Chapter 42
Bener was pacing anxiously inside his mansion, unable to sit still.
“Any word from the main force?”
“They probably haven’t crossed the Cranig Mountains yet. We told them to report as soon as they reached the Impera territory, so we’ll have to wait a little longer.”
“Ugh…”
It hadn’t even been an hour since he’d last asked his butler, Arverto, for news, yet his anxiety refused to subside.
Bener had divided his army into two groups.
The main force — consisting of regular soldiers and half of the White Lion Knights.
And a detached force — the remaining half of the White Lions, bolstered by Arverto’s network of spies.
In terms of sheer strength, the plan seemed feasible enough.
After all, the White Lions were Bener’s elite among elites — every one of them Rank 4 or higher.
“Please… let there be no failure this time.”
He had sent the detached force to a very specific target: the residence of the Inquisitor.
Their mission was the most crucial part of the entire operation — to eliminate the Inquisitor and all accompanying Holy Knights.
If that succeeded, Bener could bury all traces of his involvement in the ghoul explosion.
Then, he could simply pin the blame on the already ruined Impera family.
By that time, the main force would have already slaughtered both Amon Impera and his wastrel son.
“The main force will be fine — it’s just a massacre, after all. The real problem is the detached unit…”
“Where is the detachment now?”
“They should be nearing the Inquisitor’s quarters by now. Since this requires utmost caution, they’ll only report back once it’s done — to avoid interception.”
“Yes, that’s what I told them to do.”
But still… why did he feel this uneasy?
Bener couldn’t shake the feeling that he was overlooking something.
“The Holy Knights are strong, sure, but I even sent seasoned spies with them. It should be fine… so why—”
Just then, the tightly closed mansion gates began to rattle.
“No one’s here.”
The Bener estate was completely deserted — not even a mouse to be seen.
It was late at night; the servants had all gone home, and the only guards had already been… dealt with.
Everyone else was away for the grand “operation.”
Now, in this vast mansion, only members of House Bener remained.
“Could he have even sent the sentries away?”
Not entirely sure, I had to stay quiet — eliminate him swiftly, before word could spread.
“Whew.”
It was time to end this cursed connection once and for all.
Shkk!
I slid my sword through the door crack. With a heavy groan, the gate swung open.
The layout was mostly as I remembered from the novel — the large entrance hall, the staircase leading to the second floor, and the Count’s private chambers above.
In the novel, the place had been crowded with nobles during Dia’s visit for a social event.
Now, it was just the two of them.
“Who goes there!”
The two men shouted in shock at the intruder’s sudden appearance — and their eyes went wide as they recognized me.
“I–Ian Impera?”
The man on the left hastily drew his sword.
He was an old, lean man with streaked white hair — Arverto.
Butler to Count Bener and overseer of his… less savory affairs, including the management of spies.
A simple servant he was not — a Rank 4 swordsman, by all accounts.
“…How did you get here?”
The man sitting on the plush sofa glared at me — a face I despised more than any other.
The man who started this entire chain of misfortune.
The one who would ignite a war across the Aisother Kingdom.
Count Bener.
“Coming to see you this late at night — you already know what that means.”
I smirked as I answered.
“……”
His eyes flicked toward the door behind me.
“Sorry, but I’ve already taken care of everyone. No one’s coming to save you.”
“Ha.”
He didn’t argue. Judging by his expression, he’d really sent even the sentries off for the operation.
“I’m impressed. I thought you were just a drunk and a gambler, but you actually pulled something like this off.”
“Tch. Says the one who made those ghouls in the first place.”
“…Hmph.”
“Enough talk.”
I poured aura into the Dragon-Scale Sword.
It wasn’t a grand display — Rank 4 aura rarely was — but it was more than enough to startle the two of them.
“An… aura sword?”
“Yeah. Surprising, huh?”
“But how? Just a few months ago, you were a useless wretch!”
“I’ve had some intense training lately.”
“Ha! Even so, you’re still only Rank 4! As long as I live, you’ll never lay a finger on the Count!”
Arverto drew his thin, rapier-like blade — barely the width of a finger.
Thin as it was, it was deadly in skilled hands — especially his.
“Count, allow me to handle him!”
“No. I may be old, but I was once a knight myself! I won’t run from a brat like him!”
Bener, too, drew his sword.
Both men leveled their rapiers at me.
“Hmph.”
So they wouldn’t go down quietly — fine. I expected as much.
Bener had once reached Rank 4 himself, after all.
All the better — it would make ending this grudge far more satisfying.
“Well then. Shall we begin?”
“Hrgh!”
The fight started with Arverto’s lunge.
His aura-wreathed sword shot straight for my chest.
Clang!
Sparks flew as I parried.
“Not so fast!”
He pressed forward relentlessly, stabbing again and again.
Clang! Clang!
Each thrust was shallow but threatening — precise, deadly.
Without aura, I could’ve just blocked the gaps and been fine. But with aura, even light armor could be pierced.
