Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 715

Naum looked up at Ian, who was holding him.

The master, who had been yearning for death just moments ago, was gone. The fading life force had flared up like a raging fire, filling the surroundings, and the heat was palpable.

This wasn’t something only Naum sensed. Cronie and Luigi’s faces also showed clear bewilderment.

Swish!

Clang!

Ian lunged at them, his stance low. It was the same movement he often displayed in the training grounds. His hair swayed with the Emperor’s movements, and a faint light lingered where his gaze had passed.

‘Ian, where on earth does that power come from?’

‘Kuh!’

Ian’s Idgal sword struck Luigi’s shield head-on. It was difficult to break a mage’s magic with physical force. It was a fact they knew and didn’t doubt, but—

‘What is this?’

The impact that resonated through his body was unusual.

Sure enough, the shield that had come into contact with the Idgal sword began to crack little by little. Luigi was surprised and added more magic, but—

Crack-!

Clang!

The shield shattered into pieces and scattered around. Luigi stared at the powerless fragments of the shield in disbelief.

‘…Cronie.’

Haah, haah. Ian took a ragged breath and pointed the Idgal sword at Cronie. The sharp tip was aimed precisely at Cronie’s neck.

‘I asked. Who am I?’

Naum noticed that Ian’s voice had become considerably lower. It was cold and sharp on the surface, but inside, a fire was swirling. It would burn, melt, and ruthlessly trample everything.

‘…Ian.’

‘That’s right. I am Ian.’

The one who held you with his small hands, who truly considered you family and felt deep gratitude, and who couldn’t bear to treat you harshly even when he knew that your world and mine were wrong—that Ian, I am talking about.

It’s all my fault. I should have severed ties with you sooner…

‘I’ve thought deeply about it. Where it all went wrong.’

He went back and back, tracing back to the beginning of his existence. But now that he faced it, he knew. My darkness, which is nothing if I overcome it. My past regrets, which will easily be swept away if I cut them down.

‘It’s not me, but your existence that is wrong.’

The greed of a shadow that wanted to live under the sunlight, the black seed of long days that sprouted from it, had taken deep root.

Thus, because it was so thick and tightly bound, the young me couldn’t breathe and died… How can I call this my fault?

‘…Ian.’

As Cronie muttered with a twisted expression, Ian’s eyes instantly turned fierce.

‘How dare you utter the Emperor’s name.’

‘Ian! You’re being too harsh!’

Cronie shouted, half-hiding behind Luigi. His hand cautiously moved towards his waist. He had embedded a magic sealing stone in his body in case something like this happened, but due to various reasons, he had postponed it, and now this mess had occurred.

Cronie tapped Luigi’s back with his other hand.

‘Look for an opportunity.’

There was a dagger made of a magic sealing stone. If he could just cut that guy’s body somewhere with this…

‘Too harsh?’

‘Do you think I wanted to be like this? You said you followed me as family? Ha! How could someone like that ignore all my concerns? Hide your magic, don’t go into the palace, the Emperor’s seat is not right! Haven’t I repeatedly warned you and cared for you!’

Ian looked at him with a calm gaze, then let out a snort. He wiped the blood off his hand and muttered.

‘Even if it’s darkness, it’s disgusting.’

‘What did you say?’

‘Enough. I’ve crossed too long a timeline. I don’t want to listen to your meaningless excuses anymore.’

An oppressive magical power flowed from Ian’s entire body.

Luigi was flustered by the aura he had never felt before and swallowed hard. He knew that the Emperor was an excellent mage, but he had never had the opportunity to face him so directly.

It was the moment Ian grabbed the Idgal sword and was about to swing it.

‘Meaningless? Ian, your parents died because of you! Is that still meaningless?’

Ian’s sword tip paused at Cronie’s shout.

That was the gap. Luigi gathered magic in both hands and then cast a spell.

「Late Arrival」.

A small clock flickered in his grasp.

This place was narrow and dark, so they couldn’t subdue Ian with the difference in power. Therefore, a spell that binds the opponent’s time was perfect. If they bought time, they could deal with him with the help of other mages.

Buzz!

Click.

As the clock hand slowly moved to the right, light poured out around them. If they faced that, time would flow slowly.

Ian was about to gather magic at his fingertips, laughing as if it was ridiculous.

‘Uwaaaaaa-!’

A stranger’s scream came from above the underground prison. Everyone looked up at the same time. Then, they saw Beric falling from that high place, not knowing how he had entered.

‘Iaaaaan!’

‘Lord Ian!’

Following him were Tommy, Nakina, and Hale. It looked more like they were ‘descending’ rather than falling.

As they descended towards Ian, they drew small magic circles with their fingertips.

‘Get away from Lord Ian-!’

Swish!

They landed softly in front of him and simultaneously unleashed magic in all directions.

「Body Mirror」.

Whoosh!

Thud! Thud! Thud!

In an instant, the surroundings turned into a world of mirrors.

As the light was reflected in unpredictable ways, Luigi had no choice but to retract the clock. If they were caught here, it would be the real end.

‘Lord Cronie.’

Luigi turned to Cronie. They were outnumbered and outmatched, so it would be better to go outside and ask for help first.

But—

‘Luigi!’

‘L, Lord Cronie?’

There were many Cronies. Luigi, who was watching them, was the same. They were trapped in a maze created by dozens of mirror walls.

