Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 651

Ian, observing Vitor up close, considered his appearance.

‘Is he a foreigner?’

His features were markedly different from the people of the surrounding Bariel countries, as well as the northerners from the northern regions. His skin and hair were also unusual, but it was clear he wasn’t a native of Gaia.

If that was the case, then he was a mercenary hired by Ruswena. Ian began to understand why this man had used forbidden magic.

‘He doesn’t fully grasp what forbidden magic entails.’

When Gaia’s mages are identified as mana users from a young age, they gather and form bonds, regardless of their country of origin.

For instance, in Bariel, they convene at the Magic Department of the Central Imperial Palace.

In Ruswena, they gather here, in the Mage’s Forest.

Burgos and Clifford had very few instances of mages appearing, so there wasn’t a designated place for interaction, but if there were, they would have gathered around the royal palace.

‘But if a mage has spent most of his life wandering alone without connections, his depth of knowledge and wisdom is bound to be different.’

The legacy accumulated since ancient times aided the development of mages simply by existing.

Methods of rearranging formulas to create new magic circles, the crucial differences between lower and intermediate mana stones, the beliefs and taboos that mages should uphold. Especially, the destruction caused by forbidden magic, and so on.

Because he hadn’t learned what he should have, perhaps to him, ‘forbidden magic’ was a kind of last resort.

‘A power to use as a last resort when cornered and facing death.’

Ian frowned and unleashed his mana towards Vitor, who was charging at him.

Kwaaang! Bang!

“Has your ego been consumed by forbidden magic? How can you be in human form and not speak?”

“Kuh-euk…”

Vitor, struck head-on, tumbled backward. His appearance was so pathetic that Beric, who was about to draw his sword to protect him from behind, hesitated.

“Ian, is that bastard really a mage?”

“Yes. My instincts tell me so. And I’m also sure that he came to Hielo.”

“No, but why is he so weak? Nersarn and Kakan died to someone like that? It doesn’t make sense. Damn it.”

Something dark red dripped from Vitor’s mouth. Whether it was saliva, blood, or something that was consuming his life, it was hard to tell. Ian drew the Idgal sword and took a step towards him.

“Why are you still alive after using forbidden magic? I didn’t give you time to catch your breath, so if you don’t answer, I’ll bury you underground forever.”

Sreung.

Ian pointed his sword at Vitor’s neck and stared at his pupils, which were swirling with an unknown energy. Surprisingly, he felt no emotion. It was as if only the shell remained.

‘His ego is gone.’

It was clear that he was with the Ruswena army. He appeared right after the dragon crashed.

If so, how could they know what’s going on here by sending someone without an ego? After thinking for a moment, Ian noticed something and slightly turned his head.

Shhhik!

Paeng!

It was the same thing he had seen for the first time in the Agiar battle. An invisible, sharp, and thin attack that could come from anywhere. A puppeteer.

As soon as Ian realized that, he slashed at the mage’s eyes with the Idgal sword.

Chwaaaak!

“Kuaaaak!”

The puppeteer was observing the situation through his body. Toolun, you’re moving faster than I expected. The puppeteer’s reach has extended this far.

Vitor writhed in pain, but Ian held his head down with his foot and spoke as if to make him hear.

“Are you listening? Toolun’s puppeteer.”

Pause. Vitor, who was writhing in pain, twitched repeatedly. Then, in a muffled and affected tone, he answered. It was completely out of place with his low voice.

“Hohoho, yes, I can hear you well. Nice to meet you, Minister of Magic. It’s Mrs. Darci.”

“Ugh. What’s with that tone? Damn it!”

Beric, who was listening from the side, scratched his arm and stepped back. He had goosebumps all over, even on his neck.

“Was it his will to attack Hielo, or was it your will?”

“Does it matter? There are no choices.”

Whether they die or we die, now that we’ve met like this, it doesn’t matter whose will it is.

“Yes. It doesn’t matter. They’ve already lost their lives. But I swear. I’m not here as the Minister of Magic, but as the owner of Hielo. I’ve lost everything. If Ruswena wants to respond to this, they must lose everything as well.”

Vitor’s head tilted strangely. It seemed like he was agreeing, or maybe he was sneering. He coughed a few times as if he was about to pass out, then muttered in a low voice.

“I don’t know about that, but Minister Ian Hielo. Aren’t you standing too close? Vitor is quite a dangerous mage.”

Kwaaang! Bang!

An explosion erupted right after the warning. Ian reflexively created a shield, and Beric also raised his sword to block the fire.

Vitor staggered to his feet and mumbled.

…「Foul Energy」.

Shwaaaak!

Endless darkness poured out from his body. The grass that touched the liquid immediately withered, the trees rotted, and the surroundings vibrated with a foul odor.

Beric, who was sensitive to smells, kept gagging as if he couldn’t stand it. Ian also frowned and took a step back.

Sssst!

The darkness seemed to move on its own. It drew a circle and then stretched out to surround Ian and Beric. As if they couldn’t take a step out of it.

When Ian tried to fly up, they created a wall to match Ian’s height.

“Ugh, damn it! The smell is awful, really! Ian, don’t move. It’s spreading, ugh.”

Beric couldn’t finish his sentence and covered his nose and mouth. His head was spinning, and he lost his will to fight.

Ian clicked his tongue and cast a spell with his fingertips.

「Gust」.

