Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 341

Chapter 341

From the list being recited by the attendant, one part was particularly emphasized. It detailed the achievements of their predecessors and the supposed greatness of their bloodlines. The clearer the color of the bead, the more likely the noble with that blood possessed a special history—a magician, a shaman, or an aura user [individuals with innate magical or spiritual abilities]. Someone with extraordinary abilities, or descended from a family with such an ancestor. Thinking about it, those who were immediately moved shared a common trait: they all possessed more abundant mana than others. It seemed the pendant was a tool to distinguish the concentration of mana dissolved in the blood.

‘Could it be…….’

This isn’t really what I’m thinking, is it?

I was trembling, not from disbelief, but from a desperate unwillingness to believe it. I remembered what Lapis had said before drinking the Thousand Fragrance Wine: most of the nobles participating in today’s banquet were minors, and they were descendants of meritorious families.

At first, I hadn’t given those words much thought. But looking back, a meritorious family meant a family whose members had made significant contributions to the country, whether through scholarship, military prowess, or wealth. It also implied they possessed abilities superior to others. Moreover, in this world, the most valuable ability was ‘extraordinary power’ like magic or sword energy.

It was a power that could accomplish the work of hundreds. The outcome of wars here largely depended on the number of ability users they possessed. Naturally, there was a high probability that many ability users would be found among those who had made contributions. And that power was mostly hereditary.

Young and healthy bodies. An environment where they were born as nobles, clean and wealthy. And a special bloodline with the potential for extraordinary abilities.

Could there be more suitable conditions for a sacrifice than this?

I stared at Lapis, dumbfounded, and he gave me a look that seemed to say, ‘Did you finally realize?’ The breath I had been holding burst out. I finally understood why this commotion had occurred. They were truly trying to use the nobles here as sacrifices.

‘I thought they were crazy, but they’re seriously insane.’

Of course, I hadn’t believed the nobles were safe from the Archduke’s clutches. But even so, I hadn’t imagined he would touch high-ranking nobles with real power. Even the most vile and heinous villains usually kept a certain line.

If this fact became known, all the forces that supported him would turn away. They would never forgive someone who killed their children. Even a powerful person needed a proper symbiosis [a mutually beneficial relationship]. No one could last long with enemies on all sides. But the Archduke was trying to cross that line without a care. Only two conclusions could be drawn from all this: either he was so out of his mind that he couldn’t think about the aftermath, or…….

‘……This is really the end.’

He was about to complete the ritual, so he was throwing everything away and rushing forward. The awakening of the Evil God was truly just around the corner. I wished it were the former, but reason told me the latter was more likely.

Can we stop it?

While I was gritting my teeth, the Archduke finally reached us. He approached Lapis first.

“The most anticipated order has come.”

Lapis glared at him with bright blue eyes as he smiled leisurely. He was wriggling and panting, looking genuinely frustrated that he couldn’t move. It was a stark reminder of his convincing acting skills, making me ashamed of my clumsy collapse.

Soon, the approaching attendant drew blood from his hand as well. Even though he was in human form, it was dragon blood. Moreover, it was from someone known as a self-proclaimed genius. As soon as it touched the bead, his blood dyed the entire bead a bright red. It was the most distinct change among all the color changes so far.

“Ooh!”

The attendant’s eyes widened as he checked the bead. An admiring expression appeared on the Archduke’s face as well.

“Amazing. Such a clear red light. I had already expected it when I heard that a small girl had easily subdued the warriors, but so you were a magician? And a magician with considerable achievement.”

A strange heat surged in his satisfied face as he muttered. He seemed as happy as if he had discovered the most precious jewel in the world. He gave special instructions to move Lapis more carefully. This was exactly as expected, so there was nothing surprising about it. The problem was me.

“I wonder how great the younger sister will be?”

“…….”

The Archduke’s gaze towards me deepened. Since he knew we were sisters, his expectations for my blood would naturally be high. A sense of despair grew stronger. I could feel Lapis, who was being carried away, looking at me. To others, it might look like he was worried about his sister, but I understood the meaning exactly. ‘What are you going to do?’ The only answer I could give to the question in his eyes was, ‘I don’t know!’

