Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 144

The people who had been lying down slowly raised their heads at the sudden silence. It was because the magic that had been exploding with shouts had suddenly stopped. They looked around, wondering if it was over, but everything was still the same.

“W-Why are you all doing that?”

“Ian’s magic just stopped Wesley.”

“So what? That’s great! Sir Ian! Show us your power!”

“P-Please stop that witch! Please!”

“What are you all doing? What are you standing there looking at?”

“Jaylot! Magic Department!”

“Get Gale behind Sir Ian, and protect him!”

The commoners, not knowing what was wrong, began to shout loudly. But even so, the mages and the Imperial Knights remained frozen like stones, unable to move easily.

‘Right now, Ian’s magic worked?’

‘He was impressive at the New Year’s party, but was he that good?’

‘No, the opponent is Lady Wesley right now.’

‘Could this also be Lady Wesley’s illusion magic?’

A new mage who had not been in the department for long, surpassing the head of the Magic Department who had become the youngest court count! This couldn’t be. It was as absurd as a newborn baby knocking down a seasoned warrior in the training grounds.

“Ian, it worked well! Oh my, you did great!”

“…Um, Sir Romandro.”

“Huh? Why, why?”

“It would be better if you moved away from me.”

Romandro, who had been happily shaking Ian’s arm, stopped abruptly. He was scared to death, but he was being told to move away? Ian silently pointed his chin at Wesley. Her gaze had completely shifted from Gale to Ian.

“Heeik! Oh my god! Ian, be careful, be careful!”

Romandro, who had been flustered and didn’t know what to do, fell backward and ran away, crawling. An Imperial Knight supported him, and Ian slowly looked around. Everyone was still staring at him as if they were in a daze.

‘It’s definitely because of the forbidden magic. It’s too early to judge the strength of his magic power.’

He had been wondering whether to help Gale or not, but now there was no choice. If only he could do it, he had to do it. There was nothing more foolish than being passive here. It would be good to use this as a stepping stone to firmly establish his presence.

“Ian! Get a grip.”

The first one to approach Ian was Nakina. She wrapped her arm around Ian’s shoulder and slightly lowered her body. She matched Ian’s eye level and glared at Wesley together.

“It seems you’re the only one who can land a valid hit here right now. The leaders will be here soon, so until then, prioritize Gale’s safety. Have you ever used attack magic? Or defense magic?”

“…I haven’t, but I will do it.”

“That’s a great answer. Do you know any formulas?”

“I don’t know that either, but I will do it if you help me.”

“Your attitude is perfect. Good.”

Numerous magic formulas flashed through his mind, but Ian lightly shook his head and said he didn’t know.

“Ian.”

It was Wesley’s call. She was smiling brightly as if she was surprised. Veins were popping out on her snow-white skin, making it hard to tell that she was smiling.

“Oh my, yes. That’s how it was.”

Everyone tensed up and held their breath at the sight of the woman muttering as if she had lost her mind. But Ian could sense her intentions. With the magic sphere attack just now, she had realized that Ian was a product of forbidden magic.

That he was someone who shouldn’t exist in this world, and that he had been a constant annoyance.

“Wesley. Your every word, every step is creating sin.”

“It was you in Karenna too, wasn’t it?”

The flow of magic power was getting stronger. The woman’s disheveled hair slowly scattered, and soon flames began to rise from her fingertips. It felt like one’s throat and lungs would burn if they inhaled the heat, so everyone stopped breathing.

“And that’s how Gale found out. Ah. Now I understand what’s going on. Ian. It was all your fault.”

As Wesley’s momentum became ominous, Nakina released her magic power. It was to show him the formula with light.

Ziiing! Ziiing!

Magic was like a kind of academic study, so until one became proficient, one had no choice but to go through the activation process one by one. If it was internalized and engraved in one’s mind, it would be possible to do it right away without any hassle.

But even so, the results varied greatly depending on how clearly one could visualize the image, so it wasn’t difficult to rank the talents of mages.

“Nakina, no explosions!”

At Tommy’s shout, Nakina nodded. This was the lobby of the assembly hall. If they couldn’t lure the target outside, a strong impact could be a self-inflicted wound. Therefore, they had to use magic that would bind and subdue the opponent.

「Binding」

It was a basic magic among those that could be used on the field, but a complex shape appeared in front of Nakina’s body. The magic circle glowed in concentric circles, and dozens of activation formulas spun around wildly.

“Ian! Read it properly! Then it will be like this!”

Geometric shapes appeared on the floor where Nakina was standing. If lightning had been shattered, it would have looked like that.

The magic quickly climbed up the walls and spread to the ceiling. And soon, it found the target’s location and fell mercilessly around it.

Crack! Kwaaang!

Pillars of light fell in front of, behind, and on both sides of Wesley. Her hair fluttered once again due to the impact. There was no fear on her clearly visible face. She had already given up her life and summoned forbidden magic.

“Ian, did you see it? Can you do it?”

It was a very short moment. The time it took for Nakina to release her magic power and activate the magic was only a few seconds. The other mages who were listening from the side jeered and shouted.

“Nakina, are you kidding me? How can he do it after seeing it once!”