The flow of the wind became clear. From Beric to Vitor. As the smell scattered along with it, Beric slumped down as if he had been saved. His head was spinning, and he lost his will to fight.

Chwaaat!

In that gap, Ian secured space with a shield and flew towards Vitor. He was nothing special. He had used forbidden magic, but since he had lost his will, his limits were clear. Moreover, his physical abilities were close to useless. He would quickly cut him down, leave the Mage’s Forest, and confront them.

Just as Ian was about to swing his sword,-

“……!”

Something had changed. His body, which had been moving like a puppet on a string, straightened up. Then, with all his might, he drew a magic circle with his fingertips.

「Late Arrival」.

“……!”

A huge magic circle appeared, and in the middle, a long clock hand was drawn. Ian realized what kind of attack it was and tried to avoid it, but it was too close.

Woo-oong.

He was hit by the light pouring out of the magic circle. Click. As the clock hand moved to the right, Ian’s body movements slowed down.

“Ian!”

Click. Once more to the right. Now, it took several seconds to take one step. This included not only Ian but the entire space that the light touched. The slightly raised hair, the movement of the grass, and the fluttering of the sleeves were all noticeably slowed down.

“You, damn it!”

When Beric tried to rush in, Vitor vomited black blood and spread the light of the magic circle widely. If he approached, Beric would also be caught in the trick.

He wondered if there was a way to approach, but it was impossible. Beric stopped in his place and bit his lip tightly. Then, he helplessly stared at Ian, who was only moving slowly without answering.

He didn’t know what to do. He had never seen such magic before.

“Damn it!”

The only thing he could do was to get as close as possible and block the attacks pouring down on Ian. Beric threw his sword at the clock-shaped magic circle, but it fell without making a scratch.

“Ian!”

Tick. Tick. Tick. The clock moved little by little, continuously. Vitor judged. Once the hand had made a full circle to the right, the magic would be released. If not now, there would be no chance.

Vitor staggered and groped the floor. He couldn’t see anything. It was because Ian had cut his eyes, but he didn’t know that.

Then-

“Agh…”

Thud.

Something long caught on his fingertips.

He examined it by touch and found it was a fragment of Idgal. He struggled to reach Ian and met Ian’s slowly blinking eyes. Ian had no expression, like a doll trapped in water.

“This is the end. If I don’t kill you, I’ll die.”

Vitor groped around Ian’s neck, looking for a vital point. Thump-thump. He could feel the slow pulse. Good, it’s here.

“…”

“Don’t be too sad… Kuh-heuk.”

Tick. There wasn’t much time left until the clock hand made a full circle. As much as the hour hand moved, the weight of time accumulated on the opponent, which was also Vitor’s burden. Quickly, with this sword, the neck…

“No way, you bastard!”

Seeing that, Beric had no choice but to jump into the spell. Then, Vitor vomited blood as if crushed by gravity and fell forward. It was because the number of people affected by the magic circle had increased to two.

Beric stopped with his hand outstretched towards Ian, and Vitor groped the floor, lost in direction.

Tick, tick…

The surroundings were filled with silence. Only the ticking of the clock continued to sound. It was unknown who would grab the sword first.

* * *

“Mrs. Darci?”

“Be quiet!”

Mrs. Darci, who was groaning with her eyes closed, shouted. Martin frowned as if displeased, but he couldn’t say anything because it was clear that she was using a mage to fight Ian Hielo.

“It’s quite difficult, this. Maybe because he’s a mage, not a normal person. Augh.”

She had ordered the mage to ‘subdue the opponent.’ But what Vitor chose was a magic called 「Foul Energy」. It seemed to be a magic that limited the opponent’s range of activity with a foul smell and toxicity, but it was not enough to target two people who were flying around.

“Keueung.”

He even used forbidden magic, so there must be something that could subdue the opponent at once…

“Anyway, what a cruel person! How can you cut someone’s eyes? Isn’t that right? That’s why those imperial bastards, tsk!”

Because Ian had cut Vitor’s eyes, she could no longer see the situation through the mage’s eyes. She could only look around with the puppeteer’s senses. But the field of vision was so narrow, like a pinhole, that the efficiency was low.

Mrs. Darci chewed her tongue anxiously and picked up the Vitor doll herself.

“This won’t do.”

Then, she snapped. She cut one of the strings connected to him. It was one of the strings that had been suppressing his ego. Then, she whispered to Vitor, who wouldn’t be able to see anything.

“Mage Vitor. Listen carefully. You are now facing Minister of Magic Ian Hielo. Kill him by any means. Then I’ll get rid of the doll I’m connected to. Oh, and there’s some good news too.”

What was she doing? When Martin frowned, Mrs. Darci gestured for him to stay still.

“I’ve also found a way to undo the forbidden magic! Hoho. So, kill Ian Hielo and his subordinate. They are right in front of you.”

With that, Mrs. Darci kissed the doll. With this, Vitor, who had regained his ego, would deal with the opponent with appropriate magic. Well, there would be limits since he couldn’t see…

“Mrs. Darci.”

“Yes?”

“You said you’d release the connection? And the forbidden magic…”

When Martin asked as if puzzled, Mrs. Darci laughed gleefully, saying it was funny.

“Oh my, you’re so naive. Of course, it’s a lie! Don’t worry. We just need to kill Ian Hielo and then seal his ego again! Hohoho.”