‘What should I really do?’

I was so busy figuring out the situation that I hadn’t even thought about it, but this identification method didn’t work for me. As the Spirit King, I am mana itself, but that’s why I’m not detected by anything. Because I am literally the source that makes up this world.

I can’t take Lapis’s mana and replace it either. According to the contract establishment conditions, the Spirit King can only use the contractor’s mana arbitrarily when summoning and embodying a form. It doesn’t matter if it’s naturally consumed when abilities are manifested, but I can’t handle it as I please.

Strictly speaking, blood is also included in the embodiment of a form, so Lapis’s mana does go in. It’s just that the amount is so small that it was obvious the bead wouldn’t react to this level. As expected, the bead that touched my blood showed no change at all. After a long time without any discoloration, the Archduke, who had been watching with interest, frowned.

“This is also strange. The sister is a magician with such a high concentration of mana, but the younger sister has no talent at all?”

“What should we do?”

The attendant next to him asked cautiously. The Archduke, who had taken his eyes off the bead, scanned my appearance with very regretful eyes. I felt anxious, like a fisherman who had missed a big fish. It was a lifelong regret that I couldn’t speak because I was pretending to be paralyzed. If I could use my voice, I would have asked them to take me too!

I was sad that I had to be in a situation where I was eager to follow a scene that others avoided, but it was also true that this was the most convenient way to infiltrate. But the heavens were indifferent, and the Archduke was a reasonable person in unnecessary ways.

“It’s a shame, but there’s no need to take something unnecessary.”

“……!”

He turned away from me coldly. While I watched, dumbfounded, he continued to examine the remaining nobles. Among them was As. As a demon, As’s blood naturally passed the test easily. The Archduke was very satisfied because a deep red color, as deep as Lapis’s, was revealed. Afterwards, As sent me a faint look as he was being moved by the attendants. Seeing that gaze reaching me, the Archduke muttered.

“Ah, come to think of it, that boy was also said to be a younger sibling.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

As the attendant affirmed, the Archduke’s expression clouded over for a moment. I hadn’t felt it much since coming here, but it was a gaze I had received countless times in the past, so it was easy to understand the meaning. That was a look of pity. I felt like I knew what he was going to say next.

“It’s a pity that only one of the siblings has no talent. That’s too bad.”

“…….”

To be pitied by the Archduke. You’ve gone too far, El.

I won’t forget what happened today. Just you wait. Watching the Archduke’s back getting further and further away, I couldn’t make a sound and burned with revenge. It was the most humiliating moment since I was born as the Spirit King.

* * *

Finally, the time for identification was over. Out of nearly a hundred people in the hall, almost forty were selected. It was said that they had gathered only the right people from the beginning, but it was truly an enormous number. Even if they were looking for only the minimum requirements, it would be difficult to gather so many at once, but they even had top-quality goods (?) with both quality and quantity. It was indeed worth it for the Archduke to carry out such a crazy act even by holding such a laborious banquet. Rather, it was amazing that he had endured until now without committing it.

Seeing that he didn’t hesitate at all to commit the act, it must have been a plan he had been conceiving for a long time. It must have been hard to hide his covetous eyes every time he saw the nobles. Like a beast of prey aiming for its prey, he must have been crouching low, moving secretly, and waiting for the time to come. But the day he finally seized the opportunity and put it into action happened to be the day we infiltrated. I didn’t know if he was unlucky or if we were lucky. Maybe it was both.

In that his misfortune was my fortune, I felt like I was reaffirming the fact that we were never a compatible relationship. In any case, the Archduke, who still didn’t know the future prepared for him, was currently satisfied with the fruits he had harvested.

“How long until dawn? This dawn will be very busy. Some quick-witted guys might smell something, so strengthen the security even more. Don’t let a single rat in.”

“Understood. What about the rest?”

At the attendant’s question, the Archduke’s gaze swept over the people remaining in the hall. It seemed he was not considering their disposal, but simply enjoying the desperate gazes sent to him.

