Chapter 124: My First and Last
March 3, 2024
“I-I’m fine.”
Cordelia rose with Leonard’s support. Her body bore no injuries, but every word Maximilian had spat out struck her mind like a hammer.
“You’re a child of the devil. A beast with the blood of a demon in you!”
That sentence pierced her chest more than anything else and refused to leave. Her hand instinctively clenched around Leonard’s arm. Feeling it, he turned to her.
“I’m here. You won’t let a single finger touch you again.”
“…Thank you.”
He probably thought she was frightened. Cordelia forced a smile and stepped back behind Leonard.
“Brother. Finally, I see you. How have you been?”
“Good. It’s been a while.”
The conversation between the siblings was casual. It was hard to believe that the one in front of him had transformed into something not quite human, and that he had come to kill that very sibling.
People held their breath, forming a circle around them. Leonard walked steadily toward Maximilian.
“Looks like you sold your soul to the devil.”
“Yeah. My injuries were severe… I thought I’d die if I didn’t do something like this.”
Maximilian straightened his bent back with difficulty and removed the cloak wrapped around him. Cordelia, standing behind, instinctively covered her mouth.
His abdomen was half destroyed. His internal organs were barely intact, gnawed as if by worms, and his ribs were partially exposed.
It was almost miraculous that he was still moving, making some of the knights avert their gaze in disgust. Yet Leonard, watching up close, didn’t flinch.
“You’ve been waiting for me.”
“That’s right. I’ve been waiting for you. You have no idea how desperately I wanted you to rush here for your damn apprentice.”
“For someone like that, you ran away like a little rat pretty well.”
“Haha. You have to give me some time to prepare too.”
With that, Maximilian curled his back. His muscles swelled, and his body began to expand.
The limbs at his sides grew thick and massive. His arms sharpened, his legs sheathed in black shells, smooth and strong. His fangs extended to his jaw.
Though still humanoid, no one would now call him human.
“W-What… is that?”
A soldier nearby hesitated in fear. But while others stepped back, Leonard advanced, his hands brimming with magic.
“Let’s finish this here.”
He spread his palms. A giant white serpent emerged from his feet, gaping at Maximilian. Maximilian swung his sharpened arms and charged.
The impact was greater than expected. The ground trembled, and stone walls collapsed.
People shivered in fear, retreating. Gasil and Beluche stood tensely before Cordelia.
The serpent coiled around Maximilian, squeezing with all its might. Cracks appeared on his shell with snapping sounds.
“Ugh…ugh…tongue…!”
“I should have just killed you in Dilroana territory.”
“Huh… Ha… Ha… regret?”
“Well… a little?”
“Ugh… I regret it too.”
Maximilian summoned all his strength. Dark magic surged, tearing the white serpent to pieces. Leonard frowned.
“I couldn’t kill you back then. Those two months without you were… so blissful.”
“Today, if you go to the afterlife without me, it’ll be great. Oh, right—you sold your soul to a demon, so if you die, you vanish immediately, right? You won’t even set foot in the afterlife.”
“Hah.”
Maximilian’s fangs twitched. With the serpent gone, he charged Leonard again. Six limbs—no, hands—moved independently, swinging menacingly. One grazed Leonard but caused no harm.
“Die!”
He swung again. Leonard dodged effortlessly, sometimes conjuring massive spears to pierce his brother. At first, it seemed evenly matched, but anyone watching could sense Leonard’s clear superiority.
“Attillei Marquis isn’t human. Handling that with such ease…”
Anton, watching from behind, clicked his tongue.
“Our long-standing feud ends here.”
Unlike when he first summoned the white serpent, Leonard’s magic now surged overwhelmingly around him. Behind him, dozens—or hundreds—of ice shards formed.
They moved at lightning speed with Leonard’s fingertips, impossible to follow with the naked eye.
“RAAAAH!”
The ice shards enveloped Maximilian completely, breaking his hard shell into fragments.
Maximilian thrashed in pain, cracking the ground beneath him.
Gasil frowned at Cordelia.