‘What on earth is this…!’

When he took a step, thinking he was there, it was a mirror, and the opponent who had been there just before quickly disappeared as if they had evaporated.

‘C, calm down.’

This was not a mental magic. It was just a visual trick…

Luigi stopped in place and composed himself. He could shatter them all with magic, but he couldn’t ensure Cronie’s safety if he did. He had to meet him somehow and put up a shield…

‘Cronie.’

Swoosh.

It was then. Ian’s image was reflected in the mirror. Reflected and reflected, a strange sight of dozens of people turning their heads. They muttered.

‘Tell me, what do you mean by my parents dying because of me?’

‘It’s exactly as I said, Ian! I don’t know if you know, but your existence was determined a long time ago, the starting point of misfortune. Do you still not know why your mother didn’t reach out to you?’

Cronie shouted, looking around. He knew that if he didn’t shake Ian here, he would be shaken, so it was a desperate struggle.

In the mirror, Cronie passed by as if running away, and Ian followed behind him.

‘From a long time ago?’

‘That’s right. It’s a warning from the temple!’

‘Ah.’

Ian smiled faintly and tilted his head to one side.

‘So, are you confessing that the scheme of the underground god, which has been going on since 100 years ago, was targeting me exactly? I’m so grateful that I could cry.’

‘Masantar?’

‘We came from there, you bastard!’

Beric and Nakina’s shouts came from somewhere. They must also be watching the situation from somewhere in the mirror.

Cronie groped forward with his hand. He was desperate to find a place that wasn’t a mirror.

‘…!’

Then, Ian’s figure suddenly caught his eye. Was it a mirror? Or not? It was ambiguous. He was standing slightly slanted, looking back.

Without realizing it, Cronie took out the dagger from his waist. Then, he carefully moved towards it.

‘…I really did it for you. If you had just stayed still, if you hadn’t gone out that day… nothing like this would have happened.’

Cronie muttered softly, examining the figure. The closer he got, the more he was convinced that it was real. It was thanks to the keen senses of a man facing death. Finally, Cronie swung the dagger at Ian, who had turned his back.

Clang!

Clink!

‘Uncle.’

Beric lightly blocked it. His magic greatsword reacted to the magic sealing stone and disappeared in an instant, but his eyes were sharper than ever.

‘Damn it, shut your dirty mouth and just die in agony.’

As Ian turned his head, Beric stepped aside. Then, without any hesitation—

Thud!

Ian’s Idgal sword pierced Cronie’s abdomen.

‘…!’

‘I was watching to see what you would do, and as expected.’

‘…Ian!’

‘Just as you know me, I know you. You are a person who hides in the dark, looking for gaps and crawling up. You covet what is not yours, you don’t even have human dignity or righteousness, and you are a foolish being who mistakes meanness for something superior.’

Cronie trembled and gripped the Idgal sword tightly. He couldn’t believe it. That death had come so close to him. So suddenly, and because of ‘that’ Ian.

‘Know your place, Cronie.’

‘I, Iaaaaan!’

Crack!

Ian pushed the sword deeper and whispered in Cronie’s ear. His voice was firm.

‘Blasphemous.’

‘Ian! Ian!’

‘…It’s the Emperor’s name, you know.’

Ian raised his head and faced Cronie. Cronie was in Ian’s eyes, and Ian was in Cronie’s eyes. Both had red eyes, but the strange emotions were clearly different.

‘Cronie.’

‘I am truly grateful that I can do this. I am truly grateful that I am reborn by killing you.’

‘Don’t be born in the next life.’

Ian pulled out the sword, and at the same time, blood burst from his abdomen. Cronie’s gaze slowly flowed down along the sword tip.

‘Ah. Damn it.’

Swish!

Thud!

Blood splattered thickly on the mirrors all around. His head seemed to tilt to the side, and then it fell and rolled powerlessly. At the same time, the mirrors shattered.

Clang! Clink!

Glass shards containing Cronie’s death scattered endlessly.

Ian made the sword disappear and stared down at the corpse for a long time. ‘Ah. Yes. Really, a nobody…’

‘Lord Ian.’

‘A, are you okay? You are Ian Hielo, right?’

Nakina, Tommy, and Hale approached cautiously and examined him. They were worried that his ego might be different since he was in Ian’s darkness.

But fortunately, Ian smiled brightly.

‘Then, if not Ian Hielo, what else would I be?’

‘Oh my, my heart dropped.’

‘I’m glad you’re safe.’

‘It seems you all got caught up in my darkness.’

‘I was really surprised when I came to my senses. Have you been experiencing this kind of world all along?’

‘Yes. Back then, I always realized it at the moment of death. That it was all in the darkness.’

‘And I regretted it. Ah, if I had known it was in the darkness, I wouldn’t have done that. I shouldn’t have sent Naum away, I should have held on to my will to live a little longer.’

‘But when the darkness was regenerated, I lost my memories and lived like a puppet in that phenomenon until I died. Countless times, so many that it was meaningless to count.’

‘Then can we get out now?’

‘Maybe…’

‘When I first woke up, a god in the form of the illegitimate son Ian awakened me,’ Ian was about to say that.

Suddenly, he realized that something was missing.

‘…Naum?’

Naum had disappeared.

From the place where he had called upon the forbidden magic for him.