Chapter 68 – “Aagh!”
The back that had slammed against the window throbbed as if it were breaking. Shards of shattered glass poured down like rain, scratching her skin.
“Ah… ugh…! I-Is anyone there? Is there no one outside?!”
But despite her frantic cries, not a single servant came running.
“Iik…!”
Kella threw whatever she could grab, but nothing reached him. Everything disintegrated into ash before even reaching the wizard’s feet, scattering in front of her eyes.
Danger. This man is dangerous. He’s going to kill me…!
A red warning light blared in her mind. With a pale face, Kella crawled desperately, trying to escape her room. But to the wizard, her struggles were meaningless.
The sound of high heels grew closer. He released his magic more forcefully, his indifferent expression like that of a person observing a crawling insect.
“Ah…!”
Under the increasing force, Kella could do nothing but scream helplessly.
“Yoreun.”
Kella, unable even to cry out, choked back her sobs.
“It’s fine as long as I don’t kill you. Isn’t that right?”
“Ah… ugh…!”
“How brave… or should I say foolish?”
Luce’s mouth twisted cruelly. He should have killed her. Even if it meant incurring hatred, he should have done it then.
Had he done so, she would never have been in danger again.
“You should have stayed quietly hidden, instead of crawling out and being a nuisance.”
Her hair, darker than night, whipped in the wind coming through the broken window. As it swayed, her slightly long hair revealed a face colder than the moon.
“W-What did I do!”
They say fear blinds you. Kella’s eyes, bloodshot with terror, glared as she shouted.
“What did I do wrong! I… I just…! I was only… for my god…!”
“Ah, yes. About that.”
Luce bent his knees to bring himself to her eye level, slowly resting his chin on his hand.
She was the woman he had seen before in the emperor’s office—the princess, if he recalled correctly. He had noticed her briefly because of the faint magic she carried.
Back then, it was the magic emanating from this insignificant insect.
“Shall I start with killing your god?”
Well, that was then. Now, she was just the same insignificant insect.
The moment Kella heard those words spoken calmly, her face, already stained with pain, turned pale.
He was serious. This man was insane enough to kill the empire’s princess—and he had more than enough power to do it.
The terror, far worse than pain, contorted her face horribly. Kella clung to Luce’s feet.
“No… no! Not him, not him! It’s my fault. I won’t ever face them again, so please… please…!”
She seemed ready to even lick the soles of his shoes. Luce looked down at her clinging figure with an indifferent gaze, then straightened up. Kella’s body was flung violently against the wall.
“I don’t give a second chance.”
The magic condensed in Luce’s hand surged rapidly. Everything in Kella’s room shook violently.
“Hng… hngk….”
Kella pressed herself flat to the ground, wrapping her head in her arms. Fear weighed on her like gravity.
She was going to die. Right now. Killed by that wizard.
As her eyes, powerless to resist, filled with despair, the wind suddenly stopped.
The wizard had withdrawn his magic.
“I think I feel a little… pleased. After getting what I wanted.”
Luce smiled, pulling the corners of his mouth—a cruel magic wielding a strangely beautiful smile, Kella thought.
“I must save some for later. A friend’s sleep is important.”
With those cryptic words, Luce disappeared—just as suddenly as he had appeared.
Kella, lying there for a while, slowly lifted her head as silence returned. The nightmare-like monster that had suddenly appeared had vanished.
She touched her tear-stained face, realizing she was still alive through the damp, tender skin.
“…I… I survived…”
But the relief was short-lived. The residual magic piercing her lungs tormented Kella through the entire night.
“Damn it… that wretched girl…”
Clang! Her limbs, bound by chains, thrashed violently.
“Ugh! Ughh!”
He tried to wake his companion, lying as if dead nearby, but there was no response. The teeth had all been knocked out, leaving a gaping mouth. The jaw was dislocated—barely able to chew food, if at all.
“Ugh…!!”
He was certain this time would be the success. Everything was perfect. He had succeeded in smuggling in the magical tools by framing the princess and her maid as accomplices and had prepared shrapnel infused with divine power to counter the monster.
This time, he could succeed. Yet again! That wretched girl ruined his plan. Once more, without fail!
How could ten minutes be wasted… How could time I carved out be ruined…
He had promised himself he would accomplish it. Bowing to his companions, he had gathered their magic to complete the nullification spell. Ten minutes, just ten minutes—to bind the monster’s feet and eliminate that troublesome girl.
By chance, the annoying girl and the young divine beast were together. It was the perfect opportunity, yet she was defeated by mere herbal juice…!