“Maybe we should move… just in case.”
“Argh!”
Maximilian screamed, raising his head to look at Cordelia. Even from a distance, his gaze struck her.
What…?
Feeling the danger, Cordelia raised a magical barrier.
At that moment, black magic burst explosively from Maximilian’s body. Like with Beluche, it struck Leonard hard enough that he staggered, dropping to one knee.
Yet Maximilian did not attack Leonard despite the opening. He turned instead toward Cordelia.
“Block him!”
Gasil shouted urgently. Beluche tightened her grip on her sword and jumped in front of Maximilian. Cordelia braced herself, strengthening her magical barrier.
“Brother said life is pain.”
Maximilian spoke as if savoring the words. The ice embedded in his body glittered unusually in the sunlight. Cordelia watched everything in slow motion.
“W-wait!”
But Maximilian’s target was not Cordelia. He bypassed Beluche and Gasil and charged at Anton, standing behind her.
“Ah.”
It happened in an instant. Maximilian’s hand pierced Anton’s chest. Anton, in disbelief, looked down at his own chest. Maximilian withdrew his hand.
Blood sprayed like a fountain.
“My lord!”
“Oh no, master!”
“No!”
For the first time, Leonard’s face contorted. He rushed to Maximilian and thrust an ice spear into his back.
Whether it was the final blow or exhaustion, Maximilian’s body quickly collapsed. His shell shattered completely, and the remaining body withered away.
“…I hope your life is hell, brother.”
Those were Maximilian’s final words. Leonard had no time to dwell on the curse.
He still didn’t have the antidote, nor knew how to make it.
Cordelia…
Only now did he understand Maximilian’s ultimate goal.
“Call the doctor! Quickly!”
“My lord, my lord!”
Leonard pressed his hands to Anton’s chest, pouring all his healing magic. White light flowed over Anton, but unlike usual, it faded weakly.
“Please… please… please…”
Desperately, Leonard chanted magic, praying even to the gods and fate he barely believed in.
Blood from Anton pooled on the floor, soaking the hem of Cordelia’s dress. She looked down, then up at Leonard.
By chance or fate, Leonard also looked up. Their eyes met.
Cordelia blinked first.
“Tell me again.”
“…Breathing is considered a miracle.”
Gasil, unable to meet his master’s eyes, lowered his head to speak.
Miracle. That was the only way to describe Anton’s condition. Had Maximilian’s hand moved slightly to the left, he would have pierced Anton’s heart instantly.
By sheer luck, the strike missed the heart, but Anton’s survival was still precarious.
If Anton died—or didn’t awaken within two days—Cordelia would die.
Leonard clenched his fists. Rage threatened to erupt, but he held it back. He resented that events had unfolded according to Maximilian’s plan, and he was angry at his own stupidity. Fear, above all, remained.
What if Cordelia dies?
The thought was too terrifying to speak aloud. Time was alarmingly short, just two days left.
“Master.”
Cordelia’s voice came with a soft knock. Gasil looked up, toward the door.
“You should go.”
“Yes.”
Leonard slumped into a chair, his head falling forward.
As Gasil left, the door opened, and soft, light footsteps approached.
“Master.”
“…I told you to stay in the room.”
“I wanted to see your face.”
Leonard lifted his head with effort. Cordelia stood before him, smiling. She pressed her fingers gently against the deep frown between his brows.
“Stop frowning. You’ll get wrinkles.”
“….”
“Have you eaten?”
“No.”
“Then shall we eat together? The chef at Embley Castle is quite skilled.”
He had no words for her.
I’m sorry it came to this.
It sounded utterly irresponsible even in his own mind.
I’ll save you somehow.
But how could he save her? Anton was barely alive, and if he didn’t wake within two days, everything would be lost.
As if sensing his thoughts, Cordelia took Leonard’s hand.
“Let’s go. I’m hungry.”
“Alright.”
That was all Leonard could say. He staggered to the dining hall. Perhaps Cordelia had already spoken, because warm dishes were lined up, ready.
