Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 344

Chapter 344

“Kugh!”

For an ordinary person, that impact would have been enough to knock them unconscious, but like a Sword Master, he endured it even as he coughed up blood. The blue aura still vividly emanated from the sword he hadn’t dropped even in that state. Dirt and dust cascaded from his body as he pushed aside the pile of rubble and stood up. Seeing him regain his stance, the Archduke’s gaze turned even more irritated. Immediately, it seemed as though wind was rising from beneath Caribdis’s feet, and he leaped into action. The distance between him and the Archduke, which had been quite significant, was closed in an instant. It was a speed that left behind a blue afterimage.

To be honest, it was a little surprising that a human could achieve such speed. No wonder his skill at concealing his presence was extraordinary. It wasn’t that Bluster chose him so he could manipulate the wind; rather, it was because he was someone who could manipulate the wind from the start that he was chosen by Bluster. Even Deron, who had been single-mindedly pursuing him, had lost track of him. Perhaps there weren’t many who could keep up with his speed.

However, this time his opponent was too formidable. An attack, no matter how fast, is meaningless if it doesn’t land. The Duke’s sword was forcibly stopped near the Archduke. Even the sword aura, which could cut through iron plates like tofu, couldn’t penetrate the aura emanating from the Archduke. No, it was being swallowed instead. Caribdis’s face hardened as he sensed the anomaly. He tried to step back, but it felt like the sword wouldn’t budge. The captured blade was slowly melting away. Caribdis hurriedly abandoned the sword and created a sword aura itself like a blade. However, that power was also completely swallowed by the Archduke’s power. The eyes of the two men met briefly. At the same time that Caribdis’s pupils wavered, the Archduke smiled.

Crack! Boom!

After that, it was almost a one-sided affair. The Archduke leisurely crossed his arms and played with Caribdis like a toy. An intangible aura twisted like a whip, casually ravaging Caribdis’s body. The aura, which would leave scratches even with a mere graze, completely bound and penetrated him, leaving no part of his body unscathed. His body was instantly turned into a complete mess.

“Kuhuk!”

His appearance, gasping for breath and limp, was closer to a bloody mess than a person. The Archduke, looking down at him with a cold gaze, burst into laughter.

“What’s wrong? Unlike your spirit, you’re so weak? Shouldn’t you hold out a little longer? This is too bland.”

“Your… Highness…”

“Having heard so many praises of being a hero, did you really think you were something special? That you could solve everything? How regrettable. I should have told you sooner that your great abilities are nothing to me.”

“Your Highness…!”

He crawled towards the Archduke, writhing. Desperate to reach out, as if trying not to let go, his appearance itself was close to begging. Perhaps that was unpleasant. The Archduke, with a stern face, grabbed Caribdis’s neck and slowly lifted him up. Caribdis resisted, but the force that suppressed him didn’t budge. No matter how skilled one is, they die if they can’t breathe. Seeing his face turn pale in an instant due to the lack of oxygen, the Archduke smiled leisurely.

“You should have realized it a little sooner. Then maybe you could have stopped me. Both me and that child who was almost your son.”

At those words, Caribdis, who had been struggling, stopped resisting. He looked down at the Archduke with a blank face.

“You already know, Pylon. Everything is too late after you lose it.”

As if whispering sweet words, the Archduke murmured softly.

“You can’t save anything.”

That was a poison made of words. A deadly poison that, as soon as it seeped in, burrowed through the blood vessels and burned the heart in an instant. Caribdis’s pupils clouded over, and the light quickly faded. Seeing his appearance as if he had given up on everything, the Archduke smiled cruelly. The force gripping Caribdis became more pronounced. He was about to break his neck.

I reflexively looked towards the altar. The light of the magic circle had long since completely subsided. To aim for another opportunity, I had to wait for the moment the spell was reactivated. To do that, it was right to ignore the situation before my eyes. After all, Caribdis, with only a slight difference, was also someone who had done bad things on the side of the villains. There was no need for me to get involved in the fight between the same kind of guys. I knew in my head that he was reckless to jump in on his own. But….

—I want to go to that mister.

Damn it.