He ground his teeth, but the gag in his mouth made even closing his mouth impossible.
The wizard, Taran, chewed the gag in his mouth.
Using shrapnel on that girl was a hasty decision. Lord Haron said to use it carefully…!
It had been an act to give the most painful death possible. He should have saved it for the monster. If he had, no matter how monstrous the creature, it would have had no choice but to succumb.
“Disappointing.”
“Ugh!?”
The voice that broke the silence made Taran jerk his head up.
But then, his head was slammed into the stone floor, as if it had been snapped.
Crack!
Blood flowed from Taran’s crushed nose, pressed under the chair.
He did not need to see to know who it was.
The wizard they both hated most, and simultaneously, the one they most admired.
A wielder of magic that could not fit within the bounds of humanity.
“Even monsters have seen a face like this.”
“Ugh…!”
Luce smiled at him, crawling on the ground.
“Stupid people are stubborn for no reason.”
Wham. Merciless kicks landed.
“Divine shrapnel, huh…? Where’d you get something that fun?”
It wasn’t a question seeking an answer. Luce’s magic poured into Taran like a violent storm, tearing apart his body from the inside.
“Ghhk…! Ugh…!”
“Feels like this, doesn’t it? Hurts, doesn’t it?”
Blood-stained saliva dripped from the gag in his mouth. Taran’s eyes rolled upwards in agony.
Even witnessing such a pitiful state, Luce merely stepped back one step. The eyes that had once regarded him as a companion were now cold and unfeeling, recording every movement of the betrayed.
Taran’s consciousness neared breaking. The relentless assault stopped.
The gag that had been shoved into his mouth snapped. The chains binding his limbs were cut as easily as paper.
“Hngh… Hhh…! Y-You… what the hell…!”
“What? I freed you. You should be grateful, at least.”
Luce shrugged. Taran, enraged by the audacity, ground his teeth.
Hot-headed though he was, Taran wasn’t foolish enough to attack an opponent he couldn’t possibly defeat, and he immediately attempted teleportation magic.
“Huh…?”
Drool dripped from his torn lips. Nothing. He could feel nothing.
“Uh… uh…?”
The magic that had once filled his body was gone. Even focusing on his dantian, there was not a trace left.
“What’s wrong?”
Taran slowly lifted his head. The demon before him smiled.
“Do as you wish. Return to Haron, or flee far away.”
Ah. Luce added an afterthought. In prison, his voice sounded oddly cheerful.
“Haron may not accept a powerless scrap of a man again.”
Smiling through long eyes, he was infuriatingly radiant.
“…With your magic sealed, to Lord Haron…”
Taran muttered blankly, sinking low in the prison. Luce, leaning against the bars, spat:
“I said do as you like. I even removed your gag, didn’t I?”
“…The gag…”
The gag, placed to prevent him from cutting out his tongue, was gone.
Because of that monster, Taran’s magic had been sealed. His plans ruined, and powerless, there was no way Lord Haron would forgive him. In this prison, all that awaited Taran was torture. The best option he could choose was obvious.
“If I’m going to be abandoned by Lord Haron anyway… might as well die—ugh?!”
“By whose permission.”
A shadow approached silently, covering Taran’s mouth.
The red-eyed knight who had escorted him to prison. Ethan Croyte, the sword of the Lionel Empire, glared dangerously.
“You’d better give up thoughts of escaping through death. I told you—I won’t let you die easily.”
Ethan coldly muttered as he bound Taran, slamming him to the floor. His unfiltered strength was violent and unrelenting.
Ethan, watching Taran lose consciousness from the hard blow to his head, turned his gaze to Luce.
“Wizard. What is the meaning of this?”
“Just came to see the prisoner.”
“Interfering with a criminal transferred to the palace prison is clearly beyond your authority. Return immediately.”
Huh. Luce tilted his head.
Ethan Croyte felt… strange. Usually a stone-faced man, yet now something felt off.
It was a difference even Luce, indifferent to others, could notice.
“Are you angry? Why?”
Ethan froze at Luce’s question, looking slightly surprised. It was a rage he hadn’t even realized.
“…Who wouldn’t be angry in this situation.”
“What situation?”
It wasn’t simply Luce’s overstepping authority. He wouldn’t have been angry or disappointed whether Luce freed Taran or killed him. Ethan held no expectations.
Thus, his anger had a different cause.
It wasn’t Luce. Then it must be the person he had met most recently, besides Luce—
“…I am angry at myself for not being there. Thinking I faced the villain alone chills my blood.”
Ethan’s large fist trembled violently.
