Her long golden hair cascaded down like a curtain.
Her soul was damaged—she still needed absolute rest to recover.
Now that she was awake, she was in a dreamlike haze.
Her vision blurred, her memories confused.
She couldn’t tell if she was asleep or awake.
Yet amid the chaos, she felt one thing clearly:
The vivid scent of her disciple’s blood at the tip of her nose.
It was a trait only a True-blood Vampire could sense.
And from that scent, Grander felt her disciple’s emotions.
He was asking for her help.
Still half-lost in a daze, Grander raised a finger toward the window.
More precisely, toward the direction Ludger’s blood scent traveled.
In her current state, she could cast only one spell.
Once she used it, she would surely fall into deep slumber again for recovery.
But that didn’t matter.
As long as she could help that child.
“This will be your final test.”
Grander smiled faintly as she activated her magic.
[Blood Thunder]
A crimson flash cut across the dark, night-covered sky of Rederbelk.