“That’s right, even we have a hard time with that! Having strong magic power is a bit different from applying it. No matter what.”

“Instead of that, tell him to keep shooting magic power!”

“Just keep her in sight until the leaders come out!”

“That guy doesn’t even know the situation when he’s talking nonsense.”

“Get a grip! Don’t do useless things!”

“You son of a bitch, shut your mouths! It’s distracting! I’ll split your heads open.”

Nakina, unable to listen anymore, yelled, and the mages bit their lips like they had eaten honey. It was a moment when they needed to combine their strength, but she didn’t know why they were all acting like that. Nakina looked at Wesley, who was calmly passing through the pillars of light.

‘She’s not listening after all.’

Originally, the function of binding magic was to limit the opponent’s radius with the magic power flowing between the pillars. But Wesley was approaching this way without any restrictions. Nakina anxiously turned to Ian.

“I saw it well, Senior Nakina.”

“…Ah.”

Ian was smiling. More than any other words, his smile said it all. That he was confident, that he could read all the formulas she had just shown him. Before Nakina could say anything, Ian activated the magic.

Ziiing. Ziiing.

Faaaah!

Golden eyes like a lion. His pupils dilated, and the magic power in his whole body exploded. Ian transferred the formula that Nakina had shown him directly into his mind and activated it without any process. Light began to leak out from the gaps in the marble floor he was standing on.

“T-This is…”

“Get out of the way! Everyone, get out of the way!”

“C-Crazy. He’s crazy.”

The power of magic, like gravity, pressed down on Ian. As the marble cracked, the light became even stronger. Soon, all around him, the walls and ceiling that were in contact with the surface were submerged in light.

Kwaaang! Kwang!

Dozens, hundreds of streaks of light falling from the ceiling. All things, big and small, enveloped Wesley without any error. The black smoke she was emitting disappeared helplessly every time Ian’s magic struck.

As the gaps were gradually filled, Wesley screamed, trying to break the magic with all her might.

“Ian, are you going to keep interfering! You too are a product of forbidden-”

Kwang!

“It would be better to shut up, Wesley. I’ll say it again, your every word is continuing to pile up as sin. Wouldn’t it be better for your well-being to remain silent?”

When she tried to shout the secret of forbidden magic, Ian dropped light on her head without hesitation. Although Wesley easily blocked it by swatting it away with her hand.

Nakina pondered for a moment on which part she should be surprised at while watching that scene.

‘How many streaks of light are falling? And he’s using binding magic as attack magic. This is…’

Was it possible? No matter how transcendent magic was, there was a common sense limit within it, wasn’t there? Not only Nakina but also the other mages were mesmerized by the streaks of light pouring down on Wesley.

Kwaang! Kwang!

“It’s like a shooting star…”

She didn’t know who muttered that. But those around her felt it was a pretty good analogy. It was like watching a cataclysm of meteors in the middle of the day, in a half-open lobby.

“…B-But, you know.”

Romandro was also lying flat on the ground, watching it. He pulled on the sleeve of an Imperial Knight and whispered.

“Why is Wesley just standing still?”

From the time she first appeared until now, she had been threatening, but she hadn’t really done anything that could be called a counterattack. She had just been trying to go inside, specifically to meet Gale. Even when the mages attacked together, she had just ignored them.

‘There’s no counterattack.’

Ian felt the same way. Unlike the magic of the others who had been neutralized, Ian’s magic was having an effect on Wesley. The fact that she was constantly swatting away the light with her hand was proof of that.

“Hey, Lady Wesley, something’s weird, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. The heat is getting hotter, and I don’t know if this is the right expression, but…”

“It feels like my body is burning.”

“Oh, yeah. That’s right. That’s how it feels.”

Her skin was falling off in pieces due to the burning heat. It felt like she was moving by burning her own life.

She gasped for breath, then looked at Gale. Her eyes were full of disgust, but the woman’s face was filled with a smile.

“Gale.”

Ziiing! Ziiing!

Poong! Pung!

At that moment, Wesley called Gale’s name and released her magic power to the maximum. The explosive power shattered Ian’s binding magic streaks of light. She rushed towards Gale in an instant and hugged his neck with both arms.

“Your Highness Gale!”

“Attack! Hurry!”

“Tear her away! Tear that witch away!”

Everyone was shocked for a moment, and then they were horrified. Wesley grabbed the back of Gale’s head, who was frozen in surprise, and kissed him.

“Gale. Do you think I would kill you?”

“Crazy…”

“Death won’t let you know my pain.”

Only then did Ian realize. Wesley was not trying to break through the Imperial Palace’s defenses with forbidden magic and see Gale’s blood, but to place a curse of eternity on him. Perhaps the reason she came here was to tell him that directly.

“Gale, you are—, so you will be—forever.”

Black smoke rose around Wesley. Her head became dizzy, and her curse was heard in fragments. But Gale seemed to have heard it clearly, his eyes widened, and he even uttered an inappropriate curse.

“You crazy bitch!”

And he immediately tried to pierce her neck with his sword. But Wesley’s form had already turned into smoke and disappeared, and only hot ashes were flying around.