“They won’t be able to move for a while anyway. There’s no need to deliberately leave behind a source of trouble.”

“In that case…….”

“Kill them all. No one must know the situation here until morning.”

“I will obey your command.”

“Kkeueuk! Keueueueuk!”

It would have been better if they had been unconscious. At the declaration of death falling before their eyes, the people who had been pleading with their eyes burst into screams of despair. It was an outcry that seemed to scratch the floor. But the Archduke didn’t look back and turned his body as it was. The attendants followed behind him with hurried steps as he walked somewhere. Five attendants remained to handle the aftermath. They drew their swords from their waists only after the Archduke’s figure had completely disappeared. As the sound of metal rang out, the desperate people wriggled their bodies greatly. Some had already given up.

“It’s a bit of a waste to kill the women. There are so many incredibly pretty ones.”

“Stop it. No matter what, they all rot the same once they die. Stop talking nonsense and just start.”

“Tch, I was just saying. Ah, but we can kill them slowly, right? We’re waiting until morning anyway.”

“Just don’t play too dirty. It’s annoying to clean up.”

“What, are you trying to end it in one go?”

“Who said that?”

“You’re the same anyway, but you’re pretending to be dignified.”

They seemed to feel that this situation was just a game as they exchanged leisurely jokes. There was no aversion to murder, and not even the last courtesy towards the people who were feeling suffocating fear and had to die unfairly.

As the saying goes, like father, like son. It seemed that the crazy Archduke had only picked out crazy people just like him.

“Well then, where should I start cutting this guy?”

One of the attendants, who had been chuckling, soon set a target. The one chosen as his first victim was a man wearing a deep blue uniform. As the executioner approached him, the man gasped for breath. The others nearby were the same.

“It’s a bit of a shame that I can’t hear the screams. You can’t make a sound, but you can still moan, right? Please make me as happy as possible.”

The attendant, who had been spouting crazy words without a care, raised his sword high. As planned, it would have been struck down in an instant, and red blood would have scattered everywhere. But he couldn’t achieve what he wanted. Because he had to experience an anomaly before reaching the target point.

“Ugh!”

The attendant’s eyes widened. The other attendants, who were about to proceed with their work at the same time as the scream he let out, also stopped. Soon, a bewildered expression appeared on the faces that had turned around without thinking. It couldn’t be helped. Because a sight that was hard to see in a lifetime was unfolding before their eyes. The sight of the hand holding the sword being covered in pure white frost.

“Wh, what is that? Frost?”

“What the hell happened?”

“I don’t know! Suddenly, I felt pain……!”

The attendant, who was answering in a flustered manner, widened his eyes the next moment. This was because the ice crystals of the frost were gradually rising along his arm. The others also panicked and began to fidget in shock.

“Ugh! It hurts! Don’t tell me this is spreading through my body?”

“Cr, crazy! It seems to be because of the sword, so throw that sword away!”

“It won’t come off! It’s completely stuck!”

“Damn it, wait!”

At that time, one of the attendants who had been swearing quickly swung his sword. Soon, with a rustling sound, the frozen arm fell off. He had cut off the arm, which was the source of the infection, before the frost could spread further. The sound of something separated from the body falling to the floor was not the sound that a substance that had once been made of flesh and blood should make. The attendant, who had glanced at the broken pieces with a horrified look, turned his head towards the colleague he had saved.

“Now it’s……!”

Looking only at the process, his reaction speed was very fast. The act of quickly cutting off the arm to block the infection was also worthy of praise. The only thing he didn’t know was that the reason why the frost started to form in the first place was not because of the sword. As a result, he had to witness his colleague completely covered in frost. Ice powder was falling from the pure white, hardened body.

“…….”

“…….”

The surroundings became silent in an instant.

Around that time, I stood up, dusting off my seat. The people who had been넋 놓고 [넋 놓고 is a Korean expression that means to be absent-minded or to be in a daze] at the sudden anomaly swallowed their breath when they saw me getting up. I gave a bright smile to them, who were staring with wide eyes.