The moment I became aware, I immediately severed the Archduke’s power. Caribdis, whose bonds were released as the holding force was cut off, fell straight to the floor. Both the one who was released and the one who had been holding him hardened their faces. As if sensing the strange aura, the Archduke tried to step back, so I grabbed his arm. The moment he was startled, his eyes widened even more as I revealed myself.

“You are…!”

After uttering a groan, he quickly switched his stance. I saw the hand that wasn’t grabbed trying to take something out. It seemed like he was trying to create an opportunity to escape by throwing something like a smoke bomb. He fought Caribdis, but in front of me, he didn’t even have time to assess the situation and immediately tried to run away. He was truly remarkably quick-witted.

Of course, my actions were faster than his movements. I manipulated the water to temporarily paralyze the Archduke’s heart. “Cough!” He gasped for air and collapsed, rolling his eyes back. No matter how great his power, it seemed he couldn’t overcome the paralysis of his body. I threw his limp body far away, slamming him against the wall. Deliberately, in the same way Caribdis had been treated. However, unlike him, who had endured it, the Archduke’s body would have taken a significant blow. At this rate, he wouldn’t be able to come to his senses for half a day.

“Your Highness!”

“What, what kind of guy is that!”

The demon followers surrounding him, in great shock, pointed their swords at me. They didn’t understand the sudden appearance of me, nor the current situation of the Archduke collapsing. Caribdis, who was sitting down, was also showing bewilderment. I sighed and then looked towards the altar. Even then, the man lying there was looking at me with a face as if he was about to faint.

“Tsk, anyway, there’s no easy way to go about things.”

Around that time, Lapis and As also shook off their bodies and stood up. Seeing them moving without any problems, the demon followers widened their eyes again.

“Who the hell are you….”

The rest of the words didn’t follow. I was annoyed by arguing, so I knocked everyone unconscious at once. As the gathered people fell like leaves, Lapis lightly whistled.

“Even in this situation, you don’t kill them. Are you naturally timid, or are you still not angry enough?”

“Shut up. What do we do now?”

“How would I know? Am I in charge of handling accidents?”

Even while saying that, Lapis was carefully examining the magic circle on the altar.

“I’ll try to track it for now.”

“Is it possible?”

“I checked the spell format until the end, so I can try to follow it. But it’s just imitating, so I can’t guarantee success. Don’t expect too much.”

This is the first time I remember Lapis giving such a reserved answer. This wasn’t the time to admire that even this guy knew how to use humble speech. This is almost certainly a failure. Swallowing the sigh that erupted from the conclusion drawn by my instincts, I turned to As.

“As, can you take care of the people? Can you secure an escape route while taking them out? The way out probably won’t appear right now.”

The commendable child seemed to understand immediately what I was trying to say.

“Are we trapped in a barrier?”

“That’s right. Can you find the starting point and break it?”

“Um, okay. I’ll try. But they still can’t move.”

“Ah, that’s right. Wait a moment.”

With that answer, I used healing magic on the man lying on the altar. As soon as his body moved, he jumped up and crouched down tightly. When he looked around, there happened to be a bowl placed in front of the altar. It seemed like a bowl prepared to hold the heart. I filled it with water containing healing power, just like I did at the banquet hall, and then handed it to the man. “It’s a cure, so feed it to the people.” The man, who flinched at the bowl suddenly held out in front of him, widened his eyes at the following words. Still, he seemed to have some sense, as he hurriedly got up and ran to where the people were before I gave him another look. After staring at that scene for a while, I turned to Caribdis. Until then, he was just sitting there blankly.

“You’re Caribdis, right?”

When I spoke to him, he stared back with a calm gaze. His shadowed purple eyes were still only dull, without any vitality. He looked even more like a corpse because his whole body was covered in blood. Tsk, I lightly clicked my tongue and poured healing magic into his body. His wounds healed quickly, but he wasn’t very surprised or impressed. It seemed like he was guessing my identity to some extent. He just had an expression that he couldn’t understand why I was healing him.

“When the people wake up, you leave here with them too.”

“…I’ll stay here.”

“It might be dangerous. I don’t have the energy to worry about you.”

“You don’t have to worry about me.”

“Are you planning to die?”

“…….”