“Damn you!”
As I parried Arverto’s blade, Bener seized the chance and lunged as well.
I didn’t know their full measure yet, so I stayed cautious — testing their rhythm with every clash.
“Hm.”
In pure swordsmanship, Bener had the edge.
But in total mana capacity, Arverto slightly surpassed him.
“Haaah!”
Their blades swept from left to right in unison.
I caught both strikes — then pushed my aura to the limit.
KRAAANG!
“Gah!”
Both men were blown back, tumbling across the floor.
“You bastard!”
My verdict?
“Pathetic.”
“W–what?”
“Pathetic. One of you wasted his time behind a desk, barely training his mana, and the other just pokes around without any real technique.”
“You…!”
They flushed red — pride wounded.
Sure, they’d both broken through the “first wall,” reaching Rank 4.
But that was just the beginning. Beyond that, monsters who’d shattered the second wall roamed this world.
Myself included.
Psshh!
I had no intention of dragging this out. I needed to take one of them out — fast.
“You die first.”
I coiled my body and launched toward Bener.
“Urgh!”
He raised his sword to block —
Crack!
—but it was a feint.
I twisted my wrist mid-swing, redirecting my blade downward —
—and the Dragon-Scale Sword slashed across his thigh.
Shk!
“AAAGH!”
“C–Count! You bastard!”
I went for a finishing blow, but Arverto rushed in between us.
“You… you’ll pay for that!”
Bener clutched his bleeding leg, howling.
“Ha! You’ve done worse to others, and now you care about your own body?”
“Ghrrr…!”
“Let’s end this, you leech.”
I advanced, Dragon-Scale Sword glowing bright with aura.
“Stay back! Stay back!”
Arverto swung wildly, his movements growing desperate.
Clang!
With a single strong strike, I sent his sword flying upward.
He stumbled back, trembling, clutching his hand.
“W–wait! There’s no need to go this far! I–I’ll apologize!”
“Apologize?”
“Yes! And more than that — I’ll return everything we took from House Impera! The lands, the businesses — everything! Just spare—”
“Still stalling for time, huh?”
“Ugh…”
“Don’t you think it’s odd? Not a single report from the soldiers crossing the Cranig Mountains?”
“W–what?”
“Your detachment’s probably already dead. All of them.”
“How could you know that!?”
“Because I warned them. Told them you’d be sending assassins after the Inquisitor tonight.”
“W–what!?”
That was the key — the Inquisitor’s survival.
I’d warned him through my clan, even if he didn’t fully believe me.
Better a skeptical ally than a blind victim.
“You’re finished, Count Bener.”
“……”
The final blow.
I raised the aura-charged Dragon-Scale Sword high.
Thunk!
“Gah—!”
“…Huh?”
That sound hadn’t come from me. I hadn’t swung yet.
It came from Arverto — his chest.
A dagger had burst out from it, slick with blood.
He coughed up a handful of it, eyes wide in disbelief.
“C–Count?”
The one who’d stabbed him was none other than Bener himself.
He’d driven a hidden dagger into his butler’s back.
“W–why…”
Arverto collapsed forward, dead before he hit the floor.
“Y–you understand, don’t you? You must!” Bener stammered.
He’d killed his most loyal subordinate… but why?
My eyes darted to the dagger in his hand — and then I understood.
“Oh, hell…”
I couldn’t give him time. I swung for his neck immediately.
CLANG!
He blocked — and grinned.
“Khahahaha!”
The dagger embedded in Arverto’s chest glowed red.
That’s when I remembered — an artifact from the novel.
The Dagger of Absorption.
A weapon that steals its victim’s mana upon death.
“He actually had something like that!?”
No wonder he hadn’t brought guards.
If things went south, he could just kill his own servant and steal their power.
A shallow wound wouldn’t drain much mana — but a clean strike through the heart? That was different.
All of Arverto’s accumulated mana was surging into Bener’s body.
“Khahahaha! So this is it — the second wall!”
Bener laughed, unable to contain the overflowing aura.
He hadn’t truly reached Rank 5, but he was close enough.
“Fuhuhu!”
The wound on his thigh closed as if it had never existed.
He raised his sword again, eyes gleaming with madness.
“You bastard!”
His aura-laced sword came crashing down.
BOOM!
The pressure was entirely different now — heavy, brutal.
Even blocking it made my entire body scream in protest.
“Damn…!”
Don’t panic. Stay calm.
It’s only a temporary boost — an artifact-induced surge.
If I could just endure until it wore off—
“You think I’ll let you!?”
As I struggled to block his rapid thrusts, his other hand began to glow blue.
The gathered energy flared — then shot straight toward my abdomen.
CRRRSH!
“Urghhh!”
It wasn’t a spell.
Just raw, uncontrolled aura condensed and fired like a blast.
Crude, but monstrously powerful — far beyond a normal Rank 4 attack.
The impact sent me flying backward.