He didn’t give any answer. His blank gaze, not knowing what he was thinking, was directed towards the unconscious Archduke. I scratched my head and sighed.

“I’m sorry, but if you say you’re going to die here now, I think I’ll get really annoyed? I ruined an important plan just to save you, so you have to take responsibility and live.”

Caribdis looked back at me with a puzzled expression. That gaze seemed to be asking why I was trying to save him.

“It’s not like I’m trying to save you because I particularly want to save you. It’s just that the kid likes you. I can’t just let you die when I know she’s waiting.”

“…That kid?”

“Ray.”

“……!”

The tightly closed mouth opened blankly. The agitation gradually deepening on the face that belatedly grasped the meaning was clearly felt. I’m glad he didn’t see Ray back then. It was fortunate that he didn’t know. If he was trying to commit suicide with the Archduke, leaving behind a child to take care of, I would have been really angry.

“Ray… is?”

“She’s alive. Not in the same form you know, but still.”

“Alive, you say….”

“You said you’d be a father to her.”

He stopped breathing, unable to hide his confusion. I stared straight at him, only blinking my eyes.

“Keep that promise. I won’t forgive you if you break it. If you abandon her irresponsibly now, I’ll never let it go. You won’t live comfortably for the rest of your life, and even if you die, I’ll follow you to hell and make you pay the price for deceiving me. Do you understand me?”

“Wh-where is she? Ray, that child, where is she now…!”

He hurriedly got up. Looking at his face, which seemed to be out of his mind, it didn’t seem like he had even heard my threats. That was a little displeasing, but I tolerated it because it was much better than sitting there with a face like a dead fish. Light was already swirling in his eyes, which had been submerged like ink.

“Go home.”

“…Home.”

“Your home. Where else would a son be but in his father’s house?”

Caribdis didn’t say anything for a while. Whether he was choked up or shocked, it was an expression hard to describe.

“Thank… you.”

Still, the words he faintly uttered were clearly heard. I didn’t turn around and just waved my hand to replace the answer. Feeling his presence standing still for a while, I felt the air ripple. It seemed like he had bowed to me.

Feeling his presence moving away, I turned around and saw him heading towards where the people were. Those who had awakened from paralysis hesitated as they saw him joining them, but he didn’t look back at anyone. Even when he walked along with everyone under As’s guidance, there was no other thought in his appearance. He didn’t give a glance to the fallen Archduke or stop his steps for a moment.

The unwavering, upright gaze until the end seemed to show the path he would walk forward. The man once called the Archduke’s dog had now completely disappeared. The man there was just an ordinary child’s father.

He was fine now. I thought that he would definitely protect Ray well.

* * *

“Starting.”

After everyone had left, Lapis approached the altar and placed his hand on the magic circle. As a signal for me to nod, he closed his eyes and began to mutter something. Then, round magic circles spread out around him as if floating. Red light spread over the magic circle engraved on the altar. Soon, bizarre letters floated above it, and I felt the magic power expand in an instant.

“Kugh!”

At that moment, Lapis, who was chanting the spell, frowned. Just as he seemed to lose his balance for a moment, red blood gushed from his mouth.

“Lapis!”

As I was about to approach in surprise, he raised his hand to stop me. Even in the midst of that, he continued to calculate the formulas. As I watched him with tension, I gradually heard strange sounds from inside the altar.

Scratch, scratch.

It was the sound of something sharp scraping against a hard surface. Something like a black haze flickered little by little within the magic circle, then rose up, dividing the altar as if overflowing. It was a very black hand. With grotesquely long and sharp fingernails.

“Ugh….”

My face frowned first at the instinctive revulsion. As the cracks gradually widened, a black and murky mass gradually rose. It was a dirty form, like a collection of petroleum waste. A nauseating stench spread just by being near it. I was about to step back without realizing it, but something in the mass seemed to be looking at me. There were no eyes or anything, but I felt a distinct gaze.

—Who is this? An unexpected guest?

“……!”

At that moment, a low voice dug into my head. The senses of my whole body stood on end at the chilling feeling. This is dangerous. My instincts warned me. A terrifying murderous intent was moving to find its target in an instant. Perhaps because I was concentrating all my nerves, I could clearly feel who it was aiming for.

Lapis!